GRAMMAR -may be defined as a system of rules for the use of language, or as a study of what is preferred and what is to be aoided

in effective speech and writing. PURPOSE OF HAVING A GOOD GRAMMAR: -as in other kinds of professional writing, we use grammar carefully to convey legal ideas clearly. CHARACTERISTICS OF GRAMMAR: 1. Grammar has nothing to do with correctness. It describes but not prescribe. 2. Grammar is full of life. It is just like an organism that is constantly developing and changing. 3. Grammar is worth studying because if properly understood, it can help us express our ideas clearly and effectively in both speech and writing. Weakness of writing is often due to insufficient understanding of grammar. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAMAR AND LEXICOLOGY -Grammar deals with the general facts of language while lexicology deals with special facts. B. IMPORTANT GRAMMATICAL TERMS 1. NOUN --is a name of person, place, animal, thing, persons, objects or idea. Ex. Girl, mansion, municipality, religion, honor 1.a. Proper Nouns --refer to particular places, persons, objects, ideas Ex. Ana, Malacanang Place, University of the East 1.b. Abstract Nouns --describes ideas or general concepts Ex. Justice, transportation 1.c. Concrete Nouns -describes tangible items Ex. Courtroom, bicycle 2. PRONOUN --is a substitute for a noun Ex. Pedro threw his gun as soon as he shot the victim 3. VERB --expresses action or state of being, and it also indicates the time of action or being Ex. Waived (past), need (present), will enjoy (future) 3.a. Active Verb --or active voice is the term for grammatical structure indicating that the subject of the sentence performs or causes the action expressed by the verb. 3.b. Passive Verb --passive voice ca create a sentence that is les precise, which makes the reader wonder who decided. AUXILIARY VERBS --or helping verbs are added to the basic verb tenses and to add specific shades of meaning RULES ON AUXILIARY VERBS A. Should B. Could C. Would

D. Can E. Might F. May G. Must H. Shall I. Do J. Do not 4. ADJECTIVES --modify and describe nouns or pronouns and specify size, color, number, or in some other way making meaning more nearly exact. 4.a. Proper Adjective --are adjectives derived from proper names. 5. ADVERBS -are words that describes r expand the meaning of verbs, adjective, and other adverbs. Ex. Loudly, much 6. PREPOSITIONS --show how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in a sentence. Ex. Into, behind, in, on 7. CONJUNCTIONS --join words, phrases, or clauses 7.a. Coordinating conjunctions --connect sentence elements of the same value; single words, phrases, or clauses Ex. And, but, for, or, nor, either, neither, yet, so, so that 7.b. Subordinating Conjunctions -join two clauses, the main one and the dependent (or subordinate) one Ex. Although, because, since, until, while 8. INTERJECTION --I is one that independently expresses feeling or strong emotion Ex. Ouch! Ah! Bo! Hey!

PARTS OF SENTENCE 1. Subject --which is a group of words that a clause or sentence makes a statement about --are nouns, pronouns, or phrases used as nouns 2. Predicate --which is a group of words that makes a statement about the subject; usually tells what the subject is doing or what is happening o the subject --are verbs 1. PHRASES -is a group of words that are closely related but does not contain a subject or predicate RESTICTIVE (essential to the meaning of the sentence) and NONRESTRICTIVE (set off by a comma) 2. CLAUSES --is a group of words which has a subject and predicate MAIN CLAUSE (can stand alone as a sentence) and SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (incomplete and is used with a main clause to express a related idea)

IMPORTANT POINTS OF GRAMMAR 1. NOUNS NOMINATIVE CASE EX. I, you, she, he, it, we, you, they OBJECTIVE CASE Ex. Me, you, her, him, us, them POSSESIVE CASE Ex. My, mne, your, yours, his, her, its, ours, their, theirs 2. PRONOUNS 2.a. Relative Pronoun Nominative case Objective case Compound Personal Pronouns Relative Pronouns Interrogative Pronouns Indefinite Pronouns 3. CASE