GRAMMAR FOR TECHNICAL WRITERS

SENTENCE
GROUP OF WORDS THAT MAKE COMPLETE SENSE EG. GANESH SAT IN THE FIRST ROW. DENZIL MOWED THE LAWN TODAY TYPES OF SENTENCES

DECLARATIVE MAKE ASSERTIONS JAMES WATT INVENTED THE STEAM ENGINE INTERROGATIVE ARE YOU COMING WITH ME? IMPERATIVE EXPRESS COMMAND, REQUESTS OR ENTREATIES BE QUIET, HAVE MERCY UPON ME. EXCLAMATORY HOW BEAUTIFUL THE MOON IS !

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

SUBJECT
ARE TALKING ABOUT

- NAMES THE PERSON OR THING WE

PREDICATE TELLS SOMETHING ABOUT THE

SUBJECT FIND THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE

THE BOY THREW THE BALL LINDA HAS A GOOD MEMORY EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS NEW DELHI IS THE CAPITAL OF INDIA IMPERATIVE SENTENCES HAVE NO SUBJECT EG. SIT DOWN YOU NOT GIVEN

PHRASE
WORDS WHICH MAKE SENSE BUT NOT COMPLETE SENSE

leaving

behind the dog smashing into a fence before the first test after the devastation broken into thousands of pieces because of her glittering smile

CLAUSE
GROUPS OR WORDS WHICH FORM PART OF THE SENTENCE AND CONTAINS SUBJECT AND PREDICATE PEOPLE WHO pray to God are blessed. I CANNOT drive the car without petrol. I THINK you have gone overboard.

PARTS OF SPEECH

CLASSSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE WORK THEY PERFORM TWO MAJOR CLASSES CONTENT WORDS OPEN CLASS FUNCTION WORDS CLOSED CLASS

CONTENT WORDS
WORDS WITH MEANING WORDS YOU CAN LOOK UP IN THE DICTIONARY EG. SPRAY, PROPELLER, SUBMARINE ETC. NEW WORDS ADDED TO THE DICTIONARY AND OLD ONES BECOME OBSOLETE. THEREFORE REFERRED TO AS OPEN CLASS NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS

FUNCTION WORDS

TO EXPLAIN OR CREATE GRAMMATICAL OR STRUCTURAL RELATIONSHIPS INTO WHICH THE CONTENT WORDS MAY FIT EG. OF, THE, TO ETC, HAVE LITTLE MEANING ON THEIR OWN THEY DO NOT CHANGE, DO NOT BECOME OBSOLETE. THEY ARE FEWER IN NUMBER THEREFORE CALLED CLOSED GROUP EG. PRONOUNS, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUCTIONS

PARTS OF SPEECH 8 IN NUMBER

NOUN ADJECTIVE PRONOUN

VERB
ADVERB PREPOSITION CONJUCTION INTERJECTION

NOUN
NAME

OF A PERSON PLACE OR THING

Akbar was a great king. Sita walked with Rama.

Thing

includes all objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch or smell; and something that we can think of, but cannot perceive by the senses.

KINDS OF NOUN
COMMON

NOUN PROPER NOUN COLLECTIVE NOUN ABSTRACT NOUN COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

COMMON NOUN
NAME

GIVEN TO EVERY PERSON OR THING OF THE SAME CLASS OR KIND

EG. KIDS LOVE PLAYING IN THE RAIN.

PROPER

NOUNS

NAME OF A PARTICULAR PERSON, PLACE OR THING WRITTEN WITH CAPITAL LETTER. EG. Sita decided to walk with Rama.

COLLECTIVE

NOUN

Name or number of collection of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole.

herd of cattle is passing. An army of soldiers

ABSTRACT NOUN
Usually

the name of a quality, action, or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs.

Quality Goodness, kindness, whiteness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty, wisdom, bravery. Actions Laughter, theft, movement, judgment, hatred. State Childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery, sleep, sickness, death, poverty. The names of Arts and Sciences are also abstract nouns Grammar, music, chemistry, etc

COUNTABLE NOUN
Names

of objects, people, etc., that we can count Book, Pen, Apple, Boy, Sister, Doctor, Horse
UNCOUNTABLE
Names

NOUNS

count Milk, Sand, Oil, Sugar, Gold, Honesty

of things which we cannot

ADJECTIVE
An

adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun.

He

is a great performer. There are five children in this class. The meal was sumptuous. She has a wonderful smile.

CLASSES OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives
Adjectives

may be divided into the following classes

of quality show the kind or quality of a person or thing Chennai is a beautiful city. The roads are crowded. Manu is an honest man. The foolish man killed the golden duck. The rotten egg was rejected.

Adjectives of quantity show

how much of a thing is meant. 1.The monkey pulled some bananas. 2. I ate few chapattis. 3. He showed much patience

Adjectives of number
Show how many persons or things are meant, or in what order a person or thing stands. 1.The hand has five fingers. 2.Many cats avoid cold water. 3.Sunday is the first day of the week. 4.Most kids like skating in the ice. 5.Life teaches you many things.

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE
Point out which person or thing is meant. This hat is better than that. That girl scored high marks. Those mangoes are not good. Dont be such a fool. These comments are unwelcome.

INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVE
When

certain words are used with nouns to ask questions.

Which way did the boy run? Whose ball is this? What is the reason for his absence? Whose notebook is this?

Emphasizing

adjectives

I wrote with my own hands He is his own master. Mind your own business. His very temperament let him down. She saw them with her own eyes.

Exclamatory adjectives
What

a masterpiece! What a blessing! What a piece of work! What an idea! What a finish!

PRONOUN
Words
Dennis

which can be used instead of nouns, are called Pronouns

went to the park. He played till dusk.

Singular

pronouns I, you, he, she, it, me, him, her Plural pronouns We, you, they, us, them.
Dennis

had a camera. He took some pictures. A little squirrel jumped from the tree. It disappeared in the bush. Raj lost his bag in the park. He left it on the bench.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Any

pronoun which shows ownership and replaces a possessive noun is called a Possessive Pronoun. Singular possessive pronouns my, your, her, his, its Plural possessive pronouns our, your, their The students worked hard on their essay. Ringo told Carlyle about his trip to Mexico. This book is mine. That one is his, said Kevin.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Sometimes

self is added to pronouns like my, your, him, her, it. This is done when the action done by the subject turns back [reflects] upon itself. It is also used for greater emphasis on the subject. Such pronouns are called Reflexive Pronouns.
I

will do it myself. You can tell yourself what happened. The boys hid themselves.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Indefinite

Pronouns are those which do not refer to any particular person or thing.
One, many, some, everyone, nobody, any, anyone, few, none, everybody, somebody.

One

must never praise ones self. Many of the travelers were women. Some say he is the best Few escaped unhurt. Everybody should listen.

Relative Pronouns
Relative

Pronoun is a pronoun that relates to a noun mentioned earlier in the sentence.

Who, which, whose, that, whom are Relative Pronouns.

met Tracy. Tracy won the Nobel prize. I met Tracy who won the Nobel prize. This is the painting. I did it yesterday. This is the painting which I did yesterday. This is Toms house. He built it. This is the house that Tom built. This is Ram. His bike was stolen yesterday. This is Ram whose bike was stolen yesterday.

CONTRACTIONS WITH PRONOUNS

A

contraction is a shortened form of two words. Contractions can be made by joining pronouns and the verbs am, is, are, will, would, have, has and had.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Interrogative Pronouns are similar to Relative Pronouns. But they work in a different way. They are used for asking questions.

Who is there? What is going on here? Which is the row? What will be the outcome? Which one do you prefer? Windows or Linux?

VERBS
Verb

is a word that tells something about a person or thing. Words that tell what people or things do are called Action Verbs. Prince walked in the garden. Joe is swimming now. Bill watched a cartoon on the TV. The cat jumped over the wall. The audience cheered the musicians.

ACTION VERB be
Not

all verbs are action verbs. The verb be is special because it tells what someone or something is like. It shows a state of being. Therefore it is also called a State of Being Verb. Am, is, are, was, were, will be. Ilaiyaraaja is a great composer. His compositions are mellifluous. My uncle is a judge. Last week we were in the zoo.

SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT

The

verb in every sentence must agree with its subject. The subject is the person, place or thing which is being talked about in each sentence.

1.They play hockey on Sundays. He plays hockey on Sundays. 2.The minister meets the delegates today. The ministers meet the delegates today. 3.I prepare my dish. We prepare our dish. 4.Women love silk sarees. Woman loves silk sarees.

VERB TENSE
A

present tense verb shows action that is happening now. Present Tense - The Obamas live in the White House. A past tense verb shows action that has already happened. Past Tense - The Obamas lived in the White House. A future tense verb shows action that is still to happen. Future Tense - The Obamas will live in the White House

PRESENT TENSE
1.Rani studies German in College. 2.The child watches the parent.

PAST TENSE My friends arrived yesterday. My brother dried the clothes.

FUTURE TENSE
The

grocer will deliver the goods today. I should visit Hollywood next month.

IRREGULAR VERBS Some verbs do not form their past tense by adding ed. Their spellings change completely in their past tense. Such verbs are called Irregular Verbs.

EXAMPLES
Present
Take Make Give Bring Eat Swim Come Buy Drive

Past

took made gave brought ate swam came bought drove

MAIN AND HELPING VERBS

The

main verb is the most important verb in the sentence. A helping verb works with the main verb to tell us about an action. We are working in the lab. Main verb working Helping verb are Main verb ending with ing [present tense] working Helping verbs used are am, is, are, was, were

Main verb ending with ed [past tense] Worked Helping verbs used are Has, have, had I am working for the Government She is writing a book. He was playing in the rain yesterday. The show has started already. The boys have played their last match.

CONTRACTIONS
A

contraction is the combined form of two words. An apostrophe () takes the place of the missing letter or letters. Two words Contractions The toys were not there werent He could not find her couldnt She will not look again wont

 isnt,

didnt, werent, wasnt, couldnt, wont, shouldnt, hasnt, havent, hadnt, are the contraction words.

ADVERB
An

adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb. The boy worked hard. The girl walked slowly.

The words hard and slowly tell us how the boy worked and girl walked. They are called adverbs of manner. Many adverbs are formed by adding ly to adjectives. Adjectives Adverb Quick Quickly Safe Safely Proud Proudly Neat Neatly Quiet Quietly

1.The stars were shining brightly. 2.The lion chased the deer speedily. 3.The bear roared loudly. 4.Linda used the calligraphic pen skilfully. 5.It is raining heavily.

PREPOSITION
Preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun and some other word in a sentence. There is a bug in the software. I am fond of coffee. The lion jumped off the cage. Prepositions may be arranged in the following classes: Simple Prepositions At, by, for, from, in, of, off, on, out, through, till, to, up, with.
A

Compound Prepositions About, above, across, along, amidst, among, amongst, around, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, inside, outside, underneath, within, without Phrase Prepositions

According to , in accordance with, in place of, agreeably to , in addition to, in reference to, along with, on behalf of, in regard to, away from, in case of, in spite of, because of, in comparison to, instead of, by dint of, in compliance with, in the event of, etc.

 In

case of need, please call me. The regulations have been established in accordance with law. We are providing free show tickets in addition to boarding. The demonstrators persisted in spite of the assurance by the police. The team won by dint of perseverance and sheer hard work.

CONJUNCTION
Conjunctions

are simple words that are used to connect or join words, phrases or simple sentences. He is rich but he is humble. The little girl was injured but she did not cry. Andrew opened the door and walked in. He will not succeed unless he works hard. And, unless, till, if, before, since, after, than, until, else, for, or, either, when, lest, because, whetheror, though, although, but, while, where, neithernor, etc. are conjunctions.

 Some

conjunctions are used in pairs they are known as Correlative Conjunctions Either or: Either take it or leave it. neither nor: Neither this place nor that one. both and: the country both loves and respects Gandhi. whether or: He should decide whether he wants to go or stay here. not only but also: Not only did the ball break his goggles but also injured eye

Other Conjunctions

Some

of the other conjunctions, frequently used to join sentences are: after, because, if, that, though, although, till, before, as, unless, when, where, while, until, since, than.

INTERJECTION
An

Interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feeling or emotion. Joy: Hurrah! Hurray! Grief: Alas! Surprise: What! Approval: Bravo!

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

When

the subject is being acted upon (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice. When the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in sentence, the sentence is said to be in the active voice.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Greg loves Linda. The dog is chasing the cat Linda is loved by Greg

Who did this?

The cat is being chased by the dog By whom was this done?

TENSES
The

tense of a verb shows the time of an action or event. There are three main tenses. The Present, The Past and the Future Tense. A verb that refers to present time is said to be in the Present Tense. I write this letter.

PAST TENSE

verb that refers to past time is said to be in th Past Tense. I wrote the letter. A verb that refers to future time is said to be in the Future Tense. I will write the letter.

 The

Present Tense has four forms, the Past Tense has four forms and the Future Tense has four forms. Four forms of The Present Tense: Simple Present I write. The verb write shows that the action is mentioned simply, without anything being said about the completeness or incompleteness of the action.

 Present

Continuous I am writing. Shows that the action is mentioned as incomplete or continuous, that is, as still going on. Present Perfect I have written. Shows that the action is mentioned as finished, complete, or perfect, at the time of speaking. Present Perfect Continuous I have been writing. Shows that the action is going on continually and not completed.

 Four

forms of Past Tense:

Simple Past I wrote. Past Continuous I was writing. Past Perfect I had written. Past Perfect Continuous I had been writing

 Four

forms of Future Tense: Simple Future I shall/will write. Future Continuous I shall/will be writing. Future Perfect I shall/will have written. Future Perfect Continuous I shall have been writing.

GERUND
Writing

is his favorite pastime. The word writing is formed from the verb write, by adding ing. Here it is used as the subject of a verb, and hence does the work of a noun. It is therefore, a Verb-Noun, and is known as a Gerund Writing on the wall is strictly prohibited

SENTENCES SIMPLE, COMPOUND AND COMPLEX

Simple

Sentence A simple sentence has one subject and one predicate.

His courage won him honor. Monkeys love bananas. Hard work pays.

Compound Sentence
Usually

there are two parts.

The moon was bright and we could see our way. The moon was bright. We could see our way.

Two

sentences are joined by conjunction and. Each sentence contains a Subject and Predicate of its own. Each sentence or part is called a clause. Each clause can stand by itself independently as a complete sentence.

 Such

clause is known as Principal or Main Clause. A sentence which is made up of two or more Principal or Main Clause is known as Compound Sentence. They rested when evening came. Main Clause They rested The sentence makes good sense. Subordinate or Dependent Clause when evening came. This sentence cannot make good sense and is dependent on the main clause.

Eg.2 As the boxers advanced into the ring, the people said they would not allow them to fight.
Main

Clause The people said Subordinate Adverb Clause As the boxers advanced into the ring Subordinate Noun Clause They would not allow them to fight

ARTICLES
The

adjectives a or an and the are usually called Articles. A or an is called the Indefinite Article, it usually leaves indefinite the person or thing spoken of. A worker Any worker A or an is used before singular countable nouns A pen, an apple, a kid An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound

 An

orange, an apple, an insect, an hour, an honest, an heir A is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound A boy, a reindeer, a woman, a yard, a horse, a hole, a university, a union A European, a ewe, a unicorn, a useful article

 The

is called the Definite Article because it normally points out to some person or thing. We met the minister which means we met some particular minister. The is used before singular countable noun, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns The table, The shops, The stars

PUNCTUATION
Punctuation

means the right use of putting in Points or Stops in writing. The following are the principal stops:

Full Stop or Period [.] Comma [,] Semicolon [;] Colon [:] Question Mark [?] Exclamation Mark [!]

Other marks in common use are

Dash [-] Parentheses [()] Inverted Commas or Quotation Marks [ ] Full Stop.

The Full Stop represents the greatest pause and separation. It is used to mark the end of a declarative or an imperative sentence. The exhibition was closed.

The Comma,
The

Comma represents the shortest pause, and is used to separate a series of words in the same construction.

Jasmine, Lily are flowers. M/s. Murray, David and Lamb shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. A comma is generally not placed before the word preceded by and. 1.You are expected to be humble, cheerful and polite. 2.Milton, the great English poet, was blind.

Rose,

The Semicolon; The Semicolon represents a pause of greater importance than that shown by the comma.
It

is used to separate clauses of Compound Sentences, when they contain a comma. was a brave, large-hearted man; and we all honoured him.

He

To

separate a series of loosely related clauses Her mind was clear as a crystal; her life serene.

 The

Colon marks a still more complete pause than that expressed by the Semicolon. A dash is added after the colon, sometimes. A colon is used to introduce a quotation:

Bacon

says :- Reading makes a full man, writing an exact man, speaking a ready man.

The Question Mark?

The Question Mark is used instead of the Full Stop, after a direct question.

Did she complete the task? I am forgetting something? May I come in? Where are you?

The Exclamation Mark!

The

Exclamation Mark is used after Interjections and after Phrases and Sentences expressing sudden emotion or wish.

Dear! I have lost the key. What! The Aussies have won? No! Dont try that trick again!

Inverted Commas
Inverted

Commas are used to enclose the exact words of a speaker, or a quotation. I shall not speak, the soldier said. Its not funny, quipped Sarah. Boys and girls form a line, ordered the teacher.

The Dash
Dash is used to indicate an abrupt stop or change of thought. If I had studied well for the exams but why talk about it now? To resume a scattered subject
Friends, The

relatives, companions all deserted him.

The Hyphen a shorter line than the dash is used to connect the parts of a compound word. Jack-of-all-trades, Man-of-the-match Parentheses ( ) or Double Dashes Use parentheses to enclose words or figures that clarify. I will pay a sum of Rupees Two thousand (Rs 2000). The lawyer needs the following documents. (a) Parent deed (b) Copy of the receipt (c) Power of Attorney. The verification process is complete (Annexure I).
Hyphen,

The Apostrophe
The

Apostrophe is used to show the omission of a letter or letters Dont, Ive, Theyve, Wed. Do you have 10s?

SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
Writers

are sometimes not sure whether to treat a collective noun as singular or plural. In fact, a collective noun can be singular or plural depending on the sense of the sentence. That batch is the worst in the college. (batch treated as singular) The group are not communicating amongst themselves. (group treated as plural)

 When

the group is considered as one unit, it is singular. When the individuals of the group are considered, it is plural.

FORMING THE PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS To form the plural of a compound noun, pluralize the principal word in the compound. When there is no obvious principal word, add s [or es] to the end of the compound.

 Fathers-in-law

(pluralize the principal word Father) Paper-clips (pluralize the principal word clip) Forget-me-nots , Haves-and-the-have-nots, in-laws (no principal word, so add s to the end) Words like spoonful, plateful and cupful are exceptions to this rule. They form their plurals by adding an s to the end, even though the principal words are spoon, plate and cup.