Difficulty: Beginner | Prerequisites: Introduction to English Composition notes
Before you can write effective paragraphs and essays, you need to build correct, clear sentences. This section covers the grammar toolkit: parts of speech, verb tense, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, clauses, and common sentence-level errors (fragments, run-ons, modifier problems). Everything in this section applies every time you write, regardless of the assignment type.
Every sentence needs a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. The four essential parts of speech are verbs, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. Verbs must agree with their subjects in number and person, and pronouns must agree with their antecedents. Independent clauses can stand alone; dependent clauses cannot. Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and misplaced or dangling modifiers are the most common sentence-level errors, and each has straightforward fixes.
Grammar
The set of rules that governs a language.
Verb
A word that defines an action or indicates a state of being. In simple terms, verbs tell you what is happening in a sentence.
Action verb
A verb that conveys a physical action, typically involving movement (e.g., "run," "kick," "write").
Linking verb
A verb that connects the subject to information about the subject without conveying action (e.g., "is," "seems," "tastes").
Noun
A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
Pronoun
A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence (e.g., "he," "she," "they," "everyone").
Personal pronoun
A pronoun that identifies gender, person, number, and case (e.g., "I," "he," "she," "they").
Possessive pronoun
A personal pronoun that indicates ownership (e.g., "his," "hers," "mine"). Possessive pronouns never use an apostrophe.
Antecedent
The word that a pronoun refers to and stands in for. Think of it as the pronoun's "parent" noun.
Adjective
A word that modifies a noun, adding more detail (e.g., "brown" in "brown dog").
Subject
Who or what a sentence is about.
Object
The item acted upon by the subject in a sentence.
Present tense
A verb tense indicating something is happening now.
Past tense
A verb tense indicating something happened in the past and is no longer happening.
Future tense
A verb tense indicating something will happen in the future.
Past participle
A verb form composed of the past tense plus "have," "has," or "had" (e.g., "I have danced").
Past perfect tense
Describes something that took place in the more distant past, formed by pairing "had" with a verb (e.g., "I had printed the paper before the printer broke").
Irregular verb
A verb that does not follow the standard "-ed" pattern for past tense (e.g., swim/swam, fall/fell, is/was).
Phrase
A small series of words that conveys some meaning but lacks a subject-verb pair.
Clause
A group of words that includes a subject and a verb.
Independent clause
A clause that can stand alone as a sentence.
Dependent clause
A clause that cannot stand on its own as a sentence because it lacks a complete thought.
Conjunction
A word or phrase that connects parts of a sentence.
Coordinating conjunction
Connects two independent clauses to form a compound sentence. Remember FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.
Subordinating conjunction
Connects an independent clause and a dependent clause to form a complex sentence (e.g., "because," "although," "when," "while").
Compound sentence
A sentence containing two or more independent clauses.
Complex sentence
A sentence containing both an independent clause and a dependent clause.
Sentence fragment
A phrase or clause that does not meet all the criteria of a complete sentence.
Run-on sentence
A sentence containing multiple independent clauses that are not connected correctly.
Comma splice
A grammatically incorrect sentence in which a comma alone separates two or more independent clauses (no conjunction).
Modifier
A word, phrase, or clause that provides more information about something in a sentence.
Misplaced modifier
A modifier that is separated from the thing it modifies, causing it to appear to modify the wrong element.
Dangling modifier
A modifier that attempts to modify something not clearly identified in the sentence (e.g., "Thirsty, the milk was gone in minutes").
The four essential parts of speech for sentence construction:
Verbs: define an action or indicate a state of being. Always find the verb first. Watch for "be" verbs (am, is, are, was, were, will be) which are easy to miss.
Nouns: name a person, place, thing, or idea. Find the noun by asking who or what is performing the action.
Pronouns: take the place of a noun. Personal pronouns (he, she, they, we) and indefinite pronouns (everyone, someone, nobody) both follow agreement rules.
Adjectives: modify nouns, adding detail. Usually come right before the noun they modify.
To break down a sentence: find the verb (action), then the noun (who does it), then any pronouns (replacements for nouns), then adjectives (descriptors).
Present: "She walks" (happening now, or habitual)
Past: "She walked" (happened and finished)
Future: "She will walk" (has not happened yet)
Simple past: the default past tense, usually ending in "-d" or "-ed" (walked, danced)
Past participle: past tense + "have/has/had" (I have danced). Can speak about the past, modify a noun like an adjective (bruised knees), or form the past perfect.
Past perfect: "had" + verb. Separates a more distant past event from a more recent one ("I had printed the paper before the printer broke"). Use it when you need to clarify the order of two past events; otherwise stick with simple past.
Some verbs do not follow the "-ed" pattern: swim/swam, fall/fell, is/was, sing/sang, are/were, drink/drank. When in doubt, check a dictionary.
All verbs within a sentence should use the same tense to mark the time frame clearly. "I ride my bike and stopped for a drink" mixes present and past, confusing the reader. Pick one tense and hold it.
Every correct sentence has at least a subject and a verb. The subject is who or what the sentence is about; the verb describes what the subject does or is.
Common sentence patterns:
Subject + verb ("The dog sat.")
Subject + verb + complement ("The dog is small.")
Subject + verb + object ("The dog ate the bone.")
The subject usually comes before the verb, but not always: "On the boy's plate were the pancakes" puts the verb first.
Subjects and verbs must agree in number (singular/plural) and person. A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb.
"The elephant jumps" (singular subject, singular verb)
"The elephants jump" (plural subject, plural verb)
Regular verbs end in "-s" when singular ("He jumps") and drop the "-s" when plural ("They jump").
Irregular verbs: "The mouse is happy" becomes "The mice are happy." Each irregular verb has its own agreement pattern.
Compound subjects: Two nouns joined by "and" create a plural subject ("Marie and John are running"). Two nouns joined by "or" are treated as singular ("Either Marie or John is running").
Collective nouns: Words like "family," "team," and "group" are singular even though they refer to multiple people. "The family enters the restaurant" is correct. "One of the teams is cheating" is correct because the subject is "one," not "teams."
Indefinite pronouns: "Everyone," "someone," "nobody," "anybody," and "something" are singular. "Everyone loves popsicles" is correct. "Many," "few," "several," and "both" are plural.
Separated subjects and verbs: Even when words or phrases sit between subject and verb, they must still agree. "The boy, along with his parents, plays in the yard" is correct because "boy" is the singular subject.
Pronouns must match what they replace. The key categories of personal pronouns:
Possessive pronouns (my, mine, his, hers, its, their, ours): indicate ownership. They never take an apostrophe. "The rabbit is hers" is correct; "her's" is always wrong.
Subject pronouns (I, he, she, they, we, who): used when the pronoun is the subject. For compound subjects, test by removing the other noun: "The dog and I are going" works because "I am going" works, not "Me am going."
Object pronouns (me, him, her, them, us, whom): used when the pronoun receives the action or completes a preposition. "They gave the ball to him" is correct, not "to he."
Subject/object pronouns (you, it): can function as either subject or object depending on the sentence.
A pronoun's antecedent is the noun it replaces. Pronouns must agree with their antecedent in number and gender.
"We went into the classroom and took our seats" (plural pronoun matches plural antecedent).
"My dad ate his cookies" (singular male pronoun matches singular male antecedent).
Indefinite pronouns still follow agreement rules. "Everyone" is singular, so it pairs with singular verbs: "Everything on this list is necessary" (not "are necessary").
When a plural antecedent like "robots" is referenced later, use "they," not "it." Mismatched pronoun-antecedent pairs are a common editing catch.
A phrase is a small chunk of words that conveys some meaning but has no subject-verb pair (e.g., "In the morning"). A clause has both a subject and a verb.
Independent clause: has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. Can stand alone as a sentence. "The dog sat in the doghouse."
Dependent clause: has a subject and a verb but lacks a complete thought. Cannot stand alone. "While he was tired" leaves you waiting for the rest.
Use a coordinating conjunction to join two independent clauses into a compound sentence. Remember FANBOYS:
For (because, cause-and-effect)
And (adds related information)
Nor (negation)
But (contradiction)
Or (options)
Yet (similar to "but")
So (result, cause-and-effect)
Always place a comma before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence: "I like dogs, but I do not like cats."
When a coordinating conjunction connects two words rather than two clauses, no comma is needed: "I could pet a dog or cat."
A subordinating conjunction (because, although, when, while, until, since, after, if) connects a dependent clause to an independent clause, forming a complex sentence.
Dependent clause first: comma required. "Since I brought my presents, I am ready for the holidays."
Independent clause first: no comma. "I will buy presents because the holidays are soon."
A sentence fragment is a phrase or clause missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.
To identify fragments, ask three questions:
Does this have a subject?
Does this have a verb?
Does this express a complete thought?
If the answer to any question is no, you have a fragment. A useful trick: add "It is true that" to the beginning. If the sentence stops making sense, it is a fragment.
Fixes:
Missing subject or verb: add one. "Wanted to cross the bridge" becomes "She wanted to cross the bridge."
Dependent clause punctuated as a sentence: attach it to an independent clause. "Because she was hungry" becomes "She served herself soup because she was hungry." Alternatively, remove the subordinating conjunction: "She was hungry" is now a complete sentence.
A run-on sentence has multiple independent clauses that are not connected correctly. The two main culprits:
Comma splice: a comma alone separates two independent clauses with no conjunction. "Today is my birthday, all my friends are coming for dinner."
Missing punctuation or conjunction: two clauses are fused together. "All of my friends are coming to dinner and we are having cake" (missing comma before "and").
Four ways to fix a run-on:
Break it apart into separate sentences. "The dog slept on the bed. He was tired."
Add a coordinating conjunction and comma. "The dog slept on the bed, for he was tired."
Use a semicolon. "The dog slept on the bed; he was tired."
Add a subordinating conjunction. "The dog slept on the bed because he was tired."
Prevention tip: if you cannot remember how a sentence began, you are probably creating a run-on. Keep sentences to two clauses or fewer.
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that adds information about something in the sentence. Modifiers should sit as close as possible to the thing they modify.
A misplaced modifier is too far from its target, causing confusion or unintended meaning.
Wrong: "The coat that I tried on was too big in the store." (Was the coat only too big inside the store?)
Right: "The coat that I tried on in the store was too big."
Even a single word can shift meaning when misplaced: "I just sold my muffins" (moments ago) vs. "I sold just my muffins" (only the muffins, nothing else).
A dangling modifier has no clear target in the sentence at all.
Wrong: "Thirsty, the milk was gone in minutes." (The milk is not thirsty.)
Right: "Thirsty, the children drank up all the milk in minutes."
Always give a modifier its match. If the sentence reads like science fiction, the modifier is dangling.
Students often think "everyone" is plural because it refers to many people. It is singular ("every one"). The verb must be singular: "Everyone loves popsicles."
Students confuse comma splices with correct compound sentences. A comma splice uses only a comma between two independent clauses; a correct compound sentence adds a coordinating conjunction after the comma.
Students sometimes believe that longer sentences are better writing. They are not. A run-on is not a long sentence; it is multiple clauses joined incorrectly. Short, clear sentences are perfectly acceptable.
Students often place modifiers far from their targets without noticing. When editing, read each modifier and check: what am I modifying, and is it the nearest noun?
⚠️ Be able to identify the subject and verb in any sentence, including sentences where they are separated or inverted.
⚠️ Know the difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause, and how each is joined (coordinating vs. subordinating conjunctions).
⚠️ Expect questions asking you to fix a sentence fragment, a run-on, or a comma splice.
⚠️ Be ready to correct subject-verb agreement errors involving collective nouns, compound subjects, and indefinite pronouns.
⚠️ Recognise and fix misplaced and dangling modifiers in sample sentences.
⚠️ Know that possessive pronouns (his, hers, its, theirs) never take an apostrophe.
True or false: "Everyone are welcome" is correct.
In a compound sentence, the comma goes ________ the coordinating conjunction.
True or false: "Because the river was frozen." is a complete sentence.
"Thirsty, the milk was gone in minutes" contains a ________ modifier.
True or false: possessive pronouns use apostrophes.
Answers: 1. False ("Everyone is welcome"). 2. Before. 3. False (it is a dependent clause, a fragment). 4. Dangling. 5. False (they never do).
Q: Identify the sentence fragment and fix it: "She ate breakfast quickly. Because she was late for class."
A: "Because she was late for class" is a fragment (dependent clause). Fix: "She ate breakfast quickly because she was late for class."
Q: Fix the run-on: "I was done with breakfast I went to work."
A: Add a coordinating conjunction and comma: "I was done with breakfast, so I went to work." Alternatively, split into two sentences or use a semicolon.
Q: Correct the agreement error: "The family enter the restaurant."
A: "Family" is a collective noun (singular). Correct: "The family enters the restaurant."
Q: Which sentence uses the correct pronoun: "The dog and me are going for a walk" or "The dog and I are going for a walk"?
A: "The dog and I are going for a walk." Test by removing "the dog and": "I am going for a walk" is correct; "Me am going for a walk" is not.
Q: Fix the misplaced modifier: "I'll serve coffee to my guests in big red mugs."
A: Move the modifier next to what it modifies: "I'll serve coffee in big red mugs to my guests."
Q: Name the seven coordinating conjunctions.
A: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (FANBOYS).
Subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement feed directly into the editing and proofreading stages of the writing process (covered in the Introduction notes). Clauses and conjunctions reappear when you study comma use in the Punctuating Sentences notes. Modifier placement becomes critical in narrative and descriptive writing, where vivid, precise detail depends on clear sentence construction.
Parts of speech, verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, verb tense, present tense, past tense, future tense, past participle, past perfect, irregular verbs, subject-verb agreement, compound subject, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, pronoun choice, possessive pronoun, personal pronoun, antecedent, pronoun-antecedent agreement, phrase, clause, independent clause, dependent clause, conjunction, coordinating conjunction, subordinating conjunction, FANBOYS, compound sentence, complex sentence, sentence fragment, run-on sentence, comma splice, modifier, misplaced modifier, dangling modifier, Sophia Pathways ENGL 1