This lecture provides an overview of the various parts of speech -- or the categories of words. It is important to know what these categories are because as we go through this course in grammar, we will frequently be using this terminology.

The sentence is the fundamental unit of composition (writing). In this section, we will learn just what it is and what its parts are.

In the supplemental video, you'll see that some people need a little help in their writing!

This short video clip illustrates how everyday speech (colloquial speech) is often comprised of sentence fragments.

We take a look at one of the most egregious (worst) mistakes in formal writing -- the sentence fragment.

For our supplementary material, we contemplate bad grammar (including spelling) in tatoos ... which might be the very worst kind of grammar mistake because if you make a mistake in a letter or paper for school, at least at one point or another that mistake will "go away" or be forgotten, but if you make a mistake in writing your tattoo, that goof labels you as an idiot for the rest of your life!

Be careful. Bad grammar hurts!

In this lecture, we learn about the different tenses in the English verb -- as it very important when writing to maintain a correct and accurate reference to time.

The subjunctive mood, or the conterfactual, allows us to clearly communicate our ideas about states of being or actions that are not "real," that is, that are imaginary -- hence, the title of this short lecture: "the what-if form."