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Get a Grasp On Grammar - Level One

Improve your writing and communication skills while having fun with these easy exercises.

Created byKaren Crowell

Last updated 4/2016

English

What you'll learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to identify the basic parts of speech including nouns, pronouns, verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, determiners, and interjections and know their proper functions.
You will be able to demonstrate, through exercises and exams, the proper placement of the above listed basic parts of speech.
You will have a polished and improved style and quality of writing, whether it is a student/business report, letter, short story, or novel.

Course content

10 sections • 12 lectures • 55m total length

Welcome to Get a Grasp on Grammar Level 13:57
Welcome to Get a Grasp on Grammar Level 1. As you work through this course, you will improve your understanding of sentence structure, the different parts of speech, and how to write in clear, concise sentences. Being able to communicate well through the written word can also help you in every area of your life.
Pre-assessment Quiz
What To Expect1:02
This course is the first in a three-part series. Each lesson has a set of exercises and a quiz. Periodically, I will add extra resources. Be sure to let me know if there is something specifically you would like to see or learn.

Complete and Simple Subjects and Predicates6:47
In this lesson, you will learn the difference between a subject and predicate and what is included in the complete and simple forms.

Please be sure to read the note below for further instruction on clauses.

Clauses will be discussed more in-depth in Level 2. An independent clause can be a sentence on its own, or it can be combined with a dependent clause. An independent clause has a subject and a verb and forms a complete thought. A dependent clause also has a subject and verb, but it does not form a complete thought and cannot stand on its own. If you write a dependent clause as a sentence, it is wrong and called a sentence fragment. Here is another example of a dependent clause - because Jane said. Jane is the subject and said is the verb, but it does not form a complete thought. It does not tell you what the word because is referring to and does not tell what Jane said. It needs to have more added to make it a complete sentence. For instance,

I did not go to the museum because Jane said it was too late.

or

Because Jane said it was too late, I did not go to the museum.

Now we know what Jane said (it was too late) and what the word because is referencing (I did not go to the museum).

Notice if the independent clause is in the beginning of the sentence, then there is no comma separating the independent clause from the dependent clause. However, if the dependent clause comes before the independent clause, then there will be a comma separating the two clauses.

You could also make the above sentence correct by writing it as two sentences. I did not go to the museum. Jane said it was too late.

All independent clauses can be a sentence or they can be joined with a dependent clause. All sentences must have at least one independent clause. However, if the sentence includes more than just the independent clause, then it takes on a different name such as a complex or compound sentence. As you will also learn in the lesson covering conjunctions, you can also join two independent clauses together using a conjunction such as "and."

Here is an example of two independent clauses as sentences.

I am going to the office. John is going home.

Now I will use a conjunction and join the two into one sentence.

I am going to the office, and John is going home.

Here is a tricky part that may be confusing you. Sometimes the subject of the sentence will not be stated but inferred. For example, Go to the store. Here the subject "you" is implied, so although it may not look like a complete sentence or independent clause, it is. If it were written out, it would look like this - You go to the store. As I have said in the lectures, everything in life has exceptions and this is an exception to the standard grammar rules. Another exception pertains to interjections. An interjection is considered a complete sentence even though the whole sentence may only be a word such as Whoa! or Stop! You will learn more about interjections in the last lesson.
Subjects and Predicates

The Function and Properties of Nouns7:26

In this lesson, you will learn what a noun is and its function. You will also study each of the properties of nouns.
Mark all the nouns in the Xandria Drake handout.
Nouns
The Function of Pronouns9:12

In this lesson, you will learn what a pronoun is and when to use them. This will be your second memorization group.
Mark all pronouns in Xandria Drake handout.
Pronouns

The Function of Verbs, Linking Verbs, and Helping Verbs4:56
In this lesson, you will learn the function of verbs. You will also learn what linking and helping verbs are and when to use them. This will be your third memorization group. We will do a more in-depth study on verbs in Level Two.

Mark all verbs, verb helpers, and verb links in Xandria Drake handout.
Verbs, Linking and Helping Verbs

Requirements

Students should speak some English and know definitions of basic English words.
Students should have a way to print out exercise sheets.
Grammar is about writing, so students should be prepared to write and complete exercises.
Writing can be done in a word processor, notebook, and on the printouts.

Description

The Get a Grasp on Grammar series will sharpen your ability to communicate well through the written word. This one skill can make the difference that opens the doors to your success. Whether you are a student trying to achieve great grades, a business person working towards advancement, an author preparing a manuscript, a homemaker running a home, or you are learning English as a second language, it is imperative to get your message across in a clear, concise, and enjoyable manner.

One of the most common reasons for mistakes and disagreements stems from misunderstanding or misinterpreting something that was read. Therefore, learning how to put your thoughts down on paper in a way that takes away the guesswork for the reader will not only help you achieve your goals, it will also make your environment and relationships more harmonious.

Get a Grasp on Grammar - Level One will provide you with the foundational understanding of basic grammar elements and exercises to practice the principles in your own writing. To help you, each lesson includes an in-depth study of one of the basic parts of speech and its proper function and placement in a sentence. In this level, we will be learning about the following elements:

·complete/simple subjects and predicates

·determiners

·nouns

·pronouns

·verbs, linking and helping verbs

·adjectives

·adverbs

·conjunctions

·interjections

Each lesson has a short video presentation of the concept. Then the real fun begins with the various writing exercises. There is a comment section in the course for you to leave questions and have discussions throughout the course. I will also be adding more exercises periodically to give you great practice and reinforce what you learn.

My goal is to help you become a better writer, so if you have a question that was not covered in a lecture and would be best answered visually, I will even add additional lectures to enhance your learning.

This course will lay the groundwork for more advanced elements of English grammar that will be addressed in levels two and three. As you progress, you will also learn key self-editing techniques to apply to your work. This will help enhance your business performance, improve grades, save time, and even save you money should you ever need to hire an editor.

Who this course is for:

This course will benefit authors, college and high school students, and business personnel looking to improve their writing skills.
This course is a great remedial resource and works well for tutoring and ESL students.
This course is not intended to teach students how to speak English. However, if you speak some English, it will help you properly structure what you say.

Get a Grasp On Grammar - Level One

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction2 lectures • 5min

Subjects and Predicates1 lecture • 7min

Determiners1 lecture • 3min

Nouns and Pronouns2 lectures • 17min

Verbs1 lecture • 5min

Adjectives1 lecture • 8min

Adverbs1 lecture • 4min

Conjunctions1 lecture • 3min

Interjections1 lecture • 4min

Final Exam and The Next Step1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: