We technical writers don’t usually stop to think about grammar rules in the same way that a driver never thinks about how the carburetor or alternator works. But sometimes I get letters from my readers with various grammar questions. So let’s go over some of the basic rules of English grammar to freshen up.
subject verb object
A complete sentence in English cannot be simpler than this. I love you. I am the Subject. Love is the verb. You are the Object. The best sentences in technical writing adhere to this basic format, although it is not always possible to write them in such a simple and direct way.
IN PRONOUN is a “placeholder” for a noun. When you refer to yourself as “I” instead of using your full first and last name, you are using a pronoun.
A PREPOSITION it is the connective tissue between two words or clauses. There are dozens of prepositions in the English language such as “at”, “under”, “before”, “after”, “with”, “without”, “at”, “at”, “for”, “until”, etc. .
The VERBS “to be” and “to have” must agree with the case of the SUBJECT
Subjects are singular or plural. If we are using personal pronouns, they are also divided into first, second and third person cases, each with their singular and plural variations. The verb in a sentence must agree with the case of the subject.
The store is closed. [But] Stores ARE closed.
I’m fine. [But] We are fine.
The building HAS a window. [But] Buildings DO have windows.
an adjective describes/qualifies a NOUN.
The bus made at the SUDDEN stop [Noun].
made an urgent appeal [Noun] for more funds.
an adverb describes/qualifies a VERB.
the bus stopped [Verb] SUDDENLY.
She appealed URGENTLY [Verb] for more funds.
INFINITIVE form of a verb is the one that begins with “to”, without any inflection. “Write” is the infinitive form. “Wrote” is its past simple inflection.
DIVIDED INFINITIVE it is what strict grammarians warn against all the time. Occurs when an adverb is used after the “to” of an infinitive.
“To QUICKLY summarize the problem…” [Correct: “To summarize the issue quickly, …”]
“We agree not to SUMMARY dismiss your argument…” [Correct: “We agreed not to dismiss his argument summarily…”]
GERUND form of a verb is the one that ends in “-ing” and usually acts as a noun. “Shopping”, although used as a noun, is actually the gerund form of the verb “to shop”.
TAKE PART is the present or past participle form of a verb that is used as an ADJECTIVE.
“Your bank account DEPLETED…”
“Our ambition HIGH…”
“The COOKING instruction…”
PARTICIPATE HANGING It happens when we can’t tell the correct subject of a verb due to the wrong placement of the “participle” in a sentence.
“Reduced to rubble, the firefighter sifted the ashes from the house.” What is “reduced to rubble” is, of course, the house, not the firefighter. A better phrase would be: “The firefighter sifted the ashes from the burned house down to the rubble.”
