Introduction to Writing

To start writing, you need to understand a few ideas and rules. There are quite a few concepts and rules, but we can go slow.

First, let's start with the following:

NOUN

What is a noun? A NOUN is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. Here are some examples:

Person - Sherlock Holmes




Place - Bangkok, Thailand



Thing - Chair




Idea - Theory of Relativity




A simple sentence in English has a Subject + a verb + an object - Thailand has many temples -- Thailand is the subject of the sentence and temples is the object of the sentence.

• The subject and objects are usually nouns, but not always.

ADJECTIVES

After learning what a noun is, let's move on and find words that could say something about these nouns. What can say something about a noun? An adjective. 

By definition, ADJECTIVES describe a noun. In a sentence, the adjective comes before the noun.

For example:

• That's a fast car (That's a car fast). 
• He's a slow football player.

It is not uncommon to use nouns as adjectives. This is called a noun-noun phrase.

• I'm sitting on a black chair.
• I am the head teacher.

On another note, one can use more than one adjective when describing something. Although native English speakers don't know it as a rule, they just know the following order of adjectives: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, and purpose + Noun. What do I mean? Let's use an example:   An awesome, big, old, round, purple, Canadian, rubber, guardian dragon. If you take any of these out of order, the native English speaker will come to the conclusion that "something doesn't sound right".

Furthermore, as you continue to improve your English, know that you do not have to use all the forms of adjectives when describing something. You would have to keep the order the same with less adjectives. For example:

• An awesome guardian dragon (A guardian awesome dragon)
• A big old dragon (An old big dragon)
• A Canadian rubber dragon (A rubber Canadian dragon)
• A round purple dragon (A purple round dragon)

VERBS

Now, the next point to learn is what is a verb. A verb shows an action or condition. Verbs can basically be broken down into two groups: Action verbs and linking verbs.

ACTION VERBS

Action verbs - Verbs that show action such as: walk, run, fly, eat, sleep (Yes, even sleep). These are not all the action verbs. There are many. Here are some examples used in sentences:

• I eat pizza.
• He flies helicopters.
• You sleep a lot.

LINKING VERBS

Linking verbs - Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they are used to describe a condition about the subject of a sentence. The usual linking verb used is the "To be" form [am/is/are].

• I am hungry.
• He/She/It is hungry.
• You/We/They are hungry.

There are other examples of linking verbs. The examples include:

• Looks - It looks like he's hurt.
• Seems - He seems happy.
• Tastes - The crackers taste old.
• Sounds - He sounds sad.

ADVERBS

Adverbs - Describe a verb. The usual way to make an adverb is to take an adjective and add -ly.

For example:

• Quick - Quickly
• Slow - Slowly
• Careful - Carefully
• Strong - Strongly

Adverbs may come before or after the verb

For example:

• He quickly drove to the hospital.
• He drove to the hospital quickly.

Understand that there are a few spelling rules regarding adverbs:

1. Most adjectives will only need an -ly ending to make it an adverb - Quick-Quickly
2. Adjectives that end with y, change the y to -ily - Happy - Happily
3. Adjectives ending in -ble, change the e to y so it looks like -bly - Terrible-Terribly

These examples of adverbs are in regular form. There are also irregular forms of adjectives/adverbs. For example:

• Early - Early
• Fast - Fast
• Good - Well
• Hard - Hard (Hardly Hardly is used when describing a little or small amount [e.g. He hardly smokes])
• Late - Late (Lately Lately talks about a recent pattern [e.g. Lately I've been exercising in the morning])

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are used instead of using the proper name [A brief reminder that a simple sentence usually contains a subject + a verb + an object]. This is necessary when you see the following pronouns:

• Subject pronouns - I, you, he, she, it we, and they
• I like pizza.
• You don't like pizza.
• He likes pizza.
• We like pizza.
• Object pronoun - me, you, him, her, it, us, and them
• Carol likes him.
• The dog bit her.
• My boss finally paid me.

PREPOSITIONS

Prepositions - They describe the relationship between two nouns. You may see prepositions used for location and time. Examples include:

• Under - The dog is under the bridge.
• Up - My room is upstairs.
• Down - The park is down the street.
• Underneath - My feet are underneath the table.
• In - The cat is in the box. I will be at the bank in 30 minutes.
• Into - He walked into the building.
• Through - The soldiers walked through the jungle.
• At - I am at the bank. Meet me at 3 O'clock!
• On - The book is on the table. I swim on Mondays.
• Out - Tom walked out of the building.

These are not the only prepositions. There are many more.

CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunction - A word that connects two sentences or ideas (Please visit the World-Juris English posting regarding Conjunctions). Simply put there are 7 conjunctions. They are:

• For - meaning because
• And - used to connect ideas
• Nor - used with neither, and it is used to reject the choices presented
• But - used to show a difference in ideas
• Or - used to show choices
• Yet - used to show results, but the results are surprising
• So - used to show expected results

TYPES OF SENTENCES

Types of sentences - There are four types of sentences:

• Declaratory sentences - Makes a simple statement or states an opinion. The punctuation used with this sentence is a period/full-stop [.] - "I like pizza." 
• Exclamatory sentences - A sentence that expresses emotions like anger, happiness, or surprise. The punctuation with this sentence is the exclamation point [!] - "I have good news!"
• Imperative sentences - A sentence that expresses a command or request.
• Request - A polite way to "order" someone to do something. The punctuation normally used in this type of sentence is a period/full-stop [.] EXAMPLE (The boss tells you) "I need for you to take these files over to the warehouse."
• Command/Order - A command/order usually doesn't have a subject. The subject is understood to be "You". The punctuation used is the exclamation point [!] - "Take the files to the warehouse!" 
• Interrogative sentences - A sentence that asks a question. It usually starts with did, does, who, what, when, where, why, how, etc... . The punctuation used for an interrogative sentence is the question mark [?] - "Where are you going?"

SENTENCE STRUCTURE FOR DECLARATORY SENTENCES

There are four types of declaratory sentences. They are:

• Simple sentences
• Compound sentences
• Complex sentences
• Complex-Compound sentences

We will cover the first two types of sentences here. There will be another posting addressing complex sentences and complex-compound sentences.

SIMPLE SENTENCES

(S+V)

A simple sentence consists of at least a subject + a verb. 

(He sleeps) 

However, the simple sentence usually has a subject + a verb + an object. 

(He sleeps at night)

(S+S+V)

A variation of the simple sentence has two subjects and a verb.

(Sam and Carol swim at the pool)

(S+V+V)

Another variation of the simple sentence has a subject and two verbs.

(Sam ate dinner and watched a movie)

(S+S+V+V)

The biggest variation of the simple sentence has two subjects and two verbs 

(Sam and Carol ate dinner and watched a movie).

COMPOUND SENTENCE

(S+V+S+V)

A compound sentence combines two simple sentences by using a conjunction. The compound sentence has a subject + a verb + conjunction + a subject + a verb.

Compare the following:

• I wore a blue shirt. I didn't wear a green shirt. [Two simple sentences]
• I wore a blue shirt, but I didn't wear a green shirt. [A combination of two simple sentences] 

• I went to the park. I went to the cinema. [Two simple sentences]
• I went to the park, and I went to the cinema. [A combination of two simple sentences]