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THE PURPO S E OF GRAMMAR

Parts of speech
Words are grouped together according to the functions they the structure of a sentence, but it’s the other parts of
perform in a sentence. There are ten parts of speech in speech, including adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions,
English. Nouns (or pronouns) and verbs are essential to and prepositions, that make a sentence interesting.

noun verb

This sentence contains all
the essential parts of speech,
but it’s not very informative.

determiner noun noun verb adverb conjunction

Nonessential parts of
speech can be added
to a sentence to make
it more descriptive. pronoun

verb adverb preposition determiner adjective noun

Structuring sentences
Without the rules of grammar, words would be placed in must also be correctly punctuated for it to make sense.
a random order, and no one would be able to understand Grammar explains which order to put words in, while
what anyone else was saying. An ability to communicate punctuation marks such as periods and commas
effectively comes from following these rules. A sentence indicate how the sentence should be read.

The pronoun I is Verbs always follow the noun or pronoun that Adjectives usually go before
always capitalized, is performing the action—in this case, I. the noun they are modifying.
but all sentences
must start with
a capital letter.

Adverbs usually go before Determiners, including articles, Sentences always end with
the verb they are modifying. always go before the nouns they a period, a question mark,
refer to—here, words and order. or an exclamation point.

Everyday grammar
A good grasp of grammar enables people to speak and write applications. Similarly, candidates who can express
clearly and concisely, and to understand all kinds of reading themselves clearly will be more successful in interviews.
material. These skills are invaluable when it comes to job Good grammar improves creative writing, too, and even
applications, as employers will always show a preference the best-known writers—past and present—have followed
for candidates who have submitted grammatically correct a few simple rules.

“My suffering left me sad and gloomy.”

The opening line from Yann Martel’s Life of Pi follows the rules
because it starts with a noun, followed by a verb, and includes
adjectives that make the sentence memorable.