Welcome to Grammarpedia
This website is designed to teach the essential concepts of English grammar.
Working through the material in this site will improve your understanding of the system you're using when you speak and write English. This will allow you to communicate more powerfully, as you make conscious choices about how to use the language.
If you speak fluent English – don't you already know everything you need to know??? Understanding grammar means learning the system that underlies the English language. Start here for an introduction to this website, basic concepts you'll need, and the benefits of learning English grammar. |
The basic building blocks of English grammar are words. All English words are categorised into classes called 'parts of speech' - nouns, verbs, adjectives and so on. Understanding these classes is the foundation for combining words to form phrases and clauses. |
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Words are built up into phrases. Phrases are named after their head word; for example, the noun phrase (NP) the friendly kangaroo has the noun kangaroo as its head. It is important to understand the rules about what other elements ('dependents') may be included in different types of phrases. |
Clauses are made by combining phrases into an organised grammatically complete structure. The simplest type of clause is a basic clause, but there are also other types including imperatives and interrogatives. The concepts of subject and object are the key to understanding clause structure. |
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Sentences can contain more than one clause. There are two strategies for combining clauses within a sentence. Coordination involves combining clauses that have equal status in the sentence, while subordination involves embedding one clause within another. |
English has a number of strategies for presenting the same information in different ways. These strategies have a big impact on how readily people are able to understand your message... they can even be used to avoid saying things that you don't want the audience to know about. |
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Like sentences, English words are also made up of smaller parts called morphemes. Each morpheme is a distinct unit of meaning. Morphemes can be combined to make new words, to change the function of words within a clause or to convey grammatical information. |
Improving your use of English through learning and reflection can continue for as long as you like. This website is just one resource among many. Other resources including style guides and grammars can be useful references as you further expand your knowledge of English grammar. |