Stop! Grammar time.

Prasoon, S. (2015). English grammar and usage: Read swiftly, speak fluently and write correctly. New Delhi: V & S Publishers, [97]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=1586151&site=ehost-live&ebv=EK&ppid=Page-__-97

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.

In this Grammar Time, I would like to look at passive voice. However; the example from above also mentions transitive verbs. So I think we should start there. 

A transitive verb is a verb that takes or demands an object be given to a subject (person or thing). When you look at the sentence that contains transitive verbs, the object (another noun in a sentence, but one that has actions done to it, not like subjects discussed in an earlier post where they cause the action) comes directly after the verb:

Sally kicked Sam.

The dog barked at me.

Terry eats ice cream every day.

Laverne wants Shirley, but Shirley doesn't notice her.

In the above examples, the words in purple are the transitive verbs. The words in red are the objects directly affected by the verb: the verb is demanding or transferring what it does to an object (person or thing).

Everyone still on board? 

Now, passive voice. This is something you might have seen working in any kind of electronic document. The squiggly line underlines your sentence and says 'passive voice', and never quite offers up how to fix it. Or even if you should fix it (I'll get to that later).

What is passive voice? Passive voice is when you kind of turn your sentence around so that the object in your sentence becomes the subject. If you would like examples, visit this link here. Your Dictionary also have an option to look at a very solid PDF of examples and definitions of passive and active voice on this page (active being the way we learnt our basic sentence structures previously).

Is the passive voice a little clearer? 

We all do this in every day language and in our writing. It also doesn't mean, that just because squiggly lines are there, that the sentence is incorrect or shouldn't be used:

Booher, D. (2013). Write to the point. United States: Dianna Booher, [24]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=580210&site=ehost-live&ebv=EK&ppid=Page-__-24

In this resource, changing sentences so that some are passive are good for variations in your writing. It is not recommended for essays or academic writing; but letters, emails, creative writing, passive voice can work well here.

So do not always be disheartened when you see this popping up in what you are doing. It doesn't make it incorrect. It is just a different way to write a sentence that can help vary pace or add variety to the paragraph.

Stop! Grammar time.

Grammar and usage. (2011). Irvine: Saddleback Educational Publishing, 8. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=435827&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_8

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.

Remember that sentence work we started here? Well, we are going to break it down even more. A sentence is a full thought that contains the 'who' and 'what they did'. Sentences do this by dividing into a subject and a predicate.

Let’s start with subject. The subject in a sentence is a noun that names a person, place or thing. A noun can be a name like Bob; a word that defines an animal or object like cat, dingo or chair; a place like Blue Mountains, Hollywood or forest; a feeling like fear, happiness or anger; a quality like laughter, plumpness or strength; or even something more abstract like biology, holiday or friendship (abstract because these aren’t tangible [able to touch and see them] nouns).

That is so many different types and examples!

It can be very confusing understanding even that little list; so we will go into more detail of nouns in another post; but for now, this list is a good example for working through sentences.

The predicate in a sentence tells a reader what the subject (noun) does or is. This means a predicate is a verb. Before I give you examples of predicates: there are two kinds. There are the action verbs (also known as doing words) that show action; and there are linking verbs that show “what is or seems to be”. When thinking about these two types of verbs; action verbs are much more recognisable: running, flew, ducked, steaming. Linking verbs are harder to spot: is, are, seems, appears, was, must, should.

So, let’s have a look at some examples and hopefully clear this up even more.

The boy jumped.

Boy is the subject because it relates to a person and jumped is the verb because the person is doing something; e.g. jumping.

The cat sat on the mat.

This is a sentence everyone hears about. In this short sentence the subject, or noun, is cat. Sat is the verb because the cat has done something; it has performed an action. Mat is also a noun, but because it follows the verb (remember verbs are doing words) and so is receiving action, not doing or completing an action, it becomes an object within the sentence.

The chair is in the kitchen.

In this short sentence the subject, or noun, is chair. Is, is the linking verb because it does not show an action; instead it links the subject with the object, which is kitchen.


And so that is sentences; at least short ones. Easy? We use them everyday; but maybe breaking it down shows how complex they can be so we can build on them and create new ones.

Stop! Grammar time.

Grammar and usage. (2011). Irvine: Saddleback Educational Publishing, 6. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=435827&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_6



This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.


The image gives the perfect summary for what a sentence is: a full thought that contains the 'who' and 'what they did'. So as long as you have both of those elements and it is a complete thought, then you have a sentence. It will also always start with a capital letter (ABC) and have punctuation like a full stop (.) at the end. And the resource allows you to practice this on following pages; so feel free to use them if you are trying to show or explain to someone how to write a sentence.

But, stop! What if I have a question? Or, you need to understand how I feel! Or, I need to tell you to do something. ... Well, a sentence does not have to end in a full stop (.). Ending a sentence with a question mark (?) or an exclamation mark (!) still shows a complete thought; as long as the 'who' and the 'what they did' or 'how they felt' is in there.


What sound does a dog make?

I wanted the last piece of chocolate!

He jumped on the trampoline. 

Go over there now!

The fireworks are pretty.

Now I know that these sentences seem small; especially since the sentences I am writing are very long. Books like 'Grammar and usage' go into more detail; but ease you in to learning things that seem much more complicated than they first appear. And we have a lot of books you can use to help you!

But 'Grammar time' will also break things down ... and over time there will be a lot more about sentences coming. So, watch out! It's time to break grammar down.

via GIPHY

Stop! Grammar time.

Tense. Yes, you may feel this way when it comes to writing, whether informally or formally (for work or educational purposes). But 'tense' is also important for understanding what people are talking or writing about: whether it is in the past, present or future.

Tense takes a base word (basically any word in the dictionary) and changes its ending so either a listener or reader understands the time period someone is writing or speaking about.

Cleary, B. P and Lew-Vriethoff, J. (2010).

This resource can be found 

So, take an example like the word tolerate. As the image above shows, this word will change its ending to show its tense.

• Mike tolerates Mitchell : This is the present tense for third person use. Because you can switch 'Mike' for 'he' and the sentence still makes sense, the present tense is used and the -s is added to the end.

• Mike thought he was tolerating Mitchell well :  This is the present tense for first or second person use. In the sentence, 'Mike thought' shows his internal monologue and perspective, suggesting that for present tense -ing is added to the end of the word.

• Mike had tolerated Mitchell for long enough : This is the past tense of the word and can be used for first, second or third person writing. The sentence shows Mike has been around Mitchell in the past, for possibly a long time, and has found he can no longer take what Mitchell is like anymore. To show the past relationship; therefore, -ed is added to the end of the word. 

These are past, present and future 'simple' tense examples. That doesn't mean it is always easy to stay consistent and clear in your writing though, particularly for essays.

Whilst you can write past and present tense in essays at the same time:

Smith argues that ...

Smith has argued that ...

You want to make sure that the work is consistent, clear and makes sense before you hand it in. 

As seen above, mixing tenses can also add a lot more depth to creative writing pieces. You just need to make sure your time periods and phrasing work well with each other.

The best way to know if a paragraph or sentence is working the right way for essays or stories? Rewrite them using different tenses! Then you get some well-worn practice in and you will see which works better for the point or plot you are creating.

Stop! Grammar time.

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.



This first 'Grammar time' is going to look at something that can confuse anybody. Homonyms and homophones ... big words that mean big, fun things.



Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings. As you can see from the cover of this book, the word 'bear' is both spelled exactly the same and sounds the same when you say it, but it has two different meanings. 

So, in the title of this book:

Bear means the animal and
Bear means how much one person can handle

So that is what a homonym is! 

Homophones are words that sound the same, but are both spelled differently and mean different things. Again, the example on the cover uses the words 'bare' and 'bear' to show this. These words are spelled differently and mean different things, but sound the same. 

So:

Bare is b, a, r, e and means to wear no clothes (like in the cover image) and
Bear is b, e, a, r and means the animal 

You might not be interested in understading the names of these kinds of words; but knowing the difference is important when you are writing documents or even learning to read and write. 

The good thing about our eResource collection, is that this book by Cleary and Gable is written in a fun way that gives readers a lot of examples of both homonyms and homophones. The illustrations are fun too! It is also written for younger audiences, so it won't take long. 

Have a look at the book; or try and find other homonyms and homophones to play around with! 

Words are fun! Get it right when you write, and one by one, you'll have won at 'Grammar time'!