We technical writers generally don’t stop to think about grammar rules the way 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 refresh ourselves.
Subject verb object
A complete sentence in English can’t 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 in such a simple and straightforward way.
IN PRONOUN is a “placeholder” for a noun. When you refer to yourself as “I” instead of using your full name and surname, 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 “in”, “under”, “before”, “after”, “with”, “without”, “in”, “in”, “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 use personal pronouns, they are also divided into first, second and third person cases, each with its singular and plural variations. The verb of 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] The buildings HAVE windows.
ADJECTIVE year describe / rate a NOUN.
The bus made a SUDDEN stop [Noun].
He made an URGENT appeal [Noun] for more funds.
Year ADVERB describe / rate VERB.
The bus stopped [Verb] SUDDENLY.
She URGENTLY appealed [Verb] for more funds.
INFINITIVE form of a verb is the one that begins with “to”, without inflections. “Write” is the infinitive form. “Wrote” is his simple past inflection.
INFINITIVE DIVISION it’s what strict grammarians warn against all the time. It occurs when an adverb is used after the “to” of an infinitive.
“To QUICKLY sum up the problem …” [Correct: “To summarize the issue quickly, …”]
“We agreed not to dismiss your argument SUMMARY …” [Correct: “We agreed not to dismiss his argument summarily…”]
GERUND form of a verb is the one that ends with “-ing” and usually acts as a noun. “To buy”, although used as a noun, is actually the gerund form of the verb “to buy.”
TAKE PART It is the present or past participle of a verb that is used as an ADJECTIVE.
“Your bank account EXHAUSTED …”
“Our GREAT ambition …”
“The COOKING instructions …”
HANGING PARTICIPLE it happens when we cannot say the correct subject of a verb due to the incorrect placement of the “participle” in a sentence.
“Burned to rubble, the firefighter searched the ashes of the house.” What is “reduced to ashes” is, of course, the house, not the fireman. A better phrase would be: “The firefighter sifted the ashes from the burned house into rubble.”