20 Grammar
Grammar is how words and other communicative symbols are traditionally, and meaningfully, arranged. Most people think of grammar as a “set of rules,” but grammar is actually a set of norms—a way particular groups of people agree to arrange their written language so that others within the group can understand them. Grammar, like language, shifts across time and space. Its norms depend on the communities using it.
There is no such thing as “good” or “bad” grammar. There is, instead, grammar that is recognizable and/or acceptable to particular groups of people in particular spaces and grammar that is not recognizable and/or acceptable to particular groups of people in particular spaces. For example, we all use punctuation very differently in texts to our friends compared to essays we might write for our “Introduction to Psychology” class. Being able to recognize and deploy different grammar styles when you need them is the key to developing your own voice across different genres and for different communities.
Punctuation Glossary
Basic Sentence Structure
A complete sentence has a complete idea or thought, meaning it 1) identifies a subject and 2) tells the reader a thing the subject did or something the subject is. Complete sentences are also called independent clauses, meaning they can stand on their own.
Ex. Jack and Jill ran up the hill.
Ex. Frodo’s fate is no longer in our hands.
An incomplete sentence is missing a subject or verb or is not a complete thought or idea. Incomplete sentences are also called dependent clauses, meaning they cannot stand alone, or sentence fragments.
Ex. The boy who lived
Ex. Ring around the roses, pockets full of posies.
Norms for Combining Clauses
Independent + Comma + coordinating + Independent
Ex. The cat sprayed the inflatable snowman, so blow-up Frosty tumbled on the feline.
Ex. Natalee is very eager to try new sports this schoolyear, and she has plans to maintain straight A’s as well.
Independent + semicolon + transition word + comma +Independent
Ex. Alfred and Monique are always bickering about mundane matters; for example, they spent 35 minutes arguing about where to eat last night.
Ex. The house we just looked at is the biggest of them all; however, there was no garage or pool.
Independent + semicolon + Independent
Ex. The assignments in my anatomy class are interesting but complicated; the project I turned in yesterday took me nearly three weeks to finish.
Ex. Everyone knows how difficult it is to be a full-time student with a full-time job; the amount of time can easily demand 30 hours per week for each.
Dependent (leads with a subordinating) + comma + Independent (dependent lead also known as an introductory clause)
Ex. In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.
Ex. As the dog ran away from his owner, he trampled through the neighbor’s flower bed causing huge mess.
Independent + Dependent (leads with a subordinating)
Ex. The students were eager to return to school because there were only tw