Grammar

Grammar controls how Language is constructed

Grammar is the set of structural rules that controls the way language works.

There are three aspects of grammar - word classes, syntax and morphology.

-Word classes define the role that each word can plain in a sentence.

-Syntax is the set of rules that control where each word class can appear in a sentence.

-Morphology describes the construction of individual words.

There are eight main word classes categorised by the function they have in a sentence

Word classes can also be called 'parts of speech'

Word Class	Function	Example
Nouns	‘naming’ words	London, book, romance
Adjectives	Describe nouns (and sometimes pronouns)	Large, sunny, featureless
Verbs	‘doing’ words	Jump, read, return
Pronouns	Take the place of nouns	You, they, him, me, it
Conjunctions	‘connecting’ words	And, or, but, because
Prepositions	Define relationships between words in terms of time, space and direction	Before, underneath, through
Determiners	Give specific kinds of information about a noun (e.g. quantity or possession)	A, the, two, his, few, those
Adverbs	Describe verbs (and sometimes adjectives and other adverbs too)	Steadily, incredibly, sadly

Word classes are controlled by rules

Word classes can take different positions in a sentence, but there are grammatical rules about how they work with each other (syntax). In the following sentence you can see all the word classes working together:

She	saw	the	new	manager	and	his	assistant
pronoun	verb	determiner	adjective	noun	conjunction	determiner	noun

At	the	store	yesterday
preposition	determiner	noun	advert

Grammatical rules affect word formation

Grammar affects word formation (morphology) because extra bits have to be added to words to change things like number or tense. The extra bit are called inflections. Examples:

-S is added to cup to change a singular noun into a plural - cups

-Ed is added to remember to change the present tense verb into the past tense - remembered

Grammar choices can influence the reader or listener

Tense

Past events can be described in the past tense or using present tense forms

-So she went up to the customer and gave him a good telling off. Clear that some time has passed since the event happened.

-So she goes up to the customer and gives him a good telling off. Present tense creates a more immediate and dramatic impact, used a lot in newspaper headlines.

Plurals

Plurals tell you there's more than one of something and plurals can increase the scale of a scene.

-There was a mass of fans outside the hotel. Singular, creates the impression of a specific body of people.

-There we masses of fans outside the hotel. Plural, creates the image of a big crowd of people across a wider area.

Adjectives

Adjectives are a great way to influence your audience

-Great ski resort in Sri Lanka. Relax in fine accommodation. Simple adjectives.

-Greatest resort in Sri Lanka. Relax in the finest accommodation. Superlative adjectives.


Grammar article
The article reads 'Coverage of Kids Company has revived comments about whether the charity should have an apostrophe in its name.'
Personally, I do not believe that 'kids' should have an apostrophe in this case. Not having an apostrophe claims that this is a company of kids. The company doesn't belong to kids therefore it is not in their possession and is using correct grammar.