English syntax and structure Understand basics
Some of the fundamental rules of English syntax and structure include:
Subject-verb agreement: In English, the subject of a sentence must agree with the verb in number. For example, "The cat is sleeping" is correct, but "The cats is sleeping" is not.
Word order: In English, the basic word order for a declarative sentence is subject + verb + object. For example, in the sentence "The cat chased the mouse," "The cat" is the subject, "chased" is the verb, and "the mouse" is the object.
Modifiers: Modifiers (such as adjectives and adverbs) should be placed next to the words they are modifying. For example, in the sentence "The fluffy, white cat chased the mouse," "fluffy" and "white" are adjectives that modify the noun "cat", and "chased" is the verb.
Pronoun reference: Pronouns should refer clearly to a specific noun or noun phrase. For example, in the sentence "The cat chased the mouse, and it got away," the pronoun "it" refers clearly to the noun "mouse".
Verb tense: Verb tense should be consistent within a sentence and should reflect the time frame in which the action is occurring. For example, in the sentence "The cat chased the mouse and catches it," the verb "catches" should be "catches" (present tense) or "caught" (past tense) to be grammatically correct.
