Grammar Refresher (Self-Guided)

Lesson 1

Using Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives

This first lesson explores three common parts of speech: The noun, pronoun, and adjective. You will learn how personal and possessive pronouns are used as well as how subject and object pronouns and used in sentences. Finally, take a look at adjectives and articles. You will explore how adjectives modify nouns and how to use them in your writing.

Using Verbs and Adverbs

This lesson explores verbs and adjectives. You will take a look at both action verbs and linking verbs and review the basic types of verb tenses and how to use them effectively in your writing. Finally, explore adverbs, which modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. You will learn how to use (and not overuse them) in your writing.

Using Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections

This lesson focuses on the last three parts of speech: prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Prepositions show relationships between nouns and pronouns. Conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses within a sentence. Finally, interjections are used to show feeling and emotion. You will see how these three parts of speech work in sentences and how to use them correctly in your writing.

Capitalization and Punctuation

In this lesson, you will explore the most common types of punctuation (except the comma). You will explore the needed capitalization rules and also take a look at the three types of end punctuation. You will also explore the rules and usage for colons, semicolons, quotations, apostrophes, and parenthesis. By the end of this lesson you will be able to use these punctuation marks correctly and effectively.

Commas

In this lesson, you will explore the most common type of punctuation, the comma. You will explore the various rules that govern comma usage in the English language while also learning how to use commas effectively in your writing. By the end of this lesson you will know how to place commas correctly in a variety of sentences.

Sentences

In this lesson, you will explore complete and incomplete sentences. You will see what makes a sentence complete and how to avoid incomplete sentences. Then, turn your attention to the kinds of sentences in the English language: Declarative (makes a statement), Interrogative (asks a question), Imperative (issues a command), and Exclamatory (shows strong emotion). Finally, you will explore some common problems and pitfalls to avoid when writing sentences.

Plural and Possessive Words

In this lesson, you will explore plural and possessive words. Plural words refer to more than one; while, possessive words refer to nouns and pronouns and show ownership. There are several rules you must follow to form plural and possessive words and there are also exceptions to those rules. In this lesson, you will explore the rules and have plenty of opportunities to practice your new grammar skills.

Difficult and Confusing Words

In this lesson, you will explore some of the most difficult and confusing words in the English language. There are many words that spell or sound similar yet have very different meanings. In this lesson, you will explore those words, including homophones, and you will have plenty of opportunities to practice your new skills. In your writing, you never want to use the wrong words and this lesson will help you avoid those common pitfalls.

Phrases

In this lesson, you will learn about phrases in the English language. Phrases are groups of words that have distinct meanings and perform certain functions within a sentence. In this lesson, you will explore the following types of phrases, including prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, gerund phrases, adverb phrases, adjective phrases, infinitive phrases, participle phrases, and absolute phrases. You will have plenty of opportunities to explore examples and practice your skills with each type of phrase.

Agreement

In this lesson, you will explore the issue of agreement. Within the English language, parts of a sentence must agree in different ways. First, you will explore subject / verb agreement, as these two sentence parts must agree in number. Finally, you will see how using the correct conjunctions can correctly connect words or sentence parts together. You will have plenty of opportunities to practice these agreement issues and resolve common agreement problems.

Common Sentence Problems

In English, words come together to create sentences. A sentence is a unit of thought, and each sentence must contain a subject and a verb to be complete. However, there are three common sentence errors that writers often make. In this lesson, you will explore those three common errors, the run-on, the comma splice, and the fragment. You will learn how to avoid these errors in your writing and how to fix these common problems. You will have plenty of opportunities to practice your skills in this lesson.

Becoming a Better Writer

The study of grammar doesn't stand on its own. The purpose of studying grammar is to improve your English speaking and writing skills. As we wrap up the course, you get to put your grammar skills to work. You will explore ten writing tips and have opportunities to practice your writing skills in this lesson.