 Unless you want to be an English teacher, you really only need to use the grammar necessary to write correctly-- for school, work, and your personal life.

 Picture this: You're fifteen years old, you just got your learner's permit, and you're ready to get in the car and start driving. The instructor opens the hood of the car and spends a month teaching you how to rebuild the transmission.

 Writing correctly is like driving; it's a necessary skill that most people need to learn. But you don't need to rebuild a transmission--or even know what a transmission is--to be a safe and capable driver.

 This semester, we will be learning about the grammar skills that you need to know in order to write correctly.

 Most grammar books teach students to find the subject of a sentence by asking, "What is the sentence about?"  To find the verb, most books teach students, "Look for an action word." Sometimes that method works, but often it doesn't.

 What is this sentence about? › Most people would say brownies.  What is the action word? › Most people would say baking.  But the subject of this sentence is not brownies; it's she.  And the verb is not baking; it's enjoys.

 First we are going to learn to find verbs, and then we will figure out how to find subjects by using a method that always works.  We will be taking our time to learn about verbs and subjects because everything you need to know about grammar builds on your ability to find the verb and the subject!

 Most people were taught to find the verb in a sentence by looking for the action word. sometimes that method works, but other times it doesn't.  The time change method is much easier, and best of all, it always works.

 Change the time of the sentence by saying yesterday, every day, and tomorrow at the beginning of the sentence. When you change the time of the sentence, the verb will change automatically.  Listen for the word or words that change when you change the time. The word is the verb.

 Yesterday Steve ATE a pizza. (past)  Every day Steve EATS a pizza. (present)  Tomorrow Steve WILL EAT a pizza. (future)

 Yesterday Jill BOUGHT a new pair of shoes.  Every day Jill BUYS a new pair of shoes.  Tomorrow Jill WILL BUY a new pair of shoes.

Try these sentences: My dog bites the English teacher.  Yesterday My dog.....  Every day My dog....  Tomorrow My dog.....

Here are the answers:  Yesterday My dog BIT the English teacher  Every day My dog bites the English teacher. (no change)  Tomorrow My dog WILL BITE the English teacher.

 In the every day sentence, nothing changed because the original sentence was already in the present.  The verb changes when you change the time.  The word bites, changed, so bites is the verb.

My brother Charlie got a flat tire.  Yesterday My brother Charlie....  Every day My brother Charlie.....  Tomorrow My brother Charlie......

 Yesterday My brother Charlie got a flat tire.  Every day My brother Charlie GETS a flat tire.  Tomorrow My brother Charlie WILL GET a flat tire. This time the yesterday sentence didn't change because the original sentence was already in the past. The word got changed, so got is the verb.

 So when you change the time to find the verb, use all three time words; the verb will change with two of them.

 You have probably heard the terms action verb, linking verb, and helping verb.  For our study of practical grammar, all we are going to worry about right now is, "Does this sentence have a verb, yes or no!"  The kind of verb does not matter right now (we will explore that topic a bit later), and changing the time always works for finding every kind of verb.

Jackie loves playing volleyball.  Yesterday Jackie LOVED playing volleyball.  Every day Jackie loves playing volleyball.  Tomorrow Jackie WILL LOVE playing volleyball. The word that changed is loves, so loves is the verb.

 Are you surprised that playing wasn't the verb?  Playing looks like an action word, but it did not change when we changed the time. The real verb will always change.

 If playing isn't the verb what is it? It is a gerund, which is a verb form that 'acts like' a noun. We will be exploring gerunds later this year, so don't worry about that right now.

Susan enjoyed jogging in the park.  Yesterday Susan.....  Every day Susan.....  Tomorrow Susan.....

 Mark wants to win the race.  Yesterday Mark.....  Every day Mark.....  Tomorrow Mark.....

Susan enjoyed jogging in the park.  Yesterday Susan enjoyed jogging in the park.  Every day Susan ENJOYS jogging in the park.  Tomorrow Susan WILL ENJOY jogging in the park. The verb that changed: enjoyed. Why isn't jogging the verb? Jogging didn't change when we changed the time.

Mark wants to win the race.  Yesterday Mark WANTED to win the race.  Every day Mark wants to win the race.  Tomorrow Mark WILL WANT to win the race. The verb is the word that changed: wants. Why isn't win the verb? Win didn't change when we changed the time.

 If jogging and win aren't the verbs, what are they?  Jogging is a gerund, and to win is a verb infinitive. Again, we will explore these verb forms later in the year.

 A sentence can have more than one verb.  When you change the time, all of the verbs in the sentence will change.

 The garden will look beautiful and smell heavenly.  Yesterday The garden LOOKED beautiful and SMELLED heavenly.  Every day The garden LOOKED beautiful and SMELLED heavenly. If the sentence is long, it can be useful to say the time word again in the middle.

 Gloria washed the dishes, and Bob dried them.  Every day Gloria WASHES the dishes, and every day Bob DRIES them.  Tomorrow Gloria WILL WASH the dishes, and tomorrow Bob WILL DRY them.

 Now, try finding the verb in the grammar practice exercise handout.  Before each sentence, remember to say: › Yesterday › Every day › Tomorrow VERBS!!!!