How to Become a Grammar Badass Using Simple Math
English’s lesser understood equations and algorithms
Yes, you read correctly.
Math can help your grammar.
I know what you are thinking. She is probably lost adding up pages in the dictionary. What does SHE know?
Well, believe it or not, a thing or two.
Why believe me?
I’ve been teaching English for 20+ years, speak 5 languages, and have a Masters in Linguistics under my belt. I’ve studied profusely how to learn languages and how languages are stored in the brain.
I can also navigate the ‘in’s and ‘out’s of English grammar as quickly as Michael Schumacher driving his wife to a birthing hospital.
The Fundamentals of Language
Language, like math, consists of a series of rule-based equations. And when you have a set of instructions for solving a problem or accomplishing a task, as we do when we create language, we formulate algorithms.
I have good news for you. In English, these equations or algorithms are more easily understood and predictable than Medium’s algorithms. So, if you found yourself here, reading my story, you may be even more likely to be able to learn English equations.
Sentence Rules
Let’s start with a practical example. Consider this borrowed sentence from my student’s essay:
“It can seriously affect the young person’s judgment of his future careers, be specific, they give up trying because of the fierce competition for a position, it leads their original talent not being flaunted.”
Sure, you may have found some smaller grammar errors on the topics of singular/plural nouns, missing prepositions, and awkward collocations. But, most readers will agree that the most notable error is with the sentence structure.
In general, using strong sentences can make huge improvements in weak writing.
Sentences in English have very limited and predictable building blocks. On the most basic level, every sentence requires both a subject (S) and a verb (V), such as “I see.”
Objects in English are generally optional but some verbs require an object, such as the verb, “to tell.” For example, you could not say “I told” but must say “I told you.”
4 Types of Sentences
There are four types of sentences in English: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. And, to be honest, a compound-complex sentence is just a combination of a compound and a complex sentence, so if you understand the simple, compound, and complex equations, you are set!
If you can learn the equations of these types of sentences, your possibilities are endless. Now, let’s open your math book.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence is one that has one or more subjects and one or more verbs and uses one of the following equations:
S + V (+O). [I love ice cream.]
S + S + V (+O). [My brother and I love ice cream.]
S + V + V (+O). [I love and buy ice cream.]
S + S + V + V (+O). [My brother and I love and buy ice cream.]
Just like math, if you plug in the correct word form into the correct part of the equation, you can make a great simple sentence.
We can also add a conjunctive adverb (X), such as ‘in addition, moreover, however, or therefore’.
X, S + V (+O). [In addition, I love ice cream.]
***Common Mistake: You can never put a comma between a subject and a verb.
Compound Sentences
Compound Sentences can use a semi-colon between two simple sentences. But, they more often include coordinating conjunctions, affectionately nicknamed FANBOYS, which is an acronym based on ‘for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so’. A compound sentence uses one of the following equations:
S + V (+O); S + V (+O). [I like dogs; I like cats.]
S + V (+O), FANBOYS + S + V (+O). [I like dogs, and I like cats.]
Like with simple sentences, we can also add a conjunctive adverb (X), such as ‘in addition, moreover, however, or therefore’.
X, S + V (+O), FANBOYS + S + V (+O). [In addition, I like dogs, and I like cats.]
***Common Mistake: Technically, you cannot start a sentence with FANBOYS. But, I do it all the time (tongue-in-cheek irony intended; thanks Joe Váradi). Hey, once you know the rules, you can break them if you choose, right?
Complex Sentences
As the name suggests, these equations are more complex and there are three types: adverb clauses, noun clauses, and adjective clauses.
- Adverb Clauses describe how, when, or if something happens. They use a coordinating conjunction (Y), such as “before, after, when, if, because, although, and even though.”
S + V (+O) + Y + S + V (+O). [I will finish my degree before I get a job.]
Y+ S + V (+O), S + V (+O). [Before I get a job, I will finish my degree.]
***Common Mistake: Don’t forget that if the adverb clause comes a the beginning of the sentence, you NEED a comma. If it comes at the end of the sentence, you CANNOT use a comma.
2. Noun Clauses often use reporting verbs (Z) like ‘know, tell, suggest, claim’ + ‘that’.
S + V (+O) + Z + that +S + V (+O). [The reporter claimed that writing is becoming more and more popular.]
3. Adjective Clauses describe a person, place, or thing. They use ‘which’, ‘who’, ‘where’, or ‘that’ (W).
S + V (+O) + W + V (+O). [I live in Toronto, which is a multicultural city.]
And there we have it. Those are all the equations you need to know to improve your grammar.
Back to Our Example
Earlier we looked at my student’s sentence:
“It can seriously affect the young person’s judgment of his future careers, be specific, they give up trying because of the fierce competition for a position, it leads their original talent not being flaunted.”
Right now, in ‘math’ terms it looks like this:
S + V +O, +X, +S + V + O, + S + V +O.
But, we know that we cannot connect a series of subjects and verbs with a comma. This sentence structure simply does not exist!
Let’s use some of our learned equations:
S + V +O. X, S + V + O, W+ V +O.
Now, it would read:
“It can seriously affect the young person’s judgment of his future careers. To be specific, they give up trying because of the fierce competition for a position, which leads their original talent not being flaunted.”
While you may notice that there are still some smaller errors, the overall readability has really improved.
Well, as I mentioned it is easier to learn sentence structures than you might have thought.
Hopefully, you can follow the English equations and one day you will achieve e=mc2.
Cheers.
Thank you for reading, clapping, and following my work.
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