ACTION VERBS AND THE MIRACULOUS ONE WORD SENTENCE!

Action verbs show action.  Waddle, soar, plunk, reverberate, scream, dash, skedaddle, launch, gobble, and sleep are all examples of action verbs. In fact, an action verb can be the only word in a sentence.

Think about things you might urgently holler.

Stop!

Go!   

Run!   

Duck!

Each of these is a complete sentence. They are commands, and the subject is understood to be you.

(You) stop!  (You) go!   (You) run!  (You) duck!

We could call these bossy sentences, but their proper title is imperative. Imperative sentences can also be a lot longer than a single word command. Some imperative sentences are directions or requests. For example: Please stack the books in the corner. Turn left at the second stop sign.

All of the above sentences can also be called exclamatory sentences because they end in an exclamation point. But imperative sentences can also end with a period. Whisper.

I hope you enjoyed this mini grammar lesson. Thank you for reading my blog.

My last post was on June 3, 2019. On June 4, 2019, I found out I had bilateral breast cancer. After chemotherapy, immunotherapy, a double mastectomy, and radiation treatments, I have been cancer-free for a year.

Now, I'm ready to spend more time on my blog. 

My strong suits are writing, editing, and explaining grammar. I am not perfect. I make mistakes, and I love using the word "ain't" for emphasis. But I absolutely love to talk about words and how to use 'em.

And that's why this blog exists.

Stay tuned.

Parts of Speech: Intro

I'm beginning a series of grammar posts targeted toward adults who never quite grasped grammar in school, but now, they want a better understanding of the mysterious, mind-boggling subject.

Today we'll talk about the parts of speech. 

When learning the parts of speech, it's best to think of each term as a job description and not a category of a specific list of words. Words aren't confined to doing one job. The word name can be a noun: My name is Lill. Or, it can be a verb: I will name my cat Fred. 

Yes, I'm a grammar geek. I aim to keep these posts light-hearted, informal, and simple. However, I do use technical grammar terms. I call a gerund a gerund -- not an -ing word because sometimes an -ing word is actually a present participle.

See, sometimes keeping it simple isn't so easy for me.

Here's a brief overview of the type of work the major parts of speech perform in a sentence.

Verb: Verbs come in two varieties. Action verbs show action. State of being verbs link or connect.

Nouns and Pronouns: Nouns name things. Pronouns can take the place of a noun. (There are no anti-nouns.)

Adjectives and Adverbs: Both of these parts of speech are in the description business.

Prepositions and Conjunctions: These are connectors.

We'll get to each of these parts of speech in due time.

As we go along, you'll also learn about different sentence patterns. Varying sentence types and lengths results in strong, efficient writing. 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next post. 

Happy New Year

It's the first day of a new year. Perhaps yours is made of black eyed peas, parades, and football games. Or maybe it consists of writing down lists of resolutions, then balling up the paper, and tossing it to the cat to play with. Maybe your day has been one long nap.

Whatever the start of a new year means to you, may we all vow to be more mindful of our words, spoken and written. Our words represent not only ourselves, but also every entity, organization, and value we stand for. Our words have the power to heal and hurt, persuade and thwart, comfort and condemn. 

Heed the words of Beckett, choose your words carefully, and wear them well. We each have a new year to dress up and write upon. 




Samuel Beckett. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved January 02, 2018, from AZQuotes.com Web site: http://www.azquotes.com/quote/493906

Welcome To My Blog

Hello there. My name's Lill, and I herd words. That's right. I round 'em up and get 'em to go precisely where I want 'em. And then I teach my words tricks.

My words can do all kinds of things. Make you laugh. Make you cry. Talk you into doing something. Give you information. Awe you. Annoy you. The list could go on forever.

I started this blog to show other folks how to use words effectively, efficiently, and joyfully. Yep, you can be a champion word herder too.

And I promise I won't always write with a fake cowgirl accent.  :)