Grammar Rules
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medical transcription grammar rules for use by MTWorld medical transcriptionist users and the general public
Basic Grammar Definitions and Usage
PARTS OF SPEECH
I. NOUNS
A. Common Nouns
Common nouns are used to name a
general person, place, or thing.
Examples: man, baby,
city, month
B. Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are used to name a
specific person, place, or thing.
Note: Proper nouns
are generally capitalized.
Examples: John, Chloe,
Miami, August
C. Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are used to name
groups of people, places, or things.
Examples: team, herd,
flock, gaggle, pride
D. Plural Forms of Nouns
General rules:
In most cases, an s is added to
the end of the noun to form the plural.
Examples: bananas,
cars
Sometimes, es is added to the end
of the noun to form the plural. This generally occurs when
the noun ends in s, z, ch, or sh.
Examples: bushes,
glasses, porches
Exceptions:
1. Nouns that end
in a vowel plus o: add s.
Examples: patios,
radios
2. Nouns that end
with a consonant plus o: add es.
Example: potatoes
3. Nouns that end
in f or fe: change the f to v and add es.
Example: calf / calves
4. Certain noun plural
forms are irregular and must be memorized:
Example: mouse / mice;
ox / oxen; goose / geese; person / people
5. For some nouns,
the plural form is the same as the singular form.
Example: sheep / sheep;
deer / deer; elk / elk; moose / moose
II. PRONOUNS
A pronoun replaces a noun.
Example: Sally is
looking for Matt. She needs to give him a message from his
mother.
In the second sentence She has replaced
Sally and him has replaced Matt.
III. VERBS
Verbs are words that express action
or a state of being.
A. Action verbs tell
what the subject of the sentence is doing, has done, or will
be doing.
Example: The man ran
across the street. The horse jumped over the fence.
B. Helping verbs are
sometimes combined with a main verb to help express an action
more fully.
Example: Bill has
run fifty marathons. In this sentence, has is a helping verb
which adds meaning to the main verb run.
C. Linking verbs connect
the subject of a sentence to the rest of the sentence.
Example: David is
happy.
IV. ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are sometimes called
modifiers. They are used to describe nouns or pronouns. They
provide information on size, number, color, kind, etc.
Example: The woman
struggled to lift the enormous pumpkin. In this sentence the
adjective "enormous" describes the noun "pumpkin".
V. ADVERBS
Adverbs are similar to adjectives,
but instead of describing nouns and pronouns, adverbs are
used to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It
tells how, when, where, or how much.
Example: The mother
screamed loudly at the little boy as he ran into the busy
street. In this sentence, the adverb "loudly"
describes the verb "screamed".
VI. CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are used to join words,
phrases or clauses.
Use and to combine two things or
ideas.
Example: I like grapes
and peaches the best.
Use but to contrast
two things or ideas.
Example: I like grapes,
but I don't like peaches.
Use or to provide
a choice between two things or ideas.
Example: Would you
like a serving of grapes or a serving of peaches?
VII. PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions relate nouns and pronouns
to other words in a sentence.
Example: John went
in the house with Jill. In this sentence "in" relates
John to the house and with relates John to Jill.
Prepositions are always followed
by nouns or pronouns. A noun or pronoun follower is referred
to as the object of the preposition. In the example above,
"house" is the object of the preposition "in"
and "Jill" is the object of the preposition "with".
Common Prepositions
| about |
beside |
inside |
through |
| above |
between |
into |
to |
| across |
by |
of |
toward |
| after |
down |
off |
under |
| along |
during |
on |
until |
| around |
except |
onto |
up |
| at |
for |
out |
upon |
| before |
from |
outside |
with |
| behind |
in |
over |
|
PUNCTUATION
Punctuation Rules
A. Commas
Commas are commonly used to:
1. Set off nonessential
words from the rest of the sentence
2. Set off parenthetical
expressions
3. Set off introductory
phrases
4. Separate words
in a series
5. Separate two independent
clauses
B. Periods
Periods are commonly used:
1. To end a sentence
2. After capitalized
word abbreviations
3. After some lowercase
abbreviations
C. Semicolons
Semicolons are commonly used:
1. Between two independent
clauses which are not separated by a conjunction
2. Between two independent
clauses if either or both are already punctuated
3. Between a series
of phrases when one or more elements in the series contains
internal commas
D. Colon
Colons are commonly used:
1. To introduce an
example
2. Following a salutation
in a business letter
3. To introduce a
list of items
4. Following headings
in certain reports or outlines
E. Apostrophe
Apostrophes are commonly used:
1. To demonstrate
singular or plural possession
2. In contractions
3. To form the plural
of certain words
F. Parentheses
Parentheses are commonly used to:
Set off obviously nonessential words
or phrases
G. Quotation Marks
Quotation Marks are commonly used to:
1. Identify and enclose
exact words of a third party
2. Emphasize certain
words or phrases
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