Quick overview — the 4 levels of grammar (flashcard style)
- Words (parts of speech) — the building blocks (8): nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections.
- Phrases — groups of words that act as one unit (e.g., prepositional phrase, appositive phrase, verbal phrases: infinitive, gerund, participle).
- Clauses — word groups with a subject + verb (independent clause can stand alone; subordinate/dependent clause cannot).
- Sentence level — how clauses combine into whole sentences (simple, compound, complex). Every clause/sentence has two sides: subject side (who/what) and predicate side (what is said about the subject).
Legend (color key for flashcards)
● Noun
● Verb
● Pronoun
● Adjective
● Adverb
● Preposition
● Conjunction / Subordinating word
● Interjection
Sentence (annotated and color‑coded)
As
I
see
that
I
have
still
to discuss
fit
destinies
of
the
two
cities
,
the
earthly
and
the
heavenly
,
Subject:
I
Predicate:
must
first
explain
,
so
far
as
the
limits
of
this
work
allow
me
,
the reasonings
by
which
men
have
attempted
to make
for
themselves
a
happiness
in
this
unhappy
life
,
in
order
that
it
may
be
evident
,
Content (extraposed) clause introduced by how — this clause explains what must be evident
how
the
empty
dreams
of
the
philosophers
differ
from
the
hope
which
God
gives
to
us
,
and
from
the
substantial
fulfillment
of
it
which
He
will
give
us
as
our
blessedness
.
Quick grammar flashcards from this sentence (bite‑size)
- Part of speech examples: noun: reasonings; verb: explain; pronoun: I; adjective: unhappy; adverb: first; preposition: from; conjunction: and.
- Phrases: prepositional phrase: of the two cities; participial/relative phrase: which He will give us; verbal (infinitive) phrase: to discuss.
- Clauses: introductory subordinate clause: As I see that I have still to discuss…; main independent clause: I must first explain; purpose subordinate clause: in order that … it may be evident …; content clause introduced by how contains the final idea.
- Transitive vs Intransitive: see (transitive — takes 'that' clause), explain (transitive — takes 'the reasonings' object), differ (intransitive — takes a prepositional complement 'from ...').
- Sentence type: complex sentence — one main (independent) clause plus several subordinate clauses (adverbial, relative, noun/content clauses). Note the binary sentence nature: subject side (I) and predicate side (must first explain …).
How to use these as flashcards
- Cover the legend and try to name the part of speech for a colored word.
- Cover phrase highlights and ask: 'Which phrase answers where/why/how?' (e.g., 'in order that' = purpose).
- Ask: 'What is the main subject? What is the main predicate?' (practice binary split.)
Short, color-coded mapping focused on essentials only — made to train quick recognition, not to exhaust every micro-tag (e.g., articles/determiners are not singled out).