The Grammar Lesson by Steve Kowit

The Grammar Lesson

by Steve Kowit

(Poetry 180, Library of Congress website)

A noun's a thing. A verb's the thing it does.

An adjective is what describes the noun.

In "The can of beets is filled with purple fuzz"

of and with are prepositions. The's

an article, a can's a noun,

a noun's a thing. A verb's the thing it does.

A can can roll - or not. What isn't was

or might be, might meaning not yet known.

"Our can of beets is filled with purple fuzz"

is present tense. While words like our and us

are pronouns - i.e. it is moldy, they are icky brown.

A noun's a thing; a verb's the thing it does.

Is is a helping verb. It helps because

filled isn't a full verb. Can's what our owns

in "Our can of beets is filled with purple fuzz."

See? There's almost nothing to it. Just

memorize these rules...or write them down!

A noun's a thing, a verb's the thing it does.

The can of beets is filled with purple fuzz.