Like the subject of a clause, an object must be a noun.

An object can be the object of a verb:
I saw the dog.

An object can be the object of a [preposition]:
I opened the door for the dog.

For most personal pronouns, the subject form is different from the object form.
* me
* her
* him
* us
* them
The second person pronoun used to have a difference between subject and [object] and a difference between singular and plural, but we lost those differences about two hundred years ago.
* thee
* you

A pronoun is a word which replaces a noun.
Can you see my phone? I need it.
Sam is here. Yes, there she is.

The most common pronoun type is the personal pronoun. For most of these, the subject form is different from the object form.
* I, me
* You, you
* She, her
* He, him
* It, it
* We, us
* You, you
* They, them

Each of these also has a [possessive] form, but that form is used as an [adjective] rather than as a noun.
Have you seen my glasses?
I do not have your book.

There is a separate form of the possessive personal pronoun. Not that none of these has an [apostrophe]:
* mine
* yours
* hers
* his
* its
* ours
* yours
* theirs
We use these when we want to use a possessive without a separate [noun].
Those are not my glasses: they are yours.

Another common type of pronoun is the relative pronoun. We use this type in [adjective clauses] and [adverb clauses].
* which
* who, whom ([object])
* that

In [noun clauses], the group is slightly different:
* what
* which
* who, whom ([object])

English has another personal pronoun to talk about a non-specific, often imaginary person.
If one wishes, one may leave now.
This form is rarely used, and tends to sound very formal. Its form is unusual because its [possessive] has an [apostrophe]:
* one’s

The [main verb] of a clause happens for the subject: the subject can ‘act’ the verb or ‘experience’ the verb. Every clause must have one subject and one [finite verb].

A subject must be a noun. It can be any type of noun.
The dog is confusing.
She is confusing.
What you did is confusing.

For most personal pronouns, the subject form is different from the [object] form.
* I
* She
* He
* We
* They
The second person pronoun used to have a difference between subject and object and a difference between singular and plural, but we lost those differences about two hundred years ago.
* Thou
* Ye

If the subject is a plural noun or a group of nouns, the verb will take a plural form if it can.
They are confusing.
Bob and Sam are confusing.

A [prepositional phrase] cannot be a subject, and so the [verb] will be singular or plural depending upon the [noun] before the phrase.
The box of matches was wet.

In British English, the [verb] can be either singular or plural with a plural subject for a group of people. The singular form says that the group are absolutely united; the plural form says that they are different from each other.
My team is winning.
The government are stupid.

The basic structure of an English sentence is subject + finite verb. This is called a [clause].
Rain fell.

A sentence can also have [adverbs] and [adjectives].
Rain fell heavily.
Cats eat fresh meat.
You seem happy at the moment.

A sentence can have more than one [clause] if it uses [conjunctions] to join them.
Rain fell heavily and I got wet.
Cat eat meat whenever they can.
You seem happy, which is good.

This is a systematic grammar of the English language. It aims to give examples and explanations of all of the grammatical forms in English, once it is complete.

The best place to start is with the index. If you want to see how English uses a particular form, look for its name (e.g., “uncountable noun”) or an example of its form (e.g., does).

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.