In every manual on virtually any discipline from meditation to golf,
stress is laid on the necessity for regular practice. Writing is no exception.
—John Fairfax and John Moat, The Way to Write
So far we’ve been looking at how we can make magic with language by choosing individual words. But single words rarely function on their own; most of the time they work together, in groups—groups that grammarians call phrases and clauses and sentences. To make magic with language, we have to know the meanings and qualities of individual words—and we need to know how to put these words together. To accomplish this, we must understand how words function when they work together. If we want to take our chosen words and make effective spells with them—sentences and paragraphs that will grab and keep our readers’ attention—then we have to learn, not just what words mean, but what they do.
In every sentence, every word has a certain kind of work to do, a particular role to play. Grammarians use the term parts of speech to label and classify these different roles words play. If you imagine every sentence as a tiny drama, then you can also imagine every word as taking a particular kind of role—or actor’s part—within that drama. Some of those roles are more important to a sentence than others, just as the leading role in a play is more important than a bit part. But every one of these roles, every part of speech, has its own particular importance. To put it another way, every part of speech has its own particular power; and anyone who wants to become a skilled writer needs to know how to make use of that power.
If you studied grammar in school, you may have found this material boring. That’s because in grammar classes we’re usually taught only to analyze sentences, not compose them. But the usefulness of analysis is limited: Would an aspiring professional pitcher, for instance, spend all his time analyzing game films without ever throwing a single pitch? Here we'll take a different approach: First we'll practice using parts of speech, then we’ll turn to the practice of phrases, where we start to combine words into functional units.
A basic understanding of how parts of speech and phrases work is an essential tool for writers, one that will help you develop the skill you need to keep your readers spellbound. Remember, though, that intellectual understanding alone is not enough; you need to put your understanding into practice. So, I implore you, do not merely read through this section! Do the practices, or make up ones of your own. The time you spend doing this will reward you for the rest of your writing life.