Openai/68a77b60-0ee4-800c-9acc-cd3fd573c311

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gpt-5

User: I’d like a list of grammar topics that a student should understand by the time they graduate from high school

I’d like a list of grammar topics that a student should understand by the time they graduate from high school

Assistant: Here’s a solid list of core grammar topics a student should understand by the end of high school.

Here’s a solid list of core grammar topics a student should understand by the end of high school. These cover the mechanics of English grammar, usage, and style—what’s typically expected for college, career, and effective communication.

Parts of Speech & Their Functions

• Nouns (common, proper, abstract, collective, countable vs. uncountable)
• Pronouns (personal, possessive, reflexive, intensive, relative, demonstrative, indefinite, interrogative)
• Verbs (action, linking, helping; regular vs. irregular; phrasal verbs)
• Adjectives (descriptive, comparative, superlative)
• Adverbs (manner, degree, frequency, time, place; comparative forms)
• Prepositions (time, place, direction, idiomatic use)
• Conjunctions (coordinating, subordinating, correlative)
• Interjections (basic awareness)

Sentence Structure

• Subjects, predicates, and objects
• Simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences
• Independent vs. dependent clauses
• Phrases: noun, verb, prepositional, participial, gerund, infinitive, appositive
• Sentence fragments vs. complete sentences
• Run-on sentences and comma splices

Verb Usage

• Verb tense (present, past, future; perfect and progressive aspects)
• Tense consistency within a passage
• Active vs. passive voice
• Mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional)
• Subject–verb agreement (including with compound subjects and tricky cases)

Pronoun Usage

• Pronoun–antecedent agreement (singular/plural, gender, indefinite pronouns)
• Case (subjective, objective, possessive)
• Avoiding ambiguous pronoun reference

Modifiers

• Placement of modifiers (avoiding misplaced and dangling modifiers)
• Adjective vs. adverb forms
• Comparative and superlative usage

Punctuation & Mechanics

• End punctuation (periods, question marks, exclamation marks)
• Commas (lists, compound sentences, introductory elements, nonessential clauses/phrases, direct address, etc.)
• Semicolons (between independent clauses, in complex lists)
• Colons (introductions, lists, explanations)
• Quotation marks (direct speech, titles of short works, punctuation placement)
• Apostrophes (possessives, contractions, plural forms of letters/numbers)
• Parentheses, dashes, ellipses, brackets (awareness of usage)
• Capitalization rules (proper nouns, titles, first words of sentences)

Style & Usage

• Parallel structure (in lists, comparisons, correlative conjunctions)
• Consistency in person, tense, and point of view
• Formal vs. informal register
• Commonly confused words (affect/effect, who/whom, fewer/less, etc.)
• Avoiding double negatives

Advanced Awareness

• Syntax variety for clarity and emphasis
• Agreement in complex sentences (e.g., collective nouns, indefinite pronouns)
• Common rhetorical sentence patterns (periodic, cumulative, balanced)

👉 Would you like me to turn this into a tiered checklist (e.g., what’s usually mastered in middle school, high school basics, and advanced/pre-college) so it’s easier to see what skills build on one another?