To ensure everyone's good health, students in NYC classes must provide proof of full Covid vaccinations (the initial series of Covid vaccines plus at least one booster). We will accept your Covid vaccine card (or a digital scan), a NY State Excelsior digital card, or another form of government-approved proof. We will contact you before class begins about showing us proof. Also, we will require masks in the classrooms and Gotham premises.
More Covid details
Grammar 1: The Basics
Grammar 1: The Basics is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
If you feel you’re solid with the basics of grammar, you may go straight to Grammar 2. If you’re in doubt about this, start with Grammar 1; it will be valuable even if some of it is review.
For companies interested in our Grammar program, see our Grammar brochure or visit our Corporate Classes page.
We teach grammar in a way that is intuitive and fun, rather than relying on terminology and rigid rules.
Do you panic when you punctuate? Does grammar make you say, “grrr!”
Grammar 1 teaches the basics of grammar, just enough so you won’t make errors that show you in a bad light. You’ll be amazed at how quick quickly your competence and confidence will grow.
Do you aspire to be a grammar aficionado? The one everyone turns to for grammatical advice?
Grammar 2 teaches the picky (but important) details of grammar, and will show you how to manipulate your sentences and punctuation not just correctly, but artfully.
Both courses come with an invaluable reference guide, created exclusively for Gotham students.
My confidence rose significantly.
Anne Samojedny
physical therapist
Notes
This is not an English-as-second-language course. It’s fine if English is not your first language, but you must speak and write it fluently.
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
1-Day
-
NYC
In-person
Tuition: $165
-
One-on-One
Tuition: $350
2-Day
-
Zoom
Real-time videoconference
Tuition: $165
-
One-on-One
Tuition: $350
Syllabus
This course gives an overview of the basics of good grammar. Course components:
Brief lectures
Writing exercises
Topics:
Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Pronoun Agreement
- Verbs
- Sentences
- Subject/Verb Agreement
Parts of Speech
- Parts of Speech
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Modifier Problems
- Prepositions
- Conjunctions
- Interjections
- Subject and Predicate
- Objects
Punctuation!
- End Punctuation—period, exclamation, question mark
- Pause Punctuation—comma, semicolon
- More Pause Punctuation—parenthesis, dash, ellipsis
- Apostrophes—possessives, contractions
- Colons
- Hyphens
- Quotation Marks
Trouble Spots and Tricky Devils
- Commonly Confused Words
- Abbreviation, Capitalization
- Titles, Numbers
Teachers
Stacy Pershall
Stacy Pershall is the author of the memoir Loud in the House of Myself (W.W. Norton), selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Program, and her work is included in the anthologies Lost and Found (W.W. Norton) and Spent (Seal Press). She has taught at Writopia, Pratt Manhattan, City College of New York, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She holds a BA from the University of Arkansas and an MFA in Performance Art from the University of Cincinnati.
Read more
Steph Spector
Steph Spector is an editor at Apple. She has provided editorial services for Grammarly, Indeed, Forbes Councils, and many others. She is the creative nonfiction editor of The Razor. She holds a BA from Roanoke College.
Read moreStacy Pershall
Stacy Pershall
is the author of the memoir Loud in the House of Myself (W.W. Norton), selected for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Program, and her work is included in the anthologies Lost and Found (W.W. Norton) and Spent (Seal Press). She has taught at Writopia, Pratt Manhattan, City College of New York, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She holds a BA from the University of Arkansas and an MFA in Performance Art from the University of Cincinnati.
Steph Spector
Steph Spector
is an editor at Apple. She has provided editorial services for Grammarly, Indeed, Forbes Councils, and many others. She is the creative nonfiction editor of The Razor. She holds a BA from Roanoke College.
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