Gone with the Wind is a novel completed by American author Margaret Mitchell after a decade of writing. This novel, her only work, is set in the state of Georgia during the Civil War (1861–1865) and tells the story of the beautiful and strong Scarlett O’Hara’s life and her tumultuous love story.
Published in 1936, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937, an award given annually in the United States to individuals for outstanding public service and achievement in the press and literature fields. The story was adapted into a film in 1939, and as many people know, it swept 10 Academy Awards in 1940, remaining one of the greatest films to this day. Towards the end of the movie, which has a long runtime of 238 minutes, Rhett (Clark Gable), fed up with Scarlett’s selfishness, packs his bags and leaves the house. Scarlett calls after him, “”Where shall I go? What shall I do?” To which Rhett responds, ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn’ and leaves without looking back. Following his departure, the story highlights Scarlett’s qualities that make it impossible to hate her despite her many selfish actions, leading into the next scene where she displays her always positive attitude.
Scarlett: I can’t let him go. I can’t. What is there that matters?
There must be some way to bring him back. Oh I can’t think about this now! I’ll go crazy if I do! I’ll think about it tomorrow. But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do?
Scarlett: Tara! Home. I’ll go home. And I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all… tomorrow is another day.
When writing or speaking in English, start with the subject and verb to quickly get to the point. Practice identifying the subject and verb quickly and at once while reading. If you can do this successfully, you’re halfway there. Next, expect words that resolve or satisfy questions based on the 5W1H principle to follow.
However, there’s a problem. In any language, sentences are made by combining words, but not all words are of the same kind, and their placement in a sentence varies based on their characteristics or form. Words are like parts of a sentence, and these parts differ in kind, each having its designated place. This is where understanding parts of speech, as we’ve learned in school, comes in. If words are the parts of an English sentence, then parts of speech are the types of these parts.
There are eight parts of speech in English, known as the eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. But let’s just remember four: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Among these, if we were to choose the core parts, it would be just two: nouns and verbs. This is because with these two parts, we can form a “subject + verb” structure, like “I did!”
Why are adjectives and adverbs among the four main parts? Because adjectives assist nouns, and adverbs help verbs. In essence, nouns and verbs form the skeleton, while adjectives and adverbs add the flesh. The basic framework of a sentence, no matter what, is “noun (subject) + one verb.”
The subject’s place can only be taken by a noun. A noun is essentially a name, and a verb is a word that describes an action or state. For example, in “Tomorrow is another day,” ‘tomorrow’ is a noun, serving as the subject.
Verbs
In English, however, the verb is the true protagonist. Without a verb, not only is a sentence incomplete, but there is also always only one verb in a sentence. If there’s a need to use multiple verbs, one must find a way to eliminate the others, except for the main verb, by adding “to” before or “ing” after them.
I’ll think of some way to get him back.
We’ve learned various types of verbs in school. The word order is also determined by the verb, and the method to resolve following questions varies with the type of verb. Yet, let’s simplify this for future practical use.
Verbs are divided into transitive verbs, which require an object, and intransitive verbs, which do not require an object. Depending on whether a complement is needed, verbs are further classified into complete verbs and incomplete verbs. Think of a complement as just a word or phrase that adds necessary information. For instance, “Tomorrow is” feels incomplete, as if something needs to be added. The word or phrase that resolves this feeling is the complement. In the example given, ‘another day’ serves this role. Thus, the verb ‘is’ is an incomplete verb, but since it does not require an object, it is an intransitive verb. Combining these definitions, a verb like ‘is’ is considered an incomplete intransitive verb.
Now that we’ve somewhat organized the parts of speech that make up sentences, let’s try forming sentences by arranging words. The method involves starting with the basic principle of English, which is the subject (S) + verb (V) structure, to draw a conclusion first, and then explaining questions in order according to the second principle of English. But why is an understanding of parts of speech necessary? Because there’s one more task.
S + V + (Who + What) + [Where + Why + How + When]
The rationale behind structuring the sentence into a singular pattern, akin to mathematical factoring and grounded in the 5W1H principle, lies in the specific parts of speech designated for inclusion within the brackets. The first set of brackets ( ) is reserved for nouns. At times, adjectives might also be found within these brackets; this should be interpreted as implying an omitted noun that the adjective complements. Thus, an adjective may appear in ( ) due to the implicit presence of a noun it complements. The second set of brackets [ ] is exclusively meant for adverbs.
If a different kind of part of speech wants to enter a place where it’s not allowed, it must disguise itself as the allowed form of speech. This disguise technique complicates English, but knowing the principles discussed above significantly simplifies the rules of the game of English. This can be visually represented as follows.
| S | V | Who | What | Where | Why | How | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noun Zone | Verb Zone | Noun Zone (Adjective) | Adverb Zone | ||||
| I | did | the best | |||||
| Tomorrow | is | another day | |||||
| I | will go | (crazy) | if I do. | ||||
| I | think about | it | tomorrow. | ||||
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