COM101
phrasal preposition
(according to, as well as, far from, due to etc)
quotation marks enclose...
... commas and periods
"there" is not a pronoun...
... it is an adverb of place
quotation marks are enclosed by...
...colons and semicolons
colon five functions
1. introduce something, like a list 2. used to separate clauses when the second explains the first 3. introduce statement or quotation 4. formal greeting 5. separate hours from minutes
four functions of hyphens
1. join two or more words to form compound 2. replace the word "to" 3. indicate ratios and betting odds in AP style 4. indicate a word break at the end of a line
apostrophe to make plurals
1. makes plurals of lowercase letters 2. in AP style ONLY, makes plurals of uppercase letters
commas in address
123 Elm Street, Anytown, NY, 01234
relfexive vs. intensive pronouns example
I myself (intensive) hit myself (reflexive) with the hammer
prepositional phrase formula
PREPOSITION + [MODIFIERS] + NOUN/PRONOUN/GERUND/CLAUSE
ellipses do not replace
a period at the end of a sentence (put space before and after ellipses)
fused sentence
a sentence that has no punctuation at all separating independent clauses
simple past tense
action took place in past
past perfect
actions that came directly before another action in the past, uses "had" as a helping verb
past progressive
actions that were in progress or were continuing in the past, use "was" or "were" as helping verb
phrases identified by function
adjective adverb noun
modifiers
adjective, adjective clauses, adverb, adverb clauses, absolute phrases, infinitive phrases, etc.
coordinate adjectives
adjectives that could be separated by "and," sometimes separated by comma
types of subordinate clauses
adverb adjective and noun clauses
participial phrase
always function as an adjective ex. the gaurd TWIDDLING HER THUMBS sat quietly
determiners
are adjectives. Includes articles, demonstratives, number words, quantifiers, and possessives
prepositional phrase
as adjectives, answer the question "which one?" ex. the bus stop AT THE END OF THE STREET seldom saw riders. as adverb, answers "how? or when? or where?" ex. allen opened the locked door WITH HIS CREDIT CARD
personal pronouns
associated primarily with a particular person, in the grammatical sense (THEY gave the ball to US)
Which of the following the formula for identifying the passive voice? a. "To be" + present participle b. "To be" + past participle c. "To be" + future participle d. None of the above
b. "To be" + past participle
According to The Writing Center of UNC-Chapel Hill, any form of "to be" constitutes the passive voice. a. True b. False
b. False
adjective/relative clauses
begin with relative pronouns, modify nouns and sometimes pronouns
adverb clauses
begin with subordinating conjunction, modify verbs, adverbs and adjectives, can be moved around in sentence
open words
can and do increase in number and change in meaning (nouns verbs modifiers)
infinitive phrases
can function as noun adjective or adverb ex. the best thing TO HAPPEN TO ME was getting a new car
strong possessive pronouns
can stand on their own, (his hers yours mine)
Pronoun
closed noun, point to nouns
period
comes at the end of a sentence or abbreviation
oxford comma
comma used in a list before "and," discouraged in AP style, logically unnecessary, but can add clarity to long sentences
main clause
complete thought
conjunctive adverbs
connect one clause to another; show sequence, cause and effect, contrast. ex. meanwhile, next, likewise
present perfect progressive
continuous action that had been completed sometime in the past or was initiated in the past and continues to happen. "has/have" + been + present participle
future perfect progressive
continuous action that will be completed sometime in the future. "will have" + been + present participle
correlative conjunctions
coordinating conjunctions that pair up with other words (ex. either or)
possessive pronoun
demonstrates ownership
sentence fragment
does not contain independent clause (types: subordinate clause fragment, participial phrase fragment, infinitive phrase fragment, afterthough fragments, "lonely verb" fragments, appositive fragments
question mark
ends a sentence that asks a question, GENERALLY A QUESTION THAT EXPECTS AN ANSWER
reflexive pronoun
ends in "self/selves," object of the sentence is same as subject
forming passive voice
form of "to be" + past participle
participle
form of a verb that is used to modify noun, noun phrase, verb, verb phrase. plays role similar to adj or adv
causitive verbs
form of verb that causes something to happen lie:lay fall:gell sit:set rise:raise
difference between regular and irregular verb
formation of simple past and past participle (MEMORIZE IRREGULAR BLACKBOARD)
weak possessive pronouns
function in front of nouns (your, my, our)
gerund phrase formula
gerund + objects and/or modifiers
closed words
grammatical structure, don't change much if at all (verbs [auxilliary/helping], prepositions, pronouns, etc)
phrase
group of gramatically connected verbs
clause
group of words that contains a subject and verb
adjective phrase
group of words that describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. can be placed before/after noun/pronoun ex. her eyes were VERY MESMERIZING to the young man
simple present
happens regularly or are permanently happening
interjection
has no grammatical value (includes: yes, please, well)
verb phrase formula
helping verb + main verb
phrasal verb
idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically an adverb (break down, see to, look down on)
lost subjects
if a sentence is long and complicated the real subject may get lost (to fix, work backwards)
the THE test for common nouns
if you can put 'the' in front of a noun, its common not proper
present progressive
in progress or continuing in the present, use "am" or "are"
articles
indefinite or definite. proper, plural, and noncount nouns dont need articles
past perfect progressive
indicate a continuous action that had been completed sometime in the past. had + been + present participle
quantifiers
indicate how much of something (a little bit of, some, several, etc)
demonstratives
indicate which entities are being referrs to, distinguishes from other entities (this, that, these, those)
infinitive phrase formula
infinitive + objects and/or modifiers
subordinate conjunctions
introduce subordinate clause (because, although, after, etc)
gerund phrase
look like participial phrase but only function as nouns ex. TWIDDLING HER THUMBS kept her from falling asleep
verb phrase
main verb plus any modal and/or auxiliary verbs
present tense uses
makes statement of facts or generalizations. may also be used to express "historical present"
collective noun
name groups composed of members (hive of bees, class of students, deck of cards)
subordinate clause
needs main clause, cannot stand alone
essential relative clause
not set off by commas
"-ly" adjective
noun + "ly"
absolute phrase formula
noun + participial + optional objects/modifiers
em dashes
often take the place of parentheses. sets off some information, that information is too important for parentheses but not important enough for commas, still as important as everything else in sentence. In AP style, one dash before and after
participial phrase formula
participle (past or present) + objects and/or modifiers
coordinating conjunctions
placed between words, clauses, or phrases of equal importance, FANBOYS
antecedents
precede their pronoun
phrases identified by form
prepositional participle infinitive gerund absolute
titles in AP style
pretty much all titles are put in quotations
verbification
process of turning nouns into verbs
absolute phrase
rather than modifying a specific word, absolute phrase will modify or describe the entire clause
appositive noun phrase
renames noun or pronoun
existential construction
sentence begins with the adverb "there" and a form of "to be" or other linking verb
comma splice
sentence where only a comma is used to separate two independent clauses
semicolons
separates two independent clauses, particularly when these clauses are of equal importance. can be used as a comma in a list when elements already have commas
nonessential relative clause
set off by commas
prepositions
show relationships between nouns and pronouns and other words in the sentence. (by as to around of after about etc.)
simple future
shows actions that have not taken place yet but will in the future; WILL + verb
present perfect
shows actions that were finished recently or at an undetermined time in the past, use "have" or "has" as helping verb
possessive of proper noun ending in s
sometimes uses 's, sometimes just ' depending on how it sounds ex. Moses' Ellis's
possessive determiners
take the form of possessive pronouns (my your his her its our their). includes possessive versions of nouns (the CAT's bowl)
intensive pronoun
takes the same form as reflexive pronoun, but is different because it can be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence
suspensive hyphenation
two or more hyphenated words share other words ex. Grammy- and Academy-Award-winning when two or more nonhyphenated (closed) compound terms share a second part ex. land- and homeowners
adverb phrase
two or more words that act as an adverb. can modify verb adverb or adjective ex. meet me AT THE MALL
compound subjects
two subjects joined together by coordinating conjunction
indefinite pronouns
unspecified persons or things (another, both, all)
relative pronouns
used to link or relate an adjective clause (aka relative clause) to another part of a sentence and has the job of introducing that clause (Who, whom, whose, which, that, whoever, whomever, whichever whosever)
interrogative pronouns
what, which, whose, whom, who
titles of books movies albums and plays
when not in AP style, italicize, underline or bolded. titles of articles, chapters, individual songs and poems are put in quotations.
future progressive
will be in progress or will be continuing in the future, use "will be"