COM101

adverb clauses

begin with subordinating conjunction, modify verbs, adverbs and adjectives, can be moved around in sentence

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)

infinitive phrase formula

infinitive + objects and/or modifiers

participial phrase formula

participle (past or present) + objects and/or modifiers

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)

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

subordinate clause

needs main clause, cannot stand alone

commas in address

123 Elm Street, Anytown, NY, 01234

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

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

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)

adjective/relative clauses

begin with relative pronouns, modify nouns and sometimes pronouns

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

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

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)

"-ly" adjective

noun + "ly"

absolute phrase formula

noun + participial + optional objects/modifiers

phrasal preposition

(according to, as well as, far from, due to etc)

possessive pronoun

demonstrates ownership

forming passive voice

form of "to be" + past participle

subordinate conjunctions

introduce subordinate clause (because, although, after, etc)

essential relative clause

not set off by commas

titles in AP style

pretty much all titles are put in quotations

appositive noun phrase

renames noun or pronoun

weak possessive pronouns

function in front of nouns (your, my, our)

verbification

process of turning nouns into verbs

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"

main clause

complete thought

phrase

group of gramatically connected verbs

comma splice

sentence where only a comma is used to separate two independent clauses

interrogative pronouns

what, which, whose, whom, who

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

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

relfexive vs. intensive pronouns example

I myself (intensive) hit myself (reflexive) with the hammer

prepositional phrase formula

PREPOSITION + [MODIFIERS] + NOUN/PRONOUN/GERUND/CLAUSE

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)

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

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

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

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)

sentence fragment

does not contain independent clause (types: subordinate clause fragment, participial phrase fragment, infinitive phrase fragment, afterthough fragments, "lonely verb" fragments, appositive fragments

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)

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)

clause

group of words that contains a subject and verb

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)

absolute phrase

rather than modifying a specific word, absolute phrase will modify or describe the entire clause

existential construction

sentence begins with the adverb "there" and a form of "to be" or other linking verb

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