language

In sentences that express a wish, request or contrary to fact, the word

'were' is used instead of 'was. Examples: 1. I wish my sister were here. 2. Aditya requested that she raise her glass.

__________________ is used before since and ___________________ is used after since

- The Present Perfect tense is used before since and - The past Indefinite tense is used after since Two years have passed since my father died

commas

-Before a conjunction (and, but, or, nor, so, far, yet) to connect independent clauses e.g He frowned, but she did not understand why she was worried. - After most introductory words, phrases or clauses After the noisy party, the neighbors complained .-Before and after extra information included in a sentence My father, a computer programmer, works late at night. - To separate three or more items in a series They ordered eggs, bacon, and potatoes. -Between coordinate evaluative adjectives We ate a delicious, well-prepared, and inexpensive meal. - After a verb that introduces a quotation She gasped, "We haven't a moment to lose!"

Uses of the Dash

-Use a pair of dashes in place of parentheses -Use a dash to indicate an abrupt break in thought:

Uses of Semicolon

1) Separate two related sentences where there is no conjunction (such as "and" or "but"), and where using only a comma would be ungrammatical. -Example: She is a good writer; she has published several books . 3) Linking words such as "however," "nevertheless," "also," "consequently," and "hence" require a semicolon. Example: He spent a lot for the campaign; however, the majority of the public saw through his pretense and did not vote for him.

colon

1) Separates statements "placed baldly in dramatic opposition" a. Lawrence could not speak: he was drunk. 2) Starts lists a. Please purchase the ff: furniture, glassware, ingredients, and linen. 3) Sets off book and film subtitles from the main titles a. Gandhi II : The Mahatma Strikes Back

Uses of the Hyphen

1) Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun: Examples: a oneway street chocolatecovered peanuts wellknown author However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated: Examples: The peanuts were chocolate covered. The author was well known. 2) Use a hyphen with compound numbers: Examples: forty-six sixty-three Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old. 3) Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters: Examples: resign a petition semiindependent shell-like 4) Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex (meaning former), self, all; with the suffix elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters: Examples: exhusband antiAmerican 5) Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables: Examples: preference selling individualist

Apostrophe

1. Indicates a possessive in a singular noun -Example: The café's menu - plural, the apostrophe follows the "s." -Example: The cafés' menus 2. Indicates time or quantity. Two Week's Notice The Café will open in two month's time. 4. Indicates the omission of letters Examples: The training starts at 8 o' clock every day. 6. Indicates the plural of words The do's and don'ts of speaking She didn't welcome his but's and and's

clauses

A clause is a group of words with a finite verb. Remember: a finite verb has a tense, person and number.

subjunctive mood

A grammatical situation involving the words "if" and "were," setting up a hypothetical situation.

Phrases

A phrase is a group of words without a verb. Phrases add information to the main meaning of the sentence.

complex sentence

A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause -subordinating conjunctions

abbreviation

A shortened form of a word or phrase used to represent the complete word or phrase.

imperative verb

A verb that gives orders or directions, e.g. "run away" or "stop that".

abbreviation

Abbreviations are the short forms of words that we use in writing. Rule: If the abbreviation ends on the same letter as the last letter of the original word, do not add a full stop. Examples: Doctor becomes Dr but March becomes Mar

Acronyms

Acronyms are words formed from the first letters or syllables of words that make up a longer name. SADTU - South African Democratic Teachers' Union UN - United Nations WHO - World Health Organisation

intransitive verb

An action verb that does not have a direct object

transitive verb

An action verb that has a direct object

Positive Degree of Comparison

Describes without comparison to anything else (big, quickly).

Personal pronouns

I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, their refer to people or things

relative pronoun

Introduces a subordinate clause (who, whom, whose, which, & that).

My friends and I or Me and my friends?

My friends and I

the verb closer to since, takes

Past Indefinite Tense and the other verb takes Present Perfect tense Since I met him, my English homework has improved

after/when/before

Put the action that happened first, further into the past, by using has/had - After they had called the police, they waited an hour - After they have called the police, they wait an hour

indicative verb

The indicative verb is used to simply state a fact or opinion.

Comparitive Degree

USE to compare two things FORM add -er or more EXAMPLE faster, prettier, younger, Taller

indefinite pronoun

a pronoun that does not refer to a specific, person, place, thing, or idea; examples: everyone, everything, everybody, anybody, many, most, few, each, some, someone, all, nothing, nobody, and no one

compound sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions - co-ordinating conjunctions are used - for, or, nor, yet

Subjects that are joined by 'either/or', neither/nor' use

a singular verb. . Neither Akshay nor Rohit is coming home. 3. My dad or my mom is arriving today

uniform article

a uniform (you-ni-form)

finite verb

a verb that carries tense, person and number marking in agreement with the subject of the clause.

acronym

a word composed of the first letters or parts of a name or series of words

initialism

an abbreviation consisting of initial letters pronounced separately

For most adjectives that end in 'y'

change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'er' happier change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'est' happiest

simple sentence

contains one independent clause and one finite verb

When the subject is followed by words such as 'as well as', 'along with', 'besides', 'not' etc.

ignore them and use a singular verb if the subject is singular 1. Matt, as well as his dog, is expected shortly. 2. Pratik, along with his brother, is going to school.

collective noun

names a group of people or things swarm of bees

abstract noun

names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic emotions

In the case of collective nouns such as 'group, 'population', 'family', in a sentence, the verb can be singular or plural depending

on their use in the sentence. Examples: 1. Most of my family is here OR are here. 2. Half of the population was against the bill OR were against the bill.

demonstrative pronoun

points out a person, place, thing, or idea (this, that, these, those)

interrogative pronoun

pronoun that asks a question; examples: who, whom, whose, what, which

reflexive pronoun

refers to a noun or another pronoun and indicates that the same person or thing is involved Ends is -self or -selves -Directs the action of the verb back to the subject

possesive pronoun

shows ownership. (my,your,his,her,its,our,their)

everybody, everyone etc. are used, the object must be

singular not plural. For example Everybody knows his or her name, not : Everybody knows their name.

In sentences that include sums of money, periods of time or distances etc. (as a unit), use

singular verbs. Examples: 1. 500 rupees is a high price to pay. 2. 62 years is the minimum age of retirement. 3. 10 kilometers is too far to walk.

In the case of words such as 'a lot of', all', 'some' etc. in a sentence, pay attention to

the noun after 'of'. If the noun after 'of' is singular then use a singular verb, if plural, use a plural verb. Examples: 1. All of the cake is gone. 2. All of the cakes are gone. 3. A lot of the cake is gone. 4. A lot of the cakes are gone. 5. Some of the cake is gone. 6. Some of the cakes are gone.

In sentences that begin with 'here', 'there'

the true subject usually follows the verb. Examples: 1. Here are the chocolates. 2. There is a big puddle on the road.

When "a pair of" is used,

the verb must be singular. For example, A pair of trousers (not trouser) lies(not lie) on the bed. A pair of scissors lies (not lie) on the table

effectiveness of rhetorical questions

they encourage the reader or listener to think about the answer.

Subjects that are joined by 'and' in a sentence use

use a plural verb. Radha and Meera are coming home.

superlative degree

used to compare three or more items -est

A verb is in the active voice

when its subject does the action. For example: 'The striker scored a goal.' The subject is the striker and the striker is doing the action. To find the subject of a verb ask who or what does the action.

A verb is in the passive voice

when the subject 'receives' the action: 'The goal was scored by the striker.' When a sentence is written in passive voice it is possible to leave out the 'doer' of the action: 'The goal was scored.'

Nouns such as 'mathematics', 'civics', 'news' etc

while plural in form, are singular in meaning and use singular verbs. Examples: 1. Mathematics is very difficult for some people. 2. The news is very saddening

The verb in a sentence containing 'or', 'either/or', 'neither/nor' agrees

with the noun or pronoun closest to it 1. Neither the shoes nor the bag matches the dress. (Here, 'bag' is closest to the verb, hence 'matches') 2. Neither the bag nor the shoes match the dress. (Here, 'shoes' is closest to the verb, hence 'match')