Grammar (Parts of Speech)
Relative Pronouns
A pronoun that marks a relative clause Ex: who, whose, whom, which, that
Past Tense Verb
A verb that tells that something has already happened; Many are formed by adding -ed Ex: was, climbed, or spoke
Future Tense Verbs
A verb used to express action that will take place in the future Ex: will be, will climb, or will speak
Adverb
A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; usually answers why? when? where? how? to what extent?
Pronouns
A word that takes the place of a noun; stops repetitiveness; only a few pronouns Ex: it, them, he, herself
Conjunction
A word used to join words or groups of words
Proper Noun
A SPECIFIC person, place, thing, or idea; always capitalized Ex: George Washington, Mark Walburg, New York, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, Earth, Lincoln memorial, Tuesday, President Trump, Paris, Africa, Julie, United States
Independent clause
A clause that can stand alone as a sentence; has a verb and subject
Common Noun
A general name for a person, place, or thing; not capitalized; class or group of people, places, and things Ex: boy, dog, car, home, bank, puppy, flu, worker, son, mom, worker, girl, manager, chalk, mother, sister, woman, school, library, chair, etc.
Clause
A group of words that contains a subject and predicate and functions as part of a compound or complex sentence
Irregular Verbs
A noun that forms its plural by changing the spelling of the word Ex: Present Past Past Participle am was been do did done grow grew grown run ran run begin began begun
Noun
A person, place, thing, or idea; most often fill subject or object in a sentence
Adverbial phrase
A phrase that functions as an adverb; answers when something happens
Adverb Phrase
A phrase that modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb
Interrogative Pronoun
A pronoun that asks a question Ex: what, which, who, whom, whose; the "wh" words
Indefinite Pronoun
A pronoun that does not refer to a specific, person, place, thing, or idea; unknown amount; replace nouns to avoid unnecessary repetition Ex: everyone, everything, everybody, anybody, many, most, few, each, some, someone, all, nothing, nobody, and no one, several, neither, either
Intensive/ Reflexive Pronouns
A pronoun that emphasizes or reflects back to a noun or another pronoun; a pronoun ending in -self or -selves (myself and themselves) Ex: I myself, him himself, her herself, it itself, our ourselves, you yourself, they themselves
Error? I can get eight hours of sleep tonight, I don't think I will be able to get up early enough to drive to the city in time for the meeting.
Alternatively, "I can" might be changed to "If I don't" or "If I cannot." or needs a subordinating conjunction "unless" at the beginning of the clause.
Adverb
Are often made by adding -LY to an adjective and should be near the word they modify
Which words in the following sentence form an adverb phrase? While I was running around Green Lake, I saw Gary Grenell, a local photographer.
Around Green Lake
What is the proper noun in the sentence: Alex is a wonderful player.
Alex is the proper noun
What are the adjectives in the following sentences: I think that pizza smells delicious. The beautiful blue jade necklace belongs to Jade.
Delicious and beautiful, blue, jade
Perfect Continuous Verbs
Describe actions that started in the past and are continuing Ex: Her friends HAD BEEN GIVING her gifts all night when I arrived. (past) I HAVE BEEN GIVING her gifts every year for nine years. (present) I WILL HAVE BEEN GIVING her gifts on holidays for ten years next year. (future)
Perfect Verbs
Describe repeated actions or actions that started in the past and have been completed Ex: I HAD GIVEN her a gift before you got there. (past) I HAVE GIVEN her a gift already. (present) I WILL HAVE GIVEN her a gift by midnight. (future)
Simple Verbs
Describe something that happened once or general truths Ex: I GAVE her a gift yesterday. (past) I GIVE her a gift everyday. (present) I WILL GIVE her a gift tomorrow. (future)
What is the common noun in the sentence: Dinner was ready at 6pm.
Dinner is the common noun
Intransitive Verb
Do not point to a receiver of an action; action verb doesn't point to subject or object; verb that does not have a direct object; the person or thing that receives the DO is the IDO Ex: She JUMPED over the fence. He PLAYS. Jon WRITES well.
Dependent clause
Does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence; has verb and subject but doesn't show complete thought
Point of Views
First person: the speaker (I, we) Second person: the person being addressed (you) Third person: is outside the conversation (they, them)
Subjunctive Mood
For wishes and statements that go against facts Ex: I wish that I were going to the show. If I were you, I would do this. (goes against fact, you can't be them and have the chance to do it)
Proper adjective
Formed from a proper noun and begins with a capital letter Ex: African American (African is the proper adjective that modifies the proper noun) and Belgian Waffle
What is the proper noun in the sentence: He has a house across the Georges River.
Georges River is the proper noun
Adjectives
Go in front of the modified word and are separated by commas or conjunctions
What is used to conjugate verbs?
Helping verbs Ex: to be, to have, to do
Helping Verbs List Song
Helping verbs, helping verbs, there are 23!! Am, is, are, was and were, being, been, and be, Have, has, had, do, does, did, will, would, shall and should. There are five more helping verbs: may, might, must, can, could!
Which words in the following sentence form the main clause (independent clause)? Although I like uncooked raisins, I do not like them in cookies, cinnamon rolls, or hot cereal.
I do not like them in cookies, cinnamon rolls, or hot cereal
What is the IC and DC: Jamie agreed to pick up her sister from school provided that her sister give her gas money
IC: Jamie agreed to pick up her sister from school DC: her sister give her gas money
What mood is these two sentences: Play the guitar! and Please play the guitar.
Imperative mood
Subordinating conjunction
Joins a subordinate clause (dep.) to a main clause (ind.) to make a complex sentence Ex: after, because, unless, until, when, in order, where, whenever, although, since, before, as, as though, as long/ soon as, if, even if/ though, so that, though, while
When comparing two things use more or most?
More
When comparing more than two things use more or most?
Most
Verbs that are conjugated must match in ___ , _____, and ____
Number (singular or plural) tense, and person (POV)
Past and Present Participle
Past: usually formed by adding the sufix -ed to the verb stem Ex: type becomes typed; drop becomes dropped Present: formed by adding -ing to the verb stem Ex: typing and dropping
Although November is usually my favorite month of the year, this year it rained too much for me. Is the word although a coordinating conjunction or a subordinating conjunction?
Subordinating because it connects a subordinate clause (although nov is usually my favorite month of the year) to the sentences main clause (this year it rained too much for me)
What is the gerund in this sentence: Running is my favorite form of exercise.
Running is a noun and acts as the subject of the sentence
Parts of Speech
The building blocks of sentences, paragraphs, and entire texts
Error? I was full after eating a big breakfast, so I ate a huge midmorning snack and a gigantic lunch.
The coordinating conjunction so does not make sense in this compound sentence. Instead use yet or but. OR rewrite it: Even though I was full after eating a big breakfast, I ate a huge midmorning snack and a gigantic lunch.
Error? Lydia does not agree with this president's policies, so she could care less if his approval rating drops even lower in the polls.
The correct expression is "could not care less." "Could care less" is incorrect—it conveys the opposite meaning from the one intended.
Error? Only one among the school's 450 students were invited to enter the city's annual spelling bee.
The plural helping verb were does not agree with its singular subject, one. Were should be changed to was.
Error? Katrina, the youngest of my four cats, are due for a check-up at the vet.
The plural verb are does not agree with its singular subject, Katrina. Are should be changed to is.
What mood are these two sentences: I suggest that Lee play the guitar. and If I were Lee, I would play the guitar.
Subjunctive mood
Error? Whenever I scratch my dog's belly, she grins over joy.
The preposition over is incorrectly used here; it should be replaced with with. Alternatively, the phrase "over joy" might be replaced with joyfully.
Error? "Wow;" she exclaimed. "This is one of the best days of my entire life!"
The semicolon following Wow is incorrect punctuation. This mark should be changed to a comma or an exclamation mark.
Error? The fact that movies and TV shows based on Jane Austen's completed novels has attracted millions of viewers would have astonished the author, who died 200 years ago.
The singular verb has attracted does not agree with its plural subject, movies. Has should be changed to have.
What is the possessive noun in the sentence: Tom's notebook is on the dining room table.
Tom's is the possessive noun
In this prepositional phrase identify the object of preposition and preposition: The shallows flew over the trees near the lake.
Two in this one: Prepositional phrase: over the trees Prep: over Obj of Prep: trees Prepositional phrase: near the lake Prep: near Obj of Prep: lake
Continuous Verbs
Verbs describe an ongoing action Ex: I WAS GIVING her a gift when you got here. (past) I AM GIVING her a gift; come in! (present) I WILL BE GIVING her a gift at dinner. (future)
Phrasal Verb
Verbs that are followed by words that look like prepositions but they are part of the verb Ex: call off; look up; drop offf
Action Verbs
Verbs that describe action; verb that shows what the subject is doing in the sentence; a sentence can be complete with an action verb Ex: He SINGS. Run! Go! She READS. I TALK with him everyday.
Gerund
When the present participle acts as a noun; a verb ending in "ing" that serves as a noun
What word is the conjunction and what kind is it: He went home when I left.
When; subordinating
General Noun
Names of conditions or ideas; abstract Ex: beauty strength, peace, truth
What is the pronoun and is it nom. or obj.: Nathan drank water
Nathan; nom. because he formed the action on the water
Objective Pronouns
Noun having action or verb taken upon it
Nomative Pronoun
Noun performing action or verb
Possessive Noun
Noun that shows ownership or relationship Ex: dog's, man's, lion's, cat's, mom's, buses'
Is the following an adjective or adverb: My niece is playing QUIETLY.
Adverb
Is the following an adjective or adverb: Sterling played BRILLIANTLY today.
Adverb
Colon
(:) used following the salutation in a business letter or email (Dear Mr. Melton:); also used to introduce a list of items (Ex: Here is a list of healthy fruits: apples, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, and tangerines.)
Is the bold word an adverb or adjective: The boy ran QUICKLY around the track.
Adverb; modifies ran
What are the 8 parts of speech?
1. Noun 2. Pronoun 3. Verb 4. Adverb 5. Adjective 6. Preposition 7. Conjunction 8. Interjection
Singular Objective Pronouns (object)
1st peron: me 2nd person: you 3rd person: him, her, and it
Singular Nominative Pronouns (subject)
1st person: I 2nd person: you 3rd person: he, she, and it
Singular Possessive Pronouns
1st person: my (posses nom.) and mine (posses obj.) 2nd person: your (posses nom.) and yours (posses obj.) 3rd person: his, her, its (posses nom.) and his hers and its (posses obj.)
Singular Reflexive Pronouns
1st person: myself 2nd person: yourself 3rd person: himself, herself, itself
Plural Possessive Pronouns
1st person: our (posses nom.) and ours (posses obj.) 2nd person: your (posses nom.) and yours (posses obj.) 3rd person: their (posses nom.) and theirs (posses obj.)
Plural Reflexive Pronouns
1st person: ourselves 2nd person: yourselves 3rd person: themselves
Plural Objective Pronouns
1st person: us 2nd person: you 3rd person: them
Plural Nominative Pronoun
1st person: we 2nd person: you 3rd person: they
Is the following an adjective or adverb: James is eating his lunch HUNGRILY.
Adverb
Complex Sentence
A sentence made up of one independent (main) clause and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses
Interrogative Sentence
A sentence that asks a question Ex: How are you doing this afternoon?
Interrogative Sentence
A sentence that asks a question and ends with a question mark Ex: Do you want to go to the movies?
Declarative Sentence
A sentence that makes a statement and ends with a period Ex: The dog chased the cat around the yard.
Verb of Being ("to be" verb)
A verb that describes a state of being rather than an action Ex: am, are, is, seems, or appears
Two Types of Verbs
Action verbs and linking verbs
Transitive verbs can be _____ or _____
Active voice or passive voice
Personal Pronouns
Acts as subjects or objects in a sentence Ex: SHE received a letter; I gave the letter to HER.
Is the following an adjective or adverb: Mark is really HUNGRY.
Adjective
Is the following an adjective or adverb: That music is NOISY.
Adjective
Superlative Adjective
Adjective used to compare three or more items Ex: This is the HOTTEST day of the year. Ex: She is the SMARTEST girl in the school.
Positive Adjective
Adjective used when no comparison being made; normal form of an adj. Ex: This is a HOT day
Absolute Adjective
Adjective with a meaning that is generally not capable of being intensified or compared Ex: "unique" because it is either unique or it is not unique; it can't be more unique than something else because unique means one of a kind
In the following sentence, identify one adverb and one adjective. Sleeping on the floor can be amazingly comfortable.
Adjective: comfortable Adverb: amazingly
Is the bold word an adjective or adverb: The SHORT test lasted only 10 minutes.
Adjective; modifies test
Comparative Adjective
Adjectives used to compare two things; Usually using the suffix -er and the word 'than'. Ex: she is FASTER than me.
Comparative Adjective
An adjective that compares two nouns or pronouns Ex: taller, happier, or "more delicious"
Infinitive
An unconjugated verb; to + verb Ex: to break; to be; to sing
What is the proper noun in the sentence: Aunt Jackie is my favorite aunt.
Aunt Jackie is the proper noun
What word is the conjunction and what kind is it: The rock was small, but it was heavy.
BUT; coordinating
Nominative Case of the Noun/Pronoun
Case for noun and pronouns that are the subject of a sentence
Possessive Case of the Noun/Pronoun
Case for noun and pronouns that shows possession or ownership
Objective Case of the Noun/Pronoun
Case for nouns and pronouns that that are an object in a sentence; that can be a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition
What is the collective noun in the sentence: There was a colony of seagulls at the beach.
Colony is the collective noun
Two types of nouns
Common and Proper
In the sentence I like baked potatoes, but I love French fries, is the word but a coordinating conjunction or a subordinating conjunction?
Coordinating because it connects two short but complete sentences (FANBOYS)
What is the DO and IDO in this sentence: My friends brought me a package of apples from their trip to France.
DO: Package IDO: Me
What is the DO and IDO in this sentence: Alex GAVE his brother the ball.
DO: the ball IDO: his brother
What word is the conjunction and what kind is it: Either you are coming or you are staying.
Either... or; correlative.
Brackets [ ]
Enclose added words to a quotation and add insignificant information within parentheses
Parentheses
Enclose nonessential information
Comparing two things, add _____
Er Ex: My dog is SMALLER than yours
Comparing more than two things, add ___
Est Ex: I have the BIGGEST dog in town
Whats the adverbial phrase: He goes camping every summer. They are going to sleep earlier than usual.
Every summer and earlier than usual
What are the 7 coordinating conjunctions?
FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so); connect equal parts of sentences
What is the adjective in this sentence: Can I look through your four shirts?
Four
What's the error: I love French Fries, Belgian waffles, and Italian pasta.
Fries should be lower case because it's a common noun, even with the proper adjective French
Is this sentence: When she comes for the food, I will have walked to the store. - perfect - present perfect - past perfect - future perfect
Future perfect
Adverbial clauses
Has a subject, verb, and subordinating conjunction
In the sentence I threw the ball to Pablo, which pronoun could you substitute for Pablo's name?
Him
What is the common noun in the sentence: He has a house across the river.
House and river are the common nouns
What is the proper noun in the sentence: He is a fan of Hugh Jackman and the movie Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman and Wolverine are the proper nouns
What's the error in this sentence: Not every nation has a President as its leader; some have prime ministers, some have kings or queens, and others have military dictators.
In his sentence president is a common noun so it should be lower case Ex: Did you see President Obama at the rally? Me and my sister are going to see the president tomorrow.
Identify two prepositional phrases in the following sentence. My family and I used to camp in the Wawona Campground at Yosemite National Park.
In the Wawona campground and at YNP
Possessive Pronoun
Indicate possession Ex: The apartment is HERS, but the furniture is MINE. - my, mine, your, their, or our
En dash (-)
Indicates range
Ellipses ...
Indicates that information has been removed from a quotation or creates a reflective pause
What mood is these two sentences: Are they playing the guitar? and They are playing the guitar.
Indicative mood
What is the linking verb in this sentence: He is the best player on the team.
Is
Lay V.S. Lie
Lay: something down; to put or place Lie: yourself down; to recline
What is the common noun in the sentence: They talk about movies and celebrities.
Movies and celebrities are the common nouns
What is the reflective pronoun in this sentence: I made the dessert myself.
Myself is the reflexive pronoun
Collective Noun
Name for person, place, or thing that is considered as a unit or may act as a whole Ex: class, dozen, herd, team, public, crowd, company, flock, pack, staff, jury
Specific nouns
Name people, places, and things that are understood by using your senses; concrete Ex: baby, friend, town, father, park, city hall, apple, gasoline
Noncountable V.S. Countable Noun
Non-countable: money and water Countable: dollars and cubes Can have cross over, for example a chair is a common noun and a countable noun
Which two words in the following sentence are prepositions: My cat usually sleeps on the bed with me.
On and with
Which one of these words is NOT an interjection? hey, wow, oh, painful, hooray, ouch
Painful, it's an adjective
Is this sentence in active or passive voice: The house was painted by Anna.
Passive voice
Is this sentence: Before I walked to the store, I had walked to the school. - perfect - present perfect - past perfect
Past perfect
What is the common noun in the sentence: Alex is a wonderful player.
Player is the common noun
What is the action verb in this sentence: My brother plays tennis.
Plays
Is this sentence: I have walked to the store three times today. - perfect - present perfect - past perfect - future perfect
Present perfect
Demonstrative Pronoun
Pronoun that points out a person, place, thing, or idea; specific things Ex: this, that, these, those
Reciprocal Pronouns
Pronouns that show a mutual action; two things at once Ex: each other, one another - Each other: used when the antecedent is two things - One another: used when the antecedent is three or more things
Pronoun Example: Jasmine loves movies. ___ sees movies all the time because ___ has a movie pass.
Replace Jasmine with "she"
Apostrophe
Replace missing letters, numerals and signs 1989= '89 do not= don't
Identify the participles in these sentences: Seated patiently, Ron listened to his friend's boring story. Maya petted the sleeping cat.
Seated and Sleeping
What is the indefinite pronoun in this sentence: Several came to the party to see both.
Several and both are the indefinite pronouns
What pronoun best completes the sentence: _________ baked the cookies herself and ate most of them.
She
Correlative Conjunctions
Show connection between pairs; in pairs Ex: either or, neither nor, not only but also
Em Dash (long dash)
Shows an abrupt break in a sentence and emphasizes the words within the em dashes
Examples of singular and plural nouns
Singular --> Plural book books house houses foot feet leaf leaves woman women
Phrase
Small group of words that stand together as a unit and suggest a certain image or idea Ex: bicycling down a shady country road or my oldest cat
Error? I ate so much food on Thanksgiving that my stomach was literally bursting at the seams
Stomachs do not have seams like clothing or cloth toys, this is an impossible scenario. Deleting the word literally would make it clear that the writer is using the term "bursting at the seams" figuratively.
What is the general noun in the sentence: She reigned the kingdom with strength and peace.
Strength and peace are the general nouns
Identify the sub, verb, and sub conj in this adverbial clause: Sit at the table until your food is eaten.
Sub: food Verb: eaten Sub conj: until
Active Voice
The subject of the sentence performs the action or receives the action Ex: Jon drew the picture. (Jon, the subject is doing the action of drawing a picture)
Passive Voice
The subject of the sentence receives the action Ex: The picture is drawn by Jon (the subject, picture, is receiving the action from Jon)
Which word or words in this sentence form a direct object? I quickly read the third chapter.
The third chapter or chapter
Apostrophe
They form plurals of letters, numerals, and signs Ex: 10's and A's
What would "he/ she/ it gives" be in plural form?
They give
Error? First we will fly to Copenhagen, a port city in Denmark and then we will board a ship and sail to several different Baltic nations.
This compound sentence needs a comma inserted after Denmark and before the conjunction and
Error? Alexander Hamilton, whose portrait is on the twenty-dollar bill, was one of our nation's "Founding Fathers"?
This is a statement (or declarative sentence), so it should end with a period, not a question mark
Error? My grandma says that "when she was in high school, she and her classmates handwrote or typed their essays—desktop computers were not common until the late 1980s."
This is not a direct quotation, so the quotation marks should be deleted from this sentence. (The speaker is paraphrasing his or her grandmother.)
Error? On the test people who don't carefully read and follow directions are likely to make mistakes.
This sentence is unclear. The phrase "on the test" is meant to modify the noun mistakes, so the phrase should be moved to follow this noun: People who don't carefully read and follow directions are likely to make mistakes on the test.
To V.S. too
To is a preposition Too means also
Slash /
To separate lines of poetry within a text or to indicate interchangeable terminology
Imperative Mood
Used for commands, orders, or requests Ex: Will you do this for me? You are going to do this!
Indicative Mood
Used for facts, opinions, and questions Ex: You can do this. I think that you can do this. Do you know that you can do this?
Quotation Marks
Used to indicate the beginning or end of a quotation (Ex: "Where are my glasses?" Grandma asked.)
Coordinating Conjunctions
Used with a comma to join independent clauses
Participles
Verb form lacking number and person; verbal that ends with -ing or -ed and serves as an adjective; used in verb conjugation to indicate the state of an action Ex: she is going; we had waited
Transitive Verb
Verb whose action points to a receiver; verb that has a direct object, which receives the action of the verb Ex: Alex GAVE his brother the ball. He PLAYS the piano. The piano was PLAYED by him.
What is the subject and verb in this sentence: My friends brought me a package of apples from their trip to France.
Verb: brought Subject: friends
In the following sentence, which verb has a direct object? Which one or two words comprise the direct object? Purring loudly, the mother cat grooms her kittens with her rough tongue.
Verb: grooms has a DO DO: kittens or her kittens The verb purring doesn't have a DO
Linking Verb
Verbs that describe being; links the subject to the rest of the sentence; intransitive verbs that show a condition (subject is described by does no action) Ex: The girls APPEARED to be genuine. I AM a doctor. Pollution from cars has BECOME a major problem. I FEEL awful about forgetting her present. I AM Jon. I SMELL roses.
What would "I give" be in plural form?
We give
Interjection
Word for an exclamation. that is used alone or as a piece to a sentence Ex: ouch! wow! please! hey! oh,...
Prepositon
Word placed before a noun or pronoun that shows the relationship between an object and another word in the sentence
Adjectives
Word used to modify or describe a noun or pronoun Ex: happy, sad, pretty, sparkly, navy
Verb
Words that show action or a state of being; one of these is required in a sentence, without a verb you have no sentence; shows the subject's movement or the movement that has been done to the subject Ex: run, dance, jump, play, go, slide, swim, jog (action) or is, seems, feel, am, become, appeared (being)
Is this a complex sentence: While I don't want to miss my bus, I can stay a few minutes longer.
Yes
Are the words is, am, and are verbs? Why or why not?
Yes, they are "verbs of being"; forms of the verb to be; not all verbs show action
What would "you give" be in plural form?
You (all) give
What are the indefinite articles?
a and an; no limit or fixed amount Ex: Does anyone have A bottle of wine?
Is the following an adjective or adverb: This is a SLOW car.
adjective
What are some prepositions?
about, before, during, on, at, up, under, after, for, beneath, over, until, against, between, within, toward, without, down, at, by, to, through, with, beyond, and of
What is the adverb in this sentence: She almost tripped over my dog.
almost
Common Linking Verbs
appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn, be
Whats the preposition: The earth rotates around the sun.
around
What is the pronoun and is it nom. or obj.: Shay caught the ball
ball; objective
Whats the preposition: The needle is beneath the hay.
beneath
What is the singular possessive form of class and walrus?
class's and walrus's
What is the plural possessive form of class and walrus?
classes' and walruses'
3 types of conjunctions?
coordinating, correlative, subordinating
Independent or dependent: When liz went to the studio to sing.
dependent
The three moods for verbs are
imperative, indicative, and subjunctive
A prepositional phrase must have a _____ and _____
object of preposition and preposition
What is the adverb in this sentence: She went outside and ran.
outside
What is the subordinating conjunction: Jamie agreed to pick up her sister from school provided that her sister give her gas money
provided that
What is the adverb in this sentence: He walks quickly through the crowd.
quickly
What is the definite article?
the; limited or fixed amount Ex: I lost THE bottle that belongs to me.
Adverbs describe ______ while adjectives describe ______
verbs; nouns and pronouns
Which verb phrase correctly completes the following sentence: By this time tomorrow, we _______ in New York.
will have landed
Can "creativity" be a noun?
yes, because it's an idea