GRAMMAR

direct object

answers what? or whom? after an action verb Sammi ate the turkey (Sammi ate WHAT? turkey is the direct object)

participial phrase

contains a participle plus any complements or modifiers Thanking everyone, my uncle began to carve the turkey. (Thanking everyone)

infinitive phrase

contains an infinitive plus any complements or modifiers. My father woke up to watch the news on television. (to watch the news on television)

object complement

describes or renames a direct object Carlo thought the woman a genius (genius is the object complement)

verb

expresses action or state of being

predicate adjective

follows a linking verb and further describes the subject. The people have been very patient

subject complement

follows a subject and a linking verb and identifies or describes the subject.

complex sentence

has 1 main clause and 1 or more subordinate clauses.

compound sentence

has 2 or more main clauses

compound-complex sentence

has more than 1 main clause and at least 1 subordinate clause

simple sentence

has only one main clause and no subordinate clauses

predicate nominative

is a noun or a pronoun that follows a linking verb and further identifies the subject. (The best football player is Jacob)

adjective clause

is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun

adverb clause

is a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.

interjection

unrelated word or phrase that expresses emotion or exclamation. (wow!)

conjunction

a word that joins single words or groups of words (and, or, but)

appositive phrase

an appositive plus its modifiers C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, lived in England.

prepositional phrase

a group of words that begins with a preposition and usually ends with a noun or a pronoun

appositive

a noun or a pronoun that is placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify it or give more information about it. My grandfather Howard takes me fishing

gerund phrase

a gerund plus any complements or modifiers. Singing the national anthem is traditional at many sports events. (Singing the national anthem)

noun clause

a subordinate clause used as a noun.

verbal

a verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

gerund

a verbal that ends with -ing. It is used in the same way a noun is used. Skiing is a popular sport. (skiing)

participle

a verbal that functions as an adjective. Gary comforted the crying baby. (crying)

infinitive

a verbal that is usually preceded by the word TO. It is used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. I never learned to dance. (to dance) She has an errand to run. (to run) I will be happy to help. (to help)

adjective

modifies a noun or pronoun by giving descriptive details.

adverb

modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

noun

person, place, thing or idea

indirect object

receives what the direct object names Marie wrote June a letter. (letter is the indirect object)

prepositions

shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other word. (of, about, above, across, after, etc.)

pronoun

takes the place of a noun