CLEP English Composition COMBINED WITH, Grammar Definitions I Printed
dangling modifier; definition and corrective action
(a modifier or verb in search of a subject) either appears to modify the wrong word or has nothing to modify. a sentence with a dangling modifier often looks correct. to correct these: 1. Change the modifying phrase to a clause with a subject Or 2.Change the subject of the sentence to the word that should be modified. ***Example: "Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on." Why? Because the subject of the follow-up, main clause's verb did NOT make sense with the first, dependent clause's verb. (The tv was turned on is okay, but the TV did not finish the assignment and turn itself on.) Correction: Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV."
Limited Omniscient Narrator
(first person) usually already knows the outcome (includes only knowing one character's thoughts, though they may guess other characters' thoughts, having one person's personality)
Types of Evidence
(from most to least valid) -documented facts and statistics -expert testimony -personal experience and anecdote -hypothetical illustration -analogies (the last two are not hard evidence, but offer common sense and probability to support an argument)
Omniscient Narrator
(third person) all-seeing, all-knowing, and able to be everywhere at once (includes knowing all of the characters' thoughts)
Episodic Plot
- DEFINITION: Made up of a series of chapters or stories linked by the same character, place, or theme but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext. - DETAIL: The chapters or stories could be shuffled around and placed in a different order if desired! (since there is no overall beginning, middle, and end to the book or story as a whole.) - NOTE: (In some cases there may be a sense of time passing throughout the episodes though, as if the character is growing or changing through each successive chapter or story.)
modifiers definition and application rule
- TIP: Put as close to the word it modifies as possible, and make sure that it is not between two words it might modify. A modifier changes, clarifies, qualifies, or limits a particular word in a sentence in order to add emphasis, explanation, or detail. -- DEFINITION: A word, phrase or clause that describes another word, phrase, or clause. Modifiers tend to be descriptive words, such as adjectives and adverbs. Modifier phrases, such as adjective clauses and adverbial phrases, also exist and tend to describe adjectives and adverbs. Consider the following simple sentence: Sarah was a sure fit for junior prom queen. Now consider the same sentence with multiple modifiers added: The blonde girl named Sarah, who was a foreign exchange student from England, quickly climbed the ladder of popularity during her junior year, smiling her way through cheerleading and an ASB presidency term she inched near the top and was a sure fit as junior prom queen.
Semicolon Rules:
1. Link two independent clauses to connect closely related ideas 2. Link clauses connected by conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases to connect closely related ideas 3. Link lists where the items contain commas to avoid confusion between list items Example of 1: "Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil." Example of 2: "There are basically two ways to write: with a pen or pencil, which is inexpensive and easily accessible; or by computer and printer, which is more expensive but quick and neat." Example of 3: "Some people write with a word processor, typewriter, or a computer; but others, for different reasons, choose to write with a pen or pencil."
Pronoun Rules
1. Must correspond with a singular or plural form of the noun (the antecedent) to which it refers. 2. It must be in the same person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) as the noun. 3. It must refer clearly to a single word, not a complete idea. 4. Must be in one of 3 case forms according to their function in the sentence.
Misused comma/clause rule - this is the rule a comma splice breaks:
A comma alone cannot join two independent clauses (complete sentences). A semicolon can, but not a comma.
Conjunction
A conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Conjunctions are considered to be invariable grammar particle, and they may or may not stand between items they conjoin. (Unlike a preposition, a conjunction can connect any two like elements together in a sentence. Most notably, conjunctions have the ability to connect verbs together. This means that conjunctions can connect two sentences together.) -Has three types. Coordinating, Subordinating and Correlative. Each type joins together different parts of a sentence. Ex: Men and women, wind or weather. General conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before, by the time, even if, even though, for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Phrase and Example
A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb component, used as a single part of speech. Examples: Best friend (this phrase acts as a noun) Needing help (this phrase acts as an adjective; see Adjectives and Adverbs) With the blue shirt (this prepositional phrase acts as an adjective; see Prepositions) For twenty days (this prepositional phrase acts as an adverb)
Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun ends ...self or ...selves and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence (usually the subject of the sentence). The reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves. Examples: 1. The dog bit ITSELF. (In this example, the intensive pronoun itself refers back to the noun the dog.) 2. Are you talking to YOURSELF?
Preposition
A word that connects or links two nouns or pronouns together. a preposition is only able to connect a noun element into a sentence. It stands before a noun or pronoun. Location indicating prepositions (under, through, behind) are common as well as other connecting words. example of preposition is the word "with" in the following; "I'm going with her." Other common ones: about, above, according to, across, after, against along, amid, among, around, at, before, behind, in, concerning, for, past, in, by, off.
Conjunctive Adverbs Definition and word examples:
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and they can be used as conjunctions (link words, phrases, and clauses together for smooth transitions) as well. When they are both conjunctions and adverbs, they're known as conjunctive adverbs. Examples: also, however, otherwise, consequently, indeed, similarly, finally, likewise, then, furthermore, moreover, therefore, hence, nevertheless, thus, nonetheless.
Subordinating Conjunctions
After, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before, by the time, even if, even though, if, in order that, in case, lest, once, only if, provided that, since, so that, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, wherever, while
Connotation
All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests
Intensive (or Emphatic) Pronouns
An intensive pronoun (sometimes called an emphatic pronoun) refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence to emphasize it (e.g., to emphasize that it is the thing carrying out the action). Include: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. Examples: John bakes all the bread himself. (In this example, the intensive pronoun himself refers back to the noun John and emphasizes what he did.) The cat opened the door itself.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are used to link words, phrases, and clauses together and provide a smooth transition between ideas.
Subordinating conjunctions
Emphasize main ideas- although, because, before, though, etc.
Coordination
Emphasizes equal ideas and uses a coordinating conjunction. Like subordination, it combines ideas to give emphasis on certain parts of a sentence. Example: "The restaurant had a hostess, and they decided to keep the podium at the front door."
Subordination
Emphasizes main ideas using a subordinating conjunction. Also combines ideas to give emphasis on certain parts of a sentence just like coordination. Example: "The restaurant decided to keep the podium at the front door, because they had a hostess."
Fragments
Include a portion of a sentence, but do not represent a complete thought.
Requirements for a Complete Sentence
Must include a subject-noun, predicate-verb, and they must represent a complete thought.
Objective Pronoun
Objective Pronouns are pronouns where the verb is being performed upon the noun the pronoun is replacing. An objective pronoun is a pronoun that stands in for the object of a verb, a prepositional phrase, or an infinitive phrase. ." Examples: 1. "My aunt Marge made the cake for [me]." (The pronoun is the object of the prepositional phrase). 2. "My aunt Marge brought [it] to the party." (The pronoun is the direct object of the verb.) 3. "My aunt Marge was happy to see [her] at the party." ( The pronoun is the object of the infinitive phrase "to see")
simple sentence
One independent clause
Limited/Restricted Narrator
One narrating person telling the story from their perspective and who has limited insight into what will happen next (they learn what happens when it happens)
Preposition vs Conjunction
Prepositions establish a relationship between two parts of a sentence in a way that conjunctions don't. Conjunctions act more like glue and don't add a lot of meaning. Prepositions usually establish some sort of positional relationship between elements in a sentence. In contrast to a preposition, a conjunction can connect any two like elements together in a sentence. Most notably, conjunctions have the ability to connect verbs together. This means that conjunctions can connect two sentences together.
Verisimilitude
Presenting a story or drama in a universe that appears just like the real one. Most novels and television sitcoms do this. ("imitation of life")
Interrogative Pronouns
Pronouns used in questions. Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not easy to see how they replace nouns. Who, which, what, where, how, whoever, whatever, whose are all interrogative pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The two most common reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. Examples: 1. They like ONE ANOTHER. 2. They talk to EACH OTHER like they're babies.
Persona (and dramatic monologue)
Refers to the voice of a particular kind of character—the character who is also the narrator within a literary work written from the first-person point of view.
Case forms of pronouns
Singular, Objective, Possessive
Fact
Something that is true and can be proven
Opinion
Something the person believes, thinks, or feels.
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Parallelism
The concept of presenting ideas is equal thoughts. LACKING PARALLELISM IS A MISTAKE: When ideas are listed without parallelism the sentence becomes choppy and incomprehensible. CORRECT USE: When ideas are listed with parallelism, the sentence flows and emphasis is shared across each idea. Example: before boarding the plane she said goodbye to her husband, bought a coffee and went through the security checkpoint.-Parallel
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word
Singular Pronoun:
The noun that the pronoun is representing is singular, so the pronoun referring to it must be singular. Otherwise, the noun has to be made plural. Non-example: A teacher should treat all THEIR students fairly. Example: The teacher should treat his students fairly.
Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who. More often than not (but not exclusively), they replace nouns representing people. When most people think of pronouns, it is the personal pronouns that usually spring to mind.
Subjective Pronoun
The subject is the noun performing the action.
Correlative Conjunctions
These are always used in pairs. Used to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence. both... and either... or neither... nor not only... but also whether... or Rather ...than, Not only ...but also, If ...then, Both ...and, No sooner ...than What with ... when Scarcely ...when, Rather ...than, No sooner ...than EXAMPLE: scarcely/when - I had SCARCELY walked in the door WHEN I got the call and had to run right back out again. GOOD TIPS: Rules: 1.Ensure verbs agree so your sentences make sense. 2. Must make sure the pronouns agree. 3.Keep parallel structure intact. Equal grammatical units need to be incorporated into the entire sentence. EXAMPLE: NOT ONLY did Mary grill burgers for Michael, BUT she ALSO fixed a steak for her dog, Vinny.
Absolute Possessive Pronouns
These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns, which are adjectives to nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are all absolute possessive pronouns. Examples: 1. The tickets are as good as OURS. 2 Shall we take YOURS or THEIRS?
Possessive Pronouns and examples:
Used to indicate who (or what) owns something. Like all pronouns, possessive pronouns take the place of nouns in sentences. Examples: mine yours his hers ours theirs
idiom
a phrase without a literal meaning
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
Clause
a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.
adjective
a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun; example: We saw LAZY lions beneath a SHADY tree.
noun
a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea; example: boy, Juan, river, Texas
transitive verb
action verb followed by a noun or pronoun that receives the action; example: I KNOW the story.
positive adjective
adjective used when no comparison being made; example: This is a HOT day.
articles
adjectives 'a,' 'an,' and 'the' - a comes before something which starts with a vowel or semi-vowel
comparative adverb
adverbs such as lower, nearer, more slowly; faster, more seriously
superlative adverb
adverbs such as lowest, nearest, most slowly; fastest, most seriously
predicate adjective
an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of a sentence; includes forms of taste, look, feel, smell, appear, seem, and become; example: I look TIRED, but I feel FINE.
proper adjective
an adjective that is formed from a proper noun; example: Africa --> African; Scotland --> Scottish
superlative adjective
an adjective used to compare three or more items; example: This is the HOTTEST day of the year.
comparative adjective
an adjective used to compare two items; example: Today is HOTTER than yesterday.
Comma Spices:
appear when two sentences are joined by only a comma The attempt to join two independent clauses with a comma, but without a coordinator. not all comma splices are errors.
verb phrase
contains the main verb and helping verbs
irregular verb
does not end with -ed to form the past participle; examples; (is, are, am / was / were) ; (has, have / had / had) ; (do, does / did / done) ; ate, grown, bought, sold, spent, taken, etc.
Coordinating conjunctions
emphasize equal ideas- and, but, or, etc.
Coordinating Conjunctions
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so FANBOYS
intransitive verb
includes all linking verbs and any action verbs that do not take an object; example: My friends CRIED.
helping verb
is not the main verb in a phrase; are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer; includes any forms of TO BE
object pronoun
is used as a direct/indirect object in a sentence; example: Rebecca gave ME a gift.
linking verb
joins the subject and the predicate
proper noun
names a particular person, place, thing, or idea; example: Amelia Earhart, Chicago, Katmai National Park
common noun
names any person place, thing or idea; example: pilot, city, park
plural noun
names more than one person, place, or thing; example: principals, switches, communities, toys, leaves, roofs, radios, potatoes, feet, sheep
singular noun
names one person, place, or thing; example: principal, cafeteria, stereos
predicate nominative
noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames the subject; example: Lassie has been a CELEBRITY for decades.
direct object
noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb; tells who or what receives the action; example: Bobby loved his PARENTS.
possessive noun
noun that shows ownership or possession
split infinitive
placing an adverb between the "to" and the verb (ex. to rise, to not rise; to golf, to slowly golf; to dive, to quickly dive)
present / present participle
play / (is, are, am) playing --> adding -ing used with form be
past / past participle
played / (have, has, had) played --> adding -ed or -d with form have
plural possessive noun
shows ownership by more than one person or thing; example: my friends' parents
singular possessive noun
shows ownership by one person or thing; example: my aunt's house
possessive pronoun
shows ownership or possession of something; example: Jerome is learning about HIS ancestors.
preposition
shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to another word in the sentence; example: I walked ALONG the beach.
pronoun
takes the place of one or more noun; example: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, it
future tense
tells that something will happen in the future; uses WILL with the verb; example: Dena WILL LAUGH at the jokes.
indirect object
tells to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done; example: Jack showed the DOG kindness.
action verb
tells what the subject of a sentence does or did. example: She SLEEPS every day. She SLEPT every day. ...In future tense, the action verb word won't change (Ex run - will run).
demonstrative adjective
tells which one; examples: this, that, these, and those
past perfect
tense with the past participle and helping verb HAD
present perfect
tense with the past participle and helping verb HAVE and HAS
future perfect
tense with the past participle and helping verb WILL HAVE
main verb
the most important verb in a phrase
who
use as a subject pronoun; example: _____ is not going?
whom
use as an object pronoun; example: To _____ am I speaking?
subject pronoun
used as a subject or part of a the subject in a sentence; WE are ready to go.
reflexive pronoun
usually refers to the subject of a sentence; examples: myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves
past tense
verb that tells something that happened in the past; example: Dena LAUGHED at the jokes.
present tense
verb that tells something that is happening now; example: Dena LAUGHS at the jokes.
verb tense
verb that tells the time of the action or being
antecedent
when using pronoun, the noun to which it refers; example: HE heard. NICHOLAS heard. // pronouns should agree with number and gender; example: NICHOLAS heard a LIBRARIAN tell STORIES.
adverb
words that describes verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs; answers when, where, how, to what extent; modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb; tells how, when, where, or to what extent; example: Our skates move EFFORTLESSLY. (how) or The ice is glistening NOW. (when) **most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective**
negatives
words that mean no; common negatives: no, not, never, nowhere, nothing, nobody, no one, neither, scarcely, barely; use only one in a sentence