GRAMMAR REVIEW
There are a few key words you need to know so that when we discuss your writing, you can understand how to improve your sentences and grammar. Much like it is easier to understand a mechanic if you understand a few of the more basic components of your automobile, so too is the case with understanding composition.
PARTS OF SPEECH
I. NOUNS: A noun is a word that names one (or more) person, place, thing or idea.
II. PRONOUNS: A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun and refers back to an antecedent which is named or implied.
Personal Pronouns
I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it, we, us, they, them
Possessive Personal Pronouns
my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, their, our, ours, their, theirs
Relative Pronouns: The relative pronoun is used to introduce subordinate clauses -- who, whom, which, what, that
Interrogative Pronoun: The interrogative pronoun is used in questions. Who...? Whom...? Which...? What...? Whose...?
III. ADJECTIVES: An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun. To modify -- means to describe, or to make more definite the meaning of the word.
Adjectives may modify nouns or pronouns in any one of four ways:
1. by telling what kind (blue eyes, strong wind)
2. by pointing out which one (that tall man, this suggestion)
3. by telling how many (several reasons, 10 players)
4. by telling whose (Geoff's watch, their papers)
Articles: The, a, an, are modifiers or determiners.
"the" = definite article
"a, an" = indefinite article
IV. VERBS: The verb is the heart of the sentence -- without a verb, any words is only a fragment. A verb is a word, or group of words, that expresses action or allows you to describe something.
Action Verb: An action verb may express either physical or mental action.
hit, blow, run (physical)
think, know (mental)
Linking Verbs: Linking verbs do not express action. They help to make a statement by linking the subject to a word or description. Eg. He is tall. She is a doctor.
e.g. appear, feel, sound, become, smell, taste, seem
The most common linking verb is the verb to be and its many forms.
SINGULAR / PLURAL / SINGULAR / PLURALI am / we are / I was / we were
you are / you are / you were / you were
he, she, it is / they are / he, she, it was / they were
I have been / we have been / I can be / we, you can be
you have been / you have been / you can be / you can be
he, it has been / they have been / he, she, it can be / they can be
Verb Phrase: A verb phrase is made up of a main verb and one or more helping verbs. Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) are so called because they help the main verb to express action or make a statement.
e.g. has played will be coming must have been hurt
Common Helping Verbs
e.g. do, did, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, can, may, will (shall) be, has (had), been, could, would, should, must, must have been, might have seen
V. ADVERBS: An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb may tell when, where, how, why, to what extent, or how much.
e.g. The band played stirringly. (how it played)
The band played immediately. (when it played)
Often adding "ly" to an adjective changes it into an adverb.
VI. PREPOSTIONS: A preposition is a small word that shows position or direction. It always introduces a prepositional phrase, which ends with a noun or pronoun. Most prepositions can fit into the following phrase:
“The cat jumped ______the box.” The two exceptions are “of” and “during”
Common Prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with
others: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, during, into, like, near , over, past, throughout, toward, under, underneath, through, up, upon, within, without
e.g. The boy (with a dog) lives (on a farm).
VII. CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses. There are four types of conjunctions. The two main types are
Coordinate Conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and sentences of equal value. The Coordinating Conjunctions are: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so. “FANBOYS”
Subordinate Conjunctions: Subordinating conjunctions join less important clauses to the main ideas of the sentence. Therefore, the clauses are not of equal value.
The Subordinating Conjunctions are: after, although, as, because, before, if, since, so that, that, unless, until, when, where, while, unless, even though.
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
THE SENTENCE
A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a verb.
A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause.
e.g. The whole class sang songs. (simple subject and simple verb)
Dawn and Sue were studying together. (compound subject)
Roberta finished her letter and mailed it. (compound verb)
SUBJECT: The subject is the doer of the action, or the word or group of words spoken about in sentence. VERB: The heart of every sentence is the verb. Every sentence MUST have a verb.
PREPOSTIONS: A preposition is a small word that shows position or direction. It always introduces a prepositional phrase, which ends with a noun or pronoun. Most prepositions can fit into the following phrase:
“The cat jumped ______the box.” The two exceptions are “of” and “during”
Common Prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with
others: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, during, into, like, near , over, past, throughout, toward, under, underneath, through, up, upon, without
e.g. The boy (with a dog) lives (on a farm).
Circle the prepositions and bracket ( ) or highlight the prepositional phrases.
1. Early in the morning, we arrived at the lake beside Mount Reyson.
2. There was a strange cry in the middle of the night.
3. In Kindergarten, I once ate a worm covered in mud.
4. We moved to Vancouver in May of 2001.
5. The cup of tea was too warm.
6. During the night, the blazing fire burned the building to the ground.
7. The radio towers were visible for a distance of ten miles.
8. Below the North Pole, the sea has a depth of nearly ten miles.
9. At the South Pole, there is a solid mass of ice.
10. During the storm, the waves hurled heavy rocks onto the shore.
11. One of the Reyson sisters went shopping with her mother in the afternoon.
12. A crowd of angry aliens gathered outside the embassy.
13. Before the railroads, settlers traveled along the rivers in canoes.
14. For years, the Pennsylvania Shipping Company towed its boats over the mountains.
15. Some of the salesmen went about their business without a car during the recession.
Use prepositional phrases to create transition.
A large cardboard box had been placed in the centre of the street.
PREPOSITIONS: Worksheet II
1. On my way home, the neighbor’s dog snapped at me and bit me on the ankle.
2. After the festival, many of the guests retired to their boats and enjoyed a cup of tea.
3. During the robbery, one of the thieves tripped over a garbage can in the alley.
4. Two of the sailors drowned in the sea late last night.
5. Without thinking, I sprinted into the battle and to my death.
6. It was snowing too hard to see the road without our headlights on high.
7. For the first time in my life, I was unable to win a trophy in the long jump.
8. After midnight, we crept into the house near the cemetery in the centre of town.
9. The quarterback passed to the tight end who sprinted across the goal line for a touchdown.
10. You can find everything from frozen milk to soybean flour in the big box store by the mall.
11. Four of our players spent most of the game in the penalty box.
12. In the tenth century, the nobles of France lived much better lives than those on farms.
13. One of the wedding guests remarked that the wine served for dessert was too dry for him.
14. As we turned onto the road near the park, a truck filled with melons hit us.
15. The cat with the red ears rubbed against the old couch in our den.
16. With time, the squatters in tents were not welcome in town, and they headed west on the rails.
17. The evil in them surfaced in the dark of night.
18. While they waited for the first light of morning, the wind whipped around the house.
19. Some of these things were lost, and the crops died and the farms were repossessed by bankers without scruples.
20. During the Depression, the bankers owned the best of the farms in the valley.
At home tonight, complete the following exercises online.
http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/prepositions.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm
A FEW BASIC RULES TO HELP YOU FIND THE SUBJECT
1. Normally, the subject precedes the verb and can be found by asking,
“Who or what is doing the action?”
“Who or what is being described?”
Most sentences are structured using the following pattern. Subject + Verb.
Eg. Henry brings his wife flowers every day.
Juliette sprinted down the street.
Yesterday, I ate twenty seven hot dogs at the fair.
Note: Not all sentences are as simple as these. Not all sentences begin with the subject, so do not assume that the first noun in the sentence has to be the subject.
2. The word THERE is NEVER the subject of a sentence.
Eg. There are fourteen students in the class.
The subject is fourteen students
The verb is are.
The standard position of subject and verb is reversed: V + S
3. Subjects and Verbs are NEVER found in a ( prepositional phrase.)
A] The subject precedes the verb: ( At the top of the hill ) , a small cabin stood.
Note the comma after the introductory prepositional phrase when it is followed by the subject.
B] The subject follows the verb: ( At the top of the hill ) stood a small cabin.
In both sentences, the subject is the small cabin and the verb is stood.
The most common verbs to follow a prepositional phrase are is, was, were and are.
4. Sometimes there will be more than one subject in a sentence.
COMPOUND SUBJECTS: Bill and Shirley attended the symphony last night.
COMPOUND SENTENCES: Bill attended the symphony, but Shirley stayed home.
5. The subject of a command is implied. The subject is “YOU” the unnamed person who is commanded.
Eg. Close the door! = YOU close the door! “You” is the subject of the first sentence.
SUBJECTS AND VERBS – Worksheet I
First, cross out the prepositional phrases. Now, circle the subject and later we will underline the verbs.
1. Barney was very tall.
2. There were several sharks in the water.
3. The cats and squirrels were trapped in the tree beside the house.
4. During the night, the leader of the rebels led his men into battle.
5. It had been a long night.
6. There was the dog.
7. Broderick and Roderick are my best friends.
8. On his head was a red cap.
9. At the time, I believed in you.
10. On the flight to Toronto, one of the pilots fell asleep at the wheel.
11. Wait until I come home!
12. There are light bulbs in the refrigerator.
13. Panicking, one of the firemen threw the old lady out of the window.
14. Some of the apples are rotten.
15. Quietly and quickly, the soldiers and civilians evacuated the town.
16. In the lake near the mountains, the divers discovered a sunken ship.
17. Several of the men walked into the shop and ordered sandwiches for lunch.
18. Suddenly, the car skidded to a stop.
19. Many of the students wanted to go home after the explosion.
20. On the inklinhop, Tweeble Tum is floobling with the wertinghee.
*Now, go back to the two prepositions worksheets and circle all the subjects. Then, at home or in the library go to the website below and complete the exercise.
http://aliscot.com/bigdog/sv_exercise.htm
SUBJECTS AND VERBS – Worksheet II
First, cross out the prepositional phrases. Now, circle the subject and late we will underline the verbs.
1. Roger was very angry and frustrated.
2. To Roger, there were many problems in Cageville.
3. The rabbits and squirrels were terrorizing the gerbils.
4. During the War of Carrots, the leader of the rabbits fought and killed three hundred gerbils.
5. Now, it was time for the gerbils to fight back.
6. There was Roger.
7. Roger armed himself with several atomic bombs and butter knives.
8. On his head was a tin foil cap to protect him from radiation.
9. Late one evening, in the dead of night, Roger crept into the rabbits’ hideout.
10. Will he succeed in implementing his plan?
11. Wait until tomorrow to find out!
12. There are light bulbs in the refrigerator.
13. Panicking, one of the firemen threw the old lady out of the window.
14. She bounced several times when she hit the pavement.
15. On the sidewalk lay the old woman.
16. Barney and Fred picked her up.
17. When they picked her up, she hit Barney with her fist.
18. Staggering backwards, the old lady lost her cane and toppled over the curb.
19. At the wedding, the bride and bridesmaids danced all night.
20. The police held back the crowd, and the ambulance pulled up to the curb.