My Language Arts Cheat Sheet

Noun / Pronoun / Adverb / Adjective
Person, place, thing, idea
Common®school, store, park
Proper®Ola Middle School, Office Depot, Piedmont Park
Singular®man, girl, party
Plural®men, girls, parties
Collective®group, chorus, herd
Abstract (untouchable)®love, beauty, wisdom, hope, intellect
Concrete (touchable)®house, book, table, lady, desk, phone
Possessive(shows ownership)® girl’s, boy’s, car’s, dogs’, children’s / Takes the place of a noun and determines the POINT OF VIEW in stories
Antecedent®the noun that the pronoun replaces
Personal Pronouns (subjective)®I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they
Personal Pronouns (objective)®me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
Possessive Pronouns®my, your, his, her, its, mine, yours, our, their, ours, theirs
Reflexive Pronouns (reflect back to “self”)®myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Relative Pronouns (start dependent clauses)®that, which, who, whom, whose
Interrogative Pronouns (ask a question)®Which? Whose? What? Whom? Who?
Demonstrative Pronoun (demonstrate which one)®this, that, these, those
Indefinite Pronoun (don’t refer to a definite person or thing)®each, either, neither, all, most, several, few, many, none, everybody, anybody, another, both, any, other, etc. / Modifies adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs
Answers How? When? Where? To what extent?
Usually end is ly
Not is always an adverb. / Modifies nouns or pronouns
Answers Which one? What kind? How many?
Articles (special group of adjectives)® a, an, the
Comparative Adjectives are used to compare two nouns.
Ex: My dog is bigger than my neighbor’s dog.
Superlative Adjectives are used to compare three or more nouns.
Ex: He is the tallest student in our class.
!NOTE: NEVER use more and the suffix er together. NEVER use most and the suffix est together.
Preposition / Conjunction / Interjection / Verb
Shows relationship between a noun or pronoun and some other word in the sentence
Examples: above, across, against, along, around, at, before, behind, below, between, by, down, except, for, from, in, of, off, on, over, since, through, to, under, until, up, with, etc.
!NOTE: A simple subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or predicate adjective will NEVER be in a prepositional phrase. / Joins words, phrases, and clauses
Coordinating®FANBOYS
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
Subordinating (start dependent clauses)®after, since, before, while, because, although, so that, if, when, whenever, as, even though, until, unless, etc.
Correlative®
not only/but also
neither/nor
either/or
both/and
whether/or / A word or expression typically used in grammatical isolation to show emotion.
Un-huh,
Wow!
Dang!
No,
Yes,
Oooh,
Man!
Ouch!
Aaah,
Whoa! / Shows action or helps make a statement
Action (shows action)®
Linking (links two words together)®is, be, am, are, was, were, been, being, appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, smell, taste, etc.
Helping (helps an action verb or linking verb)®is, be, am, are, was, were, been, being, will, would, can, could, shall, should, may, might, must, have, has, had, do, does, did, ought, etc.
Verb Tense / Verbals / Subject/Predicate / Complements
Present (happening now)®jump, talk, eat, falling, is falling, am falling
Past (happened previously)®jumped, talked, ate, fell, was falling
Future (will happen in the future)®will jump, shall talk, will be eating
Present Perfect (have or has plus the past particle)®have jumped, has talked, have been eating, has been falling
Past Perfect (had plus the past participle)®had jumped, had talked, had been eating
Future Perfect (will have or shall have plus the past participle)®will have jumped, shall have talked, will have been eating / Verb not behaving like a verb
Gerund®verb acting like a noun
•Ends in ing
•Can function as a subject,
direct object, or object of the
preposition
Participle®verb acting like an adjective
•Ends in ing or ed (or other past tense ending)
Infinitive® to + verb
•Can function as a noun,
adjective, or adverb / Complete Subject®part of sentence about which something is being said
Simple Subject®main word (or group of words) in the complete subject
•must be a noun, pronoun, gerund, or infinitive
•NEVER in a prepositional phrase
•can be an “understood you”
•There and here are never the subject of a sentence
Complete Predicate®part of the sentence that says something about the subject
Simple Predicate®verb
•95% of the time the predicate will begin with the verb / Completes the meaning of the subject and verb
Direct Object®comes AFTER an ACTION VERB and answers the questions What? or Whom?
•Is a noun or pronoun
•To find it, say “subject, verb, what?”
Indirect Object®usually comes between the action verb and direct object and answers the questions to whom? for whom? or to what?
• Is a noun or pronoun
•To find it, say, “subject, verb, direct object, to/for whom or what?”
Predicate Nominative (noun)®follows linking verb and renames subject.
•To find, say, “subject, linking verb, what?”
Predicate Adjective®follows linking verb and describes subject
•To find, say, “subject, linking verb, what?”
Transitive/Intransitive / Appositives / Prepositional Phrase / Clauses and Phrases
Transitive Verb®has a direct object
Intransitive Verb®does NOT have a direct object
!NOTE: ALL linking verbs are intransitive / Noun or pronoun that follows and renames another noun or pronoun
Essential®necessary information = NO COMMAS
Ex. My friend Jodi enjoys running.
Non-essential®extra information = commas
Ex. My husband, Tom, plays hockey. / Group of words beginning with preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun.
Can act as an adjective or adverb.
Object of the preposition®follows preposition and tells “what?”
!NOTE: If there is no object, it’s not a preposition. / Phrase®a group of words without a subject and verb
Clause®a group of words with a subject and verb
Dependent Clause®contains a subject and verb but does NOT make a complete thought
•Starts with a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction
Independent Clause®contains a
subject and verb and makes a complete thought
Adjective Clause®has a subject and verb. It acts like an adjective. Usually begins with a relative pronoun.
Adverb Clause®has a subject and verb. It acts like an adverb. Usually begins with a subordinating conjunction.
Noun Clause®has a subject and verb. It acts as a noun.
Sentence Errors / Sentence Types / Sentence Purposes / Italics vs. Quotation Marks
Fragment®an incomplete thought
!The fix® add a subject, predicate, or both.
Run-on®two independent clauses incorrectly joined.
!The fix®1. Make two independent clauses 2. Add a semi-colon between the clauses 3. And a comma and a coordinating conjunction between the clauses / Simple®one independent clause
Compound®two or more independent clauses
Complex®one independent clause + one or more dependent clauses.
Compound Complex®two independent clauses + one or more dependent clauses. / Declarative®makes a statement
Interrogative®asks a question
Imperative®gives a command
Exclamatory®expresses strong feelings / Italics and underlining are the same thing.
•Use italics for long works: newspapers, magazines, CDs, movies, novels, plays, etc.
•Use italics for names of ships, planes, trains, artwork, and foreign expressions.
•Use “quotation marks” for short works: articles, songs, TV episodes, short stories, poems, etc.
•Use “quotation marks” for dialogue and words copied from other sources.
Commas / Types of Fiction / Plot Diagram / Types of Conflict
1.After a greeting & closing
2.After a direct address
3. Around a non-essential appositive
4. Between items in a series (a series is 3 or more)
5. After a dependent clause
6. After an introductory phrase
7. After a transition word
8. Between a city & state. Also after the state 9. After the day of the week in a date
10. Between the date and year
11. In dialogue to separate the speaker from what is being spoken
12. Before the coordinating conjunction when joining two independent clauses
13. Around a non-essential adjective clause
14. After an introductory word
15. Around an interrupter / Realistic fiction®stories with situations that can happen in real life
Historic fiction®stories that take place during past historical times
Mystery®stories involving suspense, danger, and intrigue
Adventure®relatively realistic; characters have many exciting experiences
Fantasy®imaginative stories; characters & settings are different from real world; often dealing with magic, battles of good vs. evil
Science fiction®a type of fantasy; stories generally set in a future time or world in which scientific advances have changed society in important ways
Folktales®traditional stories that reveal the values and beliefs of a culture
Myth®a traditional story; usually of unknown authorship; answers basic questions about the world. Myths attempt to explain such things as human nature, the origin of the world, mysteries of nature, and social customs.
Fable®a brief tale that teaches a lesson about human nature. Many fables feature animals.
Legend®a story handed down from the past about a specific person—usually someone of heroic achievement. / Exposition®introduces the characters, setting, and tone of a story
Rising Action®develops the main conflict
Climax®the “turning point” or highest interest point of a story
Falling Action®loose ends are being tied-up and the story is headed towards a solution
Resolution®the main conflict is resolved or the story simply ends / Internal Conflict
Man vs. Self®a character fights against his own personal beliefs and values
External Conflict
Man vs. Man® a conflict between two characters in the story
Man vs. Society®a character is an outcast or tries to break the normal rules society has established
Man vs. Nature®a character fights against the forces of nature (ex: disease, tornado, geographic location, a whale)
Man vs. Technology/Fantasy ®man fights against technology advances or aliens
Author’s Purpose (P.I.E.) &
Point of View / Figurative Language / Literary Terms / Organizational Structures
Author’s Purpose®author’s intent or reason for producing a piece of writing
Genre Examples
To persuade®to use convincing strategies and techniques to try to get someone to agree or see that your view is worth considering
To inform®to give information or news
To entertain®to humor or enlighten
To explain®to discuss how something works or how to do something (to teach)
Point of View
•1ST Person: pronouns having to do with “me” or “I”
•2nd Person: pronouns having to with “you”
•3rd Person: pronouns having to do with everyone else
•3rd Person omniscient: “all-knowing” point of view; having complete knowledge or awareness / Alliteration® the repetition of the initial (first) consonant. There should be at least three repetitions in a row. Ex. She sells seashells by the seashore.
!NOTE: If you use a vowel rather than a consonant, it is assonance.
Idioms® Idioms are phrases or expressions that have hidden meanings. The expressions don't literally (exactly) mean what the words say. Ex: It’s raining cats and dogs.
Symbolism®Objects that stand for something else. Ex. heart = love, dove = peace, shamrock = good luck
Imagery®addresses the senses of a reader Ex. Hot, spicy, juicy, well-seasoned chicken
Hyperbole®an exaaaaaaaggggerated expression usually used for emphasis or humorous effect Ex: You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Personification® Personification is giving human qualities, feelings, action, or characteristics to inanimate (non-living) objects. Ex: The wind breathes a chill into the air.
Metaphor®a comparison of two things without using “like” or “as” Ex: Her eyes were sparkling diamonds.
Simile®a comparison of two things using “like” or “as” Ex: His eyes were as blue as the ocean.
Onomatopoeia®use of words that sound like their meaning; sound words Ex: buzz, bang, boom, zoom, ding
Allusion® an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text
Ex: I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.
Irony®outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been expected / Theme®central subject of a work; the life lesson learned
Main Idea®central focus
Conflict®the problem in a story
Setting®where and when a story occurs
Characters®people or animals that experience the events of the plot in a story
•Dynamic (round)®characters who change throughout the story
•Static (flat)®characters who do not change at all
Characterization®used in stories to give characters traits and emotions; can be seen through the character’s thoughts, actions, looks, or words.
Foreshadowing®hints the author gives the reader so that he/she can make predictions
Flashback®literary device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative.
Irony®when there is a difference between what appears to be happening and what is actually happening
Tone®the writer’s attitude about the subject; think of the voice of the story (amused, angry)
Mood®the feeling the reader gets from the story (happiness, sorrow)
Irrelevant®not important
Extraneous®extra, unimportant
Transitions®words used to connect thoughts and ideas and to move from one paragraph or sentence to the next. Ex: also, certainly, as a result, in other words, most importantly, etc. / Graphic Organizers® text that is put on a chart, time line, or other graphic form
Chronological Order®the order in which events occur (first, next, finally)
Order of Importance®organized with the most important facts/information first followed by the least important
Comparison & Contrast®shows how two or more things are alike and different (signal words compare: like, also, too, all, and the same
signal words contrast: different, unlike, and however)
Cause & Effect®describes an event or condition that causes other things to happen (signal words cause: so, therefore, as a result
signal words effect: because, since, as a result)
Deduction®begins with a general ideas and uses it to support specific conclusions
Induction®begins with specific idea that leads to a general idea
Problem/solution®describes a current problem and proposes a solution, or shows how a past problem was solved
Question/answer®asks a question (to a current problem) and proposes or provides an answer
Spatial Order®put things in order based on their location in a particular area

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