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GRAMMAR
Parts of Speech
Parts of the Sentence
Phrases
Clauses
Verbals
2
GRAMMAR REVIEW
PARTS OF SPEECH
I. NOUNS
A noun is a word that names one (or more) person, place, thing or idea.
8, 9, 10 Proper Noun
A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing and always begins with a capital. e.g. Fred, Vancouver, Big Mac
8, 9, 10 Common Noun
A common noun does not name any particular person, place or thing. e.g. child, city, perfume
8, 9, 10 Abstract Noun
An abstract noun names a quality, characteristic, or an idea. e.g. kindness, freedom, communism
8, 9, 10 Collective Noun
A collective noun names a group, and is singular in form but plural in meaning. e.g. class, committee, crew, team
II. PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun and refers back to an antecedent which is named or implied.
8, 9, 10 Personal Pronoun
I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it, we, us, they, them
8, 9, 10 Possessive Personal Pronoun
my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, their, our, ours, their, theirs
Reflexive Pronoun (Personal Pronoun and "Self"
himself, myself, themselves
9, 10 Relative Pronoun
The relative pronoun is used to introduce subordinate clauses -- who, whom, which, what, that
9, 10 Interrogative Pronoun
The interrogative pronoun is used in questions. Who...? Whom...? Which...? What...? Whose...?
9, 10 Demonstrative Pronoun
The demonstrative pronoun is used to point out -- this, that, these, those. e.g. That is red.
9, 10 Indefinite Pronouns
Care must be taken in using indefinite pronouns because errors can easily be made when determining whether they are singular or plural.
Singular: any, anybody, each, either, neither, none, no one, somebody, everybody, everyone
Plural: all, both, few, many, several, some
III. ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun.
8, 9, 10 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)
9, 10 Interrogative Adjective
e.g. Which man is he? What book do you want? I don't know what magazine you mean?
8, 9, 10 Article
The, a, an, are modifiers or determiners.
Ø "the" = definite article
Ø "a, an" = indefinite article
8, 9, 10 IV. VERBS
The verb is the heart of the sentence -- without a verb, any words is only a sentence fragment. A verb is a word, or group of words, that expresses action, indicates a state of being, or asserts something. It is used in:
Ø making a statement (The rain falls gently.)
Ø asking a question (Are you happy?)
Ø giving a command (Walk carefully.)
Action Verb
An action verb may express either physical or mental action.
Ø hit, blow, run (physical)
Ø think, know (mental)
9, 10 Linking Verbs
Linking verbs do not express action. They help to make a statement by linking the subject to a word or idea in the predicate which we call a subjective completion.
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 / the 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
8, 9, 10 Transitive Verb
A transitive verb is a verb with a receiver of the action (direct object) to complete its meaning.
e.g. The boy caught a salmon. (The direction object tells what he caught.)
9, 10 Intransitive Verb
An intransitive verb is a verb with NO receiver of the action to complete its meaning.
e.g. The boy fished in the stream. (The sentence tells where he fished, not what he hoped to catch.)
9, 10 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
9, 10 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
8, 9, 10 V. ADVERB
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)
The band played there. (where it played)
The band played endlessly. (how much it played)
Often adding "ly" to an adjective changes it into an adverb.
Adverbs are generally placed after the verb they go with, but they may appear anywhere in a sentence for emphasis. Adjectives are generally put before the noun or pronoun they modify.
8, 9, 10 VI. PREPOSTIONS
A preposition is a connective. It always introduces a prepositional phrase and shows the relationship between its object (noun or pronoun) and some other word in the sentence. The noun or pronoun at the end of a prepositional phrase is the object of the preposition which begins the phrase.
Common Prepositions
e.g. at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with
others: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, concerning, despite, down, during, except, inside, into, like, near, off, on, out, over, past, since, through, throughout, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, within, without
e.g. The boy (with a dog) lives (on a farm).
preposition (with) preposition (on)
noun object (dog) noun object (farm)
prepositional phrase (with a dog) prepositional phrase (on a farm)
This phrase tells us about boy. This phrase tells us where he lives.
The phrase with the dog is an Lives is a verb.
adjectival phrase. The phrase on a farm is an
The full name of the phrase is a adverbial phrase.
prepositional adjectival phrase. The full name of the phrase is a
prepositional adverbial phrase.
The adjectival phrase modifies a noun or pronoun.
The adverbial phrase modifies the verb.
e.g. The teacher (of the class). - adjectival phrase modifying the noun "teacher"
The boys stood (around the room). - adverbial phrase modifying the verb "stood"
8, 9, 10 VII. INTERJECTIONS
An interjection is a word which expresses emotion and has no grammatical relation to the other words in the sentence.
e.g. Oh! Ah! Ouch! Alas! Ha! My goodness!
Interjections are followed by an exclamation mark or comma.
8, 9, 10 VIII. CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses.
e.g. John and Joe ran to school and away from the park.
"and" joins two words "and" joins two phrases
There are four kinds of conjunctions.
8, 9, 10 Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and sentences of equal value. The Coordinating Conjunctions are: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so.
9, 10 Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions join words, phrases, and sentences of equal value and are always used in pairs.
The Correlative Conjunctions are: either -- or, neither -- nor, not only -- but also, whether -- or.
9, 10 Subordinating 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, how, if, since, so that, that, unless, until, when, where, while, unless, as though, as if, wherever, provided that, even though, even if, no matter what, in spite of the fact that, in as much as, so that, in order that, whereas.
9, 10 Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs join two independent clauses. The conjunctive adverb is preceded by a semicolon and is followed by a comma.
The Conjunctive Adverbs are: however, nevertheless, otherwise, therefore, still, then.
e.g. We drove to Blackcomb; however, it was too foggy to ski.
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
8, 9, 10 IX. THE SENTENCE
A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate.
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 or compound bare predicate)
8, 9, 10 X. SUBJECT
The subject is the doer of the action, or the word or group of words spoken about in a sentence.
Bare Subject
The head-word of the subject is the bare subject and it is usually a noun.
Complete Subject
The word or group of words spoken about in a sentence including its modifiers.
e.g. The little boy with the smile on his face ran down the street.
The simple subject (boy)
The complete subject (The little boy with the smile on his face)
8, 9, 10 XI. PREDICATE
The word or group of words that tells us something about the subject. (predicates indicate action or state of being)
The predicate always contains a verb.
Bare Predicate
The head-word of the predicate is the bare predicate and is always a verb.
Complete Predicate
The word or group of words that tell us something about the subject.
e.g. The little boy with the smile on his face ran down the street.
The simple predicate (ran)
The complete predicate (ran down the street)
9, 10 XII. PHRASES
A group of words without a verb which usually acts as a modifier. A phrase makes sense but not complete sense by itself. It depends on the rest of the sentence to complete the thought.
** THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF PHRASES
Ø prepositional phrases (adjectival or adverbial)
Ø verb phrases
Ø gerund phrases
Ø participial phrases
Ø infinitive phrases
** for specific information, refer to: verb phrases (p. 4), prepositions (p. 5) and verbals (p. 12)
XIII. CLAUSE
A clause MUST contain a subject and a predicate.
9, 10 Main Clause
A main clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate and can be a sentence by itself.
9, 10 Subordinate Clauses
A subordinate clause depends on another clause for its full meaning. Subordinate clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns.
9, 10 Adjectival Clauses
Adjectival clauses are subordinate clauses that modify nouns. Adjectival clauses begin with relative pronouns (who, which, that, whom, whose, where, when).
e.g. I know the architect who designed your house. (The adjectival clause modifies architect, telling us which architect is being discussed.)
9, 10 Adverbial Clauses
Adverbial clauses are subordinate clauses that usually modify verbs, but sometimes adverbial clauses modify adjectives or other adverbs. They begin with subordinate conjunctions (because, although, since, when, where, etc.)
e.g. Because the car went through the stop sign, the police arrested the driver. (The adverbial clause modifies the verb "arrested" and explains why the police arrested the driver.)
10 Noun Clauses
Noun clauses function as nouns in a sentence and are part of the main clause. Noun clauses begin with a subordinate conjunction (where, when, why, what, etc.).
e.g. What you said is foolish. (The noun clause functions as the subject of the verb "is".)
PARTS OF SPEECH AND RELATIONSHIPS IN A SENTENCE
XIV. NOUNS AND NOUN RELATIONSHIPS
8, 9, 10 Subject of the Verb
Ø The subject is the doer of the action.
Ø The word or group of words spoken about in a sentence.
Ø The subject usually comes before the verb.
Ø It is usually at the beginning of a sentence or after an introductory phrase or clause.
** Ask the question "Who?" or "What?" and then say the verb.
e.g. The zookeeper fed the monkeys.
Who fed the monkeys? (the zookeeper)
The noun "zookeeper" is subject of the verb "fed".
8, 9, 10 Direct Object
Ø The receiver of the action.
Ø The direct object usually comes after the verb.
Ø It is the receiver of the action.
Ø Transitive verbs take a direct object.
** Say the verb and then ask "Whom?" or "What?".
e.g. Subject Verb Direct Object
The zookeeper fed the monkeys.
The cat caught a mouse.
The direct object answers the question "what?"
The zookeeper fed what? (the monkeys)
The cat caught what? (the mouse)
8, 9, 10 Indirect Object
Ø The indirect object of the verb precedes the direct object and usually tells to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done.