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Grammar Terms
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A. Definition of a Sentence 01. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. a. Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate. ' (See Grammar 3-6.) b. Every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. ' That leopard has already killed 400 people. ' Is it still hungry? ' Be careful! c. Sometimes a sentence may have only one word. ' (See Grammar 5.) ê Listen. Hurry! A. Kinds of sentences 01. There are four different kinds of sentences. a. A declarative sentence makes a statement. ' A declarative sentence ends with a period. ê A volcano in the Canary Islands is for sale. b. An interrogative sentence asks a question. ' An interrogative sentence ends with a question mark. ê Who would want to buy a volcano? c. An imperative sentence gives a command. ' An imperative sentence ends with a period. ê Show me the list of buyers. d. An exclamatory sentence expresses excitement. ' An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation point. ê They must be crazy! 3. Grammar 3. A. Subjects and predicates in declarative sentences 01. Every sentence has two main parts, the subject and the predicate. a. The subject names what the sentence is about. b. The predicate tells something about the subject. 02. In most declarative sentences, the subject is the first part. a. The predicate is the second part. ' A famous sea captain was often sick. ' He suffered from seasickness. B. In some declarative sentences, the predicate is the first part. 01. The subject is the second part. a. Back and forth rolled the captain's ship. 4. Grammar 4. A. Subjects and predicates in interrogative sentences 01. Every interrogative sentence has a subject and a predicate. a. In some interrogative sentences, the subject is the first part. ' The predicate is the second part. ê Who solved the mystery? ê Which clue was most important? B. In most interrogative sentences, part of the predicate comes before the subject. 01. To find the subject and predicate, rearrange the words of the interrogative sentence. a. Use those words to make a declarative sentence. ' (The declarative sentence will not always sound natural, but it will help you.) ê The subject and predicate of the two sentences are the same. Æ Why did the butler lie about it? Æ The butler did lie about it, why?
5. Grammar 5. A. Subjects and predicates in imperative sentences 01. Only the predicate of an imperative sentence is spoken or written. a. The subject of the sentence is understood. ' That subject is always you. ê (You) Try an underhand serve. ê (You) Please show me how to do it
6. Grammar 6. A. Subjects and predicates in exclamatory sentences 01. Every exclamatory sentence has a subject and a predicate. a. In most exclamatory sentences, the subject is the first part. ' The predicate is the second part. ê Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, is frozen over nearly all of the time! B. In some exclamatory sentences, part of the predicate comes before the subject. 01. What terrible weather that city has.' a. (That city has what terrible weather!) 7. Grammar 7. A. Compound subjects in sentences 01. A sentence with a compound subject has two or more subjects with the same predicate. a. Jesse James and his brother Frank were famous outlaws in the Old West. b. Cole Younger, James Younger, and Robert Younger were all members of the James gang.
8. Grammar 8. A. Compound predicates in sentences 01. A sentence with a compound predicate has two or more predicates with the same subject. a. The postal workers took in the tailless cat and named him Kojak. b. Kojak lives in the post office, catches mice, and earns a salary. 9. Grammar 9. A. Compound sentences 01. A compound sentence is made up of two shorter sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. a. (See Grammar 45.) B. A compound sentence has a subject and a predicate followed by another subject and another predicate. 01. G. David Howard set a record in 1978, and it remains unbroken. 02. Howard told jokes for more than 13 hours, but not all of them were funny. 1. Grammar 10. A. Definition of a noun 01. A noun is a word that names a person, a place, or a thing. a. That brave man crossed the ocean in a rowboat.
2. Grammar 11. A. Singular and plural forms of nouns 01. Almost every noun has two forms. a. The singular form names one person, place, or thing. ' Only one worker in that factory can name the secret ingredient. b. The plural form names more than one person, place, or thing. ' Several workers in those two factories can name the secret ingredients. 3. Grammar 12. A. Spelling plural forms of nouns 01. For most nouns, add s to the singular form to make the plural form. a. joke—jokes character—characters cartoon—cartoons 02. If the singular form ends in s, ss, sh, ch, or x, add es.
B. If the singular form ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i and add es. 01. spy—spies discovery—discoveries mystery—mysteries C. If the singular form ends in f, usually change the f to v and add es. D. If the singular form ends in fe, usually change the f to v and add s. 01. There are some important exceptions to these rules. a. Look in a dictionary if you are not sure of the correct plural form. ' half—halves wife—wives loaf—loaves knife--knives Some exceptions: ' roof—roofs chief—chiefs safe—safes E. If the singular form ends in o, add s to some words and es to others. 01. Look in a dictionary if you are not sure of the correct plural form. a. studio—studios tomato—tomatoes piano—pianos zero—zeroes F. Some nouns change in other ways to make the plural form. child—children woman—women mouse—mice goose—geese G. A few nouns have the same singular form and plural form. 01. sheep—sheep deer—deer moose—moose
III. Grammar 13. 1. Proper nouns and common nouns A. A proper noun is the special name of a particular person, place, or thing. 01. Each word in a proper noun begins with a capital letter. a. Max, the high school student, stopped in Metropolis and ate a Big Mac before going back to Joppa High School. B. A common noun is the name of any person, place, or thing. 01. Then the man stopped in a small town and ate a hamburger. IV. Grammar 14. 1. Possessive nouns A. The possessive form of a noun shows ownership. 01. Usually the possessive form of a noun is made by adding an apostrophe and s. a. (See Punctuation 20.) ' A piranha's teeth are as sharp as razors. 02. The possessive form of a plural noun that ends in s is made by adding only an apostrophe. a. (See Punctuation 20.) ' Nobody believed the explorers' story. V. Grammar 15. 1. Nouns of address A. A noun of address names the person being spoken to. 01. One or two commas separate a noun of address from the rest of a sentence. a. (See Punctuation 9.) ' Where are you going, Ricky? ' I told you, Lucy, that I have a rehearsal tonight. VI. Grammar 16. 1. Appositive nouns A. An appositive noun renames or identifies the noun that comes before it in a sentence. 01. An appositive noun is usually part of a group of words. a. The whole group of words is called an appositive. ' One or two commas separate an appositive from the rest of a sentence. ê (See Punctuation 10.) Æ A Ford was the preferred car of John Dillinger, the famous gangster. Æ Even his sister, the president of her own company, would not hire him. VII. VERBS 1. Grammar 17. A. Definition of a verb B. A verb is a word that expresses action or being. 01. The volcano erupted suddenly. 02. It was a terrific surprise. C. Almost all verbs have different forms to show differences in time. 01. Sometimes puffs of smoke rise from the volcano. 02. A huge cloud of heavy gray smoke rose from it last week.
2. Grammar 18. A. Action verbs 01. Most verbs are action verbs. a. An action verb expresses physical action or mental action. ' The committee members banned Donald Duck comic books. ' They disliked the duck's behavior. 3. Grammar 19. A. Linking verbs 01. Some verbs are linking verbs. a. A linking verb tells what the sentence subject is or is like. b. The most common linking verb is “be.” ' (See Grammar 23.) ê A black and white dog became a mail carrier in California. ê The dog's name was Dorsey. 4. Grammar 20. A. Verb phrases 01. A verb phrase is made up of two or more verbs that function together in a sentence. a. The final verb in a verb phrase is the main verb. ' The 13,000-pound bell had disappeared. ' Somebody must have stolen it. 02. The verbs before the main verb in a verb phrase are helping verbs. a. The most common helping verbs are forms of be: ' (is, are, am, was, were) b. forms of have ' (has, have, had) c. forms of do ' (does, do, did). d. (See Grammar 23.) ' That radio station is sponsoring a contest. ' The station has already received 45,217 postcards. 5. Grammar 21. A. Agreement of verbs with nouns 01. Verbs that express continuing action or existence and verbs that express current action or existence are in the present tense. 02. Almost all present-tense verbs have two different forms. a. These two different forms go with different sentence subjects. ' The verb in a sentence, or the first helping verb in a sentence, must agree with the most important word in the subject of that sentence. ê One present-tense form of a verb agrees with singular nouns. Æ This verb form ends with s. Ä A tick sucks blood from larger animals. ê The other present-tense form of a verb agrees with plural nouns. Æ Ticks suck blood from larger animals. 6. Grammar 22. A. Agreement of verbs with compound subjects 01. The present-tense verb form that agrees with plural nouns also agrees with compound subjects. a. (See Grammar 7.) ' Beth Obermeyer and her daughter Kristen hold a record for long-distance tap dancing.
7. Grammar 23. A. Forms of the verb be 01. The verb be has more forms than other verbs. a. Be has three present-tense forms: ' is, are, and am. ê Is agrees with singular nouns. ê Are agrees with plural nouns. ê Am agrees with the pronoun I. Æ Mary Lou Retton is a famous gymnast. Æ Many people are her fans. Æ I ant a pretty good gymnast, too. 02. Most verbs have one past-tense form that tells about action or existence in the past. a. Be has two past-tense forms: ' was and were. ê Was agrees with singular noun subjects. ê Were agrees with plural noun subjects. Æ The argument was noisy. Æ Several neighbors were very angry about it. 8. Grammar 24. A. Irregular verbs 01. Usually the past-tense form of a verb ends in d or ed. a. William Baxter invented an important part of the Morse code. 02. Some verbs change in other ways to form the past tense. a. These are called irregular verbs. ' Look in a dictionary if you are not sure of the correct past-tense form of a verb. ê Samuel Morse took all the credit. VIII. PRONOUNS 1. Grammar 25. A. Personal pronouns 01. A personal pronoun is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns. a. Superman tried to enlist in the Army during World War II, but he was found unfit to serve.
2. Grammar 26. A. Subject forms and object forms of personal pronouns 01. Each personal pronoun has a subject form and an object form. a. These different forms are used in different ways in sentences. ' (The pronouns “it” and “you” are the same in the subject form and the object form.) ê These are the subject forms of personal pronouns: Æ I, you, he, she, it, we, they. ê These are the object forms of personal pronouns: Æ me, you, him, her, it, us, them. Ä He saw through a wall and read the wrong eye chart. Ä The army did not accept him. 3. Grammar 27. A. Antecedents of pronouns 01. A personal pronoun refers to the noun it replaces. a. That noun is the antecedent of the pronoun. ' Roy Rogers became famous in movies. ' He was usually accompanied by his horse, Trigger, and his dog, Bullet. 02. If a personal pronoun takes the place of two or more nouns, those nouns together are the antecedent of the pronoun. a. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans often worked together. b. They made dozens of movies. 4. Grammar 28. A. Subject-verb agreement with personal pronouns B. The present-tense verb form that agrees with singular nouns also agrees with the pronoun subjects he, she, and it. 01. She tests new planes. C. The present-tense verb form that agrees with plural nouns also agrees with the pronoun subjects I, you, we, and they. 01. They test new planes. 5. Grammar 29. A. Indefinite pronouns 01. A word that refers to a general group but does not have a specific antecedent is an indefinite pronoun. a. Nobody can be right about everything. 02. One common indefinite pronoun, no one, is written as two words.
6. Grammar 30. A. Subject-verb agreement with indefinite pronouns 01. The present-tense verb form that agrees with singular nouns also agrees with most indefinite pronouns. a. Almost everyone remembers the Alamo. b. No one knows exactly what happened there. c. Of the accounts written of the battle, several claim to be factual. 7. Grammar 31. A. Possessive pronouns 01. A personal pronoun that shows ownership is a possessive pronoun. a. These possessive pronouns are used before nouns in sentences: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. ' Why are my gym shoes in your locker? 02. These possessive pronouns stand alone in sentences: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs. a. Are these gym shoes mine, or are they yours? 03. Unlike possessive nouns, possessive pronouns are not written with apostrophes. 04. 8. Grammar 32. A. Reflexive pronouns 01. A pronoun that refers back to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence is a reflexive pronoun. a. These words are reflexive pronouns: ' myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. ê The witness had been talking to himself. ê You should have bought yourself a ticket. 9. Grammar 33. A. Demonstrative pronouns 01. A word that points out one or more people or things is a demonstrative pronoun. a. These four words can be demonstrative pronouns: ' this, that, these, and those. ê These are the funniest cartoons. ê Nobody laughed at those. b. If the word this, that, these, or those is followed by a noun, the word is not a demonstrative pronoun. (See Grammar 34.) 1. Grammar 34. A. Definition of an adjective 01. A word that adds to the meaning of a noun or pronoun is an adjective. a. Adjectives usually tell what kind, which one, or how many. ' Those exhausted men have been playing tennis for nine hours. b. Adjectives that tell what kind can sometimes stand alone. ' They were exhausted. c. Adjectives that tell which one or how many always come before nouns. ' Both players have used several rackets. 2. Grammar 35. A. The adjectives a and an 01. The adjectives “a” and “an” are usually called indefinite articles. a. (The adjective “the” is usually called a definite article) ' “A” is used before words that begin with consonants or with a "yew" sound. ê A penguin cannot fly. ê Cooking is a useful activity. ' An is used before words that begin with vowels or with an unsounded “h.” ê An ostrich cannot fly. ê Brutus is an honorable man. 3. Grammar 36. A. Predicate adjectives 01. An adjective that comes after a linking verb and adds to the meaning of the subject noun or pronoun is a predicate adjective. a. Maria Spelterina must have been brave. b. Her tightrope walks across Niagara Falls were dangerous. 4. Grammar 37. A. Proper adjectives 01. An adjective that is formed from a proper noun is a proper adjective. a. Each word in a proper adjective begins with a capital letter. ' The American dollar is worth less than the ' British pound. ' The new Spielberg film is great!
5. Grammar 38. A. Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives 01. Adjectives can be used to compare two or more people or things. a. When only two people or things are compared, use the comparative form of an adjective. ' To make the comparative form, add er to adjectives with one syllable and many adjectives with two syllables. ê Use more (or less) before some adjectives with two syllables and all adjectives with more than two syllables. Æ Look in a dictionary if you are not sure of the correct comparative form of an adjective. Ä Buster Keaton was funnier than Charlie Chaplin. Ä Buster Keaton was more amusing than Charlie Chaplin. b. When more than two people or things are compared, use the superlative form of an adjective. ' To make the superlative form, add “est” to adjectives with one syllable and many adjectives with two syllables. ' Use most (or least) before some adjectives with two syllables and all adjectives with more than two syllables. ê Look in a dictionary if you are not sure of the correct superlative form of an adjective. Æ Buster Keaton was the funniest movie actor who ever lived. Æ Buster Keaton was the most amusing movie actor who ever lived. Æ The comparative and superlative forms of the adjective good are better and best. Æ Buster Keaton was a better actor than Charlie Chaplin. Æ Buster Keaton was the best movie actor who ever lived. ' The comparative and superlative forms of the adjective bad are worse and worst. ê The Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes was a worse movie than The Fly. ê The Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes was probably the worst movie ever made. 1. Grammar 39. A. Definition of an adverb 01. A word that adds to the meaning of a verb or verb phrase is an adverb. a. Adverbs usually tell where, when, how, or how often. ' The rodeo rider bravely mounted the mustang again. 2. Grammar 40. A. Comparative and superlative forms of adverbs 01. Adverbs can be used to compare the actions of two or more people or things. a. When only two people or things are compared, use the comparative form of an adverb. b. To make the comparative form, usually use more (or less) before the adverb. c. Add “er” to a few short adverbs. ' Polly speaks more clearly than that other parrot. ' Polly can fly higher than that other parrot. 02. When more than two people or things are compared, use the superlative form of an adverb. a. To make the superlative form, usually use most (or least) before the adverb. ' Add “est” to a few short adverbs. ê Of all those parrots, Polly speaks most clearly. ê Of all those parrots, Polly can fly highest 03. The comparative and superlative forms of the adverb “well” are better and best. a. That parrot behaved better than your pet cat. b. Of all the unusual pets in the show, the parrot behaved best. 04. The comparative and superlative forms of the adverb “badly” are worse and worst. a. Your pet monkey behaved worse than that parrot. b. Of all the unusual pets in the show, your cat behaved worst. 3. Grammar 41. A. Using adjectives and adverbs 01. Use an adjective to add to the meaning of a noun or a pronoun. a. The proud actor accepted the prize. 02. Use an adverb to add to the meaning of a verb or a verb phrase. a. Many (but not all) adverbs end in “ly.” ' The actor accepted the prize proudly.
4. Grammar 42. A. The adverb not 01. The adverb not changes the meaning of the verb or verb phrase in a sentence. a. The soldiers in the fort would not surrender. b. Help did not arrive in time. 5. Grammar 43. A. Avoiding double negatives 01. The adverb not is a negative word. a. Other common negative words are no, never, no one, nobody, nothing, nowhere, hardly, barely, and scarcely. ' Use only one negative word to make a sentence mean no or not. ê No one ever understands how I feel. ê My friends never understand how I feel. ê Hardly anyone understands how I feel 6. Grammar 44. A. Adverbs used as intensifiers 01. Certain adverbs add to the meaning of adjectives or other adverbs. a. These special adverbs are sometimes called intensifiers. ' One terribly nosy neighbor heard the whole conversation. ' Very nervously, she told the police all about it.
1. Grammar 45. A. Coordinating conjunctions 01. A word used to join two equal parts of a sentence is a coordinating conjunction. a. The most common coordinating conjunctions are and, but, and or. ' Many people have driven across the country, but these two men did it the hard way. ' Charles Creighton and James Hargis drove across the country and back again. ' They never stopped the engine or took the car out of reverse gear. 2. Grammar 46. A. Subordinating conjunctions and complex sentences 01. A word used to begin an adverb clause is a subordinating conjunction. a. The most common subordinating conjunctions are listed below.
after before though when although if unless whenever because since until while
02. An adverb clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate but that cannot stand alone as a sentence. a. An adverb clause functions like an adverb. ' It tells when, where, how, or why. ê An adverb clause usually comes at the end or at the beginning of a sentence. (See Punctuation 8.) ê A sentence formed from an adverb clause (which cannot stand alone) and a main clause (which can stand alone) is called a complex sentence. Ä Otto E. Funk played his violin while he walked from New York City to San Francisco. Ä When he finished his musical journey, both his feet and his hands were tired. Ä Whenever it is threatened, an opossum plays dead. Ä It can be poked, picked up, and even rolled over while it remains completely rigid. 1. Grammar 47. A. Definition of an interjection 01. A word that simply expresses emotion is an interjection. a. A comma or an exclamation point separates an interjection from the rest of a sentence. ' (See Punctuation 11.) ê Oh, now it makes sense. Wow! That's terrific news!
1. Grammar 48. A. Definition of a preposition 01. A word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence is a preposition. a. The most common prepositions are listed below.
2. Grammar 49. A. Prepositional phrases 01. A preposition must be followed by a noun or a pronoun. a. The preposition and the noun or pronoun that follows it form a prepositional phrase. ' A new record for sit-ups was set by Dr. David G. Jones. ' His family and friends were very proud of him. b. Often, other words come between the preposition and the noun or pronoun. ' Those words are also part of the prepositional phrase. ê He set a new record for consecutive straight-legged sit-ups. 3. Grammar 50. A. Objects of prepositions 01. A preposition must be followed by a noun or a pronoun. a. That noun or pronoun is the object of the preposition. ' One of the main characters of Star Trek didn 't appear until the second season.
4. Grammar 51. A. Personal pronouns in prepositional phrases 01. A personal pronoun that is the object of a preposition should be in the object form. a. These are object-form pronouns: ' me, you, him, her, it, us, them. ê The other presents for her are still on the table. ê The most interesting present is from me. 5. Grammar 52. A. Prepositional phrases used as adjectives 01. Some prepositional phrases are used as adjectives. a. They add to the meaning of a noun or pronoun in a sentence. ' The Caribbean island of Martinique is a department of the French government.
6. Grammar 53. A. Prepositional phrases used as adverbs 01. Some prepositional phrases are used as adverbs. a. They add to the meaning of the verb or verb phrase in a sentence. ' In 1763, Napoleon Bonaparte's wife, Josephine, was born on Martinique. 1. Grammar 54. A. Simple subjects 01. The most important noun or pronoun in the subject of a sentence is the simple subject of that sentence. a. The object of a preposition cannot be the simple subject of a sentence. ' A 27-year-old man from Oklahoma swam the entire length of the Mississippi River. ' He spent a total of 742 hours in the river. 2. Grammar 55. A. Simple predicates 01. The verb or verb phrase of a sentence is the simple predicate of that sentence. a. Actor W. C. Fields may have had 700 separate savings accounts. ' Fields used a different name for each account.
3. Grammar 56. A. Direct objects 01. A word that tells who or what receives the action of a verb is the direct object of the verb. a. A direct object must be a noun or a pronoun. ' A personal pronoun that is a direct object should be in the object form. |
