Basic Grammar

A Review

1 parts of speech

nouna person, place, or thing. Can be the subject or object of a sentence. Ex: cat, horse, mother, Norway

pronouna word that replaces or stands for ("pro" = for) a noun. Ex: he, she, it

verban action word. Ex: sit, laugh, eat

a state of being: is, am, were, was, are, be, being, been

(literally "pre-position") a word that indicates the relationship of a noun (or noun phrase) to another word.

Examples of prepositions are: to, at, with, for, against, across, etc.

adjectivea word that describes or modifies a noun. Answers the questions "how many," "what kind," etc. Ex: happy, sad, red, dangerous

adverb a word that describes or modifies a verb. Ex: carefully, quickly, wisely. Also sometimes modifies an adjective. Ex: “She was very tall." ‘ Very' is an adverb modifying 'tall,' which in turn is an adjective modifying 'she'.

Adverbs usually, but not always, end in "-ly". (However, not every word ending in "ly" is an adverb: "friendly," for example, is an adjective.)

preposition

express sudden feelings of joy, pain, surprise, disgust, anger, etc. No! Stop!Cool! Damn!* Shit!*

determiners determine the number and definiteness of the noun phrase to which they are attached. The most common determiners are: articles: a, an, the demonstratives: this, that, these, those numbers: one, two, three . . . first, second, third . . . indefinite determiners such as: all, any, both, each, either, every, few, less, more, enough, neither, no, several, some, only

conjunctions

are link words or ‘joining together’ words. There are three types: coordinators, subordinators, and correlatives .

Words such as: and, but, or, and then (among others), are coordinators because they join units of equal status

Subordinators join subordinate or dependent clauses to the main clause of a sentence. The main subordinators are: after, because, except, and since, among others.

Correlative Conjunctions are used in pairs, such as: “either – or”, “take it or leave it”, and “neither…nor”

interjections

TENSES

Most verbs take different forms depending on tense, the time at which an action has occurred, is occurring or will occur.

For example, "I eat" is present, "I ate" is past and "I will eat" is future.

Sequence of Tenses

Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked in the verb alone.

1. Present tense: She sings.2. Past tense: She sang.

Other English language tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries.

Guidelines for working with NNS (first edition by Renata Fitzpatrick; edited in 2007 by Kit Hansen, et al.) Page 16

Verb Tense Chart based on Azar

simple present I study every day. (habitual action – past to present to future)

present continuous I am studying right now. (action began in past, may continue into future)

present perfect I have studied Chapter 1. (past action with indefinite time span)

present perfect continuous I have been studying for two hours. (action began in past and continues until now)

simple past I studied last night. (action completed in the past)

past continuous I was studying when you called. (action begun in past, implies possible continuation after second past event)

past perfect I had studied drawing before I began to study painting. (past action completed before second past action)

past perfect continuous I had been studying for two hours when my friends came over. (past continuous action occurring when second past action occurred)

simple future I will study tomorrow. (action will occur in the future)

future continuous I will be studying when you arrive. (continuous future action will continue to happen when another future action occurs)

future perfect He will have finished reading by the time you arrive. (future action will be completed by time another future action occurs)

future perfect continuous I will have been studying for two hours by the time you arrive. (future continuous action will happening when another future action occurs )

Chart adapted from Betty S. Azar, Understanding & Using English Grammar, Prentice-Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1981, pages 74-77.

Understanding six basic tenses, however, allows one to recreate much of the reality of time when writing.

The six are...

TENSES

1. Simple Present: They walk. I walk. He/She walks.

2. Present Perfect: They have walked. I have walked. He/She has walked.

3. Simple Past: They walked. I walked. He/She walked.

4. Past Perfect: They had walked. I had walked. He/She had walked.

5. Future: They will walk. I will walk. He/She will walk.

6. Future Perfect: They will have walked. I will have walked. He/She will have walked.

The Six Basic Tenses

Verb-Noun Agreement

The rule: The noun and verb must agree in number

The boy runs to the store.

A plural subject takes the plural form of the verb.

The girls run to the store.

A singular subject takes the single form of the verb.

SENTENCE:

The dog barks.

“The dog" is the subject (noun); "barks" is the verb.

the basic unit of writing. A sentence should have a subject and a predicate.

The subject is the noun to which the sentence's verb refers; the predicate is the verb plus whatever other parts modify or elaborate on it.

Example:

SENTENCE FRAGMENT A phrase that is acting like a sentence but is incomplete. Examples:

Ruby my favorite dog.

Walked very slowly.

On the table.

Sentence fragments are acceptable as answers to direct questions:"Where is my book?" "On the table."

This is not a sentence because it contains no verb.

This is not a sentence because it contains no subject (noun).

This is not a sentence because it contains neither a verb nor a subject (noun).

Sentences, Phrases, and Clauses

A Sentence

A sentence is a group of words that are put together to mean something.

A sentence is the basic unit of language which expresses a complete thought.

A complete sentence has at least a subject and a main verb to state (declare) a complete thought.

Source: Wikipedia

Phrases and Clauses

A phrase is a single piece of information made up of more than one word. It does not contain a subject and a verb..

A clause is a group of related words that contains both a subject and a finite verb. 

A PhraseExamples: A laughing stock A sorry sight As dead as a doornail Eaten out of house and home Fair play In a pickle In stitches In the twinkling of an eye Neither here nor there Too much of a good thing

A CLAUSE

A clause is a group of words that contains a complete subject and a complete verb.

The subject (a noun) is what or who the sentence is about.

The verb, an action or state of being, is what the subject (noun) is doing or “being”.

CLAUSES

There are two types of clauses:

1: Independent (main clause)

2: Dependent (subordinate clause)

1: An independent clause expresses a complete thought, so it can stand by itself.

2: A dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, expresses only part of a thought, so it cannot stand alone.

CLAUSES

CLAUSESAn independent (main) clause can stand on its own as a complete sentence.

Macbeth killed King Duncan.

A dependent (subordinate) clause relies on another clause for its meaning.

As his wife watched.

CLAUSES

Macbeth killed Duncan as his wife watched.

Whose wife?

As his wife watched, Macbeth killed Duncan.

Rule: When a sentence begins with a dependent clause, use a comma to attach it to the main (independent) clause.

CLAUSES AND SENTENCES

All sentences are determined by the number and type of clauses they contain.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

The four types of sentences:a: Simpleb: Complexc: Compoundd: Compound-Complex

SENTENCE STRUCTUREA simple sentence contains one independent clause that expresses a complete thought.

“She” is the subject.

She reads plays by William Shakespeare.

“Plays” is the object (direct object).

The pattern is: subject - verb - object.

A compound sentence contains two (or more) independent clauses and no dependent clauses.

Shakespeare wrote many plays, and he wrote quickly.

COMPOUND SENTENCE

COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and a relative clause.

Shakespeare, who lived during the Golden Age, was very rich.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex-compound sentence (or compound-complex sentence) has many clauses, at least one of which is a relative clause.

Shakespeare, who lived during the Golden Age, was very rich, but he died at a relatively young age.

Parts of Speech

NOUNS

Parts of Speech

What Are NOUNS?A noun is a word used as the name of a

person, place, animal, or thing.

NOUNSClassification: Nouns are classified into five kinds.

1.Proper Noun 2.Common 3.Material 4.Collective 5.Abstract

NOUNS1. Proper noun: - A proper noun is the name

of any specific or particular person, place, or thing.

Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. E.g. Although often away from Rome, Trajan was a wise emperor.

“Trajan” = proper noun

NOUNS2. Common noun: - A common noun is a

name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind.

Common nouns begin with a lower-case letter (except at the start of a sentence).

E.g. Trajan was a wise emperor.

“Emperor” = common noun

NOUNS3. Material noun: - The word for the raw

material which we use to produce something and make it into a finished product is known as a “material noun”.

E.g. This table is made of wood.

“Wood” = material noun

NOUNS4. Collective noun: - A collective noun is the

name of a number (or collection) of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole.

A flock - a number of birds acting in unisonA fleet - a collection of ships or vessels A crowd- a collection of people

E.g. The class went on a field trip. “Class”: - collective noun

NOUNS5. Abstract noun: - An abstract noun is usually

the name of a quality, action, or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs as:

Quality – goodness, kindness, whiteness. Action – laughter, theft, movement. State – childhood, youth, adulthood.

E.g. I remember the days of my childhood. “Childhood”: - abstract noun

Pronouns

Parts of Speech

What Are Pronouns?

A pronoun substitutes for a noun. It is usually defined as a word that stands for a noun, or a noun phrase, or something relating to one.

Tim drove Tim’s car to Tim’s house where Tim did Tim’s chores.

Tim drove his car to his house where he did his chores.

PronounsClassification: Pronouns are classified into five kinds.

1.Personal pronoun 2.Relative pronoun 3.Demonstrative pronoun 4.Reflexive pronoun 5.Interrogative pronoun

Pronouns1. Personal pronoun: - The pronouns which

stand in for persons are called “personal pronouns”.

Pronouns2. Relative pronoun: - It is used to join two

sentences in which the relation is shown to someone.

Relative pronouns include who, whose, what, that, which, etc.

E.g. The person who is standing next to the door is my sister.

Pronouns3. Demonstrative pronoun: -

This, that, these and those are called “demonstrative pronouns”.

E.g. This book belongs to me.

Pronouns4. Reflexive pronoun: pronouns which are

used to reflect upon the subject itself.

Reflexive pronouns include myself, yourself, himself, itself, etc.

E.g. They hurt themselves.

Pronouns

5. Interrogative pronoun: pronouns which ask questions or which are used in question form.

Interrogative pronouns include: who, whom, whose, which, what, etc.

E.g. Whom do you want?

Subjects and Objects

Subjects take actions in a sentence. Objects take no action.

Example She punched him. He told on her.

Choosing the Correct Case

Todd and I / me went to the swimming hole.

She wants to talk to me / I and Todd.

Us / We teachers love giving homework.

Antecedents

The nouns to which the pronouns refer.

Chris went to the store by himself.

The dog wagged his tail.

Most students want lockers, but many are not responsible enough.

Vague Pronouns

The antecedent is not clear.

Take the radio out of the car and fix it. The teachers told the students that they

would have to come to school during the break.

!53

Verbs

Parts of Speech

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are ‘doing’ words or ‘action’ words. In addition to the main verbs of ‘doing’, there

are also auxiliary or ‘helping’ verbs.

She travelled to India I haven’t seen her since last Tuesday. It would have been wonderful to see you.

VerbsClassification: Verbs are classified into two kinds: Transitive verbs and intransitive verbs

Read these sentences: 1. The boy kicks the ball. 2. The girl laughs loudly.

VerbsThe boy kicks the ball.

In this sentence, the action denoted by the verb ‘kicks’ passes over from the doer or subject ‘boy’ to some object ‘ball’. The verb ‘kicks’ therefore is a Transitive verb.

(Transitive means passing over).

VerbsThe girl laughs loudly.

In this sentence, the action denoted by the verb ‘laughs’ stops with the doer or the subject ‘girl’. The verb ‘laughs’ is therefore called an Intransitive verb.

(Intransitive means not passing over).

VerbsTense

Regular verbs (weak verbs):- The verbs which form their past tense by

adding ‘ed’ , ‘d’ or ‘t’ to their present form are called ‘Regular verbs’ or ‘ Weak verbs’.

Like - Liked Brake - Braked Love - Loved

VerbsTense

Irregular verbs (strong verbs):- Verbs which form their past tense by means of

changing a vowel in their present form and which don’t need any addition like ‘ed’ or ‘d’ are called ‘Irregular verbs’ or’ Strong verbs’.

Drive - Drove Begin - Began

!61

VerbsAuxiliary verbs

The main auxiliary, or ‘helping’, verbs are “be”, “have” and “do”. They are used with main verbs to help them form specific tenses, as well as negatives and questions.

VerbsAuxiliary verbs

Auxiliary or helping verbs also convey the other nuances that writers want to express.

VerbsRead these three examples:

Bob smacked his lips as chilli ketchup dripped from the hamburger onto his white shirt.

Bob is always dripping something. Since Bob is such a klutz, he should have

been wearing a bib, which would have protected his shirt.

VerbsIn the first sentence, “smacked” and “dripped”,

single-word verbs, describe the quick actions of both Bob and the ketchup.

Since Bob has a pattern of messiness, “is dripping” communicates the frequency of his clumsiness.

The auxiliary verbs in “should have been wearing” and “would have protected” express not only time relationships but also criticism of Bob's actions.

Adjectives

Parts of Speech

What Are Adjectives?

Adjectives are words that describe or give information about nouns or pronouns. They are therefore often said to modify, or limit, nouns and pronouns.

Adjectives are usually easy to recognise in a sentence, often describing or modifying an object’s size, colour or amount, as in:

Adjectives

Size: a huge ship, a tiny flower, a narrow window Colour: a blue balloon, white bread, a red alert Amount or number: twelve months, one year, second prize, many problems, few assets

Adjectives

Forms of adjectives:

1. Positive

2. Comparative

3. Superlative

Adjectives

Positive: We use the positive form of the adjective to show that two things or two people are the same in some respect.

We use it with “…as _____ as…”. E.g. Misha is as tall as Radha.

Adjectives

Comparative: We use the comparative form of the adjective to show that two things or two people are different from each other in some respect.

We use it with “than”. E.g. Misha is taller than Radha.

Adjectives

Superlative: We use the superlative form of the adjective to compare more than two things or people in some respect.

We use it with “The”. E.g. Misha is the tallest of all.

!73

!74

AdjectivesOrder of adjectives

Adjectives denoting attributes usually occur in a specific order.

Generally, the adjective order in English is:

Adjectives1.Quantity or number 2.Quality or opinion 3.Size 4.Age 5.Shape 6.Color 7.Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or material)

8.Purpose or qualifier

Adjectives

Adverbs

Parts of Speech

What Are Adverbs?

An adverb is a word which modifies the meaning of the verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

An adverb is a single word. But there are many multi-word constructions which have the same role and perform the same function. These are called adverbials.

Adverbs

He managed to rest, even to sleep fitfully. (verb modification) The weather changed very suddenly. (adverb modification) She is seriously ill. (adjective modification)The train left just before noon. (preposition modification)

AdverbsKinds of adverbs:

1. Adverbs of time

2. Adverbs of place

3. Adverbs of manner

4. Adverbs of frequency, degree, and probability

5. Interrogative and conjunctive adverbs

Adverbs

Adverb of Time: It denotes the time when the action is done.

1. The boy struck him twice. 2. We often talk to ourselves. 3. He seldom comes here.4. She visited us once. 5. They left the police station later. 6. Afterwards we all had dinner. 7. She wants the report now.

AdverbsMany prepositional phrases may also be used as time adverbials:

1. I saw her during the holidays.2. I saw her for a brief five minutes.3. I talked to him for a whole day.4. They stayed in London over Christmas.

Adverbs

Adverb of Place: It shows the place where the action is done.

1. The boys are waiting outside. 2. We looked for her everywhere.3. John was there a moment ago.4. Please go downstairs and answer the phone.

AdverbsAdverbials of place include a range of notions of space, position, direction and distance:

1. She ran to the house. (direction to)2. He came down from the glen. (direction from) 3. They drove for 20 kilometres. (distance)4. He lives in the end villa on the right. (position)

Adverbs

Adverb of Manner: It shows how the action is done. It shows the quality or manner in which an action is done. 1. Mohan acted wisely. 2. She ran fast (quickly).3. The boy rowed well.

AdverbsAdverbials of manner also describe the way in which something happens or is done.

1. She listened with great sadness to his story.2. The team did not play well enough to win the cup.3. He looked at her in the most furtive and nervous manner.

Adverbs

Adverb of Frequency: It shows how often the action is done.

1. The postman called again. 2. I have told you twice.3. I have only seen him once.

Adverbials: I like to go to the beach once in a while.

Adverbs

Interrogative and conjunctive adverbs

Interrogative adverbs are words like who, what, where, when, how, and why. They ask the questions that are answered by adverbs of place, time, manner, etc.

1. When did they leave the hotel? 2. Why do you ask that question? 3. How was he getting on?

Adverbs

Interrogative and conjunctive adverbs

Instead of asking a question, conjunctive adverbs join two clauses together:

1. He asked the receptionist when they had left the hotel. 2. I wonder why you asked that question.

!91

Prepositions

Parts of Speech

What Are Prepositions?

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show what one person or thing has to do with another person or thing.

Most often, they show how two parts of a sentence are related in time or space.

Prepositions

Simple and complex prepositions

Simple prepositions consist of a single word.

Complex prepositions consist of two or three words but they function like an ordinary one-word preposition.

Prepositions

about down above during across for after with from

against in along inside among into around of at

over round since through to towards under up off

Some simple prepositions:

Prepositions

1. The man shot at the tiger. 2. I bought a horse from him. 3. What is this for? 4. It was on the table. 5. He is at school.6. We drove to the shops.7. We had to be there before 5 o’clock.

Prepositions

ahead of apart from because of close to due to except for instead of near to

Some complex prepositions – two words:

Prepositions

1. She is ahead of him. 2. They lived apart from one another 3. He stayed because of that. 4. She lives close to the sea. 5. The road is closed due to the weather. 6. I want it all except for that. 7. We use milk instead of cream.

Some complex prepositions – two words:

Prepositions

as far asby means of in accordance with in addition toin front of

Some complex prepositions – three words:

in terms of on account ofon behalf ofwith reference to in spite of

Prepositions

1. The job is finished, as far as I am concerned 2. All is done in accordance with the contract. 3. She wanted a bonus in addition to a raise.4. They met him in front of the theater. 5. The plane is delayed on account of the storm.6. On behalf of the board, I want to welcome you. 7. They won in spite of their poor performance.

Some complex prepositions – three words:

Prepositions

Prepositions cover a wide range of meanings. In addition to spatial meanings, prepositions are also used to convey a sense of:

Prepositional meanings

Time Cause Manner Accompaniment Support or opposition

Concession Possession Addition and exception

Prepositions

Time: ‘at 5 o’clock’, ‘for six weeks’, ‘by next Tuesday’

Cause: ‘He was sacked for/on account of his laziness.’ ‘She did it out of kindness.’

Manner: ‘I paid by travellers’ cheque.’ ‘He worked like a demon.’

Prepositions

Accompaniment: “You must go with them.”

Support or opposition: ‘I was against the plan.’ ‘They are with you all the way.’

Concession: ‘She came despite her illness.’

PrepositionsPossession: ‘She is a musician of rare talent.’ ‘She has a bag with a purple handle.’

Addition and exception: ‘The car was a bargain apart from its rusty bonnet.’ ‘We had a great time except for the weather.’

Determiners

Parts of Speech

What Are Determiners?

Determiners, like adjectives, give information about nouns and pronouns. But they do not describe nouns and pronouns. Instead, they determine the number and definiteness of the noun phrase to which they are attached.

Determiners are sometimes called ‘function words’, because they have very little meaning in themselves – they merely perform a function in the sentence.

Determiners

The most common determiners are in the following 5 categories:

1. articles: a, an, the 2. demonstratives: this, that, these, those

Determiners3. possessives: my, your, his/her/its, our, their; mine, yours, theirs

4.numbers: one, two, three . . . first, second, third . . .

5.indefinite determiners: including all, any, both, each, either, every, few, less, more, enough, neither, no, several, some, only

DeterminersThe Article There are two articles in English, the definite article “the”, and the indefinite article “a”, or, preceding a word beginning with a vowel, “an”.

Determiners‘A’ or ‘An’ is used before a singular countable noun. ‘A’ or ‘An’ implies ‘one’.

“A” is used before an initial consonant sound. “An” is used before an initial vowel sound, a rule which applies regardless of spelling: A chair, a seat, a bed, a horse An igloo, an egg, an ostrich, an heir, an SUV, an LP

DeterminersThe indefinite article has the following functions: 1: It is a form of one:A hundred years ago (not two hundred) A mile wide, Wait a minute

2: It singles out or introduces a particular and specific person or thing: I’m going to tell you a story about a girl called Sally. She lived in a red sandstone terraced house . . .

Determiners3: It has the indefinite meaning of “any”.It was as big as a horse.A peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides.

4: It is distributive: Fifty pence a kilo (= per kilo, each kilo) Ten pence a slice

DeterminersThe definite article in English has the following functions:

1. It refers back to a person or thing already identified: You described a man with a beard. Is this the man? Jason built a special ship for his voyage. The ship was called Argo.

Determiners2. It defines or marks someone or something as the only one: The Bible The holy Koran The House of CommonsThe Leader of the Opposition The Prime MinisterThe President

Determiners3. It indicates a whole class or group or clan:

The Reptile family… The English…The working class… The Armstrongs and the Percys…

Determiners4. When stressed (and pronounced “thee”), it indicates uniqueness:

Callas was the soprano of her generation.It was the pub for live folk music and real ale.

DeterminersDemonstratives The demonstratives are this/that (singular) and these/those (plural). This/these indicate nearness to the speaker, and that/those indicate distance from the speaker.

The demonstratives are called determiners only if they precede a noun. If they stand alone, standing in place of a noun, then they are described as pronouns.

DeterminersDeterminers: Give me that gun. This girl is my best friend.

A special use of this is as a time marker: Let’s try and meet this week. Can we fix a time? This Friday?

Pronouns: Give that to me. This (he/she) is my best friend.

DeterminersPossessives as determiners: This is my car. his her your our their

Possessives as pronouns:

The car is mine. his hers yours ours Theirs

!120

!121

Conjunctions

Parts of Speech

What Are conjunctions?

A Conjunction is a word used to join sentences and/or clauses. Classification: Conjunctions are classified into three types:

1. Coordinating conjunctions 2. Subordinating conjunctions 3. Correlative conjunctions

Conjunctions1. Coordinating Conjunctions: They join parts of a sentence that are of equal order or rank. The chief coordinating conjunctions are : and, or, nor, but, for, also, either – or, neither – nor.

The weather will be dry and windy tomorrow. The weather will be dry but windy tomorrow. She was born in Zagreb and raised in Philadelphia. She didn’t complain or even protest.

Conjunctions2. Subordinating Conjunctions : They join noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses to other parts of a complex sentence.

The following are some of the most important subordinating conjunctions: when, while, before, till, until, after, since, where, whether, whence, because, that, lest, if, unless, though, as, than.

ConjunctionsHe laughed after she cracked a joke. Although it is sunny now, the forecast is for rain. The car braked hard as the dog ran into the road. They left the scene as quickly as they could. He talked as if money were no problem. He climbed the hill because it was there.

Conjunctions3. Correlative Conjunctions: are conjunctions that are used in pairs.

Either – or ............ Either take it or leave it. Neither – nor ........... It is neither useful nor ornamental. Both – and ............ We both love him and honour him.

Interjections

Parts of Speech

What Are interjections?

An Interjection is a word that expresses some sudden feeling or emotion.

Interjections1. Hello! What are you doing there? 2. Alas! He is dead. 3. Hurrah! We have won the game. 4. Ah! Have they gone?

Taboo examples are currently popular in speech, but not appropriate for formal writing (Shit!, Fuck!, etc.).

!131

Practice

Determine the pronounDetermine the antecedent

1

Tim had to walk to school by himself.

2

The dog happily wagged its tail.

3

Chris said, “I will be going by myself.”

4

Tim and Jane had to be nice to one another.

5

The day seemed like it would never end.

PrepositionsParts of Speech

What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions show location in time or space. They also show relationships between nouns.

Examples

The cat was on the bed. Do your homework after class not during. Get the paper with the lines.

Showing Spatial Location

Prepositions describe locations in space.

Move your notebook around your desk.

Is it under, over, inside, behind, alongside?

Words describing your notebook in relation to the desk are prepositions.

Showing Chronological Location

Prepositions describe locations in time.

When is English class in relation to math class?

Is it before, after, or during?

Words showing time relations are prepositions.

Showing Relationships

Prepositions show relationships.

Examples

She goes with that boy. This is the sugar for the cake. The football belongs to Mr. Dillard.

List of Prepositions (Partial)

about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, off, on, onto, outside, over, past, since, than, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.

Practice

Determine the preposition

1

He was bitten by the dog with the red collar.

2

Take the fire escape on the side of the building.

3

He brushed his hair with the brush from the dollar store.

4

The robot with the mohawk gave the papers to the student.

5

Before he released the balloons up into the air, he took a picture with them.

Adverbs and AdjectivesParts of Speech

Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns.

Noun = shoes

His shoes are red. There are three shoes. The shoes are shiny.

Adverbs

Adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

He ran quickly. He ran very quickly. She is really busy. She is not worried.

More About Adverbs

Adjectives can usually be made into adverbs by adding “ly” to the end.

Quick => Quickly Beautiful => Beautifully

Sneaky => Sneakily Expensive => Expensively

Irregular Adverbs

adjective => adverb good => well fast => fast

hard => hard little => little

Other Irregular Adverbs: very, much, not.

Practice

For each sentence, determine the verb and the adjective.

1

The mean teacher angrily called parents.

2

The bitter student did not care.

3

The very sleepy student took a quick nap.

4

The very old dog could barely wag his tail.

5

Six sacks were secretly stacked with stocky sticks.

Answers

1. The mean teacher angrily called parents. 2. The bitter student did not care. 3. The very sleepy student took a quick nap. 4. The old dog could barely wag his tail. 5. Six sacks were secretly stacked with sticks.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two independent clauses. In other words, two sentences that could stand alone can be joined by a coordinating conjunction.There are seven (7) coordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions = FANBOYS

F = FORA = ANDN = NOR

B = BUTO = ORY = YETS = SO

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a comma before the conjunction:

• I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at the university.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Look at these examples:

I like tea and coffee.

Bob likes tea, but Joan likes coffee.

Words:I like tea and coffee.

Clauses:Bob likes tea, but Joan likes coffee.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Subordinating conjunctions are used to attach a dependent (subordinate) clause to an independent (main) clause.

There are many different subordinating conjunctions, and they all have a particular function.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Here are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions and their functions:

When beginning a sentence with a subordinating conjunction, place a comma at the end of the clause.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Showing Opposition or Unexpected Results: although / even though / though

Although I felt he was wrong, I decided to trust him.

Sharon started looking for a new job even though she was currently employed.

Even though I couldn't understand a word, I had a great time!

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Showing Cause and Effect:because / since / as

Since you need some help, I'll come over this afternoon.

Henry felt he needed to take some time off because he had been working so hard.

The parents paid for extra lessons as the children were very gifted.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Expressing Time:when / as soon as / before / after / by

By the time you get this letter, I will have left for New York.

I will leave for New York as soon as I send this letter.

I used to play a lot of tennis when I was a teenager.

We had a wonderful dinner after she had arrived.

I want to go to Central Park before the sun goes down.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Expressing Conditions: if / unless / in the case that

If I were you, I would take my time with that project.

They won't come next week unless you ask them to do so.

In the case that he isn't available, we'll look for another consultant.

Look at the facts about the writer’s life.

The subject is implied: “You”.

COMMAND FORM

“Facts” and “writer’s life” are objects.

“At the facts” and “About the writer’s life” are prepositional phrases.

In command form the implied subject is always “you”.You cannot imply I, he, she, it, we or they.

RUN-ON SENTENCESA run on sentence is just that: a sentence that tries to compress two or more sentences (or ideas) into one sentence.

Rule: Sentences that contain more than one independent clause must include a connecting word (or semi-colon) to be grammatically correct.

Which of the following sentences are correct?Which are incorrect?

RUN-ON SENTENCES1. Computers are very popular birthday gifts most kids love getting them.

3. Janey wanted to find a bargain she finally found one on the sale rack.

2. It would be difficult to find a boy or a girl who wouldn’t love to get a computer as a gift.

4. If you do a lot of careful shopping, both in local stores and on the internet, you can usually find a bargain.

5. Holiday shopping is the time when bargains are easy to find Janey found this to be true.

COMMON ERRORS1 Incorrect verb-noun agreement

Rule: In every sentence, the noun and the verb must agree in number.

Terrorism is a common subject for debate in political circles.

Films and concerts are popular forms of entertainment.

Examples:

War and peace is a common subject for debate.

Love and marriage is the theme of many romantic movies.

COMMON ERRORSExceptions to the rule:

Compound subjects usually take a plural verb, but occasionally a compound subject expresses a single idea and may take a single verb.

COMMON ERRORS1 Incorrect verb-noun agreement

Either a pet or plants (make/makes) good hobbies.

Compound subjects joined by “or” and “nor” usually agree with the noun closest to that word.

Neither tickets nor money is/are enough to get us onto the overbooked plane.

COMMON ERRORS2. Incorrect Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

a: The pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent.

Example:The man ate his lunch alone.The men ate their lunch together.

COMMON ERRORS2. Incorrect Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

b: The pronoun must agree in gender with its antecedent.

Example:Each woman had her lunch stuffed in her purse.All the women had their lunch stuffed in their purse.

COMMON ERRORS2. Incorrect Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

c: The pronoun must agree in grammatical function with its antecedent.

Examples:As students, we sometimes skip lunch in order to study. Roy and I hate missing a meal.

He and I sometimes dash to Wayne’s for lunch.

Him and me sometimes dash to Wayne’s for lunch.Him and me sometimes dash to Wayne’s for lunch.

Typical Sentence Problems

SF - Sentence Fragment

RO - Run-on

CS - Comma Splice

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence, usually either a dependent clause or a prepositional phrase.

A run-on is two independent clauses set next to each other.

A comma splice is a run-on with a comma marking the seam between the sentences.

A Sentence Fragment

A sentence fragment is often not less than a sentence, but more.

For example:I went to the cinema. is a sentence.

So I went to the cinema. is a fragment, an independent clause made dependent by the addition of a conjunction.

Repairing a Sentence Fragment

You have two choices:

1. You can restore it to being an independent clause:I went to the cinema.

2. You can connect it to an independent clause:I was bored, so I went to the cinema.

Either way, you need to have an independent clause.

Repairing a Run-on

Here is a run-on sentence:I was bored I went to the cinema.

It’s two separate ideas set next to each other but not connected in any way.

Most people will be able to see that the logical break comes between “bored” and the second “I”.

So how do you fix it?

Repairing a Run-on

Here are three possible solutions:

1. You can fix the problem by making the two independent clauses into two sentences.I was bored. I went to the cinema.

Essentially, this construction implies that there’s no inherent relationship between the two sentences.

You could be going to the cinema to meet someone after a show. Or you could be going there to purchase tickets for a show later in the week.

Repairing a Run-on

2. You can use a conjunction.

You’re demoting one of your independent clauses to a dependent clause using any one of several conjunctions between the clauses.I was bored, so I went to the cinema.

Other possible conjunctions include:therefore, consequently, thus

Repairing a Run-on

3. The Semicolon

When you use the semicolon, you imply a directly causal relationship between the two clauses.I was bored; I went to the cinema.

Here, it is clear that you are going to the cinema to cure your boredom because the second clause of the sentence must address the first in some crucial way.

Don’t Make a Comma Splice!

I was bored, I went to the cinema.I was bored; I went to the cinema.