CJMS English 8 Grammar Overview

This document includes IMPORTANT information on all of the grammar concepts you

need to know for this school year; the concepts appear on quizzes, tests, and county

formative and semester exams.

PARTICIPIAL PHRASES

As you know, a participle is a verb form. Participial phrases begin with a participle and are used

to give more information about the subject. In this exercise, all of the examples are present

participles, so the participial phrases all begin with –ing words. Participial phrases offer an easy

way to combine ideas and vary your sentence structure.

Example 1—Participial phrases often come at the beginning of the sentence.

Combine the following two sentences using the present participle Standingas the first word:

Bilbo watched a group of them for some time.

Bilbo stood behind a tree.

Answer (on page 155 of The Hobbit):

Standing behind a tree he watched a group of them for some time.

Example 2—Participial phrases can also come later in the sentence.

Combine the following sentences using the present participle paddling to begin the second part

of the sentence.

Gollum was in his boat again.

He was paddling wildly back to the dark shore.

Answer (on page 89 of The Hobbit):

Gollum was in his boat again, paddling wildly back to the dark shore.

APPOSITIVE PHRASES

Using Appositive Phrases An appositive phrase is a group of words that can be used to give

more information about the subject.

Here’s a sentence without an appositive phrase: Sancta was the leader of the Apache raid.

Here’s the same sentence with an appositive phrase: Sancta, an aged warrior with scars from

many battles, was the leader of the Apache raid.

Appositive phrases do not have a verb, and almost always end with a noun.

PARALLEL STRUCTURE

Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas

have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.

The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such

as "and" or "or."

Not Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ridea bicycle.

Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and ridinga bicycle.

Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a

detailed manner.

Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and

thoroughly.

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE

In a sentence using active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed

in the verb.

Active: The dog bit the boy.

The scientist performed experiments in the lab.

Passive: The letter was written by my mother.

The lunch was eaten by the hungry student.

*Use strong/active verbs in your writing and look for it in example sentences.

Mr. O’Halloran is the director of the spring musical.

Mr. O’Halloran directs the spring musical.

GENERAL VS. SPECIFIC NOUNS

general noun: any nonspecific noun: girl, language, country, fish

specific noun: a more specific, exact noun: Sally, Spanish, United States, trout

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, a noun or pronoun that serves as the

object of the preposition, and, more often than not, an adjective or two that modifies

the object.

Prepositional phrases usually tell when or where: "in forty minutes," "in the sun, against

the side, etc." Prepositional phrases can perform other functions, however: Except Jo, the

children were remarkably like their father.

EX: 1. In case of bad weather, the trip will be postponed to next week.

2. We finally solved our problem by means of a new device created by

our research and development department.

CLAUSES/INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENTCLAUSES& COMPOUND/COMPLEX

SENTENCES

A clauseis a group of related words thatdoes include both a subject and verb.

Independent Clause (IC)

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete

thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

Example:Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz. (IC)

Dependent (or Subordinate) Clause (DC)

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete

thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent

marker word. (Examples of dependent clause marker words are after, although, as, as if, because, before,

even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and

while.)

Example: When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (DC)

(What happened when he studied? The thought is incomplete.)

A compound sentence is a sentence that contains two complete ideas (called clauses) that are related. These

two clauses are usually connected in a compound sentence by a conjunction. The coordinating

conjunctions are "and", "but", "for", "or", "nor", "yet", or "so".

A complex sentence combines a simple sentence (often called an independent clause) with a subordinate

clause (a dependent clause.)

CONSISTENT VERB TENSE

Do not switch from one tense to another unless the timing of an action demands that you do.

Keep verb tense consistent in sentences, paragraphs, and essays.

Do not change tenses when there is no time change for the action.

Ex: During the movie, Jason stood up and drops his popcorn. – WRONG

During the movie, Jason stood up and dropped his popcorn. – CORRECT – SAME TENSE

CONSISTENT POINT OF VIEW

Point of view refers to the perspective from which the sentence is told. When we discuss point of view, we

use a term called ―person,‖ meaning ―who (or what) is the focus of the sentence.‖ In English grammar we

have three persons, 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person. This needs to be consistent throughout a piece

of writing.

Problem: We were slowly getting closer to our destination, but you could see that everyone was getting

frustrated.

Fixed: We were slowly getting closer to our destination, but we could see that we were getting

frustrated.

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

Accept/except

Affect/effect

It’s/its

Cite/site

Whose/who’s

a lot

than/then

threw/through

ware/wear/where

quit/quiet/quite

A subject is "a word or phrase in a sentence that denotes the doer of the action [or] the receiver of the action in passive constructions."

To tell if a construction is active or passive simply look at the subject:

o If the subject is the "doer of the action," the sentence is active.

o If the subject is the "receiver of the action," the sentence is passive.

That's pretty easy. If you do something, you're active; if you have something done to you, you're passive. Compare the examples:

Active

o Peggy ate the bone.

o Big Dog chased the police car.

o We ate every bite of food.

Passive

o The bone was eaten by Peggy.

o The police car was chased by Big Dog.

o Every bite of food was eaten by us.

Generally, you want to make your sentences active whenever you can.

Active sentences make your writing stronger, more forceful.

Think you understand active and passive constructions? In an active construction, the subject is the „does‟ of the action.

In a passive construction, the subject is the receiver of the action.

Select the sentences that are active.

The olives were eaten by the hungry patrons.

John opened the can.

The date was set for the wedding.

He lost the bet.

Select the sentences that are passive.

The cat caught the mouse.

The window was shattered by the bullet.

A letter is written whenever there is a problem.

Sam bought a sports car.

It's usually better to write using active constructions. Rewrite the following sentences and make them active. (Use a simple [one-word] verb and include the definite article [the] where appropriate. Don't forget the period at the

end!)

A letter was written by Tom.

The bet was lost by the students.

Doctor Faustus was taken by the devil.

The donuts were eaten by Scott.

APPOSITIVES

Appositives are a word, phrase, or clause that means the same thing as (i.e.,

synonym) or further explains another noun (pronoun).

o Non-restrictive appositives are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

o Restrictive appositives are essential to the meaning of the sentence.

NON-RESTRICTIVE:

o Her husband, Fritz, is a nice guy.

o We assume she has only one husband. Thus, commas are used.

o The firm chose Mary, vice president of public affairs, as its chief executive

officer.

o Because we have identified the person by name, her title is additional

information. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it

out and the meaning would not change.

o The Grand Canyon, one of our nation's most popular tourist attractions, is

breathtaking to behold.

o Because we have identified the place by name, the rest is additional

information. It can be set off by commas. In other words, we could take it

out and the meaning would not change.

o Neil Armstrong, the first man who walked on the moon, is a native of Ohio.

o Because we have identified the person by name, the additional information is

not restricted to the sentence. It can be set off by commas. In other

words, we could take it out and the meaning would not change.

RESTRICTIVE:

o Evan's friend John cheated on the test.

o EVAN has more than one friend; therefore, no commas are used to set off

JOHN. We need the name to know which friend we're talking about.

o We students are happy with good grades.

o STUDENTS identify who WE [subj.] are. If we remove it, WE does not have

the same meaning.

o She waited patiently for the famous author Stephen King.

o STEPHEN KING identifies which famous author. There is no comma after

AUTHOR because there are many famous author.

When we talk about parallel structure, or "faulty parallelism" as some call it, we're dealing with a balancing act. The idea isn't too hard, but most people

don't think about it.

So what are we balancing? . . . pairs of words or series of words. Look at the

following:

Pairs a and b

a or b

Series

a, b, and c a, b, or c

Looks kind of like an algebra equation, doesn't it?

Have no fear! This is a math free zone! Just think of the letters as standing for words or groups of words. Any words or groups of words that you plug in

have to be the same kinds of words or word patterns. That's all there is to it! Let's see how the "formula" works:

Pairs

running and jumping, bothered and bewildered, open or shut, laughing or crying

Series broken, bedraggled, and bone-tired

an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed-up blanket

When you write your sentences using parallel structure, your ideas come across more clearly because they're easier to read. Compare the following

sentences:

1. Peggotty's toys were an old shoe, a bear that was stuffed, and she had chewed up an old

blanket.

2. Peggotty's toys were an old shoe, a stuffed bear, and a chewed-up blanket.

See how the second sentence is smoother and more balanced? If you

balance your own sentences in this way, your writing will be more forceful.

PRACTICE 1. Which of the following paired sentences are parallel?

She likes to listen to music and reading the latest novels.

She likes listening to music and reading the latest novels.

He spent his time studying Spanish, working at the convenience store, and jogging every

afternoon.

He spent his time studying Spanish. working at the convenience store, and he jogged every

afternoon.

The dog was excited: running, barking, and he chased after the boys.

The dog was excited: running, barking, and chasing after the boys.

The apartment was filled with old newspapers, broken bottles, and the ashtrays

were overflowing.

The apartment was filled with old newspapers, broken bottles, and overflowing

ashtrays.

2. Make the following sentences parallel. Enter the correct version of the item in the series

which does not match the others.

Mary wanted to paint her office, to add some new draperies, and the carpet need cleaning.

When Friday rolls around, do you go to the mall, head for a bar, or are you going to work?

Last year, my brother dropped out of school, was looking for work, and needed a place to stay.

He watched the latest version of King Lear, studied for his math test, and was talking on the phone.

Participles and Participial Phrases

What is it? A PARTICIPLE is a verb form ending in ing or ed. A participle is used

as an adjective and often begins a participial phrase.

Example: The two-year-old ran out of the class crying and screaming. The

underlined participles modify the two-year-old.

Example: Chewing gum in class, the guilty student was given a detention. The

participial phrase modifies the student.

Example: The tired student fell asleep before he finished his homework. The

participle modifies the student.

Participial Phrase

The participial phrase includes the participle and the object of the participle

or any words modified by or related to the participle.

[In the following examples, the participle is bold and the participial phrase is

underlined.]

o The car sliding out of control toward building will likely hit the window.

o SLIDING modifies the CAR. The verb is WILL HIT.

o Cameron spotted his brother throwing rocks at the passing cars.

o THROWING is not a verb in this sentence. It describes the brother.

Without an auxiliary verb, it cannot function as a verb. SPOTTED is the

verb for the subject CARMEN.

o The astronaut chosen to ride the space shuttle to Mars is afraid of heights.

o CHOSEN describes the ASTRONAUT.

o Running down the street, Alicia tripped and fell.

o RUNNING certainly indicates something the subject is doing, but the verbs

for the subject are TRIPPED and FELL.

o Penned in by other runners, Steve was unable to make a break for the finish

line.

o STEVE is the subject. WAS is the verb. PENNED describes STEVE.

o Mark returned the damaged package to the manufacturer.

o Follow the steps to find the participle. What is the subject? MARK. What is

the verb (i.e. what did Mark do?) RETURNED. And DAMAGED describes

PACKAGE.

o Alex fell down the broken staircase.

o BROKEN describes STAIRCASE.

Prepositional Phrases

Prepositions are words that show how one word or idea is related to another; a

preposition is the first word in a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases acts

as adjectives or adverbs in a sentence. board

about

above

across

after

against

along

amid

among

anti

around

as

at

before

behind

below

beneath

beside

besides

between

beyond

but

by

concerning

considering

despite

down

during

except

excepting

excluding

following

for

from

in

inside

into

like

minus

near

of

off

on

onto

opposite

outside

over

past

per

plus

regarding

round

save

since

than

through

to

toward

towards

under

underneath

unlike

until

up

upon

versus

via

with

within

without

Prepositional phrase as an adjective: The alien spaceship‟s exhaust pipe releases

jets of hot gas. The preposition “of” shows the relationship between the noun

“jets” and the object of the preposition “gas.” It is an adjective because it tells

„what kind.”

Prepositional Phrase as an adverb: The ballerina whirls around the room. “Around

the room” is the prepositional phrase acting as an adverb modifying “whirls.”

Prepositional Phrase Practice

Instructions: A prepositional phrase may be used as an adjective telling which or what kind and modifying a noun or pronoun. An adjective prepositional phrase will come right after the noun or pronoun that it modifies. If there are two adjective phrases together, one will follow the other. A prepositional phrase may be used as an adverb telling how, when, where, how much, and why and modifying the verb and sometimes an adjective. Adverb prepositional phrases can come anywhere in the sentence and can be moved within the sentence without changing the meaning. Only adjective prepositional phrases modify the object of the preposition in another prepositional phrase. Notice that some prepositional phrases may be adverbs or adjectives because of their location in the sentence. Pick out the prepositional phrases in these sentences, identify what they tell us, and explain what they modify.

1. The librarian took from her desk a new edition of one of the classics.

2. It was placed in the display case in the corner of the library.

3. Many books of mysteries and detective stories are found in the library.

4. One story about magic appears in our literature book.

5. This story contains clues to the solution of the mystery.

6. I have read many stories by Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes.

7. A wall of ancient Pompeii was discovered accidentally by an ordinary peasant.

Thank you to

http://department.monm.edu/english/kroberts/english201/project2002/group10/phrasework2.htm

Things to remember:

Periods and commas go INSIDE quotation marks.

Only what is being said is enclosed in quotation marks.

There are many ways to say “say.”

Converting the comic strip into written dialog~

“You know how the state‟s having budget problems?” the student asks.

The teacher responds, “Yes.”

“And you know,” continues the student, “that as far as schools are concerned,

everything is „on the table‟?”

The teacher thinks and says, “Um…yes,” wondering where the student is going with

this.

He finds out when the girls says, “Is THIS the table that everything‟s on?”

The teacher pauses and reflects before he responds saying, “I need to catch up on

grading some essays…”

Things to remember:

Periods and commas go INSIDE quotation marks.

Only what is being said is enclosed in quotation marks.

There are many ways to say “say.”

Converting the comic strip into written dialog~

“You know how the state‟s having budget problems?” the student asks.

The teacher responds, “Yes.”

“And you know,” continues the student, “that as far as schools are concerned,

everything is „on the table‟?”

The teacher thinks and says, “Um…yes,” wondering where the student is going with

this.

He finds out when the girls says, “Is THIS the table that everything‟s on?”

The teacher pauses and reflects before he responds saying, “I need to catch up on

grading some essays…”

CHOOSE STRONG VERBS accelerate

accept

accomplish

account for

accumulate

achieve

acknowledge

acquire

activate

adapt

add

address

adjust

admit

affect

agree

aid

align

alleviate

allow

alter

amplify

analyze

answer

anticipate

appear

apply

appreciate

approach

approximate

argue

arise

ascertain

assert

assess

associate

assume

attain

attract

attribute

augment

avoid

become

begin

behave

believe

benefit

bound

branch

break

bring (together)

broaden

build

calculate

calibrate

capitalize

capture

cause

center

challenge

characterize

choose

claim

clarify

collect

combine

compare

compete

compile

complete

complicate

compress

compute

conceive

concentrate

conclude

concur

conduct

confine

conjecture

connect

consider

constitute

constrain

construct

continue

contradict

contrast

contribute

control

converge

convey

convince

coordinate

correct

correlate

corroborate

create

critique

crystallize

decide

declare

decode

decrease

deduce

defend

define

deflect

delineate

deliver

demonstrate

deny

depict

deploy

deposit

derive

For the complete list visit:

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/writingtips/preciseverbs.html

Subject Verb Agreement

Subject verb agreement can be one of the more challenging aspects of writing. While

short clauses provide for an easily identifiable subject, longer clauses with extensive

phrases can make proper subject verb agreement more of a challenge.

The first and most important rule in subject verb agreement is that the verb must

agree with the intended number of the subject.

To accomplish that task, follow two occasionally not so simple tasks.

Identify the real subject

Determine whether subject is singular or plural

The first step is often made difficult by phrases and/or sentence structure that work to

obscure (hide) the true subject.

Prepositional phrases are one of the main culprits in the misidentification of the true

subject of the clause. Among the constitutional rights we cherish is freedom.

AMONG is a preposition; therefore, RIGHTS is the object of the preposition. FREEDOM is the subject of the sentence.

The group of protesters is blocking the entrance to the building.

OF is a preposition; therefore, PROTESTERS is the object of the preposition. GROUP is the subject of the sentence and it is singular.

The annual rituals of the group confuse the neighbors.

OF is a preposition; therefore, GROUP is the object of the preposition. RITUALS is the subject of the sentence and it is plural.

Parenthetical phrases can also work to obscure the true subject. Phrases such as "as well

as," "such as," "along with," "rather than," "accompanied by" and "including" introduce

items that are NOT considered when determining whether a verb is singular or plural.

The quiz, as well as all workbook exercises, was collected.

QUIZ is the subject. The parenthetical expression does not affect the verb.

His jacket, not his shirt or his socks, always seems to match his slacks.

JACKET is the subject. It is singular. The parenthetical expression (one that offers more information) does not affect the verb.

Her birthday celebration, together with the upcoming holiday, makes for a very full

calendar.

CELEBRATION is the subject. The parenthetical expression does not affect the verb.

The president and vice president, accompanied by the board of directors, plan to vote

against changing the company bylaws.

PRESIDENT and VICE PRESIDENT are the subject. The verb is plural.

Expletives (There, Here) are false subjects. Disregard them completely when determining

the subject that the verb must agree with.

There are fewer students in this class.

The true subject in this sentence is STUDENTS.

Officer, here is the person I was telling you about.

The true subject in this clause is PERSON.

Predicate nominatives can lead to some confusion when determining the true subject.

(Example: At the end of the tournament, Tiger Woods was the leader. The predicate

nominative has the same value as the subject)

Remember to find the subject and verb combination first and then begin to determine

whether that subject is singular or plural.

The war-torn country's only relief was the food and medical supplies dropped from the

sky.

The true subject in this sentence is RELIEF.

The explanation provided by the agency was farming practices, population growth and

international aid.

The true subject in this sentence is EXPLANATION.