| GRAMMAR | Grammar refers to the rules that govern the way in which words and their component parts combine to form sentences. In traditional English grammar, there are eight parts of speech: Nouns | |
| NOUNS | A noun names something or somebody. A proper noun names something or somebody specific. For example Mary, Colorado, etc. COMPOUND NOUNS: Words such as mother-in-law, swimming pool, Memorial Day, breakthrough, etc. COLLECTIVE NOUNS: Groups may be thought of as a single unit, such as in “my family.” | |
| PRONOUNS | A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. There are several types of pronouns: PERSONAL PRONOUNS: I, you, me, he, she, we, him, them, etc. INTENSIVE PRONOUNS: Myself, yourself, herself, etc. RELATIVE PRONOUNS: Who, which, that. Relative pronouns must have antecedents, meaning words they refer back to. Mary is a romantic girl (antecedent) who (relative pronoun) never takes love for granted. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS: These, those, etc. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: Anybody, somebody, anything, etc. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS: Why?, Who?, What?, etc. POSSESSIVES: Use the apostrophe to indicate the possessive case of nouns (including acronyms) and pronouns (except for personal pronouns). Singular: The student’s books or Everybody’s concern Plural: The students’ books or Her brothers’ room Compounds: My brother-in-law’s house or John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s tragic death. The PERSONAL POSSESSIVES yours, theirs, its, hers, and ours HAVE NO APOSTROPHE. Avoid the common mistake of using it’s for its. | |
| VERBS | 1. Verbs have two voices: active and passive. An active verb indicates the subject is acting: The professor teaches the class. A passive verb indicates the subject acted upon: The class is taught by the professor. 2. Verbs are transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning: John likes Mary (Object: Mary). An intransitive verb doesn’t take a direct object to complete its meaning. It represents action without a specific goal: John runs every morning (where just John runs would have been sufficient.) The same verb may be transitive in one sentence, and intransitive in another: John reads newspapers. (Transitive) John reads well. (Intransitive)The verb “to be” (is, was, etc.) is often considered a linking verb, because it links subject with *predicate without transmitting a specific action: Hank is a student. (*Predicate: is made up of all the parts of sentence excluding the subject.) 3. Verbs come in three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. An indicative mood indicates a fact. If it’s asking a question, then it’s a question about a fact: John loves Mary. Does Mary love John? A subjunctive mood indicates a wish or thought rather than a fact: If I were smart, I would start working on my term paper today. An imperative mood issues a command: Everybody go drink water! 4. Verbs have six tenses: present, past, present perfect, past perfect, future, and future perfect. PRESENT: John plays football. (Present progressive: John is playing football. ) PAST: John played football. PRESENT PERFECT: John has played football. PAST PERFECT: John had played football. FUTURE: John will play football. FUTURE PERFECT: John will have played football.
| |
| ADJECTIVES | An adjective modifies a noun: She’s a charming girl.
| |
| ADVERBS | An adverb modifies a verb: She spoke politely. He plays the piano beautifully. They quickly ran up the stairs.
| |
| PREPOSITIONS | A preposition connects a noun or a pronoun with a verb, an adjective, or another pronoun: The luggage with the blue ribbon.
| |
| CONJUNCTIONS | Conjunctions join sentences or part of sentences together. There are two types: coordinating and subordinating: COORDINATING Conjunctions – and, or, but, nor, for, so, yet – connect words of equal grammatical rank: My brother and I got up late, but we still managed to get to school on time. SUBORDINATING Conjunctions – e.g. who, that, although, if, when – connect a main clause with a subordinate one: When I sleep too much, I feel as if I’m in a daze. | |
| INTERJECTIONS | A interjection expresses a simple exclamation: Wow! |
