Notes on combining sentences and commas are only in PowerPoint format.
Check the PowerPoint notes section for those notes.
If you need review of the parts of the speech, visit the site here.
Common Usage Errors
Using “Lie” and “Lay”
Lie, lay, lain = “to rest”
She usually lies down for a couple of hours after lunch.
He lay perfectly still, hoping that they wouldn't find him.
The jungle had lain undisturbed for thousands of years.
Lay, laid, laid- “to place”
Jenny lays the table for dinner every day.
We laid the newspaper on the floor to stop the paint spoiling the
wooden boards.
The hens have laid eight eggs.
They’re, their, there:
They’re = “they are” Ex. They’re eating pizza.
Their = possessive Ex. This is their pizza.
There = a place Ex. The pizza is over there.
Its, it’s:
Its = possessive Ex. Its sauce is spicy.
It’s = “it is” Ex. It’s delicious!
Hyphens, Dashes, and Parentheses
Hyphens divide words at the end of lines. Divide between syllables or
where it’s already hyphenated.
Syllables:
The bridge had been under construc-
tion for over six years.
Already hyphenated:
She is an old lady; in fact, she is one-
hundred and thirty-three.
Compound numbers:
eighty-four
fifty-six
Compound names:
Daniel Day-Lewis
Some compound words:
life-threatening
man-eating
Use parentheses to enclose material that is added to a sentence but
is not important.
Examples:
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) led India’s struggle for independence.
Anneal (uh-NEEL) means to make (as steel or glass) less brittle by heating
and then cooling.
Swim at your own risk. (Watch out for sharks.)
My brother (he once ate a live frog) is now the mayor of Kansas City.
Dashes work like parentheses but usually indicate an abrupt break in
thought or speech. Usually, writers use them for emphasis.
EX:Next Friday- Fridays are easily my favorite days of the week-
you will have a grammar test on this stuff we’ve learned today.
Clauses
What is a clause?
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and its predicate.
Example: Pam ate a block of cheese.
We have a subject: Pam. We have a predicate: ate. Therefor,
we have a clause!
There are two types: independent and dependent.
Independent clauses form a complete thought.
Examples: Joe ran.
Lilly jumped.
Steve burped.
Basically, independent clauses are complete sentences. They work alone
(independently) because they don't need help from any other clauses to make
sense. If you have a subject and a predicate working together to form a
complete thought (in other words, a sentence) then you have an
independent clause.
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject
and predicate 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.
Example:
When I smell pizza
Although I fear cows
Since Billy pukes a lot
Here's a list of some (but not ALL!) common dependent marker words:
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.
If you would like some more information on clauses, click here or here!
An adjective clause is a group of words that contains a
subject and a predicate and modifies (describes) a noun.
An adjective clause will meet three requirements:
1. First, it will contain a subject and verb.
2. Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or
which] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why].
3. Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions:
What kind? How many? or Which one?
Examples:
Bozo was a stupid clown who scared lots of children.
The clause modifies the clown. The subject of the clause is the reflexive
pronoun "who," and the verb is "scared."
She ate frog’s legs which once belonged to Kermit the Frog.
The clause modifies the legs. The subject of the clause is the reflexive
pronoun "which," and the verb is "belonged."
Here is the ax that I used to chop up the wild coyote.
The clause modifies the ax. The subject of the clause is "I" and the verb
is "used."
An adverb clause is a group of words that contains a subject
and a predicate and modifies (describes) a verb.
An adverb clause will meet three requirements:
1. First, it will contain a subject and verb.
2. You will also find a subordinate conjunction (a.k.a. dependent marker
word) that keeps the clause from expressing a complete thought.
3. Finally, you will notice that the clause answers one of these three
adverb questions: How? When? or Why?
Examples:
I brushed my teeth until I got the taste of cottage cheese out of my
mouth.
The clause answers the question when I brushed my teeth.
Because the student annoyed me, I fed him to the troll under the
staircase.
The clause answers the question why I fed the student to the troll.
Listen for the troll before you walk down the stairs.
The clause answers the question when you listen for the troll.
Check out Kelly's PowerPoint on phrases here.
Phrases and Verbal Phrases
First of all, what is a phrase?
Phrase: a group of words without a subject and predicate, that
acts like a single part of speech.
Basically, it’s a group of words (like a prepositional phrase) that doesn’t
have a subject or verb and “does its own thing” separate from the rest of
the sentence. Let's take a look at our first kind of phrase...
Appositive: an interrupting definition
Example: Jill, my sister, is super annoying.
See how "my sister" interrupts the sentence and just gives you a definition
of Jill? "My sister" is a group of words that is "doing its own thing" (in
this case, defining "Jill") separate from the sentence. You will be able to
take all of phrases out a sentence, and it will not effect the meaning of
the sentence.
For instance, take "my sister" out of the example sentence.
Jill is super annoying.
See how it still makes sense? Ok, try finding the appositives (interrupting
definitions) in the following sentences.
Identify the appositive/appositive phrase:
Joey, my neighbor’s dog, likes to eat rocks.
The mean girl next door, Ashley, stole my bike.
George Bush, the President of the United States, gave a speech
yesterday.
Need more help with appositives? Click here
If not, move on!
To understand verbal phrases, we need to know what a "verbal" is.
Verbal: a verb form that is being used as a different part
of speech. A verbal is not a verb; it just looks like a verb. It’s really
acting like something else!
Example: Eating is Cookie Monster’s favorite pastime.
See how "Eating" is your subject of the sentence? It looks like a verb, but
it's acting like a noun.
Types of Verbals:
Gerund: a noun made from an –ing verb.
Example:
The annoying kid in the back won’t stop talking!
"Talking" is behind an action verb ("stop") and answering the
question "what?": The annoying kid won't stop (what?) TALKING! "Talking" is
acting like a direct object, and we *should* know that objects are nouns.
Thinking is for smart kids.
What are we talking about in this sentence? We're talking about "thinking"!
So "thinking" is our subject, and subjects are nouns!
Easy, right? You just look for an -ing verb (eating, talking, thinking)
that's acting like a noun, and those are called "gerunds".
Need more help with gerunds? Click here .
If not, move on.
Infinitive: a noun or modifier made from the to- form of the verb.
Example:
She likes to joke.
I want to eat.
To be or not to be, that is the question.
Infinitives are easy to find. You just look for the word "to" and check to
see if there is a verb behind it. But here's the hard part. Infinitives can
be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. You just have to figure out how they're
acting in the sentence.
She likes (what?) "to joke." (Direct object!)
I want (what?) "to eat." (Direct object!)
"To be or not to be," that is the question. (Well, we're right next to a
pronoun (that), and "to be or not to be" describes "that"... so it
must be an adjective!)
Need more help with infinitives? Click here.
If not, move on.
Participle: an adjective made out of a verb
Example:
His face was swollen.
"Swollen" looks like a verb, right? But it's describing "face." What kind of
words describe nouns? ADJECTIVES!
Hiding his loot, the pirate peeked through the porthole.
Whom does "hiding his loot" describe? The pirate! Since pirates are people
and people are nouns, the phrase is acting like an adjective.
Jumping up and down, Chris was obviously happy that he had
scored Hannah Montana tickets.
Same thing as with the last example. Whom does "jumping up and down"
describe? CHRIS! Chris is a person (obviously a noun), so the phrase is
acting like an adjective describing a noun.
Need more help with participles? Click here.
If not, move on.
Summing it up: Gerunds are -ing NOUNS. Particles are adjectives. And
infinitives (to + verb) can be either nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Here's a good site that will
show you how to compare verbal phrases.
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
Prepositions show a relationship of time or space between two words
in a sentence.
Example: I sat my drink on the table.
“On” shows you the relationship of space (where?) between the drink
and the table.
Example: I entered the room before Ben.
“Before” shows you the relationship of time (when?) between the time
I entered the room and the time Ben entered the room.
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a
preposition and ends with an object of the preposition (a noun).
Example: I kicked the ball in his face.
The word "in" is the preposition. It shows the relationship between
the ball and his face. "Face" is the object of the preposition. So
the preposition phrase is "in his face."
The Parts of a Sentence
Write these definitions into your grammar notes:
Sentence- a group of words that contains a subject and its
predicate and makes a complete thought
Subject- the noun or subject pronoun that the sentence is about
Predicate- the verb and others words that are about the subject
What is the subject and the predicate of the sentence?
My tongue will tell the anger of my heart.
Two-Bit Mathews was the oldest of the gang.
Compound subject: more than one noun or pronoun used as a
double subject
Example: John and Jane danced and sang.
Compound verb: the subject may take more than one verb as its
predicate
Example: John and Jane danced and sang.
Simple Subject : This is the noun or pronoun that your
sentence is about. Who is the subject of the following sentence?
Example: The fat, smelly kid ate my sandwich.
The subject of the sentence is the noun "kid." This is our simple subject.
Complete Subject: the subject plus all the other words before
the verb that belong to the subject
Example: The fat, smelly kid ate my sandwich.
The words "the," "fat," and "smelly" all belong to (modify) the subject
(kid).
Simple Predicate : the verb of the sentence.
Example: The fat, smelly kid ate my sandwich.
Complete Predicate: the verb and all the words that follow the
verb.
Example: The fat, smelly kid ate my sandwich.
Direct Object:
a noun or object pronoun that receives the action of the action
verb; it will usually answer the question “what?” after the verb
Example:
Mr. Johnson ate (what?) the pizza.
I hit (what?) the ball out of the park!
Indirect Object:
a noun or obj. pronoun that is indirectly affected by the verb, located
between the action verb and the direct object; usually answers the
question “to whom?” or “for whom?”
Example:
I gave (whom?) the students the pizza.
Joe asked (whom?) me a question.
Try this direct and indirect object quiz
Subject Complement:
a noun, subject pronoun, or adjective that is LINKED to the subject
by a LINKING VERB and tells more about the subject.
Example:
Jessica Alba is my girlfriend.
The subject is "Jessica Alba." The linking verb is "is." The subject
complement is "girlfriend." "Girlfriend" is a noun renaming the subject.
Got it?
There are two types of subj. complements:
Predicate nominative: renames the subject
Ex. Jessica Alba is my girlfriend.
(“girlfriend” renames Jessica Alba)
Predicate adjective: describes the subject
Jessica Alba is hot.
(“hot” describes Jessica Alba)
Look at the following sentences. What’s the subj. complement? What kind of
subj. complement is it?
1. Frank is stupid.
2. George Washington was the first President.
Answers:
1."Frank" is the subject. "Is" is the linking verb. "Stupid" describes
Frank, so "stupid" is the subject complement and is a predicate adjective.
2. "George Washington" is the subject. "Was" is the linking
verb. "President" renames George Washington, so "President" is the subject
complement and is a predicate nominative.
