Download Grammar Review

 Noun-Person,
Place, Thing, or Idea (Naming)
 Pronoun-Words that Substitute Nouns
 Verb-Words that do (action) or are
(existence)
 Adjective-words that describe or modify a
noun or a pronoun
 Adverb-words that modify a verb(manner,
place, frequency, time, and purpose)
 Prepositions-describes
a relationship
between other words in a sentence


Squirrel + verb + preposition + the tree.
Squirrel + ran + toward/in front of + the tree.
 Conjunctions-words
that join FANBOYS
 Interjections-words that exclaim, protest, or
command
Simple Sentence
John hit the ball.
Who
or what=the Subject (Noun or
Pronoun)
Does, Did, or will Do –Predicate
(verb)
To what-The Direct Object
Simple Sentence with No-Action Verbs
Subject

The pitch + was/is + a curve ball/in the catcher’s mitt.
Subject

+ To Be + Other Stuff
+ Linking Verb+ Other Stuff
John + feels/seems + nervous/a natural hitter.
A compound sentence contains two
independent clauses (sentences) joined by a
coordinator. The coordinators are as follows:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Sentence+,+

The pitch is a curve ball, and it missed the catcher’s
mitt.
Sentence+;+

F.A.N.B.O.Y + Sentence
Sentence
The pitch is a curve ball; it missed the catcher’s mitt.
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined
by one or more dependent clauses. A complex
sentence always has a subordinator such as: as,
because, since, after, although, or when or a relative
pronoun such as that, who, or which.
 Subordinator

Because Jack wanted to be chief, he created his own
tribe.
Sentence+

+ Sentence+, + Sentence
Subordinator + Sentence
Jack wanted to be chief because he created his own
tribe.
Participles have three functions in sentences. They can be components
of multipart verbs, or they can function as adjectives or nouns.

Participles come in two varieties: past and present. They are two
of the five forms or principal parts that every verb has.
Verb
Simple
Simple
Past
Present
Present
Past
Participle Participle
Giggle
Giggle (s)
Giggled
Giggled
Giggling
Ring
Ring (s)
Rang
Rung
Ringing
Bring
Bring (s)
Brought
Brought
Bringing

Present will end in –ing

Past will not always end in –ed. Consult a dictionary.
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right
beside it. The appositive can be a short or long combination of words.
 Interrupts
 Robbie, a
the sentence
hot-tempered tennis player, charged
the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's
skull with a racket.
 Starts the sentence
 A hot-tempered tennis
player, Robbie, charged
the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's
skull with a racket.
 Ends the sentence
 Upset by the bad call,
the crowd cheered
Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who
charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor
man's skull with a racket.
An absolute phrase is a word group that modifies an entire sentence. It
consists of a noun plus at least one other word, as shown here:

The hunters rested for a moment in front of the
shack.
Their breaths were white in the frosty air.
 Turned
into an absolute phrase simply by
omitting the linking verb were.
 Ending a sentence:

The hunters rested for a moment in front of the
shack, their breaths white in the frosty air.
 Beginning a sentence:
 Their breaths white in
the frosty air, the hunters
rested for a moment in front of the shack.

"He was a bag of
bones, a floppy doll,
a broken stick, a
maniac."
(Jack Kerouac, On the
Road, 1957)
A rhetorical term for a writing
style that omits conjunctions
between words, phrases, or
clauses (the opposite of
polysyndeton). Adjective:
asyndetic.

"He pulled the blue plastic
tarp off of him and folded
it and carried it out to the
grocery cart and packed it
and came back with their
plates and some cornmeal
cakes in a plastic bag and
a plastic bottle of syrup."
(Cormac McCarthy, The
Road. Knopf, 2006)
A rhetorical term for a sentence
style that employs many
conjunctions (the opposite of
asyndeton). Adjective:
polysyndetic.

Sentences in which
the verb/adverb
comes before the
subject are
“inverted”. This is
done to put more
emphasis on the
verb/ adverb.
“Judge me by my size, do you?…Luminous beings are we, not this crude
matter.”
Never before was I so eager to reach home.

a recurring object,
concept, or structure
in a work of
literature. A motif
may also be two
contrasting elements
in a work, such as
good and evil.
Prejudice & Justice in
Twelve Angry Men
 Loneliness &
Companionship in Of
Mice and Men
 A motif is important
because it allows one
to see main points
and themes that the
author is trying to
express, in order that
one might be able to
interpret the work
more accurately.

Is
 Are
 Was
 Were
 Be
 Being
 Been

To be Verbs
Obviously, being is essential to
existence, so it’s no surprise that
to be verbs are essential in
writing.
 However, most of us rely too
heavily on to be verbs or use
them unconsciously.
 To be verbs lack the vigor and
power offered by stronger, moreaction packed verbs.
 As a result, our writing suffers.

Why?

My sister is loud when
she is telling her
children to do their
homework.
Weak & Wordy

My sister bellows
when she tells her
children to do their
homework.
Strong & Specific

The restaurant’s food
is excellent.
Weak & Wordy

The restaurant serves
excellent food.
Strong & Specific
Jennifer Lawrence is
the star of The
Hunger Games.
 Our mother was the
driver of the bus.

Weak & Wordy
Jennifer Lawrence
stars in The Hunger
Games.
 Our mother drove the
bus.

Strong & Specific

My sister is loud when
she is telling her
children to do their
homework.
Weak & Wordy

My sister bellows
when tell her children
to do their
homework.
Strong & Specific

The food at the
restaurant is
excellent. The
hamburgers are juicy.
The onion rings are
crispy. The pie is the
best I have ever
eaten.
Weak & Wordy

The restaurant serves
excellent food,
including juicy
hamburgers, crispy
onion rings, and the
best pie I have ever
eaten.
Strong & Specific

The restaurant’s
parking lot is narrow.
There are not very
many parking spaces
and those that are
available are too
cramped.
Weak & Wordy

The restaurant suffers
from a narrow parking
lot with only a few
cramped spaces.
Strong & Specific
It is my intention to
transfer to a fouryear university.
 There were some
important findings
resulting from this
experiment.

Weak & Wordy
I intend to transfer to
a four-year university.
 This experiment
resulted in some
important findings.

Strong & Specific

He struggled with the
paper that was
assigned by the
professor.
Weak & Wordy

He struggled with the
paper assigned by the
professor.
Strong & Specific
Electric car
technology was in
existence as early as
1830.
 Negative advertising
is influential on
voters’ perceptions of
candidates.
 I am in receipt of
your letter.

Weak & Wordy
Electric car
technology existed as
early as 1830.
 Negative advertising
influences voters’
perceptions of
candidates.
 I have received your
letter/ I received
your letter.

Strong & Specific
The stock market
was fluctuating wildly
before the crash.
 The concept of
immortality is
intriguing to me.

Weak & Wordy
The stock market
fluctuated wildly
before the crash.
 The concept of
immortality intrigues
to me.

Strong & Specific