Download Clauses Phrases Pronouns Antecedents

Clauses
Complete ideas that contain BOTH a subject
and a verb.
Phrases
Clusters of words that form a meaningful unit
but DO NOT contain BOTH a subject and
verb (e.g., on the desk, singing in the rain).
Phrases generally function as modifiers.
Pronouns
Substitute for nouns. Three types:
ƒ Personal: I, you, she, he, it
ƒ Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
ƒ Relative (often introduce modifying
clauses): what, who, whom, that,
which
Antecedents
Nouns to which pronouns refer.
Complete Predicate
Transitive Verbs
Intransitive Verbs
Linking Verbs
The verb and all words and phrases that
modify it.
Verbs that take direct objects (e.g., I RAISED
the child).
Verbs that do not take direct objects (e.g.,
The sun ROSE).
Subclass of intransitive verbs. Express the
relationship between the subject and its noun
or adjective complement (a predicate
nominative or a predicate adjective.) E.g., be,
become, seem, appear, and verbs that
pertain to the senses.
Predicate Nominatives
Rename the subject (e.g., He is a BOY).
Predicate Adjectives
Describe the subject (e.g., He is TALL).
Helping (or Auxiliary)
Verbs
Combine with another verb of any kind to
form a verb phrase. E.g., do, does, did, can,
could, may, might, will, would, shall, should,
and must.
Complements
Nouns or adjectives that complete the ideas
expressed by verbs. Four kinds:
ƒ Following Transitive Verbs to tell who
or what received the actions.
• Direct Objects
• Indirect Objects
ƒ Following Linking Verbs to describe
the subject of the sentence.
• Predicate Nominatives
• Predicate adjectives
Verbals
Any form of verb that functions as another
part of speech.
Participles
Can function as verbals; they often function
as adjectives.
Present participles end in ing.
Past participles end in ed.
Gerunds
Verbals functioning as nouns and ending in
ing.
Infinitives
Verbals that are usually nouns but can be
adjectives or adverbs. Usually made up of to
and a present-tense verb (e.g., to obtain).
Modifiers
Headwords
Articles
Coordinating
Conjunctions
Words, phrases, or clauses that qualify the
meaning of other words. Any part of speech
that functions as an adjective or adverb is a
modifier.
Words modified by a modifier.
Function words that specify nouns, and act
as adjectives. E.g., The boy selected a bagel
from the bakery shelf.
Join multiple sentence elements or clauses
that are of equal rank. Coordinating
conjunctions: but, or, yet, for, and, nor, and
sometimes so (mnemonic: Boyfans).
Subordinating
Conjunctions
Join words, phrases, or clauses to
independent clauses, linking ideas of lesser
rank to ideas of higher rank. E.g., as, before,
because, although, until, that, if, unless,
since, when, while.
Prepositions
Relate a noun to another word in a sentence.
A preposition and its object (and its object’s
modifiers) create a prepositional phrase, that
acts as a modifier. E.g., above, across,
against, as, at, in, to, on, under.
Main (Independent)
Clauses
Contain subject/verb units, each expressing
a complete idea. Independent clauses can
stand alone with terminal punctuation.
Subordinate
(Dependent) Clauses
Contain subject/verb units, but these clauses
must be linked to an independent clause to
complete their meaning. If left alone, they
form a sentence fragment.
Relative Clauses
Subordinate dependent clauses that begin
with a relative pronoun and function as
adjectives. The subject is often a relative
pronoun and they are often embedded inside
other clauses.
Restrictive Clauses
Subordinate clauses that are essential to the
meaning of a sentence because they delimit
the idea expressed by the independent
clause. Avoid enclosing them in commas.
Nonrestrictive Clauses
Nonessential subordinate clauses that add
information but do not delimit the main idea
of the sentence. They are often placed inside
commas.
Simple Sentences
Contain one independent clause and have
one subject and verb, which may or may not
be compound.
Compound Sentences
Combine at least two independent clauses
and one coordination method.
Complex Sentences
Contain one independent clause and at least
one dependent clause. Dependent clauses
are usually joined to the independent clause
by a subordinating conjunction or relative
pronoun.
Compound/Complex
Sentences
Meet the criteria for both compound and
complex sentences.
Coordination
Implies a balance of elements that are of
equal semantic value in a sentence. You can
use coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive
adverbs (CA), or punctuation to combine
short independent clauses into a compound
sentence. Remember: independent clauses
linked by CAs require a semicolon before the
CA and a comma after the CA.
Subordination
Transforms independent ideas (frequently
clauses) into dependent ideas (frequently
clauses) through the use of subordinating
conjunctions or relative pronouns. E.g., The
football game has been postponed. We’ll
have to do something else. VS. Because
the football game was postponed, we’ll have
to do something else.
Structural Links
Most links between clauses function as both
structural and semantic links. Two
exceptions:
• Punctuation functions primarily as a
structural link (commas are not
considered structural links in
professional writing).
• Conjunctive adverbs do not function
as a structural link. To use a
conjunctive adverb between two
independent clauses, surround it with
a semicolon and comma.
Comma Splice
Conjunctive Adverbs
The illegal use of a comma as a structural
link between two independent clauses.
The one type of semantic link that does not
function as a structural link. To link clauses
with a CA, surround it with a semicolon and
comma. CA examples: however, moreover,
furthermore, nevertheless, consequently,
additionally, etc.