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Fun With Grammar
ACT Prep 2013
The parts Of Speech
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A noun is a person, place, or thing – Joe, ball, floor.
A verb shows action or helps to make a statement
(helping/linking verbs) – was, dropped.
A pronoun takes the place of a noun – he (takes the
place of Joe).
An adjective describes a noun – careful (describes
Joe).
An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or another
adverb – very (describes the adjective).
A conjunction links words or groups of words
together – even though.
A preposition links a noun to the rest of the
sentence – on.
Clauses
A clause contains a subject and a verb. If
a clause can stand alone, it is an
independent clause, or in other words, a
complete sentence.
 If a clause cannot stand alone, it is
dependent on the rest of the sentence to
make sense, so it is a dependent clause.
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Sentence Structure
Problems with sentence structure arise when writers mistakenly confuse
dependent clauses or fragments with complete sentences, like when a writer
runs one complete sentence into another – a run-on sentence.
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Sally lit the campfire Jack set up the tent.
There are fours ways to fix a run-on sentence:
 -Break up into two complete sentences.
◦ Sally lit the campfire. Jack set up the tent.
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-Turn into a compound sentence by adding a comma and a coordinating
conjunction.
◦ Sally lit the campfire, and Jack set up the tent.
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-Turn into a complex sentence by making one of the clauses dependent.
◦ As Sally lit the campfire, Jack set up the tent.
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-If the sentences are inextricably linked, use a semi-colon. (Don’t overuse
semi-colons.)
◦ Sally lit the campfire; Jack set up the tent.
Pronoun Agreement
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The pronoun of a sentence must always
agree with its subject. you just need to
remind yourself of those singular indefinite
pronouns (like each).
Each of these moments have played over
again in my mind. Incorrect
Each of these moments has played over
again in my mind. Correct
A good rule of thumb is if you could add
‘one’ or ‘body’ after the indefinite pronoun,
it is singular.
Pronoun Case
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The Second Pronoun Rule: Case
If a pronoun is the subject of a sentence, you must use a subject pronoun.
If a pronoun is the object in a sentence, you must use an object pronoun.
Singular Pronouns
Subject
I
you
he
she
it
Plural Pronouns
Subject
we
you
they
their/theirs
Object
me
you
him
her
it
Possessive
my
mine
your
yours
his/hers/its
Object
us
you
them
Possessive
our
ours
your/yours
Subject Verb Agreement
The verb of a sentence must always agree
with its subject.
 Singular subjects get singular verbs
 Plural subject gets plural verbs
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◦ The best answer of the many good answers were
Susie’s. Incorrect
◦ The best answer of the many good answers was
Susie’s. Correct
Pronoun-Verb Agreement
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A Pronoun must always agree with the noun it
refers to.
A good rule of thumb is if you could add ‘one’ or
‘body’ after the indefinite pronoun, it is singular.
The following indefinite pronouns are all singular:
Either (one)
No one
Neither (one)
Everyone
Each (one)
Everybody
Any (one)
Somebody
Anyone
Anybody
Verb Tense Switching
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If a sentence starts in present tense (or
past, future, etc.), it should stay there.
◦ Sam is walking down the street when he found a
large suitcase. Incorrect
◦ Sam is walking down the street when he finds a
large suitcase. Correct
Commas
Use a comma:
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To separate items in a series (including a comma before
the conjunction)
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To separate two or more adjectives preceding a noun.
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After introductory phrases and clauses.
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To set off non-essential clauses and phrases within a
sentence.
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Before and, but, or, nor, for, and yet joining two
independent clauses.
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To set off sentence interrupters.
Semicolons
Use a semicolon between independent clauses
(or complete sentences) if they are not joined by
and, but, or, nor, or yet.
 A semicolon can take the place of a period
between two complete sentences (independent
clauses) that are closely related.
 Use a semicolon between independent clauses
joined by a transitional expression such as for
example, for instance, that is, besides, accordingly,
moreover, nevertheless, furthermore, otherwise,
however, consequently, instead, hence.
 Use a semicolon between items in a series if the
items contain commas.
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Colons
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Use a colon to mean "note what follows"
Use a colon
◦ to introduce a list of items following a complete
sentence (Note: when a list immediately follows a
verb or preposition, DO NOT use a colon)
◦ The equipment you will need is as follows: a jacket, a
can of Spam, a think piece of plastic, and a water
bottle. Correct
◦ My three favorite hobbies are: sewing, skating, and
painting. Incorrect
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before a long, formal statement or
quotation
Apostophes
The Apostrophe (')
 Shows:
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◦ 1. Ownership
Bob’s camera is brand new.
◦ 2. Relationship
Troy’s cousin is flying in today.
Cleaning the apartment was a day’s work.
Modifiers
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A dangling modifier is a word or phrase
that modifies a word not clearly stated in
the sentence. A modifier describes,
clarifies, or gives more detail about a
concept.
◦ Example: Bob Smith, the plumber with one leg,
fixed my leaky sink.
Parallelism
A sentence contains good parallel structure if parallel ideas
within the sentence are in the same grammatical form. In a
sentence, two words related to one another should be of the
same form and of the same part of speech. 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."
 Words and Phrases
 With the –ING ending of words (called gerunds):
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◦ Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.
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With infinitive phrases:
◦ Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.
OR
Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.
Sentence Fragments
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Fragments are incomplete sentences.
Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences
that have become disconnected from the
main clause. One of the easiest ways to
correct them is to remove the period
between the fragment and the main
clause.
redundancy
Eliminate words that explain the
obvious or provide excessive detail
 Always consider readers while drafting
and revising writing. If passages explain or
describe details that would already be
obvious to readers, delete or reword
them.
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