Download Name: Verb Best Friend: A. Action Verb

Name: ____________________________
Verb Best Friend:____________________
A. Action Verb - verb that tells what action someone or something is performing, will perform, or has
performed
1) Transitive – performs an action on an object (transfer of energy)
Ask the question “what?” or “whom?” to check.
2) Intransitive – does not perform an action on an object (no energy transfer)
B. Linking Verb – verb that connects a sentence’s subject (noun or pronoun) to a word that describes it
(usually adjective) in the predicate
1) “The Big Five” – am, are, is, was, were [most commonly used LVs]
2) “The Bee’s” – any LINKING VERB ending in –be, -being, or –been
am being
are being
is being
was being
were being
can be
could be
may be
might be
must be
shall be
should be
will be
would be
have been
has been
had been
could have been
may have been
might have been
must have been
shall have been
should have been
will have been
would have been
3) “The (12) Others” – appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, turn, taste
These verbs are unique because they can also act as action verbs in certain sentences. To tell
the difference between ACTION and LINKING VERB, substitute one of “The Big Five”.
C. Helping Verb – verb or verbs that work with the main verb (ACTION VERB) to give the reader a better
idea of when the action takes place.
Verb Phrase – name for the helping verb (or verbs) + the main verb (ACTION VERB)
1) The “To Be’s” – BE careful because these helping verbs look like linking verbs (“The Big Five” and
“The Bee’s”) BUT they are used with an ACTION VERB not alone like a LINKING VERB
2) The “Not To Be’s” – do
does
did
have
has
had
shall
should
will
would
can
could
may
might
must
Name: _____________________________
Best Friend: _____________________
Q: What is an adjective?
A: Adjectives are parts of speech that are used to describe (modify) or give specific meaning to a noun

Modify  change through addition
* Rules for Adjectives:

Nouns can have an infinite amount of adjectives associated with them.

Ex., the dusty, dirty, blue, four-door, expensive Land Rover.
Land Rover is your proper noun. All the words that come before it describe your Land
Rover. Be careful with this aspect of adjectives, sometimes sentences get confusing or
too “wordy.”

Adjectives appear in the sentence in only two ways (adjectives are bold and underlined):
a.) The bold child screamed at his mother.
b.) The child, who screamed at his mother, is bold.
** “is” is a linking verb, whose main function is to connect nouns in the subject with
adjectives in the predicate.

Possessive nouns, for example, “Jamie’s car” do act as adjectives!

Adjectives answer the following questions:
a.) “what kind?”  blue car, tall boy, expensive watch
b.) “which one?”  that hotel, any dog, other door
c.) “how many?”  both pencils, five dollars, frequent conversations
d.) “how much?”  less effort, more determination, enough laughter
* Types of Adjectives:
1) Descriptive Words  general category of words that simply add clarification to a noun (big, small, tall,
smelly, great, etc.)
2) A, AN—[both Indefinite Articles]—and THE—[a Definite Article]—are ALL considered to be adjectives.
3) Regular ole’ everyday common nouns – people, places, things, or ideas that answer the question “what
kind?” or “which one?”
Ex., words like car, orange, spaghetti, and book can become:
- car dealership (what kind of dealership?)
- orange juice, orange tree, orange sweater
- spaghetti sauce, spaghetti dinner
- book mobile, book shelf, book worm
- dog collar, dog walker, dog bone
4) Proper Nouns – SPECIFIC (named) people, places, things, or ideas that answer the question what kind? or
which one?
Ex., words like New York, Statue of Liberty, New Hampshire, and McDonald’s can
become:
- New York streets (what kind of streets?)
- Statue of Liberty brochure, Statue of Liberty guide
- New Hampshire economy
- McDonald’s employee
5) Pronouns used as Adjectives:
a. Demonstrative – points toward a specific noun using THIS, THAT, THESE, and
THOSE
ex. These students will not be going to the fair. (these modifies students)
b. Interrogative – always begin a question sentence using WHOSE, WHICH, and
WHAT
ex. Which car did you buy? (which modifies car)
c. Possessive – shows ownership of the noun using HIS, HERS, ITS, OURS, YOURS,
THEIRS, MY
ex. Today is our wedding anniversary. (our modifies anniversary)
d. Indefinite – does not show a definite number of something using ANOTHER, EACH,
EITHER, LITTLE, NEITHER, ONE, OTHER, BOTH, FEW, MANY,
SEVERAL, SOME, MOST, MORE, ANY, ALL
ex. All students will pass this class. (all modifies students)
6) Action Verbs used as Adjectives – any –ed/-ing action verb can be used to modify a noun
ex. Swimming, running, dancing
* used as verb  The team will be swimming for exercise this off-season.
* used as an adjective  The swimming ducks captured the attention of the wolf.
* used as an adjective  Mike will buy new running shoes at the store.
* used as an adjective  The dancing bear belongs in a circus.
Name: _____________________________
Best Friend: _____________________
Q: What is an adverb?
A: Adverbs are parts of speech that are used to describe (modify) or give specific meaning to a verb, adjective,
or other adverbs

Modify  change through addition
* Rules for Adverbs:

Adverbs usually come before or after the word they modify. Be careful though because they can
sometimes be located at the very beginning or end of the sentence.

Ex., The car usually starts quickly.
Ex., Usually, the car starts quickly.

Adverbs answer the following questions:
a.) “where?”  slide under, run around
b.) “when?”  sails daily, leave soon
c.) “in what manner?” (ie., How?)  cheerfully humming, driving erractically
d.) “to what extent?” (used when an ADV modifies and ADJ)  widely known,
very colorful shirt

Adverbs usually end in –ly but NOT always! Words like very, quite, often, sometimes, now,
and always act as adverbs.

Nouns that answer the questions “where?” or “when?” something is occurring can also be
Adverbs  home, today, weekends, and yesterday.
Ex., Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.
I played football yesterday.

If you feel comfortable with prepositions and prepositional phrases, when seen alone,
prepositions will be used as adverbs.
Name: _____________________________
Best Friend: _____________________
Q: What is a phrase?
A: A phrase is a group of words in the sentence without a subject or a verb, which functions in the
sentence as a different part of speech. For example, some phrases can act as adjectives; others as
adverbs. Phrases can be categorized as Prepositional, Participle, Gerund, Infinitive, and Appositive.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#1 Prepositional Phrases
Q: What is a Prepositional Phrase?
A: Prepositions never work alone. They combine with nouns (and the adjectives which add descriptions to
nouns) to form a group of words called a Prepositional Phrase. Prepositional Phrases give additional
information about nouns and verbs around them. They answer how, when, where, what kind, which one, and
under what condition.
Examples:
How?: He talked (with a Boston accent).
When?: We left (on Sunday).
Where?: She parked her car (in the driveway).
What Kind?: She does not like clothes (from the GAP).
Which One?: The boy (in the gym) felt sick.
Under what condition?: This wedding has me feeling (under some stress).
Frequently used prepositions:
Aboard
Before
Despite
Near
Through
Within
About
Behind
Down
Of
Throughout
Without
Above
Below
During
Off
Till
According to
Across
Beneath
Except
On
To
Apart From
After
Beside
For
Opposite
Toward
Because of
Against
Besides
From
Out
Under
In addition to
Along
Between
In
Outside
Underneath
In back of
Amid
Beyond
Inside
Over
Until
In front of
Among
But
Into
Past
Up
Instead of
Around
By
Like
Round
Upon
Next to
Since
With
Out of
At
Prior to
Rules:
1) A Prepositional Phrase will only start with a preposition and only contain adjectives [with an adverb
modifying it] and pronouns or nouns. Example  with a Boston accent. “With” is a preposition and
both “a” and “Boston” modify accent.
2) A Preposition without a phrase is an adverb.
Example Prep Phrase  Our school bus drove (by the house).
Example Adverb  Our school bus drove [by].
3) Prepositional Phrases can show a time or space relationship between two objects in the sentence.
The prep phrase tells us where the house is in relation to the bus in the sentence above.
4) Prepositional Phrases will be used as either an ADJECTIVE or an ADVERB. They use the same
rules that we have already covered for regular, individual adjectives and adverbs.
 Prep Phrase as an ADJ The boy (in the gym) felt sick.
“In the gym” is a prep phrase which modifies the noun, “boy.” Like other adjectives, prepositional
phrases answer the questions “What kind?” or “Which one?”
 Prep Phrase as an ADV We ran (through the rain).
“Through the rain” is a prep phrase which modifies the verb, “ran.” Like other adverbs,
prepositional phrases answer the questions “Where?”, “When?”, and “How?”
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#2 Participles and Participles Phrases  any –ING [Present] or –ED [Past] verb used as an adjective
Example The flickering candle partially lit the room.
“Flickering” ends in –ING and modifies the noun “candle,” so it is considered a Present Participle.
Example The crooked politician stole $1 million dollars.
“Crooked” ends in –ED and modifies the noun “politician,” so it is considered a Past Participle.
Example Flickering in the room, the candle smelled like apples.
Participle Phrases are created when a Past or Present Participle is combined with a Prepositional Phrase.
“Flickering” ends in –ING, “in the room” is a Prepositional Phrase, and both modify the noun, “candle.”
#3 Gerunds and Gerund Phrases  any –ING verb used as a noun
Example Skiing has been great at Sno Mountain.
“Skiing” ends in –ING but acts as a noun because it is a thing.
Example Completing the homework is the key to success.
The phrase “completing the homework” acts as the subject of the sentence. Gerund phrases are created
when adding an –ING to a noun.
#4 Infinitives the word TO + any verb that acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb
Example To run after school is a great release.
The phrase “to” plus the verb “run” act as the noun in the sentence.
#5 Appositives and Appositive Phrases  a noun/pronoun or group of nouns/pronouns placed next to a noun
or pronoun that identifies it [most are found inside commas].
Example The quarterback, Peyton Manning, made the commercial.
Peyton Manning acts as an appositive because it gives us more information about which quarterback
made the commercial.
Name: _____________________________
Best Friend: _____________________
Q: What is a Clause?
A: All Clauses (Independent or Dependent) contain a subject [noun] and a verb.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#1 Independent Clause:
Q: What is an Independent Clause?
A: An Independent Clause (Indy for short) contains a subject, verb, and complete thought, which makes it a
complete sentence.

The Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday. = Sentence/Indy Clause
+

The Steelers are still Mr. Moe’s favorite team = Sentence/Indy Clause
=
 The Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday, but the Steelers are still Mr. Moe’s favorite
team.
The big “but” above is an example of a Coordinating Conjunction (CC). When two independent clauses are
combined in a sentence, the second begins with a coordinating conjunction and a comma is needed before the
coordinating conjunction
 Coordinating Conjunctions  and, but, for, or, nor, so, & yet
You can take the above sentence and combine the two Independent clauses using an Independent Marker
(IM). These words can always begin a sentence that can stand alone. When the second Independent Clause in
a sentence has an Independent Marker word, a semicolon is needed before the Independent Marker word.
 The Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday; however the Steelers are still Mr. Moe’s
favorite team.
 Independent Marker : also, consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, and
therefore
__________________________________________________________________________________________
#2 Dependent Clause (a.k.a., Subordinate Clause):
Q: What is an Dependent Clause?
A: A Dependent Clause has a subject and a verb but NO complete thought, so it CANNOT stand alone as a
sentence. They can act as both Adjectives and Adverbs.
Ex. When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz. [Leaves you asking the question, huh?]
Type #1: Adjective Clause  modifies a noun
Q1:
Q2:
 The car that I bought last year needs new tires.
The Dependent Clause “that I bough last year” contains both a subject and a verb, but cannot stand alone. In
the original sentence, it gives us more information about the noun “car.”
Adjective Dependent Clauses begin with two types of words:
 Relative Pronouns  That, Who, Whose, Whom, Which
 Relative Adverbs  Before, Since, Why, When, Where
Type #2: Adverb Clause  modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb
 Even though we fought hard, our team did not win.
The Dependent Clause “even though we fought hard” contains a subject and a verb,
but cannot stand alone. In the original sentence, it gives us more information the verb
“win.”
Adverb Dependent Clauses begin with one type of word:
 Subordinating Conjunctions (SC) 
Q1:
Q2:
Q3:
Q4:
after
eventhough
unless
although
if
until
as
in order that
when *
as if
since
whenever
as long as
so that
where *
because
then
wherever
before
though
while
* -- can also be relative adverbs!!