Download Ms BOs Basic Grammar REV

Ms. B’s Basic Grammar
(Or Things That Her Voice in Your Head Will Haunt You About For the Rest of Your Life)
The English language depends on words’ syntax, or order, for meaning. Everyone understands:
The quick fox jumped over the lazy dog
but the same words in a different order:
Dog the over fox jumped quick lazy the
make no sense.
The job a word does in a sentence is called its part of speech. One word can be several different parts of
speech depending on its position in a sentence and what it is doing.
The rose bloomed yesterday.
Part of speech:___________________
The rose curtains look nice in the room.
Part of speech:___________________
The cat rose and stretched.
Part of speech:___________________
The four kinds of sentences are declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory.
A. Declarative sentences make a statement.
B. Imperative sentences give a command. Remember that the understood subject is you.
C. Interrogative sentences ask questions. The usual word order may be inverted.
D. Exclamatory sentences (guess what?) exclaim. Do NOT overuse these in your writing.
Every sentence in English MUST have a subject and a verb. The four sentence patterns you’ve studied are:
S-V
S-V-O
S-V-IO-O
S-LV-C
Remember, subjects and objects are ALWAYS nouns or pronouns.
A phrase is a group of words working together, such as the verb and its auxiliaries, and prepositions,
infinitives, and gerunds and their objects
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. It can be independent or dependent. An independent
clause makes sense by itself; a dependent clause MUST be connected to an independent clause to make sense.
Dependent clauses can function as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.
The eight parts of speech are interjections, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and
conjunctions.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 1
1. Interjections are just expressions of exclamation or feeling. They are not connected grammatically to the
rest of the sentence. They are followed by a comma or an exclamation point. Examples: Oh, rats! Sugar!
2. Nouns are people, places, things, or ideas. They are often preceded by the word the, a, or an, which are
called articles (a special kind of adjective; see below). Nouns can be concrete (something observable with
the senses) or abstract (something only thought of, such as an emotion or quality). Names of specific
people, places, and things are called proper nouns and are always capitalized.
Examples: teachers, school, desk, learning, Ms. Bailey-Orchard, Indiana Junior High, English
Nouns can function in the sentence as the subject (the thing DOING the action) or an object (something being
acted on). They are called predicate nominatives when they follow a linking verb because they are in the
predicate. Ask yourself, “What is the action? Who or what is doing this action?”
Example:
The dogs ran madly around the block.
verb_____________ subject__________
My mother is planting new flowers.
verb_____________ subject__________
Note: possessive nouns function as adjectives.
NEVER USE AN APOSTROPHE TO MAKE A NOUN PLURAL!!!
If you are referring to a letter, then AND ONLY THEN can you use an apostrophe in order to avoid confusion
with a word:
He had five A’s on his report card.
Note, though, you can simply add the “s” to a digit:
That phone number has four 5s in it.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 2
Pronouns substitute for nouns in a sentence. They are either singular or plural, and the verb has to agree with
it. Pronouns refer to a noun (called the antecedent), and the pronoun has to agree with it, too. There are several
different kinds. The most common are the personal pronouns. There are three basic cases, or types, of personal
pronouns.
a. Nominative case (these are the forms when they are the subject of the sentence or when they follow
a linking verb)
Singular
Plural
1st person
I
we
2nd person
you
you
3rd person
he, she, it
they
b. Objective case (these are the forms when they are an object in the sentence, clause, or phrase, such
as the object of a preposition).
Singular
Plural
1st person
me
us
2nd person
you
you
3rd person
him, her, it
them
c. Possessive case (these are the forms when they show ownership).
Singular
Plural
1st person
my, mine
our, ours
2nd person
your, yours
your, yours
3rd person
his, his, her, hers, its*, its*
their*, theirs
*be careful about the spelling of these! NEVER use an apostrophe!
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 3
d. Reflexive and intensive pronouns ATTACH –self or –selves. DO NOT use these in place of the
objective case.
Singular
Plural
1st person
myself
ourselves
2nd person
yourself
yourselves
3rd person
himself
themselves
herself
itself
Reflexive: I did the project myself.
Intensive: I myself did the project.
e. There are four demonstrative pronouns/adjectives: this, that, these, those.
f. There are five interrogative pronouns used to ask questions:
what
which
who (nominative)
whom (objective)
whose (possessive)
g. There are six relative pronouns whose job is to introduce dependent clauses (noun or adjective):
that
which
what
who
whom
whose
NOTE: NEVER say, “The reason is because…”; it should be, “The reason is that…”
The verb that follows these pronouns agrees with the pronoun’s antecedent:
The book [that is on the table] will be for sale. “Book,” the antecedent of “that,” is singular.
The books [that are on the table] will be for sale. “Books” is plural.
It is I [who am responsible for the mistake].
NOTE: remember, if these words are modifying a noun, they are functioning as adjectives. They are only
pronouns if they are fulfilling the function of a noun, such as a subject or a kind of object.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 4
h. There is a group of pronouns called indefinite pronouns.
The following are singular; they ALWAYS take the singular form of a verb or pronouns:
another
either
neither
nothing
anybody
everybody
nobody
somebody
anyone
everyone
no one
someone
each
one
none*
something
NOTE! DO NOT USE “THEY” AFTER THESE!!!!
WRONG: Everyone (singular) should study their (plural) notes.
CORRECT: Everyone (singular) should study his (singular) notes.
*some feel that “his” excludes females and that a person should use “his or her.”
ALSO CORRECT: All students (plural) should study their (plural) notes.
These are the plural indefinite pronouns:
both
few
many
others
several
Some are ”weird”: sometimes singular, sometimes plural, depending on the noun to which they refer:
all
more
most
some
All of the papers are waiting to be graded.
All of the test is graded.
VERY weird: whether they are singular or plural depends on the word to which they refer
any
none
i. Reciprocal pronouns: each other (two)
one another (more than two)
3. Verbs
The principle parts of a verb are its present tense, past tense, and past participle. Regular verbs follow this
pattern:
Ex:
walk
walked
(have) walked
However, there are dozens of irregular verbs whose forms change.
Ex:
go
went
(have) gone
Be sure to review any that are difficult for you.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 5
Verbs are one of two kinds. The first kind is action (showing something that can be done). If it can be done,
it’s an action verb.
Example:
walk, study, throw, sing, smile
The second kind of verb is linking (attaching description to the subject).
The most familiar linking verbs are forms of the verb “to be”: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
The verbs become and seem are “existence” verbs, and they are also ALWAYS linking verbs.
A tricky group of verbs is called the sense verbs. They can be EITHER action OR linking depending on what
they’re doing: appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn.
They are action verbs when someone or something is doing them.
Examples:
That rash appears when I eat strawberries.
I will remain here in case he comes back.
She felt the rough sandpaper.
He smelled the flower.
I want to be a movie star when I grow up.
The officer sounded the alarm.
The teacher looked at me.
I tasted the frosting.
Mr. McCue proved his theory.
The dancer turned and leaped across the floor.
They are linking verbs when they connect a description to the subject (the noun being described) HINT: if
you can replace the verb with a form of “to be”(such as “is” or “are), it’s probably a linking verb.
Examples:
She appears ill
[this describes how she looks; she is not materializing out of thin air.]
The sandpaper felt rough.
[this describes what kind of texture it has; it does not have tiny hands]
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 6
The hour grew late, and we had to leave
[this describes how much it was late; it didn’t sprout leave.]
The teacher looked pleased.
[this describes what kind of expression she had; she’s not peering at something.]
The directions proved difficult to understand.
[this describes what kind they are; they’re not wearing lab coats.]
Those spots remained dark even after the bleach.
[this described what kind they were; they weren’t hanging out at the corner.]
The roses smelled gorgeous.
[this describes what kind of smell they have; they do not have tiny noses.]
The alarm sounded shrill.
[this describes what kind of sound it made; it does not have tiny ears.]
The frosting tasted too sweet.
[this describes what kind of flavor it has; it does not have a tongue.]
The milk turned sour after a week.
[this described what kind of flavor it milk had; it wasn’t wearing a tutu and pointe shoes.]
*HINT: if you can replace the verb with a form of “to be,” IT’S A LINKING VERB.
A verb can tell when the action takes place. This is called the verb’s tense. The main verb is preceded by
auxiliary, or helping, verbs. When you identify the verb of the sentence, be sure to include ALL the auxiliary
verbs. The auxiliary and main verbs create the total verb phrase.
Examples:
I have taught here 13 years.
Main verb:____________ aux:___________
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 7
I am teaching 8th grade now.
Main verb:____________ aux:___________
I will be teaching for the next 30 years.
Main verb:____________ aux:___________
I might retire when I win the lottery.
Main verb:____________ aux:___________
Common auxiliary verbs (you may have memorized them in a song in 7th grade): am, is, are, was, were, be,
being, been, do, does, did, have, has, had, may, might, must, will,, can, could, shall, should, will, would
CAREFUL!! Forms of the “to be” are auxiliary or “helping” verbs when they are followed by a main verb.
Example:
I am being careful to explain the rules.
I was walking to school this morning.
BUT they are linking verbs when they are connecting descriptive words to the subject, even if they have
auxiliary verbs in front of them.
Example:
I am a teacher
Subject:______________
description:________________
He will be happy you called. Subject:______________
description:________________
Tenses: the purpose of auxiliary verbs is to create tense. The main tenses are:
PRESENT (no aux): I walk
PAST (no aux): I walked
FUTURE (aux: will): I will walk
PROGRESSIVE (aux: “to be”; main verb: present participle, ALWAYS ends in -ing):
I am walking (present progressive), I was walking (past progressive)
PERFECT (aux: “to have”; main verb past participle, may end in -ed, -en, -t, or be irregular.):
I have walked (present perfect); I had walked (past perfect)
These auxiliaries can even be combined: For example:
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 8
At noon, I will have been walking for three hours. (future perfect progressive)
The other auxiliaries create the conditional and emphatic tenses.
VOICE: Verbs also have voice: active or passive
Verbs in the active voice have a subject performing the action:
I fed the dog.
Verbs in the passive voice have something being done to the subject by someone or something else:
The dog was fed by me.
The passive voice is formed with a form of the auxiliary verb “to be” plus the past participle of the main
verb. It is often (but not always) followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with “by.” Sometimes that
phrase is simply implied; it can be a way for the speaker to avoid responsibility! In writing, the active voice is
strongly preferred.
The hardest verbs in the English language to keep straight : lie and lay
Lie means to recline; lay, on the other hand, means to put or place something. Lay is a transitive verb, meaning
that there is always an object after it. (Lay the book on the shelf. Book is the object.) The principal parts of lie
and lay are listed below.
lie: lie, lying, lay, (have) lain [hint: lie, long “i” sound, means “to recline”]
lay: lay, laying, laid, (have) laid [hint: lay, long “a” sound, means “to place”]
The confusion generally seems to occur with the forms of lie. The following sentences illustrate the correct and
incorrect uses of lay and lie.
lie/lay
I lie [not lay] on the floor when I watch television. [hint: you don’t lay eggs!]
I lay my keys on the table when I arrive home from work.
lying/laying
I am lying [not laying] on the floor watching television.
I am laying my briefcase on my desk to remind me that I have work to finish.
lay/laid
Yesterday I lay [not laid] in bed all day with a fever.
Yesterday I laid my briefcase on my desk and forgot about it when I left for work.
(have) lain/(have) laid
I have lain [not have laid] in bed all day with a fever. [hint: lain = in bed]
I have laid my briefcase on my desk to remind me that I have work to finish. [hint: laid
rhymes with egg, which a chicken has laid]
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 9
Although these are two extremely confusing verbs, with a little practice, you should have them down pat.
4. Adjectives modify or describe nouns or pronouns ONLY. They tell what kind, which one, and how many.
The way to remember the function of adjectives is to imagine that you have a rich Uncle Fester. When you
turn 16, he offers to buy you a car, and you want him to ask those questions.
What kind of car? Which one? How many cars?
The words the, a, and an are adjectives called articles. “The” is the definite article; “a” and “an” are
indefinite articles. This is one of the very few examples where the word used is based on euphony, or how it
sounds. Use “a” in front of a consonant SOUND and “an” in front of a vowel SOUND; the word “the” is often
pronounced “thee” in front of vowel sounds, too,
an unidentified flying object
a UFO
the cat
the (“thee”) earth
Some things to keep in mind:
Use “fewer” for things that can be counted, “less” for things that can be measured:
We had fewer inches of rain last month. (you can count inches)
We had less rainfall than we did last year. (you can measure rainfall)
Use the comparative (adj + -er or “more”/ “less” + adj) for two things, the superlative (adj + -est or
“most” / “least”) for three or more things
She is smarter than her sister. She is the smartest one in her family.
He is less attractive than a warthog. He is the least attractive wildebeest I’ve seen.
Special note: use from when using the adjective different in comparing two persons or things:
My book is different from (not than) yours.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 10
5. Adverbs modify or describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They often end in –ly (but not always;
“lovely” is one exception). They tell where, when, how, to what extent, under what condition, and why.
The way to remember the function of adverbs is to imagine you’ve had a minor accident in the car Uncle
Fester gave you. He’s going to ask you
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
How did it happen?
To what extent did it happen?
Under what condition did it happen?
Why did it happen?
When adverbs tell to what extent, they are called intensifiers. They act like a volume control on a stereo to turn
up or down the intensity of the word they are modifying. Intensifiers modify adjectives and adverbs.
Hint: the words “here” and “there” are often adverbs. So are “never” and “not” (when it modifies an verb,
adverb, or adjective).
Adverbial conjunctives (BOTH IN Indiana County): adverbs or adverb phrases that form compound
sentences by joining two independent clauses. ALWAYS put a semicolon in front and a comma after it.
Besides
However
In addition
Otherwise
In fact
Consequently
Therefore
Nevertheless
Prepositional phrases are made up of a preposition and a noun (or pronoun) that is called the object of the
preposition. The prepositional phrase ALSO contains all the modifiers of the object of the preposition.
This object answers the question “whom” or “what.” They function as adjectives or adverbs, and they can come
anywhere in the sentence. They do NOT contain the subject, verb, direct object or indirect object of the
sentence.
BEWARE: “to” + noun = preposition; “to” + verb = infinitive; “for” is a conjunction when it joins two sentences; it is a
preposition when it answers, “how.”
In imperative and declarative sentences, objects follow the preposition. The object answers the question, “what?” as in
The mouse ran down the clock Down what? Down the clock.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 11
In interrogative and some exclamatory sentences, the object may come before the preposition:
What are you looking at?
Prepositional phrases show direction or relationship, and they function as adjectives (when they tell which one, what
kind, how many, or how much about a noun) or as adverbs (when they tell where, when, how, or to what extent about a
verb, adjective, or adverb). The nine most commonly used (92% of the time!) prepositions are
at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, and with.
This list MUST be memorized. You can do this easily by singing it to the tune “Yankee Doodle.”
Aboard
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Amid
Among
Around
Aside
At
Atop
Behind
Below
Beneath
Beside/besides
Between
Beyond
But (except)
By
Before
Except
Onto
Out
Over
Until
Up
Upon
In
Inside
Into
Past [not passed]
With
Within
Without
Like
Through
Throughout
To
Toward
For
From
Since
Concerning
Near
Down
During
Of
Off
On
Under
Underneath
According to
Because of
In spite of
Instead of
On account of
Out of
NOTE: Some of these words may be used by themselves. If they are, they are NOT prepositions; they are adverbs.
NEVER SAY, “WHERE IS IT AT?” The word “at” is a dangling preposition; it has no object. Just say, “Where is it?”
Grammar Underground: Verbals (AKA “PIGs”)
Verbals are formed from (guess what?) verbs, but THEY NEVER FUNCTION AS THE VERB OF THE
SENTENCE. There are three kinds:
A. Gerunds: end in –ing and ALWAYS function as a noun in the sentence. The six possible functions of
the noun are: subject, appositive, complement, direct object, indirect objective, or object of the
preposition. A hint to remember these is SACDIP.
S: Walking is important exercise
D: Don’t delay walking to the store.
A: My favorite exercise, walking, is easy to do.
I: You should give walking a try.
C: My favorite exercise is walking
P: You can get there quicker by walking
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 12
NOTES:
Gerunds can have objects that answer the question “what?”: use a possessive noun or pronoun when the gerund
is the object of the sentence:
She took a picture of my jumping the fence. [this emphasizes that the jumping is the point]
Think carefully about the difference with this sentence:
She took a picture of me jumping the fence.
In this second example, “me” is the object of the preposition; “jumping the fence” is a participial phrase
describing “me.” The emphasis here is on “me,” not the activity.
Look at this example:
I was annoyed with Sam interrupting my lecture
SHOULD BE
I was annoyed with Sam’s interrupting my lecture.
It wasn’t “Sam” himself that was annoying; it was his “interrupting”. Use the possessive case.
B. Participles: end in –ing (present participles) or –ed, -en, or become an irregular form (passive
participles). They are ALWAYS adjectives.
The falling water made a soothing sound.
The fallen tree blocked the road.
They can be an entire phrase. When they are, the next noun MUST be the word they are modifying; otherwise,
you’ll have a dangling participle.
WRONG
Turning the corner, the post office was on the right. (post offices can’t move)
RIGHT:
Turning the corner, I saw the post office on the right.
C. Infinitive: to + a verb. These are tricky because they can function nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Note: just like prepositions, gerunds and infinitive can have objects: nouns that follow them that answer the
question, “what?”
S: To walk a 1000 miles is a lofty goal. (“miles” is the object of the infinitive, “to walk”)
A: My goal, to walk 1000 miles, is difficult
C: My goal is to walk 1000 miles.
D: I want to walk 1000 miles.
Adjective: The class to take is English 9. (modifies the noun, “class,” telling which one)
Adverb: I went to visit my brother (modifies the verb “went,” telling where; “brother” is the object of the
infinitive)
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 13
NOTE: avoid splitting infinitives. Try not to put a modifier between the “to” and the verb
AVOID:
To boldly go where no man has gone before
SHOULD BE: To go boldly where no man has gone before
Dependent Clauses
Adverb clauses: begin with an SC and modify verbs, adjective, and adverbs
Adjective clauses: begin with an RP and modify nouns or pronouns
Noun clauses: begin with 1) an RP;
2) the adverbs how, when, where, whether, why; and
3) words ending in –ever
and function as the Subject, Appositive, Complement, Direct Object, Indirect Object, or Preposition (object of)
Remember when a clause is necessary to the meaning of the sentence, it is RESTRICTED. Do NOT put
commas around it. When the clause is adding additional information, it is UNRESTRICTED and set off with
commas.
The teacher whom I will always remember is Ms. B [RESTRICTED clause; no commas]
Ms. B, who is a fanatic grammarian, will haunt me forever. [UNRESTRICTED; put commas around it]
Conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS): use to form compound sentences by joining two independent
clauses. ALWAYS put a comma in front of the conjunction
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Subordinating conjunctions: use to form complex sentences by beginning an adverb clause. When a sentence
begins with an SC, you MUST put a comma at the end of the clause.
after
although
as
as if
as long as
as soon as
as though
because
before
if
since
so that
than*
though
unless
until
when
whenever
where
wherever
whether
while
why
in order that
*when using than, remember that the verb is sometimes implied:
She is a better writer than I (am) NOT She is a better writer than me.
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 14
Correlative conjunctions:
These four ALWAYS work in pairs and must join words that are the SAME parts of speech
Both…and
either…or
neither…nor
not only…but also
If one of the words joined is singular and the other plural, the verb agrees with the word nearest it:
Either the president or the officers are officiating at the ceremony.
Either the officers or the president is officiating at the ceremony.
PS. “Y’all” is NOT incorrect, ungrammatical, or nonstandard.
emphasizes the plural.
It is a contraction of “you all,” which
Ms. B’s Basic Grammar, 15