Download Appositives: a phrase that

Grammar and Mechanics Rules Sheet
Appositives: a phrase that
appears directly after a noun or
pronoun to describe or rename
the noun or pronoun. It is set off
by a comma or commas.
Jane, the best ballerina in the
performance, shone as the star of
the evening.
The speaker today is John Grisham,
the famous author.
Transition Words:
Helps paper read more
smoothly, and, at the same
time, allows the reader to
flow more smoothly from one
point to the next.
Transitions enhance logical
organization and
understandability
and improves the connections
between thoughts.
To continue a line of
thinking:
Also
Clearly
Futhermore
Because
Besides
Since
As well as
To change a line of
thinking:
However
On the other hand
But
Yet
Nevertheless
To begin a paragraph or
line of thinking:
Certainly
Granted
No doubt
Obviously
Of course
True
Unquestionably
In general
Capitalization Rules:
No Excuses! Homophones
Organizations
Abbreviations
Initials
Acronyms
First word in a sentence
Pronoun I
Titles
Salutation and closing of a letter
Geographical names and places
Historical periods, events, documents
Languages, races, nationalities
Names (Emma, Mom, Dad, Bubba)
They’re – they are
There – a place
Their – belongs to them
(Transitions continued)
To signal the wrap-up:
Indeed
In the final analysis
In conclusion
Therefore
All in all
To restate a point within a
paragraph:
In other words
That is to say
In short
To show sequence or time:
After
As soon as
At first
At last
Before
Earlier
In the first place
In the meantime
Later
Meanwhile
Next
Soon
Then
Two – the number
To – preposition giving a
location
Too – overly/also
Buy, bye, by
Were, We’re
Where, wear
Whether, weather
Know, no
Deer, dear
Knew, new
Commas in introductory
elements:
Prepositional phrase
At noon, I will get lunch.
Participle phrase
Crying like a baby, he ran home.
Infinitive phrase
To be honest, I don’t want to go.
Appositive phrase
Our principal, Clay Hudgins,
gave a great speech.
Subordinate Clause
If I went home first, I would be
able to change clothes.
Speaker Tag
Shirley shouted, “Get over here!”
Adverb
Unfortunately, I couldn’t go.
However, I will have to say “no.”
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Make sure the verb agrees with the
subject
A singular subject needs a
singular verb
Relative Pronouns: Who and
Whom
Refers to the subject
To pick, substitute the words he
and him.
The girl reads mysteries.
A plural subject needs a plural
verb.
The girls read mysteries.
I wonder (who/whom) will be at
practice today?
He will be at practice today?*
Him will be at practice today?
Grammar and Mechanics Rules Sheet
Prepositions: Shows how a noun
or pronoun relates to another part
of a sentence.
He is part of a group.
They often give a position or
location in time or space.
Clause: Has a subject and
a verb
S V
Until I turn sixteen
Phrase: May have a subject
but NOT a verb.
S
He walked across the bridge.
My brand new kitten
It’s – It is It’s time to go.
Its – possessive That is its name.
Independent clause: Is a complete
sentence.
Simple sentence - a sentence with
one clause (e.g., the chicken
crossed the road)
The dog ran away.
Compound sentence - a sentence
composed of at least two
independent clauses linked with a
conjunction (e.g., Sam talked, and
Emma listened)
Complex sentence - a sentence
with an independent clause and at
least one dependent clause (e.g., I
cleaned the room when the guests
left)
Modifier - words that modify or
make more specific the meanings of
other words; includes words or
phrases that act as adjectives and
adverbs (e.g., The tired child fell off
the swing.). The modifying phrase is
next to or in clear relation to the
intended word.
Antecedent - a noun that a pronoun
refers to (e.g., Iris is the antecedent
of she in Iris tried, but she couldn't
find the book)
Parallel structure - the use of the
same grammatical structure (i.e.,
noun phrases, verb phrases) within
a sentence or in a bulleted list.
Example of parallel structure: I like
to swim, to dance, and to camp.
Example of non-parallel structure: I
like to swim, to dance, and go
camping.
Consistent tense - using the same
verb tense throughout a sentence,
paragraph, or essay. Shifting from
one verb tense to another should be
done only when demonstrating a
shift in time.
Dependent clause: Depends on
something else to give it its meaning. It
leaves you hanging.
After the car backfired
Together:
The dog ran away after the car
backfired.
Or
After the car backfired, the dog ran
away.
Subordinate conjunction :
Connects an independent (main)
clause to a dependent
(subordinate) clause.
Goes at the BEGINNING of a
dependent clause
As much as I like chocolate, the
milkshake was too sweet for me.
Conjunctive Adverbs: Connects two
complete sentences.
Ex.) However, finally, furthermore,
indeed, meanwhile, nevertheless,
therefore, unfortunately
*Must use a semicolon or period in
front of the conjunctive adverb!
I bet you thought you wouldn’t have
to learn another semicolon rule;
however, you were wrong.
Or
I bet you thought you wouldn’t have
to learn another semicolon rule.
However, you were wrong.
Semicolons:
 To separate two complete
sentences
I went to the store; I went
home.
 Before a conjunctive
adverb (See box below)
 To separate a series of
phrases or clauses that
have punctuation, like
commas, in them
The winning team included
three boys from the same
school: Joe Smith, the
catcher; Jose Martinez, the
short stop; and Dave
Larsen, the right fielder.
Colons:
 After an independent
clause that introduces a
list that follows
On vacation, we traveled
through three states:
Texas, New Mexico, and
Arizona.
 After the salutation in a
business letter
Dear Sir:
Hyphens:
 In a compound adjective
(two adjectives joined
together to describe the
same noun)
Gary Paulsen is a well-known
author.
 In compound numbers
The president must be
thirty-five years old.
 With prefix ex- (meaning
former), self-, and all- (e.g.,
ex-husband, self-righteous,
all-inclusive); with the
suffix -elect (e.g.,
president-elect)
 To divide words at the end
of line when space is
limited (make the breaks
at syllable junctures)
The intelligent boy was rewarded for his courage