Download Parts of Speech - mrstoddenglish

GRAMMAR OVERVIEW
Name ________________________ Block ____
Parts of Speech
These are just hints to help you understand the parts of speech.
There are exceptions to every rule in English…
1. Nouns name people, places, things, and ideas. Examples: desk, book, Henri, Empire
State Building. Proper Nouns name a specific person, place, etc. and are capitalized.
Common are non-specific. (Hint – if something appears to be a name and is capitalized,
it is probably a noun.)
Nouns and pronouns act as subjects, objects of prepositions, direct objects and indirect objects.
2. Pronouns take the place of nouns. Most common pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they,
who [these act as subjects] and me, him, her, us, them, whom [act as objects].
3. Verbs show action (to run, to step, to glance) OR “state of being” (mainly to be verbs:
is, am, was, were, etc.), which are helping or linking verbs
(Remember helping verbs? There are 23… Linking verbs: can put “=” in place of verb)
4. Adjectives describe nouns. Example: white snow White describes the noun snow.
5. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Often end in ly.
6. Prepositions – words that show location – examples: aboard, about, above, across,
against, along, around, amid, among, after, at, except, for, during, down, behind, below,
beneath, beside, between, before, beyond, by, in, from, off, on, over, of, until, unto, upon,
under, underneath, since, up, like, near, past, throughout, through, with, within, without,
outside, toward, inside, into, to (Is the “Yankee Doodle” tune running through your mind?)
Hint: Put prepositional phrases in parentheses. The subject, main verb, direct and
indirect objects will never be in a prepositional phrase.
7. Conjunctions connect words, phrases and clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions: FANBOYS – for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
(use a comma before a coordinate conjunction IF it connects independent clauses)
Correlative: (pairs of conjunctions, connect equal parts of a sentence)
both…and, neither…nor, either…or, not only…but also, whether…or
Subordinating: connect two ideas and make one subordinate (less important)/dependent
Common examples: because, if, although, since, when, until, while
Hint: memorize FANBOYS, recognize pairs; remaining conjunctions are subordinating
8. Interjections show emotion and often use an exclamation point. Well! Well, Hey! Oh,
Sentence Types
1. Declarative – regular sentence, statement, ends in period
2. Interrogative – asks a question – ends with a question mark?????
3. Imperative – states a command – ends in period or exclamation point
4. Exclamatory – shows excitement – ends with an exclamation point!!!!!
Run-on sentences = two or more independent clauses that are not properly connected
Four ways to cure run-on sentences: 1. separate independent clauses into separate sentences;
2. add one of the FANBOYS (for and nor but or yet so) with the comma; 3. use a semi-colon;
4. leave one independent clause and make other clause(s) dependent
Fragment - is missing a subject, verb, and/or complete thought.
To fix, combine with a related independent clause or add what is missing.
Subjects and Predicates
Subject - the noun (person, place, thing, or idea) or pronoun that is doing or being something
1. Simple Subject – The noun or pronoun the sentence focuses on (does the action or being)
Example: Many houses in this area were torn down.
2. Compound Subject – more than one subject.
Example: Cats and dogs were once wild animals.
3. Complete Subject – everything in the sentence that goes with the subject.
Example: Many houses in this area were torn down.
Predicate – the verb portion of the sentence.
1. Simple Predicate – the one verb that the subject is doing. Example: Jane Austin wrote a book.
2. Compound Predicate – more than one verb. Example: The library opens and closes at
odd hours. (The subject is doing more than one action.)
3. Complete Predicate – the verb and everything in the sentence that goes with the verb.
Example: Many houses in this area were torn down.
Note: the direct object, the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb, is part
of the complete predicate. Example: I have read the book.
The indirect object, who or what receives the direct object, is also part of the complete
predicate. (Not all sentences have direct and indirect objects.) Example: I gave Jack the book.
4. Predicate Nominative - a noun/pronoun that follows a linking verb (for ex: is, am, was,
were – verbs you could replace with =) and renames or gives more information on the
subject of the sentence. A predicate nominative is equal to the subject & acts like a subject.
Ex: At the end of the tournament, Marblehead was the winner. [Marblehead = winner]
5. Predicate Adjective – an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject
of the sentence.
Example: Ted was very hungry by noon. [Ted = hungry]
6. Active voice – (preferred) subject performs the verb. Ex: Mrs. Todd dropped the book.
Passive voice - can add “by Bertha” immediately after verb Ex: The book was dropped (by Bertha).
Sentence Structures
Reminder: a clause = is a group of words with its own subject(s) and a verb(s)
1. Simple Sentence- a sentence that is one independent clause (has a subject and a
predicate and is a complete thought). It may have more than one subject and/or verb.
Ex: Devil’s Island is one of the Safety Islands off the northeast coast of South America.
2. Compound Sentence- contains two or more independent clauses (could be made into
multiple complete sentences) connected with a semi-colon OR one of FANBOYS with a comma.
Example: William walked to work, and Frieda took a bus to her office.
3. Complex Sentence – an independent and one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses
Hint: dependent clauses often start with: because, if, while, although, when, etc.
Example: While the United States fought in World War II, the government rationed food.
4. Compound-Complex Sentence – contains at least two independent clauses and at least
one dependent (subordinate) clause.
Ex: When the terms seem confusing, grammar can be frustrating, but it can help your writing.
Hint! To identify the sentence form: 1. underline the subject(s) and verb(s) in each clause.
2. Determine if each clause is independent (subject, verb, complete thought) or dependent.
3. Then use the definitions above.
For stronger writing, use a mix of these sentence forms. Too many simple sentences will result
in choppy writing. Too many compound and complex sentences can bog down the writing.
Sentence variety adds interest, energy and emphasis to writing.
Conventions
Capitalize proper nouns
Examples:
The Declaration of Independence, Fortunato,
Marblehead Veterans Middle School
Titles
Italicize book titles (underline if handwriting).
Examples: To Kill a Mockingbird, Inherit the Wind
Put essay, article and poem titles in quotation marks.
Examples: “The Power of Hello”
“Headline”
“The Fish”
When you combine words to create an adjective, hyphenate them.
Examples:
Harper Lee is a well-known author.
Emmett Till was a fourteen-year-old boy.
Apostrophes
Use apostrophes to show possession (not plural!).
Example:
Mrs. Todd’s son’s name is Jeremy.
Apostrophes also appear in contractions: can’t
Avoid contractions in formal writing.
won’t
Numbers
Write out numbers under ten. (Some manuals say write out numbers under 100.)
Example: He ate two whole pizzas!
Write out numbers that start a sentence.
Example: Two hundred eighth graders went on the cruise.
Citing quotations
The period follows the parenthetical citation.
No punctuation within the quotation marks unless the quotation ends with a ? or !
Examples:
Fortunato says,"the cough is a mere nothing; it will not kill me” (4).
Later Fortunato exclaims, “The Amontillado!” (6).
Homonyms Review your Beware of Homonyms handout
---------BONUS INFORMATION (nice to know, not required)---------Phrases and Clauses
1. Prepositional Phrase- Made up of a preposition and its object and modifiers. (See
prepositions) Example: The shoes were made of leather.
2. Noun Clause- dependent clause used like nouns.
Example: She wondered what she would do next.
3. Adjective Clause- Adjective clauses are used to point out or describe any noun or
pronoun in the sentence. Example: She was angry because he was late.
4. Gerund Phrase- The gerund (ing for of a verb) is used as a noun.
Example: Eating ice cream is a fun treat on a hot day. [eating = gerund]
5. Infinitive Phrase- a phrase with an infinitive (to + verb) which can be used as a noun,
and adjective, or an adverb.
Example: She wanted to read the book. [to read = infinitive]
The Grammar Lesson
Steve Kowit
A noun's a thing. A verb's the thing it does.
An adjective is what describes the noun.
In "The can of beets is filled with purple fuzz"
of and with are prepositions. The's
an article, a can's a noun,
a noun's a thing. A verb's the thing it does.
A can can roll - or not. What isn't was
or might be, might meaning not yet known.
"Our can of beets is filled with purple fuzz"
is present tense. While words like our and us
are pronouns - i.e. it is moldy, they are icky brown.
A noun's a thing; a verb's the thing it does.
Is is a helping verb. It helps because
filled isn't a full verb. Can's what our owns
in "Our can of beets is filled with purple fuzz."
See? There's almost nothing to it. Just
memorize these rules...or write them down!
A noun's a thing, a verb's the thing it does.
The can of beets is filled with purple fuzz.
from In the Palm of Your Hand: The Poet's Portable Workshop
Tilbury House Publishers, Gardiner, Maine, 1995.