Download Name: Class: Grammar Review Packet Part I: The 8 Parts of Speech

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Class: _________________
Grammar Review Packet
Part I: The 8 Parts of Speech
1) Noun – names a person, place, thing, or idea.
A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or ideas.
woman, nation, event, holiday, language
A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
Queen Isabella, Egypt, Academy Awards, Christmas, Latin
A concrete noun names a person, place, or thing that can be perceived by one or more of the
senses.
sneeze, star, cinnamon, jack-o’lantern
An abstract noun names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic.
peace, civilization, courage
A collective noun names a group.
jury, band, family, class, flock
A compound noun consists of two or more words that name a single person, place, thing, or
idea.
lieutenant governor, ceiling fan, blue jay, sister-in-law, great-uncle
Exercises: circle each of the nouns in the following sentences, and identify what category each
noun fits into (common or proper, concrete or abstract, collective).
1. In one afternoon the crew repaired eleven helicopters.
2. Amalia Mesa-Bains and Michael Rios are among the many Hispanic artists who launched
their careers in San Francisco.
3. In Japan many homes have a place of honor in which the family displays a favorite scroll or
vase of flowers.
4. We purchased tomatoes, lettuce, and corn grown by local farmers.
5. Congress debated the merits of the bill but could not reach a consensus.
6. My goal is to visit every state in the United States.
7. Our family drove from our home in Kansas City to Chicago in our new van.
8. Her excellent record as treasurer convinced a majority of the students to vote for her for
president.
9. Blunt honesty, quick wit, and fierce loyalty all characterize the protagonist of The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
10. The crowd roared as Chip sank the winning basket for the Falcons just before time ran out.
2) Pronoun – takes the place of one or more nouns or pronouns.
A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking (first person), the one(s) spoken to (second
person), or the one(s) spoken about (third person)
I, me, my, we, us, our – you, your, yours – he, him, his, her, she, they, them
A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of a verb and functions as a complement or as the
object of a preposition
myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, herself, himself, themselves
An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent – a noun or another pronoun.
John himself wrote the script
A demonstrative pronoun points out a noun or another pronoun.
Is this the one you want? That may be the only solution.
An interrogative pronoun introduces a question.
what, whose, whom, which, who
A relative pronoun introduces a subordinate clause
The college that I chose is in Texas. The woman who chairs the committee is my
aunt.
An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, place, thing, or idea that may or may not be
specifically named.
all, everyone, several, anybody, few, nobody
Exercise: circle each of the pronouns in the following sentences, and identify what category each
pronoun fits into (personal, reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative,
indefinite).
1. Last year my school gave two photography courses, neither of which had been offered
before.
2. The course that I took dealt with the ways in which people perceive their environment.
3. Many of us block out much in our everyday surroundings.
4. You can demonstrate to yourselves how unaware of our surroundings nearly all of us are.
5. Which of you, on returning home from a trip, hasn’t noticed how different all of the rooms
look to you?
6. Some of your possessions may seem unfamiliar to you, and a few of them may appear as
quite peculiar.
7. Eventually the sensation fades, and your surroundings assume their usual background role.
8. Each of us can regain the ability to see freshly if we learn to make full use of our sense of
sight.
9. We can train ourselves to perceive the objects as shapes instead of thinking about their
functions.
10. As the French impressionist painter Claude Monet remarked, we must forget the names of
the things we observe.
3) Adjective – modifies a noun or pronoun
ripening, Asian, happy, this, those, last, two, both, more, enough, green, tall
Articles are the most frequently used adjectives
a, an, the
Indefinite articles are used before any member of a general group
a, an
Definite articles refer to a specific person, place, thing, or idea
the
Demonstrative adjectives look like demonstrative pronouns, but they modify nouns or
pronouns rather than replace them.
this, that, these, those
Exercise: circle each of the adjectives in the following sentences, and, if applicable, identify what
category each adjective fits into (indefinite article, definite article, demonstrative).
1. His first book, Blue Highways, chronicled a journey across the United States in 1978.
2. That book attracted many readers and made the national bestseller lists.
3. In PrairyErth, he narrows his focus to a single Kansas county.
4. The unusual title comes from the shorthand term scientists use for the unique soils of the
central states.
5. Chase County lies in east-central Kansas.
6. It is, as he says, “the most easterly piece” of the West.
7. A county with a population of 3,013 may seem an unlikely location for an examination of the
role humanity plays on this planet.
8. After all, the county has only two towns and a few villages.
9. In many ways, though, Kansas is a microcosm of America.
10. In this masterful prose, Chase County in turn reveals itself to be a microcosm of Kansas.
4) Verb – expresses action or a state of being.
An action verb expresses either physical or mental activity
Speak, sleep, carry, throw
A linking verb connect the subject to a word or word group that identifies or describes the
subject.
Is, am, are, was, were, appear, become, seem, feel, smell, sound
A main verb gets combined with one or more helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) to form a verb
phrase. A modal (modal auxiliary) verb is a helping verb that expresses attitude.
has played, will be going, must wash, should run
A transitive verb has an object – a word or word group that tells who or what receives the
action of the verb.
We closed the shutters. The ran lashed the windows.
An intransitive verb does not have an object.
She sang beautifully. The opening night was hectic.
Exercise: circle each of the verb or verb phrase in the following sentences, and identify what
category each verb fits into (linking or action, main, helping, modal, transitive or intransitive).
1. When will Halley’s Comet next appear?
2. A creosote bush in the Mohave Desert has lived for approximately twelve thousand years.
3. How many decimal places of pi can you name?
4. What is the purpose of the Electoral College?
5. You can remove chewing gum from clothing more easily if you first harden it with ice.
6. Mark Twain used a typewriter when he wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
7. You should be more careful.
8. In 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest winner of the Masters Tournament.
9. Have you been listening to the Shostakovich CD that I lent you?
10. The first Super Bowl was in 1967; the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35
to 10.
5) Adverb – modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Eloquently, thoroughly, quickly, slowly
Exercise: circle each of the adverbs in the following sentences.
1. Yalow helped develop an extremely sensitive biological technique.
2. Radioimmunoassay, which is now used in laboratories around the world, readily detects
antibodies and hormones.
3. Yalow realized that anyone who proposes a distinctly new idea must always anticipate that
it will not be widely accepted at first.
4. Most scientists do not leap excitedly from the bath crying “Eureka!” as people say
Archimedes did.
5. Yalow and her colleague accidentally discovered radioimmunoassay while observing two
patients.
6. After they carefully interpreted their observations, they arrived at their exciting discovery.
7. In 1977, although Yalow’s collaborator had died, the Nobel Prize Committee awarded Yalow
and two other researchers the undeniably prestigious Nobel Prize for medicine.
8. Radioimmunoassay ultimately became a basic diagnosis tool in very different areas of
medicine.
9. According to Yalow, because people ordinarily resist change, the technique was not quickly
accepted.
10. She believes that progress cannot be impeded forever and that good ideas are eventually
accepted.
6) Preposition – shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun, called the object of the preposition,
to another word.
to, from, around, past, under, over, beside
Exercise: circle each of the prepositions in the following sentences, and underline the
corresponding objects.
1. Rob collects postcards from foreign countries.
2. After our shopping expedition we collapsed.
3. We first heard the rumor at the recreation center.
4. In the park people had gathered to hear the concert.
5. I tiptoed across the living room and listened quietly.
6. The deer darted quickly across the road and raced out of sight.
7. Everyone in the audience applauded Branford Maralis’ solo.
8. Exhausted by the long trek, the explorers pitched their tents near a stream and planned the
next day’s work.
9. During the meeting the city council has voted to renovate the abandoned building next to
the firehouse and turn it into a storage facility.
10. In spite of his reassurances I thought that something might have gone wrong because of the
storm.
7) Conjunction – joins words or word groups
A coordinating conjunction joins words or word groups that are used in the same way.
And, but, for, nor, or, so, yet
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that join words or word groups that are used
in the same way.
both…and, either…or, neither…nor, whether…or, not only…but also
A subordinating conjunction begins a subordinate clause and connects it to an independent
clause.
after, although, as, as if, as much as, since, until, unless
Exercise: circle each of the conjunctions in the following sentences, and identify what category
each conjunction fits into (coordinating, correlative, subordinating).
1. Our old car needs either a valve job or a new engine.
2. Can you tell me whether the express train will stop here or on the far platform?
3. Before you write your paper, you must submit an outline.
4. Would you prefer to go to Greece or Machu Picchu for the senior trip?
5. Workers here pay city, state, and federal taxes.
6. The exhibit of jade Olmec carvings is in either the main gallery or the museum annex.
7. During the Tang dynasty, China experienced not only a revival of Confucianism but also the
development of Chinese schools of Buddhism.
8. Mi Kyung enjoyed the movie as much as Sarah did.
9. Have you decided whether you will take physics or economics?
10. While we are in Korea, we will visit a traditional celadon pottery studio.
8) Interjection – expresses emotion and has no grammatical relation to the rest of the sentence.
oh no, Ah, yahoo, oops, whoa, hey, ouch, wow
Exercise: circle each of the interjections in the following sentences.
1. Well, why are you so edgy tonight?
2. Aw, don’t you remember?
3. Ah, yes, how could I forget?
4. Oh, it’s only been two weeks.
5. Wow, that’s amazing.
6. Hey, you’re serious.
7. Yahoo! That’s incredible.
8. Yeah, that’s great.
9. Well, will you drive me?
10. Whew, that was close.
Keep in mind: The way a word is used in a sentence determines what part of speech it is. Just because a
word is usually one part of speech, it does not mean it cannot be used in another way.
This plant is native to North America. Noun
We plant tomatoes every year. Verb
Bacteria cause many plant diseases. Adjective
Marisa led, and we followed after. Adverb
We crossed the finish line after Marisa. Preposition
We crossed it after all the other runners did. Conjunction
This pillow is filled with down from geese. Noun
I’ve always wanted a down pillow. Adjective
Put it down; it’s too expensive. Adverb
We can find cheaper pillows at the store down the street. Preposition
Part II: Parts of a Sentence
1) Sentence – a word group that contains a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.
2) Subject – a word or word group that tells whom or what the sentence is about.
The simple subject is the main word or word group that tells whom or what the sentence is
about.
The complete subject consists of the simple subject and any word or word groups used to
modify the simple subject.
The view from the observatory, the first of the month
A compound subject consists of two or more subjects that are joined by a conjunction and that
have the same verb.
Jack and Jill went, Spain and Italy are
Exercise: circle the simple subject in the following sentences, and underline the complete
subject.
1. Ravi Shankar was instrumental in popularizing Indian music in the West.
2. That dachshund was the only dog in the world with a taste for asparagus in hollandaise
sauce.
3. Did he shoot, develop, print, and frame all these photographs?
4. Walking is a cheap, reliable, and healthful for of exercise.
5. A long line of ants was heading directly toward my lunch.
6. Few of the sailors aboard the Caroline B could claim a clear view of the strange sea creature.
7. Unfortunately, “Turkey in the Straw” occupied the sole slot on this young harmonica player’s
playlist.
8. I think of the remote control as my own personal property.
9. What a day the children in Mrs. Gage’s class had!
10. At the top of a very long flight of stairs and almost touching the roof were our seats.
3) Predicate – is a word or word group that tells something about the subject.
The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or word group that tells something about the
subject.
The complete predicate consists of the simple predicate and all of the words used to modify the
simple predicate and to complete its meaning.
Were surrounded by admirers, answered the reporters’ questions
A compound verb consists of two or more verbs that are joined by a conjunction and that have
the same subject.
They ran and jumped. He tripped and fell.
Exercise: circle the simple predicate in the following sentences, and underline the complete
predicate.
1. This new scientific theory certainly does deserve consideration among the scientific
community.
2. Debate about the voting district boundaries will be headline news.
3. Should the statistician have included these figures in the tally?
4. On the boardwalk, a glass blower was demonstrating her craft.
5. I will report to the registrar on July 22 at 8:00A.M.
6. In the lower left-hand corner, a legend lists the symbols used on the map and their
meanings.
7. When will the armadillo cross the solid white line?
8. The Ubangi River meanders through almost fifteen hundred miles of magnificent African
country.
9. Under the circumstances, a pair of cutoffs and a t-shirt would not be in the best of taste.
10. Among the pine tree’s dark and shining branches waited one very hungry owl.
4) Complement – a word or word group that completes the meaning of a verb.
A direct object is a complement that tells who or what receives the action of a verb or shows
the result of the action.
Give the money to John. Give John the money
An indirect object tells to whom or for whom or to what or for what the action of a transitive
verb is done.
Give the money to John. Give John the money.
A subject complement identifies or modifies the subject of a linking verb.
A predicate nominative identifies or refers to the subject of a linking verb.
My favorite food is pizza.
A predicate adjective is an adjective that is in the predicate and that modifies the subject of a
linking verb.
My favorite food is delicious.
Exercise: circle the complement or complements in the following sentences, and indicate which
type of complement each one is (direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, predicate
adjective).
1. They will send you an application if you write for one.
2. Is your dog male or female?
3. The doctor brought each of the nurses a cup of tea.
4. Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach the South Pole.
5. Does this photograph look old to you?
6. Many fugitive slaves found shelter with the Seminoles of Florida.
7. The water in the bay feels quite cold.
8. Cheryl gave me her paper to read.
9. The coach tossed Yolanda the soccer ball.
10. Mr. Nickles divided the class into smaller sections.
5) Phrase – a group of related words that is used as a single part of speech and that does not
contain both a verb and its subject.
Prepositional Phrase – includes a preposition, the object of the preposition, and any modifiers
of that object.
Adjective Phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
The girl from Kansas is new here.
Adverb Phrase – a prepositional phrase that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
She ran to the beach today.
Verbal Phrase – consists of a verbal and its modifiers and complements.
Verbal – a verb that is used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
Participial Phrase – consists of a participle and its modifiers and complements. The entire
phrase is used as an adjective.
Participle – a verb form that can be used as an adjective.
Grinning broadly, she accepted the award. (present participle)
Puzzled by their behavior, I asked for an explanation. (past participle)
Absolute Phrase – consists of (1) a participle or a participle phrase, (2) a noun or a pronoun that
the participle or participial phrase modifies, and (3) any other modifiers of that noun or
pronoun.
Their car having been repaired, the Smiths continued their road trip.
Gerund Phrase – consists of a gerund and its modifiers and complements. The entire phrase is
used as a noun.
Gerund – a verb form ending in –ing that is used as a noun.
Managing the restaurant efficiently required much hard work.
Infinitive Phrase – consists of an infinitive and its modifiers and complements. The entire phrase
can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
Infinitive – a verb form that can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Most infinitives
begin with to.
To get a medical degree is her goal. (noun)
We have time to walk to the concert. (adjective)
He is eager to give Chris the award. (adverb)
Appositive Phrase – consists of an appositive and is modifiers.
Appositive – is a noun or a pronoun placed beside another noun or pronoun to identify it or
describe it.
Mr. Hudson, a member of the jury, asked the judge a question.
Exercise: underline the phrases in the following sentences. Indicate the type of phrase. For
phrases used as nouns, indicate whether it is used as the subject, direct object, indirect object,
object of a preposition, or predicate nominative. For infinitive phrases, indicate if the phrase is
used as a noun, adjective, or adverb. For the participial phrases, indicate past or present
participle.
1. To leave now would be rude to the performers from the European city.
2. Running a marathon, a 26 mile footrace, takes dedication and peak physical fitness.
3. I have plenty of time to study for my math test.
4. Having already reached his destination, Jim decided to take a moment to take in the
view.
5. Their bait having been lost, the fishermen decided to return to port.
6. According to statistics reported by the FBI, the average criminal knows how to hide
their identity from the authorities.
7. The best players of all time enjoy playing the game.
8. The family decided, the weather being so hot, to save the historic park for another
day and to go to the water park instead.
9. I am so happy to be at home.
10. John decided to get back in shape by running a mile every day.
6) Clause - a word group that contains a verb and its subject and that is used as a sentence or part
of a sentence.
Independent Clause – expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a sentence.
She loves tacos, but she is allergic to salsa.
Subordinate Clause – does not express a complete thought and cannot stand by itself as a
sentence.
Adjective Clause – a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Often begins with a
relative pronoun (that, which, who, whom, whose).
Jack is the student whose drawing won the competition.
Noun Clause – a subordinate clause that is used as a noun. Often begins with one of the
following words (how, if, that, what, whatever, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether,
which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, why).
You may write your research paper about whomever you admire most.
Adverb Clause – a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. Often
begins with a subordinating conjunction (after, although, as, as if, as long as, as soon as, as
though, because, before, if, in order that, provided that, since, so that, than, though, unless,
until, when, whenever, where, wherever, whether, while.)
Exercise: underline the clauses in the following sentences. Indicate the type of clause. For noun
clauses, indicate whether it is used as the subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a
preposition, or predicate nominative.
1. We ate lasagna, which always pleases my mother.
2. Whoever knows the words to the song may sing along.
3. As we were singing, we joined hands and formed a circle.
4. Ellen is someone whom I admire.
5. My suggestion is that we all meet at seven to go to the movies.
6. Maria sings as though she has a sore throat.
7. The chef will pay whoever tries his news recipes $100.
8. I remember a time when cartoons were on every channel on Saturday mornings.
9. The team on which I play won the entire tournament.
10. Many people are traumatized by events that happen when they are children.