Download Grammar Terms You Should Know

Glossary of Terminology by Ted Johnston
The Eight Parts of Speech and Related Terms &
Word Groups and Sentence Functions
(The following is a minimal set of terms that should prove practical as you learn how to improve the
sentences that you write. You don’t have to memorize all these terms and doing so won’t make you a
better writer, but you should know the eight parts of speech and most of the common basic sentence
functions by memory. This handout is like the manual to your DVD player. Refer to it as needed.)
Table of Contents
Eight Parts of Speech (marked with asterisks) and Related Terms
(Common dictionary abbreviations are provided in parentheses.)
1. Nouns* (n.)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
articles (indefinite and definite) and other noun determiners
abstract vs. concrete nouns
common nouns
proper nouns
count nouns
noncount (mass) nouns
gerunds
2. Pronouns* (pron.)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
personal pronouns
pronoun case
pronoun gender
pronoun number
demonstrative pronouns
relative pronouns
indefinite pronouns
intensive and reflexive pronouns
pronoun agreement
pronoun reference
3. Verbs* (v.) (includes verb number and two-word verbs)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
linking vs. action verbs
infinitives
regular verbs
irregular verbs
helping (or auxiliary) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖)
modals (will, would; shall, should; can, could; may, might; must, ought to)
present and past participles (pr.part.) & (p.part)
participial modifiers
active vs. passive voice
mood
indicative
subjunctive
imperative
k.
l.
tense
progressive tenses
perfect tenses
12 basic tenses of English
transitive vs. intransitive verbs (vt.) vs. (vi.) or (trans.) vs. (intr.)
4. Adjectives* (adj.) – a modifier
5. Adverbs* (adv.) – a modifier
a.
b.
conjunctive adverbs
adverbs and word order
6. Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs (comp.) & (superl.)
7. Conjunctions* (conj.)
coordinating conjunctions (the FANBOYS)
correlative conjunctions
b. subordinating conjunctions
Prepositions* (prep.)
Interjections* (interj.)
a.
8.
9.
10. Many words used as several parts of speech
Word Groups and Sentence Functions
11. Phrases (includes modifying phrases, restrictive and nonrestrictive)
a.
b.
c.
d.
prepositional phrase
verb phrase
noun phrase
appositive phrase
12. Clauses
independent clause
subordinate clause
dependent clause (includes restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses)
noun clause
Sentences (includes declarative, interrogative, and command or imperative sentences)
a. fragments, run-ons, and comma splices
b. simple sentence
c. compound sentence
d. complex sentence
e. compound-complex sentence
f. inverted sentence
a.
b.
c.
d.
13.
14. Subject
a.
b.
c.
complete subject
compound subject
subject-verb agreement
15. Verb of the sentence
a.
b.
predicate or complete verb.
compound verb
16. Direct Object
17. Indirect Object
18. Subject Complement
19. Object Complement
20. Absolute Construction
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH and RELATED TERMS:
1. Nouns = labels or names for things and ideas in the world that enable us to talk about them. Nouns are terms
that allow us to refer to persons, places, things, ideas, concepts, emotions, and so forth: truth, baseball, architect,
park, socialism, anger, hammer.
1a. articles and noun determiners = three tiny words used only in front of nouns and so they are also considered
noun determiners because they can only precede a noun: a, an, the. ―A‖ and ―an‖ are the indefinite articles
because they don’t refer to a particular but to any entity in a class (but only one), and ―the‖ is the definite
article because it does refer to a particular entity or entities: I read a book (any book). I read the books
(particular books). If we use a noun to refer to something in general, then no article is needed: I like to read
books (books in general). [“Articles” are listed here under “nouns,” although technically they are
adjectives.] Noun determiners also refer to other types of words that can precede nouns but that cannot be
preceded by an article: his coat, those ladies, any house, Paul’s truck, etc. A frequent pattern is noun
determiner + adjective(s) + noun: the old car, his new car, any blue shirt, Richard’s quick wit.
1b. abstract nouns = nouns that name intangibles or general concepts: truth, justice, and the American way (as
opposed to concrete nouns such as dogs, laws, and highways)
1c. common nouns = nouns for classes of items that are not capitalized: boy, language, religion, college, war
1d. proper nouns = nouns for particular instances of something more general (proper nouns are capitalized): Luis (a
particular boy), Spanish (a particular language), Catholic (a particular religion), El Paso Community
College (a particular school), September (a particular month), World War II (a particular historical event)
1e. count nouns = nouns that have plural forms to allow for ―counting‖: many boys, several women, 7 sorrows.
1f. noncount (mass) nouns = nouns that don’t have plural forms (or don’t have them in abstract contexts): advice,
rice, weather. We can’t say ―many advices‖ (only ―many pieces of advice‖) or ―12 rices‖ (―only 12 grains
of rice‖). Some nouns can be count nouns when they refer to concrete instances of something (I have
several hopes) but are noncount when they refer to an abstract concept (I am filled with hope).
1g. gerunds = present participles (-ing form) that function as nouns to name activities: Running is good exercise, but
I like swimming more. (See 3g.) Infinitives can also be used as nouns: To err is human, but to forgive is
divine.
2. Pronouns = words that replace nouns and refer back to them so we don’t have to keep repeating the nouns over
and over, and so they can be shortcuts and timesavers: he (to refer to ―my brother Fred‖), they (to refer to
―my friends from high school‖), this (to refer to an item I have in front of me), those (to refer to some
items that are over there), which (to refer to the thing that I just said), who (to refer to the person I just
mentioned). Pronouns that modify nouns directly are also called pronominal adjectives, as in ―this car‖ or
―any car.‖ The dictionary often labels these pronoun uses simply as adjectives.
2a. personal pronouns = stand for persons or things already referred to: I (first person singular), you (second person
singular or plural), he, she, it (third person singular), we (first person plural), they (third person plural).
First-person writing refers to personal writing about yourself. Third-person writing is usually less personal
and does not contain the first or second person, but only nouns and third-person pronouns.
2b. pronoun case = personal pronouns can have subjective (he), objective (him), or possessive (his) case. These
cases must be used according to how they are used: He told me that his mother bought him a car yesterday.
In the sentence My dad and me went to the game yesterday, there is a pronoun case problem because ―my
dad and me‖ should be the subject of the sentence, so the correct form would be ―My dad and I went… .‖
2c. pronoun gender = personal pronouns vary according to whether they are masculine to refer to males, he;
feminine to refer to females, she; and neuter to refer to sexless entities, it
2d. pronoun number = refers to whether a pronoun is singular, she or this, or plural, they or these
2e. demonstrative pronouns = refer to things by proximity: singular this/that; plural these/those. This color in that
house would be spectacular!
2f. relative pronouns = who/m, which, that –pronouns that refer or relate back to nouns to make subordinate
statements about them (The boy who lost the book is irresponsible. The book that I read was interesting.)
2g. indefinite pronouns = refer to persons or things of the world without a definite identification: any, anything,
anyone, some, something, someone, etc. Anyone at the party could have stolen something from our house.
2h. intensive and reflexive pronouns = intensive ―-self/-selves‖ pronouns refer to the noun or pronoun they come
immediately after for purposes of adding emphasis: I myself would never do something like that or The
order came from the president himself . Reflexive ―-self‖ pronouns refer back to a noun or another
pronoun already stated earlier in a sentence: She sent the e-mail to herself or Mary sent the e-mail to
herself. (In Mary sent the e-mail to her, ―her‖ would refer to a female other than Mary.)
2i. pronoun agreement = refers to the fact that the pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in
number—a singular antecedent, a singular pronoun; a plural antecedent, a plural pronoun: The girl found
her wallet. The girls bought their uniforms. In ―Each student should do their own work,‖ ―student‖ is
singular but ―their‖ is plural, which is a pronoun agreement problem (it should be ―his or her own work‖).
2j. pronoun reference = refers to the fact that a pronoun has to clearly refer to one noun. In ―The boy told his dad he
was very immature,‖ does ―he‖ refer to the boy or to the dad? Obviously, we have a pronoun reference
problem. We might say, ―The boy told his dad that he was very immature for a father.‖ Here ―he‖ has to
refer to ―dad.‖
3. Verbs = 1) action words of all kinds, whether physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, or imaginary (lose,
run, cry, think, love, scream, whisper, believe, pray, fantasize) and 2) states of being (also called linking
verbs) that ―link,‖ or ―equate‖ in some way, one entity to another entity or quality, as in The boy is
irresponsible (the verb ―is‖ connects ―irresponsible‖ to the boy). Verbs vary in number depending on
whether the subject is singular or plural. (See 14b for subject verb agreement.) Notice that some verbs are
called two-word verbs: the verb itself and another word (usually a preposition) that goes with it to change
the meaning of the verb in some way, as in throw + out: We need to throw out the trash.
3a. linking vs. action verbs = linking verbs can be forms of ―to be‖ but also other verbs (often sensory) can be used
to attribute qualities to a subject: The cake is delicious, The cake tastes delicious, The cake smells
delicious). Notice that sensory verbs can also be action verbs. In The cake tastes delicious, the cake isn’t
doing anything, but in Fred tasted the cake, tasting is an action performed by Fred. (See 18.)
3b. infinitives = verbs with ―to‖ at the front to indicate an action or state of being in isolation and without tense: The
boy called me to tell me about the loss and to try to explain what happened. Infinitives can be used as
nouns or modifiers: My objective is to win [noun]. This is an order to go [modifier for ―order‖ so we know
what kind of order it is]. (See also 1g for gerunds, which are ―-ing‖ verb forms that function as nouns).
3c. regular verbs = the easiest, most frequent type of verb, verbs that use ―-ed‖ for anything past, either with a helper
from ―to have‖ or ―to be‖ –or—alone without a helper: Once he had misplaced the book, the boy called me.
(“To misplace” and “to call” are regular “-ed” verbs.)
3d. irregular verbs = about 130 basic verbs that don’t use ―-ed‖ for past contexts: Once she had lost the book, she
told me about the loss. (“To lose” and “to tell” are irregular verbs.)
3e. helping (or auxiliary) verbs ―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖ = forms of these verbs (underlined) help other verbs
to indicate something about the tense or status of the main verb (shown in bold): After the boy had stolen
the children’s toys, he did in fact ask for forgiveness, and the whole time he was choking back tears. You
should be aware that the verbs ―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖ can also be used as main verbs: Tom is smart.
I have a new car. Lucy does her homework every day. (Here ―is,‖ ―have,‖ and ―does‖ are not used as a
helper but are standing alone as a main verbs, but we could convert to helpers: Tom is being smart. I have
bought a new car. Lucy does complete her homework every day.)
3f. modals = special type of helping (or auxiliary) verbs, of which there are ten (shown below), followed by the base
form of the helper ―have‖ or the main verb, that is, the infinitive without ―to‖: The girl...will help, would
help, shall help, should help, can help, could help, may help, might help, must help, ought to help.
3g. past and present participles = ―parts‖ of verbs that join with helping verbs to make verb phrases and that cannot
be verbs on their own: ―-ing‖ forms for present participles (was laughing, had been singing) and ―-ed‖ or
irregular forms for past participles (has laughed ,will have sung). (Note: With regular verbs, the simple past
and past participles always are the same and end in ―-ed.‖ Some irregular verbs have different forms for the
past and past participles: I went to the party [simple past] but I had gone [past participle] to the party. You
could never say, I gone to the party or I had went to the party.)
3h. participial (verbal) modifiers = present and past participles used without helpers that serve as adjectives (or
sometimes as adverbs): his frightening look, his frightened look, the boring student, the bored student
(present participial modifiers give the action and past participial modifiers receive it). (See 11.)
Note: Present participles can be used without helpers to serve as nouns that label or name activities: The
closing of the store. These types of nouns are called ―gerunds.‖ (See 1g.) Notice the difference between a
gerund and a participial modifier: The ending day (here ―ending‖ is a modifier could mean ―last‖) vs. The
ending of the day (here ―ending is a gerund that means ―conclusion‖).
3i. active vs. passive voice = verbs in the active voice have a subject that is the doer of the action (Mary threw the
ball) while verbs in the passive voice have a subject that is the receiver of the action (The ball was thrown
by Mary). Active voice is normally preferred, although there are many important exceptions.
3j. mood = verbs in the indicative mood refer to real situations or situations perceived as real (He works here); verbs
in the subjunctive mood refer to situations that aren’t or can’t be real (I wish he worked here); and verbs in
the imperative mood give commands (Work harder!). The subjunctive mood in English is the most difficult
to learn, but thankfully is only used in a number of limited contexts. Many of the functions that are
performed by the subjunctive mood in other languages are performed by modal constructions in English, as
in He may arrive later vs. Tal vez llegue él más tarde. Notice that ―may‖ is a modal helping verb. (See 3f.)
3k. tense = refers to the fact that verbs show time, as in He swims today (present tense), He swam yesterday (past
tense), and He will swim tomorrow (future tense). English has twelve tenses that are variations of these
three. See 15.
progressive tenses = refers to tenses with forms of ―to be‖ as the primary helper to indicate action in
progress of occurring (and thus the verb phrase [see 11b] ends with the present participle): He is
working right now, She will be coming tomorrow. Notice that with some verbs in English we do
not normally use progressive tenses if the verb is considered a constant rather than something that
is in motion at a given moment: thus, we don’t say, I am loving you or I am believing you, but only
I love you or I believe you.
perfect tenses = refers to tenses with forms of the helping verb ―have‖ that are used to sequence the tenses
of two verbs or two time periods in relation to one another, with the verb in the perfect tense
happening first: He had arrived before Mary got here. (Both events occurred in the past. His
arriving happened first, and so the past perfect tense was used. Her getting there happened later,
and so the simple past tense was used.) He has called you many times. (His calling started in the
past and continues toward the present, and so the present perfect is used with that verb. In He
called you many times, the simple past indicates that the calling does not continue to the present.)
The future perfect tense is seldom used, but it follows the same logic.
These are the twelve basic tenses of English (irregular verb // regular verb) :
simple present: I write to you. // I dance with you. (regular action, but not occurring at this moment)
simple past: I wrote to you. // I danced with you.
future: I will write to you. // I will dance with you.
present progressive: I am writing to you. // I am dancing with you.
past progressive: I was writing to you. // I was dancing with you.
future progressive: I will be writing to you. // I will be dancing with you.
present perfect: I have written to you. // I have danced with you.
past perfect: I had written to you. // I had danced with you.
future perfect: I will have written to you. // I will have danced with you.
present perfect progressive: I have been writing to you. // I have been dancing with you.
past perfect progressive: I had been writing to you. // I had been dancing with you.
future perfect progressive: I will have been writing to you. // I will have been dancing with you.
3l. transitive vs. intransitive verbs = Some verbs go through or ―cross over‖ (―trans-‖) to a direct object (see 16) that
receives the action of an action verb, and those are called transitive (Letty kissed a frog – you can’t just
kiss, you have to kiss something, and here Letty has kissed a frog). Some verbs don’t cross over to an object
and are thus called intransitive (Letty smiled – you don’t have to smile anything, you just smile, right? For
example, you can’t smile a hamburger). Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive (I ran this
morning [you didn’t run anything—you just ran] or I ran a mile this morning [you ran something—namely,
a ―mile‖]).
4. Adjectives = words that add qualities or other conditions to a noun or pronoun to enhance the meaning or make
it more specific: The irresponsible boy lost a valuable book. Other examples: the tall boys, a huge rock,
the sharp knife, a red dress… Participles can also be used as adjectives (see 3h): the freezing cold, the
frozen water, the completed report, the crying child. See ―adverbs‖ below (#5) for examples of
―adjectives‖ that end in ―-ly.‖ Adjectives are considered modifiers because they modify nouns and
pronouns.
5. Adverbs = words that add qualities, degrees, or other conditions to a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Adverbs end in ―-ly‖ when the adverb is derived from an adjective, as in foolish and foolishly, but adverbs
that are not derived from nouns don’t end in ―-ly,‖ as in often, too, always, and seldom: The irresponsible
boy quite foolishly and too often loses extremely valuable books. Notice that there are also some
adjectives that end ―-ly‖: a lovely day, a friendly waiter, a neighborly deed. These adjectives cannot also
function as adverbs (although there are exceptions such as ―daily,‖ as in ―a daily walk‖ or ―I walk daily‖).
We could not say ―They said that friendly‖ because as an adjective ―friendly‖ can only give information
about a noun, not a verb (―said,‖ in this case). We could only say ―They said that in a friendly way‖ (now
―friendly‖ modifies the noun ―way‖). Adverbs are considered modifiers because they modify other parts
of speech as shown.
5a. Conjunctive adverbs (also called transition words): often used to connect sentences together, as in ―however,‖
―moreover,‖ ―furthermore,‖ ―therefore,‖ preceded by a semicolon (See 13c). A new sentence can also begin
with a conjunctive adverb. Either (more common:) He didn’t finish college; however, he should still have a
bright future.—or—(less common:) He didn’t finish college. However, he should have a bright future. A
conjunctive adverb can come in the middle of a sentence or at the end: He should still, however, have a
bright future—or—He should still have a bright future, however. Conjunctive adverbs are usually set off
by commas because they are slight interruptions.
5b. Adverbs and word order. Adverbs frequently impact word order. We can’t say She dances exquisitely the waltz,
but only She dances the waltz exquisitely (the adverbs are underlined).
6. Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs = modifiers that compare two items are called
comparative and that compare more than two items are called superlative. Comparative adjectives: better,
worse, taller, sweeter, older, more beautiful, more outrageous (―more‖ is used with most adjectives
containing 2 or more syllables). Superlative adjectives: best, worst, tallest, sweetest, oldest, most
beautiful, most outrageous (―most‖ is used with most adjectives containing 2 or more syllables).
Comparative adverbs: more quickly, more often, more honestly, more recently. Superlative adverbs: most
quickly, most often, most honestly, most recently. With adverbs, ―-er‖ and ―-est‖ forms are not used, with
some exceptions (e.g., soon, fast). Warning: Do not use ―more‖ and ―most‖ in conjunction with ―-er‖ and
―-est‖ forms. Not Go more faster but Go faster. Not She is more taller but She is taller.
7. Conjunctions = words that connect other words and word groups (including sentences) together, sort of like
the ―glue‖ of language: and, but, or, while, because, though, and so forth.
7a.Coordinating conjunctions: seven little words that we call the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So),
which connect equal ideas: The irresponsible boy lost my book, and now I need to buy a new copy or fail
the test, but I’m broke. (Note that ―for‖ can also be a preposition, ―yet‖ can also be an adverb, and ―so‖ can
be an adverb or even a pronoun. See 10.)
Correlative conjunctions: These are special types of coordinating conjunctions that work in pairs--either/or;
neither/nor; both/and; not only/but also: She plays both tennis and basketball. Either she loves
you or she doesn’t.
7b. Subordinating conjunctions: about 30 or so words that subordinate one idea to another: Because you asked, I will
tell you the truth if you really want to hear it, although it will not be easy.
(Notice that relative pronouns can function as subjunctive conjunctions to make one idea subordinate to
another, as in ―I told him that she didn’t want to speak with him.‖)
8. Prepositions = about 30 or so, usually short, words that show a special relationship to a word (or words, but
not a sentence) that follows it that is called its object (prepositions are underlined here, and their objects
are in bold): Yesterday around noon, the boy lost my book in the subway station near Broadway , but I
can’t afford a new copy until next payday but my test is scheduled for tomorrow! See 11a.
9. Interjections = words used only to express emotion not to refer to specific ―things in the world‖: Chihuahua!
The irresponsible boy lost my book on the subway. Yikes! (Note: When used to refer to the place and not
to express emotion, ―Chihuahua‖ is a proper noun, as in ―Chihuahua is a state in Mexico.‖ (―Yikes‖ can
only be an interjection, however.) Other examples of interjections: wow, ouch, oops, cool, uh-oh.
10. Notice that many words can be used as several parts of speech:
The run of the bulls in Pamplona. (n.) Boys run in the halls. (v.)
The round tray with crackers (adj.) We played a round of golf. (n.) We rounded the mountain. (v.)
In the cool of the evening, we took a walk. (n.) He cooled himself in front of the fan. (v.) This room is awfully
cool. (adj.) She likes me! Cool! (interj.)
Some words also have related but different forms to indicate changes in parts of speech:
choose (v.), choice (n.), choosy (adj.) and succeed (v.), success (n.), successful (adj.). It would be wrong
to say I successed in college because ―success‖ is the noun, not the verb form. ―Succeeded‖
WORD GROUPS and SENTENCE FUNCTIONS:
Sentence functions refer to the ―roles‖ that parts of speech fulfill within a sentence to create a
complete idea when combined with other parts of speech and when arranged in the proper word order. In
other words, we don’t use parts of speech in isolation. Except when we’re just learning language and
before we can form sentences, we don’t go around saying ―Book!‖ (noun) ―Lost!‖ (verb) ―Boy!‖ noun)
―Tall!‖ (adjective) and ―Over there!‖ (adverb). We put the words (the parts of speech) into a special
word order to create a sentence: ―The tall boy lost the book over there!‖ Word order is also important.
What if we moved ―over there‖ as in ―The tall boy over there lost the book.‖ Now ―over there‖ tells us
where the boy is, not where he lost the book.
Terms for Word Groups:
11. Phrase = a related group of words that doesn’t have a subject and a verb (phrases are groups of
words that go together within sentences but which cannot be sentences by themselves). Here are
some common types of phrases (but there are others). We also frequently talk about modifying
phrases (in general), such as participial phrases (a particular type of modifying phrase that starts
with a participle and usually comes after a noun), as in My father, singing like a bullfrog, woke
the whole family up.‖ See 3h. Participial modifiers may be restrictive to identify who we are
referring to or nonrestrictive to give extra information about someone we have already identified.
In the ―singing like a bullfrog‖ sentence, the participial modifier is nonrestrictive because it gives
extra information about my father (and I should know who is being referred to), and because the
information is extra, commas are used with it. In The man standing over there is behaving
suspiciously, ―standing over there‖ is needed to identify which man we’re talking about, so it is
restrictive (and otherwise I wouldn’t know who is being referred to). No commas are used with
restrictive modifiers. See 12c.
11a. prepositional phrase (another type of modifying phrase) = Phrase beginning with a preposition (over the
rainbow, under the basement stairs). The main word that comes after the preposition is called the object of
the preposition. In these cases, the objects of the prepositions ―over‖ and ―under‖ are ―rainbow‖ and
―stairs,‖ respectively. A prepositional phrase is a modifying construction that gives more information about
something else in the sentence. In ―The house on the hill belongs to the mayor,‖ ―on the hill‖ modifies the
―house‖ by giving more information about where the house is located (and so the prepositional phrase is
said to be ―adjectival‖) whereas in ―The mayor lives on the hill,‖ ―on the hill‖ modifies the verb ―lives‖ to
show where the mayor lives (and so the prepositional phrase is said to be ―adverbial‖). See 8.
11b. verb phrase = the main verb (bold) and all its helpers (should be punished, has been seen). Do not confuse the
term ―verb phrase‖ with ―predicate,‖ which often includes more than just the verb phrase. See 16.
11c. noun phrase = noun with its adjectives (the sick child, the tired old lady)
11d. appositive phrase (a type of modifying phrase) = a word group that is another way of rephrasing an
immediately previous word group, as in The teacher, a very grumpy old man, didn’t like his students very
much. I gave it to my aunt, a secretary in the office. The previous phrase contains a noun and so does the
appositive (teacher = man/aunt = secretary). Appositives have to be grammatical equivalents of one
another.
12. Clause = a related group of words that has a subject (bold) and a verb (underlined)
12a, independent clause (also called a main clause) = a clause that can be a sentence by itself because it can stand
alone (The boy lost my book.)
12b. subordinate clause = a clause beginning with a subordinating conjunction (Because the boy lost my book and
If you change your mind). See 7.
12c. dependent clause = a clause beginning with a relative pronoun (that, who/m, which) (the boy who lost my
book)
[Note: Because neither subordinate nor dependent clauses can stand alone as sentences without an
independent clause, the two terms are often used interchangeably. Dependent clauses can be restrictive or
non-restrictive. A restrictive clause is essential to identify the noun it modifies and no commas are used
with it (in The old man who stole my car has not been found, ―who stole my car‖ is needed to know which
old man we’re talking about), and a non-restrictive clause gives extra information about the noun it
modifies and comma(s) are required to set it off (in My English teacher, who loves to teach, is also an
excellent writer, ―who loves to teach‖ gives extra information about somebody whose identity I already
know). See 11.]
12d. noun clause = a clause beginning with a relative pronoun ―that‖ or a question word (who, what, where, when,
why, how) that functions as a noun in any part of a sentence (but usually as a subject or object): That he did
it is clear, but how he did it is a mystery. (In both cases, the subject of the verb ―is‖ is not a noun, but a
clause with its own subject and verb. What is clear? That he did it. What is a mystery? How he did it. A
noun clause is a special type of subordinate or dependent clause that actually forms part of another clause.
13. Sentence = contains at least one independent clause and is properly punctuated with end punctuation (period,
question mark, exclamation point). At the very least, a sentence needs a subject and a verb: Babies cry.
Dogs bark. Children play. These are examples of declarative sentences because they make a statement.
Interrogative sentences ask questions: Do babies cry? Commands give orders: Play outside! Commands
are also called imperative sentences because they use imperative mood (see 3j).
13a. Fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. A group of words punctuated as a sentence that doesn’t contain at least
one independent clause is called a fragment, which is an error (either a phrase or subordinate/dependent clause has
been punctuated as if it were a sentence): The boy in the blue shirt. [phrase fragment] & When the boy lost my book.
[subordinate clause fragment]. A group of words that has two or more independent clauses that are not properly
connected is a type of error called either a run-on (fused sentence) if there is no separation with punctuation (The
boy lost my book he is over there in the blue shirt) or a comma splice if there is just a comma without a coordinating
conjunction to connect the two clauses (The boy lost my book, he is over there in the blue shirt). Put a period after
―book‖ in both cases and then capitalize ―he‖ as well, and the sentences will be correct, although there are other
ways of correcting these errors.
(The independent clauses are underlined in the following.)
13b. Simple sentence = one independent clause only: (The boy lost my book.)
13c. Compound sentence = two or more correctly connected independent clauses. A comma and a coordinating
conjunction (that is, a FANBOYS word—see 7a) or a semicolon (with or without a transition device such
as ―however‖ or ―furthermore‖) can also combine sentences to make them compound. (See 5a.) (The boy
lost my book , and I was furious ; however, he promised to pay for it.)
13d. Complex sentence = one independent clause with one or more dependent/subordinate clauses (When the boy
lost my book, I was furious because it was an expensive book.)
13e. Compound-complex sentence = two or more independent clauses with one or more dependent/subordinate
clauses (When the boy lost my book, I was furious, and I demanded that he pay for it.)
13f. Inverted sentence = one in which the normal word order of subject before the verb is inverted so that the subject
switches to a postion after the verb or after a helping verb (verbs underlined, subjects in bold): There was
no heat in the apartment. Not only does he go to school, but he also takes karate. Are you ready for
school? Under the bed is a box of letters. “Seldom is heard a discouraging word.”
Primary Sentence Functions:
14. Subject (simple) = who or what the sentence is about (the subject answers that question when asked in front
of the verb). The subject cannot be the object of a preposition. The subject can be a noun, a pronoun, a
gerund, an infinitive, or a noun clause.
The boy lost my book. (noun as subject)
He lost my book. (pronoun as subject)
The boy in the blue shirt lost my book. (noun as subject—don’t confuse ―shirt‖ as the subject because ―shirt‖ is the
object of the preposition ―in,‖ and besides ―the shirt‖ isn’t what lost the book)
To lose someone else’s book is a sign of irresponsibility. (infinitive as subject)
Losing someone else’s book is a sign of irresponsibility. (gerund as subject)
That he lost my book really angers me. (noun clause as subject)
14 a. complete subject = the simple subject with all of its modifiers. In The architect from Argentina who lives next
door is also a writer, the simple subject is ―architect,‖ but the complete subject includes everything stated
about this architect: ―the architect from Argentina who lives next door.‖ Together, the complete subject and
the complete verb (predicate) make up the whole clause. See 15a for more explanation.
14b. compound subject = more than one subject connected, usually with ―and‖ or ―either/or,‖ but related to the same
verb: My brother and my sister will visit me. Either my brother or my sister will visit me.
14c. subject-verb agreement = singular subjects agree with singular verbs and plural subjects agree with plural
verbs: not He don’t work here but He doesn’t work here. ―He‖ is singular, but ―don’t‖ is plural; ―doesn’t‖ is
needed in the example.
15. Verb of the sentence: The action or linking verb that goes with the subject. It’s often called the ―verb of the
sentence‖ to distinguish it from ―verb‖ as a part of speech. Verbs show tense (past, present, future,
present perfect, and so forth—actually there are 12 tenses in English verbs, which are listed under 3k
above) and in the present tense verbs show some variation for number, that is for singular and plural (see
14 c). He has lost my book. He is so irresponsible. He will pay for that book.
15a. Predicate = The term ―predicate‖ actually refers to the complete verb (the verb and all of its modifiers and
objects or complements [see 16-19]), as in The worker was building bridges in Denver. The verb of the
sentence is ―was building.‖ The complete verb or predicate is ―was building bridges in Denver‖ because
this conveys the complete idea of what the worker was doing. The complete subject (see 14a) and the
complete verb make a whole clause, as in The student from New York lives in the dormitory. ―The student
from New York‖ is the complete subject and ―lives in the dormitory‖ is the complete verb (predicate).
Together they form one whole clause.
15b. Compound verb or predicate = more than one verb or predicate, usually connected with ―and,‖ ―but,‖ or
―either/or,‖ but related to the same subject: My aunt lives in New York but vacations in Mexico every
summer. Susan loves math and wants to be a computer programmer. Do not confuse a compound sentence
(see 13c) with a compound verb or predicate. The compound sentence has two independent clauses with a
comma before the coordinating conjunction connecting them. The compound predicate is inside one
independent clause but should not have a comma before the coordinating conjunction connecting them: We
like playing videogames but hate doing homework. The second verb does not have a separate stated subject
but shares the subject ―we‖ with the verb ―like.‖ However, if we gave the second verb its own stated
subject, then it would be a compound sentence and a comma would be needed: “We like playing
videogames, but we hate doing homework.”
16. Direct Object (also called just the object or object of the sentence) = the word (noun, pronoun, infinitive, or
gerund) that receives the action of a transitive verb (the objects are underlined in the examples that
follow): The boy lost my book. The boy lost it. (―Book‖ and ―it‖ are the direct objects because they answer
the question, ―What did the boy lose?‖) Here is a sentence with an infinitive as a direct object: He needs
to pay for that book. (―What does he need?‖ He needs to pay!). In She fired the lazy workers, ―workers‖ is
the object because it answers the question ―Whom did she fire?‖ Intransitive verbs, however, cannot take
direct objects. (See 3l.)
17. Indirect Object = a word, a noun or pronoun, coming between the verb and the direct object (this word
cannot be the object of a preposition) that shows who the final recipient of the object is: The boy sent me
a note of apology. (The direct object, what the boy sent [―the note of apology‖] was received by ―me,‖ the
indirect object). If we said, the boy sent a note of apology to me, ―me‖ is no longer the indirect object
(although it means the same thing) because it is the object of the preposition ―to.‖ Other examples of
indirect objects: The boss gave the workers a raise. (The ―the boss‖ [the subject] gave ―a raise‖ [the
direct object]. The recipients of that raise are ―the workers‖ [the indirect object]. Tom threw Mary the
ball. Lucy bought her mother a coat. Suzy asked me a question. Notice that in the sentence ―Tom threw
the ball to Mary,‖ ―Mary‖ is no longer an indirect object (although the meaning is the same). Now
―Mary‖ is the object of the preposition ―to‖ and is part of a modifying prepositional phrase. Not all verbs
can take indirect objects, as in the incorrect sentence ―Explain me the problem,‖ which can only be
correctly stated ―Explain the problem to me.‖
18. Subject Complement = the word (noun, adjective, pronoun, infinitive, gerund, or noun clause) that a linking
verb (see 3a) connects back to the subject to attribute something to it in order to ―complete‖ the meaning
of the subject (and that’s why it’s called a ―complement‖): The boy seems irresponsible. (After the
linking verb ―seems,‖ the complement refers back to the boy to indicate that he may be irresponsible.)
The boy is a student at that school. His goal is to not lose any more books. The cupcake he gave me tastes
delicious. (Note that some books call subject complements ―predicate nominatives.‖)
19. Object Complement = a word (noun or adjective) that comes after a direct object and that explains what the
direct object becomes after the action of the verb occurs: The neighbors painted their house red. (The
subject ―neighbors‖ painted the direct object ―house,‖ and when they were finished painting, that house
then became ―red,‖ the object complement.) We elected George president. (―George= president‖ after the
election.) We kept the story short. (―the story=short‖ after we did something to keep it that way) Lucy
made me angry. (―me=angry‖ after she did something to make me that way). Object complements are
relatively infrequent grammatical structures. Using an adjective as an object complement after a noun
creates a different meaning than if you use the word as an adjective before the noun: They painted the
house red (object complement: ―the house = red‖ after it was painted) vs. They painted the red house
(ordinary adjective: ―the house = red‖ before it was painted, and we don’t know what color it was after it
was painted, unless we say ―They painted the red house blue,‖ in which case ―blue‖ is now the object
complement, as in ―the red house = blue‖ after it was painted).
20. Absolute Construction = This is a formal construction used to modify an entire clause with another clause
that has been truncated or shortened (in which a ―to be‖ verb has been omitted): The job completed, we
went home. The storm over, we could finally play tennis. (―The job completed‖ is a truncated version of
―The job was completed‖ and ―The storm over‖ is a truncated version of ―The storm was over.‖) Absolute
constructions are seldom used in speech, but are primarily found (and then only rarely) in more formal
writing.
INDEX
to Parts of Speech and Related Terms, Word Groups, and Sentence Functions
(Note: general parts of speech are followed by *.)
Numbers in the right column refer to section numbers, not pages.
absolute construction
abstract vs. concrete nouns
action vs. linking verbs
active (vs. passive) voice
adjectives*, general
adverbs*, general
agreement, pronoun
agreement, subject-verb
appositive phrase
articles (indefinite and definite)
auxiliary (helping) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have, & ―to do‖)
case, pronoun
clauses
comma splices
commands (imperative sentences)
common nouns
comparative adjectives and adverbs
complement, object
complement, subject
complete verb (predicate)
complete vs. simple subject
complex sentence
compound sentence
compound subject
compound verb
compound-complex sentence
concrete vs. abstract nouns
conjunctions*
conjunctive adverbs
coordinating conjunctions
correlative conjunctions
count nouns
declarative sentences
definite articles
demonstrative pronouns
dependent clause
direct object
FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions)
first person
fragments
fused sentences (run-ons)
gender, pronoun
gerunds
helping (auxiliary) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have, & ―to do‖)
imperative mood
20
1.b
3.a
3.i
4
5
2.i
14.c
11.d
1.a
3.e
2.b
12
13.a
13
1.c
6
19
18
15.a
14.a
13.d
13.c
14.b
15.b
13.e
1.b
7
5.a
7
7.a
1.e
13
1.a
2.e
12.c
16
7.a
2.a
13.a
13.a
2.c
1.g (3.h)
3.e
3.j
imperative sentences (commands)
indefinite articles
indefinite pronouns
independent clause
indicative mood
indirect object
infinitives
intensive (and reflexive) pronouns
interjections*
interrogative sentences
intransitive (vs. transitive) verbs
inverted sentence
irregular verbs
linking vs. action verbs
mass (noncount) nouns
modals (modal helpers or auxiliaries)
modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, participial)
mood
noncount (mass) nouns
nonrestrictive clauses
nonrestrictive phrases
noun clause
noun determiners
noun phrase
nouns*, general
number, pronoun
number, verbs (see also subject-verb agreement)
object complement
object of a sentence
object, direct
object, indirect
participial (verbal) modifiers
parts of speech (eight)
passive (vs. active) voice
past participles
perfect verb tenses
personal pronouns
phrases
predicate (complete verb)
prepositional phrase
prepositions*
present participles
progressive verb tenses
pronouns*, general
proper nouns
reference, pronoun
reflexive (and intensive) pronouns
regular verbs
relative pronouns
13
1.a
2.g
12.a
3.j
17
3.b
2.h
9
13
3.1
13.f
3.d
3.a
1.f
3.f
5 / 6 / 3.h
3.j
1.f
12.c
11
12.d
1.a
11.c
1
2.d
3
19
16
16
17
3.h
1 (nouns), 2 (pronouns), 3
(verbs), 4 (adjectives), 6
(adverbs), 7
(conjunctions), 8
(prepositions), 9
(interjections)
3.i
3.g
3.k
2.a
11
15.a
11.a
8
3.g
3.k
2
1.d
2.j
2.h
3.c
2.f
restrictive clauses
restrictive phrases
run-ons (fused sentences)
second person
sentences
simple sentence
simple vs. complete subject
subject (of a sentence)
subject complement
subject-verb agreement
subjunctive mood
subordinate clause
subordinating conjunctions
superlative adjectives and adverbs
tense, verb
tenses in English (list of all 12)
third person
transitive (vs. intransitive) verbs
two-word verbs
verb (of a sentence vs. as a part of speech)
verb phrase
verbal (participial) modifiers
verbs*, general
voice, verbs
word order, adverbs
12.c
11
13.a
2.a
13
13.b
14.a
14
18
14.c
3.j (3.f)
12.b
7.b
6
3.k
3.k
3.a
3.l
3
15
11.b
3.h
3
3.i
5.b