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Business
Communication
Chapter 4
Basics of English Grammar
Copyright 2010 South-Western Cengage Learning
Objectives
 Identify 8 major parts of speech
 Identify subjects and predicates in sentences
 Identify clauses and phrases in sentences
Standard
 3.0 Examine and practice the grammar, mechanics,
and process of composing business communications
Parts of Speech
 Noun – person, place,
 Adverb – describes verb,
thing
 Pronoun – take the
place of a noun (he, she,
they)
 Adjective – descriptive
words (big, red, cool)
 Verb – describes action,
state of being, or
condition or a noun
(run, is, talk)
adjective, or another adverb
(quickly, late, now)
 Preposition – connects nouns
& pronouns to other words to
form a phrase (to, from, for)
 Conjunction – joins words,
phrases, clauses (and, but, so)
 Interjection – expresses
surprise or strong feeling
(Oh! and Help!)
4
Sentence Parts
 Sentence subjects
 Sentence predicates
 Objects and subject
complements
 Direct objects
 Indirect objects
 Subject complements
© Image Source / Getty Images
Using well-structured sentences will help
you communicate clearly.
4.1 Parts of Speech and Sentences
5
Sentence Subjects
 The person who is speaking, being spoken to, or the
noun spoken about.
 Simple subjects specifically names what the sentence
is about
 The simple subject is in italics below:
 John, the young journalist, write articles.
 The chair behind the girl is vacant.
 Complete subjects include simple subjects PLUS all
the sentence that is not part of the complete predicate
 The complete subject is in italics below:
 John writes articles.
 John, the young journalist, has written articles.
Sentence Subjects
 Compound subjects are 2+ simple subjects joined by
conjunctions (and, or, nor, not only/but also,
both/and)
 John and Halle work for our company.
 His brother or my sister will accompany us.
 When two nouns in a subject to one person the article
the (or a) is omitted before the second noun.
 The teacher and counselor is my friend.
 When two nouns in a subject refer to two people the
article the (or a) is placed before both nouns
 The teacher and the counselor are my friends.
Sentence Predicates
 The complete predicate is everything in the sentence
said by, to, or about the subject.
 Whatever is not included in the complete subject of a
sentence is included in the complete predicate.
 The complete predicate always includes the main verb
of a sentence.
 John writes articles.
 John, the young journalist, has written articles.
 The simple predicate is the verb in the complete
predicate.
 John writes articles.
 John, the young journalist, has written articles.
Sentence Predicates
 Compound predicates consist of two or more verbs
with the same subject
 Connected by conjunctions (and, or, nor, not only/but
also, both/and)
 John and Halle discussed the matter and concluded that
we are handling this situation incorrectly.
 The engineer not only complained but also refused to
finish the project.
 Sara agreed to mow the lawn and trim the shrubs for
Jack.
Objects and Subject Complements
 Objects are nouns, pronouns, clauses, or phrases that
function as a noun
 May be direct or indirect
 A direct object helps complete the meaning of a
sentence by receiving the action of the verb; only
action verbs can take direct objects.
 Answer the questions what? or whom?


Louis closed the door. (Louis closed what?)
The boy list his mother. (The boy lost whom?
Objects and Subject Complements
 Indirect objects receive the action that the verb
makes on the direct object.
 A sentence cannot have an indirect object w/o a direct
object.
 Usually answers the question to whom is this action
being directed?
 Rafael gave Thomas the candy bar. (The candy bar was
given by Rafael to Thomas.)
 Nancy brought the twins their broccoli. (The broccoli
was brought to the twins by Nancy.)
Subject Complements
 Either a noun or a pronoun that renames the subject or
an adjective that describes the subject.
 It always follows a state-of-being or linking verb (am,
is, are, was, were, has been, seems, appears, feels,
smells, sounds, looks, and tastes)
 In the following examples, the subject and subject
complements are in italics and the linking verb is in
bold.
 Peter is and honest banker. (The noun banker renames
Peter.)
 We have been sleepy before. (The adjective sleepy
describes we.)
On paper (or a Word doc.):
 Which of the 8 parts of speech modifies an adjective?
 Which of the 8 parts of speech joins words, phrases, or
clauses?
 Explain the difference between a noun and a pronoun.
 Identify the simple subject and the simple predicate in
each sentence.
 Brandon ran three marathons this year.
 Lucille is a trained nurse.
 Ramon and Maria work at this company.
 We have been to every store in the mall.
 Elena will finish her report on time.
Clauses, Phrases, and Fragments
 Clause: a group of words with a subject and a
predicate
 Phrase: a group of related words with no subject or
predicate
 Fragment: an incomplete sentence that may or may
not have meaning
4.1 Parts of Speech and Sentences
14
Clauses
 Independent clauses – can stand alone as a complete
sentence
 One of our sales managers has developed an excellent
training manual
 Dependent clauses – must be attached to an
independent clause in order to make sense
 Which we plan to use in future training sessions
 Complete sentence
 One of our sales managers has developed an excellent
training manual, which we plan to use in future training
sessions.
Phrases
 A group of related words that does not contain both a
subject and a predicate.
 Place both cartons on the desk.
 A prepositional phrase is a group of words that
begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a
noun substitute.
 The boxes in the office belong to him.
Phrases
 Most sentences have a main verb and helping verbs.
 When you have both of these, it is called a verb
phrase. YOU MUST HAVE BOTH!
 Most common helping verbs are forms of to be and to
have.
 Is, are, was, were, has, have, had
 Julia spoke to her peers. (the verb is spoke)
 Julia has spoken to her peers. (main verb = spoken;
helping verb = has; verb phrase = has spoken)
 Additional helping verbs:
 Can, could, may, might, must, ought, should, will, and
would
Fragments
 An incomplete sentence or thought; has no meaning.
 Fragment – Sam, the vice president’s brother.
 Sentence – Sam, the vice president’s brother, got a
hefty raise.
 Fragment – Because the beds were uncomfortable.
 Sentence – Because the beds were uncomfortable, she
slept on the floor.
On the same paper/document as
earlier:
 Identify the independent clause and the dependent
clause in each sentence.
 She took many pictures on her trip, which lasted a




month.
The report that you wrote contains valuable
information.
I will go if I am invited.
Since John will be out of town, he will not attend the
meeting.
The work will be completed as soon as time allows.
Sentence Structure
 Simple sentences
Example: Theodore sings and acts.
 Compound sentences
Example: Erin loves to ride horses; Manuel loves to
draw horses.
 Complex sentences
Example: Although it is important to proofread a
written message, many people feel they do not have
the time.
4.1 Parts of Speech and Sentences
20
Same paper/document:
 Indicate whether each sentence has simple, complex,
or compound structure.
 The beautiful butterfly landed on a flower.
 The string beans, which were planted early, yielded a
good harvest.
 The meeting lasted two hours, and I was late for my next
appointment.
 Because he was hungry, he ordered a large meal.
 You should review the report before the meeting.
4.1 Application
 Page 113
 A 1-5
 B 1-5
 C 1-8
23
Objectives
 Identify nouns, pronouns, and adjectives
 Create the plural form of nouns
 Use nouns, pronouns, and adjectives correctly in
sentences
24
Standard
 3.0 Examine and practice the grammar, mechanics,
and process of composing business communications
Nouns
 Noun: a word used to name people, places, or things
 Common nouns – identifies a person, place, or thing
in a general way (girl, team, rock, car, son-in-law,
editor in chief)
 Proper nouns – distinguished by capital letters
(Pepsi, Mary Ann, Seattle)
 Singular and plural nouns – Plural (add s, es, ies)
 Men, children, feet
 Collective nouns – represents a group that acts as a
single unit (tribe, jury)
 Possessive nouns – show ownership ( ‘s)
26
Pronouns
 Pronoun: a word used in the place of a noun
 Personal pronouns
 Nominative case – (I, we, you, he, she, it, who, whoever)
 Objective case – (me, us, you, him, her, it, them, whom,
whomever) direct or indirect object of a verb or an
object of a preposition
 Possessive case – (my, mine, our(s), your(s), his, her(s),
its, their(s), whose) indicates ownership & don’t need
an apostrophe to show possession
 Intensive & Reflexive pronoun – combines a pronoun
with the words self or selves (myself, yourselves, etc.)
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Pronouns
 Interrogative and Demonstrative Pronouns –
 Interrogative begins a question that leads to a noun or
pronouns response

Who, whose, whom, which, and what
 Who is in your office?
 Whose books are these?
 Demonstrative is used to point to a specific person,
place, or thing

This, that, these, those
 Do you prefer this monitor or that one?
 These books should be moved next to those shelves
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
 Pronoun antecedent: a noun or phrase that is
replaced by a pronoun
 Pronouns and antecedents should agree in:
 Person – First person (I, we) Second person (you) Third
person (he, she, they, it)
 Number- singular (he, she) plural (they)
 Gender – (he, his, she, her) Gender Neutral (it)
4.2 Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives
29
Adjectives
 Adjective: a word that describes or limits nouns and
pronouns; they answer questions about nouns
 Which one? This one, those appointments
 How many? Six calls, few tourists
 What kind? Ambitious student, creative teacher
 Articles (the, a, and an)
 Nouns and pronouns used as adjectives (theater
tickets; Thanksgiving dinner)
 Compound adjectives (well-known; long-term; highlevel) TYPICALLY HYPHENATED WORDS!
4.2 Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives
30
Adjectives
 Comparison of adjectives
 Positive degree – describes 1 item (The box is a big
carton.)
 Comparative degree – describes 2 items (The box is a
bigger carton than the first one.)
 Superlative degree – describes 3 or more items (The
box is the biggest carton of the three.)
 Absolute adjectives – cannot be compared because
they do not have degrees; they are at their highest
level (unique, excellent, complete, square, round,
perfect)
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4.3 Verbs and Adverbs
Objectives
 Identify types of verbs
 Identify adverbs and words they modify
 Use verbs and adverbs correctly in sentences
Standard
 3.0 Examine and practice the grammar, mechanics,
and process of composing business communications
Verbs
 Verb: a word that expresses action, a state of being,
or a condition
 Types of verbs
 Action verbs (teaches, purchased, wrote)
 Condition linking verbs – refer to a condition or appeal
to the senses (taste, smell, seem, appear, become)
 State of being linking verbs - sometimes called to be
verbs (is, are, was, were) shows a past, present, or
future state of being
35
Verbs Tenses
 Simple tenses
 Present - sell
 Past - sold
 Future – will sell
 Perfect tenses
 Present perfect – indicates continuous action from the past to the
present (He has voted in every election since 1986.)
 Past perfect – indicates action that began in the past and
continued to the more recent past when it was completed (He had
voted in every election until last week.)
 Future perfect – indicates that an action will be completed at a
specific point in the future (Including next year, he will have voted
in every election since 1986.)
36
Verbs
 Transitive verbs – must have an object to complete
the meaning
 Will has rejected (rejected what?)
 Will has rejected our help.
 Intransitive verbs – does not need an object
 The recruits laughed.
 Voice
 Active voice – the subject is doing” the action

Mr. Park completed his report using his computer.
 Passive voice – the subject of the sentence is
“receiving” the action

The report was completed by Mr. Park.
37
Adverbs
 Adverb: a word that modifies an action verb, an
adjective, or another adverb
 Most end in ly (answer the ?’s how, when, where, how
often, or to what extent)
 Conjunctive adverbs – joins 2 independent but
related sentences (therefore, moreover, however,
nevertheless, and furthermore)
 Comparison of adverbs
 Positive degree
 Comparative degree
 Superlative degree
38
Adverbs
 Comparison of adverbs
 Positive degree – simple forms of words (late, clearly,
fast)
 Comparative degree – add er, more, or less to the simple
form (later, more clearly, faster)
 Superlative degree – add est, most, or least to the simple
form (latest, most clearly, fastest)
4.4 Prepositions, Conjunctions,
and Interjections
Objectives
 Identify prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections
 Use prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections
correctly in sentences
Standard
 3.0 Examine and practice the grammar, mechanics,
and process of composing business communications
Prepositions
 Preposition: a word that connects a noun or
pronoun to other words to form a phrase (about,
after, at, before, below, between, from, for, into, on,
under, and up)
 Usually indicates Direction, position, or time
 Direction – into
 Position – behind
 Time - before
43
Prepositions
 Prepositions introduce phrases
 Place the carton behind the tall cabinet.
 Prepositional phrases may modify:
 Nouns (acting as adjectives)
 Action verbs
 Adjectives
 Adverbs
Conjunctions
 Conjunction: a word or phrase that joins two or
more words, phrases, or clauses
 And, but, either/or, and when
4.4 Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections
45
Interjections
 Interjection: a word or phrase used primarily to
express strong emotion
 Have no grammatical relationship with other words
in the sentence
 Should not be used routinely in business writing.
4.4 Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections
46
Chapter Project
 You and your partner’s task is to create a children’s
book explaining each part of speech. (all 8 of them)
 Remember children’s books do not include a lot of
words on each page and they do have a lot of pictures
 Make it colorful!
 Include EXAMPLES
 You may create this on the computer or by hand