Download A Grammar Refresher

A GRAMMAR REFRESHER
Mr. Bailey
PART I: WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
I. THE SENTENCE
Elementary school teachers often define the sentence as “a
noun and a verb.” This usually works:
1. The dog ran.
2. Frank cried.
3. The girl sang.
But as we get older and our writing gets more complicated,
that simple rule doesn’t always apply:
1. When the dog ran.
2. After Frank cried.
3. Despite the fact that the girl sang.
A REVIEW OF TERMS
Sentences are constructed of phrases and clauses
 Clause: always has both a subject and a verb.

Independent Clause: can stand alone as a sentence
 Subordinate Clause: relies on an independent clause
to make sense

Subordinate
Since the students were working so hard, Mr. Bailey
gave his class a night off of homework.
Independent
A REVIEW OF TERMS (CONTINUED)
Phrases are a group of words used to modify
another word in a sentence.
 Phrases are always missing either a subject or a
verb.

3 TYPES OF PHRASES:

Prepositional (begins in preposition, ends in a noun or pronoun,
used as either an adjective or adverb)


The students arrived at the classroom.
Participial (past or present tense of verb is used as an adjective)
The PS3, smashed to pieces, was useless to him.
 The dog, wagging its tail, was very cute.


Appositive (a group of words without a verb that describe
another noun)
 Mr. Bailey, an English teacher, is an Orioles fan.
I. THE SENTENCE (CONT.)
Thus: a sentence is an independent clause and all
subordinate clauses and phrases that may be
attached to it.
 A sentence fragment is a dependent clause or
phrase not attached to an independent clause.



Simple test: Don’t ask, “Does it have a noun and
a verb?” like you were taught in middle school.
Instead, ask, “Does this make sense on its own?”
WHAT IS A RUN-ON SENTENCE?

Look at the two sentences below. Which is the
run-on?

While the students were patiently waiting for class to
begin, a strange-looking boy crept into the back of the
room wearing only a ballerina leotard and a cape, but
before Mr. Bailey could react, he grabbed the textbook
of one of the students and began to violently assault the
teacher whose only response was to quiver in terror in
the corner of the room while the ballerina boy giggled
with violent glee.

I am bored, grammar is tedious.
FIXING RUN-ONS



A run-on is not just a long sentence.
A run-on is when two independent clauses are
put together as a single sentence incorrectly.
Fix them by adding a coordinating conjunction
and comma, adding a period, or adding a
semicolon.
FIXING RUN-ONS

I am bored, grammar is tedious
I am bored, and grammar is tedious.
OR
 I am bored; grammar is tedious.
OR
 I am bored. Grammar is tedious.

PART 2: THE PASSIVE VOICE
PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE

Look at the following sentence. What are its
parts?
Nick Markakis hit the ball.
PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE (CONTINUED)
Nick Markakis hit the ball.
Subject
Transitive Action Verb
Direct Object
PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE (CONTINUED)

Now, look what happens now if we reverse the
word order.
The ball was hit by Nick Markakis.
The object has somehow become the subject of
the sentence. The tense of the verb has changed
too.
 This is called passive voice.
 Good writing uses the active voice.

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE VOICE (CONTINUED)




The short story “Hop Frog” was written by Edgar
Allan Poe. (passive)
Edgar Allan Poe wrote the short story “Hop
Frog.” (active)
The World Series was won by the San Francisco
Giants. (passive)
The Giants won the World Series. (active)
WHY DID YOUR FRESHMEN TEACHERS
HATE LINKING VERBS?
Linking verbs often are the result of using the
passive voice.
 Also, linking verbs are nondescriptive and boring.
 The most effective sentence construction is
always:
Subject + Action Verb + Object

AVOID LINKING VERBS AND PASSIVE
VOICE (IT’S VERY EASY TO DO)
Mr. Bailey is the English teacher.
Mr. Bailey teaches English.
John was hurt.
John felt agonizing pain.
This book is boring and stupid.
This book desperately lacks substance and excitement.
PART III: THE COMMA, THE
SEMICOLON, AND THE COLON
PART I: THE COMMA
Commas are the most commonly missused
punctuation mark in student writing
 Elementary school students often not taught the
real reasons why commas are necessary
 What follows are 8 “Golden” comma rules; these
are not all the uses of the comma, but are the
ones that are often most problematic

COMMA RULE #1
Use a comma to separate independent
clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction.
 Coordinating conjunctions are FANBOYS
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)


The Orioles frequently lose to the Yankees, but
the Rays remain the team to defeat in the
American League East.
COMMA RULE #2

Use a comma to separate 3 or more items in
a series.

The Ravens possess a great quarterback,
effective wide receivers, and a relentless
defense.
COMMA RULE #3
Use a comma between two adjectives of
equal importance.
 You can tell they are of “equal importance”
if you can reverse their order and the
sentence still makes sense.

This is a tasty, delicious snack! (of equal importance)
 There are several new players on the team (not of

equal importance)
COMMA RULE #4

Use a comma after an introductory
subordinate clause.

While the students were working, Mr. Bailey
played Nintendo DS.
COMMA RULE #5
Use a comma after an introductory
prepositional phrase.
 A prepositional phrase is a group of words
that indicates location or time; it begins
with a preposition, ends with a noun or
pronoun, and never has a verb.


In the back of the house, you will find a large
trampoline.
LIST OF COMMON PREPOSITIONS
Aboard
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Amid
Among
Around
As
At
Before
Behind
Below
Excepting
Beneath
Excluding
Beside
Following
Besides
For
Between
From
Beyond
In
But
Inside
By
Into
Concerning Like
Considering Near
Despite
Of
Down
Off
During
On
Except
Onto
Opposite
Until
Outside
Up
Over
Upon
Past
Versus
Regarding Via
Round
With
Than
Within
Through
without
To
Toward
Towards
Under
Underneath
Unlike
COMMA RULE #6
Use commas to set off appositive phrases.
 An appositive phrase is a group of nouns
and adjectives used to describe another
word in a sentence.


Mr. Bailey, an English teacher, is a fan of the
Orioles.
COMMA RULE #7
Use commas to set off phrases or clauses
that interrupt a sentence and are not
necessary for the sentence to make sense.
 These are the types of things you will see in
fiction or dialogue more often than
academic papers.

Faith in God is, I believe, absolutely important.
 Loyola is, for sure, the greatest school in
Baltimore.

COMMA RULE #8

Use commas to set off nonessential
subordinate adjective clauses.

The strange boy, who had a bizarre haircut,
yelled out a curse word. (a nonessential subordinate clause – you
don’t need it)

The book that you borrowed from me is on your
desk. (an essential subordinate clause – you do need it)
PART II: SEMICOLONS
Semicolons are another commonly misused piece
of punctuation.
 It looks like this:

;
SEMICOLON RULE #1

Use a semicolon to separate two independent
clauses that are NOT joined by a coordinating
conjunction, but are closely related to one
another.
This piece of pizza tastes delicious; crispy bacon
covers its surface.
 The Orioles look to have a great season; Buck
Showalter will turn things around.

SEMICOLON RULE #2

Use semicolons to avoid confusion in sentences
with a lot of commas

Matt Wieters, who is a Baltimore Oriole; Carl
Crawford, who formally played for the Tampa Bay
Rays; Stephen Strasburg, the first round draft pick
who signed with the Nationals; and Ryan
Zimmerman, Washington’s star slugger, are my
favorite players.
PART III: THE COLON
The colon is another commonly missued
punctuation mark. It looks like this.
:
THE COLON

Colons are used to introduce lists, but there is one simple
rule that is commonly ignored. A colon can never follow a
verb or a preposition.
The young man is a fan of: the Orioles, the Nationals, and the Mariners.
Wrong! Colon follows preposition.
The young man said his favorite teams are: the Orioles, the Nationals, and the
Mariners.
Wrong! Colon follows verb.
The young man identified the following as his favorite
teams: the Orioles, the Nationals, and the Mariners.
Correct!
PART IV: AGREEMENT RULES
AGREEMENT RULES

What is wrong with the following sentences?

Many of the authors we study writes about life in
America.

Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain is some of the most
famous.

Neither Mr. Bailey nor his students likes the New York
Yankees.
AGREEMENT RULES


The verbs do not agree with the subjects in number.
A singular subject must get a singular verb. A plural
subject must get a plural verb.
Many of the authors we study writes about life in America.
 Many of the authors we study write about life in America.

Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain is some of the most famous.
 Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain are some of the most
famous.

Neither Mr. Bailey nor his students likes the New York
Yankees.
 Neither Mr. Bailey nor his students like the New York
Yankees.

AGREEMENT RULES (CONTINUED)

Any two nouns joined by “and” get a plural verb
except when the two items count as one (like
“spaghetti and meatballs” or “peanut butter and
jelly”)
 Mr. Bailey and Dr. Donovan are English
teachers.
 The students and teachers enjoy the Turkey
Bowl.
AGREEMENT RULES (CONTINUED)

If two nouns are joined by “nor,” or “or”, the noun
closer to the verb decides whether the verb is
singular or plural.

Neither Mr. Bailey nor his students cheer for
the Yankees.

Neither his students nor Mr. Bailey cheers for
the Yankees.
AGREEMENT RULES (CONTINUED)

If the words “each,” “either,” neither,” “anyone,” “someone,”
“everyone,” “anybody,” “somebody,” or “everybody” are used AS A
SUBJECT, they get a singular verb

Everyone enjoys Mr. Bailey’s English class.

Each of the students enjoys Mr. Bailey’s English class.

Neither boy enjoys Mr. Bailey’s English class.

Either of the teachers will proctor your class.
AGREEMENT RULES (CONTINUED)

If the words “several,” “few,” “both,” or “many”
are used, the verb is plural.

Several of the students play Modern Warfare.

Many of the students prefer Xbox

Both of the teachers play PS3.
PART V: PRONOUNS
NOUNS AND PRONOUNS TAKE 3 FORMS:
Subjects
 Objects
 Possessives

PRONOUNS AND THEIR CASES
As Subject
As Object
As Possessive
I
Me
My, mine
1st person plural
We
Us
Ours, our
2nd person singular and
plural
3rd person singular
You
You
Your, yours
He, She, It
Him, Her, It
His, Her, Hers, Its
They
Them
Their, Theirs
1st person singular
3rd person plural
PROBLEMS?
Of course there are! This is English, after all.
 There are two special rules that apply to pronoun
use

WEIRD RULE #1
If the pronoun appears after a linking verb, it
gets the subject case (even though it sounds
weird).
 Examples:

Umberto said the winner was he.
 The man who will save the day is I.

WEIRD RULE #2
When a pronoun follows a subordinating
conjunction (words like Than, Since, Because,
Wherever) it gets the subject case.
 Examples:

Frederico has always been a better chef than I.
 Samantha cannot race today because she ate too
many tacos.

ONE MORE THING:

The pronouns “who” and “whom” give people a lot
of problems. Here’s a chart for them:
As Subject
As Object
As Possessive
Singular
Who
Whom
Whose
Plural
Whoever
Whomever
Whosever
Whom do you seek?
To Whom did you give the present?
You can give the money to whomever you want.
That is the boy about whom the girls were
gossiping.
PRONOUNS, CONCLUDED
Before you choose the pronoun to use, always
think about how the pronoun is being used: a
subject, an object, or a possessive.
 Study the charts that list the pronouns so you
can choose the one that fits!

GRAMMAR REFRESHER,
CONCLUDED!