Download the basics

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Name:___________________________
THE BASICS All page numbers refer to Writer’s Inc.
Subject- the who or what doing the action
Angela read.
Verb- the action
Angela read.
Direct object- answers the question who or what
Angela read the story.
Indirect object- answers the question to whom or for whom
Angela read the children the story.
Objective complement- renames the direct object
Angela read the children the story Cinderella.
Prepositions pg. 515
Angela read the children the story Cinderella after snack time.
Object of the preposition
Angela read the children the story Cinderella after snack time.
Prepositional phrases- group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a
noun or a pronoun. They are used as adjectives or adverbs.
Angela read the children the story Cinderella after snack time.
Linking verb- connects the subject to a predicate noun or predicate adjective pg. 507
(is, are , was, were, be, been, am, smell, seem, grow, become, appear, sound, etc.)
Miss Micklos is a teacher.
Miss Micklos was tired yesterday.
Predicate noun/nominative- renames the subject; is always a noun
Miss Micklos is a teacher.
Predicate adjective- describes the subject; is always an adjective
Miss Micklos was tired yesterday.
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PHRASES AND CLAUSES
Phrases
Cannot stand alone as a sentence
Verb phrase- a main verb and its helping verbs
The snow has been falling for three days.
Gerund phraseGerund-verb ending in –ing; acts as subject, DO, OP, and PN
The boy escaped his brother by hiding under his bed.
Infinitive phraseInfinitive-verb form that begins with the word to and functions as a noun, adj, or
adverb. To identify part of speech, look at the position it is in the sentence.
To be a successful person takes motivation and hard work. (subject=noun)
Participial phrase
Participle- verb form acting as an adjective; can end in –ed,-d, (past participle) or
-ing (present participle) To find out what the participle is modifying, ask who or
what was soothed by the music? the baby
Soothed by the music, the baby fell asleep.
Prepositional phrase- see above
Appositive phrase- follows a noun or pronoun and renames it
Miss Micklos, our English teacher, graded our essays.
Clauses
Independent clause
 can stand alone as a sentence
 has a subject and a verb
When I went to the store, I bought some Gatorade.
Dependent or subordinating clause
 cannot stand alone
 starts with a subordinating conjunction
When I went to the store, I bought some Gatorade.
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Comma splice
 Two independent clauses are joined by a comma
 Correct by making it two sentences, using a comma and conjunction, or using a
semi-colon
WRONG I went to the store, I bought some Gatorade.
RIGHT I went to the store. I bought some Gatorade.
RIGHT I went to the store, and I bought some Gatorade.
RIGHT I went to the store; I bought some Gatorade.
Semi-colons
 Use to join two independent clauses
The students were excited for the end of the year; they were excited for summer.
 Within a long list
The students brought notebooks, pencils, pens; erasers, index cards, and markers.
 Before a conjunctive adverb
Evan is a slow reader; however, he is an excellent student.
Colon
 Used to introduce a list or long or formal quotation.
You will need the following: a hat, boots, and an umbrella.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “Nothing great was ever achieved without
enthusiasm.”
Modifiers
Adjectives that are used to modify or describe nouns and pronouns.
Adverbs that are used to modify or describe verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Can be prepositional phrases
Should be as close to the word they modify as possible
Misplaced modifiersINCORRECT: We have an assortment of combs for physically active people with
unbreakable teeth. (right now infers that the people have unbreakable teeth)
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CORRECT: For physically active people, we have an assortment of combs with
unbreakable teeth. (this modifier modifies or describes the combs, so it needs to
be closer to the word it modifies)
Subject Verb Agreement pg. 526
WATCH OUT FOR:
Delayed Subjects- verb comes before the subject
Compound Subjects- connected with and
Singular Subjects- joined by or or nor look at subject closest to verb
Plural Nouns- plural in form but singular in meaning take a singular verb
(mumps, measles, news, mathematics, economics)
-plural in form and plural in meaning take a plural verb
(scissors, trousers, tidings)
“Be” Verbs- make sure to the verb agrees with the subject
Collective Nouns- group as a unit takes a singular verb (faculty, team, committee)
Indefinite PronounsSingular: each, either, neither, one, everybody (pg. 19 of packet)
Plural: both, few, many, several
Singular or Plural: all, any, most, none, some
Most of the job is easy. Most of the materials are available.
Relative Pronouns- number depends on the antecedent (who, which, that)
This is one of the books that (is/are) required for class. The correct
choice is are because the antecedent, books, is plural.
Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent pg. 528
Agreement in Number
 Singular pronouns: Each, either, neither, one, anyone, anybody, everyone,
everybody, somebody, another, nobody, and a person.
 Plural pronouns: joined by and
Agreement in Gender Male, female