Download Test #1 Study Guide

10/9/14
Grammar & Writing Test #1 Notes
Our Words of the Day so far have been:
etymology
neophyte
pedantic
disavow
fortuitous
refute
eminence
assuage
supercilious
exacerbate
contrived
iconoclast
upbraid
errant
incisive
Be prepared to match these words with synonyms and antonyms. In addition, be prepared to use
each in an original sentence and draw pictures illustrating these words (for example, I might ask
you to draw a teacher upbraiding a student, a doctor assuaging a patient’s pain, an iconoclast
destroying idols in a church, etc.).
Examples of different parts of speech:
I may ask you to list a certain number of examples of adjectives/verbs/pronouns/abstract
nouns/concrete nouns/proper nouns. I will also list sentences and ask you to identify a certain
part of speech (ex: Where’s the prepositional phrase? Lilly hid Casey’s cell phone under her
desk. Where’s the adverb? Calvin answered all the questions confidently.)
Transitive, intransitive, and linking verbs:
A transitive verb is followed by someTHING (a noun!!) that receives the action. This thing
does not describe your subject.
An intransitive verb describes an action that is complete on its own, even if we eliminate
prepositional phrases that precede or follow it.
A linking verb describes a state of being or condition – there may be a noun after it, but that
noun describes your subject and is not a separate entity. For example, Charlie is a lacrosse
player uses a linking verb, while Charlie hit the lacrosse player uses a transitive verb.
I will list sentences that you will need to identify as using a transitive, intransitive, or linking
verb. I will also ask you to write example sentences (one of each) that use these types of verbs.
Subject/verb agreement:
I will provide you with sentences and two verb options. You will need to select the correct verb
conjugation (singular or plural) that matches the subject. Ex: Neither Michelle nor Thomas
[know/knows] the answer.
Passive voice: zombies!
We form the passive voice by using a form of “to be” plus a past participle: was informed, is
being held, are shown
FUN TIP!! If you can add the phrase "by zombies" after the verb, your sentence has passive
voice. For example:
Passive Voice = She was chased [by zombies].
Active Voice = Zombies chased [by zombies] her.
You should know why we should avoid passive voice and how to make it active. For example,
we could change: The Young Thug album was bought by Aaron to: Aaron bought the Young
Thug album.
To be as an active verb (linking and progressive):
I will ask you to classify a few sentences that use a form of “to be” as either active or passive.
For example:
Ellary is studying two languages this semester. – This is progressive tense (we use a form of “to
be” + “-ing”).
Kalyn and Nae are sophomores. – This is a linking verb (“sophomores” describes Kalyn and
Nae).
These concepts are being reviewed by Jordan. – This is passive voice (we use a form of “to be”
+ the past participle, and the actor comes after the verb).
I will also ask you to write an example sentence of each kind.
Synonyms:
I will list a few verbs from your synonyms handout and ask you to list three synonyms for each.
Verb tense consistency:
I will give you a brief passage that contains some inconsistencies in verb tense; you will need to
identify which verbs are incorrect and list what you should change them to. I will also ask you to
identify which tense you should use for certain situations (i.e., writing a paper describing key
events of the Civil War, writing a lab report, writing a personal narrative about the time you went
to Florida).