Mrs. Gregg
ENGLISH
Grammar Basics
Parts of Speech
Nouns: people, places, things, ideas (teachers, school, books, learning)
Pronouns: words that take the place of nouns (he, their, everyone, it, them, anybody)
Verbs: action (swim, run, think), being (am is are was were be been), helping (has have could should…),
linking (remains, seems, feels)
Prepositions: words that show direction or relation of one word to another noun ( to, from, between, under,)
Conjunctions: words that show connection (and, or, but, since, neither, either, for, nor, because)
--Coordinating conjunctions join ideas or objects, attributing to them the same level of importance (For
And Nor But Or Yet So—FANBOYS)
-Subordinating conjunctions indicate that one idea is less important than the other
(because, since, if, when, unless, while, where, although…) AAAWWUBBIS (although, after,
Interjections: words that express emotion (hey! yo! rats! ouch!)
Adjectives: words that describe nouns or pronouns (ugly shirt, purple dinosaur, big idiot)
Adverbs: words describing verbs, adjectives or adverbs (think quickly, very pretty girl, walk extremely slowly)
Conjunctive adverbs, also known as transitional words, can show the relationship between ideas:
however, therefore, moreover, nevertheless, consequently…)
Parts of the Sentence:
Joe caught the biggest fish on the boat, but he gave his father the prize money because he had paid for the trip.
Subject: who or what the sentence is about (Joe)
Verb/Predicate: the action or state of being in a sentence (caught, gave, had paid)
Direct Object: whom or what receives the action (caught what? fish; gave what? money)
Indirect Object: To whom or what the action is directed (gave money to whom? father)
Prepositional Phrase: preposition and the noun it connects (on the boat, for the trip)
Object of the Preposition: noun that the preposition connects to (boat, trip)
Independent (main) Clause: a group of words containing a subject and a verb that can stand alone as a complete
thought (“Joe caught the biggest fish on the boat” , but “he gave his father the prize money”)
Subordinate (dependant) Clause: a group of words containing a subject and verb that cannot stand alone as a
complete thought due to a subordinating conjunction (“because he had paid for the
trip”)
Other common phrases:
Participial phrase: Waiting for the bus, Joan listened to her headphones. (-ing/-ed phrases acting as adjective)
Gerund phrase: Winning competitions is fun. (-ing word/phrase functioning as noun—Subject here)
Appositive phrase: Jerry, my favorite uncle, is coming for dinner. (noun phrases identifying another noun)
Capitalization
DO capitalize: proper names of people, places, religious and governmental groups, specific brands, titles, days
of the week, holidays, months, locations (I live in the North)
DO NOT capitalize: seasons of the year, school subjects, unless a language or numbered course (world history,
language arts, Algebra I, geometry, French) , family names, unless used as a title (aunt and uncle, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jerry,
my mom, Mom, your grandmom, Grandmom), directions (Travel south on the highway)
Mrs. Gregg
ENGLISH
Punctuation
Commas (,): set off non-essential items, items in a list, direct address, after subordinate clauses…
If you want to come over, ask your mom. Bill, have you seen my book? Tina, a smart cookie, earned an A+.
Colons (:): use before presenting a list or definition
*must follow an independent clause
I bought three items: pantyhose, toothpaste, and dog food.
Semicolons(;): use when seperating two related independent clauses or sentences
I like pizza; it tastes yummy.
You are nice; however, he is mean.
Apostrophes(’ ) : use for possession (Jim’s book, the students’ books)
Quotation Marks: titles of poems, songs, articles, book chapters, and direct quotes:
My favorite poem is “Mending Wall.” “I wonder,” questioned Bill, “if it will rain on Saturday?”
(A Separate Peace, Night, Romeo and Juliet)
Jen screamed, “I won my softball game!”
Italicize: Titles of books and plays
Some Common Errors to Avoid
1. COMMA SPLICE RUN-ONS: when two complete sentences are separated by a COMMMA alone
Example: Mary is allergic to peanuts, they give her hives.
Basketball is an endurance sport, a player never stops moving.
In both examples, the words before and after the comma form independent clauses; therefore they must be
separated in one of the following ways
A) With a period: Mary is allergic to peanuts. They give her hives.
B) With a comma AND a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS-for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so):
Mary is allergic to peanuts, so they give her hives.
C) With a semicolon. Basketball is an endurance sport; a player never stops moving.
D) With a semicolon and conjunctive adverb Mary is allergic to peanuts; therefore, they give her hives.
2. APOSTROPHE ERRORS: Use an apostrophe to show possession to form a contraction
SINGULAR POSSESSIVE: Joe’s tie. The baby’s bottle. The student’s essay.
PLURAL POSSESSIVE: The players’ uniforms. The students’ work. The children’s toys.
CONTRACTIONS: The apostrophe stands in for the missing letter. Can’t It’s You’re I’m
3. COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
Their (pos.) there (place) they’re (they are)
two (number) to (preposition/direction) too (also, excess)
Its (pos.) it’s (it is)
your (pos) you’re (you are) weather (atmosphere) whether (choice)
Effect (noun) affect (verb) than (comparison) then (sequence/when) AND MANY MORE…
4. FRAGMENTS: Incomplete sentence--punctuating a phrase or dependent clause as a complete sentence
EX: Running to the store with Mary and Phil. Must become: He is running to the store with Mary and Phil
Although Susan was tired after a long, arduous day at the office. Must become: Although Susan was tired
after a long, arduous day at the office, she continued to work when she got home.