GRAMMAR BASICS
Some Terms
WHY LEARN GRAMMAR?
Knowing grammar will help you learn how to put
sentences together.
Knowing how to put sentences together will help
you become a better writer.
Becoming a better writer will help you express
yourself better as well as get better grades.
FYI
Different kinds of words are called…
parts of speech
NOUN
def: nouns can be people, places, and things
ex. dog, homework, Abraham Lincoln, love
VERB
def: a word that shows action, state, or
occurrence
ex. walk, will eat, am playing, is
ADJECTIVE
def: a word that describes a noun
ex. happy, beautiful, tired
QUICK QUIZ
What part of speech is the underlined word?
The dog ran after the cat.
noun
PRONOUN
def: a word that takes the place of a noun
ex. Josh likes to watch TV.
He prefers sports shows.
ADVERB
def: a word or phrase that modifies an
adjective, verb, or another adverb
(modify: to describe or limit)
ex. I am very happy
PREPOSITION
def: a word used to tell direction, location or
time; usually contains a noun and gives more
information about something else in the sentence
ex. in, at, for, to, with
The man is in the grocery store.
SUBJECT
def: who or what the sentence is about (will be a
noun or noun phrase)
ex. Jessica, the book, returning clothes
Tim plays the guitar.
OBJECT
def: a noun/pronoun that receives an action of a
verb
ex. I sent a letter.
ARTICLE (DEFINITE & INDEFINITE)
definite (specific): the
indefinite (general): a/an
ex. I bought the car. (a specific car my
reader/listener already knew about)
ex. I played a game. (general, not specific)
INFINITIVE
def: to + base form of verb
ex. to eat, to sleep, to cry
SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT (SVO)
def: in English, clauses tend to follow a
subject – verb – object pattern
ex. The company fired the employees.
PHRASE
def: a group of words
ex. falling on the floor, in the moonlight
CLAUSE
def: a group of words with a subject & a verb
ex. …while I was watching a movie.
I took a shower.
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
def: a clause that can be a complete sentence
(can have a period)
ex. I opened the door.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE
def: a clause that cannot be a complete
sentence by itself; it needs an independent
clause
ex. When I was playing basketball yesterday,
I sprained my ankle.
SENTENCE / “COMPLETE SENTENCE”
def: a group of words with at least 1
independent clause
ex. Teachers are crazy.
COMPOUND SENTENCE
def: more than 1 independent clause, but no
dependent clause
ex. I workout at home, and I play video games
at home.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
def: one independent clause, and at least 1
dependent clause
ex. My parents washed my car while I was on
vacation.
COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE
def: more than 1 independent clause, and at
least 1 dependent clause.
ex. After I get home from school, I clean my
room, and my mom makes dinner.
FRAGMENT
def: a group of words with a period at the end,
but is not a complete sentence (it is missing
either a subject or a verb)
ex. Waiting at the store. (who was waiting?
There’s no subject.)
FUSED SENTENCE / RUN-ON
def: when two complete sentences (independent
clauses) are connected without punctuation or a
connecting word
ex. Kelly is on the track team she is very good.
COMMA SPLICE
def: when two complete sentences (independent
clauses) are connected with a comma 
ex. Kelly is on the track team, she is very good.
CONJUNCTION
def: a word that joins or connects 2 parts of a
sentence
ex. Birds can fly and lay eggs.
COORDINATING CONJUNCTION
def: a word that joins or connects 2 independent
clauses; these are often called “fanboys”
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
ex. Birds can fly, but dogs can only run.
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION
def: a word that makes one clause in the
sentence dependent
ex. If I go to the store, I will buy milk.
GERUND
def: a ”verb” ending in –ing that is used as a
noun
ex. eating, swimming, biking
I love swimming.
PARTICIPLE
def: a verb ending in –ing that is part of a
“complete” verb in a specific verb tense
ex. Joel is taking his test.
PARALLELISM / PARALLEL STRUCTURE
def: when you use the same “kinds” of words or
phrases in a sentence or list
ex. Tom is happy, rich, and going to college. 
Tom is happy, rich, and smart. (all adjectives)
ONE LAST THING…
There are many more grammar terms. You can find
them online or on the grammar boot camp website.
It is possible for a word or phrase to be more than
one of the grammar terms at the same time.
ex. Paul threw a ball. (ball is a noun, and the object)
NOUNS
Woohoo!
WHAT ARE NOUNS AGAIN?
def: a person, place or thing
What are the nouns in the sentence?
John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes.
John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Nouns
Concrete
Nouns
Common
Nouns
Abstract
Nouns
Proper
Nouns
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Concrete: nouns that can interact with out senses
(you can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell them)
ex. airplane, sandwich, key
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Proper nouns: names of people, places or
things;
ex. George Bush, Canada, The Matrix
What is special about these nouns?
They use capital letters.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Abstract nouns: these are nouns we cannot
experience with our 5 senses; they are ideas
Ex: love, death, religion, success
I cannot smell, taste, touch, hear, or see these
things, but I can experience them.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Count nouns: count nouns are nouns that I
can…count; they can be made plural
ex. 1 paper, 2 papers, 3 papers
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Noncount nouns: nouns that are group or
collective nouns, and cannot be counted or
pluralized
ex. homework, research, happiness, popcorn
I have 2 homeworks. 
I have some homework. 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF NOUNS
Sometimes you will see people ”pluralize”
noncount nouns, but it’s a trick. See below:
I want 2 coffees, please.
What are they really saying?
I want 2 cups of coffee, please.
*Coffee is a noncount noun.*
HOW CAN I FIND A NOUN?
First, try to decide if it’s a person place or thing.
After that, you can try adding an article (a/an,
the) before it.
If the article “fits” it is probably a noun.
a cat  the pool  a eat  the happy 
HOW CAN I FIND A NOUN?
You can also try to make the noun a subject and
put a verb with it- if it make sense, it’s probably
a noun.
ex. try adding “is good” to a word
Love is good. 
Happily is good. 
PRONOUNS
YAY!
WHAT ARE PRONOUNS AGAIN?
def: a word that takes the place of a noun
ex. he, she, I, who, this
The chickens are eating.
They like worms a lot.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRONOUNS
Subject pronouns: these pronouns are used as
subjects in a sentence
ex. We are hungry.
Subject Pronouns
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRONOUNS
Object pronouns: these pronouns are used as
objects in a sentence
ex. They threw me the ball.
Object Pronouns
me, you, him, her, it, us, them
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRONOUNS
Relative pronouns: these pronouns are used to
connect a clause or phrase to a noun/pronoun
ex. Tiffany, who is a teacher, made ice cream.
Relative Pronouns
who, whom, whoever, whomever, which,
whichever, that
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRONOUNS
Reflexive pronouns: these pronouns refer back
to the subject of a sentence within the same
sentence
ex. Terry cut down the tree himself.
Reflexive Pronouns
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves, themselves
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRONOUNS
See the handouts or the grammar boot camp
website for more pronouns.
VERBS
Whoa!
WHAT ARE VERBS AGAIN?
def: a word that shows action, state, or
occurrence
What is the verb in the sentence?
John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes.
John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes.
HOW CAN I FIND A VERB?
Look for a word that does an action.
ex. People help other people.
Look for a word that shows a state of being
ex. Jimmy is happy.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
Verbs show tense (time)
past | present | future
Yesterday, I walked to school.
Today, I go to homeroom.
Tomorrow, I will see my friends.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
Verbs can be more than one word
ex. The students are doing their homework.
I turned in my homework.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
Verbs can show action or a state
Action: The horse ran through the gate.
State of being: The spaghetti is hot.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
An –ing verb is never by itself (don’t confuse with
a gerund)
ex. I camping today. 
I am camping today. 
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are helping verbs?
Helping verbs are verbs that “help” the main
verb.
ex. may, might, are, do, did, was
I might go to the party.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are the “be / to be” verbs?
am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are the “do” verbs?
do, does, did, doing, done
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are the “have” verbs?
have, has, had, having
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are modal verbs?
Modal verbs (modals) show us degree
can, could, might, have to, must, should, would,
ought to
These verbs can’t be conjugated. They connect
with a main verb.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VERBS
What are phrasal verbs?
Phrasal verbs are verbs that include a verb and
another word like an adverb or preposition
ex. break down, fit in, break out
VERB TENSES
There are 12 different verb tenses in English.
Keep in mind that some verbs are “irregular.”
That means that they don’t follow normal rules of
conjugation.
VERB TENSES- SIMPLE
Simple Present: base form of verb | -s/-es
We play soccer. He/she/it plays soccer.
Used when…
talking about an action that is a fact,
habit, or a regular action
ex. Everyday, I eat dinner at 5PM.
VERB TENSES- SIMPLE
Simple Past: base form of verb + -ed
I walked. They ran (irregular). You cut (irregular).
Used when…
talking about an action that happened
in the past and is done
VERB TENSES- SIMPLE
Simple Future: will + base form of verb
I will go to school.
Used when…
doing a future voluntary action, or when
giving a promise
VERB TENSES- CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE
Present continuous: ”to be” + verb + -ing
We are playing soccer.
Used when…
talking about an action that is
happening right now
VERB TENSES- CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE
Past continuous: past “to be” + verb + -ing
We were playing soccer.
Used when…
talking about an action that was done
for a period of time in the past
VERB TENSES- CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE
Future continuous: will + be + verb + -ing
I will be playing soccer.
Used when…
talking about an action that will be
happening during a certain time in the
future.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT
Present perfect: have/has + past participle
She has received a degree.
Used for…
an unspecified time before now
ex. I have been to Mexico. (when?)
an action that started in the past but continues until now
ex. She has been a teacher for 5 years. (and still is)
VERB TENSES- PERFECT
Past perfect: past had + past participle
She had received a degree.
Used for…
a completed action that came before another past
action
ex. She understood the movie because she had
read the book.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT
Future perfect: will + have + past participle
She will have received a degree.
Used for…
a completed action that will come before another
future action
ex. By tomorrow, I will have gained 3 pounds.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Present perfect continuous:
have/has + been + verb + -ing
The dog has been chasing the cat.
Used for…
duration from past until now
ex. He has been talking for the past hour.
recently, lately
ex. Recently, I have been feeling a little tired
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Past perfect continuous:
had + been + verb + -ing
The dog had been chasing the cat.
Used for…
duration before something in the past
ex. They had been talking 3 hours before the sun rose.
cause of something in the past
ex. He gained weight because he had been overeating.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Future perfect continuous:
will + have + been + verb + -ing
The dog will have been chasing the cat.
Used for…
duration before something in the future
ex. They will have been talking for over an hour
by the time Jenny arrives.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Future perfect continuous (continued)
Used for…
cause of something in the future
ex. James will be tired when he gets home
because he will have been swimming.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Future perfect continuous (using going to)
is/are + going to + have + been + verb + -ing
The dog is going to have been chasing the cat
for 3 hours before mom gets home.
THE END
Finally!
VERB TENSES- SIMPLE
Simple Present: base form of verb | -s/-es
We play soccer. He/she/it plays soccer.
Simple Past: base form of verb + -ed
I walked. They ran (irregular). You cut (irregular).
Simple Future: will + base form of verb
I will go to school.
VERB TENSES- CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE
Present continuous: ”to be” + verb + -ing
We are playing soccer.
Past continuous: past “to be” + verb + -ing
We were playing soccer.
Future continuous: will + be + verb + -ing
I will be playing soccer.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT
Present perfect: have/has + past participle
She has received a degree.
Past perfect: past had + past participle
She had received a degree.
Future perfect: will + have + past participle
She will have received a degree.
VERB TENSES- PERFECT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
Present perfect continuous:
have/has + been + verb + -ing
The dog has been chasing the cat.
Past perfect continuous:
had + been + verb + -ing
The dog had been chasing the cat.
Future perfect continuous:
will + have + been + verb + -ing
The dog will have been chasing the cat.