A Crash Course in English Grammar
Noun- Any person, place, thing or idea in a sentence. It is used
for many different roles in a sentence, including: the
subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a
preposition, etc.
Pronoun- A group of words that can take the place of a noun. For
example: Bob goes to the store and he (taking the place of
Bob) buys milk.
Verb- The necessary component of all complete sentences (this
isn’t one). The verb is the action that is happening in the
sentence. Some examples of verbs are: run, jump, write,
read, go.
Linking Verb- Some verbs aren’t action words but are used to
describe a relationship between two nouns or a noun and an
adjective. The most common linking verbs are the forms of
“to be”- Am, Are, and Is.
Adjective- A word that describes a noun. For example, words like
blue, bouncy, big, and striped can all describe the noun
ball.
Subject- The star of the show. The subject is a noun that is
doing the action in a sentence. Bob walks the dog.
Direct Object- The direct object is a noun that receives the
action of a verb. It is more affected by the verb than the
indirect object. I throw the ball to Jim, or I throw Jim
the ball. Notice that I’m not throwing Jim!
Indirect Object- The indirect object is a noun indicating the
recipient or beneficiary of the action of a verb and its
direct object. It is sometimes indicated by the words
“to/for”.
Exercises:
Identify the parts of speech in the following sentences and
describe what each part is doing (i.e. Subject, direct object).
1. Bob hastily walks the little dog for Fred.
2. The man quickly threw the red ball to John.
3. John stole the classic book from the ancient library.
4. I gave Dan the money.
5. Superman threw the car at Spiderman.
6. Joe hit the ball to Fred.
7. I watched the snake for Kyle.
8. Danny walked to the store with Amy.
9. John ran away from Fred.
10.
Seth gave the rose to the girl.
11.
The mom gave orders to her child.
12.
Emily gave the ball to the dog.
13.
I shot the bird with a gun.
14.
The father gave the candy bar to his son.
15.
Conrad ran to the store with Joe.
16.
I hit the ball with a bat.
17.
Fred gave the pen to Seth.
18.
The cow gave the milk to the farmer.
19.
Alex threw the ball at John.
20.
Emily gave the rose to the sailor.
Homework:
1. Define in your own words the grammatical concepts covered
above.
2. Identify the parts of speech in the following story and
describe what each part is doing (i.e. Subject, direct
object).
Iapetus has two sons. Their names are Prometheus and Epimetheus.
Prometheus has great wisdom. Epimetheus does not have great
wisdom. Jupiter gives a beautiful girl to Epimetheus. Her name
was Pandora. Prometheus warns Epimetheus about Pandora. “You
don’t see the danger.” Epimetheus loves Pandora and accepts her.
Jupiter gives Epimetheus a box. Jupiter tells Epimetheus “(you)
do not open the box!” Pandora is curious. She opens the box.
Evil things fly out. Pandora keeps hope in the box.
3. Break down each of the sentences in the following poem by
Catullus
My girl does not love me. Be well girl! Catullus endures: The
poet does not love the girl, he does not praise her form, he
does not give roses to the girl and he does not kiss the girl!
My anger is great! I will endure—but without you I am not
well.