2015 Final Exam Review (7th Grade Language Arts)
REMEMBER: Clauses have a subject and a predicate, phrases do not!
NOUNS
A noun is a person, place, thing or idea; know singular/plural irregular forms; know possessives.
APP
S
SC
DO
IO
OP
OC
Appositive (renames a noun)
LV
Subject (what the sentence is about/the doer of the verb)
S = SC
Subject Complement (follows a Linking Verb, renames/describes the subject)
Direct Object (ask ‘whom/what’ after verb)
Indirect Object (ask ‘TO/FOR whom or TO/FOR what’ after verb)
Object of a Preposition (ask ‘what’ after the preposition)
Object Complement (follows “assigned/named/elected/voted” and renames object)
Briefly review nouns as OBJECT COMPLEMENTS (OC above)
Ex: We elected John class president.
Noun Clause: acts like a noun (S, SC, DO, APP, IO, OP); usually begins with that/who/how/why/what/whether
Example:
Whoever sits in the front row is never in trouble. (S)
The situation is whatever you make of it. (SC)
The claim that people behave badly in class is an unpopular one. (APP)
We wanted to take what was left on the table. (DO)
I gave whoever wanted candy a piece of chocolate. (IO)
They started working in what seemed to be a jungle and created a garden. (OP)
Noun Phrases: Prepositional phrases can act like NOUNS (subjects, subject complements):
On the beach is the best place to tan. (subject)
The best place to tan is on the beach. (subject complement)
PRONOUNS:
A pronoun replaces a noun: know gender/number AND:
Subject Pronouns in 1st, 2nd and 3rd person (singular and plural) I/We, You, He/She/It/They
Object Pronouns in 1st, 2nd and 3rd person (singular and plural) Me/Us, You, Him/Her/It/Them
Demonstrative Pronouns: this (near/singular), that (far/singular), these (near/plural), those (far/plural)
Interrogative Pronouns: who, whom, whose, which and what
Relative Pronouns: who, whom, whose, which and that
Indefinite Pronouns: some, a few, many, several, one, a lot, everybody, all, etc… (plural and singular)
Example: We gave some to him.
Does anybody want pizza?
Be sure to know how to fix double negatives! (He said he ain’t got none left.)
Intensive Pronouns:
I fixed the car myself.
[Intensifies or emphasizes the pronoun]
Reflexive Pronouns:
I made myself a healthy dinner. [Refers back to the pronoun (acts like an IO or DO)]
ADJECTIVES An adjective describes or modifies a noun; phrases and clauses can be adjectives
Review demonstrative (this, that, these, those), interrogative (who, whose, which, what) and indefinite (some,
lots, all, many, one) adjectives. They differ from demonstrative/interrogative/indefinite pronouns because
they always come before a NOUN instead of standing on their own.
Example: We gave some pizza to him. Do any adults want pizza?
Know the proper use of comparative (-er or more) and superlative (-est or most) adjectives
Know the proper use of less/least (non-count nouns) and fewer/fewest (count nouns)
Adjective phrases are prepositional phrases that describe a noun or a pronoun:
The car in the parking lot is really cool. (describes car)
Adjective Clause:
modifies a noun; usually begins with who/whom/whose/which/that
Example:
He sold the guitar that Elvis used to play to a museum.
(Adjective Clause describes guitar, the ANTECEDENT) it’s restrictive
VERBS
A verb shows an action or a state of being; know the principal parts/tenses of a verb (review the
charts done in class; they should be in your notebooks!) Simple, Progressive, Perfect in
present/past/future in both regular and irregular conjugations.
Remember:
Progressive uses am/is/are/was/were and ends in –ing
Perfect uses have/has/had and past participle form
Example:
to sleep:
to freeze:
to eat:
to hide:
to pray:
I sleep, I am sleeping, I had slept
they freeze, they are freezing, they had frozen,
we eat, we are eating, we had eaten
he hides, he is hiding, he had hidden
she prays, she is praying, she had prayed
A verb phrase = the base verb and whatever linking/helping/auxiliary/modal verbs (London Bridge) are with it:
would have walked; might be going; could have waited; will be eating;
should have been sleeping; may have been worried
Know how to differentiate PASSIVE (subject being “done to”) and ACTIVE (subject is the “doer”) VOICE
(See SENTENCES section below for more information)
Ex.
The boys cleaned the hallways and lockers. (ACTIVE)
The hallways and lockers were cleaned by the boys. (PASSIVE) note: always a verb phrase!
Remember indicative (statement or question), imperative (command), subjunctive moods (if or wish)
Remember the modals (PAIN OP)
Permission (MAY) Ability (CAN) Intention (WILL)
Necessity (MUST)
Obligation (SHOULD)
Possibility (MIGHT)
Linking Verbs: IN THE FORMULA S = SC, = is always going to be a linking verb
HINT: to determine whether or not a verb is a linking verb, simply replace it with is/was or are/were; if the
sentence still makes sense, it’s a linking verb.
Example:
The cake tastes delicious. (The cake is delicious)
They sounded fantastic. (They were fantastic)
The weather felt miserable. (The weather was miserable)
Remember transitive (takes an object) and intransitive (does not take an object) verbs:
Example:
VERBALS
She sang a song on stage (transitive)
She sang on stage (intransitive)
Verbs acting like something else in a sentence:
Participles: act like ADJECTIVES; end in –ing (present) or –ed (past); know/correct dangling participial phrases
Gerunds: act like NOUNS; always end in –ing; can act/do almost anything a noun can do (S, SC, DO, OP, APP)
Infinitives: act like nouns, adjectives or adverbs; usually begin with TO; correct “split”; be able to find “hidden”
Participles/Participial Phrases: a verb used as an adjective (usually -ing or –ed ending)
The easiest participles to identify come right before an object/subject: the boring teacher, the surprised
student, the moving article, the neglected pet. They become more difficult to identify when they are in phrase
form… just look for verbs (usually end in –ing or –ed) that are not performing an action!
1.
Dangling participles: Be able to correct dangling participles (followed by the WRONG noun)
incorrect:
[Steaming hot from the oven], the cook put the apple pie on the counter.
The cook is not steaming hot—the pie is; therefore, the pie must come right after the participle.
correct:
2.
[Steaming hot from the oven], the pie was put on the counter
Gerunds: a gerund is a verb used as a noun; it ends with (-ing). Because it acts like a noun, it can be a
subject/subject complement, indirect/direct object, object of a preposition, or an appositive (which simply
renames the noun).
Gerund Phrase: the gerund and its objects/complements/modifiers
[Eating Dominos and drinking Monsters] was what he liked to do. (S)
Her worst habit is [forgetting her homework]. (SC)
She was upset about [having been forgotten by her friends]. (OP)
His vice, betraying the young princess, ruined the fairy tale. (APP)
3.
Infinitives: infinitives are sneaky verb forms that act like nouns, adjectives or adverbs; we can usually
identify them with “to” (but sometimes this is left out). Just pay attention to any verb that occurs in
infinitive form: to eat, to sing, to lie, to be, to worry, to delight, etc...
To eat Dominos and (to) drink Monsters put him in Paradise.
To forget her homework was something she tried not to do.
ADVERBS
Adverbs describe a verb, an adjective or another adverb; adverbs answer where, when, why,
how, to what extent or degree, etc.
Similar to adjectives, there are adverb phrases and adverb clauses:
Adverb Phrases: prepositional phrases can act like adverbs
They worked with unflagging zeal. (describes verb worked)
The class was strange to the teacher. (describes adjective strange)
Lightning flashed brightly against the black sky. (describes adverb brightly)
Adverb Clause: modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb;
answers where/when/why/how; begins with a subordinating conjunction (after, although, because,
before, since, until, when, whenever, wherever, however, etc.);
Example:
The whole class screamed when the bell rang.
Since the universe was created, it has been an incredible mystery.
PREPOSITIONS:
Know most of them! Prepositional phrases can act like adjectives, nouns or adverbs,
depending on what they’re doing in the sentence. Be able to bracket them and identify their function.
Remember multi-word prepositions: next to, instead of, in front of, aside from, etc.
SENTENCES: There are four kinds of sentences (sort of like moods):
1. Declarative (makes a statement or a declaration); ends with a period.
2. Interrogative (asks a question or interrogates); ends with a question mark (?)
3. Imperative (gives a command); can end with a period or an exclamation point.
4. Exclamatory (expresses an emotion or exclaims!); ends with an exclamation point!
There are three structures for sentences:
1. Simple: ONE single independent clause—it can have MORE THAN ONE subject/verb (predicate)
Example:
Jacob and Jonathan are the tallest boys in 7th grade. (two subjects, one clause)
She washed and dried all of the laundry. (two verbs, one clause)
2. Compound: two or more (2+) independent clauses JOINED by
a comma (,) and a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, yet, so, nor)
a semicolon (;) alone or followed by a conjunctive adverb with a comma (however, therefore, in addition, finally,
otherwise, on the other hand)
Example:
Joana and Jiham ran out of the classroom, but both girls forgot their books.
We were late; however, we didn’t get detention slips.
3. Complex: one independent clause and one or more (1+) dependent clauses
Example:
Kenny and Logan both sit in the front row because they like to be close to the exit.
Brooke, who comes in early to grab her seat, is a good student.
How we study usually determines how well we do on a test.
You also need to know how to identify a DEPENDENT clause (CANNOT stand on its own) and an
INDEPENDENT clause (CAN stand on its own).
A RESTRICTIVE clause/phrase messes up the essential meaning of a sentence if it’s removed;
A NON-RESTRICTIVE clause/phrase can be removed without messing up the meaning of the sentence.
Sentences can be written in active or passive voice (this has nothing to do with present or past tense, it has to do
with the SUBJECT!)
Active Voice: the subject is the doer of the action
EX: He helped the school
Passive Voice: the subject is done to (receives the action)
EX: The school was helped by him.
Indicative Mood: states a fact or asks a question
EX: We went to class yesterday.
HINT: everything that’s not imperative or subjunctive HAS TO BE indicative!
Imperative Mood: gives a command
EX: Stop it. Behave or go sit in the corner.
Subjunctive Mood: indicates a wish/desire or an impossibility (weird mood)
If I were you, I would not do that.
They insisted that I be there.
Subject and Verb Agreement
Always make sure the subject (number/person) matches the verb (number/person):
Example:
They (plural) are going to the mall.
Peter (singular) is a great singer.
If a subject and verb are interrupted by a prepositional phrase, remove it to check for agreement:
A class [with good students] is always fun.
The dogs [in the truck] bark a lot.
The following are used to join words, phrases or clauses (both dependent and independent, restrictive and nonrestrictive) together:
Coordinating conjunctions:
and, or, but, yet, so, nor
Conjunctive adverbs: however, therefore, in addition, likewise, finally, furthermore, nevertheless, instead
Correlative conjunctions:
both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also
Subordinate conjunctions:
although, as if, even though, since, though, unless, until, while, when, before
Know editing/proofreading marks and how to punctuate and capitalize properly; be able to diagram
simple sentences. Understand the use of Rule of Three and the Seven Traits of Writing.