CRCT GRAMMAR REVIEW
All phrases require two or more words
The Participle Phrase
Recognize a participle phrase when you see one.
A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will
dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed.
Participle phrases always function as adjectives
Read these examples:
The horse trotting up to the fence hopes that you have an apple or carrot.
Trotting up to the fencemodifies the noun horse.
The water drained slowly in the pipe clogged with dog hair.
Clogged with dog hair modifies the noun pipe.
Eaten by mosquitoes, we wished that we had made hotel, not campsite, reservations.
Eaten by mosquitoes modifies the pronoun we.
Don't mistake a present participle phrase for a gerund
phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin
with an ing word. The difference is the function that they provide in the sentence.
A gerund phrase will always function as a
noun.
Walking on the beach, Delores dodged jellyfish that had washed ashore.
Walking on the beach = present participle phrase describing the noun Delores.
Walking on the beach is painful if jellyfish have washed ashore.
Walking on the beach = gerund phrase, the subject of the verb is.
The Antecedent
Recognize an antecedent when you see one.
antecedent, which is the word that the pronoun refers to or replaces.
Adeline bit her lip.
Adeline = antecedent; her = personal pronoun.
When Kris sprained his ankle, Coach Ames replaced him with Jasper, a
much slower runner.
Kris = antecedent; him = personal pronoun.
Types of Sentences
Simple Sentence = One independent clause. It has a subject and a verb.
Compound Sentence = Two or more simple sentences joined by a comma
and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or yet, so.)
Or TWO independent clauses joined by a semi colon.
Complex Sentences – Remember to look for your Subordinating
Conjunctions (A-WITE-BUS-O words). = One independent clause and at
least one dependent clause.
Compound-Complex Sentence = at least two independent clauses and one
dependent clause.
The Direct Object
Recognize a direct object when you see one.
A direct object will follow a transitive verb[a type of action verb]. Direct objects can
be nouns, pronouns, phrases, orclauses. If you can identify the subjectand verb in a
sentence, then finding the direct object—if one exists—is easy. Just remember this
simple formula:
SUBJECT
+
VERB
+ what? Or who? =
DIRECT OBJECT
EXAMPLE:
Zippy and Maurice playedsoccer with a grapefruit pulled from a
backyard tree.
Zippy, Maurice = subjects;played = verb. Zippy and Maurice played what? Soccer =
direct object.
EXAMPLE:
Sylina hates biting her fingernails.
Sylina = subject; hates = verb. Sylina hates what? Biting her fingernails [a gerund
phrase] = direct object.
The Indirect Object
Recognize an indirect object when you see one.
Indirect objects are rare. You can read for pages before you encounter one. For an indirect
object to appear, a sentence must first have a direct object.
EXAMPLES:
Jim built his granddaughter asandcastle on the beach.
Jim = subject; built = verb. Jim built what? Sandcastle = direct object. Who got the
sandcastle?Granddaughter = indirect object.
So that Darren would have company at the party, Sammy and Maria
brought him a blind date.
Sammy, Maria = subjects;brought = verb. Sammy and Maria brought who? Blind date = direct
object. Who got the blind date? Him = indirect object.