TEST STUDY TERMS
English I
 (computer research any concepts that you do not recognize from class discussion)
Points of view – 3rd person objective / 3rd person limited / 3rd person omniscient
Be able to compare / contrast characters’ attitudes
Be able to identify figurative language – “She had been to hell and back.”  this is figurative / NOT
literal. She didn’t REALLY go to hell.
Foreshadowing – giving little “hints” of what may happen later in the story line.
Analyze characters’ names and appearances for symbolism. Do they possess physical characteristics
that make them symbolic for a certain “type” of person or idea?
To infer is to make an educated guess based on specific details in the story that logically LEAD you to
that educated guess. Inferences are not WILD guesses that come out of nowhere.
Figurative language techniques:
Metaphor – making a direct comparison WITHOUT the word “like” or “as.” (Her tears cascaded
down the mountains of her face into the caverns that were the creases of her lips.)
Simile – making a comparison WITH the word “like” or “as.” (Her tears cascaded like a waterfall down
her face that dipped and fell as a mountain range of her face.)
Personification – the tears screamed down her face as they plunged to their deaths on her cheeks.
Onomatopoeia – when words actually sound like the idea they represent  “Thud” went the egg onto
the counter top. The buzz, buzz, buzzing of the bees was annoying!
A pronoun takes the place of a noun - (he, himself / they, themselves / I, me, my, you, your)
My sister and he went to the store with my father and him.
My sister and they went to the story with my neighbor and them.
He went with him.
They went with them.
Neither of them looked at one another.
Subjunctive mood verbs - If I were queen, I would do it this way! If you are using a verb that is NOT
ACTUALLY reality, it is called a “subjunctive mood” verb. If you were there, why did I not see you?
The dog, had it been real, would have barked.
Finding Subject / Verbs in compound, complex, compound-complex sentence structures
Compound sentence -
S
V ,conjunction S V.
S
The girl laughed, but the boy cried.
Complex sentence -
Because
S
V,
S
V
;
S
V
The girl laughed; the boy cried.
V.
Because the girl screamed, the dog ran away!
If the girl screams, the dog will run away.
When the girl screamed, the dog ran away.
Compound – complex sentences -
(Subj./verb
,but
Subj./verb
Subj./verb )
The dog buried the bone, but since he had a runny nose, he didn’t remember the hiding place.
S
V
,but
S
V
S
V
(“but” is a conjunction)
Use of dashes in sentences - use a dash to set off a definition or explanation / use a dash to signal an
abrupt change or totally different thought in the middle of a sentence.
Use of hyphens in compound adjectives examples: all-time favorite, two-time winner, pre-season
games
 Computer research any ideas not sufficiently explained here.
Tutorials before/after school,
th
nd
during 6 period or during 2 lunch. I will find you an Internet site that will give you practice
exercises with whatever concept above you do not understand. You can do this yourself at
home as well. There is no particularly “special” site. Just put the term in a basic search box on
your computer.