I’m in group # ____; I do round #____.
Summary
Parts of speech
adjective
adverb
conjunction
determiner
helping verb
interjection
noun
preposition
verb
big, small, good, bad
quickly, again, very
and, that
the, my
will, can
wow, yes, um
dog, idea
in, with, of, by, to
smile, eat, give
Abbreviations
adjective
adverb
clause
conjunction
ING phrase
interjection
noun
preposition
prepositional phrase
TO phrase
verb
WH phrase
aj
av
cl
cj
ing
ij
n
p
prep
to
v
wh
Phrases
clause
determiner
ING
noun
prepositional
TO
WH
Verb Forms
present
past
ING
HAVE
example
functions as
that grammar is fun
n
my mother’s skinny dog’s d
learning grammar
n, aj
the girl
n
in my room
aj, av
to learn grammar
n, aj, or av
whoever knew her
n, aj, or av
eat / eats
ate
eating
eaten
Complex Verbs
progressive (past/present)
perfect
passive
was/is eating
had/has eaten
was/is eaten
Be: be / am / are / is / was / were / being / been
Glossary of Grammatical Terms
1st person pronoun: the pronoun is the speaker: I, we
2nd person pronoun: the pronoun is being spoken to: you
3rd person pronoun: the pronoun is someone outside the conversation: he, she, they
adjective: a word that can describe a noun: good dog, That idea is bad.
adverb: a word that can describe a verb (run quickly) / adjective (too bad) / another adverb (very quickly)
antecedent: something before pronoun that explains it: Alejandra likes Samuel because he’s nice.
appositive: a noun that explains the noun before it: My pet frog, Samuel, is green.
case: the quality of a pronoun that tells which noun-jobs it can do: subjective, objective, reflexive, possessive
clause: words that contain a subject and a verb: Alejandra ate pizza, and Samuel ate flies.
comparative adjective: adjective + er: smaller dog
complex verb: progressive, prefect, or passive verb
compound sentence: sentence with >1 clause: Alejandra ate pizza, and Samuel ate flies.
compound subject: conjunction links two subjects: Alejandra and Fishtuna splashed.
compound verb: conjunction links two verbs: Alejandra jumped and splashed.
conjunction: links individual words / clauses: Samuel and Alejandra, tried but failed, high or low
contraction: word containing apostrophe that acts as two words grammatically: We’re = pronoun + verb.
degree adverb: adverb modifying an adjective or another adverb: very slow, very slowly
determiner: word that goes in front of noun to tell which one / how many: the frog, Samuel’s frog, three frogs
direct object: see “object”
feminine pronoun: pronoun that represents a female: she
fragment: incomplete sentence, often used to answer questions: What’s your favorite food? Flies.
gender: the quality of a pronoun that tells whether it’s male or female: masculine, feminine, neuter
HAVE
form: form of verb used after have: Samuel has eaten / has written / has been…
helping verb: goes in front of another verb to alter its meaning: Samuel should eat flies.
indirect object: the person who receives the direct object: Samuel baked Alejandra a cake.
intransitive verb: has no objects: Samuel eats.
interjection: word that expresses mood, does not connect grammatically: Ouch, that hurt!
ING phrase: ING word + objects and/or adverbs: Those flies are squirming around in Samuel’s mouth.
ING word: verb + ing: Samuel eats squirming flies.
irregular: doesn’t follow the usual pattern: more fun, not funner
linking verb: links noun to adjective: Alejandra feels good.
masculine pronoun: pronoun that represents a male: he
neuter pronoun: pronoun that isn’t male or female: it
noun: a word that can be a subject or object: Dogs like America.
noun of address: the noun that says who you’re talking to: That’s a good idea, Samuel!
number: the quality of a pronoun that tells how many it represents: singular, plural
object: noun that comes after the verb, which the verb happens to: Samuel eats flies.
object of a preposition: noun that comes after a preposition: in a misty forest
objective pronoun: pronoun that can be an object: She likes him; he likes you; you like me.
part of speech: grammatical category of a word (noun, verb), showing how it fits into sentences.
passive verb: be + verb + ed/en: Samuel was eaten.
perfect verb: have + verb + ed/en: Samuel has eaten flies.
person: the quality of a pronoun that says how it relates to the speaker: 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person
phrasal adverb: adverb needed to define verb: kick out
phrasal verb: verb that needs an adverb: kick out
phrase: 2 or more words that act as one: Mr. Krueger, snow day, with a monkey
plain adjective: adjective that isn’t comparative or superlative: small dog
possessive pronoun: pronoun that represents something owned / possessed: Mine is faster.
predicate: main verb of the sentence: Samuel loves to jump and dance.
preposition: words that go in front of nouns to make prepositional phrases: in school, with a monkey
prepositional phrase: preposition + noun; tells where / when something is: in the house, at night
progressive verb: be + verb + ing: Samuel is dancing.
pronoun: special, short nouns that take the place of other nouns: I like you. She likes me.
plural pronoun: pronoun that stands for >1 person: us, them
reflexive pronoun: pronoun used as object when subject is same person: Samuel surprised himself.
sentence: 1 or more clauses; begins w capital letter; ends w period: Alejandra ate pizza, and Samuel ate flies.
simple verb: not a complex verb: Samuel parties.
singular pronoun: pronoun that stands for 1 person: I, she
subject: word that shows who does the action: Those frogs dance to hiphop.
subject side: subject & words helping it; usually comes before verb side: Those frogs dance to hiphop.
subjective pronoun: pronoun that can be the subject: I, she
superlative adjective: adjective + est: smallest dog
TO phrase: to
+ verb: Samuel likes to dance.
transitive verb: has one or more objects: Samuel eats flies.
verb: word that shows the action: Those frogs dance to hiphop.
verb side: verb and words helping it; usually comes after subject side: Those frogs dance to hiphop.
WH
WH
phrase: phrase beginning with WH word: He who smelt it dealt it.
word: word that creates a WH phrase: who/ever, what/ever, how, that
Frog Grammar 1: Clauses
“I have many talents, and
should be hired for this job.”
Garlicia now sells fast food for
a living, and no one cares
whether she can write
correctly.
“I have many talents, and you
should hire me for this job.”
Alejandra quickly became the
president of the company, made
a billion dollars, and retired to a
private island in the Carribean.
Once upon a time, while hiring people for a fun, highpaying job, I received applications from Garlicia the
garlic-person and Alejandra the frog . Can you see
what Garlicia did wrong, or are you destined to scrub
deep-fat-fryers for a living? As a professional, you will
be judged by your writing and punctuation; the only way
to punctuate correctly is to understand grammar.
SUBJECT SIDE
#1
#2
VERB SIDE
Samuel
subject
n .
Those green frogs
n .
#3
Alejandra and Fishtuna
n
cj
n
.
Fishtuna
#4
n
.
but Alejandra
cj
n
.
parties.
verb
v
dance to hiphop all night.
v
jumped and splashed in their favorite pond.
v
cj
v
swam around and chased crocodiles,
v
cj
v
mainly sat and caught flies with her tongue.
v
cj
v
Who cares about grammar? Most sentences have a subject side, which tells who’s doing something, and
then a verb side, which tells what’s being done (#1-2)© One word on the subject side, a noun called the
subject, does all the action; the other words just add extra information (#2). One word on the verb side, the
verb, is the action; the other words just add extra information (#2). This verb = main verb or predicate;
sentence can have other verbs: I love to dance. ©reate sentences like this on your blank chart; label subject &
verb. A subject + a verb = a clause; all the sentences above have 1 clause except which? Now can you see
what Garlicia did wrong? Conjunctions – and, or, but, so – can link individual words (#3); © & label cjs;
or whole clauses (#4)©
Summary: Clause = subject (does the action) + verb (is the action): Those frogs dance all night.
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 2: Words & Phrases
Even a truly spectacular name like
Umm Kareem Fatima al-Jameel bint
Nidh'aal bin Abdulaziz al-Filisteeni
is 1 word! Sha-ZAMM!
SUBJECT SIDE
#1
VERB SIDE
Sally Mander
Sally
or
n
went with Alejandra to the big game.
n .
#2
“Dunking
#3
“(You)
#4
“Ummmm… I
#5
“Yeah, whatever!”
n
.
n .
ij
ij
n
ij
v
‘s easy!” Samuel says to impress them.
v
Do it,” Sally replies. Uh-oh, he wasn’t expecting that.
v
will (dunk the ball) later!” he says, but they laugh.
v
.
A phrase is 2+ words acting like 1 (#1); © & underline. The reverse is a contraction: what sounds like 1
word is really 2 (#2)© Sometimes words are left out (implied / understood), like in a command (#3)©, or
when answering questions with fragments (#4)© Interjections – yeah, yo, yes, no, darn, um, haha, ouch, oops,
hello, goodbye – don’t have to be part of a sentence (#5); © & label ijs.
Summary: Phrases act like 1 word (Mrs. Frog farted); words can be are left out ((You) Stop picking your nose!).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 3: Determiners
Hi, my name’s That! They call me and my
friends determiners because you need us to
determine what people are talking about.
Imagine someone too lazy to use determiners
told you, “Dude, like whoa, cat got run over” “Which cat?! My cat?! Whose cat, you lazy
bum!” - “No dude, not your cat, someone else’s
cat. Chill!” See how important we are? In
fact my friend the is the most common word in
the English language. Go determiners!
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
d
#1
#2
That teacher
stinks.
n
v
d
#5
d
n
n
n
n
d
None of the teachers
d
v
breakdance.
..
n
n
rock.
..
27 students
n
v
interfere.
..
Some (teachers)
n
#6
..
Samuel’s teachers
#3
#4
n
v
even join in.
..
I
n
v
d
n
am your father’s brother’s stupid cousin’s teacher.
v
Some nouns need to be part of a noun-phrase beginning with a determiner, which tells which one / how
many we’re talking about (#1-3). © using determiners from the box below.
the, a, an (aka “articles”)
my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
Samuel’s, Mr. Krueger’s, the students’…
this, that, these, those, which
no, few, some, many, several, all, each, every
1, 2, 3…
a few, a bunch of, all the,
most of the, lots of, a lot of
all my, all those, those three,
too much, too many, how much…
determiner-phrases
Any noun (Mr. Krueger) + ’s (Mr. Krueger’s) = a determiner (#2)© There are a bunch of determiner-phrases
you use all the time (#4)© You can put multiple ’s-ds in a row (#6); longest d-phrase. Many ds can act
like ns all by themselves, with the real n being implied (#5)© Box around all ds in this ¶.
Summary: determiners tell which noun is meant (the frog, a frog, my frog, Mr. Krueger’s frog).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 4: Nouns
Wilma
SUBJECT SIDE
#1
VERB SIDE
Using his underwater laser,
Samuel
SUBJECT
n
#2
Samuel’s band, The Froginators,
n
#3
n
.
His guitar-shredding
n
#4:
.
.
At the party after the concert, Samuel
n
.
Vaporizes
VERB
Octopi.
OBJECT
v
n
played metal.
v
n
melted everyone’s faces, dude!
v
n
n
optional
pours Wilma some rootbeer.
v
n
n
2 main jobs of nouns: subject, the one doing the verb (#1-4) and object, the one the verb is happening to
(#1-3)© Grammatical objects may ≠ “objects” in the everyday sense (#1-4). Minor job: show who (indirect
object) receives the (direct) object (#4)© Though the v is next to the indirect obj, it has more of a direct logical
link to the direct obj. When there’s only 1 obj, is it dir or ind? – which is it more like? Minor job: show
who you’re talking to (noun of address; to “address” someone means to speak to him/r) (#3)© Minor job
(appositive): explain the previous noun (#2)© These minor jobs, unlike subjects/objects, are optional (#1-4).
Summary: Subject = noun before verb that does verb; object = noun after verb that verb happens to:
Samuel (subject) vaporizes octopi (object).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 5: Pronouns
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Alejandra drums. She
#1: subjective
rocks!
n.
v
Samuel
#2: objective
admires her.
n.
v
Everyone
#3
likes her style.
n.
v
Well, almost - some (people/fans/frogs)
#4
n
n
n
Hi, my name’s Her, and I’m a pro... at being a
noun! A pro-noun! You can hire me to fill in for
any girl’s name. My friend It can be almost
anything: frog, America, THE UNIVERSE!
When you get tired of saying the same noun
over and over, call one of us professionals to
do the job! (Actually, pro is the Latin root
for “for”: pronouns stand “for nouns”.)
dislike it.
.
v
n
Let me tell a story about Alejandra without pronouns… Pronouns are special nouns that don’t mean anything
by themselves but stand in for other nouns to make the sentence shorter and quicker (#1-2)© We use contextclues (antecedents) to decide which noun the pronoun is substituting for (#1). Most pronouns have different
versions: for me & you (person), for boys & girls (gender), for singular & plural (number), and for subjects &
objects (case):
singular
case
1st
subjective:
I
objective:
me
reflexive: myself
possessive: mine
2nd
you
you
yourself
yours
3rd
he
him
himself
his
she
her
herhers
it
it
it-
number
plural
1st
2nd
3rd
we
us
ourselves
ours
you
you
yourselves
yours
they
them
themselves
theirs
person
gender — masculine / feminine / neuter
How many plural 3rd-person pns are there? Masculine subjective pns? © Purpose of reflexive? Why is her
a pn in #2 but a d in #3? Sentence using his as d and pn. Some other pronouns: others, none, everything/one/-body, anything/-/-, something/-/-, nothing/-/- (#3)©
Summary: pronouns (I, me, you, he, she, it) do the same jobs as other nouns but are quicker (She likes him).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 6: Verbs
SUBJECT SIDE
#1: intransitive
#2: transitive
VERB SIDE
Samuel
grins.
n
v
.
He
n.
#3: linking
Samuel notices that she
n.
#4
Alejandra
n .
likes Wilma.
v
n
looks thirsty & rushes to get her a drink before anyone else can!
v
aj
won’t be pleased!
v
v
n
Most verbs show the subject’s action (#1-2). Some (transitive) verbs happen to a noun, the object, which
comes after them (#2)©; some (intransitive) don’t (#1)© Some (linking) don’t show an action; they
describe the subject by linking it to an adjective (#3)© In- means not as in inactive/incorrect/invisible.
Intransitive verbs do not have any objects. Many verbs can do more than 1 of those patterns – example?
The verb “be”, older than the pyramids, is unlike any other word in English. There are different versions:
present form:
I am
you are
he/she/it is
we/you/they are
past form:
I was
you were
he/she/it was
we/you/they were (#1-3)©
What do any of those have to do with be?
Helping verbs – do, did, will, would, may, might, can, could, must, should, have to, need to, ought to, be going to,
wanna, gotta; + negative forms like don’t, didn’t, won’t – affect verbs’ meaning (#4)© 1-word v = “have to” /
“ought to” / “be going to”? Hs are similar to adverbs; hs must go before v and sometimes change its form:
note how #4 would be different if it used the av definitely instead of the v may.
Summary: Verbs can have nothing after them (smile) or a noun (eat an apple) or an adjective (feel happy).
Helping verbs change the verb’s meaning (will smile, did smile).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 7: Adjectives
Hi, my name’s Cutest! Are you more boring
than a grammar lesson? If you want to be
plain and boring, go ahead and use plain
adjectives: “This is cute; that’s nice; blah blah
blah.” Things get a little more intersting when
you compare things with comparative
adjectives: “Mine is soo much cuter than yours!
Yours is uglier than a moose!” But if you want
to say something super-duper intense, you
need a superlative adjective: “You smell like
the sweatiest, hairiest monkey-armpit in the
whole zoo! Sha-ZAM! I just got superlative on
you, son!”
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
#1
Samuel
comparative
n.
”My new, hipper wardrobe
#2
n
.
Alejandra
#3
n.
Her girlfriends
#4
#5
d
aj
n
n
.
“Only the strong (warrior-princesses)
n
.
d
aj
n
bought a fly jacket.
v
plain
n
will impress my friends!”
v
v
n
superlative
has the cutest new lilly-green i-frog.
v
n
are jealous!
v
aj
survive!” they scream, as they charge with their battle-axes.
v
Adjectives come between a noun and its determiner and tell what the noun is like (#1a-3)© Unlike any of
the parts of speech we’ve studied so far, adjectives are optional: you can take them out, and the sentence still
makes sense (#1-3). Now try taking out nouns, verbs, and determiners. Exception: when a (linking) verb
links the aj to its n, the aj isn’t optional (#4)© You can string adjectives together (#2-3). Most ajs in
blanks in 30s: “The ___ dog chased the ___ cat.” Aj + –er (smellier) = the comparative form; aj + –est
(smelliest) = the superlative form; the plain form is the root, without –er/–est (smelly) (#1-3)© Trisyllabic and
longer adjectives (“interesting”) use more/most. Monosyllabic adjective with irregular (doesn’t follow the
usual pattern) comparative / superlative forms? The n after an aj can be implied (#5)©
Summary: adjectives describe nouns (a happy frog, America is big).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 8: Adverbs
Hi, my name’s Mildly! They call me and my
friends ad-verbs because we add to the verb
extra info like when it happened (partied
yesterday) or how (partied wildly). It’s too
bad adjectives aren’t calledVERB
ad-nouns,
since
SIDE
they add to nouns! (Actually, ad is the Latin
root for “to”: adverbs apply “to verbs”.)
SUBJECT SIDE
Mild Samuel
#1
n
.
Alejandra
#2
n
#3
Those totally insane tadpoles
n
#4
.
At one of her wild parties, Granny
n
#5
.
.
”If you saw my fly moves, you
n
#6
Then Fishtuna
av
n
parties mildly.
v
av
parties hard.
v
av
party too hard!
v
av
kicked Samuel out for being lame.
v
n
av
would not believe your young eyes, Sonny!”
v
av
v
n
n
texted him about a party on the other side of the pond.
v
n
Reminder: adjectives are optional words that describe nouns; adverbs are optional words that describe verbs
(#1)© Most adverbs come from adjectives plus the suffix –ly (#1-2). Av that doesn’t end in –ly? Word
that ends in –ly but isn’t av? – what is it? Some (degree) adverbs – very, really, extremely, totally, pretty,
somewhat, less, as, more – modify adjectives or other adverbs (#3)© Phrasal verbs – kick out, shut down,
throw up, sell out, ask out – need phrasal avs to express their meaning (#4)© not is an unusual adverb(#5)©
Avs can come before the subject (#6)© #7 on back.
Summary: adverbs describe verbs (eat quickly), adjectives (very happy), or other adverbs (very quickly).
SUBJECT SIDE
#7: Challenge
VERB SIDE
Samuel
danced too hard & split his righteously fly pants.
Frog Grammar 9: Clauses inside Clauses
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Alejandra
#1
n
clause:n
.
“It
#3
n.
“You
#4
#5 Unfortunately
av
n.
cj
or
Although she likes him, she
clause:av
thinks (that) Samuel is cute
.
“That he’s full of himself
#2
cj
n.
v
or
stuff.
clause:n
n
is quite obvious!”
v
av
aj
’s so obvious that he’s full of himself!”
v av
aj
clause:n
can just tell he thinks he’s all that!”
v
av
v
clause:n
mini-mini-clause!
won’t call him.
v
v
n
A whole clause (subject + verb) can be a single phrase (single part of speech) inside a larger clause (#1).
The mini-clause has its own subject-side and verb-side (#1). The mini-clause starts with the conjunction
that, which is sometimes – counterexample – optional (#1). The mini-clause is doing the job of a noun,
which you can see by taking it out and putting a noun (stuff) in its place (#1). The mini-clause is the object
of the verb, thinks (#1). Certain verbs – think, believe, know, love, hate, guess, suspect, imagine – can take
whole clauses as their objects; these are the verbs you use when discussing thoughts or ideas© You can use a
mini-clause as the subject, but it’s more common to start with it and put the mini-clause at the end (#2-3)©
This delayed subject is a noun-job we haven’t seen before. You can put a clause inside a clause inside a
clause… (#4) – most in 30 sec. Certain conjunctions – because, since, although, if, whether, before, while,
after, until – allow you to use a mini-clause as an adverb (#5)©
Summary: You can put a clause inside a clause: You know (that) you like me.
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 10: WH
I’m How, and I’m sad I wish you would spell
me Whow!!! All of the other conjunctions laugh
and call me names (like “W-less”). They never
let me join in any conjunction games (like
Conjunctionopoly). Sure, I sounds like I start
with an H, but so does Who, and nobody spells
her Hoo. She thinks she’s all that. Speaking
of which, my friend That gets teased even
more than I do. Some words are so immature!
SUBJECT SIDE
#1 Alej. met a fish. + The fish taught her to surf. = Alejandra
n.
#2
She
n.
#3
She sees stuff. + She conquers the stuff. = She
n.
#4
Wherever she goes, she
wh:av
n.
#5
She’s gullible, though. She believes that once she
n.
VERB SIDE
cj
met a fish who (the fish) taught her to surf.
v
n
wh:aj
cj
rides waves (that) other surfers fear (the waves).
v
n
wh:aj
cj
conquers whatever she sees (stuff).
v
wh:n
’s a winner.
v
n
met a guy who knew a girl who had a cat that surfs.
v
n
wh:aj
When 2 clauses use the same noun (#1), you can leave out the 2nd noun and link them with a WH phrase
beginning with a WH conjunction: that, which, who, whose, where, when, or why (#1-2). WH phrase = adjective
describing the 1st noun (#1-2). © & label as WH:aj. Sometimes the noun is so unimportant that you leave it
out both times (#3). This uses slightly different conjunctions – who/ever, which/ever, what/ever, where/ever,
how/ever, when/ever – and turns the WH phrase into a noun or adverb (#3-4)© You can put a WH inside a WH
inside a WH inside a WH (#5)© Most WHs in a row.
Summary: WH words combine clauses: Some dogs drool + I those dogs = I dogs who drool.
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 11: Prepositions
On top of spaghetti all covered in cheese,
I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.
That mush was as tasty as tasty could be
And then, the next summer, grew into a tree.
It rolled off the table and onto the floor,
And then my poor meatball rolled right out the door.
The tree was all covered - all covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs and tomaaaaato sauce.
It rolled in the garden and under a bush,
And then my poor meatball was nothing but mush.
If you eat spaghetti all covered in cheese,
Hold on to your meatball whenever you sneeze! ACHOO!
Hi, my name’s Into! They call
me and my friends
prepositions, because we
usually tell the position of
things: “Alejandra jumped off
the bed… Now she’s floating
through the air… Now she’s
crashing into Jazmine!” Some
prepositions don’t have
anything to do with position:
my friend After tells when
things happen, not where:
”After that crash, they were
sore.” (Actually, “pre” is
Latin for “in front”:
prepositions are “positioned
in front” of
nouns.)SIDE
VERB
SUBJECT SIDE
Alejandra
#1
#2
nn .
p
aj
She and her crazy friends from school
n
cj
n
prep:aj .
#3
Alejandra’s parents
#4
Before her friends went home, they
n
clause:av
#5
p
av
n.
n.
n
v
prep:av
had a pillow-fight until dawn.
v
n
prep:av
obj of the
prep
prep:aj
aj
couldn’t sleep with all the loud screams of laughter.
.
These
d
eagerly walked into the party.
v
v
prep:av
ate flies on top of cereal.
v
n
prep:aj
p
wh:n
are better than worms / than (what) I expected.
v
aj
prep:av
/
prep:av
Prepositions – about after at before between by for from in in front of inside into like of off on onto
on top of over through to under until with without – go with nouns to make prepositional phrases which are
av- or aj-phrases (#1-2)© The noun is called the object of the preposition (#1-2); the objects we’ve seen
so far have been objects of verbs (#2, 4). © based on a given prepositional object. What would #4 mean if
you called the aj an av? Like / as / than can take a single noun or a WH phrase as their object, to show
comparison (#5)© Prep-phrases can be ajs modifying the objects of other prepositions (#3)©
Summary: Prepositions go in front of nouns (in America, with a frog), usually to show something’s position.
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 12: Questions
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
#1
Alejandra
#2
Who / Which frog
n
n
n
.
.
v
n
Is it
#5
How many zombies can she
v
n
v
av
v
n
n
aj
kill
v
v
av
n
n.
v
is
aj
aj
v
n
.
“Let’s (you & I) / Don’t (you)
v
n cj n
v
n .
n
?
p
!
v
“Where / There / Here ’s your copy
aj
?
n
buy this game at
n
How delicious / What a delicious game this
?
kill that many zombies
n
v
n
hard?
n.
v
n
have the new game?
What store can I
#7
#10
v
How can she
#6
n
.
#4
#9
v
has the new game?
Does Alejandra
#3
#8
has the new game for the F-box?
, son,” said Alejandra.
v
play it all night.”
v
n
av
You can show questions by tone of voice (#1)©; by using WH words – who, which, what, whose, how, how
many, when, where, why (#2) (but not as cjs, as in WH phrases) ©; or by adding a helping verb (usually do) to
the front (#3)©, except you don’t use do with be (does it be?) (#4)© You can move an object, an adverb, or
the object of a preposition (or the whole phrase) to the front, if that’s what you want to ask about (#5-7)©
Exclamations can also move words to the front, often with the determiner what a (#8)© The adejctives
here / there / where can also move to the front (#9)© Some helping verbs – don’t, let’s, let us, let’s not –
come at the front of commands (#10)©
Summary: Questions are just statements with words moved to the front (Can she beat him? She can beat him!).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 13: TO
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
“To skate
#1
to:n .
“I
#2
n
His ability to ollie
#3
n
to:aj .
“We
#4
n.
The judges
#5
n
.
They
#6
n.
That
#7
n.
#8
After several warnings, the guards
prep:av
n
.
is to live life fully,” Samuel told the Frogwheels reporter.
v
to:n
prefer to ride my pet iguana,” said Alejandra.
v
to:n
blew the judges to Mars.
v
n
prep:av
came to cheer him on!” said Alejandra and Fishtuna.
v
to:av
wanted (for) them to leave.
v
n
to:n
considered (for) them (to be) a distraction.
v
n
n
made (for) Alejandra (to be) mad!
v
n
aj
made (for) them (to) go.
v
n
v
A TO phrase = to + a verb (to eat); it’s a way of talking about actions (#1) + sometimes objects (to eat
flies) and adverbs (to eat flies for dinner) (#1-2). to + a noun (to Mars – #3) is a prepositional phrase and
very different from a TO phrase (I love to Mars / to skate). TO phrases can be subjects or objects or be aj- or
av-phrases (#1-4)© Some verbs seem to take extra words after them that don’t fit any pattern we’ve studied
(#8). Actually these are TO phrases with various words implied; the TO phrase is the direct obj, and the n is
the indirect obj (#5-8).
Summary: a TO phrase (to + verb: to skate) is a way of talking about an action (I love to skate).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 14: ING
SUBJECT SIDE
#1
VERB SIDE
ing:aj
In Samuel’s nightmare, frog-eating Aliens
prep:av
n
.
Surrendering
#2
ing:n
#3
#4
ing:n
#5
n
ing:aj
.
Despite him being nervous, his shooting
prep:av
#6
.
The F-Wing sneaking up behind
ing:n
ing:n
.
(What with) (the aliens) (being) cowards, they
prep:av
v
n.
ing:v
would cause suffering.
.
Yet desperately fighting these aliens
av
are invading.
v
v
ing:n
is costing many lives.
v
ing:v
ing:n
is cause for cheering. Go, Samuel!
v
n
prep:aj
was very accurate.
v
av
aj
flew away crying / hungry / their bellies still empty.
v
av
ing:aj
aj
n
aj
An ING word (invading) can be a subject or object (#2) or aj or v that uses be as a helping v (#1). An ing:v =
progressive v: shows an action in progress right at this moment (#1, 3); how is #1 different from Aliens
invade? ©; hint: ING words can show simultaneous action; to add one to The ___ing flag looked good, think
what else the flag could do while it’s looking good. An ING word can form an ING phrase with objects and
adverbs (#3-4)© An ing:n can be the object of a preposition (#4)©; it can have a noun or determiner in front
of it (#5)© This pattern (prep + n + ing:n: with the aliens being cowards) is often shortened (#6); this can
give the appearance of stray words (#6)©
Summary: ING words (flying) can form phrases (flying my spaceship) & can be subjects / objects (Flying is fun /
I like flying) or progressive vs (Those aliens are flying) or ajs (a flying saucer).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Frog Grammar 15: HAVE
Hi, my name’s Lost! You probably think
of me as an adjective (“a lost puppy”), but
did you know I’m really a verb that lost
its mind and turned into an adjective?
Some of my ing friends can even turn
into nouns. You can use us to create
hyperactive sentences with lots of
actions happening at once: “The flying
cow loves aiming steaming pies at her
shocked and horrified victims!” We just
told you a whole story in 1 sentence!
What a mouthful!
SUBJECT SIDE
#1
Alejandra and her trusty steed, Juana Iguana,
n
#2
VERB SIDE
cj
n
aj
n
.
All of the lost dogies
n
.
have ridden all day to find her missing snails.
v
v
av
to:av
were eventually captured by her.
v
av
v
prep:av
When you use a verb with the helping verb have, you get its HAVE form (have ridden, have captured), which
sometimes = its past form (I rode, I captured); © a few. It can be an adjective or a verb following the helping
verbs have or be (#1-2). ©; hint: a HAVE form used as an aj shows an action that previously happened to the
noun: to add one to The chicken was good, ask yourself: what could have happened to the chicken before it got to
me? be + HAVE form (was captured) = passive v: subject is passively having something done to it; how is
#2 different from She captured the dogies? have + HAVE form (has captured) = perfect v: no simple
explanation for this name; how is #1 different from Alejandra rode all day? Progressive, perfect, &
passive vs = complex vs: vs that need a helping verb; others vs = simple.
Summary: A verb’s have-form (broken) can be used with have or be as a verb (has broken his heart –perfect /
his heart was broken–passive), or by itself as an adjective (a broken heart).
SUBJECT SIDE
VERB SIDE
Grammar Questionnaire
NAME:
1. Which word in the following sentence is a noun? “That dog smells bad!”
a. that
b. dog
c. smells
d. bad
2. Which word in the following sentence is a determiner (aka article)? “It needs a bath!”
a. it
b. needs
c. a
d. bath
3. Which word in the following sentence is a helping verb (aka auxiliary / modal)? “What did it eat?”
a. what
b. did
c. it
d. eat
4. Which word in the following sentence is a verb? “It ate spicy chili.”
a. it
b. ate
c. spicy
d. chili
5. Which word in the following sentence is an adverb? “Your dog just farted!”
a. your
b. dog
c. just
d. farted
6. Which word in the following sentence is a preposition? “Fart in the yard, you bad dog!”
a. fart
b. in
c. the
d. yard
7. Which words in the following sentence are a prepositional phrase? “A dog with fleas walked in the room.”
a. a dog
b. with fleas
c. walked in
d. the room
8. What is the subject of the following sentence? “Get out, flea-bag!”
a. you
b. get
c. out
d. flea-bag
9. Which word in the following sentence is the indirect object? “Give it a flea-bath.”
a. give
b. it
c. a
d. flea-bath
10. What is the part of speech of “Bathing” in the following sentence? “Bathing won’t help him!”
a. adjective
b. noun
c. preposition
d. verb