English III AP Grammar Rules
Grammar Rule #1
Part A: Do not use a comma with a conjunction (and, but, or, yet, so) when you have a
simple sentence (subj. + verb) with a compound verb (one subject doing two things).
Examples:
The boy ran and jumped.
At the party Sally ran into the wall with her foot but stayed with her friends in the room.
** The following elements of a sentence cannot make it compound or complex:
Prepositional phrase: in the house, on the phone, around the corner, beyond the
border, among the people, to the store, between the lines, through the woods
* If a sentence begins with two consecutive prepositional phrases, they must be
set off with a comma.
Direct object: Chester baked the cake. Manny threw the ball.
Predicate nominative: Dr. Day is my teacher. The man over there is a policeman.
Predicate adjective: Dr. Day is sympathetic. The man over there is handsome.
Gerund phrase: A noun that ends in “-ing”
Examples:
Running through the park is great exercise. (subject)
I enjoy running through the park. (direct object)
My favorite hobby is running through the park. (predicate nom.)
Infinitive phrase: “To” + a verb
Examples:
To fly was his dream. (subj.)
The boat began to sink. (D.O.)
The person to ask is your teacher. (adj.)
Part B: Always use a comma with a conjunction (and, but, or, yet, so) when there is a
simple sentence on both sides. This is a compound sentence.
Examples:
The teacher entered the classroom with the tests, and the students cried in fear.
You can go to the movies now, or you can go later.
Rule #2
Part A: Avoid fragments.
Examples:
Thinking that the class would be over in a few minutes. (only a participial phrase)
In the back of the car with an ice cream in her hand. (only 4 prepositional phrases)
After the team lost the game. (only an adverb clause)
Part B: Avoid lack of parallelism.
Examples:
Incorrect = She likes to hunt and fishing.
Correct = She likes to hunt and to fish OR She likes hunting and fishing.
Incorrect = Jane will succeed because of her honesty and because she is industrious.
Correct = Jane will succeed because of her honesty and industry.
Correct = Jane will succeed because she is honest and industrious.
Incorrect = This book is interesting, instructive, and it is also up-to-date.
Correct = This book is interesting, instructive, and also up-to-date.
Grammar Rule #3
Part A: Adverb clauses with subordinating conjunctions (AAAWWUUBBIS) must be
set off with a comma when they BEGIN a complex sentence.
Complex sentences have an independent and dependent clause.
AAWWUUBBIS = although, after, as, when(ever), while, unless, until, because, before,
if, since
Examples:
When the bell rings, my students leave.
After my students leave, I teach the next class.
Because we needed milk, I went to the store.
** No comma if the adverb clause comes second
Example:
I went to the store because we needed milk.
Part B: For adjective clauses, use commas as follows: that = never, which = always, and
who/whom = sometimes (if info is essential, omit commas)
Examples:
A television show that I enjoy is Modern Family.
I selected the book that was on the table.
I enjoy Las Vegas, which is a fun travel destination.
The remote control, which I can never find, slipped under the cushions.
The man who delivers the mail walked across my street. (essential info, subj. is vague)
Mr. Jones, whom I admire, ran in the marathon. (nonessential info, subj. is specific)
Warning: Avoid faulty references. This occurs most often with which. It should modify
a noun rather than an entire clause. For example:
Incorrect = Sam is habitually tardy, which annoys his parents.
Correct = Sam’s tardiness is a habit, which annoys his parents.
Warning: Do not confuse an adjective clause with an appositive, which simply renames
the subject without using that, which, who(m) and is set off with commas. For example:
The can of Dr. Pepper, my favorite soda, is on the table.
Noun clauses can act as subjects or direct objects. They begin with: who, what, when,
where, why, how, that, which (+ever).
Examples:
I can’t explain what he did. (direct object)
What she said was mean. (subject)
I don’t understand how this works. (direct object)
Whoever stole the book must confess. (subject)
I admire who did it. (direct object)
We heard that Billy drowned. (direct object)
Grammar Rule #4
Do not separate two simple sentences only with a comma; this is a run-on (or comma
splice)!
Examples: Zaroff enjoys his hunting game, he has a talent for tracking prey. (THIS IS
WRONG – USE A SEMI-COLON OR PERIOD INSTEAD OF COMMA)
I like pizza; however, I also enjoy shrimp.
Grammar Rule #5
Verb tense must remain consistent throughout an essay unless you are changing tense
with purpose, such as a flashback.
Example:
Tommy walks into the kitchen and sits down at the table. He sees the sunlight shining
through the window. The dog trots up to him and barks for a biscuit.
Exception: When the sequence of the sentence makes sense to adjust the verb tense.
For example: Columbus believed that the earth is round.
Examples of Other Verb Tense Errors:
I have called you several times last evening. (present perfect for past)
I had called you several times yesterday. (past perfect for past)
Yesterday I found my hat where I left it at camp many weeks ago. (past for past perfect)
^
had
Grammar Rule #6
Participial phrases are big adjectives ending in –ing, –ed, and –en. They must be set off
with a comma when they begin a simple sentence. If they occur elsewhere, it depends.
Examples:
Wondering about the test, the boy entered the class.
Guided by destiny, she found the love of her life.
Broken down by difficulties, they all gave up.
If the participial phrase occurs elsewhere in the sentence, does it need a comma?
Ask yourself:
Does it describe a specific subject? If so, needs a comma.
Is the participial phrase essential information to the sentence? If not, needs a comma.
Examples:
He walked to the park whistling a tune to himself.
Dr. Day grimaced in pain, struggling to get out of the chair.
Dogs run quickly to the door thinking they will get a treat.
Warning: Do not let your participles dangle  (Modify an unintended noun)
Examples:
Incorrect = Coming across the campus, the library met my gaze.
Correct = Coming across the campus, I saw the library.
Incorrect = Bound in beautiful red leather, Mia received as first prize a volume of Emily
Dickinson’s poems.
Correct = Mia received as first prize a volume of Emily Dickinson’s poems, bound in
beautiful red leather.
Grammar Rule #7
Part A: Punctuate text evidence with citations correctly (see Integrating Quotes handout)
Examples:
Regarding the Radley’s, Scout advises that the “misery of that house began” before she
was born (Lee 11).
The reader may surmise that Calpurnia loves Scout when she “bent down and kissed
[her]” (Lee 38).
Lee writes, “‘He ain’t company, Cal,’” argues Scout, “‘he’s just a Cunningham’” (33).
Part B: How to punctuate titles and dialogue: periods and commas are always inside of
quotation marks. Books, plays, movies = italics Short stories, poems, songs = quotes
Examples:
After I read “The Necklace,” I learned something.
I decided to read “The Necklace.”
Have you read “The Necklace”?
I love “The Necklace”!
“You are my friend,” he announced.
“Where are we?” she asked.
She yelled, “I’m lost!”
“Join me in battle,” he remarked confidently, “unless you’re afraid.”
How could Mrs. Mallard be so cold when she whispered, “Free! Body and soul”?
Grammar Rule #8
Personal pronouns should be in the correct case—subject vs. object.
Subjects
I
We
He/She
They
Who
Objects
Me
Us
Him/Her
Them
Whom
They went to the store with him.
She and I went to the store with them.
EXCEPTIONS TO RULE #8:
1.
The predicate nominative exception
Example: The last person in line was I.
Example: My friends are they.
Example: The winner of the game is she.
2.
Comparisons exception
Example: I am smarter than he.
Finish the thought/fill in
Example: He weighs more than she.
missing language
Example: Mom cooks for me rather
than him.
Warning: Avoid using pronouns in an ambiguous way. For example:
The spill caused a bad stain on my coat. Can you remove it? (the coat or the stain?)
Arnold’s father told him that he needed a new car. (Arnold or his father?)
Grammar Rule #9
Part A: Subject and verb must agree in number.
Examples:
The cat always walks across the fence.
The cats always walk across the fence.
The reef, which supports marine animals, sits on the coast.
The students, as well as their teacher, seem tired.
Singular Pronouns
Everyone in those buildings needs to evacuate.
Each of the candidates wants to win.
Neither of the girls knows how to sing.
Plural Pronouns
Many of my students dream about the future.
Singular or Plural -- It Depends
Some of the pets want food.
None of the group is cold.
Most of the animals look fine.
For subjects with “and”: the verb is plural (no “s”)
Example: The students and the teacher seem tired.
For subjects with “or”: look at the subject on the right to determine number
Example: The students or the teacher seems tired.
Example: The teacher or the students seem tired.
Part B: A possessive pronoun should agree in number with the pronoun that comes
before it (if they refer to each other).
Examples:
Someone lost his or her keys.
Everyone believed that his or her opinion was correct.
Both offered their advice.
Most of the farmers lost their land.
None of the furniture showed its age.
Rule #10
Part A: Pay attention to correct usage. For example:
There = location
Their = possession
They’re = they are
woman/women
it’s/its
than/then
your/you’re
who’s/whose
every day/everyday
effect/affect
Part B: Avoid putting words, clauses, and phrases in the incorrect position.
Examples:
Incorrect = I only saw Russell at the office and no one else.
Correct = I saw only Russell at the office and no one else.
Incorrect = I saw an advertisement for a man who can sell insurance in the subway.
Correct = I saw an advertisement in the subway for a man who can sell insurance.
Incorrect = My cousin sold his sister a new house in Fiji, which he designed and built.
Correct = My cousin sold his sister a new house, which he designed and built in Fiji.