Extra Study Guide for Grammar Quizzes
***Remember, your Grammar morning work assignments are your primary source for
studying for weekly grammar tests, however, if you’d like some extra practice, more
examples, or to preview upcoming skills and extend your learning deeper, you are most
welcome to use this guide.***
Common nouns – teacher, doctor, friend, restaurant (more generic or plain)
Proper nouns – Mrs. Yousefzadeh, Dr. Pepper, Chelsea, Atlanta Bread Company (more
specific and use a capital letter)
Cause and Effect – I got a good grade on my test because I studied.
I got a good grade in my test – EFFECT (this happened because something happened
first)
because I studied – CAUSE (this made the other thing happen)
***Strategy to help with answering cause and effect questions:
1. Underline both events
2. Decide which happened FIRST
3. Circle the event that happened FIRST, that is the CAUSE
Noun – Person, place, or thing
Verb – an action word – running, jumping, hopping, skipping – actions you can add –ing
Adjective – word that describe (beautiful, horrible, blue, lovely)
Prepositions – word that relates a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence –
NEXT to the bed, UNDER the table, ON the floor (prepositional phrases)
Adverb – a word that tells more about the verb, adjective, or another adverb. Can tell
how, when, or where an action takes place.
Synonyms – words that mean the SAME thing – nice, kind
giving, generous
Antonyms – words that mean the OPPOSITE – true, false
beautiful, ugly
Homophones – words that sound the same but mean different things – kernel, colonel
witch, which
Four Types of Sentences –
1. Declarative – Used to form statements. Declarative sentences consist of a subject
and a predicate.
Example: Ottawa is the capital of Canada.
He asked which path leads back to the lodge.
2. Interrogative – asks a direct question and ALWAYS ends with a question mark.
Example: Who can read this?
Does money grow on trees?
3. Exclamatory – simply a more forceful version of the declarative sentence and
always ends with an exclamation mark.
Example: The butler did it!
How beautiful the river is!
4. Imperative – gives a direct command to someone- this type of sentence can either
end with an exclamation point or period, depending on how forceful the command
is.
Example: Sit!
Read this book for tomorrow.
SPELLING PLURAL NOUNS
1. Most words add s to the root forms without any change (barn - barns).
2. Words ending in sh, ch, ss, x, and z, usually add es to form the PLURAL (bush bushes).
3. Words ending in a consonant and y change the y to i and add es (party - parties).
4. Some words ending in f change the f to v and add es (calf - calves).
5. Some singular words have different words for their plural form (man - men;
mouse - mice; goose-geese).
6. Some words are the same in their singular and plural form, but the context of the
sentence directs the reader on which use of the word.
Correcting sentences:




Make sure the sentences have appropriate capitalization for proper names,
months, days of the week.
Check for spelling.
Check for punctuation
Pay close attention to the use of quotation marks. The only part that should be in
quotes is the part of the sentence that was spoken by the person.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Mrs. Yousefzadeh asked, “Who is buying lunch today?”
The students raised their hands, and the teacher counted the number of lunches.
Michael, Ferdi, Caroline, Evan, and many other students were going to buy lunch.
“Katie,” Mr. Knecht inquired, “What are you planning to eat for lunch?”
“I packed my lunch today,” Isaiah responded.
Rules for Syllabication
Rules
Examples
 cof-fee
 bor-der
When two consonants come between two vowels in a word,
 plas-tic
divide syllables between the consonants.
 jour-ney
When there are more than two consonants together in a
word, divide the syllables keeping the blends together.
When there is one consonant between two vowels in a word,
divide the syllables after the first vowel.
If following the previous rule doesn’t make a recognizable
word, divide the syllables after the consonant that comes
between the vowels.
When there are two vowels together that don’t represent a
long vowel sound or a diphthong, divide the syllables
between the vowels.




em-ploy
mon-ster
en-trance
bank-rupt




ca-jole
bo-nus
plu-ral
gla-cier




doz-en
ech-o
meth-od
cour-age





cli-ent
po-em
cha-os
li-on
qui-et
Forming Comparative and Superlative
Adjectives
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –
er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective
tall
old
long






Comparative Form
taller
older
longer
Superlative Form
tallest
oldest
longest
Camryn is taller than Gillian.
Brad is the tallest of all the students.
Chetan is older than Sarah.
Of the three students, Kyle is the oldest.
My hair is longer than your hair.
Rosie’s story is the longest story I've ever heard.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and
–st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e
large
wise
Comparative Form
larger
wiser
Superlative Form
largest
wisest




Matthew’s car is larger than Sameen’s car.
Evan’s house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
Sam is wiser than his brother.
Sophia is the wisest person I know.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it,
double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the
consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant
with a Single Vowel before It
big
thin
fat






Comparative Form
Superlative Form
bigger
thinner
fatter
biggest
thinnest
fattest
Lexi’s dog is bigger than your dog.
Austin’s dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
Jacob is thinner than John.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
My mother is fatter than your mother.
Amelia is the fattest person I've ever seen.
Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the
superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
peaceful
pleasant
careful
thoughtful






Comparative Form
more peaceful
more pleasant
more careful
more thoughtful
Superlative Form
most peaceful
most pleasant
most careful
most thoughtful
This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
Derek’s house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
Hailey is more careful than Mike.
Of all the taxi drivers, Robert is the most careful.
Sydney is more thoughtful than your sister.
Shela is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the
comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with y
happy
angry
busy






Comparative Form
Superlative Form
happier
angrier
busier
happiest
angriest
busiest
Arravind is happier today than he was yesterday.
Paige is the happiest girl in the world.
Max is angrier than Mary.
Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
Laura is busier than Max.
Emma is the busiest person I've ever met.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the
comparative and superlative forms.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le,
or -ow
narrow
gentle




Comparative Form
Superlative Form
narrower
gentler
narrowest
gentlest
The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and
the superlative with most.
Adjective with Three or More
Syllables
generous
important
intelligent






Comparative Form
Superlative Form
more generous
more important
more intelligent
most generous
most important
most intelligent
Steve is more generous than Jack.
Ian is the most generous of all the people I know.
Health is more important than money.
Of all the people I know, Matt is the most important.
Dogs are more intelligent than cats.
Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.
Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.
Irregular Adjective
good
bad
far
little
many




Comparative Form
better
worse
farther
less
more
Superlative Form
best
worst
farthest
least
most
Italian food is better than American food.
My dog is the best dog in the world.
My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er
and -est and with more and most.
Two-Syllable Adjective
clever
clever
gentle
gentle
friendly
friendly
quiet
Comparative Form
cleverer
more clever
gentler
more gentle
friendlier
more friendly
quieter
Superlative Form
cleverest
most clever
gentlest
most gentle
friendliest
most friendly
quietest
Two-Syllable Adjective
quiet
simple
simple





Comparative Form
more quiet
simpler
more simple
Superlative Form
most quiet
simplest
most simple
Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.
Subject and Predicate
Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a
predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while
the predicate tells something about the subject. In the following
sentences, the predicate is enclosed in braces ({}), while the subject
is highlighted.
Judy {runs}.
Judy and her dog {run on the beach every morning}.