Basic Grammatical Units
Parts of speech
(Always determined by the use of the word in its grammatical unit)
NOUN - names a person, place, thing, or abstract idea
PRONOUN - substitutes for a noun
VERB - action word or state of being word
ADJECTIVE - modifies or limits a noun or pronoun
ADVERB - modifies or limits a verb, adjective, or other adverb
PREPOSITION - shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence
CONJUNCTION - joins words or groups of words
INTERJECTION - serves no grammatical function, being thrown into a sentence or conversation to express
feeling
THE PHRASE - any grouping of words that acts as a single part of speech and does not
contain a subject and a predicate
common phrases: Modified noun
prepositional
verbal: participial
gerund
infinitive
modified adjective
modified verb
verb:
compound tenses
continuing forms
emphatic forms
passive voice
THE CLAUSE - any grouping of words containing a subject and a predicate but not
written in isolation (not beginning with a capital letter and ending a terminal mark of punctuation)
clauses are INDEPENDENT (COORDINATE) if they can stand alone DEPENDENT
(SUBORDINATE) if they cannot stand alone
dependent clauses are RESTRICTIVE if they are integral to the sentence or NONRESTRICTIVE if
they are incidental to the sentence
THE SENTENCE - any grouping of words containing at least one SUBJECT (that part
about which the predicate makes a statement or asks a question) and one PREDICATE (that part
which makes a statement or asks a question about the subject) and written in isolation (beginning
with a capital letter and ending with a terminal mark of punctuation).
PUNCTUATION AND ITS USES
Use a capital letter when you write:
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the first word in a sentence
the word I
names, initials, and titles of people
days, months, and holidays
particular places
particular events and eras
nationalities and languages
particular groups
titles of written works
titles of documents
the first word of a quotation
PERIOD (.)
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marks the end of a declarative sentence, marks abbreviations
QUESTION MARK (?)
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marks the end of an interrogative sentence
EXCLAMATION POINT (!)
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notes a group of words expressed emotionally
COMMA (,)
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separates two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor),
separates introductory phrases and clauses from the main clause,
separates items in a series
dates
cities, states, and countries
sets off nonessential constructions from the body of the sentence:
o participial phrases
o appositives (restatements of nouns without connecting verbs)
o parenthetical expressions
o nouns and pronouns of direct address
o items in dates and addresses
o quasi-transitional introductory words (well, etc.)
o separates the salutation from the body of a friendly letter
o separates the polite close from the signature of any letter
o numbers
SEMICOLON (;)
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separates independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction
substitutes for a comma:
o when a series contains items including commas
o when clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction include commas
COLON (:)
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introduces a formal listing after "the following" or a like phrase
introduces a list developing the immediately preceding statement
introduces a second independent clause restating or explaining the first
introduces an extended quotation
separates hour and minute, chapter and Bible verse, or volume and page of a magazine
reference
separates the salutation of a business letter from its body
DASH (-)
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shows a sudden break of thought
to show that a thought is unfinished
used instead of commas to set off parenthetical elements
PARENTHESES ( )
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set off incidental intrusive material from the main sentence
APOSTROPHE (')
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forms with s the possessive case of nouns and indefinite pronouns
forms with s possessive adjectives of units of time and money
forms with s the plural of letters, numbers, symbols, and words naming themselves
notes the omission of letters in a contraction
HYPHEN (-)
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connects the parts of a newly compounded word
connects compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine
connects a compound adjective
joins prefixes to proper nouns
joins certain prefixes (ex-, self-, all-) and the suffix - self to any noun
notes the continuation of a divided word on the following line
QUOTATION MARKS (" ")
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enclose a person's exact words
enclose titles of works published as parts of a whole publication
UNDERLINING ( ____ )
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says to printer "italicize" and is used under titles of all publications, works of art, and ships
is used to indicate foreign words and phrases
is used under individual letters naming themselves