Grammar Review 
Sophomore
NOUN: A word that is a person, place, thing, or idea.
PRONOUN: A word used to take the place of a noun.
ANTECEDENT: the noun/word that the
replaces.
pronoun
VERB: A express time while showing an action, a
condition, or the fact that something exists
ACTION: Verbs that show actions performed
TRANSITIVE: directs action towards someone/something)
INTRANSITIVE: does not direct action towards
someone/something)
HELPING: Verbs that can be added to another verb to
make a single verb phrase.
LINKING: Verbs that link a noun, pronoun, or adjective
that follows it with the subject.
PREPOSITION: A word that show relationships (Time,
Location, & Misc.) between a noun/pronoun that follows
it (Object of the Preposition) & another word in the sentence
ADVERBS: Words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other
adverbs (When? Where? How much/often? In what manner?)
ADJECTIVES: Words that modify nouns or pronouns
(What kind? How much/many? Which one? Whose?)
ARTICLES: A specific type of adjective: a, an, the
CONJUNCTIONS: Words used to connect other words
or groups of words
COORDINATING CONJUNCTION: Join similar kinds of
words/groups that are grammatically equal (For And Nor But
Or Yet So)
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS: Work in pairs to join
similar kinds of words/groups that are grammatically equal
(Either…or, not only…but also, both…and, neither…nor, etc.)
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION: Starts a
subordinate word group and connects it to the rest of
the sentence.
Common Nouns vs. Proper Nouns
Common Nouns
• Nouns that name nonspecific people, places, or
things.
• Common Nouns are very
generic.
Proper Nouns
• Nouns that name a Specific
person, place, or thing.
• Proper nouns are always
capitalized.
• Days of the week, names of the
months, and holidays are
Proper Nouns. The names of
the seasons are Common
nouns.
Concrete Nouns vs. Abstract Nouns
Concrete Nouns
Abstract Nouns
• Nouns that name things
that can be recognized
through any of the five
senses.
• Nouns that name things
that cannot be recognized
through most of the 5
senses.
o Examples: Mom, woman,
citizen, beach, battle field,
Africa, hand, tree, lightning
o Examples: freedom,
religion, love, decision,
health, dismay, happiness,
wisdom, strength, courage
Collective Nouns vs. Compound Nouns
Collective Nouns
• Nouns that name
groups of people or
things that act as
one unit.
o Example: community,
army, team, flock, club,
committee, class,
family
Compound Nouns
• Nouns made up of
more than one word.
o Separated (bubble bath,
station wagon, fire engine,
soap opera)
o Hyphenated (daughter-inlaw, hand-me-down, rockand-roll, jack-of-all-trades)
o Combined (shipwreck,
handstand, toothbrush,
dishwasher)
Personal Pronouns
• Pronouns that refer to the person speaking (1st),
the person spoken to (2nd), or the person, place,
or thing being spoken about (3rd).
1st Person
Singular I, me, my, mine
2nd Person
3rd Person
he, him, his,
you, your, yours she, her, hers,
it, its
you, your,
Plural us, we, our, ours yours, y’all,
y’alls
they, them,
their, theirs
Possessive Personal Pronouns
• Personal pronouns that show ownership or
possession.
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
my, mine
your, yours
his, her,
hers, its
Plural
our, ours
your, yours,
y’alls
their, theirs
Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns
• Pronouns that end in “self” or “selves”
1st Person
2nd Person
3rd Person
Singular
myself
yourself
himself, herself,
itself
Plural
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
Reflexive or Intensive?
• Reflexive Definition: Adds information to the
sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun
earlier in the sentence.
• Example: Tom fixed himself a bedtime snack.
• Intensive Definition: Simply adds emphasis
to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence.
• Example: Mom fixed the car herself.
Relative Pronouns
• Pronouns that begin a subordinate clause (group of
words with a subject and verb that could not be a sentence on it’s
own) and connects it to another idea in the
sentence.
Relative Pronouns
that, which, who, whom, whose
• Example: Here is the girl whom I want you to
meet.
• Example: The assignment, which was very easy,
was fun!
• Example: Where is the picture that you painted?
SUBJECT: The noun/pronoun that performs the
action of the sentence and all the words that go with it
COMPLETE SUBJECT: The part of the sentence built
around a noun/pronoun called the simple subject.
SIMPLE SUBJECT: The noun/pronoun that the
complete subject is built around.
PREDICATE: The verb of the sentence and all the
words that go with it
COMPLETE PREDICATE: The part of the sentence
built around the simple predicate (the verb).
SIMPLE PREDICATE (COMPLETE VERB): The
verb that the complete predicate is built around.
COMPLEMENTS: Something needed after the verb to
complete the meaning of the sentence
DIRECT OBJECT: Noun or pronoun that receives the
action of the verb (Answers the question “S + V +
What?” & must be a person or thing)
INDIRECT OBJECT: Noun or pronoun that answers
the question “To whom/To What?” about the direct
object & must be a person or thing
SUBJECT COMPLEMENT: The word that the linking
verb is linking to the subject. (It can be a noun, pronoun, or
adjective, and it describes or identifies the subject.)
PHRASE: A group of words that go together
CLAUSE: A group of words that has a subject & verb
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: A group of words that
begins with a preposition and ends with its object
ADJECTIVE PHRASE: A whole prepositional phrase
used as an adjective
ADVERB PHRASE: A whole prepositional phrase used
as an adverb
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: A clause that can stand on
its own (it could grammatically be a complete sentence by
itself)
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE: A group of words that is
less than a sentence & does not make sense by itself.
Types of Sentences
SIMPLE SENTENCE: Sentence with only one
complete subject and complete predicate
COMPOUND SENTENCE: A sentence made by
joining 2 or more simple sentences (independent
clauses), usually with a coordinating conjunction
Sentence Patterns
• Sentence Pattern 1
▫ Subject + Intransitive Action Verb
S +
IAV
• Sentence Pattern 2
▫ Subject + Transitive Action Verb (+ Indirect Object) +
Direct Object
S +
TAV
(+ IO)
+
DO
• Sentence Pattern 3
▫ Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement
S
+
LV
+
SC
Sources
• English 3200 with Writing Applications, 4th
Edition by Joseph C. Blumenthal
• Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar: Grammar
Exercise Workbook 9
• Prentice Hall Writing & Grammar: Grammar
Exercise Workbook 10