Unpacked
L.5.1a
Standard: L.5.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English
grammar and usage when writing
or speaking.
a. Explain the function of conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections in
general and their function in particular sentences.
Language Progressive Skills by Grade: The skills, marked with an asterisk (*) in
Language standards 1–3, are particularly likely to require continued attention in
higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking.
Unpacked Standard
An understanding of language is essential for effective communication. “The
inclusion of language standards in their own strand should not be taken as an
indication that skills related to conventions, knowledge of language, and
vocabularies are unimportant to reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing;
indeed, they are inseparable from such contexts.”
Students must have a strong command of the grammar and usage of spoken and
written Standard English. Standards that are related to conventions are appropriate
to formal spoken English as they are to formal written English.
a. Conjunctions, Prepositions, Interjections:
Coordinating Conjunctions join parts of a sentence that are grammatically
equal or similar. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so. (FANBOYS— mnemonic)
Examples: The girls ate a sandwich and pretzels for lunch.
Subordinating Conjunctions (dependent clauses) are a group of words that
cannot stand alone—and it depends on the main clause it is attached to.
Subordinate clauses often begin with a conjunction such as after, because,
when, if, since, though, or where.
Examples:
Main Clause—We went to the park.
Subordination Conjunction—after they left
Joined—We went to the park after they left.
Correlative Conjunctions: Conjunctions that join with other words to join
similar elements in a sentence.
The most common are:
 Either-or: Either you or Juan should go to the park.
 Neither-nor: Neither Maria nor Manny has passed the test.
 Not only-but so: She not only wrote the screenplay but also directed it.
 Whether-or: Whether we meet at my house or at your house is up to you.
 Both-and: Both my mother and my father were smiling.
Prepositions come before a noun or pronoun and relate that noun or
pronoun to another word in the sentence. Common prepositions are: about,
above, across, after, around, at, before, behind, by, down, during, for, from, in,
into, near, of, on, over, to, under, and with.
 The plane flew above the clouds.
Unpacked
L.5.1a
 Tyler talked to the man behind the counter.
 Before Angela got to school, she checked that she had her homework.
Prepositional Phrases are a group of words that begin with a preposition and
end with a noun or pronoun.
 The dogs ran around the park.
 Evette walked over the bridge.
Interjections are words or phrases that show excitement or emotion.
 Use a comma to separate interjections from the rest of the sentence: Yes,
I want to go to the circus tonight!
If the interjection shows a very strong emotion use an exclamation mark: Oh
wow! I forgot to buy my ticket.
 Lisa walks to her friend’s house after school.
A verb in past tense tells about an action that already happened.
 Lisa walked to her friend’s house after school.
A verb in future tense tells about an action that is going to happen. Use the
word will in front of the verb.
 Lisa will walk to her friend’s house after school.