1. Independent/Dependent Clauses
Independent Clause: Includes a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete thought. The sentence can stand alone.
EXAMPLE: John went home to study.
Dependent Clauses: May include a subject and a verb, but does not express a full thought. The sentence cannot stand alone.
EXAMPLE: When John went home to study.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: John went home to study.
Dependent Clauses: May include a subject and a verb, but does not express a full thought. The sentence cannot stand alone.
EXAMPLE: When John went home to study.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
2. Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional Phrase: begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a called the object if a preposition.
A prepositional phrase can function as an adjective, modifying a noun or a pronoun.
EXAMPLE: Darcy chose the bedroom above the garage. (Above the garage modifies the noun bedroom.)
A prepositional phrase may also function as an adverb when it modifies a verb, an adverb, or an adjective.
EXAMPLE: That poem is meaningful to me. ( To me modifies the adjective meaningful)
A prepositional phrase can function as an adjective, modifying a noun or a pronoun.
EXAMPLE: Darcy chose the bedroom above the garage. (Above the garage modifies the noun bedroom.)
A prepositional phrase may also function as an adverb when it modifies a verb, an adverb, or an adjective.
EXAMPLE: That poem is meaningful to me. ( To me modifies the adjective meaningful)
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
3. Appositive Phrases
Appostive: A noun or a pronoun that further identifies another non or pronoun
EXAMPLE: My English teacher, Mrs. Blashack, teaches us about appositives.
Appositive Phrases: is the appostive along with any modifiers. If not essential to the meaning of the sentence, it is set off by commas.
EXAMPLE: We rented bicycles to ride through the area, the most charming part of town.
EXAMPLE: My English teacher, Mrs. Blashack, teaches us about appositives.
Appositive Phrases: is the appostive along with any modifiers. If not essential to the meaning of the sentence, it is set off by commas.
EXAMPLE: We rented bicycles to ride through the area, the most charming part of town.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
4. Participle Phrases
Participle: a type of verbal. Verbals are verb forms that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. A participle functions as an adjective when it modifies a noun or a pronoun. Present participles end with -ing. Past participles end with -ed.
EXAMPLE: The child watched the spinning top. (present)
We admired the freshly planted flowers. (past)
Participle Phrase: Contains a participle and any modifiers needed to complete its meaning.
EXAMPLE: Warmed by the fire, we took off our jackets. (past)
Having misplaced my keys, I could not get into my house. (present)
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: The child watched the spinning top. (present)
We admired the freshly planted flowers. (past)
Participle Phrase: Contains a participle and any modifiers needed to complete its meaning.
EXAMPLE: Warmed by the fire, we took off our jackets. (past)
Having misplaced my keys, I could not get into my house. (present)
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
5. Gerund Phrases
Gerund: A type of verbal that ends in -ing. It is a verb form that is used as a noun. A gerund may function as a subject, an object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.
EXAMPLE: Nina made us laugh by packing for the trip two weeks in advance.
Gerund Phrases: A gerund and any complements and modifiers needed to complete its meaning.
EXAMPLE: The rules prohibited eating anywhere in the library.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: Nina made us laugh by packing for the trip two weeks in advance.
Gerund Phrases: A gerund and any complements and modifiers needed to complete its meaning.
EXAMPLE: The rules prohibited eating anywhere in the library.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
6. Infinitive Phrases
Infinitive: A type of verbal. It is a verb that is usually preceeded by the word to. An infinitive functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. The word to may also begin a prepositional phrase. However, when to precedes a verb, it is not a preposition but instead signals an infinitive.
EXAMPLE: We were content to wait.
Infinitive Phrase: Includes infinitive and any complements and modifiers.
EXAMPLE: To have lost the championship would have been devastating for the team.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: We were content to wait.
Infinitive Phrase: Includes infinitive and any complements and modifiers.
EXAMPLE: To have lost the championship would have been devastating for the team.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
7. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Antecedent: the word or group of words to which a pronoun refers or that a pronoun replaces. The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular or plural) and gender (feminine, masculine, or neuter).
EXAMPLE: Edna published her book. (singular, feminine pronoun)
Gabe published his book. (singular, masculine pronoun)
Edna and Gabe sold their books. (plural pronoun)
Never judge a book by its cover. (singular, neuter pronoun)
Indefinite Pronoun Antecedents: Use singular personal pronoun with singular indefinite pronouns, and use plural personal prnoun when the antecedent is a plural indefinite pronoun.
Singular indefinite pronouns: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something
Plural indefinite pronouns: several, both few, many
EXAMPLE: Neither of the girls gave her report on Tuesday. (singular)
Both of the boys present their reports. (plural)
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: Edna published her book. (singular, feminine pronoun)
Gabe published his book. (singular, masculine pronoun)
Edna and Gabe sold their books. (plural pronoun)
Never judge a book by its cover. (singular, neuter pronoun)
Indefinite Pronoun Antecedents: Use singular personal pronoun with singular indefinite pronouns, and use plural personal prnoun when the antecedent is a plural indefinite pronoun.
Singular indefinite pronouns: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something
Plural indefinite pronouns: several, both few, many
EXAMPLE: Neither of the girls gave her report on Tuesday. (singular)
Both of the boys present their reports. (plural)
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
8. Pronoun Reference
Make sure that the antecedent of a pronoun is clear and that a pronoun cannot possibly refer to more than one antecedent. Do not use pronouns this, that, which, or it without a clearly stated antecedent.
EXAMPLES: Vague: Todd is a good writer, and that was something that he was proud of.
Clear: Todd is a good writer, and his writing ability was something he was proud of.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLES: Vague: Todd is a good writer, and that was something that he was proud of.
Clear: Todd is a good writer, and his writing ability was something he was proud of.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
9. Active and Passive Voice
Active Voice: A sentence is active when the subject of the sentence performs the action.
EXAMPLE: The dog chased the cat
Passive Voice: A sentence is passive when the action is being performed on the subject.
EXAMPLE: The cat was chased by the dog.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: The dog chased the cat
Passive Voice: A sentence is passive when the action is being performed on the subject.
EXAMPLE: The cat was chased by the dog.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
9. Semicolons and Colons
Colons: 1. You may use colons to introduce a list, but not if the list immediately follows a verb or preposition.
2. You may use a colon to introduce material that illustrates, explains, or restates the preceding material.
3. You may use a colon to introduce a long or formal quotation.
4. You may use a colon between the hour and the minute of the precise time, between the chapter and the verse in biblical references, and after the salutation of a business letter.
EXAMPLE: The new parents considered these three names for their baby daughter: Penelope, Priscilla, and Pru. (list)
Marv had mixed feelings about the event: it made him feel sad and happy at the same time. (explanation)
Amy's speech ended with this quotation from Winston Churchill: "Never, never, ever, give up." (quote)
2:22 p.m. Genesis 1:1-31 Dear Ms. Elanko
Semicolons: 1. Use a semicolon to separate main clauses that aren't joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, yet, or for)
2. Use a semicolon to separate main clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, nevertheless, moreover, furthermore, consequently)
3. Use a semicolon to separate the items in a series when the items contain commas.
4. Use a semicolon to separate two main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction when such clauses already contain several commas.
EXAMPLES: Eve is the youngest daughter; Liz is the oldest. (2 main clauses)
I love Disney; however, I love Harry Potter more. (separate a conjunctive adverb - however)
The picture shows Cheryl, my best friend, in the front; Same, the class president, in the second row; and Evita the exchange student, standing behind Sam. (contains commas)
In-class Practice:
2. You may use a colon to introduce material that illustrates, explains, or restates the preceding material.
3. You may use a colon to introduce a long or formal quotation.
4. You may use a colon between the hour and the minute of the precise time, between the chapter and the verse in biblical references, and after the salutation of a business letter.
EXAMPLE: The new parents considered these three names for their baby daughter: Penelope, Priscilla, and Pru. (list)
Marv had mixed feelings about the event: it made him feel sad and happy at the same time. (explanation)
Amy's speech ended with this quotation from Winston Churchill: "Never, never, ever, give up." (quote)
2:22 p.m. Genesis 1:1-31 Dear Ms. Elanko
Semicolons: 1. Use a semicolon to separate main clauses that aren't joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, yet, or for)
2. Use a semicolon to separate main clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, nevertheless, moreover, furthermore, consequently)
3. Use a semicolon to separate the items in a series when the items contain commas.
4. Use a semicolon to separate two main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction when such clauses already contain several commas.
EXAMPLES: Eve is the youngest daughter; Liz is the oldest. (2 main clauses)
I love Disney; however, I love Harry Potter more. (separate a conjunctive adverb - however)
The picture shows Cheryl, my best friend, in the front; Same, the class president, in the second row; and Evita the exchange student, standing behind Sam. (contains commas)
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
10. Parallelism
Parallel Structure: Use the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.
EXAMPLE: Mary likes hiking, biking, and swimming.
Last weekend I baked, biked, and slept.
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: Mary likes hiking, biking, and swimming.
Last weekend I baked, biked, and slept.
In-class Practice:
Quiz:
Commonly Confused Words
PART 1
1. Affect/Effect 2. Compliment/Complement 3. Farther/Further 4. Its/It's 5. Lose/Loose PART 2 6. Principle/Principal 7. Than/Then 8. There/Their/They're 9. To/Too/Two 10. Who's/Whose 11.Your/You're |
In-class Practice:
Part 1 Quiz:
In-class Practice:
Part 2 Quiz:
|
Adjective Clauses
Adjective Clause: A subordinate clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Typically introduced by a relative pronoun or when or where.
Realitive Pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose, whoever, whomever, what, whatever
EXAMPLE: The present that I bought for Ron's birthday was lost when I moved. (modifies the noun present).
In-class Practice:
Realitive Pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose, whoever, whomever, what, whatever
EXAMPLE: The present that I bought for Ron's birthday was lost when I moved. (modifies the noun present).
In-class Practice:
Adverb Clauses
Adverb Clause: A subordinate clause that modifies a, verb, adjective, or an adverb. It is used to tell when, where, why, to what extent, or under what condition. Typically it is introduced by a subordinating conjunction. HINT: Sometimes has missing words. The words that are left out are understood in the clause.
EXAMPLE: The deliciously cold breeze blows after the thunderstorm has passed.
Marcie can sing higher than Jill (can sing).
In-class Practice:
EXAMPLE: The deliciously cold breeze blows after the thunderstorm has passed.
Marcie can sing higher than Jill (can sing).
In-class Practice:
Noun and Verb Phrases
Noun: Person, place, or thing
Noun Phase: person, place, or thing AND a modifier that distinguishes the noun. HINT: most of the time, noun phrases can be replaced with pronouns
EXAMPLE: My father gave this book to my mother
Verb: demonstrate action
EXAMPLE: She ate the pizza. (active verb)
EXAMPLE: Tony appears angry (linking verb)
Verb Phrase: helping verb + verb OR verb + complement, objects, or modifier
EXAMPLE: The author is writing a new book (helping verb +verb)
In-class Practice:
Noun Phase: person, place, or thing AND a modifier that distinguishes the noun. HINT: most of the time, noun phrases can be replaced with pronouns
EXAMPLE: My father gave this book to my mother
Verb: demonstrate action
EXAMPLE: She ate the pizza. (active verb)
EXAMPLE: Tony appears angry (linking verb)
Verb Phrase: helping verb + verb OR verb + complement, objects, or modifier
EXAMPLE: The author is writing a new book (helping verb +verb)
In-class Practice:
Quiz: