UNITS 1-5 STUDY GUIDE (Test on June 4)
UNIT 1
Types of Sentences/Punctuation – End Marks
- Declarative sentence – makes a statement; ends with a period.
- Imperative sentence – gives a command or request; ends with a period or exclamation point.
- Interrogative sentence – asks a question; ends with a question mark.
- Exclamatory sentence – expresses strong feeling; ends with an exclamation point.
Subjects and Predicates
A sentence has two basic parts. The simple subject tells whom or what the sentence is about and usually is a noun or pronoun found at the beginning of a sentence. The simple predicate is a verb that tells what the subject does or is.
Ex: My brotherloves driving my dad’s sports car.
The complete subject of a sentence includes the simple subject and the words related to it. The complete predicateincludes the simple predicate and the words related to it.
Ex: My brotherloves driving my dad’s sports car.
Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
All sentences can be classified according to the number and kinds of clauses (group of words with its own subject and verb) they contain. Remember, an independent clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence and a dependent or subordinate clause cannot stand by itself as a complete thought.
A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause containing one subject and one verb.
Example: One subject and verb: The bellrang.
A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses. Generally, the independent clauses are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) and come before the final independent clause.
Example: Iplanned to go to the hockey game, but Icould not get tickets.
A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Remember that many words that introduce subordinate clauses are called subordinating conjunctions (after, although, because, before, if, since, while, than….).
Example: You can rent equipment, unless you prefer to buy your own.
Independent clause dependent clause
Other important terms to review:
Fragment – a group of words written as a sentence, but is lacking either the subject or predicate
Run-on – two or more clauses NOT properly joined by a period, semi-colon or a conjunction
UNIT 2
Nouns – the name of a person, place, thing or idea
- Commonnoun- names any person, place, or thing; is NOT capitalized
EX: church, bushes, telephone
- Proper noun– names a specific person, place or thing; always starts with a
capital letter
EX: Kentucky, Columbus Day, January, Aunt Carol
- Abstract noun– names ideas and feelings that can’t be seen, heard, or touched
EX: bravery, friendship, love, disappointment
- Collective noun – names a group; can be singular or plural
EX: herd, team, chorus
- Possessive noun – names who or what owns something; you can make a singular or plural noun possessive by adding an apostrophe or -‘s
EX: pond’s, zookeeper’s, horses’, children’s
An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed next to a noun or pronoun.
EX: Everyone in the family, even the pets, prefers cold weather.
Verbs – a word(s) used to show action or a state of being
Types / Definition / ExamplesAction Verbs / Indicates the action of a person or thing.
Tells what the subject
does or did. / run
worry
amaze
cry
Linking Verbs / Links the subject of a sentence with an adjective or noun.
Forms of be, when they stand alone, are always linking verbs.
The verbs seem, appear, look, sound, taste, and feel can also be linkingverbs. / is
are
were
became
seemed
appear
Helping Verbs / Helps the main verb show tense.
Helping verbs include forms of be, do, and have, as well as will, can, may, should, and must. / have suffered
will change
may happen
can expect
Verb Tenses
Simple Tenses / Action Verb Examples / Linking Verb ExamplesPresent / He rehearses.
We jump. / I am a teacher.
They are artists.
Past / He rehearsed.
We jumped. / I was a teacher.
They were teachers.
Future / He will rehearse.
We will jump. / I will be a teacher.
They will be teachers.
Verb Reminders – Verbs must agree with their subjects in number. Some verbs are considered irregular which means you must change the word to form it in the past tense (Ex: eat → ate; feel → felt; teach → taught)
UNIT 3
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns.
There are three types of pronouns: subject (he); object (him); or possessive (his).
1. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They will follow to be verbs, such as is, are, was, were, will be, etc.
Examples:We did the job.This is she speaking.
2. Object pronouns are used everywhere else that subject pronouns are not; direct object, indirect object object of a preposition. Object pronouns include me, him, herself, us, etc.
Examples:Mark saw him.Him is the direct object.
Give her the book.Her is the indirect object. Book is the direct object.
Pronouns that end in –self or –selves are called reflexive pronouns. The dog bit itself.
3. Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession. My, your, his, her, its, our and their are all possessive pronouns.
Examples:Have you seen my book?
Make sure your brother is safely buckled in his car seat.
NOTE: The possessive pronouns yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, and whose never need apostrophes. Apostrophes are only used when it is a contraction.
Examples:Whose job is to the clean the dishes tonight? – No apostrophe
It’s been a cold morning. – It’s stands for it has
In addition, please reference your pronoun notes in your binder on antecedents, vague pronouns, and pronoun shifts.
UNIT 4
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives tell which one, what kind, or how many?
Which one: this climber How many: two miles What kind: long legs
A, an, and the are special kinds of adjectives called articles. A is used before a word that begins with a consonant sound. An is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound. The can be used before any word. EXAMPLES: A winning score. Go into the gym.
A proper adjective is (1) a proper noun used as an adjective or (2) an adjective formed from a proper noun. It will answer What kind? or Which one?
I like to read the Baltimore newspaper.April showers bring May flowers.
ADVERBS –modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs can come before or after the verbs they modify. Adverbs can tell when, where, how, or to what extent.
EXAMPLES: loudly, very, warmly, unusually, immediately
UNIT 5
A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or pronoun relates to some other word in a sentence. Prepositions usually answer the questions where,when, telling about a person or object’s location in time or space.
EXAMPLES: about, above, behind, down, near, into, like, under, toward, with, since
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and the object of the preposition (noun or pronoun) and any words that modify it. EXAMPLE: The bus stops near the corner.