Grammar Basics

1. Grammar Basics Some Terms

2. Why Learn Grammar? • Knowing grammar will help you learn how to put sentences together. • Knowing how to put sentences together will help you become a better writer. • Becoming a better writer will help you express yourself better as well as get better grades.

3. FYI • Different kinds of words are called… • parts of speech

4. Noun • def: nouns can be people, places, and things • ex. dog, homework, Abraham Lincoln, love

5. Verb • def: a word that shows action, state, or occurrence • ex. walk, will eat, am playing, is

6. Adjective • def: a word that describes a noun • ex. happy, beautiful, tired

7. Quick Quiz • What part of speech is the underlined word? • The dog ran after the cat. • noun

8. Pronoun • def: a word that takes the place of a noun • ex. Joshlikes to watch TV. • Heprefers sports shows.

9. Adverb • def: a word or phrase that modifies an adjective, verb, or another adverb • (modify: to describe or limit) • ex. I am very happy

10. Preposition • def: a word used to tell direction, location or time; usually contains a noun and gives more information about something else in the sentence • ex. in, at, for, to, with • The man is inthe grocery store.

11. Subject • def: who or what the sentence is about (will be a noun or noun phrase) • ex. Jessica, the book, returning clothes • Timplays the guitar.

12. Object • def: a noun/pronoun that receives an action of a verb • ex. I sent a letter.

13. Article (definite & indefinite) • definite (specific): the • indefinite (general): a/an • ex. I bought thecar. (a specific car my • reader/listener already knew about) • ex. I played a game. (general, not specific)

14. Infinitive • def: to+ base form of verb • ex. toeat, tosleep, tocry

15. Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) • def: in English, clauses tend to follow a • subject–verb– object pattern • ex. The company firedthe employees.

16. Phrase • def: a group of words • ex. falling on the floor, in the moonlight

17. Clause • def: a group of words with a subject& a verb • ex. …while Iwas watching a movie. • Itooka shower.

18. Independent Clause • def: a clause that can be a complete sentence (can have a period) • ex. I opened the door.

19. Dependent Clause • def: a clause that cannot be a complete sentence by itself; it needs an independent clause • ex. When I was playing basketball yesterday, I sprained my ankle.

20. Sentence / “complete sentence” • def: a group of words with at least 1 independent clause • ex. Teachers are crazy.

21. Compound Sentence • def: more than 1 independent clause, but no dependent clause • ex. I workout at home, and I play video games at home.

22. Complex Sentence • def: one independent clause, and at least 1 dependent clause • ex. My parents washed my car while I was on vacation.

23. Compound-complex Sentence • def: more than 1 independent clause, and at least 1 dependent clause. • ex. After I get home from school, I clean my room, and my mom makes dinner.

24. Fragment • def: a group of words with a period at the end, but is not a complete sentence (it is missing either a subject or a verb) • ex. Waiting at the store. (who was waiting? There’s no subject.)

25. Fused Sentence / Run-on • def: when two complete sentences (independent clauses) are connected without punctuation or a connecting word • ex. Kelly is on the track team she is very good.

26. Comma Splice • def: when two complete sentences (independent clauses) are connected with a comma • ex. Kelly is on the track team, she is very good.

27. Conjunction • def: a word that joins or connects 2 parts of a sentence • ex. Birds can fly andlay eggs.

28. Coordinating Conjunction • def: a word that joins or connects 2 independent clauses; these are often called “fanboys” • for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so • ex. Birds can fly, but dogs can only run.

29. Subordinating Conjunction • def: a word that makes one clause in the sentence dependent • ex. IfI go to the store, I will buy milk.

30. Gerund • def: a ”verb” ending in –ingthat is used as a noun • ex. eating, swimming, biking • I love swimming.

31. Participle • def: a verb ending in –ingthat is part of a “complete” verb in a specific verb tense • ex. Joel is takinghis test.

32. Parallelism / Parallel Structure • def: when you use the same “kinds” of words or phrases in a sentence or list • ex. Tom is happy, rich, and going to college.  • Tom is happy, rich, and smart. (all adjectives)

33. One last thing… • There are many more grammar terms. You can find them online or on the grammar boot camp website. • It is possible for a word or phrase to be more than one of the grammar terms at the same time. • ex. Paul threw a ball. (ball is a noun, and the object)

34. Nouns Woohoo!

35. What are nouns again? • def: a person, place or thing • What are the nouns in the sentence? • John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes. • John owns a bike, two cats, and 6 shoes.

36. Different Kinds of Nouns

37. Different Kinds of Nouns • Concrete: nouns that can interact with out senses (you can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell them) • ex. airplane, sandwich, key

38. Different Kinds of Nouns • Proper nouns: names of people, places or things; • ex. George Bush, Canada, The Matrix • What is special about these nouns? • They use capital letters.

39. Different Kinds of Nouns • Abstract nouns: these are nouns we cannot experience with our 5 senses; they are ideas Ex: love, death, religion, success I cannot smell, taste, touch, hear, or see these things, but I can experience them.

40. Different Kinds of Nouns • Count nouns:count nouns are nouns that I can…count; they can be made plural • ex. 1 paper, 2 papers, 3 papers

41. Different Kinds of Nouns Noncount nouns: nouns that are group or collective nouns, and cannot be counted or pluralized ex. homework, research, happiness, popcorn I have 2 homeworks. I have somehomework. 

42. Different Kinds of Nouns Sometimes you will see people ”pluralize” noncount nouns, but it’s a trick. See below: I want 2 coffees, please. What are they really saying? I want 2 cups of coffee, please. *Coffee is a noncount noun.*

43. How can I find a noun? • First, try to decide if it’s a person place or thing. • After that, you can try adding an article (a/an, the) before it. • If the article “fits” it is probably a noun. a cat  the pool  a eat  the happy 

44. How can I find a noun? • You can also try to make the noun a subject and put a verb with it- if it make sense, it’s probably a noun. • ex. try adding “is good” to a word • Love is good.  • Happily is good. 

45. Pronouns YAY!

46. What are Pronouns again? • def: a word that takes the place of a noun • ex. he, she, I, who, this • The chickens are eating. • They like worms a lot.

47. Different Kinds of Pronouns Subject pronouns: these pronouns are used as subjects in a sentence ex. Weare hungry. Subject Pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, they

48. Different Kinds of Pronouns Object pronouns: these pronouns are used as objects in a sentence ex. They threw me the ball. Object Pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us, them

49. Different Kinds of Pronouns Relative pronouns: these pronouns are used to connecta clause or phrase to a noun/pronoun ex. Tiffany, whois a teacher, made ice cream. Relative Pronouns who, whom, whoever, whomever, which, whichever, that

50. Different Kinds of Pronouns Reflexive pronouns: these pronouns refer back to the subject of a sentence within the same sentence ex. Terry cut down the tree himself. Reflexive Pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves