Basic Grammar Review Ms Mathews English 9 H

Basic Grammar Review Ms. Mathews English 9 H

Subject-Verb Agreement

singular (1) = the verb will have an -s ending. Ex: The cat plays. plural (2+) = the verb will not end in -s. Ex: The girls write essays.

The pronouns each, either, neither, one, everyone, nobody, anyone, anybody, someone, everybody = singular = verb with an -s ending. Ex: Everyone in the class is going on the field trip.

The pronouns several, few, both, many, others = plural = verb without an -s ending. Ex: Several of my friends work in the library.

The pronouns some, any, none, all, and most may be either singular or plural. Ex: Some of the cake was eaten. None of the boys were at football practice.

When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by and, a verb without an -s is needed. Ex: Students and teachers park in front of the auditorium. Pizza, cake, and ice cream have always been his favorite foods.

When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by or or nor, choose a verb that agrees with the subject closest to it (proximity). Ex: Fudge or cookies are a good choice for dessert. Neither Tammy nor her sister likes to travel.

Collective nouns such as team, family, jury, faculty, and committee are singular when considered as a unit. These will take a verb with an -s ending. Ex: My family drives to California each year. The faculty recommends that the new handbook be approved.

When every or many a comes before a subject, the verb should have an -s ending. Ex: Every man, woman, and child remembers that cold winter.

This, it, a/an before a subject means that it is singular Ex: This cookie is good.

Parts of Speech Nouns

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Of all the world’s monsters, the dragon is the best known. Ancient cultures imagined the dragon as a giant snake. Dragons resemble lizards in the artwork of earlier cultures. Scotland has claimed the monster of Loch Ness for centuries. Some people have claimed to see Nessie and have even photographed her.

Types of Nouns Type of Noun Definition Common General name for a person, place, thing, or idea Proper Name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea Concrete Name of something perceived by the senses Abstract Name of an idea, quality, or state Singular One person, place, thing, or idea Plural More than one person, place, thing, or idea Collective Name of a group of people or things Compound Singular noun formed from 2+ words Possessive Noun that shows ownership or relationship

The very idea of monsters can inspire fear in children. A werewolf is a human who can turn into a wolf. Contemporary folktales from Germany have added a modern twist to the lore of the werewolf. Perhaps the savagery of real wolves inspired storytellers to create the myth of the werewolf.

Parts of Speech Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word the pronoun stands for is called its antecedent.

The athlete extended a hand to his opponent. Antecedent Pronoun

Personal pronouns change form Personal Singular Plural Pronouns First Person I, me (my, mine) We, us (our, ours) Second Person You (your, yours) Third Person He, him, she, her, it (his, hers, its) They, them (their, theirs)

Sometimes I think about my childhood. In Hide-and-Seek, one player should cover his eyes. The other players hide while the person who is “it” counts to 100, and then they shout, “Ready or not, here I come!” Players may race back to touch home base before they are found. If they are successful, the players can hide again in the next game.

Children have played their games for generations. Boys were probably the first jump ropers, impressing girls with their speed. In hopscotch, children hop over lines and test their balance. Gail remembers, “One of my favorite games was tag. ” Running was its own reward and being chased was exciting.

Parts of Speech Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. They limit the meaning of the words they modify.

Adjectives tell what kind, which one, how many, or how much.

blue ocean those swimmers many waves less sunscreen

Everyone enjoys a relaxing day at the beach. I can see about ten umbrellas from where I am standing. Those umbrellas protect sensitive skin from harmful sunlight. The hot sand burned my feet. I look for colorful shells and more rocks for my collection. I imagine exciting trips to South American ports.

Articles are the most common adjectives. Indefinite articles (a and an) refer to unspecified members of groups of people, places, things, or ideas. The is the definite article that refers to a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

Everyone enjoys a relaxing day at the beach. I can see an umbrella from where I am standing. Those umbrellas protect sensitive skin from the harmful sunlight. The hot sand burned my feet. I am looking for colorful shells and rocks to start a collection. I imagine exciting trips to the South American ports.

Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns. They are capitalized and often end in an –n, -ian, -ese, or –ish.

Parts of Speech Verbs

A verb is a word used to express action, condition, or a state of being.

An action verb expresses a physical or mental action. An action verb that appears with a direct object (a person or thing that receives the action of the verb) is called a transitive verb. An action verb without a direct object is an intransitive verb.

A linking verb does not express action. Instead, it links the subject of a sentence to a word in the predicate.

“be” verbs Type of linking verbs Examples: Am Is Are Was Were Be Been Being

Auxiliary verbs, also called helping verbs, are combined with verbs to form verb phrases.

Common Auxiliary Verbs Forms of “be” Had Do Might Would Will Could Should

I washed the car yesterday. The dog ate my homework. John studies English and French. Chris refuses to Dougie for Ms. Mathews. A person was killed in the car accident. I will travel to Spain next summer. My sister plays basketball in college. Mike scored the winning touchdown of the game. The Patriots beat the Raiders on Sunday. I swam in the ocean.

Parts of Speech Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs

Adverbs answer the questions where, when, how, and to what extent.

Adverbs are often formed by adding –ly to an adjective.

go there left late speak softly nearly complete

An intensifier is an adverb that defines the degree of an adjective or another adverb. Intensifiers always come BEFORE the adjectives or adverbs that they modify.

really easy too tightly

You are never too old for a day at the zoo. That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood. My kindergarten teacher was very motherly. Walk faster if you want to keep up with me. That was the least skillfully written essay that I have seen in years. The nurse moved more quickly among the patients. He arrived to class late. I really do not like you. That child simply ignored his mother.

Parts of Speech Conjunctions

A conjunction connects words or groups of words. A coordinating conjunction connects words or word groups that have equal importance in a sentence.

Examples of Coordinating Conjunctions For And Nor But Or Yet So S Y O B N A F

I want to hang out with my friends this weekend, but I have a history project due on Monday. We can either go to the mall or the movies. I slept for nine hours last night; yet, I am still tired. Ryan is an athlete and a scholar. My grandfather is in town, so I might take him to see the Washington Monument.

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that join words or groups of words.

Some correlative conjunctions are…. both…and neither…nor either…or not only…but also

I am going to the beach with both my mom and my dad. I neither like to dance nor sing, so I do not think I would be a good asset to the choir. I am going as either a cat or a princess for Halloween this year. Not only do I enjoy English class, but I also love math class.

Subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses--clauses that cannot stand alone as complete sentences---and join them to independent clauses.

Examples of subordinating conjunctions after although as because if since so that until when while

A conjunctive adverb is used to express relationships between independent clauses.

Examples of conjunctive adverbs also consequently however nevertheless still therefore besides otherwise

NOTE: Conjunctive adverbs MUST have a semicolon before the word and a comma after. Example: I love English; therefore, I decided to teach high school English/Language Arts.

Parts of Speech Interjection

An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses an emotion or strong feeling

A strong interjection is followed by an exclamation point. A mild interjection is followed by a comma.

Strong interjections=Batman words Pow! Bam! Splat! Wow! Wham!

Ew! Something smells horrible! Oh, I wish I had known that you were coming today. Yes! I knew we would win! No, I do not want to go with you today. Ouch! That hurt! Yay! Christmas is only a month away! Yeah, you can come with me to the mall. Wow! You look great!

Parts of Speech Preposition

A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence.

Examples about before by during on under

Prepositions formed from more than one word are compound prepositions.

Examples according to in place of because of instead of

For the most part, prepositions are “direction” type words. Put your hands on your head. The book is under the table. There is gum in your hair. The boy is standing behind the tree.

As a student said last year, “if a cat can do it to a tree, it is a preposition!”