2. The subject is who or what does the verb.
I. Subject Pronouns:
Singular: Plural:
I We
You You
He, she, it(for things or animals) They
II. The predicate is said to modify the subject. A predicate
pronoun follows a linking verb and identifies the verb’s
subject.
III. A linking verb tells what the subject is. (Ex. Sod houses
stayed cool in hot water.).
IV. Interrogative Pronouns: Is used to introduce a question.
Interrogative Pronouns Use
Who, whom Refers to people
What Refers to things
Which Refers to People or specific
things
Whose Indicates ownerships or
relationships
4. What is a pronoun? Is a word that is
used in place of a noun or another
pronoun.
A subject pronoun: Is used as a subject
in a sentence or as a predicate pronoun
after a linking verb.
Pronouns as subjects: Use a subject
pronoun to substitute a subject.
5. Singular Plural
My, mine Our, ours
Your, yours Your, yours
Her, hers, his, its Their, theirs
•Possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun used
to show ownership or relationship.
•Possessive Nouns= Form of a noun that shows
ownership or relationship.
•Compound Nouns= Is made of two or more
words used together as a single noun.
6. •Personal Pronouns= They indicates persons,
numbers and cases. (Singular form I, You, He/
Plural form We, You and they).
•Object Pronouns= It is used as a direct object,
an indirect object, or an object of a preposition.
(Singular me, you, him, her, it/Plural us you and
them).
7. •Possessive Pronouns= Is a personal pronoun
used to show ownership or a relationship.
•Reflexive Pronouns= Refers to the subject and
directs the action of the verb back to the
subject.
Ex. Houdini called himself a master escape.
•Intensive Pronouns=Emphasizes a noun or
another pronoun in the same sentence. Ex. You
yourselves have seen magic shows on tv.
8. Indefinite Pronoun does not refer to a specific person, place, thing or idea.
Singular Plural Singular or
plural
Another everyone Both All
anybody everything Few Any
Anyone Neither Many Most
Anything nobody Several None
Each No-one Some
Either Nothing
Everybody
9. Possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun used
to show ownership or relationship.
Singular Plural
My, mine Our, ours
Your, yours Your, yours
Her, hers, Their,
his, its theirs
10. I. Kind of Clauses:
a. A clause is a group of words that contains
a subject and a verb.
b. Independent Clauses= Expresses a
complete thought. It can stand alone as a
sentence.
c. Subordinate(dependent)Clauses=
Contains a subject and a verb but does not
express a complete thought.
11. Verb Is a word used to express an
action, a condition or a state of
being.
Simple predicate Is the main word or words in the
complete predicate.
Sentence Is a group of words that expresses
a complete thought.
Basic parts of the sentence Subject and predicate.
Simple subject Is the main word in a sentence. Is
what the sentences is talking
about.
12. Direct object Is a word or a group of words that
names the receiver of the action of
an action verb.
Common Noun A general name for a person,
place, thing or idea.
Verb phrase Is made up of a main verb and one
or more helping verbs.
13. Action verbs tell about something a person,
animal, force of nature or thing can do or be.
add imagine stay
allow itch talk
bake jog turn
bang jump untie
call kick knit use
chase land vanish visit
damage drop lock walk
end march work
escape mix yawn
fasten name yell
fix notice obey zip
gather open zoom
grab pass
hang promise
hug question
reach
rinse scatter
14. Linking verbs do not show action. Instead, they connect nouns and pronouns
to other information in the sentence. Here are some examples:
My sister is smart.
The picture appeared blurry.
Your supper smells delicious.
The most common linking verbs are listed here:
am be have/has might smell
are become been have been sound
are feel is prove stay
being get lie remain taste
appear grow look seem turn
might be sit were
15. Helping verbs do not stand alone or express action.
They are part of verb phrases that "help" the main verb.
Helping verbs define the tense (past, present, future)
or change the meaning of the main verb.
Consider these examples:
Do you need a tissue?
We are helping the third-grade class.
Hank might have been driving the wrong way.
This list has commonly-used helping verbs:
may being is does would will
might been was did have can
must am were should had shall
be are do could has
16. An adverb is a modifying part of speech. It describes verbs, other adverbs, adjectives, and
phrases. They are used to describe how, where, when, how often and why something happens.
Here are a few examples:
Verb- The cat climbed quickly up the tree. (quickly describes how the cat climbed)
Adverb- Mike worked very carefully on his paper. (very shows how carefully he worked) Adjective-
She is nearly ready to go. (nearly tells to what extent she is ready)
Adverbs of manner describe how something happens. Where there are two or more verbs in a
sentence, adverb placement affects the meaning. Some commonly used adverbs of manner
include:
loudly carefully
patiently correctly
quickly eagerly
quietly easily
and well. fast
17. Consider the following example:
She decided to write her paper. (no adverbs)
She quickly decided to write her paper. (her decision was quick)
She decided to write her paper quickly. (her writing was quick)
18. Adverbs of place describe where something happens. Most adverbs of place are also used as prepositions.
Some commonly used examples include the following:
abroad
anywhere
downstairs
here
home
in
nowhere
out
outside
somewhere
there
underground
upstairs.
I wanted to go upstairs.
She has lived in the city since June. (in the city – prepositional phrase)
19. Adverbs of purpose describe why something happens. Here are some common
examples:
so
so that
to
in order to
because
since
accidentally
intentionally
and purposely.
Jenny walks carefully to avoid falling.
Bob accidentally broke the vase.
20. Adverbs of frequency describe how often something happens. The following
adverbs are commonly used in this way:
always
every
never
often
rarely
seldom
sometimes
and usually.
Mackenzie gets a ride from her brother every day.
The fish usually swims near the top of its tank.
21. Adverbs of time describe when something happens. These
examples are commonly used:
after recently
already soon
during then
. finally tomorrow
just when
last while
later and yesterday
next
now
He came home before dark.
It will be too dark to play outside soon.
Jessica finished her supper first.
Andy left school early.
22. A B C D E
abnormally badly calmly daily easily
absentmindedly bashfully carefully daintily elegantly
accidentally beautifully carelessly dearly energetically
acidly bitterly cautiously deceivingly enormously
actually bleakly certainly delightfully enthusiastically
adventurously blindly cheerfully deeply equally
afterwards blissfully clearly defiantly especially
almost boastfully cleverly deliberately even
always boldly closely delightfully evenly
angrily bravely coaxingly diligently eventually
annually briefly colorfully dimly exactly
anxiously brightly commonly doubtfully excitedly
arrogantly briskly continually dreamily extremely
awkwardly broadly coolly
busily correctly
courageously
crossly
cruelly
curiously
23. F G H I J
fairly generally happily immediately jaggedly
faithfully generously hastily innocently jealously
famously gently healthily inquisitively joshingly
far gladly heavily instantly joyfully
fast gleefully helpfully intensely joyously
fatally gracefully helplessly intently jovially
ferociously gratefully highly interestingly jubilantly
fervently greatly honestly inwardly judgementally
fiercely greedily hopelessly irritably justly
fondly hourly
foolishly hungrily
fortunately
frankly
frantically
freely
frenetically
frightfully
fully
furiously
24. K L M N O
keenly lazily madly naturally obediently
kiddingly less majestically nearly obnoxiously
kindheartedly lightly meaningfully neatly oddly
kindly likely mechanically needily offensively
kissingly limply merrily nervously officially
knavishly lively miserably never often
knottily loftily mockingly nicely only
knowingly longingly monthly noisily openly
knowledgeably loosely more not optimistically
kookily lovingly mortally overconfidently
loudly mostly owlishly
loyally mysteriously
26. Gerund= Is a verb form that ends in ing and
acts as a noun.
27. A preposition describes a relationship between
other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like
"in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to
define in mere words. For instance, when you
do try to define a preposition like "in" or
"between" or "on," you invariably use your
hands to show how something is situated in
relationship to something else. Prepositions are
nearly always combined with other words in
structures called prepositional phrases.
28. Prepositional phrases can be made up of a
million different words, but they tend to be
built the same: a preposition followed by a
determiner and an adjective or two, followed
by a pronoun or noun (called the object of the
preposition). This whole phrase, in turn, takes
on a modifying role, acting as an adjective or
an adverb, locating something in time and
space, modifying a noun, or telling when or
where or under what conditions something
happened.
29. Consider :
You can sit before the desk (or in front of
the desk). The professor can sit on the desk
(when he's being informal) or behind the
desk, and then his feet are under the desk
or beneath the desk. He can stand beside
the desk (meaning next to the desk), before
the desk, between the desk and you, or
even on the desk (if he's really strange). If
he's clumsy, he can bump into the desk or
try to walk through the desk (and stuff
would fall off the desk).
30. Passing his hands over the desk or resting his
elbows upon the desk, he often looks across
the desk and speaks of the desk or concerning
the desk as if there were nothing else like the
desk. Because he thinks of nothing except the
desk, sometimes you wonder about the desk,
what's in the desk, what he paid for the desk,
and if he could live without the desk. You can
walk toward the desk, to the desk, around the
desk, by the desk, and even past the desk
while he sits at the desk or leans against the
desk.
31. Prepositions= Shows the relationship between
a noun or pronoun and another word in a
sentence. English speakers use prepositions in
both formal and everyday communication.
Without them, the English language would
sound short and choppy.
32. Prepositions connect nouns, pronouns, and phrases with other words in
a sentence. It gives information about location, direction, space, or time.
Prepositions are usually part of a phrase because they often have a
noun or pronoun after them. Here are two examples of prepositions in
sentences.
The dog jumped over the fence.
I will go to the doctor.
The main job of prepositions is to create relationships between words.
How is the dog related to the fence? It jumped over the fence. How am I
related to the doctor? I am going to the doctor
Prepositional phrases can also act like adverbs or adjectives. Remember
that adverbs describe verbs (actions and being), and adjectives describe
nouns and pronouns (ideas, people, places, and things).
33. As an adverb - The children crossed the street with
caution.
The prepositional phrase "with caution" describes
the way the children crossed the street.
As an adjective - He lives in the house with the
red roof.
The prepositional phrase "with the red roof"
describes the house in a specific way.
34. List of the Most Common Prepositions
A through D E through M N through R S through W
aboard
about except near save
above excepting next since
absent excluding
across of than
after following off through
against for on till
along from on top of times
alongside onto to
amid in opposite toward
amidst in front of out of towards
among inside outside
anti instead of over under
around into underneath
as past unlike
at like per until
atop plus up
before mid upon
behind minus regarding
below round versus
beneath via
beside
besides with
between within
beyond witho
but
by
concerning
considering
despite
down
during
35. The Gerund
Recognize a gerund when you see one.
Every gerund, without exception, ends in ing. Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to identify.
The problem is that all present participles also end in ing. What is the difference?
Gerunds function as nouns. Thus, gerunds will be subjects, subject complements, direct objects, indirect
objects,
and objects of prepositions.
Present participles, on the other hand, complete progressive verbs or act as modifiers.
Read these examples of gerunds:
Since Francisco was five years old, swimming has been his passion.
Swimming = subject of the verb has been.
Francisco's first love is swimming.
Swimming = subject complement of the verb is.
Francisco enjoys swimming more than spending time with his girlfriend Diana.
Swimming = direct object of the verb enjoys.
Francisco gives swimming all of his energy and time.
Swimming = indirect object of the verb gives.
When Francisco wore dive fins to class, everyone knew that he was devoted to swimming.
Swimming = object of the preposition to.
These ing words are examples of present participles:
One day last summer, Francisco and his coach were swimming at Daytona Beach.
Swimming = present participle completing the past progressive verb were swimming.
A great white shark ate Francisco's swimming coach.
Swimming = present participle modifying coach.
Now Francisco practices his sport in safe swimming pools.
Swimming = present participle modifying pools.
36. Copy out the following passage. Underline
the subject(nouns/pronouns) and circle the
predicate.
• The heavy seas were breaking over the stone
jetty. It battered the ship through the narrow
entrance to the inner harbour. Her captain
was exhausted. The brave man had been
standing on the open bridge for many hours,
steering the stricken ship to a safe mooring.
37. Conjunctions= Connects words or groups of words.
Coordinating Conjunctions
and but or yet for nor so
A conjunction is a joiner, a word that connects
Definition (conjoins) parts of a sentence.
Coordinating Conjunctions The simple, little
conjunctions are called coordinating conjunctions (you
can click on the words to see specific descriptions of each
one):
(It may help you remember these conjunctions by
recalling that they all have fewer than four letters. Also,
remember the acronym FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-
Yet-So. Be careful of the words then and now; neither is a
coordinating
conjunction, so what we say about coordinating
conjunctions' roles in a sentence and punctuation does not
apply to those two words.)
38. • When a coordinating conjunction connects two independent
clauses, it is often (but not always) accompanied by a comma:
• Ulysses wants to play for UConn, but he has had trouble meeting
the academic requirements.
• When the two independent clauses connected by a coordinating
conjunction are nicely balanced or brief, many writers will omit the
comma:
• Ulysses has a great jump shot but he isn't quick on his feet.
• The comma is always correct when used to separate two
independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction. See
Punctuation Between Two Independent Clauses for further help.
• A comma is also correct when and is used to attach the last item of
a serial list, although many writers (especially in newspapers) will
omit that final comma:
• Ulysses spent his summer studying basic math, writing, and reading
comprehension.
39. When a coordinating conjunction is used to connect all the
elements in a series, a comma is not used:
• Presbyterians and Methodists and Baptists are the
prevalent Protestant congregations in Oklahoma.
A comma is also used with but when expressing a contrast:
• This is a useful rule, but difficult to remember.
In most of their other roles as joiners (other than joining
independent clauses, that is), coordinating conjunctions can
join two sentence elements without the help of a comma.
• Hemingway and Fitzgerald are among the American
expatriates of the between-the-wars era.
• Hemingway was renowned for his clear style and his
insights into American notions of male identity.
40. Conjunction AND
• a. To suggest that one idea is chronologically
sequential to another: "Tashonda sent in her
applications and waited by the phone for a
response."
• b. To suggest that one idea is the result of another:
"Willie heard the weather report and promptly
boarded up his house."
• c. To suggest that one idea is in contrast to another
(frequently replaced by but in this usage): "Juanita is
brilliant and Shalimar has a pleasant personality.
41. Conjunction AND
• d. To suggest an element of surprise (sometimes
replaced by yet in this usage): "Hartford is a rich
city and suffers from many symptoms of urban
blight."
• e. To suggest that one clause is dependent upon
another, conditionally (usually the first clause is
an imperative): "Use your credit cards frequently
and you'll soon find yourself deep in debt."
• f. To suggest a kind of "comment" on the first
clause: "Charlie became addicted to gambling —
and that surprised no one who knew him."
42. BUT
• To suggest a contrast that is unexpected in
light of the first clause: "Joey lost a fortune in
the stock market, but he still seems able to
live quite comfortably."
• To suggest in an affirmative sense what the
first part of the sentence implied in a negative
way (sometimes replaced by on the contrary):
"The club never invested foolishly, but used
the services of a sage investment counselor."
43. BUT
• To connect two ideas with the meaning of
"with the exception of" (and then the second
word takes over as subject): "Everybody but
Golden breath is trying out for the team."
44. OR
• To suggest that only one possibility can be
realized, excluding one or the other: "You can
study hard for this exam or you can fail."
• To suggest the inclusive combination of
alternatives: "We can broil chicken on the grill
tonight, or we can just eat leftovers.
45. OR
• To suggest a refinement of the first clause:
"Smith College is the premier all-women's
college in the country, or so it seems to most
Smith College alumnae."
• To suggest a restatement or "correction" of
the first part of the sentence: "There are no
rattlesnakes in this canyon, or so our guide
tells us."
46. OR
• To suggest a negative condition: "The New
Hampshire state motto is the rather grim "Live
free or die."
• To suggest a negative alternative without the
use of an imperative (see use of and above):
"They must approve his political style or they
wouldn't keep electing him mayor."
47. Correlative Conjunctions
Some conjunctions combine with other words to form what are called
correlative conjunctions. They always travel in pairs, joining various
sentence elements that should be treated as grammatically equal.
• She led the team not only in statistics but also by virtue of her
enthusiasm.
• Polonius said, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
• Whether you win this race or lose it doesn't matter as long as you do
your best.
Correlative conjunctions sometimes create problems in parallel form. Click
HERE for help with those problems. Here is a brief list of common
correlative conjunctions.
• both . . . and
• not only . . . but also
• not . . . but
• either . . . or neither . . . nor
• whether . . . or
• as . . . as
49. Using the Active Voice to Strengthen
Your Writing
Writing in the active voice means constructing sentences
where the subject “acts”:
•I threw the ball.
•You are making too much noise.
•Ben will eat popcorn and watch a movie tomorrow evening.
In each of these sentences, the subject (I, You and Ben
respectively) performs the action of the verb (threw, making,
will watch). The sentences are punchy, direct and make it clear
who’s doing what.
SUBJECT+VERB+PREDICATE.
50. PASSIVE VOICE
• The passive voice is used whenever the subject of
the sentence is not actually performing the action of
the verb. It can be used with inanimate objects (The
car was started.) or it can be used to change the
main focus of the sentence (The paper was written
by Bob., rather than Bob wrote the paper.). There is
a passive form of every verb 'tense' in English. For a
complete list of all the verb 'tenses' in both active
and passive, you can refer to that list at this web site.
51. PAST PARTICIPLE
• Part #3 - Past Participle
• The past participle is used in the formation of the perfect tenses, past and
present, and in combination with progressive verbs, to form the majority
of verb 'tenses' in English. It is also used to form the passive form of all the
verb 'tenses'. The past perfect is used for activities that began and ended
in the past in combination with the simple past (She had been to Europe
several times before she went to Italy.), as well as for past time
hypothetical situations (If I had won the lottery, I would have moved to
Jamaica.). The present perfect is used for present time references (I have
finished my homework.), for activities which began in the past, but
continue into the present (I have lived here for 6 years.), and for the
recent past with an unspecified time reference (I have found a new
apartment.).
52. PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
• The past perfect progressive is also used for
activities in the past, frequently with the
simple past (I had been planning to leave
when the boss called.). The present perfect
progressive is used for activities which began
in the past, and continue into the present (I
have been speaking French for 10 years.).
53.
54. Rules
• The principal parts of the English verb are the
base form, the simple past, and the past
participle. For regular verbs, the simple past
and the past participle are spelled the same
and are created by adding -ed to the base
form. However, there are many irregular verbs
in English which do not conform to this
pattern.
55. Rules
• The additional forms of the verb in English are
the -s form (3rd person singular present), and
the present participle, which is created by
adding -ing to the base form. There are no
irregular forms of the present participle, so
the spelling of any verb will adhere to the
rules of spelling for regular inflection.
56. Rules
• Verbs in English can be classified according to
three different criteria: tense (present, past),
aspect (perfect, progressive), and modality.
There are only 2 true tenses in English, simple
present and simple past, where the actual
spelling of the word changes to reflect the
change of tense.
60. Rules for Using the Principal Parts of
the Verb
• Part #2 - Simple Past
• The simple past is used for just that, activities
which began and ended in the past. This form
is frequently used in historical writing (e.g.,
history textbooks). For regular verbs, the
simple past is formed by adding -ed to the
base form. Irregular verbs are included on
another list at this web site.
66. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
Hit hit hit
Hold held held
Hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
knit knit knit
know knew know
lay laid laid
lead led led
leap leaped/leapt leaped/leapt
learn learned/learnt learned/learnt
leave left left
67. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
lie lay lain
light lighted/lit lighted
lose lost lost
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
misspell misspelled/misspelt misspelled/misspelt
mistake mistook mistaken
mow mowed mowed/mown
68. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
overtake overtook overtaken
overthrow overthrew overthrown
pay paid paid
plead pled pled
prove proved proved/proven
put put put
quit quit quit
read read read
rid rid rid
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
69. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
say said said
see saw seen
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sew sewed sewed/sewn
shake shook shaken
shave shaved shaved/shaven
shear shore shorn
70. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
shear shore shorn
shed shed shed
shine shone shone
shoe shoed shoed/shod
shoot shot shot
show showed showed/shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
73. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
thrive thrived/throve thrived
throw threw thrown
thrust thrust thrust
tread trod trodden
understand understood understood
uphold upheld upheld
upset upset upset
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
weave weaved/wove weaved/woven
wed wed wed
74. Irregular Verbs
Base Form Simple Past Tense Past Participle
weep wept wept
wind wound wound
win won won
withhold withheld withheld
withstand withstood withstood
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written