Conventions of Standard English

Independent clause

A group of words with a subject and a verb that can stand alone as a sentence.

Dependent clause

A group of words with a subject and a verb that CANNOT stand alone. It often starts with a word like because, when, or although.

Subject

The person or thing a sentence is about. It does the action.

Verb

The action or state-of-being word in a sentence.

Subject-verb agreement

A singular subject needs a singular verb, and a plural subject needs a plural verb.

Sentence fragment

An incomplete sentence. It is missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.

Run-on sentence

Two complete sentences joined with no punctuation or connecting word.

Comma splice

Two complete sentences joined with only a comma. A comma alone is not strong enough.

Coordinating conjunction

A joining word: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS). Use a comma before it when it joins two sentences.

Subordinating conjunction

A word that starts a dependent clause, like because, although, when, since, or if.

Conjunctive adverb

A transition word like however, therefore, or moreover. It cannot join two sentences with just a comma.

Semicolon ( ; )

Joins two complete sentences that are closely related. Both sides must be able to stand alone.

Colon ( : )

Comes after a complete sentence to introduce a list, an explanation, or an example.

Dash ( — )

Sets off extra information or a sudden break. Used in pairs in the middle of a sentence.

Apostrophe

Shows ownership (possession) or a missing letter in a contraction.

Possessive

A form of a word that shows ownership.

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun, like he, she, it, they, or them.

Antecedent

The noun a pronoun refers back to. The pronoun must match it.

Pronoun case

Using the right form of a pronoun: subject (I, he, who) or object (me, him, whom).

Who vs. whom

Use who for a subject (like he). Use whom for an object (like him).

Relative pronoun

Who, whom, which, that, or whose. It starts a clause that describes a noun.

Appositive

A noun phrase that renames the noun right next to it. Usually set off by commas.

Nonessential clause

Extra information that could be removed without changing the sentence's main meaning. Set it off with commas.

Modifier

A word or phrase that describes something else in the sentence.

Misplaced modifier

A describing phrase placed next to the wrong word, so the sentence means something silly.

Dangling modifier

A describing phrase at the start of a sentence that doesn't match the subject right after the comma.

Parallel structure

Items in a list or comparison should use the same grammatical form.

Verb tense

The form of a verb that shows time: past, present, or future. Stay consistent unless the time changes.

Frequently confused words

Words that sound alike but have different meanings.