SAT English SPAG

Subject

who or what the sentence is about (noun or pronoun)

Noun

person, place, or thing

Pronoun

can take the place of a noun in a sentence

Verb

action verbs and linking verbs (“be” “verbs”)

Action verbs

show actions

Linking verbs

show state/condition (is,are,was,were,am)

Clause

a group of words with a subject and a verb

Main clause/Independent clause

a group of words with a subject and a verb AND it can be a sentence by itself

Subordinating clause

a group of words with a subject and a verb BUT it cannot be a sentence by itself

Conjunctions

connecting words

Coordinating conjunctions

join 2 independent clauses (to make a compound sentence)

FANBOYS

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Subordinating conjunctions

join independent clauses to dependent clauses (complex sentences) {since, although, however, what, because}

Simple sentences

1 main clause

Complex sentences

1 main clause + 1 s. Conj. + 1 subordinating (She is my friend who is a doctor)

Compound sentences

1 main clause + c. conj. + 1 main clause (She is my friend, and she is a doctor)

Statement (declarative sentence)

tells something and ends with a full stop

Question (interrogative sentence)

asks something and ends with a question mark

Command (interpretive sentence)

tells to do something, ends with a full stop, and begins with a verb

Exclamation (exclamatory sentence)

shows the intensive emotion and ends with an exclamation mark

Past simple verbs

used to describe an action completed in the past

Past participle verbs

describes past completed action but needs a helping verb and does not make sense alone

Present progressive

used to talk about things happening now

Apostrophes

contractions (it’s), possession in singular (dog’s), possession in plural (dogs’), plural is irregular (men’s)

Relative Clause

part of a sentence that adds/gives extra information about a noun

Preposition

words that tell about place or time

Uses of semicolon

link clauses, introduce subordinating conjunctions, complex lists

Uses of colon

separate 2 related clauses, introduce a list, introduce an explanation, introduce an example, introduce a quote, for emphasis

Uses of dash

introduce an idea, explanation or additional detail, separate 2 words, create emphasis, show interruptions, introduce a list