Dual Grammar Final

Clause

A GROUP OF WORDS consisting of at least a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE;

Either INDEPENDENT or SUBORDINATE

Subject

A NOUN OR PRONOUN plus any MODIFIERS which tell WHO OR WHAT a sentence (Clause) is ABOUT.

Simple subject

A SINGLE Noun or Pronoun

Complete subject

A Subject PLUS ANY Modifiers

Verb

A word that EXPRESSES and ACTION (i.e. dance or talk) Or a STATE OF BEING (i.e. be or seem)

ESSENTIAL element to a SENTENCE (clause).

FOUR FORMS: Base, Past tense, Past PARTICIPLE, Present PARTICIPLE)

**participle meaning word formed from a verb**

Noun

A Word naming a PERSON, PLACE, THING, OR IDEA

EX: Teacher, Zadie Smith, forest, surgeon general, Amazon River, notebook.

Adjective

Words used to MODIFY NOUNS AND PRONOUNS

Usually answer the questions: Which? What king? How many?

EX: “If you are craving something sweet, have a piece of fruit”

Adverbs

Words used to MODIFY VERBS, ADJECTIVES, AND OTHER ADVERBS

Usually answer the questions: How? When? Where? Why? Under what conditions? To what degree?

EX: Emergency personnel must respond quickly when an ambulance arrives

Fragment

An incomplete clause usually MISSING a SUBJECT OR VERB.

EX: “forgot to vote” 

Subordinate

A Clause (sentence) that is DEPENDENT on ANOTHER CLAUSE for its FULL MEANING

Subordinate word

A word such as a RELATIVE PRONOUN or a Subordinating Conjunction which INTRODUCES a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE.

EX: “although,” “as,” “because,” “if,” “since,” “that,” “which,” and “why.”

Subordinate clause

A clause (sentence) with a SUBORDINATING WORD and Therefore CANNOT STAND ALONE AS A SENTANCE.

EX: “She feels good when she exercises.” “My roommate, who was a physics major, tutors students in science.”

Independent Clause

A clause CONTAINING a SUBJECT AND VERB that CAN STAND ALONE as a Sentence (clause).

EX: “she sang. The world-famous soprano sang several popular arias [term for solo vocal piece].”

Comma Splice

When a COMMA ( , ) appears BETWEEN TWO CLAUSES when one Should NOT appear or Should be omitted and something else.

EX: “It was the coldest day in fifty years, the marching band preformed brilliantly".”

Conjunction

A word that CONNECTS words, phrases or clauses

EX: “and,” “but,” or “because”

Coordinating conjunction

Word used to JION TWO ELEMENTS to give equal weight to each one

EX: “FANBOYS” (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So).

Fused Sentence

When there is NO EXPLICIT CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO clauses (sentences).

EX: “The fire alarm went off the senator spilled her latte all over her desk.”

Comma

{Punctuation}

Used to JOIN TWO INDEPENDENT Clauses with a COORDINATING CONJUNCTION (FANBOYS)

EX: Marta planned a trip to Italy, BUT she had trouble convincing her employer to let her off from work.

Semi colon

{Punctuation}

Used BETWEEN TWO INDEPENDENT Clauses

ONLY USE IN PLACE OF PERIOD, NEVER IN PLACE OF COMMA

EX: The vegetable soup was hearty and warm; the cold travelers ate it eagerly

Colon

{Punctuation}

Used AFTER AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE and BEFORE A LIST

EX: In order to repair the door, we need the following items: a saw, sander, tape and paint.

Apostrophe

{Punctuation}

Used to show OWNERSHIP OR POSSESSION.

Used ONLY WITH NOUNS to SHOW POSESSION

EX: The children’s toys covered the playroom (think whose toys? “The Children’s”).

Apostrophe rules

• Show POSSESIONS (of objects, people, or singular words)

• INDIVIDUAL POSESSIONS (with including apostrophe after s (s’) or word)

• Show OMISSIONS such as (don’t and I’m)

• NOT USED FOR WORDS: “HIS, HER, ITS, MY YOURS, AND OURS”

Parallelism

Writing technique putting SIMILAR ITEMS into the SAME GRAMATICAL STRUCTURE

EX: The child likes running, skipping, and jumping.

Modifiers

Word or Phrases that DESCRIBE. Usually placed in the sentence either in FRONT OR BEHIND the Word which they DESCRIBE.

Misplaced modifiers

MODIFIER ERRORS which can be Corrected by MOVING THE MODIFIER

EX: “Lucy bakes muffins for her friends filled with cinnamon” → “Lucy Bakes muffin filled with cinnamon for her friends.”

Dangling modifiers

OTHER MODIFIERS which have NO WORD in the Sentence (clause) to describe.

Requires the ADDING OF WORDOR WORDS to the sentence to correct the error.

Pronoun

A word which TAKES PLACE of a NOUN like “she",” “anyone,” or “whoever.”

Antecedent

A NOUN OR PRONOUN to which a PRONOUN REFERS.

EX: “MAYA lost HER wallet.” Maya is the antecedent of her.

Agreement

Correspondence between a SUBJECT and VERB in Person and Number OR between a PRONOUN and its ANTECEDENT in Gender and Number.

EX: the DOG CHASES the children down the street, or the CAT nursed HER kittens.

subject-verb

English Law; every VERB HAS TO AGREE with its SUBJECT in both NUMBER AND PERSON.

EX: “First the coach enters, then you enter, and then all the other players enter.”

Indefinite pronoun

Pronouns which DO NOT refer to a Specific PERSON or THING

Such as: “all,” “anyone,” “anything",” “everyone,” “everything,” “few,” “many,” “nobody,” “nothing,” “one,” “some,” and “something”

Past perfect

{Tense}

The VERB tense which INDICATES an ACTION was Completed BEFORE ANOTHER ACTION in the PAST began.

Essential info

A Word, Phrase, or Clause with information that IS NECESSARY for UNDERSTANDING the MEANING OF A SENTENCE

EX: “French is the only language that I can speak”

Nonessential info

A Word, Phrase, or Clause that gives ADDITIONAL INFORMATION but that is NOT NECESSARY for UNDERSTANDING the Basic Meaning of a sentence.

**NONESSENTIAL ELEMENTS SHOULD BE SET OFF WITH COMMAS

EX: “ I learned French, which is a romance language, online.

Comparatives

Used to COMPARE TWO THINGS

Typically uses words ENDING IN ER / R such as, “better,” “worse,” “farther,” “further,” “less,” “more.”

EX: “Who was the better quarterback, Eli Manning or his brother?

Superlative

Used to COMPARE THREE OR MORE THINGS

Typically uses words ENDING IN EST/ ST such as, “best,” “worst,” “farthest,” “furthest,” “least,” “most,”

EX: “Many Colts fans still consider Peyton Manning the best quarterback ever.”