English Grammar and Sentence Structure

These flashcards cover English grammar fundamentals including homophones, independent vs. dependent clauses, and the rules for constructing compound sentences.

there

A term referring to a location.

their

A possessive form of the word they.

they're

A contraction for the phrase "they are."

Independent Clause

A clause that has both a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought, meaning it could stand alone as its own sentence.

Compound Sentence

A sentence created when two or more independent clauses are joined together in a single sentence.

FANBOYS

An acronym for the coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Semicolon

A punctuation mark used to connect two independent clauses when they are closely related in thought.

Conjunctive Adverb

Words like "however," "therefore," or "meanwhile" that can link independent clauses when used with a semicolon and a comma.

Dependent Clause

A clause that cannot stand alone and often begins with dependent words like "because," "although," or "when."

Comma Splice

An error that occurs when two independent clauses are incorrectly connected without proper punctuation and conjunctions.

Dependent Clause Punctuation Rule

A comma is required only when the dependent clause comes before the independent clause.

Independent Clause Punctuation Rule

A comma is grammatically incorrect when the independent clause comes first and is followed by a dependent clause.

dangling modifiers-8

A dangling modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that does not logically connect to the subject it's intended to describe. It typically occurs at the beginning of a sentence, accidentally modifying the wrong noun and creating an ambiguous or unintentionally humorous meaning

Incorrect: Looking out the window, the trees looked beautiful.
(This implies the trees are the ones looking out the window!)

Correct: Looking out the window, I thought the trees looked beautiful.