conventions of standard english

Commas

• placed before a conjunction in a compound sentence

• after an introductory phrase or clause

• before and after dependent phrases and clauses

• to separate items in a list, to set off direct address, and to indicate interruptions; comma before “and”

• between two or more coordinate adjectives describing the same noun

conjunction

a word used to connect clauses or sentences, FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

independent clauses

clauses that can stand alone as complete sentences, containing a subject and a verb.

dependent clauses

clauses that cannot stand alone as complete sentences and typically start with a subordinating conjunction.

subordinating conjunction

A word that introduces a dependent clause and connects it to an independent clause, such as "although," "because," or "since."

compound sentence

A sentence that consists of two or more independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions, such as "and," "but," or "or."

coordinate adjectives

Adjectives that equally modify a noun and are separated by a comma or the word "and," such as in "It was a long, hot day."

complex sentence

A sentence that has an independent clause and dependent clause. Using a comma following an introductory subordinate clause to seperate from the independent clause. You do not need a comma if a subordinate clause follows the independent clause. EX: "Because it was raining, we stayed indoors."

simple sentence

A sentence that contains one idea or independent clause and uses only and end mark. EX: "I enjoy reading."

Subordinate

A clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and depends on the independent clause to provide meaning. It usually begins with a subordinating conjunction such as "because," "since," or "although."

transition word

A word or phrase that helps to connect ideas in writing, indicating relationships between them, such as addition, contrast, or cause and effect.

Apostrophes

Punctuation marks used to indicate possession or to form contractions in English. EX: "the dog's leash" or "don't".

apostrophe at end of word

plural possession for singular nouns; indicating that something belongs to multiple subjects. EX: "the girls' bikes" or "the teachers' lounge."

predicate

the part of sentence that explains what the subject does or is like. EX: "She runs quickly" or "The dog is friendly."

nouns

peoplem places, objects EX: "book," "city," "car."

pronoun

a word that replaces a noun in a sentence, such as "he," "she," or "they." EX: "Sarah loves her dog. She takes it for walks."

proper nouns

specific names of people, places, or organizations, such as "John," "Paris," or "Microsoft."

Verb

a word that expresses an action, event, or state of being, such as "run," "is," or "think." EX: "She runs every morning."

adverb

a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb, often ending in '-ly', such as 'quickly' or 'silently.' EX: "She sings beautifully."

prepositions

words that describe the relationships between other words: before, according to, since. EX: "The book is on the table."

Interjections

words that express strong emotion or sudden bursts of feeling, such as "wow!" or "ouch!" EX: "Oh no! I forgot my keys."

complement modifiers

words or phrases that complete the meaning of a sentence, often providing necessary information about the subject or object. EX: "The cake is delicious" where "delicious" complements the subject.

direct object

a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb in a sentence. EX: "She kicked the ball."

indirect object

a noun or pronoun that indirectly receives the action of a verb, typically indicating to whom or for whom the action is done. EX: "She gave her friend a gift."