Grammar and Sentence Structure Notes

Parts of Speech

  • Noun: Names of anything (e.g., house, garden, boat, swing).
  • Pronoun: Replaces a noun (e.g., you, I, her).
  • Adjective: Describes a noun (e.g., great, small, black, brown).
  • Verb: Action or state of being (e.g., read, count, sing, laugh, run).
  • Adverb: Describes how actions are performed (e.g., slowly, quickly, badly, well).
  • Conjunction: Links ideas (e.g., and, because, although, whenever).
  • Preposition: Indicates relationships in time/space (e.g., in, through, under, around).
  • Interjection: Expresses emotions (e.g., Oh!, Ah!).

Coordinating Conjunctions

  • FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
  • Usage Examples:
    • For: "We listened eagerly, for he brought news of our families."
    • And: "She didn't speak to anyone, and nobody spoke to her."
    • Nor: "I don't expect children to be rude, nor do I expect to be disobeyed."
    • But: "They rushed to the hospital, but they were too late."
    • Or: "I will go shopping, or I will go camping."
    • Yet: "Kelly was a convicted criminal, yet many people admired him."
    • So: "I was feeling hungry, so I made myself a sandwich."

Subordinating Conjunctions

  • List:
    • because, after, lest, till, although, before, now that, unless, as, as if, as long as, as much as, even if, provided, even though, since, until, when, how, if, so that, as soon as, in as much as, than, that, whenever, where, wherever, as though, in order that, while, though.

Sentence Structure

  • Definition: A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought; it begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark (., ?, !).
  • Requirements: Must contain a subject and a finite verb.

Types of Sentences

  1. Statement: Supplies information.
    • Example: "Shaun is going to school."
  2. Question: Asks for information.
    • Example: "Where is Shaun going?"
  3. Exclamation: Expresses emotions (surprise, anger).
    • Example: "This work is unacceptable!"
  4. Command: Gives orders or instructions. Subject is often implied.
    • Example: "Do not enter through that door!"

Types of Sentence Structures

  1. Simple Sentence: Contains one main clause.

    • Example: "Anne reads a book."

  2. Compound Sentence: Contains two or more independent clauses.

    • Example: "Dan plays soccer at school and works on his computer at home."
    • Use of semi-colon: "We waited; nobody appeared."

  3. Compound-Complex Sentence: Contains at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

    • Example: "Jay pulled the boat ashore, but it was already too late as the boat had started to fill with water."

  4. Complex Sentence: Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

    • Example: "Candice received her results while she was recuperating in hospital after she had broken her leg."