INTERJECTIONS
Definition: An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses emotion or feeling, gives a command or fills a silence. It usually begins a sentence, but sometimes it may interrupt a sentence or be at the end.
Examples (interjections are in bold and underlined):
· Yikes, it’s hot outside.
· Ouch! I hurt my hand!
· Hmm, that’s a good question.
· We were, uh, going to call you.
· Yes, we are going to the store.
VERBS
Definition: A verb is an action word or a state of being verb. The verb in a sentence is connected with the subject of the sentence. Verbs change form according to tense (past, present, future), person (first, second, third), number (singular, plural), and voice (active, passive).
Some verbs are action words: sing, dance, jump, eat, run, sit, etc.
Some state of being verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, seems, feels, appears
Helping verbs are added to action verbs to help extend the meaning of the verb, especially with the tense: have, has, had, do, does, did, can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought to
In the following examples, the verbs (action, state of being, and helping) are underlined and in bold:
· My cousin sings in the choir.
· My cousin will sing in the choir.
· My cousin is a singer in the choir.
· We drive to school each day.
· I could have driven to school last week.
· She drove her car all year long.
· This apple feels squishy.
· This apple is squishy.
· Feel this squishy apple.
· He sounded the alarm.
· The alarm sounds too loud.
More about VERBS
Tense
Verbs show the time of the action by changing form. Look at the table below for some examples
|
Past
(Yesterday)
|
Present
(Today)
|
Future
(Tomorrow)
|
1st person
|
I walked
I jumped
I sat
|
I walk
I jump
I sit
|
I will walk
I will jump
I will sit
|
2nd person
|
You walked
You jumped
You sat
|
You walk
You jump
You sit
|
You will walk
You will jump
You will sit
|
3rd person
|
He walked
She jumped
It sat
|
He walks
She jumps
It sits
|
He will walk
She will jump
It will sit
|
ADJECTIVES
Definition: Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns (persons, places, or things) in the sentence. The articles — a, an, and the — are adjectives. Multiple adjectives can be used to modify/describe a noun. Possessive pronouns are also adjectives (e.g. my, your, his, etc.)
Adjectives answer these questions: what kind, which one, how many, and how much. They may be placed before the noun (or pronoun), after the noun (or pronoun), or after a linking or helping verb.
In the following sentences, the adjectives are underlined and in bold:
· The funny movie was the best part of a long day.
· My old gray sweater has a large hole on the left sleeve.
· Four dogs ran wildly in the enormous hay field.
· That blue car belongs to his grumpy Latin teacher.
· The fifth student in that long line fainted in the hot summer sun.
NOUNS
Definition: A noun is a word (or phrase or clause) that names a person, place, think, idea, or quality.
There are several categories of nouns:
Common – every day words, not capitalized (ex: dog, cat, building, town, man, woman)
Proper – specific names, capitalized (ex: Spot, Fluffy, Empire State Building, Northfield, Mr. Jones, Sally Forth)
Compound – nouns made up of two or more words (ex: ice cream, playground, mainstream, brother-in-law)
Collective – nouns that in its singular form denotes many within (ex: army, company, herd)
Concrete – tangible, touchable things (ex: rock, ball, bird, house)
Abstract – a quality or idea; something that cannot be touched (ex: liberty, hope, honesty, love)
Countable – nouns that form their plural with an s or es, that can be counted and numbered (ex: bugs, projects, boys, girls)
Non-countable – nouns that have no plural and cannot be counted (ex: poverty, peace, ideas, principles)
Nouns can be used as subjects of a sentence, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of a preposition, and predicate nouns.
In the following sentences, the nouns are underlined and in bold:
· The dog under the tree had a leash around his neck.
· My dog, Scooby, wanted freedom from his collar.
· The playground in Northfield had a statue of General Washington who fought for liberty.
· Sarge’s Parlour, a small business, sold ice cream in Storm Lake, Iowa to many generations of residents.
· My brother bought a snowmobile because he wanted to have fun during the winter.
Some words can be both a noun and a verb.
Examples:
I had a swim in the lake.
I swim in the lake.
I will drive to school.
We had a nice drive.
I watched the third act of the play.
This man can really act.
I wrote a check at the diner.
Will you check to see if it is right.
I have a new dress from Target.
The doctor will dress my wound.
She has a delightful laugh.
I laugh all the time.
CONJUNCTIONS
Definition: A conjunction is a word or words used to join other words, phrases, or clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions: The conjunctions are used to join words and sentence parts for compound predicates or compound sentences. To remember the coordinating conjunctions, we use the following acronym: FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)
In the following sentences, the coordinating conjunctions are underlined and in bold:
· The music was loud, for they had extra speakers.
· The guitarists were talented, and they played an amazing concert.
· The drummer couldn’t keep a beat, nor did he know the right kind of music.
· The bass player tried to ignore the drummer, but he found it impossible.
· I thought I could stay for the second act, or I could go and eat.
· I liked the singers in the next act, yet I was really hungry.
· My friend brought a sandwich, so I ate it and stayed to the very end.
Subordinating Conjunctions: Subordinating conjunctions connect main clauses (independent clauses) and subordinate clauses (dependent clauses). In a complex sentence, the role of the subordinating conjunction and the dependent clause is to establish a time, a place, a reason, a condition, a concession, or a comparison for the main clause. The subordinating conjunction provides the bridge between the main clause and the dependent clause.
Below is a list of the most common subordinating conjunctions:
after
although
as
as if
as long as
as much as
as soon as
as though
because
before
even
even if
even though
if
if only
in order that
just as
now
now since
now that
now when
once
provided
provided that
rather than
since
so that
supposing
than
that
though
unless
until
when
whenever
where
whereas
where if
wherever
whether
which
while
who
whoever
why
In the following sentences, the subordinating conjunctions are underlined and in bold:
· Because I am hungry, I ordered three pizzas.
· Although I didn’t study, I did well on the test.
· We are going to visit my grandfather before he goes to the hospital.
· I do not know if everyone will be here for the reunion.
· Whenever you travel north, you need to pack a jacket.
· After we booked our hotel, we searched for good restaurants.
· We will stay at the resort until the storm passes.
· We stayed an extra day so that we could go fishing again.
ADVERBS
Definition: An adverb is a word (or phrase or clause) that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs answer the following questions: How? When? Where? To what extent? How much? How often?
Placement: Adverbs of one word almost always come before the word modified. Clauses and phrases should be placed as closely as possible to the verb is modifies.
Formation: Adverbs can be formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective. (e.g. correctly, happily, sparingly) Another way to form an adverb is to place an adjective in the following formula: “in a _________ manner.”
In the following sentences, the adverbs are underlined and in bold:
· The horse lazily meandered through the very dense forest.
· Her brother playfully teased her yesterday.
· Tomorrow the band will carefully practice that insanely hard piece.
· Carefully, John put a foot on the thin ice.
· Bill stubbornly refused to do his homework.
· Joan instantly recognized the very famous actor.
· I secretly planned a party for the students.
PREPOSTIONS
Definition: A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. Prepositions are always the first word of prepositional phrase. The phrases can serve either as adjectival phrases (describing/modifying nouns) or as adverbial (describing/modifying verbs)
The Prepositional Phrase: A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition at the beginning and the object of the preposition (a noun or pronoun)
Below is a list of the most common prepositions:
about
|
below
|
excepting
|
off
|
toward
|
above
|
beneath
|
for
|
on
|
under
|
across
|
beside(s)
|
from
|
onto
|
underneath
|
after
|
between
|
in
|
out
|
until
|
against
|
beyond
|
in front of
|
outside
|
up
|
along
|
but
|
inside
|
over
|
upon
|
among
|
by
|
in spite of
|
past
|
up to
|
around
|
concerning
|
instead of
|
regarding
|
with
|
at
|
despite
|
into
|
since
|
within
|
because of
|
down
|
like
|
through
|
without
|
before
|
during
|
near
|
throughout
|
with regard to
|
behind
|
except
|
of
|
to
|
with respect to
|
In the following sentences, the prepositional phrases are in parentheses and the prepositions are underlined and in bold:
· The cup (of soup) (on the table) was cold.
· The meeting (before lunch) had been planned (since yesterday).
· I threw the ball (of yarn) (down the stairs).
· (Inside the house) (of the old lady) is a book (near the fireplace) (in the living room) that is was written (during the Revolutionary War).
· I put the suitcase (against the chair) (under the big picture).
· (Down the road) and (past the mailboxes) ran the red fox (with my lunch) (in his mouth).
· Once (upon a time) (in a castle) (on a hill), there lived an ogre (with warts) (on his face).
PRONOUNS
Definition: A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a nouns. We can substitute a pronoun for a noun in a sentence. Pronouns are classified in five (5) different categories. They are personal pronouns, relative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns.
Antecedent: The antecedent is the word or words that the pronoun is substituting.
Examples:
The lady drank her coffee. She said it was hot. (lady is the antecedent for her & she; coffee is the antecedent for it)
Roger sat on the chair, but it broke when he sat down. (Roger is the antecedent for he; chair is the antecedent for it)
Below is a chart showing the forms of personal pronouns
Personal Pronouns
|
|
Singular
|
|
Plural
|
Person
|
Nominative
|
Objective
|
Possessive
|
|
Nominative
|
Objective
|
Possessive
|
1st person
|
I
|
me
|
mine
|
|
We
|
us
|
ours
|
2nd person
|
You
|
you
|
yours
|
|
You
|
you
|
yours
|
3rd person
|
He, she, it
|
him, her, it
|
his, hers, its
|
|
They
|
them
|
theirs
|
In the following sentences, the personal pronouns are underlined and in bold.
· I gave her the bottle that used to belong to you.
· She knew right away that it was a collector’s piece.
· It had been used by Queen Elizabeth in her castle.
· They say it held the perfume that she used every day.
· My family has had many antiques in their collection and loves to talk about them.
· Do you think she will get any money for it?
Reflexive pronouns are a compound of personal pronouns with “self” or “selves.” They are used when you refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause.
Examples:
· I saw myself in the mirror.
· She made herself some lunch.
· The bird hurt itself when it flew into the window.
Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses (dependent clauses that relate the clause to a noun or pronoun in the sentence). The five relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, that.
Examples:
· The car that hit me was yellow.
· The student whose phone just rang should answer it.
· Jane is the girl who won the contest.
· Mr. Jones is a man on whom I can rely.
Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point out. They are this, that, these, and those.
Examples:
· This is my hat.
· I like these, not those.
· That is a great idea.
· How much money do you want for this?
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not point out specifically. They point out generally. They include such words as another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, one, other, others, some, somebody, and someone.
Examples:
· Does anyone have a pencil?
· Please stand with the others.
· No one can solve this equation.
· Both of you should do the dishes.
Interrogative pronouns ask questions. Who, whom, whose, which, and what are interrogative pronouns.
Examples:
· Who will give me the money?
· With whom are you going to movie?
· Whose books are these?
· What will you bring to the dinner?
