Grammar 4 Notes

Unit 1: Eight Parts of Speech

NOUNS - Part 1● Noun: person, place, thing, or idea

○ Common: marker○ Proper: Expo○ Concrete: desk○ Abstract: idea

● Collective: noun that represents a group of individuals

○ I.e. class, audience, squad

● Appositive: a noun phrase that redefines or clarifies another noun

○ can be one word or group of words (appositive phrase)

○ i.e. My older brother, Jerome, is 18. ○ i.e. Jefferson, our third president, wrote the

Declaration of Independence, an important document.

Hint: If “a” or “the” is in front of a word, the word is usually a noun.

Hint: If you can touch, see, hear, smell, or feel something, it’s probably concrete. If not, it’s probably abstract.

Exercises: p. 382, 390, 392

NOUNS - Part 2● Compound noun: noun made of two or

more words○ Can be one word, hyphenated, or more

than one word ○ i.e. storybook, runner-up, ice cream

● Possessive noun: noun that names who or what owns or has something

○ They can be formed two ways:○ 1. Add apostrophe and -s (‘s) for all

singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in -s.

○ 2. For plural nouns already ending in -s, you only add an apostrophe.

■ i.e. Rita becomes Rita’s; books becomes books’

Hint: To see if a noun is possessive, try replacing the noun with a possessive personal pronoun: his, her, its, or their. If you can, the noun is likely to be possessive.

Exercises: p.384, 386

PRONOUNS - Part 1● Pronoun: a word that takes the place of a

noun

● Personal pronouns: pronouns that refer to people or things. There are two types of these: subjective and objective.

○ Subjective pronoun: pronoun used as the subject of a sentence

○ Objective pronoun: pronoun used as the object of a verb or a preposition

Example: Chris knew the answer.

Pronoun-ified: He knew it.

Subjective Objective

Singular I you he sheit

meyouhimherit

Plural weyouthey

usyouthem

PRONOUNS - Part 2● Antecedent: noun or group of words that a

pronoun refers to○ The bus is running late.

It won’t be here until 9:30. [“it” refers to “the bus”]

○ BEWARE UNCLEAR ANTECEDENTS!■ Common writing error: “It is often said

that no good deed goes unpunished.” What is “It” referring to?? NOTHING!

● Indefinite pronoun: does not refer to any particular person, place, or thing

○ i.e. anything, something, anyone, everyone○ More i.e. both, few, many, several

● Reflexive pronoun: refers to a noun or another pronoun and indicates that the same person or thing is involved (objective)

○ Lizzie bought herself a book.● Intensive pronoun: adds emphasis to a

noun or pronoun already named (makes sense without)

○ I myself have never bought a book.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Singularmyselfyourselfhimself, herself, itself

Plural ourselvesyourselvesthemselves

PRONOUNS - Part 3 ● Interrogative pronoun: pronoun used to

introduce an interrogative sentence (a.k.a. the “wh” ones)

○ i.e. who, whom, what, which, whose● Demonstrative pronoun: pronoun that

points out something (a.k.a. the “th” ones)

○ i.e. this, these, that, those

HINT: “Who” and “whom” both refer to people (and are easy to mix up). “Who” is used when the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence. “Whom” is used when the interrogative pronoun is the object of a verb or a preposition.

VERBS - Part 1: Action!● Verb: shows an action or state of being● There are three main types of verbs:

○ Action○ Helping ○ Linking

● Action verb: word that names an action. ○ An action verb may contain more than one

word. ■ The director shouts at his cast.■ The actors have memorized their

lines.○ Have, has, and had can be action verbs

too when they name what the subject owns or holds.

■ The director has a script in his hand.

● When an action verb transfers action to a direct object, it is transitive. When an action verb has no d.o., it is intransitive.

○ The audience applauds the actors. (transitive)

○ The audience applauds loudly. (intransitive)

HINT: Verbs are the key to any sentence. You can’t really have a sentence without one.

Predicate: part of the sentence (or clause) that tells what the subject does or is (basically, it’s everything that is not the subject)

VERBS - Part 2: Objects ● Direct object: word that answers the

question “whom?” or “what?” after an action verb

○ Friends sent the actors flowers.

HOW TO FIND A DIRECT OBJECT:

1. Say the subject.2. Say the verb.3. Say “who” or “what.” 4. The answer is the d.o.

● An indirect object answers the question “to whom” or “for whom” an action is done.

○ Friends sent the actors flowers. ○ What if we change that sentence around:

■ Friends sent flowers to the actors.● Actors is not an i.o. anymore.

HOW TO FIND AN INDIRECT OBJECT:

1. Say the subject.2. Say the verb. 3. Say the d.o. 4. Say “to whom or “for whom.”5. The answer is the i.o.

HINT: I.O.s are always between the action verb and the d.o.

VERBS - Part 3: Linking Verbs● A linking verb connects the subject of a

sentence with a noun or adjective in the predicate.

● They are always followed by a complement:

○ Predicate noun: noun that follows a linking verb (defines the subject by telling what it is)

○ Predicate adjective: adjective that follows a linking verb (describes the subject by telling what it is like)

■ Mr. Barfield was the director.■ The director was stern yet kind.

○ HINT: If you can put “the” in front of the complement, it’s a p.n. If you can put “very” in front of the complement, it’s a p.a.

● REMEMBER: Many linking verbs can also be action verbs:

○ The director grew angry. [linking]○ The director grew a beard. [action]

Common Linking Verbs

be becomeseemappearlookgrowturntastefeelsmellsounds

VERBS - Part 4: Things are getting “tense” A verb tells what action takes place. It also tells when the action takes place. The form of the verb that shows the time of the action is called the tense of the verb.

● Present tense: names an action that occurs regularly. It can also express general truths.

○ A great actor wins awards. ○ Remember that the verb must always

agree with the subject: ■ “I walk.” NOT “I walks.”■ “It walks.” NOT It walk.”

● Past tense: names an action that already happened (usually formed by adding -ed to the verb)

○ The actors practiced their lines.○ I walked.

HINT: Don’t let the word “present” in present tense throw you off. Only in special circumstances does this tense indicate actions taking place right now. It’s more commonly used for actions/conditions that are always true (“The moon revolves around the earth”), for repeated actions (“I listen to the news every morning”), and for continuous actions (“My pen leaks all the time”).

VERBS - Part 5: HELP! (helping verbs)Verbs have 4 principal parts that are used to form all tenses:

You can use the base form itself and past form alone to form present and past tenses. The participles can be with combined with helping verbs to form other tenses.

REMEMBER: There’s a difference between forms and tenses. Don’t get them confused.

● Helping verb: helps the main verb tell about an action or make a statement

● Verb phrase: consists of one or more helping verbs followed by a main verb

● “They are acting in a play right now.”○ Helping verb: “are”○ Main verb: “acting” (present particle)

■ Together, they form a verb phrase● Most common helping verbs: be, have, do

○ Forms of “be” include: am/is/are (present tense) and was/were (past tense)

○ Forms of “have” include: has (present) and had (past)

Base Form Present Participle

Past Form Past Participle

act acting acted acted

VERBS - Part 6: Progressive Forms● The present progressive form of a verb

names an action or condition that is continuing in the present.

○ Lisa is finishing her homework. ● [present participle of main verb]

+ [a form of “be” (am/are/is)] = present progressive form

● The past progressive form of a verb names an action or condition that continued for some time in the past.

○ The plot was becoming scary. ● [present participle] + [was/were]

= past progressive

Present Progressive Form

Singular Plural

I am leaving. You are leaving.He/she/it is leaving.

We are leaving.You are leaving.They are leaving.

Past Progressive Form

Singular Plural

I was following.You were following.He/she/it was following.

We were following.You were following. They were following.

VERBS - Part 7: Perfect! ● The perfect tense of a verb names an

action that happened at an indefinite time in the past. It also tells about an action that happened in the past and is still happening now.

○ The actor has rehearsed for many hours.○ Kyah and Owen have seen Wicked five

times.○ He has played in the band for three years.

● The past perfect tense of a verb names an action that took place before another action or event.

○ We had just arrived when the play began.○ The play had been rewritten several times

before it opened.

[helping verb “have” or “has”] + [past participle of main verb] = present perfect

[helping verb “had”] + [past participle of main verb] = past perfect

Present Perfect Form

Singular Plural

I have performed. You have performed.He/She/It has performed.

We have performed.You have performed.They have performed.

Past Perfect Form

Singular Plural

I had started. You had started.He/She/It had started.

We had started. You had started. They had started.

VERBS - Part 8: The Future

● The future tense of a verb is formed by using “will” before the main verb (“shall” is also sometimes used)

● Time words are used with the present tense to express future time (i.e. tomorrow, next year, later)

○ Our show opens next week.○ Tomorrow we design the scenery.

● Future perfect tense: names an action that will be completed before another future event begins

● [will have/shall have] + [past participle] = future perfect tense

○ Thursday I shall have performed six times. ○ By next week the production will have

closed.

VERBS - Part 9: Active/Passive Voice● A sentence is in the active voice when

the subject performs the action of the verb. ○ Joe wrote the play.

● A sentence is in the passive voice when the subject receives the action of the verb.

○ The play was written by Joe.

● Active voice is usually a stronger, more direct way of expressing ideas. Use passive only if you want to emphasize the receiver, or if you don’t know who the performer is:

○ Romeo and Juliet was performed. [emphasize the play]

○ The theater was burned down. [don’t know who did it, though]

ADJECTIVES - Part 1● Adjective: word that describes or modifies

a noun or pronoun ● Predicate adjective: follows a linking verb

and modifies the subject of the sentence○ i.e. The haunted house is spooky.

● Articles (a special subgroup of adjectives):

○ a (indefinite)○ an (indefinite)○ The (definite)

■ Indefinite refers to one of a general group of things. Definite identifies a specific thing.

● Proper adjectives: adjectives formed from proper nouns (always begin with capital letter)

○ i.e. The Italian paintings are part of the February exhibit at the Seattle museum.

ADJECTIVES - Part 2

● Adjective Questions:○ What kind? ○ What color? ○ What size? ○ How many?○ Which one?

● Comparative: compares two things or people

● Superlative: compares more than two things or people

adjective comparative superlative

good/welltalllittlebad

bettertallerlessworse

besttallestleastworst

ADJECTIVES - Part 3● Demonstrative adjectives point out

something and describe nouns by answering the questions “which one” or “which ones?”

○ This, that, these, and those are demonstratives. They become demonstrative adjectives when they describe nouns.

● AVOID DOUBLE NEGATIVES!Don’t use two negative words in the same sentence. Correct this by changing one of the negative words with an affirmative word.

○ Incorrect: The clarinet isn’t no new instrument.○ Correct: The clarinet isn’t a new instrument.○ Correct: The clarinet is no new instrument.

Demonstrative Adjectives Demonstrative Pronouns

This book is my favorite. I love these kinds of books.That book is super cool.He writes those types of books.

This is my favorite book.These are the books I love. That is a super cool book. Those are the types of books he writes.

ADVERBS ● adverb: word that modifies, or describes,

a verb, an adjective, or another adverb● Adverbs answer the questions:

○ When?○ Where?○ Why?○ How?○ To what extent?

● Suzy is somewhat nervous before school starts.

○ The adverb answers the question “to what extent.”

● The comparative form of an adverb compares two actions.

○ The audience listened more attentively last night than tonight.

● The superlative form of an adverb compares more than two actions

○ Last Sunday’s audience responded most enthusiastically of all.

HINTS:Often ends in -ly, but not all words that

end in -ly are adverbs (i.e. friendly, lively)Not all adverbs end in -ly (i.e. sometimes,

later, often, soon, here, there, everywhere)“Not” and “very” are usually adverbs.

PREPOSITIONS - Part 1● A preposition is a word that shows the

relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in a sentence.

● Prepositions don’t function alone; they always come in prepositional phrases.

○ The boy by the window is bored. ○ “by” shows the relationship of the boy to the

window○ NOTE: A preposition can be more than one

word. These are compound prepositions (i.e. instead of, according to, because of, across from).

○ HINT (from Mrs. Manfred): Prep. phrases sound like a “chunk”

● A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, which is called the object of the preposition.

○ The painting near you is by a Brazilian artist.

● Prepositions can be confusing because they can also function as other parts of speech depending on their usage (i.e. inside and up can also be adverbs)

about before except on until

above behind for out up

across below from over with

after beneath inside past within

against beside into since without

among between like through because of

around down of to except for

as during off under on account of

PREPOSITIONS - Part 2● When the object of the preposition is a

pronoun, it should be an object pronoun, not a subject pronoun.

○ Dan handed the tickets to Natalie.Dan handed the tickets to her.

○ In the example above, the object pronoun “her” is the object of the preposition “to.”

● Sometimes a preposition will have a compound object: two nouns or a noun and a pronoun. The pronoun in a compound object must be an object pronoun.

● A prepositional phrase is an adjective phrase when it modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

○ I noticed some men with heavy suitcases.

● A prepositional phrase is an adverb phrase when it modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

○ The tourists travel in a group.

CONJUNCTIONS● Conjunctions: words that connect other

words, phrases, or clauses○ HINT: conjunctions like to connect things

of equal value (i.e. noun and noun, adj. and adj., subject and subject, etc.)

● Coordinating conjunction: word that connects parts of a sentence (i.e. words, clauses, or phrases)

○ and, but, so, yet. or, for, nor● Correlative conjunction: pair of words used

to connect words or phrases in a sentence○ both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not

only/but also

Using Coordinating Conjunctions

● Compound Subject: ○ “Vincent and Anna have traveled to

Rome.”● Compound Predicate:

○ “...tourist shops or relax on the beaches.”● Compound Object of a Preposition:

○ “Joe went to Brazil and Peru.”● Compound Sentence:

○ “Ben shopped every day, but we toured.”

INTERJECTIONS! ● An interjection is a word or group of words

that expresses strong feeling. It has no grammatical connection to any other words in the sentence.

○ Used to express emotions, such as surprise or disbelief, or to attract attention

○ Examples:■ Aha■ Alas■ Awesome■ Come on■ Gee■ Hey■ Oops■ Wow■ Zoinks

● An interjection that expresses very strong feeling may stand alone either before or after a sentence (followed by an exclamation mark).

○ The McRib is back. Hooray!● When an interjection expresses a milder feeling, it

can appear as part of a sentence (separated by a comma).

○ Wow, I already have to start shopping for Christmas.

● We use interjections frequently when we speak, but you should use them sparingly when you write. Overusing interjections will spoil their effectiveness.