Grammar for Grade Nine

Episode I:Parts of Speech

Nouns: definition

• Nouns name people, places, things, or ideas.– grandfather– kitchen– peacock– vegetarianism– downtown– happiness

Noun Types: Concrete

• Concrete nouns identify objects that are tangible or can be identified through the senses (things we can see, hear, touch, taste, smell).– hoof– fog– yawn– melodies

Noun Types: Abstract

• Abstract nouns name ideas, qualities, or characteristics which cannot be touched, seen, heard, tasted or smelled. – fear– spirit– love– kindness– dreams

Noun Types: Proper

• Proper nouns name particular people, places, things or ideas. Proper nouns always are capitalized.– Elizabeth Cousar– Canada– Islam– Taj Mahal– Fraser River

Noun Types: Collective

• Collective nouns name groups. The singular form is sometimes considered singular, and sometimes considered plural.– committee– choir– (a) pride (of lions)– (my English) class

Pronouns

• Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, groups of words that can act as nouns, or other pronouns.

• Consider this sentence: When Mrs. Cousar gets up, Mrs. Cousar makes coffee and takes the coffee into Mrs. Cousar’s shower.

• This sounds better: When Mrs. Cousar gets up, she makes coffee and takes it into her shower.

Pronoun Types: Interrogative

• Interrogative pronouns are use to form questions:– who– what– whatever– whom

…and so on.

Pronoun Types: Relative

• Relative Pronouns introduce subordinate clauses.

ex: Rene, who is from Paris, drives a Porsche.ex: The house that we spoke about has been sold.ex: The trait of writing with which students struggle most is definitely voice.Note: who = people, that = people or things, which = things.

Pronouns: Cases I

• Subject pronouns are the ones which can be used as the subject of a sentence. They are sometimes called “subjective case” pronouns.– I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who

• Object pronouns are the ones which serve as the object (direct or indirect) of a sentence, or as the object of a preposition– me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom

Pronouns: Cases II

• Possessive pronouns show that the pronoun (or its antecedent) owns something.– my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours,

their/theirsex: This is my textbook, not yours. ex. Our mother has talked to their teacher.

Verbs: Action Verbs

• Verbs are words which indicate an action or a state of being.

• Action verbs describe physical or mental action:– jog --smile --think

• Action verbs can be transitive (they require a direct object) or intransitive (they don’t); sometimes an action verb can be transitive in some circumstances and intransitive in others.

Verbs: Linking Verbs

• Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence with words or groups of words that identify or describe it.

• All forms of the verb to be can function as linking verbs:– Tomorrow will be bright and sunny.– Oro is the Spanish word for gold.

• Other common linking verbs include seem, remain, appear, smell, feel, look, become, taste, and sound. There are others.

Adjectives

• Adjectives modify (describe) nouns and pronouns. They answer the questions which one(s)? or what kind?– eerie room --some people --latest fad

• Many adjectives have comparative and superlative forms:

• The adjectives a, an and the are called articles.

Hot Hotter Hottest

Sharp Sharper Sharpest

Psychic More psychic Most psychic

Adjectives: Proper Adjectives

• Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns. They are always capitalized.

– Italian opera– French cheeses – Buddhist thought– Sikh culture

Adverbs• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other

adverbs.– run quickly --deeply embarrassed– quite nicely

• Adverbs answer the questions when? where? how? and to what degree?– when? soon, yesterday, earlier…– where? there, here…– how? carefully, eagerly, rapidly…– to what degree? very, quite, completely…

Adverbs: Placement

• Adverbs always precede (go before) the adjectives and other adverbs they modify:– rather handsome– just barely

• Their position in relation to verbs can vary.– I disagree with you completely.– I completely disagree with you.– I disagree completely with you.

Prepositions

• Prepositions show relationships of nouns and pronouns to other words in the sentence. These relationships often involve space or time.– in the closet --after lunch– during the dance --outside the perimeter– since yesterday --from the government

Prepositions II• Compound prepositions consist of more than

one word:– according to the law --on top of Old Smokey– out of the question

• Prepositions begin phrases that conclude with a noun or pronoun. This noun or pronoun is called the object of the preposition.– A wounded deer stood in front of the car.• prepositional phrase: in front of the car• object of the preposition: car

Conjunctions• Conjunctions are words which join together

two words, sentences, phrases, or clauses.• Coordinating conjunctions give equal

emphasis to two main clauses. There are only seven of them. Think FANBOYS.– for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so• I hate to exercise, and I love to eat, so I am fat.

• When a coordinating conjunction is used to connect two main clauses, a comma is required before the coordinating conjunction.

Subordinating Conjunctions• Subordinating conjunctions join two clauses to that

one clause depends grammatically on the other.• The clause introduced by the coordinating conjunction

is called a dependent clause. It cannot stand alone as a sentence.– ex: When he hit me, I gasped in shock.

• “When” is the subordinating conjunction.• “When he hit me” is a dependent clause.

• There are many subordinating conjunctions in English, including before, unless, until, while, as soon as, in order that, since, while, although, as far as, and after. There are others.