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Grammar Fun Begins
Nouns: name people, places, and things. Every noun can further be classified as common or proper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc-ukN1Rvb8 A proper noun has two distinctive features: 1) it will name a specific [usually a oneof-a-kind] item, and 2) it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a sentence. Common Noun teacher beagle cookie city restaurant document school Proper Noun Mrs. Hacket Snoopy Oreo Orlando Tito's Taco Palace Declaration of Independence
cookies = common noun. Hacket. Mrs. so Richard took her to Tito's Taco Palace. Tina offered Antonio one of her mother's homemade oatmeal cookies but only an Oreo would satisfy his sweet tooth. whose short temper and unreasonable demands made the semester a torture. Charlie had wanted an easy teacher for his composition class. Gloria wanted to try a new restaurant. Oreo = proper noun. but he got Mrs. Hacket = proper noun. teacher = common noun. Tito's Taco Palace = proper noun . where no one dips into the hot sauce until the drinks have arrived at the table. restaurant = common noun.
smell them. places. Bravery has no color. odor. shape. and the crowd. You can see Joseph. One class of nouns is abstract. You cannot see them. his bravery amazed the crowd of fishermen standing on the dock. or touch. sound. Any noun that escapes your five senses is an abstract noun. the water. or feel them. smell. hear. and things. taste. But you cannot see bravery itself. flavor. size. Bravery. Cannot see Cannot hear Cannot smell Cannot taste Cannot touch Example: When Joseph dived into the violent waves to rescue a drowning puppy. hear them. one of the nouns in this sentence.Abstract Nouns Nouns name people. or texture. is an example of an abstract noun. Your five senses cannot detect this group of nouns. taste them. . it has no quality that you can see.
youtube.com/watch?v=yg9MKQ1OY Cg . but who are they? Cows? whom do they represent? Sloppy use of pronouns is unfair. For instance. They is a pronoun referring to someone. we are bewildered by writers who claim something like They say that eating beef is bad for you.Pronoun Generally (but not always) pronouns stand for (pro + noun) or refer to a noun. http://www. an individual or individuals or thing or things (the pronoun's antecedent) whose identity is made clear earlier in the text.
2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he) gender: male (eg: he). female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it) case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us) .Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on: number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we) person: 1st person (eg: I).
Verbs have two important functions: Some verbs put static objects into motion while other verbs help to clarify the objects in meaningful ways.com/watch?v=qEBy4x EnXfo Verbs are a necessary component of all sentences. Look at the examples below: .youtube.Verb http://www.
Theo's overworked computer exploded in a spray of sparks. The curious toddler popped a grasshopper into her mouth. The curious toddler = static object. splashed = verb. popped = verb. The daredevil cockroach splashed into Sara's soup.Examples of Verbs My grumpy old English teacher smiled at the plate of cold meatloaf. smiled = verb. Theo's overworked computer = static object. My grumpy old English teacher = static object. . The daredevil cockroach = static object. exploded = verb.
youtube. other adverbs.com/watch?v=9Eam2rL5 S4&playnext=1&list=PL9BB40ECC904A735E Adverbs tweak the meaning of verbs. for example. and clauses. Read.Adverb http://www. this sentence: . adjectives.
The adverb rudely fine-tunes the verb grabbed. The adverb very fine-tunes the adverb happily. Tyler stumbled in the completely dark kitchen. Roxanne very happily accepted the ten-point late penalty to work on her research essay one more day. Is Bailey a sound sleeper. The adverb completely fine-tunes the adjective dark.Adverb Examples Our basset hound Bailey sleeps on the living room floor. the restroom stalls had toilet paper. his paws twitching while he dreams? The addition of an adverb adjusts the meaning of the verb sleeps so that the reader has a clearer picture: Our basset hound Bailey sleeps peacefully on the living room floor. . Adverbs can be single words. curled into a tight ball? Or is he a fitful sleeper. or they can be phrases or clauses Adverbs answer one of these four questions: How? When? Where? and Why? Here are some single-word examples: Lenora rudely grabbed the last chocolate cookie. The adverb surprisingly modifies the entire main clause that follows. Surprisingly.
During the marathon. Jill craved mashed potatoes with grape jelly.Preposition http://www..com/watch?v=DaQFVBnwLiI&playnext=1&list=PL9BB4 0ECC904A735E Prepositions are the words that indicate location. In the spring. and beside are all prepositions. Iggy's legs complained with sharp pains shooting up his thighs. Usually. in. Read the next three examples: At midnight. The puppy is beside the phone. Check out the three examples below: The puppy is on the floor. I always vow to plant tomatoes but end up buying them at the supermarket. and during the marathon all show location in time.youtube. On. . The puppy is in the trashcan. prepositions show this location in the physical world. They are showing where the puppy is. Prepositions can also show location in time. At midnight. in the spring.
there are quite a few prepositions. Preposition Examples Because there are so many possible locations. Below is the complete list. about above in according to in addition to across after in back of against in case of along in front of along with in place of among apart from inside around in spite of as instead of as for into at because of like before near behind next below beneath beside between beyond without by by means of concerning despite down during except except for excepting for from of off on onto on top of out out of outside over past regarding round since through throughout .
com/watch?v=qzJBV7uYLQ4&playn ext=1&list=PL9BB40ECC904A735E And. nor. or FONYBAS. or. and yet²these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. for.youtube. but. so. you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS. F = for A = and A = and F = for F = for O = or N = nor N = nor N = nor B = but O = or Y = yet O = or B = but B = but Y = yet S = so A = and S = soY = yet S = so . To remember all seven.Conjunction http://www. YAFNOBS.
Conjunction Examples Coordinating conjunctions connect words. Rocky refuses to eat dry cat food. Rocky terrorizes the poodles next door yet adores the German shepherd across the street. I hate to waste a single drop of squid eyeball stew. . Look at the examples that follow: The bowl of squid eyeball stew is hot and delicious. and clauses. nor will he touch a saucer of squid eyeball stew. The squid eyeball stew is so thick that you can eat it with a fork or spoon. my orange tomcat. loves having his head scratched but hates getting his claws trimmed. Rocky ignored his serving. for it is expensive and time-consuming to make. Even though I added cream to the squid eyeball stew. Rocky. phrases. so I got a spoon and ate it myself.
com/watch?v=JELGTL v-l24 Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word.Adjectives http://www. a phrase. or a clause. Check out these examples: .youtube.
How many books? Twenty-two! . How many students? Eleven! The disorganized pile of books. which contained seventeen overdue volumes from the library and five unread class texts. What kind is it? Dan decided that the fuzzy green bread would make an unappetizing sandwich. blocked the doorway in Eli's dorm room. What kind of bread? Fuzzy green! What kind of sandwich? Unappetizing! A friend with a fat wallet will never want for weekend shopping partners. How many are there? Seven hungry space aliens slithered into the diner and ordered two dozen vanilla milkshakes. What kind of friend? One with money to spend! A towel that is still warm from the dryer is more comforting than a hot fudge sundae. five freshmen and six sophomores. Ribley's killer calculus exam. What kind of towel? One right out of the dryer. braved Dr. How many hungry space aliens? Seven! The students.
. Mauzy's English class hide in the cafeteria rather than risk their instructor's wrath. Which one is it? The most unhealthy item from the cafeteria is the steak sub. Which students? Not the good students but the lazy slackers. Which cockroach? Not the one crawling up your leg but the one who wants your cookie! The students who neglected to prepare for Mrs. Which item from the cafeteria? Certainly not the one that will lower your cholesterol! The cockroach eyeing your cookie has started to crawl this way. which will slime your hands with grease.
except in direct quotations.youtube.Interjection http://www. . You usually follow an interjection with an exclamation mark.com/watch?v=RhHpJ45_zw M An interjection is a word added to a sentence to convey emotion. Interjections are uncommon in formal academic prose. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.
Interjection Examples The highlighted words in the following sentences are interjections: ± Ouch. eh?" ± I don't know about you but. I forgot that the exam was today. ± Hey! Put that down! ± I heard one guy say to another guy. good lord. I think taxes are too high! . "He has a new car. that hurt! ± Oh no.
splashed = verbs. My dog loves pizza crusts. Here are some examples: Lazy students whine. you have a fragment.Clauses Independent Clauses Every main clause (independent) will follow this pattern: subject + verb = complete thought. a major error . Cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter. whine = verb. Cola = subject. Otherwise. loves = verb. Dog = subject. Students = subject. The important point to remember is that every sentence must have at least one main clause. spilled.
relative pronoun as subject + verb = incomplete thought. Mrs. which. he = subject. whose. hit = verb. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser Whom = relative pronoun. . That had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter That = relative pronoun. or why]. Here are some examples: Whom Mrs. drools = verbs. chews. where. Russell = subject. splashed = verbs. Relative Clauses A relative clause will begin with a relative pronoun [such as who. loves = verb. had spilled. The patterns look like these: relative pronoun or adverb + subject + verb = incomplete thought. whom. Where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm Where = relative adverb. or that] or a relative adverb [when. Who loves pizza crusts Who = relative pronoun.
My dog Floyd. Anthony ran to get paper towels for the cola that had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter. where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm. You must connect them to main clauses to finish the thought. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser soon learned to keep their complaints to themselves. Punctuating relative clauses can be tricky. Relative clauses cannot stand alone as complete sentences. You have to decide if the relative clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly. . Look at these revisions of the relative clauses above: The lazy students whom Mrs. who loves pizza crusts. eats them under the kitchen table.
To know which dog we are talking about. the relative clause is essential and requires no commas. Essential relative clauses do not require commas. Thus. A relative clause is essential when you need the information it provides. who eats too much pizza. we revise dog and choose more specific words instead. has developed pepperoni breath. the relative clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence. . Dog is nonspecific. If. Look at this example: A dog that eats too much pizza will soon develop pepperoni breath. Read this revision: My dog Floyd. however. we must have the information in the relative clause.
. we have a noun clause: You really do not want to know what Aunt Nancy adds to her stew. If we replace the noun ingredients with a clause. Ingredients = noun. Look at this example: You really do not want to know the ingredients in Aunt Nancy's stew. What Aunt Nancy adds to her stew = noun clause.Noun Clauses Noun Clauses Any clause that functions as a noun becomes a noun clause.