English

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Have you ever had someone give you directions? It’s easy to forget exactly what the person said. Were you supposed to turn north or south at the traffic light? Was it the second house on the right or on the left? If you take a moment to write down the directions, it will be much easier to follow them. Putting the information down in words allows the details to be stored and returned to whenever needed. The written word informs us, entertains us, and makes life more interesting. Understanding those words is the key to always figuring out where it is we want to go—when driving or in life in general.

You’ll be introduced to the writing process. As you proceed through your program, you’ll gradually add to your knowledge of writing and you’ll develop your writing skills.

The Writing Process

Let's break the writing process down into four steps:

Plan what you intend to write. If you’re writing a paper for a course, the first step is selecting a topic. When doing so, keep the purpose of your paper and its audience in mind. For example, the purpose of a book review is different than the purpose of a research paper. Also think about who will read your paper. If you’re writing about fishing, for example, you would write differently to fishing amateurs than you would to longtime fishing veterans. After selecting a topic, you’ll need to consider what sources you may need. Will you need to do online research? Read a few magazine articles? Do some interviews?

Prepare a first draft. Few people get the words right on the first try. That’s why the process of revising is so important. Write your first draft to get your ideas down on paper and in order. Then, reread it and look for errors or improvements that could be made.

Edit and correct your first draft. Correct the errors you found, and edit or rewrite sections that need improvement. Consider letting a friend or classmate read your work to see if they can point out additional changes that could be made.

Write a final draft. Based on the feedback you’ve gotten, proofread your writing one last time to make sure each word is spelled correctly and no words have been omitted. Then submit your work.

Types of Writing

Let’s think about three common kinds of writing that most people do:

A Note to Someone

Planning what you want to write can often be done in your mind, but you might also make a list. For example, if you want to leave instructions for your babysitter, you might quickly write the following list:

Snack at 8:30

Bedtime at 9:00

Read one story

Turn on nightlight

Number to reach me

A writing plan like this is sometimes called brainstorming. Through the brainstorming process, you can quickly gather and organize your ideas on paper. Brainstorming helps you develop a plan and makes it easier to know where to start writing. From this list, you can write your note.

Notice that the note includes one bit of information that wasn’t on the list—the time the couple will return home. People often think of things to add when they work from a writing plan.

This is a short, simple note, so what you’ve written may be your final draft. However, you should always reread what you’ve written, correct spelling errors, and make sure you’ve given complete instructions.

An Email or Online Communication

Suppose you need to write an email to a colleague, friend, or relative. People often make the mistake of thinking that emails don’t need to have proper punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar, but this is rarely true. Unless the message is 100 percent personal (rather than professional), it should be written as carefully as a handwritten note.

Begin by planning what you want to say, and consider jotting down the main ideas on a piece of paper. Then, write the first draft, review it, and correct any errors. Add or delete details if needed. Finally, read it over one more time, and then hit “send”.

Formal and Impersonal Writing

Formal and impersonal writing generally refers to business letters that are not of a personal nature. For example, suppose you decide to apply for a sales position at the local Mazda dealership. You would write and send a formal cover letter to go with your application and résumé. You’ll definitely want to plan this cover letter.

First, learn the name of the dealership manager or hiring manager so you can address the letter to the correct person. Do some research so that you know exactly what the position requires. Then make sure you emphasize how your job experience and education meet those qualifications.

How do you write the first draft of your cover letter? Very carefully. Remember that your cover letter is really a type of sales letter. You’re selling yourself, and you want to make a positive impression.

As you edit your first draft, ask yourself these questions:

If you were getting this letter from someone you didn’t know, what impression would it make on you?

Would you want to hire this person? Why or why not?

Revise accordingly until your final draft is exactly how you want it.

Writing a Paragraph

As you read the following example, think about ways that you would build a paragraph around the topic. For instance, how would you get started? After reading this section, try to create your own paragraph around a topic that interests you. Marty’s instructor has asked him to write a paragraph on his hobby of photography. Here’s how he wrote his paragraph. (This example follows the four steps in the writing process outlined in this lesson.)

Step 1: Plan what you intend to write. To plan his paragraph, Marty developed a short form that he completed.

Step 2: Prepare a first draft. As you learned in your "Reading Skills" course, a well-written paragraph should have a topic sentence. Marty wrote his topic sentence and then prepared his draft. As you can see, Marty has some errors to correct, but he has a strong start. A topic sentence contains the main idea in a paragraph. It’s often the first sentence in the paragraph.

Step 3: Edit and correct your first draft. After Marty completed his first draft, he read it over carefully and corrected errors. Notice his attention to spelling errors.

Step 4: Write a final draft. Take a look at Marty’s final draft. His topic sentence is underlined. Read it over carefully. Is there anything you would change if this were your paragraph?

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Brainstorming- A writing plan to organize your thoughts and ideas

Writing Process- (1) plan what you are going to write, (2) prepare first draft (3) edit and, (4) write a finial draft.

Topic Sentence- Contains the main idea of a paragraph

Key Points

The writing process has four steps: planning, writing the first draft, editing, and writing the final draft.

Brainstorming is a good way to begin the planning stage.

There are different kinds of writing, including writing notes, emails or online communication, and formal and impersonal writing. Each has a different purpose, and therefore a different style.

Links

Purdue OWL

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Sentence Punctuation Marks

Punctuation often works like street signs. Some punctuation marks tell the reader to stop or pause, while others point out when to be excited or when to question. These marks help us move through a piece of writing with confidence and understanding.

There are eight main punctuation marks:

Period

Comma

Question Mark

Exclamation Point

Colon

Semicolon

Apostrophe

Quotation Marks

In this part of the lesson, you’ll study the first four marks.

Period

For the purposes of this course, the period serves two functions:

1. A period (.) marks the end of a statement:

My name is Amanda.

I live in Cleveland.

My father works in a hardware store.

Today is Tuesday.

2. A period is used at the end of some abbreviations:

Mr. Jacob Carlson

5 ft. (feet) and 3 in. (inches)

6:00 A.M.

Comma

A comma (,) performs five main jobs:

1. A comma separates two complete sentences joined by and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet.

Bill wanted to go to the movies, but Alice preferred dining out.

Juan was the president of the class, and Cherith was vice president.

He would not arrive on time, so he called to explain why he would be late.

2. A comma separates introductory words or phrases from the main part of the sentence.

As usual, Rico got every question right.

While we waited, Aiden played his guitar.

Waiting for dinner to be served, we watched the sunset.

However, my parents decided to travel anyway.

3. A comma separates items in a list of three or more items. A comma should be placed after each item, including the last item listed before the conjunction. Items in a list can be people, places, things to do, or steps in doing something.

Nicholas, Alyssa, Emma, and Ramon reached the top of the hill after a long hike.

The best three restaurants in town are Jake’s Place, Mario’s, and Lucy’s Diner.

Gregory was instructed to clean out the rain gutters, wash the dog, and mow the lawn.

Connect Part C to Part D, connect Part D to Part A, and place the assembled model on the stand.

Please bring a casserole, a dessert, or a vegetable platter to the covered dish supper.

No comma is needed when a list includes only two items.

Should we grab a bite at Pete’s Pizza or at Hamburger Hut?

I enjoy both opera music and show tunes.

4. A comma sets off words that add details. The details may be in the middle or at the end of a sentence. When the details are in the middle of a sentence, you must use a pair of commas. These extra words are called parenthetical elements.

We stood in line for tickets to The Marriage of Figaro, a famous opera.

Isabel, who is studying biology, is interested in Jim’s aquarium.

Lawrence, a bookworm, spends hours in the local used bookstore.

In each of these examples, the added information isn’t necessary for the sentence to make sense. In other words, you could leave out the added information without taking away from the meaning of the sentence.

We stood in line for tickets to The Marriage of Figaro.

Isabel is interested in Jim’s aquarium.

Lawrence spends hours in the local used bookstore.

5. A comma separates the names of people being spoken to from the rest of the sentence.

I can’t arrive before noon, Jason.

Carla, will you please set the table for me?

Good night, Mario.

Aunt Sara, what large tomatoes these are!

Use commas carefully. Misplaced commas can cause confusion and may even change the meaning of a sentence. Read the following sentence:

Nora decided to invite Katherine, Mary, Ann, Natalie, and Leah to her party.

Now read this one:

Nora decided to invite Katherine, Mary Ann, Natalie, and Leah to her party.

The first sentence indicates that Nora invited five people to her party. The second sentence indicates only four.

For another example, compare these three sentences:

The menu included baked Alaska, salmon, fruit, salad, and fresh bread.

The menu included baked Alaska, salmon, fruit salad, and fresh bread.

The menu included baked Alaska salmon, fruit salad, and fresh bread.

As you can see, using commas differently with the same words gives us three different sentences. Commas work hard to make your writing clear. Knowing when and how to use them will make your written words easier to read and more fun to write.

Question Mark

A question mark (?) marks the end of a direct question:

Did you see the new movie?

Will you help me with my homework?

Did your team win the championship?

Where is my raincoat?

How old are you?

Do you like butter on your popcorn?

Don’t use a question mark at the end of an indirect question:

She asked if we were going to the concert.

Paul wants to know what the weather will be like on Sunday.

Exclamation Point

An exclamation point (!) at the end of a sentence expresses excitement or emphasis. When you emphasize something, you want it to really stand out.

It’s a home run!

You’re driving too fast!

Watch out!

Don’t use too many exclamation points when you write. A sentence with an exclamation point is like shouting. Shouting can be irritating in person—and in your writing.

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Period- A punctuation mark used to mark the end of a sentence or abbreviation.

Question Mark- Used to mark the end of a direct question.

Exclamation Mark- Used to end sentence while expressing excitement

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Punctuation Marks Used Within Sentences

Colon

A colon (:) is like an arrow—it points to something that follows it. A colon is often used to introduce a list. Here are some examples of the correct way to use a colon:

In her purse, Carolyn found the following items: two ticket stubs, breath mints, four coins, a wallet, and a key chain.

Complete these four tasks before you go to bed: (1) Put the cat out, (2) turn off the lights, (3) set the alarm clock, and (4) make a list of things you need to do tomorrow.

Here’s my question: How long will you be away on vacation?

There are three things that annoy him: excessive talking, loud music, and lazy people.

Look over these examples again. Notice that the information before the colon introduces what follows the colon.

To make sure you use colons correctly, apply this rule: Make sure that the information that precedes the colon is a complete sentence. Study the following examples:

Unnecessary colon: The three ingredients in the recipe are: chicken, garlic, and broth.

Correct: The recipe has three ingredients: chicken, garlic, and broth.

Unnecessary colon: For the surprise packages, we bought miscellaneous items such as: shampoo, toothpaste, combs, tissues, and candy.

Correct: For the surprise packages, we bought miscellaneous items such as shampoo, toothpaste, combs, tissues, and candy.

Visit The Learning Center's OWL website to learn more about colons and to complete a colon exercise.

Semicolon

A semicolon (;) separates two complete sentences that are very closely related. Consider these two sentences:

Earl is a golf addict. He plays every day.

Although it’s correct to write them as two separate sentences with a period at the end of each, you may want to show a closer link between the two ideas. To do that, you could join them by a semicolon:

Earl is a golf addict; he plays every day.

Don’t separate two sentences with a comma. That creates an error called a comma splice. Of course, you could write these two ideas as one sentence. Here are some examples:

Earl is a golf addict who plays every day.

Earl, who is a golf addict, plays every day.

Now, let’s compare all of these examples:

Earl is a golf addict. He plays every day.

Earl is a golf addict; he plays every day.

Earl is a golf addict who plays every day.

Earl, who is a golf addict, plays every day.

The first two examples have two sentences. The first example uses a period to separate the sentences; the second, a semicolon. The last two examples combine the two sentences into one. All four are correct. The choice and arrangement of words is up to you. What you write depends on what you want to tell your reader.

Visit The Learning Center’s OWL website to learn more about semicolons and to complete two semicolon exercises.

Apostrophe

An apostrophe (’) serves two main functions:

1. An apostrophe indicates that something belongs to someone or something—that is, it shows possession.

Albert spilled ketchup on Lucia’s shoes.

Maxwell’s laptop has a large screen.

From these sentences we see that ketchup was spilled on shoes that belong to Lucia. We also see that Maxwell has a laptop with a large screen.

Visit The Learning Center’s OWL website to learn more about using an apostrophe to show possession and to complete an exercise.

2. An apostrophe is also used to point out the letter(s) left out when forming a contraction.

WordsContraction

I amI'm (The letter a is omitted.)

does notdoesn’t (The letter o is omitted.)

we willwe’ll (The letters wi are omitted.)

will notwon’t (This contraction changes form.)

Visit The Learning Center’s OWL website to learn more about using an apostrophe to show contraction and to complete an exercise.

Quotation Marks

Quotation marks (“ ”) serve two main functions:

1. They set off the exact words of a speaker.

Maria turned to Felix and said, “Dominic will be out of town until Tuesday.”

In his press conference, Mayor Jones said, “I will not seek re-election.”

My father asked, “Will you be home in time for dinner?”

“Get out!” Joshua shouted.

“The time is right,” Marcus added.

She suggested, “Pick up a quart of milk on your way home.”

“When I think about it,” Bruce said, “Josephine often helps others.”

If the sentence doesn’t include the exact words of a speaker, don’t use quotation marks.

I asked Susanna to meet me after work.

Vanessa told me she’s thinking of moving to California.

Didn’t Ripley tell you to fix the Buick before working on the Chevy?

Jack told me I had better check my figures again.

2. Quotation marks are used to set off the titles of short works such as short stories, magazine articles, short poems, songs, and chapter titles.

Have you ever read the short story “The Gift of the Magi”?

My favorite poem is “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer.

His article, “In Defense of the Nation,” was published in a well-known journal.

For her first number, Marjorie sang “Memories.”

Occasionally, you may come across a sentence that has one quote inside another. When that happens, you must use two different types of quotation marks. The main quote is set off by regular quotation marks (“ ”), and the quote inside the quote is set off by single quotation marks (‘ ’).

Mary glared at Joyce and declared, “Alberto said, ‘I will never marry you.’ We both know he meant it.”

Marilynn admitted, “I really enjoyed reading the short story ‘Bartleby.’ ”

Visit Towson University's Online Writing Support website to learn more about using quotation marks and to complete an exercise.

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Colon- A punctuation mark : often used to introduce a list.

Semicolon- punctuation mark used to separate two closely related sentences

Apostrophe- A punctuation mark ' used to indicate possession or take he place of missing letters in contractions

Quotation Marks- Punctuation marks " used to set off a speakers exact words or mark titles f short works.

Key Points

There are eight different punctuation marks: periods, commas, question marks, exclamation points, colons, semicolons, apostrophes, and quotation marks.

For a quote inside of a quote, use standard quotation marks (“ ”) for the outer quote and single marks (‘ ’) for the interior quote.

Links

OWL Punctuation

Grammar Quizzes

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Beginning of Sentences

Capitalize the first letter of a word that begins a sentence.

Make hay while the sun shines.

The play opens on the first of the month.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

Summer is my favorite time of year.

The Pronoun I

Always capitalize the pronoun I.

They all thought I would be first to climb the mountain.

Whenever I visit my uncle, we always go to a baseball game.

After you finish the dishes, I’ll dry them and put them away.

Notice in the last sentence that the I is capitalized even when it’s part of a contraction. Therefore, you should write I’ll, I’ve, I’m, and I’d.

Days, Dates, and Seasons

We live in a world where we have to keep track of time. We need to know the hour, the day, the month, and the year. We need to recognize holidays.

Here are five basic rules for capitalizing days, dates, and seasons.

1. Capitalize the days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Every Tuesday, we go to the park for lunch.

He finished his work late Friday afternoon.

Many people do their grocery shopping on Saturday.

2. Capitalize the names of the 12 months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

In my city, the coldest month of the year is usually February.

Every September, we take a trip to Florida.

The beach is the busiest during July and August.

3. Capitalize the names of specific holidays. For example, capitalize holidays such as Lincoln’s Birthday, Martin Luther King Day, Cinco de Mayo, the Fourth of July, Yom Kippur, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving Day, and New Year’s Eve.

Thanksgiving always falls on the last Thursday of November.

We usually have a big family reunion on the Fourth of July.

Many schools and offices are closed on Martin Luther King Day.

4. Don’t capitalize the names of the four seasons—winter, spring, summer, and fall (autumn)—unless the words begin a sentence.

Last fall, we had more than 20 inches of snow in Reno, Nevada.

I started my new job last summer.

Spring comes late in New Hampshire.

Christmas occurs during the winter.

5. Don’t capitalize the words yesterday, today, and tomorrow, unless the words begin a sentence.

Today is the day Evelyn begins school.

When I was in New York yesterday, I went to a Broadway play.

We plan to finish the report by tomorrow afternoon.

Writing Dates

There are several correct ways to write dates:

1. In the United States, dates usually begin with the month, followed by the day and the year. Include a comma after the day. If you wish to include the day of the week, place it before the date, followed by a comma.

December 7, 1941

January 19, 2015

Sunday, December 7, 1941

Monday, January 19, 2015

2. Another style of writing dates puts the day first, followed by the month and the year. Use no punctuation.

7 December 1941

19 January 2015

3. Dates may also be written using numbers only.

12/07/1941 (December 7, 1941)

01/19/2015 (January 19, 2015)

Names

There are three basic rules for capitalizing names:

1. Capitalize all elements of a person’s name: first name, middle name or initial, and last name.

Maria Lasswell Cooper

George M. Long

2. Capitalize Jr. and Sr. when they follow a person’s name.

Luther Crockett, Jr.

James E. Major, Sr.

3. Capitalize titles used before a person’s name.

Mr. James L. Robertson

Mrs. Carolyn B. Cranwell

Ms. Jennifer Hopewell

Senator Marco Rubio or Sen. Marco Rubio

Rep. Linda Sánchez

Rev. Marcia G. Levine

Rabbi Gabriel Greenberg

Dr. James R. Maxwell

Professor Lucinda E. Roy or Prof. Lucinda E. Roy

Geographical Names

Capitalize the names of specific places, such as rivers, lakes, oceans, buildings, parks, streets, and mountain ranges. Capitalize the names of continents, countries, states and provinces, cities, and towns.

Missouri River

Yellowstone National Park

Dakota Badlands

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Grand Canyon

San Francisco

Lake Erie

Africa

Grant’s Tomb

Rocky Mountains

Central Park

342 Main Street

Brooklyn Bridge

Don’t capitalize words like river, mountain, and street when they don’t refer to a specific river, mountain, or street.

The river will soon overflow.

We couldn’t see the mountain because of the dense fog.

The street on which I live is very quiet.

Don’t capitalize the word the when it comes just before the name of a specific geographical location.

the Canadian wilderness

the United Arab Emirates

the Czech Republic

the Rocky Mountains

the Atlantic Ocean

State Abbreviations

The United States Postal Service has assigned each state a two-letter postal code name. Capitalize both letters in these abbreviations. For example, Oregon is OR, California is CA, and Indiana is IN.

Click here for a complete list of all official US Postal Service abbreviations.

Relative's Name

Capitalize words like Father, Mother, Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncle, and Aunt when you use them in place of the person’s name. Don’t capitalize these words when they follow a possessive pronoun like my, our, your, his, her, and their.

“Please, Father, let me go to the party,” I begged.

My father was a cabinetmaker.

My grandmother is a fine cook.

On what day will Mother be arriving?

My son, an attorney, is a county prosecutor.

I asked my doctor about my wife’s prescription.

When Aunt Helen stops by, we’ll bake cookies.

His uncle is working at the Seattle Aquarium.

Titles

You encounter titles everywhere. There are titles for books, films, television shows, stage plays, operas, songs, and paintings. When writing titles, you should capitalize the first and last word and all major words. The only words you shouldn’t capitalize within a title are articles (a, an, and the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet), and all prepositions.

The Big Bang Theory (television series)

American Gothic (painting)

Guardians of the Galaxy (film)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (stage play)

“Lean on Me” (song)

The Lion King (Broadway musical)

A Brief History of Time (book)

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

Lord of the Rings

The Wind in the Willows

To Kill a Mockingbird

Jack and the Beanstalk

Lord of the Flies

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Click here for a review of capitalization and to complete an exercise.

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Key Points

Capitalize the first word of a sentence, the pronoun I, days of the week, months of the year, specific holidays, names of people, geographical locations, and state abbreviations.

For titles (of books, plays, movies, shows, and so on), capitalize all words except for articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (about, with, from, and so on), unless the article or preposition is the first or last word in the title.

Capitalize familial titles (words like mother, father, grandfather, uncle, sister) only when used in place of or in combination with the person's name. (Examples: "My uncle told me. . . ." "You're doing great, Uncle John!")

Don't capitalize the names of seasons unless they're part of a title or the first word in a sentence.

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Introduction to the Parts of Speech

English words are classified into different types, called the parts of speech. Before you can write a clear, grammatically correct sentence, you must have a reasonably good command of the parts of speech.

There are eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections). This unit covers the first three:

Nouns name persons, places, things, qualities, ideas, and actions.

Pronouns are substitutes for nouns. I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, mine, yours, and ours are examples of pronouns.

Adjectives describe, or modify, nouns and pronouns.

In this lesson, you’ll study the nature and habits of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.

Nouns Defined

Nouns are words that point out persons, places, things, qualities, ideas, and actions. To understand what a noun is, study the following examples:

Person: Leo Belinda, president, teacher, doctor

Place: Chicago, Europe, suburb, city

Thing: street, tree, cat, house, job

Quality: hardness, joyousness, beauty, intelligence

Idea: democracy, gravity, average, curiosity

Action: running, talking, thinking, reading

Nouns that name the parts and pieces of the world we live in are called concrete nouns. Concrete nouns indicate objects that can be touched, heard, or seen.

However, nouns can also name things that can’t be seen. Such nouns are called abstract nouns. Examples of abstract nouns include

Love

Respect

Communism

Hope

Loneliness

Thought

Good

To learn more about nouns, complete a nouns exercise on the Learning Center’s OWL website.

The Jobs of Nouns

Complete sentences usually have three components:

The subject of a sentence is the word that tells who or what is doing the action.

The predicate tells what the action is. It’s the verb in the sentence.

The object tells who or what is acted upon.

In a sentence, a noun can serve as the subject or as the object. Consider the following sentence:

Armando likes Lucia.

In this sentence, who does the acting? Armando. Therefore, Armando is the subject of the sentence. What does Armando do? He likes Lucia. That’s his action in this sentence. Likes is a verb, and verbs are action words. Therefore, the predicate of the sentence is likes. The predicate is the verb. You’ll learn more about these in the next study lesson.

Finally, whom does Armando like? He likes Lucia. Lucia is the object of his action. In other words, Lucia is the object of the sentence.

Think about this sentence. Armando and Lucia are both nouns, but they have a different function in the sentence. Armando is the subject, and Lucia is the object. Nouns can be either subjects or objects in a sentence.

Here are some simple sentences broken down into subjects, predicates, and objects:

In the sentences you’ve studied so far, each sentence has had one subject and one object. Some sentences, however, will have more than one subject and more than one object. When a sentence has more than one subject or object, they’re called compound subjects and compound objects. Study the following examples. The compound subjects and objects are underlined.

Sparrows and robins flocked in the meadow. (compound subject)

Karen and Lucas danced all night. (compound subject)

Caleb met Jules and Jorge at the circus. (compound object)

John Adams wrote letters and books. (compound object)

So far, all of the sentences you’ve looked at have had a subject (or subjects), a predicate, and an object (or objects). However, a sentence can be complete without an object. Consider these sentences:

Joshua talked.

Katherine wept.

These are complete sentences because they express complete thoughts. You don’t know why Joshua talked, what he talked about, or to whom he talked. You don’t know why Katherine wept. However, you do know that both Joshua and Katherine did something you can recognize.

Types of Nouns

There are two types of nouns:

Common nouns

Proper nouns

Common nouns indicate a general person, place, or thing. Proper nouns indicate a specific person, place, or thing. Study the list in the table below. Notice that the common nouns are very general and the proper nouns are specific. Notice, also, that the proper nouns are capitalized.

Plural Nouns

A singular noun refers to one person, place, or thing. Book, car, and animal are singular nouns. A plural noun refers to more than one person, place, or thing. Books, cars, and animals are plural nouns.

Nouns form their plurals in different ways. Fortunately, there are rules to help you determine how to make a singular noun into a plural noun. Here are the six basic rules:

1. Most of the time, simply add an s to a singular noun to form its plural.

plum → plums

orange → oranges

goat → goats

fact → facts

2. When a noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x, add es to the noun to form its plural.

loss → losses

wish → wishes

beach → beaches

box → boxes

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. The letter y serves as a vowel in words such as lazy. In this word, the y has the sound of the ee in sleep.

3. When a noun ends in y and the letter before the y is a vowel, add s to the word to form its plural.

boy → boys

monkey → monkeys

play → plays

4. If a noun ends in a y with a consonant just before it, drop the y and replace it with ies.

city → cities

party → parties

fly → flies

dictionary → dictionaries

5. When a noun ends in f or fe, drop the f or fe and replace it with ves.

loaf → loaves

knife → knives

calf → calves

6. Watch for exceptions to the rule for words ending in f or fe. Some of these words form their plurals by adding an s. There’s no easy way to determine which rule applies—you just have to memorize them. When in doubt, refer to a dictionary.

handkerchief → handerchiefs

belief → beliefs

chief → chiefs

roof → roofs

Irregular Plurals

Some nouns form plurals differently. These are called irregular plural nouns. There’s no device to help remember these plural forms; you’ll just have to remember them through using them in your writing. Here are a few examples:

Some nouns are the same in both the singular and plural. Here are a few examples:

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Key Points

Nouns name persons, places, things, and ideas.

Nouns can be concrete or abstract.

Nouns can be the subject or the object in a sentence.

Nouns can be common or proper, singular or plural.

Some nouns change their spelling when they become plural.

Links

Learning Center's OWL Website

Schoolhouse Rock – Nouns

Parts of Speech “Cheat Sheet”

Exploring English

University of Ottawa – The Writing Centre

University of Victoria’s Study Zone

I fou

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Pronouns Defined

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Pronouns are handy for making sentences easier to read. For example, the sentence “Tom stood alone in the street” could be written “He stood alone in the street.” In the second sentence, the pronoun he takes the place of the noun Tom.

To learn more about pronouns, complete a pronoun exercise on the Learning Center’s OWL website.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to a specific person or thing. They can be grouped into three categories:

Subject pronouns

Object pronouns

Possessive pronouns

Subject pronouns include I, you, it, we, and they. Subject pronouns take the place of nouns in the subject part of a sentence. Here are some examples:

I went skating on the pond.

You saw me fall down.

We went skating on the pond.

Object pronouns include me, you, it, us, and them. Notice that some of these are the same as the subject pronouns. Object pronouns take the place of a noun in the object part of a sentence. Here are some examples:

Sally gave me the report.

I see you.

Jack stole it.

Possessive pronouns include my, mine, your, yours, its, our, ours, their, and theirs. Possessive pronouns indicate that something belongs to someone or to something. Here are some examples:

The car is mine.

Your class will start in 10 minutes.

Its tires are flat.

It rained during most of her vacation

Antecedents

As you’ve already learned, a pronoun is a word that stands in place of a noun. The noun that’s replaced by a pronoun is called the antecedent of the pronoun. Consider this sentence.

The supervisor of the department was recognized for the extra effort the supervisor contributed to the campaign.

There’s clearly a problem with this sentence. The supervisor is unnecessarily repeated. Take a look at this sentence.

The supervisor of the department was recognized for the extra effort he contributed to the campaign.

In this sentence, the pronoun he takes the place of the noun supervisor. Therefore, supervisor is the antecedent of he.

When you use a pronoun in your writing, make sure that it has only one possible antecedent. In other words, make sure you make it clear what the pronoun stands for.

Unclear antecedent: Charlene kept in close touch with the department manager while she was on vacation. (The question is “Who was on vacation?” In this sentence, the pronoun she could refer to either Charlene or the department manager.)

Clear antecedent: While Charlene was on vacation, she kept in close touch with the department manager. (In this sentence, the pronoun she clearly refers to Charlene.)

Unclear antecedent: George called Harold three times while he was in the meeting. (Does the pronoun he refer to George or Harold? Unless you know who was in the meeting, you would have no way of answering that question.)

Clear antecedent: When Harold was in the meeting, George called him three times.

Unclear antecedent: Engineers can be left behind if they don’t keep up with the latest research, for it is a rapidly growing field. (This sentence contains two pronouns: they and it. The pronoun they clearly refers to the noun engineers, but what does the pronoun it refer to? Does it refer to the field of engineering or the field of research? From the context, you can guess what the writer meant, but you can’t be certain.)

Clear antecedent: Engineers can be left behind if they don’t keep up with the latest research, for engineering is a rapidly growing field. (To correct the problem, you can substitute a noun for the pronoun.)

Unclear antecedent: Marcy called Christine on her cell phone. (Whose cell phone was it—Marcy’s or Christine’s? The possessive pronoun her is unclear.)

Clear antecedent: Marcy used her cell phone to call Christine.

Who or Whom?

Who and whom aren’t personal pronouns because they don’t refer to a specific person or group of persons. However, they are pronouns. The challenge with who and whom is deciding which one is correct.

The pronoun who is a subject pronoun, and the pronoun whom is an object pronoun. Therefore, you should use who in the subject part of a sentence and whom in the object part of a sentence. Whom also follows prepositions such as to, from, and with. Here are some correct uses of who and whom:

Whom do you love?

Who are you?

Who is that tall stranger?

The man who is speaking at the convention is my uncle.

With whom did you go to the beach?

Please tell me to whom you sent that letter.

For whom did you vote in the last election?

The sentence “For whom are you rooting?” could also be correctly written as “Whom are you rooting for?” The preposition for is at the end of the sentence. Generally, good writers avoid placing prepositions at the end of a sentence. The practice is acceptable, but not preferred.

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Key Points

Pronouns, which take the place of nouns, make sentences easier to read.

Personal pronouns are categorized as subject, object, or possessive.

The noun that a pronoun replaces is called the antecedent.

Who is a subject pronoun; whom is an object pronoun.

Links

English Grammar Online

Schoolhouse Rock – Pronouns

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Adjectives Defined

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. Often, an adjective comes just before the noun it describes and answers the questions which one, what kind, or how many. Let’s look at some examples.

Which One?

Here are some examples of sentences in which the adjectives indicate which one. The adjectives are shown in italics.

That girl is the only one who left.

The last boy in line was the first one out.

Those books are mine.

We have math class first thing in the morning

Cindy wore a red dress to the wedding.

The adjectives this and that refer to singular nouns; these and those refer to plural nouns.

That car has been parked there for three days.

This time I won’t be fooled.

Those children are the students who planned the entire program.

Please put the blankets in these boxes.

Adjectives like this, that, these, and those can also be used as pronouns. For example, look at this sentence:

These are the ones I wanted to buy.

In this sentence, the adjective these is used as a pronoun.

What Kind?

The adjectives in these sentences are in italics. Each adjective is used to explain what kind.

The tough, veteran cowboy taught the green youngster how to saddle his horse.

He carried a heavy burden with a light heart.

Young children usually have a lot of energy.

It was a routine visit.

In law, plea bargaining is a common practice.

It was a simple operation.

This is a bad time to be guessing.

How Many?

Some adjectives indicate how many. Here are some examples:

Four players attended the victory banquet.

Several men were injured in the fire.

Many people came to hear her speech.

There are countless stars in our galaxy.

Few Americans speak Arabic fluently.

Some people live to eat.

Predicate Adjectives

Predicate adjectives are adjectives that come after verbs that are related to the senses (be, seem, feel, taste, appear). These adjectives describe the subject of the sentence. Here are some examples:

Jacob’s burden is heavy, but his heart is light.

The Mustang was fast and agile.

Sheldon seems happy.

The Value of Adjectives

Descriptive words liven up writing and make it easier for the reader to imagine. Adjectives help readers know how something feels, looks, and tastes. They can put images into the readers’ minds so they can “see” what’s being described. Consider how adjectives add clarity to the following sentence.

Without adjectives: The wolves gathered under the moon.

What do you imagine here? What do the wolves look like? What are they doing?

Now read the same sentence with adjectives added to it.

With adjectives: The howling, ravenous wolves gathered under the cloud-draped, full moon.

Is the image of these wolves much clearer now?

Read these sentences, paying particular attention to the adjectives, which are shown in italics. Think about how the adjectives shape the sentences, and how they inspire additional images and sensations.

The pleasant, familiar odor came to me as the waiter set the breakfast bowl before me. Looking down, my eyes were rewarded by a vision of fresh, juicy, red raspberries.

Now read these sentences. Once again, think about how the adjectives give life to the sentences.

The desert sky was deep blue and cloudless. I scanned the distant horizon and saw nothing but a vast stretch of sand with a few enormous cacti scattered about to break up the unending monotony of the scene.

Notice how the adjectives in these short paragraphs help to give you a better idea of what’s being described.

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Key Points

Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. They tell the reader which one, how many, or what kind.

A predicate adjective modifies the subject and comes after the verb.

Adjectives add clarity and help the reader to form an image of what’s being described.

Links

Grammar

Schoolhouse Rock – Adjectives

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Daily Grammar

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A Quick Review

At the beginning of Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives, we introduced the eight parts of speech in the English language. We repeat them here so you can quickly review them before you begin your studies in this unit:

Nouns name persons, places, things, qualities, ideas, and actions.

Pronouns are substitutes for nouns. I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, mine, yours, and ours are examples of pronouns.

Adjectives describe, or modify, nouns and pronouns.

Verbs show action, implied action, or a state of being.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Prepositions join nouns and pronouns with other words in sentences. Words like to, in, for, before, and with are prepositions.

Conjunctions connect words or groups of words.<

Interjections are words that express strong feelings. Wow, Ouch, and Oh! are examples of interjections.

Verbs Defined

Verbs are words that express action, perceived action, or a state of being.

In verbs like cook, sing, run, and talk, the action is obvious. Other verbs, such as live, hear, smell, want, think, and consider, express actions that are perceived or sensed. Finally, some verbs simply suggest a state of being, such as is, am, are, was, seem, become, appear, grow, and remain.

Base Forms of Verbs

The base forms of verbs are verbs in their simplest forms. They’re the forms we start with when we use verbs. Examples of base forms are speak, write, swim, sing, consider, seem, and be.

A base form is used with plural subjects:

Most women wear casual clothes to work.

Southerners speak with an accent different from other regions.

Team members swim every day for one hour.

When the subject of a sentence is singular, you must add an s to the base form:

He moves quickly.

Geraldine looks healthy.

The new machine works rapidly.

Infinitives

An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by the word to. Any verb with the word to in front of it is an infinitive. For example, to ask and to wonder are examples of infinitives.

Infinitives are generally used as nouns in sentences, but they can also be used as adjectives and adverbs.

To be the senior prom queen is her dream. (The infinitive to be is a noun that serves as the simple subject of the sentence. To be the senior prom queen is the complete subject.)

The book to read is the one on the dining room table. (The infinitive to read tells which one. It modifies the noun book and is therefore an adjective.)

I came to show you my new purchase. (The infinitive to show answers the question why and is therefore an adverb. You’ll study adverbs later in this course.)

Principal Parts of Verbs

Verbs have four principal parts:

The present (base form)

The present participle

The past tense

The past participle

The base form, as you’ve just learned, is a verb in its simplest form. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base form. The past tense and the past participle of most verbs are formed by adding -d or -ed to the base form. The past participle requires a helping verb when it’s used in a sentence. The following table shows the four principal parts of a few regular verbs.

Here’s how the word work might be used in four sentences in four forms:

I work Monday through Friday. (present, or base form)

I am working on a new project. (present participle)

I worked on it last week. (past)

I have worked for Mr. Bridges before. (past participle)

Notice that both the past tenses and the past participles of the regular verbs in Table 1 end in ed. That can be confusing. You may not be sure how to tell a past tense from a past participle in a sentence. Here’s the key to knowing the difference: A past participle is used with a helping verb.

Look at the following sentences:

I have formed a new company.

I have moved to Springdale.

I have worked here for three years.

The helping verb in each of these three sentences is have. Therefore, you know that the verbs formed, moved, and worked are past participles, not the past tense.

Now, consider these sentences:

I formed a new company.

I moved to Springdale.

I worked here for three years.

Since these sentences have no helping verbs, you know that the verbs are in the past tense.

Verb Tenses

Verbs are about what is happening, but their forms tell you when it’s happening. The when of a verb form is its tense. There are three simple tenses and three perfect tenses. We’ll use the verb try to illustrate the different tenses.

The three simple tenses are

Present tense: Carol tries to study.

Past tense: Carol tried to study.

Future tense: Carol will try to study.

The three perfect tenses are

Present perfect tense: Carol has tried to study.

Past perfect tense: Carol had tried to study.

Future perfect tense: Carol will have tried to study.

Notice that the perfect tenses contain helping verbs.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

A regular verb is one that forms its past tense and past participle by adding a -d or -ed to the base form. An irregular verb is different. It doesn’t form its past tense and past participle the same way. Instead, it changes something within the verb itself.

Look again at previous table. All of the verbs listed in that table are regular verbs. The following table is similar but includes only irregular verbs. The list in this table isn’t complete. There are many other irregular verbs in the English language. To learn the principal parts of irregular verbs, you must simply memorize them and then practice using them correctly. There are no rules to guide you.

Let’s look at three of these irregular verbs in the six different verb tenses.

Begin

Present tense: Laticia begins to cry.

Past tense: Laticia began to cry.

Future tense: Laticia will begin to cry.

Present perfect tense: Laticia has begun to cry.

Past perfect tense: Laticia had begun to cry.

Future perfect tense: Laticia will have begun to cry.

Eat

Present tense: He eats the baked salmon.

Past tense: He ate the baked salmon.

Future tense: He will eat the baked salmon.

Present perfect tense: He has eaten the baked salmon.

Past perfect tense: He had eaten the baked salmon.

Future perfect tense: He will have eaten the baked salmon.

Throw

Present tense: She throws the ball.

Past tense: She threw the ball.

Future tense: She will throw the ball.

Present perfect tense: She has thrown the ball.

Past perfect tense: She had thrown the ball.

Future perfect tense: She will have thrown the ball.

Now, let’s look at some of the other verbs in Table 2. The verb be has some very unusual principal parts. The base form is be, but the present takes the forms am (for the pronoun I), is (for singular subjects), and are (for plural subjects and for the pronoun you). The past takes the forms was (singular) and were (plural). Finally, the past participle is been. Here are some sentences that show the use of this verb in the six different tenses.

Present Tense

I am the first student to be nominated. (present, I)

You are ready to take on your opponent. (present, you)

He is a person to be trusted. (present, singular)

We are the last ones here. (present, plural)

Past Tense

I was the first student to be nominated. (past, I)

You were ready to take on your opponent. (past, you)

He was a person to be trusted. (past, singular)

We were the last ones here. (past, plural)

Future Tense

I will be the first student to be nominated. (future, I)

You will be ready to take on your opponent. (future, you)

He will be a person to be trusted. (future, singular)

We will be the last ones here. (future, plural)

Present Perfect Tense

I have been the first student to be nominated. (present perfect, I)

You have been ready to take on your opponent. (present perfect, you)

He has been a person to be trusted. (present perfect, singular)

We have been the last ones here. (present perfect, plural)

Past Perfect Tense

I had been the first student to be nominated. (past perfect, I)

You had been ready to take on your opponent. (past perfect, you)

He had been a person to be trusted. (past perfect, singular)

We had been the last ones here. (past perfect, plural)

Future Perfect Tense

I will have been the first student to be nominated. (future perfect, I)

You will have been ready to take on your opponent. (future perfect, you)

He will have been a person to be trusted. (future perfect, singular)

We will have been the last ones here. (future perfect, plural)

Some verbs, like fit, set, and read, take the same form in all tenses. Here are some sentences for the verb set in the six different tenses:

Present tense: She sets her clock fast. (Remember to add s when using singular subjects.)

Past tense: Bruce set his drink down on the table.

Future tense: We will set our clocks back one hour.

Present perfect tense: We have set a deadline for completing the job.

Past perfect tense: We had set an impossible task before him.

Future perfect tense: We will have set a new record.

The verb read has the same form for all tenses, but it’s pronounced differently even when it’s spelled the same. Think about it as you read the following sentences:

Present tense: I read my lessons every night. (pronounced reed)

Past tense: She read the instructions. (pronounced red)

Future tense: I will read that book. (pronounced reed)

Present perfect tense: I have read that book. (pronounced red)

Past perfect tense: I had read the book before. (pronounced red)

Future perfect tense: I will have read that book by Friday. (pronounced red)

Progressive Form

You may have noticed that both Table 1 and Table 2 have a column labeled “Present Participle.” When the present participle is used in conjunction with a helping verb, the verb is called progressive. Progressive verbs show continuous action. Here are some examples:

I am thinking about it. (This verb shows continuous action in the present.)

I was thinking about it. (This verb shows continuous action in the past.)

I will be thinking about it. (This verb shows continuous action in the future.)

The Verb Do

The verb do is a helping verb that does special work. Let’s look at two ways we can use the verb do as a helping verb:

The verb do is often used in questions:

Do you want to go home now? (The verb in this sentence is do want.)

Do you think that dress will fit me? (The verb in this sentence is do think.)

The verb do can also be used for emphasis, or stress. Study this pair of sentences. Imagine the italicized word as being stressed when it’s spoken.

I do study for my tests. (The helping verb do gives emphasis to the main verb study.)

I study for my tests.

The verb do in the first sentence provides emphasis to the statement.

Other Helping Verbs

Words like can, may, shall, would, could, should, must, and might can also be helping verbs. Here are some sample sentences. The helping words are italicized.

I can finish this job.

I may decide to take the day off.

I shall give it my best effort.

I would finish the job if I had time.

I could do that if I had the right tools.

I should visit Aunt Beth.

I must send this letter today.

I might not be able to make the payment.

The verbs can, may, shall, would, could, should, must, and might are nearly always used as helping verbs. In other words, they rarely stand alone as verbs. Consider these sentences:

She can.

They must.

Although these are complete sentences, they don’t tell the reader very much. A main verb is needed to clarify the meaning. To get an idea of what this means, study the following sentences, all of which include helping verbs:

Tim can swim very well.

You would believe anything you hear.

They shall determine the outcome.

Lucy may forget to call.

They could become the new champions.

I should visit my sister.

He must study for his exam.

It might start to snow soon.

Notice that all of the helping verbs tell something about the verb that completes the sentence. That’s why they’re called helping verbs.

A key to writing correct sentences is making sure that the verb and the subject agree. What does that mean? It means that if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Forming Singular and Plural Verbs

Before you begin to learn how to match subjects and predicates, let’s consider how to form singular and plural verbs. You’ve already studied how to write plural nouns; now, you’re going to learn how to do it with verbs.

Most verbs form their plurals the opposite way that nouns do. For example, to form the plural of the word table, you must add an s. Therefore, the plural of table is tables. However, the verb needs (with an s) is singular. To make it plural, you must delete the s. To make sure you understand this principle, study the nouns and verbs in the following table. Notice that plural nouns end in s and singular verbs end in s.

Follow these rules for making singular verbs.

1. Add s to most verbs.

looklooks

fallfalls

prayprays

walkwalks

findfinds

2. Add -es to verbs that end in ch or sh.

watchwatches

reachreaches

crushcrushes

mashmashes

3. When a plural verb ends in y, change the y to i and add -es.

worryworries

carrycarries

trytries

fryfries

Some exceptions to these rules exist. For example, the helping verbs are quite unusual in the way they form their plural forms. Some don’t change at all, and others are quite irregular.

Visit Capital Community College's website to learn more about forming plural and singular verbs.

Making Subjects and Verbs Agree

Here are some rules you can use to determine the correct verb in a sentence:

1. If the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb should be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural.

The table needs to be repaired. (The singular subject table takes the singular verb needs.)

The tables need to be repaired. (The plural subject tables takes the plural verb need.)

She talks with a French accent. (The singular subject she takes the singular verb talks.)

They talk with a French accent. (The plural subject they takes the plural verb talk.)

2. When the parts of a compound subject are joined by the conjunction and, the subject is plural and therefore takes a plural verb.

Deborah and James like to vacation in Florida. (The compound subject, Deborah and James, takes a plural verb since the parts of the subject are joined by the conjunction and.)

Sparrows and wrens are small birds. (The compound subject, sparrows and wrens, takes a plural verb since the parts of the subject are joined by the conjunction and.)

3. When the parts of a compound subject are joined by the conjunction or, either...or, or neither...nor, three possibilities exist:

If both parts of the subject are singular, the subject takes a singular verb.

Either Jane or her sister is singing the solo. (Both Jane and her sister are singular nouns. Therefore, the verb is also singular.)

Neither the home team nor the visiting team expects to lose. (Both parts of the compound subject are singular. Therefore, the verb is also singular.)

If both parts of the subject are plural, the subject takes a plural verb.

Neither apples nor pears are available at the market. (Both parts of the subject are plural. Therefore, the verb is plural.)

Either the flutes or the piccolos play the solo. (Both parts of the subject are plural. Therefore, the verb is plural.)

If one part of the subject is singular and the other part is plural, the subject nearer to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

Neither Susan nor her parents enjoy opera. (The subject Susan is singular and the subject parents is plural. Therefore, the verb agrees with parents, which is closer to the verb.)

Neither her parents nor Susan enjoys opera. (In this case, the verb agrees with the singular subject Susan, because it’s closer to the verb.)

4. When other words, like appositives or prepositional phrases, come between the subject and the verb, they shouldn’t affect the verb. The verb should agree with the subject only.

The book of maps is on the table. (The subject is book, which is singular. The word maps is plural, but it’s the object of the preposition of. Therefore, it should have no effect on the verb.)

Carl, not his brothers, plans to visit Europe this summer. (The subject is Carl. The appositive not his brothers should not affect the verb. As a general rule, treat a sentence as if the appositive isn’t even used.)

The sales manager, together with the salespeople, meets with the company president. (The subject manager is singular and therefore requires a singular verb. This becomes clearer when we treat the sentence as if the appositive wasn’t there: “The sales manager meets with the company president.”)

To get a good idea about subject-verb agreement, study these sentences:

Jupiter and other planets travel around the sun. (The compound subject joined by the conjunction and takes the plural verb travel.)

Jupiter, like other planets, travels around the sun. (The singular subject Jupiter takes the singular verb travels. The phrase like other planets has no effect on the verb.)

Neither Jupiter nor Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. (Both parts of the compound subject are singular and are joined by the conjunctions neither and nor. Therefore, the verb must be singular.)

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to review what you've learned about subject-verb agreement.

What Is the Subject?

The subject of a sentence is the word that tells who or what is doing the action. The subject of a sentence doesn’t always come before the verb. For example, in interrogative sentences (questions), the subject generally follows the verb or comes between the main verb and the helping verb. Also, in sentences beginning with here and there, the subject follows the verb. In such cases, you must be careful to identify the real subject so that you can make the verb agree with it.

Study the following examples. The verb is in italics, and the subject is underlined. As you read each sentence, notice how the subjects and verbs agree in number.

Where is Mary going after the movies? (The subject is between the verb and its helper.)

At the top of the form are the blanks for your address. (The subject comes after the verb.)

Here are my letters of recommendation. (The subject comes after the verb.)

In front of me are acres of grass. (The subject comes after the verb.)

There was no reason for him to leave early. (The subject comes after the verb.)

Where is Brady? (The subject comes after the verb.)

There are two vacant rooms across the hall. (The subject comes after the verb.)

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to complete a subject-verb agreement exercise.

Reflect and Respond

Write three examples of infinitive verbs.

Write three short sentences with the verb jump, using the present tense, past tense, and future tense.

Write three sentences with the verb begin, using the present perfect tense, past perfect tense, and future perfect tense.

Write three examples of the progressive form of verbs.

Write a paragraph with at least three sentences. Describe an important incident in your life. This might be going to your first job, meeting your best friend, or any other incident that’s may be important and memorable to you.After writing your paragraph, underline your action verbs and helping verbs.

1. Here are three possibilities: to read to listen to exercise

2. Here are some possibilities: She jumps whenever I call her name. She jumped when the doorbell rang. She will jump if I make too much noise. Joan has begun her letter to Maxwell. Joan had begun her letter to Maxwell when he called on the phone. Joan will have begun her letter to Maxwell before she knows her exam results.

3. Write three sentences with the verb begin, using the present perfect tense, past perfect tense, and future perfect tense.

Joan has begun her letter to Maxwell. Joan had begun her letter to Maxwell when he called on the phone. Joan will have begun her letter to Maxwell before she knows her exam results. 4. Here are some possibilities: Sandra is thinking about the book. He was considering changing jobs soon. They will be making a decision soon.

5. Here's one sample paragraph. Yours, of course, will be very different. My accident changed my life. It happened one night last May. I was driving on Givens Lane, just past the chicken farm. It had rained, the road was slick, and I was driving too fast. Suddenly, a truck pulled out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, but I did not stop in time. My Ford crashed into the rear of the truck. Fortunately, I was wearing my seat belt. Neither the truck driver nor I was hurt, but the accident heavily damaged my car. Since that night, I pay careful attention to road conditions. I have learned that an accident happens in a heartbeat.

Action verbs: changed, happened, driving, rained, driving, pulled, slammed, stop, crashed, wearing, damaged, pay, learned, happens

Helping verbs: was, had, was, did, was, have

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Helping Verbs- a form of the verbs be, have, and will.

Tense- A form of a verb that shows when an action takes place

Appositive - A noun or phrase that explains or identifies another noun

Infinitive- The base form of a word, combined with the word "to"

Key Points

Words like appear, drive, and remain are verbs, words that express action or a state of being.

Verbs in their simplest form are the base form of verbs. They are used with plural subjects. When a subject is singular, add s to the verb.

A verb preceded by to is an infinitive.

The principal parts of verbs are present (base form), present participle, past tense and past participle, which uses a helping verb.

The tense of a verb tells when the action happened: present, past, or future. Present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tenses use helping verbs.

For past tense, regular verbs add d or ed. Irregular verbs change when used in different tenses. Am, will be, is, and have been are some forms of the verb be.

Progressive verbs show continuous action.

Must, should, may, and can are examples of helping verbs used to clarify action verbs.

Plural subjects go with plural verbs.

To make a subject plural, add s, es, or change the y to i and add es.

Some helping verbs are irregular in their plural form.

The subject and verb must agree, no matter where they are placed in a sentence.

Links

Schoolhouse Rock – Verbs

Agenda Web

Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Verb Tense Introduction

English Maven

Tenses

Daily Grammar

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Adverbs Defined

Both adjectives and adverbs modify other words. As you should remember, adjectives modify, or describe, nouns and pronouns. Adverbs, on the other hand, modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs tell the reader more about the words they modify. They answer the questions how, when, where, and how often.

For example, in the sentence “Mary runs rapidly,” the adverb rapidly describes how Mary runs. Another sentence might read “Mary runs slowly.” In that case, the adverb slowly tells a completely different story about the way Mary runs. However, in both cases, the adverbs modify the verb runs. And notice, too, that they end in ly. Many adverbs end in ly.

Caution: Although many adverbs do end in ly, don’t rely on that to help you identify them. Many adverbs don’t end in ly. The best thing for you to do is to learn what jobs adverbs perform in sentences. Then you’ll be able to identify them and use them properly.

In addition, words that aren’t adverbs may also end in ly. Consider these examples:

Lily (noun)

Tally (noun or verb)

Womanly (adjective)

When in doubt, use your dictionary. It will tell you what part of speech the word is.

Before you go on to read about the specific jobs that adverbs do, look over the figure, which contains a list of some common adverbs. Reading over this list should give you a feel for what adverbs are like. Of course, the key to identifying adverbs is how they’re used in sentences. Pay particular attention to those that don’t end in ly.

Let’s now take a look at the different types of words that adverbs modify—verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Adverbs That Modify Verbs

Here are some sample sentences in which the adverbs modify the verbs. Remember that adverbs answer the questions how, when, where, and how often.

Maggie learns easily. (The adverb easily modifies the verb learns. It tells how Maggie learns.)

Lewis will leave for Chicago tomorrow. (The adverb tomorrow modifies the verb will leave. It tells when Lewis will leave for Chicago.)

Lamont is going away. (The adverb away modifies the verb is going. It tells where Lamont is going.)

Maureen checks her email daily. (The adverb daily modifies the verb checks. It tells how often.)

To help you identify adverbs in a sentence, use the questions that adverbs answer: how, when, where, and how often. For example, consider this sentence: Darren stood quietly in the kitchen. The word quietly is an adverb. To check to make sure you’re right, ask yourself if it answers any of the questions. Yes, it does. It answers the question how. How did Darren stand in the kitchen? He stood quietly.

Adverbs That Modify Adjectives

Sometimes, adverbs modify adjectives. Here are some examples:

Marlo is a very clever girl. (The adverb very modifies the adjective clever. It tells how. How clever was Marlo? She was very clever.)

That antique chest looks extremely old. (The adverb extremely modifies the adjective old. It tells how. Note: The adjective old in this sentence is a predicate adjective that modifies the noun chest.)

Adverbs That Modify Other Adverbs

Some adverbs describe other adverbs. Here are some examples:

Mr. Codger moved very slowly down the street. (The adverb very modifies the adverb slowly. It tells how slowly.)

Brenda teased her cousin somewhat mercilessly. (The adverb somewhat modifies the adverb mercilessly. It tells how mercilessly.)

Adverbs from Adjectives

Many adverbs are formed from adjectives. To do this, follow these simple rules:

Add -ly to the adjective. For example, the adjective pleasant becomes the adverb pleasantly.

If the adjective ends in y, change the y to i and then add -ly. For example, the adjective easy becomes the adverb easily.

If the adjective ends in le, drop the le and then add -ly. For example, the adjective able becomes the adverb ably.

Changing an adjective to an adverb can be as simple as adding -ly. The following figure includes a list of adjectives and how they can be transformed into adverbs.

Adjective or Adverb?

To help you understand the difference between adjectives and adverbs, study the following sample sentences:

Adverb: Mark solved the problem correctly. (The adverb correctly modifies the verb solved. It tells how Mark solved the problem.)

Adjective: Mark found the correct solution to the problem. (The adjective correct modifies the noun solution. It tells what kind of solution.)

Adverb: Fido behaved badly. (The adverb badly modifies the verb behaved. It tells how Fido behaved.)

Adjective: Fido was a bad dog. (The adjective bad modifies the noun dog. It tells what kind of dog.)

Adverb: Justin walked quickly. (The adverb quickly modifies the verb walked. It tells how Justin walked.)

Adjective: Justin was a quick walker. (The adjective quick modifies the noun walker. It tells what kind of a walker.)

Placement of Adverbs

Probably the most important thing to remember when placing an adverb in a sentence is to make sure that the reader will understand what the adverb modifies. Here are some simple guidelines to follow. However, remember that they’re only guidelines. You don’t have to follow them exactly.

Place adverbs that modify adjectives and other adverbs before the words they modify.

The athlete was overly confident. (The adverb overly comes before the adjective confident.)

She walked somewhat noisily. (The adverb somewhat comes before the adverb noisily.)

When an adverb modifies a form of the verb be, place it after the verb.

The group is definitely prejudiced. (Place adverbs that modify adjectives before the words they modify.)

Karen was clearly the winner. (The adverb clearly comes after the verb was.)

When an adverb modifies a verb that has a helping verb, place the adverb after the helping verb.

We have always enjoyed our summer vacation. (The adverb always comes after the helping verb have.)

The students will rapidly become proficient on their computers. (The adverb rapidly comes after the helping verb will.)

When an adverb modifies a verb, place it before the verb.

She mistakenly turned left at the corner. (The adverb mistakenly comes before the main verb turned.)

Walter eagerly began his homework assignment. (The adverb eagerly comes before the main verb began.)

Remember that these are just guidelines. Consider the position of the adverb in these sentences:

Lucy walked quickly around the block. (After the verb)

Lucy quickly walked around the block. (Before the verb)

Lucy walked around the block quickly. (At the end of the sentence)

Quickly, Lucy walked around the block. (At the beginning of the sentence)

In all four sentences, the adverb quickly modifies the verb walked, but it occurs in four different places. Just make sure that your readers or listeners will understand what your adverbs are modifying.

Tips About Adverbs

1. Put a comma after an adverb that begins a sentence.

Actually, the day was bright and sunny.

Nevertheless, we reached the airport on time.

2. Don’t assume that all words ending in ly are adverbs. Here are some examples of words that end in ly, but aren’t adverbs. In fact, all of these words are adjectives:

Silly

Holy

Oily

Ugly

Lively

3. Don’t confuse to with too. Although this error is all too common, don’t let it creep into your writing. The word to is a preposition. (You’ll be studying prepositions shortly.) The word too is an adverb. It’s often used to mean also. Here are some examples:

Preposition: She went to Chicago.

Adverb: We, too, went to Chicago. (Here, too means also.)

Preposition: My husband went to bed.

Adverb: The children went to bed, too.

The adverb too can also mean excessively or overly.

There were too many cars to count.

Daryl was too tired to sleep.

4. Don’t confuse the words good and well. Good is an adjective; well is an adverb.

The children were good when their grandparents were visiting. (The predicate adjective good modifies the noun children.)

The children behaved well when their grandmother and grandfather were visiting. (The adverb well modifies the verb behaved.)

Making Comparisons with Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives

Adjectives have three forms that allow writers to make comparisons:

Positive

Comparative

Superlative

The positive form is simply the regular adjective. The comparative form is for comparing two things or people. The superlative form is for comparing more than two things or people. Here’s an example:

Positive: Jacob is tall. (The adjective tall is in its positive form.)

Comparative: Jacob is taller than Samuel, his younger brother. (The adjective taller is in its comparative form. It’s used to compare two people—Jacob and Samuel.)

Superlative: Jacob is the tallest person in his family. (The adjective tallest is in its superlative form. It’s used to compare more than two people.)

As you can see from the example, most comparative forms end in er, and most superlative forms end in est. The figure below lists some adjectives in the three forms. Notice that some spelling adjustments have to be made for some adjectives, and in other cases the forms are completely different from one another.

Many adjectives of two or more syllables don’t change their form to make comparisons. Rather, the words more and most (or less and least) are added before the positive form. See the following figure.

Note that some adjectives shouldn’t be used in the comparative and superlative degrees. These include

Unique

Correct

Absolute

Fatal

For example, if something is unique, it’s one of a kind. Therefore, something can’t be more unique or most unique. If the spelling of a word is correct, it can’t be more correct or most correct. If a person receives a fatal wound, he or she is dead. That person can’t receive a more fatal or most fatal wound. A wound is either fatal or it’s not fatal.

Adverbs

Adverbs, too, can be used to show comparisons. The degrees of adverbs, however, are somewhat easier than those of adjectives. To form the comparative degree of adverbs, simply add more or less to the positive degree. To form the superlative degree, add most or least. The figure below has some examples.

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to complete two exercises on adjectives and adverbs.

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Here’s a simple sentence: “The green pencil is on the table.”

Where is the pencil? It’s on the table. The word on is a preposition. It tells where the pencil is. It shows the relationship between the pencil and the table. That’s a typical job for a preposition. A preposition is a part of speech that shows a relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other part of a sentence.

Objects of Prepositions

Every preposition must have an object. The object of a preposition is either a noun or a pronoun. To determine the object of a preposition, first say the preposition and then whom or what.

Look again at the sentence we read earlier: “The pencil is on the table.” The preposition is the word on. To determine the object of this preposition, ask yourself “On what?” The answer is table. Therefore, the object of the preposition on is table.

The Jobs of Prepositions

Prepositions have several purposes in sentences.

1. Prepositions show position, or space, relationships. Here are some examples of sentences with prepositions that show position. The prepositions are italicized.

I stood beside Judy.

The cat was asleep under my bed.

We ran across the bridge.

The money was beneath the sofa cushion.

The dictionary was atop his desk.

The dog ran around the yard.

The money was on the counter.

Here’s a good way to tell if you’re looking at a positional preposition. Read each sentence again. Notice that you can make a mental image of what’s going. You can imagine yourself standing beside a woman named Judy. You can picture a cat asleep under a bed or imagine people running across a bridge. You can imagine money on a counter or a dog running around a yard.

2. Prepositions show time relationships.

I slept during the concert.

Maxwell arrived before Judy.

I ate after Maxwell.

I like to eat before noon.

I have been without a car since Thursday.

Notice that in each sentence you get an idea about time. It can be an idea about past time, present time, or future time. You may also get the idea of a short time or a long time.

3. Prepositions show logical relationships. They link ideas in a sentence in some kind of relationship. Here are some examples:

I am here because of my job.

This sentence has two ideas: I am here and my job. The preposition because of links the two ideas. It’s a logical link because the second idea follows logically from the first idea.

I finished my homework in spite of my noisy neighbors.

In this sentence, the two ideas are I finished my homework and my noisy neighbors. The preposition in spite of tells how the two ideas are linked. Doing homework with noisy neighbors is difficult, and the preposition shows how those two ideas are logically related.

Albert mowed the lawn instead of swimming.

The two ideas or images in this sentence are mowing a lawn and swimming. They’re logically linked because a person can choose one or the other. The preposition instead of tells us how Albert made his choice.

Sometimes the same preposition can be used to show relationships of different kinds in different sentences.

Abigail canned peaches from dusk to dawn. (time relationship)

Abigail chose a book from the shelf. (position relationship)

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to complete an exercise on prepositions.

Sample Prepositions

Some prepositions are single words, and others are a combination of two or more words. Some of the more common prepositions are listed in the figure.

The word but can serve as a preposition when it means except. In the sentence “No one volunteered but me,” the word but is a preposition because it means except. You can also say, “No one volunteered except me.” In this sentence, the object of the preposition but is me. Most of the time, however, but is a conjunction. (You’ll be studying conjunctions next in this lesson.)

Preposition or Not?

Some of the prepositions listed in the figure above may also be used as other parts of speech. To identify the part of speech, you must determine how the word is used in a particular sentence. Consider the following examples:

Preposition: We live down the street from my grandparents. (The word down is a preposition because it has an object, street. Down what? Down the street.)

Adverb: Before Marissa began her story, she sat down. (In this sentence, the word down is an adverb. It modifies the verb sit, and answers the question where?)

Preposition: Please put the box behind the door. (The word behind is a preposition because it has an object, door. Behind what? Behind the door.)

Adverb: Everyone ran to the scene, but Bob lagged behind. (The word behind is an adverb. It modifies the verb lag and tells where.)

Preposition: No one was on time but me. (The word but is a preposition because it has an object, me. But whom? But me.)

Conjunction: We waited for Josh, but he never arrived. (The word but is a conjunction because it joins two equal parts of the sentence. You’ll be learning about conjunctions later in this study unit.)

Just because a word is included in the list of prepositions doesn’t mean it’s always going to be a preposition. Make sure you examine the sentence to see how a word is used, and then determine its part of speech.

Prepositional Phrases

You’ve already learned what a preposition is, and you’ve learned what an object of a preposition is. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with its object. It may also have modifiers, like adjectives, that come in between the preposition and its object.

As an example, consider this sentence: Meet me by noon. In this sentence, the preposition is by, and the object of the preposition is noon. The prepositional phrase is by noon—just two words, the preposition and its object.

Now look at this sentence: Cinderella lost her glass slipper on the palace steps. In this sentence, the preposition is on, and the object is steps. The prepositional phrase is on the palace steps. It includes the preposition, its object, and two modifiers (the and palace).

Let’s look at one more: Jason keeps his sneakers in his dirty old gym bag. The preposition in this sentence is in, and the object is bag. The complete prepositional phrase is in his dirty old gym bag. The phrase includes the preposition, its object, and the modifiers (his dirty old gym).

A sentence may contain more than one prepositional phrase. Consider these examples. The prepositional phrases are underlined for you.

Marty was near the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

In search of clues, Detective Beckett turned into the drive of the Brentwood Estate.

Aboard the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin sailed across the eastern Pacific to the Galapagos Islands.

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to complete an exercise on prepositional phrases.

Language Is for Using

English is spoken the way it is because, over time, people chose to use words in a certain way. That was a good thing. Agreeing on how to use words makes it easier for people to understand each other. Later, scholars figured out the rules people were using. English teachers then taught their students those rules. The rules for prepositions are based on the way people used this sort of word in speech and writing. To become a good writer, you need to learn the main rules of language. For example, you need to know about the parts of speech and what a tense is. But learning to write good sentences comes more from practice than from remembering rules.

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Preposition- A word that shows the position or relationship between a noun or pronoun to another part of the sentence

Object of Preposition- A noun or pronoun that answers the questions of who and what

Prepositional Phrase- A group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with it's object

Key Points

Prepositions show position, time, and logical relationships.

Every preposition must have an object.

Prepositions may link two ideas.

Some words may serve as prepositions and as other parts of speech.

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with its object.

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Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word used to connect two parts of a sentence. It can connect words, phrases, or even complete sentences. There are three main types of conjunctions:

Coordinating conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions

Let’s examine each one individually.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join parts of a sentence that are equal in importance. For example, it may join two or more subjects, verbs, prepositional phrases, or sentences. There are seven of these conjunctions:

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

Some people use the memory device of “FANBOYS” to remember these conjunctions.

Let’s look at these words in the context of sentences.

Nancy and Rick graduated in the same year. (The conjunction and joins the subjects, Nancy and Rick.)

We planned the agenda yet we were late for the meeting. (The conjunction yet joins the two independent sentences.)

You can get there through Pennsylvania or through Connecticut. (The conjunction or joins two prepositional phrases, through Pennsylvania and through Connecticut.)

We want to include a bibliography in the report, but that might make it too long. (The conjunction but joins two independent sentences.)

Jules spoke instead of Jim, for Jim had nothing to say. (The conjunction for joins two independent sentences.)

I was the one who opened the suitcase, so I was the first person to see the money. (The conjunction so joins two independent sentences.)

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are similar to coordinating conjunctions in that they connect parts of a sentence that are of equal importance. The main difference is that correlative conjunctions come in pairs. The most common correlative conjunctions are as follows:

both . . . and

not only . . . but also

not . . . but

either . . . or

neither . . . nor

whether . . . or

as . . . as

When correlative conjunctions occur in a sentence, they’re separated by words that come in between them. Here are some examples:

Either you stop smoking, or I’m going home to mother.

Not only are you small-minded, sir, but you’re also a bigot.

The trick in identifying correlative conjunctions is to remember that they work in pairs.

Subordinating Conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction introduces a subordinate clause. Here are the most common ones.

To help you understand how these conjunctions are used, let’s look at some examples:

James didn’t finish high school, although he continued to study on his own.

The first part of this sentence, James didn’t finish high school, is a complete sentence or independent clause. It can stand on its own. The second part, although he continued to study on his own, is not a complete sentence. It is a dependent clause. In other words, it depends on the first part to make sense. The word in this sentence that makes it dependent is although. The word although is a subordinating conjunction.

A subordinating conjunction introduces a group of words that can’t stand on their own. It needs the rest of the sentence to make sense.

Please also notice that both the dependent and the independent clauses have a subject and a verb. The subject in the independent clause is James, and the verb is did finish. The subject in the dependent clause is he, and the verb is continued.

I want you to wash the dishes after I leave for work.

In this sentence, the independent clause, "I want you to wash the dishes", could stand as a complete sentence. However, the dependent clause, "after I leave for work" isn’t a complete sentence. It can’t stand on its own. It depends on the independent clause to make sense. The word after is the subordinating conjunction that introduces this clause.

The book that I borrowed from the library is overdue.

This example is a little trickier for two reasons. First, the dependent clause falls in the middle of the independent clause. "The book is overdue" is the independent clause. The word book is further described by the dependent clause "that I borrowed from the library". Second, the clause is introduced by the pronoun that. The pronouns that, what, which, who, whom, and whose may also introduce subordinate clauses.

You may be asking, “Do I really need to remember all of this information about dependent clauses to use a subordinating conjunction correctly?” The main idea is to recognize that a subordinating conjunction begins a clause that depends on an independent clause to make sense. You should also remember that a clause has both a subject and a verb. And it’s also helpful if you can at least recognize a dependent, or subordinate, clause.

Here are some additional examples of sentences with dependent clauses introduced by subordinating conjunctions. The dependent clauses are italicized, and the subordinating conjunctions are underlined. Notice that the dependent clause can occur at any place in a sentence.

Please do it because I ask you.

Justin studied Spanish, since Latin was not offered at his school.

Unless you go too, I won’t go to the rock concert.

When the clock strikes midnight, come in through the back door.

Paul returned his purchase, which he discovered was defective.

Carolyn, who wants to attend college, plans to major in English.

In all of the examples you’ve studied so far, the subordinating conjunctions were single words. However, sometimes these conjunctions are a group of words. Look at two examples below.

She likes to read at night, as long as she’s not too sleepy.

I don’t like to be treated as if I am stupid.

Visit Learning Center's OWL website to complete an exercise on subordinating conjunctions.

Preposition, Conjunction, or Adverb?

You may have noticed that some of these conjunctions are words that you studied as prepositions. And some prepositions are the same as some adverbs. That can be very confusing, but the key is determining how the word is used in a sentence. Once you understand that, it’s easy to identify what part of speech it is. For example, take a look at these pairs of sentences:

Howard stood for equal justice under law. (The word for in this sentence is a preposition. It has an object, justice. Remember to ask the question “For what?” The answer in this case is “For justice.”)

Howard stood, for he was opposed to the bill. (The word for in this sentence is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces the subordinate, or dependent, clause “for he was opposed to the bill.”)

I would choose any candidate but Howard. (In this sentence, but is a preposition. Ask “But whom?” The answer is “But Howard.”

Noel voted for Howard, but Tricia voted for Samantha. (The word but is a coordinating conjunction that connects two independent clauses.)

She sat down before she got the bad news. (The word down in this sentence is an adverb. It answers the question “Where?”)

Sheila traveled down Main Street to the mall. (The word down in this sentence is a preposition. Its object is Main Street.)

Conjunctions and Writing

The proper use of coordinating conjunctions can greatly improve your writing ability. Look at these three sentences:

Lucy played tennis.

Lucy played soccer.

Lucy did not play baseball.

These three short sentences can be combined into one longer sentence with the use of conjunctions. Here’s the result: Lucy played tennis and soccer but not baseball. There are two coordinating conjunctions in the longer sentence. You’ll notice that one of them is but. You’ve already learned that but can be used as preposition if it means except. If it joins parts of a sentence, it’s a coordinating conjunction. As you can see, the longer sentence includes all of the elements of the three short sentences. It’s also easier to read. Short, choppy sentences are often boring to read. The longer sentence is more likely to hold a reader’s attention. It shows that several related things happened to Lucy.

Visit Learning Center's OWL webiste to complete an exercise on coordinating conjunctions.

Interjections Defined

Interjections and exclamation points always show up together. An interjection is usually followed by an exclamation point. Interjections express emotional excitement, just like exclamation points. Look at these examples:

Wow, that was a good shot!

Ouch, that really hurt!

Whoa, that’s one tall lady!

Whew, that was too close!

There are no specific rules for punctuating interjections. For example, the following sentences are also correct:

Wow! That was a good shot!

Ouch! That really hurt.

Whoa! That’s one tall lady!

Whew! That was too close!

Interjections have no real grammatical value in a sentence, but they’re used quite often— more often in speech than in writing.

Interjections can sometimes stand alone as one-word sentences. Consider these examples:

Did you see that play? Awesome!

Listen to that trumpet! Cool!

What do I think? Great!

Interjections in Writing

If you’re writing a casual email, you may insert some interjections to let the receiver know how you feel. In formal writing, however, you would be very unlikely to use an interjection. For example, imagine these sentences are part of an application letter:

I learned about your company on the Internet. Awesome! It would really be great to work at your company. Hope you’ll consider me. Wow!

Would you hire this person? Probably not. The interjections are too casual for a professional communication.

That doesn’t mean that you’ll never use interjections in your writing. For example, suppose you’re writing to a friend or business acquaintance who has just been promoted. You might decide to start your letter with this interjection: “Congratulations!” If writing to someone to announce something exciting, you might begin with: “Good news!”

You might also use interjections in quoting what someone said: “I turned to Nat and asked his opinion of my new car. His response was, “Awesome!”

It’s good to know that interjections are around if you need them, but you should keep them to an extreme minimum in your writing—especially in writing that’s related to your job or career.

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Key Points

A conjunction joins parts of a sentence or whole sentences together.

Conjunctions may be coordinating, correlative, subordinating, or conjunctive.

Words used as conjunctions may also be used as prepositions.

Interjections are usually followed by exclamation points. They express excitement.

Interjections are rarely used in formal writing.

Links

Daily Grammar

Schoolhouse Rock – Conjunctions

Schoolhouse Rock – Interjections

An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by the word to. Any verb with the word to in front of it is an infinitive.

The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base form.

A preposition is a part of speech that shows a relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other part of a sentence.

Prepositions show logical relationships. They link ideas in a sentence in some kind of relationship.

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with an object

Remember that adverbs answer the questions how, when, where, and how often.

When an adverb modifies a form of the verb be, place it after the verb.

Put a comma after an adverb that begins a sentence.

Correlative conjunctions are similar to coordinating conjunctions in that they connect parts of a sentence that are of equal importance. The main difference is that correlative conjunctions come in pairs.

The word for in this sentence is a preposition. It has an object, justice. Remember to ask the question “For what?” The answer in this case is “For justice.”

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Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments don’t express a complete thought. As you’ve learned in earlier lessons, a sentence needs at least a noun and a verb in order to be complete. If one is missing, the reader is left confused and wondering what’s missing to complete the idea. Here are some examples of sentence fragments missing a noun:

Ran in the marathon.

Worked until noon.

Here are some examples of sentence fragments missing a verb:

The young students.

In the park on Saturday.

All of these examples express an incomplete thought. The sentence fragment “Ran in the marathon” leaves you wondering who ran in the marathon. The sentence fragment “The young students” describes the type of students, but fails to explain what the students are doing.

Now look at some different kinds of sentence fragments and examine how to make them grammatically correct sentences.

Fragments That Begin with a Subordinating Conjunction

As you’ve already learned, a subordinating conjunction introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. A subordinate clause is a sentence fragment. Study these four examples:

Because I told you to do it.

Before Amanda started the engine.

After I get off work.

While we were at the beach.

To turn these fragments into sentences, you can do one of two things:

1. In most instances, you can remove the first word to get a complete sentence.

Because I told you to do it becomes

I told you to do it.

Before Amanda started the engine becomes

Amanda started the engine.

Both of these subordinate clauses are now complete sentences.

2. You can also add words so the sentence provides more information. To change a subordinate clause into a sentence, you must often add a complete sentence—that is, an independent clause. Here are some examples:

Because I told you to do it, I am responsible for the mistake.

Before Amanda started the engine, she fastened her seat belt.

After I get off work, I’m going home.

While we were at the beach, we all got sunburned.

Please notice that the words that were added in these examples can actually stand as complete sentences. They’re independent clauses.

Fragments That Begin with a Word That Ends in -ING

Here are some examples of fragments that begin with words ending in -ing.

Going through a divorce.

Leaving the bank.

Looking for clues.

To turn this type of fragment into a sentence, you must do two things:

Add a subject. Ask yourself who is going through a divorce, who or what is leaving the bank, and who is looking for clues. In that way you discover a subject for the fragment.

Add a helping verb. Words ending in -ing don’t stand as complete predicates. They need a helping verb to make them complete.

Here are those three fragments turned into complete sentences. In the first three sentences, Louise is added as a subject and the helping verbs is, will be, and was are added in the predicate.

Louise is going through a divorce.

Louise will be going through a divorce.

Louise was going through a divorce.

In the next three sentences, The lady is added as a subject and the helping verbs was, will be, and is are added in the predicate.

The lady was leaving the bank.

The lady will soon be leaving the bank.

The lady is leaving the bank.

In the final three sentences, Martin is added as a subject and the helping verbs was, should be, and will be are added in the predicate.

Martin was looking for clues.

Martin should be looking for clues.

Martin will be looking for clues.

Fragments That Are Prepositional Phrases

Sometimes a simple prepositional phrase tries to pose as a complete sentence. However, a prepositional phrase has no subject or verb, so it can’t be a sentence. Here are some examples:

Before the storm.

Under the sofa.

To convert a prepositional phrase into a sentence, you must add at least a subject and a verb.

She arrived home before the storm.

We found the missing earring under the sofa.

Fragments That Are Predicates

Occasionally, a fragment will be made up of only a predicate.

Started to play ball on Thursday.

Praised the new president.

Completed her report for the department manager.

In such cases, you must simply add a subject to make the sentence complete.

Josephina started to play ball on Thursday.

The club members praised the new president.

The new employee completed her report for the department manager.

Visit Learning Center’s OWL website to learn more about fragments and to complete a fragment exercise.

Run-On Sentences

While incomplete sentences are missing important words, run-on sentences tend to have too many words. Run-on sentences are created when two or more sentences are written as one. They’re two complete thoughts that should be in two separate sentences. Here are a few examples:

I believe Tom can do it he’s very good at woodworking.

I don’t like lobster, but Jose does he ate two of them.

I’m not going into that old house you must be crazy.

All insects have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen the thorax has six legs.

Try locating the two complete sentences, or independent clauses, that make up these run-on sentences. Place a slash mark to divide the two independent clauses.

Visit Learning Center’s OWL website to learn more about run-on sentences and to complete a run-on sentence exercise.

Run-on sentences are corrected by creating two separate sentences or by adding the appropriate punctuation. Here are the sentences rewritten by creating two separate sentences.

I believe Tom can do it. He’s very good at woodworking.

I don’t like lobster, but Jose does. He ate two of them.

I’m not going in that old house. You must be crazy.

All insects have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. The thorax has six legs.

You can also join independent clauses using a semicolon. That can be a good idea if the two complete thoughts are closely related.

I believe Tom can do it; he’s very good at woodworking.

I don’t like lobster, but Jose does; he ate two of them.

I’m not going into that old house; you must be crazy.

You might look at the fourth sentence and ask, “Why can’t we use a semicolon between the two independent clauses?” While it’s true that the ideas are related in subject matter, they aren’t related in purpose: the first sentence lists the sections of the insect body, and the second describes a characteristic of one part of the insect body.

Visit Learning Center’s OWL website to practice turning run-on sentences into complete sentences.

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Independent Clause- a group of words that include a subject and a verb and express a complete thought.

Fragment- A sentence missing a noun or pronoun

Run-on- A sentence with to many words

Key Points

A sentence that’s missing a noun or a verb is a fragment, not a complete sentence, and will leave the reader wondering what’s meant.

Two complete thoughts or independent clauses written as one sentence, without proper punctuation to separate them, makes a run-on sentence.

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Imagine an artist named Luisa. Luisa went to art school and learned to draw, mix colors, and do all of the things artists need to know.

Luisa decides to paint a fall scene with trees dressed in autumn leaves, an old barn, and a sky full of clouds. To begin, she makes a sketch on her canvas. That’s her design, or plan. Next, she uses the skills she has learned to draw the trees, barn, and clouds. She then uses her skills to mix and apply colors to the canvas.

Luisa has used the skills she learned, plus her artistic imagination, to create a unique picture. Writing is very similar; it’s a blending of skill and imagination. You need the right skills, but knowing the rules isn’t enough. You also have to use your imagination. You have to apply words to paper or screen just like an artist paints a picture. Writing is an art, but it’s an art that can make your life fuller and more interesting.

Types of Sentences

There are four different types of sentences:

Declarative

Imperative

Interrogative

Exclamatory

Each type of sentence serves a specific purpose.

A declarative sentence makes a statement.

There are 12 inches in a foot.

I have trouble following directions.

An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. When an imperative sentence is forceful, it may end with an exclamation point.

Proceed immediately to the top of the mountain.

Look in the top dresser drawer.

Please call me when you get home.

Do this as soon as possible!

An interrogative sentence asks a question and always ends with a question mark.

How do you assemble this machine?

What am I supposed to do now?

What time does the movie start?

Does the recipe call for two eggs or three?

An exclamatory sentence expresses strong emotion. Such sentences are always followed by exclamation points.

That’s a rattlesnake!

You need to grow up!

Yeah, we won the game!

Visit the uOttawa Writing Center website to learn more about sentence type and to complete a sentence type exercise.

Building Sentences

All sentences are made up of words. However, a group of words alone isn’t always enough to create a sentence.

Imagine you have two stacks of boards. Each stack has the same number of boards. You give one stack to Marvin and the other to Lester and ask the two men to make something from their boards. Marvin builds a tree house, using all of his boards. Lester, however, is not as ambitious. All he does is move his stack of boards into two smaller stacks, and then take a nap.

Now, imagine if these boards represented words. Clearly, Marvin made a complete sentence with his, while Lester didn’t. All Lester did was sort words into two smaller groups of words. Marvin made something that was more than boards. Lester just ended up with a lot of boards. Marvin made a sentence that made sense of his words. Lester took a nap.

Maybe you think this is a silly story. It isn’t. To make his tree house, Marvin had to follow steps. First, he had to make a plan. Second, he had to arrange his boards according to his plan. Third, he had to make sure all of his boards were where they needed to be.

When it comes to building a sensible sentence, you have to follow these steps:

Think out or plan what you want to say.

Place your words in some order, following your plan.

Check to see that your plan follows the rules of language.

The way you plan your words, where you place them, and how you follow the rules of language take practice. Crafting good sentences is an art, and art can have a powerful impact on people.

Reflect and Respond

Think about one of your best memories. If you were to write a paragraph about that memory, what types of sentences do you think that paragraph would include?

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Declarative- A sentence that makes a statement

Imperative- A sentence that gives a command or makes a request

Interrogative- A sentence that askes a question

Exclamatory- A sentence that expresses strong emotion

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Key Points

Suffixes that begin with consonants are simply added to the end of the word.

To add a suffix to a word ending in y, change the y to i.

Words ending in silent e, one-syllable words ending in a consonant, and two-syllable words ending in a consonant preceded by one vowel, change their spelling when a suffix is added.

Words that end in ce or ge, words ending in a vowel and y, and words where the last syllable isn’t accented are exceptions. Their spelling isn’t changed when adding a suffix.

Most of the time i comes before e. An exception is after c and in words that sound like “way.”

Homophones sound alike and are spelled differently. Homonyms sound alike and are spelled alike.

Even if you don’t know how to spell a word, you can find it in the dictionary.

Links

Purdue University Online Writing Lab – Spelling and Word Choice

Quick and Dirty Tips