Here are some of the topics that will be on the tests:
Types of writing
What is grammar and its purpose
Grammar - rules of the language
Purpose of grammar - clarity
What are the parts of speech - building blocks of sentence structure
Noun - person, place, thing, idea, activity
There are 5 types of nouns:
Proper - specific and capitalized
ex. Izzy finished her homework.
Common - general and not capitalized
ex. The man was tired.
Collective noun - noun functioning in unison as one entity or individual
ex. Singular: The cast performed on stage.
Plural: The cast performed their individual roles.
Gerund - verb functioning as a noun by adding ing.
ex. Running is Dario's favorite sport.
Infinitive - to/full infinitive: a verb functioning as a noun, adjective or adverb by adding the preposition to to the stem of the verb. Bare infinitive: verb functioning as a noun, adjective or adverb by dropping the preposition to to the stem of the verb.
ex. to infinitive: Izzy loves to dance.
ex. bare infinitive: I watched the plane take off.
Collective noun examples:
class school family legislative
troop army navy faculty
student body pack committee audience
troupe company orchestra band team
Verbal - verb form in which the verb functions as a different part of speech.
- When a verbal is proceeded by "to be, is, was, were (auxiliary verbs)" they bond together and become the progressive tense of a verb.
There are three verbals: Gerund, infinitive, and participle
Gerund - verb functioning as a noun by adding ing.
Infinitive - to infinitive: verb functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb by adding the preposition to to the stem of the verb. Bare infinitive: verb functioning as noun, adjective, or adverb by removing the preposition to to the stem of the verb.
To create the bare infinitive: Special verbs -----> Direct object -----> Bare infinitive
Special verbs: let, make, see, hear, help, feel, sense, bid, watch
To find direct object: go to the main verb and ask the questions who and what.
Example of to/full infinitive: Izzy loves to kiss.
Example of bare infinitive: I watched the plane take off.
Participle - verb acting as an adjective or a form of verb by adding ing or ed.
Present participle example: The boiling water on the stove is hot.
Past participle example: Parched, Sara gulped her water.
Word = a symbol (something one is taught)
Phrase = a group of words (2 phrases)
Clause = subject, verb, thought (independent and dependent)
- a thought is direct and makes a point
Phrases - prepositional and participial
- Prepositional phrases - preposition followed by a noun
10 examples of prepositional phrases:
Example of prepositional phrase: The boy rode on the horse.
on = preposition
the = article (not needed all the time)
horse = noun
*Noun in prepositional phrase is called object of preposition.
- Participial phrases - a word group (2 or more words) consisting of a present or past participle plus any modifies, objects, and complements. (definition found on about.com)
- placement of participle must be closest to the noun/pronoun it modifies, otherwise it becomes a dangling participle (misplaced participle).
Correct: Smiling, David gave Victoria a flower. The present participle is modifying the pronoun David.
Incorrect: Shaken, the wrecked car frightened Victoria. The past participle shaken in this sentence is modifying car, when one really means to modify Victoria. This is a dangling participle because it is misplaced.
- Comma is essential when starting sentence with participle.
* Phrases are not essential for sentence structure. They add info to the base of the sentence.
ex. Sleeping in class (participial phrase) + comma + Sarah missed the lesson. (independent clause)
Clauses: the two clauses are independent and dependent clauses
Independent clauses: AKA simple sentence
- subject, verb, COMPLETE thought
- capitalize first letter of independent clause and end with end punctuation (? ! .).
ex. Sarah fell down the stairs.
Sarah = subject
Fell = verb
Has a complete thought/gets to point.
- subject, verb, INCOMPLETE thought.
A fragment lacks either a subject, verb, or complete thought.
ex. Because he was late.
He = subject
Was = verb
Does not have a complete thought/does not get to the point.
Combine independent + dependent clause to get a complex sentence.
Ex. Because she was mad, Julian rejected her.
Quotations (do not write quotes)
Quotations - exact words
- only quote when text is available and do not make up a quote
Quotations are short, focused, and frequent.
Tradition - begin with attribution
attribution - source of quotation who said/wrote it.
ex. Victoria said,
Punctuation follows - usually use comma, but colon is formal and is used when something has an unusual importance.
ex. Victoria said: "I am singing at the Metropolitan Opera."
- Writer decides what is important.
- When quoting an eminent figure, always use a comma. The person must be iconic (like Mandela, not like Snooki).
- If quoting from a literacy, use a colon
* Only use a colon when attribution comes first.
- colon is followed by a double quotation (") and a capital letter - NO fragments!
- end with end punctuation INSIDE THE QUOTES.
ex. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated: "Trust thyself."
- If beginning with a quote, end with attribution.
ex. "I am singing at the Met?" asked Victoria.
- When attribution follows quote, comma, question mark, and exclamation points are used.
Direct quotation = exact words
Indirect quotation = not exact words - paraphrase
- When paraphrasing, one is putting ideas of another person in own words.
- No quotation marks are needed.
- Still need attribution
First person: I love
Second person: you love
Third person: he/she/it loves
Run-ons, or comma splices are when two sentences are separated by a comma.
ex. Victoria loves, bagels, she ate five for dinner.
Possessive is NOT on test
Indefinite - NOT on test