- A) Lets remember who the teacher is

- B) Focus on what I’m saying, and not what you want answered
- C) Stay on my pace, not yours

**Foundation Topics: PoS, Grammar, Punctuations

These topics are not tested directly**

Parts of Speech

There are eight parts of speech. Every word in the English language acts as one of these
parts of speech when in a sentence.

1. Nouns

2. Pronouns

3. Adjectives

4. Verbs

5. Adverbs

6. Conjunctions

7. Prepositions

8. Interjections

1. NOUNS

(n.) Nouns name persons, places, things, or ideas.

• Person - John, Tony, Alice, boy, teacher

• Place - Florida, New York, mountain, classroom

• Thing - book, chair, hair

• Idea - service, leadership, courage, Monday

Many nouns can be identified by their suffixes or endings.

-ness, -ation, -tion, -ment, -tude, -hood, -ence, -ance, -ity, -dom
Examples of nouns with common suffixes: happiness, capitalization, recreation,
government, aptitude, fatherhood, existence, defiance, celebrity; freedom; wisdom;
gratitude; kingdom, carefulness

Many times the articles/adjectives a, an, or the appear before a noun.

The article/adjective ‘an’ can only go in front of a noun that begins with a vowel, such as an
octopus.

Directions: Circle the nouns. Do not include any adjectives that modify the nouns.

1. Doreen is an ugly woman who has five bratty children.

2. What is all this craziness?

3. My patience is running out.

4. Stewart, please be careful with the silver platter and the crystal glasses.

5. The improvement in your essay is amazing.

6. On Wednesdays, Lucy likes to go to the museum to see the exhibits.

Common versus Proper

Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are nonspecific. A common
noun always begins with a lowercase letter unless it is the first word in a sentence.

Ex: school, boy, car, dog, country

Proper nouns name SPECIFIC persons, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns always begin
with capital letters.

Ex: Seaford Middle School, Theo, Mercedes, Fido, Spain

Directions: There are twenty-five nouns in the following paragraph. Circle the common
nouns. Underline the proper nouns.

Rebecca Motte was a great patriot. During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers seized
her mansion in South Carolina and set up defenses. General Harry Lee told Motte that the
Americans would have to burn her home to smoke out the enemy. Motte supported the
plan and was glad to help her country. She even supplied fire arrows and a bow for the
attack. The enemy raised the white flag, and the house was saved. That night, Motte
invited both sides to dinner.
2. PRONOUNS (pro.)

Pronouns take the place of nouns.

Instead of repeating the same noun over and over again, we use pronouns to replace the
noun.

John loves cake. John loves the icing the best. John especially loves ice cream cake.

What is the proper noun used above?

What pronoun can replace the proper noun?

Examples: I, you, him, her, me, this, that, they, which, she, he, it, our, we

Julia – she

Tia and Anthony – They/we

Cat – it

Simon - He

Juli and Simon - They

In the example above, the pronoun he replaces the proper noun John. Therefore, he refers
back to John.

***The noun the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.***

John is the antecedent in the above example.

Another example: Jim baked the cookies, but he did not clean the pans.

Jim = antecedent he= pronoun

YOUR TURN:

Example 1: Shari ate two helpings, and she did not get sick.

Pronoun: She Antecedent: Shari

Example 2: Bob threw the bat at Joe, but it didn’t hit him.

Pronoun #1: it Antecedent #1: bat

Pronoun #2: him Antecedent #2: Joe

TYPES OF PRONOUNS

Subjective pronouns: he, she, I, you, we, they, it

These are the ONLY personal pronouns that can be used as subjects in a sentence. They
can do things.

Examples: He goes to the park. She eats alone. We love cucumbers.

Objective pronouns: me, you, him, her, it us, them

These pronouns have things happen to them. They receive action.

Examples: He gave the gift to her. Mom borrowed the list from us.

They went to her house

Teacher gave a task to us

Directions: Circle the pronoun that correctly completes each sentence. Remember to use
the notes above.

You and I vs You and Me

1. You and I/me went to the park

2. Clyde saw you and I/me in the park

Subjective pronouns are the “do-ers” and objective pronouns are the “receivers”.

1. Clyde gave the hat to (he, him).

2. Mom wouldn’t let (we, us) go to the park.

3. Simon, Tim and (I, me) love carrots.

4. We gave (ourselves, themselves) a treat.

5. (She, her) got a new car.

6. (They, Us) told (they, them) to go to the party.

7. The class and (he, him) are competing for the title.

8. The teacher gave the class and (we, us) lots of homework.

9. Yesterday, (he and I OR him and me) went to the mall.

- Alice saw him and me in the parking lot

10. Please don’t tell (she, her) about the broken glass.

Reflexive Pronouns refer to back to the subject:

himself, herself, yourself, yourselves, themselves, itself, ourselves

*****The words ourself, themself, itselves, himselves, and herselves DO NOT EXIST.

Ourselves, themselves, itself, himself, himself

Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership:

his, her, our, ours, their, theirs, hers, your, yours, my, mine, its

Examples: The book is mine. That jacket is hers. Please get her jacket.

Interrogative Pronouns are used in questions: who, whom, what, which, whose

Examples: Whose book is that? Who called? For whom is that gift?

Demonstrative Pronouns are meant to demonstrate or point to something: those, these,

this, that

Examples: This is my essay. Please give these to him. Can you hand me that?

Indefinite Pronouns (those in the chart below) do not refer to a definite person or thing:

Singular Plural Singular/ Plural

Another each little both all

Anybody either much few any

Anyone everybody nothing many most

Anything everyone several none

Neither everything others some

Nobody something more

No one someone

One somebody

Indefinite Pronouns are tricky to use as subjects in a sentence. Use the chart to help with
the exercise below.
Directions: Use the Indefinite Pronoun Chart above to select the correct matching pronoun.
Underline each subject/antecedent in the sentence. Each antecedent is a pronoun from
the Indefinite Pronoun chart.

- If the pronoun that is the antecedent is singular, you must select a singular possessive
pronoun.

-If the pronoun that is the antecedent is plural, you must select a plural possessive
pronoun.

Singular Possessive Pronouns: (her, his, it, hers, its) Plural Possessive Pronouns: (their,
theirs)

1. Each brought (his/her, their) book.

2. Many of the kids have (his/her, their) class in room 205.

3. Anybody who wants to may bring (his/her, their) notes.

4. Neither is bringing (his/her, their) own lunch.

5. Someone in the corner gave (his/her, their) cell phone to me.

6. Several of the singers in the choir gave (his/her, their) best efforts.

7. Is everyone coming to (his, her, their) party?

Directions: Circle ANY pronouns that you find. Then, draw an arrow from the pronoun
to its antecedent.

Some pronouns may not have antecedents in the sentence.

Some sentences have two antecedents and two matching pronouns

Example: Jess gave her book to him even though it was brand new.

1. The mechanic tried to patch the tire, but he could not repair it.

2. The girls had the house all to themselves.

3. The quarterback received the ball, and he ran with it.

4. When Mrs. Alexander asked Charlie for the note, he gave it to her.

5. Lisa cut her finger on the glass when it shattered.

Identifying pronouns

Directions: Circle all the pronouns. They can be ANY of the pronouns listed on the
pages before. Refer to all of the pages on pronouns to guide you. There may be more
than one pronoun in each sentence.

1. I don’t know which test to give those who were absent.

2. Mike thinks he knows everything, and that is what makes me angry.

3. Liz asked her friend Mary which movie she would like to see.

4. Neither the Jets nor the Giants played well last week.

5. Did Ally find any in those?

3. ADJECTIVES (a.)

• An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.

• Adjectives modify, or change, nouns or pronouns to make them more specific or exact.

Examples: happy boy, fat man, slimy bug

He is sad. That meal was amazing.

• An adjective tells what kind, how many, how much, or which one(s).

What Kind/Which Ones

beautiful, empty, first, last, those, these, happy, short, flat, long

***Some of these words are pronouns, but pronouns can act like adjectives.

These books are mine. (The pronoun, these, is describing the noun, books.)

These are mine. (In this sentence, these is a pronoun because it is not describing
anything.)

How Many/How Much

several, twelve, many, nine

• A, an, and the are special adjectives called articles.

• Many adjectives can be identified by their suffixes, or endings:

-ful, -ish, -able, -y, -less, -ous, -some, -ic,- iant, -ient
Some examples of adjectives:

comfortable, selfish, laughable, joyous, happy, careless, wholesome, patient, stoic

Proper Adjectives

• Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns.

• The proper noun Spain is the name of a country.

• The proper adjective Spanish describes something that comes from Spain.

• Just like proper nouns, proper adjectives always begin with a capital letter.

• Ex: Spanish flag, Mexican food, Pakistani kebabs, Pakistani culture

Directions: Circle all of the adjectives in the following sentences. Remember, sometimes
pronouns can act like adjectives.

1. The small, misbehaved boy was pushing his mother.

2. Many bugs like to come out at night.

3. Thirteen girls are coming to my sweet sixteen party.

4. The slimy, smelly, no-good alien stole my new CD player.

5. In the Spanish language adjectives are placed after nouns.

6. She is beautiful.

7. The brown pants are thrown over the folding chair.

8. Creaky doors don’t scare monsters.

9. He and I love to eat Chinese food.

10. Most children enjoy fast-paced, adventurous rides at the amusement park.
4. VERBS (v.)

• A verb is a word that tells of an action or a state of being.

• The verb tells what is happening in the sentence.

• Verbs also have tense. Tense is the time expressed by a verb. The form of the verb tells
when something occurred.

Example of tense with the verb, to fly: fly, flew, will fly, flying, have flown, had flown.

Verbs can act as action verbs or linking verbs, depending on the sentence.

ACTION VERBS are verbs that tell what a noun or a pronoun is doing. They tell physical or
mental actions.

Examples: run, jump, singing, played, enjoyed, thought, worshiped

• I run in the park.

• He worshiped Miss Steinberg’s awesomeness.

• Jeff ordered a pizza.

• I wished on a star.

• The baby slept in her car seat.

LINKING VERBS are verbs that tell us about the state of being of a noun or pronoun. There
is no action.

Many linking verbs are forms of the verb, to be: be, being, am, is, are, was, were

Other common linking verbs: like, seems, remains, become, grow, stay, turn, sound, smell,
feel, appear, look

Notice in these examples how each verb is a link between the words on either side of it.

• He is annoying. (He = annoying)

• We are the winners. (We = winners.)

• The sum of two and four is six. (six = sum)

• That barbecue smells good. (good barbecue)

Linking verbs can be used as action verbs as well:

• The cookies tasted sweet. (linking verb – cookies = sweet)

• I tasted the cookies. (action verb)

• I grew bored. (linking verb – I = bored)

• The old man grew corn. (action verb)

• He looked angry. (linking verb – he = angry)

• I looked at the calendar. (action)

• I felt sleepy. (linking verb – I = sleepy)

• I felt the dog’s fur. (action verb)

• The movie star appeared conceited. (linking verb – conceited movie star)

• The movie star appeared in a play. (action verb)

• The light remained red. (linking verb – light = red)

• They remained at the table. (action verb )

5. ADVERBS (adv.)

• Modify, or describe, verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs

• They answer one or more of the following questions:

When/Time, How, Where/Place, To what extent/Degree

• Many end in -ly

HOW: fast, slowly, well, poorly, oddly, crazily

Walk fast. (How do you walk?)

How did you spend your vacation?

Please walk carefully.

WHEN/TIME: always, usually, never, forever, now, then, later, soon, tomorrow

Now I will go to the park. (When will I go?)

He went to the park now.

He will now go to the park.

WHERE/PLACE: away, here, inside, there, up, down,

We are inside. (Where are we?)

The car is outside.

Here is Lou.

TO WHAT EXTENT/DEGREE: too, very, so, more, least, quite, not, almost

We are almost there. (To what extent am I there?)

That is quite all right.

It is very cold outside.

It is so boring here.

I am too tired.

6. PREPOSITIONS (prep.)

• Words that point

• Words that show the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence.

• They never stand alone.

Common Prepositions: aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around,
as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except,
for, from, in, in front of, inside, instead, into, like, near, next to, of, off, on, out, out of, outside,
over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, up to,
upon, with, within, without

- The cat ran over the table

- The book is on the table
- Through heavens and earth
- He was standing in front me of
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

• Prepositions never stand alone. They are always used with a noun or pronoun that is
called the object of the preposition. The noun or pronoun usually comes after the
preposition.

• The preposition and its object are known as a prepositional phrase.

• A phrase is a group of words.

Examples:

1. He jumped over the mountain.

The phrase is over the mountain.

The preposition is over, and its object is mountain.

The preposition over shows the relationship between He and mountain.

2. The girl in the heavy coat was very warm.

The phrase is in the heavy coat.

The preposition is in and its object is heavy coat.

3. The plane flew through the thick clouds in the rainstorm.

The phrases are through the thick clouds and in the rainstorm.

The first preposition is and its object is .

The second preposition is and its object is

Directions: For each sentence, list three prepositions that could complete the sentence.
Make sure that they make sense. (Notice how different prepositions change the
relationship between the words.)

1. She saw the cartoons _____ dinner. , ,

2. Two friends walked ______ the river. , ,

3. My fishing tackle is ______ the box. , ,

4. The scout crawled ______ the fence. , ,

5. I could hardly see the woman _____ the window. , ,

7. CONJUNCTIONS (conj.)

• Can join words

• Can join phrases

• Can join two sentences

Conjunctions can join words:

- Jim and Peggy are friends.

- That gift was pretty but useless.
- Mail is delivered rain or shine.
- We neither ate nor drank at the party.

Conjunctions can join phrases:

- We listened to the code and reported it accurately.

- We were all alone but not bored.
- You can’t find it so stop looking.

Conjunctions can join sentences.

- Melba is waiting for the mail, and Mother is expecting a call.

- I love pizza, yet I don’t really care for spaghetti.
- I danced while he sang.
- Because I work hard, I do well.
- I will go if you go.

There are two types of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating Coordinating

conjunctions join independent clauses.

Subordinating conjunctions join dependent clauses.

Independent Clause

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses
a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent
clause is marked by a dependent marker word.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he
studied? The thought is incomplete.)

SUBJECTS, PREDICATES, CLAUSES

- A subject can ONLY be a noun or pronoun. A subject is who or what the sentence is about.

To find the subject, ask who or what is doing something or whom or what is being talked
about.

Example: The dog (subject) barked at the mailman.

- A predicate MUST include a verb. It may also include other words that relate to the verb.

• Simple Sentence: The dog (subject) chased the ball (predicate).** (Verb: chased)

• Sentence with a Linking Verb: The car (subject) is red (predicate adjective). (Verb: is,
Predicate adjective: red)

• Sentence with a Compound Predicate: She (subject) baked a cake and decorated it
(predicate). (Verb: baked, Verb: decorated)

- A clause consists of a subject and a predicate.

An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a subject and predicate that expresses a complete thought.

In other words, it is a complete sentence.

A DEPENDENT or SUBORDINATING CLAUSE depends on another sentence to help it

express a complete thought. It is a clause, so it contains a subject and predicate, but it
begins with a subordinating conjunction, and it DOES NOT express a complete thought
without help. It is a fragment.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES are independent because they do not need “help” to express a
complete thought.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS can be used to join two independent clauses.

The coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember using the acronym FANBOYS.

- F - For (reason): This conjunction connects two clauses where the second clause explains
the reason for the first clause.

• Example: "It rained all day, for the clouds never seemed to break."

- A - And (addition): This conjunction connects two clauses where both ideas are given
equal weight.
• Example: "She loves to sing, and she also enjoys playing the piano."

- N - Nor (negative addition): This conjunction connects two negative clauses. "Nor" is
basically the same as "and not."

• Example: "He does not like vegetables, nor does he enjoy fruit."

- B - But (contrast): This conjunction connects two clauses that present opposing ideas.

• Example: "I wanted to go swimming, but the pool was closed."

- O - Or (choice): This conjunction connects two clauses that offer alternative options.

• Example: "Would you like coffee ,or tea?"

- Y - Yet (contrast with a hidden concession): This conjunction connects two contrasting
ideas, but the second clause implies a concession to the first clause.

• Example: "We practiced for weeks, yet we still lost the game." (There's an implied
concession: even though we practiced hard)

- S - So (consequence): This conjunction connects two clauses where the second clause
expresses a result of the first clause.

• Example: "The traffic was terrible, so we arrived late."

When you join two independent clauses together using one of the FANBOYS, there must be
a comma before the conjunction.

***If you do not put a comma, you create a run-on. A run-on is when two clauses are joined
incorrectly.

Example 1:

Kyle read. (independent clause) Martha slept. (independent clause)

Combined: Kyle read, and Martha slept.

The two clauses are joined with the FANBOY and. Notice that there is a comma before the
conjunction.

Example 2:

Jim ran quickly. (independent clause) Jane walked slowly. (independent clause)

Combined: Jim ran quickly, but Jane walked slowly.

The two clauses are joined with the FANBOY, but. Notice, there is a comma before but.
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS introduce dependent, or subordinating, clauses that
cannot stand alone. These clauses create fragments unless they are “fixed” by adding
another clause to them to complete the thought.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS include the following:

after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before,
even though, how, if, in order, that, since, so that, than, though, unless, until, when,
whenever, where, wherever, while

Example of a subordinating or dependent clause: While Jim ran.

This is a dependent clause because it has a subject, Jim, and a verb, ran. HOWEVER, it is
dependent on another clause to complete the thought because it begins with the
subordinating conjunction “While.”

We don’t know what Jim did WHILE he ran.

You must add another clause to complete the thought.

Example of two clauses joined together: While Jim ran, he listened to music. The second
clause, he listened to music, tells us what Jim did while running.

Now, the thought is complete.

Notice that there is a comma in between the two clauses.

If you begin a sentence with a subordinating conjunction, you must have a comma after the
first thought is completed.

The same two clauses are joined here in a different way:

Jim ran while he listened to music. No comma is necessary because the subordinating
conjunction is in between the two clauses.

Directions: Follow the directions for each number to create sentences. Highlight the
conjunction in each sentence.

Example: Use and to join to verbs. Gerry talked and laughed excitedly.

1. Use or to join two adjectives.

2. Use but to join two sentences.

3. Use and to join two adverbs.

4. Use after to create a subordinating clause.

5. Use for to create a prepositional phrase.

EXERCISE B: Circle the conjunctions in the following sentences. There may be more than
one conjunction in a sentence.

1. While he walked, my mom and I took his picture.

2. Jim and Jane love to watch “American Idol” together.

3. Before we go the party, we need to buy snacks.

4. Lou forgot to write down the message because he was in the middle of dinner.

5. If you’re going to wear that shirt, please take the tag off.

6. Because we are friends, I will drive you to the party, but you owe me a ride next time.

7. We had to ask permission before we could go to the movies.

8. INTERJECTIONS (interj.)

• A word which expresses emotion and which is not related to other words in a sentence.

• They are separated by an exclamation point (!) or a comma (,).

Examples of interjections: aha, my, hey, hurray, ouch, rats, wow, yikes, yippee, well, oops,
oh, eek, goodness, gosh, oh my

Eek! A bug crawled up my leg! Ouch! You hurt me.

Wow! I am tired. Well, I did my best.

Directions: Write an appropriate interjection to go with the sentence. Use a DIFFERENT

interjection each time.

1. ! I stubbed my toe!

2. ! I dropped the eggs!

3. ! What a catch!

4. ! It’s hot!

5. “ !” I shouted.

Identify the Part of Speech

Go through the following sentences and identify the part of speech of the underlined
words.
1. Namitha is not coming today.

2. My mom will be leaving to Bangalore tomorrow.

3. The teacher asked the students to stand.

4. He is my brother.

5. There is a cat under the table.

6. The clothes did not dry as it was raining all night.

7. Sheena and her sister dance well.

8. I am wearing a green dress for the party.

9. Oh! That is really sad.

10. She is coming with me.

1. I bought a beautiful dress at the mall. preposition

adjective noun

2. What did she ask you to do? conjunction

preposition pronoun

3. I left my shoes under the kitchen table. adjective

preposition pronoun

4. If we finish our work quickly we can go to the movies. adverb

conjunction verb

5. On Saturdays I work from nine to five. verb

preposition adverb

6. I want to go to a university in the United States. adjective

preposition noun

7. I'm sure I've met your girlfriend before. verb

preposition interjection

8. Well, I don't think I'll be home before 6.

interjection preposition pronoun

9. Andy knocked on the door but nobody answered. adverb

adjective conjunction

10. After lunch let's go out for a coffee. pronoun

preposition verb Parts of Speech

There are eight parts of speech. Every word in the English language acts as one of these
parts of speech when in a sentence.

1. Nouns

2. Pronouns

3. Adjectives

4. Verbs

5. Adverbs

6. Conjunctions

7. Prepositions

8. Interjections

1. NOUNS

(n.) Nouns name persons, places, things, or ideas.

• Person - John, Tony, Alice, boy, teacher

• Place - Florida, New York, mountain, classroom

• Thing - book, chair, hair

• Idea - service, leadership, courage, Monday

Many nouns can be identified by their suffixes or endings.

-ness, -ation, -tion, -ment, -tude, -hood, -ence, -ance, -ity, -dom

Examples of nouns with common suffixes: happiness, capitalization, recreation,

government, aptitude, fatherhood, existence, defiance, celebrity; freedom; wisdom;
gratitude; kingdom, carefulness

Many times the articles/adjectives a, an, or the appear before a noun.

The article/adjective ‘an’ can only go in front of a noun that begins with a vowel, such as an
octopus.

Directions: Circle the nouns. Do not include any adjectives that modify the nouns.

1. Doreen is an ugly woman who has five bratty children.

2. What is all this craziness?

3. My patience is running out.

4. Stewart, please be careful with the silver platter and the crystal glasses.

5. The improvement in your essay is amazing.

6. On Wednesdays, Lucy likes to go to the museum to see the exhibits.

Common versus Proper

Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are nonspecific. A common
noun always begins with a lowercase letter unless it is the first word in a sentence.

Ex: school, boy, car, dog, country

Proper nouns name SPECIFIC persons, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns always begin
with capital letters.

Ex: Seaford Middle School, Theo, Mercedes, Fido, Spain

Directions: There are twenty-five nouns in the following paragraph. Circle the common
nouns. Underline the proper nouns.

Rebecca Motte was a great patriot. During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers seized
her mansion in South Carolina and set up defenses. General Harry Lee told Motte that the
Americans would have to burn her home to smoke out the enemy. Motte supported the
plan and was glad to help her country. She even supplied fire arrows and a bow for the
attack. The

enemy raised the white flag, and the house was saved. That night, Motte invited both sides
to dinner.

2. PRONOUNS (pro.)

Pronouns take the place of nouns.

Instead of repeating the same noun over and over again, we use pronouns to replace the
noun. John loves cake. John loves the icing the best. John especially loves ice cream cake.
What is the proper noun used above?

What pronoun can replace the proper noun?

Examples: I, you, him, her, me, this, that, they, which, she, he

In the example above, the pronoun he replaces the proper noun John. Therefore, he refers
back to John.

***The noun the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.***

John is the antecedent in the above example.

Another example: Jim baked the cookies, but he did not clean the pans. Jim = antecedent
he= pronoun

YOUR TURN:

Example 1: Shari ate two helpings, and she did not get sick. Pronoun: Antecedent:

Example 2: Bob threw the bat at Joe, but it didn’t hit him.

Pronoun #1: Antecedent #1:

Pronoun #2: Antecedent #2:

TYPES OF PRONOUNS

Subjective pronouns: he, she, I, you, we, they, it

These are the ONLY personal pronouns that can be used as subjects in a sentence. They
can do things.

Examples: He goes to the park. She eats alone. We love cucumbers. Objective pronouns:
me, you, him, her, it us, them

These pronouns have things happen to them. They receive action.

Examples: He gave the gift to her. M om borrowed the list from us.

Directions: Circle the pronoun that correctly completes each sentence. Remember to use
the notes above.

Subjective pronouns are the “do-ers” and objective pronouns are the “receivers”.

1. Clyde gave the hat to (he, him).

2. Mom wouldn’t let (we, us) go to the park.

3. Simon, Tim and (I, me) love carrots.

4. We gave (ourselves, themselves) a treat.

5. (She, her) got a new car.

6. (They, Us) told (they, them) to go to the party.

7. The class and (he, him) are competing for the title.

8. The teacher gave the class and (we, us) lots of homework.

9. Yesterday, (he and I OR him and me) went to the mall.

10. Please don’t tell (she, her) about the broken glass.

Reflexive Pronouns refer to back to the subject:

himself, herself, yourself, yourselves, themselves, itself, ourselves

*****The words ourself, themself, itselves, himselves, and herselves DO NOT EXIST.

Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership:

his, her, our, ours, their, theirs, hers, your, yours, my, mine, its

Examples: The book is mine. That jacket is hers. Please get her jacket. Interrogative
Pronouns are used in questions: who, whom, what, which, whose

Examples: Whose book is that? Who called? For whom is that gift?

Demonstrative Pronouns are meant to demonstrate or point to something: those, these,

this, that

Examples: This is my essay. Please give these to him. Can you hand me that?

Indefinite Pronouns (those in the chart below) do not refer to a definite person or thing:

Singular Plural Singular/ Plural

Another each little both all

Anybody either much few any

Anyone everybody nothing many most

Anything everyone several none

Neither everything others some

Nobody something more

No one someone

One somebody

Indefinite Pronouns are tricky to use as subjects in a sentence. Use the chart to help with
the exercise below.

Directions: Use the Indefinite Pronoun Chart above to select the correct matching
pronoun. Underline each subject/antecedent in the sentence. Each antecedent is a
pronoun from the Indefinite Pronoun chart.

- If the pronoun that is the antecedent is singular, you must select a singular possessive
pronoun.

-If the pronoun that is the antecedent is plural, you must select a plural possessive
pronoun.

Singular Possessive Pronouns: (her, his, it, hers, its) Plural Possessive Pronouns: (their,
theirs)

1. Each brought (his/her, their) book.

2. Many of the kids have (his/her, their) class in room 205.

3. Anybody who wants to may bring (his/her, their) notes.

4. Neither is bringing (his/her, their) own lunch.

5. Someone in the corner gave (his/her, their) cell phone to me.

6. Several of the singers in the choir gave (his/her, their) best efforts.

7. Is everyone coming to (his, her, their) party?

Directions: Circle ANY pronouns that you find. Then, draw an arrow from the pronoun to its
antecedent.

Some pronouns may not have antecedents in the sentence.

Some sentences have two antecedents and two matching pronouns

Example: Jess gave her book to him even though it was brand new.

1. The mechanic tried to patch the tire, but he could not repair it.

2. The girls had the house all to themselves.

3. The quarterback received the ball, and he ran with it.

4. When Mrs. Alexander asked Charlie for the note, he gave it to her.

5. Lisa cut her finger on the glass when it shattered.

Identifying pronouns

Directions: Circle all the pronouns. They can be ANY of the pronouns listed on the pages
before. Refer to all of the pages on pronouns to guide you. There may be more than one
pronoun in each sentence.

1. I don’t know which test to give those who were absent.

2. Mike thinks he knows everything, and that is what makes me angry.

3. Liz asked her friend Mary which movie she would like to see.

4. Neither the Jets nor the Giants played well last week.

5. Did Ally find any in those?

3. ADJECTIVES (a.)

• An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.

• Adjectives modify, or change, nouns or pronouns to make them more specific or exact.

Examples: happy boy, fat man, slimy bug

He is sad. That meal was amazing.

• An adjective tells what kind, how many, how much, or which one(s).

What Kind/Which Ones

beautiful, empty, first, last, those, these, happy, short, flat, long

***Some of these words are pronouns, but pronouns can act like adjectives.

These books are mine. (The pronoun, these, is describing the noun, books.)

These are mine. (In this sentence, these is a pronoun because it is not describing anything.)

How Many/How Much

several, twelve, many, nine

• A, an, and the are special adjectives called articles.

• Many adjectives can be identified by their suffixes, or endings:

-ful, -ish, -able, -y, -less, -ous, -some, -ic,- iant, -ient
Some examples of adjectives:

comfortable, selfish, laughable, joyous, happy, careless, wholesome, patient, stoic

Proper Adjectives

• Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns.

• The proper noun Spain is the name of a country.

• The proper adjective Spanish describes something that comes from Spain.

• Just like proper nouns, proper adjectives always begin with a capital letter.

• Ex: Spanish flag, Mexican food

Directions: Circle all of the adjectives in the following sentences. Remember, sometimes
pronouns can act like adjectives.

1. The small, misbehaved boy was pushing his mother.

2. Many bugs like to come out at night.

3. Thirteen girls are coming to my sweet sixteen party.

4. The slimy, smelly, no-good alien stole my new CD player.

5. In the Spanish language adjectives are placed after nouns.

6. She is beautiful.

7. The brown pants are thrown over the folding chair.

8. Creaky doors don’t scare monsters.

9. He and I love to eat Chinese food.

10. Most children enjoy fast-paced, adventurous rides at the amusement park.

4. VERBS (v.)

• A verb is a word that tells of an action or a state of being.

• The verb tells what is happening in the sentence.

• Verbs also have tense. Tense is the time expressed by a verb. The form of the verb tells
when something occurred.

Example of tense with the verb, to fly: fly, flew, will fly, flying, have flown, had flown.

Verbs can act as action verbs or linking verbs, depending on the sentence.
ACTION VERBS are verbs that tell what a noun or a pronoun is doing. They tell physical or
mental actions.

Examples: run, jump, singing, played, enjoyed, thought, worshiped

• I run in the park.

• He worshiped Miss Steinberg’s awesomeness.

• Jeff ordered a pizza.

• I wished on a star.

• The baby slept in her car seat.

LINKING VERBS are verbs that tell us about the state of being of a noun or pronoun. There is

no action.

Many linking verbs are forms of the verb, to be: be, being, am, is, are, was, were

Other common linking verbs: like, seems, remains, become, grow, stay, turn, sound, smell,
feel, appear, look

Notice in these examples how each verb is a link between the words on either side of it.

• He is annoying. (He = annoying)

• We are the winners. (We = winners.)

• The sum of two and four is six. (six = sum)

• That barbecue smells good. (good barbecue)

Linking verbs can be used as action verbs as well:

• The cookies tasted sweet. (linking verb – cookies = sweet)

• I tasted the cookies. (action verb)

• I grew bored. (linking verb – I = bored)

• The old man grew corn. (action verb)

• He looked angry. (linking verb – he = angry)

• I looked at the calendar. (action)

• I felt sleepy. (linking verb – I = sleepy)

• I felt the dog’s fur. (action verb)

• The movie star appeared conceited. (linking verb – conceited movie star)

• The movie star appeared in a play. (action verb)

• The light remained red. (linking verb – light = red)

• They remained at the table. (action verb )

5. ADVERBS (adv.)

• Modify, or describe, verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs

• They answer one or more of the following questions:

When/Time, How, Where/Place, To what extent/Degree

• Many end in -ly

HOW: fast, slowly, well, poorly, oddly, crazily

Walk fast. (How do you walk?) How did you spend your vacation? Please walk carefully.

WHEN/TIME: always, usually, never, forever, now, then, later, soon, tomorrow

Now I will go to the park. (When will I go?) He went to the park now.

He will now go to the park.

WHERE/PLACE: away, here, inside, there, up, down,

We are inside. (Where are we?)

The car is outside. Here is Lou.

TO WHAT EXTENT/DEGREE: too, very, so, more, least, quite, not, almost

We are almost there. (To what extent am I there?)

That is quite all right.

It is very cold outside.

It is so boring here.

I am too tired.

6. PREPOSITIONS (prep.)

• Words that point

• Words that show the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence.
• They never stand alone.

Common Prepositions: aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around,
as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except,
for, from, in, in front of, inside, instead, into, like, near, next to, of, off, on, out, out of,
outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, unlike, until,
up, up to, upon, with, within, without

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

• Prepositions never stand alone. They are always used with a noun or pronoun that is
called the object of the preposition. The noun or pronoun usually comes after the
preposition.

• The preposition and its object are known as a prepositional phrase.

• A phrase is a group of words.

Examples:

1. He jumped over the mountain.

The phrase is over the mountain.

The preposition is over, and its object is mountain.

The preposition over shows the relationship between He and mountain.

2. The girl in the heavy coat was very warm.

The phrase is in the heavy coat.

The preposition is and its object is .

3. The plane flew through the thick clouds in the rainstorm.

The phrases are through the thick clouds and in the rainstorm.

The first preposition is and its object is .

The second preposition is and its object is

Directions: For each sentence, list three prepositions that could complete the sentence.
Make sure that they make sense. (Notice how different prepositions change the
relationship between the words.)

1. She saw the cartoons dinner. , ,

2. Two friends walked the river. , ,

3. My fishing tackle is the box. , ,

4. The scout crawled the fence. , ,

5. I could hardly see the woman the window. , ,

7. CONJUNCTIONS (conj.)

• Can join words

• Can join phrases

• Can join two sentences

Conjunctions can join words:

Jim and Peggy are friends. That gift was pretty but useless. Mail is delivered rain or shine.

We neither ate nor drank at the party.

Conjunctions can join phrases:

We listened to the code and reported it accurately. We were all alone but not bored.

You can’t find it so stop looking.

Conjunctions can join sentences.

Melba is waiting for the mail, and Mother is expecting a call. I love pizza, yet I don’t really
care for spaghetti.

I danced while he sang. Because I work hard, I do well. I will go if you go.

There are two types of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating Coordinating

conjunctions join independent clauses.

Subordinating conjunctions join dependent clauses.

Independent Clause

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses
a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.

Dependent Clause
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent
clause is marked by a dependent marker word.

When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he
studied? The thought is incomplete.)

SUBJECTS, PREDICATES, CLAUSES

- A subject can ONLY be a noun or pronoun. A subject is who or what the sentence is about.

To find the subject, ask who or what is doing something or whom or what is being talked
about.

Example: The dog (subject) barked at the mailman.

- A predicate MUST include a verb. It may also include other words that relate to the verb.

• Simple Sentence: The dog (subject) chased the ball (predicate).** (Verb: chased)

• Sentence with a Linking Verb: The car (subject) is red (predicate adjective). (Verb: is,
Predicate adjective: red)

• Sentence with a Compound Predicate: She (subject) baked a cake and decorated it
(predicate). (Verb: baked, Verb: decorated)

- A clause consists of a subject and a predicate.

An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a subject and predicate that expresses a complete thought.

In other words, it is a complete sentence.

A DEPENDENT or SUBORDINATING CLAUSE depends on another sentence to help it

express a complete thought. It is a clause, so it contains a subject and predicate, but it
begins with a subordinating conjunction, and it DOES NOT express a complete thought
without help. It is a fragment.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSES are independent because they do not need “help” to express a
complete thought.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS can be used to join two independent clauses.

The coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember using the acronym FANBOYS.

- F - For (reason): This conjunction connects two clauses where the second clause explains
the reason for the first clause.

• Example: "It rained all day, for the clouds never seemed to break."
- A - And (addition): This conjunction connects two clauses where both ideas are given
equal weight.

• Example: "She loves to sing, and she also enjoys playing the piano."

- N - Nor (negative addition): This conjunction connects two negative clauses. "Nor" is
basically the same as "and not."

• Example: "He does not like vegetables, nor does he enjoy fruit."

- B - But (contrast): This conjunction connects two clauses that present opposing ideas.

• Example: "I wanted to go swimming, but the pool was closed."

- O - Or (choice): This conjunction connects two clauses that offer alternative options.

• Example: "Would you like coffee ,or tea?"

- Y - Yet (contrast with a hidden concession): This conjunction connects two contrasting
ideas, but the second clause implies a concession to the first clause.

• Example: "We practiced for weeks, yet we still lost the game." (There's an implied
concession: even though we practiced hard)

- S - So (consequence): This conjunction connects two clauses where the second clause
expresses a result of the first clause.

• Example: "The traffic was terrible, so we arrived late."

When you join two independent clauses together using one of the FANBOYS, there must be
a comma before the conjunction.

***If you do not put a comma, you create a run-on. A run-on is when two clauses are joined
incorrectly.

Example 1:

Kyle read. (independent clause) Martha slept. (independent clause)

Combined: Kyle read, and Martha slept.

The two clauses are joined with the FANBOY and. Notice that there is a comma before the
conjunction.

Example 2:

Jim ran quickly. (independent clause) Jane walked slowly. (independent clause)
Combined: Jim ran quickly, but Jane walked slowly.

The two clauses are joined with the FANBOY, but. Notice, there is a comma before but.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS introduce dependent, or subordinating, clauses that

cannot stand alone. These clauses create fragments unless they are “fixed” by adding
another clause to them to complete the thought.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS include the following:

after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before,
even though, how, if, in order, that, since, so that, than, though, unless, until, when,
whenever, where, wherever, while

Example of a subordinating or dependent clause: While Jim ran.

This is a dependent clause because it has a subject, Jim, and a verb, ran. HOWEVER, it is
dependent on another clause to complete the thought because it begins with the
subordinating conjunction “While.”

We don’t know what Jim did WHILE he ran.

You must add another clause to complete the thought.

Example of two clauses joined together: While Jim ran, he listened to music. The second
clause, he listened to music, tells us what Jim did while running.

Now, the thought is complete.

Notice that there is a comma in between the two clauses.

If you begin a sentence with a subordinating conjunction, you must have a comma after the
first thought is completed.

The same two clauses are joined here in a different way:

Jim ran while he listened to music. No comma is necessary because the subordinating
conjunction is in between the two clauses.

Directions: Follow the directions for each number to create sentences. Highlight the
conjunction in each sentence.

Example: Use and to join to verbs. Gerry talked and laughed excitedly.

1. Use or to join two adjectives.

2. Use but to join two sentences.

3. Use and to join two adverbs.

4. Use after to create a subordinating clause.

5. Use for to create a prepositional phrase.

EXERCISE B: Circle the conjunctions in the following sentences. There may be more than
one conjunction in a sentence.

1. While he walked, my mom and I took his picture.

2. Jim and Jane love to watch “American Idol” together.

3. Before we go the party, we need to buy snacks.

4. Lou forgot to write down the message because he was in the middle of dinner.

5. If you’re going to wear that shirt, please take the tag off.

6. Because we are friends, I will drive you to the party, but you owe me a ride next time.

7. We had to ask permission before we could go to the movies.

8. INTERJECTIONS (interj.)

• A word which expresses emotion and which is not related to other words in a sentence.

• They are separated by an exclamation point (!) or a comma (,).

Examples of interjections: aha, my, hey, hurray, ouch, rats, wow, yikes, yippee, well, oops,
oh, eek, goodness, gosh, oh my

Eek! A bug crawled up my leg! Ouch! You hurt me.

Wow! I am tired. Well, I did my best.

Directions: Write an appropriate interjection to go with the sentence. Use a DIFFERENT

interjection each time.

1. ! I stubbed my toe!

2. ! I dropped the eggs!

3. ! What a catch!

4. ! It’s hot!

5. “ !” I shouted.

Identify the Part of Speech

Go through the following sentences and identify the part of speech of the underlined
words.

1. Namitha is not coming today.

2. My mom will be leaving to Bangalore tomorrow.

3. The teacher asked the students to stand.

4. He is my brother.

5. There is a cat under the table.

6. The clothes did not dry as it was raining all night.

7. Sheena and her sister dance well.

8. I am wearing a green dress for the party.

9. Oh! That is really sad.

10. She is coming with me.

1. I bought a beautiful dress at the mall. preposition

adjective noun

2. What did she ask you to do? conjunction

preposition pronoun

3. I left my shoes under the kitchen table. adjective

preposition pronoun

4. If we finish our work quickly we can go to the movies. adverb

conjunction verb

5. On Saturdays I work from nine to five. verb

preposition adverb

6. I want to go to a university in the United States. adjective

preposition noun

7. I'm sure I've met your girlfriend before. verb

preposition interjection
8. Well, I don't think I'll be home before 6.

interjection preposition pronoun

9. Andy knocked on the door but nobody answered. adverb

adjective conjunction

10. After lunch let's go out for a coffee. pronoun

preposition verb