Improving Grammar Skills

2. 5 “I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.” ― Carl Sandburg, American poet and author Improving Grammar Skills

3. After completing the chapter, you will be able to: • Identify the parts of a sentence. • Use nouns and pronouns correctly. • Use verbs correctly. • Use adjectives and adverbs correctly. • Identify conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.

4. Sentence Parts • A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. • A sentence has two main parts. • subject is the person speaking or the person, place, or thing the sentence describes • predicate describes an action or state of being for the subject

5. Sentence Parts • Eight different parts of speech: • noun: a word naming a person, place, or thing • pronoun: a word taking the place of a noun • verb: a word showing action or state of being • adjective: a word describing a noun or pronoun • adverb: word describing a verb, adjective, another adverb • conjunction: a word connecting words, phrases, or sentences • preposition: a word relating nouns or pronouns to other words in a sentence • interjection: a word expressing strong emotion

6. Sentence Parts Eight parts of speech

7. Sentence Parts Eight parts of speech

8. Sentence Parts • Subjects and predicates • Simple subject is just the nouns or pronouns about which the sentence gives information The school has nine classrooms. • Simple subject and other words that describe it make the complete subject The payment for admission includes snacks.

9. Sentence Parts • Subjects and predicates • Simple predicate includes only the verbs that show action or state of being My brother cleaned his room. • Compound predicate contains two or more verbs joined by and or some other conjunction The shipping clerk wrapped the package and mailed it. • Complete predicate includes the verb and other information that tells what the subject is or does Ms. Chung is the principal.

10. Sentence Parts • Objects and complements • Direct object is someone or something that receives the action of the verb The little boy threw the ball. • Indirect object names something or someone for whom the action of the verb is performed The boy gave the dog a biscuit. • Subject complement is an adjective that describes the subject or a noun that renames or tells what the subject is Your new dress is beautiful.

11. Sentence Parts • A phrase is a group of words that act together to convey meaning in a sentence.

12. Sentence Parts • Clause is a group of words within a sentence that has a subject and a predicate • Independent clause gives a complete thought and can stand alone as a separate sentence I read a novel, and she watched a movie.

13. Sentence Parts • Dependent clause requires rest of the sentence to provide a complete thought When we land, everyone will leave the plane. • Subordinating clause is joined to the rest of the sentence with a subordinating conjunction I cannot attend the meeting, though I am interested in the topic. • Sentence fragment is a dependent clause used alone and is a writing error

14. Sentence Parts • Nonrestrictive clause provides information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence The vase that you dropped was very valuable. • Restrictive clause is a type of dependent clause that is essential to the meaning of the sentence The bicycle, which is dirty and rusty, is an antique.

15. Sentence Parts • Sentence structure • Simple sentence has one independent clause and no dependent clauses. Paula and Jan ate lunch in the cafeteria. • Compound sentence has two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, such as and or but A heavy rain fell and the game was delayed.

16. Sentence Parts • Sentence structure • Complex sentences have an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses When you write a business letter, you should use clear and concise language. • Compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses Whenever she dines at a restaurant, she orders a salad and this helps her stay healthy.

17. Sentence Parts 1. What is a sentence? What are the two main parts of a sentence? 3. What are the five types of clauses? 4. List the four types of sentences.

18. Nouns and Pronouns A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Maria, Chesterfield Park, and potatoes are examples of nouns. A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Mr. Thomas, Atlanta, and Empire State Building are examples of proper nouns. A common noun describes a person, place, or thing in general terms. Teacher, city, and building are examples of common nouns.

19. Nouns and Pronouns A singular noun names one person, place, or thing. Girl, carrot, and bus are examples of singular nouns. A plural noun indicates more than one person, place, or thing. Girls, carrots, and buses are examples of plural nouns Irregular nouns are those that do not follow the guidelines for making plurals. Rather than adding s or es to the singular form, the plural form often has a different spelling from the singular form.

20. Nouns and Pronouns How to make singular nouns plural

21. Nouns and Pronouns How to make singular nouns plural

22. Nouns and Pronouns Collective noun refers to a group or unit that contains more than one person, place, or thing. Army, class, committee, and team are examples of collective nouns. Possessive nouns indicate ownership. For most singular nouns, the possessive form is created by adding an apostrophe and an s to the noun.

23. Nouns and Pronouns • Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. • The word a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent. I am sure that you will win.

24. Nouns and Pronouns Personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things. A pronoun in first personrefers to someone who is speaking or writing. A pronoun in second person refers to someone who is being addressed. A pronoun in third person refers to someone being discussed.

25. Nouns and Pronouns Nominative case pronouns are used as the subject in a sentence or as subject complements. Objective case pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions. Possessive case pronouns show ownership.

26. Nouns and Pronouns • Pronouns indicate number and gender.

27. Nouns and Pronouns Interrogative pronouns, ask a question, include what, which, who, whom, and whose. Relative pronouns begin dependent clauses in complex sentences, include who, whom, whose, which, what, and that. Demonstrative pronouns identify or direct attention to a noun or pronoun, include this, that, these, and those.

28. Nouns and Pronouns Indefinite pronouns refer to an object or person that has been identified earlier or does not need specific identification. Examples include some, none, one, every, neither, other, both, each, any, such, another Some pronouns can also be used as adjectives or in adjective clauses. Examples include some, none, all, and who.

29. Nouns and Pronouns 1. What is a noun? 2. What is a pronoun? 3. What is an antecedent?

30. Verbs • A verb is a word that shows action. Action verbs include read, sing, run, count, laugh, go, and eat. • A verb is a word that shows state of being. State of being verbs are be, is, are, was, were, and am. • Verbs that show a state of being are also called linking verbs when they relate a subject to a subject complement. The verb is links the subject (Ralph) to the subject complement (a tall boy). Ralph is a tall boy.

31. Verbs Verbs that work with a main verb to show action are called helping verbs. Examples are be, been, am, is, are, was, were, has. A compound verb consists of two or more verbs in the same sentence.

32. Verbs • Verbs can have one or more of five different properties: • voice • mood • tense • person • number

33. Verbs • An action verb can be: • active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. Alfred rowed the boat. • passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon. The boat was rowed by Alfred.

34. Verbs • The mood of a verb relates to the way in which the speaker or writer wants the sentence to be understood. • indicative mood expresses a straightforward statement of fact or opinion or asks a question. The snowstorm raged for two days. • imperative mood states a command or a direct request. Leave the building. • subjunctive mood expresses an idea, suggestion, or hypothetical situation. If I were you, I would read this book.

35. Verbs Present tense of a verb indicates that the action or state of being takes place now. Past tense indicates that the action or state of being has already occurred. The past tense is usually formed by adding ed to the present tense. Examples include walk/walked, hunt/hunted, and look/looked. For irregular verbs, the spelling of the past tense varies. Examples include run/ran, drink/drank, and pay/paid. Future tense indicates that the action or state of being will occur at a later time. The future tense is formed by adding will before the present tense of the verb.

36. Verbs • Present perfect tense is formed by adding have or has to the past tense. The horse has run around the paddock. • Past perfect tense is formed by adding had to the past tense. The horse had run around the paddock. • Future perfect tense is formed by adding will have to the past tense. The horse will have run around the paddock.

37. Verbs • Verbs can be in one of three persons. • First personrefers to an action of someone who is speaking or writing. • Second person refers to an action of someone who is being addressed (you). • Third person refers to an action of someone being discussed.

38. Verbs A verb should agree in number with related nouns or pronouns. Verbs that relate to I should always be singular. Verbs that relate to you should always be plural, even when one person is being addressed. Verbs that relate to nouns or pronouns used in the third person (someone spoken about) should agree in number with the nouns or pronouns.

39. Verbs A present participle is a verb form that indicates action is in progress or ongoing. It can also be used as an adjective. To create a present participle, add ing to the present tense. Examples include eating, drawing, and working. A past participle indicates that action has been completed. A dangling participle is a writing error in which a participle phase modifies nothing or the wrong person or object.

40. Verbs A gerund is a verb form used as a noun. Gerunds are formed by adding ing to the present tense of a verb. Examples of gerunds include eating, shopping, talking, playing, and counting. An infinitive is the word to and a verb in its simple present form. Examples include to eat, to read, to see, to touch, and to find. A split infinitive occurs when an adverb is placed between the word to and the verb. Examples of split infinitives include to barely see, to slowly read, and to quickly jump.

41. Verbs 1. What are the two basic types of verbs? 2. What are the three verb tenses?

42. Adjectives and Adverbs • An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. • may provide details about the noun or pronoun that give you a better understanding of the person or thing • may define limits Two students passed the exam.

43. Adjectives and Adverbs • Two or more related adjectives that appear before a noun or pronoun and equally modify it are called coordinate adjectives. • Coordinate adjectives should be separated by the word and or by commas. • When the order of the adjectives before a noun can be arranged without changing the meaning of the sentence, the adjectives are typically coordinate adjectives. The old, rusty shovel had a broken handle.

44. Adjectives and Adverbs • Positive adjectives describe, but do not compare, people or things. The small book was on top of the stack. • Comparative adjectives compare two people or things. The red book was smaller than the blue book. • Superlative adjectives compare three or more people or things. The red book was the smallest of the books.

45. Adjectives and Adverbs • Adjectives can be positive, comparative, or superlative.

46. Adjectives and Adverbs • An article is an adjective that limits the noun or pronoun it modifies. • Articles come before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase and can be definite or indefinite. • definite articlethe refers to a specific person or thing • indefinite articlesa and an typically refer to a person or thing in a general way • Use a before words that begin with a consonant sound and an before words that begin with a vowel sound. • Articles need not be repeated before each noun in a series of nouns.

47. Adjectives and Adverbs • A demonstrative adjective is used before a noun to indicate number and location. • This, that, these, and those are examples • this and that are used with singular words • these and those are used with plural words • this and these indicate a location that is near the speaker • that and those indicate a location that is not near the speaker

48. Adjectives and Adverbs • An adverb is a word that describes a verb, adjective, clause, or another adverb. • Adverbs tell how, when, or where something is done. • Adverbs can limit or qualify a description. The girl ran very fast.

49. Adjectives and Adverbs Positive adverbs describe, but do not compare, actions or qualities. Comparative adverbs compare two actions, conditions, or qualities. Add er or more to create the comparative form of most adverbs. Superlative adverbs compare three or more actions, conditions, or qualities. Add est or most to create the superlative form of most adverbs.

50. Adjectives and Adverbs Conjunctive adverbs, such as however, therefore, and also, connect or introduce clauses or phrases in a sentence. Conjunctive adverbs help clarify the ideas in the sentence.