Glossary of Terminology by Ted Johnston The Eight Parts of Speech and Related Terms & Word Groups and Sentence Functions (The following is a minimal set of terms that should prove practical as you learn how to improve the sentences that you write. You don’t have to memorize all these terms and doing so won’t make you a better writer, but you should know the eight parts of speech and most of the common basic sentence functions by memory. This handout is like the manual to your DVD player. Refer to it as needed.)

Table of Contents Eight Parts of Speech (marked with asterisks) and Related Terms (Common dictionary abbreviations are provided in parentheses.)

1. Nouns* (n.) a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

articles (indefinite and definite) and other noun determiners abstract vs. concrete nouns common nouns proper nouns count nouns noncount (mass) nouns gerunds

2. Pronouns* (pron.) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

personal pronouns pronoun case pronoun gender pronoun number demonstrative pronouns relative pronouns indefinite pronouns intensive and reflexive pronouns pronoun agreement pronoun reference

3. Verbs* (v.) (includes verb number and two-word verbs) a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

linking vs. action verbs infinitives regular verbs irregular verbs helping (or auxiliary) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖) modals (will, would; shall, should; can, could; may, might; must, ought to) present and past participles (pr.part.) & (p.part) participial modifiers active vs. passive voice mood indicative subjunctive imperative

k.

l.

tense progressive tenses perfect tenses 12 basic tenses of English transitive vs. intransitive verbs (vt.) vs. (vi.) or (trans.) vs. (intr.)

4. Adjectives* (adj.) – a modifier 5. Adverbs* (adv.) – a modifier a. b.

conjunctive adverbs adverbs and word order

6. Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs (comp.) & (superl.) 7. Conjunctions* (conj.) coordinating conjunctions (the FANBOYS) correlative conjunctions b. subordinating conjunctions Prepositions* (prep.) Interjections* (interj.) a.

8. 9. 10. Many words used as several parts of speech Word Groups and Sentence Functions 11. Phrases (includes modifying phrases, restrictive and nonrestrictive) a. b. c. d.

prepositional phrase verb phrase noun phrase appositive phrase

12. Clauses independent clause subordinate clause dependent clause (includes restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses) noun clause Sentences (includes declarative, interrogative, and command or imperative sentences) a. fragments, run-ons, and comma splices b. simple sentence c. compound sentence d. complex sentence e. compound-complex sentence f. inverted sentence a. b. c. d.

13.

14. Subject a. b. c.

complete subject compound subject subject-verb agreement

15. Verb of the sentence a. b.

predicate or complete verb. compound verb

16. Direct Object 17. Indirect Object 18. Subject Complement 19. Object Complement 20. Absolute Construction

THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH and RELATED TERMS: 1. Nouns = labels or names for things and ideas in the world that enable us to talk about them. Nouns are terms that allow us to refer to persons, places, things, ideas, concepts, emotions, and so forth: truth, baseball, architect, park, socialism, anger, hammer. 1a. articles and noun determiners = three tiny words used only in front of nouns and so they are also considered noun determiners because they can only precede a noun: a, an, the. ―A‖ and ―an‖ are the indefinite articles because they don’t refer to a particular but to any entity in a class (but only one), and ―the‖ is the definite article because it does refer to a particular entity or entities: I read a book (any book). I read the books (particular books). If we use a noun to refer to something in general, then no article is needed: I like to read books (books in general). [“Articles” are listed here under “nouns,” although technically they are adjectives.] Noun determiners also refer to other types of words that can precede nouns but that cannot be preceded by an article: his coat, those ladies, any house, Paul’s truck, etc. A frequent pattern is noun determiner + adjective(s) + noun: the old car, his new car, any blue shirt, Richard’s quick wit. 1b. abstract nouns = nouns that name intangibles or general concepts: truth, justice, and the American way (as opposed to concrete nouns such as dogs, laws, and highways) 1c. common nouns = nouns for classes of items that are not capitalized: boy, language, religion, college, war 1d. proper nouns = nouns for particular instances of something more general (proper nouns are capitalized): Luis (a particular boy), Spanish (a particular language), Catholic (a particular religion), El Paso Community College (a particular school), September (a particular month), World War II (a particular historical event) 1e. count nouns = nouns that have plural forms to allow for ―counting‖: many boys, several women, 7 sorrows. 1f. noncount (mass) nouns = nouns that don’t have plural forms (or don’t have them in abstract contexts): advice, rice, weather. We can’t say ―many advices‖ (only ―many pieces of advice‖) or ―12 rices‖ (―only 12 grains of rice‖). Some nouns can be count nouns when they refer to concrete instances of something (I have several hopes) but are noncount when they refer to an abstract concept (I am filled with hope). 1g. gerunds = present participles (-ing form) that function as nouns to name activities: Running is good exercise, but I like swimming more. (See 3g.) Infinitives can also be used as nouns: To err is human, but to forgive is divine.

2. Pronouns = words that replace nouns and refer back to them so we don’t have to keep repeating the nouns over and over, and so they can be shortcuts and timesavers: he (to refer to ―my brother Fred‖), they (to refer to ―my friends from high school‖), this (to refer to an item I have in front of me), those (to refer to some items that are over there), which (to refer to the thing that I just said), who (to refer to the person I just mentioned). Pronouns that modify nouns directly are also called pronominal adjectives, as in ―this car‖ or ―any car.‖ The dictionary often labels these pronoun uses simply as adjectives. 2a. personal pronouns = stand for persons or things already referred to: I (first person singular), you (second person singular or plural), he, she, it (third person singular), we (first person plural), they (third person plural). First-person writing refers to personal writing about yourself. Third-person writing is usually less personal and does not contain the first or second person, but only nouns and third-person pronouns. 2b. pronoun case = personal pronouns can have subjective (he), objective (him), or possessive (his) case. These cases must be used according to how they are used: He told me that his mother bought him a car yesterday. In the sentence My dad and me went to the game yesterday, there is a pronoun case problem because ―my dad and me‖ should be the subject of the sentence, so the correct form would be ―My dad and I went… .‖ 2c. pronoun gender = personal pronouns vary according to whether they are masculine to refer to males, he; feminine to refer to females, she; and neuter to refer to sexless entities, it 2d. pronoun number = refers to whether a pronoun is singular, she or this, or plural, they or these 2e. demonstrative pronouns = refer to things by proximity: singular this/that; plural these/those. This color in that house would be spectacular! 2f. relative pronouns = who/m, which, that –pronouns that refer or relate back to nouns to make subordinate statements about them (The boy who lost the book is irresponsible. The book that I read was interesting.) 2g. indefinite pronouns = refer to persons or things of the world without a definite identification: any, anything, anyone, some, something, someone, etc. Anyone at the party could have stolen something from our house.

2h. intensive and reflexive pronouns = intensive ―-self/-selves‖ pronouns refer to the noun or pronoun they come immediately after for purposes of adding emphasis: I myself would never do something like that or The order came from the president himself . Reflexive ―-self‖ pronouns refer back to a noun or another pronoun already stated earlier in a sentence: She sent the e-mail to herself or Mary sent the e-mail to herself. (In Mary sent the e-mail to her, ―her‖ would refer to a female other than Mary.) 2i. pronoun agreement = refers to the fact that the pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in number—a singular antecedent, a singular pronoun; a plural antecedent, a plural pronoun: The girl found her wallet. The girls bought their uniforms. In ―Each student should do their own work,‖ ―student‖ is singular but ―their‖ is plural, which is a pronoun agreement problem (it should be ―his or her own work‖). 2j. pronoun reference = refers to the fact that a pronoun has to clearly refer to one noun. In ―The boy told his dad he was very immature,‖ does ―he‖ refer to the boy or to the dad? Obviously, we have a pronoun reference problem. We might say, ―The boy told his dad that he was very immature for a father.‖ Here ―he‖ has to refer to ―dad.‖

3. Verbs = 1) action words of all kinds, whether physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, or imaginary (lose, run, cry, think, love, scream, whisper, believe, pray, fantasize) and 2) states of being (also called linking verbs) that ―link,‖ or ―equate‖ in some way, one entity to another entity or quality, as in The boy is irresponsible (the verb ―is‖ connects ―irresponsible‖ to the boy). Verbs vary in number depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. (See 14b for subject verb agreement.) Notice that some verbs are called two-word verbs: the verb itself and another word (usually a preposition) that goes with it to change the meaning of the verb in some way, as in throw + out: We need to throw out the trash. 3a. linking vs. action verbs = linking verbs can be forms of ―to be‖ but also other verbs (often sensory) can be used to attribute qualities to a subject: The cake is delicious, The cake tastes delicious, The cake smells delicious). Notice that sensory verbs can also be action verbs. In The cake tastes delicious, the cake isn’t doing anything, but in Fred tasted the cake, tasting is an action performed by Fred. (See 18.) 3b. infinitives = verbs with ―to‖ at the front to indicate an action or state of being in isolation and without tense: The boy called me to tell me about the loss and to try to explain what happened. Infinitives can be used as nouns or modifiers: My objective is to win [noun]. This is an order to go [modifier for ―order‖ so we know what kind of order it is]. (See also 1g for gerunds, which are ―-ing‖ verb forms that function as nouns). 3c. regular verbs = the easiest, most frequent type of verb, verbs that use ―-ed‖ for anything past, either with a helper from ―to have‖ or ―to be‖ –or—alone without a helper: Once he had misplaced the book, the boy called me. (“To misplace” and “to call” are regular “-ed” verbs.) 3d. irregular verbs = about 130 basic verbs that don’t use ―-ed‖ for past contexts: Once she had lost the book, she told me about the loss. (“To lose” and “to tell” are irregular verbs.) 3e. helping (or auxiliary) verbs ―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖ = forms of these verbs (underlined) help other verbs to indicate something about the tense or status of the main verb (shown in bold): After the boy had stolen the children’s toys, he did in fact ask for forgiveness, and the whole time he was choking back tears. You should be aware that the verbs ―to be,‖ ―to have,‖ and ―to do‖ can also be used as main verbs: Tom is smart. I have a new car. Lucy does her homework every day. (Here ―is,‖ ―have,‖ and ―does‖ are not used as a helper but are standing alone as a main verbs, but we could convert to helpers: Tom is being smart. I have bought a new car. Lucy does complete her homework every day.) 3f. modals = special type of helping (or auxiliary) verbs, of which there are ten (shown below), followed by the base form of the helper ―have‖ or the main verb, that is, the infinitive without ―to‖: The girl...will help, would help, shall help, should help, can help, could help, may help, might help, must help, ought to help. 3g. past and present participles = ―parts‖ of verbs that join with helping verbs to make verb phrases and that cannot be verbs on their own: ―-ing‖ forms for present participles (was laughing, had been singing) and ―-ed‖ or irregular forms for past participles (has laughed ,will have sung). (Note: With regular verbs, the simple past and past participles always are the same and end in ―-ed.‖ Some irregular verbs have different forms for the past and past participles: I went to the party [simple past] but I had gone [past participle] to the party. You could never say, I gone to the party or I had went to the party.) 3h. participial (verbal) modifiers = present and past participles used without helpers that serve as adjectives (or sometimes as adverbs): his frightening look, his frightened look, the boring student, the bored student (present participial modifiers give the action and past participial modifiers receive it). (See 11.)

Note: Present participles can be used without helpers to serve as nouns that label or name activities: The closing of the store. These types of nouns are called ―gerunds.‖ (See 1g.) Notice the difference between a gerund and a participial modifier: The ending day (here ―ending‖ is a modifier could mean ―last‖) vs. The ending of the day (here ―ending is a gerund that means ―conclusion‖). 3i. active vs. passive voice = verbs in the active voice have a subject that is the doer of the action (Mary threw the ball) while verbs in the passive voice have a subject that is the receiver of the action (The ball was thrown by Mary). Active voice is normally preferred, although there are many important exceptions. 3j. mood = verbs in the indicative mood refer to real situations or situations perceived as real (He works here); verbs in the subjunctive mood refer to situations that aren’t or can’t be real (I wish he worked here); and verbs in the imperative mood give commands (Work harder!). The subjunctive mood in English is the most difficult to learn, but thankfully is only used in a number of limited contexts. Many of the functions that are performed by the subjunctive mood in other languages are performed by modal constructions in English, as in He may arrive later vs. Tal vez llegue él más tarde. Notice that ―may‖ is a modal helping verb. (See 3f.) 3k. tense = refers to the fact that verbs show time, as in He swims today (present tense), He swam yesterday (past tense), and He will swim tomorrow (future tense). English has twelve tenses that are variations of these three. See 15. progressive tenses = refers to tenses with forms of ―to be‖ as the primary helper to indicate action in progress of occurring (and thus the verb phrase [see 11b] ends with the present participle): He is working right now, She will be coming tomorrow. Notice that with some verbs in English we do not normally use progressive tenses if the verb is considered a constant rather than something that is in motion at a given moment: thus, we don’t say, I am loving you or I am believing you, but only I love you or I believe you. perfect tenses = refers to tenses with forms of the helping verb ―have‖ that are used to sequence the tenses of two verbs or two time periods in relation to one another, with the verb in the perfect tense happening first: He had arrived before Mary got here. (Both events occurred in the past. His arriving happened first, and so the past perfect tense was used. Her getting there happened later, and so the simple past tense was used.) He has called you many times. (His calling started in the past and continues toward the present, and so the present perfect is used with that verb. In He called you many times, the simple past indicates that the calling does not continue to the present.) The future perfect tense is seldom used, but it follows the same logic. These are the twelve basic tenses of English (irregular verb // regular verb) : simple present: I write to you. // I dance with you. (regular action, but not occurring at this moment) simple past: I wrote to you. // I danced with you. future: I will write to you. // I will dance with you. present progressive: I am writing to you. // I am dancing with you. past progressive: I was writing to you. // I was dancing with you. future progressive: I will be writing to you. // I will be dancing with you. present perfect: I have written to you. // I have danced with you. past perfect: I had written to you. // I had danced with you. future perfect: I will have written to you. // I will have danced with you. present perfect progressive: I have been writing to you. // I have been dancing with you. past perfect progressive: I had been writing to you. // I had been dancing with you. future perfect progressive: I will have been writing to you. // I will have been dancing with you. 3l. transitive vs. intransitive verbs = Some verbs go through or ―cross over‖ (―trans-‖) to a direct object (see 16) that receives the action of an action verb, and those are called transitive (Letty kissed a frog – you can’t just kiss, you have to kiss something, and here Letty has kissed a frog). Some verbs don’t cross over to an object and are thus called intransitive (Letty smiled – you don’t have to smile anything, you just smile, right? For example, you can’t smile a hamburger). Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive (I ran this morning [you didn’t run anything—you just ran] or I ran a mile this morning [you ran something—namely, a ―mile‖]).

4. Adjectives = words that add qualities or other conditions to a noun or pronoun to enhance the meaning or make it more specific: The irresponsible boy lost a valuable book. Other examples: the tall boys, a huge rock, the sharp knife, a red dress… Participles can also be used as adjectives (see 3h): the freezing cold, the

frozen water, the completed report, the crying child. See ―adverbs‖ below (#5) for examples of ―adjectives‖ that end in ―-ly.‖ Adjectives are considered modifiers because they modify nouns and pronouns. 5. Adverbs = words that add qualities, degrees, or other conditions to a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs end in ―-ly‖ when the adverb is derived from an adjective, as in foolish and foolishly, but adverbs that are not derived from nouns don’t end in ―-ly,‖ as in often, too, always, and seldom: The irresponsible boy quite foolishly and too often loses extremely valuable books. Notice that there are also some adjectives that end ―-ly‖: a lovely day, a friendly waiter, a neighborly deed. These adjectives cannot also function as adverbs (although there are exceptions such as ―daily,‖ as in ―a daily walk‖ or ―I walk daily‖). We could not say ―They said that friendly‖ because as an adjective ―friendly‖ can only give information about a noun, not a verb (―said,‖ in this case). We could only say ―They said that in a friendly way‖ (now ―friendly‖ modifies the noun ―way‖). Adverbs are considered modifiers because they modify other parts of speech as shown. 5a. Conjunctive adverbs (also called transition words): often used to connect sentences together, as in ―however,‖ ―moreover,‖ ―furthermore,‖ ―therefore,‖ preceded by a semicolon (See 13c). A new sentence can also begin with a conjunctive adverb. Either (more common:) He didn’t finish college; however, he should still have a bright future.—or—(less common:) He didn’t finish college. However, he should have a bright future. A conjunctive adverb can come in the middle of a sentence or at the end: He should still, however, have a bright future—or—He should still have a bright future, however. Conjunctive adverbs are usually set off by commas because they are slight interruptions. 5b. Adverbs and word order. Adverbs frequently impact word order. We can’t say She dances exquisitely the waltz, but only She dances the waltz exquisitely (the adverbs are underlined).

6. Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs = modifiers that compare two items are called comparative and that compare more than two items are called superlative. Comparative adjectives: better, worse, taller, sweeter, older, more beautiful, more outrageous (―more‖ is used with most adjectives containing 2 or more syllables). Superlative adjectives: best, worst, tallest, sweetest, oldest, most beautiful, most outrageous (―most‖ is used with most adjectives containing 2 or more syllables). Comparative adverbs: more quickly, more often, more honestly, more recently. Superlative adverbs: most quickly, most often, most honestly, most recently. With adverbs, ―-er‖ and ―-est‖ forms are not used, with some exceptions (e.g., soon, fast). Warning: Do not use ―more‖ and ―most‖ in conjunction with ―-er‖ and ―-est‖ forms. Not Go more faster but Go faster. Not She is more taller but She is taller. 7. Conjunctions = words that connect other words and word groups (including sentences) together, sort of like the ―glue‖ of language: and, but, or, while, because, though, and so forth. 7a.Coordinating conjunctions: seven little words that we call the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So), which connect equal ideas: The irresponsible boy lost my book, and now I need to buy a new copy or fail the test, but I’m broke. (Note that ―for‖ can also be a preposition, ―yet‖ can also be an adverb, and ―so‖ can be an adverb or even a pronoun. See 10.) Correlative conjunctions: These are special types of coordinating conjunctions that work in pairs--either/or; neither/nor; both/and; not only/but also: She plays both tennis and basketball. Either she loves you or she doesn’t. 7b. Subordinating conjunctions: about 30 or so words that subordinate one idea to another: Because you asked, I will tell you the truth if you really want to hear it, although it will not be easy. (Notice that relative pronouns can function as subjunctive conjunctions to make one idea subordinate to another, as in ―I told him that she didn’t want to speak with him.‖)

8. Prepositions = about 30 or so, usually short, words that show a special relationship to a word (or words, but not a sentence) that follows it that is called its object (prepositions are underlined here, and their objects

are in bold): Yesterday around noon, the boy lost my book in the subway station near Broadway , but I can’t afford a new copy until next payday but my test is scheduled for tomorrow! See 11a. 9. Interjections = words used only to express emotion not to refer to specific ―things in the world‖: Chihuahua! The irresponsible boy lost my book on the subway. Yikes! (Note: When used to refer to the place and not to express emotion, ―Chihuahua‖ is a proper noun, as in ―Chihuahua is a state in Mexico.‖ (―Yikes‖ can only be an interjection, however.) Other examples of interjections: wow, ouch, oops, cool, uh-oh. 10. Notice that many words can be used as several parts of speech: The run of the bulls in Pamplona. (n.) Boys run in the halls. (v.) The round tray with crackers (adj.) We played a round of golf. (n.) We rounded the mountain. (v.) In the cool of the evening, we took a walk. (n.) He cooled himself in front of the fan. (v.) This room is awfully cool. (adj.) She likes me! Cool! (interj.)

Some words also have related but different forms to indicate changes in parts of speech: choose (v.), choice (n.), choosy (adj.) and succeed (v.), success (n.), successful (adj.). It would be wrong to say I successed in college because ―success‖ is the noun, not the verb form. ―Succeeded‖ WORD GROUPS and SENTENCE FUNCTIONS: Sentence functions refer to the ―roles‖ that parts of speech fulfill within a sentence to create a complete idea when combined with other parts of speech and when arranged in the proper word order. In other words, we don’t use parts of speech in isolation. Except when we’re just learning language and before we can form sentences, we don’t go around saying ―Book!‖ (noun) ―Lost!‖ (verb) ―Boy!‖ noun) ―Tall!‖ (adjective) and ―Over there!‖ (adverb). We put the words (the parts of speech) into a special word order to create a sentence: ―The tall boy lost the book over there!‖ Word order is also important. What if we moved ―over there‖ as in ―The tall boy over there lost the book.‖ Now ―over there‖ tells us where the boy is, not where he lost the book. Terms for Word Groups: 11. Phrase = a related group of words that doesn’t have a subject and a verb (phrases are groups of words that go together within sentences but which cannot be sentences by themselves). Here are some common types of phrases (but there are others). We also frequently talk about modifying phrases (in general), such as participial phrases (a particular type of modifying phrase that starts with a participle and usually comes after a noun), as in My father, singing like a bullfrog, woke the whole family up.‖ See 3h. Participial modifiers may be restrictive to identify who we are referring to or nonrestrictive to give extra information about someone we have already identified. In the ―singing like a bullfrog‖ sentence, the participial modifier is nonrestrictive because it gives extra information about my father (and I should know who is being referred to), and because the information is extra, commas are used with it. In The man standing over there is behaving suspiciously, ―standing over there‖ is needed to identify which man we’re talking about, so it is restrictive (and otherwise I wouldn’t know who is being referred to). No commas are used with restrictive modifiers. See 12c. 11a. prepositional phrase (another type of modifying phrase) = Phrase beginning with a preposition (over the rainbow, under the basement stairs). The main word that comes after the preposition is called the object of the preposition. In these cases, the objects of the prepositions ―over‖ and ―under‖ are ―rainbow‖ and ―stairs,‖ respectively. A prepositional phrase is a modifying construction that gives more information about something else in the sentence. In ―The house on the hill belongs to the mayor,‖ ―on the hill‖ modifies the ―house‖ by giving more information about where the house is located (and so the prepositional phrase is

said to be ―adjectival‖) whereas in ―The mayor lives on the hill,‖ ―on the hill‖ modifies the verb ―lives‖ to show where the mayor lives (and so the prepositional phrase is said to be ―adverbial‖). See 8. 11b. verb phrase = the main verb (bold) and all its helpers (should be punished, has been seen). Do not confuse the term ―verb phrase‖ with ―predicate,‖ which often includes more than just the verb phrase. See 16. 11c. noun phrase = noun with its adjectives (the sick child, the tired old lady) 11d. appositive phrase (a type of modifying phrase) = a word group that is another way of rephrasing an immediately previous word group, as in The teacher, a very grumpy old man, didn’t like his students very much. I gave it to my aunt, a secretary in the office. The previous phrase contains a noun and so does the appositive (teacher = man/aunt = secretary). Appositives have to be grammatical equivalents of one another.

12. Clause = a related group of words that has a subject (bold) and a verb (underlined) 12a, independent clause (also called a main clause) = a clause that can be a sentence by itself because it can stand alone (The boy lost my book.) 12b. subordinate clause = a clause beginning with a subordinating conjunction (Because the boy lost my book and If you change your mind). See 7. 12c. dependent clause = a clause beginning with a relative pronoun (that, who/m, which) (the boy who lost my book) [Note: Because neither subordinate nor dependent clauses can stand alone as sentences without an independent clause, the two terms are often used interchangeably. Dependent clauses can be restrictive or non-restrictive. A restrictive clause is essential to identify the noun it modifies and no commas are used with it (in The old man who stole my car has not been found, ―who stole my car‖ is needed to know which old man we’re talking about), and a non-restrictive clause gives extra information about the noun it modifies and comma(s) are required to set it off (in My English teacher, who loves to teach, is also an excellent writer, ―who loves to teach‖ gives extra information about somebody whose identity I already know). See 11.] 12d. noun clause = a clause beginning with a relative pronoun ―that‖ or a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) that functions as a noun in any part of a sentence (but usually as a subject or object): That he did it is clear, but how he did it is a mystery. (In both cases, the subject of the verb ―is‖ is not a noun, but a clause with its own subject and verb. What is clear? That he did it. What is a mystery? How he did it. A noun clause is a special type of subordinate or dependent clause that actually forms part of another clause.

13. Sentence = contains at least one independent clause and is properly punctuated with end punctuation (period, question mark, exclamation point). At the very least, a sentence needs a subject and a verb: Babies cry. Dogs bark. Children play. These are examples of declarative sentences because they make a statement. Interrogative sentences ask questions: Do babies cry? Commands give orders: Play outside! Commands are also called imperative sentences because they use imperative mood (see 3j). 13a. Fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. A group of words punctuated as a sentence that doesn’t contain at least one independent clause is called a fragment, which is an error (either a phrase or subordinate/dependent clause has been punctuated as if it were a sentence): The boy in the blue shirt. [phrase fragment] & When the boy lost my book. [subordinate clause fragment]. A group of words that has two or more independent clauses that are not properly connected is a type of error called either a run-on (fused sentence) if there is no separation with punctuation (The boy lost my book he is over there in the blue shirt) or a comma splice if there is just a comma without a coordinating conjunction to connect the two clauses (The boy lost my book, he is over there in the blue shirt). Put a period after ―book‖ in both cases and then capitalize ―he‖ as well, and the sentences will be correct, although there are other ways of correcting these errors. (The independent clauses are underlined in the following.) 13b. Simple sentence = one independent clause only: (The boy lost my book.) 13c. Compound sentence = two or more correctly connected independent clauses. A comma and a coordinating conjunction (that is, a FANBOYS word—see 7a) or a semicolon (with or without a transition device such as ―however‖ or ―furthermore‖) can also combine sentences to make them compound. (See 5a.) (The boy lost my book , and I was furious ; however, he promised to pay for it.)

13d. Complex sentence = one independent clause with one or more dependent/subordinate clauses (When the boy lost my book, I was furious because it was an expensive book.) 13e. Compound-complex sentence = two or more independent clauses with one or more dependent/subordinate clauses (When the boy lost my book, I was furious, and I demanded that he pay for it.) 13f. Inverted sentence = one in which the normal word order of subject before the verb is inverted so that the subject switches to a postion after the verb or after a helping verb (verbs underlined, subjects in bold): There was no heat in the apartment. Not only does he go to school, but he also takes karate. Are you ready for school? Under the bed is a box of letters. “Seldom is heard a discouraging word.”

Primary Sentence Functions: 14. Subject (simple) = who or what the sentence is about (the subject answers that question when asked in front of the verb). The subject cannot be the object of a preposition. The subject can be a noun, a pronoun, a gerund, an infinitive, or a noun clause. The boy lost my book. (noun as subject) He lost my book. (pronoun as subject) The boy in the blue shirt lost my book. (noun as subject—don’t confuse ―shirt‖ as the subject because ―shirt‖ is the object of the preposition ―in,‖ and besides ―the shirt‖ isn’t what lost the book) To lose someone else’s book is a sign of irresponsibility. (infinitive as subject) Losing someone else’s book is a sign of irresponsibility. (gerund as subject) That he lost my book really angers me. (noun clause as subject) 14 a. complete subject = the simple subject with all of its modifiers. In The architect from Argentina who lives next door is also a writer, the simple subject is ―architect,‖ but the complete subject includes everything stated about this architect: ―the architect from Argentina who lives next door.‖ Together, the complete subject and the complete verb (predicate) make up the whole clause. See 15a for more explanation. 14b. compound subject = more than one subject connected, usually with ―and‖ or ―either/or,‖ but related to the same verb: My brother and my sister will visit me. Either my brother or my sister will visit me. 14c. subject-verb agreement = singular subjects agree with singular verbs and plural subjects agree with plural verbs: not He don’t work here but He doesn’t work here. ―He‖ is singular, but ―don’t‖ is plural; ―doesn’t‖ is needed in the example.

15. Verb of the sentence: The action or linking verb that goes with the subject. It’s often called the ―verb of the sentence‖ to distinguish it from ―verb‖ as a part of speech. Verbs show tense (past, present, future, present perfect, and so forth—actually there are 12 tenses in English verbs, which are listed under 3k above) and in the present tense verbs show some variation for number, that is for singular and plural (see 14 c). He has lost my book. He is so irresponsible. He will pay for that book. 15a. Predicate = The term ―predicate‖ actually refers to the complete verb (the verb and all of its modifiers and objects or complements [see 16-19]), as in The worker was building bridges in Denver. The verb of the sentence is ―was building.‖ The complete verb or predicate is ―was building bridges in Denver‖ because this conveys the complete idea of what the worker was doing. The complete subject (see 14a) and the complete verb make a whole clause, as in The student from New York lives in the dormitory. ―The student from New York‖ is the complete subject and ―lives in the dormitory‖ is the complete verb (predicate). Together they form one whole clause. 15b. Compound verb or predicate = more than one verb or predicate, usually connected with ―and,‖ ―but,‖ or ―either/or,‖ but related to the same subject: My aunt lives in New York but vacations in Mexico every summer. Susan loves math and wants to be a computer programmer. Do not confuse a compound sentence (see 13c) with a compound verb or predicate. The compound sentence has two independent clauses with a comma before the coordinating conjunction connecting them. The compound predicate is inside one independent clause but should not have a comma before the coordinating conjunction connecting them: We like playing videogames but hate doing homework. The second verb does not have a separate stated subject but shares the subject ―we‖ with the verb ―like.‖ However, if we gave the second verb its own stated subject, then it would be a compound sentence and a comma would be needed: “We like playing videogames, but we hate doing homework.”

16. Direct Object (also called just the object or object of the sentence) = the word (noun, pronoun, infinitive, or gerund) that receives the action of a transitive verb (the objects are underlined in the examples that follow): The boy lost my book. The boy lost it. (―Book‖ and ―it‖ are the direct objects because they answer the question, ―What did the boy lose?‖) Here is a sentence with an infinitive as a direct object: He needs to pay for that book. (―What does he need?‖ He needs to pay!). In She fired the lazy workers, ―workers‖ is the object because it answers the question ―Whom did she fire?‖ Intransitive verbs, however, cannot take direct objects. (See 3l.) 17. Indirect Object = a word, a noun or pronoun, coming between the verb and the direct object (this word cannot be the object of a preposition) that shows who the final recipient of the object is: The boy sent me a note of apology. (The direct object, what the boy sent [―the note of apology‖] was received by ―me,‖ the indirect object). If we said, the boy sent a note of apology to me, ―me‖ is no longer the indirect object (although it means the same thing) because it is the object of the preposition ―to.‖ Other examples of indirect objects: The boss gave the workers a raise. (The ―the boss‖ [the subject] gave ―a raise‖ [the direct object]. The recipients of that raise are ―the workers‖ [the indirect object]. Tom threw Mary the ball. Lucy bought her mother a coat. Suzy asked me a question. Notice that in the sentence ―Tom threw the ball to Mary,‖ ―Mary‖ is no longer an indirect object (although the meaning is the same). Now ―Mary‖ is the object of the preposition ―to‖ and is part of a modifying prepositional phrase. Not all verbs can take indirect objects, as in the incorrect sentence ―Explain me the problem,‖ which can only be correctly stated ―Explain the problem to me.‖ 18. Subject Complement = the word (noun, adjective, pronoun, infinitive, gerund, or noun clause) that a linking verb (see 3a) connects back to the subject to attribute something to it in order to ―complete‖ the meaning of the subject (and that’s why it’s called a ―complement‖): The boy seems irresponsible. (After the linking verb ―seems,‖ the complement refers back to the boy to indicate that he may be irresponsible.) The boy is a student at that school. His goal is to not lose any more books. The cupcake he gave me tastes delicious. (Note that some books call subject complements ―predicate nominatives.‖) 19. Object Complement = a word (noun or adjective) that comes after a direct object and that explains what the direct object becomes after the action of the verb occurs: The neighbors painted their house red. (The subject ―neighbors‖ painted the direct object ―house,‖ and when they were finished painting, that house then became ―red,‖ the object complement.) We elected George president. (―George= president‖ after the election.) We kept the story short. (―the story=short‖ after we did something to keep it that way) Lucy made me angry. (―me=angry‖ after she did something to make me that way). Object complements are relatively infrequent grammatical structures. Using an adjective as an object complement after a noun creates a different meaning than if you use the word as an adjective before the noun: They painted the house red (object complement: ―the house = red‖ after it was painted) vs. They painted the red house (ordinary adjective: ―the house = red‖ before it was painted, and we don’t know what color it was after it was painted, unless we say ―They painted the red house blue,‖ in which case ―blue‖ is now the object complement, as in ―the red house = blue‖ after it was painted). 20. Absolute Construction = This is a formal construction used to modify an entire clause with another clause that has been truncated or shortened (in which a ―to be‖ verb has been omitted): The job completed, we went home. The storm over, we could finally play tennis. (―The job completed‖ is a truncated version of ―The job was completed‖ and ―The storm over‖ is a truncated version of ―The storm was over.‖) Absolute constructions are seldom used in speech, but are primarily found (and then only rarely) in more formal writing.

INDEX to Parts of Speech and Related Terms, Word Groups, and Sentence Functions (Note: general parts of speech are followed by *.) Numbers in the right column refer to section numbers, not pages. absolute construction abstract vs. concrete nouns action vs. linking verbs active (vs. passive) voice adjectives*, general adverbs*, general agreement, pronoun agreement, subject-verb appositive phrase articles (indefinite and definite) auxiliary (helping) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have, & ―to do‖) case, pronoun clauses comma splices commands (imperative sentences) common nouns comparative adjectives and adverbs complement, object complement, subject complete verb (predicate) complete vs. simple subject complex sentence compound sentence compound subject compound verb compound-complex sentence concrete vs. abstract nouns conjunctions* conjunctive adverbs coordinating conjunctions correlative conjunctions count nouns declarative sentences definite articles demonstrative pronouns dependent clause direct object FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions) first person fragments fused sentences (run-ons) gender, pronoun gerunds helping (auxiliary) verbs (―to be,‖ ―to have, & ―to do‖) imperative mood

20 1.b 3.a 3.i 4 5 2.i 14.c 11.d 1.a 3.e 2.b 12 13.a 13 1.c 6 19 18 15.a 14.a 13.d 13.c 14.b 15.b 13.e 1.b 7 5.a 7 7.a 1.e 13 1.a 2.e 12.c 16 7.a 2.a 13.a 13.a 2.c 1.g (3.h) 3.e 3.j

imperative sentences (commands) indefinite articles indefinite pronouns independent clause indicative mood indirect object infinitives intensive (and reflexive) pronouns interjections* interrogative sentences intransitive (vs. transitive) verbs inverted sentence irregular verbs linking vs. action verbs mass (noncount) nouns modals (modal helpers or auxiliaries) modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, participial) mood noncount (mass) nouns nonrestrictive clauses nonrestrictive phrases noun clause noun determiners noun phrase nouns*, general number, pronoun number, verbs (see also subject-verb agreement) object complement object of a sentence object, direct object, indirect participial (verbal) modifiers parts of speech (eight)

passive (vs. active) voice past participles perfect verb tenses personal pronouns phrases predicate (complete verb) prepositional phrase prepositions* present participles progressive verb tenses pronouns*, general proper nouns reference, pronoun reflexive (and intensive) pronouns regular verbs relative pronouns

13 1.a 2.g 12.a 3.j 17 3.b 2.h 9 13 3.1 13.f 3.d 3.a 1.f 3.f 5 / 6 / 3.h 3.j 1.f 12.c 11 12.d 1.a 11.c 1 2.d 3 19 16 16 17 3.h 1 (nouns), 2 (pronouns), 3 (verbs), 4 (adjectives), 6 (adverbs), 7 (conjunctions), 8 (prepositions), 9 (interjections) 3.i 3.g 3.k 2.a 11 15.a 11.a 8 3.g 3.k 2 1.d 2.j 2.h 3.c 2.f

restrictive clauses restrictive phrases run-ons (fused sentences) second person sentences simple sentence simple vs. complete subject subject (of a sentence) subject complement subject-verb agreement subjunctive mood subordinate clause subordinating conjunctions superlative adjectives and adverbs tense, verb tenses in English (list of all 12) third person transitive (vs. intransitive) verbs two-word verbs verb (of a sentence vs. as a part of speech) verb phrase verbal (participial) modifiers verbs*, general voice, verbs word order, adverbs

12.c 11 13.a 2.a 13 13.b 14.a 14 18 14.c 3.j (3.f) 12.b 7.b 6 3.k 3.k 3.a 3.l 3 15 11.b 3.h 3 3.i 5.b