Transcript File - AP Language and Composition

Parts of Speech
Nouns

A noun names a person, place, thing,
or an idea.
Persons – architect, travelers, family
Places – restaurant, islands, beach
Things – computer, sailboat, insects
Ideas – education, beliefs, ambition
Common vs. Proper


Common noun – names any one of a
group of persons, places, things, or
ideas. (general)
Proper noun – names a particular
person, place, thing, or idea.
(specific)
Examples of
Common vs. Proper
woman
nation
event
holiday
painter
athlete
Sylvia Bryan, Queen Anne
South Korea, England, U.S.
World Series, Mardi Gras
Memorial Day, Fourth of July
Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollack
Vijay Singh, Michelle Kwan
Concrete vs. Abstract


Concrete noun – names a person,
place, thing, or idea that can be
perceived by one or more of the
senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch,
and smell)
Abstract noun – names an idea, a
feeling, a quality, or a characteristic.
Examples of
Concrete vs. Abstract
Concrete
fire
garlic
cotton
horses
Liberty Bell
Abstract
charm
self-confidence
strength
ability
Zen
Collective Nouns

The singular form of a collective
noun names a group.
Examples of Collective Nouns
army
jury
litter
group
herd
audience
batch
set
pack
swarm
bunch
flock
crew
staff
pride
fleet
cluster
class
family
pod
Compound Noun

A compound noun consists of two or
more words that together name a
person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples of Compound Nouns
ONE WORD
Sidewalk, Tablecloth, Greenland
SEPARATE WORDS
Attorney general, Empire State Building,
telephone pole
HYPHENATED WORDS
Great-grandmother, daughter-in-law, jacko’-lantern
Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used in place of
one or more nouns or pronouns.
Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to the one
speaking (first person), the one
spoken to (second person), or the
one spoken about (third person).
Personal Pronouns
First Person
I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours
Second Person
you, your, yours
Third Person
he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they,
them, their, theirs
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns


Reflexive pronouns refer to the
subject of a sentence and function as
a complement or as an object of the
preposition.
Intensive pronouns add emphasis to
their antecedents. (serves no
grammatical function in the
sentence)
Examples of Reflexive and
Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive
Martha wrote a note to herself.
Herself reflects back to Martha and acts as
an object of the preposition.
Intensive
Todd himself organized the school program.
Himself simply adds emphasis to Todd, and
himself can be removed and the sentence
still makes sense.
Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns
First Person
myself, ourselves
Second Person
yourself, yourselves
Third Person
himself, herself, itself, themselves
Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point out a
specific person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples of Demonstrative
Pronouns
this
that
these
those
This is our favorite song by Ella
Fitzgerald.
The apples I picked today tastes better
than these.
Note about Demonstrative
Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are most often
used in verbal communication.
Although they point out something specific,
use of demonstrative pronouns in formal
writing often lack a clear antecedent.
In formal writing it is often best to use these
pronouns as demonstrative adjectives
rather than demonstrative pronouns.
Examples
Pronoun Her best painting is this.
Adjective Her best painting is this one.
Pronoun
Adjective
This is great!
This class is great!
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns introduce a
question.
There are five interrogative pronouns.
what
which
who
whom
whose
Examples of Interrogative
Pronouns
What is the answer to the last algebra
problem?
Whose is this?
Note: These questions can be turned into
statements to more clearly see how they
function as pronouns.
This is whose.
The answer to the algebra problem is what.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns introduce a
subordinate clause.
There are five relative pronouns
who
whom
whose
which
that
Examples of relative
pronouns
My brother works at the animal
shelter that is located on Sycamore
Street.
The girl whom they nominated for
the class president is Gloria.
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun refers a noun
that may or may not be specifically
named. (clear as mud, right!)
Examples
most some many few one
anyone something nothing much
Both someone any all none
Indefinite Pronouns
They spent most of the weekend
sleeping.
Did someone call my name?
I don’t like any of the books I read.
Adverbs
An adverb tells how, when, where, and
to what extent.
AND
An adverb modifies three things:
Adverbs Modifying Verbs
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
Marian Anderson
extent)
performed
performed
performed
performed
magnificently. (how)
earlier. (when)
there. (where)
extensively. (to what
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives
The players are exceptionally skillful. (the
adverb exceptionally modifies the
adjective skillful, telling to what extent)
The documentary about global warming was
thorough enough. (the adverb enough
modifies the adjective thorough, telling to
what extent)
Adverbs Modifying Adverbs
Cheetahs can run extremely fast.
(the adverb extremely modifies the
adverb fast, telling to what extent)
Andre reacted to the news rather
calmly. (The adverb rather modifies
the adverb calmly, telling to what
extent)
Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns or
pronouns.
Example:
The red shirt ripped in the wash.
The word red modifies or
describes the noun shirt.
Articles

Articles are the most frequently used
adjectives. There are three articles.
a
an
the
Verbs

Verbs express an action or a state of
being.
Action Verbs

Action verbs can express either
physical or mental actions.
• Physical actions: paint
jog
• Mental actions: think hope
write
ponder
Prepositions
A preposition shows the relationship of
a noun or pronoun to another word.
The noun or pronoun to which the
preposition shows a relationship is
called the object of the preposition.
Examples
The
The
The
The
The
The
playful
playful
playful
playful
playful
playful
puppy
puppy
puppy
puppy
puppy
puppy
ran
ran
ran
ran
ran
ran
beside me.
toward me.
around me.
past me.
after me.
behind me.
Commonly Used Prepositions
about, above, across, after, against,
along, among, around, as, at,
before, behind, below, beneath,
beside, between, beyond, by, down,
during, except, for, from, in, inside,
into, like, near, of, off, on, out,
outside, over, past, since, through,
throughout, to, toward, under, unto,
up, upon, with, within, without
Preposition vs. Adverb
We drove around the parking lot.
(the compound noun parking lot is the
object of around)
We drove around for a while.
(around modifies the verb drove
answering where)
More Examples
Vince went inside the house.
(The noun house is the object of
inside)
Vince went inside when the rain
started.
(Inside modifies the verb went by
answering where)
Conjunction
A conjunction joins words or word
groups.
There are four main types of
conjunctions.
Coordinating, Correlative, Subordinate,
and Adverbial
Coordinating Conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction joins words
or word groups that are used in the
same way.
Coordinating Conjunctions
and
or
nor
for
so
yet
but
Examples
We found a bat and a glove.
(Conjunction and joins two objects)
They may be hiding in the attic or in the
basement.
(Conjunction or joins two phrases)
My forefathers didn’t come over on the
Mayflower, but they met the boat.
(Conjunction but combines two clauses)
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative Conjunctions are pairs of
conjunctions that join words or word
groups that are used in the same
way.
Correlative Conjunctions
both…..and
not only….but also
either….or
neither….nor
whether….or
Examples
Both athletes and singers must train for long
hours.
(conjunction both…and connects two words)
We searched not only behind the garage but also
under the pecan tree.
(conjunction not only…but also connects two
phrases)
Either your fuel line is clogged, or your carburetor
needs adjusting.
(Conjunction either…or connects two clauses)
Subordinating Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction begins a
subordinate clause and connects it to
an independent clause.
Commonly Used Subordinate
Conjunctions
after
as if
as well as
how
provided
so that
though
when
wherever
why
although
as much as
because
before
since
than
unless
whenever
whether
as
as though
even though
if
in order that
that
until
where
while
Examples
We arrived late because our train was
delayed.
Dr. Watson listened quietly while
Sherlock Holmes explained his
theory.
While Sherlock Holmes explained his
theory, Dr. Watson listened quietly.
Preposition or Conjunction
After the basketball game, we celebrated.
(After acts as a preposition here with the
object being game)
After we won the basketball game, we
celebrated.
(After acts as a subordinating conjunction
here joining the two clauses)
Adverbial Conjunctions
Also known as conjunctive adverbs,
adverbial conjunctions are used to
connect two independent clauses in a
compound sentence. A semicolon is
used prior to the conjunction and a
comma follows.
Common Adverbial Conjunctions
also
for example
in addition
meanwhile
therefore
besides
however
instead
then
moreover
Examples
The old man seldom thought about the old
white and blue dishes on the table;
however, they seemed very important to
him at the moment.
My wife went to the IU-Connecticut
basketball game last year and sat
courtside; meanwhile, I was stuck sitting
in her apartment by myself watching on
television.
Interjections
An interjection expresses emotion and
has no grammatical relation to the
rest of the sentence.
Examples
ah
whew
hey
aha
oops
oh
uh-oh
well
Ouch! That hurts!
Well, I think you should apologize.
Wow! What a game!