Transcript Grammar Guide HBx

Grammar Guide
Grammar: the study of the way the sentences of a language
are constructed; morphology and syntax.
BASIC SENTENCE PARTS:
The Parts of Speech
• Verbs
• Adverbs
• Nouns
• Prepositions
• Interjections
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• Conjunctions
• Some include Articles which are used to introduce a noun (the, a, an)
The first words you ever
spoke were probably
nouns.
NOUNS
A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place,
thing, idea, living creature, quality, or action.
Examples: cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness,
arrival
Types of Nouns
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Common Nouns
Are nouns that name things in a
general sense: car, dog, person,
building, music, book, etc.
Common nouns blend in
I bought a car and a hamburger ten
minutes after I won the lottery.
Proper Nouns
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Name things specifically: Mercedes,
Fido, Harry Potter, etc.
Proper nouns stand out
I bought a Mercedes and a Big Mac
ten minutes after I won the lottery.
Your turn to practice…
Cheese Balls
Cheese Balls
(Taken from Hot Fudge Monday by Randy Larson)
Identify all the nouns below.
The year was 1949. The place was Wisconsin, a land where people loved cheese, ate cheese, sold cheese, and even
painted the helmets of their professional football team a sharp cheddar yellow. Dr. Asiago Spore and I, both
cheeseologists from the University of Parmesan, had set up camp outside the village of Oconomawaca. Our mission
was to uncover the Lost City of Gouda.
Dr. Spore and I believed that, of all the ancient cheese sites, The Lost City of Gouda was most likely to be the home of
ancient Cheddar Man. Cheddar Man was believed to have walked upright, but bent over, his back bowed from all the
cows he milked to make cheese for the ritual cheese dance.
We dug for many days and grew frustrated. We were all about to throw in the shovel and give up. Then Dr. Spore
struck something soft and spongy. It was the Great Gouda: a forty pound cheese ball used in the ancient games of
Cheddar Man. We had struck the mother lode of cheese digs.
We celebrated. We cheered. And then, at the bottom of our 100-foot dig, the earth began to shake. Great heat seared
our feet, and the sacred cheese ball melted. It ran over our boots and into crevices that started to open within the
earth. Suddenly, a volcanic blast tore the ground, blowing a spout of cheese 500 feet into the air. “Spray cheese!”
yelled Dr. Spore.
And so it was. We had not discovered Cheddar Man, but we had discovered a new product – spray cheese.
Today, because of our long-ago mission, we all enjoy squirting spray cheese on crackers with pickles, crackers with
olives, or crackers with those little dead fish with the shiny eyes. Though we didn’t discover Cheddar Man himself, Dr.
Spore and I look back happily on our contribution to world history.
VERBS
A verb is a word which describes an action (doing
something) or a state (being something).
Examples: walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want
Three Types of Verbs
• Action (give, eat, walk, etc.)
• Helping: are used before the main verb to convey additional information.
The main verb with its accompanying helping verb is called a verb phrase.
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The trip might (helping) be (verb) dangerous
Can, may, must, will, could, might, should, would
• Linking: describe conditions or situations that exist. I am a student.
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We are circus performers.
Amanda is quiet.
Practice
Read the sentences below and be prepared to tell me the action verbs that energize each
sentence.
• Melanie weaseled her way into my heart, and later I cursed myself
for letting her in.
• As he kneaded the bread, he wished it were Harry’s face there in the
counter, in a convenient, doughy lump.
• She pounded the desk with a frozen fish and demanded complete
silence in the room.
• Marcy spit out her words like watermelon seeds, one at a time,
straight at the prosecuting attorney.
• Nobody peered into the crystal ball without Ursula’s permission.
Time Warp
• Verbs do more than describe action.
• They also tell when that action took place – now (present tense), before
(past tense), or in the future (future tense).
• When writing, it is important to keep all the verbs in the same time
frame.
• You don’t want to start in the past tense, switch to the present, and
then flip back to the past all in one paragraph. It won’t make sense. The
time warp will give readers a headache.
Example
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Abraham Lincoln, one of the finest leaders in American history, had a rough
beginning. He hires out to the other farmers to pay his father’s debts. He lives
in a lean-to along a riverbank, and he teaches himself to become a lawyer
after going broke trying to be a businessman. Abe knew how to overcome
hardship because he will have plenty of it to overcome.
The piece begins using the past tense verb had, then moves into the present
tense hires, lives, and teaches. The story then swings back to past tense with
knew and then to future tense with will have. This kind of verb-switching will
drive readers nuts.
It is very important to keep your verbs in the same time dimension. If your story
happened 10 minutes ago or ten years ago or ten centuries ago, use past tense
and stick with it. If a story supposes what the future will be, then begin with the
future tense and stay there. If you want to tell something as if it is happening
right now, start in the present tense and stay in the present tense.
Your turn to practice…
Turkey Melt
(Taken from Hot Fudge Monday by Randy Larson)
Identify all the verbs below.
My family took a journey to Canada, a friendly little nation full of kind people and giant plastic animals. We wanted to see
the world’s largest turkey. We found it in Slipwaddle, Ontario.
It was noon when we arrived. The sun seared my skin, cooked my hair, and melted my tennis shoes. My little brother,
Simpwell, jumped out of the car screaming, “Look!” He was pointing like a bird dog to the tallest, widest, ugliest plastic
turkey in the world. “Let’s climb on him!” he said.
Before I could answer, Simpwell climbed a giant turkey leg, shinnied up the turkey’s neck and sat on its head.
“Get down from there!” I yelled, but Simpwell ignored me and spurred the turkey like a wild mustang.
Then the turkey blinked. I stood stunned. It blinked again; then took a step out into the road. Cars screeched to a halt. A
police car flipped on its siren. People leaped out of their cars. The turkey was running now in giant leaps, heading for the cool
blue lake shimmering in the distance.
“Help!” Simpwell screamed.
The police car roared off in a spray of gravel.
I raced after Simpwell yelling, “Hold on!”
At the turn into the lake, the turkey slowed, staggered, then wobbled and collapsed, flipping Simpwell like a pork chop
into the air. He tumbled and soared, higher and higher, until he spun into the water and surfaced on the shore like a chubby
chunk of driftwood.
The turkey, meanwhile, was melting in the summer sun. It was exhausted by the run to the lake, and now lay on the boiling
pavement outside Jack’s Hot Dog City.
“I’m melting! I’m melting!” the turkey croaked.
The cries of the turkey could be heard for miles, and everyone gathered to watch the disappearance of one of Canada’s
leading roadside distractions.
We drove back there years later to see the stain in the road where the great gobbler once was. There on the side of the
highway, like a beacon of hope for health-food enthusiasts, was a sign over old Jack’s Hot Dog City: “EAT HERE – HOME of
the ORIGINAL TURKEY MELT.”
Simpwell and I strolled inside, plopped ourselves at the counter and ordered a super-sized turkey melt with fries. Then we
gobbled it down. Now that is closure!
Turkey Melt
You can tell what
adverbs do just by
listening to their
name. Adverbs add to
verbs.
ADVERBS
An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you how
something is done. It may also tell you when or where something
happened.
Examples: slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here,
everywhere
But…they can modify…
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a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)
Hints:
• They often end in ly.
• The words very and too are probably the most common adverbs.
• The words never and not are usually adverbs.
Adverbs also tell when, where, why, or under what condition something happened.
Ex: When the class is over, we’re going to the movies.
Practice
Each sentence below contains an adverb. Be prepared to tell me the adverb and the verb,
adjective or adverb it gives added information about.
• Jane smiled wickedly at the sound of Alonzo’s footsteps on the porch.
• Juan tore anxiously at the wrapping on the long, heavy box.
• Elaine carefully stashed the peanut butter cups in her top draw.
• His badly cut hair went unnoticed at the dance.
• Glen reached desperately for the plunger.
• April quickly inserted the breath mint under her tongue
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Jane smiled wickedly at the sound of Alonzo’s footsteps on the porch.
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Juan tore anxiously at the wrapping on the long, heavy box.
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Elaine carefully stashed the peanut butter cups in her top draw.
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His badly cut hair went unnoticed at the dance.
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Glen reached desperately for the plunger.
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April quickly inserted the breath mint under her tongue.
More Practice
• Does Sasha still attend the university, or has she finally graduated?
• Because my hamburger was still somewhat raw, the restaurant owner
generously offered me a free meal.
• The ice on the sidewalk is dangerously slick, so walk very cautiously.
• I should purchase new jeans soon, because this pair is too short and
uncomfortably tight.
• Since Mr. James's house was a ridiculously ugly shade of red, he decided to
paint it a completely different colour.
• Taya is a very skillful volleyball player because she practices regularly.
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Adverb Practice
Here is a list of sentences underline the adverb
phrase:
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I really don’t care.
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He literally wrecked his car.
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He lived in the north of Germany.
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I am certain of the facts, for sure.
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We decided to buy a car.
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You simply don’t understand.
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She went to the movie every month.
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I so want to go to the concert.
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She completely rejected his proposal.
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I laughed every time he cracked a joke.
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I heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
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It is kept where the students can read it.
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I so want that new toy.
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She looked as if she were guilty.
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He completely understands me.
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He acts like he owns the place.
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I absolutely refuse to stay here any longer.
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I sort of felt betrayed by you.
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I went to bed after I finished my homework.
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You can improve on this to some extent.
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Please stay as long as possible.
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She kind of likes the movie.
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The boss almost quit his job after that.
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I somewhat understand what you are saying.
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She mildly disapproved of his actions.
INTERJECTIONS
An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often stands
alone. Interjections are words which express emotion or surprise, and
they are usually followed by exclamation marks.
Examples: Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha!
Punctuation
• Interjections are set off from the rest of the sentence with special
punctuation, most often an exclamation point.
• Sometimes, however, interjections are set off from the rest of the sentence
with a comma (,) even a dash ( – ), a question mark (?), or a period (.).
• Examples:
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Hey! Get your hands off my desk!
Say – aren’t you the lady who drives the ice cream truck?
Gee, I think I left my wallet in the cave.
• A good website for review
Your turn to practice
Schloopy, Schloopy
(Taken from Hot Fudge Monday by Randy Larson)
Identify all the interjections below.
Well, we’re driving down the road – my teenage sister, her boyfriend Fred, and me. It’s high noon and hot in the van.
The dog is panting and drooling and stomping over the packages from our crazy shopping trip.
A Girl Scout bus stops right in front of us. Fred stomps on the brake. “Hey!” my sister yells. Our St. Bernard, Bobo,
slams forward into the passenger seat, knocking gobs of grape Schloopy from my sister’s 100 ounce super mug all over
her. She screams, “Yikes!”
”Wow!” You look ridiculous!” Fred exclaims.
My sister scrapes off the first layer of Schloopy. “What!” How dare you sit there and laugh. You’re the one who
caused this!”
The Schloopy is starting to run down her neck, and Bobo thinks this is interesting. He leans over and starts licking
Mindy’s neck.
“Holy cow! He likes it!” I bellowed from my perch by the spare tire, laughing.
“Ouch!” Mindy yells.
Fred leans away to avoid the dog drool.
“Get me a towel!” Mindy screams as the Schloopy runs down her hundred-dollar jeans.
“Well, I don’t have a towel,” says Fred.
Mindy stares at him and says in a calmer, more dangerous voice, “Get me something. Now.” She shoves Bobo back
and away from her. “Ick. Get off me!”
Fred starts to take off his t-shirt. I really don’t want to see his scrawny chest, so I pull of my flannel shirt. “No, take
mine.” I rip off my shirt and hand it to Mindy over the back of the seat.
Mindy wipes her face, her neck, the front of her blouse, the new jeans, and the face of the CD player, which used to
have buttons that actually worked. She clicks the button of KYAH radio, and they’re playing oldies. Fred starts singing,
“Hang on, Schloopy, Schloopy hang on.”
I look at Mindy. “You should have hung on.”
She hits me with a Schloopy-soaked flannel shirt.
Schloopy, Schloopy
PRONOUNS
Are like stunt doubles…do you know why?
Pronouns = Stunt Double
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Actors and Actresses who are about to take a hard fall usually stop and yell, “Stand in!” A
pronoun does the same for a noun. When a noun is about to wear itself out in a sentence, a
pronoun can hop in. The sentence reads better, the noun takes a break, and the reader is
happier.
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, her, him, me, myself, yourself, himself, herself, who,
whom, whose, which, someone, everyone, them, yours, theirs, mine
Meg stepped on the end of the diving board and looked down. Meg then turned back and
looked longingly at her sister, who was perched safely on the ladder, smiling. Meg knew this
was it. One! Two! Three! Meg ran to the end of the board, leaped, tucked and made one and
one half turns, then straightened out like an arrow and hit the water cleanly. Meg knew
Meg had made the best dive of Meg’s life.
Meg stepped on the end of the diving board and looked down. She then turned back and
looked longingly at her sister, who was perched safely on the ladder, smiling. Meg knew this
was it. One! Two! Three! She ran to the end of the board, leaped, tucked and made one and
one half turns, then straightened out like an arrow and hit the water cleanly. She knew she
had made the best dive of her life.
Types of Pronouns – REALLY!
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Personal (he, they, I, you, she, we, )
Demonstrative (this, these, that, those)
Interrogative (which, who, what, where, how)
Indefinite (none, several, all, some, several, anyone,
each, both, few)
Possessive (his, your, my, your, her, its, our, mine)
Reciprocal (each other, one another)
Relative (which, where)
Reflexive (itself, himself, myself, herself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves)
Intensive (itself, himself)
Pronouns
Identify all the pronouns below.
Who betrayed my confidence?
I will always remember the nurse who was so kind.
The child whom I saw was about five years old.
Whoever could be responsible for this problem?
I will invite whoever you like.
Melissa gets whatever she wants.
What happened here?
Do you know what time it is?
I will bring whatever you request.
Whatever is the matter with you?
Which essay won?
The essay which was written by Alyssa won.
Choose whichever you want.
What is the title of that song?
She went to the store with Angela.
Six of us had to squeeze in the tiny car.
Every Thursday, Kenny goes to Wal-Mart with them.
At the store, the cashier gave her some change.
When the sun comes up, he leaves for work.
I enjoyed seeing them on the playground.
I don't know what she said.
Adjectives are to a writer
what paints are to a painter –
they bring colour, texture,
depth, and detail to the
scene you are creating.
ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or
pronoun. It tells you something more.
Examples: big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick,
important
Practice
Be prepared to tell me the adjectives and the nouns they are describing.
• Sour music filters out of Arvay’s smelly classroom.
• Nobody likes cold french fries with ice cream.
• Black hate boiled out of his eyes as he looked at the crumpled
assignment.
• The sheriff held the smoking pistol to the light.
• Pouring hot gravy on cold pancakes is no way to start the day.
Your turn to practice…
Secret Shopper
Secret Shopper
(Taken from Hot Fudge Monday by Randy Larson)
Identify all the adjectives below.
My stepmom signed up to be a secret shopper. Her first assignment was to test the security of Baldini’s
Sausage Emporium – 100 000 square feet of glimmering coolers and shiny glad counters full of luscious sausages
imported from hundreds of foreign countries. She saw chicken beak sausage from Morocco; duck feet sausage
from China; Red River moose sausage from Canada, as well as spicy radish butter from Russia, yak cheese from
Bulgaria, watermelon poppers from Romania, and dried up turtle chips from the Pimple Islands.
Mom arrived Wednesday morning armed with sixteen colored markers. She was supposed to quietly change
price tags, writing ridiculous prices on the tags to see if the clerks would catch the changes. But all went wrong
when slippery Charlie, the head security guard, sneaked up on mom and whipped out his shiny handcuffs.
“You’re under arrest ma’am,” Charlie said, “for tampering with the goods.”
“I’m supposed to tamper with the goods,” Mom replied. “I’m a secret shopper.”
“A likely story,” Charlie sneered. “Let’s go.”
The sausage police questioned my poor mother for two hours before the furious owner, Big Wanda, showed up
with her three brawny bodyguards and a miniature Chihuahua named Pete.
“Let her go, boys,” she said. “She’s with me.”
Mom left the shop with her paycheck and coupons for 600 jars of red lizard sausage nuggets. Our entire family
was thrilled, obviously. Mom was still upset about being arrested, but she is attending a secret shopper support
group and taking serenity lessons from Dr. Elroy Frill. She will make it to shop another day – secretly, of course.
PREPOSITIONS
A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or
noun phrase. Prepositions show how one thing is
related to something else.
Examples: to, of, if, on, in, by, with, under, through, at
Prepositional Phrases
• Prepositions rarely work alone.
• They are almost always found with nouns (or pronouns), forming a group of
words called a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE.
• Prepositional phrases give additional information about nouns and verbs.
• They tell how, when, where, what kind, under what conditions, how long, how
much, which one and how many.
• Besides adding information, prepositional phrases can also add some
rhythm to your sentences. (We will learn more about this when we talk
about sentence variety).
• Before Mr. James entered the room, the class concocted a plan for revenge.
Adverb or Preposition?
• How do you know if it is an adverb (phrase) or a preposition (prepositional
phrase)?
• An Example may help:
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Billy looked up the stairs (Up what? – the stairs - preposition)
Billy looked up and saw the alien spacecraft (up what? – uh? nothing = adverb)
• Online Quiz
Remember a PREPOSITION shows a relationship between ideas in a sentence. Prepositions usually
answer the questions where or when. They often tell the location of a person or an object in time or
space. The preposition usually introduces a phrase that has several parts: the preposition itself; an article
(like a, an, or the); and a noun which is called the object of the preposition.
Sometimes, there may be a possessive noun, like Steven’s, or a possessive pronoun, such as her, their,
or my, instead of the article. There may also be adverbs or adjectives in the phrase.
Example:
The boy walked the dog down the busy street.
The prepositional phrase down the busy street tells where they walked.
The word down is the preposition.
The word the is an article.
The word busy is an adjective describing the street.
The word street is the object of the preposition.
Underline the prepositional phrase in each sentence. Circle the preposition.
1) The strange man parked his car next to the tall trees.
2) The confused foreign exchange student walked through the school halls.
3) My cousin Jesse wore a bandage on his nose to cover the wound.
4) Our crazy dog escaped and wandered all around the neighborhood.
5) Your little brother had surgery and must stay in the hospital.
6) Following the candidates' speeches voting will begin.
7) Mr. Thompson had to drive through the large puddles.
8) Angelique came to visit from France.
Remember a PREPOSITION shows a relationship between ideas in a sentence. Prepositions usually
answer the questions where or when. They often tell the location of a person or an object in time or
space. The preposition usually introduces a phrase that has several parts: the preposition itself; an article
(like a, an, or the); and a noun which is called the object of the preposition.
Sometimes, there may be a possessive noun, like Steven’s, or a possessive pronoun, such as her, their,
or my, instead of the article. There may also be adverbs or adjectives in the phrase.
Example:
The boy walked the dog down the busy street.
The prepositional phrase down the busy street tells where they walked.
The word down is the preposition.
The word the is an article.
The word busy is an adjective describing the street.
The word street is the object of the preposition.
Underline the prepositional phrase in each sentence. Circle the preposition.
1) The strange man parked his car next to the tall trees.
2) The confused foreign exchange student walked through the school halls.
3) My cousin Jesse wore a bandage on his nose to cover the wound.
4) Our crazy dog escaped and wandered all around the neighborhood.
5) Your little brother had surgery and must stay in the hospital.
6) Following the candidates' speeches voting will begin.
7) Mr. Thompson had to drive through the large puddles.
8) Angelique came to visit from France.
CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences
together.
Examples: but, so, and, because, or, either, neither
Coordinating Conjunctions
• Connect things that are roughly equal, like two sentences or two nouns
or two verbs
Notice the
• There are only seven: and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so
punctuation
• Examples:
• Alicia lies out in the sun all day and pays for it afterwards.
• I’m not moving to Swift Current or Regina.
• They said I would be eaten alive, but I swam on anyway.
• I don’t hate you, nor do I fear you.
• I feel sorry for you, for you’ve never eaten a submarine sandwich
• You are all alone, yet you don’t seem sad.
Subordinating Conjunctions
• Connects things that are not equal
• One part of the sentence is not equal to another part if it depends on
the other part for its meaning
• Example: Pat loves to eat, although she is allergic to cooking.
• Pat loves to eat makes perfectly good sense all by itself. It could stand
alone as a complete thought. It could be independent.
• Although she is allergic to cooking, however, cannot stand alone. It
doesn’t make sense at all by itself. It depends on the other part of the
sentence for some of its meaning. So the subordinating conjunction
although connects the dependent part of the sentence to the
independent part.
Subordinating Conjunctions
After
Since
Whenever
Although
Though
Where
Because
Unless
Wherever
Before
Until
While
If
When
A little CONJUNCTION practice….
Spaghetti Heaven
Spaghetti Heaven
(Taken from Hot Fudge Monday by Randy Larson)
Identify all the conjunctions below.
Before dining out with my three-year-old brother Philly, you have to prepare yourself. Since eating with Philly is a
messy proposition, you need a handful of plastic trash bags and duct tape and a damp wash cloth and a camera.
(You will need pictures to prove what happened, because people won’t believe you if you try to describe it to
them.)
It doesn’t matter what restaurant you go to, nor does it matter what food you order; it will end in disaster. Here’s
what happened when my family went to Spaghetti Heaven with Philly.
We all got there and sat down and cut holes in our trash bags for our arms and heads and then put them on. Then
the food came. Philly lunged for his massive bowl of spaghetti and promptly shoved Grandma into the salad
bowl. She came up spitting lettuce and parsley greens, but she was not discouraged. Because she had her trash
bag on, she was relatively safe.
When the meal began, violin players came drifting by our table. One by one they were splattered with spaghetti
sauce, though not on purpose, for Philly has a good heart. Meanwhile, Grandma was getting overheated, so she
pulled off her protective leaf bag. This was not a good idea, as Philly was not only hungry but also in a hurry.
Grandma soon resembled a woman fresh from a pizza fight. By the time this particular evening was over, both
the waiter and the bus boy were covered in spaghetti splatter, the dessert cart was buried, and Grandma had to
be duct taped to the front fender and run two times through the car wash.
However, we are gaining ground. After we ate out last time, the waiter power-washed the entire family as we left
through the side door.
Parts of Speech
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Practice Test:
• Final Test: