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Grammar and Parts of Speech

Interjections

A word or phrase that expresses strong emotion, such as surprise, pleasure, or anger.

Interjections often stand on their own, and in writing they are usually followed by an exclamation mark rather than a full stop:

OW!

Hello!

How wonderful!

Verbs

Verbs are doing words. A verb can express a physical action, a mental action, or a state of being.

Examples: He was walking to the mall Ted hears the music on the radio I’ll be back tomorrow.

Common Noun

Words that name people, places, things, or ideas.  But they are not the actual NAMES of people, place or things.

Examples: People: mother, father, or baby. Animals: lion, tiger, or bear. Things: table, truck, or iPad. Places: city, province, or Restaurant Ideas: envy, love, hate, respect, or pride

Proper Noun

Provides us with the actual name of the person, place, thing, or idea. 

Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.

People: James or Julie

Country: Canada

River: the Mississippi River

Restaurant: Applebee’s

Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns. If we didn't have pronouns, we'd have to keep repeating our nouns and that would make our sentences very awkward and repetitive.

Instead of “Emma talked to Emma's child,” you might say “Emma talked to her child.”

Examples: Tommy gave his poetry book to her. The book contained pronouns, and it also contained

verbs

Articles

Articles are used to introduce nouns An, a, the

Examples: She was an artist. The door is shut. A wolf howls at night.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.

Examples: They live in a beautiful house. This glass is breakable.

Commas

Rule 1: Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains two complete thoughts. Place a comma before the word and or but in a compound sentence.

Ex. David watched a movie, and Sarah read a book.

Commas

Rule 2. Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone.  Place a comma after a dependent clause that begins a sentence.

Ex. When I watch movies, I like to eat popcorn.

Commas

Rule 3. Words in a List

Use commas to separate three or more words in a list.

Ex. Andrew's favorite sports are basketball, baseball, and soccer.

Commas

Rule 4. Introductory words

Place a comma after introductory words, such as yes and well.

Ex. Yes, I would like some more sauce on my pasta.

Commas

Rule 5. City and Province/ Province and Country

Place a comma between the names of cities and provinces, or provinces and countries

Ex. We live in Alberta, Canada.

Commas

Rule 6. Dates

Place a comma between the day and the year in a date.

Ex. Jenna was born on May 24, 2002.

Commas

Rule 7. Place a comma between two or more adjectives.

Ex. He carried a heavy, bulky box.

Colons

A colon can be used to introduce a definition, statement or explanation of something.

I know how I’m going to handle this: I’m going to hide!

Colons are used to introduce a list of items. To make a tasty jam sandwich you need three

things: bread, butter and strawberry jam.

Semi-Colons

The semicolon joins two clauses, changing the sentence in combination with words like  ‘therefore’, ‘however’ or ‘on the other hand’. Hundreds of people came to the party; therefore, it was

not possible to say hello to everyone individually.

The semicolon joins together two clauses that could each be separate sentences — creating a longer sentence.

John calls it football; Sam calls it soccer.

Sentence Fragments

Every complete sentence must have a subject and an object. The sentence must also express a complete thought. If a sentence is lacking one of these three essential components, it is a sentence fragment.

Incorrect: A book without a cover.

Correct: I am reading a book without a cover.

Run-on Sentences

A run-on is a sentence that really has two sentences (or complete ideas) incorrectly combined into one.

Run-ons can be fixed with correct punctuation such as, commas, colons, semi-colons, and periods.

Incorrect: I'm a woman I am a truck driver.

Correct: I’m a woman; I am a truck driver. I’m a woman, and I am a truck driver.

Quotation Marks

Quotations are used to show someone’s exact words

Always begin quotations with a capital letter.

Quotations go before and after a person’s words.

Punctuation is placed inside quotations

Ex. "The world is a very big place," the teacher told the class.

Mary interrupted excitedly, "I know that North America is the third largest continent!”