Simple Sentence

Consists of 1 subject & 1 verb Subjects usually noun or pronoun

Every complete sentence has subject & verb

Children play. (subject/noun + verb) I work. (subject/pronoun + verb)

John slept. (subject/noun + verb) They ran. (subject/pronoun + verb)

Simple Sentence

Click here to practice identifying the subject and verb in a variety of sentences.

Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech

Nouns Pronouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Interjections

P E R S O N S , P L A C E S , T H I N G S , A N I M A L S , I D E A S

Nouns

Nouns

Words that tell what is being talked about or subject of sentence

Proper Noun Names specific person, place, or thing Distinguished by capitalization

Common Noun Word that identifies person, place, or thing in general way

Click here to practice identifying nouns. Click here to practice identifying common and

proper nouns.

Singular & Plural Nouns

Singular noun Names one person, place, thing, animal, or idea

Plural noun Names more than one person, place, thing, animal, or idea

How to Make a Singular Plural

• Boy to boys • Girl to girls • Flower to flowers

Add s to form the plural of most nouns

• Lunch to lunches • Box to boxes • Beach to beaches

Add es to form the plural of nouns that end in ch, sh, o, s, x,

or z

• Lady to ladies • Body to bodies • Family to families

If noun ends in a consonant and y,

change the y to an I and add es

How to Make a Singular Plural

• Man to men • Ox to oxen • Child to children • Tooth to teeth

Some plurals are formed by changing the

spelling of the singular noun

• Moose • Deer • Sheep • Elk

Some nouns are spelled the

same, either way you go

How to make a singular plural

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Common and proper nouns

Common noun Names any person, place, or thing

Proper noun Names a particular person, place or thing

Singular Possessive & Plural Possessive

Possessive noun Shows ownership Can be plural or singular

To form singular & plural possessive nouns

To form possessive of singular noun, add apostrophe and s (‘s)

To form possessive of plural noun that ends in s, add apostrophe (s’)

To form possessive of plural noun that does not end in s, add apostrophe and s (‘s)

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Example: child‘s toy --- baby’s cry

Example: swimmers’ cap --- mothers’ concerns

Example: men’s department---children’s toys

Pronouns

Pronouns

Substitutes for nouns in sentences Change form according to their function

Sentences will seem less clumsy

Click here to practice identifying pronouns.

he/him them you

we/us

her/she it

I/me/mine everyone

Verbs

Verbs

Show action, occurrence, or existence (state of being) Function as predicate of sentence

Can be action or linking

Mary sings at her church. (action) John is a teacher. (state of being)

Action Verbs

Shows something being done Logically, action of some kind

Examples:

I go to the store. I buy groceries.

Linking Verbs

Show state of being Tell what subject is or was

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Examples:

The machine was simple to use. It is a it strange to us.

Helping Verbs

Can be more than one word Main verb Most important verb

Helping verb Works with main verb Adds more information to main verb

Helping Verbs

When helping verb is am, is, are, was, or were, the main verb ends in ing.

When helping verb is has, have, or had, the main verb often ends in ed.

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I am watching. Bears are hibernating. They were sleeping.

The company has moved. We have escaped. I had dreamed it.

Verb Tenses

Tense of verb shows time of action Can show past, present, or future action

Verb in present tense shows action that happens now

We enjoy going to the beach. We like to play in the water. We are going to the beach.

Verb Tenses

Verb in past tense shows action that has already taken place

Verb in future tense shows action that will take place at later time

Try these exercises.

We enjoyed going to the beach. We liked playing the water. We went to the back.

We will enjoy going to the beach. We will like playing in the water.

Adjectives

Adjectives

Descriptive, graphic words Modify or qualify nouns and pronouns Can add interest, detail, color to writing Answers questions which, what kind, or how many

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Adverbs

Adverbs

Modifying word Modifies verb, adjective, or another adverb Answers 1 of 5 questions about word or phrase it

modifies How When Where How often To what extent

Tim and Steve shook hands firmly. (How?) We will see you soon. (When?) Barry was rather doubtful. (To what extent?)

Adverbs

Word not is adverb; it means no Never use 2 words that mean “no” in same sentence Called double negative Never correct

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Click here to practice identifying double negatives.

Incorrect: We don’t have no frame for this picture.

Correct: We don’t have a frame for this picture.

Prepositions

Prepositions

Connecting word Usually followed by noun or pronoun Called object of preposition

Preposition + Object + Modifiers = Prepositional Phrase

Examples: Their housing development has a picnic area for the residents. The exhausted tennis player sat on the grass.

Prepositions

Most common prepositions At By For From In of On To With

Conjunctions

Conjunctions

Connecting word Connects Words Groups of words Clauses

Examples:

John and Mary went to school.

Do you want chicken or steak for dinner?

I remembered his face, but I forgot his name.

Conjunctions

Most common And But For Nor Or So Yet

Prepositions & Conjunctions

Click here to practice recognizing prepositional

phrases.

Click here to practice recognizing conjunctions.

Interjections

Interjections

Used to express strong feelings Can Stand alone Be used within a sentence, set off by commas

Examples: Wow! What a nice day. Oh, please excuse me.

Interjections

In writing for business purposes, too many interjections can take away from message

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