WRITING GRAMMAR

Definition: Verb A Verb is a word that conveys an action ( Ex: Bring, read, walk, run, learn) or a state of being (be, exist, stand) Note: When conveying an action all the verbs are single words only- thats why a word is underlined and in red to tell you that its only one word, not more than one word.

As we see in the above definition a verb is defined by a single action or a single word or a state of being.The following are examples of a verb just conveying an action Verbs are words that will make sense if they are inserted in one of these black phrases: 1) I ________ 2) You _________ 3) He ________ 4) She ________ 5) They __________ 6) It _______ (So any word that you put right after I, You, He, She, They, It is a verb) Lets try some out Ex: 1) I run. 2) He walks. 3) She reads. 4) You sleep. 5) They eat. 6) It smells. -In (1) the verb is run. Run is the verb because the sentence is describing what I am doing, and I run. -In (2) the verb is walk. Walk is the verb because the sentence is describing what he is doing, and he is walk. -In (3) the verb is read. Read is the verb because the sentence is describing what she is doing, and she reads. -In (4) the verb is sleep. Sleep is the verb because the sentence is describing what you are doing, and you sleep. -In (5) the verb is eat. Eat is the verb because the sentence is describing what they are doing, and they eat.

-In (6) the verb is smells. Smells is the verb because the sentence is describing what it does, and it smells.

Sometimes, you may find two or more words in your sentence that can be verbs because they fit in the blanks above. For example, The lost document was part of the legacy. In this case, both lost and was fit in the blanks above. To figure out which one of the two is the verb, change the verb tense of the sentence, and see which word changes; the one that changes is the verb of the sentence.

Past The lost document was part of the legacy.

Present The lost document is part of the legacy.

To change "The lost document was part of the legacy" to the present tense, I must write "The lost document is part of the legacy." Since lost stays the same but was changes to is, I know that was is the verb in the original sentence.

Now Homework: Identify the verbs: 1) He ran after the birds. Your homework assignment #1: Now its your turn. Make five sentences in which you underline where the verbs are in each sentence. Make them short sentences so that you dont over think it- email them to me at all4la@all4la.com 2) 3) I slept like a baby. I ate a cheeseburger for lunch.

Definition: ADVERB An adverb is a part of speech. It is any word that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun (modifiers of nouns are primarily adjectives and determiners). Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences, and other adverbs.
4) 5) I walked for 40 miles. I went to the store two hours ago.

Dont look at the answers until you do them.

Solutions: (1) Ran (2) Slept (3) Ate (4) Walked (5) went

Adverbs typically answer questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?.
Adverbs are words like slowly, tomorrow, now, soon and suddenly. An adverb usually modifies a verb or a verb phrase. It provides information about the manner, place or circumstances of the activity denoted by the verb or verb phrase. She walked slowly. (Here the adverb slowly shows the manner in which she walked ).(The verb =walked) The kids are playing upstairs. (Here the adverb upstairs provides information about the place of the activity.). (The verb=playing) He ran fast through the park. (Here the adverb fast shows the manner in which he ran). (The verb= ran) I waited patiently in the doctors office. (Here the adverb patiently shows the manner in which he waited). (The verb= waited) Adverbs can also modify adjectives (look at adjectives below) and other adverbs.

Note: There can be more than one adverb within a sentence. In most cases when there are two adverbs ,then one adverb improves (modifies) on another adverb to make it look/feel/sound better. You are quite right. (Here the adverb quite modifies the adjective right.) He is totally wrong. ( Here the adverb totally modifies the adjective wrong.) She spoke quite loudly. (Here the adverb quite modifies another adverb loudly.) He ate real fast. ( Here the adverb real modifies another adverb-fast.) Most adverbs are formed by adding ly to adjectives. There are also adverbs that do not end with ly: 1. The athlete ran very fast so that he could set a new record. (Here the verb is ran, and the adverbs are very and fast. The reason for why the adverbs are very and fast is because if you combine or say very fast ( all these words together make up the adverb, truthfully very is just improving on the main adverb of the verb which is fast. (So: ran=verb, fast=main adverb of the verb fast, and very=improving adverb of the adverb fast.) 2. Maria worked hard to help her family. ( Here the verb = worked (note you can identify that worked is the verb just by changing its tense= works, working). Now when it comes to the adverb we see that the adverb has to explain: HOW DID SHE WORK? and hence she worked hard, so the adverb= hard). 3. The students came late for the seminar. (Here the verb= came ( note you can identify that came is the verb just by changing its tense= came, come, coming). Now when it comes to the adverb we see that the adverb has to explain: HOW DID SHE COME? and hence she came late, so the adverb=late). 4. My sister performed well in the examination. (Here the verb = performed ( note you can identify that performed is the verb just by changing its tense= performed, performs, performing). Now when it comes to the adverb we see that the adverb has to explain: HOW DID MY SISTER PERFORM IN HER EXAMINATION?and hence she performed well, so the adverb=well). Homework:

You objective is to identify the verb and the adverb (s) Your homework assignment #2 Your homework is for you to write ten sentences. In each sentence identify the verb and adverb. If there are more than one adverb than identify which is the main adverb and which is the improvement adverb. Please do at least two sentences that have both a main and a improvement adverb. 1) 2) 3) He 1) I exercised really hard today. I came early to class today.

Definition: Noun a noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing or abstract idea).[1]

spoke very loudly in the library. 4) He ate a big burger.

Answer the questions first and then look below for answers. (1) (2) (3) (4) Verb=Exercised, Adverb(s): Main adverb= Hard, improvement adverb= Really Verb=Came, Adverb(s): Main Adverb=really Verb=Spoke, Adverb(s): Main Adverb= loudly, Improvement adverb= Very Verb= Ate , Adverb(s): Main Adverb= Big, Improvement adverb= Big

Noun examples: Persons: girl, boy, instructor, student, Mr. Smith, Peter, president Animals: dog, cat, shark, hamster, fish, bear, flea Places: gym, store, school, Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, village, Europe Things: computer, pen, notebook, mailbox, bush, tree, cornflakes Ideas: liberty, panic, attention, knowledge, compassion, worship

Singular and Plural Nouns Formation of Plural Nouns Singular means one of something. Plural means more than one. You can make most nouns plural by just adding -s one tree - four trees one boat a river full of boats If the noun ends with -s, -ch, -sh, -x, or -z, add -es to make it plural. witnesswitnesses church churches dish dishes fox - foxes buzz buzzes If the noun ends with -y and the letter before the -y is a vowel, add -s to make the noun plural. boyboys bay bays key keys toy - toys If the noun ends with -y and the letter before the -y is a consonant, change the -y to -i and add -es to make the noun plural. army armies supply - supplies sky - skies Nouns ending in -ff become plural by adding -s tariff - tariffs sheriff - sheriffs

Definitions: Common and Proper Nouns A common noun names any regular, ordinary person, animal, place, thing or idea. Nothing Specific A proper noun names a very specific, very particula person, ainmal, place, thing, or idea. A proper noun always begins with capital letter (its capitalized)

List of examples
Common Noun superhero river holiday religion month day city composer boy car language Proper Noun Batman Mississippi River Fourth of July Buddhism December Monday London Ludwig van Beethoven Peter Volvo Spanish

Examples of concrete nouns: Spaghetti, muffins, perfume, water, book, room, pen, composer, boy, car

Examples of abstract nouns:

Definition: Collective Noun A Collective Noun names a group of people, animals or things
prettiness, pleasure, annoyance, skill, nature, communication, love, velocity, education

Examples of Collective Nouns:

Definition: Compound Nouns A Compound Noun is made up of two or more words used together
People: Audience, crowd, jury, family, group, nation, staff, cast, gang, team Animals: flock, colony, swarm, gaggle, herd Things: Bunch, bundle, set, stack, cache, batch, bouquet

Examples of Compound Nouns: -One word: Shoelace, keyboard, flashlight, applesauce, notebook, bedroom (Look at Concrete and Abstract Nouns Homework assignment: A Concrete Noun write ten sentences and place, the nouns only Your homework is to names a person, animal,identifyor thing that you can actually see, touch, homework: its to Your extrataste, hear, or smellwrite five more sentences in which you identify: the noun, verb and adverb A n Abstract Noun names an idea, feeling, emotion, or quality that cant be detected by your five senses each word and separate them (keyboard= key+board, flashlight= flash+light, applesauce= apple+sauce, notebook=note+book, bedroom= bed+room) -Hyphenated: sky-scraper, boy-friend, baby-sitter,editor-in-chief, great-grandfather. -Two words: Police officer, seat belt, high school, word processor, post office.

For example: Mike gave the towel to Jimmy - there are three nouns: Mike(person),towel (object), and Jimmy (Person). Now to make these pronouns we change the above nouns into the following sentence: He gave it to him, where Mike (is he in the second -pronoun sentence), towel (is it in the second-pronoun sentence), and Jimmy (is him in the second- pronoun sentence) Now Nouns can be divided into many categories as follows: Personal pronouns stand in place of the names of people or things:

Subjective pronouns are used when the person or thing is the subject of the sentence or clause. Example: I like to eat chips, but she does not.

Inclusive and exclusive "we" pronouns indicate whether the audience is included. Intensive pronouns, also known as emphatic pronouns, reemphasize a noun or pronoun that has already been mentioned. English uses the same forms as for the reflexive pronouns; for example: I did it myself (contrast reflexive use, I did it to myself).

Objective pronouns are used when the person or thing is the object of the sentence or clause. English example: John likes me but not her.

Direct and indirect object pronouns. English uses the same forms for both; for example: Mary loves him (direct object); Mary sent him a letter (indirect object). Reflexive pronouns are used when a person or thing acts on itself. English example: John cut himself. Reciprocal pronouns refer to a reciprocal relationship. English example: They do not like each other.

Prepositional pronouns come after a preposition. Example: Anna and Maria looked at him. Disjunctive pronouns are used in isolation or in certain other special grammatical contexts. Example: Who does this belong to? Me. Dummy pronouns are used when grammatical rules require a noun (or pronoun), but none is semantically required.Example: It is raining. In a strict sense, the possessive pronouns are only those that act syntactically as nouns. English example: Those clothes are mine. Often, though, the term "possessive pronoun" is also applied to the so-called possessive adjectives (or possessive determiners). Example: I lost my wallet. They are not strictly speaking pronouns] because they do not substitute for a noun or noun phrase, and as such, some grammarians classify these terms in a separate lexical category called determiners (they have a syntactic role close to that of adjectives, always qualifying a noun).

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate possession or ownership.

Demonstrative pronouns distinguish the particular objects or people that

are referred to from other possible candidates. Example: I'll take these.
Indefinite pronouns refer to general categories of people or things. English

example: Anyone can do that.

Homework: Your homework is to write five sentences in which you will first write regular nouns and change them into pronouns. Then you will write five more sentences that have pronouns.

Distributive pronouns are used to refer to members of a group separately rather than collectively. Example: To each his own.

Negative pronouns indicate the non-existence of people or things. Example: Nobody thinks that.

Relative pronouns refer back to people or things previously mentioned.

English example: People who smoke should quit now.

Indefinite relative pronouns have some of the properties of both relative pronouns and indefinite pronouns. They have a sense of "referring back", but the person or thing to which they refer has not previously been explicitly named. Example: I know what I like.

Interrogative pronouns ask which person or thing is meant. Example: Who

did that?

Example #2: Who is that? (interrogative) to I know who that is. (relative).

Here are some common pronouns you might want to learn:

A all another any anybody anyone anything B both E each each other either everybody everyone everything F few H he her hers herself him himself his I I it its itself L little M many me mine more most much myself N neither no one nobody none nothing O one one another other others ours ourselves S several she some somebody someone something T that theirs them themselves these they this those U us W we what whatever which whichever who whoever whom
whomever whose

Y you yours yourself yourselves

Definition: Adjective An adjective is a describing word: the main sytactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more informatin about the object signified. In simpler words an adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or a pronoun

There are truly four types of adjectives: 1. Attributive adjectives: are part of the noun phrase headed by the noun they

modify; for example, happy is an attributive adjective in "happy people". In some languages, attributive adjectives precede their nouns; in others, they follow their nouns; and in yet others, it depends on the adjective, or on the exact relationship of the adjective to the noun. In English, attributive adjectives usually precede their nouns in simple phrases, but often follow their nouns when the adjective is modified or qualified by a phrase acting as an adverb. For example: "I saw three happy kids", and "I saw three kids happy enough to jump up and down with glee."
2. Predicative adjectives: they are linked via a copula ( a way of linking

subjects) or other linking mechanism to the noun or pronoun they modify; for example, happy is a predicate adjective in "they are happy" and in "that made me happy."
3. Absolute adjectives: they do not belong to a larger construction (aside

from a larger adjective phrase), and typically modify either the subject of a sentence or whatever noun or pronoun they are closest to; for example, happy is an absolute adjective in "The boy, happy with his lollipop, did not look where he was going."
4. Nominal adjectives: they act almost as nouns. One way this can happen is

if a noun is elided(deleted) and an attributive adjective is left behind. In the sentence, "I read two books to them; he preferred the sad book, but she preferred the happy", happy is a nominal adjective, short for "happy one" or "happy book". Another way this can happen is in phrases like "out with the old, in with the new", where "the old" means, "that which is old" or "all that is old", and similarly with "the new". In such cases, the adjective functions either as a mass noun (as in the preceding example) or as a plural count

noun, as in "The meek shall inherit the Earth", where "the meek" means "those who are meek" or "all who are meek".
How to identify an Adjective? : Adjectives usually answer three questions about the nouns they describe: 1) What kind of? a) I found a red rose in the cave. - What kind of rose was it? Red 2) How many? a)Can I have three tickets, please. - How many tickets do you want? Three 3) Which one(s)? a) I would love to eat those burgers. -Which Burgers? Those Sometimes an adjective that describes the subject can come after the verb: -The evening was cool. -The book is red. -Erick was creative. -We were angry. Here is a paragraph example of where the adjectives (in red) are: He

Homework: Write five sentences in which you underline the adjectives.

stood Definition: Prepositions Prepositions are difficult to define. They show how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in a sentence. They give the relationship of the noun or pronoun in place, direction or time. A prepositon will always appear with a noun or pronoun that acts as its object.

frowning as the ring of blue-white fire flickered and danced; he even looked cold, with a dark, pinched look round the bones of his face. They bring in the deep cold, he said, half to himself. The cold of the void, of black space...

Examples: Place: -Alice was at her desk. -She was behind her friend. (At and behind place Alice in relation to her desk and her friend). Direction: -Martha came from the pizza parlor. -I was going to the movies. (From and to give you the directions that Martha and I are going in relation to something else (here, the pizza parlor and the movies). Time: -Id rather go skiing in February. -Melanie will be home at 3:00 P.M. (In and at both connect the nouns to time-February and 3:00 P.M.)

Here are some examples of prepositions: Place: around, through, over, above, in, after, at, behind, under, on, by Direction: from, to, away, after, into Time: Before, by, at after, on, in Some prepositions- such as about and of- show relationships that may not have anything to do with place, direction, or time. Preposition or adverb? Some words that are often prepositions can be used as adverbs. Its easy to tell the difference. A preposition will always have an object (the noun or pronoun that answers the question whom or what): an adverb cant have an object. For example: 1) I threw the book down. (Down is an adverb here.) 2) The wolf came down the chimney. (Down is a preposition here.)

3) 4)

I hoped to see him, but he was out. (Out is an adverb here.) The bat flew out the door of the cabin. (Out is a preposition here.)

Homework: Underline all the prepositions you find in the passage below. (Answers are below- dont look at them until you do them first): Johny limped slowly toward his furnace. Where was it? He reached around his workbench and patted the stone floor under it. There was his anvil, and beside it was his burlap sack of metals. He put his left hand in the bag and felt for a round object. He produced a perfect circle of bronze. During the next half hour he polished and polished with his godly rag. Then he looked into it and saw his own fire-reddened face. Amazing! he thought. Im not crazy about Tiffany, but this is a wonderful gift for her. Among his other scraps of metal were fragment of silver and gold. From these he fashioned four small eagles and soldered them onto the edges of the bronze. This was indeed a gift worthy of a goddess. Im still glad Im married to Stacy, he thought, but Tiffany and I make a great professional team!

Answers:

Definition: Conjuctions: A conjuction is a joining word. ( Think of how a junction is where roads join together. Johnny limped slowly toward his furnace. Where was it? He reached around his workbench and patted the stone floor under it. There was his anvil, and beside it was his burlap sack of metals. He put his left hand in the bag and felt for a round object. He produced a perfect circle of bronze. During the next half hour he polished and polished with his godly rag. Then he looked into it and saw his own fire-reddened face. Amazing! he thought. Im not crazy about Tiffany, but this is a wonderful gift for her. Among his other scraps of metal were fragment of silver and gold. From these he fashioned four small eagles and soldered them onto the edges of the bronze. This was indeed a gift worthy of a goddess. Im still glad Im married to Stacy, he thought, but Tiffany and I make a great professional team! Example: - Juanita went to school. She took a test. (no conjunctions here- but you can make those two sentences into one with a conjunction): - Juanita went to school and she took a test. or

- Juanita went to school and took a test. Conjunctions are pretty easy to spot. They join two or more things together in a sentence. Some conjunctions work alone: -Take the dog and the cat to the store with you. -I wanted to bring our goldfish, but my mother said no. -Ill be happy with goldfish or snails. -Although I like snails, I prefer goldfish. (Note: with the last example that conjunctions dont always come between the things they join. Although joins a dependent clause I like snails to the main clause I prefer goldfish. ) Some conjunctions also work in pairs.(Look at italic words below) -Neither James nor John would have eaten that goldfish! -Either goldfish or snails are delicious when cooked with garlic. -Not only garlic, but also onions, are necessary when you are preparing such delicacies! Homework: Underline all the conjunctions. (It might be difficult two find two conjunctions between sentences).- please do this homework first before looking at the solutions below. The lame but skilled blacksmith took his beautiful and useful creation and wrapped it in a cloth of purple velvet so tit wouldnt get broken or cracked. He wanted to show it off, but he knew Zeus was taking a nap. For that matter, neither Aphrodite nor Hermes was around, for they both had made quick trips to earth. (Aphrodite was having her picture painted while she stood-nude!-on a large half-shell, and Hermes was giving endorsements to a scarf company in wester gaul and to his favorite sports team, the Trojan Horses.) Was what happened next chance or fate? Hephaestus spotted not only Artemis, the goddess of hunting with her bow and arrow, but also her twin, Apollo that versatile chap who was god of both music and healing. Hephaestus shouted, Look at my new invention! for he was very proud of it. Artemis sett down her weapons and shushed the hound that accompanied her. I love it! she cried. Can I have it? I can use it to look behind me when I hunt. Then no crafty boar or sly bear will be able to sneak up on me. Actually, Sister, said Apollo, Hephaestus should give it- or even sell it- to me. My chariot could use a rear-view looking glass. No way, said Hephaestus with certainty. This is headed for Hera, the goddess-whomust-be-obeyed, and for no one else!

Solutions:

(DO THE HOMEWORK BEFORE LOOKING AT THE SOLUTIONS The lame but skilled blacksmith took his beautiful and useful creation and wrapped it in a cloth of purple velvet so tit wouldnt get broken or cracked. He wanted to show it off, but he knew Zeus was taking a nap. For that matter, neither Aphrodite nor Hermes was around, for they both had made quick trips to earth. (Aphrodite was having her picture painted while she stood-nude!-on a large half-shell, and Hermes was giving endorsements to a scarf company in wester gaul and to his favorite sports team, the Trojan Horses.) Was what happened next chance or fate? Hephaestus spotted not only Artemis, the goddess of hunting with her bow and arrow, but also her twin, Apollo that versatile chap who was god of both music and healing. Hephaestus shouted, Look at my new invention! for he was very proud of it. Artemis sett down her weapons and shushed the hound that accompanied her. I love Definition: Interjections Hey! Yo! Cool! An interjection is a word that often stands alone. You add it for emphasis.

it! she cried. Can I have it? I can use it to look behind me when I hunt. Then no crafty boar or sly bear will be able to sneak up on me. Actually, Sister, said Apollo, Hephaestus should give it- or even sell it- to me. My chariot could use a rear-view looking glass. No way, said Hephaestus with certainty. This is headed for Hera, the goddess-whomust-be-obeyed, and for no one else! Examples: -Wow! What a great new haircut. -Yecch! You look dumb. -Ha! what do you know about that?

(Note: All interjections are followed by exclamation points. Sometimes, words that act like introductions are considered interjections-look below:) -Really, you should cut your hair. -Yes, you are right. Homework: Underline all the interjections -Look at the solutions after you are done Wow! What a sight the Great Hall of Olympus was! Streamers of gold and silver( thats real gold and silver) festooned the room. All of the gods of Mt. Olympus had gathered for Heras birthday party, and, man, were they having a good time! When they had finished playing Pin the Tail on the Centaur (alas, the blindfolded Cupid had almost pinned the tail on Hera herself) and had eaten their nectar-and-ambrosia birthday cake, Zeus was ready to hand over his birthday surprise- the first looking glass ever known to men (or gods). Hermes, who was responsible for getting the present to the party, was panicking. Yikes! Where did I put that package? Oh no! Did Apollo forget to return it after he examined it? Eek! He glanced frantically around the Great Hall, furrowing his brow. Aha! There it was on the mantel, over the great fireplace. Yes! he cried, pumping his fist in the air and handling the velvet-covered box to Zeus. By Hercules, muttered Zeus. I was afraid youd forgotten it. Then he kissed Hera on the cheek and said, Well, well, I guess its time for a little gift. Hera pulled back the soft wrapping and saw the shinning brass circle with its eagle ornamentation. Oh my, She said, this is beautiful! And when she held it up to her face and realized it held her reflection, she shouted, Yippee! Now I can admire my beauty whenever I like. Youve made me very happy, Zeus. Her husband thought, Zounds! Ive managed to please her. Hip, hip, hooray for the creative team of Athena and Hephaestus! Solution Below:- do the homework first before looking at the answers Wow! What a sight the Great Hall of Olympus was! Streamers of gold and silver( thats real gold and silver) festooned the room. All of the gods of Mt. Olympus had gathered for Heras birthday party, and, man, were they having a good time! When they had finished playing Pin the Tail on the Centaur (alas, the blindfolded Cupid had almost pinned the tail on Hera herself) and had eaten their nectar-and-ambrosia birthday cake, Zeus was ready to hand over his birthday surprise- the first looking glass ever known to men (or gods).

Hermes, who was responsible for getting the present to the party, was panicking. Yikes! Where did I put that package? Oh no! Did Apollo forget to return it after he examined it? Eek! He glanced frantically around the Great Hall, furrowing his brow. Aha! There it was on the mantel, over the great fireplace. Yes! he cried, pumping his fist in the air and handling the velvet-covered box to Zeus. By Hercules, muttered Zeus. I was afraid youd forgotten it. Then he kissed Hera on the cheek and said, Well, well, I guess its time for a little gift. Hera pulled back the soft wrapping and saw the shinning brass circle with its eagle ornamentation. Oh my, She said, this is beautiful! And when she held it up to her face and realized it held her reflection, she shouted, Yippee! Now I can admire my beauty whenever I like. Youve made me very happy, Zeus. Her husband thought, Zounds! Ive managed to please her. Hip, hip, hooray for the creative team of Athena and Hephaestus! Homework: Fill in the answers: (Email me the answers): Hw#1 Washington, D.C.- The National Health Department a (noun) __________ warning young (plural noun) _____________ about the dangers of (verb ending in -ing) ___________ candy. Many people dont realize that candy contains (noun) ___________, warned a senior official at the department. If you eat (adjective) ______________ candy three or more times a day (noun) ___________, you will jeopardize your chances of growing up (adjective) ______________. (Interjection) _________________! proclaimed a group of (nouns) ____________. We love to (verb) _______________candy. We (Verb) ________________it almost once a day! To minimize the danger, officials advise that you (verb) ______________your candy (adverb) ___________________ and (verb) ___________________ immediately (preposition) ____________________ your house. Hw#2 If you want to make it through a (noun) _________________at school, you should always remember to (verb) _______________ your teachers. If you (verb) _____________ your (adjective) _________________ teachers, you can expect to (verb) _____________every single time. How do you (Verb) __________ time and time again? (Interjection) ______________! Call your teacher a (noun) ________________ and (singular pronoun) ___________ will really (Verb) _______________ your effort. Another surefire way to (Verb)

____________ your teacher is to (adverb) _____________ (verb) ___________ that teacher in front of the whole (group noun) _____________. Hw #3 Lets talk about how sentences are put together. The parts of speech (verb, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, etc...) all play different roles in different sentences. There are two main parts to a sentence. They are : -The SUBJECT -The PREDICATE Are you interested in (verb ending in -ing) ____________ to the moon? Well, you will need a/an (adjective) ______________ (noun) _______________ and your favorite (noun) ______________. Take these things and (verb) them together in your best (noun). (Interjection) ______________! you may say, Is that all I need to (verb) _____________ to the moon? (Interjection) _______________ is what i SAY TO YOU. all it takes is a couple of (nouns) ______________ and a few very (adjective) _____________ (nouns) Definition: Subject The subject of a sentence is simply what the sentence is about. The easiest way to find the subject of a sentence is to find the verb (action word), and then ask yourself who or what is doing this action. _____________ and soon youll be (adverb) ______________ on your way!!!! Bon Voyage! Why should you care about the subject and predicate? The answer is because you must have both to complete a sentence, look at these examples: NOT A SENTENCE: John and Mary. NOT A SENTENCE: Went to the store. A SENTENCE: John and Mary went to the store. Example: 1) Bob ran in the race (What is the verb? Ran. Who ran? Bob. Bob is the subject of the sentence). Note: Not all subjects come first in a sentence: 2) After running in the race, Brenda was exhausted.

(Whats the verb? Was exhausted. Who was exhausted? Brenda. Brenda is the subject of the sentence. Note: Some sentences have more than one set of subjects and verbs: 3) While Mike was painting, Grace was writing her paper. (There are two actions in this sentence- PAINTING AND WRITING. Who is painting? Mike.Mike is the subject of the first half of the sentence. Who was writing? Grace. Grace is the subject of the second half. There is always a subject in a sentence. Sometimes, however, you dont hear or see the subject. These subjects are implied. What does it mean to imply something you might ask yourself? Well, it means that you dont say it straight out, but its what you mean. Saying I guess you didnt study for this exam is a teachers way of implying that you didnt do that well on the test. Lets look at implied subject sentences: 1) Get out of here! (This sentence is a complete thought. And how do you figure out the subject you mist ask yourself? Well, just as before, ask yourself these questions. What is the verb? Get out. Who is supposed to get out? the answer is YOU. The subject here is you. In other words the speaker is implying this: -YOU get out of here! Sometimes, then, when a speaker is directing a comment right at someone, he wont say you, but you is implied. Its understood. Here are more examples of implied subject. Youll notice all these understood subjects come in imperative sentences, sentences that make a command or a request. Examples: -Please turn off the television. -Dont eat that ice cream. -Wait until 4:50 P.M. Sometimes, there are words between the subject and the verb; dont let these throw you off. For example: -Mary, the best student in class, was awarded the blue ribbon (Who was awarded? Mary- so Mary is the subject. The phrase the best student in class describes Mary. Now look at the following sentence: -One of the boys was going to give the speech. This is a little confusing but, Who is giving the speech? Not boys, but one of the boys. One -a pronoun- is the subject. When you are looking for the subject, try to ignore the words that are describing it. Its also good to remember that the subject is never part of a prepositional phrase, and you probably recognized of the boys as a prepositional phrase. Look for the verb and ask yourself who or what is performing the action.

Homework: Please dont look at the solution before doing these questions: Underline the subject in each of the following sentences. 1) The Romans gave the name Jupiter to Zeus. 2) Hera was called Juno by them. 3) You can probably guess the Roman name of Aphrodite, goddess of love Definition:Simple Subjects and Complete Subjects: Sometimes subjects consist of more than one word. Not all of the words are equally important. Heres where we make a distinction between the simple subject and the complete subject. The simple subject is the most important word in a subject. It will be a noun or a pronoun. The complete subject includes the simple subject and all of that words and phrases that modify it.

4) Her Roman name was Venus. Were you right? 5) Most speakers of English think of her of Venus. solutions: 1) The Romans gave the name Jupiter to Zeus. 2) Hera was called Juno by them. 3) You can probably guess the Roman name of Aphrodite, goddess of love 4) Her Roman name was Venus. Were you right? 5) Most speakers of English think of her of Venus. Sometimes the subject is modified by adjectives. Example: -The hyper young cat ran around the house. Who ran around the house?The cat. The words hyper and young are modifying the word cat. The simple subject is cat. The complete subject is The hyper young cat. Homework: Underline each verb and circle the complete subject that goes with it. (solution belowdo the homework first and then look at the answers. Ares, the god of war, needed some soldiers. He wanted more than a few good men-this powerful god wanted several good men. This god with the bronze helmet knew about the future. There would be a talented mortal with the name of Homer. someday, this Homer would write a great poem about Greek soldiers. This poet with the sublime style

would tell of the Greeks defeat of the Trojans in the Trojan War. The Greek god of war wanted the Greeks to look very brave and very clever in Homers poem. The current Greek army and its descendants in future years must be very unusual fighters. What will this long poem of the future say about the Greeks? This poem of 24 books will show their bravery and will also show their cleverness. The Trojans and their ruler, ing Priam, are also very brave. But these Trojans with their long spears lack the outrageous cleverness of the Greeks. This poem, The Iliad, must depict the Greeks at their best. And so a craft man named Odysseus is very interesting to the god of war on his quest. solutions: Ares, the god of war, needed some soldiers. He wanted more than a few good men-this powerful god wanted several good men. This god with the bronze helmet knew about the future. There would be a talented mortal with the name of Homer. someday, this Homer

The Predicate: What is the Predicate? Sometimes the verb (whether one word or a verb phrase as: was running) is called a simple predicate . The complete predicate includes the verb as well as the words related to it that complete the thought in thesentence. Its the part of the sentence that thells more about the subjcet. It describes what the subject does or has. It can also tell what the subject is like. And it includes any adverbs or prepositional phrases that describe the verb.

would write a great poem about Greek soldiers. This poet with the sublime style would tell of the Greeks defeat of the Trojans in the Trojan War. The Greek god of war wanted the Greeks to look very brave and very clever in Homers poem. The current Greek army and its descendants in future years must be very unusual fighters. What will this long poem of the future say about the Greeks? This poem of 24 books will show their bravery and will also show their cleverness. The Trojans and their ruler, King Priam, are also very brave. But these Trojans with their long spears lack the outrageous cleverness of the Greeks. This poem, The Iliad, must depict the Greeks at their best. And so a craft man named Odysseus is very interesting to the god of war on his quest.

So the complete predicate includes all the words in the predicate of a sentence. The simple predicate is the main word in the predicate. Its always a verb or a phrase.

The easiest way to find the predicate is to do you subject search. (Wheres the verb? Who or what is the verb talking about?) The verb and (usually) the rest of the sentence is the predicate. Examples: Subject Jake He Predicate was a man. was nice to everybody.

Dont think, because of these simple examples, that the subject always comes first and that the predicate always comes second. Thats probably the easiest way to write sentences, but it would be boring if all sentences were made this way. Sentences should be varied in good writing. That means that some sentences will be long and intricate, while others will be short and simple. Varying sentences in this way makes a piece of writing far more interesting to read. Lets look at a more complicated sentence and find the subject and the predicate. -Throughout the history of the school, thousands of kids have walked these halls. The verb of this sentence is have walked. Who or what have walked? Thousands of kids. So thousands of kids is the complete subject of the sentence. And what is the predicate? Throughout the history of the school...have walked these halls. Example #2 -There are a million reasons to eat candy. First, remember that there is never the subject of a sentence; if you see there at the beginning, the subject will probably follow the verb. So what is the verb? Are. There are a million reason. A million reasons is the subject. Therefore, There are...to eat candy is the predicate. Homework: Underline the complete subject and put parentheses around the complete predicate in each of the following sentences: (Solutions below: please dont look at answers until you do the homework first ): Ares wanted this Greek named Odysseus for the army. Should a powerful god of war have to do the work for himself? In the early morning Ares appeared in a dream to the Greek general Menelaus. You should go to the island of Ithaca. Why should I go there? I like Sparta. Menelaus has a lot on his mind.

 You must find Odysseus and sign him up for the war. I command it. The Greek general knew he had no choice. He did hope to get some personal benefits out of this trip. I need new horses and a chariot for the trip. My old chariot is getting very rusty. Can I have a matched pair of black horses? Menelaus knew how to bargain, even with a god. Two black horses and a new chariot are on the way to you. I dont want any more excuses. This trip to Ithaca will be a long one. Start on your way. Your slightest wish is my command. I will find Odysseus. Solution: Ares (wanted this Greek named Odysseus for the army). (Should) a powerful god of war (have to do the work for himself)? (In the early morning) Ares (appeared in a dream to the Greek general Menelaus.) You (should go to the island of Ithaca). (Why should) I (go there)? I (like Sparta). Menelaus (has a lot on his mind). You (must find Odysseus and sign him up for the war). I (command it.) The Greek general (knew he had no choice). He (did hope to get some personal benefits out of this trip). I( need new horses and a chariot for the trip). My old chariot (is getting very rusty). (Can) I (have a matched pair of black horses?) Menelaus (knew how to bargain, even with a god). Two black horses and a new chariot (are on the way to you). I (dont want any more excuses). This trip to Ithaca (will be a long one). (Start on your way). Your slightest wish (is my command). I (will find Odysseus.)