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The Absolute Phrase

Recognize an absolute phrase when you see one.


An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or
objects. The pattern looks like this:

Noun + Participle + Optional Modifier(s) and/or Object(s)

Here are some examples:

Legs quivering

Legs = noun; quivering = participle.

Her arms folded across her chest

Arms = noun; folded = participle; her, across her chest = modifiers.

Our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the plates

Fingers = noun; scraping = participle; frosting = direct object; our, the, leftover, off the plates =
modifiers.

Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase will describe the whole clause:

Legs quivering, our old dog Gizmo dreamed of chasing squirrels.

Her arms folded across her chest, Professor Hill warned the class about the penalties of
plagiarism.

We devoured Aunt Lenora's carrot cake, our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the plates.

The Action Verb


Recognize an action verb when you see one.
Explode! Scream! Sneeze! Type! Kick! What are these words doing? They are expressing action,
something that a person, animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a result, we call these words
action verbs.

Look at the examples below:


In the library and at church, Michele giggles inappropriately.

Giggling is something that Michele can do.

Because of the spicy Jamaican pepper, David reached for his glass of iced tea.

Reaching is something that David can do—happily, if his mouth is on fire.

Carlos watched pretty women in skimpy bikinis parading on the beach.

Watching is something that Carlos can do.

The squirrel stuffed its cheeks with acorns.

Stuffing is something that a squirrel can do.

The hurricane stirred the ocean into a frenzy.

Stirring is something that a hurricane can do.

The alarm clock buzzed like an angry bumblebee.

Buzzing is something that the alarm clock can do.

The coffee maker gurgled on the kitchen counter.

Gurgling is something that the coffee maker can do.

If you are unsure whether a sentence contains an action verb or not, look at every word in the
sentence and ask yourself, "Can a person or thing do this?"

Read the sentence below:

During biology class, Omesh napped at his desk.

Can you during? Is during something you can do? Can you biology? Is there someone biologying
outside the building right now? Can you class? Do your obnoxious neighbors keep you up until 2
a.m. because they are classing? Can you Omesh? What does a person do when he's Omeshing?
Can you nap? Bingo! Sure you can! You'd probably prefer napping to listening to a biology
lecture yourself. Can you at? Of course not! Can you his? Show me hising. Can you desk?
Demonstrate desking for me!

In the sentence above, there is only one action verb: napped.

The Abstract Noun


Recognize an abstract noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. One class of nouns is abstract. Your five senses cannot
detect this group of nouns. You cannot see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, or feel them.

Check out the following example:

When Joseph dived into the violent waves to rescue a drowning puppy, his bravery amazed the
crowd of fishermen standing on the dock.

Bravery, one of the nouns in this sentence, is an example of an abstract noun. You can see
Joseph, the water, and the crowd. But you cannot see bravery itself. Bravery has no color, size,
shape, sound, odor, flavor, or texture; it has no quality that you can see, hear, smell, taste, or
touch. Any noun that escapes your five senses is an abstract noun.

Don't confuse an abstract noun with a concrete noun.


Many nouns are concrete, not abstract. Concrete nouns register on your five senses. Here is an
example:

Joseph cuddled the wet puppy under his warm jacket.

Puppy is an example of a concrete noun. You can see a puppy, stroke its fur, smell its breath, and
listen to it whine. You can even taste the puppy if you don't mind pulling dog hair off your
tongue! Because a puppy will register on all five senses, puppy is a concrete noun.

Look over this chart contrasting abstract and concrete nouns:

Abstract Nouns Concrete Nouns

annoyance pothole
deceit plagiarist
dedication teacher
destruction bomb
curiosity cat
happiness ice cream
intelligence diploma
loyalty dog
trust airplane
relaxation bubble bath

The Adjective
Recognize an adjective when you see one.
Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many
are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause.

Check out these examples:

What kind is it?

Dan decided that the fuzzy green bread would make an unappetizing sandwich.

What kind of bread? Fuzzy and green! What kind of sandwich? Unappetizing!

A friend with a fat wallet will never want for weekend shopping partners.

What kind of friend? One with money to spend!

A towel that is still warm from the dryer is more comforting than a hot fudge sundae.

What kind of towel? One right out of the dryer.

How many are there?

Seven hungry space aliens slithered into the diner and ordered vanilla milkshakes.

How many hungry space aliens? Seven!

The students, five freshmen and six sophomores, braved Dr. Ribley's killer calculus exam.

How many students? Eleven!

The disorganized pile of books, which contained seventeen overdue volumes from the library
and five unread class texts, blocked the doorway in Eli's dorm room.

How many books? Twenty-two!

Which one is it?

The most unhealthy item from the cafeteria is the steak sub, which will slime your hands with
grease.

Which item from the cafeteria? Certainly not the one that will lower your cholesterol!

The cockroach eyeing your cookie has started to crawl this way.
Which cockroach? Not the one crawling up your leg but the one who wants your cookie!

The students who neglected to prepare for Mrs. Mauzy's English class hide in the cafeteria rather
than risk their instructor's wrath.

Which students? Not the good students but the lazy slackers.

Know how to punctuate a series of adjectives.


To describe a noun fully, you might need to use two or more adjectives. Sometimes a series of
adjectives requires commas, but sometimes it doesn't. What makes the difference?

If the adjectives are coordinate, you must use commas between them. If, on the other hand, the
adjectives are noncoordinate, no commas are necessary. How do you tell the difference?

Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives can pass one of two tests. When you reorder the series or when you insert
and between them, they still make sense.

Look at the following example:

The tall, creamy, delicious milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter flirted
with the pretty cashier.

Now read this revision:

The delicious, tall, creamy milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter flirted
with the pretty cashier.

The series of adjectives still makes sense even though the order has changed.

And if you insert and between the adjectives, you still have a logical sentence:

The tall and creamy and delicious milkshake melted on the counter while the inattentive waiter
flirted with the pretty cashier.

Noncoordinate Adjectives

Noncoordinate adjectives do not make sense when you reorder the series or when you insert and
between them.

Check out this example:

Jeanne's two fat Siamese cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.
If you switch the order of the adjectives, the sentence becomes gibberish:

Fat Siamese two Jeanne's cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.

Logic will also evaporate if you insert and between the adjectives.

Jeanne's and two and fat and Siamese cats hog the electric blanket on cold winter evenings.

Form comparative and superlative adjectives correctly.


To make comparisons, you will often need comparative or superlative adjectives. You use
comparative adjectives if you are discussing two people, places, or things. You use superlative
adjectives if you have three or more people, places, or things.

Look at these two examples:

Stevie, a suck up who sits in the front row, has a thicker notebook than Nina, who never comes
to class.

The thinnest notebook belongs to Mike, a computer geek who scans all notes and handouts and
saves them on the hard drive of his laptop.

Comparative Adjectives

You can form comparative adjectives two ways. You can add er to the end of the adjective, or
you can use more or less before it. Do not, however, do both! You violate the rules of grammar if
you claim that you are more taller, more smarter, or less faster than your older brother Fred.

One-syllable adjectives generally take er at the end, as in these examples:

Because Fuzz is a smaller cat than Buster, she loses the fights for tuna fish.

For dinner, we ordered a bigger pizza than usual so that we would have cold leftovers for
breakfast.

Two-syllable adjectives vary. Check out these examples:

Kelly is lazier than an old dog; he is perfectly happy spending an entire Saturday on the couch,
watching old movies and napping.

The new suit makes Marvin more handsome than a movie star.

Use more or less before adjectives with three or more syllables:

Movies on our new flat-screen television are, thankfully, less colorful; we no longer have to
tolerate the electric greens and nuclear pinks of the old unit.
Heather is more compassionate than anyone I know; she watches where she steps to avoid
squashing a poor bug by accident.

Superlative Adjectives

You can form superlative adjectives two ways as well. You can add est to the end of the
adjective, or you can use most or least before it. Do not, however, do both! You violate another
grammatical rule if you claim that you are the most brightest, most happiest, or least angriest
member of your family.

One-syllable adjectives generally take est at the end, as in these examples:

These are the tartest lemon-roasted squid tentacles that I have ever eaten!

Nigel, the tallest member of the class, has to sit in the front row because he has bad eyes; the rest
of us crane around him for a glimpse of the board.

Two-syllable adjectives vary. Check out these examples:

Because Hector refuses to read directions, he made the crispiest mashed potatoes ever in the
history of instant food.

Because Isaac has a crush on Ms. Orsini, his English teacher, he believes that she is the most
gorgeous creature to walk the planet.

Use most or least before adjectives with three or more syllables:

The most frustrating experience of Desiree's day was arriving home to discover that the onion
rings were missing from her drive-thru order.

The least believable detail of the story was that the space aliens had offered Eli a slice of
pepperoni pizza before his release.

The Adjective Clause


Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.
An adjective clause—also called an adjectival or relative clause—will meet three requirements:

 First, it will contain a subject and verb.


 Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or a relative
adverb [when, where, or why].
 Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What kind? How many? or
Which one?
The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:

Relative Pronoun or Adverb + Subject + Verb

Relative Pronoun as Subject + Verb

Here are some examples:

Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie

Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.

Why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie

Why = relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb [not, an adverb, is not officially part of
the verb].

That bounced across the kitchen floor

That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.

Who hiccupped for seven hours afterward

Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.

Avoid writing a sentence fragment.


An adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each adjective clause to a main clause.

Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clause follows the word that it describes.

Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another
cookie.

Chewing with her mouth open is one reason why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister
Melanie.

Snarling and skidding on the smooth tile, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two dogs, competed for
the hardboiled egg that bounced across the kitchen floor.

Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for seven hours afterward.
Punctuate an adjective clause correctly.
Punctuating adjective clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will have to decide if the
adjective clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly.

Essential clauses do not require commas. An adjective clause is essential when you need the
information it provides.

Look at this example:

The vegetables that people leave uneaten are often the most nutritious.

Vegetables is nonspecific. To know which ones we are talking about, we must have the
information in the adjective clause. Thus, the adjective clause is essential and requires no
commas.

If, however, we eliminate vegetables and choose a more specific noun instead, the adjective
clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of the
sentence.

Read this revision:

Broccoli, which people often leave uneaten, is very nutritious.

The Adverb
Recognize an adverb when you see one.
Adverbs tweak the meaning of verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and clauses. Read, for example,
this sentence:

Our basset hound Bailey sleeps on the living room floor.

Is Bailey a sound sleeper, curled into a tight ball? Or is he a fitful sleeper, his paws twitching
while he dreams? The addition of an adverb adjusts the meaning of the verb sleeps so that the
reader has a clearer picture:

Our basset hound Bailey sleeps peacefully on the living room floor.

Adverbs can be single words, or they can be phrases or clauses. Adverbs answer one of these
four questions: How? When? Where? and Why?

Here are some single-word examples:


Lenora rudely grabbed the last chocolate cookie.

The adverb rudely fine-tunes the verb grabbed.

Tyler stumbled in the completely dark kitchen.

The adverb completely fine-tunes the adjective dark.

Roxanne very happily accepted the ten-point late penalty to work on her research essay one more
day.

The adverb very fine-tunes the adverb happily.

Surprisingly, the restroom stalls had toilet paper.

The adverb surprisingly modifies the entire main clause that follows.

Many single-word adverbs end in ly. In the examples above, you saw peacefully, rudely,
completely, happily, and surprisingly.

Not all ly words are adverbs, however. Lively, lonely, and lovely are adjectives instead,
answering the questions What kind? or Which one?

Many single-word adverbs have no specific ending, such as next, not, often, seldom, and then. If
you are uncertain whether a word is an adverb or not, use a dictionary to determine its part of
speech.

Adverbs can also be multi-word phrases and clauses. Here are some examples:

At 2 a.m., a bat flew through Deidre's open bedroom window.

The prepositional phrase at 2 a.m. indicates when the event happened. The second prepositional
phrase, through Deidre's open bedroom window, describes where the creature traveled.

With a fork, George thrashed the raw eggs until they foamed.

The subordinate clause until they foamed describes how George prepared the eggs.

Sylvia emptied the carton of milk into the sink because the expiration date had long passed.

The subordinate clause because the expiration date had long passed describes why Sylvia poured
out the milk.

Avoid an adverb when a single, stronger word will do.


Many readers believe that adverbs make sentences bloated and flabby. When you can replace a
two-word combination with a more powerful, single word, do so!

For example, don't write drink quickly when you mean gulp, or walk slowly when you mean
saunter, or very hungry when you mean ravenous.

Form comparative and superlative adverbs correctly.


To make comparisons, you will often need comparative or superlative adverbs. You use
comparative adverbs—more and less—if you are discussing two people, places, or things. You
use superlative adverbs—most and least—if you have three or more people, places, or things.

Look at these two examples:

Beth loves green vegetables, so she eats broccoli more frequently than her brother Daniel.

Among the members of her family, Beth eats pepperoni pizza the least often.

Don't use an adjective when you need an adverb instead.


You will often hear people say, "Anthony is real smart" or "This pizza sauce is real salty."

Real is an adjective, so it cannot modify another adjective like smart or salty. What people
should say is "Anthony is really smart" or "This pizza sauce is really salty."

If you train yourself to add the extra ly syllable when you speak, you will likely remember it
when you write, where its absence will otherwise cost you points or respect!

Realize that an adverb is not part of the verb.


Some verbs require up to four words to complete the tense. A multi-part verb has a base or main
part as well as auxiliary or helping verbs with it.

When a short adverb such as also, never, or not interrupts, it is still an adverb, not part of the
verb. Read these examples:

For his birthday, Frank would also like a jar of dill pickles.

Would like = verb; also = adverb.

After that dreadful casserole you made last night, Julie will never eat tuna or broccoli again.

Will eat = verb; never = adverb.

Despite the approaching deadline, Sheryl-Ann has not started her research essay.
Has started = verb; not = adverb.

The Adverb Clause


Recognize an adverb clause when you see one.
An adverb clause will meet three requirements:

 First, it will contain a subject and verb.


 You will also find a subordinate conjunction that keeps the clause from expressing a complete
thought.
 Finally, you will notice that the clause answers one of these four adverb questions: How? When?
Where? or Why?

Read these examples:

Tommy scrubbed the bathroom tile until his arms ached.

How did Tommy scrub? Until his arms ached, an adverb clause.

Josephine's three cats bolted from the driveway once they saw her car turn the corner.

When did the cats bolt? Once they saw her car turn the corner, an adverb clause.

The missing eyeglasses are in the refrigerator, where Damien absentmindedly set them down
while eating his roommate's leftover fried rice.

Where are the missing eyeglasses? Where Damien absentmindedly set them down, an adverb
clause.

After her appointment at the orthodontist, Danielle cooked eggs for dinner because she could
easily chew an omelet.

Why did Danielle cook eggs? Because she could easily chew an omelet, an adverb clause

The Antecedent
Recognize an antecedent when you see one.
The English language includes pronouns, such as she, it, or they. Pronouns are generic words
that have little meaning on their own. If you hear a friend say, "She is beautiful," you know your
friend is referring to a singular, feminine being or object, but with just the pronoun she, you don't
know if the discussion concerns a woman, a cheetah, or an automobile. You cannot picture the
she until you know the antecedent, the word that this pronoun refers to or replaces.

Antecedents with Personal Pronouns

Often, an antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause that you replace with one of these third-
person personal pronouns:

Third-Person Personal Pronouns

he, him, his, himself


she, her, hers, herself
it, its, itself
they, them, their, theirs, themselves

Here are some examples:

Adeline bit her lip.

Adeline = antecedent; her = personal pronoun.

Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they despise tofu hotdogs and black
bean burgers.

Friends = antecedent; they = personal pronoun.

When Kris sprained his ankle, Coach Ames replaced him with Jasper, a much slower runner.

Kris = antecedent; him = personal pronoun.

Eating with your mouth closed has several benefits. Most importantly, it keeps people from
turning away in disgust.

Eating with your mouth closed = phrase as antecedent; it = personal pronoun.

Karline hopes that her roommates remember to walk the new puppy. It will mean less urine to
mop up when she gets home.

That her roommates remember to walk the new puppy = clause as antecedent; it = personal
pronoun.

Antecedents with Demonstrative Pronouns

Other times, the antecedent might be the word, phrase, or clause that a demonstrative pronoun
replaces.
Demonstrative Pronouns

this, that, these, those

Check out the examples below:

Jackson rides his skateboard to work. Now this is an eco-friendly mode of transportation!

Skateboard = antecedent; this = demonstrative pronoun.

You need to work on throwing large, unwieldy objects and catching heavy things. Those are the
skills you must acquire to be a successful chainsaw juggler.

Throwing large, unwieldy objects, catching heavy things = phrases as antecedents; those =
demonstrative pronoun.

Francine prays that the neighbors will keep their barking dog inside. That will allow her to get a
good night's sleep.

That the neighbors will keep their barking dog inside = clause as antecedent; that [the second
one] = demonstrative pronoun.

Antecedents with Relative Pronouns

And sometimes the antecedent is the point of reference for a relative pronoun.

Relative Pronouns

who, whom, whose, that, which

Read these examples:

Principal Meyers, whose nose hair curled outside his nostrils, delivered the morning
announcements.

Principal Meyers = antecedent; whose = relative pronoun.

The dish that contains the leftover squid eyeball stew cannot go in the microwave.

Dish = antecedent; that = relative pronoun.

Eating ice cream for dinner, which might not be nutritionally smart, is what Teresa wanted after
her long day of waitressing.
Eating ice cream for dinner = antecedent; which = relative pronoun.

Realize that some antecedents can make pronoun agreement


tricky.
Usually, maintaining agreement between antecedents and pronouns is easy. A singular
antecedent requires a singular pronoun, like this:

The cat yowled its happiness for tuna.

Cat = singular antecedent; its = singular pronoun.

And a plural antecedent requires a plural pronoun, like this:

The cats yowled their happiness for tuna.

Cats = plural antecedent; their = plural pronoun.

Sometimes, however, establishing agreement can be tricky. Consider the situations below.

Each and Every

When you join two or more singular nouns with and, you create a plural antecedent:

The beetle and baby snake were thankful they escaped the lawnmower blade.

Beetle + snake = plural antecedent; they = plural pronoun.

If, however, you include each or every in front, the antecedent becomes singular and will thus
require a singular pronoun:

Each beetle and baby snake was thankful it escaped the lawnmower blade.

Each beetle + baby snake = singular antecedent; it = singular pronoun.

No matter how many nouns you include, if you have each or every in front, the antecedent is
singular and needs a singular pronoun for agreement:

Each beetle, baby snake, worm, centipede, lizard, grasshopper, and toad was thankful it escaped
the lawnmower blade.

Each beetle + baby snake + worm + centipede + lizard + grasshopper + toad = singular
antecedent; it = singular pronoun.
Correlative Conjunctions

When you use correlative conjunctions like either ... or, neither ... nor, or not only ... but also,
only the second antecedent counts for agreement.

If, for example, the second antecedent is plural, then the pronoun that follows must be plural:

Not only Freddy the nose picker but also grateful shoppers replenished their supply of tissues
during the drugstore sale.

But if the second antecedent is singular, then you need a singular pronoun to maintain
agreement:

Not only grateful shoppers but also Freddy the nose picker replenished his supply of tissues
during the drugstore sale.

Singular Indefinite Pronouns

Singular indefinite pronouns are often antecedents. Logic might indicate that the indefinite
pronoun is plural—when we say everyone, for example, we mean more than one person—but
with this group, you must use a singular pronoun for agreement:

Singular Indefinite Pronouns

each, either, neither


anybody, anyone, anything
everybody, everyone, everything
nobody, no one, nothing
somebody, someone, something

Read these examples:

Neither of Darren's girlfriends knows that she has competition.

After the long hike in the cold mountains, everybody needs to replenish her fluids with a
steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

The lack of air conditioning made everyone's shirt stick to his skin.

Collective Nouns

Class, family, jury, and team are examples of collective nouns. This type of noun names groups
composed of two or more members. As we all know, sometimes a group acts in unison, as one
unit, with every member doing the same thing at the same time. Other times, the members of the
group have their own agendas and are pursuing individual goals.
When a collective noun is an antecedent, the behavior of its members determines whether you
need a singular or plural pronoun.

If all of the members are doing the same thing at the same time, then the collective noun is
singular and requires a singular pronoun for agreement:

The Larsen family does its shopping every Saturday.

In the quiet auditorium, the class took its chemistry final.

The team roared its displeasure when the opposition scored another touchdown.

If, however, the members of the collective noun are acting individually, you indicate that change
by using a plural pronoun:

In the produce section, the Larsen family began arguing about the vegetables they would prefer
for dinner.

After the long and difficult exam, the class returned home, some to pack for winter break, some
to study for their Thursday exams.

During the off season, the team spend their afternoons as they please, happy to escape the
demands of the coaches.

Schools, Businesses, and Organizations

Many people might attend a school, work for a business, or volunteer at an organization, but
when the name of that school, business, or organization is the antecedent, you must ignore—for
the purpose of agreement—all of the people involved and use a singular pronoun.

Study these examples:

When Weaver High School won the regional football championship on a technicality, we
sneaked onto campus the next evening and cut all four legs off its tiger mascot.

Save room for dessert, for Tito's Taco Palace offers its diners fried ice cream with habanero jelly.

PencilGang International met its fundraising goal last year, so free pencils will be distributed to
needy writers worldwide.

The Apostrophe
Recognize an apostrophe when you see one.
Although the apostrophe might look like a comma defying gravity, this mark of punctuation has
three distinct jobs: to show possession, make contractions, and form odd plurals.

Use the apostrophe to make words possessive.


You can show possession the long way or the short way. The long way requires a phrase using a
word like belong or own. A preposition such as of will also do the trick.

The donut belonging to Vince

The hot sports car owned by Sylvia

The home of the Watsons

Showing possession with an apostrophe [and often an added s] simplifies the phrasing:

Vince's donut

Sylvia's hot sports car

The Watsons' home

To use the apostrophe to show possession, follow these guidelines:

Nouns Without a Final S

When a noun does not end in s, use apostrophe + s.

The lollipop belonging to Elena = Elena's lolllipop

The dictionary owned by the grammar whiz = The grammar whiz's dictionary

The shoes of the children = The children's shoes

Nouns with a Final S

Nouns that do end in s require more thought. If the noun is plural, just attach an apostrophe.

The leashes for the dogs = The dogs' leashes

The grades of the students = The students' grades

The wages earned by the workers = The workers' wages


The location of the apostrophe clues an educated reader about numbers. Take the noun dog, for
example. If the apostrophe comes before the s, we know that one dog has multiple leashes:

The dog's leashes

But if the apostrophe comes after the s, we understand that many dogs have a variety of leashes:

The dogs' leashes

If the noun ending in s is singular, most sources recommend adding both the apostrophe and an
additional s.

The bad luck that plagues Odysseus = Odysseus's bad luck

The strong tentacles of the octopus = The octopus's strong tentacles

The directive given by the boss = The boss's directive

In these cases, the apostrophe + additional s adds another syllable to the pronunciation. If the
extra syllable sounds unnatural, add just the apostrophe.

So you can write ...

Odysseus's bad luck

because Odysseus-ES sounds okay, but you just need...

Achilles' hot temper

because Achilles-EEZ sounds weird.

Since "sounds natural" can be a matter of region or opinion, your best bet in these cases is to
consult the textbook or handbook assigned to your class, the teacher or professor who will be
evaluating your assignment, or your supervisor or the style manual your industry uses. Then
follow the advice that you get.

Use the apostrophe to make contractions.


The apostrophe indicates when a writer has combined two or more words into a single word.
Here are some examples:

Cannot = Can't

Does not = Doesn't

Let us = Let's
I am = I'm

It is = It's

We have = We've

They are = They're

He will = He'll

She has = She's

You had = You'd

They would have = They'd've

If you are writing for a very formal audience—a teacher, a boss, an editor, a snotty group of
intellectuals—you might want to err on the side of stuffy and spell out the words rather than
contract them:

We'd've We would have arrived on time if our car hadn't had not gotten a flat tire.

Use the apostrophe to make odd plurals.


Letters

Whenever you have plural lower-case letters, use the apostrophe + s to make the letters plural.

Grandma prefers to sign birthday cards with k's and h's instead of x's and o's.

Do you remember how many t's are in the word commitment?

If you have capital letters, however, most writers use just the s.

David has two BAs—one in art history and the other in classical studies—but no job.

Sharon has two DOBs, the official one on her birth certificate and the one four months later
when her great aunt Matilda remembers to send a check.

Some writers will use apostrophe + s to make capital letters plural to avoid confusion.

Look at all of those I's in your project summary. You did have two other teammates, right?

Kevin earned three A's this semester, missing a 4.0 because of one missed question on Dr.
Grayson's final exam.
These apostrophes help you not confuse I's with the verb Is or A's with the subordinate
conjunction As.

Numbers

To make numbers plural, most writers use only an s.

To escape the high 90s in town, we drove to the beach to enjoy the cool ocean breeze.

If you give me all 20s, my pocket will bulge with cash!

You will, however, see some writers use apostrophe + s.

To escape the high 90's in town, we drove to the beach to enjoy the cool ocean breeze.

If you give me all 20's, my pocket will bulge with cash!

What's best—90s or 90's, 20s or 20's? Whatever your textbook, teacher, boss, or industry style
guide recommends. Decide who is your intended audience, and then use what that person or
group expects.

Other Parts of Speech Used as Nouns

Sometimes you will need to use another part of speech as a noun. If the expression is common,
use just an s to make it plural.

The haves opened their lunch bags and began munching in front of us have-nots.

My favorite reality shows focus on befores and afters.

But if you use another part of speech as a noun in a less familiar way, you can form the plural
with apostrophe + s.

With her red pen, Dr. Pennington crossed through all of the well's I had used as transitions.

A chorus of ah-ha's filled the classroom as Prof. Warner finally solved the difficult equation on
the board.

Remember that just because a word ends in s doesn't mean


it must have an apostrophe.
Some people get so used to seeing apostrophes with s's that they think every word that ends in s
requires an apostrophe. Don't make this mistake!

For example, singular present tense verbs end in s but do not need any punctuation.
Sheila know's knows that Daniel does not have enough color sense to buy the house paint
unsupervised.

Most plural nouns end in s, but unless they are possessive, you don't include the apostrophe.

The monkey's monkeys wanted the students' juice boxes.

Common apostrophe abuse occurs with possessive pronouns. Yes, you usually indicate
possession with an apostrophe. Pronouns, however, are the exception.

Do not touch that cupcake. It is her's hers.

Can we borrow some pencils? We forgot our's ours.

These are Frank's camping supplies. Their's Theirs are still in the trunk

The Appositive
Recognize an appositive when you see one.
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it. The appositive
can be a short or long combination of words. Look at these appositive examples, all of which
rename insect:

The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.

The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.

The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling across the kitchen table.

The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied my bowl of oatmeal, is crawling across
the kitchen table.

Here are more examples:

During the dinner conversation, Clifford, the messiest eater at the table, spewed mashed potatoes
like an erupting volcano.

My 486 computer, a modern-day dinosaur, chews floppy disks as noisily as my brother does
peanut brittle.

Genette's bedroom desk, the biggest disaster area in the house, is a collection of overdue library
books, dirty plates, computer components, old mail, cat hair, and empty potato chip bags.
Reliable, Diane's eleven-year-old beagle, chews holes in the living room carpeting as if he were
still a puppy.

Punctuate the appositive correctly.


The important point to remember is that a nonessential appositive is always separated from the
rest of the sentence with comma(s).

When the appositive begins the sentence, it looks like this:

A hot-tempered tennis player, Robbie charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull
with a racket.

When the appositive interrupts the sentence, it looks like this:

Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player, charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull
with a racket.

And when the appositive ends the sentence, it looks like this:

Upset by the bad call, the crowd cheered Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who charged the
umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.

The Auxiliary Verb


Recognize an auxiliary verb when you see one.
Every sentence must have a verb. To depict doable activities, writers use action verbs. To
describe conditions, writers choose linking verbs.

Sometimes an action or condition occurs just once—bang!—and it's over.

Nate stubbed his toe.

He is miserable with pain.

Other times, the activity or condition continues over a long stretch of time, happens predictably,
or occurs in relationship to other events. In these instances, a single-word verb like stubbed or is
cannot accurately describe what happened, so writers use multipart verb phrases to communicate
what they mean. As many as four words can comprise a verb phrase.

A main or base verb indicates the type of action or condition, and auxiliary—or helping—verbs
convey the other nuances that writers want to express.
Read these three examples:

Sherylee smacked her lips as raspberry jelly dripped from the donut onto her white shirt.

Sherylee is always dripping something.

Since Sherylee is such a klutz, she should have been eating a cake donut, which would not have
stained her shirt.

In the first sentence, smacked and dripped, single-word verbs, describe the quick actions of both
Sherylee and the raspberry jelly.

Since Sherylee has a pattern of messiness, is dripping communicates the frequency of her
clumsiness. The auxiliary verbs that comprise should have been eating and would have stained
express not only time relationships but also evaluation of Sherylee's actions.

Below are the auxiliary verbs. You can conjugate be, do, and have; the modal auxiliaries,
however, never change form.

Be Do Have

am
is
has
are does
have
was do
had
were did
having
being
been

Modal Auxiliaries [Never Change Form]

can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would

Understand the dual nature of be, do, and have.


Be, do, and have are both stand-alone verbs and auxiliary verbs. When these verbs are auxiliary,
you will find them teamed with other verbs to complete the verb phrase.

Compare these sentences:

Freddy is envious of Beatrice’s steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

Is = linking verb.

Freddy is studying Beatrice’s steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew with envy in his eyes.
Is = auxiliary verb; studying = present participle completing the verb phrase.

We did our homework for Mrs. Long.

Did = action verb.

We’re not slackers! We did prepare our homework for Mrs. Long.

Did = auxiliary verb; prepare = main verb completing the verb phrase.

Selena has twelve orange goldfish in her aquarium.

Has = action verb.

Selena has bought a catfish to help keep the tank clean.

Has = auxiliary verb; bought = past participle completing the verb phrase.

Form progressive tenses with the auxiliary verb be.


All progressive tenses use a form of be.

Forms of Be

am, is, are, was, were, being, been

Present Progressive

Present progressive follows this pattern:

Am, Is, or Are + Present Participle

Use the present progressive tense to convey an action or condition happening right now or
frequently.

I am baking chocolate-broccoli muffins today.

Am = auxiliary verb; baking = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Alex is sitting at the kitchen table, anticipating his first bite.

Is = auxiliary verb; sitting = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Alex must wait a while longer because the muffins are cooling by the window.
Are = auxiliary verb; cooling = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Impatient Alex is always waiting to taste whatever I cook.

Is = auxiliary verb; waiting = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Past Progressive

Past progressive follows this pattern:

Was or Were + Present Participle

Use the past progressive tense to show either 1) an action or condition that continued in the past
or 2) an action or condition interrupted by another.

Naomi was hoping for an A in her organic chemistry class.

Was = auxiliary verb; hoping = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Unfortunately, Naomi's lab reports were missing the nutritional data on chocolate-broccoli
muffins.

Were = auxiliary verb; missing = present participle completing the verb phrase.

While Naomi was obsessing about her grade, Jason shared the data that she needed.

Was = auxiliary verb; obsessing = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Future Progressive

Future progressive looks like this:

Will + Be + Present Participle

Use the future progressive tense to indicate an action that will continue in the future.

I will be growing broccoli in the backyard this spring.

Will, be = auxiliary verbs; growing = present participle completing the verb phrase.

Soon, Alex will be eating organic chocolate-broccoli muffins!

Will, be = auxiliary verbs; eating = present participle completing the verb phrase.
Form passive voice with the auxiliary verb be.
You can make any transitive verb—an action verb that can take a direct object—passive with the
auxiliary verb be.

Forms of Be

am, is, are, was, were, being, been

Active voice looks like this:

Subject + Verb + Direct Object.

Here are some samples:

We licked our lips.

Frank devoured a bacon double cheeseburger.

Everyone envied his enjoyment.

Passive voice makes these changes:

Direct Object as Subject + Form of Be + Past Participle + By + Subject as Object of the

Preposition.

Now read these revisions:

Our lips were licked by us.

The double bacon cheeseburger was being devoured by Frank.

His enjoyment was envied by everyone.

Notice how wordy and clunky passive voice is! Now you know why English teachers tell you to
avoid it!

Form perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb have.


All perfect tenses use a form of have.
Forms of Have

has, have, had, having

Present Perfect

Present perfect follows this pattern:

Has or Have + Past Participle

Use the present perfect tense to convey an action or condition that began in the past but
continues [or is finished] in the present.

Marge has bought earplugs to drown out her husband's snoring.

Has = auxiliary verb; bought = past participle completing the verb phrase.

The earplugs have saved Marge's marriage to George.

Have = auxiliary verb; saved = past participle completing the verb phrase.

Past Perfect

Past perfect follows this pattern:

Had + Past Participle

Use the past perfect tense to show that one action in the past occurred before another.

Because Marge had purchased the earplugs, she no longer fantasized about smothering George
with a pillow.

Had = auxiliary verb; purchased = past participle completing the verb phrase.

Future Perfect

Future perfect follows this pattern:

Will + Have + Past Participle

Use the future perfect tense to indicate that an action will be finished in the future.

This Sunday, Marge will have gotten an entire week of uninterrupted sleep.
Will, have = auxiliary verbs; gotten = past participle completing the verb phrase.

Form emphatic tenses with do.


When you use a form of do as an auxiliary verb, you form the emphatic tense. This tense is
useful for asking questions or emphasizing an action.

Forms of Do

does, do, did, doing

The patterns look like these:

Form of Do + Main Verb

Form of Do + Subject + Main Verb ... ?

Read these samples:

I did not eat your leftover pizza!

Did = auxiliary verb; eat = main verb completing the verb phrase.

Do you always accuse the first person you see?

Do = auxiliary verb; accuse = main verb completing the verb phrase.

Doesn't the evidence point to Samuel, who still has a bit of black olive stuck to his front tooth?

Does = auxiliary verb; point = main verb completing the verb phrase.

Understand the job of modal auxiliary verbs.


Modal auxiliary verbs never change form. You cannot add an ed, ing, or s ending to these words.
They have only one form.

Modal Auxiliaries [Never Change Form]

can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would

You can use modal auxiliary verbs in these patterns:


Modal + Main Verb

Modal + Be + Present Participle

Modal + Have + Past Participle

With modal auxiliaries, you can indicate necessity or obligation:

To lose her orange glow, Yvonne should eat fewer carrots.

John must remember his wife's birthday this year.

If Cecilia wants a nice lawn, she ought to be raking the leaves.

Or you can show possibility:

Fred might share his calculus homework if you offer him a slice of pizza.

Ann could have run the half marathon if she had started to train four months ago.

Modal auxiliaries also show willingness or ability:

Nicole will babysit your pet iguana for a reasonable fee.

Jason can pass chemistry this semester if he stops spending his study time at the arcade.

The Clause
Recognize a clause when you see one.
Clauses come in four types: main [or independent], subordinate [or dependent], adjective [or
relative], and noun. Every clause has at least a subject and a verb. Other characteristics will help
you distinguish one type of clause from another.

Main Clauses

Every main clause will follow this pattern:

Subject + Verb = Complete Thought.

Here are some examples:


Lazy students whine.

Students = subject; whine = verb.

Cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter.

Cola = subject; spilled, splashed = verbs.

My dog loves pizza crusts.

Dog = subject; loves = verb.

The important point to remember is that every sentence must have at least one main clause.
Otherwise, you have a fragment, a major error.

Subordinate Clauses

A subordinate clause will follow this pattern:

Subordinate Conjunction + Subject + Verb = Incomplete Thought.

Here are some examples:

Whenever lazy students whine

Whenever = subordinate conjunction; students = subject; whine = verb.

As cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter

As = subordinate conjunction; cola = subject; spilled, splashed = verbs.

Because my dog loves pizza crusts

Because = subordinate conjunction; dog = subject; loves = verb.

The important point to remember about subordinate clauses is that they can never stand alone as
complete sentences. To complete the thought, you must attach each subordinate clause to a main
clause.

Generally, the punctuation looks like this:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.

Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.


Check out these revisions to the subordinate clauses above:

Whenever lazy students whine, Mrs. Russell throws chalk erasers at their heads.

Anthony ran for the paper towels as cola spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter.

Because my dog loves pizza crusts, he never barks at the deliveryman.

Relative Clauses

A relative clause will begin with a relative pronoun [such as who, whom, whose, which, or that]
or a relative adverb [when, where, or why].

The patterns look like these:

Relative Pronoun or Adverb + Subject + Verb = Incomplete Thought.

Relative Pronoun as Subject + Verb = Incomplete Thought.

Here are some examples:

Whom Mrs. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser

Whom = relative pronoun; Mrs. Russell = subject; hit = verb.

Where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm

Where = relative adverb; he = subject; chews, drools = verbs.

That had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter

That = relative pronoun; had spilled, splashed = verbs.

Who loves pizza crusts

Who = relative pronoun; loves = verb.

Like subordinate clauses, relative clauses cannot stand alone as complete sentences. You must
connect them to main clauses to finish the thought.

Look at these revisions of the relative clauses above:

The lazy students whom Mrs. Russell hit in the head with a chalk eraser soon learned to keep
their complaints to themselves.
My dog Floyd, who loves pizza crusts, eats them under the kitchen table, where he chews and
drools with great enthusiasm.

Anthony ran to get paper towels for the cola that had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the
counter.

Punctuating relative clauses can be tricky. You have to decide if the relative clause is essential or
nonessential and then use commas accordingly.

Essential relative clauses do not require commas. A relative clause is essential when you need
the information it provides.

Look at this example:

A dog that eats too much pizza will soon develop pepperoni breath.

Dog is nonspecific. To know which dog we are talking about, we must have the information in
the relative clause. Thus, the relative clause is essential and requires no commas.

If, however, we revise dog and choose more specific words instead, the relative clause becomes
nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence.

Read this revision:

My dog Floyd, who eats too much pizza, has developed pepperoni breath.

Noun Clauses

Any clause that functions as a noun becomes a noun clause. Look at this example:

You really do not want to know the ingredients in Aunt Nancy's stew.

Ingredients = noun.

If we replace the noun ingredients with a clause, we have a noun clause:

You really do not want to know what Aunt Nancy adds to her stew.

What Aunt Nancy adds to her stew = noun clause.

The Collective Noun


Recognize a collective noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Collective nouns, a special class, name groups [things]
composed of members [usually people]. Check out the chart below:

Collective Nouns

army council minority


audience department navy
board faculty public
cabinet family school
class firm senate
committee group society
company jury team
corporation majority troupe

Use correct verbs and pronouns with collective nouns.


Each noun from the list above is a single thing. That thing, however, is made up of more than
one person. You cannot have a committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people
to compose the unit.

Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary creatures, collective nouns can be
either singular or plural, depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes
agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular or plural? What verbs and
pronouns do you use with the collective noun?

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat
races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape
the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of
their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and
requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all
members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the same time:

Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.

Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the team
arrive at the same place at the same time.

Today, Dr. Ribley's class takes its first 100-item exam.

Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the class are
testing at the same time.
The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not
guilty.

Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the jury are
thinking the same way.

Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at the same
time? Not this group! One cat might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be
grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the windowsill, watching the world
outside. There is one group of animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own
thing.

Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are acting as
individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read
these examples, notice that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:

After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their street
clothes, and head to their air-conditioned homes.

Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = a plural pronoun. The teammates are
dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual
homes.

After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous mathematicians.

Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun. The students are beginning their
own research papers—in different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.

The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are hopelessly
deadlocked.

Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a plural pronoun. Not everyone on the
jury is thinking the same way.

Whenever you cannot decide if a collective noun is singular or plural, exercise your options as a
writer. You have two ways that you can compose the sentence without causing an agreement
error: 1) insert the word members after the collective noun [jury members, committee members,
board members], or 2) use an entirely different word [players instead of team, students instead of
class, soldiers instead of army]. Then you can use plural verbs and pronouns without worrying
about making mistakes or sounding unnatural.

The Comma Splice


Recognize a comma splice when you see one.
A comma splice, also called a run-on, occurs when a writer has connected two main clauses with
a comma alone. A main clause makes a complete thought, so you should not find a wimpy
comma struggling to join two such powerful clauses.

The problem looks like this:

Main Clause + , + Main Clause.

Here is an example:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool, she had already burned the
roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

The first main clause is Jolene waited for it to cool, and the second is she had already burned the
roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks. Notice that the two clauses have only a comma
connecting them.

Know how to fix a comma splice.


Fixing a comma splice is easy. All you have to do is pick one of the four available strategies.

Period + Capital Letter

First, you can break the error into two separate sentences, like this:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool. She had already burned the
roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

Comma + Coordinating Conjunction

Another good option is to connect the two main clauses with a comma and a coordinating
conjunction:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool, for she had already burned
the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

Semicolon

You can also use a semicolon, a mark of punctuation as powerful as a period:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool; she had already burned the
roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.
Subordination

Your last option is to use a subordinate conjunction. This method reduces one of the two clauses
to an incomplete thought:

Fanning the slice of pizza with a napkin, Jolene waited for it to cool since she had already burned
the roof of her mouth with the fried cheese sticks.

The Complete Sentence


Recognize a complete sentence when you see one.
A complete sentence has three characteristics:

 First, it begins with a capital letter.


 In addition, it includes an end mark—either a period [ . ], question mark [ ? ], or exclamation
point [ ! ].
 Most importantly, the complete sentence must contain at least one main clause. A main clause
contains an independent subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.

Check out these examples:

The banana rotting at the bottom of Jimmy's book bag has soaked his biology notes with ooze.

Did you notice the cricket swimming in your cup of tea?

I cannot believe that you tried one of those disgusting chocolate-broccoli muffins!

If a main clause exists in the sentence, you can attach whatever other sentence elements you
need. Look at the additions to the main clause below. All of the additions keep the original main
clause complete.

A bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth.

Buzzing around the picnic table, a bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth.

A bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth, stinging the poor boy's tongue, which swelled up as
big and as blue as an eggplant.

Because it smelled the peach-flavored bubble gum, a bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth.

A bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth and tickled the poor boy's tonsils.

Taking a wrong turn, a bumblebee flew into Peter's open mouth, but it buzzed back out before
Peter swallowed.
Avoid an accidental fragment.
Sometimes you might begin a group of words with a capital letter, then conclude with an end
mark, but forget to insert a main clause anywhere in the mix. When this happens, you have
written a fragment, a major error in writing. Read the examples that follow:

Because hungry sharks flashed on the surface of the waves.

No main clause = a fragment.

Spilling the hot spaghetti sauce all over his new suede shoes.

No main clause = a fragment.

To buy nice jewelry for his greedy girlfriend Gloria.

No main clause = a fragment.

For example, a mailbox stuffed with bills, two dozen messages on the answering machine, an
uppity cat, and a dead lawn.

No main clause = a fragment.

And peeked into the room, risking the wrath of Mrs. Mauzy, who has no patience for students
walking into class late.

No main clause = a fragment.

Read the revisions below. You will see that adding a main clause completes the thought:

Because hungry sharks flashed on the surface of the waves, Mike and Sarah decided to return
their surfboards to the car.

Leonardo grabbed the pot handle with his bare hands, spilling the hot spaghetti sauce all over his
new suede shoes.

Danny sold half of his comic book collection to buy nice jewelry for his greedy girlfriend Gloria.

For example, April found a mailbox stuffed with bills, two dozen messages on the answering
machine, an uppity cat, and a dead lawn.

Sherry turned the doorknob and peeked into the room, risking the wrath of Mrs. Mauzy, who has
no patience for students walking into class late.

The Compound Subject


Recognize a compound subject when you see one.
Every verb in a sentence must have at least one subject. But that doesn't mean that a verb can
have only one subject. Some verbs are greedy as far as subjects go. A greedy verb can have two,
three, four, or more subjects all to itself. When a verb has two or more subjects, you can say that
the verb has a compound subject. Check out the following examples:

At the local Dairy Queen, Marsha gasped at the sight of pickle slices on her banana split.

Marsha = subject; gasped = verb.

At the local Dairy Queen, Jenny and Marsha gasped at the sight of pickle slices on their banana
splits.

Jenny, Marsha = compound subject; gasped = verb.

At the local Dairy Queen, Officer Jenkins, Mrs. Lowery, the Williams twins, Harold, Billy Jo,
Jenny, and Marsha gasped at the sight of pickle slices on their banana splits.

Officer Jenkins, Mrs. Lowery, the Williams twins, Harold, Billy Jo, Jenny, Marsha = compound
subject; gasped = verb.

The Compound Verb


Recognize a compound verb when you see one.
Every subject in a sentence must have at least one verb. But that doesn't mean that a subject can
have only one verb. Some subjects are greedy as far as verbs go. A greedy subject can have two,
three, four, or more verbs all to itself. When a subject has two or more verbs, you can say that the
subject has a compound verb. Check out the following examples:

Before mixing the ingredients for his world-famous cookies, Bobby swatted a fly buzzing around
the kitchen.

Bobby = subject; swatted = verb.

Before mixing the ingredients for his world-famous cookies, Bobby swatted a fly buzzing around
the kitchen and crushed a cockroach scurrying across the floor.

Bobby = subject; swatted, crushed = compound verb.

Before mixing the ingredients for his world-famous cookies, Bobby swatted a fly buzzing around
the kitchen, crushed a cockroach scurrying across the floor, shooed the cat off the counter,
picked his nose, scratched his armpit, licked his fingers, and sneezed.
Bobby = subject; swatted, crushed, shooed, picked, scratched, licked, sneezed = compound verb.

The Conjunctive Adverb


Recognize a conjunctive adverb when you see one.
Conjunctions have one job, to connect. They join words, phrases, or clauses together to clarify
what the writer is saying. Their presence provides smooth transitions from one idea to another.

When the job of an adverb is to connect ideas, we call it a conjunctive adverb. Here is the list:

Conjunctive Adverbs

accordingly however nonetheless


also indeed otherwise
besides instead similarly
consequently likewise still
conversely meanwhile subsequently
finally moreover then
furthermore nevertheless therefore
hence next thus

A conjunctive adverb can join two main clauses. In this situation, the conjunctive adverb behaves
like a coordinating conjunction, connecting two complete ideas. Notice, however, that you need
a semicolon, not a comma, to connect the two clauses:

Main Clause + ; + Conjunctive Adverb + , + Main Clause.

Read these examples:

The dark skies and distant thunder dissuaded Clarice from her afternoon run; moreover, she had
thirty calculus problems to solve for her morning class.

Leon's apartment complex does not allow dogs over thirty pounds; otherwise, he would have
bought the gangly Great Dane puppy playing in the pet store window.

The cat ate a bowlful of tuna; then, to the squirrels' delight, the fat feline fell asleep in the
rocking chair.

A conjunctive adverb will also introduce, interrupt, or conclude a single main clause. In this
situation, you will often need commas to separate the conjunctive adverb from the rest of the
sentence.
Check out these examples:

At 10 a.m., Paul was supposed to be taking his biology midterm. Instead, he was flirting with the
pretty waitress at the coffee house.

Maria declined Jeff's third invitation to go out. This young man is determined, nevertheless, to
take her to dinner one night soon.

After mowing the yard in the hot sun, Pedro was too hungry to shower. He did wash his dusty
hands, however.

If the break is weak, do not use comma(s).

Anna called to say her car would not start. Rafael will therefore have to walk to school.

Weak interruption = no commas.

The long noodles splashed tomato sauce all over the front of Brenda's shirt. Ordering fettuccine
was a mistake indeed.

Weak interruption = no comma.

The Coordinating Conjunction


Recognize a coordinating conjunction when you see one.
And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. To remember
all seven, you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS, YAFNOBS, or
FONYBAS.

F = for Y = yet F = for


A = and A = and O = or
N = nor F = for N = nor
B = but N = nor Y = yet
O = or O = or B = but
Y = yet B = but A = and
S = so S = so S = so

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses. Look at the examples that
follow:

The bowl of squid eyeball stew is hot and delicious.


The squid eyeball stew is so thick that you can eat it with a fork or spoon.

Rocky, my orange tomcat, loves having his head scratched but hates getting his claws trimmed.

Rocky terrorizes the poodles next door yet adores the German shepherd across the street.

Rocky refuses to eat dry cat food, nor will he touch a saucer of squid eyeball stew.

I hate to waste a single drop of squid eyeball stew, for it is expensive and time-consuming to
make.

Even though I added cream to the squid eyeball stew, Rocky ignored his serving, so I got a spoon
and ate it myself.

Understand the difference between coordination and


subordination.
Use a coordinating conjunction when you want to give equal emphasis to two main clauses. The
pattern for coordination looks like this:

Main Clause + , + Coordinating Conjunction + Main Clause.

Subordination, however, emphasizes the idea in the main clause more than the one in the
subordinate clause. Generally, the patterns look like these:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.

Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.

Read the pairs of sentences that follow. The first version coordinates the two ideas. The second
version subordinates one idea to emphasize the other.

To survive the fetal pig dissection, Rinalda agreed to make all of the incisions, and Frances
promised to remove and label the organs.

To survive the fetal pig dissection, Rinalda agreed to make all of the incisions if Frances would
promise to remove and label the organs.

Diana stared dreamily at the handsome Mr. McKenzie, but Olivia, who hated economics,
furiously jiggled her foot, impatient to escape the boring class.
While Diana was staring dreamily at the handsome Mr. McKenzie, Olivia furiously jiggled her
foot, impatient to escape the boring economics class that she hated.

At a red light, Maria jumped out of Gino's car and slammed the door, for she could not tolerate
one more minute of the heavy metal music that Gino insisted on blasting from the stereo.

At a red light, Maria jumped out of Gino's car and slammed the door because she could not
tolerate one more minute of the heavy metal music that Gino insisted on blasting from the stereo.

Making an A in Anatomy and Physiology has not helped Sima choose a career. She might decide
to make her parents happy and go to medical school, or she might use her knowledge of the
human body to become a sculptor.

Making an A in Anatomy and Physiology has not helped Sima choose a career. Although she
might decide to make her parents happy and go to medical school, she might also use her
knowledge of the human body to become a sculptor.

Kyle refused to eat the salad served with the meal, nor would he touch any green vegetable put
on his plate.

After Kyle refused the salad served with the meal, he then would not touch the green vegetables
put on his plate.

Joe spent seven hours studying calculus at the Mexican diner, so now he can set his math book
on fire with his salsa breath.

Since Joe spent seven hours studying calculus at the Mexican diner, he can now set his math
book on fire with his salsa breath.

Because she gets seasick, Danielle is dreading the spring break cruise, yet she might enjoy
herself once she realizes how many cute guys in skimpy bathing suits parade the decks.

Even though Danielle is dreading getting seasick on the spring break cruise, she will probably
enjoy herself once she realizes how many cute guys in skimpy bathing suits parade the decks.

Punctuate coordinating conjunctions correctly.


Three patterns in writing use coordinating conjunctions. Add commas when required.

Pattern 1 — Connecting two main clauses

When you connect two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction, use a comma. The pattern
looks like this:

Main Clause + , + Coordinating Conjunction + Main Clause.


Here is an example:

While I am at work, my dog Floyd sleeps on the bed , and my cat Buster naps in the bathtub.

Pattern 2 — Connecting two items

You can also use a coordinating conjunction to connect any two items. These items can be any
grammatical unit except main clauses. The pattern looks like this:

Item + Ø + Coordinating Conjunction + Item

Here are some examples:

My dog Floyd has too many fleas and too much hair.

My cat Buster has beautiful blue eyes but a destructive personality.

Pattern 3 — Connecting three or more items in a series

When you have three or more items in a series, you generally use a comma before the
coordinating conjunction. Some handbooks and style guides will tell you that this comma is
optional, but my advice is to put it in. The pattern looks like this:

Item + , + Item + , + Coordinating Conjunction + Item

Here is an example:

Swatting olives off the kitchen counter, dragging toilet paper streamers through the house, and
terrorizing Jacques Cousteau, the parakeet, have consumed another of Buster's days.

Yes, you can begin a sentence with a coordinating


conjunction!
Some teachers warn that beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction is wrong.
Teachers will typically tell you this because they are trying to help you avoid writing fragments.
Other times teachers give this advice because their preference is that a sentence not begin with a
coordinating conjunction.

What you should remember is that you break no grammar rule if you begin a sentence with a
coordinating conjunction. Because you might be breaking your instructors' rules, however, you
should ask what their preferences are.
If you decide to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction, keep these three things in
mind:

 Be sure that a main clause follows the coordinating conjunction.


 Do not use a coordinating conjunction to begin every sentence. Use this option only when it
makes the flow of your ideas more effective.
 Do not use a comma after the coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are not
transitional expressions like for example or first of all. You will rarely use punctuation after
them.

Here are some examples:

While I was answering the telephone, Buster, my cat, jumped onto the kitchen counter and
swatted all of my jalapeño-stuffed olives onto the dirty kitchen floor. So I had to rinse off the cat
hair and crumbs sticking to these delicacies before I could add them to the salad.

Flying down the bumpy path, Genette hit a rock with the front wheel of her mountain bike, flew
over the handlebars, and crashed into a clump of prickly palmetto bushes. Yet even this accident
would not deter her from completing the race.

Only when an interrupter immediately follows the coordinating conjunction do you need to use
commas. Read this example:

We hoped that decorating the top of Christine's cupcake with a dead grasshopper would freak her
out. But, to our amazement, she just popped the whole thing in her mouth, chewed, and
swallowed.

The Correlative Conjunction


Recognize a correlative conjunction when you see one.
Either ... or, neither ... nor, and not only ... but also are all correlative conjunctions. They connect
two equal grammatical items. If, for example, a noun follows either, then a noun will also follow
or. Read these examples:

In the fall, Phillip will either start classes at the community college as his mother wishes or join
the Navy, his father’s hope.

Neither the potted ivy on the counter nor the dirty dishes in the sink have enjoyed water on their
surfaces for the past week.

Professor Wilson not only requires a 3,000-word research essay but also assigns a 500-word
reaction paper every single week.
When you use correlative conjunctions, be careful about
verb agreement.
If you connect two subjects with a correlative conjunction, the second one must agree with the
verb that follows.

Every single evening either the horned owl or the squabbling cats wake Samantha with their
racket.

Every single evening either the squabbling cats or the horned owl wakes Samantha with its
racket.

When you use correlative conjunctions, be careful about


pronoun agreement.
If you connect two antecedents with a correlative conjunction, the second one must agree with
the pronoun that follows.

Neither Yolanda nor the cousins expressed their disappointment when blind Aunt Sophie set
down the plate of burnt hamburgers.

Neither the cousins nor Yolanda expressed her disappointment when blind Aunt Sophie set down
the plate of burnt hamburgers.

When you use correlative conjunctions, be careful about


parallel structure.
Either ... or, neither ... nor, and not only ... but also require special attention when you are
proofreading for parallelism. Be sure that you have equal grammatical units after both parts of
the conjunction.

You can have two main clauses like this:

Not only did Michael grill a steak for Tiffany, but he also prepared a hotdog for Rocket, her dog.

Or you can shorten the sentence with two prepositional phrases:

Michael grilled meat not only for Tiffany but also for Rocket, her dog.

Or you can have two nouns as this version does:

Michael grilled meat for not only Tiffany but also Rocket, her dog.
The Count Noun
Recognize a count noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Many nouns have both singular and plural forms. If you
can add a number to the front of a noun and put an s at the end of it, you have a count noun.
Check out these examples:

Beatrice offered Jeremy a chocolate-chip cookie.

Jeremy, an impolite pig, grabbed all seventeen cookies off of the plate.

Cookie is a count noun. You can have one cookie, or you can be a pig like Jeremy and have
seventeen cookies.

Remember that some nouns are noncount.


You cannot count all nouns. To make a noncount noun plural would be illogical. Read the
following sentence:

Jeremy apologized for his rudeness, but his growling stomach stopped him from returning any of
the cookies to the plate.

Rudeness is an example of a noncount noun. Jeremy does not have five rudenesses. Such a
statement would make absolutely no sense!

Look over this chart contrasting count and noncount nouns:

Count Nouns Noncount Nouns

hurricane(s) weather
chair(s) furniture
smile(s) happiness
bagel(s) flour
book(s) information
assignment(s) homework

The Dangling Modifier


Recognize a dangling modifier when you see one.
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add description. In clear, logical sentences, you will
often find modifiers right next to—either in front of or behind—the target words they logically
describe. Read this example:

Horrified, Mom snatched the deviled eggs from Jack, whose fingers were covered in cat hair.

Notice that horrified precedes Mom, its target, just as deviled sits right before eggs. Whose
fingers were covered in cat hair follows Jack, its target.

Sometimes, however, an inexperienced writer will include a modifier but forget the target. The
modifier thus dangles because the missing target word leaves nothing for the modifier to
describe.

Dangling modifiers are errors. Their poor construction confuses readers. Look at the samples
below:

Hungry, the leftover pizza was devoured.

Hungry is a single-word adjective. Notice that there is no one in the sentence for this modifier to
describe.

Rummaging in her giant handbag, the sunglasses escaped detection.

Rummaging in her giant handbag is a participle phrase. In the current sentence, no word exists
for this phrase to modify. Neither sunglasses nor detection has fingers to make rummaging
possible!

With a sigh of disappointment, the expensive dress was returned to the rack.

With a sigh of disappointment is a string of prepositional phrases. If you look carefully, you do
not find anyone in the sentence capable of feeling disappointed. Neither dress nor rack has
emotions!

Know how to fix a dangling modifier.


Fixing a dangling modifier will require more than rearranging the words in the sentence. You
will often need to add something new so that the modifier finally has a target word to describe:

Hungry, we devoured the leftover pizza.

Rummaging in her giant handbag, Frieda failed to find her sunglasses.

With a sigh of disappointment, Charlene returned the expensive dress to the rack.

The Direct Object


Recognize a direct object when you see one.
A direct object will follow a transitive verb [a type of action verb]. Direct objects can be nouns,
pronouns, phrases, or clauses. If you can identify the subject and verb in a sentence, then finding
the direct object—if one exists—is easy. Just remember this simple formula:

Subject + Verb + what? or who? = Direct Object

Here are examples of the formula in action:

Zippy and Maurice played soccer with a grapefruit pulled from a backyard tree.

Zippy, Maurice = subjects; played = verb. Zippy and Maurice played what? Soccer = direct
object.

Zippy accidentally kicked Maurice in the shin.

Zippy = subject; kicked = verb. Zippy kicked who? Maurice = direct object.

Sometimes direct objects are single words like soccer and Maurice; other times they are phrases
or clauses. The formula nevertheless works the same.

Sylina hates biting her fingernails.

Sylina = subject; hates = verb. Sylina hates what? Biting her fingernails [a gerund phrase] =
direct object.

Even worse, Sylina hates when Mom lectures her about hand care.

Sylina = subject; hates = verb. Sylina hates what? When Mom lectures her about hand care [a
subordinate clause] = direct object.

Direct objects can also follow verbals—infinitives, gerunds, and participles. Use this abbreviated
version of the formula:

verbal + what? or who? = direct object

Here are some examples:

To see magnified blood cells, Gus squinted into the microscope on the lab table.

To see = infinitive. To see what? Blood cells = direct object.


Gus bought contact lenses because he wanted to see the beautiful Miranda, his lab partner, more
clearly.

To see = infinitive. To see who? The beautiful Miranda = direct object.

Dragging her seventy-five pound German shepherd through the door is Roseanne's least favorite
part of going to the vet.

Dragging = gerund. Dragging what? Her seventy-five pound German shepherd = direct object.

Heaping his plate with fried chicken, Clyde winked at Delores, the cook.

Heaping = participle. Heaping what? His plate = direct object.

Don't mistake a direct object for a subject complement.


Only action verbs can have direct objects. If the verb is linking, then the word that answers the
what? or who? question is a subject complement.

The space alien from the planet Zortek accidentally locked his keys in his space ship.

Alien = subject; locked = action verb. The space alien locked what? His keys = direct object.

The space alien was happy to find a spare key taped under the wing.

Alien = subject; was = linking verb. The space alien was what? Happy = subject complement.

Don't use subject pronouns as direct objects.


The chart below contains subject and object pronouns. Because direct objects are objects, always
use the objective form of the pronoun when you need a direct object.

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns

I me
we us
you you
he, she, it him, her, it
they them
who whom

Check out these sample sentences:

After I give my dog Oreo a scoop of peanut butter, she always kisses me with her sticky tongue.
She = subject; kisses = verb. She kisses who? Me = direct object.

Because Jo had skipped Mr. Duncan's class five times in a row, she ducked out of sight
whenever she spotted him on campus.

She = subject; spotted = verb. She spotted who? Him = direct object.

Because David was always eating her food, Theresa sneaked corn chips and candy bars into her
room and hid them in the clothes hamper.

Theresa = subject; hid = verb. Theresa hid what? Them = direct object.

The Essential Clause


Recognize an essential clause when you see one.
An essential clause is a relative clause that limits a general, ambiguous noun. The essential
clause tells the reader which one of many the writer means.

Read these examples:

The man who ordered another double anchovy pizza claims to have a pet dolphin in his backyard
pool.

Which man among the billions of human males on the planet? The one who ordered the double
anchovy pizza!

Freddie hopes to return to the city where he met a woman with haunting green eyes.

Which of the many cities on the planet? The one where Freddie met a memorable woman!

The student who needs an A on the final exam is copying statistics formulae on her bare ankle.

Which of the many students in the class? The one who needs an A on the test!

Note that the exact same clauses above—in sentences with minor alterations—can become
nonessential. Read these versions:

Mr. Hall, who ordered another double anchovy pizza, claims to have a pet dolphin in his
backyard pool.

Freddie hopes to return to Cairo, where he met a woman with haunting green eyes.

Veronica, who needs an A on the final exam, is copying statistics formulae on her bare ankle.
In place of ambiguous nouns like man, city, and student, we now have Mr. Hall, Cairo, and
Veronica, specific proper nouns. The information in the relative clauses might be interesting, but
it's not necessary, for we already know which man, which city, and which student. Because these
clauses are now nonessential, they require commas to separate them from the rest of the
sentence.

A proper noun won't always signal that the relative clause is nonessential. In a passage of more
than one sentence, you will sometimes find such a well-defined common noun that the relative
clause is a mere accessory. Read this example:

As we sped through the neighborhood, we spotted crows eating French fries tossed on the road.
They did not fly to a tree as we expected. The birds, which never showed fear of the vehicle,
watched as we swerved around them.

The relative clause which never showed fear of the vehicle is nonessential since we know which
birds. Thus the clause requires commas.

Punctuate essential clauses correctly.


Since an essential clause provides necessary limits on the vague noun it describes, use no
punctuation to connect it.

The car that Madeline purchased from a newspaper ad belches black smoke whenever she
accelerates.

The rats are nesting in the closet where Grandma hides her money.

The waiter who served the salad did not notice the caterpillar nibbling a lettuce leaf.

When the clause becomes decorative rather than defining—or nonessential—you will then need
to separate it with commas:

The ancient Buick, which Madeline purchased from a newspaper ad, belches black smoke
whenever she accelerates.

The rats are nesting in the master bedroom closet, where Grandma hides her money.

Javier, who served the salad, did not notice the caterpillar nibbling a lettuce leaf.

The Sentence Fragment


Recognize a fragment when you see one.
A fragment occurs whenever you do these three things:
 You begin a group of words with a capital letter.
 You conclude this group of words with an end mark—either a period [ . ], question mark [ ? ], or
exclamation point [ ! ].
 You neglect to insert a main clause somewhere between the capital letter at the beginning and
the end mark concluding the word group.

Every sentence must have at least one main clause. A main clause contains an independent
subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. Once you have a main clause, you can then
add other grammatical elements, but you must have the main clause as the base of the sentence.

Read the main clause below, then the additions to it:

Victor sneezed repeatedly.

During the stressful chemistry test, Victor sneezed repeatedly.

Because Julissa wore too much perfume, Victor sneezed repeatedly during the stressful
chemistry test.

Victor sneezed repeatedly, each time asking Janice for a new tissue to blow his nose.

To deal with the stress building up in his head, Victor sneezed repeatedly as he slogged through
the difficult chemistry test.

Slogging through the stressful chemistry test, Victor sneezed repeatedly while John chewed his
pencil and Julissa rubbed her lucky rabbit's foot.

Without the main clause Victor sneezed repeatedly, all of the sentences above would be
fragments.

Know the most common types of fragments and how to fix


them.
Fragments result if you punctuate certain word groups as if they are complete sentences. The
most common of these word groups are the following: subordinate clauses, participle phrases,
infinitive phrases, afterthoughts, verb phrases, and appositives.

You have a number of different options when fixing a fragment. Frequently, you can attach the
fragment either to the front or to the end of a nearby main clause. Another option is to add
whatever words will give the fragment its own mandatory main clause.

Below you will find examples of different fragments and the revisions that they require to
become complete sentences.
Subordinate Clause Fragments

A subordinate clause contains a subordinate conjunction, a subject, and a verb. Because this type
of clause does not express a complete thought, it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Read this example:

Flooring the accelerator, Juan wove through the heavy traffic. As his ex-girlfriend Gigi chased
him down the interstate.

These are possible revisions:

Flooring the accelerator, Juan weaved through the heavy traffic as his ex-girlfriend Gigi chased
him down the interstate.

As his ex-girlfriend Gigi chased him down the interstate, Juan floored the accelerator, weaving
through the heavy traffic.

Flooring the accelerator, Juan weaved through the heavy traffic. In hot pursuit was his ex-
girlfriend Gigi, who was chasing him down the interstate.

Participle Phrase Fragments

A participle phrase usually begins with an ing or ed word. In the case of irregular verbs, an
irregular past participle, like burnt or spoken, will begin the phrase.

Here is a participle phrase pretending to be a complete sentence:

Aunt Olivia always wears a motorcycle helmet. Worrying that a meteor or chunk of space debris
will conk her on the head.

These are possible revisions:

Worrying that a meteor or chunk of space debris will conk her on the head, Aunt Olivia always
wears a motorcycle helmet.

Because she worries that a meteor or chunk of space debris will conk her on the head, Aunt
Olivia always wears a motorcycle helmet.

Aunt Olivia always wears a motorcycle helmet. She worries that a meteor or chunk of space
debris will conk her on the head.

Infinitive Phrase Fragments

An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [to + verb].


Check out the infinitive phrase below masquerading as a complete sentence:

Jiggling his foot nervously, Ronald sat in the provost's office. To explain why he had brought
Squeeze, his seven-foot pet python, to Mr. Parker's English class.

These are possible revisions:

Jiggling his foot nervously, Ronald sat in the provost's office to explain why he had brought
Squeeze, his seven-foot pet python, to Mr. Parker's English class.

To explain why he had brought Squeeze, his seven-foot pet python, to Mr. Parker's English class,
Ronald sat in the provost's office, jiggling his foot nervously.

Jiggling his foot nervously, Ronald sat in the provost's office. He needed to explain why he had
brought Squeeze, his seven-foot pet python, to Mr. Parker's English class.

Afterthought Fragments

Afterthought fragments begin with the following transitions: especially, for example, for
instance, like, such as, including, and except.

These transitions frequently introduce good details that the writer is providing as an afterthought
for previous information.

Read the afterthought fragment that follows:

Jacob has several ways to annoy his instructors. Such as rolling his eyes, smirking, reading
supermarket tabloids during lecture, folding handouts into paper airplanes, and drawing
caricatures on his desk.

These are possible revisions:

Jacob has several ways to annoy his instructors, such as rolling his eyes, smirking, reading
supermarket tabloids during lecture, folding handouts into paper airplanes, and drawing
caricatures on his desk.

Rolling his eyes, smirking, reading supermarket tabloids during lecture, folding handouts into
paper airplanes, and drawing caricatures on his desk are the many ways Jacob annoys his
instructors.

Jacob has several ways to annoy his instructors. For example, he rolls his eyes, smirks, reads
supermarket tabloids during lecture, folds handouts into paper airplanes, and draws caricatures
on his desk.
Lonely Verb Fragments

Lonely verb fragments occur when you have a verb phrase without a subject. Typically, the
subject is understood, but because it does not occur within the word group, the necessary main
clause is missing.

Take a look at this example:

After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio. And let the raccoons,
opossums, and armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.

These are possible revisions:

After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio and let the raccoons,
opossums, and armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.

After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio so that the raccoons,
opossums, and armadillos that visit the yard can eat the leftovers.

After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio. They enjoy letting the
raccoons, opossums, and armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.

Appositive Fragments

An appositive is a word or group of words that renames a noun right beside it. Because an
appositive does not contain a main clause, it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Look at the example below:

When Dustin pulled into the driveway, Alicia admired his flashy new car. A red convertible with
fancy rims and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.

These are possible revisions:

When Dustin pulled into the driveway, Alicia admired his flashy new car, a red convertible with
fancy rims and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.

Alicia admired Dustin's flashy new car, a red convertible Mustang with fancy rims and fuzzy
dice hanging from the rearview mirror, when it pulled into the driveway.

When Dustin pulled into the driveway, Alicia admired his flashy new car. Dustin recently bought
a red convertible with fancy rims and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.

Understand the concept of an intentional fragment.


Occasionally, writers will include an intentional fragment to emphasize a point. Read the
example below:

Because the milk carton was empty, Paul poured orange juice on his bowl of cereal. What a
dork!

Intentional fragments are not grammar errors. They can, however, get you into trouble if you are
a beginning writer. Your teachers might think that any fragment in your composition is evidence
that you do not understand the concept of a complete sentence. Before you include an intentional
fragment in a piece of writing, you should ask your teachers if they will mind.

Use this strategy to proofread for fragments:


If you notice that your teachers are constantly marking fragments in your compositions, you
should try this effective proofreading trick to get the problem under control: Read your
composition backwards.

Rather than starting with the first sentence and reading through the piece in a normal fashion,
begin with the last sentence and work your way back to the top. This way, the sentences won't
flow together. You will instead see each sentence as an individual unit. A word group that does
not express a complete thought will stand out so that you can catch it and fix the problem.

Look at this short paragraph which contains an afterthought fragment embedded in it:

David will eat anything on a dare. We have watched him consume many nauseating things. For
example, broccoli dipped in chocolate sauce, a raw fish head with the eyes intact, and a handful
of live earthworms. Sharon has to close her eyes, and I've had to fight the urge to gag.

If you read the paragraph backwards, starting with the last sentence first, the fragment announces
itself:

Sharon has to close her eyes, and I've had to fight the urge to gag. For example, broccoli dipped
in chocolate sauce, a raw fish head with the eyes intact, and a handful of live earthworms. We
have watched him consume many nauseating things. David will eat anything on a dare.

If you try this proofreading strategy, do not use it exclusively. To find other problems, you will
still need to read your composition in the normal way as well.

Recognize a fused sentence when you see one.


A fused sentence, also called a run-on, occurs when a writer has connected two main clauses
with no punctuation. A main clause makes a complete thought, so you should not find two of
them smashed together in a single sentence.

The error looks like this:


Main Clause + Ø + Main Clause.

Here is an example:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem all the while the tires of
his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.

The first main clause is Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem, and the second is the tires
of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets. Notice that the two
clauses run together with no punctuation.

Know how to fix a fused sentence.


Fixing a fused sentence is easy. All you have to do is pick one of the four available strategies.

Period + Capital Letter

First, you can break the error into two separate sentences, like this:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem. All the while, the tires
of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.

Comma + Coordinating Conjunction

Another good option is to connect the two main clauses with a comma and a coordinating
conjunction:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem, yet all the while, the
tires of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.

Semicolon

You can also use a semicolon, a mark of punctuation as strong as a period:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem; all the while, the tires
of his Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.

Subordination

Your last option is to use a subordinate conjunction. This method reduces one of the two clauses
to an incomplete thought:

Driving home from school, Brett vowed to protect the fragile ecosystem as the tires of his
Cadillac Escalade flattened the toads hopping on the wet streets.
The Gerund
Recognize a gerund when you see one.
Every gerund, without exception, ends in ing. Gerunds are not, however, all that easy to identify.
The problem is that all present participles also end in ing. What is the difference?

Gerunds function as nouns. Thus, gerunds will be subjects, subject complements, direct objects,
indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

Present participles, on the other hand, complete progressive verbs or act as modifiers.

Read these examples of gerunds:

Since Francisco was five years old, swimming has been his passion.

Swimming = subject of the verb has been.

Francisco's first love is swimming.

Swimming = subject complement of the verb is.

Francisco enjoys swimming more than spending time with his girlfriend Diana.

Swimming = direct object of the verb enjoys.

Francisco gives swimming all of his energy and time.

Swimming = indirect object of the verb gives.

When Francisco wore dive fins to class, everyone knew that he was devoted to swimming.

Swimming = object of the preposition to.

These ing words are examples of present participles:

One day last summer, Francisco and his coach were swimming at Daytona Beach.

Swimming = present participle completing the past progressive verb were swimming.

A Great White shark ate Francisco's swimming coach.

Swimming = present participle modifying coach.

Now Francisco practices his sport in safe swimming pools.


Swimming = present participle modifying pools.

The Gerund Phrase


Recognize a gerund phrase when you see one.
A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will include other modifiers and/or
objects. Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complements,
or objects in the sentence. Read these examples:

Eating ice cream on a windy day can be a messy experience if you have long, untamed hair.

Eating ice cream on a windy day = subject of the verb can be.

A more disastrous activity for long-haired people is blowing giant bubble gum bubbles with the
car windows down.

Blowing giant bubble gum bubbles with the car windows down = subject complement of the
verb is.

Wild food adventures require getting your hair cut to a short, safe length.

Getting your hair cut to a short, safe length = direct object of the verb require.

Don't mistake a gerund phrase for a present participle


phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an ing
word. The difference is that a gerund phrase will always function as a noun while a present
participle phrase describes another word in the sentence. Check out these examples:

Jamming too much clothing into a washing machine will result in disaster.

Jamming too much clothing into a washing machine = gerund phrase, the subject of the verb will
result.

Jamming too much clothing into the washing machine, Aamir saved $1.25 but had to tolerate the
curious stares of other laundry patrons as his machine bucked and rumbled with the heavy load.

Jamming too much clothing into the washing machine = present participle phrase describing
Aamir.

Bernard hates buttering toast with a fork.


Buttering toast with a fork = gerund phrase, the direct object of the verb hates.

Buttering toast with a fork, Bernard vowed that he would finally wash the week's worth of dirty
dishes piled in the sink.

Buttering toast with a fork = present participle phrase describing Bernard.

My dog's most annoying habit is hogging the middle of the bed.

Hogging the middle of the bed = gerund phrase, the subject complement of the linking verb is.

Last night I had to sleep on the couch because I found my dog Floyd hogging the middle of the
bed.

Hogging the middle of the bed = present participle phrase describing Floyd.

The Indirect Object


Recognize an indirect object when you see one.
Indirect objects are rare. You can read for pages before you encounter one. For an indirect object
to appear, a sentence must first have a direct object.

Direct objects follow transitive verbs [a type of action verb]. If you can identify the subject and
verb in a sentence, then finding the direct object—if one exists—is easy. Just remember this
simple formula:

Subject + Verb + what? or who? = Direct Object

Here are examples of the formula in action:

Jim built a sandcastle on the beach.

Jim = subject; built = verb. Jim built what? Sandcastle = direct object.

Sammy and Maria brought Billie Lou to the party.

Sammy, Maria = subjects; brought = verb. Sammy and Maria brought who? Billie Lou = direct
object.

To explain the broken lamp, we told a lie.

We = subject; told = verb. We told what? Lie = direct object.


When someone [or something] gets the direct object, that word is the indirect object. Look at
these new versions of the sentences above:

Jim built his granddaughter a sandcastle on the beach.

Jim = subject; built = verb. Jim built what? Sandcastle = direct object. Who got the sandcastle?
Granddaughter = indirect object.

So that Darren would have company at the party, Sammy and Maria brought him a blind date.

Sammy, Maria = subjects; brought = verb. Sammy and Maria brought who? Blind date = direct
object. Who got the blind date? Him = indirect object.

To explain the broken lamp, we told Mom a lie.

We = subject; told = verb. We told what? Lie = direct object. Who got the lie? Mom = indirect
object.

Sometimes, the indirect object will occur in a prepositional phrase beginning with to or for. Read
these two sentences:

Tomas paid the mechanic 200 dollars to fix the squeaky brakes.

Tomas paid 200 dollars to the mechanic to fix the squeaky brakes.

In both versions, the mechanic [the indirect object] gets the 200 dollars [the direct object].

When the direct object is a pronoun rather than a noun, putting the indirect object in a
prepositional phrase becomes a necessary modification. The preposition smoothes out the
sentence so that it sounds natural. Check out these examples:

Leslie didn't have any money for a sandwich, so Smitty purchased her it.

Blech! That version sounds awful! But now try the sentence with the indirect object after a
preposition:

Leslie didn't have any money for a sandwich, so Smitty purchased it for her.

Locating the indirect object her in a prepositional phrase lets the sentence sound natural! Now
read this example:

After Michael took generous spoonfuls of stuffing, he passed us it.

Ewww! This version sounds awful too! But with a quick fix, we can solve the problem:

After Michael took generous spoonfuls of stuffing, he passed it to us.


With the indirect object us in a prepositional phrase, we have an improvement!

The Infinitive
Recognize an infinitive when you see one.
To sneeze, to smash, to cry, to shriek, to jump, to dunk, to read, to eat, to slurp—all of these are
infinitives. An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed by the simple form of the
verb, like this:

To + Verb = Infinitive

Important Note: Because an infinitive is not a verb, you cannot add s, es, ed, or ing to the end.
Ever!

Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood café.

To sleep functions as a noun because it is the subject of the sentence.

No matter how fascinating the biology dissection is, Emanuel turns his head and refuses to look.

To look functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb refuses.

Wherever Melissa goes, she always brings a book to read in case conversation lags or she has a
long wait.

To read functions as an adjective because it modifies book.

Richard braved the icy rain to throw the smelly squid eyeball stew into the apartment dumpster.

To throw functions as an adverb because it explains why Richard braved the inclement weather.

Recognize an infinitive even when it is missing the to.


An infinitive will almost always begin with to. Exceptions do occur, however. An infinitive will
lose its to when it follows certain verbs. These verbs are feel, hear, help, let, make, see, and
watch.

The pattern looks like this:

Special Verb + Direct Object + Infinitive - to


Here are some examples:

As soon as Theodore felt the rain splatter on his hot, dusty skin, he knew that he had a good
excuse to return the lawn mower to the garage.

Felt = special verb; rain = direct object; splatter = infinitive minus the to.

When Danny heard the alarm clock buzz, he slapped the snooze button and burrowed under the
covers for ten more minutes of sleep.

Heard = special verb; alarm clock = direct object; buzz = infinitive minus the to.

Although Dr. Ribley spent an extra class period helping us understand logarithms, we still
bombed the test.

Helping = special verb; us = direct object; understand = infinitive minus the to.

Because Freddie had never touched a snake, I removed the cover of the cage and let him pet
Squeeze, my seven-foot python.

Let = special verb; him = direct object; pet = infinitive minus the to.

Since Jose had destroyed Sylvia's spotless kitchen while baking chocolate-broccoli muffins, she
made him take her out for an expensive dinner.

Made = special verb; him = direct object; take = infinitive minus the to.

I said a prayer when I saw my friends mount the Kumba, a frightening roller coaster that twists
and rolls like a giant sea serpent.

Saw = special verb; my friends = direct object; mount = infinitive minus the to.

Hoping to lose her fear of flying, Rachel went to the airport to watch passenger planes take off
and land, but even this exercise did not convince her that jets were safe.

Watch = special verb; passenger planes = direct object; take, land = infinitives minus the to.

To split or not to split?


The general rule is that no word should separate the to of an infinitive from the simple form of
the verb that follows. If a word does come between these two components, a split infinitive
results. Look at the example that follows:

Sara hopes to quickly finish her chemistry homework so that she can return to the more
Wrong:
interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.
Sara hopes to finish her chemistry homework quickly so that she can return to the more
Right:
interesting Stephen King novel she had to abandon.

Some English teachers believe that thou shall not split infinitives was written on the stone tablets
that Moses carried down from the mountain. Breaking the rule, in their eyes, is equivalent to
killing, stealing, coveting another man's wife, or dishonoring one's parents. If you have this type
of English teacher, then don't split infinitives!

Other folks, however, consider the split infinitive a construction, not an error. They believe that
split infinitives are perfectly appropriate, especially in informal writing.

In fact, an infinitive will occasionally require splitting, sometimes for meaning and sometimes
for sentence cadence. One of the most celebrated split infinitives begins every episode of Star
Trek: "To boldly go where no one has gone before ...." Boldly to go? To go boldly? Neither
option is as effective as the original!

When you are making the decision to split or not to split, consider your audience. If the piece of
writing is very formal and you can maneuver the words to avoid splitting the infinitive, then do
so. If you like the infinitive split and know that its presence will not hurt the effectiveness of
your writing, leave it alone.

The Infinitive Phrase


Recognize an infinitive phrase when you see one.
An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [to + simple form of the verb]. It will include
objects and/or modifiers. Here are some examples:

To smash a spider

To kick the ball past the dazed goalie

To lick the grease from his shiny fingers despite the disapproving glances of his girlfriend Gloria

Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:

To finish her shift without spilling another pizza into a customer's lap is Michelle's only goal
tonight.

To finish her shift without spilling another pizza into a customer's lap functions as a noun
because it is the subject of the sentence.

Lakesha hopes to win the approval of her mother by switching her major from fine arts to pre-
med.
To win the approval of her mother functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the verb
hopes.

The best way to survive Dr. Peterson's boring history lectures is a sharp pencil to stab in your
thigh if you catch yourself drifting off.

To survive Dr. Peterson's boring history lectures functions as an adjective because it modifies
way.

Kelvin, an aspiring comic book artist, is taking Anatomy and Physiology this semester to
understand the interplay of muscle and bone in the human body.

To understand the interplay of muscle and bone in the human body functions as an adverb
because it explains why Kelvin is taking the class.

Punctuate an infinitive phrase correctly.


When an infinitive phrase introduces a main clause, separate the two sentence components with a
comma. The pattern looks like this:

Infinitive Phrase + , + Main Clause.

Read this example:

To avoid burning another bag of popcorn, Brendan pressed his nose against the microwave door,
sniffing suspiciously.

When an infinitive phrase breaks the flow of a main clause, use a comma both before and after
the interrupter. The pattern looks like this:

Start of Main Clause + , + Interrupter + , + End of Main Clause.

Here is an example:

Those basketball shoes, to be perfectly honest, do not complement the suit you are planning to
wear to the interview.

When an infinitive phrase concludes a main clause, you need no punctuation to connect the two
sentence parts. The pattern looks like this:

Main Clause + Ø + Infinitive Phrase.

Check out this example:


Janice and her friends went to the mall to flirt with the cute guys who congregate at the food
court.

The Interjection
Recognize an interjection when you see one.
To capture short bursts of emotion, you can use an interjection, which is a single word, phrase, or
short clause that communicates the facial expression and body language that the sentence itself
will sometimes neglect.

Interjections are thus like emoticons. One writer might write the sentence like this:

The burrito is vegan. :-)

Or like this:

The burrito is vegan. ☺

But another writer might use an interjection to express that same burst of happiness:

The burrito is vegan. Yum!

The interjection yum lets us see the emotional response to the information in the sentence. If the
writer was really hoping for spicy ground beef in the burrito, notice how a different interjection
communicates the disappointment:

The burrito is vegan. :-(

The burrito is vegan. ☹

The burrito is vegan. Yuck!

Interjections are common in spoken English, so they are appropriate if you are capturing
dialogue in your writing. Read this example:

My colleague in the physics lab shouted, "Hooray! They made the right decision!" when she
learned that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted Pluto to dwarf planet.

Interjections are also appropriate in informal communication, like texts or emails to friends:

Groovy! IAU demotes Pluto!!!


But when you read, you'll notice that writers seldom use interjections in professional
publications like textbooks, newspapers, or magazines. Never, for example, would an important
science journal include a sentence like this one:

Oh, snap! The IAU has added gravitational dominance as a requirement for planethood.

Good writers know that careful word choice can capture the same emotion and body language
that the interjection communicates. In the sentence below, we recognize the writer’s unhappiness
even though we find no interjection:

Worse than the refried beans was the disappointment that spread over my tongue as I bit into the
vegan burrito.

Know the different kinds of interjections.


Some words are primarily interjections. Below is a list.

Interjections

bazinga hello whew


blech hooray whoa
boo-yah huh wow
duh oh yahoo
eek oops yikes
eureka ouch yippee
eww oy yo
gak ugh yowza
geez uh-oh yuck
ha whammo yum

However, any word, phrase, or short clause that captures an emotional burst can function as an
interjection. So if you write, Emily has switched her major to chemistry, you could use an
adjective, for example, as an interjection:

Sweet! Emily has switched her major to chemistry.

A noun or noun phrase would also work:

Congratulations, Emily has switched her major to chemistry.

Emily has switched her major to chemistry. Way to go!

Holy macaroni! Emily has switched her major to chemistry.

Or you could use a short clause:


Emily has switched her major to chemistry. She rocks!

Notice that the sentence itself, Emily has switched her major to chemistry, doesn't provide an
emotional reaction to the information. The interjection does that job. And remember, not
everyone might be congratulatory and happy:

Emily has switched her major to chemistry. Oh, the horror!

Know how to punctuate interjections.


Punctuation for an interjection will depend on the emotion and body language you hope to
capture.

Strong emotions, such as anger, excitement, or surprise, need an exclamation point [!] to
communicate the intensity.

Ugh! I cannot believe we are eating leftover vegan burritos for a third night.

Yowza! That's an astrophysicist dancing in the hallway!

An interjection meant to illustrate confusion, uncertainty, or disbelief will require a question


mark [?] to help capture the open mouth, shrug, blank look, or rolled eyes.

Huh? You want me—the person with a D average—to help with your calculus homework?

Oh, really? You killed a rattlesnake with a salad fork?

A comma [,] or period [.] will indicate weaker emotions, like indifference, doubt, or disdain.
These two marks of punctuation dial down the volume on the sentence.

Meh, I don't really care that Pluto is no longer a planet.

Pssst. Do you have the answer for number 7?

Here comes Prof. Phillips. Uh-oh, did he catch sight of your cheat sheet?

It looks like George is skipping class even though our group presentation is due today. Typical.

The Interrupter
Recognize an interrupter when you see one.
An interrupter is a word, phrase, or clause that significantly breaks the flow of a sentence. Read
the examples that follow:
Please take those smelly socks to the garage, Kris, and put them in the washing machine.

My essay, to be perfectly honest, flew out of the bus window while I was riding to school.

What you just ate, if you must know, was squid eyeball stew.

Punctuate an interrupter correctly.


Generally, you separate an interrupter from the rest of the sentence with commas—one in front
of the interrupter and one behind. The pattern looks like this:

The First Part of the Sentence + , + Interrupter + , + The Rest of the Sentence.

Check out these examples:

Jerome's calculus teacher is usually a real slave driver. Tonight, surprisingly, Jerome has only
fifty problems to solve as homework.

My cat Fuzz loves to curl up on my lap and sleep. Buster, on the other hand, prefers to use my
thigh as a scratching post.

The bathroom tiles, whenever time permits, require a good scrubbing, for the grout is black with
mold.

If you want to emphasize the break more strongly, use dashes to separate the interrupter from the
rest of the sentence. The pattern looks like this:

The First Part of the Sentence + — + Interrupter + — + The Rest of the Sentence.

These sentences illustrate the pattern:

That chocolate-broccoli muffin—though a good source of vitamin C—will upset Frank's


stomach this early in the morning.

My brother's seven-foot python—aptly named Squeeze—slithered out the open back door and
frightened Mrs. Russell, our next-door neighbor, nearly to death.

That nuclear orange jacket—believe me—fails to complement your lime green pants.

The Intransitive Verb


Recognize an intransitive verb when you see one.
An intransitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a doable
activity like arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, die, etc. Second, unlike a transitive verb, it will not have a
direct object receiving the action.

Here are some examples of intransitive verbs:

Huffing and puffing, we arrived at the classroom door with only seven seconds to spare.

Arrived = intransitive verb.

James went to the campus cafe for a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

Went = intransitive verb.

To escape the midday sun, the cats lie in the shade under our cars.

Lie = intransitive verb.

Around fresh ground pepper, Sheryl sneezes with violence.

Sneezes = intransitive verb.

In the evenings, Glenda sits on the front porch to admire her immaculate lawn.

Sits = intransitive verb.

Flipped on its back, the beetle that Clara soaked with insecticide dies under the refrigerator.

Dies = intransitive verb.

Realize that many verbs can be both transitive and


intransitive.
An action verb with a direct object is transitive while an action verb with no direct object is
intransitive. Some verbs, such as arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, and die, are always intransitive; it is
impossible for a direct object to follow.

Other action verbs, however, can be transitive or intransitive, depending on what follows in the
sentence. Compare these examples:

Because of blood sugar problems, Rosa always eats before leaving for school.

Eats = intransitive verb.

If there is no leftover pizza, Rosa usually eats whole-grain cereal.


Eats = transitive verb; cereal = direct object.

During cross-country practice, Damien runs over hills, through fields, across the river, and along
the highway.

Runs = intransitive verb.

In the spring, Damien will run his first marathon.

Will run = transitive verb; marathon = direct object.

The Linking Verb


Recognize a linking verb when you see one.
Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb to additional
information about the subject. Look at the examples below:

Keila is a shopaholic.

Ising isn't something that Keila can do. Is connects the subject, Keila, to additional information
about her, that she will soon have a huge credit card bill to pay.

During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch.

Areing isn't something that cats can do. Are is connecting the subject, cats, to something said
about them, that they enjoy sleeping on the furniture.

After drinking the old milk, Vladimir turned green.

Turned connects the subject, Vladimir, to something said about him, that he needed an antacid.

A ten-item quiz seems impossibly long after a night of no studying.

Seems connects the subject, a ten-item quiz, with something said about it, that its difficulty
depends on preparation, not length.

Irene always feels sleepy after pigging out on pizza from Antonio's.

Feels connects the subject, Irene, to her state of being, sleepiness.

The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has
been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always
linking verbs.
Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain,
smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are action
verbs.

How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking verbs?

If you can substitute am, is, or are and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a linking verb
on your hands.

If, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, you are dealing with an action verb
instead. Here are some examples:

Sylvia tasted the spicy squid eyeball stew.

Sylvia is the stew? I don't think so! Tasted, therefore, is an action verb in this sentence,
something Sylvia is doing.

The squid eyeball stew tasted good.

The stew is good? You bet. Make your own!

I smell the delicious aroma of a mushroom and papaya pizza baking in the oven.

I am the aroma? No way! Smell, in this sentence, is an action verb, something I am doing.

The mushroom and papaya pizza smells heavenly.

The pizza is heavenly? Definitely! Try a slice!

When my dog Oreo felt the wet grass beneath her paws, she bolted up the stairs and curled up on
the couch.

Oreo is the wet grass? Of course not! Here, then, felt is an action verb, something Oreo is doing.

My dog Oreo feels depressed after seven straight days of rain.

Oreo is depressed? Without a doubt! Oreo hates the wet.

This substitution will not work for appear. With appear, you have to analyze the function of the
verb.

Swooping out of the clear blue sky, the blue jay appeared on the branch.

Appear is something a blue jay can do—especially when food is near.

The blue jay appeared happy to see the bird feeder.


Here, appeared is connecting the subject, the blue jay, to its state of mind, happiness

The Modifier
Recognize a modifier when you see one.
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. Modifiers allow
writers to take the picture that they have in their heads and transfer it accurately to the heads of
their readers. Essentially, modifiers breathe life into sentences. Take a look at this "dead"
sentence:

Stephen dropped his fork.

Now read what several well placed modifiers can do:

Poor Stephen, who just wanted a quick meal to get through his three-hour biology lab, quickly
dropped his fork on the cafeteria tray, gagging with disgust as a tarantula wiggled out of his
cheese omelet, a sight requiring a year of therapy before Stephen could eat eggs again.

Modifiers can be adjectives, adjective clauses, adverbs, adverb clauses, absolute phrases,
infinitive phrases, participle phrases, and prepositional phrases. The sentence above contains at
least one example of each:

Adjective = poor.

Adjective clause = who just wanted a quick meal.

Adverb = quickly.

Adverb clause = as a tarantula wiggled out of his cheese omelet.

Absolute phrase = a sight requiring a year of therapy before Stephen could eat eggs again.

Infinitive phrase = to get through his three-hour biology lab.

Participle phrase = gagging with disgust.

Prepositional phrase = on the cafeteria tray.

Without modifiers, sentences would be no fun to read. Carefully chosen, well-placed modifiers
allow you to depict situations with as much accuracy as words will allow.

The Noncount Noun


Recognize a noncount noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Many nouns have both a singular and plural form: a
surfer/surfers, a restaurant/restaurants, a pickle/pickles. Some nouns, however, have only a
singular form; you cannot add a number to the front or an s to the end of these words. This group
of nouns is called noncount.

Read the following examples:

After two months of rainstorms, Fred carries his umbrella everywhere in anticipation of more
bad weather.

Rainstorms = count noun; weather = noncount noun.

Because Big Toe Joe has ripped all four chairs with his claws, Diane wants to buy new furniture
and find the cat another home.

Chairs = count noun; furniture = noncount noun.

When Mrs. Russell postponed the date of the research paper, smiles lit up the faces of her
students, filling the room with happiness.

Smiles = count noun; happiness = noncount noun.

Because the beautiful Josephine will help Pablo with his calculus assignments, he never minds
the homework from Dr. Ribley's class.

Assignments = count noun; homework = noncount noun.

Know the different categories of noncount nouns.


The chart below illustrates the different types of noncount nouns. Remember that these
categories include other nouns that are count. For example, lightning, a natural event [one of the
categories], is noncount, but hurricane, a different natural event, is a count noun. When you don't
know what type of noun you have, consult a dictionary that provides such information.

Category Examples

advice, courage, enjoyment, fun, help, honesty, information, intelligence,


Abstractions
knowledge, patience, etc.

chess, homework, housework, music, reading, singing, sleeping, soccer, tennis,


Activities
work, etc.

Food beef, bread, butter, fish, macaroni, meat, popcorn, pork, poultry, toast, etc.
air, exhaust, helium, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, pollution, smog, smoke, steam,
Gases
etc.

Groups of Similar baggage, clothing, furniture, hardware, luggage, equipment, mail, money,
Items software, vocabulary, etc.

Liquids blood, coffee, gasoline, milk, oil, soup, syrup, tea, water, wine, etc.

electricity, gravity, heat, humidity, moonlight, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder,


Natural Events
weather, etc.

Materials aluminum, asphalt, chalk, cloth, concrete, cotton, glue, lumber, wood, wool, etc.

Particles or Grains corn, dirt, dust, flour, hair, pepper, rice, salt, sugar, wheat, etc.

Know how to indicate number with noncount nouns.


Thunder, a noncount noun, cannot have an s added at the end. You can, however, lie awake in
bed counting the number of times you hear thunder boom during a storm.

When you want to indicate number with a noncount word, you have two options. First, you can
put of in front of the noncount word—for example, of thunder—and then attach the resulting
prepositional phrase to an appropriate count word.

Kristina heard seven claps of thunder.

A second option is to make the noncount noun an adjective that you place before a count noun.
Then you could write a sentence like this:

Thunderheads filled the sky.

Here are some more examples:

Noncount Noun Countable Version

advice pieces of advice

homework homework assignments

bread loaves of bread, slices of bread

smoke puffs of smoke, plumes of smoke

software software applications

wine bottles of wine, glasses of wine


snow snow storms, snowflakes, snow drifts

cloth bolts of cloth, yards of cloth

dirt piles of dirt, truckloads of dirt

Understand that some nouns are both noncount and count.


Sometimes a word that means one thing as a noncount noun has a slightly different meaning if it
also has a countable version. Remember, then, that the classifications count and noncount are not
absolute.

Time is a good example. When you use this word to mean the unceasing flow of experience that
includes past, present, and future, with no distinct beginning or end, then time is a noncount
noun. Read this example:

Time dragged as Simon sat through yet another boring chick flick with his girlfriend Roseanne.

Time = noncount because it has no specific beginning and, for poor Simon, no foreseeable end.

When time refers to a specific experience which starts at a certain moment and ends after a
number of countable units [minutes, hours, days, etc.], then the noun is count. Here is an
example:

On his last to Disney World, Joe rode Space Mountain twenty-seven times.

Times = count because a ride on Space Mountain is a measurable unit of experience, one that
you can clock with a stopwatch.

The Noun Phrase


Recognize a noun phrase when you see one.
A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and the modifiers which distinguish
it.

You can find the noun dog in a sentence, for example, but you don't know which canine the
writer means until you consider the entire noun phrase: that dog, Aunt Audrey's dog, the dog on
the sofa, the neighbor's dog that chases our cat, the dog digging in the new flower bed.

Modifiers can come before or after the noun. Ones that come before might include articles,
possessive nouns, possessive pronouns, adjectives, and/or participles.

Articles: a dog, the dog


Possessive nouns: Aunt Audrey's dog, the neighbor's dog, the police officer's dog

Possessive pronouns: our dog, her dog, their dog

Adjectives: that dog, the big dog, the spotted dog

Participles: the drooling dog, the barking dog, the well trained dog

Modifiers that come after the noun might include prepositional phrases, adjective clauses,
participle phrases, and/or infinitives.

Prepositional phrases: a dog on the loose, the dog in the front seat, the dog behind the fence

Adjective clauses: the dog that chases cats, the dog that looks lost, the dog that won the
championship

Participle phrases: the dog whining for a treat, the dog clipped at the grooming salon, the dog
walked daily

Infinitives: the dog to catch, the dog to train, the dog to adopt

Less frequently, a noun phrase will have a pronoun as its base—a word like we, everybody,
etc.—and the modifiers which distinguish it. Read these examples:

We who were green with envy

We = subject pronoun; who were green with envy = modifier.

Someone intelligent

Someone = indefinite pronoun; intelligent = modifier.

No one important

No one = indefinite pronoun; important = modifier.

Parallel Structure
Recognize parallel structure when you see it.
Whenever you include a list of actions or items, you must use equal grammatical units. If the
first item is a noun, then the following items must also be nouns; if the first action is a simple
past tense verb, then make the other items simple past tense verbs as well.

Nonparallel structure looks like this:


Students , , and .

Students capped their pens, were closing their notebooks, and zipped their book bags as they
tried to alert Professor Jones, rambling at the lectern, that the end of class had arrived.

Capped and zipped are both simple past tense verbs, but were closing is past progressive,
wrecking the parallelism.

Parallel structure, the correct way to write, looks like this:

Students , , and .

Students , , and .

To establish parallelism, you can use all simple past tense verbs:

Students capped their pens, closed their notebooks, and zipped their book bags as they tried to
alert Professor Jones, rambling at the lectern, that the end of class had arrived.

Or you can revise the sentence so that all of the items in the list are nouns:

Students gathered their pens, notebooks, and book bags as they tried to alert Professor Jones,
rambling at the lectern, that the end of class had arrived.

Be especially careful with correlative conjunctions.


Not only ... but also, either ... or, and neither ... nor all require special attention when you are
proofreading for parallelism. These correlative conjunctions require equal grammatical units
after both parts of the conjunction. You can have two main clauses like this:

Not only did Professor Jones give the class a withering look, but he also assigned 20 extra pages
of homework as punishment for their impatience to leave.

Or you can use two verbs:

Professor Jones not only gave the class a withering look but also assigned them 20 extra pages of
homework as punishment for their impatience to leave.
Or you can have two nouns as this version does:

Professor Jones gave the class not only a withering look but also 20 extra pages of homework as
punishment for their impatience to leave.

The Participle
Recognize a participle when you see one.
Participles come in two varieties: past and present. They are two of the five forms or principal
parts that every verb has. Look at the charts below.

Regular Verbs:
Verb Simple Present Simple Past Past Participle Present Participle Infinitive

giggle giggle(s) giggled giggled giggling to giggle

help help(s) helped helped helping to help

jump jump(s) jumped jumped jumping to jump

Irregular Verbs:
Verb Simple Present Simple Past Past Participle Present Participle Infinitive

bring bring(s) brought brought bringing to bring

ring ring(s) rang rung ringing to ring

sing sing(s) sang sung singing to sing

swim swim(s) swam swum swimming to swim

Notice that each present participle ends in ing. This is the case 100 percent of the time.

On the other hand, you can see that past participles do not have a consistent ending. The past
participles of all regular verbs end in ed; the past participles of irregular verbs, however, vary
considerably. If you look at bring and sing, for example, you'll see that their past participles—
brought and sung—do not follow the same pattern even though both verbs have ing as the last
three letters.

Consult a dictionary whenever you are unsure of a verb's past participle form.

Know the functions of participles.


Participles have three functions in sentences. They can be components of multipart verbs, or they
can function as adjectives or nouns.

Participles in Multipart Verbs

A verb can have as many as four parts. When you form multipart verbs, you use a combination
of auxiliary verbs and participles. Look at the examples below:

Our pet alligator ate Mrs. Olsen's poodle.

Ate = simple past tense [no participle].

With a broom, Mrs. Olsen was beating our alligator over the head in an attempt to retrieve her
poodle.

Was = auxiliary verb; beating = present participle.

Our pet alligator has been stalking neighborhood pets because my brother Billy forgets to feed
the poor reptile.

Has = auxiliary verb; been = past participle; stalking = present participle.

Our pet alligator should have been eating Gator Chow, crunchy nuggets that Billy leaves for him
in a bowl.

Should, have = auxiliary verbs; been = past participle; eating = present participle.

Participles as Adjectives

Past and present participles often function as adjectives that describe nouns. Here are some
examples:

The crying baby drew a long breath and sucked in a spider crouching in the corner of the crib.

Which baby? The crying baby. Which spider? The one that was crouching in the corner.

The mangled pair of sunglasses, bruised face, broken arm, and bleeding knees meant Genette had
taken another spill on her mountain bike.

Which pair of sunglasses? The mangled pair. Which face? The bruised one. Which arm? The
broken one. Which knees? The bleeding ones.
Participles as Nouns

Present participles can function as nouns—the subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of
prepositions, and subject complements in sentences. Whenever a present participle functions as a
noun, you call it a gerund.

Take a look at these examples:

Sneezing exhausts Steve, who requires eight tissues and twenty-seven Gesundheits before he is
done.

Sneezing = the subject of the verb exhausts.

Valerie hates cooking because scraping burnt gook out of pans always undermines her
enjoyment of the food.

Cooking = the direct object of the verb hates.

We gave bungee jumping a chance.

Bungee jumping = indirect object of the verb gave.

Joelle bit her tongue instead of criticizing her prom date's powder blue tuxedo.

Criticizing = object of the preposition instead of.

Omar's least favorite sport is water-skiing because a bad spill once caused him to lose his swim
trunks.

Water-skiing = the subject complement of the verb is.

The Participle Phrase


Recognize a participle phrase when you see one.
A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will
dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed. Irregular
past participles, unfortunately, conclude in all kinds of ways [although this list will help].

Since all phrases require two or more words, a participle phrase will often include objects and/or
modifiers that complete the thought. Here are some examples:

Crunching caramel corn for the entire movie

Washed with soap and water


Stuck in the back of the closet behind the obsolete computer

Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. Read these
examples:

The horse trotting up to the fence hopes that you have an apple or carrot.

Trotting up to the fence modifies the noun horse.

The water drained slowly in the pipe clogged with dog hair.

Clogged with dog hair modifies the noun pipe.

Eaten by mosquitoes, we wished that we had made hotel, not campsite, reservations.

Eaten by mosquitoes modifies the pronoun we.

Don't mistake a present participle phrase for a gerund


phrase.
Gerund and present participle phrases are easy to confuse because they both begin with an ing
word. The difference is the function that they provide in the sentence. A gerund phrase will
always behave as a noun while a present participle phrase will act as an adjective. Check out
these examples:

Walking on the beach, Delores dodged jellyfish that had washed ashore.

Walking on the beach = present participle phrase describing the noun Delores.

Walking on the beach is painful if jellyfish have washed ashore.

Walking on the beach = gerund phrase, the subject of the verb is.

Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock, Freddie cursed the arrival of another Monday.

Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock = present participle phrase describing the noun Freddie.

Freddie hates waking to the buzz of the alarm clock.

Waking to the buzz of the alarm clock = gerund phrase, the direct object of the verb hates.

After a long day at school and work, LaShae found her roommate Ben eating the last of the
leftover pizza.

Eating the last of the leftover pizza = present participle phrase describing the noun Ben.
Ben's rudest habit is eating the last of the leftover pizza.

Eating the last of the leftover pizza = gerund phrase, the subject complement of the linking verb
is.

Punctuate a participle phrase correctly.


When a participle phrase introduces a main clause, separate the two sentence components with a
comma. The pattern looks like this:

Participle Phrase + , + Main Clause.

Read this example:

Glazed with barbecue sauce, the rack of ribs lay nestled next to a pile of sweet coleslaw.

When a participle phrase concludes a main clause and is describing the word right in front of it,
you need no punctuation to connect the two sentence parts. The pattern looks like this:

Main Clause + Ø + Participle Phrase.

Check out this example:

Mariah risked petting the pit bull wagging its stub tail.

But when a participle phrase concludes a main clause and modifies a word farther up in the
sentence, you will need a comma. The pattern looks like this:

Main Clause + , + Participle Phrase.

Check out this example:

Cooper enjoyed dinner at Audrey's house, agreeing to a large slice of cherry pie even though he
was full to the point of bursting.

Don't misplace or dangle your participle phrases.


Participle phrases are the most common modifier to misplace or dangle. In clear, logical
sentences, you will find modifiers right next to the words they describe.

Shouting with happiness, William celebrated his chance to interview at SunTrust.


Notice that the participle phrase sits right in front of William, the one doing the shouting.

If too much distance separates a modifier and its target, the modifier is misplaced.

Draped neatly on a hanger, William borrowed Grandpa's old suit to wear to the interview.

The suit, not William, is on the hanger! The modifier must come closer to the word it is meant to
describe:

For the interview, William borrowed Grandpa's old suit, which was draped neatly on a hanger.

If the sentence fails to include a target, the modifier is dangling.

Straightening his tie and smoothing his hair, the appointment time for the interview had finally
arrived.

We assume William is about to interview, but where is he in the sentence? We need a target for
the participle phrase straightening his tie and smoothing his hair.

Straightening his tie and smoothing his hair, William was relieved that the appointment time for
the interview had finally arrived.

The Phrase
Recognize a phrase when you see one.
A phrase is two or more words that do not contain the subject-verb pair necessary to form a
clause. Phrases can be very short or quite long. Here are two examples:

After lunch

After slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death Mrs. Philpot busy
pruning her rose bushes

Certain phrases have specific names based on the type of word that begins or governs the word
group: noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, participle phrase, gerund
phrase, and absolute phrase.

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and the modifiers—either before or
after—which distinguish it. The pattern looks like this:

Optional Modifier(s) + Noun + Optional Modifier(s)


Here are some examples:

The shoplifted pair of jeans

Pair = noun; the, shoplifted, of jeans = modifiers.

A cat that refused to meow

Cat = noun; a, that refused to meow = modifiers.

A great English teacher

Teacher = noun; a, great, English = modifiers.

Noun phrases function as subjects, objects, and complements:

The shoplifted pair of jeans caused Nathaniel so much guilt that he couldn't wear them.

The shoplifted pair of jeans = subject.

Jerome adopted a cat that refused to meow.

A cat that refused to meow = direct object.

With her love of Shakespeare and knowledge of grammar, Jasmine will someday be a great
English teacher.

A great English teacher = subject complement.

Verb Phrases

Sometimes a sentence can communicate its meaning with a one-word verb. Other times,
however, a sentence will use a verb phrase, a multi-word verb, to express more nuanced action or
condition. A verb phrase can have up to four parts. The pattern looks like this:

Auxiliary Verb(s) + Main Verb + Verb Ending When Necessary

Here are some examples:

Had cleaned

Had = auxiliary verb; clean = main verb; ed = verb ending.

Should have been writing


Should, have, been = auxiliary verbs; write = main verb; ing = verb ending.

Must wash

Must = auxiliary verb; wash = main verb.

Here are the verb phrases in action:

Mom had just cleaned the refrigerator shelves when Lawrence knocked over the pitcher of
orange juice.

Sarah should have been writing her research essay, but she couldn't resist another short chapter
in her Stephen King novel.

If guests are coming for dinner, we must wash our smelly dog!

Prepositional Phrases

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun,
pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the
patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples:

On time

On = preposition; time = noun.

Underneath the sagging yellow couch

Underneath = preposition; the, sagging, yellow = modifiers; couch = noun.

From eating too much

From = preposition; eating = gerund; too, much = modifiers.

A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional


phrase will answer the question Which one?
Read these examples:

The spider above the kitchen sink has just caught a fat fly.

Which spider? The one above the kitchen sink!

The librarian at the check-out desk smiles whenever she collects a late fee.

Which librarian? The one at the check-out desk!

The vegetables on Noel's plate lay untouched the entire meal.

Which vegetables? The ones on Noel's plate!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?

While sitting in the cafeteria, Jack catapulted peas with a spoon.

How did Jack launch those peas? With a spoon!

After breakfast, we piled the dirty dishes in the sink.

When did we ignore the dirty dishes? After breakfast!

Amber finally found the umbrella wedged under the passenger's front seat.

Where did Amber locate the umbrella? Under the passenger's front seat!

Infinitive Phrases

An infinitive phrase will begin with an infinitive [to + simple form of the verb]. It will often
include objects and/or modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:

Infinitive + Object(s) and/or Modifier(s)

Here are some examples:

To slurp spaghetti

To send the document before the deadline

To gulp the glass of water with such thirst that streams of liquid ran down his chin and wet the
front of his already sweat-soaked shirt

Infinitive phrases can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Look at these examples:
To avoid another lecture from Michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism was Aaron's hope for
their date at a nice restaurant.

To avoid another lecture from Michelle on the benefits of vegetarianism functions as a noun
because it is the subject of the sentence.

Cheryl plans to take microbiology next semester when Professor Crum, a pushover, is teaching
the course.

To take microbiology next semester functions as a noun because it is the direct object for the
verb plans.

The worst thing to happen during the severe thunderstorm was a lightning strike that fried Clara's
computer.

To happen during the severe thunderstorm functions as an adjective because it modifies thing.

Ryan decided to mow the long grass on the front lawn to keep his neighbors from complaining to
the homeowners association.

To keep his neighbors from complaining to the homeowners association functions as an adverb
because it explains why Ryan mowed the lawn.

Participle Phrases

A participle phrase will begin with a present or past participle. If the participle is present, it will
dependably end in ing. Likewise, a regular past participle will end in a consistent ed. Irregular
past participles, unfortunately, conclude in all kinds of ways [although this list will help].

Since all phrases require two or more words, a participle phrase will often include objects and/or
modifiers that complete the thought. The pattern looks like this:

Participle + Object(s) and/or modifier(s)

Here are some examples:

Flexing his muscles in front of the bathroom mirror

Ripped from a spiral-ring notebook

Driven crazy by Grandma's endless questions

Participle phrases always function as adjectives, adding description to the sentence. Read these
examples:
The stock clerk lining up cartons of orange juice made sure the expiration date faced the back of
the cooler.

Lining up cartons of orange juice modifies the noun clerk.

Elijah likes his eggs smothered in cheese sauce.

Smothered in cheese sauce modifies the noun eggs.

Shrunk in the dryer, the jeans hung above John's ankles.

Shrunk in the dryer modifies the noun jeans.

Gerund Phrases

A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an ing word, and will often include other modifiers
and/or objects. The pattern looks like this:

Gerund + Object(s) and/or Modifier(s)

Gerund phrases look exactly like present participle phrases. How do you tell the difference? You
must determine the function of the phrase.

Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complements, or
objects in the sentence. Read these examples:

Washing our dog Gizmo requires strong arms to keep the squirming, unhappy puppy in the tub.

Washing our dog Gizmo = subject of the verb requires.

A good strategy for avoiding dirty dishes is eating every meal off of paper towels.

Eating every meal off of paper towels = subject complement of the verb is.

Susie tried holding the slippery trout, but the fish flipped out of her hands and splashed back into
the stream.

Holding the slippery trout = direct object of the verb tried.

Absolute Phrases

An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or
objects. The pattern looks like this:

Noun + Participle + Optional Modifier(s) and/or Object(s)


Here are some examples:

His brow knitted in frustration

Brow = noun; knitted = participle; his, in frustration = modifiers.

Her fingers flying over the piano keys

Fingers = noun; flying = participle; her, over the piano keys = modifiers.

Our eyes following the arc of the ball

Eyes = noun; following = participle; arc = direct object; our, the, of the ball = modifiers.

Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase will describe the whole clause:

His brow knitted in frustration, Thomas tried again to iron a perfect crease in his dress pants.

Francine played the difficult concerto, her fingers flying over the piano keys.

We watched Leo launch a pass to his fullback, our eyes following the arc of the ball.

The Preposition
Recognize a preposition when you see one.
Prepositions are the words that indicate location. Usually, prepositions show this location in the
physical world. Check out the three examples below:
The puppy is on the floor. The puppy is beside the phone.

The puppy is in the trash can.

On, in, and beside are all prepositions. They are showing where the puppy is. Prepositions can
also show location in time. Read the next three examples:

At midnight, Jill craved mashed potatoes with grape jelly.

In the spring, I always vow to plant tomatoes but end up buying them at the supermarket.

During the marathon, Iggy's legs complained with sharp pains shooting up his thighs.

At midnight, in the spring, and during the marathon all show location in time.

Because there are so many possible locations, there are quite a few prepositions. Below is the
complete list.

Prepositions

about concerning onto


above despite on top of
according to down out
across during out of
after except outside
against except for over
along excepting past
along with for regarding
among from round
apart from in since
around in addition to through
as in back of throughout
as for in case of till
at in front of to
because of in place of toward
before inside under
behind in spite of underneath
below instead of unlike
beneath into until
beside like up
between near upon
beyond next up to
but* of with
by off within
by means of on without

* But is very seldom a preposition. When it is used as a preposition, but means the same as
except—Everyone ate frog legs but Jamie. But usually functions as a coordinating conjunction.

Understand how to form a prepositional phrase.


Prepositions generally introduce prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases look like this:

Preposition + Optional Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, or Gerund

Here are some examples:

At school

At = preposition; school = noun.

According to us

According to = preposition; us = pronoun.

By chewing

By = preposition; chewing = gerund.

Under the stove

Under = preposition; the = modifier; stove = noun.

In the crumb-filled, rumpled sheets


In = preposition; the, crumb-filled, rumpled = modifiers; sheets = noun.

Realize that some prepositions also function as subordinate


conjunctions.
Some prepositions also function as subordinate conjunctions. These prepositions are after, as,
before, since, and until. A subordinate conjunction will have both a subject and a verb following
it, forming a subordinate clause.

Look at these examples:

After Sam and Esmerelda kissed goodnight

After = subordinate conjunction; Sam, Esmerelda = subjects; kissed = verb.

As Jerome buckled on the parachute

As = subordinate conjunction; Jerome = subject; buckled = verb.

Before I eat these frog legs

Before = subordinate conjunction; I = subject; eat = verb.

Since we have enjoyed the squid eyeball stew

Since = subordinate conjunction; we = subject; have enjoyed = verb.

Until your hiccups stop

Until = subordinate conjunction; hiccups = subject; stop = verb.

If you find a noun [with or without modifiers] following one of these five prepositions, then all
you have is a prepositional phrase. Look at these examples:

After the killer calculus test

After = preposition; the, killer, calculus = modifiers; test = noun.

As a good parent

As = preposition; a, good = modifiers; parent = noun.

Before dinner

Before = preposition; dinner = noun.


Since the breakup

Since = preposition; the = modifier; breakup = noun.

Until midnight

Until = preposition; midnight = noun.

The Prepositional Phrase


Recognize a prepositional phrase when you see one.
At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun,
pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the
patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Here are some examples of the most basic prepositional phrase:

At home

At = preposition; home = noun.

In time

In = preposition; time = noun.

From Richie

From = preposition; Richie = noun.

With me

With = preposition; me = pronoun.

By singing

By = preposition; singing = gerund.


About what we need

About = preposition; what we need = noun clause.

Most prepositional phrases are longer, like these:

From my grandmother

From = preposition; my = modifier; grandmother = noun.

Under the warm blanket

Under = preposition; the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.

In the weedy, overgrown garden

In = preposition; the, weedy, overgrown = modifiers; garden = noun.

Along the busy, six-lane highway

Along = preposition; the, busy, six-lane = modifiers; highway = noun.

Without excessively worrying

Without = preposition; excessively = modifier; worrying = gerund.

Understand what prepositional phrases do in a sentence.


A prepositional phrase will function as an adjective or adverb. As an adjective, the prepositional
phrase will answer the question Which one?

Read these examples:

The book on the bathroom floor is swollen from shower steam.

Which book? The one on the bathroom floor!

The sweet potatoes in the vegetable bin are green with mold.

Which sweet potatoes? The ones forgotten in the vegetable bin!

The note from Beverly confessed that she had eaten the leftover pizza.

Which note? The one from Beverly!

As an adverb, a prepositional phrase will answer questions such as How? When? or Where?
Freddy is stiff from yesterday's long football practice.

How did Freddy get stiff? From yesterday's long football practice!

Before class, Josh begged his friends for a pencil.

When did Josh do his begging? Before class!

Feeling brave, we tried the Dragon Breath Burritos at Tito's Taco Palace.

Where did we eat the spicy food? At Tito's Taco Palace!

Remember that a prepositional phrase will never contain the


subject of a sentence.
Sometimes a noun within the prepositional phrase seems the logical subject of a verb. Don't fall
for that trick! You will never find a subject in a prepositional phrase. Look at this example:

Neither of these cookbooks contains the recipe for Manhattan-style squid eyeball stew.

Cookbooks do indeed contain recipes. In this sentence, however, cookbooks is part of the
prepositional phrase of these cookbooks. Neither—whatever a neither is—is the subject for the
verb contains.

Neither is singular, so you need the singular form of the verb, contains. If you incorrectly
identified cookbooks as the subject, you might write contain, the plural form, and thus commit a
subject-verb agreement error.

Some prepositions—such as along with and in addition to—indicate "more to come." They will
make you think that you have a plural subject when in fact you don't. Don't fall for that trick
either! Read this example:

Tommy, along with the other students, breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Markham announced
that she was postponing the due date for the research essay.

Logically, more than one student is happy with the news. But Tommy is the only subject of the
verb breathed. His classmates count in the real world, but in the sentence, they don't matter,
locked as they are in the prepositional phrase.

The Semicolon
Recognize a semicolon when you see one.
The semicolon [ ; ] is a powerful mark of punctuation with three uses.
The first appropriate use of the semicolon is to connect two related sentences. The pattern looks
like this:

Complete Sentence + ; + Complete Sentence.

Here is an example:

Grandma still rides her Harley motorcycle; her toy poodle balances in a basket between the
handlebars.

A semicolon can also team up with a transition—often a conjunctive adverb—to connect two
sentences close in meaning. The pattern looks like this:

Complete Sentence + ; + Transition + , + Complete Sentence.

Check out this example:

My father does not approve of his mother cruising around town on a Harley motorcycle;
however, Grandma has never cared what anyone thinks.

Finally, use the semicolon to avoid confusion when you have complicated lists of items. The
pattern looks like this:

Item + , + More Information + ; + Item + , + More Information + ; + and + Item + , + More

Information

Read the following example:

On a Harley motorcycle, my grandmother and her poodle have traveled to Anchorage, Alaska;
San Francisco, California; and Tijuana, Mexico.

Keep these three things in mind when you use a semicolon:

 The two main clauses that the semicolon joins should be closely related in meaning.
 Don't capitalize the word that follows the semicolon unless that word is a proper noun, one that
is always capitalized.
 Limit your use of semicolons; you should not scatter them wantonly throughout your writing.
Semicolons are like glasses of champagne; save them for special occasions.

The Subject
Recognize a subject of a sentence when you see one.
In a sentence, every verb must have a subject. If the verb expresses action—like sneeze, jump,
bark, or study—the subject is who or what does the verb. Take a look at this example:

During his biology lab, Tommy danced on the table.

Danced is an action verb. Tommy is who did the dancing. Look at the next example:

The speeding hotrod crashed into a telephone pole.

Crashed is the action verb. The hotrod is what did the crashing.

Not all verbs are action verbs. Some verbs are linking: am, is, are, was, were, seem, and become,
among others. Linking verbs connect the subject to something that is said about the subject. Take
a look at this example:

Ron's bathroom is a disaster.

Bathroom is the subject. Is connects the subject to something that is said about it, that the
bathroom is a disaster. Here is another example:

The bathroom tiles are fuzzy with mold.

The word tiles is the subject. Are connects tiles to something said about them, that they are fuzzy
with mold.

Generally, but not always, the subject of a linking verb will come before the linking verb.

Know the difference between a complete subject and a


simple subject.
The complete subject is who or what is doing the verb plus all of the modifiers [descriptive
words] that go with it. Read the sentence below:

The big, hungry, green Martian grabbed a student from the back row.

Who did the grabbing? The Martian, of course. But this Martian wasn't petite, satisfied, and blue.
No, this one was big, hungry, and green. The complete subject, then, is the huge, hairy, hungry,
green Martian.

The simple subject, on the other hand, is the who or what that is doing the verb without any
description. Take a look at this example:

The bright copper coin sparkled on the sidewalk.


What did the sparkling? Obviously, the bright copper coin. The, bright and copper, however, are
just description that distinguishes this coin from one that is, let's say, tarnished and silver. The
simple subject is only the word coin.

Remember that the subject is never part of a prepositional


phrase.
The subject of a verb will never be part of a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase begins
with a preposition [in, on, at, between, among, etc.] and ends with a noun, pronoun, or gerund.
Look at these examples of prepositional phrases:

in the dirty bathtub

on the bumpy road

at home

between us

among the empty pizza boxes

without crying

Sometimes a prepositional phrase appears to be either the subject itself or part of the subject.
Read the example that follows:

Neither of these boys wants to try a piece of pineapple pizza.

In this sentence, the boys seem to be the ones who do not want the pizza, but because they are
part of a prepositional phrase, of these boys, they are not the subject. Neither is the actual
subject. Take a look at another example:

My dog, along with her seven puppies, has chewed all of the stuffing out of the sofa cushions.

Here, both my dog and her seven puppies are chewing on the sofa, but because the puppies are
part of the prepositional phrase along with her seven puppies, the only word that counts as the
subject is dog.

Remember this additional point:


Generally, but not always, the subject comes before the verb, as in all of the examples above.
There are, however, exceptions, like this one:

In a small house adjacent to our backyard lives a family with ten noisy children.
Lives is the action verb in this sentence, but it is not the house or the backyard that is doing the
living. Instead, it is the family with ten noisy children. Family, then, is the subject of this
sentence, even though it comes after the verb. Take a look at another example:

Around the peach trees are several buzzing bumblebees.

Are is the linking verb in this sentence. The word trees, however, is not the subject because trees
is within the prepositional phrase around the peach trees. The subject in this sentence,
bumblebees, follows the verb rather than coming before it.

The Subject Complement


Recognize a subject complement when you see one.
A subject complement is the adjective, noun, or pronoun that follows a linking verb.

The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has
been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always
linking verbs.

Then you have a list of verbs that can be linking or action: appear, feel, grow, look, prove,
remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn. If you can substitute any of the verbs on this second list
with an equal sign [=] and the sentence still makes sense, the verb is almost always linking.

Read these examples:

Brandon is a gifted athlete.

Brandon = subject; is = linking verb; athlete = noun as subject complement.

It was he who caught the winning touchdown Friday night.

It = subject; was = linking verb; he = pronoun as subject complement.

Brandon becomes embarrassed when people compliment his skill.

Brandon = subject; becomes = linking verb; embarrassed = adjective as subject complement.

Brandon's face will turn red.

Face = subject; will turn = linking verb; red = adjective as subject complement. [Will turn is
linking because if you substitute this verb with an equal sign, the sentence still makes sense.]

Don't mistake a subject complement for a direct object.


Only linking verbs can have subject complements. If the verb is action, then the word that
answers the question what? or who? after the subject + verb is a direct object.

When Michelle woke up this morning, she felt sick.

She = subject; felt = linking verb; sick = subject complement. [Felt is linking because if you
substitute this verb with an equal sign, the sentence still makes sense.]

Michelle felt her forehead but did not detect a temperature.

Michelle = subject; felt = action verb. She felt what? Forehead = direct object. [Felt is action
because if you substitute this felt with an equal sign, the sentence does not make sense.]

Use subject pronouns as subject complements.


The chart below contains subject and object pronouns. Because a subject complement provides
more information about the subject, use the subject form of the pronoun—even when it sounds
strange.

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns

I me
we us
you you
he, she, it him, her, it
they them
who whom

Check out these sample sentences:

Don't blame Gerard. It was I who woke you from a sound sleep.

It = subject; was = linking verb; I = subject complement.

Don't get mad at me! I didn't pull your ponytail! It was he.

It = subject; was = linking verb; he = subject complement.

Remember the amazing guitarist I met? This is she.

This = subject; is = linking verb; she = subject complement.

The Subordinate Clause


Recognize a subordinate clause when you see one.
A subordinate clause—also called a dependent clause—will begin with a subordinate
conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of
words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional
information to finish the thought.

Here is a list of subordinate conjunctions:

Subordinate Conjunctions

after once until


although provided that when
as rather than whenever
because since where
before so that whereas
even if than wherever
even though that whether
if though while
in order that unless why

Here are your relative pronouns:

Relative Pronouns

that who whose


which whoever whosever
whichever whom whomever

Now take a look at these examples:

After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad

After = subordinate conjunction; Amy = subject; sneezed = verb.

Once Adam smashed the spider

Once = subordinate conjunction; Adam = subject; smashed = verb.

Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee

Until = subordinate conjunction; Mr. Sanchez = subject; has = verb.

Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands


Who = relative pronoun; Who = subject; ate = verb.

Remember this important point: A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence
because it does not provide a complete thought. The reader is left wondering, "So what
happened?" A word group that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period must contain at
least one main clause. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major error.

After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad.

So what happened? Did Amy throw it down the garbage disposal or serve it on toast to her
friends? No complete thought = fragment.

Once Adam smashed the spider.

So what happened? Did Belinda cheer him for his bravery or lecture him on animal rights? No
complete thought = fragment.

Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee.

So what happens? Is he too sleepy to work, or does he have a grumpy disposition? No complete
thought = fragment.

Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands.

So what happened? Were the roommates shocked, or did they ask him to pass the box so that
they could do the same? No complete thought = fragment.

Correctly attach a subordinate clause to a main clause.


When you attach a subordinate clause in front of a main clause, use a comma, like this:

Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.

Even though the broccoli was covered in cheddar cheese, Emily refused to eat it.

Unless Christine finishes her calculus homework, she will have to suffer Mr. Nguyen's wrath in
class tomorrow.

While Bailey slept on the sofa in front of the television, Samson, the family dog, gnawed on the
leg of the coffee table.

When you attach a subordinate clause at the end of a main clause, you will generally use no
punctuation, like this:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.


Tanya did poorly on her history exam Ø because her best friend Giselle insisted on gossiping
during their study session the night before.

Jonathon spent his class time reading comic books Ø since his average was a 45 one week before
final exams.

Diane decided to plant tomatoes in the back of the yard Ø where the sun blazed the longest
during the day.

Punctuate carefully when the subordinate clause begins with


a relative pronoun.
Subordinate clauses can begin with relative pronouns [and thus are called relative clauses, a type
of subordinate clause]. When a subordinate clause starts with who, whose, or which, for
example, punctuation gets a little bit trickier. Sometimes you will need a comma, and sometimes
you won't, depending on whether the clause is essential or nonessential.

When the information in the relative clause clarifies an otherwise general noun, the clause is
essential and will follow the same pattern that you saw above:

Main Clause + Ø + Essential Relative Clause.

Nick gave a handful of potato chips to the dog Ø who was sniffing around the picnic tables.

Dog is a general noun. Which one are we talking about? The relative clause who was sniffing
around the picnic tables clarifies the animal that we mean. The clause is thus essential and
requires no punctuation.

When a relative clause follows a specific noun, punctuation changes. The information in the
relative clause is no longer as important, and the clause becomes nonessential. Nonessential
clauses require you to use commas to connect them.

Main Clause + , + Nonessential Relative Clause.

Nick gave a handful of potato chips to Button , who was sniffing around the picnic tables.

Button, the name of a unique dog, lets us know which animal we mean. The information in the
relative clause is no longer important and needs to be separated from the main clause with a
comma.

Relative clauses can also interrupt a main clause. When this happens, use no punctuation for an
essential clause. If the clause is nonessential, separate it with a comma in front and a comma
behind. Take a look at these examples:
After dripping mustard all over his chest, the man Ø who was wearing a red shirt Ø wished that
he had instead chosen ketchup for his hotdog.

After dripping mustard all over his chest, Charles, who was wearing a red shirt, wished that he
had instead chosen ketchup for his hotdog.

Use subordination to combine ideas effectively.


Writers use subordination to combine two ideas in a single sentence. Read these two simple
sentences:

Rhonda gasped. A six-foot snake slithered across the sidewalk.

Since the two simple sentences are related, you can combine them to express the action more
effectively:

Rhonda gasped when a six-foot snake slithered across the sidewalk.

If the two ideas have unequal importance, save the most important one for the end of the
sentence so that your reader remembers it best. If we rewrite the example above so that the two
ideas are flipped, the wrong point gets emphasized:

When a six-foot snake slithered across the side walk, Rhonda gasped.

A reader is less concerned with Rhonda's reaction than the presence of a giant snake on the
sidewalk!

The Subordinate Conjunction


Recognize a subordinate conjunction when you see one.
Some sentences are complex. Such sentences have two clauses, one main [or independent] and
one subordinate [or dependent].

The essential ingredient in a complex sentence is the subordinate conjunction:

Subordinate Conjunctions

after once until


although provided that when
as rather than whenever
because since where
before so that whereas
even if than wherever
even though that whether
if though while
in order that unless why

The subordinate conjunction has two jobs. First, it provides a necessary transition between the
two ideas in the sentence. This transition will indicate a time, place, or cause and effect
relationship. Here are some examples:

Louisa will wash the sink full of her dirty dishes once her roommate Shane cleans his stubble
and globs of shaving cream from the bathroom sink.

We looked on top of the refrigerator, where Jenny will often hide a bag of chocolate chip
cookies.

Because her teeth were chattering in fear, Lynda clenched her jaw muscle while waiting for her
turn to audition.

The second job of the subordinate conjunction is to reduce the importance of one clause so that a
reader understands which of the two ideas is more important. The more important idea belongs in
the main clause, the less important in the clause introduced by the subordinate conjunction.

Read these examples:

As Samson blew out the birthday candles atop the cake, he burned the tip of his nose on a
stubborn flame.

Burning his nose > blowing out candles.

Ronnie begins to sneeze violently whenever he opens the door to greet a fresh spring day.

Sneezing violently > opening the door.

Even though Dana persevered at the calculus exam, she was only adding another F beside her
name in Dr. Armour's grade book.

Adding another F > persevering at the exam.

Punctuate a complex sentence correctly.


Complex sentences follow two common patterns:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.

Nicky shook her head and sighed Ø as she puzzled over the algebra problem.
Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.

When the doorbell rang, Nicky slammed shut her textbook and rose to pay for her pizza.

Punctuation gets trickier when the subordinate clause begins with a relative pronoun like who,
which, or where. Sometimes you will need a comma, and sometimes you won't, depending on
whether the clause is essential or nonessential.

When the information in the relative clause clarifies an otherwise general noun, the clause is
essential and will follow the same pattern that you saw above:

Main Clause + Ø + Essential Relative Clause.

Nicky paid the deliveryman Ø whose rusty hatchback choked and coughed in the driveway.

Deliveryman is a general noun. Which one are we talking about? The relative clause whose rusty
hatchback choked and coughed in the driveway clarifies the restaurant employee we mean. The
clause is thus essential and requires no punctuation.

When a relative clause follows a specific noun, punctuation changes. The information in the
relative clause is no longer as important, and the clause becomes nonessential. Nonessential
clauses require you to use commas to connect them.

Main Clause + , + Nonessential Relative Clause.

Nicky paid Fernando , whose rusty hatchback choked and coughed in the driveway.

Fernando, the name of a unique restaurant employee, lets us know which deliveryman we mean.
The information in the relative clause is no longer important and needs to be separated from the
main clause with a comma.

Relative clauses can also interrupt a main clause. When this happens, use no punctuation for an
essential clause. But if the clause is nonessential, separate it with a comma in front and a comma
behind. Take a look at these examples:

After seeing the cheap tip, the man Ø who delivered Nicky's pizza Ø wished that he had driven
more slowly.

After seeing the cheap tip, Fernando, who delivered Nicky's pizza, wished that he had driven
more slowly.

The Transitive Verb


Recognize a transitive verb when you see one.
A transitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a doable activity
like kick, want, paint, write, eat, clean, etc. Second, it must have a direct object, something or
someone who receives the action of the verb.

Here are some examples of transitive verbs:

Sylvia kicked Juan under the table.

Kicked = transitive verb; Juan = direct object.

Joshua wants a smile from Leodine, his beautiful but serious lab partner.

Wants = transitive verb; smile = direct object.

Cornelius painted the canvas in Jackson Pollock fashion, dribbling bright colors from a heavily
soaked brush.

Painted = transitive verb; canvas = direct object.

Alicia wrote a love poem on a restaurant napkin.

Wrote = transitive verb; poem = direct object.

Antonio eats lima beans drenched in brown gravy.

Eats = transitive verb; lima beans = direct object.

Pinky the poodle cleans the dirty supper dishes with his tongue before Grandma loads the
"prewashed" items into dishwasher.

Cleans, loads = transitive verbs; dishes, items = direct objects.

Important note: When no direct object follows an action verb, the verb is intransitive.

The Verb
Recognize a verb when you see one.
Verbs are a necessary component of all sentences. Verbs have two important functions: Some
verbs put stalled subjects into motion while other verbs help to clarify the subjects in meaningful
ways. Look at the examples below:
My grumpy old English teacher smiled at the plate of cold meatloaf.

My grumpy old English teacher = stalled subject; smiled = verb.

The daredevil cockroach splashed into Sara's soup.

The daredevil cockroach = stalled subject; splashed = verb.

Theo's overworked computer exploded in a spray of sparks.

Theo's overworked computer = stalled subject; exploded = verb.

The curious toddler popped a grasshopper into her mouth.

The curious toddler = stalled subject; popped = verb.

Francisco's comic book collection is worth $20,000.00.

Francisco's comic book collection = stalled subject; is = verb.

The important thing to remember is that every subject in a sentence must have a verb. Otherwise,
you will have written a fragment, a major writing error.

Consider word function when you are looking for a verb.


Many words in English have more than one function. Sometimes a word is a noun, sometimes a
verb, sometimes a modifier. As a result, you must often analyze the job a word is doing in the
sentence. Look at these two examples:

Potato chips crunch too loudly to eat during an exam.

The crunch of the potato chips drew the angry glance of Professor Orsini to our corner of the
room.

Crunch is something that we can do. We can crunch cockroaches under our shoes. We can
crunch popcorn during a movie. We can crunch numbers for a math class. In the first sentence,
then, crunch is what the potato chips do, so we can call it a verb.

Even though crunch is often a verb, it can also be a noun. The crunch of the potato chips, for
example, is a thing, a sound that we can hear. You therefore need to analyze the function that a
word provides in a sentence before you determine what grammatical name to give that word.

Know an action verb when you see one.


Dance! Sing! Paint! Giggle! Chew! What are these words doing? They are expressing action,
something that a person, animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a result, words like these are
called action verbs. Look at the examples below:

Clyde sneezes with the force of a tornado.

Sneezing is something that Clyde can do.

Because of the spoiled mayonnaise, Ricky vomited potato salad all day.

Vomiting is something that Ricky can do—although he might not enjoy it.

Sylvia always winks at cute guys driving hot cars.

Winking is something that Sylvia can do.

The telephone rang with shrill, annoying cries.

Ringing is something that the telephone can do.

Thunder boomed in the distance, sending my poor dog scrambling under the bed.

Booming is something that thunder can do.

If you are unsure whether a sentence contains an action verb or not, look at every word in the
sentence and ask yourself, "Is this something that a person or thing can do?" Take this sentence,
for example:

During the summer, my poodle constantly pants and drools.

Can you during? Is during something you can do? Can you the? Is there someone theing outside
the window right now? Can you summer? Do your obnoxious neighbors keep you up until 2 a.m.
because they are summering? Can you my? What does a person do when she's mying? Can you
poodle? Show me what poodling is. Can you pant? Bingo! Sure you can! Run five miles and
you'll be panting. Can you and? Of course not! But can you drool? You bet—although we don't
need a demonstration of this ability. In the sentence above, therefore, there are two action verbs:
pant and drool.

Know a linking verb when you see one.


Linking verbs, on the other hand, do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of a
verb to additional information about the subject. Look at the examples below:

Mario is a computer hacker.


Ising isn't something that Mario can do. Is connects the subject, Mario, to additional information
about him, that he will soon have the FBI on his trail.

During bad storms, trailer parks are often magnets for tornadoes.

Areing isn't something that trailer parks can do. Are is simply connecting the subject, trailer
parks, to something said about them, that they tend to attract tornadoes.

After receiving another failing grade in algebra, Jose became depressed.

Became connects the subject, Jose, to something said about him, that he wasn't happy.

A three-mile run seems like a marathon during a hot, humid July afternoon.

Seems connects the subject, a three-mile run, with additional information, that it's more arduous
depending on the day and time.

At restaurants, Rami always feels angry after waiting an hour for a poor meal.

Feels connects the subject, Rami, to his state of being, anger.

The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, were, has been, are
being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always linking
verbs.

Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain,
smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are action
verbs. Their function in a sentence decides what you should call them.

How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking verbs? If you can
substitute am, is, or are for the verb and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a linking verb
on your hands. But if, after the substitution, the sentence makes no sense, you are dealing with an
action verb. Here are some examples:

Chris tasted the crunchy, honey-roasted grasshopper.

Chris is the grasshopper? I don't think so! In this sentence then, tasted is an action verb.

The crunchy, honey-roasted grasshopper tasted good.

The grasshopper is good? You bet. Roast your own!

I smell the delicious aroma of the grilled octopus.

I am the delicious aroma? Not the last time I checked. Smell, in this sentence, is an action verb.
The aroma of the grilled octopus smells appetizing.

The aroma is appetizing? Definitely! Come take a whiff!

The students looked at the equation until their brains hurt.

The students are the equation? Of course not! Here, looked is an action verb.

The equation looked hopelessly confusing.

The equation is confusing? Without a doubt! You try it.

This substitution will not work for appear. With appear, you have to analyze the function of the
verb.

Godzilla appeared in the doorway, spooking me badly.

Appear is something Godzilla can do—whether you want him to or not.

Godzilla appeared happy to see me.

Here, appeared is connecting the subject, Godzilla, to his state of mind, happiness.

Realize that a verb can have more than one part.


You must remember that verbs can have more than one part. In fact, a verb can have as many as
four parts. A multi-part verb has a base or main part as well as additional helping or auxiliary
verbs with it. Check out the examples below:

Harvey spilled chocolate milkshake on Leslie's new dress.

Because Harvey is a klutz, he is always spilling something.

Harvey might have spilled the chocolate milkshake because the short dress distracted him.

Harvey should have been spilling the chocolate milkshake down his throat.

The Verb Phrase


Recognize a verb phrase when you see one.
Every sentence must have a verb. To depict doable activities, writers use action verbs. To
describe conditions, writers choose linking verbs.
Sometimes an action or condition occurs just once—pow!—and it's over. Read these two short
sentences:

Offering her license and registration, Selena sobbed in the driver's seat.

Officer Carson was unmoved.

Other times, the activity or condition continues over a long stretch of time, happens predictably,
or occurs in relationship to other events. In these instances, a single-word verb like sobbed or
was cannot accurately describe what happened, so writers use multipart verb phrases to
communicate what they mean. As many as four words can comprise a verb phrase.

A main or base verb indicates the type of action or condition, and auxiliary—or helping—verbs
convey the other nuances that writers want to express.

Read these three examples:

The tires screeched as Selena mashed the accelerator.

Selena is always disobeying the speed limit.

Selena should have been driving with more care, for then she would not have gotten her third
ticket this year.

In the first sentence, screeched and mashed, single-word verbs, describe the quick actions of both
the tires and Selena.

Since Selena has an inclination to speed, is disobeying [a two-word verb] communicates the
frequency of her law breaking. The auxiliary verbs that comprise should have been driving [a
four-word verb] and would have gotten [a three-word verb] express not only time relationships
but also evaluation of Selena's actions.

Realize that an adverb is not part of the verb phrase.


Since a verb phrase might use up to four words, a short adverb—such as also, never, or not—
might try to sneak in between the parts. When you find an adverb snuggled in a verb phrase, it is
still an adverb, not part of the verb. Read these examples:

For her birthday, Selena would also like a radar detector.

Would like = verb; also = adverb.

To avoid another speeding ticket, Selena will never again take her eyes off the road to fiddle with
the radio.

Will take = verb; never, again = adverbs.


Despite the stern warning from Officer Carson, Selena has not lightened her foot on the
accelerator.

Has lightened = verb; not = adverb.

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