The first- and second-person
personal pronouns (I, we, and you) are used to refer to the speaker and
other participants in a conversation.
The third-person
personal pronouns (he, she, it, and they) refer to other persons and
things.
Subject case
is used in formal usage and when the pronoun follows be or certain other
verbs that take subject compliments. It is also used after a linking
verb.
Object case
is used when the pronoun serves in any object function (i.e., object of
a preposition). (Also known as the accusative case.)
They can be used either as
pronouns or as nouns.
When they occur alone, without
modifiers, they lack specific reference and are interpreted as being
indefinite pronouns.
When they follow articles,
they name definite things and are thought to be nouns.
Look at where it is placed to
determine if it is an adjective or adverb.
(i.e., Don’t drive so fast (adverb), That horse likes a fast track.
(adjective)
If it can be moved within a
sentence, it is possibly an adverb (adjectives cannot be moved within a
sentence).
Verbs
None found at this time.
Determiners
Determiners don not occur with
any of the adjective-forming derivational suffixes, like –able or
–ly.
Determiners do not have
comparative or superlative forms: tall, taller, tallest
Determiners will not fit in
both slots of the adjective test frame sentence. The ______ man seems very
______.
Determiners always precede any
adjective or noun modifiers of a noun, as does the in the
expensive car stereo.
Auxiliary
Verbs
Modal auxiliaries
always precede the main verb, as well as any other auxiliaries that are
present.
Modal auxiliaries
cannot be made negative.
Have
always occurs before the past participle (-en) form of another verb to
express the perfect (completed) aspect of the verb. When have is in
the present tense, it creates the present-perfect form of the verb.
NOTE: Have can also function as a true verb, having different
meanings (i.e., Kelly has the book.).
Be is
used to express the progressive (ongoing) aspect of the verb or the
past-progressive form when be is in the past tense.
NOTE: Be can also function as a true verb, having different
meanings (i.e., The gas station is open.).
Do
is in a number of grammatical processes. Use do when you create
certain kinds of questions.
Do
is also used to form negatives and emphatic statements.
Qualifiers
A qualifier usually
precedes adjectives or adverbs, decreasing or increasing the quality
signified by the words they modify (more colorful).
Prepositions
A preposition must always
have an object of the preposition.
Conjunctions
Subordinating
conjunctions: Punctuate with a comma if subordinate clause comes
first:
After the sun set, the mosquitoes became active.
The mosquitoes became active after the sun set.
Coordinating and correlative
conjunctions: Punctuate
with a comma:
Either the teacher is late, or we are early.
(2 independent clauses)
Conjunctive Adverbs: Punctuate
with a semicolon or period. Set off the conjunctive adverb with a comma,
or with a pair of commas if it is inside its clause:
Ted spoke; however, no one listed.
Ted spoke. However, no one listened.
Ted spoke. No one, however, listed.
Interrogatives
None at this time
Relatives
Relatives
have antecedents (a preceding noun to which they refer); if you find no
antecedent, the word may be functioning as something other than a
relative.
