Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb,

the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction,
and the interjection.

Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In
fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the
next. The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one
sentence to the next, and following them is a series of sections on the individual parts
of speech, followed by an exercise.

Books are made of ink, paper, and glue.

In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sentence.

Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.

Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget."

We walk down the street.

In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is the pronoun "we."

The mail carrier stood on the walk.

In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a prepositional phrase describing

where the mail carrier stood.

The town decided to build a new jail.

Here "jail" is a noun, which is the object of the infinitive phrase "to build."

The sheriff told us that if we did not leave town immediately he would jail us.

Here "jail" is part of the compound verb "would jail."

They heard high pitched cries in the middle of the night.

In this sentence, "cries" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "heard."

The baby cries all night long and all day long.

But here "cries" is a verb that describes the actions of the subject of the sentence,
the baby.

The next few sections explain each of the parts of speech in detail. When you have
finished, you might want to test yourself by trying the exercise.

What is a Verb?

The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or compound
verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and express actions,
events, or states of being. The verb or compound verb is the critical element of
the predicate of a sentence.

In each of the following sentences, the verb or compound verb is highlighted:

Dracula bites his victims on the neck.

The verb "bites" describes the action Dracula takes.

In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs.

Here the compound verb "will plant" describes an action that will take place in the
future.

My first teacher was Miss Crawford, but I remember the janitor Mr. Weath
erbee more vividly.

In this sentence, the verb "was" (the simple past tense of "is") identifies a particular
person and the verb "remember" describes a mental action.

Karl Creelman bicycled around the world in 1899, but his diaries and his
bicycle were destroyed.

In this sentence, the compound verb "were destroyed" describes an action which took
place in the past.

What is a Noun?

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea.
Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn. The highlighted words
in the following sentences are all nouns:

Late last year our neighbors bought a goat.

Portia White was an opera singer.

The bus inspector looked at all the passengers' passes.

According to Plutarch, the library at Alexandria was destroyed in 48 B.C.

Philosophy is of little comfort to the starving.

A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object,

a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or
an adverb.

Noun Gender

Many common nouns, like "engineer" or "teacher," can refer to men or women. Once,
many English nouns would change form depending on their gender -- for example, a
man was called an "author" while a woman was called an "authoress" -- but this use
of gender-specific nouns is very rare today. Those that are still used occasionally
tend to refer to occupational categories, as in the following sentences.
 David Garrick was a very prominent eighteenth-century actor.

Sarah Siddons was at the height of her career as an actress in the 1780s.

The manager was trying to write a want ad, but he couldn't decide whether
he was advertising for a "waiter" or a "waitress"

Noun Plurals

Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding "-s" or "-es", as
illustrated in the following pairs of sentences:

When Matthew was small, he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going
to be punished.

Many people do not believe that truths are self-evident.

As they walked through the silent house, they were startled by an

unexpected echo.

I like to shout into the quarry and listen to the echoes that return.

He tripped over a box left carelessly in the hallway.

Since we are moving, we will need many boxes.

There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding
"s". Some words ending in "f" form the plural by deleting "f" and adding "ves," and
words ending in "y" form the plural by deleting the "y" and adding "ies," as in the
following pairs of sentences:

The harbour at Marble Mountain has one wharf.

There are several wharves in Halifax Harbour.

Warsaw is their favourite city because it reminds them of their courtship.

The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities.

The children circled around the headmaster and shouted, "Are you
a mouse or a man?"

The audience was shocked when all five men admitted that they were afraid
of mice.

Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably
know most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary.

Possessive Nouns

In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or
is closely related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a
combination of an apostrophe and the letter "s."
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in "s" by
adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following sentences:

The red suitcase is Cassandra's.

The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister's.

The exhausted recruits were woken before dawn by the drill

sergeant's screams.

The miner's face was covered in coal dust.

You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in "s" by adding an
apostrophe alone or by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following examples:

The bus's seats are very uncomfortable.

The bus' seats are very uncomfortable.

The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.

The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus' eggs.

Felicia Hemans's poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.

Felicia Hemans' poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.

You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in "s" by adding
an apostrophe and an "s," as in the following examples:

The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch.

The sheep's pen was mucked out every day.

Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final.

The men's hockey team will be playing as soon as the women's team is
finished.

The hunter followed the moose's trail all morning but lost it in the afternoon.

You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in "s" by adding an
apostrophe:

The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and
the babies' squalling.

The janitors' room is downstairs and to the left.

My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.

The archivist quickly finished repairing the diaries' bindings.

Religion is usually the subject of the roommates' many late night debates.
Using Possessive Nouns

When you read the following sentences, you will notice that a noun in the possessive
case frequently functions as an adjective modifying another noun:

The miner's face was covered in coal dust.

Here the possessive noun "miner's" is used to modify the noun "face" and together
with the article "the," they make up the noun phrase that is the sentence's subject.

The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and
the babies' squalling.

In this sentence, each possessive noun modifies a gerund. The possessive noun
"dogs"' modifies "barking," "ducks"' modifies "quacking," and "babies"' modifies
"squalling."

The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.

In this example the possessive noun "platypus's" modifies the noun "eggs" and the
noun phrase "the platypus's eggs" is the direct object of the verb "crushed."

My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.

In this sentence the possessive noun "squirrels"' is used to modify the noun "nest"
and the noun phrase "the squirrels' nest" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to
locate."

Types of Nouns

There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalize some nouns,
such as "Canada" or "Louise," and do not capitalize others, such as "badger" or "tree"
(unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence). In fact, grammarians have
developed a whole series of noun types, including the proper noun, the common
noun, the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun (also called the count
noun), the non-countable noun (also called the mass noun), and the collective noun.
You should note that a noun will belong to more than one type: it will be proper or
common, abstract or concrete, and countable or non-countable or collective.

If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them
in the following sections.

Proper Nouns

You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the
name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months,
historical documents, institutions, organizations, religions, their holy texts and their
adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun

In each of the following sentences, the proper nouns are highlighted:

The Maroons were transported from Jamaica and forced to build the
fortifications in Halifax.
 Many people dread Monday mornings.

Beltane is celebrated on the first of May.

Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.

Last year, I had a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Gardnerian Witch as

roommates.

Common Nouns

A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense

-- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A
common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.

In each of the following sentences, the common nouns are highlighted:

According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.

All the gardens in the neighborhood were invaded by beetles

this summer.

I don't understand why some people insist on having six

different kinds of mustard in their cupboards.

The road crew was startled by the sight of three large moose crossing
the road.

Many child-care workers are underpaid.

Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following
examples:

The tenants in the Garnet Apartments are appealing the large and sudden
increase in their rent.

The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals
in ordinary restaurants.

Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.

The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history
of the Holocaust.

Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun is a noun which names anything (or anyone) that you can perceive
through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun
is the opposite of an abstract noun.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are all concrete nouns:

The judge handed the files to the clerk.

 Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.

The real estate agent urged the couple to buy the second house because
it had new shingles.

As the car drove past the park, the thump of a disco tune overwhelmed
the string quartet's rendition of a minuet.

The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-
covered board.

Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you cannot perceive
through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun.
The highlighted words in the following sentences are all abstract nouns:

Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought.

Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic about childhood.

Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.

Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.

Countable Nouns

A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural
form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count. You can make a
countable noun plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns
are the opposite of non-countable nouns and collective nouns.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted words are countable nouns:

We painted the table red and the chairs blue.

Since he inherited his aunt's library, Jerome spends every

weekend indexing his books.

Miriam found six silver dollars in the toe of a sock.

The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane.

Over the course of twenty-seven years, Martha Ballad delivered just over
eight hundred babies.

Non-Countable Nouns

A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural
form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A
non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Non-countable nouns
are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are non-countable nouns:

 Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.

The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.

Oxygen is essential to human life.

Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than
the plural verb "are."

We decided to sell the furniture rather than take it with us when we

moved.

You cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.

The furniture is heaped in the middle of the room.

Since "furniture" is a non-countable noun, it takes a singular verb, "is heaped."

The crew spread the gravel over the roadbed.

You cannot make the non-countable noun "gravel" plural.

Gravel is more expensive than I thought.

Since "gravel" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb form "is."

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. You

could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group
as a whole is generally as one unit. You need to be able to recognize collective nouns
in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. A collective noun is similar to a non-
countable noun, and is roughly the opposite of a countable noun.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a collective noun:

The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.

The collective noun "flock" takes the singular verb "spends."

The jury is dining on take-out chicken tonight.

In this example the collective noun "jury" is the subject of the singular compound
verb "is dining."

The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon.

Here the collective noun "committee" takes a singular verb, "meets."

The class was startled by the bursting light bulb.

In this sentence the word "class" is a collective noun and takes the singular compound
verb "was startled."

What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. You use pronouns like "he,"
"which," "none," and "you" to make your sentences less cumbersome and less
repetitive.

Grammarians classify pronouns into several types, including the personal pronoun,
the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the
relative pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun.

Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to
indicate person, number, gender, and case.

Subjective Personal Pronouns

A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as

the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are "I," "you," "she,"
"he," "it," "we," "you," "they."

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a subjective personal

pronoun and acts as the subject of the sentence:

I was glad to find the bus pass in the bottom of the green knapsack.

You are surely the strangest child I have ever met.

He stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him.

When she was a young woman, she earned her living as a coal miner.

After many years, they returned to their homeland.

We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m.

It is on the counter.

Are you the delegates from Malaga watch?

Objective Personal Pronouns

An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object of

a verb, compound verb, preposition, or infinitive phrase. The objective personal
pronouns are: "me," "you," "her," "him," "it," "us," "you," and "them."

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is an objective personal

pronoun:

Seamus stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him.
The objective personal pronoun "her" is the direct object of the verb "forced" and
the objective personal pronoun "him" is the object of the preposition "with."

After reading the pamphlet, Judy threw it into the garbage can.

The pronoun "it" is the direct object of the verb "threw."

The agitated assistant stood up and faced the angry delegates and said,
"Our leader will address you in five minutes."

In this sentence, the pronoun "you" is the direct object of the verb "address."

Deborah and Roberta will meet us at the newest café in the market.

Here the objective personal pronoun "us" is the direct object of the compound verb
"will meet."

Give the list to me.

Here the objective personal pronoun "me" is the object of the preposition "to."

I'm not sure that my contact will talk to you.

Similarly in this example, the objective personal pronoun "you" is the object of the
preposition "to."

Christopher was surprised to see her at the drag races.

Here the objective personal pronoun "her" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to
see."

Possessive Personal Pronouns

A possessive pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of

possession and defines who owns a particular object or person. The possessive
personal pronouns are "mine," "yours," "hers," "his," "its," "ours," and "theirs."
Note that possessive personal pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives like
"my," "her," and "their"

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a possessive personal

pronoun:

The smallest gift is mine.

Here the possessive pronoun "mine" functions as a subject complement.

This is yours.

Here too the possessive pronoun "yours" functions as a subject complement.

His is on the kitchen counter.

In this example, the possessive pronoun "his" acts as the subject of the sentence.

Theirs will be delivered tomorrow.

In this sentence, the possessive pronoun "theirs" is the subject of the sentence.

Ours is the green one on the corner.

Here too the possessive pronoun "ours" function as the subject of the sentence.

Demonstrative Pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points to and identifies a noun or a pronoun. "This" and

"these" refer to things that are nearby either in space or in time, while "that" and
"those" refer to things that are farther away in space or time.

The demonstrative pronouns are "this," "that," "these," and "those." "This" and "that"
are used to refer to singular nouns or noun phrases and "these" and "those" are used
to refer to plural nouns and noun phrases. Note that the

demonstrative pronouns are identical to demonstrative adjectives, though, obviously,

you use them differently. It is also important to note that "that" can also be used as
a relative pronoun.

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a demonstrative

pronoun:

This must not continue.

Here "this" is used as the subject of the compound verb "must not continue."

This is puny; that is the tree I want.

In this example "this" is used as subject and refers to something close to the speaker.
The demonstrative pronoun "that" is also a subject but refers to something farther
away from the speaker.

Three customers wanted these.

Here "these" is the direct object of the verb "wanted."

Interrogative Pronouns

An interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are

"who," "whom," "which," "what" and the compounds formed with the suffix "ever"
("whoever," "whomever," "whichever," and "whatever"). Note that either "which" or
"what" can also be used as an interrogative adjective, and that "who," "whom," or
"which" can also be used as a relative pronoun.

You will find "who," "whom," and occasionally "which" used to refer to people, and
"which" and "what" used to refer to things and to animals.
"Who" acts as the subject of a verb, while "whom" acts as the object of a verb,
preposition, or a verbal.

The highlighted word in each of the following sentences is an interrogative

pronoun:

Which wants to see the dentist first?

"Which" is the subject of the sentence.

Who wrote the novel Rockbound?

Similarly "who" is the subject of the sentence.

Whom do you think we should invite?

In this sentence, "whom" is the object of the verb "invite."

To whom do you wish to speak?

Here the interrogative pronoun "whom " is the object of the preposition "to."

Who will meet the delegates at the train station?

In this sentence, the interrogative pronoun "who" is the subject of the compound
verb "will meet."

To whom did you give the paper?

In this example the interrogative pronoun "whom" is the object of the preposition
"to."

What did she say?

Here the interrogative pronoun "what" is the direct object of the verb "say."

Relative Pronouns

You can use a relative pronoun is used to link one phrase or clause to another
phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are "who," "whom," "that," and "which." The
compounds "whoever," "whomever," and "whichever" are also relative pronouns.

You can use the relative pronouns "who" and "whoever" to refer to the subject of a
clause or sentence, and "whom" and "whomever" to refer to the objects of a verb, a
verbal or a preposition.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a relative pronoun.

You may invite whomever you like to the party.

The relative pronoun "whomever" is the direct object of the compound verb "may
invite."
 The candidate who wins the greatest popular vote is not always elected.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb "wins" and introduces
the subordinate clause "who wins the greatest popular vote." This subordinate clause
acts as an adjective modifying "candidate."

In a time of crisis, the manager asks the workers whom she believes to be
the most efficient to arrive an hour earlier than usual.

In this sentence "whom" is the direct object of the verb "believes" and introduces the
subordinate clause "whom she believes to be the most efficient". This subordinate
clause modifies the noun "workers."

Whoever broke the window will have to replace it.

Here "whoever" functions as the subject of the verb "broke."

The crate which was left in the corridor has now been moved into the
storage closet.

In this example "which" acts as the subject of the compound verb "was left" and
introduces the subordinate clause "which was left in the corridor." The subordinate
clause acts as an adjective modifying the noun "crate."

I will read whichever manuscript arrives first.

Here "whichever" modifies the noun "manuscript" and introduces the subordinate
clause "whichever manuscript arrives first." The subordinate clause functions as the
direct object of the compound verb "will read."

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun referring to an identifiable but not specified

person or thing. An indefinite pronoun conveys the idea of all, any, none, or some.

The most common indefinite pronouns are "all," "another," "any," "anybody,"
"anyone," "anything," "each," "everybody," "everyone," "everything," "few," "many,"
"nobody," "none," "one," "several," "some," "somebody," and "someone." Note that
some indefinite pronouns can also be used as indefinite adjectives.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are indefinite pronouns:

Many were invited to the lunch but only twelve showed up.

Here "many" acts as the subject of the compound verb "were invited."

The office had been searched and everything was thrown onto the floor.

In this example, "everything" acts as a subject of the compound verb "was thrown."

We donated everything we found in the attic to the woman's shelter garage

sale.
In this sentence, "everything" is the direct object of the verb "donated."

Although they looked everywhere for extra copies of the magazine, they found none.

Here too the indefinite pronoun functions as a direct object: "none" is the direct object
of "found."

Make sure you give everyone a copy of the amended bylaws.

In this example, "everyone" is the indirect object of the verb "give" -- the direct
object is the noun phrase "a copy of the amended bylaws."

Give a registration package to each.

Here "each" is the object of the preposition "to."

Reflexive Pronouns

You can use a reflexive pronoun to refer back to the subject of the clause or
sentence.

The reflexive pronouns are "myself," "yourself," "herself," "himself," "itself,"

"ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves." Note each of these can also act as an
intensive pronoun.

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a reflexive pronoun:

Diabetics give themselves insulin shots several times a day.

The Dean often does the photocopying herself so that the secretaries can do
more important work.

After the party, I asked myself why I had faxed invitations to everyone in my
office building.

Richard usually remembered to send a copy of his e-mail to himself.

Although the landlord promised to paint the apartment, we ended up doing

it ourselves.

Intensive Pronouns

An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to emphasize its antecedent. Intensive

pronouns are identical in form to reflexive pronouns.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are intensive pronouns:

I myself believe that aliens should abduct my sister.

The Prime Minister himself said that he would lower taxes.

They themselves promised to come to the party even though they had a
final exam at the same time.
What Is An Adjective?

An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying

words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.

In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:

The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops.

Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wall paper.

The small boat foundered on the wine dark sea.

The coal mines are dark and dank.

Many stores have already begun to play irritating Christmas music.

A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboard.

The back room was filled with large, yellow rain boots.

An adjective can be modified by an adverb, or by a phrase or clause functioning as

an adverb. In the sentence

My husband knits intricately patterned mittens.

For example, the adverb "intricately" modifies the adjective "patterned."

Some nouns, many pronouns, and many participle phrases can also act as
adjectives. In the sentence

Eleanor listened to the muffled sounds of the radio hidden under her
pillow.

For example, both highlighted adjectives are past participles.

Grammarians also consider articles ("the," "a," "an") to be adjectives.

Possessive Adjectives

A possessive adjective ("my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," "their") is similar or
identical to a possessive pronoun; however, it is used as an adjective and modifies a
noun or a noun phrase, as in the following sentences:

I can't complete my assignment because I don't have the textbook.

In this sentence, the possessive adjective "my" modifies "assignment" and the noun
phrase "my assignment" functions as an object. Note that the possessive pronoun
form "mine" is not used to modify a noun or noun phrase.

What is your phone number?

Here the possessive adjective "your" is used to modify the noun phrase "phone
number"; the entire noun phrase "your phone number" is a subject complement.
Note that the possessive pronoun form "yours" is not used to modify a noun or a
noun phrase.

The bakery sold his favorite type of bread.

In this example, the possessive adjective "his" modifies the noun phrase "favorite
type of bread" and the entire noun phrase "his favorite type of bread" is the direct
object of the verb "sold."

After many years, she returned to her homeland.

Here the possessive adjective "her" modifies the noun "homeland" and the noun
phrase "her homeland" is the object of the preposition "to." Note also that the form
"hers" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases.

We have lost our way in this wood.

In this sentence, the possessive adjective "our" modifies "way" and the noun phrase
"our way" is the direct object of the compound verb "have lost". Note that the
possessive pronoun form "ours" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases.

In many fairy tales, children are neglected by their parents.

Here the possessive adjective "their" modifies "parents" and the noun phrase "their
parents" is the object of the preposition "by." Note that the possessive pronoun
form "theirs" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases.

The cat chased its ball down the stairs and into the backyard.

In this sentence, the possessive adjective "its" modifies "ball" and the noun phrase
"its ball" is the object of the verb "chased." Note that "its" is the possessive
adjective and "it's" is a contraction for "it is."

Demonstrative Adjectives

The demonstrative adjectives "this," "these," "that," "those," and "what" are
identical to the demonstrative pronouns, but are used as adjectives to modify nouns
or noun phrases, as in the following sentences:

When the librarian tripped over that cord, she dropped a pile of books.

In this sentence, the demonstrative adjective "that" modifies the noun "cord" and the
noun phrase "that cord" is the object of the preposition "over."

This apartment needs to be fumigated.

Here "this" modifies "apartment" and the noun phrase "this apartment" is
the subject of the sentence.

Even though my friend preferred those plates, I bought these.

In the subordinate clause, "those" modifies "plates" and the noun phrase "those
plates" is the object of the verb "preferred." In the independent clause, "these" is the
direct object of the verb "bought."

Note that the relationship between a demonstrative adjective and a demonstrative

pronoun is similar to the relationship between a possessive adjective and a
possessive pronoun, or to that between an interrogative adjective and
an interrogative pronoun.

Interrogative Adjectives

An interrogative adjective ("which" or "what") is like an interrogative pronoun,

except that it modifies a noun or noun phrase rather than standing on its own (see
also demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives):

Which plants should be watered twice a week?

Like other adjectives, "which" can be used to modify a noun or a noun phrase. In this
example, "which" modifies "plants" and the noun phrase "which plants" is the subject
of the compound verb "should be watered":

What book are you reading?

In this sentence, "what" modifies "book" and the noun phrase "what book" is the
direct object of the compound verb "are reading."

Indefinite Adjectives

An indefinite adjective is similar to an indefinite pronoun, except that it modifies

a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, as in the following sentences:

Many people believe that corporations are under-taxed.

The indefinite adjective "many" modifies the noun "people" and the noun phrase
"many people" is the subject of the sentence.

I will send you any mail that arrives after you have moved to Sudbury.

The indefinite adjective "any" modifies the noun "mail" and the noun phrase "any
mail" is the direct object of the compound verb "will send."

They found a few goldfish floating belly up in the swan pound.

In this example the indefinite adjective modifies the noun "goldfish" and the noun
phrase is the direct object of the verb "found":

The title of Kelly's favorite game is "All dogs go to heaven."

Here the indefinite pronoun "all" modifies "dogs" and the full title is a subject
complement.
What is an Adverb?

An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause.

An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions
such as "how," "when," "where," "how much".

While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic "ly" suffix, most of them
must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or
clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places
within the sentence.

In the following examples, each of the highlighted words is an adverb:

The seamstress quickly made the mourning clothes.

In this sentence, the adverb "quickly" modifies the verb "made" and indicates in
what manner (or how fast) the clothing was constructed.

The midwives waited patiently through a long labor.

Similarly in this sentence, the adverb "patiently" modifies the verb "waited" and
describes the manner in which the midwives waited.

The boldly spoken words would return to haunt the rebel.

In this sentence the adverb "boldly" modifies the adjective "spoken."

We urged him to dial the number more expeditiously.

Here the adverb "more" modifies the adverb "expeditiously."

Unfortunately, the bank closed at three today.

In this example, the adverb "unfortunately" modifies the entire sentence.

Conjunctive Adverbs

You can use a conjunctive adverb to join two clauses together. Some of the most
common conjunctive adverbs are "also," "consequently," "finally," "furthermore,"
"hence," "however," "incidentally," "indeed," "instead," "likewise," "meanwhile,"
"nevertheless," "next," "nonetheless," "otherwise," "still," "then," "therefore," and
"thus." A conjunctive adverb is not strong enough to join two independent
clauses without the aid of a semicolon.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are conjunctive adverbs:

The government has cut university budgets; consequently, class sizes

have been increased.

He did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for; therefore, he
decided to make something else.
 The report recommended several changes to the ways the corporation
accounted for donations; furthermore, it suggested that a new auditor be
appointed immediately.

The crowd waited patiently for three hours; finally, the doors to the stadium
were opened.

Batman and Robin fruitlessly searched the building; indeed, the Joker had
escaped through a secret door in the basement.

What is a Preposition?

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence.

The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the
preposition.

A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its

object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:

The book is on the table.

The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.
She read the book during class.

In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space
or in time.

A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any

associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an
adjective, or an adverb. The most common prepositions are "about," "above,"
"across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind,"
"below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down,"
"during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on,"
"onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to,"
"toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and
"without."

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a preposition:

The children climbed the mountain without fear.

In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The
prepositional phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the
children climbed.

There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was
defeated.

Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The
prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.

The spider crawled slowly along the banister.

The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the
prepositional phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the
spider crawled.

The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be

punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.

Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch,"
which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb "is hiding."

The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was

somewhere in his office.

Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in
his office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.

What is a Conjunction?

You can use a conjunction to link words, phrases, and clauses, as in the following
example:

I ate the pizza and the pasta.

Call the movers when you are ready.

Co-ordinating Conjunctions

You use a co-ordinating conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or
"yet") to join individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. Note that you
can also use the conjunctions "but" and "for" as prepositions.

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a co-ordinating

conjunction:

Lilacs and violets are usually purple.

In this example, the co-ordinating conjunction "and" links two nouns.

This movie is particularly interesting to feminist film theorists for the

screenplay was written by Mae West.

In this example, the co-ordinating conjunction "for" is used to link two independent
clauses.

Daniel's uncle claimed that he spent most of his youth dancing on

rooftops and swallowing goldfish.

Here the coordinating conjunction "and" links two participle phrases ("dancing on
rooftops" and "swallowing goldfish") which act as adverbs describing
the verb "spends."
Subordinating Conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent clause and indicates the

nature of the relationship among the independent clause(s) and the dependent
clause(s).

The most common subordinating conjunctions are "after," "although," "as,"

"because," "before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till,"
"until," "when," "where," "whether," and "while."

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a subordinating

conjunction:

After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent.

The subordinating conjunction "after" introduces the dependent clause "After she
had learned to drive."

If the paperwork arrives on time, your cheque will be mailed on Tuesday.

Similarly, the subordinating conjunction "if" introduces the dependent clause "If the
paperwork arrives on time."

Gerald had to begin his thesis over again when his computer crashed.

The subordinating conjunction "when" introduces the dependent clause "when his
computer crashed."

Midwifery advocates argue that home births are safer because the mother
and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer germs.

In this sentence, the dependent clause "because the mother and baby are exposed
to fewer people and fewer germs" is introduced by the subordinating conjunction
"because."

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions always appear in pairs -- you use them to link

equivalent sentence elements. The most common correlative conjunctions are
"both...and," "either...or," "neither...nor,", "not only...but also," "so...as," and
"whether...or." (Technically correlative conjunctions consist simply of a co-
ordinating conjunction linked to an adjective or adverb.)

The highlighted words in the following sentences are correlative conjunctions:

Both my grandfather and my father worked in the steel plant.

In this sentence, the correlative conjunction "both...and" is used to link the

two noun phrases that act as the compound subject of the sentence: "my
grandfather" and "my father".

Bring either a Jello salad or a potato scallop.

Here the correlative conjunction "either...or" links two noun phrases: "a Jello salad"
and "a potato scallop."

Corinne is trying to decide whether to go to medical school or to go to law

school.

Similarly, the correlative conjunction "whether ... or" links the two infinitive
phrases "to go to medical school" and "to go to law school."

The explosion destroyed not only the school but also the neighbouring
pub.

In this example the correlative conjunction "not only ... but also" links the two noun
phrases ("the school" and "neighbouring pub") which act as direct objects.

Note: some words which appear as conjunctions can also appear as prepositions or
as adverbs.

What is an Interjection?

An interjection is a word added to a sentence to convey emotion. It is not

grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

You usually follow an interjection with an exclamation mark. Interjections are

uncommon in formal academic prose, except in direct quotations.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are interjections:

Ouch, that hurt!

Oh no, I forgot that the exam was today.
Hey! Put that down!
I heard one guy say to another guy, "He has a new car, eh?"
I don't know about you but, good lord, I think taxes are too high!
The Parts of Speech

In this unit you will learn the eight basic parts of speech and how they function in
English. To become a better writer and editor of your writing, you should know the
fundamentals of English prose and how they work in a sentence because once you
understand the components of a sentence, you can begin to examine your writing
critically to identify problems and make corrections rather than just guessing at
why something is wrong.

Learning the foundations of grammar is similar to building a house. One of the first
activities you must perform in building a house is to lay the foundation and frame
your house. The foundation and frame will support the rest of the house, the
drywall, the flooring, the wiring, etc. A good frame will help ensure a solid, well-
built home. The parts of speech are similar. Your writing is based on the categories
of words that comprise the eight parts of speech. The better your understanding of
the eight parts of speech the better foundation and frame you will have when you
write and edit.

For this module, the eight parts of speech are broken into three sections: (1)
Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives, (2) Verbs and Adverbs, and (3) Prepositions,
Conjunctions, and Interjections. After each section there will be an exercise that
will allow you to practice what you have learned. After the exercises, you will have
the opportunity to take a quiz to see how well you understand the different parts of
speech.

NOUNS
Nouns can be grouped into five categories: (1) persons, (2) places, (3) things, (4)
living creatures, and (5) ideas/concepts. Below are some examples for each
category.

1. Persons includes a sister, a grandmother, John, the teacher, fire fighter, Aunt
May, a neighbor, the friend, Hoon, a boss, the colleague, a peer, the individual,
and Nelson Mandela.
2. Places can be a school, Texas, a home, a store, Japan, a room, a stadium, the
desert, a cave, Australia, a state, Veracruz, and a drawer.
3. Things can comprise the Statue of Liberty, a car, a computer, a cup, the Great
Sphinx, a stapler, a pen or pencil, a fence, a cell phone, and the Oxford English
Dictionary.
4. Living creatures are a lion, a Bengal tiger, a dog, a pig, a Siamese cat, a
horse, a dolphin, a caterpillar, a Monarch butterfly, a vole, an American Robin,
and a yak.
5. Ideas and concepts include Buddhism, love, freedom, money, time, the
Declaration of Independence, marriage, religion, and Hinduism.

In reading through the lists of nouns, you noticed that some of the nouns are
capitalized and others are not. In addition of being a person, place, thing, living
creature, or concept, nouns can be common and proper. Common nouns are not
capitalized. Proper nouns are capitalized.

So while the nouns adult, country, pastry, dog, and disease are common nouns,
the nouns Mother Teresa, Latvia, Buche de Noel, Basenji, and Ebola are
all proper nouns.

PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that stand in for or replace nouns. There are nine categories
of pronouns:

1. Subject Pronouns
2. Objective Pronouns
3. Indefinite Pronouns
4. Relative Pronouns
5. Demonstrative Pronouns
6. Possessive Pronouns
7. Interrogative Pronouns
8. Reflexive Pronouns
9. Intensive Pronouns

Subject pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. As their name
implies, subject pronouns always function as subjects of a sentence.

Case
Number Person
(subjective)
 1st I

2nd You
Singular
She
3rd He
It

1st We

Plural 2nd You

3rd They

This category of subject pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Below are sentences that use each of the subject pronouns as subjects.

Singular

• I ate the last piece of pizza.

• You are a very fast runner.
• She left a book in my car.
• He bought a hamburger.
• It had begun to rain.

Plural

• We always work together.

• You get bonuses every month.
• They joined the choir.

Objective pronouns include me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. Objective
pronouns always function as objects in a sentence, for example, the direct object,
the indirect object, or the object of a preposition.

Case
Number Person
(objective)
 1st Me

2nd You
Singular
Him
3rd Her
It

1st Us

Plural 2nd You

3rd Them

This category of object pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns
listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.

Below are sentences that use each of the object pronouns as different types of
objects.

Singular

• She gave the award to me. (indirect object)

• I baked that batch of cookies sitting near you. (object of the preposition near)
• Mr. Jones met him for lunch. (direct object)
• He picked out flowers especially for her. (indirect object)
• Open the door and walk through it. (object of the preposition)

Plural

• The usher led us to our seats. (direct object)

• The company sent the merchandise directly to you. (indirect object)
• The teacher gave them more time to finish the quiz. (indirect object)

Indefinite pronouns can function as either subjects or objects. Also, they can be
singular or plural or both (depending on the context in which they are used). The
reason this is most important is because the number of the pronoun determines the
number of the verb to be used, which you will study in the next unit. Singular
indefinite pronouns use singular verbs. Plural indefinite pronouns use plural verbs.
• Indefinite pronouns that end in –one are always singular. These words
include anyone, everyone, someone, and one.
• Indefinite pronouns that end in –body are always singular. These words
include anybody, somebody, and nobody.
• Indefinite pronouns like both, many, others, and several are always plural.
• Indefinite pronouns like any, more, most, and some can be singular or plural,
depending on how they are used.

Singular
Singular Plural
or
Indefinite Indefinite
Plural

another both all

anyone few any
each many more
everyone others most
everybody several none
everything some
much
nobody
nothing
other
someone
anybody
anything
either
little
neither
no one
somebody
something

This category of indefinite pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Below are several examples of the indefinite pronouns as both subjects and objects.

• Everyone seems to have a social media account. (subject)

• Cheryl gave the tomato seed packages to everyone who attended. (object)
• Somebody needs to dust the furniture and mop the floor. (subject)
• We gave the boxes to somebody at the shop. (object)
Below are sentence examples of singular and plural indefinite pronouns.

• Most of the pie has been eaten. (Singular)

• Most of the pies have been eaten. (Plural)
• None of the light enters the bedroom. (Singular)
• None of the lights seem to be working. (Plural)
• Both of the men run quickly out of the room. (Plural)
• Several of the children play hop-scotch during recess. (Plural)

Relative pronouns include, most commonly, that, which, who, whom,

whoever, whomever, and where. Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses,
which you will study in Week 4.

Demonstrative pronouns include This, That, These, and Those and can
function as subjects, objects, and adjectives.

Near in Far in
Number Distance Distance
or Time or Time

Singular This That

Plural These Those

This category of demonstrative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

ones listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.

Below are several examples of sentences using demonstrative pronouns as

subjects.

• This is the best place to park.

• These are the strawberries that are on sale.
• That really got to me.
• Those fell off the truck.

The following sentences use demonstrative pronouns as objects.

• “Get as close as you can to that,” he stated, pointing to the loading dock.
• “I want a handful of these,” she laughed picking up the strawberries.

Below are two sentences that use demonstrative pronouns as adjectives.

• I need a picture of those flowers.

• This phone is the one I truly want.

Possessive pronouns are pronouns used to refer to subjects in sentences that are
specific person/people or thing/things belonging to a person/people [and
sometimes to an animal(s) or thing(s)]. Possessive pronouns function as subjects,
objects, and adjectives.

Possessive
Number Person
Pronoun

1st My/Mine

2nd Your/Yours
Singular
His
3rd Her/Hers
Its

1st Our/Ours

Plural 2nd Your/Yours

3rd Their/Theirs

This category of possessive pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones
listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.

Following are sentences that use possessive pronouns as subjects.

Singular

• Mine is the last cake on the table.

• Yours was left in the car.
• Hers came with the card attached.
• His was a mighty blow.

Plural

• Ours describe ways others might interpret art.

• Yours were the last to arrive.
• Theirs won first place.

Sentence examples using possessive pronouns as objects include.

• That backpack looks like mine.

• The restaurant’s bouillabaisse tastes similar to ours.

The following examples use possessive pronouns as adjectives.

• That is my seat in which you are sitting.

• Your seat is at the end of the row.

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. These pronouns represent the
thing that isn’t known (what the question is asking about). Interrogative pronouns
can stand in for subjects.

If the Subject Use this

is a ... pronoun...

Person Who

Thing What

Person/thing Which

Person Whose

This category of interrogative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

The sentences below use interrogative pronouns as subjects.

• Who borrowed my pencil?

• What is the name of the café’?
• Which seems to be the most popular?
• Whose is the red blanket?

Reflexive and Intensive pronouns each use the same forms.

Reflexive Intensive
Number Person
Pronoun Pronoun

1st Myself Myself

2nd Yourself Yourself

Singular
Himself Himself
3rd Herself Herself
Itself Itself

1st Ourselves Ourselves

Plural 2nd Yourselves Yourselves

3rd Themselves Themselves

This category of reflexive and intensive pronouns is a closed category. In other

words, the ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

Reflexive pronouns function as objects in a sentence; they show subjects

performing actions on themselves.

Below are two sentences using reflexive pronouns as objects.

• He enjoyed himself painting the shed.

• Chandra and Wallace watched themselves on video prepare the meal.

Intensive pronouns emphasize another noun or pronoun. See the following

examples.

• You yourself will be responsible for the delivery.

• Raul and I ourselves seem to be the only people who want to hike the gorge.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words you use to modify a noun or a pronoun. In this section you
will learn about three categories of adjectives: (1) descriptive adjectives, (2) proper
adjectives, and (3) predicate adjectives.

A descriptive adjective describes a quality of the noun the adjective modifies.

• large house
• frigid night
• wide gorge
• purple plum
• green truck
• blissful sleep

A proper adjective is formed by using a proper noun.

• French pastry
• Shakespearian play
• Jeffersonian democracy
• African dance

Predicate adjectives follow the noun and are connected to the noun by a linking
verb, which you will learn about in the next module. In the following examples, the
predicate adjective follows the highlighted linking verb (linking verbs are discussed
in the next segment):

• She seems brave.

• The bread is stale.
• He looks bored.
• The trash smells unpleasant.

The three articles in English, a, an, and the (sometimes referred to as

determiners) always function as adjectives in a sentence.
VERBS
A verb shows what the subject of a sentence does. You can group verbs
into three general categories:

1. Action Verbs
2. Linking or State of Being Verbs
3. Helping or Auxiliary Verbs

Action verbs, which make up the majority of verbs, show/demonstrate an action.

• The phone rang loudly.

• They dance well together.
• The little girl laughed joyfully.
• The team plays aggressively.

Linking or state of being verbs do not show an action. These verbs explain the
condition someone or something is in.

• The teacher is ill.

• I am tall and beautiful.
• The sister became class president.
• The cat seems agitated by the attention.

Helping or auxiliary verbs help describe the main verb. There are nine helping
verbs that are always helping verbs; they are never the main verb. These helping
verbs are:

1. May
2. Might
3. Must
4. Could
5. Would
6. Should
7. Can
8. Will
9. Shall

Study the following sentences. The helping verb is in bold and the main verb is highlighted.
Helping verbs add degrees of difference to the main verb, allowing you to make subtle
distinctions.

• The bowl should hold all the ingredients.

• The bowl might hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl must hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl will hold all the ingredients.
• The bowl can hold all the ingredients.

Together, the helping verb and the main verb are called the complete verb.

There are three verbs, be, do, and have, that can be either main verbs or helping
verbs depending upon their usage. The forms of these three verbs that can be
either main or helping verbs are:

Be Do Have

Is
Are
Was Does Has
Were Did Had
Being
Been

Again, study the sentences below. In the first three, a form of be, do, and have is
used as a main verb. In the second three sentences, the same form of be,
do, and have is used as a helping verb.

Main verb

• She was a fearsome giant.

• He does the dishes immediately after dinner.
• They have a llama for a pet.
Helping verb

• The child was fed by his sister.

• She does call whenever necessary.
• They have danced for fourteen hours straight.

ADVERBS
Adverbs modify and describe verbs, adjective, and other adverbs.

• They walked quickly to the store.

(quickly modifies the verb walked)
• The child played happily at the beach.
(happily modifies the verb played)
• The child sat nervously outside the principal’s office.
(nervously modifies the verb sat)
• A largely green parrot flew up into the tree.
(largely modifies the adjective green)
• The snow fell very heavily.
(very modifies the adverb heavily)

While most all

adverbs end with And some
the suffix –ly, adjectives end
some adverbs do in –ly. Here are
not. Below are some common –
some common lyending
adverbs that do adjectives.
not end in –ly.

Quite Lovely
So Lonely
Not Friendly
Never Ugly
Often Womanly
Well Manly
Soon Deadly
Always Neighborly
Less
 Very
Also

PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words and show
the relationship between the words. While there are hundreds of prepositions, some
of the more common prepositions are:

about above across after against

along among around at before
behind below beneath beside between
beyond but by despite down
during except for from in
inside into like near of
off on onto out outside
over since through throughout till
to toward under underneath until
up upon with within without

Even though knowing individual prepositions is important, you will

use prepositional phrases far more frequently. A prepositional phrase begins with
a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun and includes any words that come in
between the two. Study the examples below.

• in the village
• despite the extensive remodeling project
• underneath the grey blanket
• near him
• between you and me
• with her

Note how each phrase above begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or
pronoun. You will learn more about prepositional phrases as well as other phrases
in Week 4.
CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are words that link other words in a sentence and indicate the
relationship between those words. There are four types of conjunctions:

1. coordinating conjunctions
2. correlative conjunctions
3. adverbial conjunctions
4. subordinating conjunctions

You will study conjunctions again in Week 4 when you study the different types of
clauses. But for now, learn the four types of conjunctions as subcategories of one of
the eight parts of speech.

Coordinating conjunctions join words or word groups of equal importance.

There are only seven coordinating conjunctions:

*Use the memory word FANBOYS to help you remember all seven coordinating
conjunctions.

1. For
2. And
3. Nor
4. But
5. Or
6. Yet
7. So

Examples

• The child was crying, for he had fallen and scraped both knees.
• The man and the woman walked hand and hand down the street.
• The Tan’s did not wish to visit Alaska, nor did they wish to visit Tierra del
Fuego.
• She likes tea but not coffee.
• The student could play or study, but not both.
• The young man ate breakfast, yet he was still hungry.
• The game ended, so the team left the field.
Correlative conjunctions are word pairs that join words or words groups of equal
importance.

Common correlative conjunctions include:

• not only . . . but also

• whether . . . or
• both . . . and
• not . . . but
• either . . . or
• as . . . as
• neither . . . nor

Examples

• They want to travel not only to Europe but also to Asia.

• I want either the red dress or the black shoes.
• I want both the red dress and the black shoes.
• Whether you clean your room or vacuum the house is up to you.

Unlike coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions that link words and
word groups, adverbial conjunctions join independent clauses, which you will
study in Week 4.

Adverbial conjunctions tell the reader the relationship between the two main
clauses. Below are common adverbial conjunctions organized by the relationship
they specify.

Comparison Cause or
Addition Emphasis Time
or Contrast Effect

as a result
in addition however
nevertheless consequently finally
furthermore in fact
hence meanwhile
moreover indeed nonetheless
therefore next
further otherwise
thus
in contrast
 in
comparison

Subordinating conjunctions are a word or group of words that introduces a

subordinate clause, which you will study in Week 4.

Below are common subordinating conjunctions organized by the relationship they

specify.

Cause Space
Comparison
or Concession Condition Purpose or
or Contrast
Effect Time

before
though if since
as although since while in order once
because even unless as that after
since though when rather than so that while
even if whenever when
until

Study these charts, for you will be referring to them throughout the course. You
should become familiar with these words and the corresponding organizational
relationship. They will help you to improve your thought and sentences as you
write.

INTERJECTIONS
Interjections, the last part of speech, express surprise, emotion, or demand
attention.

• Amen!
• Wow!
• Hey!
• Absolutely!
• Bless you!
• Ouch!
• Damn!

You should avoid using interjections in formal academic prose. Insert interjections
in more informal writing or when you are writing dialogue.

PARTS OF SPEECH AT WORK

Before you begin reading this section, take a few moments to copy down or print
this list of symbols that will be used to identify parts of speech in sentences we will
be working with throughout this unit.

Part of Speech/Sentence Symbol

Subject S

Verb V

Noun N

Pronoun P

Adjective/determiner ADJ

Adverb ADV

Prepositional Phrase Prep P

Conjunction C

Interjection INT

The sentences that you will learn to write in this course will contain many words
from the eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives/determiners,
adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections). What is even more
important is that the words categorized as the eight parts of speech can do many
different “jobs” in the sentences you create. The box below illustrates some of the
work these elements can do for you.

Parts of Jobs They Perform in

Speech Sentences
 Subjects (the
Nouns, actor/who/what) and
pronouns Objects (receive the action
of the actor)

Verbs (describe the action

Verbs
of the actor)

Adjectives,
Modifiers (add details and
adverbs,
description)
prepositions

Conjunctions (link
Conjunctions
sentences, words)

Interjections Interjections (exclamations)

Each part of speech, as you can see, corresponds to one or more of the writing jobs
it can do. They are all really hard workers when it comes to creating sentences.

There is one more significant thing to know about the relationship between the
eight parts of speech and sentences. Just as the parts of speech can do various
jobs in sentences, words that make up the eight parts of speech can also multitask.
In fact, many of the words in the English language can be more than one part of
speech, as you already know, and can do a variety of jobs in sentences. Look at the
following examples.

Word Part of Speech Sentences

The bubbles floated up and

Noun
away.
bubbles
Water bubbles when it begins to
verb
boil.

He climbed up to the top of the

adverb
ladder.

up(s)
preposition They went up the stairs.

adjective The up elevator is on the left.

 She has had more ups than
noun
downs lately.

interjection Well! I don’t believe it!

The teacher spoke well of the

well adverb
student.

adjective My friend is well.

noun The daily arrives at 3:00 pm.

Daily attendance is a
daily adjective
requirement.

adverb He called her cell phone daily.

And these examples are just four of tens of thousands of words that multitask in
this way. Learning the parts of speech and how they function will help you be a
better writer and editor.

But, rest assured, once you have a firm grasp of English based on the descriptions
of it you find here, you will better understand that this ability words have to do so
many things helps to make the English language very rich and very flexible and
very descriptive.

Now that you can see all of the roles English words can play in sentence structures,
creating sentences for writing will become much easier for you.

For example, the noun and verb Seals performed create a complete sentence.

Now add the adjective the:

The Seals performed.

ADJ N V

Add another adjective that describes the color of the seals:

The black seals performed.

ADJ ADJ N V

The verb, performed, doesn’t really describe the actions of the seals. Try a verb
that better describes the seals’ actions:

The black seals leaped

ADJ ADJ N V

Leaped better describes the seals' action. Writing and reading would be rather dull
if there weren’t verbs that described action. In fact, sentences sometimes contain
multiple descriptive verbs. Look at the following sentence.

The black seals leaped, slid, and barked

ADJ ADJ N V V C V

Look at how this sentence gains energy and vitality when action verbs are added.
(Do note that adding additional verbs also means adding commas and the
conjunction and.)

There is one more thing you can do to make this sentence even more dynamic. Add
adverbs and prepositional phrases to give additional details about the verbs.

upo
of
n at the
blac seal leape Eagerl the sli quickl an barke noisil
The out the spectator
k s d y water d y d d y
deck s.
,
,

AD AD Prep Prep
ADJ N V ADV V ADV C V ADV Prep P
J V P P

By adding adverbs (words and phrases that modify verbs) to the sentence, you
create a sentence that is even more specific and visual.

Now, add several adjectives. Remember adjectives are words used to add
descriptive details to nouns and can be inserted in prepositional phrases.
 upon
in thewoo
of at in
T sl bl se th lea sl qui dendec a bar noi
eag o theshimm thestunne thehalf-
h ee ac al e pe i ckl k n ke sil
erly ut eringwater dspectator emptybl
e k k s po d d y around d d y
, s eachers.
ol the
pool,

Pr
A A A
A e AD AD AD
D D N V D Prep P V Prep P C V Prep P Prep P
DJ p V V V
J J V
P

Remember, this sentence began as Seals performed.

A sprinkling of action verbs and their attending adverbs, as well as a few adjectives
and prepositional phrases turned this sentence into an event. As you begin to
experiment with expanding sentences in this way, your writing will become word
pictures that readers will be able to visualize.

Subjects and Verbs

In Unit 2, you learned about the eight parts of speech and how these word
categories are the basic building materials of sentences. Understanding the
grammatical roles these parts of speech play will help you make good choices when
composing

• sentences
• paragraphs
• multi-paragraph compositions

Subjects and verbs make up all sentences. Of course, there are certain guidelines
that must be followed when creating sentences. At the very least, sentences must
have one subject, one verb, and punctuation. In addition, they must be complete
thoughts. These basic sentence structures can be more easily understood by
examining their base parts:

Words that identify the actor in a sentence or tell

Subjects
what/who a sentence is about.
 Words that either describe what action the actor is
Verbs doing or provide a link to the condition/state of being
of the subject.

Punctuation Symbols that tell readers when a sentence ends.

All sentences contain at least one subject and one verb. Sentences that contain a
single subject and a single verb are called simple sentences. Recall the
sentence Seals Perform from PARTS OF SPEECH AT WORK in Unit 2. The sentence
has one subject and one verb:

Seals perform.

Seals is the subject; seals identifies the actor or who this sentence is
about. Perform is the verb; perform describes what action the actor is doing. And
the two words create a meaningful, complete thought. In addition to containing a
single subject and a single verb, simple sentences can also contain one subject and
multiple verbs OR multiple subjects and one verb OR multiple subjects and multiple
verbs. Look at the sentences below.

One subject and one verb: Children play.

Basketballs and volleyballs

Two subjects and one verb:
bounce.

One subject and two verbs: Sharks swim and hunt.

Two subjects and two verbs: Juan and Alex talk and laugh.

Of course, simple sentences like these aren’t the types of sentences that you will
find in academic and professional writing, mostly because they don’t provide
readers much information. However, simple sentences are a good place to start.
Understanding what creates simple sentences is important because you can
eventually expand them so that you can use the expanded sentences in your
writing.
SUBJECTS
All sentences must have an actor, the “who or what” a sentence is about. The
subject in a sentence is that actor. Most of the time, you can find the subject/actor
of a sentence somewhere near the beginning of a sentence. The subject/actor is
also usually in front of the verb in the sentence. To locate a subject/actor, ask
yourself who or what the sentence is about.

Margie walked to the store.

If you ask who this sentence is about, the answer is Margie. So the subject of this
sentence isMargie.

Also, if you can find the verb in a sentence, you can ask who is doing the action the
verb describes. For this sentence, ask who is walking to the store. Again, the
answer is Margie.

Finally, the subject, Margie, is close to the front of the sentence, and it comes
before the verb.

Nouns make great subjects in sentences, but they are not the only words that can
work as subjects. Subjects can also come from other parts of speech and word
combinations. The list below identifies the parts of speech and word forms that
provide us with sentence subjects.

• Nouns (part of speech)

o Trains are still a popular form of transport.
o Books lined the back wall.
• Pronouns (part of speech)
o She left the building at closing time.
o They often gather in the courtyard.
• The “understood” subject (you, a pronoun, is the “understood” subject)
o Please, go to the store.
o Bring me a glass of tea.
• Gerunds (formed by adding –ing to a verb: swimming, driving, learning,
jogging, writing)
o Swimming provides cardiovascular exercise.
o Driving in Los Angeles can be very dangerous.
o Learning is inspirational.
• Infinitives (the preposition to + a verb: to swim, to drive, to learn, to exercise,
to agree)
 o To swim is always a choice.
o To drive can be quite nerve-wracking.
o To learn is a challenge I enjoy.

Nouns:
As you recall from Unit 2, the part of speech called nouns encompasses thousands
of words used to name persons, places, things, living creatures, and ideas.

Because nouns identify the persons, places, things, living creatures, and ideas in
our environment, this part of speech often provides subjects for sentences. Nouns
do an excellent job of acting out the answer to the who/what question used to
identify the subject of a sentence.

Pronouns:
Pronouns, which you studied in Unit 2, can also act as subjects because they stand
in for nouns. The types of pronouns that can function as subjects include personal
pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, and indefinite
pronouns.

We quickly ate the

Personal Pronoun
caramel gelato.

Demonstrative Those are the shoes

Pronoun from the store.

Interrogative
Who told you that story?
Pronoun

Everyone enjoys writing

Indefinite Pronoun
well.

Another type of pronoun, the relative pronoun, can function as a subject in

subordinate clauses, which you will study in the next unit, Unit 4.

Personal pronouns have distinct characteristics, including number, person,

gender, and case. They also have the characteristic of being part of a closed group.
In other words, no changes or additions will be made to this group. The pronouns I,
you, he, she, it, we, and they are all of the personal pronouns that act as
subjects.
1. Number: This term simply means singular (I, he, she) or plural (we, they). In
other words, if the noun being represented is singular, choose a singular
pronoun. If the noun(s) being represented is plural, choose a plural pronoun.
2. Person: This term refers to your point of view. You use 1st person when you
are speaking (I, we); you use 2nd person when you are speaking directly to the
reader (you); you use 3rd person when you are speaking about someone or
something else (he, she, it, they).
3. Gender: This term identifies whether the pronoun represents a subject that is
male (he), female (she), or neuter (it).
4. Case: This term refers to the two distinct case classifications of personal
pronouns. Case determines how the pronoun is to be used. Subjective case
means that the pronoun can be used as a subject in a sentence. (Objective
case means the pronoun can be used as a direct object or other object field.)

The following table identifies personal pronouns that can substitute for nouns as
subjects in sentences and how to choose the appropriate pronoun form:

Number Person Gender Case (Subjective)

1st Female/male I

2nd Female/male You

Singular Female She

3rd Male He

Neuter It

1st Female/male We

Plural 2nd Female/male You

3rd Female/male/neuter They

This category of subjective personal pronouns is a closed category. In other

words, the pronouns listed in the table are the complete set. There will be no
changes or additions.

The sentences below use personal pronouns as subjects.

Singular

• I ate the last piece of pizza.

• You are a very fast runner.
• She left a book in my car.
• He bought a hamburger.
• It had begun to rain.

Plural

• We always work together.

• You get bonuses every month.
• They joined the choir.

You can also use demonstrative pronouns as subjects in sentences. The next
table identifies and describes how to use demonstrative pronouns as subjects.
Demonstrative pronouns have only two characteristics: they represent number (one
item or more than one item) and describe whether these items are near in distance
or time OR far in distance or time.

Demonstrative Pronouns that can be

used as Subjects

Near in
Far in Distance
Number Distance or
or Time
Time

Singular This That

Plural These Those

This category of demonstrative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

The sentences below use demonstrative pronouns as subjects.

• This is the best place to park.

• These are the figs and pistachios that are on sale.
• That really got to me.
• Those fell off the truck.

Possessive pronouns are pronouns used to refer to subjects in sentences that are
a specific person/people or thing/things belonging to a person/people (and
sometimes to an animal(s) or thing(s)). These pronouns have three
characteristics: number, person, and gender. In addition, possessive pronouns
can be used as subjects and/or objects.

Possessive Pronouns that can be used as Subjects

Possessive
Number Person Gender of Owner
Pronouns

1st Female/male My/Mine

2nd Female/male Your/Yours

Singular Female Her/Hers

3rd Male His

Neuter Its

1st Female/male Our/Ours

Plural 2nd Female/male Your/Yours

3rd Female/male/neuter Their/Theirs

This category of possessive pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones
listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

Singular

• Mine is the last scone on the table.

• Yours was left in the car.
• Hers came with the card attached.
• His was a mighty blow.

Plural

• Ours describe ways others might interpret art.

• Yours were the last to arrive.
• Theirs won first place.

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. These pronouns represent the
person or item that isn’t known (who or what the question is asking about).
Interrogative pronouns can stand in for subjects.
 Interrogative Pronouns that can be
used as Subjects

If the Subject is a Use the pronoun

Person Who

Thing What

Person/thing Which

Person Whose

This category of interrogative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

ones listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or additions.

The sentences below use interrogative pronouns as subjects.

• Who borrowed my pencil?

• What will happen tomorrow?
• Which seems to be the most popular?
• Whose is the red blanket?

Indefinite pronouns complete the list of pronouns that can act as subjects in
sentences. Indefinite pronouns have really only two characteristics that need to be
considered when using them as subjects; they can be singular or plural (or both
depending on the context in which they are used) since they share the
characteristic of number. The concept of singularity or plurality is important
because the number of the pronoun determines the number of the verb you will
use. Singular indefinite pronouns use singular verbs. Plural indefinite pronouns use
plural verbs.

• Indefinite pronouns that end in –one are always singular. These words include
anyone, everyone, someone, and one.
• Indefinite pronouns that end in -body are always singular. These words
include anybody, somebody, and nobody.
• Indefinite pronouns like both, many, others, and several are always plural.
• Indefinite pronouns like any, more, most, and some can be singular or
plural, depending on how they are used.

Indefinite Pronouns that can be used as

Subjects
 Singular Plural Singular or
Indefinite Indefinite Plural

another
anyone
each
everyone
everything
much all
both
nobody any
few
nothing more
many
someone most
others
anybody none
several
anything some
either
little
no one
somebody
something

This category of indefinite pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the

indefinite pronouns listed are the complete set. There will be no changes or
additions.

The “Understood You”: The “Understood You” occurs when you give a command
or order to someone or suggest something to someone. These sentences are
unique in that the subjects of these sentences are not written. Instead, the subject
is said to be an “understood subject.” Consider the following sentences:

• Go to your room.
• Drink the rest of your milk.
• Wash your hands and face, please.

As you can see, there is no written subject for these sentences. Ask yourself, “Who
is this about?” and “Who is the actor?” The answer has to be to whomever the
sentence is directed. The most obvious answer is “You.”

• You go to your room.

• You drink the rest of your milk.
• You wash your hands and face, please.
When you compare the two sets of sentences, you can see that you do not need to
write the subjects because the pronoun, you, is understood as the actor in each
one.

GERUNDS:

A gerund is a word formed by adding the suffix –ing to a verb. Words that are
formed in this way usually represent activities—either physical or mental. Examples
include running, eating, thinking, wishing, and herding. Gerunds act like nouns, and
nouns are the most common kind of sentence subjects. Therefore, gerunds can act
as subjects, too. Consider the following sentences.

• Running the Inca Trail near Machu Picchu can be arduous.

• Eating keeps my body fueled.
• Thinking critically is a way to exercise the brain.
• Wishing won’t get you anywhere.
• Herding cattle on the Pampas of Argentina can be hard work.

To determine the subjects for these sentences, ask, “’Who or what’ are these
sentences about?” The answers come easily. These sentences are about running,
eating, thinking, wishing, and herding.

INFINITIVES:

Like gerunds, infinitives are also made by using verbs. Infinitives are composed of
the preposition to + verb. Infinitives represent future or abstract activities that
have not yet happened. The following examples may help to clarify this:

• To fly over the Andes was his dream.

• To enter the Basílica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona would require a long
wait in line.
• To learn a second language is her main goal.
• To wait in the rain and wind seemed silly.

The first two examples are actual representations that may happen in the future.
The last two examples are abstract ideas that also have not yet happened. And just
like with gerunds, simply ask the “who or what” question to determine the subject.
For example, “Who or what was his dream?” “Who or what would require a long
wait in line?” "Who or what is her main goal?” “Who or what seemed silly?”
VERBS
As you are learning in this unit, sentences are complete thoughts that need three
things:

• subject
• verb
• punctuation

Now that you’ve studied subjects and the role they play in sentences, you will study
verbs to see what role they play in sentences. Verbs can perform many functions.

1. Verbs describe action or link another part of

speech to the subject to indicate the state of
being/condition of the subject.
Since verbs denote action or link a noun, pronoun, adjective, or a phrase to the
subject, verbs are the words that describe what the subjects in sentences are doing
or what state of being or condition they are in. Look at these five sentences:

The man jumps for joy. (jumps denotes action)

S V

The man is my father. (is links father, a noun, to man)

S V N

The man is he. (is links he, a subject pronoun, to man)

S V P

The man is joyful. (is links joyful, an adjective, to man)

S V ADJ

in the living (is links in the living room, an prepositional phrase,

The man is
room. toman)
 S V PREP P

Without verbs, these sentences would make no sense, as the actors (the subjects
in sentences) would not have anything to do or to be.

Verbs describe what the subject of a sentence does or what the subject of the
sentence is. To better understand the difference between verbs that denote action
and verbs that denote condition or a state of being, carefully read and study the
information below.

Action verbs make up the majority of verbs. Action verbs, like nouns, are
considered an open category because new ones emerge and old ones change all the
time. For example, the abbreviation MOOC, which stands for Massive Open Online
Course, can be used as a noun: “I’m enrolled in a MOOC.” But you could also use
the abbreviation as a verb: “Please, don’t bother me right now; I am moocing.”
There are hundreds and hundreds of these words that show an action. Below are
just a few examples:

• The phone rang loudly in the den.

• They dance the Tango well together.
• The little girl laughed joyfully at the scene.
• The team plays aggressively all the time.
• His cell phone dropped unexpectedly into the water.
• The couple happily smiles at each other.
• The child slurps his drink quickly and noisily.
• The father sits silently in the darkened living room.
• The children chase the dog around the yard.
• My computer crashed last night around midnight.

You see how each verb in these sentences describes an action performed by the
subject.

Linking verbs are few in number and are considered a closed category, like the
pronouns. Instead of denoting action, a linking verb connects the subject of a
sentence to additional information about the subject, such as the condition or state
of being of the subject. Look at the examples below. The linking verb is in bold in
each sentence.

• The teacher feels ill.

• The dogs sound lonely.
• The food tastes salty.
• The cats seem agitated by the attention.
• I appear short in that photo.
• Your perfume smells lovely.
• The bottles remain unopened.
• The woman is my mother-in-law.
• The flowers outside my window grow taller each day.

Each verb links the subject to information that comes after the verb.

There are several linking verbs that are true linking verbs, for they can only be
linking verbs, and there are several verbs that can be linking verbs or action verbs.
Because linking verbs are a closed category, a complete list of them is possible.
Below is a largely complete list.

May Be Linking Verbs (but can also

Always Linking Verbs
show action)

feel be (and all its forms)

grow become

look seem

appear

remain

smell

sound

stay

taste

turn

prove
A simple test exists that you can use to determine whether or not a verb is a linking verb. If you
can replace the verb in a sentence with the words am, is, or are, and the sentence still makes
sense, then the verb is a linking verb. If you replace the verb with am, is, or are, and it does
not make sense, then the verb is an action verb.

Try this. Replace the bolded verb in each of the sentences below with the words am, is,
or are.

1. The teacher feels ill.

2. The dogs sound lonely.
3. The food tastes salty.
4. The cats seem agitated by the attention.
5. I appear short in that photo.
6. Your perfume smells lovely.

Notice how the sentences still make sense? If the sentence still sounds logical, then you know
the verb is a linking verb.

Now replace the bolded verbs in the sentences below with am, is or are.

1. Mom always tastes her food before she serves it.

2. I smell smoke in the air.
3. He felt the sides of the box for an opening.
4. They proved the oil pipeline leaked.
5. The family stays home to eat dinner together.
6. Juan and Tan grow flowers outside their window.

Writers make good use of linking verbs, especially those verbs that are connected to human
senses—smell, taste, feel, and look. Anytime you can include human sense details in your
sentences do so because the addition enables you to connect with the reader more directly. For
example, a linking verb like felt invites you to finish the thought:

He felt ...

• ill.
• happy.
• like going to a movie.
• as if he had been ripped off.
Helping or auxiliary verbs help describe the main verb. There are nine helping verbs that
are always helping verbs; they are never the main verb. These helping verbs are:

May Might Must

Could Would Should

Can Will Shall

Study the following sentences. The helping verb is bolded and the main verb is underlined.

•
• You should not cook with metal pans in a microwave oven.
• The cell phone could easily fit in the oversized purse.
• We will need help harvesting from the neighbors.
• The student must visit the library to check out the book.
•

Together, the helping verb and the main verb are called the complete verb.

There are three verbs, be, do, and have, that can be either main verbs or helping verbs
depending upon their usage. The forms of these three verbs that can be either main or helping
verbs are:

Be Is Are Was Were Be Being Been

Do Do Does Did

Have Has Have Had

Again, study the sentences below. In the first three, a form of be, do, and have is used as a
main verb. In the second three sentences, the same form of be, do, and have is used as a
helping verb.

• She was a fearsome giant, Jörd from Norse mythology.

•
• He does the dishes immediately after dinner.
• They have a llama for a pet.
• The child was fed by his sister.
• She does call whenever necessary.
• They have danced in the Awa Odori, the largest dance festival in
• Japan.
•

With helping verbs, you can create a more precise verb because you are able to
further clarify and control the verb’s meaning. You will use helping verbs to write
the perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive verb tenses (see next section).
You also use helping verbs to express subtle shifts of meaning in a sentence. For
example,

•
• Sarnia can go skating tomorrow.
• Sarnia must go skating tomorrow.
• Sarnia could go skating tomorrow.
• Sarnia will go skating tomorrow.

Verbs are usually either regular or irregular. The best place to start with
understanding the differences between regular and irregular verbs is by looking at the past and
past participial forms of verbs and how those forms are made.

• For regular verbs, the past and past participle forms are made by adding –ed to the
present tense form. This rule applies to all regular verbs:

Present Past Past Participle Present Participle

work worked worked working

borrow borrowed borrowed borrowing

grin grinned grinned grinning

plant planted planted planting

rush rushed rushed rushing

• For irregular verbs, the past and past participle forms do not follow the rules
for regular verbs. The past participial forms of irregular verbs may end in –ed,
-en, -e, -n, -t, -k, -g, and -d.

Present Past Past Participle Present Participle

dive dove dived diving

break broke broken breaking

come came come coming

see saw seen seeing

put put put putting

stick stuck stuck sticking

dig dug dug digging

lead led led leading

The best way to learn the various principle parts of any verb is slowly through memorization.

A number of websites exist that offer extensive lists of irregular verbs, including the following:

• UsingEnglish.com -- http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/irregular-verbs/
• EnglishPage.com -- http://www.englishpage.com/irregularverbs/irregularverbs.html
• Purdue Online Writing Lab -- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/605/01/
• MyEnglishTeacher.net -- http://www.myenglishteacher.net/irregular_verbs.html

TENSE, AGREEMENT, VOICE

Verbs designate tense, the time when an action or state of being/condition
takes place.

All verbs have the characteristic of tense or the time when an action or state of being occurs.

Tense is one of the functions of a verb. Everything that happens (actions or conditions or states),
happens in present time, in past time, or in future time. A verb indicates the time of an action, a
condition, or a state by changing its form. So, when you write and want to show when something
occurs, the place to start is with the verb form you use.

English has twelve active verb forms.

 PRESENT PAST FUTURE

Simple Tense

An action or
An action
event that An action that
that will
Use occurs ended at a specific
occur
regularly or point in the past.
after now.
repeatedly.

Base form of Will +

the verb / base form
Formation Add –ed
base form + of the
s verb

Example laugh/laughs laughed will laugh

Progressive Tense

An action
that will
be
An action was
happening
An action happening (past
over time,
that is progressive) when
Use in the
happening another action
future,
now. happened (simple
when
past).
something
else
happens.

Form of be Will + be
Was or were +
Formation + present + present
present participle
participle participle

am / is / are was / were will be

Example
laughing laughing laughing

Perfect Tense

An action
An action that will
that end
An action that
happened at before
ended before
Use an another
another action or
unspecified action or
time in the past.
time in the time in
past. the
future.
 Will +
have or has
Had + past have +
Formation + past
participle past
participle
participle

has / have will have

Example had laughed
laughed laughed

Perfect Progressive Tense

An action
An action occurring
occurring over time,
An action that
over time in the
happened over
that started future,
time, in the past,
Use in the past before
before another time
and another
or action
continues action or
in the past.
into the time in
present. the
future.

Will +
have + been have +
Had + been +
Formation + present been +
present participle
participle present
participle

has / have will have

Example been had been laughing been
laughing laughing

Verbs have to agree with their subjects in number.

In English grammar, number indicates a word is singular or plural. In English sentences, subjects and
verbs must agree in number. Such agreement is typically called subject-verb agreement. So if the
subject is singular, the verb must be singular or if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Consider these sentences:

•
• A. The boy eats his lunch.
• B. The boys eat their lunch.
•
• A. The dog barks at strangers.
• B. The dogs bark at strangers.
•
• A. The writer enjoys learning new words.
• B. The writers enjoy learning new words.
•

In each pair of sentences the subjects and verbs agree in number.

Present Tense Verb Forms

All the “A” sentences have singular subjects and singular verbs, and all the “B” sentences have plural
subjects and plural verbs.

Singular Subject and Verb Plural Subject and Verb

A. The boy eats his lunch. B. The boys eat their lunch.

A. The dog barks at strangers. B. The dogs bark at strangers.

B. The writers enjoy learning new

A. The writer enjoys learning new words.
words.

Pay attention to the information in the following table because you need to think about how subjects
and third person, present tense verbs become plural.

Singular Forms for Nouns and

Plural Forms for Nouns and
Present Tense 3rd Person
Present Tense 3rd Person Verbs
Verbs

Singular nouns have no –s. Many nouns become plural by adding

Plural present tense verbs are pluralized by removing

Singular present tense verbs require the –s.
the –s.

The boy eats.

The boys eat.
The girl plays.
The girls play.
The baby swims.
The babies swim.

The approach to the singular and plural forms for verbs seems to go against the rules regarding how
words are made plural. Just be aware that the only time this odd occurrence happens is with singular
and plural 3rd person present tense verbs. Singular 3rd person present tense verbs require an –s.
Plural 3rd person present tense verbs DO NOT use –s.
Active and Passive Voice

In English grammar, voice shows whether the subject of a sentence is performing the action of
the verb or receiving the action of the verb.

Active Voice. You create active voice by making sure the subject of your sentence performs
the action of the verb. Look at the sentence below.

• The tiny kitten ate half a can of cat food.

In this sentence, the subject, kitten, performs the action, ate.

Look at this next sentence.

The student took the book from the shelf.

In the above sentence, the subject, student, performs the action, took.

Passive Voice: In passive voice, rather than the subject performing the action of
the verb, the subject receives the action of the verb.

The half can of food was eaten by the tiny kitten.

The book was taken from the shelf by the student.

In both of the above sentences, the subjects, can and book, are not performing
the action of the verbs, was eaten and was taken. As you can see, the “half can
of food” does not perform the action described by the verb.
Instead, the action, was eaten, is shifted to the end of the sentence to the
noun, kitten, just in the same way the student is now the recipient of the
action was taken.

In writing, you always want to make active voice your first choice. To recognize
active and passive voice sentences, do the following:

1. Find the subject of the sentence

2. Find the main verb of the sentence
3. Examine the relationship between the subject and the main verb:

• Does the subject perform the action of the main verb? If so, the sentence is
in active voice.
• Does the subject sit there while something else—named or unnamed—performs
an action on it? If so, the sentence is in passive voice.

To change passive voice to active voice follow these three steps:

1. Delete the form of the to be verb.

2. Use an active verb form rather than the past participial verb form.
3. Make the object of the preposition and any words associated with the object of
the preposition (but do not include the preposition) the subject of the
sentence.

Read the sentences below.

A letter was written to his brother by Jamal. (Passive voice)

1. Delete the verb was.

2. Change written to wrote.
3. Change Jamal from being the object of the preposition to become the subject of
the sentence.

Jamal wrote a letter to his brother. (Active voice)

As you work on writing, make sure you always know what voice you are using. You
want to use an active voice as much as possible in your writing to make your
writing is more vigorous and energetic, but sometimes you will need to use passive
voice.
One instance in which you might typically use passive voice occurs when you do not
know who performed the action of the verb.

The gifts were left on the door step last night.

In addition, passive voice is acceptable to use when the actor is less important than
the object receiving the action.

A cure for AIDS was discovered by the team of scientists.

TERMINAL PUNCTUATION
In English, terminal punctuation, also called stops and end marks, consists of the period,
the exclamation mark, and the question mark. These three punctuation marks typically bring
sentences to a logical close.

Use a period to end (1) declarative sentences, which state facts and opinions; (2) imperative
sentences, which give commands and directions; (3) indirect questions; and (4) polite requests
that are stated as questions.

•
• Declarative sentences stating facts:
• Brasília, Brazil, was founded 21 April 1960.
• Computers are now used worldwide.
•
• Declarative sentences stating opinions:
• The Empire State Building is the most beautiful Art Deco building
• in New York City.
• Practicing Tai Chi is the best way to remain healthy.
•
• Imperative sentences:
• Don’t forget your rain slicker.
• Turn left at the next corner.
•
• Indirect questions:
• The tour guide asked if everyone was comfortable.
• He asked the woman if she knew the road to Salamanca, Spain.
•
• Requests that are stated as questions:
• Would you please point out Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on the map.
• Could you translate that sign over there for me, please.
•
•

The exclamation mark (or exclamation point) follows an exclamatory statement or an

interjection and is typically used to express strong emotion.

• That was the worst play I’ve ever seen!

•
• You should be more careful with yourself!
• He can’t carry that by himself. Help him!

You use a question mark at the end of direct questions.

•
• Are we visiting Ayers Rock tomorrow?
• Where do you want me to set my shoes?
• Am I allowed to spin the prayer wheel?
•

Clauses, Phrases & Sentence Types

In this unit, you will study clauses and phrases. Even though they are distinctly
different, both clauses and phrases will improve your sentences by adding detail or
further information. Also in this unit, you will learn about the four sentence types,
which will empower you to write more confident sentences and think about your
writing style.

At a minimum, a clause contains a subject and verb, whereas a phrase can be even
only one word. What you need to think about and learn is how each functions in
your sentences. Knowing the distinction between the two will help you to decide
how to use these powerful tools for building sentences.

In short, here is the difference between clauses and phrases:

A group of related
Clause
wordscontaining a subject and verb.

A word or group of related

Phrase:
words lacking a subject and verb.
CLAUSES
Again, a clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and verb.

Clauses that stand on their own are Independent Clauses. Here is an

independent clause:

• The tutor discussed the paper with the student.

Some clauses, however, even though they still contain a subject and verb, cannot
stand on their own. These are Dependent Clauses. Let’s add a dependent clause
to the previous sentence:

• The tutor who was in the writing center discussed the paper with the
student.

In the dependent clause, who functions as the subject (because it is a

pronoun), was is the verb, and in the writing center is a prepositional phrase. The
dependent clause modifies tutor, clarifying which tutor discussed the paper.
Knowing the difference between dependent and independent clauses will be of
crucial importance when you learn about the four sentence types.

Look at some examples of clauses:

• Once I find the axe . . . (dependent)

• The bunny found shelter under the tree. (independent)
• Although you lost the keys . . . (dependent)
• I cannot believe you were right! (independent)

Subordinating Conjunctions will signal dependent clauses. You learned about

subordinating conjunctions in Unit 2, so take a look at the list again:

Cause Space
Comparison
or Concession Condition Purpose or
or Contrast
Effect Time

before
though if since
as although since while in order once
because even unless as that after
since though when rather than so that while
even if whenever when
until
Dependent Clauses

There are two types of Dependent Clauses, or Subordinate Clauses, that are
important for you to know at this stage of your development as a writer, Adjective
Subordinate Clausesand Adverb Subordinate Clauses.

Adjective Subordinate Clauses

Adjective Subordinate Clauses, as the “adjective” in the name suggests, modify a
noun in a sentence. Most adjective subordinate clauses will usually begin with a
relative pronoun: who, whom, that, which, whose, when, and where. You can
already see that an adjective clause will give a certain type of information about a
person, thing, concept, event, or place by looking over these words.

Here are some examples using each of the words in the list:

• Lydia, who was an expert climber, needed less coaching than Ava.
• The dog, to whom the treat was given, ran around in circles.
• The cars that were directed to an alternative entrance passed by the old cotton
candy stand.
• Johnny found Monday, which was his birthday, quite exciting and full of
surprises.
• The officer located the student whose backpack was stolen crying in the lobby.
• Do you remember the day when you lost your phone?
• I can still remember the place where I thought I left it.

In some of these cases, you may actually choose to omit the relative pronoun for
stylistic reasons. Instead of “Do you remember the day when you lost your
phone?”, you can simply write, “Do you remember the day you lost your phone?” In
either case, you are modifying the noun “day,” but the adjective clause is not as
obvious when you leave out the relative pronoun “when.”

You may notice in the examples above that sometimes you use a comma to
separate the adjective subordinate clause from the sentence. When you use an
adjective subordinate clause, you will need to decide whether it is
a restrictive or nonrestrictive adjective subordinate clause. In many cases, you
will find that which will signal a nonrestrictive clause (comma required)
and that will signal a restrictive clause (no comma needed). However, this is not
always the case. If you get used to thinking through the difference, you will know
when to use a comma and when not to.

You need to decide whether or not the description is essential to distinguishing the
noun from other nouns or not. Look at some examples:

• Suzanne chose to dance with the guy who was wearing a blue bandana.
 o ("who was wearing a blue bandana" is restrictive because the writer needs
to distinguish the guy from the other people at the dance.)
• Suzanne chose to dance with the guy wearing a blue bandana, which
was faded.
o ("which was faded" is nonrestrictive because the writer is merely adding
information about the bandana.)

Noting the distinction between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses is less

important while you are drafting, but it is quite important when deciding whether or
not to separate the clause from the main sentence with a comma during the editing
stage of the writing process (you will learn about the writing process in the next
unit).

To review, remember:

• A Restrictive Clause (no comma) narrows down all of the possibilities of the
noun into one specific reference.
• A Nonrestrictive Clause (use a comma) does not restrict, or limit, the noun
to a particular specific reference.

Adverb Subordinate Clauses:

In order to add concrete detail and to construct more elaborate sentences, you will
need to learn about and use adverbial subordinate clauses. Adverb subordinate
clauses, as the name suggests, will modify a verb by describing how, when, why,
where, or under what condition something is happening or someone is doing an
action. Note that these clauses, like adjective subordinate clauses, will not stand on
their own. Rather, they will be added to a sentence to provide additional description
and information. However, adverb subordinate conjunctions are easy to spot and
use. The most noticeable characteristic of adverb subordinate clauses is that they
will begin with one of the subordinate conjunctions that you learned about in Unit 2.
Here is the list again:

Cause Space
Comparison
or Concession Condition Purpose or
or Contrast
Effect Time

before
though if since
as although since while in order once
because even unless as that after
since though when rather than so that while
even if whenever when
until
Although adverb subordinate clauses contain at least one subject and one verb,
they begin with words that make them dependent. In other words, these clauses
have to be attached to independent clauses that provide additional information in
order for them to make sense.

Let’s look at some examples:

• Because it might rain, I will bring an umbrella to the festival.

• Although your mother doesn’t like him, she must admit that he plays the piano
beautifully.
• Whenever we leave the beach at dinner time, we get pizza at the brewery.
• Rather than taking the freeway home, why don’t we drive the old highway
395?
• So that you don’t have to pay a fine, you better not park in front of that fire
hydrant.
• After she finished the interview, Emma felt relieved.

For each of the above, notice how we have answered a potential question the
reader might ask. Adverb clauses will describe the verb and add detail to your
sentences. In the first example above, the adverb clause clarifies why Fiona is
“bringing” the umbrella. Also, when you learn about the four sentence types, you
will discover that adverb clauses create a unique type of sentence.

You should consider keeping a list of these subordinating conjunctions as you write
so that you can begin to work these into your sentences. As you use them, they will
become a natural part of your writing style.

Placement and Punctuation of Adverb Subordinate

Clauses:
Adverb Subordinate Clauses require a comma if they are placed before the main clause. You
are free to place an adverb subordinate clause before or after the main clause. Here are some
examples:

• Because it might rain, I will bring an umbrella to the festival. (comma)

• I will bring an umbrella to the festival because it might rain. (no comma)

• Whenever we leave the beach at dinner time, we get pizza at the brewery.
• We get pizza at the brewery whenever we leave the beach at dinner time.

• Rather than taking the freeway home, why don’t we drive the old highway
395?
• Why don’t we drive the old highway 395 rather than taking the freeway
home?

• So that you don’t have to pay a fine, you better not park in front of that
hydrant!
• You better not park in front of that hydrant so that you don’t have to pay a
fine!

• After she finished the interview, Emma felt relieved.

• Emma felt relieved after she finished the interview.

In each of the examples, notice how the adverb subordinate clauses can go either
before or after the main sentence. The rule is simply to place a comma after the
clause if it precedes the main sentence, but generally to omit the comma if it
appears after the main sentence.

Which of the versions of sentences above do you prefer? Which placement (before
or after) gets your attention and produces a strong sentence? Your answers to
these questions will help you to begin to think about your writing style.

For greater emphasis, many writers will place adverb subordinate clauses at the
beginning of their sentences rather than after. This is also true of many arguments
when writers qualify their position before stating their main argument.

To review, there are two rules to remember when punctuating adverb subordinate
clauses:

1. If the clause is at the beginning of the sentence, use a comma after the clause.
2. If the clause is at the end of the sentence, you will generally not use a comma.

There is, however, an exception to rule #2:

If the clause comes at the end of the sentence and is contrasting or contradictory,
then you insert a comma. For example:

• He cleaned the kitchen, whereas his roommate sat on the couch eating
pizza.

In this case, you use a comma because the clause comes at the end of the
sentence and is also a contradictory idea.

NOUN PHRASES
Noun phrases may be easier for you to begin using and are the most common
phrase you will encounter and use (even in other languages!). In fact, you’ve
already read about and worked with some noun phrases, prepositional phrases, so
let’s start there.
Prepositional Phrases:

Prepositional phrases contain a preposition and a noun. “In the writing center” is
an example of a prepositional phrase.

Take the sentence we looked at above:

• The tutor, who was in the writing center, discussed the paper with the student.

We can change the clause, who was in the writing center, into a phrase by
removing the modifier “who” and, most importantly, the verb “was.” We now have
the phrase in the writing center. Let’s place it back in the sentence:

• The tutor, in the writing center, discussed the paper with the student.

The crucial difference is that we no longer use a verb (was). Therefore, we have a
simple prepositional phrase.

Look at a few more examples:

• From my vantage point, I can see two eagles.

• Upon further review, I think you deserve an “A.”
• You’ll find the door down the hall and to the left. (two prepositional phrases)

Prepositional phrases---made up minimally of a preposition + noun or a

pronoun---are the hardest working modifiers in the English language. They can act
like nouns, like adjectives, and like adverbs. Because they are so robust, they can
modify nouns or verbs in sentences. Prepositional phrases can add description and
detail to your writing.

Here is a list of the most commonly used prepositions in English:

aboard besides into since

about between like than
above beyond minus through
according to but (meaning near throughout
across except) of to
after by off toward
against concerning on towards
along considering on account of under
amid despite onto underneath
among down opposite unlike
around during out until
 as except out of up
at excepting outside upon
atop excluding over versus
because of following past via
before for per with
behind from plus within
below in round without
beneath inside save
beside in spite of
instead of

Absolute Phrases:

Absolute phrases are an important type of noun phrase to know when writing
because absolute phrases modify an entire clause. Many phrases modify a specific
word, but absolute phrases describe the whole clause that follows or comes before
it. This is helpful to you because you may like a sentence that you have written, but
you want to add more detail. You can place an absolute phrase before or after the
sentence as it’s written.

Here are some examples:

• Diamonds sparkling in the sunlight, the ring made its way up the wedding
aisle.
• She fought off the zombies one by one, hands grabbing and punching each
of them as they advanced.
• His feet rooted to the spot, the hunter listened for sounds of movement in
the forest.

Absolute phrases are sometimes easily added to your sentences because you need
not change the root sentence that you have written. Let’s say you started with the
following sentence:

• The clerk monitored the customers.

But we can easily add to the sentence using the parts of speech that you learned in
Unit 2.

• The busy clerk monitored the customers in the self-checkout area at the
hardware store.
With an absolute phrase, we can add even more to this simple sentence.

• His eyes watching every scanner, the busy clerk monitored the customers
in the self-checkout area at the hardware store.

The absolute phrase describes the whole sentence and provides detail about how
the clerk monitors the customers. Absolute phrases are especially helpful when
writing about something you have observed closely. As you may have already
noticed, absolute phrases are considered a type of noun phrase because they
contain at least a noun and a participle. A participle, as you learned in Unit 3, is
the –ing (present participle) or –ed (past participle) form of a verb. In most cases,
you will also easily be able to add modifiers and/or objects to your Absolute
Phrases.

• Diamonds (noun) sparkling (verb - present participle) in the

sunlight (modifier, in this case a prepositional phrase)
• hands (noun) grabbing and punching (verbs – present
participle) each (object) of them as they advanced (modifiers)
• Feet (noun) rooted (verb – past participle) to the spot (modifier)
• His eyes (noun) watching(verb – Present participle) every scanner (object)

Absolute phrases will be one of the most helpful phrases as you develop as a writer
because they are so easy to add to well-crafted sentences.

Appositive Phrases:

Appositive Phrases add detail and modify a noun. Apposition means to place two
things next to each other for explanation. With Appositive Phrases, you add layers
of meaning to a sentence.

An appositive may be one word that modifies another noun (“My cousin Dan lives
next door.”).

Like Absolute Phrases, you may add these to a sentence that you’ve already
written. Appositive phrases can be added to the beginning or end of a sentence like
Absolute Phrases, but they can also be added within sentences as well. Instead of
containing a noun and a verb/participle, Appositive Phrases will consist of nouns
and modifiers.

Here are some examples:

• His car, a rusty 1982 Ford Mustang, chugged down the road like an old
mule.
• A usually calm and mild-mannered employee, Anthony erupted with a
volley of barely intelligible words.
• The critic praised the lead actor, a teenager from India.

When using appositive phrases in the middle of a sentence note that you must use
two commas, one before the phrase and one at the end, to separate it from the
main sentence. We can add verbs to appositive phrases, as in the following
example:

• The critic praised the lead actor, a teenager from India who began
working at the theater and became an understudy with no formal
training.

You must always place an appositive as close to the noun it is modifying as

possible. Otherwise, you may end up modifying a noun you did not intend.

VERB PHRASES
Two types of verb phrases that you have already written will help you to add detail
to sentences: Infinitive Phrases and Participial Phrases. Because each of them
begins with a certain type of verb, you will refer to them as verb phrases.

Infinitive Phrases

Infinitive phrases begin with the infinitive form of a verb, to+verb:

• to swim
• to laugh
• to feel

We can make phrases from these infinitives by adding detail:

• to swim the length of the pool under water

• to laugh more often
• to feel valued and respected

We can then add these to sentences:

• To swim the length of the pool under water, he had to hold his breath for
two full minutes.
• To laugh more often, the couple decided to watch more comedies.
• To feel valued and respected, students should share their talents and life
experiences.

These same Infinitive Phrases can also go in a different position in the sentence to
create a different emphasis. As with adverb subordinate clauses, if an infinitive
phrase is placed at the end of the sentence, you do not use a comma:

• He had to hold his breath for two full minutes to swim the length of the pool
under water.
• The couple decided to watch more comedies to laugh more often.
• Students should share their talents and life experiences to feel valued and
respected.

Infinitive Phrases will always contain and begin with to+verb and express a goal.
You will find these helpful when you are writing about what you desire to have
happen or are making a plea for something that needs to happen.

Participial Phrases

Participial Phrases use the participial form of the verb. There are two types:

1. Present: -ing verbs, as in “having a good time”

2. Past: -ed verbs, as in “knocked out by a blow to the head”

Participial phrases will add action and excitement to your sentences. Look at a few
examples:

• Overpowered by the strong urge to vomit, the boy ran outside.

• Running out of time, she wrote the first word that came to mind.
• Driving at nearly 120 miles per hour, the car swerved and narrowly missed
a deer.
• Exhausted by the long day of rowing, he fell asleep immediately.

Notice how these sentences are more descriptive and appealing with participial
phrases. As you learned in Unit 3, both participles and infinitives can be subjects of
sentences. As verb phrases, though, you can use them to expand and add
sophistication to your sentences.

Knowing infinitive and participial phrases can be helpful to you as you improve your
writing. Remember, though, that when applying phrases to your writing, phrases,
as opposed to clauses, will not stand on their own as a complete idea. Therefore,
you will be using phrases to modify and add detail to your sentences.
Composing and Editing
In this unit, you will learn to write paragraphs. Following the five steps of the
writing process, you will discover that writing a detailed, interesting, and effective
paragraph becomes a practical, thoughtful activity.

Many people consider writing to be a difficult activity, fraught with anxiety and
stress. However, when you consider that writing is a process with logical and
helpful steps leading you toward a tangible goal, it becomes manageable and
eventually enjoyable.

During this unit, you might reflect on your own history and future as a writer.

• Who has inspired you in your journey as a writer?

• Who are your writing heroes?
• Who have been your most meaningful teachers?
• What are your plans to continue growing as a writer?
• What are your short term and long term goals with your writing?

WRITING PARAGRAPHS

As your final assignment for this course, you will be writing a paragraph. A basic
paragraph contains three parts:

• Topic Sentence
• Supporting Details
• Concluding Sentence

The Topic Sentence

A topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. You use the topic
sentence to tell the reader what the paragraph is about. Each topic sentence has
two elements: Topic and Purpose.

To write an effective topic sentence, you need to know your topic, the subject of
your paragraph. When choosing a topic for a paragraph, you need to choose one
that is narrow but still allows for development. For example, you might want to use
the topic “student fear” or “teens and their cell phones.” Each of these provides a
simple topic you can develop.
In addition to the subject, every topic sentence also needs a purpose to explain
what the paragraph will say about the topic. For example, you might write,
“Students’ fears hurt their education.” In this example, the paragraph will show
how fear hurts educational goals. On the other hand, you might choose the other
topic and propose that “Teens are addicted to their cell phones.” In this
example, the paragraph will show addictive behavior. Notice how each of these
topic sentences clearly states the topic and purpose of the paragraph.

Now look at some examples of common topic sentence mistakes:

• War is bad.
This is too broad a topic for one paragraph. People write books about wars.

• I ate bananas yesterday.

This is a nice statement, but it is too narrow. Once you tell the reader how
many bananas, there is really nothing else to say.

• This paragraph will be about student fears.

This is an announcement. The reader has no idea what you want to say about
fears, what your purpose is.

Supporting Details

The supporting details in your paragraph will form the basis of most of your
sentences. For every detail you include, you will also provide explanation and
analysis to link the detail to the idea of your topic sentence.

The best details are vivid, specific, and drawn from your own observation and
experience. Many times, these will be “sense” details, what you see, feel, taste,
smell, and hear. Your supporting details will come by thinking carefully through the
assignment or task. You need to be sure that the details you choose are specific
and clear.

Let’s take one of the sentences from above and list some supporting details that we
might include in the paragraph.

Topic sentence: Students’ fears hurt their education.

Supporting details might include some of the following:

• Test anxiety
o Inability to learn
o Reading
 o Writing
o Mathematics
• Social fears at school
o Self-consciousness
o Bullying
o Public speaking
o Sports
• Inability to set goals
o Short term goals
▪ Personal
▪ Academic
o Long term goals
▪ Career
▪ Life
• Fear of teachers

A writer can choose from this list when developing a paragraph about how student
fears inhibit educational achievement. The best choices for supporting details will
come from events or experiences the writer has observed firsthand, and the writer
can develop supporting details based on information from the writer’s experience
and knowledge.

Generally, a well-developed paragraph will include more than three supporting

details/examples. However, each topic will dictate a different set of parameters that
you will work through as a writer. Sometimes, one extended example can support
the topic sentence, but other times, the topic will require several examples.

The Concluding Sentence

Every paragraph that stands on its own will have a sentence that functions as a
conclusion. The concluding sentence will provide a satisfying final thought for your
reader. In a short paragraph, you will not need to summarize what you’ve written,
so you should think about why your topic or opinion might be important for the
reader to consider or what you would like the reader to remember about the topic.
A good concluding sentence will be memorable and also links back to the topic
sentence. In this way, you create unity in your paragraph.

Here are a couple of examples of concluding sentences:

• To ensure that they will be victorious over fear, students should always
keep their long-term goals in mind.
• In conclusion, people need to balance cell phone usage with face to
face communication in order to preserve social skills and relationships.

Notice how each of these sentences sums up the paragraph and leaves the reader
with a final, significant thought. In fact, we can predict the supporting details that
might be in the paragraph by merely reading the concluding sentence.

The Writing Process

Now that you know the basic parts of the paragraph, you are ready to learn the
process of writing a paragraph. All good writers realize that writing is a process
rather than a spontaneous, mysterious activity. Writing is a craft, and there are
steps that are necessary to create a paragraph, a paper, a book, a letter, a
screenplay, etc. For most writing projects, you will utilize five distinctly different
steps, and they should be considered in this order:

1. Inventing
2. Organizing
3. Drafting
4. Revising
5. Editing

When you learn to follow these steps, you will become empowered and confident
when you undertake a writing project.

Step 1 - Inventing

When you start any writing project, you should plan to spend a significant amount
of time exploring your thoughts on the topic and generating (inventing) ideas. Many
students make the mistake of jumping into writing the paper without having clear
ideas. If you take the time to thoroughly explore your thoughts and think deeply
about the assignment, you will immediately improve your writing.

You need to know that writing and thinking go hand-in-hand, so you will need to be
writing to explore what you’re thinking and generate ideas. There are many easy
and effective ways to do this:

• Freewriting: Freewriting occurs when you just let yourself write what’s on
your mind without worrying about grammar, punctuation, sentence structure,
or repetition. The idea is to just keep writing for about five minutes without
stopping. You will be amazed about the ideas that can float to the surface.
• Brainstorming: Exploring your thoughts in a group can be helpful and
invigorating, giving you confidence and more ideas than you might otherwise
generate in a short amount of time. Working collaboratively, you present ideas
to a group of your classmates, family, or friends and keep a record of all the
ideas without censoring or discounting any of them. Unlike freewriting,
brainstorming is spoken and conducted as a group rather than individually.
Each person in the group then keeps the list and can use it as he or she
proceeds to the next step of the writing process.
• Journalistic Questions: You may have seen old films where a journalist is
trying to get the facts for a story. You can use these same journalistic
questions to explore your topic. The classic list of questions includes: Who?
What? Where? When? Why? How? For many writing assignments, exploring the
“how” and “why” may yield the most information. Asking questions and
exploring and finding answers will help you to generate ideas for your writing.
• Listing: Make a list of everything that comes to mind, and then go back over
the list and pick what you feel are the best ideas. Sometimes, you will even
find yourself writing another list from one of these ideas.
• Clustering: Clustering is a visual framework for exploring and generating
ideas. You simply start by drawing a circle around your topic and then grouping
ideas around it with lines leading to new ideas. You then draw lines to more
ideas, linking them together in a diagram.

Here’s an example of how a student worked on a paragraph assignment in Step 1:

Topic: How should one balance different aspects of his or her life?

Freewrite (notice a few typos): Balance means not falling down, maybe juggling
things and not dropping them. Choosing what you do, or how to keep things
together when you’re busy. I felt like I’m trying to balance work and school and my
friends. I wish I had some time to manage. That’s tough. never enough time for the
things I want to do just deadlines. my last assignment was in on time but I didn’t
do my best. How could I balance my homework and friends and job? What is
healthy?

Listing:

• not falling down

• juggling things
• choosing what to do
• work, school, friends
• healthy
 o good diet
o exercise
o relationships
▪ friends
▪ family
▪ community
▪ romance

Clustering:

Considering Audience and Purpose:

As you generate ideas, you will need to consider who will be reading what you will
write and what the purpose of the assignment or task is. For instance, if you are
writing a letter to a newspaper, the audience and purpose is likely to be much
different than when you are writing a letter to your insurance company questioning
a charge. Therefore, for each assignment or project, you should spend some time
thinking about audience and purpose in order know which ideas you are generating
are the best ones for your audience and purpose.

Considering your audience, or, in most cases, your reader, you should consider a
series of questions during this first step of the writing process:

• What is it you are trying to achieve with your audience (besides a good grade)?
• Do you want to convince them something is true?
• Do you want to tell them why something is happening or the results?
• Do you want to explain how something works or what something is?
• Do you want to persuade them to take a certain stand?
Ultimately, during step one, inventing, your job is to generate and examine as
many ideas as you can in order to choose the best ones for your writing project.
You may not use much or any of the writing you generate during step one in your
paragraph, but this writing is essential for the process of discovering and
developing good ideas.

Step 2 – Organizing:

The next step in the writing process is organizing your ideas into a structure that
fits the assignment you have been given. There are many ways to organize your
ideas, and you will have to find the method that works best for you. However, most
students agree that starting with some type of an outline is the way to go.

There are many different types of outline, and outlines can have many sub-points
organized by letters and numbers, or outlines can look like a bulleted list. Either
way, your outline should provide you with a map of what your desired piece of
writing will look like.

Since you will be writing a paragraph at the end of this unit, your outline should
have at least the following points:

• Topic
• Topic sentence
• Supporting Points
o Specific example
▪ Explanation
o Specific example
▪ Explanation

Specific Example

▪ Explanation

Specific Example

▪ Explanation
• Concluding Sentence

Some writers will choose to include more detail in their outlines, and other writers
will include less detail. Those who include less detail will spend more time in the
drafting stage because they are organizing their writing as they go. It becomes
necessary, then, to rewrite because now they have a better sense of what they are
writing about after a first draft.
If you jump into drafting, you should construct a “reverse” outline, so you can see
the structure of your paragraph or essay more clearly. You simply take what you’ve
written and fit it into the structure of an outline. Ultimately, as long as you work
with each of the five steps of the writing process, even if you invert steps 2 and 3,
you will be more successful with your writing projects.

You will need to consider what organizational pattern will best suit the assignment
and the details which you have gathered for it. There are many patterns of
organization that include:

• Compare/Contrast: Explore the similarities and differences between two or

more ideas, things, events, etc.
• Cause and Effect: Analyze the causes that have led to a particular effect or
the effects that have proceeded from a particular cause.
• Division and Classification: Divide a topic into types or parts.
• Process Analysis: Detail the steps to completing a task, cooking a meal,
fixing something, etc.
• Illustration: Describe a topic in detail.

These patterns will generate additional information and supporting details. During
the next two steps of the writing process, drafting and revising, you will continue to
develop and organize your ideas.

Step 3 - Drafting

After you have explored your topic and organized your ideas, you are ready to write
a draft of your paragraph. Many writers begin and end their writing process in this
one step, and their grades and success suffer as a result. Drafting is an important
step, but it need not take the long hours and become the stressful activity that
some writers fear. With the preparation of Exploring and Organizing (Steps 1 and
2), writing becomes much less stressful and less time consuming. Once you learn
about the benefits of Revising and Editing (Steps 4 and 5), you will be even more
comfortable during the drafting step.

For drafting, the most important thing is to get down to business. Seize the
moment. Take your outline and write. Don’t stop to correct every sentence. Don’t
stop to change direction. Don’t fix spelling. Just write with the outline as a guide.

During the drafting stage, you will begin to shape your writing into what it will
eventually look like as a final product. Therefore, if the assignment is a paragraph,
you should draft a complete paragraph before you move on to the next step. If the
assignment is a multi-paragraph essay, you should complete a draft of all the
paragraphs. However, you need to remember that this is only the third step, so it
need not be perfect.

Ideally, after you have generated a full draft, you should set it aside for a day or
two. Good writers manage their time carefully and allow for ample time in between
each step of the writing process. The time in between steps is useful for your brain
by giving it time to process information. Some call this “soak” or “stew” time. Even
just a few hours in between steps will help you become more successful.

A note about Writer’s Block: To help keep you moving through this step,
remember that your draft need not be perfect. Revising and Editing (Steps 4 and 5)
will take care of mistakes. The more you can free yourself to write without anxiety
or overloaded expectations, the better, more thorough draft you will generate,
which will help you be more successful when revising and editing.

Step 4 - Revising

Once you’ve written a full draft and let it sit for a day or two, you are ready to
revise. The word revision means to change a text and review, but the root of the
word is vision, which means to see. Therefore, in this step you will attempt to see
your paper from a different or new perspective. Most writers find that there are two
types of revision: Macro and Micro.

Macro-revision:
Macro means large, so macro-revision means that you are considering your
paragraph as a whole, on a large scale. Some people will refer to this as global
revision. Many writers find collaboration and sharing helpful during in this step.
Getting a different perspective, while it can be scary, is irreplaceable during this
stage. You will find that having someone else read your draft, or reading it to
someone, will provide you with valuable insights.

There are many different methods for revising, but here are a few key ideas and
activities that you should always consider during macro-revision.

You can remember these with the acronym QUEST:

• Question whether you have enough information and if it matches the

assignment.
• Understand what is working and what isn’t. Keep what works and cut what
doesn’t.
• Explain it to someone else to see if you’ve missed anything and if it is clear.
Many writers find collaboration and sharing helpful during in this step. Getting a
different perspective, while it can be scary, is irreplaceable during this stage.
 You will find that having someone else read your draft, or reading it to
someone, will provide you with valuable insights.
• Shift and move information if necessary.
• Title & Topic Sentence are evident, clear, and match what you’ve written in
the paragraph.

It is always helpful to be methodical and to reread your draft several times and
note or make changes. If you are working on a computer, you may find it helpful to
save a draft and then revise a new document so that you can compare the two
versions after you have finished the macro-revision.

Micro-revision:
Micro means small, so with micro-revision, you are looking at your paragraph on a
smaller scale considering your sentences and how they fit together. Some people
call this local revision. During the micro-revision step, you will need to look at
your sentences and check them for clarity, variety, and effectiveness:

• Clarity: Do the sentences clearly communicate to the reader? Are there any
sentences that need additional information or restructuring to be clear?
• Variety: Are the four sentence types used in the paragraph?
• Effectiveness: Do the sentences in the paragraph work together to create a
clear and cohesive message to the reader? If not, have you included necessary
and appropriate transitional words and phrases?

If your paragraph lacks transitions, use the transitions in the chart below to help
you create a smooth, logical flow of ideas in your paragraph. You will also find that
you need to link all the details and sentences together carefully when you are
composing a paragraph. Transitions not only provide a smooth shift from one idea
to the next, but they will also create logical relationships within your topic.

Addition Emphasis Sequence Example Comparison

furthermore first, second, on the other

in fact for example
in addition third, etc. hand
surprisingly in this case
moreover Next similarly
in any case such as
lastly Then however
indeed notably
as a matter Finally in contrast
certainly in particular
of fact at this point whereas
Note that each of these words or phrases will help you to generate more
information and supporting details. In addition, using these words will make your
paragraph easier to read.

A note on Collaboration and Peer Revision: As you have hopefully found over
the last three weeks, one of the most helpful activities for writers when revising is
to share writing with others. Equally, and perhaps more, helpful is reading others’
writing when you share the same assignment. There is no substitute for reading
others’ writing and getting feedback to help you gain perspective on your writing.
Thus, you have a peer review session to this final paragraph assignment.

Step 5 - Editing

The final step in the writing process is editing. Some writers call this step
proofreading because this is where you are considering the smaller details of your
final draft. You check and correct your punctuation, spelling, and formatting. This is
the final step because doing this earlier will be a waste of your time because you
will find that your sentences and content will change, sometimes radically, when
you are revising.

Now that the paper is set in terms of content, organization, and sentence style, you
can concentrate on rereading again with a close eye on grammar, punctuation,
spelling, spacing, formatting, etc.

Almost all student writers use the five step writing process, but some do not
complete each step in this order. Many back track along the way, repeat certain
ones (especially steps 1, 3, and 4), or reverse step 2 and 3, so consider this a
guide rather than a set pattern you must follow. Like any piece of writing, you may
need to revise the five steps of the writing process in order to make them work for
you.

Eventually, just like any process, you will make it your own, creating a process that
meets your particular writing needs. For example, you may spend the majority of
your time on Step 1 while someone else may spend most of her time on Step 4.
Get to know the process by using it regularly until you find what works for you.