TERMS DESCRIBING PARTS OF SPEECH


SENTENCE:

                A sentence is a complete thought that contains a subject and a
                verb:
                
                             The secretary typed the letter.


SUBJECT:
 
                The subject is the noun (person, place, or thing) involved in the
                action of the verb:              

                             The SECRETARY typed the letter.


VERB:

                The action word affecting the subject:

                             The secretary TYPED the letter.


ADVERB:

                A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb:

                             The secretary QUICKLY typed the letter.


ADJECTIVE:

                A word that describes a noun:

                             The secretary quickly typed the LONG letter.

MODIFIER:

                Any word, phrase, or clause that furnishes information
                about another word or word grouping within the same sentence.
                The adverb and adjective capitalized below are also known as
                modifiers:

                             The secretary QUICKLY typed the LONG letter.


NOUN: 
          
                A person, place, or thing:

                             The SECRETARY quickly typed the long LETTER.


PRONOUN:

                A word that is substituted for another word (usually a noun) to
                 avoid unnecessary repetition:

                             The secretary hummed a tune as HE quickly typed the
                             long letter.


ANTECEDENT:
                     
                The word to which a pronoun refers:

                             The SECRETARY hummed a tune as he quickly typed
                             the long letter.


OBJECT:

                A noun or pronoun acted upon by a verb:

                             The secretary hummed a TUNE as he quickly typed the
                             long LETTER.


PREPOSITION:
                      
                A word that generally establishes the location of a noun or
                pronoun:

                             The secretary carried the letter ACROSS the hallway.
                            

OBJECT of the PREPOSITION:

                The noun or pronoun that follows the preposition:

                             The secretary carried the letter across the HALLWAY.  
                                    

COORDINATING CONJUNCTION:

                A word that links other words or word groupings together:

                             The secretary carried the letter to his boss,
                             AND she read it.


PARENTHETICAL EXPRESSION:

                An expression that interrupts the flow of a sentence to
                provide a transition, interjection, explanation, or cause and
                effect relationship:

                             The secretary carried the letter to his boss,
                             who was very busy; NONETHELESS, she read it.

                              
            
TERMS DESCRIBING WORD GROUPINGS


INDEPENDENT CLAUSE:

                Another term for a sentence that is complete and can
                stand alone:

                             The secretary carried the letter to his boss.
                                                

DEPENDENT CLAUSE:

                An incomplete thought, usually introduced by a word
                such as "which," "when," "who," "what," "how," or "that." A 
                dependent clause must be linked to an independent
                clause to produce a complete sentence:
                                                                                                                 
                             WHEN THE SECRETARY HAD FINISHED TYPING
                       THE LETTER, he carried it to his boss.

                           NOTE: The first clause in the preceding sentence is an
                                     incomplete thought and depends upon the second
                                     clause to complete the sentence. 


PHRASE:

                Similar to a dependent clause, except that a phrase
                does not contain both a subject and a verb. The
                following are the four most common types of phrases:
                                  
                         1.  A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE is a word grouping
                              introduced by a word that normally establishes the 
                              location of a noun (over the hill, around the corner, 
                              between acts, etc.).

                         2.  An INFINITIVE PHRASE is a word grouping
                              introduced by the word "to" plus a verb (to run fast,
                              to try harder, etc.).

                         3.  A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE is a word grouping 
                              introduced by a verb with an "-ing" or "-ed" ending 
                              (reading a book, stopped for a red light, etc.).

                         4.  An APPOSITIVE PHRASE is a word grouping that
                              renames or relabels a noun: 

                                         Denise, AN INTELLIGENT WOMAN, has earned
                                         her degree in comparative literature.


SIMPLE SENTENCE:

                A sentence consisting of one independent clause:

                             The secretary typed the letter.


COMPLEX SENTENCE:

                A sentence consisting of an independent clause and one or
                more dependent clauses:

                             When the secretary had finished typing the letter, 
                             he carried it to his boss.


COMPOUND SENTENCE:

                A sentence consisting of independent clauses that are
                linked together by a coordinating conjunction and/or
                appropriate punctuation:

                             The secretary carried the letter to his
                             boss, and she read it.

                             The secretary carried the letter to his
                             boss; she read it and told him it was perfect.