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Online English Handbook1.2.1
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TEXT_139_Grammatical Terms.txt
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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.