four levels of grammar

FOUR LEVELS OF GRAMMAR

Mrs. Malic8th Grade

WHAT IS GRAMMAR???? Grammar is a way of thinking about

language!!! (Write this down!! !)

FOUR LEVELS OF GRAMMAR Parts of Speech (shows us each

word):What is the word doing? Parts of Sentence (architecture of the

idea): What is being said about what? Phrases (groups of words pretending to

be a single part of speech): What part of speech is this group of words doing?

Clauses (shows if more than one idea is drawn into the sentences design): How many different ideas are connected together in this sentence?

PARTS OF SPEECH (EIGHT KINDS OF WORDS) Noun Pronoun Adjective Verb Adverb Preposition Conjunction Interjection

NOUN Person, place or thing Proper noun: Capitalized Common noun: Not capitalized Possessive noun: words that would

normally be nouns, but are used as adjectives to modify a noun Example: The dog's collar is too large. The word "dog's" is the possessive noun. It tells you that the noun "collar" belongs to the dog

PRONOUN A word that takes the place of a noun

ANTECEDENT The pronoun’s antecedent is the noun

the pronoun replaces. Example: Jack walked in the room and

then he sat down.

SUBJECT PRONOUNS: We use them to make subjects. They

may be used as subjects of clauses and as subject complements. They are not to be used as objects.

SUBJECT PRONOUNS: Singular First Person: I Second Person:

You Third Person: He,

she, it

Write down and memorize!

Plural First Person: We Second Person:

You Third Person:

They

Write down and memorize!

OBJECT PRONOUNS: They are pronouns that must be used as

direct objects, indirect objects or objects of the preposition.

OBJECT PRONOUNS: Singular: First Person: Me Second Person:

You Third Person:

Him, Her, it

Write down and memorize!

Plural First Person: us Second Person:

You Third Person:

Them

Write down and memorize!

IMPORTANT RULE!!! A subject is a subject, and an object is

an object. Any part of a sentence called a subject

uses a subject pronoun. (subject of a clause or subject complement)

Any part of a sentence called an object uses an object pronoun. (direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition)

MORE PRONOUNS Possessive

Pronouns: (show possession)

My, your, his, her, its, our and their.

Possessive case pronouns do not require an apostrophe!!!!

Interrogative pronoun: (Used to interrogate)

Who, whose, whom, which, what

Demonstrative Pronouns: (Used to demonstrate)

This, that, these, those

ADJECTIVE: A WORD THAT MODIFIES A NOUN OR PRONOUN. Modify means to change Example: Think of a frozen summit. Now think of a political summit.

Adjective is part of a binary system. The presence of an adjective implies the presence of a noun or pronoun.

THREE DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES Positive: Good Comparative: Better Superlative: Best

ARTICLES: NOUN ALERTS, THEY SIGNAL THAT A NOUN IS ABOUT TO APPEAR. A An The

VERB A word that shows action, being or links

a subject to a subject complement. Tells what the noun does or is Action verb: might show an action on a

direct object Linking verb: might link the subject to a

subject complement

IMPORTANT!!! Verb is saying that the noun did

something or that the noun is something.

***Verbs are the core of everything we say about everything!!!!

PRINCIPAL PARTS OF THE VERB

Infinitive: Present participle:

To do, to go, to think, to dream

Past: did, went, thought, dreamed

Doing, going, thinking, dreaming, ascending

Past Participle: done, gone, thought, dreamed

IRREGULAR VERBS

Memorize in order to use correctly. Memorize in order to use correctly.

To shrink Shrinking Shrank Shrunk

To write Writing Wrote Written

TRANSITIVE VERB Definition: an action verb that acts on a

direct object Example: The harpoon hit Moby Dick.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE An active verb is an action verb that

shows the subject acting. Example: John discussed the problem. A passive voice verb is an action verb

that shows the subject being acted upon.

Example: The problem was discussed. Passive voice tends to leave out

important information. (Who discussed the problem?)

MORE EXAMPLES: Active Voice: The meteor struck the

ship. Passive Voice: The ship was struck by

the meteor. Active Voice: The Literary Society

presented Dickens the award. Passive Voice: Dickens was presented

with an award.

WHEN IS PASSIVE VOICE USEFUL??? Writers of scientific papers often prefer

passive voice and past tense in order to describe the results of experiments and scientific investigations.

With literary and historical figures, passive voice should be avoided.

TIME MAKES VERBS TENSE…

Six Verb Tenses: Present Past Future Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

EXAMPLES OF TENSES IN ACTION Present Past Future Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

I protest I protested I will (shall)

protest I have protested I had protested I will (shall) have

protested

THE PERFECT TENSES HAVE FINISHED. Why are they called perfect? The three perfect tenses are called

perfect because the word perfect comes from the Latin perficere, meaning: “to finish.”

The perfect tenses are the tenses of things that are finished.Finished in the past, finished in the present

or finished in the future.

PARALLEL VERB TENSE Parallelism in tense means sticking to

the tense you are using. Keeping verb tenses parallel is good

writing technique. Example: I went home, picked up the

apple, threw it through the window, and laughed. (all past tense)

PARALLELISM CONTINUED Keep parts of speech parallel Example: John was tall and handsome

(adj) Example: John was tall and an athlete

(adj and noun) Don’t forget the magic 3!!!

SUMMARY OF VERBS! Insert picture here

REMEMBER!!! Only action verbs are transitive and

intransitive, active or passive Those terms do not apply to linking

verbs!

ADVERBS An adverb is a word that modifies a

verb, adjective or adverb. Beware of adverbs! Do not overuse due

to your lack of vocabulary! Example: The very tall, gigantic statue

vs. The colossus statue.

WEAK “The adverb is not your friend.”

Stephen KingWhat do you think he means?

Sometimes a modifier will backfire, especially when overused. One example is the adverb very. The adverb very often has the effect of weakening the sentence by filling it with empty space.

PREPOSITION The preposition shows a relationship

between its object and another word in the sentence.

Prepositions show relationship between time (before, during, after), space (in, on, beside, around), and direction (to, from, toward).

PREPOSITIONS CONTINUED Prepositions show where two things are

located in relationship to each other. Prepositions give language its geometry.

They are the x, y, z coordinates for the mind.

CONJUNCTIONS A word that joins two words or two

groups of words. Coordinating conjunctions co-ordinate:

Join two words or groups of words of similar importance.

Memorize because you need to know in order to identify and punctuate compound sentences!!!

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS And But Or Nor For So Yet

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS Subordinate conjunctions join unequals They join something of lesser

importance to something of greater importance

Memorize for use with complex sentences!!!

If, as, since, when, because

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS Multiple word conjunctions: Either/or Neither/nor Example: Either you or I will arrive.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS Conjunctive adverbs are conjunctions

that act both as adverbs and as conjunctions.

However, furthermore, moreover, nevertheless, accordingly, and therefore.

INTERJECTION A word that shows emotion but has no

grammar function. The only part of speech that does not

participate in a relationship with other parts of speech.

Examples: oh, ugh, oof, wow, yes, not, oops.

PARTS OF SPEECH SIMPLIFIED Nouns: name things Pronouns: make language fast Verbs: make events and equations Adjectives and Adverbs: adjust nouns

and verbs Prepositions: show relationships of

physics and 3-D ness Conjunctions: combine Interjections: emote

THE CORE OF EVERY IDEA IS A NOUN/PRONOUN AND A VERB. All other parts of speech provide

elaborations and variations. There are two main kinds of words: noun

and verb All other six parts of speech play

supporting roles

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE!!!

WHAT IS A SENTENCE ANYWAY? A sentence is a group of words that

contains a subject and its predicate, and makes a complete thought.

When we study parts of the sentence, we are studying the structure of thought itself.

The sentence is the mind, in language.

SUBJECT Simple Subject: The noun or subject

pronoun that the sentence is about. Complete Subject: the simple subject and

all of its modifiers. Compound Subject: more than one noun

or pronoun used as a double subject of the same clause (Example: Physics and astronomy are my favorite subjects.)

(Compound subjects using and are plural. Compound subjects using or are singular. Example: John and Jim are here. John or Jim is here.)

PREDICATE The verb and other words that are about

the subject. The side of the sentence that says

something about the subject. Simple Predicate: the verb Complete Predicate: everything that is

said about the subject Example: Hamlet went over to the

crater and gathered three bags of comet dust.

PREDICATE CONTINUED: Compound verb: When the stars threw

down their spears and watered heaven with their tears…

Simple sentence and simple predicate is always present as a nucleus of an idea!!!!

DIRECT OBJECT A noun or object pronoun that receives the

action of the action verb. When there is a direct object we call the

action verb transitive (remember from verbs!)

Subject pronouns may not be used as direct objects. (Remember, a subject is a subject and only and object is an object!)

The direct object is the object of direct action.

Example: We hold these truths to be self-evident.

REMEMBER!!! Focus on the difference between the

direct object and subject complements (you will learn soon about these)

Action verbs go with direct objects Linking verbs go with subject

complements

INDIRECT OBJECT A noun or object pronoun that is

indirectly affected by the action verb and that is located between the action verb and the direct object.

Structure: S-AV-IO-DO Indirect object is indirectly affected by

the action verb’s action on the direct object.

If there is an indirect object, there MUST be a direct object, and so the action verb is still transitive.

SUBJECT COMPLEMENT A noun, subject pronoun, or adjective that

is linked to the subject by a linking verb and tells more about the subject.

The subject complement, in a sense, renames the subject.

Example: Gauguin was Van Gogh’s friend. Subject complement makes our

knowledge of the subject more complete. Only a subject pronoun can be a subject

complement, because a subject is a subject!

MORE ON SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS: Predicate nominative: a subject

complement that is a noun or subject pronoun. Example: It was she and I who came to visit.

Predicate adjective: a subject complement made out of an adjective. Example: I am sleepy.

LOGIC OF SENTENCE ANALYSIS!!! If the verb is ACTION, then

Do not look for a subject complementLook for a direct object If you find a direct object, then look for an

indirect objectIf the verb is LINKING, then Do not look for a direct objectLook for a subject complement

LOGIC OF PRONOUN USE: The SUBJECT of the verb and the

SUBJECT complement use SUBJECT pronouns

The direct OBJECT and the indirect OBJECT use OBJECT pronouns

The OBJECT of the preposition and the OBJECTS of the verbals also use OBJECT pronouns

PHRASES!!!

PHRASES A group of words without a subject and

its predicate that acts like a single part of speech.

A phrase is like a flying formation of birds: it is something made of some things.

A phrase is not a complete idea because it is a group of words that contain no subject/predicate set and only acts as a single part of speech

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHRASES AND CLAUSES Both phrases and clauses are groups of

words, but a clause contains both a subject and its predicate, a phrase does not.

I jumped is a clause In the boat is only a phrase Phrases are found inside clauses; they

are part of clauses. Clauses have subjects and predicates.

Phrases don’t.

APPOSITIVE PHRASES An appositive is an interrupting definition. It may consist of only one word, or it may

consist on an entire phrase. We usually enclose appositives and

appositive phrases in commas, unless they are exceptionally short and clear by themselves.

Example: Botticelli, the Renaissance painter, painted angels.

My friend Hamlet is a woodworking artist.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES A prepositional phrase begins with a

preposition and concludes with the object of the preposition.

The preposition relates its object to another word in the sentence.

Example: the dog in the boat, the preposition in shows a spatial relationship between its object boat and the noun dog.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES Prepositional phrases behave as

modifiers; that is, they act like big adjectives or big adverbs.

Example: The dog in the boat barked. In the boat acts as an adjective to

modify the noun dog.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES The object of the preposition is the thing

that the preposition relates to something else.

It must be a noun or object pronoun!!! (Because a subject is a subject and an

object is an object) Example: The letter is for him and me. She and I went with you and him. I asked a question about her and us.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES Adjective prepositional phrases:

Prepositional phrases that modify nouns or pronouns should be placed immediately after the noun or pronoun they modify.

Otherwise, the phrase will be understood to modify the verb.

VERBAL A verb form used as a different part of

speech. A verbal is not a verb; it is a former verb

doing something else. Gerunds, participles and infinitives are

three kinds of verbals. Verbals are nouns, adjectives or adverbs

made out of verbs.

GERUND A noun made from a –ing verb. Gerund phrase: a gerund is a noun

made out of an –ing verb or an –ing berb made into a noun.

Subjects and objects may be made out of gerunds or gerund phrases.’

Examples: Thinking is fun. Thinking quickly is fun. I quit joking.

PARTICIPLE An adjective made out of a verb. An –ing, -ed, or –en verb made into an

adjective. Participles always act as adjectives to

modify nouns or pronouns. Example: The river was so swollen.

INFINITIVE A noun or modifier made from the to-

form of the verb. Infinitive phrase: an infinitive is a

general form of the verb made into a noun, adjective, or adverb.

Usually expressed by beginning with the word to: to think, to dream, to snorkel

INFINITIVE CONTINUED We think of an infinitive as one word. Avoid split infinitives: splitting an

infinitive means inserting an adverb between the two words of the infinitive.

Example: to see (infinitive) to vividly see (split infinitive) to see vividly (better word

choice)

SUMMARY OF PHRASES Phrases are groups of words that cluster

together in order to act as a single part of speech.

Prepositional phrases are modifiers that act as adjectives or adverbs.

Appositive phrases are interrupting definitions so they are adjectives.

SUMMARY OF PHRASES CONTINUED Verbal phrases are based on verbs that

have been adopted to become other parts of speech.Participles: verbals that act as adjectives.Infinitives: verbals that are nouns or modifiers that begin with to.Gerunds: verbals ending in ing and acting as nouns. Can be the subject of a sentence or a direct object.

***The object of verbals must be object pronouns.

CLAUSES!!!

CLAUSE A group of words that contains a subject

and its predicate Two types: independent clause: a

clause that makes sense independently dependent clause: a clause that does

not make sense unless it is paired with an independent clause. (Sometimes called subordinating clauses often begin with subordinating conjunctions.)

OTHER TYPE OF DEPENDENT CLAUSES Adjective dependent clause: A

dependent clause used as an adjective Adjective clauses begin with relative

pronouns. The man who followed you turned left. Adverb dependent clause: adverb

clauses are dependent clauses that act as adverbs. Usually begin with subordinate conjunctions.

Noun clauses: dependent clauses that act as nouns

DEPENDENT CLAUSES Dependent clauses can not be used as

sentences by themselves; they depend on an independent clause for meaning.

Dependent clauses may be placed before, after, or even in the middle of an independent clause.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLAUSE AND SENTENCE: A clause has both a subject and predicate,

like a sentence, but a sentence always has a complete thought, whereas a clause might be incomplete.

A sentence can consist of several clauses. Every sentence has at least one

independent clause in it but not every clause is a sentence because a dependent clause does not make a complete thought—it is dependent upon an independent clause.

INSERT PICTURE HERE

FOUR SENTENCE STRUCTURES Simple sentence:

consist of one independent clause

Compound sentence: a sentence compounded of two or more independent clauses

Complex sentence: a sentence that consists of an independent clause and a dependent clause.

Compound-complex sentence: a sentence that contains both complex and compound clause structures. (Two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause)

SUMMARY OF CLAUSE PUNCTUATION: I, cc I (comma before coordinating

conjunction in compound sentence) I;I (semicolon between independent

clauses if no coordinating conjunction) ID (no comma after independent clause

in complex sentence) D,I (comma after dependent clause in

complex sentence)

COMMA SPLICE ERROR Joining two independent clauses with a

comma (I,I) To correct this error, either insert a

coordinating conjunction after the comma, or change the comma to a semicolon.

FOUR PURPOSES OF SENTENCE/IDEAS Declarative sentence: sentence that

declares (states) Example: I will. Interrogative sentence: sentence that

interrogates (asks) Example: Do I dare eat a peach?

Imperative sentence: sentence that commands Example: Do not go gentle into that good night.

Exclamatory sentence: sentence that exclaims. Example: I will!