Clauses

Complete ideas that contain BOTH a subject

and a verb.

Phrases

Clusters of words that form a meaningful unit

but DO NOT contain BOTH a subject and
verb (e.g., on the desk, singing in the rain).
Phrases generally function as modifiers.

Pronouns

Substitute for nouns. Three types:

Personal: I, you, she, he, it
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
Relative (often introduce modifying
clauses): what, who, whom, that,
which

Antecedents

Nouns to which pronouns refer.

Complete Predicate

Transitive Verbs

Intransitive Verbs

Linking Verbs

The verb and all words and phrases that

modify it.

Verbs that take direct objects (e.g., I RAISED

the child).

Verbs that do not take direct objects (e.g.,

The sun ROSE).

Subclass of intransitive verbs. Express the

relationship between the subject and its noun
or adjective complement (a predicate
nominative or a predicate adjective.) E.g., be,
become, seem, appear, and verbs that
pertain to the senses.

Predicate Nominatives

Rename the subject (e.g., He is a BOY).

Predicate Adjectives

Describe the subject (e.g., He is TALL).

Helping (or Auxiliary)

Verbs

Combine with another verb of any kind to

form a verb phrase. E.g., do, does, did, can,
could, may, might, will, would, shall, should,
and must.

Complements

Nouns or adjectives that complete the ideas

expressed by verbs. Four kinds:
Following Transitive Verbs to tell who
or what received the actions.
Direct Objects
Indirect Objects
Following Linking Verbs to describe
the subject of the sentence.
Predicate Nominatives
Predicate adjectives

Verbals

Any form of verb that functions as another

part of speech.

Participles

Can function as verbals; they often function

as adjectives.
Present participles end in ing.
Past participles end in ed.

Gerunds

Verbals functioning as nouns and ending in

ing.

Infinitives

Verbals that are usually nouns but can be

adjectives or adverbs. Usually made up of to
and a present-tense verb (e.g., to obtain).

Modifiers

Headwords

Articles

Coordinating
Conjunctions

Words, phrases, or clauses that qualify the

meaning of other words. Any part of speech
that functions as an adjective or adverb is a
modifier.

Words modified by a modifier.

Function words that specify nouns, and act

as adjectives. E.g., The boy selected a bagel
from the bakery shelf.

Join multiple sentence elements or clauses

that are of equal rank. Coordinating
conjunctions: but, or, yet, for, and, nor, and
sometimes so (mnemonic: Boyfans).

Subordinating
Conjunctions

Join words, phrases, or clauses to

independent clauses, linking ideas of lesser
rank to ideas of higher rank. E.g., as, before,
because, although, until, that, if, unless,
since, when, while.

Prepositions

Relate a noun to another word in a sentence.

A preposition and its object (and its objects
modifiers) create a prepositional phrase, that
acts as a modifier. E.g., above, across,
against, as, at, in, to, on, under.

Main (Independent)
Clauses

Contain subject/verb units, each expressing

a complete idea. Independent clauses can
stand alone with terminal punctuation.

Subordinate
(Dependent) Clauses

Contain subject/verb units, but these clauses

must be linked to an independent clause to
complete their meaning. If left alone, they
form a sentence fragment.

Relative Clauses

Subordinate dependent clauses that begin

with a relative pronoun and function as
adjectives. The subject is often a relative
pronoun and they are often embedded inside
other clauses.

Restrictive Clauses

Subordinate clauses that are essential to the

meaning of a sentence because they delimit
the idea expressed by the independent
clause. Avoid enclosing them in commas.

Nonrestrictive Clauses

Nonessential subordinate clauses that add

information but do not delimit the main idea
of the sentence. They are often placed inside
commas.

Simple Sentences

Contain one independent clause and have

one subject and verb, which may or may not
be compound.

Compound Sentences

Combine at least two independent clauses

and one coordination method.

Complex Sentences

Contain one independent clause and at least

one dependent clause. Dependent clauses
are usually joined to the independent clause
by a subordinating conjunction or relative
pronoun.

Compound/Complex
Sentences

Meet the criteria for both compound and

complex sentences.

Coordination

Implies a balance of elements that are of

equal semantic value in a sentence. You can
use coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive
adverbs (CA), or punctuation to combine
short independent clauses into a compound
sentence. Remember: independent clauses
linked by CAs require a semicolon before the
CA and a comma after the CA.

Subordination

Transforms independent ideas (frequently

clauses) into dependent ideas (frequently
clauses) through the use of subordinating
conjunctions or relative pronouns. E.g., The
football game has been postponed. Well
have to do something else. VS. Because
the football game was postponed, well have
to do something else.

Structural Links

Most links between clauses function as both

structural and semantic links. Two
exceptions:
Punctuation functions primarily as a
structural link (commas are not
considered structural links in
professional writing).
Conjunctive adverbs do not function
as a structural link. To use a
conjunctive adverb between two
independent clauses, surround it with
a semicolon and comma.

Comma Splice

Conjunctive Adverbs

The illegal use of a comma as a structural

link between two independent clauses.

The one type of semantic link that does not

function as a structural link. To link clauses
with a CA, surround it with a semicolon and
comma. CA examples: however, moreover,
furthermore, nevertheless, consequently,
additionally, etc.