English 1 Final Exam Review

1.) Identify/Classify Nouns (S/DO/OP/IO/OC) 13.) Use Colons Correctly

2.) Identify/Classify Verbs (A/L/H) 14.) Use Semicolons Correctly
3.) Classify Action Verbs (T/I) 15.) Use Apostrophes Correctly
4.) Identify Simple/Complete 16.) Identify and/or Correct Run-ons
Subjects/Predicates 17.) Identify and/or Correct Fragments
5.) Identify Pronouns Functioning Like Nouns 18.) Combine Sentences Effectively
6.) Identify Pronouns Functioning Like 19.) Identify Correct Subject Verb Agreement
Adjectives 20.) Choose the Correct Transition Words
7.) Identify Adjectives 21.) Avoid Modifier Placement Errors
8.) Identify Adverbs 22.) Avoid Dangling Modifiers
9.) Identify/Classify Conjunctions 23.) Maintain Parallel Structure
10.) Identify/Classify Clauses 24.) Identify/Classify Verbals/Appositives
11.) Classify Sentences 25.) Identify Active/Passive Voice
12.) Use Commas Correctly
1.) A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea.
a.) Examples include: Mr. Z, Billy, doctor, physicist, dolphin, Detroit, apartment, center, desk,
oxygen, running, democracy, love, etc.
b.) Nouns function as a:
i.) Subject - completes the action of the verb or what the sentence is about
(1) Ted ran home to be with his parakeet.
(2) Democracy is the best thing since sliced bread.
(3) The middle is my favorite part of a tray of brownies.
(4) Books are rebound by librarians.
ii.) Objects and Complements
(1) Direct object - recipient of the verb - answers what/who
(a) I threw the ball.
(b) Beatrice loves Kenneth.
(2) Object of a preposition
(a) I eat pie in the morning.
(b) By an ocean, life is peaceful.
(3) Indirect object
(a) Please pass me the soup.
(b) Jill threw Gunther a towel.
(4) Object complement - describes the D.O. - can be a noun or an adjective
(a) They elected her president.
(b) We named our daughter Eloise.
(c) His patients call him doctor.
(5) Subject complement
(a) Predicate Nominative - nouns
(i) They were experts.
(ii) Mr. Wilson is my history professor.
(b) Predicate Adjective - adjectives
(i) They were hilarious.
(ii) Your outfit looks terrific!
iii.) Appositive
(1) Joe, a gourmet, likes good meatballs.
(2) My teacher John enjoys cooking.
iv.) Adjective
(1) Attributive nouns
(a) zebra herd, bottle opener, business ethics, etc.
(2) Possessive nouns
(a) a cat’s bed, ted’s car, planets’ orbits, eggs’ color, etc.
 2-3.) A verb expresses a physical action, mental action, or state of being.
a.) Examples include: swim, write, climb, think, guess, consider, be, exist, appear, is, has,
had, could, would, should, was, were, been, tastes, feels, etc.

b.) Verb categories include:

i.) Action Verb: expresses an action completed by the subject of the sentence.
(1) Examples: run, jump, ski, bake
ii.) Linking Verb: A linking verb connects a subject of the verb to additional information
about the subject. Categories include forms of the verb be, the five senses, and
transition verbs among others.
(1) Examples: be (am, is, are, was, were, has, been), taste, smells, become,
seem, etc.
iii.) Auxiliary Verb: An auxiliary verb, or helping verb, accompanies another verb to help
express its tense, mood, or voice. It is also known as a helping verb.
(1) Examples: be (am, is, are, was, were, being, been), do (does, do, did), have
(has, have), could, would, should, etc.

Linking vs. Auxiliary Verbs:

i.) Linking verbs do not show action. They connect the subject of the verb to more
information about the subject.
(1) Examples: Louisa is a student. The class seems interesting.
ii.) Auxiliary verbs come before the main verb in a sentence to assist the main verb by
showing time and meaning.
(1) Examples: Louisa is writing the paper. Jose can go to the arcade.
Action verbs may be:
a.) Transitive
i.) Clowns throw pies.
ii.) She broke the silence.
iii.) John befriended Wendy.
b.) Intransitive
i.) Tulips bloom.
ii.) The dude abides.
iii.) James arrived at the store.
(1) store = object of the preposition, not a D.O. of the verb

4.) Simple Subjects/Predicates

● The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun that tells what the sentence is about - does not
include any modifiers.
○ Unfortunately, the ancient vehicle lacked good shock absorbers.
○ Clouds of dust around the van obscured our vision.
○ Two small cubs batted each other with padded paws.
● A simple predicate is the verb or verb phrase that expresses action or being about the subject -
does not include any modifiers
○ Unfortunately, the ancient vehicle lacked good shock absorbers.
○ Clouds of dust around the van obscured our vision.
○ Two small cubs batted each other with padded paws.
Complete Subjects/Predicates
● The complete subject is made up of the simple subject and all the words that tell about it.
○ The members of the team voted to buy new uniforms.
○ The president of our class won the election by a landslide.
○ The principal of the school invited us to a board meeting.
● The complete predicate is made up of all the words that tell what the subject is or does,
including the simple predicate.
○ The members of the team voted to buy new uniforms.
○ The president of our class won the election by a landslide.
○ The principal of the school invited us to a board meeting.

5-6.) Pronoun - a word that stands in for a noun.

● Types of pronouns:
○ Personal Pronoun: A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a specific person or thing.
■ Examples: he, she, it, them
○ Possessive Pronoun: A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that demonstrates ownership.
■ Examples: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, whose.
○ Indefinite Pronoun: An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to things or people in general.
■ Examples: few, everyone, all, anything, nobody, some
○ Relative Pronoun: A relative pronoun is a pronoun that connects a phrase or clause to a noun or
pronoun.
■ Examples: who, whom, which, that
○ Reflexive Pronoun: A reflexive pronoun is used with another noun or pronoun when something
does something to itself.
■ Examples: pronouns that end in “self” or “selves.”
○ Intensive Pronoun: Intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or a pronoun.
■ Examples: myself, himself, herself, themselves, itself, yourself
○ Demonstrative Pronoun: Demonstrative pronouns focus the attention on the nouns that they are
replacing.
■ Examples: this, these, those, that, such
○ Interrogative Pronoun: Interrogative pronouns are used when you are asking a question.
■ Examples: who, whom, which, what, whatever
● Pronouns function like:
○ Nouns
■ He is worthy.
■ She ate mine!
■ John believes in me.
■ Everyone arrived at 7:00 pm.
■ Many were flabbergasted at the performance.

○ Adjectives
■ His fish drowned.
■ Many contestants complained about the rules.
■ This review is important.
7-8.) Adjectives and Adverbs
● Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. Categories of adjectives include:
○ Articles - A dog barked at the storefront. It was an awful sound.
○ Descriptive adjectives - What pretty eyes you have. They go nicely with your big forehead and
blue shirt.
○ Indefinite adjectives - Any friend of John’s many friends is a winner in my book. Some people
would disagree, but those few naysayers are wrong.
○ Demonstrative adjectives - These little lights of mine, they are such lights that I will let them
shine. Those problems of yours would go away with a little of this positivity.
○ Possessive adjectives - My car is faster than Johnny’s car, which is faster than Jill’s car. Her
car is running on fumes though.
○ Interrogative adjectives - What luck! I don’t know whose idea it was to bet on black or who
decided which casino I should visit, but I am going to be rich!
○ Participle adjectives - His torn jacket showed his developed muscles. The captivating sight
was too much for Jill.
○ Noun adjectives - I want to be a history teacher or a coffee machine when I grow up.
○ Proper adjectives - Use your Canon camera to capture this exhibit of Shakespearean style.
● Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and clauses. Categories of adverbs include:
○ Modify verbs - The baby cried loudly
○ Modify adjectives - She wrote a very good essay
○ Modify adverbs - He performed rather exceptionally today
○ Modify clauses - Surprisingly, the restroom stalls had toilet paper

Adverbs clarify:
○ How: Lindsey quickly ran around the track
○ When: The class started early
○ Where: John ran home for lunch.
○ To What Degree: I am almost finished eating my lunch.
○ Frequency: I always dip my pizza rolls in ranch dressing, while he rarely blows his nose with
sandpaper.
9.) Identify conjunctions

Conjunction: A conjunction is a word that connects parts of a sentence together.

Coordinating Conjunctions: Connect words, phrases, and clauses of equal ranks.

Examples: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Example sentence: I want to buy an ice cream cone, but I have no money.

Subordinating Conjunctions: Connect two ideas and establishes an order of importance between two
clauses.
Examples: after, before, because, as, when, until, whereas, whether, while, etc.
Example sentence: After I go to the bank, I will have money for the ice cream.

Correlative Conjunction: A pair of conjunctions that links words/phrases/clauses.

Examples: both/and, neither/nor, either/or, not/but, and not only/but also.
Example sentence: I want both syrup and sprinkles on my ice cream.
Conjunctive Adverb: An adverb that connects words, phrases, and clauses. Requires a semicolon or a
period.
Examples: also, besides, however, nonetheless, likewise, similarly, next.
Example sentence: I want ice cream; however, it’s too cold outside right now.

10.) Identify Clauses

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE - Has a subject and a verb and can stand by itself as a complete sentence.

DEPENDENT CLAUSE - has a subject and a verb, but cannot be a complete sentence by itself. Always starts
with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.

Subordinating conjunctions: when, while, although, because, since, etc.

Relative pronouns: who, which, whose, whom, what, that

RELATIVE CLAUSE - One kind of dependent clause. It has a subject and verb. It gives more information
about a noun. Must start with a relative pronoun.

11.) Classify Sentences

SIMPLE sentence - consists of just one independent clause
● Mary had a little lamb.

COMPOUND sentence - consists of two independent clauses. These can be joined by a coordinating
conjunction or a punctuation mark such as a semi-colon, colon, or dash:
● Mary had a little lamb, and its wool was white as snow.
● Mary had a little lamb; its wool was white as snow.
● Mary had a little lamb — she kept it for its wool.

COMPLEX sentence - consists of one independent clause and any number of dependent clauses
● Wherever Mary went, the lamb would go as well.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX sentence - consists of two independent clauses and any number of dependent
clauses
● Although the children loved the lamb, the teacher disapproved of lambs, so she told Mary to
take it home

12.) Commas - seven common uses:

1. Independent clause, coordinating conjunction independent clause.
2. Introductory phrase, independent clause.
3. Dependent clause, independent clause.
4. Item in a list, item in a list, and item in a list.
5. , Non-essential information,
6. Coordinate adjective, coordinate adjective
7. Signal phrase, quotation.
13.) Colons are used:
1. After an independent clause and before:
a. a list
b. an appositive
c. a quotation
2. Between independent clauses if the second summarizes or explains the first

14.) Semicolons are used for:

1. Connecting two independent clauses related in theme and content
a. often used to join contrasting statements
b. clauses joined with SC are usually short and of similar length
c. SC are especially used before a transitional expression, often a conjunctive adverb
2. Separating items in a list with internal punctuation
a. Steak, my favorite food; milk, which helps bones grow; and eggs, full of protein, are my favorite
foods at the grocery store.

15.) Apostrophes are used for:

1. Possession
a. ’s for most cases including all singular nouns and plural nouns that do not end in s
b. ’ for plural nouns that end in s
c. ‘ to omit letters/numbers
i. Contractions - can’t for cannot
ii. ’97 for 1997
2. Pluralize letters, numbers, symbols, or words as words
a. 1’s, 2’s, #’s, $’s, p’s, q’s, etc.
3. Joint or singular possession
a. Laurel and Hardy’s comedies - shared ownership
b. Boeing’s and Lockheed’s airplanes - separate ownership
16.) Run-ons
● A comma splice occurs when you’ve used a comma instead of a period.
○ The rain has finally stopped, I think I will go for a stroll.
● A fused sentence is when you squeeze together two sentences with no punctuation in between.
○ The rain has finally stopped I think I will go for a stroll.

17.) Fragments - All sentences must have a subject, verb, and express a complete thought. A sentence
missing one of these is a fragment.
Common Mistakes:
● Using a participle as the main verb
○ A document known as the Donation of Constantine, stating that the Emperor Constantine had
given the Pope the power to rule over the western half of the Roman Empire.
● Starting a sentence with a conjunction
○ I love that the city has approved the building of a funicular. Because now our citizens will learn
a new word.

18.) Combining Sentences - Strategies include:

1. Use a trailing phrase

 To get the gun-control law passed, the President pointed out the numerous shootings that
Before:
happen every year. He illustrated the dangers of having few restrictions.

To get the gun-control law passed, the President pointed out the numerous shootings that
After:
happen every year, illustrating the dangers of having few restrictions.

2. Use a preposition

Before: Joseph finished his homework. His teacher helped him.

After: Joseph finished his homework with the help of his teacher.

3. Turn one of them into a dependent clause or modifier

Before: Jacob has decided to avoid snacks and soda. The reason for the diet is that he wants to lose
weight.

After: Because he wants to lose weight, Jacob has decided to avoid snacks and soda.

4. Use a conjunction

Before: On the surface, Seinfeld is most famous for its light-hearted dialogue. Included among the many
episodes is an assortment of comments on racism, homosexuality, and death.

After: On the surface, Seinfeld is most famous for its light-hearted dialogue, but included among the
many episodes is an assortment of comments on racism, homosexuality, and death.

5. Link two verbs with and

Before: The people sitting in front of me on the train were talking throughout the ride. They would not
turn their cell phones off even after being told to do so.

After: The people sitting in front of me on the train were talking throughout the ride and would not
turn their cell phones off even after being told to do so.

6. Use a relative clause

Before: John Durgin worked as an accountant for ten years and then became a math teacher. He first
learned to calculate in his head by reciting multiplication tables at home.

After: John Durgin, who worked as an accountant for ten years and then became a math
teacher, first learned to calculate in his head by reciting multiplication tables at home.
7. Use an infinitive to express purpose

Before: The little boy happily ran home. He would tell his mom he had found the last golden ticket.

After: The little boy happily ran home to tell his mom he had found the last golden ticket.

1. The fewer pronouns, the better (especially this, these, they, it)
2. Keep the intended meaning
3. Avoid repeated words
4. The fewer words, the better

This is a general rule of thumb. More words imply complexity and when you're combining sentences, you're
trying to make things less complicated, not more.

In general, the answer will usually involve the fewest number of words and the least amount of effort, which
means you should be eliminating words, not adding them. This is the overarching guideline that all the above
guidelines fall under—take it to heart.

19.) Subject Verb Agreement - making verbs agree with subjects in person and number
● Two nouns joined with “and” create a plural subject
■ According to Nietzsche, socialism and Christianity have a lot in common.
○ Unless a compound subject refers to a singular thing
■ My muse and inspiration is, as always, my dear wife Catherine.
● When OR or NOR are part of your subject, the verb should agree with the closest noun.
○ A cookie or some crackers are great. Thank you!
○ Neither Larry nor Lucifer is a good name for your son.
● Collective nouns are normally singular
■ The class was dismissed
○ Unless we are talking about the individual members of the group
■ The jury are going home to their families.
● Some plurals are singular
○ measles, diabetes, linguistics, economics, classics, physics, billiards, dats, politics, species,
news, etc.

● Prepositional phrases or commas phrases should be ignored for determining SVA

○ The Smith family, famous for being talented acrobats, loves to experiment with gasoline.
○ The errors on his paper annoy me.
20.) Transitions

21-22.) Modifier Placement and Dangling Modifiers

A modifier is simply a descriptive part of a sentence (basically anything that acts like an adverb or an
adjective). You want the modifier to be close to what it describes.
● Prepositional phrases
○ I heard the news about the President’s assassination in my bed.
○ Correct: While I was still in bed, I heard the news about the President’s assassination.
● Participial phrases
○ We saw many paintings walking through the Louvre.
○ Correct: Walking through the Louvre, we saw many paintings.
● Relative clauses
○ Tim and Irene hired a name consultant to research the name for their baby that they had in
mind.
○ Correct: Tim and Irene hired a name consultant to research the name that they had in mind for
their baby.
● Apposition
○ I did a road trip with Frank Ostrogoth, an expert on Julius Caesar, who drove his Jeep
Wrangler Rubicon.
○ Correct: I did a road trip with Frank Ostrogoth, an expert on Julius Caesar. Frank drove his
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
● Adverbs
○ In my entire life, I’ve only slept in once or twice.
○ Correct: In my entire life, I’ve slept in only once or twice.
A dangling modifier (sometimes called a “hanging participle”) is a phrase that’s not properly attached to the rest
of the sentence. In other words, it dangles.
● Distracted by a text message, the accident propelled John out of his seat and left him dangling from a
tree.
● Filled with manure and rotten eggs, Tracy rolled the wheelbarrow to the dung heap.

23.) Parallel Structure is the repetition of a particular grammatical construction within a sentence or paragraph.
It is used to indicate that multiple ideas have equal levels of importance.

In any given list of three or more items, each item should appear in the same format: noun, noun, and noun;
gerund, gerund, and gerund; verb, verb, and verb. Additionally, each item must have the same tense.

EXAMPLE 1 (nouns): Changes in wind circulation, runoff from sewage, and accumulation of chemical
fertilizers can lead to the creation of ocean waters low in oxygen and inhospitable to marine life.
EXAMPLE 2 (gerunds): Spiders use a wide range of strategies to capture prey, including trapping it in sticky
webs, lassoing it with sticky bolas, and mimicking other insects in order to avoid detection.
EXAMPLE 3 (verbs): They also may carry out research, confirm sources for writers, and verify facts, dates or
statistics.

Another type of parallel structure question involves only two items joined by a conjunction (most often one of
the fanboys: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Example 4 (two verbs joined by conjunction): Because they have a highly developed sense of vision, most
lizards are able to use clear body language and change their colors in order to communicate.

The ability to recognize, preserve, and create parallelism for multiple sentences will also be tested.

EXAMPLE 1: An actor stands on stage and delivers a monologue as an audience hangs onto his every word.
A singer performs a ballad as listeners fall silent. Dancers glide gracefully across the stage as spectators
watch in awe.

A preposition may be omitted before the second noun and still maintain parallel structure.

Example #2: As one of the greatest American dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century, Martha
Graham was praised not only for the brilliance of her technique but also (for) the vividness and intensity of her
movements.

The repetition of the verb were is optional. It is correct to say either critics were dazzled and audiences were
amazed, OR, critics were dazzled and audiences amazed.

EXAMPLE #3: Critics were dazzled and audiences (were) amazed.

24.)Verbals are verbs that act like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three main types:

1. Infinitives - to go, to run, to jump

a. May function as a noun, adjective, or adverb
i. To attend Lakeview is a goal for some families.
ii. It is fun to sleep all day
iii. To save money, I shop for clothes out of season.
iv. The author to read is J.K. Rowling
b. Look for the word “to” with a verb after it
i. Do not confuse infinitives with prepositional phrases
ii. e.g. I ran to the store. <- store is a noun and there is no verb

2. Participles - It was broken, starving children, beans baked in the oven, clown figurines made in the
thirties.
a. Always function as adjectives - describe nouns
b. Common endings: “ing,” “ed,” and “en.”
i. Not the same as main verbs -> notice the helping verbs
ii. These are NOT participles: I am running. He has baked me a cake. He will have
burned all of his toes by midnight.

3. Gerunds - Running, failing, singing

a. Always functions as a noun - subject, direct object, etc.
b. Always ends in “ing”
c. Running is fun. He likes singing. I am not a fan of failing.
i. Not the same as main verbs -> e.g. I am running.
ii. Not the same as participles -> e.g. Burning man.

Appositives - Nouns that define/rename nouns

a. Often surrounded by commas - that means they are non-essential
b. Often names
c. My teacher John is the best, The group, experts in astronomy, failed the quiz on horticulture.

25.) Active/Passive Voice

Active: John threw the ball.

John = subject ball = direct object

Passive: The ball was thrown by John

The ball = direct object John = subject

The money was spent by my sister.

Passive -> Active
My sister spent the money.

Kaleb aced his quiz on Animal Farm.

Active -> Passive
The quiz on Animal Farm was aced by Kaleb