Grammar Cheat Sheet – KEEP IN NOTEBOOK

Identifying Parts of Speech

Noun Verb

Who? What is the action?

What? State of Being?

Adjective Adverb

What kind? When?

How many? Where?
Which one? How?
Why?

Comma Use
1. Between two sentences that are joined 2. After long (more than 3 words)
with a Coordinating Conjunction: introductory stuff at the start of a
(FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) sentence.

The seniors planned a parade for

homecoming, but the rain prevented it from After long hours of hard work, the students
taking place. felt disappointed and frustrated.
3. To separate unnecessary stuff (not 4. After each item in a series.
essential) from the rest of the sentence.

Jerry, the class president, asked the Jerry promised the principal good weather,
principal if the parade could be full student participation, and sponsor
rescheduled. supervision for the parade.

Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement

1. Pronouns must agree in number and 2. Use a singular pronoun to refer to
gender with their antecedents (what they anybody, anyone, anything, each, either,
refer to). everybody, everyone, everything, neither,
nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody,
Each of the girls puts her stuff into the someone, or something.
car. Neither of the girls brought her umbrella.

3. Use a plural pronoun to refer to Singular Pronouns; I, me, him, his, he,
both, few, many, and several. her, she, it, her, him
Plural Pronouns: we, us, them, they, their
Both of the girls brought their umbrellas.
Subject – Verb Agreement
1. Singular subjects take singular verbs; 2. Plural subjects take plural verb;
singular verbs usually end in – s. plural verbs do no usually end in –s.

Examples: is, has, was Examples: are, have, were

3. If there is a phrase or clause between
the subject and the verb, ignore it!
Scratch it out if you have to. Also, as
well as, together with, and in addition to
are compound prepositions, so their
objects are not subjects.
4. These words are sometimes used as
subjects and are always singular:
anybody, anyone, anything, each, either,
everybody, everyone, everything, neither,
nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody,
someone, and something.

Example: Example:
The woman with all the dogs walks down Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
my street.
5. These words are sometimes used as 6. When the compound subjects are
subjects and are always plural: both, joined by or or nor, look at the subject
few, many, and several. that is closest to the verb to determine
whether the verb is singular or plural.
Example:
Both are in question. Example:
The books or the pen is in the drawer.

7. In the sentences that begin with There 8. When two or more nouns are
and Here, the subjects follow the verb. connected with and use a plural verb.

Example: Example:
There are many questions. She and her friends are at the fair.

Fragments and Run-ons

Fragment A group of words that is missing a subject or verb or that does
not express a complete thought.
If you have a Saint Bernard.
Run-On/Fused Two or more complete sentences run together as one.
Sentence The United States has fifty states each one has a governor.
Comma Splice Two completed sentences joined together incorrectly with a
comma.
The United States has fifty states, each one has a governor.
Complete Sentence A group of words with a subject and verb that expresses a
complete thought and can stand alone.
If you have a Saint Bernard, you should have a large yard.

Active and Passive Voice

Active Voice – The subject does the Passive Voice – The subject receives the
action. action.
Example: Example:
The boy threw the ball. The ball was thrown by the boy.

Recognizing Passive Voice:

To be verb (is, are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have
been, being) + Past Participle (The past participle typically ends in "-ed." Some
exceptions to the "-ed" rule are words like paid and driven).
Examples:
 The words were written.
 The documents were requested.
 The man was beaten.

Punctuation Rules
Semi-Colons
1. Connect two or more related sentences with semi-colons:
Mary ate toasted bad chicken; she got sick.
2. Simplify a series:
Ben likes big, green apples; smallish, sweet Florida oranges; and toasted, salted
almonds.
3. Use a semi-colon in front of a conjunctive adverb followed by a comma.
James Baldwin wrote many essays; however, he is probably more famous for
his novels.
Common conjunctive adverbs: however, consequently, therefore

Quotation Marks
1. Quotation marks are used for the titles of chapters in books, poems in books,
articles in magazines, episodes of a television show, or song titles from a CD.
My favorite poem is “To An Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman..
2. Periods and commas go inside quotation marks.
3. Use quotation marks to set off direct quotations.
"When will you be here?" he asked.
4. Use quotation marks to indicate words used ironically, with reservations, or in
some unusual way.
The great march of "progress" has left millions impoverished and hungry.

Hypens
1. Use with two or more words acting as a single modifier for a noun.
He is an all-around athlete. The thirteen-year-old boy was too young to drive.

Dash
1. Serves as a strong comma.
The boys – Jim, John, and Jeff – left the party early.

Colon
1. Use to introduce series, lists, examples.
The Daily news contains four sections: news, sports, entertainment, and
classified ads.
2. Use between hour and minute and chapter and verse.
Genesis 1:18 5:30pm
3. Used to introduce long quotations.

Capitalization
1. Capitalize North, South, East, and West when contained in the name of a place,
but not when used for giving directions.
We are planning a trip to South America.
I am going to visit my friends in east Arkansas.
2. Capitalize names of specific events and periods of time in history.
I went to the National Council of Teachers of English Conference last week.
We studied the Middle Ages in history last week.
3. Do not capitalize seasons, but do capitalize holidays.
I love skiing in winter. I went skiing for Christmas.
4. Capitalize countries, languages, and nationalities.
This is an expensive French wine. Do you speak Russian? The Germans are
responsible for starting World War II.
5. Capitalize the first word in a quote.
The teacher said, “Study tonight because my tests are hard!”
6. Capitalize the first word in each line of poetry (unless you are e.e. cummings!)
7. Capitalize titles that come before names, but not after.
Principal Randy Rutherford made a statement to the press. Randy Rutherford
is the principal of Bryant High School.

Recognizing Clauses

Adjective Clause
1. It is a dependent clause that modifies a noun and can provide essential or non-
essential information.
Not essential examples:
The desk in the corner, which is covered in books, is mine.
The bank robber, who is from a neighboring town, got away with over $10,000.
Essential examples:
The package that arrived this morning is on the desk.
The person who robbed the bank is from a neighboring town.
2. Relative pronouns are used to introduce an adjective clause: who, whom, whose,
which, that, when, and where.

Adverb Clause
1. It is a dependent clause that answer the following questions: Where? When?
Why? What caused this? What was the reason for doing this? Why is this
unexpected? Under what conditions?
2. Adverb clause are introduced by subordinate coordinating conjunctions: after,
before, until, while, because, since, as, so that, in order that, if, unless, whether,
though, although, even though, where
Examples:
Wherever there are computers, there is Microsoft software.
I didn't call her because I'm shy.
Although Jay has a Master's degree, he works as a store clerk.
If you save your money, you will be able to go to college.
The examples answer the questions: Where? What caused this? Why is this
unexpected? Under what conditions?

Noun Clause
1. It is a dependent clause that can be used as a noun or pronoun.
2. The following words begin a noun clause: that, who, whomever, what, whoever,
whatever, whom, if, how, what, where, whether, whose, that, when, which.
Examples:
What you now see is a painting by Vincent Van Gogh.
Now I understand what must be done.
Mr. Jones is valuable for what he knows about history.
What you see is what you get.
3. The noun clause can act as the subject of the sentence, the direct object, the object
of the preposition, or a predicate noun.

Phrases

Prepositional Phrase
1. Begins with a preposition and ends with an object which is always a noun or
pronoun.
2. Prepositional phrases begin with words like: to, around, under, over, like, as, at,
in, on, since, behind, for, with, outside, etc….
Examples:
Take your feet off the desk and put them on the floor.
3. Prepositional phrases are either adjective or adverb phrases. Adjective phrases
answer the questions: Which ones? And what kinds?
Example:
I met the woman in the red dress last week. (Which one?)
4. Adverb phrases are prepositional phrases that tell how, when, where, how much,
and why.
Example:
Will you please take me to school? (where)
Since you were late, you missed the lesson. (why?)

Infinitive Phrase
1. It is a verb form that usually begins with the word “to” and is used as a noun,
adjective, or an adverb. Often confused with prepositional phrases because of the
word “to”, but an infinitive does not have an object.
Examples:
I love to play field hockey. (Infinitive)
You should come to my next field hockey game. (prepositional phrase)
More Examples of infinitives:
to dance, to study, to become

Appositive Phrase and appositives

1. An appositive is a noun or pronoun that identifies or explains another noun or
pronoun in the sentence.
Examples:
My older sister, Sarah, works at the mall after school.
Sarah, my older sister, works at the mall after school.
2. Appositives and appositive phrases may or may not need commas. If an
appositive contains information that is necessary to understand the meaning of the
sentence, no commas are needed.
Example:
The popular US president John F Kennedy was known for his eloquent and
inspirational speeches. (essential)
John Kennedy, the popular US president, was known for his eloquent and
inspirational speeches. (not essential)

Participle Phrase
1. A verb form (past or present) functioning like an adjective.
2. Present participles end in –ing
Example:
Swimming for his life, John was chased by the shark.
3. Past participles end in -n, -t, or – en.
Blinded by the light, Sarah walked down the road.
4. When a participial phrase comes a the beginning of a sentence, it is followed by a
comma. When it comes in the middle of a sentence, it only needs commas if the
information is not essential (like appositive phrases).
Example:
The child swimming in the lake is my younger brother. (essential)
My brother, swimming in the lake, turns seven next month. (not essential)

Gerund
1. It is a verb form that functions as a noun. Usually created by adding – ing.
Example:
Walking in the moonlight is a romantic way to end a date.
2. Do not confuse –ing participles with gerunds. Participles are adjectives and
modify nouns. Gerunds act like nouns and are essential to the sentence, so they do
not require a comma.
Example:
 Finding a job was not going to be easy. (gerund)
Looking for a job, Sue spent the day filling out applications. (participle)

Principal Parts of a Verb

Principal Parts
1. Four parts: present, present participle, past, past participle
Example:
Present – walk
Present Participle – walking
Past – walked
Past Participle – (has, had, have) walked
2. Irregular verbs:
Present – see
Present Participle – am seeing
Past – saw
Past Participle – (has, had, have) seen
Confusing verbs
1. Lay means “to put” or “to place”.
Present – lay
Present Participle – laying
Past – laid
Past Participle – (has, had, have) laid
Example:
Will you lay that package on the table for me?
Those books have been laying on your floor for a month!
2. Lie means “to rest” or “to recline” or “to remain in a lying position”
Example:
When I get home, I am going to lie down on the couch.
My children had lain down on the floor to watch the tv when the phone rang.

Verb Tense Consistency

1. Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is
the same.
Example:
Incorrect:
I got home late and Mom fusses at me for not calling to let her know where I
will be.
past tense, present tense, future tense
Correct:
I got home late and Mom fussed at me for not calling to let her know where I
had been.
Past tense, past tense, past perfect tense

Who/Whom
1. Use the he/him method to decide which word is correct
he = who
him = whom
Example – Who/Whom wrote the letter?
He wrote the letter. OR Him wrote the letter. So Who is correct.
Example – For who/whom should I vote?
Should I vote for he? OR Should I vote for him? So Whom is correct.

Predicate Adjective
An adjective that follows a linking verb and tells us something about the subject.
Example – Elizabeth is beautiful.

Predicate nominative
Noun that follows a linking verb and tells us what the subject is
Example – Dr. Varner is the acting president of the university.

Direct object and object complement

Direct object receives the action of the sentence, and the object complement
renames or describes the direct object.

Example – They named their daughter Mary.

Daughter is the direct object because it receives the action.

Mary is the object complement because it renames daughter.

Indirect object
Identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed.

Example - The teacher gave his students A's.

The indirect object is students and the direct object is A’s.