English 8: Grammar

Ms Lardner(Notes and activities based on The

Grammar Teacher’s Activity-A-Day : Jossey-Bass)

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing or idea.

A singular noun is the name of only one person, place, thing or idea.

A plural noun is the name of more than one person, place, thing or idea.

A common noun begins with a lowercase letter since it names any person, place, thing or idea. It is nonspecific.

A proper noun begins with an uppercase letter because it names specific persons, places, things and ideas.

A concrete noun names a person, place, thing or idea that can be perceived by one or more of your senses.

An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, quality or trait.

A collective noun names a group of people or things.

Identify the three nouns in each of the following sentences and state what type of noun each is.

1.Rose carried her pet into the office.2.The newspaper was left on the table in the

classroom.3.The group spent many hours discussing the

new plan.4. Joshua saw the lighthouse and the bridge.5.Her computer was repaired by the

technician on Tuesday.

PRONOUNS

The pronoun is the word that takes the place of a noun.

Personal pronouns refer to people, places, things and ideas. I, me, you, your, they, us and it are all personal pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding “-self” or “-selves” to certain personal pronouns. They “reflect” back to the person or thing mentioned in the sentence. Myself, himself, herself, itself, yourself, yourselves, themselves are all reflexive pronouns. There is no such word as theirselves.

Demonstrative pronouns can be singular or plural. They point out a specific person, place or thing. This, that, these, those are demonstrative pronouns.

Interrogative pronouns are used when asking questions. Who, whom, which, whose are interrogative pronouns.

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, place or thing. Some indefinite pronouns are another, both, everyone, most, no one, several.

Activity: Pronouns

Identify the pronouns in each sentence and state what type of pronoun each is.

1.We love to read books.2.Whose bicycle is this?3.These puzzles are stumpers!4.The young lady carried in all her

packages by herself.5.Will you complete those problems by

yourself?

The adjective modifies the noun or pronoun.An adjective can answer any one of these questions:

What kind?Which one?How many?

In addition to the regular adjective (tall, beautiful, green, small), there are two other types of adjectives.

Proper adjective is formed from a proper noun. French onion soup, Belgian detective, Kenyan landscape.

Compound adjective is composed of two or more words. Part-time referee, eight-foot tree, fifty-year-old man.

Write an appropriate adjective in each blank.

1.Many of the ________ students voiced their displeasure with the new school rules.

2.These ________ geese were searching a ________ place to meet.

3._________ people attended the play’s ________ performance.

4.___________ and _________, the losing team did not look forward to their coach’s speech.

VERBSVERBSThe verb is the action word.The three basic types of verbs are:Action verb tells what action the

sentence’s subject (or doer) performs, has performed, or will perform.

Linking verb connects (links) a subject (or doer) to a noun, pronoun, or adjective in the sentence. The words that follow a linking verb answer the question “What?”

Helping verb assists the main verb in a sentence. One or more helping verbs can assist the main verb.

Activity: VerbsActivity: VerbsState what the verb is and whether the

verb is an action, linking or helping verb.

1.Hustle to first base, Charles!2.This is the correct answer.3.Hear what I have to say.4.Each of these fifteen doctors was

interviewed by the county health officials.

5.This talented surfer rode the wave all the way to the shore.

ADVERBSThe adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, or other

adverbs.An adverb can answer any of these four questions-

Where? When? How? To what extent?Most adverbs end in –ly.Some examples of adverbs not ending in –ly:

again almost already now thenalways later ever here yetjust often not today verynowhere so quite ratherawaysoon yesterday also perhaps too

Activity: AdverbsIdentify the adverb by asking a question.1.Henry swam brilliantly.2.The train then came down the line.3.The day was almost perfect.4.Sonny, swallow your food very slowly.5.Some older people were quite happy with the

club’s proposal.6.The architect worked quite methodically.

PREPOSITIONS

The preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or a pronoun) and another word in the sentence.

Some examples of prepositions:after onto beneath acrossaround over beyond beforebehind under despite butbesides upon for downby against into fromduring below off likein between since onnear except until through

Compound preposition has the same function as the regular, one-word preposition but it contains more than one word! According to, in addition to, in spite of, next to.

Preposition-Adverb Question:The same word can be an adverb in one

sentence and a preposition in another sentence. Both answer the same questions- When? Where? How? To what extent?- but only an adverb does it in a single word. The preposition needs other words to answer the same questions (prepositional phrase).

Activity: Prepositions

Identify the preposition in the following sentences:

1. Mollie walked into her aunt’s house.2. My mom exercises quietly in the morning.3. The professor placed the book

underneath the large desk.4. I walked around the block.5. The terrified dog scampered past us.6. Kenny, look beyond your present troubles.

The conjunction connects words or groups of words.

A coordinating conjunction is a single connecting word. The seven coordinating are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. An easy way to remember these seven conjunctions is the acronym FANBOYS.

Identify the conjunction in each sentence.1. I will not be able to go to the field for I

have not completed my science project.2. Do you think we should put on the paint

now so it will have time to dry?3. Perhaps you or your neighbors will be able

to organize the block party this year.4. Paula would like to be here with us, yet

she has to watch over her younger sisters today.

Correlative conjunctions consist of a pair of words. These words are not together in the sentence. Here are the FIVE pairs of correlative conjunctions:

Whether…orNeither…norBoth…andEither…orNot only…but also

Select a pair of correlative conjunctions to complete each sentence.

1. ______the machine has been repaired _____ if it is still broken will affect our work schedule.

2. Marcelle enjoys playing with _____ dogs ____ cats.

3. ______will Olivia attend the meeting, _______ she will ______chair the proceedings.

4. The competent writer uses ______poor word choice ____ vague details in her articles.

Subordinating conjunction joins larger groups of words within sentences. It begins adverb clauses (groups of words that answer the questions: When? Where? How? To what extent?).

Here are a few subordinating conjunctions:after although in order thatas long as as soon as unlesseven though though as far asthan where sincewhenever as though while

Use a subordinating conjunction to complete each sentence.

1. We had not seen our old friends _____ they moved away several years ago.

2. These chimpanzees looked _____they were displeased with the zookeeper.

3. I cannot stop from laughing _____ Garrett tells us his funny stories.

4. Make the turn ____ you see the tall oak trees in front of the large white house.

INTERJECTIONS

The interjection expresses strong emotions or feelings.

Is often found at the beginning of a sentence and is usually followed by either an exclamation mark (for strong emotion) or a comma (for mild emotion).

An interjection can also be used to protest or command.

Interjections can stand alone, but they are often contained within larger groups of words.

Here is a list of the most common interjections:aw wow goodness graciouseek bravo hurrayhey golly dear meoh no hurrah goshwhoa phew noahem yea yesgee darn eh yippeehi psst oh ratsoops yeh ugh hello

Activity:Interjections

Write a sentence for each of these interjections.

1.Gosh2.Oops3.Yippee4.Hurrah5.Oh no

Activities: Review #1Identify each underlined word’s part of

speech.1. Each of the programs was taped.2. I feel well.3. They have been training at this site.4. Hey! Are you complaining about our

group’s meeting?5. All of the contestants but Monica were

scheduled.6. We all helped to shovel the snow.7. The snow shovel is out in the barn.

8. The elderly man fell down.

9. The coach told Mitch to down the ball.

10. He had to solve the problem in a hurry.

11. Uncle Erik gave Rick box seat tickets to the Yankee’s game.

Review #2

Identify each underlined word’s part of speech.

1. Foolish decisions can cause trouble.2. She gained fame quickly as a journalist.3. You will soon know how difficult this is.4. Please dispose of your garbage.5. We can do this by ourselves.6. Tomas entered into the competition.7. Rachel is an heiress to a large fortune.

8. He and I can carry that bundle.9. You or they will be able to assist.10. Murphy is a silly dog some of the time.11. Yippee! I do not have to go to bed yet.12. It is my all-time favourite movie.13. This is the story of a seven-time award

winner.14. Both of these comedians will be

appearing at local clubs this fall.

Review #3

Use each word as indicated.

1. Use part as a noun.

2. Use part as a verb.

3. Use televised as a verb.

4. Use televised as an adjective.

5. Use for as a conjunction.

6. Use for as a preposition.

Review #4Fill in each blank with one word that logically

fits the sentence’s sense. Then state what part of speech the word is.

1. A _______ mouse ran through the garage.2. Either the doctor _____ the nurse will

explain the procedure to you.3. ______! That bicyclist almost crashed into

the parked car.4. The brave soldier ran _______ the field

during the skirmish.5. Nobody can do all of this by ________.

Review #5Identify the part of speech of each underlined word in

these literary titles.1. And Then There Were None2. The Taming of the Shrew3. Silent Spring4. The Blue Lagoon5. Romeo and Juliet6. The Cat in the Hat7. Our Town8. The Chocolate Wars9. Anything Goes10. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Grammar RemindersHere are some general rules to remember in

your writing.1.Comparative and Superlative: The

comparative form is used when comparing TWO objects and ends in -er or uses more with longer or irregular adjectives. The superlative form is used in comparing MORE THAN TWO objects and ends in –est or uses most with longer or irregular adjectives.

2.“I” and “me”: When do we use “I” and when do we use “me”? Usually we can solve this dilemma by rearranging the sentence.

3. Suffixes: -able is used primarily for adjectives; -ion is used primarily for nouns; -ly is used primarily for adverbs.