The Magic Lens

By Michael Clay Thomson PowerPoint by Pranita Kaginele

Grammar

A way of thinking of language Helps us express ourselves in a way that makes sense Helps us combine, simplify, and modify thoughts and ideas Four parts of grammar parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, and clauses

1. Parts of Speech

The eight words in the English language Noun Adjective Pronoun Adverb Verb Conjunction Interjection Preposition

Noun

The name of a person, place, or thing Proper nouns: capitalized Common nouns: lowercase Concrete nouns: objects Abstract nouns: ideas Noun of direct address: calling someone by their name Collective noun: group Plural noun: multiple things

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun Subject Pronoun: pronouns used for subjects of verbs and subject complements: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Object Pronoun: pronouns used as direct or indirect objects and objects for prepositions: me, you, him, her, it, us, them Antecedent: the noun the pronoun replaces

Adjective

A word that modifies a noun or pronoun Three degrees of adjectives: positive (ex. good), comparative (ex. better), superlative (ex. best) Proper adjectives: made out of proper nouns: England makes English; Rome makes Roman Articles: a, an, the Definite Article: the Indefinite Articles: a, an

Verb

A word that shows action, being, or links a subject to its subject complement Four principal parts of the verb: infinitive (to followed by verb), present participle (doing, going, thinking), past (did, went, thought), past participle (done, gone, thought) Regular verbs: verbs that make up four principle parts Irregular verbs: unique principal parts (shrink, shrinking, shrank, shrunk) Adverb: modifies a verb

Conjunction

A word that joins two words or two groups of words Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet Subordinating conjunctions: if, as, since, when, because Correlative conjunctions: either or, neither nor, not only but also

Preposition

Shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence Show relationships of time (before, during, after), space (in, on, beside, around), and direction (to, from, toward) Show where two things are located, compared to each other

Interjection

Shows emotion but has no grammatical function Oh, ugh, oof, wow, yes, no, oops

2. Parts of Sentence

Sentence Fragment Subject Predicate Direct Object Indirect Object Subject Complement Predicate Nominative Predicate Adjective

Sentence

A group of words that contains a subject and its predicate and makes a complete thought A two-part thought: contains subject and predicate Fragment: lacks subject; incomplete thought

Subject

The noun or subject pronoun that the sentence is about Simple Subject: noun or subject pronoun the sentence is about Complete Subject: includes the simple subject and all of its modifiers Compound Subject: double subject; more than one noun or subject pronoun is used as subject

Predicate

The side of the sentence that says something about the subject Simple Predicate: verb Complete Predicate: everything that is said about the subject

Direct Objects

Noun or object pronoun that receives the action of the action verb Transitive: action verb when there is a direct object Intransitive: when action verb does not act on a direct object

Indirect Objects

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: Subject Action Verb Indirect Object Direct Object

Subject Complement

A noun, subject pronoun, or adjective that is linked to the subject by a linking verb and tells more about the subject Predicate Nominative: subject complement that is noun or subject pronoun Predicate Adjective: term used to describe subject complement made out of an adjective Object Complement: noun, object pronoun, or adjective that completes the meaning of the direct object

3. Phrases

A group of words that does not have a subject and its predicate Prepositional Phrase Appositive Verbal Gerund Participle Infinitive

Prepositional Phrase

A phrase beginning with a preposition, used as a modifier Act as adjectives or adverbs If adjective, has to follow immediately after the noun it modifies Relates object of the preposition to another word in the sentence

Appositive

An interrupting definition Typically defines a noun Usually in between commas If no comma at the end, it turns out as something totally different Take two commas or none, never one unless at the end of the sentence

Verbal

A verb form used as a noun, adjective, or adverb Not a verb Three kinds of verbals: Gerunds Participles Infinitives

Gerunds

An -ing verb form used as a noun Subjects and objects may be made out of gerunds or gerund phrases May be by itself, or may join with other words If joined with other words, gerund becomes gerund phrase

Participle

A verb form of various endings used as an adjective Adjective made out of a verb or -ing, -ed, or en verb made into an adjective Act as adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns By itself or with other words to make participial phrase

Infinitive

The to- form of the verb, used as a noun or modifier General form of verb made into noun, adjective, or adverb Phrase starts with the word to, followed by verb

4. Clauses

A group of words that contains a subject and its predicate Independent Clause Dependent Clause Four Clause Structure Four Sentence Purposes

Independent Clause

A clause that is a complete thought Makes sense independently Example: She read a book.

Dependent Clause

A clause that is not a complete thought, but needs to be connected to an independent clause Depends on an independent clause Example: while she was waiting.

The Four Clause Structure

Simple Sentence: a sentence with one independent clause; structure: I Compound Sentence: a sentence with two or more independent clauses; structure: I+I Complex Sentence: a sentence with an independent clause attached to a dependent clause; structure: I+D Compound-Complex Sentence: a sentence with a compound structure and a complex structure; structure: I+I+D

The Four Sentence Purposes

Declarative Sentence: a sentence that declares or makes a statement: Tulips bloom during spring. Imperative Sentence: a sentence that is imperious, that makes a command: Clean your room. Interrogative Sentence: a sentence that interrogates, that asks a question: Where is my book? Exclamatory Sentence: a sentence that exclaims, that has an exclamation point: I never expected that!

Credits
Simplicity An essay is about one thing. Introduce it, develop your case for it in several ways, and then conclude it. Maintain focus with consistent key words, and by devoting every paragraph to the one thing. ~ Michael Clay Thomson