The Essential Grammar Companion

The Essential Syntax Companion

1. Phrases—a group of words that has a modifying function within sentences; does not have both a subject and a verb; phrases cannot be sentences by themselves

a. Prepositional— I have been on this airplane for hours. i. Adjectival—modify nouns and pronouns ii. Adverbial—modify adjectives, verbs, and adverbs

2. Clauses—a group of words that must contain a subject and a verb. There are two types of clauses: INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT. If it is an Independent Clause, it can be a sentence by itself; Dependent Clauses cannot be sentences by themselves—a D. C. requires at least one I. C. in order to form a complete sentence

a. ↑ Independent (I.C.)— semicolons (;) & coordinating conjunctions connect Independent Clauses together

The only coordinating conjunctions: ♪ ♫ [and, or, for, nor, but, so, yet] ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪

Examples of Independent Clauses:

I am. (the shortest complete sentence in English) The zookeeper directed the tiger to its cage. Boxing the champion exhausted the older challenger. Peter ran fast, so Jack ran faster. She laughed and the dog yelped.

MORE EXAMPLES AND SENTENCES COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

CONJUNCTION WHAT IS LINKED SAMPLE SENTENCES (linking two I. C.) And noun phrase+noun We have tickets for the symphony and the opera. phrase But sentence+sentence The orchestra rehearses on Tuesday, but the chorus rehearses on Wednesday. Or verb+verb Have you seen or heard the opera by Scott Joplin? So sentence+sentence I wanted to sit in the front of the balcony, so I ordered my tickets early.

1 b. ↓ Dependent (D.C.)— subordinating conjunctions typically begin these (Dependent Clauses are called ‘subordinate’ clauses as well) ***the order of these can be distorted to emphasize different things

Some subordinating conjunctions:

TIME CAUSE + EFFECT OPPOSITION CONDITION after because although if before Since though unless when now that even though only if while As whereas whether or not since in order that while even if until So in case (that)

Examples of Dependent Clauses:

Because the man bought a new car,... If I sail the boat in the Caribbean,… I will not finish this book until I get some peace and quiet.

EXAMPLES AND SENTENCES SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

CONJUNCTION SAMPLE SENTENCE after We are going out to eat after we finish taking the test. Since Since we have lived in Atlanta, we have gone to every exhibit at the High Musuem. While While I was waiting in line for the Matisse Exhibit, I ate my lunch. although Although the line was long and the wait over two hours, the exhibit was well worth it even if Even if you have already bought your ticket, you will still need to wait in line. Because I love Matisse's works because he uses color so brilliantly.

2 3. These are the four sentence TYPES (knowing these is integral to your success):

a. Simple(S) = one I.C. i. Mickey Mantle is in the baseball Hall of Fame.

b. Compound(CD) = two or more I.C. i. Jennifer Lopez wears the latest fashions and Gwen Stefani sings the coolest songs. (c.c.)

c. Complex(CX) = one I.C. and one or more D.C. i. Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity because the apple fell from the tree. (s.c.)

d. Compound-Complex(CD-CX) = two or more I.C. and one or more D.C. i. The Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl but Walter Payton did not score a touchdown since Mike Ditka allowed William “The Refrigerator” Perry to run the ball near the goal line.

4. These are the four sentence CATEGORIES (separate from TYPES): a. Declarative—make statements: (The girl in the yellow dress is pretty.)

b. Imperative—commands often using an implied subject ‘you’: (Wash the floor.) (Find a horse and ride to Mordor.) ([You] Discover a new author.)

c. Interrogative—questions: (When are you finishing that book?) (In the plotline of Tom Sawyer, what happens next?)

d. Exclamatory—emphatic statements made with emotion: (Oh my goodness, that dragon is enormous!) (I now know what a clause is!) (I only have three days to read 30%!) (You are so lucky!)

3 5. Adjectives—words that modify only nouns: (He is a tall basketball player.) (Those brown shoes are old and comfortable.) (Hemingway is a great writer.)

Examples of adjectives: think of your own!

6. Adverbs—words that modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs; adverbs typically end with (-ly), but very is a common one: (This banana is unusually firm.) (I am exceptionally glad to finish this chapter.) (You are very intelligent.)

7. Antecedents—these are the nouns that have been replaced by pronouns

Example: Jeff is intelligent; he really knows his philosophy.

You see, “Jeff” is the antecedent, because it is replaced by “he”

8. Articles— a, an, the (the words that introduce nouns)

9. Semicolon Usage: semicolons are best used this way as they take the place of coordinating conjunctions: (I.C. (;) I.C.)— (I am tired; will you do the dishes?) (That kind of science fiction book is the best; my brother will love to read it.)

10. Direct Object—these receive the action(I threw the ball.)(The snake bit a rabbit.) (D.O.)

11. Dashes—connect/separate phrases and clauses while changing the thought processes (He is smart—much smarter than I—because he is motivated.) (I plan on playing chess all night—especially if I am winning.) 12. Hyphens—connect/separate words and terms; new functions are often created (sister-in-law) (parent-teacher conferences) (self-motivated)

13. “What”-clefts— (What I am worried about is that I will not find the treasure.) (What I intend to find out is who exactly is responsible for the damage.)

14. “It”-clefts— (It is Amber who I am least concerned about; she is happy and safe.) (It is the Super Bowl that I insist on watching.) (It is Tony Hawk who is cool.) (It was the source of the information that I could not determine.)

4 15. Correlative conjunctions:

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

both...and not only...but also either...or neither...nor whether...or

Remember, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. They join similar elements.When joining singular and plural subjects, the subject closest to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

EXAMPLES AND SENTENCES CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

CONJUNCTIONS WHAT IS SAMPLE SENTENCE LINKED both...and subject+subject Both my sister and my brother play the piano. either...or noun+noun Tonight's program is either Mozart or Beethoven. neither...nor subject+subject Neither the orchestra nor the chorus was able to overcome the terrible acoustics in the church not only...but also sentence+sentence Not only does Sue raise money for the symphony, but she also ushers at all of their concerts.