Parts of Speech Review

Parts of Speech Review The noun names things: boat, wind, wave, idea, Anna. The pronoun replaces the noun: it, he, she. The adjective modifies either a noun or pronoun: rusty, wavy, blue. The verb shows action or links: sailed, is. The adverb modifies the verb: quickly, suddenly, then. The conjunction joins: and, but, if, as. The preposition shows relationships: under, before, after, from. The interjection shows emotion: yes, no, wow, oops.

Parts of Sentence Review The sentence has two sides, a predicate about a subject Sentence: a group of words with a subject and its predicate; it makes a complete thought. The ship sailed away. He stowed the charts. Predicate: the simple predicate is the verb. If the predicate is an action verb, it might have a direct object; if the predicate is a linking verb, it will have a subject complement. The marina opened early. I am he. Direct Object: the noun or object pronoun that receives the action of an action verb. Lopez closed the porthole. Lopez saw her. Indirect Object: the noun or object pronoun that is located between the action verb and the direct object, and that is indirectly affected by the action. The captain gave him the nail. The captain gave the seaman a kind word. Subject Complement: a noun, subject pronoun, or adjective that is linked to the subject by a linking verb, and that complements (makes more complete) the subject. It was she. The boat was fast. Pronoun Rule:A subject is a subject and an object is an object. For direct object, indirect object, and object of preposition use object pronouns. For the subject and subject complement, use subject pronouns.

Phrases A phrase is a group of words, but it acts like one word, like a single part of speech. It can act like an adjective, adverb, or noun! Three kinds of phrases Prepositional Phrases Prepositional phrases always begin with prepositions, and they act like modifiers (like adjectives or adverbs). like an adjective: The ship in the canal is stuck. like an adverb: It sailed after sunset. Appositive Phrases Appositive phrases are interrupting definitions. Using commas, they are put (pos) beside (apo) what they define. They act like adjectives. Roberto, the new sailor, came on board early. The canal, an old lake system, was still used by ships.

Phrases (Cont.) Verbal Phrases Verbals are verby forms that aren’t used as verbs! There are three kinds: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Gerunds: nouns made out of –ing verbs. sailing is fun Participles: adjectives made out of verbs. Sailing well, the rusty ship headed for the island. Completely broken, the mast fell over into the sea. Badly cracked, the red paint peeled off the hull. Infinitives: a noun or modifier made from the to verb form. To sail is fun. (noun) The man to see is Howard. (adjective) He lived to sail. (adverb) Note: we think of an infinitive as one word. to think is considered one word.

Prepositional Phrases A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition that shows the relationship between its object, which will be a noun or object pronoun, and some other word in the sentence. Prepositional phrases are always modifiers. If a prepositional phrase is acting as an adjective, it must come immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies: The main hold of the ship needed repairs. See how of the ship modifies the noun hold, just like an adjective would? The phrase begins with the preposition of, and relates its object ship to another word in the sentence, hold. If a prepositional phrase acts as an adverb, it can come in a number of different places, including at the beginning of the sentence: From the start, the trawler led the fleet. In this case, from the start modifies the verb led. Notice that prepositional phrases do not have subjects and predicates. No phrases do. Many prepositional phrases will start with a preposition, then have an adjective that modifies a noun: on the deck, prep-adj-n.

Know your prepositions The key to knowing prepositional phrases and identifying prepositional phrases in knowing your prepositions. Memorize this list of common prepostions. aboard before concerning of through with about behind down off throughout within above below during on till without across beneath except onto to after beside for out toward against besides from outside under amid between in over underneath among beyond inside past up around but into since upon as by like such as at near

Appositive Phrases Appositive phrases are called appositives because they are apposed. Apposed means put beside, from pos (put) and apo (beside). An appositive phrase is a graceful way of inserting a quick explanation or definition so that your reader isn’t confused for the rest of the sentence. The Franca C, a vintage passenger liner, was in port. Because appositive phrases are interruptions, there is a comma rule for them; there should be commas before and after the appositive or appositive phrase: Calle del Cristo, the street by the plaza, is very beautiful. Notice that appositive phrases do not have subjects and predicates. Also, there can be a one-word appositive; it isn’t always a phrase (group of words), and it still needs two commas: My old friend, Hernandez, arrived on the afternoon ferry. On March 10, 1837, the harbor was sunny and calm. Veracruz, Mexico, is a seaside town. New Orleans, Louisiana, is on the Gulf of Mexico.

Verbal Phrases Verbals show how creative our minds are. If we can take an action verb and make a noun out of it somehow, then we can make ideas not just about things but also about actions! Verbals aren’t verbs in sentences, but they are still verby enough to do some very verby things. For example, look at this gerund phrase in which the gerund is a noun and the subject of the sentence: Loading the cargo would take at least three days. See the gerund phrase loading the cargo? It is acting as the subject of the verb would take. Notice that the noun cargo is almost like a direct object of some kind. it is receiving the action of the gerund loading, just as if the gerund were still a verb! When this happens, we call it the object of the gerund. You can also have of participles and objects of infinitives: Loading the cargo, the crew worked in to the late afternoon. To load the cargo is a good day’s work. because a subject is a subject and an object is an object, the objects of verbals have to use object pronouns. Remember, everything called an object must use an object pronoun. Finding him and her was the pest part of the voyage. To find him and her is one of the goals of the voyage.

Misplaced Modifiers One of the dangers of using modifiers is that if you put a modifying phrase in the wrong place, it will modify the wrong thing! Usually, it modifies what you attach it to. For example, in the sentence, Chewing his gum energetically, a fly flew past the captain’s nose. the participial phrase Chewing his gum energetically modifies the noun fly; because this modifier is misplaced the sentence is ridiculous. We meant to say that the captain was chewing gum, but this sentence means that a fly is chewing gum energetically. Better would be: A fly few past Jones’s nose as he chewed his gum energetically. Right: the sailor with the long hair ran away Wrong: The sailor ran away with the long hair.

Split Infinitives An infinitive like to think, is regarded as one word. (A prepositional phrase like to Boston is two words.) We should never split the infinitive with another word, like to really think. Wrong: You need to carefully think about that. Right: You need to think about that carefully.

No Subject/Verb Set Remember that phrases aren’t allowed to have subjects and verbs in them. Prepositional phrases, for example do not. A prepositional phrase always begins with a preposition and then is often followed by an adjective and a noun. No verb! so a phrase isn’t a complete idea.

Subject/verb disagreement and the intervening phrase: a real disaster! Sometimes a phrase or two will come between the subject and its predicate in a sentence. The shipwith the cargo of vegetables sails north. Here, the subject is ship, and the predicate is sailed. What often happens in this situation, when the subject is separated from the verb, is that we become distracted and mistakenly match the verb to the object of the preposition that is right next to it instead of matching the verb to the faraway subject. When we do this, we get disaster: The ship withthe cargo of vegetables sail north. This means the vegetables are sailing north, and the sentence no longer makes sense! If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural too: ship sails ships sail

The verb must ALWAYS agree with the subject in number (singular or plural), period. This is one of the most important rules in grammar; the problem is not just that if your verb disagrees with your subject in number, you will be using bad grammar. The problem is if you do that, no one will know what you mean. Are you saying something about a boat of about some boats? If you have a subject/verb disagreement, no one will know what you mean. The solution is really simple: in every sentence, find the real subject and verb, match them, and ignore anything in between. Wrong: The boats on the canal is quick. Right: The boats on the canal are quick.

Practice Sentences

More Practice Sentences

Each sentence below has a phrase for you to find. The phrase may be prepositional, appositive, or verbal (gerund, participle, infinitive). For each sentence, underline the phrase and tell what kind of phrase it is (prepositional, appositive, gerund, participial, or infinitive). • She loved fixing the old ship. _____________ • His specialty was to find fish quickly. _____________ • Moreno, the venerable cook, kept the galley clean. _________ • Stowing their gear was the crew’s first task. _________ • A bitter north wind began whipping the waves. _______ • He liked giving the deck hands a break. ____________ • To miss the island was a dangerous problem.________

Test Each sentence below has a phrase for you to find. The phrase may be prepositional, appositive, or verbal (gerund, participle, infinitive). For each sentence, underline the phrase and tell what kind of phrase it is (prepositional, appositive, gerund, participial, or infinitive). • The iceberg to land on was the flat one ahead._______ • Isaac just lived to sail the Pacific. _________________ • Murphy, our new quartermaster, was stern. _________ • Cracking noisily, the ice-covered ropes glistened. _____ • Restoring old hulls was Karen’s specialty. ___________ • The hardest thing was to think then. _______________ • The course to take now was the northern passage. ___ • The mast, cracked hopelessly, was ruined. __________

Parts of Speech Review