Grammar Review 1

Clauses

Independent Clause
Has a subject and a verb
Makes sense by itself
Can be a complete sentence by itself

Dependent Clause
Has a subject and a verb
Doesnt make sense by itself
Needs to join with an Independent clause to
form a sentence
Recognize by Dependent Clause Clues

Dependent Clause
Clues
after

although

as, as if

as long as

as soon as

because

before

even if

if

in order that provided

that
unless
until

since

even
though
so that

what

whatever

when

whenever

where

wherever

whether

which

whichever

while

who

whom

whose

though

Finding the Subject

Find the Verb

I like chocolate.

Ask a who or what

Who likes chocolate?
question
Answer is the subject I is the subject

Sentence Fragments

Sentence Fragments
A sentence with missing parts
Add what is missing to correct.
May be missing a subject, verb, or both
or
May be a Dependent Clause without an Independent
Clause

Comma Splice
and
Fused Sentence

Comma Splice
independent clause , independent
clause
wrong

Fused Sentence
independent clause independent
clause
wrong

Correct

independent clause ; independent clause

independent clause . independent clause
independent clause , independent clause
for and nor but or yet so

independent clause

independent clause

dependent clause clue words

Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement

Pronoun
Tom had his own way of doing things.
Antecedent

Pronoun
words that substitute for the name of a person,
place, or thing mentioned elsewhere in your
sentence or paragraph
Antecedent
the word(s) that a pronoun substitutes for or
refers to
Rule:
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent.

who, that, which

Use to refer to someone or something

already specifically mentioned in the
sentence

who, that, which

Who = people
That and Which = everything else
That = introduces essential information
Which = introduces additional information
____, which _____, _____.

-one, -body, -thing

anyone

anybody

anything

everyone

everybody

everything

no one

nobody

nothing

someone

somebody

something

each (one)

-one, -body, -thing

When used as Subjects, they are
singular
Need singular pronouns
he, she, it; his, her, its

Vague Reference
Make sure it is clear what antecedent
the pronoun refers to
Bill threw his guitar on the floor and cracked it.
Correct vague reference by:

using proper names

moving words around

Person Agreement

Personal Pronoun Subject

Object

Possessive

1st person singular I

me

my, mine

1st person plural

we

us

our, ours

2nd person
singular

you

you

your, yours

2nd person plural

you

you

your, yours

3rd person
singular

he, she, it
-one, -body,
-thing

him, her, it

his, her, hers,

its

3rd person plural

they

them

their, theirs

Subject

Object

Possessive

who

whom

whose

whoever

whomever

whoevers

Person Agreement
If you wish to succeed, one must work
hard.
wrong
If you wish to succeed, you must work
hard.
correct

Person Agreement
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
Do not mix persons unless meaning
requires it.
Be consistent!

Person Agreement
Avoid overusing one or he or she
Try
Changing the whole sentence to the
plural
or
Rewriting the sentence without using
pronouns

Verb Forms

Every verb has four

forms
BASE

study

PAST

studied

PRESENT
PAST
PARTICIPLE PARTICIPLE
(-ing)

(have,had,has)

studying

studied