STUDY
F.A.N.B.O.Y.S
- For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
- (Sentence) , F.A.N.B.O.Y.S , (Sentence)
Who V.S Whom
- Who: subject (does the action)
- Whom: object (receives the action)
- Ex: Who won the race?
- Ex: Whom did you see win the race?
Pronoun Agreement
- A pronoun must agree with the noun it replaces in number, gender, and person
- Ex: Each student must bring his or her book
- "Each student" is singular, so the pronoun must be singular too
- Find the word the pronoun is referring to and find if it is singular, plural, a person, a thing, or a group!
Semicolon (;)
- Joins two closely related independent clauses (complete thoughts)
- Only use a semicolon if both parts can be stand alone sentences
- Ex: Joe likes to read; his sister prefers to watch movies
Dashes (—)
- Interchangeable with commas (,)
- Used to add emphasis, interrupt a sentence, or insert a side comment
- Ex: She had one huge dream—to be a doctor
- Ex: My brother—who lives in Japan—came back home
Active V.S Passive Voice
- Active: Subject is doing an action
- Ex: The teacher graded the exams
- Passive: The subject receives the action
- Ex: The exams were graded by the teacher
Period (.)
- Ends an independent clause
- Has a subject, verb, and expresses a complete thought
- Ex: I studied all weekend. I felt prepared.
Subject-Verb Agreement
- Singular subjects need singular verbs
- Plural subjects need plural verbs
- Ex: The list of topics (is/are) on the board
- Tip: Ignore "of topics" and words that are between the subject and the verb
Possessive Nouns
- Singular: Add 's
- Ex: The student's backpack
- Plural ending in "s": Add an apostrophe (')
- Ex: The players' uniforms
- Plural: Add 's
- Ex: The children's toys
Semicolons V.S Periods
- Semicolons connect two closely related sentences
- Periods start a new sentence
- Semicolons keep the ideas together
- Ex: The storm knocked out the power. The sun was coming out though
- Ex: The storm knocked out the power; my dog was scared
Introductory Phrases
- Group of words that add context to the beginning of a sentence
- Ex: After reviewing her notes, Maria felt smart
- EVERY INTRODUCTORY PHRASE HAS TO END WITH A COMMA!
Colon (:)
- Used for lists, explanations, examples, or a quotation
- Ex: There are three classes: English, math, and history
- Ex: Only one thing mattered: winning the championship
- Ex: She packed only one type of footwear for the hike: boots
- Ex: Mark Twain said it best: "When in doubt, tell the truth."
Conjunctive Adverb Usages
- When doing a sentence with the structure (Independent Clause + "however"), use a semicolon after the "however"
- Ex: The student studied all week; however, he still found the test hard
- Ex: Rishab is a great guy; therefore, you should subscribe