Parts of Speech
This part of speech names a person, place, thing, or idea.
noun
This mark is placed at the end of an interrogative sentence.
a question mark
"I walk to the store" is an example of this most basic present tense.
simple present tense
Every complete sentence must have a subject and this part, which contains the verb and tells what the subject is doing.
a predicate - the part of a sentence that contains the verb and gives information about the subject.
This word means "also" or "excessively," and is often confused with a preposition or a number.
too
Words like "quickly," "very," and "well" belong to this descriptive category.
adverb
This versatile punctuation mark is used to separate items in a list or to pause between clauses.
a comma
Adding "-ed" to the end of a regular verb usually puts it into this tense.
simple past tense
A sentence consisting of just one independent clause and no dependent clauses is known as this type of sentence.
a simple sentence
While you use "their" to show possession, you use this similarly pronounced word to indicate a location.
there
This part of speech connects words, phrases, or clauses; examples include "and," "but," and "or."
conjunction
This mark is used to indicate possession or to show where letters have been omitted in a contraction.
an apostrophe - (’)
The sentence "She is studying for her test" uses this ongoing tense.
the present continuous (or present progressive) tense
A group of words with a subject and a verb that cannot stand alone as a complete thought is called this.
a dependent (or subordinate) clause - it contains both a subject and a verb, begins with a subordinating conjunction, does not complete a thought, and cannot stand on its own as a complete sentence. Examples would be the following:
although Kayla had already seen the movie
before I forget to tell you
unless she finishes her homework early
whenever Greg goes to the beach
This is the correct contraction for "it is," which is often mistakenly used to show possession.
it's
"Wow!" and "Ouch!" are examples of this expressive, emotionally charged part of speech.
interjection
This mark separates two independent clauses that are closely related without using a conjunction word.
a semicolon - ;
"I had already eaten before they arrived" is an example of this tense, used for an action completed before another past action.
past perfect tense
A sentence containing two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (like "and") is called this.
a compound sentence
You use "fewer" for items you can count individually, but you use this word for uncountable mass nouns, like water or sand.
less
This type of pronoun, such as "myself" or "themselves," reflects the action back onto the subject of the sentence.
reflexive pronoun
These are used to enclose incidental or extra information—like an afterthought—that interrupts the normal flow of a sentence.
parentheses - ( )
This tense is formed by combining "will have" with a past participle, as in "I will have finished the project by tomorrow."
future perfect tense
This common grammatical error occurs when two independent clauses are joined together with only a comma and no conjunction.
a comma splice - it is a punctuation error that occurs when two complete sentences (independent clauses) are joined together with only a comma, rather than a period, semicolon, or conjunction. It is also considered a type of run-on sentence. Example: "It is raining, I am staying home".
"Affect" is almost always used as a verb, while this similarly spelled word is usually a noun meaning the result of an action.
effect