GRAMMAR REVIEW OF FIRST SEMESTER

PART OF THE SENTENCE Subject Predicate Linking Verb Action Verb Direct Object Indirect Object Predicate Adjective Predicate Nominative or Predicate Noun Prepositional Phrase

SUBJECT Part of Speech: noun or pronoun Definition: names the person, place, or thing the sentence is about. Questions answered or role in the sentence: tells who or what the sentence is about. Usual Location: Subjects can come at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence.

POSITION OF SUBJECTS Natural order: when the subject of a sentence comes before the verb Inverted order: when the verb or part of the verb comes before the subject. Many questions are in inverted order. Sometimes the subject of a sentence is not expressed, as in a command or request. The “understood subject” is you.

PREDICATE Part of Speech: verb Definition: tells what the subject does or did, is or was Questions answered or role in the sentence: the predicate tells what the subject is doing or it connects the subject to something that describes or renames it Usual Location: after the subject, or on one side of the subject and the rest on the other side

LINKING VERB Part of Speech: verb Definition: links, or connects, the subject with a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective in the predicate Questions answered or role in the sentence: they just say that someone or something is, was, or will be. Usual Location: after the subject

COMMON LINKING VERBS “to be” verbs: “state of being verbs” be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being other common linking verbs: seem, taste, appear, grow, look, remain, sound, smell, feel, become, turn, get, act

ACTION VERB Part of Speech: verb Definition: a verb that expresses physical or mental action. Questions answered or role in the sentence: tells what the subject is doing Usual location: after the subject

Linking Verbs vs. Action Verbs That doesn’t sound right to me. Sound the fire alarm! The stew smells delicious. Can you smell the garlic in this stew? I think my soup tastes too salty. May I taste some of your soup?

SUBSTITUTE “SEEMS” A trick to tell whether the verb is action or linking is to substitute the word seems and notice how it sounds. If it sounds okay, it’s a linking verb and you need an adjective. Otherwise, it’s an action verb and you need an adverb.

EXAMPLES The hamburger meat smells (bad/badly). (The meat seems bad? Yes, that’s okay, so smell here is a linking verb and needs an adjective. Bad is an adjective.) I smelled the hamburger meat (careful/carefully) to see if it was rotten. (I seem the meat? No, that’s not okay, so smell here is an action verb and needs an adverb. Carefully is an adverb.)

DIRECT OBJECTS Part of Speech: noun or pronoun Definition: a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb or shows the result of the action Questions answered or role in the sentence: it tells what or whom after an action verb Usual location: in the sentence somewhere after the action verb

INDIRECT OBJECT Part of Speech: noun or pronoun Definition: a noun or pronoun that comes between a transitive verb and its direct object Questions answered or role in the sentence: tells to what, for what, to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done Usual Location: in the sentence it comes between the action verb and the direct object S – AV – IO - DO

Direct Objects & Indirect Objects ONLY follow action verbs NEVER appear in prepositional phrases Are two kinds of COMPLEMENTS

PREDICATE ADJECTIVE Part of Speech: adjective Definition: an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject Questions answered or role in the sentence: describes the subject Usual location: follows the linking verb

PREDICATE NOMINATIVE a.k.a. PREDICATE NOUN Part of Speech: noun or pronoun Definition: a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and identifies or renames the subject Questions answered or role in the sentence: renames the subject Usual location: follows the linking verb

Predicate Adjectives & Predicate Nominatives ONLY follow linking verbs NEVER appear in prepositional phrases Are two kinds of SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE Part of Speech: adjective or adverb Definition: a group of two or more words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE cont. Questions answered or role in the sentence: Prepositions show the relationship of one word in a sentence to another word. The four things prepositions tell are location – where something is; direction – where something is going; time – when something happens; relationship – between a noun or a pronoun and another word in a sentence. Usual location: beginning, middle, and/or end of the sentence

1. What is the difference between a linking verb and an action verb? Linking verbs do not show action. Linking verbs are followed by predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives. Action verbs show action. Action verbs are followed by direct objects and indirect objects.

2. In the following sentence is smelled an action or a linking verb? The flowers smelled good. substitute “seemed” The flowers seemed good. Is it okay? YES smelled is a linking verb

3. In the following sentence is smelled an action or a linking verb? My dog Sparky stopped and smelled the flower. substitute “seemed” My dog Sparky stopped and seemed the flower. Is it okay? NO smelled is an action verb

4. What is a complement? A complement is a word or group of words that completes the meaning of a verb. Name four types of complements. direct object and indirect object predicate adjective and predicate nominative (noun)

5. What type of verb do direct object and indirect objects follow? ACTION VERBS

6. Give the three part phrase definition: 1. A group of related words 2. WITHOUT a subject and its verb 3. That acts as a part of speech

8. (7.) What is the difference between a part of speech and a part of a sentence? A part of a sentence is a part of speech that performs a specific role in a sentence. For instance, a noun can perform the role of a subject, direct object, indirect object, or predicate nominative.

9. What is the difference between a direct object and a predicate nominative? A direct object follows an action verb and can be found by saying the subject, action verb, and asking the questions what or whom. A predicate nominative follows a linking verb and renames the subject

Attribute Adjective Prep. Phrase Adverb What does it modify? NOUN or PRONOUN VERB, ADJECTIVE, or ADVERB What questions does it answer? 1 WHAT KIND? 2 HOW MANY? 3 WHICH ONE? 1 HOW? 2 WHEN? 3 WHERE? 4 To what extent? Where can it be in a sentence? Close to what they modify If it is at the beginning, it is an adverb. However, they can be found anywhere in the sentence.