GRAMMAR REVIEW

AppositivesClausesVerbals

Appositives

• An appositive is a noun that renames another noun.

Jojo, the crazy monkey, likes to

eat the bananas Mrs. Bell gives her.

1st Noun 2nd Noun - APPOSITIVE

Appositives

• Lulu, the teacher’s pet, always makes good grades.– “pet” renames “Lulu”

• Mrs. Wallace does not like, her next-door neighbor’s dog, Sandy.– “Sandy” renames “dog”

• The novel, his greatest work of all time, is on the bestseller list.– “work” renames “novel”

Appositives

Don’t confuse Appositives with Predicate Nominatives.

LINKING VERB = PN– Example: Henry is a student.

• Even though “student” is the second noun in the sentence, it is not an appositive because “is” is a linking verb.

The Difference Between Clauses and

Verbals…A CLAUSE has a subject and a

verb. A VERBAL does not. It is just a

phrase.

ClausesAdverbNoun

Adjective

Clauses

• A clause contains a subject and a verb.

–Examples: He ran, I talked, Why they jaywalked, Before she attacked

Noun Clausesact as subjects, predicate

nominatives,direct objects, and objects of

prepositions

Noun Clauses

• There are three kinds of subordinate clauses, and one of them is the noun clause.

• The noun clause can be used in a sentence four ways – as a subject, direct object, predicate nominative, or object of a preposition.

Noun Clauses

• Noun Clause as Subject 

–Whatever I ate made my stomach queasy.

Noun Clauses

• Noun Clause as Direct Object

–The dog chased whoever had stolen his bone.

Noun Clause

• Noun Clause as Predicate Nominative

– You are whoever you want to be.

** This is a PREDICATE NOMINATIVE and not an APPOSITIVE because of the linking

verb “are.” **

Noun Clause

• Noun Clause as Object of a Preposition

– The creepy clown was hiding behind whoever entered the room last.

Adjective Clausesmodify nouns

That

• The books that are on the table are very heavy.– “That are on the table” describes the

books.

• The cookie that I ate had chocolate chunks in it.– “That I ate” describes the cookie.

Who

• The girl who likes baking brings cookies for everyone on Valentine’s Day.– “Who likes baking” describes the girl.

• The boy who makes me laugh says a lot of strange things.– “Who makes me laugh” describes the boy.

Which

• London, which is a busy city, has over seven million residents. – “Which is a busy city” describes London.

• My sixth period class, which is taught by Ms. Butz, is English III.– “Which is taught by Ms. Butz” describes the

sixth period class.

When do I use commas?

• Restrictive clauses – do NOT need commas– The dog that ate my homework was a

beagle.• “That ate my homework” narrows down which

dog you are talking about.

– Americans who vote are good citizens.• Americans is proper and plural, but in this

sentence, you are not talking about all Americans.

When do I use commas? (cont.)

• Non-restrictive clauses – DO need commas– Paris, which is in France, is a beautiful city.

• Almost all adjective clauses describing a proper noun must be surrounded by commas.

– My ultimate dream, which is to climb Mount Everest, has not yet been fulfilled.

• This dream has already been specified as the “ultimate dream”; therefore, “which is to climb Mount Everest” further describes the dream.

Adverb Clausesmodify verbs, adjectives, and other

adverbs

Adverbial Clauses

• An adverbial clause is a clause that functions as an adverb (modifies a verb).

• Answers the questionsHOW, WHEN, WHERE, UNDER WHAT CONDITION, TO WHAT EXTENT, WHY, etc.

Examples of Adverbial Clauses

• Until I stopped, Before the teacher understood, When the presentation ended, etc. (answer the question WHEN)

• Because he died, Since Pedro was tired, etc. (answer the question WHY)

• Where the Red Fern Grows, Wherever life takes you, etc. (answer the question WHERE)

VerbalsParticiples Gerunds

Infinitives

Participlesserve as adjectives

suffixes: –en –ed –ing

Participles

• Verbals ending in –ING (or –ED/–EN)

• Function as ADJECTIVES (modify a noun).

• Examples:

– The snoozing student

–“Sleeping Beauty”– The frozen steak

Participial PHRASES

• Participial phrase: Participle + other words related to the participle

– The PowerPoint educating the students

– The miserable castaway eating his own flesh

– Huck, accompanying Jim on the journey, faces a great internal conflict.

Gerundsserve as nouns

suffix: –ing

Gerunds

• Gerunds are a form of a verb ending in

“–ing” and functioning as a noun.

– Ex: Swimming is a sport. • A gerund can be used in a sentence as a

predicate nominative, a subject, a direct object, and the object of a preposition.

Gerunds

• Gerund as a Predicate Nominative

• The second round of Fear Factor is eating cow’s eyes.

Gerunds

• Gerund as Subject

• Doing my homework takes forever!

Gerunds

• Gerund as Direct Object

• She loves throwing huge fireballs.

Gerunds

• Gerund as Object of the Preposition

• Everyone knows that Edward Cullen sparkles after seeing the sun.

Infinitivesto + verb

Don’t Be Confused.

• DO NOT confuse infinitive phrases with prepositional ones.

• Infinitive phrases: to + verb + object of the infinitive (noun)

• Prepositional phrases: to + noun (location, person, etc)

Ex. Go to the market. – prepositional phrase Go to have fun. – infinitive phrase

Infinitives Used as Adverbs

• I studied to pass Mr. Sager’s exam.– Why did I study? I studied so that I would

pass Mr. Sager’s exam. “To pass” describes “study.”

• Save the cheerleader to save the world.– Why do you need to save the cheerleader?

You need to save her to save the world.

Infinitives Used as Adjectives

• The recipe to make brownies is on the first page.– Which recipe is on the first page? It is the

recipe to make to make brownies.

• There are many ways to give back to your community.– “To give back” describes “ways.” “To

your community” is a prepositional phrase.

Infinitives Used as Appositives

• My hobby, to draw, is fun.– “To draw” identifies which hobby is fun.

• Her dream, to sing in an opera, is unrealistic.– “To sing in an opera” identifies which

dream of hers is unrealistic.

Infinitives Used as Nouns

• To succeed in Calculus BC is my goal.– What is my goal? It is to succeed in

Calculus BC. “To succeed” is the subject.

• Joy and I like to sing.– "To sing" is the direct object. It answers the

question, “What do Joy and I like to do?”

Introductory Infinitive Phrases

• To prepare for the in-class essay, Emily took notes on the themes in the novel as she read.

• To study for the vocabulary quiz, Robin made flashcards.

• To raise her participation grade, Lienna made as many comments as she could.