THE AHSGE--LANGUAGE

Things you need to know to become a high school graduate!

NounsNouns

Persons, Places, Things, IdeasPersons, Places, Things, Ideas

SingularSingular

A noun is singular if there is only A noun is singular if there is only ONE nounONE noun

A singular noun does not have A singular noun does not have an –s on the endan –s on the end

Plural NounsPlural Nouns

A noun is plural if there is MORE A noun is plural if there is MORE THAN ONE NOUN.THAN ONE NOUN.

Plural nouns usually have an –s Plural nouns usually have an –s or –es on the endor –es on the end

Common NounsCommon Nouns

A common noun is never A common noun is never capitalized unless at the capitalized unless at the beginning of the sentence.beginning of the sentence.

A common noun is a general A common noun is a general noun.noun.

It is not specifically named.It is not specifically named. Exp: dog, girl, car, pizzaExp: dog, girl, car, pizza

Proper NounsProper Nouns

A proper noun is ALWAYS A proper noun is ALWAYS CAPITALIZED.CAPITALIZED.

It is a specific noun.It is a specific noun. Exp: Rover, Crystal, Ford, Papa Exp: Rover, Crystal, Ford, Papa

John’sJohn’s

Concrete NounsConcrete Nouns

Concrete nouns are persons, Concrete nouns are persons, places, things.places, things.

They are the nouns that you can They are the nouns that you can “touch.”“touch.”

Exp: president, England, carExp: president, England, car

Abstract NounsAbstract Nouns

Abstract nouns are idea nouns.Abstract nouns are idea nouns. They are qualities or They are qualities or

characteristic nouns.characteristic nouns. Exp: honor, loyalty, evilExp: honor, loyalty, evil

Compound NounsCompound Nouns

Compound nouns are two or Compound nouns are two or more nouns acting as one more nouns acting as one (bookkeeper)(bookkeeper)

Hyphenated nouns are Hyphenated nouns are compound nouns (sister-in-law)compound nouns (sister-in-law)

Collective NounsCollective Nouns

Collective nouns are group Collective nouns are group nouns.nouns.

Exp: team, band, group, chorusExp: team, band, group, chorus

Verbs

• Verbs can be action or linking.

Linking Verbs

• “Be” verbs are linking• Am, is, are, was, were, be, being,

been• Other linking verbs• Seems, tastes, appears, becomes,

looks, remains, smells, turns, feels, grows, sounds, stays

Action Verbs

• Any word that shows action• Hit• Smash• Eat• Explodes• Shines

Helping Verbs

• Can be action or linking• Have, has, had• Do, does, did• Can, could• Will, would• Shall, should• May, might, must

active voice

• Verbs that are in active voice usually have an ACTION verb.

• Exp: • Jeremy throws the ball.• Jon threw the ball.

Voice has nothing to do with tense!

Passive voice verbs

• Passive voice verbs usually have linking verbs in them.

• Exp: The ball was thrown by Tember.

Subject/Verb AgreementSubject/Verb Agreement

Subjects and Verbs must agree.

Subjects and verbs must have the same number.

Singular Subjects/ Sing.VerbsSingular Subjects/ Sing.Verbs

• Singular subjects do NOT have an –s.

• Singular verbs DO have an –s

• Exp:

– Ashley is here.

– The man stays in the house.

– The car breaks down on the highway.

– The dog wags its tail.

Plural Subj. with Plural VerbsPlural Subj. with Plural Verbs

• Plural subjects DO have an –s.

• Plural verbs do NOT have an –s.

• Exp:

– The boys are here.

– The girls remain at the gym.

– The cats sleep in the sunlight.

Other Agreement rulesOther Agreement rules

• Subjects joined with “and” take plural verbs (NO –s)

• Exp:

– Jon and Lauren take their tests.

– Shelly and Candace study every night.

– Mike and Randy bring food for the pantry.

Other Agreement cont.Other Agreement cont.

• Subjects joined with “or,” verb agrees with the closer subject

• Exp:

– Derek or the students remain in class.

– The girls or Casey takes the test tomorrow.

– Either Leigh Ann or Josh plays in the band.

Indefinite Pronoun/Vb. AgreementIndefinite Pronoun/Vb. Agreement

• Any word that ends in –one, -body, -thing, plus either/neither, each, many a, every—all take singular verbs (with an –s)

• Exp:

– Someone brings the clothes.

– Each of the students is responsible for his/her own work.

– Many a student wants to graduate.

Indef. Pro/Vb AgreementIndef. Pro/Vb Agreement

• Both, few, several, many—take plural verbs (No –s)

• Exp:

– Both Jimmy and Rachel are ready for the test.

– Few understand the assignment.

– Several of the students pass the exam.

Indef. Pro/Vb AgreementIndef. Pro/Vb Agreement

• Some, all, none, most, plenty—depends on the prepositional phrase

• Exp:

– Most of the work is beautiful.

– Most of the students are brilliant.

Special Cases of AgreementSpecial Cases of Agreement

• Collective nouns & amounts: if act as one unit: verb is singular (with an –s)

• Exp: The team wins the game.

• Collective nouns & amounts: if act as individual parts: verb is plural (no –s)

• Exp: The team buys their own uniforms.

Mechanics/Capitalization

• Mechanics AKA “punctuation” add color and definition to your sentences.

• Capitalization adds emphasis to the proper nouns, proper adjectives, and the beginnings of sentences & quotes!

Capitals

* Proper nouns are capitalized Ex: George, United States• Proper adjectives are capitalized Ex: American, Shakespearean• Beginnings of sentences are in

caps: Ex: In space it is cold and dark.

Caps, cont.

• The beginning of a direct quotation is in caps:

Ex: The sign said, “In space no one can hear you scream!”

• Indirect quotations are NOT in caps: Ex: The sign said that no one can

hear a scream in space.

Caps. Cont.

• When referring to a specific region, capitalize it:

Ex: Bobby comes from the North.• If it refers to a direction, keep it

lowercased: Ex: Bobby works north of the

highway.

Caps. Cont.

• If a course, interstate, or highway has a number capitalize it:

Ex: Ronnie takes Algebra 2 next semester.

* Ex: Buckhorn is located east of Highway 231/431.

Caps. Cont.

• If a course, highway, or interstate does NOT have a number, keep it lowercase (unless course is language):

Ex: Buckhorn is located east of the highway.

Ex: Ronnie is taking algebra next semester.

Caps. Cont.

• Capitalize languages and nationalities:

Ex: In England, the natives speak English.

Ex: In America, students take French, German, and Spanish in most schools; some schools even offer Latin, Japanese, and Greek.

General Rule of Thumb for Capitalization

• If a SPECIFIC person, place, thing, or idea: Capitalize it!

• If a SPECIFIC adjective: Capitalize it!

Punctuation: Endmarks

• Periods are placed at the end of sentences.

• Question marks are used for questions: Where are the cats?

• Exclamation points are used for emphasis: Get out!

Punctuation: Colon

• Use colons when listing, especially with “follows”

• Ex: The following students report to the office: Nathan, Taylor, Cory, and Katie; your awards are awaiting you!

Colons cont.

• Never use a colon directly after the verb.

• The students who won the award are De’Andre, Tyrus, and David.

Colons cont.

• Conventional uses• John 3:16 (chapter: verse)• 2:59:59 (hour: minutes: seconds)

Semicolons

• Use a semicolon in place of a period or in place of a comma with a coordinating conjunction (or to join two sentences)

• Ex: Tempest is a senior; Morgan is a sophomore.

Semicolon cont.

• Use a semicolon to separate items in a series that already contains commas.

• Ex: The class read The Crucible, by Miller; “A Worn Path,” by Welty; and A Separate Peace, by Knowles.

Commas

• Use commas to separate items• Ex: Alabama, Georgia, and

Mississippi• Use commas to separate titles

from names• Ex: Philip Latham, Sr.

Commas cont.

• Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction to separate two main clauses.

• Ex: John went to the store, and he bought some chains for his tires.

Commas cont.

• Use when separating two adjectives

• Ex: The fluffy, gray cat rested peacefully in the window.

Commas cont.

• Use commas after introductory elements.

• Well, I don’t know about that.• Yes, I want some money.• No, I don’t want to go to Helena,

Montana.

Commas cont.• Use commas after a participle

phrase.• Ex: Tires screaming, the race car

rounded the track. • Ex: Walking as fast as she could,

Katherine accomplished her goals for the day.

Commas cont.

• Use commas after two or more prepositional phrases.

• Ex: Over the river through the woods, the fox waits for dinner.

• Ex: In the office at his desk, the bank president counts his money.

Commas cont.

• DO NOT USE COMMAS:• After only one prepositional phrase• Ex: Near the door there is a

beautiful, sleek cat named Toonces!

Apostrophe

• Use an apostrophe to show owernership

• Ex: John’s car was stolen last night.

• Ex: James’s money was discovered to be counterfeit.

• Ex: Susan’s necklace is beautiful.

Apostrophe cont.

• When the SAME thing is “owned” by TWO, place the apostrophe on the last name given.

• Ex: Calon and his brother’s car was traded in for a truck.

• Ex: Katie and Laura’s party is tonight.

Apostrophe cont.

• Use an apostrophe on BOTH when the possession is of DIFFERENT things.

• Ex: Calon’s and Greg’s cars are both in the shop.

• Ex: Katie’s and Shelly’s parties are next week.

Apostrophe cont.

• Use an apostrophe to show contraction

• Ex: Snoopy didn’t watch television; he read instead.

• Ex: It’s hot in here, isn’t it?

Parallelism

A sentence is parallel when everything is “equal.”

Think of the words as “lines” in math. In math, lines are parallel when they

are equal, and they are side-by-side.

Parallelism cont. Ex: Reading, writing, and learning go

hand-in-hand. Ex: Taylor wanted to go to the store,

to read the book, and to play the guitar before nightfall.

Ex: Randy acted, directed, and produced the award winning movie.

Ex: The graceful, playful bird flew parallel to the water.