Grammar, Part II

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Review of Grammar, Part I

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Lesson 2: Capitalization and Numbers

• A numeral is the symbol for a number (such as 5 or 22).
• There are special capitalization rules for compass directions, people's titles, seasons, holidays, proper nouns, names of relatives, book or story titles, and quotations.
• Some usage, especially involving numbers, is a matter of style rather than rules. In those cases, choose a style and be consistent.

Lesson 3: Sentence Fragments and Run-on Sentences

• A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. It is missing a subject or verb, or it is an incomplete thought.
• A run-on sentence is two (or more) complete sentences joined together incorrectly.
• Verbals are verb forms that are used as other parts of speech.
• Gerunds are verbals that end in -ing and function as a noun in a sentence.
• A gerund phrase contains a gerund, and the whole phrase functions as a noun.
• Participles are verbals in the form of either a verb's present participle or past participle. Participles always function as adjectives in a sentence.
• Participial phrases contain a present or past participle form, and the whole phrase functions as an adjective.
• Infinitives are verb forms that start with the word "to" plus the plain or base form of a verb. Infinitives usually function as nouns in a sentence but can be used as adjectives or adverbs.
• Infinitive phrases contain "to" + verb, and the whole phrase functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
• A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence that is missing a subject or verb or is an incomplete thought.
• A phrasal verb is a verb and one or more other words that together form a phrase that means something different than the words separately might suggest.
• A fused sentence is a type of run-on sentence where the clauses are glued together without any punctuation.
• A comma splice is a type of run-on sentence where the clauses are joined incorrectly with a comma.

Lesson 4: Modifier Errors

• A modifier is any word, phrase, or clause that describes something else in a sentence.
• Misplaced and dangling modifiers are modifiers that are not logically located in a sentence. It is not clear what the modifier is supposed to refer to.

Lesson 5: Hyphens and Apostrophes

• A hyphen is used to split words at the end of a line, to indicate compound adjectives, to split the numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine, and to clarify some words.
• A compound adjective is two or more adjectives that together form one idea.
• An en dash is used to separate number or date ranges. It is longer than a hyphen and shorter than a normal dash, which is usually called an em dash.
• Suspended hyphens occur when two words are joined with "and," "but," or "to," and both words form a compound adjective with another word (such as "pre- and post-war documents").
• Apostrophes are used to form contractions and to show possession.
• In a contraction, an apostrophe indicates that one or more letters have been omitted from a word or pair of words.

Lesson 6: Word Choice

• A restrictive clause limits or restricts the meaning of the noun it refers to. It provides essential information and is not set off by commas.
• A nonrestrictive clause does not restrict the meaning of the noun it refers to. Instead, it provides extra information and is not essential. It is set off by commas.
• Standard English is the form of language generally recognized as acceptable and understandable. It is language that is free from slang and regional differences.
• Clichés are expressions that once may have been considered clever or original but are now overused and stale.
• Tautology is saying the same thing twice using different words. It involves unnecessary repetition or redundancy.
• Wordiness is using an excess of words to describe something.

Lesson 7: Verb Voice and Mood

• Verb voice refers to whether the subject of a sentence performs the action of the verb or receives the action of the verb.
• In active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb.
• In passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb.
• The passive voice has two parts: a form of the verb "to be" and the past participle form of another verb. Some passive voice sentences also contain a prepositional phrase beginning with "by" that tells who did the action.
• Verb mood refers to the way in which an idea is expressed.
• Indicative mood expresses or indicates a fact or opinion.
• Imperative mood gives a command. The subject is not stated, but is understood to be "you."
• Subjunctive mood expresses a wish, something contrary to fact, or a hypothetical situation.
• Interrogative mood asks a question.
• Conditional mood shows under what conditions something might happen. The conditional mood is often signaled by the words "might," "could," or "would."

Lesson 8: Parallelism

• Parallelism is making sure that similar sentence structures are written in the same way or use the same grammatical form.

Final Project: Wrapping Up

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