Pronouns

A subject pronoun is used in the subject of a sentence.

Singular Subject Pronouns- I, you, he, she, it         Example: I went to the store.

Plural Subject Pronouns- we, you, and they            Example: We went to the store.

*When you use a person’s name and a pronoun in a compound subject, be sure to use a subject pronoun.

Liz and I planned a trip there.

An object pronoun is used in the predicate of a sentence after an action verb or with a preposition, such as for, at, into, with, or to.

Singular Object Pronouns- me, you, him, her, and it   Example: I went to the store with her.

Plural Object Pronouns– us, you, and them                   Example: I went to the store with them.

*When you use a person’s name and a pronoun in a compound object, be sure to use an object pronoun.

He helped Jenny and me.

TIP: You can decide whether the subject pronoun or object pronoun is correct by saying the sentence with just the pronoun and not the rest of the phrase.

Example: Jane showed her our pictures. / Jane showed Terry and her our pictures.

Nouns

Proper nouns- The names of particular persons, places, and things are proper nouns. Capitalize the first letter of a proper noun. All other nouns are common nouns and are not capitalized. (dog is a common noun)

*Rules to remember-

1. Capitalize the first and all important words in a book title. (My Side of the Mountain)

2. Capitalize days of the week and months of the year. (Wednesday)

3. Capitalize the first letter of an abbreviated proper noun. (St.)

*Most abbreviations end with a period. In addresses, state names are abbreviated using two capital letters and no period. (TN)

4. Capitalize titles before people’s names. (President Jefferson)

Possessive noun- shows ownership (The dog’s bark)

Singular possessive noun- shows that one person, place, or thing has or owns something.

Plural possessive noun- shoes that more than one person, place, or thing has or owns something.

Rule to remember-

Add an apostrophe and –s to form singular possessive nouns.

Add an apostrophe to a plural noun ending in –s to form the possessive.

If the plural noun does not end in –s, add an apostrophe and –s.

Sentence Structure

Clause- A related group of words with a subject and predicate.

Subject- Tells whom or what the sentence is about.

Predicate- Tells what the subject is or does. (the verb)

Independent clause- A clause that makes sense by itself. It expresses a complete thought and forms a sentence.

Example: The tides affect your life. (tides is the subject and affect is the predicate)

Dependent clause- A clause that does not make sense by itself. It must always be combined with an independent clause. *It depends on another clause.

Example: If you live on an island.

Helpful hint: Dependent clauses are often introduced by such words as although, if, because, how, what, why, that, when, and since.

Rule to remember- A dependent clause may come before or after an independent clause. When it comes first, it is set off by a comma.

Example: When the salmon swam upriver, natives caught many fish. (dependent clause is in bold)

Example: Natives caught many fish when the salmon swam upriver.

Subject and verb agreement in the present tense.

The subject and verb of a sentence must work together, or agree in number.

–       If the subject is a singular noun or he, she, or it, add –s or –es to most verbs.

Example: A horse runs.

A dog chases the horse.

– If the subject is a plural noun or I, you, we, or they, do not add –s, or –es to the verb.

Example: Horses run.

Dogs chase the horse.

–       Use am and is to agree with singular subjects. (Thomas is happy.)

–       Use are to agree with plural subjects. (We are late.)