Grammar for high school admissions tests

Sentence

sentence

• = a grammatically complete thought
  • contains a finite verb
  • makes a complete thought
    • The dog is playing.
      • as opposed to Since he is playing, which is not a complete thought.
• a sentence can be a combination of clauses and phrases
  • but every sentence has at its basis a subject and verb
  • note: commands or "imperative" verbs are finite verbs, even if the subject is unstated (it is assumed)
    • ex.:Go home! = [you] Go home!
    • this concept will note be on a high school admissions test, but it may be on a college admissions test
• a sentence must contain a finite verb
  • finite verb
    • = verb that has a subject
    • finite verbs form the predicate of the sentence or clause
  • predicate = the verb and its direct modifiers and objects
  • non-finite verb is a verb that does not have a subject
  • see Verb section for more on finite and non-finite verbs

Clause

• part of a sentence that contains a finite verb
• if the clause could be a sentence by itself, it is an independent clause
• if the clause cannot be a sentence by itself, it is a dependent clause

independent clause (IC)

• a part of a sentence that contains a finite verb and can be a sentence by itself
• an independent clause that is by itself is a sentence
  • ex. The dog is playing happily, since I gave him a bone
    • "The dog is playing happily" could be a complete sentence if by itself, so it is an IC
    • by adding the dependent clause, "since I gave him a bone," we create a larger sentence.

dependent clause (DC)

• a part of a sentence that contains a finite verb but cannot be a sentence by itself
• ex. The dog is playing happily, since I gave him a bone
• test:
  • if the clause by itself leaves a question or remains an inconmplete thought, it is a dependent clause
    • Since it is raining.
      • it contains a finite verb, ("is" with its subject "it"), so it is a clause
      • but "Since it is raining" is not a complete thought or sentence
        • leaves the reader wondering, "since what?"
      • so it is a dependent clause

types of dependent clauses

• subordinate clause
  • created by a subordinating conjunction
    • although, as, because, since, until, when, whereas, etc.
    • note that these are adverbs, so subordinate clauses are also called adverb or adverbial clause
• relative clause
  • created by a relative pronoun
    • that, which, who
  • see also section on restrictive and non-restrictive commas
• "noun clause" is another type of clause that is not imeasured on high school or college assessment tests
  • FYI, a noun clause is a clause that acts like a single thing as either subject or object
    • The main thing I like about that professor is her attitude. << noun clause (finite verb "is")

Phrase

• two or more words that do not contain a finite verb
• important phrases for the high school entrance exam include
  • attributive noun phrase
    • two nouns next to one another, with one noun giving an "attribute" to the other
      • dog food, wine glass
  • appositive phrase
    • a parenthetical phrase to add information to another word or part of a sentence
      • ex. Steve, my next door neighbor, is friendly
    • note that appositive phrases can come at the beginning or end of a sentence
      • A world expert physician, Dr. Goesa performed a postocalaptia, a groundbreaking operation.
      • Dr. Goesa,a world expert physician, performed a postocalaptia, a groundbreaking operation.
  • prepositional phrase
    • adds information to a noun or verb
      • He hit the ball out of the park
      • Thinking about math gives me a headache

Clause parts

• there are four or five parts of a clause (depending on who you ask)
  • subject, verb, object, complement, and adjunct
  • here, we will discuss verb as basis of a predicate, which can include objects, complements and adjuncts

subject

• the actor or doer of a sentence
• a subject ALWAYS has a finite verb that matches to it
  • The kid wins v. The kids won
    • kid = singular; "wins" = singular verb conjugation
    • kids = plural; "win" = plural verb conjugation

Subject-verb matching: "to win"

	Singular			Plural
First person	I	win		We	win
Second person	You	win		You (pural)	win
Third person	He/ She / It	wins		They	win

predicate

• the verb and its direct modifiers, objects and complements
• finite verbs form the basis of a predicate

complement

• adds additional information to a noun
  • can be either to a subject or object
• "complement" means to "go along with," "coordinate with"
• complements can be adjectives, adverbs or nouns, as well as phrases

• ex: The dog is nice
  • "nice" is not the object of the linking verb "is"
  • My friend considers her brother crazy
    • "crazy" is the object complement to "brother"
  • The book is on the table
    • "on the table" (prepositional phrase) is the subject complement

object

• the recipient of an action
• note that complements are similar, but add information and are not the result of the verb's action

direct object

• the direct recipient of the action
  • She kicked the ball over the fence

indirect object

• a noun that is the indirect recipient of an action
  • ex. I gave the dog a bone
    • the bone is what "I gave" (result of the action, thus direct object)
    • the dog is the secondary effect or recipient of the verb (indirect object)

• to test:
  • if the object can be restated with "to" or "for" after the direct object, it is an indirect object:
    • The teacher taught the class grammar
    • = The teacher taught grammar to the class

• ex: sentence with direct and indirect objects

School provides students an education

subject	verb	direct object	indirect object
school	provides	education	[for] students

note on objects of non-finite verbs

• non-finite verbs do not have subjects, but they can have objects
  • high school admissions tests will not test student comprehension of this concept
• ex. sentence with gerund (non-finite verb as a noun) that has an object:
  • note that the finite verb of this sentence is "provides" and its subject is the gerund (non-finite verb as noun) "attending"

Attending school provides students an education

subject	object of gerund	verb	direct object	indirect object
Attending	school	provides	education	[for] students
note: "attending" may also be seen as a present participle adjective modifier of the subject "school"

Verbs

for other notes, please see Sentence construction and Sentence parts sections above for:

• objects
• linking verbs and complements

finite verb

• verb that has a subject
• finite verbs form the predicate
  • predicate = the verb and its direct modifiers and objects

non-finite verb

• verb that does not have a subject
• non-finite verbs include
  • present participle adjective: That boring class is tedious
  • gerund (present participle as a noun): Cooking is a good skill to have
  • past participle adjective: The comedian left the audience
  • infinitive: can be an adjective, adverb, or noun
    • the concept of infinitives will not be measured on the high school entrance exam

• non-finite verbs act as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns
  • they DO NOT directly indicate an action by someone or something
  • however, they indicate a sense of an action

subject-verb matching (conjugation)

• finite verbs match the subject case
• "conjugation" means the form of a verb to match the subject, especially pronouns
• test: when considering subject-verb matching, run through conjugation of the pronouns, I, you, it, we, they
  • I go, you go, it goes, we go, they go

Singular v. Plural "to see"

Singular			Plural
I	see		We	see
You	see		You (pural)	see
He/ She / It	sees		They	see

tense

• verbs can show past, present and future and various aspects of those
• verbs "inflect" or change according to tense
  • or use an "auxiliary" or "helper" verb to indicte tense
    • I am, I was, I had been, I will be, etc.

maintaining parallel verb tense

• if a sentence contains two tenses, it is likely incorrect
  • ex. The bird flew around the house, then it flies away
    • = incorrect because it the tense shifts from past "flew" to present "flies" in the same sentence, which does not make sense
  • test: match the finite verb tense to another finite verb in the sentence or in a nearby sentence
• note: a sentence may contain a different tenses, but it will not be measured on the high school or college entrance tests
  • ex. Since I studied hard, I will get a good grade

participle

• see also non-finite verb section

• participle is the form of a verb that creates the -ing or -ed form of the verb
  • present continuous: I am speaking to the clerk.
  • simple past (or preterite): We discussed what we could do about it
    • note that many verbs, such "to speak," have irregular participles: as in I spoke to the clerk
  • present participle adjective: The girl whispering to him was really loud.
  • gerund (present participle noun): Whispering loudly isn't actually whispering
  • past participle adjective: The topic discussed was grammar
• the participle is also used in the perfect tenses

participle phrases

• students will improve reading comprehension and usage scores by identifying participle or participial phrases
• a phrase does not have a finite-verb
• present or past participles can create adjectives that create "participle phrases"
• participle phrases add information to an IC without having to use another clause
  • ex.
    • Having done the research, he aced the lab test << present participle adjective phrase
    • I sneezed all day, suffering from allergies << present participle adjective phrase
    • The turkey was delicious, cooked to perfection. << past participle adjective phrase
• note: high school entrance exams will not measure this concept directly, but it is helpful for students to recognize

perfect tenses

• "perfect" tense means that the action is has a specific duration (i.e., it is complete)
• note:
  • high school and college admissions tests may require identifying correct subject-verb match in the perfect tenses

present perfect

• = the action happened in the past and is still happening and/or is still part of the present (without reference to the future)

• uses "have" and "has" + the simple past (past participle) form of the verb
  • We have gone to France
    • = we went to France and it is still part of who we are
  • He has talked about going to France
    • = he did in the past and is still talking about going to France
• note: the present perfect does not use "of"
  • She should of asked for one << incorrect
  • correct = She should have asked for one.

Present perfect: "have" and "had"

pronoun	auxiliary verb	past participle		subject	auxiliary verb	past participle
Regular verb: "wonder"
I	have	wondered		We	have	wondered
You	have	wondered		You (plural)	have	wondered
He / She / It	has	wondered		They	have	wondered
Irregular verb:"spend"
I	have	spent
You	have	spent		You (plural)	have	spent
He/ She / It	has	spent		They	have	spent

• note that the present perfect uses the past tense auxiliary verb (have/has), but the tense is still present tense

past perfect

• uses "had" + the simple past (past participle) form of the verb
  • "had" is the same for all cases (
• indicates an action that was ongoing in the past and stopped happening in the past
  • I had played piano in the past, but I couldn't touch it now
• note the singular

future perfect

• uses "will have" and + the simple past (past participle) form of the verb
• indicates an action that will commence at some point in the future
  • By next Tuesday, I will have walked twelve miles

Verbs forms to know

Irregular verbs to know

verb	present	simple past	present participle	past participle	incorrect participle*	perfect tense
be	am/are/is	was	being	been		have/has been
go	go/goes	went	going	gone	went	have/has gone
swim	swim	swam	swimming	swum	swam	have/has swum

lie v. lay:

• lie = to put oneself down
  • or be in the position of lying down

• lay = to put down
  • especially regarding an object

present	simple past	present participle	past participle	perfect tense
lie	lay or lied	lying	lied/ lain	have/has lied (or lain)
lay	laid	laying	laid	have/has laid

may v. please

= modal verbs (express possibility) that change the meaning of another verb

• may = indicates possibility or a request for permission (usually of oneself)
  • May I have a couple more donuts?
• please = a polite command or request (usually of someone else_
  • Please leave me alone!
• rule:
  • may is used to ask for permission
  • please is used to make a request
• ex.:
  • Please pass the salt = correct
  • May you pass the sale = incorrect

Punctuation

apostrophe

does 3 things:

1. creates possessive noun

• rule: only nouns can possess nouns
  • however, an adjective may come be between the nouns:
    • ex. A guitar's top string is the thickest <<"top" = adjective that describes "string"
• test: if the possessive word is followed by a word that is not a noun or an adjective that modifies another noun, it is wrong:
  • ex. The company's bought the workers new uniforms << incorrect
    • the "company" cannot possess the verb "bought"

• singular possession. Owen's parents are nice << singular "Owen"
• plural possession: The students' teacher is not so nice << plural "students"
  • note that some words are plural, so the possessive form will be 's as opposed to s'
    • That's the children's playground << children = plural, so the apostrophe goes before the s
  • similar words include, men, women,
• note: compound possessives rule:
  • if the compound possessors both possess the same thing, only the second noun uses the apostrophe
    • ex. Maria's and Joey's mother is nice << = they both have the same mother
  • if the compound possessors both posses something similar but not the exact same thing, both take the possessive
    • ex. Maria's and Joey's mothers are nice << = they both have nice mothers but not the same mother

2. creates contraction

• spoken English joins certain words to sound like a single word, which is represented in writing as a contraction
• the high school admissions test will use contractions only when testing homophones
  • such as they're v. their v. there, or its v. its'
• contractions are used in standard written English for
  • contracting "is" and "are"
    • it is > it's, they are >> they're

• contracting auxiliary and modal verbs with "not"
  • would not >> wouldn't, can not >> can't, will not won't

• see homophones below for more

• note: neither high school nor college admissions tests will use an apostrophe as a contraction for "is" or "are" with a common noun
  • ex. That elephant's big (with the 's" marking a slurred "is" sound in spoken
  • or, Those elephants'r big (with the 's" marking a slurred "is" sound in spoken

3. indicate plurality

• ex. "1960's",

• the high school admissions test will not measure for this use of the apostrophe

colon

does 1 thing:

1. sets up an example or explanation, following an independent clause (IC)

• rules:
  • colons must be preceded by an IC
  • can be followed by any grammatical form or punctuation, except another colon
    • Given so little time they did what they could: cooking, cleaning and straightening things up
    • Given so little time they did what they could: they cooked, cleaned, and straightened things up
  • a colon would not follow "such as" since "such as" does the same thing as a colon
    • "such as" would be preceded by a comma if non-restrictive
      • I like playing board games, such as chess or checkers
      • Doctors such as Dr. Jones are very caring
• note: colons are not measured on high school entrance exams

comma

does 6 things:

1. combines independent clauses (IC) with coordinating conjunction (cc)

• coordinating conjunction (cc) = FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

• rule: comma + cc to combine IC
• test: if both clauses could be sentence by themselves (each contains a finite verb and makes a complete thought)

2. combines phrases or dependent DC w/ IC

• rule: a sentence must contain a finite verb, which forms a clause, so anything added to the clause that does not contain a finite verb is a phrase
• ex.
  • dependent clause: Seeing how it's late already, we'll just skip lunch.
  • phrase: Arriving so late, we'll have to skip lunch.
    • "arriving" = a verb, but it does not have a subject, so it is non-finite (it is a present participle adjective)
  • phrase: On Tuesdays before noon, we get to swim at the pool

3. creates lists

• lists must be of the same grammatical form
  • i.e., a list is of nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. , and not a mix of them
    • Cows, sheep, and are all farm animals.
• note on "Oxford Comma"
  • = the comma between the second-to-last item in a list and the "and" (cc) that combines the last item in the list
    • it is correct to have a comma or not have a comma separating the second-to-last:
      • Cows, sheep and are all farm animals.
      • Cows, sheep, and are all farm animals.

4. sets up quotation

• comma separates a direct quotation from it's introduction
  • The clown said, "I feel funny."

• rules:
  • uses quotation marks around the quoted words
  • first word of the equation is capitalized
  • if at the end of a sentence, will have a period (often but not always inside the quotation mark)
  • if a question, will have a question mark
    • The clown asked, "Why are you so funny?"
  • the

5. set aside parenthetical information (appositives, relative clauses, etc.)

ex. "Steve, my neighbor, is not very nice."

  "Steve, who is my neighbor, is not very nice"

6. separate dates and place names

• month, day, year : We took the test on April 11, 2023.
• month day, year, in the middle of a sentence
  • On April 11, 2023, we took the test
• no comma for Month Year: We took the test in April 2023.

dash

does 2 things:

1. acts like a colon

• rule: if acting like a colon, there will be a single dash preceded by an IC

2. acts like parentheses

• rule: if acting like parentheses, there will be two dashes

does 2 things:

1. direct quotation

• = the specific words attributed to someone
  • He said, "I do say."

• see rules for commas above when using quotation marks

2. indicate sarcasm or other reference

• She is my "best friend"... not.

• will note be measured on high school or college entrance exams

parentheses

does 1 thing:

• sets aside information outside of the grammatical flow of a sentence
  • i.e., the parentheses can interrupt other sentence parts:
    • ex. Birds (avian creatures) are amazing
      • normally, we would not want to separate the subject "birds" from the verb "are" but the parentheses can do that to add important information to the sentence
      • note that pairs of commas and dashes work similarly:
      • Birds, avian creatures,are amazing
      • Birds-- avian creatures -- are amazing
• pairs of commas and dashes can act like parentheses

semicolon

does 2 things:

1. combines independent clauses

• test:
  • replace the semicoln with a period and see if both sides could stand as a sentence by themselves . If not, it is wrong.
  • if the semicolon separates (or combines) two distinct subject-verb combinations AND each could be a sentence by itself, then the semicolon is correct

2. acts as a "super comma"

• a super comma is a list of examples separated by semicolons
  • ex. We're heading to Europe this summer: Florence, Italy; Valencia, Spain; and Munich, Germany.

• note: this use will not appear on high school entrance exam, but it may appear on a college entrance exam

Comma and no comma with phrases and clauses

• restrictive elements are not separated by commas
• commas separate non-restrictive elements
  • non-restrictive = not essential to the meaning of the sentence

subordinate clause

= a form of a dependent clause

• subordinate clauses (a form of a dependent clause) are generally non-restrictive:
  • I took the test yesterday, although I was tired.
  • Although I was tired,I took the test.
• subordinating conjunctions create subordinate clauses (a form of a dependent clause)
  • although, because, since, while, etc.
  • note that the "subordinating conjunction" is also called a "dependent marker" or "dependent word"

when, because

= are subordinating conjunctions (among many others)

• can be either restrictive or non-restrictive
  • The car ran out of gas because I forgot to fill it
  • I ran out of gas, because I'm always forgetting.
  • When you leave, don't forget to turn out the lights.
  • Don't forget to turn out the lights when you leave.

relative clause

= a form of a dependent clause

= clause that follows a relative pronoun, that, where, which, who, whose

• relative clauses can be either restrictive or non-restrictive
  • that is always restrictive (no comma)
    • The cat that got stuck on the roof was hers
    • Five things that you need to learn are...
  • which can be either restrictive or non-restrictive
  • if "which" can be replaced by "that" it is restrictive (no comma)
    • The cat which got stuck on the roof was hers
  • but "which" can also be non-restrictive
    • if it cannot be replaced by "that" it is non-restrictive
    • ex. The cat, which is hers, got stuck on the roof. << correct
    • ex. The cat, that is hers, got stuck on the roof. << incorrect, so use "which" and commas
  • when which follows an independent clause it is usually non-restrictive
    • Roads across deserts are straight for miles, which makes you sleepy
    • Five beavers live under the dam, which they made from my favorite tree.
  • who, whose can be either restrictive or non-restrictive
    • The guy who always wins just won again.
    • That kid, who should know better, did it again
• note that the relative pronoun can be either a "dependent word" that serves as a conjunction
  • He turned out the lights, which he usually forgets to to.
    • which = relative pronoun and dependent word that combines the two clauses
• or as the subject of the relative clause
  • Don't forget to turn off the lights, which saves energy
    • which = relative pronoun and subject of the relative clause "which saves energy")

Nouns

proper noun capitalization

• titles are capitalized
  • the test may show a two-word proper noun with one word capitalized but not another
    • ex.:
      • Dr. tom Jones is a famous physician << incorrect
      • University of missouri << incorrect
  • note that "the" is not capitalized for proper names
    • the Navy (correct) v. The Navy (incorrect)

attributive nouns

• = nouns that modify another noun
  • but are not adjectives
• dog food, wine class, government class, class government

• these nouns modify the 2nd noun
• called "attributive" because they convey an "attribute" to the second noun

• the attributive noun is singular (almost always)
  • bc it's acting like an adjective (which doesn't change plurality)
    • i.e., red shoes instead of reds shoes (incorrect)
      • so dog food instead of dogs food (incorrect)

• the attributive noun is ALWAYS next to the noun it modifies
  • big dog bone instead of dog big bone (incorrect)

Pronouns

personal pronoun subjective & objective case

in compound objects, remove the first noun and test the pronoun

> Steve and I went to the park.

> Steve and me went to the park

me went to the park = wrong

> She gave Joey and me a bad grade.

> She gave Joey and I a bad grade

remove "joey"

she gave I a bad grade = wrong

personal pronouns and prepositions

>  prepositions create a prep phrase

> prep prhase contains a

> preoposition + an object

Between you and I, grammar sucks.  x b/c I = subjective

Between you and me, grammar sucks.

The car stopped right in front of the dog and he.

The car stopped right in front of the dog and him.

Adjective

cumulative v. coordinate adjectives

• cumulative adjectives = no comma separating them
• the 1st adjective modifies the 2nd adj + the noun
  • ex. stupid smart people
    • = "smart people" who are stupid
    • expensive small gift
      • = expensive "small gift"
  • small expensive gift
    • = small "expensive gift"
• coordinate adjectives = have a comma separating them
  • ex. big, red balloon
    • = the balloon is both big and red balloon
    • red, big balloon = big, red balloon = big & red ballon
  • test: if the adjectives are coordinate, then
    • you can add a coordinating conjunction, such as "and" in between them
    • you can switch them
      • and it means the same thing

Misc skills and assessment topics

either/or vs. neither/nor

• when either & neither are conjunctions, they require a matching counterpart

• thus we have
  • either ... or
    • = positive, or affirming
    • I'd be glad to have either this or that.
  • neither ... nor
    • = negative or negating
    • We saw neither fish nor fowl.
• note: either and neither have other grammatical functions (adverb, pronoun), but the high school placement test will not specifically measure those uses
  • just know that either goes with or and neither goes with nor

homophones

• words that sound the same but spell differently

• high school will commonly use:
  • there, they're, their
    • there = indicates specificity or location
    • they're = contraction of "they are"
    • their = plural possessive pronoun
  • its, it's
    • its = singular possessive pronoun
    • it's = contraction of "it is"
  • then, than
    • then = indicates a chronology (next) or a prior time ("since then")
    • than = makes a comparison
• college admissions tests may also use:
  • site, cite, sight
  • fare, fair
• note: compare to homonyms, which are words that spell the same but pronounce or mean differently
  • ex. "bark" can mean the sound a dog makes or the skin of a tree
  • high school and college admissions tests will not measure this concept

many v. much

• many is for nouns that can be counted
  • He's owns many shoes.
• much is used for nouns that cannot be counted (non-count nouns)
  • There is much work to do.
  • Noncount nouns include
    • art, electricity, happiness, money, music, rice, water, etc.
    • note that these non-count nouns are singular ("art is...")

questions

• a narrator may ask a question that seems like a spoken quotation, but it may not need quotation marks
  • ex.
    • What are we doing next?
      • as opposed to
      • "What are we doing next?" Steve asked
• tests may present a question that contains an error in "has" or "had" for a question
  • turn the question into a statement and see if the subect-verb match is correct
  • ex
    • Have you seen my friends?
      • = You have seen my friends
    • How long has they been working on it?
      • They has been working on it << incorrect (needs the plural auxiliary verb "have")

quotation marks not needed

• a thought or narrated statement does not need quotation marks
  • quotation marks separate words distinctly stated by someone other than the narrator or author
  • so the narrator or author can say something or say something someone else said without quotation marks
  • ex.
    • Mr. Jackson told us to sit down.
    • If you're hungry, let me know.
    • Jerry, leave your paper right there.
• when a relative clause is employed following "stated" or "said," the quotation mark is not needed:
  • ex. She said the test was super easy
    • = She said [that] the test was super easy
      • so quotation marks are not necessary