English Review For Exam

Front 1

Parallel Structure

Back 1

o Showing two things have the same importance
o Phrases
• Gerund form
• Keeps all the direct objects in gerund form
• Ex. Tierney likes hiking, swimming, and dominating the world.
• Infinitive form
• Keeps the direct objects in infinitive form
• Ex. Tierney likes to hike, to swim, and to dominate the world.
o Clauses
• If a sentence uses clauses, it must keep using clauses
• Ex. The coach told Maggie that she should get a lot of sleep and that she should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
o Remember to be consistent with verb tenses throughout the sentence

Front 2

Split infinitive

Back 2

o Consists of the function word to followed by an adverb, followed by a verb
• Ex. To quickly run
o Split infinitives may or may not clear up ambiguity – should be avoided in formal writing
• Ex. Incorrect: I was told to always pay attention in class.
Correct: I was told always to pay attention in class

Front 3

Like or as

Back 3

o “Like” is a preposition
• Should NOT come after a whole clause
• Used to show similar characteristics or relationships
• Ex. We lived like kings for a time.
• Should be avoided in formal writing
o When listing things that are similar, it is better to use “such as” instead of “like”
o “As”
• Introduces a clause containing a subject and a verb
• Ex. As I told you, the car was parked behind the tree.

Front 4

than

Back 4

o Used for comparisons
o Ex. He is taller than I am (tall).

Front 5

adverb placement

Back 5

o Adverb: a word that modifies an adjective, verb, or another adverb
o Misplaced adverbs can change the meaning of a sentence
• Ex. Jane bought one pair of pants.
Only Jane bought one pair of pants.
• Both sentences are correct, they just mean different things
o Put the adverb as close as possible to the part of the sentence it modifies
• Ex. Fast John ran. vs. John ran fast.

Front 6

clauses

Back 6

o Def: a group of words with a subject and a verb
o Two basic types:
• Dependent
• Can’t stand on its own as sentences
• Called subordinate clauses
• Ex. My phone ran out of batteries.
• Independent
• Begin with relative pronouns (who, whom, which, that, whose)
o Ex. Who ripped the paper (not as a question)
That took a picture
• Begin with subordinating conjunctions (after, although, as if, provided that, unless when, whenever, etc.)
o Ex. When the phone rang
• 2 types
o Adjective clauses
• Modify nouns or pronouns
• Usually begin with relative pronouns
o Adverb clauses
• Modify adjectives, verbs, or adverbs
• Answers questions about the words they modify
• Ex. Where, in what manner, under what conditions, why, etc.

Front 7

Prepositional phrase

Back 7

• Begin with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun
• Can act as an adverb
o Ex. I ate a burger in a restaurant.
• Can act as an adjective
o Ex. I wrote a book about dogs.
• Can have compound objects
o Ex. I ran around the see-saw and the bench.

Front 8

appositive phrase

Back 8

• Def of appositive: a noun or a pronoun placed after another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain the preceding word
o Ex. The poet Robert Frost is awesome.
• Phrases consist of appositives and their own modifiers
• Modifiers can be adjectives or adjective phrases – can also be compound
• Ex. The painting, a huge mural in many bright colors, was ugly.

Front 9

verbal phrase

Back 9

• Def of verbal: the verb of a form used as another part of speech
o Participles: adjectives
o Gerunds: nouns
o Infinitives: nouns, adjectives, adverbs
• Followed by a compliment or modified by an adverb or adverb phrase
• Ex. A growing baby sleeps a lot.
o Present: usually ending in –ing
• Ex. The conquered territory was Turkey.

Front 10

participle phrase

Back 10

• Participle modified by an adverb
• To avoid confusion, it’s best to use near the word it’s modifying
• Ex. The waiter, eating his lunch, forgot to check on his customers.
o Has a complement
• Ex. The diner, chewing rapidly, called for a waiter.
o Has an adverb

Front 11

gerund phrase

Back 11

• Def of gerund: form of a verb that acts as a noun
o Always ends in –ing
• Consist of a gerund with a modifier or a complement
o Acts together as a noun
• Ex. The loud, shrill howling continued all morning.
o With adjectives
• Ex. Using trees as lumber is an important part of the New Mexican industry.
o With a direct object
• Ex. He helped the police by telling about his experience.
o With prepositional phrase
• Ex. Pueblo tribe members astound spectators by dancing skillfully on stage.
o With adverb and prepositional phrase

Front 12

infinitive phrase

Back 12

• Def of infinitive: form of a verb that comes after the word “to”
• Acts as a noun or adjective or adverb
• Infinitives with modifiers or complements all acting together as a single part of speech
• Ex. It will be important to listen carefully.
o With adverb
• Ex. To ski in Mexico, you must travel high into the mountains.
o With prepositional phrase
• Ex. In 1912, the United States Legislature decided to admit New Mexico to the Union.
o With direct object
• Ex. I need to give you my new telephone number.
o With indirect and direct objects

Front 13

misplaced modifiers

Back 13

o Phrase or clause should be placed close to the word it modifies
o Ex. We rented a house in the mountains with a view.
In the mountains, we rented a house with a view.
• Different meanings

Front 14

run-ons

Back 14

o Over-crowded sentences that have too much information
o Two or more complete sentences that are not properly joined or separated
o Ex. The dog went to the park, he chased the ball.
• Needs to be separated into two sentences
o Ex. The dog was happy, and he frolicked with his pals.
• Needs to be separated into two sentences
o How to correct
• Make sure the sentence only has one subject
• Add an end-mark or form a compound by adding a comma

Front 15

fragments

Back 15

o A group of words that does not express a complete idea
o A complete sentence has a subject and a verb, but a fragment does not
o Ex. In the early evening, the train arrived.
I felt happy and relaxed.
o How to correct
• You need to add to a fragment what it’s missing (subject, verb, commas, etc.)

Front 16

subject-verb agreement

Back 16

o Singular subject needs singular verb
o Plural subject needs plural verb
o “Everyone” and “everybody” are singular
• Ex. Everyone associated with the project is proud to be part of the effort.
o Focus on what the subject and verb are – don’t get confused!
• Ex. Each of the project partners is responsible for writing a chapter summary.
o Verb depends on whether the object is countable or not
o Ex. Some of the students in the cafeteria have voted already.
Some of the grain was ruined by the flood.
o “None” is usually thought of as singular but it can be plural
• Ex. None of the representatives has indicated how he or she will vote.
None of the representatives have indicated how they will vote.
• You can use fractional expressions (one-half) to make the object “countable”
• Ex. Two-fifths of the grain was ruined.
o Be careful of misleading phrases
• Ex. Some of the hay in the barn, along with some other pieces of farm equipment, was ruined in the flood.
• Other subject joiners include “together with” and “as well as”
o When “either” and “neither” appear without “or” or “nor,” they’re singular
• Ex. Neither of these choices appears to be satisfactory.
Either is fine with me.
o When “either” and “neither” act as correlative conjunctions, the subject that is closer to the verb determines the number (plural or singular) of the verb
• Ex. Neither the principal nor the teachers are at fault.
o When an expletive construction (there is, there are, here is, etc.) begins a sentence, the subject comes after the verb
• Ex. There are several explanations for the Civil War.