Terms
- action verb—An action verb is a word that does an action.
- adjective—An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
- adverb—An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
- antonym—Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
- article—The articles are “a,” “an,” and “the.”
- command—A command gives an order or makes a request.
- common noun—A common noun is the name of any person, place, thing, or idea.
- conjunction—A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words together.
- contraction—A contraction is two words put together into one word with some letters left out.
- direct quotation—A direct quotation is the exact words spoken by someone.
- exclamation—An exclamation shows sudden or strong feeling.
- helping verb—A helping verb is a verb that helps another verb.
- indirect quotation—An indirect quotation tells what someone says but doesn’t use their exact words.
- interjection—An interjection is a word that expresses sudden or strong feeling.
- linking verb—A linking verb is a word that links two words together.
- noun—A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
- preposition—A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence.
- pronoun—A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
- proper noun—A proper noun is a word that names a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
- question—A question asks something.
- sentence—A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
- state of being verb—A state of being verb is a word that shows a state of being.
- statement—A statement gives information.
- synonym—Synonyms are words that have the same meaning.
- verb—A verb is a word that does an action, shows a state of being, links two words together, or helps another verb.
Memorized Definitions of Parts of Speech
- A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
- A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
- A verb is a word that does an action, shows a state of being, links two words together, or helps another verb.
- An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
- An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
- A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words together.
- An interjection is a word that expresses sudden or strong feeling.
- A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence.
Capitalization and Punctuation Rules
- Proper names begin with capital letters.
- The pronoun “I” is always capitalized.
- Capitalize the first word and every important word in the titles of poems, stories, and books.
- Capitalize the beginning of every line in poetry.
- Capitalize the names of the months, but not the names of the seasons.
- Initials are capitalized and followed by periods.
- Abbreviated titles of respect are capitalized and followed by periods.
- An interjection all alone with an exclamation point should begin with a capital letter.
- A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark.
- A question ends with a question mark.
- An exclamation ends with an exclamation point.
- A statement ends with a period.
- Put commas between items in a series.
- In a date, a comma separates the day of the month and the year.
- In an address, a comma separates the name of a city from the name of a state.
- In a contraction, an apostrophe is put in the place of the missing letters.
- The exact words a person says are always enclosed by quotation marks.
Memorized Lists
- State of Being Verbs (and Linking Verbs)
- am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
- Helping Verbs
- am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, may, might, must, can, could
- Conjunctions
- and, but, or
- Prepositions
- aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without