Grammar and Usage Reference Chart

PARTS OF SPEECH
NOUN (N)person, place, thing, or idea.
(SN)Subject Noun (doer of action)
(PN)Possessive Noun with an apostrophe that
shows possession.
The boy bought a notebook. (N)
Julies car is red. (PN)
Kelly saw a bird on the fence. (SN)
PRONOUN
(SP)A word that replaces a noun or pronoun and is
used as the subject of a sentence.
(OP)A word used as an object in a sentence.
(PP)A word showing ownership or possession.
We chose a new shelf for our books. (SP)
The doctor told her she could go home. (OP)
He took his backpack and left. (PP)
VERBA word that expresses actions, events, or states
of being.
(MV)Main Verb expresses the main action.
(HV)Helping Verb helps another main verb.
(LV)Linking Verb links the subject of the
sentence with a noun or adjective in the predicate.
(INF)Infinitive: the word to plus an action.

Jessie ran ahead. (MV)

Jason is pushing the cart. (HV)
Gail is cute happy. (LV)
Kim tried to play her flute. (INF)

LINKING VERBS
Am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, smell, look,
taste, remain, feel, appear, sound, seem, become,
grow, stand, turn.
Tod was a bear in the play. (LVLinking
HELPING VERBS
Can, could, shall, should, will, would, have, has,
had, may, must, might, do, did, done, does.
Jill was eating in class. (HVHelping Verb)
ADJECTIVEA word that describes or modifies a
noun or pronoun. It answers the questions: which one?
what kind? how many?
Her red blouse is beautiful. (which one)
He made a quick decision. (what kind)
Six birds sat on the wire. (how many?)

PARTS OF SPEECH
ADVERBA word that modifies a verb, adjective, or
another adverb. It answers the questions: where?
when? how? Hint: adverbs usually end in ly, but not
always.
He held the book closely. (where)
They ran early this morning. (when)
The kitten meowed loudly. (how)
PREPOSITIONConnects nouns, pronouns, and
phrases to other words in the sentence. A prepositional
phrase is made up of a preposition and an object and
can have an article or adjective.
Aboard, about, above, according to, across, across
from, after, against, along, alongside, amid, among,
apart from, around, aside from, at, because of,
before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides,
between, beyond, by, despite, down, during, except,
for, from, in, inside, instead of, into, near, of, off,
on, onto, out, out of, outside, over, past, regarding,
through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath,
until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without.
CONJUNCTIONA word used to connect clauses or
sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause.
Coordinating Conjunctions:
And, or, but, for, so, yet, nor, either, neither.
Subordinating Conjunctions:
After, although, as, as if, as long as, as though,
because, before, if, in order that, provided that,
since, so, so that, that, though, till, unless, until,
when, where, whereas, while.
INTERJECTIONA word used to convey emotion.
Wow! Look!
ARTICLEA word (a, an, or the) that is always
used with and provides information about a noun.
A dog followed me home. (indefinite article)
An orange fell from the tree. (indefinite article)
The rules are easy. (definite article)

Grammar and Usage Reference Chart

COMMA USAGE
SERIESUse a comma to separate each noun, verb, or
adjective in a series of three or more.
The men planted trees, bushes, and grass.
DATES/ADDRESSESUse a comma to separate items
in dates and addresses.
I was born on July 30, 1990. She lives at 2310
Main St., Topeka, Kansas.

OTHER PUNCTUATION
Ending Punctuation ! ? .
1. At the end of a sentence ! Im here. Im here!
Periods
2. After abbreviations ! Im a U.S. citizen.
Apostrophes
3. In possessives ! I have Donnys pen.
4. In contractions ! Im hungry.

CITY/STATEUse a comma to separate the city and

state.
I am going to ski at Mammoth, California.

Semicolons
5. In compound sentences
! Call me tomorrow; Ill have your answer then.

INTRO WORDUse a comma to set off words such as

well, yes, and no, when they begin a sentence
Yes, Im hungry.

Colons
6. After opening a business letter ! Dear Sir:
7. Before list of words of phrases
! She called their names: Jason, Pat, and Mike.
7. In time ! 5:30 P.M.
8. Between independent clauses when the second
sentence explains or expands on the first
! Joe got his reward: fifty dollars in prize money.

INTRO PHRASEUse a comma to separate an

introductory phrase when it begins a sentence. Use a
comma to separate two or more prepositional phrases.
When I heard the news, I called my mother.
At school this morning, I fell on the playground.
APPOSITIVEUse commas to set off an appositive
phrase when it interrupts a sentence.
Mr. Sanchez, the school principal, caught me
running in the hall.

Quotation Marks
9. To set off a direct quote! Stand here, he said.

INTERRUPTERUse commas to set off phrases that

interrupt a sentence.
Red clothing, on the other hand, makes you more
visible.

SIMPLEHas only one independent clause

(subject/predicate); may have compound subjects or
verbs.
Peter ran home today.
COMPOUNDMade up of two or more simple
sentences joined by a coordinate conjunction (and,
or, but, for, nor, yet, so).
Peter ran home today, and he ran fast.
COMPLEXContains one independent clause and
one or more dependent clauses (cant stand alone)
joined with a subordinating conjunction.
Because Peter ran home today, he was tired.
COMPOUND/COMPLEXContains two or more
independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses.
When Peter ran home today, he saw his
neighbors, but he didnt stop to say hello.

COMPOUND SENTENCEUse a comma with a

conjunction (andorbutsoforyet) to separate two
simple sentences in a compound sentence.
I wanted a good grade, so I studied hard.
DIRECT QUOTATIONUse a comma to set off a
direct quotation.
I know where youre going, my brother said.
DIRECT ADDRESSUse a comma to set off a
persons name when you address them directly.
John, may I have the last apple?
Will you help me study, Anna?
LETTER PARTSUse a comma after the greeting and
closing of a friendly letter.
Dear Mary,
Sincerely,
COORDINATE ADJECTIVEUse a comma to
separate two adjectives together.
That small, little doll was the only one I had.

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

CAPITALIZATION
1. First word of a sentence
2. Names of people
3. Proper adjectives
4. First word in letter closing
5. First word in direct quotation

6. Pronoun I
7. Proper nouns
8. Opening of letter
9. Title of a work