1. THE AHSGE--LANGUAGE Things you need to know to become a high school graduate!

2. Nouns Persons, Places, Things, Ideas

3. Singular A noun is singular if there is only ONE noun A noun is singular if there is only ONE noun A singular noun does not have an –s on the end A singular noun does not have an –s on the end

4. Plural Nouns A noun is plural if there is MORE THAN ONE NOUN. A noun is plural if there is MORE THAN ONE NOUN. Plural nouns usually have an –s or –es on the end Plural nouns usually have an –s or –es on the end

5. Common Nouns A common noun is never capitalized unless at the beginning of the sentence. A common noun is never capitalized unless at the beginning of the sentence. A common noun is a general noun. A common noun is a general noun. It is not specifically named. It is not specifically named. Exp: dog, girl, car, pizza Exp: dog, girl, car, pizza

6. Proper Nouns A proper noun is ALWAYS CAPITALIZED. A proper noun is ALWAYS CAPITALIZED. It is a specific noun. It is a specific noun. Exp: Rover, Crystal, Ford, Papa Johns Exp: Rover, Crystal, Ford, Papa Johns

7. Concrete Nouns Concrete nouns are persons, places, things. Concrete nouns are persons, places, things. They are the nouns that you can touch. They are the nouns that you can touch. Exp: president, England, car Exp: president, England, car

8. Abstract Nouns Abstract nouns are idea nouns. Abstract nouns are idea nouns. They are qualities or characteristic nouns. They are qualities or characteristic nouns. Exp: honor, loyalty, evil Exp: honor, loyalty, evil

9. Compound Nouns Compound nouns are two or more nouns acting as one (bookkeeper) Compound nouns are two or more nouns acting as one (bookkeeper) Hyphenated nouns are compound nouns (sister-in-law) Hyphenated nouns are compound nouns (sister-in-law)

10. Collective Nouns Collective nouns are group nouns. Collective nouns are group nouns. Exp: team, band, group, chorus Exp: team, band, group, chorus

11. Verbs Verbs can be action or linking.

12. Linking Verbs Be verbs are linking Am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been Other linking verbs Seems, tastes, appears, becomes, looks, remains, smells, turns, feels, grows, sounds, stays

13. Action Verbs Any word that shows action Hit Smash Eat Explodes Shines

14. Helping Verbs Can be action or linking Have, has, had Do, does, did Can, could Will, would Shall, should May, might, must

15. active voice Verbs that are in active voice usually have an ACTION verb. Exp: Jeremy throws the ball. Jon threw the ball. Voice has nothing to do with tense!

16. Passive voice verbs Passive voice verbs usually have linking verbs in them. Exp: The ball was thrown by Tember.

17. Subject/Verb Agreement Subjects and Verbs must agree. Subjects and verbs must have the same number.

18. Singular Subjects/ Sing.Verbs Singular subjects do NOT have an –s. Singular verbs DO have an –s Exp: –Ashley is here. –The man stays in the house. –The car breaks down on the highway. –The dog wags its tail.

19. Plural Subj. with Plural Verbs Plural subjects DO have an –s. Plural verbs do NOT have an –s. Exp: –The boys are here. –The girls remain at the gym. –The cats sleep in the sunlight.

20. Other Agreement rules Subjects joined with and take plural verbs (NO –s) Exp: –Jon and Lauren take their tests. –Shelly and Candace study every night. –Mike and Randy bring food for the pantry.

21. Other Agreement cont. Subjects joined with or, verb agrees with the closer subject Exp: –Derek or the students remain in class. –The girls or Casey takes the test tomorrow. –Either Leigh Ann or Josh plays in the band.

22. Indefinite Pronoun/Vb. Agreement Any word that ends in –one, -body, -thing, plus either/neither, each, many a, every all take singular verbs (with an –s) Exp: –Someone brings the clothes. –Each of the students is responsible for his/her own work. –Many a student wants to graduate.

23. Indef. Pro/Vb Agreement Both, few, several, manytake plural verbs (No –s) Exp: –Both Jimmy and Rachel are ready for the test. –Few understand the assignment. –Several of the students pass the exam.

24. Indef. Pro/Vb Agreement Some, all, none, most, plentydepends on the prepositional phrase Exp: –Most of the work is beautiful. –Most of the students are brilliant.

25. Special Cases of Agreement Collective nouns & amounts: if act as one unit: verb is singular (with an –s) Exp: The team wins the game. Collective nouns & amounts: if act as individual parts: verb is plural (no –s) Exp: The team buys their own uniforms.

26. Mechanics/Capitalization Mechanics AKA punctuation add color and definition to your sentences. Capitalization adds emphasis to the proper nouns, proper adjectives, and the beginnings of sentences & quotes!

27. Capitals * Proper nouns are capitalized Ex: George, United States Proper adjectives are capitalized Ex: American, Shakespearean Beginnings of sentences are in caps: Ex: In space it is cold and dark.

28. Caps, cont. The beginning of a direct quotation is in caps: Ex: The sign said, In space no one can hear you scream! Indirect quotations are NOT in caps: Ex: The sign said that no one can hear a scream in space.

29. Caps. Cont. When referring to a specific region, capitalize it: Ex: Bobby comes from the North. If it refers to a direction, keep it lowercased: Ex: Bobby works north of the highway.

30. Caps. Cont. If a course, interstate, or highway has a number capitalize it: Ex: Ronnie takes Algebra 2 next semester. * Ex: Buckhorn is located east of Highway 231/431.

31. Caps. Cont. If a course, highway, or interstate does NOT have a number, keep it lowercase (unless course is language): Ex: Buckhorn is located east of the highway. Ex: Ronnie is taking algebra next semester.

32. Caps. Cont. Capitalize languages and nationalities: Ex: In England, the natives speak English. Ex: In America, students take French, German, and Spanish in most schools; some schools even offer Latin, Japanese, and Greek.

33. General Rule of Thumb for Capitalization If a SPECIFIC person, place, thing, or idea: Capitalize it! If a SPECIFIC adjective: Capitalize it!

34. Punctuation: Endmarks Periods are placed at the end of sentences. Question marks are used for questions: Where are the cats? Exclamation points are used for emphasis: Get out!

35. Punctuation: Colon Use colons when listing, especially with follows Ex: The following students report to the office: Nathan, Taylor, Cory, and Katie; your awards are awaiting you!

36. Colons cont. Never use a colon directly after the verb. The students who won the award are DeAndre, Tyrus, and David.

37. Colons cont. Conventional uses John 3:16 (chapter: verse) 2:59:59 (hour: minutes: seconds)

38. Semicolons Use a semicolon in place of a period or in place of a comma with a coordinating conjunction (or to join two sentences) Ex: Tempest is a senior; Morgan is a sophomore.

39. Semicolon cont. Use a semicolon to separate items in a series that already contains commas. Ex: The class read The Crucible, by Miller; A Worn Path, by Welty; and A Separate Peace, by Knowles.

40. Commas Use commas to separate items Ex: Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi Use commas to separate titles from names Ex: Philip Latham, Sr.

41. Commas cont. Use a comma with a coordinating conjunction to separate two main clauses. Ex: John went to the store, and he bought some chains for his tires.

42. Commas cont. Use when separating two adjectives Ex: The fluffy, gray cat rested peacefully in the window.

43. Commas cont. Use commas after introductory elements. Well, I dont know about that. Yes, I want some money. No, I dont want to go to Helena, Montana.

44. Commas cont. Use commas after a participle phrase. Ex: Tires screaming, the race car rounded the track. Ex: Walking as fast as she could, Katherine accomplished her goals for the day.

45. Commas cont. Use commas after two or more prepositional phrases. Ex: Over the river through the woods, the fox waits for dinner. Ex: In the office at his desk, the bank president counts his money.

46. Commas cont. DO NOT USE COMMAS: After only one prepositional phrase Ex: Near the door there is a beautiful, sleek cat named Toonces!

47. Apostrophe Use an apostrophe to show owernership Ex: Johns car was stolen last night. Ex: Jamess money was discovered to be counterfeit. Ex: Susans necklace is beautiful.

48. Apostrophe cont. When the SAME thing is owned by TWO, place the apostrophe on the last name given. Ex: Calon and his brothers car was traded in for a truck. Ex: Katie and Lauras party is tonight.

49. Apostrophe cont. Use an apostrophe on BOTH when the possession is of DIFFERENT things. Ex: Calons and Gregs cars are both in the shop. Ex: Katies and Shellys parties are next week.

50. Apostrophe cont. Use an apostrophe to show contraction Ex: Snoopy didnt watch television; he read instead. Ex: Its hot in here, isnt it?

51. Parallelism A sentence is parallel when everything is equal. Think of the words as lines in math. In math, lines are parallel when they are equal, and they are side-by-side.

52. Parallelism cont. Ex: Reading, writing, and learning go hand-in-hand. Ex: Taylor wanted to go to the store, to read the book, and to play the guitar before nightfall. Ex: Randy acted, directed, and produced the award winning movie. Ex: The graceful, playful bird flew parallel to the water.