names given to general items. e.g. pen, table, book, car, school Common nouns- names given to general items. e.g. pen, table, book, car, school Abstract nouns- you can’t see, hear, touch, smell or taste them. e.g. love, bravery, curiosity   Proper nouns- name a specific person, place or thing. e.g. Grandma, Monday, London, Tesco, Hannah   Collective nouns- groups of the same type of noun. e.g. a flock of birds, a herd of cows These are followed by a verb in the singular. e.g. The pack of wolves is howling at the moon.  

Adjectives- add more detail than by using a noun by itself. e.g. blue door, savage dog, fast car

Verbs- express the action in a sentence. Verbs have a tense.   Present- I am playing tennis. Past- I was playing tennis. Future- I will be playing tennis.  

Adverbs- tell you how an action is done. Often end in _ly. e.g. sadly, quickly, fast, well. I am well. I run quickly.

The rules- A sentence must have a verb. A phrase is a group of words which doesn’t have a verb and doesn’t make sense on its own. Sentences always start with a capital letter and end in a full stop. There are four types of sentence: A question asks something. (ends ?) A statement gives information. (ends .) An exclamation expresses a strong feeling. (ends !) A command (imperative) instructs or orders something. (ends . or !) e.g. Hannah ran nervously past the savage dog.

Connectives are used to link sentences that make sense when standing alone. e.g. although, because, however, therefore. I was feeling sleepy but I wanted to finish my book.

The rules- The sentences in a paragraph should be linked in some way because they should all be about the same idea. The main sentence in a paragraph is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence makes a general statement which the rest of the paragraph illustrates. Every new idea needs a new paragraph. Paragraphs help us because they break up the text into smaller, more readable parts. A new paragraph is needed when there is: a change of time; a change of speaker; a change of place; a change of topic or a new point is being made. When we write, we indent. When we type, we miss a line for a new paragraph.

e.g. I’m (I am) going swimming. We’re (We are) going bowling. Apostrophes can be used to show where letters are missing (contractions). e.g. I’m (I am) going swimming. We’re (We are) going bowling. I’d (I would) like an ice-cream. It’s (It is) a lovely day. Apostrophes can show possession- that something belongs to someone.   Singular- one ‘owner’ e.g. The dog’s collar is red. I went to Sam’s house. Plural- more than one ‘owner’ e.g. All the drivers’ cars are green.

Commas break up larger sentences into smaller parts that make sense. e.g. After picking up their tickets, the friends made their way into the cinema. Commas are used to separate items on a list. e.g. At our barbeque we had sausages, burgers, kebabs and marshmallows. You need commas with speech marks. e.g. “I love pizza,” she said. Amy shouted, “Come on, Billy!” Commas are used around subordinate clauses which add extra information to the sentence. e.g. The rabbit, even though it was wary, nibbled the carrot.  

: A colon can be used to introduce a list. e.g. You will need the following equipment: a tent, a sleeping bag and boots. A colon can be used to add emphasis to a point by putting it by itself. e.g. There is only one word to describe that film: great! :

; A semi-colon can join two sentences when they are closely related. e.g. Cats are lazy creatures; they sleep for most of the day. A semi-colon can separate items on a list when they are phrases. e.g. The sports centre is great for many things: the quality of the facilities; the gym equipment; the location and the cleanliness of the changing rooms.   ;

Direct speech- the words that are actually spoken go inside speech marks. e.g. “What’s the problem?” the dentist asked. “My tooth is sore!” she replied. “ ”

A question mark is used for all direct questions. e. g A question mark is used for all direct questions. e.g. How much did he pay for that jacket? Note: You do not use a question mark in reported or indirect questions. e.g. I wonder how much he paid for that jacket. ?

An exclamation mark can be used with interjections or to express surprise or a sharp comment. e.g. Help! Fire! Stop! Wait! Look out! !