Grammar Study Guide

Complements

Direct Object: A direct object will follow a transitive verb. Direct objects can be
nouns, pronouns, phrases, or clauses. Identify the subject and verb in a
sentence to find the direct object (because the direct object often answers the
what? Or Who? Question).

In former times, before Robert could remember, “the house” had been a summer
luxury of the Lebruns.

Indirect Object: An indirect object precedes the direct object and tells to whom or
for whom the action of the verb is done and who is receiving the direct object. There
must be a direct object to have an indirect object. Indirect objects are usually found
with verbs of giving or communicating like give, bring, tell, show, take, or offer. An
indirect object is always a noun or pronoun which is not part of a
prepositional phrase. Answers To what? Or To whom?

Mr. Pontellier gave his wife half of the money which he had brought away from
Klein’s hotel the evening before.

Predicate Nominative: The predicate nominative is the noun following a linking verb
that restates or stands for the subject. Typically, a predicate nominative has the
same value or grammatical weight as the subject. (Noun)
By the end of the tournament, Tiger Woods was the leader.
Predicate Adjective: A predicate adjective is an adjective that is used to predicate an attribute
of the subject. (It is an adjective that is linked to a noun that clarifies a noun’s attribute).
(Adjective)
Madame Ratignolle was very fond of Mrs.Pontellier, and often she took her sewing and went
over to sit with her in the afternoons.
Object of preposition: A preposition is a word that shows a relation between a noun
and pronoun to another word in the sentence. The object of the preposition is the
noun or pronoun that comes after the preposition.
Tammy left her shoes beside(preposition) the pool (object of preposition)

Phrases

Participle: A participle phrase consists of a participle (A participle is a verbal that is

used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or –ed) and its accompanying
words. The whole phrase will modify a noun or pronoun. The accompanying words
can be: prepositional phrase(s), adverbs, and a direct object.

He did not say this, but she understood it, and laughed, nodding good-by to him.
Gerund: A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. (they can be
subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition.)

Musical strains, well rendered had a way of evoking pictures in her mind.

Infinitive: An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its
simplest "stem" form) and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. An infinitive
is easy to locate because of the to + verb form. The phrase functions as the
actor(s), direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s).

Mr. Pontellier, unable to read his newspaper with any degree of comfort, arose with
an expression and an exclamation of disgust.

Appositive: An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right
beside it.

She felt as if a mist had been lifted from her eyes, enabling her to look upon and
comprehend the significance of life, that monster made up of beauty and brutality.

Prepositional: At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition

and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

“About what we need”

About = preposition; what we need = noun clause.
Parts of Speech:

Verb Usually ends in –ing or –ed

The part of speech that expresses existence, action, or occurrence in most

languages.

Once in a while he withdrew his glance from the newspaper and looked about him

Noun The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, or thing.

Mr. Pontellier wore eye-glasses.

Adjective The part of speech that modifies a noun or other substantive by limiting,
qualifying, or specifying

Mrs. Pontellier talked about her father’s Mississippi plantation

Adverb The part of speech that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.

The gulf looked far away, melting hazily into the horizon

Preposition A part of speech that indicates the relationship, often spatial, of one
word to another. For example, “She paused at the gate”; “This tomato is ripe for
picking”; and “They talked the matter over head to head.” Some common
prepositions are at, by, for, from, in, into, on, to, and with.

Consider the professor's desk and all the prepositional phrases we can use while
talking about it. You can sit before the desk (or in front of the desk). The
professor can sit on the desk (when he's being informal) or behind the desk, and
then his feet are under the desk or beneath the desk. He can stand beside the
desk (meaning next to the desk), before the desk, between the desk and you, or
even on the desk (if he's really strange). If he's clumsy, he can bump into the desk
or try to walk through the desk (and stuff would fall off the desk). Passing his
hands over the desk or resting his elbows upon the desk, he often looks across
the desk and speaks of the desk or concerning the desk as if there were nothing
else like the desk. Because he thinks of nothing except the desk, sometimes you
wonder about the desk, what's in the desk, what he paid for the desk, and if he
could live without the desk. You can walk toward the desk, to the desk, around
the desk, by the desk, and even past the desk while he sits at the desk or leans
against the desk.

Pronoun The part of speech that takes the place of a noun

Interjection The part of speech that usually expresses emotion and is capable of
standing alone.

Conjunction Any member of a small class of words distinguished by their function

as connectors between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences, as and, because, but,
however.