English Grammar Cheat Sheet

Adjective vs. Adverb

Conjunctions

Adjectives an adjective points out or describes a noun.

Example:

Conjunctions a word that

joins two words, or groups of
works together.

That dog is hungry.

Adverb a word that modifies (changes) a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs indicate time, place,
manner, degree, affirmation, or negation. Examples:
Sometimes my family
goes to the zoo. (time)
Capitalization
and
We like to watch the animals
there. (place)
Apostrophes
()
We stroll slowly along the paths. (manner)

Coordinating Conjunctions
join words that are SIMILAR. Ex:
and, but, nor, or, so, and yet.
Subordinating Conjunctions

Punctuation
used to connect words that have
equal importance. Ex: both/and,

used to show possession.

Singular: before the s Subject-Verb Agreement:
Gerunds and Infinitives The mans coat
Plural: after the s
A subject must agree with its verb.
Gerunds- a verb that ends in ing
The boys jacket
that is used as a noun.
Examples:

Singular subject = singular verb

Capital Letters

Plural subject = plural verb

First
Word:
Reading is his
favorite
My dad asked
pastime. (noun)

Rule 1: Subject comes before of

First word in quotes:

A bouquet of yellow roses lends color to the room.
Infinitives a verb form that
Would you
starts with to.
Proper Noun/Proper Adjectives:
Rule 2: Two singular subjects connect by or, either/or, or
Abraham
Lincoln
neither/nor require a singular verb.
went to study in the
Pronoun IUsage
State
Capitol
Library.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Directions:
Pronoun = word that takes
the place of a
Northrefers
noun. The noun to which a pronoun
Rule 3: Use a plural verb when there are two subjects
is its antecedent. A pronoun must agree
connected by and.
Colonsand
(:)number.
with its antecedent in person
and
a bike are
myfollows
means are
of transportation.
before a list when terms such Aascar
the
following
or as
used.
Third person personal, Used
possessive,
Id like
visit
cities: Paris, London, Rome, and Berlin.
intensive, and reflexive pronouns
must
alsothe following
Rule 4: When the subject is separated from the verb by
Commas (,)
agree in gender.
such words as along with, as well as, etc. keep the tense

Separate 3 or more words

the same.
Personal Pronouns: I, you, they,
her, two
its, dogs, three
She has
cats, and one bird.
ours and others.
Separate adjectives

He was
kitten.
Relative Pronouns: who, which,
thata fluffy, white
Verb Tenses
Direct Quotations

Interrogative: who, whose, what,

whichHe doesnt
She said,
like green
beans.
The tense
of the verb
expresses the time of the action or
and others
Before a coordinating conjunction
state of being.

I read the directions, but Sally built the model car.

Demonstrative: this, these, that, those

Present: I eat a lot of fruit.

Semicolons
(;)
Past: I ate a lot of melon for lunch yesterday.
Double Negatives - Using
two negative
Separate clauses in a compound sentence when they are not joined by a
words in the same sentence.
Future: I am going to eat cherries for lunch today.

conjunction
It rained all afternoon; the game was cancelled.
Separate clauses in a compound
sentence
that is connected with a conjunctive
Funky
Sentences:
Parallelism Similar elements have
adverb
similar
form.
Fragments
when
a sentence lacks
a main verb.
The water washed out the
flowerbeds;
furthermore,
it flooded
the
basement.
Misplaced modifier an adverb/adjective is in the wrong
place in a sentence.