grammar

antecedent

any thing that precedes another thing, especially the cause of the second thing

ex: one's ancestors

reciprocal prounoun

refers to an antecedent in the plural, and expressing a mutual relation

ex: each other and one another

reflexive pronoun

A personal pronoun, having a form of "self" as a suffix to show that the subject's action affects the subject

ex: itself

relative pronoun

refers to an antecedent.

ex: what, which, who, whom, and whose.

demonstrative pronoun

a pronoun which replaces a noun whose identity can be understood from the context; it indicates whether the noun is singular or plural, and whether it is near or far from the speaker or writer

Note: In the English language they are the same as the demonstrative adjectives - this, that, these and those

indefinite pronoun

refers to one or more unspecified beings, objects, or places
ex: all, anyone, few, much, most

intensive pronoun

Intensive pronouns come directly after their antecedent.

For instance: I myself believe in U.F.O.

participle

a non-finite verb

can be present or past

ex: talking, talked

participial phrase

modifies a noun or a pronoun

It may contain a direct object and an adverb that modifies the participle.

ex:Sitting in his office, he rereads the instructions. ("Sitting in his office" is the _____.)
Thomas Edison, experimenting with different materials in his laboratory, eventually improved the light bulb. ("Experimenting with different materials in his laboratory" is the _____.)

prepositional phrase

begin with a ______ and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause

appositive phrase

a noun or pronoun -- often with modifiers -- set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it

Your friend BILL is in trouble.

A BEAUTIFUL COLLIE, Skip was my favorite dog.

John Kennedy THE POPULAR U.S. PRESIDENT was quite different from John Kennedy THE UNFAITHFUL HUSBAND.

present perfect tense

to express action that has been completed with respect to the present.

(The word ____ in its name refers to the idea of completion.)

I have finished.

The man has seen the car.

past perfect tense (pluperfect)

used to refer to an event that has completed before another past action

In the sentence "The blind man, who knew that he had risen, motioned him to sit down again"
"he had risen" is an example of the _____ tense.
It refers to an event (someone rises from his seat), which takes place before another event (the blind man notices the fact that the other has risen).
Because that second event (the blind man's taking notice) is itself a past event and the past tense is used to refer to it ("the blind man knew"), the _____ is needed to make it clear that the first event (someone rises) has taken place even earlier in the past.

future perfect tense

used to describe an event that has not yet happened but which is expected or planned to happen before another stated occurrence.

subject + shall or will have + past participle of verb

"I shall have gone to the store by the time you come."

active verb

The subject of an active sentence performs the action of the verb: "I throw the ball."

passive verb

The subject of a passive sentence is still the main character of the sentence, but something else performs the action: "The ball is thrown by me."

infinitive

to + verb

complex sentence

a sentence with at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (which can also be called subordinate clause)

The cat lived in the backyard, but the dog, who knew he was superior, lived inside the house.

Independent clauses: The cat lived in the backyard. The dog lived inside the house.

Dependent clause: who knew he was superior

compound sentence

composed of at least two independent clauses (does not require a dependent clause)

The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (with or without a comma), a correlative conjunction (with or without a comma), or a semicolon that functions as a conjunction. A conjunction can be used to make a compound sentence. The use of a comma to separate two independent clauses in a sentence is accepted as part of the English language.

Example: My friend invited me to a party, but I do not want to go.

compound-complex sentence

a sentence with at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (which can also be called subordinate clause)

modifier

a word or sentence element that limits or qualifies another word, a phrase, or a clause

There are two kinds:

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

dangling modifier

a word or clause that modifies another word or clause ambiguously, possibly causing confusion with regard to the speaker's intended meaning