Clause Reduction 1

Shortening a modifying clause with a be verb

Reducing a modifying clause to a subject noun

MODIFYING CLAUSE	REDUCED CLAUSE
A modifying clause with a be verb form (typically a prepositional phrase, a passive verb or a progressive verb) can be shortened if it is useful in identifying which noun.	By removing that, who, or which and the be form of the verb (is, are, am was, or were) the clause can be shortened. "that + be deletion". An identifing clause may be shortened. A nonidentifying clause may sound awkward when shorened. See items marked (?).
PRESPOSITIONAL PHRASE The desk [that is] next to you is for your glass of water. (identifying clause)	The desk next to you is for your glass of water. (prepositional phrase)
The main desk, that is next to you, is for the host. (extra-information comment, nonidentifying)	?The main desk, next to you, is for the host. (The clause is not needed to identify the noun. It is extra information, an aside comment. Reducing the clause is optional, and possibly informal. It requires commas.) See Comments.
PASSIVE VERB PHRASE The man [who is] seated beside the host is the guest. (identifying clause)	The man seated beside the host is the guest. (past participial clause)
Mr. Brad Pitt, who is seated beside the host, is the guest. (nonidentifying clause)	?Mr. Brad Pitt, seated beside the host, is the guest. (The clause is not needed to identify the noun. It is extra information, an aside comment. Reducing the clause is optional, and possibly informal It requires commas.)
PROGRESSIVE VERB PHRASE The Evening Show [which is] airing this month has a new host. (identifying clause)	The Evening Show airing this month has a new host. (a present participial clause)
The Evening Show, which is celebrating its twenty-fifith anniversary, has a new host. (nonidentifying clause)	?The Evening Show, celebrating its twenty-fifith anniversary, has a new host. (The clause is not needed to identify the noun. It is extra information, an aside comment. Reducing the clause is optional, and possibly informal It requires commas.)

On a talk show the host invites a guest to appear and discuss topics.
air (v.) – on the air, broadcasting, televising

Identifying / Nonidentifying Clause

Reducing a modifying clause to an object noun

MODIFYING CLAUSE	REDUCED CLAUSE
A modifying clause with a be verb form (typically a prepositional phrase, a passive verb or a progressive verb) can be shortened.	Normally only an identifying modifying clause is reduced. "that + be deletion" (Remove that, who, or which and the be form of the verb (is, are, am was, or were).) "that + be deletion"
PRESPOSITIONAL PHRASE The seat was for the host [who was] next to me. (identifying clause)	The seat was was for the host next to me. (a prepositional phrase)
The seat was for Mr. Leno, who was next to you. (nonidentifying clause)	?The seat was for Mr. Leno, next to you. (informal usage)
PASSIVE VERB PHRASE The show is recorded in studios [which are] located in Burbank, California. (identifying clause)	The show is recorded in studios located in Burbank, California. (passive verb)
The show is recorded in the Disney studios, which are located in Burbank, California. (The clause is nonidentifying if all studios are in Burbank.)	?The show is recorded in the Disney studios, located in Burbank, California. (informal usage)
PROGRESSIVE VERB PHRASE We bought tickets to see The Evening Show [which is] airing this Monday night. (identifying clause)	We bought tickets to see The Evening Show airing this Monday night.. (a present participial clause)
We bought tickets to see The Evening Show, which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary.	?We bought tickets to see The Evening Show, celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary.

*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage. ?marginal usage

Clause Reduction

Prepositional Phrases

Reducing a Clause with a Prepositional Phrase

FULL MODIFYING CLAUSE			REDUCED MODIFYING CLAUSE
An adejective clause with a be verb and a prepositional phrase can be reduced or shortened.			By removing that, who, or which and the be form of the verb (is, are, am was, or were) the clause can be shortened. Then it becomes part of the subject, now a subject clause.
SUBJECT The man	MODIFYING CLAUSE who is next to me	VERB + COMPLEMENT writes novels.	SUBJECT CLAUSE The man next to me	VERB + COMPLEMENT writes novels.
The new books	that are on my desk	are about James Bond.	The new books on my desk	are about James Bond.
The news show	that is in the morning	hosted the writer.	The news show in the morning	hosted the writer.

complement – a word, phrase or clause which is necessary in a sentence to complete its meaning

Clause Reduction

"Be" auxiliary verb — progressive

Clauses with Progressive Tense

FULL MODIFYING CLAUSE			REDUCED MODIFYING CLAUSE
An adejective clause with a be verb in a progressive tense can be reduced or shortened.			By removing that, who, or which and the be form of the verb (is, are, am was, or were) the clause can be shortened. Then it becomes part of the subject, now a subject clause.
SUBJECT The man	MODIFYING CLAUSE who is writing the book	VERB + COMPLEMENT researched Ian Fleming.	SUBJECT CLAUSE The man writing the book	VERB + COMPLEMENT researched Ian Fleming.
The new book,	which is coming out in May,	is about James Bond.	The book coming out in May	is about James Bond.
The Bond fans,	who are waiting outside	want their books signed.	The Bond fans waiting outside	want their books signed.

Clause Reduction

"Be" auxiliary verb — passive

Clauses with Passive

FULL MODIFYING CLAUSE			REDUCED MODIFYING CLAUSE
An adejective clause with a be verb and a prepositional phrase can be reduced or shortened.			By removing that, who, or which and the be form of the verb (is, are, am was, or were) the clause can be shortened. "that + be deletion"
SUBJECT The character	MODIFYING CLAUSE that was created in 1953	VERB + COMPLEMENT changed over the years.	SUBJECT CLAUSE The character created in 1953	VERB + COMPLEMENT changed over the years.
Ian Fleming	who was educated in England	wrote fourteen books.	Ian Fleming educated in England	wrote fourteen books.
Devil May Care	that was written by S. Faulks	creates a modern Bond.	Devil May Care written by S. Faulks	creates a modern Bond.

Grammar Notes

Traditional & Current

(Advanced)

Traditional &. Current Grammar Descriptions

TRADITIONAL

CURRENT

The That + Be Deletion rule (ESL / EFL)
In a modifying clause with a be verb form (prepositional phrase, a passive verb or a progressive verb):
1) The relative pronoun that, who / whom, which can be omitted
2) The be verb can be omitted.
A relative pronoun (that, who/whom, which, etc.) is a word that introduces a relative clause (also called an adjective or modifying clause). The pronoun joins the modifying clause to the noun before it.

Finite and Non-finite Subordinate Clauses (Linguistics – see Finite / Nonfinite.)
A finite subordinate clause (containing a verb marked with tense) can be changed to a nonfinite subordinate clause (containing a verbal form – a gerund-participle or past participle) which becomes a modifying part of another sentence element such as a subject or object noun.
A finite clause — who is seated behind me — the clause has the internal structure of a sentence--it has a subject and a verb marked with tense.
A non-finite clause — seated behind me — the clause has a verbal form, a participle, not marked by tense. The clause becomes part of another sentence element, in this case, the subject: The woman seated behind me.

Tree Diagram of Clauses

FULL MODIFYING CLAUSE — FINITE CLAUSE	REDUCED MODIFYING CLAUSE — NONFINITE CLAUSE
The full modifying clause still has a subject (who) and a verb (is) marked for tense and person agreement. This full clause is also called a finite clause.	The reduced modifying clause no longer has a subject, and the verb is no longer marked for tense or person agreement. This reduced clause is also called a nonfinite clause. Other examples

Clause; Subject / Predicate; Finite / Nonfinite; NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Det. – determiner

How to Identify Intervening Phrases and Clauses

Instructions

o 1

Example: The 'paper' in those boxes 'is' for the copy machine. [The singular verb 'is' agrees with the singular subject 'paper', not with the plural object of the preposition, 'boxes']
Example: The 'dogs' in that class are well behaved. [The plural verb 'are' agrees with the plural subject 'dogs', not with the object of the preposition, 'class'.]

o 2

If a singular subject is linked to another noun by a phrase, the subject is still considered singular. Expressions such as 'accompanied by, as well as' in addition to, plus, and together with' introduce phrases that modify the subject without changing its number.
Example: 'Fried rice', along with wonton soup, 'makes' a delicious meal
Example: 'Isaac', accompanied by Jerome, goes to the movies on Saturday.

o 3

Appositives and adjective clauses give information about the subject but don't change its number. Make sure you don't mistake a word in an appositive or an adjective clause for the subject of the sentence.
APPOSITIVES Example: 'Emma', one of my good friends, visits Australia every year.
ADJECTIVE CLAUSES: 'Virginia Woolf', who was one of the Bloomsbury Group members, 'expresses' emotion in her writing.

modifying clause to identify which noun

An Identifying vs. Nonidentifying Relative Clause

AN IDENTIFYING RELATIVE CLAUSE — THAT / WHICH	A NONIDENTIFYING RELATIVE CLAUSE — WHICH
An identifying (restrictive) relative clause adds information or narrows the noun to a specific one, group or lot. The clause helps by telling us which one, where or when. The pronoun which is used when it is preceded by a preposition. NO COMMAS are used to set off the clause. The pronoun that is more commonly used.	A nonidentifying (non-restrictive) relative clause adds extra information about a noun already identified by other means, for example, by name, by shared knowledge or context. The clause is just adding interesting information. That is not used in a nonidentifying clause. COMMAS are used before and after the clause. Also see parentheses or dashes.
The water that I drank last night contained sodium. (identifies the specific one)	The Evian water, which I drank last night, contained sodium. (adds extra info)
The car that runs off of a lithium-ion battery is surprisingly fast.	The Tesla, which runs off of a lithium-ion battery, is surprisingly fast.
The problem about which I wrote is the subject of today's lecture.	The Lost Generation , about which I wrote, is the subject of today's lecture.
The prison that is located in San Francisco Bay was a depressing place to work.	Alcatraz Prison, which is located in San Francisco Bay, was a depressing place to work.

lithium-ion battery (n.) – a type of battery used in laptops
depressing (adj.) – causing to feel sad
prison (n) – a building where people are kept as punishment for a crime

Exception — Preposition + Which

AN IDENTIFYING CLAUSE — IN/ ON/ AT WHICH	A NONIDENTIFYING CLAUSE — WHICH
Which can be used in an identifying (restrictive) clause when preceded by a preposition: in which, on which, which.	Otherwise, which is used in a clause not to identify but to add some extra information.
The day on which it happened was Thursday.	The day, which you wrote down, was Thursday.
The situation in which we find ourselves is a difficult one.	The situation, which we find ourselves, is a difficult one.
The address at which they live is unlisted in the telephone book.	The address, which they gave us, is unlisted in the telephone book.

Restrictive Clauses

Identifying Words, Phrases and Clauses

Identifying (Restricted) vs. Non-Identifying (Nonrestrictive)

IDENTIFYING MODIFIER	NON-IDENTIFYING MODIFIER
NO COMMA is used when adding an identifying clause, which adds information necessary for the identification of a subject or object noun.	COMMAS are used before and after a clause that adds extra information to a subject or object noun that is already clearly identified.
NO MODIFIER The store sells organic produce. Which store?	NO MODIFIER Whole Foods sells organic produce. (Main sentence – noun is identified by name.)
AN IDENTIFYING CLAUSE The store where I shop sells organic produce. (The noun is identified by the clause "where I shop".)	A NONIDENTIFYING MODIFYING CLAUSE Whole Foods, where I shop, sells organic produce. (The Whole Foods store is further modified by extra information "where I shop".
AN IDENTIFYING PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE The store on University Avenue sells organic produce. The noun is identified by the phrase "on University Avenue". We went to Whole Foods on University Avenue. The clause identifies which Whole Foods. (There are three in the city.)	A NONIDENTIFYING PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE Whole Foods, on University Avenue, sells organic produce. Whole Foods is further modified by extra (assuming there is only one in town) information – location. We went to the Berkeley Whole Foods, on University Avenue. (No final commas is used when the clause identifies the object noun and the clause ends the sentence.)
AN IDENTIFYING PROPER NOUN The store called Whole Foods sells organic produce. The noun "store" is identified by name "Whole Foods".	A NONIDENTIFYING MODIFYING CLAUSE Whole Foods, a grocery store, sells organic produce. Whole Foods is identified by name and is further modified by "a grocery store".
INDENTIFIED BY LATER MENTION IN THE SENTENCE The store that sells organic produce is Whole Foods. The noun is identified by modifying clause and by later mention in the sentence.	–
INDENTIFIED BY EARLIER MENTION IN THE SENTENCE I like Whole Foods; the store sells organic produce. The noun is identified by a noun in the independent clause before it.	–
A RESTRICTIVE CLAUSE – to a particular area The Whole Foods stores in San Francisco sell Napa Valley cheese. Whole Foods is identified by name and is further modified by "in San Francisco". This modifier refers to a restricted group or a particular "Whole Foods" .)	A NONRESTRICTIVE CLAUSE Whole Foods, where shoppers can recycle bags, sells organic produce. (Whole Foods is identified by name and is further modified by extra information "where shoppers can recycle bags" . This modifier refers to ALL because all "Whole Foods" recycle bags .)
IDENTIFIED BY NAME AND UNIQUENESS The Golden Gate Bridge is actually orange-red. The bridge is unique and identified by name. No identifying clause can be used.	A NONIDENTIFYING MODIFYING CLAUSE The Golden Gate Bridge, which is actually orange-red, is surrounded by fog. The Golden Gate bridge is modified with extra information that is not necessary for its identification.

ACTIVE / PASSIVE VOICE

Active voice

In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.

These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action.

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass1.jpg

Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.

Passive voice

One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive.

Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has changed.

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass2.jpg

Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.

NOTE: Colorful parrots live in the rainforests cannot be changed to passive voice because the sentence does not have a direct object.

To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:

1. Move the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject slot

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass3.jpg

2. Place the active sentence's subject into a phrase beginning with the preposition by

3. Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the main verb's form

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass5.jpg

Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change the normal doer-action-receiver of action direction, they may make the reader work harder to understand the intended meaning.

As the examples below illustrate, a sentence in active voice flows more smoothly and is easier to understand than the same sentence in passive voice.

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass6.jpg

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass7.jpg

It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE voice.

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above.

1. Move the passive sentence's subject into the active sentence's direct object slot

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass8.jpg

2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb's form if needed

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass9.jpg

3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot.

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass10.jpg

Because it is more direct, most writers prefer to use the active voice whenever possible.

The passive voice may be a better choice, however, when

the doer of the action is unknown, unwanted, or unneeded in the sentence

Examples

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass11.jpg

the writer wishes to emphasize the action of the sentence rather than the doer of the action

Examples

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass12.jpg

the writer wishes to use passive voice for sentence variety.

http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm

Active / Passive Verb Forms

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.

Active Form

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Examples:

http://www.englishpage.com/images/verbs/active.gif

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]

Examples:

Active / Passive Overview

	Active	Passive
Simple Present	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.	Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.	Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.	The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Simple Future be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous will	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John.
Future Continuous be going to	At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect will	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect be going to	They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.	The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous will	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Future Perfect Continuous be going to	The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always	My mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past Would	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future in the Past Was Going to	I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/activepassive.html

Main Verbs

Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".

Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look at these examples:

transitive:

I saw an elephant.
We are watching TV.
He speaks English.

intransitive:

He has arrived.
John goes to school.
She speaks fast.

Linking verbs

A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).

Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher)
Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful)
That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)
The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)
The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous tenses with a change in meaning).

dynamic verbs (examples):

hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

be
like, love, prefer, wish
impress, please, surprise
hear, see, sound
belong to, consist of, contain, include, need
appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

look, looked, looked
work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

buy, bought, bought
cut, cut, cut
do, did, done

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the so-called regular verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.

Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

How to Find Verbs Key

Courtesy Oestara Publishing LLC

SCIENCE FICTION GRAMMAR TABLE OF CONTENTS

Action Verbs

Linking Verbs

Since the most common type of verb is the action verb, one means of finding the verb is to ask,

What's happening? or What's being done?

The word that answers that question will be your verb. Then all you need to do is look for the helping verbs.

For instance, in the sentence Marcus has gone to the moon for some cheese. If you ask 'What's happening?' the answer is clearly 'gone.' Then, you look to the left of the main verb 'gone' for a helping verb, and you find 'has.' Just keep backing up--looking to the left--for verbs. If you find a word ending in 'ly' do not include the 'ly' word in the verb, but keep backing up. Ly-words are a signal that there may be more helping verbs. The words 'not' and 'never' are also signals to keep looking for helping verbs.

When you need to find the complete verb, remember that it may be ONE, TWO, THREE, OR FOUR words! For instance,

the sentence, Jose is an alien has only ONE verb;

the sentence, Alicia has flown home has TWO verb;s

the sentence, Octavius must have been surprised has three verbs;

the sentence, Daniela should have been studying has four verbs;

IN THESE SENTENCES, THE ACTION VERB HAS BEEN FOUND BY ASKING 'What's happening? AND THEN HELPERS HAVE BEEN FOUND.

1. Gazelda is known for catching tornadoes.

2. She has caught them in Texas, Iowa, Illinois, and Georgia.

3. The people of the Miami have decided to hire Gazelda.

4. The Miamians should have hired Gazelda years ago.

5. Tornadoes have been plaguing Miami.

6. So, Gazelda has come to Miami to increase her collection of tornadoes.

7. When the sky turns pea-green or yellow, Gazelda readies herself. (This sentence has two clauses.)

8. She wraps a dark cloak about her shoulders.

9. Then, she takes a bottle from her pocket and removes the cork. (This sentence has a compound verb.)

10. Next, she opens her umbrella.

11. The umbrella lifts her up into the sky.

12. Gazelda heads for the bulge in the clouds.

13. As soon as the bulge forms into a funnel cloud, Gazelda holds her bottle beneath the cloud and sucks in her breath. (This sentence has two clauses, and the second clause has a compound verb.)

14. The suction forces the funnel cloud into the bottle.

15. Quickly, Gazelda corks the bottle.

16. The funnel cloud never has a chance to touch down.

17. Gazelda floats down to earth and closes her umbrella. (This sentence has a compound verb.)

18. She then inspects the bottle.

19. Within it, the tornado rages.

20. Gazelda must then show the bottled tornado to the people before they will pay her. (This sentence has two clauses.)

21. Gazelda has collected five hundred tornadoes so far.

22. She wants to have the largest collection on Earth.

23. What will she do with them all?

24. Ah, that question has worried me for some time.

Linking verbs are a bit trickier to find, but if you remember that the word "is" is ALWAYS a verb it will help. If a verb can be changed to the word 'is' and the sentence still makes sense, then that word is a linking verb, and you have found the sentence's main verb.

For instance, in the sentence, She looks pretty, the word 'looks' can be changed to the word 'is' and the sentence still means more or less the same thing--She is pretty. Once you find the linking verb, all that is left to do is to check for helping verbs.

NOTICE THE LINKING VERBS AND THEIR HELPING VERBS IN THESE SENTENCES.

1. The man is a monster.

2. His skin looks mottled green and purple. (Notice that you can replace the word "looks" with the word "is" and the sentence still makes sense.)

3. His mouth resembles a snout. (You can replace the word "resembles" with the word "is" and the sentence still makes sense.)

4. His teeth appear long and sharp like a wolf's. (You can replace the word "appear" with the word "is" and the sentence still makes sense.)

5. His ears are on top of his head and are pointed and furry. (This sentence has a compound verb.)

6. His eyes seem to be slits of purple light. (You can replace the phrase "seem to be" with the word "are" and the sentence still makes sense.)

7. His nose is an empty hollow.

8. He acts like a vampire. (You can replace the word "acts" with the word "is" and the sentence still makes sense.)

9. His skin feels slimy. (You can replace the word "feels" with the word "is" and the sentence still makes sense.)

10. Truly, the man must have been ugly from birth.

There are also more web pages on verbs. Just go to the Grammar Table of Contents to find them.

Main Verbs Tenses

hat is a Main Verb Tense?

The main verb tense states the action of the subject. The main verb can be the only verb in the sentence, but the main verb can also be used with an auxiliary verb or a verb. The auxiliary verb and the modal verb must be used with a main

verb tense.

The main verb tense is:

The main verb tense can be in its infinitive/basic form (simple past/v2), past participle/v3.

The main verb tense states what the action of the subject.

-ed -ing -s -es are some common endings that can be added to the main verb according to the tense.

It is common that the main verb doesn't change form, because the auxiliary words change form.

When using the continuous tense and the perfect verb tense auxiliary verb(s) are used with the main verb tense.

When an auxiliary verb is used the main verb doesn't change form according to the subject.

The main verb tense can change form when an auxiliary verb is used to according to the verb form.

Participial Phrases

Phrases are groups of words that act as a single part of speech.
Participial phrases consist of a participle along with all of its modifiers and complements.
Here are three examples. Notice that each phrase is modifying a noun.
Example 1

Babies crying in the night bother me.

The participial phrase is crying in the night.
It modifies the noun babies.

Example 2

Food frozen for over five years tastes icky.

The participial phrase is frozen for over five years.
It is modifies the noun food.

Example 3

Burned on each side, the toast was inedible

The participial phrase is burned on each side.
It modifies the noun toast.

Diagramming Participial Phrases

When diagramming these, start by identifying the participle and the noun that it is modifying.
You already know that you diagram it by putting it on curved, slanted line under the noun that it modifies.
After that, find out what the rest of the phrase consists of and diagram it accordingly.
I'll walk you through the steps using this sentence:

The shoe filled with mud was very heavy.

Step 1: Find the participle. (filled)
Step 2: Find the noun that it modifies. (shoe)
Step 3: Find the rest of the phrase. (with mud)
Step 4: Figure out what the rest of the phrase is doing.

This is where your other grammar knowledge comes into play. In order to diagram this, you need to know that with mud is a prepositional phrase.

This prepositional phrase is modifying filled. That means that we diagram the prepositional phrase underneath filled.

Check it out:

Utama Verbs
Kata kerja utama juga disebut "kata kerja leksikal".
Kata kerja utama memiliki makna sendiri (tidak seperti membantu verba). Ada ribuan kata kerja utama, dan kita dapat mengklasifikasikan mereka dalam beberapa cara:
Transitif dan intransitif verba
Sebuah kata kerja transitif mengambil objek langsung: Seseorang membunuh Presiden. Sebuah kata kerja intransitif tidak punya objek langsung: Dia mati. Banyak kata kerja, seperti berbicara, dapat transitif atau intransitif. Lihatlah contoh-contoh ini:
transitif:
• Saya melihat gajah.
• Kami menonton TV.
• Dia berbicara bahasa Inggris.
intransitif:
• Dia telah tiba.
• Yohanes pergi ke sekolah.
• Dia berbicara cepat.
Menghubungkan kata kerja
Sebuah kata kerja yang menghubungkan tidak memiliki banyak makna dalam dirinya sendiri. Ini "link" subjek apa yang dikatakan tentang subjek. Biasanya, kata kerja yang menghubungkan menunjukkan kesetaraan (=) atau perubahan ke keadaan yang berbeda atau tempat (>). Menghubungkan kata kerja selalu intransitif (tetapi tidak semua kata kerja intransitif yang menghubungkan kata kerja).
• Maria adalah seorang guru. (Mary = guru)
• Tara yang indah. (Tara = indah)
• Kedengarannya menarik. (Yang = menarik)
• Langit menjadi gelap. (Langit> gelap)
• Roti sudah buruk. (Roti> buruk)
Dinamis dan verba statif
Beberapa verba menggambarkan tindakan. Mereka disebut "dinamis", dan dapat digunakan dengan tenses terus menerus. Kata kerja lain menggambarkan negara (non-tindakan, situasi). Mereka disebut "statif", dan biasanya tidak dapat digunakan dengan tenses kontinyu (meskipun beberapa dari mereka dapat digunakan dengan tenses terus menerus dengan perubahan makna).
dinamis kata kerja (contoh):
• memukul, meledak, melawan, lari, pergi
statif kata kerja (contoh):
• menjadi
• suka, cinta, suka, ingin
• terkesan, silahkan, mengejutkan
• mendengar, melihat, terdengar
• milik, terdiri dari, mengandung, mencakup, perlu
• muncul, menyerupai, tampaknya
Teratur dan tidak teratur verba
Ini lebih soal kosa kata dari tata bahasa. Satu-satunya perbedaan nyata antara verba teratur dan tidak teratur adalah bahwa mereka memiliki akhiran yang berbeda untuk bentuk partisip masa lalu mereka tegang dan terakhir. Untuk kata kerja reguler, akhir past tense dan past participle akhir selalu sama:-ed. Untuk kata kerja tidak teratur, akhir bentuk lampau dan akhir past participle adalah variabel, sehingga perlu untuk belajar mereka dengan hati.
biasa kata kerja: dasar, masa lalu tegang, past participle
• melihat, memandang, melihat
• bekerja, bekerja, bekerja
tidak teratur kata kerja: dasar, masa lalu tegang, past participle
• membeli, membeli, membeli
• memotong, potong, potong
• lakukan, tidak, dilakukan
Berikut adalah daftar kata kerja reguler dan kata kerja tidak teratur.
Salah satu cara untuk memikirkan kata kerja teratur dan tidak teratur adalah seperti ini: semua kata kerja tidak teratur dan apa yang disebut kata kerja reguler hanya satu kelompok yang sangat besar kata kerja tidak teratur.
Seringkali divisi atas dapat campuran. Misalnya, satu kata kerja bisa menjadi tidak teratur, transitif dan dinamis; kata kerja lain bisa teratur, transitif dan statif.

Cara Cari Kunci Kata Kerja
Courtesy Oestara Penerbitan LLC
© 1996 Cynthia Joyce Tanah Liat Harap hormati hak cipta dari penulis dengan hanya mereproduksi untuk non-komersial.
ILMU FICTION GRAMMAR DAFTAR ISI

Action Verbs
Menghubungkan Kata Kerja
Karena jenis yang paling umum dari kata kerja adalah kata kerja tindakan, salah satu alat untuk menemukan kata kerja adalah dengan bertanya,
Apa yang terjadi? atau Apa yang dilakukan?
Kata bahwa jawaban pertanyaan itu akan menjadi kata kerja Anda. Kemudian semua yang perlu Anda lakukan adalah mencari kata kerja membantu.
Misalnya, dalam kalimat Marcus telah pergi ke bulan untuk keju. Jika Anda bertanya 'Apa yang terjadi?' jawabannya adalah jelas 'pergi.' Kemudian, Anda melihat ke kiri dari kata kerja utama 'pergi' untuk kata kerja membantu, dan Anda menemukan 'memiliki'. Hanya perlu back up - melihat ke kiri - untuk verba. Jika Anda menemukan sebuah kata berakhiran 'ly' tidak termasuk 'ly' kata dalam kata kerja, namun perlu back up. Ly-kata adalah sinyal bahwa mungkin ada kata kerja membantu lebih. Kata-kata 'tidak' dan 'tidak pernah' juga sinyal untuk terus mencari membantu verba.
Bila Anda perlu menemukan kata kerja selesai, ingatlah bahwa mungkin SATU, DUA, TIGA ATAU EMPAT kata-kata! Misalnya,
kalimat, Jose adalah alien memiliki hanya SATU kata kerja;
rumah kalimat, Alicia telah terbang memiliki DUA kata kerja; s
kalimat, Octavius pasti terkejut memiliki tiga kata kerja;
kalimat, Daniela seharusnya belajar memiliki empat kata kerja;
DALAM KALIMAT, KATA KERJA TINDAKAN ATAS TELAH DITEMUKAN MEMINTA 'Apa yang terjadi? DAN KEMUDIAN BANTUAN TELAH DITEMUKAN.
1. Gazelda dikenal untuk menangkap tornado.
2. Dia telah menangkap mereka di Texas, Iowa, Illinois, dan Georgia.
3. Penduduk Miami telah memutuskan untuk menyewa Gazelda.
4. Para Miamians harus menyewa Gazelda tahun yang lalu.
5. Tornado telah mengganggu Miami.
6. Jadi, Gazelda telah datang ke Miami untuk meningkatkan koleksinya dari tornado.
7. Ketika langit berubah kacang hijau atau kuning, Gazelda menyiapkan diri. (Kalimat ini memiliki dua klausa.)
8. Dia melilitkan jubah gelap tentang bahu.
9. Kemudian, dia mengambil botol dari sakunya dan menghapus gabus. (Kalimat ini memiliki kata kerja majemuk.)
10. Selanjutnya, ia membuka payungnya.
11. Payung tersebut mengangkat ke atas ke langit.
12. Gazelda kepala untuk tonjolan di awan.
13. Begitu tonjolan membentuk menjadi awan corong, Gazelda memegang botolnya bawah awan dan menyebalkan di napas. (Kalimat ini memiliki dua klausa, dan klausa kedua memiliki verba majemuk.)
14. Hisap Pasukan awan corong ke dalam botol.
15. Dengan cepat, Gazelda gabus botol.
16. Awan corong tidak pernah memiliki kesempatan untuk mendarat.
17. Gazelda mengapung turun ke bumi dan menutup payungnya. (Kalimat ini memiliki kata kerja majemuk.)
18. Dia kemudian memeriksa botol.
19. Di dalamnya, mengamuk tornado.
20. Gazelda maka harus menunjukkan tornado botol kepada orang-orang sebelum mereka akan membayar dia. (Kalimat ini memiliki dua klausa.)
21. Gazelda telah mengumpulkan lima ratus tornado sejauh ini.
22. Dia ingin memiliki koleksi terbesar di Bumi.
23. Apa yang akan dia lakukan dengan mereka semua?
24. Ah, pertanyaan yang khawatir saya untuk beberapa waktu.

Menghubungkan kata kerja yang sedikit lebih sulit untuk menemukan, tetapi jika Anda ingat bahwa kata "adalah" SELALU kata kerja itu akan membantu. Jika kata kerja dapat diubah ke kata 'adalah' dan kalimat masih masuk akal, maka kata adalah kata kerja yang menghubungkan, dan Anda telah menemukan kata kerja utama kalimat itu.
Misalnya, dalam kalimat, Dia terlihat cantik, kata 'terlihat' dapat diubah ke kata 'adalah' dan kalimat masih berarti kurang lebih hal yang sama - Dia cantik. Setelah Anda menemukan kata kerja yang menghubungkan, semua yang tersisa untuk dilakukan adalah untuk memeriksa membantu verba.
PEMBERITAHUAN ATAS VERBS PAUTAN DAN MEREKA VERBS MEMBANTU DALAM KALIMAT.
1. Pria itu adalah rakasa.
2. Kulitnya tampak berbintik-bintik hijau dan ungu. (Perhatikan bahwa Anda dapat mengganti kata "terlihat" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
3. Mulutnya mirip moncong. (Anda dapat mengganti kata "menyerupai" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
4. Giginya tampak panjang dan tajam seperti serigala. (Anda dapat mengganti kata "muncul" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
5. Telinganya berada di atas kepalanya dan runcing dan berbulu. (Kalimat ini memiliki kata kerja majemuk.)
6. Matanya tampak celah cahaya ungu. (Anda dapat mengganti kalimat "tampaknya" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
7. Hidungnya adalah berongga kosong.
8. Dia bertindak seperti vampir. (Anda dapat mengganti kata "tindakan" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
9. Kulitnya terasa berlendir. (Anda dapat mengganti kata "merasa" dengan kata "adalah" dan kalimat masih masuk akal.)
10. Sesungguhnya, orang itu pasti jelek sejak lahir.
Ada juga halaman web lebih pada kata kerja. Hanya pergi ke Tabel Grammar Isi untuk menemukan mereka.

Utama Verbs Tenses
topi adalah Tegang Verba Main?
Tense kata kerja utama menyatakan tindakan subjek. Kata kerja utama dapat hanya kata kerja dalam kalimat, tapi kata kerja utama juga dapat digunakan dengan kata kerja bantu atau kata kerja. Kata kerja bantu dan kata kerja modal harus digunakan dengan utama
kata kerja tegang.
Tense kata kerja utama adalah:
Tense kata kerja utama dapat di infinitif perusahaan / bentuk dasar (sederhana past/v2), participle/v3 terakhir.
Menyatakan kata kerja utama tegang apa tindakan subjek.
-Red-ing-s-es adalah beberapa akhiran umum yang dapat ditambahkan ke kata kerja utama menurut menegangkan.
Adalah umum bahwa kata kerja utama tidak berubah bentuk, karena kata-kata bantu mengubah bentuk.
Bila menggunakan tegang terus menerus dan tegang kata kerja kata kerja sempurna tambahan (s) digunakan dengan tegang kata kerja utama.
Ketika sebuah kata kerja bantu digunakan kata kerja utama tidak berubah bentuk sesuai dengan subjek.
Tense kata kerja utama dapat mengubah bentuk ketika sebuah kata kerja bantu yang digunakan untuk sesuai dengan bentuk kata kerja.

PARTISIP FRASE

Frase adalah kelompok kata yang bertindak sebagai satu bagian dari pidato.
Frasa partisip terdiri dari participle bersama dengan semua pengubah dan melengkapi.
Berikut adalah tiga contoh. Perhatikan bahwa setiap frase adalah memodifikasi kata benda.
contoh 1
Bayi menangis di malam hari mengganggu saya.
     Ungkapan partisip menangis di malam hari.
     Ini memodifikasi bayi kata benda.
contoh 2
Makanan beku selama lebih dari lima tahun rasanya idih.
     Ungkapan partisip dibekukan selama lebih dari lima tahun.
     Ini adalah memodifikasi makanan kata benda.
contoh 3
Terbakar di setiap sisi, roti bakar itu tidak termakan
     Ungkapan partisip dibakar di setiap sisi.
     Ini memodifikasi bersulang kata benda.

Diagram Frasa partisip
Ketika diagram ini, mulailah dengan mengidentifikasi dan partisip kata benda bahwa itu memodifikasi.
Anda sudah tahu bahwa Anda diagram itu dengan meletakkan pada lengkung, garis miring di bawah kata benda yang memodifikasi.
Setelah itu, cari tahu apa sisa kalimat terdiri dari dan diagram sesuai.
Saya akan memandu Anda melalui langkah-langkah menggunakan kalimat ini:
Sepatu dipenuhi lumpur sangat berat.
     Langkah 1: Cari participle. (diisi)
     Langkah 2: Cari kata benda yang memodifikasi. (sepatu)
     Langkah 3: Cari sisa kalimat. (dengan lumpur)
     Langkah 4: Mencari tahu apa sisa frase lakukan.
     Di sinilah pengetahuan tata bahasa Anda yang lain datang ke dalam bermain. Untuk diagram ini, Anda perlu tahu bahwa dengan lumpur adalah frase preposisional.
     Ini frase preposisional yang memodifikasi diisi. Itu berarti bahwa kita diagram frase preposisional bawahnya diisi.

Paragraphs and Topic Sentences

A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic. Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a few sentences should be organized into paragraphs. This is because paragraphs show a reader where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end, and thus help the reader see the organization of the essay and grasp its main points.

Paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of a general point. It might describe a place, character, or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects. Regardless of the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics. One of the most important of these is a topic sentence.

TOPIC SENTENCES

A well-organized paragraph supports or develops a single controlling idea, which is expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence. A topic sentence has several important functions: it substantiates or supports an essay’s thesis statement; it unifies the content of a paragraph and directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the reader of the subject to be discussed and how the paragraph will discuss it. Readers generally look to the first few sentences in a paragraph to determine the subject and perspective of the paragraph. That’s why it’s often best to put the topic sentence at the very beginning of the paragraph. In some cases, however, it’s more effective to place another sentence before the topic sentence—for example, a sentence linking the current paragraph to the previous one, or one providing background information.

Although most paragraphs should have a topic sentence, there are a few situations when a paragraph might not need a topic sentence. For example, you might be able to omit a topic sentence in a paragraph that narrates a series of events, if a paragraph continues developing an idea that you introduced (with a topic sentence) in the previous paragraph, or if all the sentences and details in a paragraph clearly refer—perhaps indirectly—to a main point. The vast majority of your paragraphs, however, should have a topic sentence.

PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE

Most paragraphs in an essay have a three-part structure—introduction, body, and conclusion. You can see this structure in paragraphs whether they are narrating, describing, comparing, contrasting, or analyzing information. Each part of the paragraph plays an important role in communicating your meaning to your reader.

Introduction: the first section of a paragraph; should include the topic sentence and any other sentences at the beginning of the paragraph that give background information or provide a transition.

Body: follows the introduction; discusses the controlling idea, using facts, arguments, analysis, examples, and other information.

Conclusion: the final section; summarizes the connections between the information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the paragraph’s controlling idea.

The following paragraph illustrates this pattern of organization. In this paragraph the topic sentence and concluding sentence (CAPITALIZED) both help the reader keep the paragraph’s main point in mind.

SCIENTISTS HAVE LEARNED TO SUPPLEMENT THE SENSE OF SIGHT IN NUMEROUS WAYS. In front of the tiny pupil of the eye they put, on Mount Palomar, a great monocle 200 inches in diameter, and with it see 2000 times farther into the depths of space. Or they look through a small pair of lenses arranged as a microscope into a drop of water or blood, and magnify by as much as 2000 diameters the living creatures there, many of which are among man’s most dangerous enemies. Or, if we want to see distant happenings on earth, they use some of the previously wasted electromagnetic waves to carry television images which they re-create as light by whipping tiny crystals on a screen with electrons in a vacuum. Or they can bring happenings of long ago and far away as colored motion pictures, by arranging silver atoms and color-absorbing molecules to force light waves into the patterns of original reality. Or if we want to see into the center of a steel casting or the chest of an injured child, they send the information on a beam of penetrating short-wave X rays, and then convert it back into images we can see on a screen or photograph. THUS ALMOST EVERY TYPE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION YET DISCOVERED HAS BEEN USED TO EXTEND OUR SENSE OF SIGHT IN SOME WAY.

George Harrison, “Faith and the Scientist”

COHERENCE

In a coherent paragraph, each sentence relates clearly to the topic sentence or controlling idea, but there is more to coherence than this. If a paragraph is coherent, each sentence flows smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or jumps. A coherent paragraph also highlights the ties between old information and new information to make the structure of ideas or arguments clear to the reader.

Along with the smooth flow of sentences, a paragraph’s coherence may also be related to its length. If you have written a very long paragraph, one that fills a double-spaced typed page, for example, you should check it carefully to see if it should start a new paragraph where the original paragraph wanders from its controlling idea. On the other hand, if a paragraph is very short (only one or two sentences, perhaps), you may need to develop its controlling idea more thoroughly, or combine it with another paragraph.

A number of other techniques that you can use to establish coherence in paragraphs are described below.

Repeat key words or phrases. Particularly in paragraphs in which you define or identify an important idea or theory, be consistent in how you refer to it. This consistency and repetition will bind the paragraph together and help your reader understand your definition or description.

Create parallel structures. Parallel structures are created by constructing two or more phrases or sentences that have the same grammatical structure and use the same parts of speech. By creating parallel structures you make your sentences clearer and easier to read. In addition, repeating a pattern in a series of consecutive sentences helps your reader see the connections between ideas. In the paragraph above about scientists and the sense of sight, several sentences in the body of the paragraph have been constructed in a parallel way. The parallel structures (which have been emphasized) help the reader see that the paragraph is organized as a set of examples of a general statement.

Be consistent in point of view, verb tense, and number. Consistency in point of view, verb tense, and number is a subtle but important aspect of coherence. If you shift from the more personal "you" to the impersonal “one,” from past to present tense, or from “a man” to “they,” for example, you make your paragraph less coherent. Such inconsistencies can also confuse your reader and make your argument more difficult to follow.

Use transition words or phrases between sentences and between paragraphs. Transitional expressions emphasize the relationships between ideas, so they help readers follow your train of thought or see connections that they might otherwise miss or misunderstand. The following paragraph shows how carefully chosen transitions (CAPITALIZED) lead the reader smoothly from the introduction to the conclusion of the paragraph.

I don’t wish to deny that the flattened, minuscule head of the large-bodied "stegosaurus" houses little brain from our subjective, top-heavy perspective, BUT I do wish to assert that we should not expect more of the beast. FIRST OF ALL, large animals have relatively smaller brains than related, small animals. The correlation of brain size with body size among kindred animals (all reptiles, all mammals, FOR EXAMPLE) is remarkably regular. AS we move from small to large animals, from mice to elephants or small lizards to Komodo dragons, brain size increases, BUT not so fast as body size. IN OTHER WORDS, bodies grow faster than brains, AND large animals have low ratios of brain weight to body weight. IN FACT, brains grow only about two-thirds as fast as bodies. SINCE we have no reason to believe that large animals are consistently stupider than their smaller relatives, we must conclude that large animals require relatively less brain to do as well as smaller animals. IF we do not recognize this relationship, we are likely to underestimate the mental power of very large animals, dinosaurs in particular.

Stephen Jay Gould, “Were Dinosaurs Dumb?”

SOME USEFUL TRANSITIONS

(modified from Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference)

To show addition:

again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second, etc.), further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, moreover, next, too

To give examples:

for example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate

To compare:

also, in the same manner, likewise, similarly

To contrast:

although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contrast, in spite of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet

To summarize or conclude:

all in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to sum up

To show time:

after, afterward, as, as long as, as soon as, at last, before, during, earlier, finally, formerly, immediately, later, meanwhile, next, since, shortly, subsequently, then, thereafter, until, when, while

To show place or direction:

above, below, beyond, close, elsewhere, farther on, here, nearby, opposite, to the left (north, etc.)

To indicate logical relationship:

accordingly, as a result, because, consequently, for this reason, hence, if, otherwise, since, so, then, therefore, thus

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/paragraphs.shtml

The main idea of a paragraph is the point of the passage, minus all the details. It's the big picture - the Solar System vs. the planets. The football game vs. the fans, cheerleaders, quarterback, and uniforms. The Oscars vs. actors, the red carpet, designer gowns, and films.

How to Find the Main Idea

Summarize the Passage

After you've read the passage, summarize it in one sentence that includes the gist of ever idea from the paragraph. A good way to do this is to pretend you have just ten words to tell someone what the passage was about. You'd have to think broadly, so you could included every detail in just a short state

ment.

Look for Repetition of Ideas

If you read through a paragraph and you have no idea how to summarize it because there is so much information, start looking for repeated words, phrases, ideas or similar ideas. Read this example paragraph:
A new hearing device uses a magnet to hold the detachable sound-processing portion in place. Like other aids, it converts sound into vibrations. But it is unique in that it can transmit the vibrations directly to the magnet and then to the inner ear. This produces a clearer sound. The new device will not help all hearing-impaired people - only those with a hearing loss caused by infection or some other problem in the middle ear. It will probably help no more than 20 percent of all people with hearing problems. Those people who have persistent ear infections, however, should find relief and restored hearing with the new device.
What idea does this paragraph consistently repeat? A new hearing device. What's the point about this idea? A new hearing device is now available for some hearing-impaired people. And there is the main idea.

Avoiding Main Idea Mistakes

Now, choosing a main idea from a set of answer choices is different than composing a main idea on your own. The writers get tricky and will give you distractor questions that sound a lot like the real answer! So be sure to avoid making these 3 common mistakes when you're selecting a main idea on a multiple-choice test.

Summary

Finding the main idea can be challenging, but if you use the tools above and practice, you'll be well on your way to the score you want on the verbal or reading sections of those standardized tests.

http://testprep.about.com/od/tipsfortesting/a/Main_Idea.htm

Coordinators

Coordinators connect elements of equal importance.

S + V , but S + V

(and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet)

S + V and V

S and S + V

N and N

Adj. and Adj.

Phrase and Phrase

Can be used in a series: A, B, C, or D

Subordinators

Subordinators connect elements of unequal importance. One clause is not as strong as the other.

S + V although S + V		(although, even though, because, since*,
		when, while, before, after, whenever,
		wherever*, if, unless, whether?[or not]
		as, as [adjective] as, so that, whereas
		anywhere, anytime)
Although S + V , S + V

Sentence Connectors

Sentence Connectors connect paragraphs or show relationship between very different ideas.

S + V . However, S + V		(however, therefore, thus, moreover,
		nevertheless, first, then, next, still
S + V ; however, S + V		besides, consequently, furthermore)

Prepositions

Prepositions show relationship among elements of a sentence. They are followed by noun phrases only and cannot take on a S + V.

S + V (prep. phrase)		(during, after, before, in, on, at
		despite, in spite of, for, since, by
(Prep. phrase), S + V		like, except, but, about, to, from
		between [A and B], among, with
(Prep. phrase) V + S (unusual)		within, without, beside, near, next to)

Predicates

A predicate is the completer of a sentence. The subject names the "do-er" or "be-er" of the sentence; the predicate does the rest of the work. A simple predicate consists of only a verb, verb string, or compound verb:

The glacier melted.
The glacier has been melting.
The glacier melted, broke apart, and slipped into the sea.

A compound predicate consists of two (or more) such predicates connected:

The glacier began to slip down the mountainside and eventually crushed some of the village's outlying buildings.

A complete predicate consists of the verb and all accompanying modifiers and other words that receive the action of a transitive verb or complete its meaning. The following description of predicates comes from The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers (examples our own):

With an intransitive verb, objects and complements are included in the predicate. (The glacier is melting.) With a transitive verb, objects and object complements are said to be part of the predicate. (The slow moving glacier wiped out an entire forest. It gave the villagers a lot of problems.) With a linking verb, the subject is connected to a subject complement. (The mayor doesn't feel good.)

A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and tells us something about the subject:

Ramonita is beautiful.
His behavior has been outrageous.
That garbage on the street smells bad.

A predicate nominative follows a linking verb and tells us what the subject is:

Dr. Couchworthy is acting president of the university.
She used to be the tallest girl on the team.

Click on "Mr. Morton" to read and hear Lynn Ahren's "The Tale of Mr. Morton," and learn all about subjects and simple predicates (from Scholastic Rock).
Schoolhouse Rock® and its characters and other elements are trademarks and service marks of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Used with permission.

Direct and Indirect Objects

A direct object is the receiver of action within a sentence, as in "He hit the ball." Be careful to distinguish between a direct object and an object complement:

They named their daughter Natasha.

In that sentence, "daughter" is the direct object and "Natasha" is the object complement, which renames or describes the direct object.

The indirect object identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed. The direct object and indirect object are different people or places or things. The direct objects in the sentences below are in boldface; the indirect objects are in italics.

The instructor gave his students A's.
Grandfather left Rosalita and Raoul all his money.
Jo-Bob sold me her boat.

Incidentally, the word me (and similar object-form pronouns such as him, us, them) is not always an indirect object; it will also serve, sometimes, as a direct object.

Bless me/her/us!
Call me/him/them if you have questions.

In English, nouns and their accompanying modifiers (articles and adjectives) do not change form when they are used as objects or indirect objects, as they do in many other languages. "The radio is on the desk" and "I borrowed the radio" contain exactly the same word form used for quite different functions. This is not true of pronouns, however, which use different forms for different functions. (He [subject] loves his grandmother. His grandmother loves him [object].) (See, also, pronoun cases.)

Complements

Since this page is about the completers of thoughts, it is appropriate to include a brief description of complements. A complement (notice the spelling of the word) is any word or phrase that completes the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb. As you will see, the terminology describing predicates and complements can overlap and be a bit confusing. Students are probably wise to learn one set of terms, not both.

A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the subject.

A glacier is a huge body of ice.
Glaciers are beautiful and potentially dangerous at the same time.
This glacier is not yet fully formed. (verb form acting as an adjective, a participle)

Adjective complements are also called predicate adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate nouns or predicate nominatives. See predicates, above.

An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct object. It can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a noun or adjective.

The convention named Dogbreath Vice President to keep him happy. (The noun "Vice President" complements the direct object "Dogbreath"; the adjective "happy" complements the object "him.")
The clown got the children too excited. (The participle "excited" complements the object "children.")

A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb. (See above.)

Granny left Raoul all her money. (Both "money" [the direct object] and "Raoul" [the indirect object] are said to be the verb complements of this sentence.)

Objects

A verb may be followed by an object that completes the verb's meaning. Two kinds of objects follow verbs: direct objects and indirect objects. To determine if a verb has a direct object, isolate the verb and make it into a question by placing "whom?" or "what?" after it. The answer, if there is one, is the direct object:

Direct Object

The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.

Direct Object

Her secret admirer gave her a bouquet of flowers.

The second sentence above also contains an indirect object. An indirect object (which, like a direct object, is always a noun or pronoun) is, in a sense, the recipient of the direct object. To determine if a verb has an indirect object, isolate the verb and ask to whom?, to what?, for whom?, or for what? after it. The answer is the indirect object.
Not all verbs are followed by objects. Consider the verbs in the following sentences:

The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest.

After work, Randy usually jogs around the canal.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Verbs that take objects are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by objects are called intransitive verbs.
Some verbs can be either transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on the context:

Direct Object

I hope the Senators win the next game.

No Direct Object

Did we win?

Subject Complements

In addition to the transitive verb and the intransitive verb, there is a third kind of verb called a linking verb. The word (or phrase) which follows a linking verb is called not an object, but a subject complement.
The most common linking verb is "be." Other linking verbs are "become," "seem," "appear," "feel," "grow," "look," "smell," "taste," and "sound," among others. Note that some of these are sometimes linking verbs, sometimes transitive verbs, or sometimes intransitive verbs, depending on how you use them:

Linking verb with subject complement

He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor.

Linking verb with subject complement

Your homemade chili smells delicious.

Transitive verb with direct object

I can't smell anything with this terrible cold.

Intransitive verb with no object

The interior of the beautiful new Buick smells strongly of fish.

Note that a subject complement can be either a noun ("radiologist", "instructor") or an adjective ("delicious").

Object Complements

(by David Megginson)

An object complement is similar to a subject complement, except that (obviously) it modifies an object rather than a subject. Consider this example of a subject complement:

The driver seems tired.

In this case, as explained above, the adjective "tired" modifies the noun "driver," which is the subject of the sentence.
Sometimes, however, the noun will be the object, as in the following example:

I consider the driver tired.

In this case, the noun "driver" is the direct object of the verb "consider," but the adjective "tired" is still acting as its complement.
In general, verbs which have to do with perceiving, judging, or changing something can cause their direct objects to take an object complement:

Paint it black.

The judge ruled her out of order.

I saw the Prime Minister sleeping.

In every case, you could reconstruct the last part of the sentence into a sentence of its own using a subject complement: "it is black," "she is out of order," "the Prime Minister is sleeping."

Predicates

The glacier melted.
The glacier has been melting.
The glacier melted, broke apart, and slipped into the sea.

A compound predicate consists of two (or more) such predicates connected:

The glacier began to slip down the mountainside and eventually crushed some of the village's outlying buildings.

A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and tells us something about the subject:

Ramonita is beautiful.
His behavior has been outrageous.
That garbage on the street smells bad.

A predicate nominative follows a linking verb and tells us what the subject is:

Dr. Couchworthy is acting president of the university.
She used to be the tallest girl on the team.

Direct and Indirect Objects

A direct object is the receiver of action within a sentence, as in "He hit the ball." Be careful to distinguish between a direct object and an object complement:

They named their daughter Natasha.

In that sentence, "daughter" is the direct object and "Natasha" is the object complement, which renames or describes the direct object.

The instructor gave his students A's.
Grandfather left Rosalita and Raoul all his money.
Jo-Bob sold me her boat.

Incidentally, the word me (and similar object-form pronouns such as him, us, them) is not always an indirect object; it will also serve, sometimes, as a direct object.

Bless me/her/us!
Call me/him/them if you have questions.

Complements

A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the subject.

A glacier is a huge body of ice.
Glaciers are beautiful and potentially dangerous at the same time.
This glacier is not yet fully formed. (verb form acting as an adjective, a participle)

Adjective complements are also called predicate adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate nouns or predicate nominatives. See predicates, above.

An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct object. It can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a noun or adjective.

The convention named Dogbreath Vice President to keep him happy. (The noun "Vice President" complements the direct object "Dogbreath"; the adjective "happy" complements the object "him.")
The clown got the children too excited. (The participle "excited" complements the object "children.")

A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb. (See above.)

Granny left Raoul all her money. (Both "money" [the direct object] and "Raoul" [the indirect object] are said to be the verb complements of this sentence.)

Objects

Direct Object

The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.

Direct Object

Her secret admirer gave her a bouquet of flowers.

The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest.

After work, Randy usually jogs around the canal.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Direct Object

I hope the Senators win the next game.

No Direct Object

Did we win?

Subject Complements

Linking verb with subject complement

He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor.

Linking verb with subject complement

Your homemade chili smells delicious.

Transitive verb with direct object

I can't smell anything with this terrible cold.

Intransitive verb with no object

The interior of the beautiful new Buick smells strongly of fish.

Note that a subject complement can be either a noun ("radiologist", "instructor") or an adjective ("delicious").

Object Complements

(by David Megginson)

An object complement is similar to a subject complement, except that (obviously) it modifies an object rather than a subject. Consider this example of a subject complement:

The driver seems tired.

In this case, as explained above, the adjective "tired" modifies the noun "driver," which is the subject of the sentence.
Sometimes, however, the noun will be the object, as in the following example:

I consider the driver tired.

Paint it black.

The judge ruled her out of order.

I saw the Prime Minister sleeping.

In every case, you could reconstruct the last part of the sentence into a sentence of its own using a subject complement: "it is black," "she is out of order," "the Prime Minister is sleeping."

English Language Roots

Quick Chart

Below you will see a chart of English language word roots that are common prefixes and suffixes to base words. (This list is similar to that which appeared previously on this site.)

This list is a small portion of our 2,000 word root database which you can search using our root search engine.

Play and Learn!

Improve your vocabulary. Check out our fun teaching games, Rooty and Meany!

Play and Learn!

Improve your vocabulary. Check out our fun teaching games, Rooty and Meany!

Root, Prefix or Suffix	Meaning	Examples
a, ac, ad, af, ag, al, an, ap, as, at	to, toward, near, in addition to, by	aside, accompany, adjust, aggression, allocate, annihilate, affix, associate, attend, adverb
a-, an-	not, without	apolitical, atheist, anarchy, anonymous, apathy, aphasia, anemia
ab, abs	away from, off	absolve, abrupt, absent
-able, -ible	Adjective: worth, ability	solvable, incredible
acer, acid, acri	bitter, sour, sharp	acerbic, acidity, acrid, acrimony
act, ag	do, act, drive	active, react, agent, active, agitate
acu	sharp	acute, acupuncture, accurate
-acy, -cy	Noun: state or quality	privacy, infancy, adequacy, intimacy, supremacy
-ade	act, product, sweet drink	blockade, lemonade
aer, aero	air, atmosphere, aviation	aerial, aerosol, aerodrome
ag, agi, ig, act	do, move, go	agent, agenda, agitate, navigate, ambiguous, action
-age	Noun: activity, or result of action	courage, suffrage, shrinkage, tonnage
agri, agro	pertaining to fields or soil	agriculture, agroindustry
-al	Noun: action, result of action	referral, disavowal, disposal, festival
-al, -ial, -ical	Adjective: quality, relation	structural, territorial, categorical
alb, albo	white, without pigment	albino, albite
ali, allo, alter	other	alias, alibi, alien, alloy, alter, alter ego, altruism
alt	high, deep	altimeter, altitude
am, ami, amor	love, like, liking	amorous, amiable, amicable, enamoured
ambi	both	ambidextrous
ambul	to walk	ambulatory, amble, ambulance, somnambulist
-an	Noun: person	artisan, guardian, historian, magician
ana, ano	up, back, again, anew	anode, anagram, anagenetic
-ance, -ence	Noun: action, state, quality or process	resistance, independence, extravagance, fraudulence
-ancy, -ency	Noun: state, quality or capacity	vacancy, agency, truancy, latency
andr, andro	male, characteristics of men	androcentric, android
ang	angular	angle
anim	mind, life, spirit, anger	animal, animate, animosity
ann, annu, enni	yearly	annual, annual, annuity, anniversary, perrenial
-ant, -ent	Noun: an agent, something that performs the action	disinfectant, dependent, fragrant
-ant, -ent, -ient	Adjective: kind of agent, indication	important, dependent, convenient
ante	before	anterior, anteroom, antebellum, antedate, antecedent antediluvian
anthrop	man	anthropology, misanthrope, philanthropy
anti, ant	against, opposite	antisocial, antiseptic, antithesis, antibody, antinomies, antifreeze, antipathy
anti, antico	old	antique, antiquated, antiquity
apo, ap, aph	away from, detached, formed	apology, apocalypse, aphagia
aqu	water	aqueous
-ar, -ary	Adjective: resembling, related to	spectacular, unitary
arch	chief, first, rule	archangel, architect, archaic, monarchy, matriarchy, patriarchy, Archeozoic era
-ard, -art	Noun: characterized	braggart, drunkard, wizard
aster, astr	star	aster, asterisk, asteroid, astronomy, astronaut
-ate	Noun: state, office, fuction	candidate, electorate, delegate
-ate	Verb: cause to be	graduate, ameliorate, amputate, colligate
-ate	Adjective: kind of state	inviolate
-ation	Noun: action, resulting state	specialization, aggravation, alternation
auc, aug, aut	to originate, to increase	augment , author, augment, auction
aud, audi, aur, aus	to hear, listen	audience, audio, audible, auditorium, audiovisual, audition, auricular, ausculate
aug, auc	increase	augur, augment, auction
aut, auto	self	automobile, automatic, automotive, autograph, autonomous, autoimmune
bar	weight, pressure	barometer
be	on, around, over, about, excessively, make, cause, name, affect	berate, bedeck, bespeak, belittle, beleaguer
belli	war	rebellion, belligerent, casus belli, bellicose
bene	good, well, gentle	benefactor, beneficial, benevolent, benediction, beneficiary, benefit
bi, bine	two	biped, bifurcate, biweekly, bivalve, biannual
bibl, bibli, biblio	book	bibliophile, bibliography, Bible
bio, bi	life	biography, biology, biometricsm biome, biosphere
brev	short	abbreviate, brevity, brief
cad, cap, cas, ceiv, cept, capt, cid, cip	to take, to seize, to hold	receive, deceive, capable, capacious, captive, accident, capture, occasion, concept, intercept, forceps, except, reciprocate
cad, cas	to fall	cadaver, cadence, cascade
-cade	procession	motorcade
calor	heat	calorie, caloric, calorimeter
capit, capt	head	decapitate, capital, captain, caption
carn	flesh	carnivorous, incarnate, reincarnation, carnal
cat, cata, cath	down, with	catalogue, category, catheter
caus, caut	burn, heat	caustic, cauldron, cauterize
cause, cuse, cus	cause, motive	because, excuse, accusation
ceas, ced, cede, ceed, cess	to go, to yield, move, go, surrender	succeed, proceed, precede, recede, secession, exceed, succession
cent	hundred	centennial, century, centipede
centr, centri	center	eccentricity, centrifugal, concentric, eccentric
chrom	color	chrome, chromosome, polychrome, chromatic
chron	time	chronology, chronic, chronicle chronometer, anachronism, synchronize
cide, cis, cise	to kill, to cut, cut down	fratricide, homicide, incision, incision, circumcision, scissors
circum	around	circumnavigate, circumflex, circumstance, circumcision, circumference, circumorbital, circumlocution, circumvent, circumscribe, circulatory
cit	call, start	incite, citation, cite
civ	citizen	civic, civil, civilian, civilization
clam, claim	cry out	exclamation, clamor, proclamation, reclamation, acclaim
clin	lean, bend	decline, aclinic, inclination
clud, clus claus	to close, shut	include, exclude, clause, claustrophobia, enclose, exclusive, reclusive, conclude
co, cog, col, coll, con, com, cor	with, together	cohesiveness, cognate, collaborate, convene, commitment, compress, contemporary, converge, compact, confluence, convenient, concatenate, conjoin, combine, correct
cogn, gnos	to know	recognize, cognizant, diagnose, agnostic, incognito, prognosis
com, con	fully	complete, compel, conscious, condense, confess, confirm
contr, contra, counter	against, opposite	contradict, counteract, contravene, contrary, counterspy, contrapuntal
cord, cor, cardi	heart	cordial, concord, discord, courage, encourage
corp	body	corporation, corporal punishment, corpse, corpulent, corpus luteum
cort	correct	escort, cortage
cosm	universe, world	cosmos, microcosm, cosmopolitan, cosmonaut
cour, cur, curr, curs	run, course	occur, excursion, discourse, courier, course
crat, cracy	rule	autocrat, aristocrat, theocracy, technocracy
cre, cresc, cret, crease	grow	create, crescent, accretion, increase
crea	create	creature, recreation, creation
cred	believe	creed, credo, credence, credit, credulous, incredulous, incredible
cresc, cret, crease, cru	rise, grow	crescendo, concrete, increase, decrease, accrue
crit	separate, choose	critical, criterion, hypocrite
cur, curs	run	current, concurrent, concur, incur, recur, occur, courier, precursor, cursive
cura	care	curator, curative, manicure
cycl, cyclo	wheel, circle, circular	Cyclops, unicycle, bicycle, cyclone, cyclic
de-	from, down, away, to do the opposite, reverse, against	detach, deploy, derange, decrease, deodorize, devoid, deflate, degenerate
dec, deca	ten, ten times	decimal, decade, decalogue, decimate, decathlon
dec, dign	suitable	decent decorate dignity
dei, div	God	divinity, divine, deity, divination, deify
dem, demo	people, populace, population	democracy, demography, demagogue, epidemic
dent, dont	tooth	dental, denture, orthodontist, periodontal
derm	skin, covering	hypodermic, dermatology, epidermis, taxidermy
di-, dy-	two, twice, double	divide, diverge, diglycerides
dia	through, across, between	diameter, diagonal, dialogue dialect, dialectic, diagnosis, diachronic
dic, dict, dit	say, speak	dictation, dictionary, dictate, dictator, Dictaphone, edict, predict, verdict, contradict, benediction
dis, dif	not, opposite of, reverse, separate, deprive of, away	dismiss, differ, disallow, disperse, dissuade, divide, disconnect, disproportion, disrespect, distemper, disarray
dit	give	credit, audit
doc, doct	teach, prove	docile, doctor, doctrine, document, dogma, indoctrinate
domin	master, that which is under control	dominate, dominion, predominant, domain
don	give	donate, condone
dorm	sleep	dormant, dormitory
dox	thought, opinion, praise	orthodox, heterodox, paradox, doxology
-drome	run, step	syndrome, aerodrome, velodrome
duc, duct	to lead, pull	produce, abduct, product, transducer, viaduct, aqueduct, induct, deduct, reduce, induce
dura	hard, lasting	durable, duration, endure
dynam	power	dynamo, dynamic, dynamite, hydrodynamics
dys-	bad, abnormal, difficult, impaired, unfavorable	dysfunctional, dyslexia, dyspathy
e-	not, missing, out, fully, away, computer network related	emit, embed, eternal,ether, erase, email, e-tailer
ec-	out of, outside	echo, eclipse, eclectic, ecesis, ecstasy, exzema
eco-	household, environment, relating to ecology or economy	ecology, economize, ecospheres, ecomanagement
ecto-	outside, external	ectomorph, ectoderm, ectoplasm
-ed	Verb: past tense	dressed, faded, patted, closed, introduced
-ed	Adjective: having the quality or characteristics of	winged, moneyed, dogged, tiered
-en	Verb: to cause to become	lengthen, moisten, sharpen
-en	Adjective: material	golden, woolen, silken
en-, em-	put into, make, provide with, surround with	enamor, embolden, enslave, empower, entangle
-ence, -ency	Noun: action or process, quality or state	reference, emergency, dependence, eminence, latency
end-	inside, within	endorse, endocardial, endergonic, endoskeleton, endoscope, endogenous
epi-	upon, close to, over, after, altered	epicenter, epicarp, epilogue, epigone, epidiorite
equi-	equal	equidistant, equilateral, equilibrium, equinox, equation, equator
-er, -ier	Adjective: comparative	better, brighter, sooner, hotter, happier
-er, -or	Noun: person or thing that does something	flyer, reporter, player, member, fryer, collector, concentrator
-er, -or	Verb: action	ponder, dishonor, clamor
erg	work, effect	energy, erg, allergy, ergometer, ergograph, ergophobia
-ery	collective qualities, art, practice, trade, collection, state, condition	snobbery, bakery, geenery, gallery, slavery
-es, -ies	Noun: plural of most nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh, -o and -z and some in -f and -y	passes, glasses, ladies, heroes
-es, -ies	Verb: third person singular present indicative of verbs that end in -ch, -s, -sh, - and some in -y	blesses, hushes, fizzes, defies
-ess	female	actress, goddess, poetess
-est, -iest	Adjective or Adverb: superlative	latest, strongest, luckiest, lyingest
ev-, et-	time, age	medieval, eternal
ex-	out of, away from, lacking, former	exit, exhale, exclusive, exceed, explosion, ex-mayor
exter-, extra-, extro-	outside of, beyond	external, extrinsic, extraordinary, extrapolate, extraneous, extrovert
fa, fess	speak	fable, fabulous, fame, famous, confess, profess
fac, fact, fec, fect, fic, fas, fea	do, make	difficult, fashion, feasible, feature, factory, fact, effect, manufacture, amplification, confection
fall, fals	deceive	fallacy, falsify, fallacious
femto	quadrillionth	femtosecond
fer	bear, carry	ferry, coniferous, fertile, defer, infer, refer, transfer
fic, feign, fain, fit, feat	shape, make, fashion	fiction, faint, feign
fid	belief, faith	confide, diffident, fidelity
fid, fide, feder	faith, trust	confidante, fidelity, confident, infidelity, infidel, federal, confederacy, semper fi
fig	shape, form	figurem, effigy, figure, figment
fila, fili	thread	filigree, filament, filter, filet, filibuster
fin	end, ended, finished	final, finite, finish, confine, fine, refine, define, finale
fix	repair, attach	fix, fixation, fixture, affix, prefix, suffix
flex, flect	bend	flex, reflex, flexible, flexor, inflexibility, reflect, deflect,circumflex
flict	strike	affliction, conflict, inflict
flu, fluc, fluv, flux	flow	influence, fluid, flue, flush, fluently, fluctuate, reflux, influx
-fold	Adverb: in a manner of, marked by	fourfold
for, fore	before	forecast, fortune, foresee
forc, fort	strength, strong	effort, fort, forte, fortifiable, fortify, forte, fortitude
form	shape, resemble	form, format, conform, formulate, perform, formal, formula
fract, frag, frai	break	fracture, infraction, fragile, fraction, refract, frail
fuge	flee	subterfuge, refuge, centrifuge
-ful	Noun: an amount or quanity that fills	mouthful
-ful	Adjective: having, giving, marked by	fanciful
fuse	pour	confuse, transfuse
-fy	make, form into	falsify, dandify
gam	marriage	bigamy, monogamy, polygamy
gastr, gastro	stomach	gastric, gastronomic, gastritis, gastropod
gen	kind	generous
gen	birth, race, produce	genesis, genetics, eugenics, genealogy, generate, genetic, antigen, pathogen
geo	earth	geometry, geography, geocentric, geology
germ	vital part	germination, germ, germane
gest	carry, bear	congest, gestation
giga	billion	gigabyte, gigaflop
gin	careful	gingerly
gloss, glot	tongue	glossary, polyglot, epiglottis
glu, glo	lump, bond, glue	glue, agglutinate, conglomerate
gor	to gather, to bring together	category, categorize
grad, gress, gree	to gather, to bring together, step, go	grade, degree, progress, gradual, graduate, egress
graph, gram, graf	write, written, draw	graph, graphic, autograph, photography, graphite, telegram, polygraph, grammar, biography, lithograph, graphic
grat	pleasing	congratulate, gratuity, grateful, ingrate
grav	heavy, weighty	grave, gravity, aggravate, gravitate
greg	herd	gregarious, congregation, segregate, gregarian
hale, heal	make whole, sound	inhale, exhale, heal, healthy, healthiness
helio	sun	heliograph, heliotrope, heliocentric
hema, hemo	blood	hemorrhage, hemoglobin, hemophilia, hemostat
her, here, hes	stick	adhere, cohere, cohesion, inherent, hereditary, hesitate
hetero	other, different	heterodox, heterogeneous, heterosexual, heterodyne
hex, ses, sex	six	hexagon, hexameter, sestet, sextuplets
homo	same	homogenize, homosexual, homonym, homophone
hum, human	earth, ground, man	humus, exhume, humane
hydr, hydra, hydro	water	dehydrate, hydrant, hydraulic, hydraulics, hydrogen, hydrophobia
hyper	over, above	hyperactive, hypertensive, hyperbolic, hypersensitive, hyperventilate, hyperkinetic
hypn	sleep	hypnosis, hypnotherapy
-ia	Noun: names, diseases	phobia
-ian, an	Noun: related to, one that is	pedestrian, human
-iatry	Noun: art of healing	psychiatry
-ic	Adjective: quality, relation	generic
-ic, ics	Noun: related to the arts and sciences	arithmetic, economics
-ice	Noun: act	malice
-ify	Verb: cause	specify
ignis	fire	ignite, igneous, ignition
-ile	Adjective: having the qualities of	projectile
in, im	into, on, near, towards	instead, import
in, im, il, ir	not	illegible, irresolute, inaction, inviolate, innocuous, intractable, innocent, impregnable, impossible, imposter
infra	beneath	infrared, infrastructure
-ing	Noun: material made for, activity, result of an activity	flooring, swimming, building
-ing	Verb: present participle	depicting
-ing	Adjective: activity	cohering
inter	between, among	international, intercept, interject, intermission, internal, intermittent,
intra	within, during, between layers, underneath	intramural, intranet, intranatal
intro	into, within, inward	interoffice, introvert, introspection, introduce
-ion	Noun: condition or action	abduction
-ish	Adjective: having the character of	newish
-ism	Noun: doctrine, belief, action or conduct	formalism
-ist	Noun: person or member	podiatrist
-ite	Noun: state or quality	graphite
-ity, ty	Noun: state or quality	lucidity, novelty
-ive	Noun: condition	native
-ive, -ative, -itive	Adjective: having the quality of	festive, cooperative, sensitive
-ize	Verb: cause	fantasize
jac, ject	throw	reject, eject, project, trajectory, interject, dejected, inject, ejaculate, adjacent
join, junct	join	adjoining, enjoin, juncture, conjunction, injunction, conjunction
judice	judge	prejudice
jug, junct, just	to join	junction, adjust, conjugal
juven	young	juvenile, rejuvenate
labor	work	laborious, belabor
lau, lav, lot, lut	wash	launder, lavatory, lotion, ablution, dilute
lect, leg, lig	choose, gather, select, read	collect, legible, eligible
leg	law	legal, legislate, legislature, legitimize
-less	Adjective: without, missing	motiveless
levi	light	alleviate, levitate, levity
lex, leag, leg	law	legal, college, league
liber, liver	free	liberty, liberal, liberalize, deliverance
lide	strike	collide, nuclide
liter	letters	literary, literature, literal, alliteration, obliterate
loc, loco	place, area	location, locally, locality, allocate, locomotion
log, logo, ology	word, study, say, speech, reason, study	catalog, prologue, dialogue, zoology, logo
loqu, locut	talk, speak	eloquent, loquacious, colloquial, circumlocution
luc, lum, lun, lus, lust	light	translucent, luminary, luster, luna, illuminate, illustrate
lude	play	prelude
-ly	Adverb: in the manner of	fluently
macr-, macer	lean	emaciated, meager
magn	great	magnify, magnificent, magnanimous, magnate, magnitude, magnum
main	strength, foremost	mainstream, mainsail, domain, remain
mal	bad, badly	malformation, maladjusted, dismal, malady, malcontent,malfunction, malfeasance, maleficent
man, manu	hand, make, do	manual, manage, manufacture, manacle, manicure, manifest, maneuver, emancipate, management
mand	command	mandatory, remand, mandate
mania	madness	mania, maniac, kleptomania, pyromania
mar, mari, mer	sea, pool	marine, marsh, maritime, mermaid
matri	mother	matrimony, maternal, matriarchate, matron
medi	half, middle, between, halfway	mediate, medieval, Mediterranean, mediocre, medium
mega	great, million	megaphone, megaton, megaflop, megalomaniac, megabyte, megalopolis
mem	recall, remember	memo, commemoration, memento, memoir, memorable
ment	mind	mental, mention
-ment	Noun: condition or result	document
meso	middle	mesomorph, mesoamerica, mesosphere
meta	beyond, change	metaphor, metamorphosis, metabolism, metahistorical, metainformation
meter	measure	meter, voltammeter, barometer, thermometer
metr	admeasure, apportion	metrics, asymmetric, parametric, telemetry
micro	small, millionth	microscope, microfilm, microcard, microwave, micrometer, microvolt
migra	wander	migrate, emigrant, immigrate
mill, kilo	thousand	millennium, kilobyte, kiloton
milli	thousandth	millisecond, milligram, millivolt
min	little, small	minute, minor, minuscule
mis	wrong, bad, badly	misconduct, misinform, misinterpret, mispronounce, misnomer, mistake, misogynist
mit, miss	send	emit, remit, submit, admit, commit, permit, transmit, omit, intermittent, mission, missile
mob, mov, mot	move	motion, remove, mobile, motor
mon	warn, remind	monument, admonition, monitor, premonition
mono	one	monopoly, monotype, monologue, mononucleosis, monorail, monotheist,
mor, mort	mortal, death	mortal, immortal, mortality, mortician, mortuary
morph	shape, form	amorphous, dimorphic, metamorphosis, morphology, polymorphic, morpheme, amorphous
multi	many, much	multifold, multilingual, multiped, multiply, multitude, multipurpose, multinational
nano	billionth	nanosecond, nanobucks
nasc, nat, gnant, nai	to be born	nascent, native, pregnant, naive
nat, nasc	to be from, to spring forth	innate, natal, native, renaissance
neo	new	Neolithic, nuveau riche, neologism, neophyte, neonate
-ness	Noun: state, condition, quality	kindness
neur	nerve	neuritis, neuropathic, neurologist, neural, neurotic
nom	law, order	autonomy, astronomy, gastronomy, economy
nom, nym	name	nominate, synonym
nomen, nomin	name	nomenclature, nominate, ignominious
non	nine	nonagon
non	not	nonferrous, nonsense, nonabrasive, nondescript
nov	new	novel, renovate, novice, nova, innovate
nox, noc	night	nocturnal, equinox, noctilucent
numer	number	numeral, numeration, enumerate, innumerable
numisma	coin	numismatics
ob, oc, of, op	toward, against, in the way	oppose, occur, offer, obtain
oct	eight	octopus, octagon, octogenarian, octave
oligo	few, little	Oligocene, oligosaccharide, oligotrophic, oligarchy
omni	all, every	omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnivorous
onym	name	anonymous, pseudonym, antonym, synonym
oper	work	operate, cooperate, opus
-or	Noun: condition or activity	valor, honor, humor, minor
ortho	straight, correct	orthodox, orthodontist, orthopedic, unorthodox
-ory	Noun: place for, serves for	territory, rectory
-ous, -eous, -ose, -ious	Adjective: having the quality of, relating to	adventurous, courageous, verbose, fractious
over	excessive, above	overwork, overall, overwork
pac	peace	pacifist, pacify, pacific ocean
pair, pare	arrange, assemblage, two	repair, impair, compare, prepare
paleo	old	Paleozoic, Paleolithic, paleomagnetism, paleopsychology
pan	all	Pan-American, pan-African, panacea, pandemonium (place of all the demons),
para	beside	paradox, paraprofessional, paramedic, paraphrase, parachute
pat, pass, path	feel, suffer	patient, passion, sympathy, pathology
pater, patr	father	paternity, patriarch, patriot, patron, patronize
path, pathy	feeling, suffering	pathos, sympathy, antipathy, apathy, telepathy
ped, pod	foot	pedal, impede, pedestrian, centipede, tripod, podiatry, antipode, podium
pedo	child	orthopedic, pedagogue, pediatrics
pel, puls	drive, push, urge	compel, dispel, expel, repel, propel, pulse, impulse, pulsate, compulsory, expulsion, repulsive
pend, pens, pond	hang, weigh	pendant, pendulum, suspend, appendage, pensive, append
per	through, intensive	persecute, permit, perspire, perforate, persuade
peri	around	periscope, perimeter, perigee, periodontal
phage	eat	macrophage, bacteriophage
phan, phas, phen, fan, phant, fant	show, make visible	phantom, fantasy
phe	speak	blaspheme, cipher, phenomenon, philosopher
phil	love	philosopher, philanthropy, philharmonic, bibliophile
phlegma	inflammation	phlegm, phlegmatic
phobia, phobos	fear	phobia, claustrophobia, acrophobia, aquaphobia, ergophobia, homophobia
phon	sound	telephone, phonics, phonograph, phonetic, homophone, microphone, symphony, euphonious
phot, photo	light	photograph, photoelectric, photogenic, photosynthesis, photon
pico	trillionth	picofarad, picocurie, picovolt
pict	paint, show, draw	picture, depict
plac, plais	please	placid, placebo, placate, complacent
pli, ply	fold	reply, implicate, ply
plore	cry out, wail	implore, exploration, deploring
plu, plur, plus	more	plural, pluralist, plus
pneuma, pneumon	breath	pneumatic, pneumonia,
pod	foot, feet	podiatry, tripod
poli	city	metropolis, police, politics, Indianapolis, megalopolis, acropolis
poly	many	polytheist, polygon, polygamy, polymorphous
pon, pos, pound	place, put	postpone, component, opponent, proponent, expose, impose, deposit, posture, position, expound, impound
pop	people	population, populous, popular
port	carry	porter, portable, transport, report, export, import, support, transportation
portion	part, share	portion, proportion
post	after, behind	postpone, postdate
pot	power	potential, potentate, impotent
pre, pur	before	precede
prehendere	seize, grasp	apprehend, comprehend, comprehensive, prehensile
prin, prim, prime	first	primacy, prima donna, primitive, primary, primal, primeval, prince, principal
pro	for, foward	propel
proto	first	prototype, protocol, protagonist, protozoan, Proterozoic, protoindustrial
psych	mind, soul	psyche, psychiatry, psychology, psychosis
punct	point, dot	punctual, punctuation, puncture, acupuncture, punctuation
pute	think	dispute, computer
quat, quad	four	quadrangle, quadruplets
quint, penta	five	quintet, quintuplets, pentagon, pentane, pentameter
quip	ship	equip, equipment
quir, quis, quest, quer	seek, ask	query, inquire, exquisite, quest
re	back, again	report, realign, retract, revise, regain
reg, recti	straighten	regiment, regular, rectify, correct, direct, rectangle
retro	backwards	retrorocket, retrospect, retrogression, retroactive
ri, ridi, risi	laughter	deride, ridicule, ridiculous, derision, risible
rog, roga	ask	prerogative, interrogation, derogatory
rupt	break	rupture, interrupt, abrupt, disrupt, ruptible
sacr, sanc, secr	sacred	sacred, sacrosanct, sanction, consecrate, desecrate
salv, salu	safe, healthy	salvation, salvage, salutation
sanct	holy	sanctify, sanctuary, sanction, sanctimonious, sacrosanct
sat, satis	enough	satient, saturate, satisfy
sci, scio, scientia	know	science, conscious, omniscient, cognocienti
scope	see, watch	telescope, microscope, kaleidoscope, periscope, stethoscope
scrib, script	write	scribe, scribble, inscribe, describe, subscribe, prescribe, manuscript
se	apart, move away from	secede
sect, sec	cut	intersect, transect, dissect, secant, section
sed, sess, sid	sit	sediment, session, obsession, possess, preside, president, reside, subside
semi	half, partial	semifinal, semiconscious, semiannual, semimonthly, semicircle
sen, scen	old, grow old	senior, senator, senile, senescence, evanescent
sent, sens	feel, think	sentiment, consent, resent, dissent, sentimental, sense, sensation, sensitive, sensory, dissension
sept	seven	septet, septennial
sequ, secu, sue	follow	sequence, consequence, sequel, subsequent, prosecute, consecutive, second, ensue, pursue
serv	save, serve, keep	servant, service, subservient, servitude, preserve, conserve, reservation, deserve, conservation, observe
-ship	Noun: status, condition	relationship, friendship
sign, signi	sign, mark, seal	signal, signature, design, insignia, significant
simil, simul	like, resembling	similar, assimilate, simulate, simulacrum, simultaneous
sist, sta, stit	stand, withstand, make up	assist, insist, persist, circumstance, stamina, status, state, static, stable, stationary, substitute
soci	to join, companions	sociable, society
sol, solus	alone	solo, soliloquy, solitaire, solitude, solitary, isolate
solv, solu, solut	loosen, explain	solvent, solve, absolve, resolve, soluble, solution, resolution, resolute, dissolute, absolution
somn	sleep	insomnia, somnambulist
soph	wise	sophomore (wise fool), philosophy, sophisticated
spec, spect, spi, spic	look, see	specimen, specific, spectator, spectacle, aspect, speculate, inspect, respect, prospect, retrospective, introspective, expect, conspicuous
sper	render favorable	prosper
sphere	ball, sphere	sphere, stratosphere, hemisphere, spheroid
spir	breath	spirit, conspire, inspire, aspire, expire, perspire, respiration
stand, stant, stab, stat, stan, sti, sta, st, stead	stand	stature, establish, stance
-ster	person	mobster, monster
strain, strict, string, stige	bind, pull, draw tight	stringent, strict, restrict, constrict, restrain, boa constrictor
stru, struct, stroy, stry	build	construe, structure, construct, instruct, obstruct, destruction, destroy, industry, ministry
sub, suc, suf, sup, sur, sus	under, below, from, secretly, instead of	sustain, survive, support, suffice, succeed, submerge, submarine, substandard, subnormal, subvert
sume, sump	take, use, waste	consume, assume, sump, presumption
super, supra	over, above	superior, suprarenal, superscript, supernatural, superimpose, supercede
syn, sym	together, at the same time	sympathy, synthesis, synchronous, syndicate
tact, tang, tag, tig, ting	touch	tactile, contact, intact, intangible, tangible, contagious, contiguous, contingent
tain, ten, tent, tin	hold, keep, have	retain, continue, content, tenacious
tect, teg	cover	detect, protect, tegular, tegument
tele	distance, far, from afar	telephone, telegraph, telegram, telescope, television, telephoto, telecast, telepathy, telepathy
tem, tempo	time	tempo, temporary, extemporaneously, contemporary, pro tem, temporal
ten, tin, tain	hold	tenacious, tenant, tenure, untenable, detention, retentive, content, pertinent, continent, obstinate, contain, abstain, pertain, detain
tend, tent, tens	stretch, strain	tendency, extend, intend, contend, pretend, superintend, tender, extent, tension, pretense
tera	trillion	terabyte, teraflop
term	end, boundary, limit	exterminate, terminal
terr, terra	earth	terrain, terrarium, territory, terrestrial
test	to bear witness	testament, detest, testimony, attest, testify
the, theo	God, a god	monotheism, polytheism, atheism, theology
therm	heat	thermometer, theorem, thermal, thermos bottle, thermostat, hypothermia
thesis, thet	place, put	antithesis, hypothesis, synthesis, epithet
tire	draw, pull	attire, retire, entire
tom	cut	atom (not cutable), appendectomy, tonsillectomy, dichotomy, anatomy
tor, tors, tort	twist	torture, retort, extort, distort, contort, torsion, tortuous, torturous
tox	poison	toxic, intoxicate, antitoxin
tract, tra, trai, treat	drag, draw, pull	attract, tractor, traction, extract, retract, protract, detract, subtract, contract, intractable
trans	across, beyond, change	transform, transoceanic, transmit, transportation, transducer
tri	three	tripod, triangle, trinity, trilateral
trib	pay, bestow	tribute, contribute, attribute, retribution, tributary
tribute	give	contribute, distribute, tributary
turbo	disturb	turbulent, disturb, turbid, turmoil
typ	print	type, prototype, typical, typography, typewriter, typology, typify
ultima	last	ultimate, ultimatum
umber, umbraticum	shadow	umbra, penumbra, (take) umbrage, adumbrate
un	not, against, opposite	unceasing, unequal
uni	one	uniform, unilateral, universal, unity, unanimous, unite, unison, unicorn
-ure	Noun: act, condition, process, function	exposure, conjecture, measure
vac	empty	vacate, vacuum, evacuate, vacation, vacant, vacuous
vade	go	evade, invader
vale, vali, valu	strength, worth	equivalent, valiant, validity, evaluate, value, valor
veh, vect	to carry	vector, vehicle, convection, vehement
ven, vent	come	convene, intervene, venue, convenient, avenue, circumvent, invent, convent, venture, event, advent, prevent
ver, veri	true	very, aver, verdict, verity, verify, verisimilitude
verb, verv	word	verify, veracity, verbalize, verve
vert, vers	turn, change	convert, revert, advertise, versatile, vertigo, invert, reversion, extravert, introvert, diversion, introvert, convertible, reverse, controversy
vi	way	viable, vibrate, vibrant
vic, vicis	change, substitute	vicarious, vicar, vicissitude
vict, vinc	conquer	victor, evict, convict, convince, invincible
vid, vis	see	video, evident, provide, providence, visible, revise, supervise, vista, visit, vision, review, indivisible
viv, vita, vivi	alive, life	revive, survive, vivid, vivacious, vitality, vivisection, vital, vitamins, revitalize
voc, voke	call	vocation, avocation, convocation, invocation, evoke, provoke, revoke, advocate, provocative, vocal
vol	will	malevolent, benevolent, volunteer, volition
volcan	fire	volcano, vulcanize, Vulcan
volv, volt, vol	turn about, roll	revolve, voluble, voluminous, convolution, revolt, evolution
vor	eat greedily	voracious, carnivorous, herbivorous, omnivorous, devour
-ward	Adverb: in a direction or manner	homeward
-wise	Adverb: in the manner of, with regard to	timewise, clockwise, bitwise
with	against	withhold, without, withdraw, forthwith
-y	Noun: state, condition, result of an activity	society, victory
-y	Adjective: marked by, having	hungry, angry, smeary, teary
zo	animal	zoo (zoological garden), zoology, zodiac, protozoan

Parts of Speech

Knowing parts of speech is important especially when dealing with cloze texts.

Why?

It helps to identify what words are needed for the blank as it may help you eliminate those words that are grammatically wrong.

Look at the cloze pages on this site for more information about how to do the cloze section of the test.

When learning vocabulary, I place a lot of emphasis on derivatives. Knowing derivatives will help you learn the various parts of speech.

Below is a list of common suffixes that help indicate what parts of speech each word is.

Sometimes a word can be identified as a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb by its suffix (ending).

The following suffixes usually indicate nouns:

ion, sion, tion	population
acy	accuracy
age	image
ance, ence	permanence
hood	childhood
ar, or	scholar, doctor
ism	socialism
ist	artist
ment	government
ness	happiness
y	beauty
ty	reality, capacity

The following suffixes usually indicate adjectives:

al	natural
ful	beautiful
ly	friendly
ic	chronic
ish	childish
like	childlike
ous	populous, numerous
y	happy
ate	accurate
able, ible	capable, terrible

The following suffix usually indicates adverbs:

ly	happily, readily, beautifully

The following suffixes usually indicate verbs:

ify	beautify
ate	populate
ize	realize
en	widen, lengthen

http://www.michigan-proficiency-exams.com/parts-of-speech.html

Form-Class Words
Parts of Speech
Certain types of words fall into categories called parts of speech which share common behaviours such as affixes or word orders. For instance, only nouns can take the derivational suffix –ment and only verbs can take inflection {present tense}. Prepositions can’t take inflectional suffixes and they can only go before nouns, not after them. In general, certain parts of speech are either form-class words or structure-class words. When we identify the part of speech of a word by its morphological make up (base and/or affixes), we are identifying it by its form. When we identify the part of speech by its relation to other words, we are identifying it by its function. Hence, to use the examples just mentioned, we can prove that the word government is a noun both because it contains the suffix –ment, which is normally associated with nouns and because it occurs in the sequence the government, rather than the other way around.
For every part of speech there are both "formal" test (that is tests of form) and "functional tests" that can be used to identify whether or not a word belongs to that particular part of speech. Unfortunately, not all tests work for all words. For instance, dog is a noun, but you cannot identify it as such by looking at its derivational affixes since it doesn’t have any. Other times, the same test will reveal different parts of speech. For instance, the inflection {-er comparative} primarily occurs with adjectives, but it also occurs with adverbs. The suffix {-ly} can also occur on adjectives and adverbs. So is a word like friendlier an adjective or an adverb?
One way to solve this sort of problem is to accept the possibility of prototypical and peripheral cases. A word which passes all the tests for a noun is a prototypical noun and a word which passes only most of the tests is a peripheral noun. A word which passes a minority of the tests probably should not be classified as a noun. Many dictionaries list the parts of speech of words, and their editors have applied these tests. Sometimes dictionaries will list two parts of speech for a single word (talk, for instance, will be listed as both a noun and verb). In such cases, the word very often can undergo something called functional shift. This is when a word changes the part of speech it functions as, depending upon its place in the sentence. For instance, I gave a talk yesterday has a noun, but I talk in a loud voice has a verb. It is useful to know how to identify the part of speech of a word in isolation, since this helps with identifying their functions. But to analyse the grammar of a sentence it is essential to be able to identify the part of speech a word is functioning as in that sentence.
Tests for Nouns
Formal tests for nouns are of two types: (a) whether the word has a derivational morpheme associated with nouns and (b) whether the word can take inflectional morphemes associated with nouns. Words like government have the derivational suffix –ment, which is also found on other nouns like abatement, statement, etc. To identify a derivational morpheme as associated with nouns you need to be able to think of a number of other nouns which have with same morpheme. Some students have trouble doing this, as it requires them to know in advance that the words they think of are nouns. You can go to the dictionary to double check this, but, in the end, you need to categorise these morphemes in your memory in order for this test to be consistently effective.
Most nouns can take the two types of inflections associated with nouns: {-s pl} and {-s poss}. For instance, the word government can become governments or government’s. If you are faced with a word like seasoning, try adding these inflections. If you can, the word passes the noun test. However, not all nouns will pass this test. For instance, the word electricity cannot generally be made plural. It belongs to a subclass of nouns that we think of as not being countable. Nouns belonging to this subclass are called noncount nouns or mass nouns. Some nouns can be both count nouns and noncount nouns depending upon the context. For instance, the word bread appears to be a count noun since it can be pluralised (A lot of breads taste like sponges). But it can also function as a noncount noun in They brought a lot of bread to the picnic.
Functional tests for nouns involve testing where the word can occur in a sentence. Nouns can generally occur as grammatical unit with the articles a/an or the. So if you can say a government or the government, you may well have a noun. The major exception is the subclass of nouns called proper nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific places, persons, or events (like Norway, John, or Christmas). Most proper nouns cannot be preceded by an article (or be pluralised), although some can: the Alps, the Hundred Years War, the Norway of a hundred years ago, etc. Nouns that are not proper nouns are called common nouns. Proper nouns are capitalised in English, but this is merely convention. In German, all nouns, including common nouns, are capitalised.
Nouns can also be described by adjectives, so another technique is to insert the word being tested into a sentence where an adjective describes a noun. Your test sentence is called a frame sentence. Here is an example of a frame sentence for nouns:
(The)__________seem(s) all right.
For proper nouns and some abstract nouns like diligence, you will need to omit the "The", which is why it is in parentheses. Likewise, plural nouns will need the verb seem, rather than seems. You may also find that the adjective all right does not make sense because the meaning of the word you are testing cannot be described as "all right". If you can substitute another adjective that makes more sense, the word still passes the noun test.
Tests for Verbs
Formal tests for verbs are similar to those for nouns. Some derivational morphemes occur only on verbs, such as –ize. Also, if the word being tested can take one of the inflections associated with verbs ({-s present tense}, {-ed past tense}, {-ing present participle}, {-d past participle}), chances are that you have a verb.
There are three functional tests that you can use to identify verbs. First, you can try making the word into a command. For instance, the word work can be made into the command Work hard! Verbs can also be made negative using the word not (often in combination with do): They do not work hard. Finally, you can use a frame sentence that places the word in a position where verbs commonly occur. Because there are multiple subclasses of verbs, two frame sentences—both of which must be tried—are needed to test a potential verb:
They must_________(it).
They must_________good.
The different verb subclasses will be addressed later in the course.
Tests for Adjectives
Adjectives perform a function called modification; that is, they are modifiers of other parts of speech. For instance, the noun dog encompasses dogs of many different types, and we can be more specific about the type of dog by modifying it with an adjective: big dog, brown dog, yappy dog, etc.
Formal tests for adjectives consist of identifying derivational morphemes associated with adjectives (e.g. –able, -ish, -y, etc.) and whether the word can take the inflections associated with adjectives ({-er comparative} and {-est superlative}).
Some adjectives (e.g. profitable) cannot take inflections but can still be treated as comparative or superlative by preceding them with more or most. If a word fails the formal test of taking an adjectival inflection, it may pass this functional test of word order. Another functional test is that adjectives can be preceded by structure class words called qualifiers or intensifiers: words like very, rather, quite, etc. Finally, a frame sentence may be used. For adjectives, the word being tested must be insertable into both blanks.
The__________man is very__________.
Tests for Adverbs
Whereas adjectives are modifiers of nouns, adverbs are modifiers of verbs. Formal tests for adverbs include the presence of derivational morphemes associated with adverbs (e.g. {-ly, -wise, -ward) and whether or not the word being tested can take the comparative or superlative inflections. Note that these inflections are normally associated with adjectives, and the fact that adverbs can also take them shows how they, like adjectives, are modifiers.
As with adjectives, some adverbs (like suddenly) can be made comparative or superlative using more or most. If the word fails the formal test using inflections, try the functional test using more or most. Another functional test is that adverbs can take qualifiers or intensifiers. One way in which adverbs differ from adjectives, is that they can often be moved within a sentence:
The door opened suddenly.
The door suddenly opened.
Suddenly, the door opened.
You can also use a frame sentence like:
The man told his story___________.
or
The woman walked her dog_________.
Form and Function
It is valuable to be able to identify the part of speech of a word in isolation, but more important to be able to identify its function in a sentence. For instance, if you examine the word run, you will find that it passes the tests for both nouns and verbs. Most of the time, you will not be faced with having to decide whether the word in isolation is a noun or a verb. More often, you will have a sentence, and you will have to decide how the word function in that particular sentence. Compare the following sentences:
He had two runs yesterday.
This car runs well.
The word runs functions as a noun in the first sentence and as a verb in the second. Words functioning as nouns are said to have nominal function, words functioning as verbs are said to have verbal function, words functioning as adjectives are said to have adjectival function, and words functioning as adverbs are said to have adverbial function.
Many words that pass the formal tests for one part of speech can function as another. For instance, the word home passes the formal tests for a noun (homes, the home’s upkeep), but it can function adverbially (I’m going home). It can also function adjectivally (home furnishings). In such cases, the word is said to undergo functional shift. The best way to identify the function of a word is to substitute it with a prototypical word, that is, a word which you know already is a noun, verb, adjective, etc. For instance, if you know that the word happily is an adverb, you can substitute it in the sentence I’m going home to get I’m going happily. The sentence works, so home is functioning adverbially in the sentence here. If you know that old is an adjective, you can substitute it for home in home furnishings. The result, old furnishings, suggests that home is functioning adjectivally.
There are many different kinds of functional shift, but one common one is the use of the past participle form of a verb with a nominal function. Compare the following sentences:
I am going home now.
Going home early is a luxury.
In the first sentence, the word going is functioning verbally; in the second it is functioning nominally. Past participle forms of verbs which function nominally are called gerunds.

Penulis : najbadunk ~ Sebuah blog yang menyediakan berbagai macam informasi

Artikel Studi Bahasa Inggris ini dipublish oleh najbadunk pada hari Rabu, 04 April 2012. Semoga artikel ini dapat bermanfaat.Terimakasih atas kunjungan Anda silahkan tinggalkan komentar.sudah ada 0 komentar: di postingan Studi Bahasa Inggris

Studi Bahasa Inggris

Clause Reduction 1

Shortening a modifying clause with a be verb

Reducing a modifying clause to a subject noun

Reducing a modifying clause to an object noun

Clause Reduction

Prepositional Phrases

Reducing a Clause with a Prepositional Phrase

Clause Reduction

"Be" auxiliary verb — progressive

Clauses with Progressive Tense

Clause Reduction

"Be" auxiliary verb — passive

Clauses with Passive

Grammar Notes

Traditional & Current

Traditional &. Current Grammar Descriptions

Tree Diagram of Clauses

How to Identify Intervening Phrases and Clauses

Instructions

modifying clause to identify which noun

An Identifying vs. Nonidentifying Relative Clause

Exception — Preposition + Which

Restrictive Clauses

Identifying Words, Phrases and Clauses

Identifying (Restricted) vs. Non-Identifying (Nonrestrictive)

Active / Passive Verb Forms

Active Form

Passive Form

Active / Passive Overview

Participial Phrases

Diagramming Participial Phrases

How to Find the Main Idea

Summarize the Passage

Look for Repetition of Ideas

Avoiding Main Idea Mistakes

Summary

Objects

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Subject Complements

Object Complements

(by David Megginson)

Objects

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Subject Complements

Object Complements

(by David Megginson)

Penulis : najbadunk ~ Sebuah blog yang menyediakan berbagai macam informasi

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