Conventions

Parts of Speech           Punctuation

Parts  of  Speech  

Noun    Pronoun    Verb    Adjective    Adverb    Preposition    Conjunction    Interjection

Noun
A noun is a word which names a person, place, thing, or idea.

                        person:  Maria, friend, Josh, parent
                        place:  home, Miami, city, backyard
                        thing: baseball, homework, secret
                        idea:  happiness, trouble, friendship

•     A common noun (not capitalized) is the general name of a person,
      place, thing, or idea.
   

•     A proper noun (always capitalized) is the specific name of a person, place,
      thing, or idea.

                    Common Nouns                    Proper Nouns 
                        woman                                  Betsy Ross
                        fort                                       Fort Sisseton
                        mountains                             the Rocky Mountains
                        team                                      the Minnesota Twins
                        park                                      Bramble Park

Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

•     She dropped her books.  He dropped it.  Sometimes I talk to myself.

Verb
A verb shows action or links the subject to another word in the sentence.

• An action verb tells what the subject is doing.

                   The boys hike along the river.

• A linking verb links a subject to a noun or an adjective in the predicate
  part of the sentence.

                   My new car looks shiny.

• A helping verb comes before the main verb and helps state an action.

                   Lee will write in his journal.

Adjective
Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns.  Adjectives tell what kind,
how many, or which one.

•  Male peacocks have beautiful feathers.

Adverb
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.  Adverbs tell
how, when, where, how often, and how much.  Adverbs often end in ly.

•  Max waited eagerly for the next pitch. (how)

•  The pitch curved inside. (where)

•  The game is starting now. (when)

Preposition
Prepositions are words that show position or direction and introduce prepositional
phrases.

• One cat rested on the desk top.

• Another cat watched from a window.

Conjunction
A conjunction connects individual words or groups of words.

• The river is wide and deep.

• We can fish in the morning or in the evening.

• Neither Bill nor Jane like the movie.

• Ice cream tastes best when it is topped with chocolate.

Interjection
An interjection is a word or phrase used to express strong emotion or surprise.  A
comma or an exclamation point is used to separate an interjection from the rest
of the sentence.

• Wow, look at those mountains!

• Hey!  Keep your eyes on the road!

Punctuation

Apostrophe    Colon    Comma    Dialogue    Hyphen    Quotation Marks    Semicolon    Titles    Underline/Italics

Apostrophe
An apostrophe is used to show a letter or letters have been left out of a word, to form
plurals, or to show possession.

• In contractions an apostrophe is used to show that one or more
  letters have been left out of a word.

                    don't = do not (o is left out)
                    she'd = she would (would is left out)
                    it's = it is (i is left out)

• An 's is used to form the plural of a letter, a number, a sign, or a
  word discussed as a word. ("How many to's are there in the sentence?)

                    A's,     8's,     +'s,     to's

• The possessive form of singular nouns is usually made by adding an 's.

                    The world's population will double by the year 2050.
                    Did Mr. Berg's lecture explain endangered species?

Note:  When a singular noun ends with an s or z sound. the possessive may be
             formed by adding just an apostrophe.  When the singular noun is a one-syllable word,
             however, the possessive is usually formed by adding 's.

                         Texas' resources (or) Texas's resources
                         boss's request (one-syllable noun ending in s)

• The possessive form of plural nouns ending in s is usually made
  by adding just an apostrophe.  For plural nouns not ending in s, an
   apostrophe and s must be added.

                        Joneses' great-grandfather
                        children's book

Remember:   The word immediately before the apostrophe is the owner.

                            the kid's custom-designed sneakers          (kid is the owner)
                            the girls' wide-leg riding pants                  (girls are the owners)
                            boss's office                                              (boss is the owner)
                            bosses' office                                            (bosses are the owners)

• When possession is shared by more than one noun, add 's to the last noun in the series.

                    Smith, Nelson, Garcia's air band (All three are members of the band.)
                    Smith's, Nelson's, and Garcia's guitars (Each person owns a guitar.)

• The possessive of a compound noun is formed by placing the 's after the last word.

                    her sister-in-law's pop music (singular)
                    the secretary of state's wife (singular)
                    their sisters-in-law's tastes in music (plural)
                    the secretaries of state's wives (plural)

Colon
A colon may be used in a salutation, to introduce a list, or between the numbers in time.

• Salutation:  Dear Sir:
• List:  Bring the following to camp:  flashlight, snacks, and towels.
• Time:  12:30

Comma
A comma is used to indicate a pause or change in thought.

• Items in a series:  I like grapes, oranges, and peaches.
• Dates and addresses:  On June 23, 1989, at 46 Main Street, Hayti, South Dakota, I
                                    found twenty dollars.
• Dialogue:  Bill shouted, "Get off the roof!"
• Interruptions (Parenthetical Expressions):  You can, for example, buy a computer
                                                                     with a CD burner.
• Direct address:  Bill, please go to the store for me.
• Between two independent clauses (compound sentence):  The day was hot, and Kathy
                                                                                           went to the pool.
• Between an introductory phrase/clause and an independent clause:
      1. Introductory prepositional phrase:  Over the course of the year, students
                                                                  will learn the comma rules.
      2. Introductory adverb clause:  Since it was getting dark, Bill had to leave the park.
      3. Introductory participial phrase:  Running through the forest, the fox discovered a new friend.
• Separating adjectives:  Many intelligent, well-educated students are in science club.
• Appositives:  Acid rain, a form of pollution caused by burning coal, affects most of North America.
• Nonessential (Nonrestrictive) clause or phrase:  The Smiths, who moved here years ago, are our
                                                                            best friends. (When "who moved here years ago" is
                                                                            removed, the sentence is still clear.)

Dialogue
Periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks in dialogue.

• "I don't know," replied Al.
  Al replied, "I don't know."
  "I," Al replied, "don't know."

Hyphen
The hyphen is used to create new words, to join words, to divide a word, and
to join letters and words.

• To create new words:  robot-operated
• To join words:  dot-matrix printer, 14-year-old, sister-in-law
• To divide a word:  to-geth-er, omit-ted
• To join letters and words:  G-rated, X-ray, T-bone

Quotation Marks
Quotation marks are placed before and after direct quotes

• A noted scientist recently remarked, "You can say good-bye to your telephone."

Single quotation marks are used to punctuate a quote within a quote.

• "I love reading 'The Raven'!" exclaimed Sue.

Semicolon
Use a semicolon between the clauses of a compound sentence that are not joined by a conjunction.

• My sister has blond hair; I have red hair.

Use a semicolon between clauses in a compound sentence that are joined by certain transitional words.

• Bill practiced repeatedly; therefore, he made the team.

Titles
Italicize or underline the titles of books, plays, book-length poems, magazines, radio and television programs, movies (videos), cassettes and CD's, pamphlets, manuals, the names of aircraft and ships, and newspapers.

• Novel            The Lord of the Rings            or            The Lord of the Rings
• Magazine       Discover                               or            Discover
• TV show        Friends                                 or            Friends
• Movie            Jurassic Park                        or            Jurassic Park
• CD                No Fences                             or            No Fences
• Ship              USS Arizona                          or            USS Arizona
• Newspaper    Argus Leader                         or            Argus Leader

Use quotation marks for short pieces of written work, song titles, articles from magazines and newspapers,
chapters, short stories, one-act plays, class names, and short poems.

• Song                        "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
• Short story               "Tell-Tale Heart"
• Chapter in a book    "We'll Never conquer Space"
• Class name               "Beginning Photography"
• Newspaper article     "VCR Still Stumps the Smarties"
• Poem                       

Underline / Italics
Underline or italicize foreign words that are not commonly used.  Also, underline or
italicize scientific names.

• E pluribus unum appears on most U.S. currency.
• Humankind is also known as homo sapiens.