English midterm Flashcards
Phrases vs Clauses
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject-verb unit but otherwise functions together
independent clause
A group of words that contains a subject, a verb, and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause can often stand as a sentence by itself
dependent clause
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence.
FANBOYS conjunctions
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
SWABI
Since, When, After, Because, if
prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases can function as adjectives, modifying nouns or pronouns by providing additional information about them.
participial phrases
A participle phrase is a group of words containing a participle, modifier, and pronoun or noun phrases. The Pronoun/Noun will act the recipient of the action in the phrase.
dangling modifiers
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept.
who vs whom
If you can replace the word with he or she or another subject pronoun, use who. If you can replace it with him or her (or another object pronoun), use whom.
active vs passive voice
Active sentences are about what people (or things) do, while passive sentences are about what happens to people (or things).
hyphens
The hyphen ‐ is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. Son-in-law is an example of a hyphenated word.
semi-colons
Use a semicolon between independent clauses which are linked in meaning with a transitional word
conjunctive adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs are transition words or phrases.
subjects vs objects
The subject is the noun or pronoun modifying the verb. Usually, it’s the entity “performing” the action. The object is the noun or pronoun usually being affected by the actions of the subject.
further vs farther
farther means a greater distance in a literal, physical sense i.e. it can be measured, whereas further is a greater figurative or metaphorical distance.
