Grammar Flashcards
Which prefix means ‘against’? Give some examples.
Anti-.
Antiseptic (against sepsis).
Antisocial (against society).
Which prefix means ‘not’ or ‘opposite’? Give some examples.
Dis-.
Disappear (not appearing).
Disbelief (not believing).
What is the indirect object?
The object of a sentence that receives the direct object.
What is the passive voice?
One of two grammatical voices in English (and French, German, etc. but not Ancient Greek). It makes the object the focus of the sentence.
What is the indirect object in this sentence?
Paula passed her father the parcel.
‘her father’.
What is the indirect object in this sentence?
He baked her a plate of cookies.
‘her’.
What is the indirect object in this sentence?
Shall I tell the children a story?
‘the children’.
Is this sentence in the active or passive voice? Rewrite it in the alternative voice.
The mat was sat on by the cat.
Passive.
The cat sat on the mat.
Is this sentence in the active or passive voice? Rewrite it in the alternative voice.
The song was written by me.
Passive.
I wrote the song.
Is this sentence in the active or passive voice? Rewrite it in the alternative voice.
Charles kicked the ball.
Active.
The ball was kicked by Charles.
Which Germanic prefix means ‘before’? Give some examples.
Fore-.
Forecast (before actual ‘casting’).
Foreground (before (main) ground).
Which prefix means ‘between’? Give some examples.
Inter-.
Interlude (literally ‘between play’).
Intermission (literally ‘send between’).
Which prefix means ‘bad’? Give some examples.
Mal-.
Malformed (badly formed)
Malnutrition (‘bad nutrition’, i.e. lack of nutrition)
Which prefix means ‘wrong’? Give some examples.
Mis-.
Misinformed (wrongly informed)
Mistrust (having trust in the wrong thing)
Which prefix means ‘after’? Give some examples.
Post-.
Postgraduate (after graduation from university)
Postwar (after war)
Which Latinate prefix means ‘before’? Give some examples.
Pre-.
Prehistoric (before written history)
Precondition (literally ‘before condition’; it means something that must occur before other things can)
Which prefix means ‘again’? Give some examples.
Re-.
Reassert (to assert again)
Review (literally ‘to view again’, i.e. to check over again)
Which prefix means ‘half’? Give some examples.
Semi-.
Semicircle (half a circle)
Semi-detached (half-attached)
Which prefix means ‘under’? Give some examples.
Sub-.
Submarine (under the sea)
Subpar (below standard)
Which prefix means ‘across’? Give some examples.
Trans-.
Transatlantic (across the Atlantic)
Transfer (literally ‘to carry across’)
What is a restrictive clause? Give an example.
Clauses that are essential for meaning; therefore, they have no commas.
e.g. ‘The teacher that won the lottery retired yesterday.’
What is a non-restrictive clause? Give an example.
Non-essential clauses with extra information. They are usually bound by commas.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, wrote many masterpieces.
What are the main uses for colons? how many are there?
Three.
To introduce an item or list.
Between main clauses where the first introduces the second.
For emphasis.
What are the rules for using speech marks?
They must surround the spoken words.
There must always be a punctuation mark before the final speech marks.
Place a comma after you name the speaker.
A change of speaker necessitates a new paragraph to avoid confusion.
