Subject
The part of the sentence about which something is being said and best answers the question Whom or what are we talking about? or Who or what is doing something?
Transitive Verb
A main verb that usually expresses an action and always has a direct object.
Intrasitive Verb
A main verb that never has a direct object.
Helping Verb
A verb that usually precedes a main verb and must be used with certain forms of a main verb.
Linking Verb
A main verb that expresses a state of being or a condition and is always followed by a subject complement (a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective).
Direct Object
A verb complement that follows a transitive verb and answers the question What? or Whom?.
Indirect Object
A verb complement that follows a transitive verb, precedes a direct object, and usually answers the question To whom? For whom? To what? or For what?
Subject Complement
Predicate Adjective – An adjective subject complement that follows a linking verb and describes the subject.
Predicate Nominative – A noun or a pronoun subject complement that follows a linking verb and renames the subject.
Verbal Complement
A noun, a pronoun, or an adjective that follows a verbal and completes its meaning.
Conjunction
A word or words used to connect words, phrases, and clauses of equal status.
Adjective
A word that modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun and answers the question Which one? What kind of? How many? or Whose?
Adverb
A word that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and answers the question When? Where? How? or To what extent?
Preposition
A word such as at, during, of, on, through, or to that joins and shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to another word in a sentence.
Object of Preposition
A noun or a pronoun that follows a preposition and usually answers the question Whom? or What?
Verb Phrase
A main verb and all of its helping verbs.
Prepositional Phrase
A preposition plus its object and any modifiers.
Appositive Phrase
An appositive and all of its modifiers.
Remember, an appositive is a noun or a pronoun that immediately follows another noun or pronoun for the purpose of further identifying, renaming, or explaining the first noun or pronoun.
Participial Phrase
A participle plus its complement(s) and/or modifier(s).
Remember, a participle is verbal that functions as an adjective and usually ends with ing, ed, or en.
Gerund Phrase
A gerund plus its modifier(s) and/or complement(s).
Remember, a gerund is verbal that functions as a noun and always ends with ing.
Infinitve Phrase
An infinitive plus its complement(s) and/or modifier(s).
Remember, an infinitive is a verbal that functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb and is usually introduced by the word to.
Adjective Clause
A dependent clause that usually begins with a relative pronoun, modifies a noun or a pronoun, and usually answers the question Which one? What kind of? or Whose?
Adverb Clause
A dependent clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction, modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb, and usually answers the question When? Where? Why? How? To what extent? or Under what condition?
Noun Clause
A dependent clause that begins with a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction and functions as a noun.
Simple Sentence
A sentence that has one independent clause.
Compound Sentence
A sentence that has two or more independent clauses.
Complex Sentence
A sentence that has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Compound-complex Sentence
A sentence that has two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Not a Sentence
A group of words that begins with the first word capitalized, ends with a punctuation mark, and is not a complete thought.
Sentence Fragment
Select this button when the group of words is not a complete thought.
Misplaced or Dangling Modifier
Select this button when the sentence contains:
- A misplaced modifier—a word, a phrase, or a dependent clause that is not positioned properly in the sentence.
- A dangling modifier—a participial phrase, an infinitive phrase, a prepositional phrase, or an elliptical clause that does not sensibly modify any word(s) in the sentence.
Not Parallel
Select this button when the sentence contains a coordinating conjunction or a correlative conjunction joining two or more dissimilar grammatical elements.
Unclear Pronoun Reference
Select this button when the sentence contains:
- A pronoun not clearly referring to a specific antecedent.
- A pronoun referring to a possessive modifier.
- A pronoun referring to an implied antecedent.
- The pronoun they referring to an unspecified person or people.
- The pronoun it functioning as an awkward and unclear subject.
Commonly Confused Word (Misused Word)
Select this button when the sentence contains a commonly confused word being misused – a word that looks or sounds similar to another word but has a different meaning.
Subject-Verb Agreement Error
Select this button when the subject and the verb do not agree in number. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs.
Pronoun-Antecedent Error
Select this button when the sentence contains a personal or a possessive pronoun that is referring to an antecedent that is not of the same number or gender.
Pronoun Usage Error
Select this button when the sentence contains a pronoun that is not in the correct case.
Verb Usage Error
Select this button when the sentence contains a main verb in the wrong tense or the sentence has an incorrect shift in verb tense.
Capitalization Error
Select this button when a word is incorrectly capitalized or when a word needs to be capitalized.
Correct
Select this button when the sentence does not contain a usage error, a capitalization error, or a mechanics error.
Apostrophe Usage Error
Select this button when the sentence contains a word that needs an apostrophe inserted, deleted, or moved or when the sentence is incorrect because of a contraction or a possessive pronoun error.
End of Sentence Punctuation Error
Select this button when the punctuation at the end of the sentence is not correct.
Introductory Element Requires Comma
Select this button when the sentence begins with an introductory element (prepositional phrase, participial phrase, direct address, independent comment, transitional expression, adverb clause, or direct quotation) that is not separated from the subject with a comma.
NOTE: A comma is not required after an introductory adverb or a short adverb phrase that answers a When? or Where? question.
Interrupting Element Requires Commas
Select this button when the sentence has a nonessential phrase, an appositive or an appositive phrase (that does not sound like one unit with a preceding noun), a direct address, a contrasting expression, an independent comment, a transitional expression, or a nonessential dependent clause that appears between the subject and the verb or between the verb and its complement and is not set off with commas.
Ending Element Requires Comma
Select this button when the sentence has an ending element such as a nonessential phrase, a direct address, a contrasting expression, an independent comment, an appositive or appositive phrase (that does not sound like one unit with the preceding noun), a transitional expression, a nonessential dependent clause, or a direct quotation that appears as the last element of the sentence and is not separated by a comma.
Series or Elements Requires Commas
Select this button when three or more parallel words, phrases, or clauses connected with a coordinating conjunction are not separated with commas or when two or more coordinate adjectives are not separated with a comma.
Incorrect Comma Insertion
Select this button when the sentence has an unnecessary comma(s).
Compound Sentence Requires Comma
Select this button when there is not a comma joining two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Compound Sentence Requires Semicolon
Select this button when there is not a semicolon separating two independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Correct
Select this button when the sentence does not have a punctuation error.
Compound Sentence Requires Colon
Select this button when there is not a colon between two independent clauses when the second clause explains or illustrates the first clause or when the second clause is a direct question.
