This page will contain information that will help your student understand grammar. It is a reference page for the parts of speech that your student may access if confused.


Noun - A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.


A proper noun, which names a specific person, place, or thing (Carlos, Queen Marguerite, Middle East, Jerusalem, Malaysia, Presbyterianism, God, Spanish, Buddhism, the Republican Party), is almost always capitalized.


Common nouns name everything else, things that usually are not capitalized.


The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter s.
· more than one snake = snakes
· more than one ski = skis
· more than one Barrymore = Barrymores
Words that end in -ch, x, s or s-like sounds, however, will require an -es for the plural:
· more than one witch = witches
· more than one box = boxes
· more than one gas = gases
· more than one bus = buses
· more than one kiss = kisses
· more than one Jones = Joneses
When a word ends in a y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i and add es.
· baby – babies
· party – parties
· city – cities
When a word ends in a y preceded by a vowel just add an s.
· bay – bays
· ray – rays



When in doubt, check a dictionary.


Collective nouns – Some examples are listed below.
Audience, band, class, committee, crowd, dozen, family, flock, group, heap, herd, jury, staff, team

Possessives


Showing possession in English is a relatively easy matter (believe it or not). Add an apostrophe and an s to transform most singular nouns into their possessive form:
· the car's front seat
· Charles's car
· John's book
· a hard day's work


Most plural nouns already end in s. To create their possessive, simply add an apostrophe after the s:
· The Pepins' house is the big blue one on the corner.
· The lions' usual source of water has dried up.
· The gases' odors mixed and became nauseating.
· The witches' brooms were hidden in the corner.
· The babies' beds were all in a row.


With nouns whose plurals are irregular, however, you will need to add an apostrophe followed by an s to create the possessive form.
· She plans on opening a women's clothing boutique.
· Children's programming is not a high priority.
· The geese's food supply was endangered.

VERBS


There are two main forms of verbs – action and linking.


Action verbs
An action verb is a verb that describes an action, like run, jump, kick, eat, break, cry, smile, or think.~ Action verbs tell what the subject does.

Direct Objects


A direct object receives the action of a verb. It answers the question whom? or what? after an action verb.
V. D.O.
Sightseers paid the fees.


There is an order of the placement of a direct object in a sentence. Subject >Verb>Direct Object



Not all action verbs take direct objects.


A transitive verb has a direct object.
An intransitive verb does not have a direct object.


Sheila read a book about placeAfrica. (transitive)
Sheila read in a great hurry. (intransitive)


Indirect Objects


An action verb may also have an indirect object.


An indirect object answers the question to whom? or for whom?
v. I.O D.O.
Sightseers paid the guides fees.


You cannot have an Indirect Object in a sentence if you do not have a Direct Object.


The order of placement for an indirect object in a sentence is: Subject>Verb>Indirect Object>Direct Object