Language Arts 6th Grade
What I've learned this year! By : Mary-Esther Leblanc
Chapter 1 : The Sentence
Ex. we are going to the mall
answer : We are going to the mall!
Chapter 2 : Noun, Pronoun, and Adjective
Ex. The dog chased the cat.
dog, cat - noun
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns.
Ex. The trees were swaying in the wind.
They were swaying in the wind.
An adjective is a word that is used to modify a noun or a pronoun.
Ex. The cat is soft and kind.
adjectives : soft, kind
Chapter 3 : Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection
Ex. The girl was playing with her friends.
Playing is the verb.
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Ex. I gently shut the door tight.
Gently is the adverb.
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence.
Ex. I kick the ball between the gates.
Between is the preposition.
A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words.
Ex. Do you want to watch a movie or TV?
The conjunction is or.
An interjection is a word that expresses emotion.
Ex. Whew, I almost went to the wrong place!
Whew is the interjection.
Chapter 4 : Prepositional Phrases, Independent and Subordinate Clauses, and Sentence Structure
Ex. in the house
A prepositional phrase includes a preposition, the object of the preposition, and any modifiers of that object
Ex. Hand me the card on the big, brown table.
A prepositional phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun is called an adjective phrase.
Ex. She bought a dinner of shrimp.
Of shrimp modifies dinner, making of shrimp an adjective phrase. It answers what kind?
A prepositional phrase that is used to modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb is called an adverb phrase.
Ex. We walk along the lake every week.
This answers where?
A clause is a word group that contains a verb and its subject and that is used as a sentence or as part of a sentence.
An independent ( or main ) clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a sentence.
Ex. After I finished eating, I helped my family clean up.
The bolded can stand alone.
A subordinate ( or dependent ) clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.
Ex. if you finish
It cannot stand alone because it needs an independent clause.
An adjective clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.
Ex. a cat that has multicolored fur
The bolded has a subject, that, and a verb, has.
An adverb clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
Ex. Since the toddler was shy, she hid behind her dad.
A simple sentence has one independent clause and no subordinate clauses.
Ex. My mother belongs to the Friends of the LIbrary Club.
s v
A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses, usually joined by a comma and a connecting word.
Ex. I forgot my lunch, but dad ran to the bus with it.
A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.
Ex. Before Chen planted his garden, he made a sketch of the layout.
subordinate clause independent clause
A with two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause is a compound-complex sentence.
Ex I picked up the branches that had fallen during the storm, and Rosa mowed the grass.
IND / SUB / IND
Chapter 5 : Direct and Indirect Objects, and Subject Complements
Ex. My aunt found her wallet.
The noun wallet completes the meaning of the verb found.
A direct object noun, pronoun, or word group that tells who or what receives the action of the verb.
Ex. My sister bought a model.
The noun model receives the action of the verb bought.
An indirect object is a noun, pronoun, or word group that usually comes between the verb and the direct. An indirect object tells whom or to what or for whom or for what the action of the verb is done.
Ex. Dad bought himself some peanuts.
The pronoun himself is the indirect object of the verb bought and answers the question whom did Dad buy peanuts.
A subject complement is a word or word group that is in the predicate and that identifies or describes the subject.
Ex. Mrs. Ann is a helpful neighbor.
The linking verb is connects Mrs. Ann and neighbor.\
A predicate nominative is a word or word group that is in the predicate and that identifies the subject or refers to it.
Ex. Seaweed is algae, as I remember.
Algae identifies the subject seaweed.
A predicate adjective is an adjective that is in the predicate and that describes the subject.
Ex. I was very tired.
The adjective tired describes the subject I.
Chapter 6 : Agreement ; Subject and Verb, Pronoun and Antecedent
A verb should agree in number with its subject.
1. Singular subjects take singular verbs.
Ex. She plays the violin wells.
The singular verbs plays agrees with the singular subject she.
2. Plural subjects take plural verbs.
Ex. They practice after school.
The plural verb practice agrees with the plural subject they.
The number of a subject is not changed by a phrase following the subject.
Ex. These shades of blue are my favorite colors.
The following indefinite pronouns are singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, and something.
The following indefinite pronouns are plural: both, few, many, several.
The indefinite pronouns all, more, most, none, and some may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.
Ex. All of the snow has melted.
Subjects joined by and generally take a plural verb.
Ex. Red and blue are the school's colors.
Singular subjects that are joined by or or nor take a singular verb.
Ex. A new marble statue or a fountain has been planned for the park.
Plural subjects joined by or or nor take a plural verb.
Ex. Tulips or pansies make a lovely border for a sidewalk.
When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb.
Ex. Either the boss or engineers have made this mistake.
When the subject follows the verb, find the subject and make sure that the verb agrees with it.
Ex. Are the birds in the nest?
The word don't is the contraction of do not. Use don't with all plural subjects and with the pronouns I and you.
The word doesn't is the contraction of does not. Use doesn't with all singular subjects except the pronouns I and you.
A pronoun should agree in gender with its antecedent.
Ex. Rosa said she lost her purse.
A pronoun should agree with its antecedent in number.
1. Use singular pronoun to refer to the indefinite pronouns anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, and something.
2. Use a plural pronoun to refer to the indefinite pronouns both, few, many, and several.
3. The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some, may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.
4. Use a singular pronoun to refer to two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor.
5. Use a plural pronoun to refer to two or more antecedents joined by and.
Chapter 7: Using Verbs Correctly; Principal Parts, Regular and Irregular Verbs, Tense
The regular verb forms its past and and the past participle by adding -d or -ed to the base form.
An irregular verb forms its past and past participle in some other way than by adding -d or -ed to the base form.
The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or the states of being that is expressed by the verb.
Do not change needlessly from one tense to another.
Chapter 8 : Using Pronouns Correctly ; Subject and Object Forms
Ex. I walked to school.
Use the subject form for a pronoun that is a predicate nominative.
Ex. The next singer is she.
Use the object form for a pronoun that is the direct object of a verb.
Ex. The answer surprised us.
Use the object form for a pronoun that is the indirect object of a verb.
Ex. Scott handed me a present.
Use the object form for a pronoun that is the object of a preposition.
Ex. above me
Chapter 9 : Using Modifiers Correctly ; Comparison and Placement
Ex. That one is my favorite.
Adverbs make the meanings of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs more specific.
Ex. The car backfired loudly.
The three degrees of comparison of modifiers are the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.
1. The positive degree is used when two things are being compared.
Ex. Shawn runs quickly.
2. The comparative degree is used when two things are being compared.
Ex. Kim runs more quickly than Shawn.
3. The superlative degree is used when three or more things are being compared.
Ex. Jake runs the fastest.
The modifiers good and well have different uses.
1. Use good to modify a noun or a pronoun.
Ex. The farmers had good crops.
2.Use well to modify a verb.
Ex. The day started well.
Use adjectives, not adverbs, after linking verbs.
Ex. Did Chris seen sad to you?
Avoid using double negatives.
Ex. Sheila did not tell no one her idea.
Answer : Sheila did not tell anyone her idea or Sheila told no one her idea.
Place modifying words, phrases, and clauses as close as possible to the words they modify.
Ex. The singer from Rio gave a radio interview.