In the late elementary grades, students are learning complex grammar that most adults can't quite keep a handle on. Appositives? Clauses? Huh? But for young writers, knowing the nuts and bolts can be a big step up. Here's a review of some common (and commonly confused) grammar terms, as well as a quick activity to apply them to real life reading and writing.
What You Need:
- Kids' magazines
- Highlighter
- Pen
Review:
A prepositional phrase, composed of a preposition (part of speech that shows relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word, such as in, on, by, of, with, to, etc.) and its object, shows relationships involving time, direction, or space. She left early in order to get to the store.
An appositive, a word or phrase that renames a noun or pronoun, adds information about a noun but in a different way than do adjectives. Appositives are set apart by commas. Mr. Martinez, our neighbor, is at the door.
An independent clause is also known as a primary, main, and principal clause. An independent clause has a subject and verb, with the ability to stand alone as a sentence. Charles went to dinner after he changed clothes.
A dependent clause, or subordinate clause, adds information to the sentence by acting as an adjective, adverb, or noun, and is not able to stand alone as a sentence. Martha told us that her book is missing.
Conjunctions link words, phrases, and whole clauses to each other such as, and, but, if, for, or, so, yet, because, while, etc.
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