An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as “how,” “when,” “where,” “how much”.
While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic “ly” suffix, most of them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places within the sentence.
Semicolons should join only those independent clauses that are closely related in meaning.
Abdominal exercises help prevent back pain; proper posture is also important.
The auditors made six recommendations; however, only one has been adopted so far.
Comma usage is in some respects a question of personal writing style: some writers use commas liberally, while others prefer to use them sparingly. Most modern North American style guides now recommend using fewer commas rather than more, so when faced with the option of using a comma or not, you may find it wise to refrain.
Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject. In the following sentences, the predicate is enclosed in braces ({}), while the subject is underlined.
An interjection is a word added to a sentence to convey emotion. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.
You usually follow an interjection with an exclamation mark. Interjections are uncommon in formal academic prose, except in direct quotations.
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You can use a conjunction to link words, phrases, and clauses, as in the following example:
I ate the pizza and the pasta.
Call the movers when you are ready.
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A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn.
