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Grammar Girl is arguably one of the greatest champions of literacy today! Whenever you’re wondering if there should be an apostrophe somewhere in your writing, or if the phrase, “…begs the question…” is being used properly, she’s there to clear it all up for you. She’s so accessible! She’s timely, poignant, and memorable.

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Today’s daily tip concerns punctuation for names that end in “s,” “z,” and “y.”
This is stuff you need to know when you’re addressing your Christmas greeting cards. Here’s a snippet form today’s lesson:
Greeting Card Grammar: The Smiths, the Alvarezes, and the Kennedys

You’re addressing envelopes or signing a card and suddenly you realize you don’t know how to make a family name that ends in “s,” “z,” or “y” plural. How do you address a family of people with the last name “Jones,” “Alvarez,” or “Kennedy”?

Add “es” to make names that end in “s” and “z” plural:
The Joneses invite you to dinner.
Season’s greetings from the Alvarezes.

Add “s” to make names that end in “y” plural:

The Kennedys throw a great holiday party.

Never use an apostrophe to make a name plural! Apostrophes are for possessives.

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Every complete sentence has a subject and a verb.  There may be many additional elements, such as objects and modifiers, but the subject and the verb are always there.

 

Subjects

The subject of a sentence is a noun, a person, place, thing, idea, or feeling.  The subject often, but not always, comes at the beginning of the sentence.  The subject can be more than one noun.

The subject is always performing an action, doing something, being something, or feeling something.

• Harry and Sally got married.
• Love triumphs.
• Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

 

Verbs

Verbs are action words.  Run and jump are verbs.  Some actions are more subtle.  Stay and wait are verbs.  Even to be is a verb.  Every sentence has at least one verb.  There can be more than one.

A sentence can consist of nothing but a subject and a verb.

• I run.
• You waited.

Sometimes, two verbs together describe one action.

• We were jogging.
• You are reading.

If you are giving a command, you can even leave out the subject.  The following examples are complete sentences.  The subject is "you."  The subject is implied.

• Stop!
• Run!

 

Objects

A sentence can have more than one noun.  While a subject performs an action, an object is a noun that has action performed on it.  The object usually comes after the verb.

The following examples have a subject, then a verb, then an object.

• I ate dinner.
• Dave wrote a letter.
• The trumpet player played jazz.

 

Modifiers

Another very common sentence element is modifiers.  Modifiers use adjectives or adverbs to describe, define, limit, or modify nouns or verbs.  A modifier can be a single word or a phrase.

• I ate dinner in the dark.
• Dave almost wrote a letter to his mother.
• The fat trumpet player played slow jazz.

 

This post belongs to the WhiteSmoke Blog - the original article can be viewed here - Understanding Subjects, Verbs, Objects, and Modifiers

Traditional English grammar divides words into eight parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.  There are a few more terms also often used to define words, such as articles and gerunds.

 

Verbs

Verbs describe actions (eat, dance) or states of being (am, remain).  Every sentence contains at least one verb.

 

Nouns

A noun is a person, place, thing, idea, or feeling.  Every sentence has a subject, which is a noun.

 

Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence to avoid repetition.  Examples include she, it, and them.  Pronouns can be possessive (mine, ours) or interrogative (who, what).

 

Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns.  Big, old, hungry, blue, and vague are adjectives.  Adjectives can be possessive (my cat), demonstrative (that cat), interrogative (which cat?), or indefinite (some cats).

 

Adverbs

Adverbs modify or describe verbs (he ran quickly), adjectives (the sun was very bright), or other adverbs (he ran fairly quickly).

 

Prepositions

Prepositions link nouns, pronouns, and phrases to the rest of the sentence. The preposition usually indicates a relationship in time (I swept the stairs before lunch), space (my socks are under the bed), or logic (there is no business like show business).

 

Conjunctions

Conjunctions link words (I like jam and bread), phrases (do you want to wash the dishes or take out the garbage), and clauses (dinner is ready, so we should go in).

 

Interjections

Interjections are words or short phrases added to a sentence to convey emotion.  They are often followed by an exclamation mark. Interjections are informal.

Wow!  This is great!
Hey, come on.

 

Articles

Articles introduce nouns.  Common articles are the, a, and an.

 

Gerunds

A gerund is a verb form that functions as a noun.  Gerunds always end in “ing,” although not every verb ending in “ing” is a gerund.  The verb is a gerund if it is acting as a noun.

I am running - regular verb
Running is good for you - gerund



 

This post belongs to the WhiteSmoke Blog - the original article can be viewed here - So What Is A Gerund Anyway? Understanding the Parts Of Speech

Clauses

A clause contains a subject and a verb.  Every complete sentence contains at least one independent clause.  Here are some examples of simple sentences, each one consisting of an independent clause:

Joe runs.
Susan is hungry.
I live in the city.
Go away.

In the final example, the subject is "you," and it is implied.  "Go away" is a complete sentence, even though the subject does not appear.

Subordinate Clauses

A subordinate clause cannot stand on its own.  A subordinate clause usually starts with a subordinating conjunction.  If the subordinating conjunction is removed, the subordinate clause becomes an independent clause.

Here are some examples of subordinate clauses:

When he needs exercise.
Because prices are very high.
Before she eats breakfast.

All of the above examples are sentence fragments.  To make the sentences complete, either connect the subordinate clause to an independent clause, or remove the subordinating conjunction.

Joe runs when he needs exercise.
Before she eats breakfast, Susan is hungry.
Prices are very high.

Run-on Sentences

A run-on sentence contains more than one independent clause.  The following examples are run-on sentences:

I am hungry, you are hungry.
You wanted to go to the store, we went to the store.
Joe is taller than Susan, Susan is taller than Kate.

These examples are also comma splices.  Each example contains two independent clauses connected by a comma.

Often a run-on sentence can be fixed by making one clause subordinate.  If that doesn't work, break the run-on sentence into two sentences.

I am hungry.  You are hungry.
We went to the store because you wanted to go to the store.

Coordinating Conjunctions

It is possible to have two independent clauses in one sentence.  They must be connected by a coordinating conjunction.  The most common coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, and so.  Nor, for, and yet can also be used.

The coordinating conjunction almost always goes between the two clauses.

I am hungry, and you are hungry.  
You wanted to go to the store, so we went to the store.
Joe is taller than Susan, but Susan is taller than Kate.

This post belongs to the WhiteSmoke Blog - the original article can be viewed here - How to Write a Complete Sentence: Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Splices