Grammar Cheat Sheet

Several of my friends are self-proclaimed grammar nerds. Yay for them, but diagramming sentences seems like torture to me. I don’t want to think about it unless I have to, or unless I’m listening to School House Rock. Are you a grammar nerd, or a non-grammar nerd?

Here’s a grammar cheat sheet for all the non-grammar nerds, with links to School House Rock videos! (Note: this is a really simple cheat sheet. For more information, watch the School House Rock videos and grab a copy of Elements of Style.)

Adjectives: used to modify nouns

Adverbs: used to modify verbs

Conjunctions: connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences

Interjections: words and phrases that express emotion (set apart from the sentence with an exclamation point or comma)

Nouns: a person, place or thing

Prepositions*: link a word or phrase to other words in a sentence (usually indicating a spatial relationship)

Pronouns: replace a noun or proper noun

Subjects and Predicates: The subject is a noun (who or what the sentence is about). The predicate is a verb (the action the subject takes).

Verbs: express action, being, or state of being

What’s your favorite School House Rock song? Mine is Conjunction Junction (the noun and verb songs tie for second favorite).

* I don’t remember the preposition song/video, which is probably why prepositions are easier for me to use than define.  Do you remember the preposition song or video?