Parallelism - which is of the same grammatical structure.

Ex. She is admired because she is beautiful and intelligent. ADJECTIVE

She answered the question intelligently and smartly. ADVERB
She likes swimming in the pond and playing on the farm. NOUN PHRASE
She came to the class prepared and she answered the questions. ID CLAUSE
This is the house where I lived and where I grew. D CLAUSE
Clause-group of words containing a subject and a predicate.

Verbals - verb forms not functioning as a verb.

- nouns and adjectives.
Types
- Gerunds - Always a noun, formed by verb+ing.
- Participles - Always an adjective, formed by present and past participle verbs
- Present - verb+ing
- Past - verb+ed/verb+ied/verb+en
- Infinitive - Either a noun or an adjective, formed by to+verb

1. Kind: Gerund
Functions:
a. Subject
Example: Swimming is her hobby.
Eating healthy food is good.
b. Direct Object
Example: She likes swimming.
Her hobby includes eating.
c. Apositive
Example: Her hobby, swimming, makes her healthy.
Her hobby, eating, is wonderful.
d. Noun Complement.
Example: Swimming is exercising.
Eating the right food is dieting.
e. Object of preposition
Example: I believe in swimming.
She grew big by eating.
2. Kind: Participle
Functions
a. Subject modifier
Example: The talking girl was scolded by the teacher.
The girl seated last is my cousin.
b. Direct Object Modifier
Example: The teacher scolded the girl talking loudly.
The teacher praised the girl seated last.
3. Kind: Infinitive
Functions:
As a noun:
a. Subject
Example: To see is to believe.
To sing is her hobby.
b. Direct Object
Example: She likes to sing.
She loves to swim.
c. Apositive
Example: Her hobby, to read, makes her happy.
Her pastime, to eat, is wonderful.
d. Noun Complement
Example: To see is to believe.
To diet is to eat.
As an adjective:
a. Subject Modifier
Example: The girl to sing is my cousin.
The boy to sit last is my classmate.
b. Direct Object Modifier
Example: The girl praised the boy to help her mother.

Kinds of Sentences
1. Run-on sentence - a sentence which can be chopped into smaller sentences.
Example: The girl is sick she is absent.
The dog barks it bites the boy.
2. Sentence fragment - an incomplete sentence.
Example: The boy running around the tree.
The girl swimming in the pool.
3. Complete sentence - gives a complete thought.
Example: The boy is running around the tree.
The girl swimming in the pool is my sister.

Kinds of Sentences according to function or use

1. Declarative - statement
Example: Mario is handsome.
Jane is beautiful.
2. Interrogative - asks a question.
Example: Is Mario handsome?
Is Jane beautiful?
3. Imperative - command or request.
Example: Please open the door.
Give me a glass of water.
 4. Exclamatory - expresses a strong feeling.
Example: How pretty she is!
Fire!

Misplaced or dangling modifiers

- Modifiers which are not placed near the noun or pronoun they modify.
Ex. Sharp, she slices the kitchen with a knife.
The chef, which is on a tray, came into the dining area with the roasted
chicken.

Word formation - changing the word from noun to verb to adjective.

Ex. Beauty-Beautify-Beautiful
Communication-Communicate-Communicative

S-V Agreement
1. The verb agrees with the subject.
Ex. The girl dances gracefully.
Romeo and Juliet dance well.
2. The verb agrees to the positive subject.
Ex. Mario and not the boys cleans the room.
The boys and not Mario clean the room.
3. If all refers to abstract nouns, it requires singular verbs: if it refers to concrete
nouns, it requires plural verbs.
Ex. He cheated on me: all was lost.
All were lost in the fire.
4. Intervening words: the verb is either singular or plural
Ex. His mother, together with his aunt, accompanies us.
The students, together with their teacher, go on a field trip.
5. Units of measurements require singular verbs.
Ex. 10 meters of lace is needed.
5 kilometers is not too far.
6. A number of requires plural verbs: The number of requires singular verbs.
Ex. A number of students are present.
The number of students is present.
7. Somebody, everybody, anybody, and each requires singular verbs.
Ex. Is everybody present?
8. Either or neither, when used as a subject, requires singular verbs.
Ex. Neither was absent.
9. Nouns ending in -s but singular in meaning require singular verbs.
Ex. Mathematics is difficult.
Nouns ending in -s and plural in meaning take plural verbs.
Ex. Her pants are new.
 But, we indicate its singularity by adding a group word.
Her pair of pants is new.
Her two pairs of pants are new.
10. Single group of nouns requires a singular verb.
Ex. A bevy of girls gathers around the popstar.

Kinds of sentences according to structure/form

1. Simple sentence - subject and predicate (an independent clause).
Ex. Anne is beautiful.
Eric is strong.
Anne and Jane are beautiful.
Eric and Bong are strong.
Anne is beautiful and kind.
Eric is strong and intelligent.
Anne and Jane are beautiful and kind.
Eric and Bong are strong and intelligent.
2. Compound sentence - composed of two or more independent clauses, joined by
a coordinating conjunction.
Ex. Anne is beautiful and she is kind.
Jane is strict, but she is intelligent.
Eric is sick, so he is absent.
She likes to go shopping, or she likes to go swimming.
3. Complex sentence - dependent and independent clauses joined by subordinating
conjunction.
Ex. This is the house where I was born.
The boy who sang a good song is my brother.

Coordinating conjunctions - join two or more independent clauses.

a. Addition - and, additionally, not only, but also.
b. Contradiction - but, yet.
c. Concession - either or, neither nor.
d. Conclusion - so, therefore.

Direct -> Indirect discourse / Direct -> Indirect Quotation

Direct - actual words of a speaker
Indirect - restatement of the speaker’s actual words

Rules to follow:
a. Change in time signal or expressions
Yesterday → other day, previous day, day before
Last night → other night, night before, previous night
Tomorrow → next day, the day after, the following day
Next week → the ff. week, the week after
Today → that day, then
b. Change in the persons of pronouns
You (S) → I
You (P) → Us/We
Our/Ours → Their/Theirs
Your → Our
My → His/Her
Mine → His/Hers
I → She/He/It
That → This
We → They
c. Change in Tenses
- Present introductory verb of a sentence won’t change its main verb
(applies to all tenses).
- Past IV of a sentence may change its main verb.
- Present MV becomes past tense.
- Past MV becomes past perfect tense.
- Future MV becomes a Modal.
What are to be changed from DD to ID
- D Declarative - I Declarative
- D Question - I Question
- D Exclamatory - I Exclamatory
- D Imperative - I Imperative
3 kinds of questions
- Y/N
- 5 W and H
- Concession
Rules to follow
Y/N - if replaces that.
5 W and H - 5 W’s and H replaces that.
Concession - Whether replaces that.
Examples:
Declarative
- Eric says, “Tina is late.”
Eric says that Tina is late.
- Eric says, “She will be late.”
Eric says that she will be late.
- Eric says, “She was late.”
Eric says that she was late.
- “She is beautiful,” Eric said, “and also kind.”
Eric said that she was beautiful and also kind.
- “He is happy.” said Eric.
Interrogative
- Lito asked, “Is Marie around yesterday?”
Lito asked if Marie was around the other day.
 - “Where are you going?” Lito asked me.
Lito asked me where I was going.
- “Do you like mangoes or bananas?” Lito asked.
Lito asked whether I like mangoes or bananas.
Exclamatory (how or what replace that in indirect exclamatory)
- Liza gushed, “What a beautiful day it is!”
Liza gushed what a beautiful day it was.
- “How wonderful!” Liza exclaimed.
Liza exclaimed how wonderful it was.
- “Beautiful!” Liza exclaimed.
Liza exclaimed how beautiful it was
Imperative (MV becomes an infinitive in the indirect imperative, whatever the
tense of the IV is.)
- Lita requested, “Please pass the plate.”
Lita requested to pass the plate.
- “Close the door,” Lita commands.
Lita commands to close the door.

Adjective - describes a noun or pronoun.

- acts as a modifier because it creates a slight change in the meaning of the word
it modifies either by describing it or making it more specific.
- makes sentences more alive, vivid, and interesting.

● Descriptive Adjectives - describe the word they modify

● Limiting Adjectives - limit or specify the words they modify.

a/an - indefinite articles since they refer to any of a class of nouns.

the - definite article since it refers to a specific noun.

A number of - plural
The number of - singular

Example: A celebration
An announcement
The representative

● Noun adjectives - common nouns function as modifiers.

● Proper adjectives - either proper nouns used as modifier or an adjective
formed from proper nouns.
● Compound adjectives - is made up of one word. Most of them are
hyphenated, some are written as combined words. They are usually written as
two words. Ex. short-term, hand-drawn.
● Pronoun adjectives - possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, and
indefinite pronouns functioning as modifiers.
 ● Verb adjectives - verbs used as adjectives (Verbals, particularly
participles). Ends in -ing, -ed/-ied. Ex. Working parent. Feuding soldiers. Bottled
water.

Adjectives in a series

Opinion + Size/Shape/Age/Physical Quality + Color + Participle + Origin + Material +

Type + Purpose + Noun

Ex. White plastic picture frame

Unique red Japanese sash
Tall new concrete building
Difficult math test
Old wooden broken bed
Adjective endings
● -ful
● -ly
● -ing
● -ate
● -ous
● -al
● -ic
● -ary
● Like
● -an
● -ive
● -ish
● -able
● -ant

Adverbs - modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

- answers where, when, how, and in what extent.
Ex. You can charge your battery here.
The bird stayed up on the tree.
He sent the package yesterday.
The concert ended dramatically.
The singer just finished her song. (Extent)

Adverb vs Adjective

Adverb - modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb.

Ex. The priest arrived late.
Adjective - modifies a noun or a pronoun.
Ex. The late remittance caused the client’s harsh words.
Using different structures in noun position

A noun may function as a subject of a sentence, direct and indirect object, noun
complement, apositive, objective complement, or as an object of a preposition.

a. Single-word noun
Ex. Your word is a lamp to my feet.
The priest baptized the child John.
b. Verbal noun - derived from a verb but never functions as a verb. They function as
gerunds and infinitives.
Ex. Stealing is forbidden.
She likes eating mangoes.
To see is to believe.
c. Noun clause
i. Independent clause - can stand on its own as a sentence.
ii. Dependent clause - cannot stand alone. It is used as a noun, therefore it
is a noun clause. It may be introduced by the ff. words: whether, who,
whoever, whom, whomever, why, how, however, if, that, what, when,
whenever, where, wherever.
1. Direct Object
Ex. The hieroglyphics depicted how the ancient Egyptians buried
their dead.(subordinate clause)
2. Apositive
Ex. The decision, whether they will dig up the ancient tomb or not,
has not been made.
3. Object of Preposition
Ex. Were the pyramids built for whoever had wealth and power?
4. Noun Complement
Ex. One of the questions was why the Egyptians worshipped
many gods.
d. Adjective used as a noun
1. Subject: The righteous brighten the kingdom of the Father. (Note: subject
takes plural verbs)
2. Direct Object: God punishes the wicked.
3. Noun Complement: The first to be served are the pure and meek.
4. Indirect Object: The nuns offered the wounded refuge and care.
5. Object of the Preposition: Herod ordered the killing of the innocent.

Expanding Sentences through Noun Modification

A sentence may be expanded by adding modifiers to nouns. Modifiers are words that
describe, limit, or qualify another word in a sentence. Noun modifiers add details or
information about a noun in a sentence. They may be a word, a phrase, or a clause.
● Single word modifier:
● A noun may be modified by a descriptive adjective. Ex. Lito has gone off
in great hurry.
● It may be modified by a limiting adjective.
■ Possessive adjective: Lito held out his hand for his friend.
■ Numerical adjective: My seven brothers all went down to Hades.
■ Demonstrative adjective: This man is better than his father.
■ Indefinite adjective: Achilles slew some every Trojan in the
battlefield. Some women were carried away.
● A noun may also be used as an adjective modifying another noun.
■ Common noun: Go home and see to your own household work.
His son was afraid of the horsehair crest.
■ Proper noun: According to Greek legend, Helen caused the war
between the Greeks and the Trojans.
● A verbal noun may be modified by an adverb. Ex. Hector was known for
fighting courageously. Andromache began to speak tearfully.
● Participles and infinitives are verbals that are also used to modify nouns.
■ A participle is a verbal used as an adjective. It may come before
or after the noun it modifies. It has three forms: present participle,
past participle, and perfect participle.
➢ Present participle always ends in -ing: Hector’s son was
afraid of the gleaming metal. Weeping, Andromache runs
to the battlements.
➢ Past participle formed by v+d/ed/ied/en/or as is: Hector
carried his scared son. Beaten, the Trojans awaited their
fate.
➢ Perfect participle formed by having + past participle verb:
Achilles, having won, plundered the city. Having decided,
Hector took up his helmet and left.
■ Infinitives may be used as adjectives that modify a noun (to+v).
➢ Hector has another battle to fight.
➢ The warrior to defeat is Achilles.
● Adjective phrases used to describe a noun include:
■ Prepositional phrase: Have you no pity for your baby boy? The
boy was scared at the sight of his father.
■ Participial phrase - a participle with all its complements and
modifiers.: Andromache left with the nurse carrying the boy.
Achilles is killed by an arrow shot by Parie.
■ Infinitive phrase - made up of an infinitive with its modifiers and
complements.: With Hector gone, there is no man to save his wife
and son. Hector has his family to protect from Troy’s enemies.
● Adjective clause is a dependent clause used to modify a noun. It is introduced by
relative pronouns that, who, whose, and whom, or subordinate conjunctions such
as after, before, because, where, etc.
 ■ Andromache’s mother, who was the queen, was taken as
prisoner.
■ They ran to the temple where the women were making
supplications.

Pronouns - take the place of nouns.

3 cases of pronouns
● Nominative
● Objective
● Possessive

Kinds of Pronouns
● Personal
○ Singular
■ 1st Person
● N: I
● O: me
● P: mine, my
■ 2nd person
● N and O: you
● P: your, yours
■ 3rd person
● N: He, she, it
● O: him, her, it
● P: his, hers/her, its/it
○ Plural
■ 1st person
● N: we
● O: us
● P: our/ours
■ 2nd person
● N & O: you
● P: your/yours
■ 3rd person
● N: they
● O: them
● P: their/theirs
● Demonstrative - used to point out certain persons or objects.
○ Singular - this, that
○ Plural - these, those
○ Near - this, these
○ Far - that, those
 ● Reflexive/Intensive
○ 1st Person
■ S: myself
■ P: ourselves
○ 2nd person
■ S: yourself
■ P: yourselves
○ 3rd person
■ S: himself, herself, itself
■ P: themselves
● Indefinite - refer to a thing not particularly mentioned
○ Always singular: each, one, no one, anyone, someone, everyone,
anybody, nobody, everybody, somebody, another, nothing, neither, either,
anything, something, everything
○ Always plural: both, many, several, few, others
● Interrogative/relative
○ Person - who, whom, whose, which
○ Things - what, which

Sentence Coherence through Effective Use of Pronouns

One way of achieving sentence coherence is the effective use of pronouns. To establish
clear pronoun antecedent reference, select and arrange pronouns so that they refer
clearly and logically to their antecedents.

1. A pronoun must always agree in person, number, and gender with its
antecedents or the noun to which the pronoun refers.
○ Ex. The Abbot declared that he would gladly comply with the Cid’s
request.
○ Ex. A hundred and fifty knights gather at the bridge, and they go to the
Cid.
Note: It is important to note that the possessive adjectives my, your, his, her, its,
our, their must also agree with the nouns or pronouns to which they refer.
Ex. The cid rejoiced greatly to see his forces increased.

2. A pronoun must have a definite antecedent. Indefinite reference happens when

the pronoun has no clear antecedent.
○ Ex. The boy wanted to be a knight because it was full of adventure.
(it does not refer to anything in the sentence)
■ Revised: The boy wanted to be a knight because a knight’s life is
full of adventures.
3. A reference is ambiguous when a pronoun may have more than one possible
antecedent.
 ○ Ex. The knight asked his squire to carry his things. (It is not clear whether
the second “his” refer to the knight or the squire.)
■ Revised: The knight asked his squire to carry the latter’s things.
4. When a pronoun seems to refer to an entire idea contained in a clause, the
reference is vague.
○ Ex. The knights had just arrived from battle. This made them weary.
(this and them refer to nothing at all)
■ Revised: The knights were weary because they had just arrived
from battle.

Compound Personal Pronouns

2 types:
● Reflexive pronoun
- functions as an object that refers back to the subject, answering the
question who and what for direct O and answering for whom/ what for
indirect O.
- same as the subject. They cannot be removed from the sentence.
- Ex. Phone innovators have challenged themselves to make mobile
phones perform the functions of a computer.
- Ex. We cannot alienate ourselves [DO] from this advancement, for finally
the mother of science has brought herself [IO] a new age of technology.
● Intensive pronoun
- only restates a subject for emphasis and can be removed w/o altering or
changing the message of the given statement.
- Ex. You yourself may have been amazed.
(if we remove yourself the sentence still makes sense)
- Ex. He introduced the innovation himself.
- May be placed far or beside/next to the noun/pronoun it restates.

Modals - are also called modal verbs, modal auxiliaries, or modal auxiliary verbs. They
provide specific meaning to the main verb of the sentence. They can also be defined as
a verb that is combined with another verb to indicate a mood or tense.
1. Modal verbs are always combined with another verb to indicate a mood or tense.
They are both single word modals and phrasal verbals
○ Single-word: can, would, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.
○ Phrasal: be able to, be going to, be supposed to, had better, have to,
have got to, ought to, used to.
2. All single word modals above are followed by the singular form of verbs.
3. Most of the phrasal modals include to.
- Ex. be able to, be going to, be supposed to, have to, have got to, ought
to, used to
- Ex. If allowed to leave early, they would be able to catch the first trip out
of the city.
 4. The phrasal modal ‘had better’ does not include ‘to’. Use the simple form of the
verb after ‘had better’.
○ Ex. He’d better leave now.
5. All of the modal verbs show meaning. When they are used with a verb, they
show someone’s feeling/ attitude towards the action/situation the verb shows.
6. Every modal verb has more than one use and/or meaning.
○ Ex. I can (ability) draw your face in 5 minutes. (ability)
○ Ex. You can (permission) use the car anytime. (permission)

Modals and their different uses

1. Can
a. To show ability.
i. Ex: I can run 10 miles (present)
ii. Ex. I could run 10 miles when I was young. (past)
b. To suggest a possibility or give an option.
i. Ex: Students can pre-enroll in online classes.(present)
c. To ask/give permission
i. Ex. Can you call me?
ii. Ex. You can leave now.
d. To show impossibility
i. Ex. It cannot be Jin there. He went away for the weekend.
2. Could
a. To show past ability
i. Ex. I could run 10 miles when I was young.
b. To ask a polite question
i. Ex: Could I call you? (present)
c. To show possibility
i. Ex: Why isn’t Mary here? She could be busy. (present)
ii. Ex. Why wasn’t Mary at the party last night? She could have been
busy. (past)
d. To show impossibility
i. Ex. He could not be there at the party. He is out of town. (present)
ii. Ex: He could not have been at the party last night. He was out of
town. (past)
e. To suggest a possibility or give an option.
i. Ex. You could try going in this way. (present)
ii. Ex: You could have tried going that way. (past)
3. May
a. To ask or give permission (formal)
i. Ex: May I call you? (present)
b. To show possibility
i. Ex: The instructor may come to class late today. (present)
ii. Ex: The instructor may have come to class late yesterday. (past)
4. Might
a. To show possibility
i. Ex: The instructor might come to class late today. (present)
ii. Ex: The instructor might have come to class late yesterday. (past)
5. Should
a. To show advisability
i. Ex: You should try the new restaurant downtown. (present)
ii. Ex: You should have tried the new restaurant downtown. (past)
b. To show obligation
i. Ex: I should renew my driver’s license. (present)
ii. Ex: I should have renewed my driver’s license. (past)
c. To show expectation
i. Ex: You should receive the letter in two days. (present)
ii. Ex: You should have received the letter in two days. (past)
6. Ought to
a. To show advisability
i. Ex: You ought to exercise regularly. (present)
ii. Ex: You ought to have exercised regularly. (past)
b. To show obligation
i. Ex: I ought to register to vote. (present)
ii. Ex: I ought to have registered to vote by October. (past)
c. To show expectation
i. Ex: You ought to receive my letter in two days. (present)
ii. Ex: You ought to have received my letter two days ago. (past)
7. Had better
a. To show advisability
i. Ex: We had better leave. (present)
8. Must
a. To show probability or to make a logical assumption
i. Ex: Janice must be out this evening. She does not answer the
phone. (present)
ii. Ex: Janice must have been out last evening. She did not answer
the phone. (past)
b. To show necessity
i. Ex: I must call my parents tonight. (present)
c. To show prohibition
i. Ex: You must not cross the street when the light is red. (present)
9. Have to
a. To show necessity
i. Ex: Mike has to make up the class he missed. (present)
ii. Ex: Mike had to meet up the class he had missed. (past)
b. To show the lack of necessity
i. Ex: I am glad that I do not have to cook tonight. (present)
ii. Ex: I did not have to cook last night. (past)
 10. Will
a. To indicate future time
i. Ex: He will leave for the airport at 7am.
b. To make a promise or show willingness
i. Ex: The government will provide assistance to the typhoon
victims. (present)
c. To state a general truth
i. Ex: The new car they have developed will run on either gasoline
or ethanol. (present)
d. To ask a polite question
i. Ex: Will you help me with these boxes? (present)
11. Would
a. To ask a polite question
i. Ex: Would you help with these boxes? (present)
b. To indicate a repeated action in the past
i. Ex: When I lived in Iligan, I would go to their beach everyday.
(past)
c. To indicate future time in the sentence in the past
i. Ex: Matt promised that he would help me with my homework.
(past)
12. Would rather
a. To show a preference
i. Ex: I would rather go to summer school than graduate. (present)
13. Would like
a. To express a desire
i. Ex: I would like to go to medical school. (present)
ii. Ex I would have liked to go to med school. (past)

Modals (mood) can also be used to express degrees of possibilities.

● Cannot (unlikely to happen)
● May/Might not
● Should
● Must (very likely to happen)
To express impossibility or near impossibility, use cannot.
To express low possibility, use may/may not/might/might not/could/ could not.
To express moderate possibility, use should/should not.

Transitional Devices - group of words that will help us connect ideas in a sentence or
paragraph.
a. To add ideas - and, and then, furthermore, in addition, what is more, also, again,
besides, likewise, equally important, more important, most important of all, in the
same fashion/way, similarly
b. To concede a point - admittedly, assuredly, obviously, certainly, undoubtedly,
unquestionably, it is true, to be sure, no doubt, granted, nobody denies, of course
 c. To contradict or limit - but, yet, and yet, til, nevertheless, nonetheless, otherwise,
although, at the same time, in contrast, on the other hand, on the contrary, the
fact remains, even so
d. To arrange chronologically - first, second, etc., next, presently, meanwhile,
finally, afterwards, eventually, at this point, at this juncture, soon, at length
e. To exemplify - for instance, for example
f. To arrange spacially - here, opposite to, adjacent to
g. To sum up/conclude - in other words, to sum up, for the most part, in any case, in
any event, as I have said, since, therefore, thus, in fact, in short, in brief, on the
whole, indeed, consequently, inevitably

Expanding Sentences through Verb Modification

- A sentence may be expanded by adding modifiers to verbs.

- A verb modifier may be a single-word adverb or an adverbial phrase and
adverbial clause.
1. Single-word adverb
a. Ex. Icarus stood by (modifies stood) and watched his father.
2. Adverbial phrase
a. Ex. Daedalus fastened the feathers with twine and wax. (the
prepositional phrase “with twine and wax” modifies “fastened”)
b. Ex. Icarus raised his shiny face to let a feather fall on it. (the
infinitive phrase “to let a feather fall on it” modified “raised”)
3. Adverbial clause
a. Ex. Some fisherman watch as the rod dips. (the adverbial clause
“as the rod dips” modifies the verb “watches”)
b. Ex: Icarus cried, “Father!” until the blue sea hushed him. (the
adverbial clause “until the blue sea hushed him” modifies the verb
“ cried”)

Using of commas correctly

1. Use a comma to separate words in a series.

a. Ex. I like mangoes, bananas, and berries.
b. Ex. My mother bought new plates, saucers, and drinking glasses for our
new house.
2. Use a comma and coordinating conjunctions such as and, for, but, yet, still, and
some other conjunctions to join two independent clauses.
a. Ex. She arrived late, but she was able to take the quiz. (2 independent
clauses)
b. Ex. The sun was hot, and the wind was dry. (2 independent clauses)
3. Use a comma for phrases used at the beginning of a sentence.
a. Ex. After the rain, a rainbow appeared in the sky.
 b. Ex. To lose weight, one must exercise regularly.
4. Use a comma to point out a subordinate clause or dependent clause preceding
its principal or independent clause.
a. Ex. Because he studied his lessons well (dependent clause), he passed
the examination.
b. Ex. Before the end of the year (dependent clause), the new house will
have been built.
5. Use a comma to point off words used in direct address.
a. Ex. Jess, will you attend the party tonight?
b. Ex. I think, Dan, that you are a lucky guy.
6. Use a pair of commas to separate an appositive from the rest of the sentence.
a. Ex. Mr. Vargas, the department chief, had been promoted.
b. Ex. The manager, Mr. Cruz, attended the convention in Japan.
7. Use commas to set off interjections like yes, no, well, and others found at the
beginning of the sentence.
a. Ex. Yes, I know you so well.
b. Ex. No, I am not attending the ball.
8. Use a comma to separate the day from the months in dates within the sentence
and addresses.
a. Ex. My best friend was born on April 2, 1965
b. Ex. The couple dined at Manila Diamond Hotel, Roxas Boulevard.
9. Use a comma after the salutation or greetings and complimentary close in letters.
a. Ex. Dear Dan,
b. Ex. Your loving friend,
c. Ex. My dear sister,
d. Ex. Respectfully yours,

Using hyphens, colons, and semi-colons

A hyphen is used to join and/or divide words.

Years back, people using typewriters would use hyphens to to manually divide words
that would not fit a line. Nowadays, this is no longer a problem because computers offer
a feature that automatically divides words into syllables when one word would not fit at
the end of the line. Computer technology may have solved this problem, but it is useful
to know that a word may be divided between syllables, and that a monosyllabic word is
never divided. Contractions like isn’t, aren’t, didn’t, etc are likewise not to be divided.

Uses:
a. Joining compound words
i. Ex. The cave is man-made.
ii. Ex. He is a well-respected government official.
b. In fractions
i. Ex. Three-fourths of the cake is eaten.
 c. If joined by a hyphen, two or more words can be joined to form an adjective.
i. Ex. The fifteen-minute time given has already lapsed.
d. A hyphen is used to form new words beginning with prefixes.
i. Ex. The baker used all-purpose cream for his refrigerated cake.
ii. Ex. The ex-president continued to help the poor in his country.
e. In using the prefix self- (except selfish)
i. Ex. She lost her self-esteem after the embarrassing incident.
ii. Ex. Selfish people are not likely to experience happiness.

Colon

A colon is not often used, but in the following cases:

a. To introduce a list of items.
i. Ex. The embassy required him to submit the ff.: passport, 2x2 photo and
birth certificate.
b. To introduce an explanation or definition.
i. Ex. Covenant: Agreement between 2 or more persons.

Semicolon

A semicolon helps to clarify and smoothen the flow of ideas.

It is used to separate two independent clauses in compound sentences which could both
stand on their own.

Ex. She is a student by day; she is a call center agent by night.

John was raised in the US; however he can speak Filipino fluently.

Prefixes and Clauses

Many students blame poor vocabulary for their inability to read and understand.
Realizing the importance of adequate vocabulary, they rely on books and vocabulary
building courses. They also learn new words by constant reading, keep memorizing lists
of words, use context clues, and consult the dictionary whenever possible.

The Latin and Greek prefixes will help you unlock the meanings of thousands of words.
Latin
Prefixes/Root Meaning Derivative
Ab From, down Abduct, abnormal
Ad To, toward Addict, Adolescent
Ante Before Anterior, Ante meridiem
Bellum War Belligerent, rebellion
Bene Well Benign, benefactor
Bi Two Bisex, bigamist
Cat/sect Take Dissection, intersect
Cis Cut/kill Suicide, Incision
Circum Around Circumference,
circumnavigate
Cogni Know Connoisseur, recognize
Com With Command, commend
Contra Against Contradict, contrast
Cor Heart Cardiac, encourage
Cult Care for Cultivate, culture
curr/curs Run Current, excursion
De Off, down, wholey Decapitate, decline
Dent- Tooth Dental, denture
Dict- Say Dictate, diction
Duc-/-duct Lead Conduct, educate
Ex- Beyond, from, out Exceed, extend
Extra- Outside Extracurricular, extrapolate
Fac/ fect Make Manufacture, affect
Fin- End Final, Infinite
In, On, in, toward Inaugurate, Incursurate
In Not Inactive, inarticulate
Inter Among, between Interaction, intersect
-ject Throw Inject, reject
-loq- Talk Eloquent, ventriloquist
Luc- Light Lucid, translucent
Mal- Bad Malignant, malpractice
-mit/miss Send Admit, transmit
Mor-/Mort- Death Mortuary, morbid
Ped- Foot Pedal, pedestrian
-pel/puls Drive Compel, Impulse
-pon-/-posit Place Preposition, component
-port Carry Deport, import
Post- After Post-date, posthumous
Pre- Before Preamble, precaution
Pro- Forward Proceed, Produce
Re- Again, back Recreate
Rupt Break Rupture, disrupt
Scrib-/script Write Scripture, transcription
Spect Look Inspect, Spectator
Sub- Under Subconscious, submerge
Super- Above Superior, supersede
Tain/ten Hold Abstain, tennet
Tang/tact Catch Tangible, contact
Trans- Upcross, Over Transfer, transfuse
Uni- One Uniform, Unilateral
Vene/vent Come Convene, invent
Vers/vert Turn Version, Convert
Vid/vis See Supervise, vision
Voc- Call Vocabulary, Provoke

Greek

Prefix/ Root Meaning Derivative

Anthropo Man Philanthropy, Anthropology
Auto Self Autography, automobile
Bio Life Biology, Biography
Chrono Time Synchronize, chronological
Gen Birth/ raise Genealogy, genetics
Gram/graph Write Diagram, Graphic
Homo Sane Homogenize, homonym
Hydra/hydro Water Hydrant, hydrophobia
Logue/log Science Epilogue, biology
Micro Small Microphone, microbe
Mono One Monogamy, monologue
Morph Form Amorphous, morphology
Pan All Pandemonium, panorama
Phil Friend Bibliophile, Philharmonic
Phon Sound Symphony, gramophone
Poly Many Polygamy, Polysyllabic
Syn Together Synonym, sympathy
Tele Far Television, telescope