FREE Core Academic Skills (Writing) Questions and Answers
Used to separate two main clauses, or introductory element
A "comma" is a punctuation mark used to separate various elements within a sentence. It can be used to separate two main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (such as "and," "but," "or," etc.), as well as to set off introductory elements like phrases or clauses. Commas are essential for clarifying the structure and meaning of a sentence, enhancing readability, and indicating pauses or breaks in writing.
Used to connect an idea that is subordinate to the main clause
A "subordinating conjunction" is a type of conjunction that is used to introduce a subordinate or dependent clause in a sentence. These conjunctions establish a relationship of dependence between the main clause and the subordinate clause. Subordinating conjunctions often indicate aspects like time, cause and effect, contrast, condition, and more. Examples of subordinating conjunctions include "because," "although," "since," "while," "if," "unless," "after," and "before." They play a key role in creating complex sentence structures by joining ideas of varying levels of importance.
Physical person place or thing
A "concrete noun" refers to a physical person, place, thing, or object that can be perceived through the senses. These nouns represent tangible entities that you can touch, see, hear, smell, or taste. Examples of concrete nouns include "dog," "table," "tree," "beach," and "car." They contrast with "abstract nouns," which represent concepts, feelings, qualities, or ideas that can't be perceived by the senses, such as "love," "happiness," "freedom," and "justice."
Refers to the subject & is necessary to the meaning of the sentence
A "reflexive pronoun" is a pronoun that is used when the subject of a sentence performs an action upon itself. It reflects back to the subject and is necessary to convey the correct meaning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural). Examples of reflexive pronouns include "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," "ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves." They are crucial for showing actions that involve the subject doing something to or for itself.
Noun referred to by the pronoun
The term you're referring to is "antecedent." In grammar, the antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to or replaces in a sentence. The pronoun takes the place of the antecedent to avoid redundancy and repetition. Clarity and coherence in writing depend on the clear connection between a pronoun and its antecedent, making it evident which noun the pronoun is representing.
Used to link two or more closely related independent clauses
A "semicolon" is a punctuation mark used to connect two or more closely related independent clauses (complete sentences) within a sentence. It indicates a stronger pause than a comma but not as final as a period. Semicolons are often used when the clauses are related in meaning or when the conjunction "and," "but," "or," or "so" is not used. They help maintain the balance and cohesion between the clauses while still showing their independence.
Noun used to describe a group of objects
A "collective noun" refers to a single noun that represents a group of people, animals, objects, or things as a single unit. Collective nouns are used to simplify language when referring to a collection of individuals or things. Examples of collective nouns include "team" (a group of players), "herd" (a group of cattle), "flock" (a group of birds), and "audience" (a group of spectators). These nouns are singular in form but represent a plural group.
Two nouns or an adjective and a noun
A "compound noun" is a noun that is made up of two or more words functioning together as a single unit to represent a specific object, person, place, or concept. Compound nouns can consist of two nouns, an adjective and a noun, or a noun and a gerund (a verb form that functions as a noun). Examples of compound nouns include "toothbrush" (two nouns), "blackboard" (an adjective and a noun), and "swimming pool" (a gerund and a noun). These combinations create new meanings that may not always be directly derived from the meanings of the individual words.
An apostrophe that replaces the visible letters
An apostrophe that replaces the visible letters in a word is typically used to form a contraction. Contractions are shortened versions of words or combinations of words, where one or more letters are omitted and replaced by an apostrophe to indicate the missing letters. Contractions are commonly used in informal writing and speech to make language more concise and conversational. For example, "can't" is a contraction of "cannot," where the letters "no" are replaced by an apostrophe. Similarly, "it's" is a contraction of "it is," and "I'm" is a contraction of "I am."
There are three types:
Subjective- subject of the sentence
Objective- objects of verbs or prepositions
Possessive- ownership
The information you provided pertains to the concept of "pronoun case." Pronoun case refers to the different forms that pronouns take depending on their grammatical function in a sentence
Has subject and verb but can't stand alone in a sentence
A "dependent clause" is a group of words that has both a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it doesn't express a complete thought. Dependent clauses rely on an independent clause to form a complete sentence. They often function as adverbial, adjectival, or nominal clauses to provide additional information, context, or details to the main idea expressed in the independent clause.
Using the same word pattern might demonstrate the parity of importance between two or more topics.
Using the same word pattern to construct sentences or phrases is known as parallel structure. This technique involves presenting similar ideas or elements in a balanced and consistent manner, which helps to demonstrate the parity of importance between two or more topics. Parallel structure enhances the clarity and readability of writing by creating a sense of symmetry and coherence. It involves maintaining consistent grammatical forms, such as verb tenses, sentence structures, and parts of speech, when expressing related concepts.
Give precise names to places, things, or concepts.
"Proper nouns" are the precise names given to specific places, things, concepts, or individuals. They are capitalized in writing to distinguish them from common nouns, which are general names for people, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns help identify and individualize unique entities, such as names of people (e.g., "John Smith"), places (e.g., "New York City"), companies (e.g., "Apple Inc."), and more.
Does not modify any words at all, thus it is unclear what it describes.
The term you're describing is a "dangling modifier." A dangling modifier is a grammatical error that occurs when a word or phrase intended to modify a certain word in a sentence is placed in such a way that it doesn't clearly or logically modify the intended word. This often leads to confusion or unintended meanings in the sentence. To correct a dangling modifier, it's important to reposition the modifier so that it properly and logically modifies the intended word, providing clarity and coherence to the sentence.
Lack of punctuation following an independent clause
A lack of punctuation following an independent clause results in a run-on sentence. In a run-on sentence, two or more independent clauses (complete thoughts) are combined without appropriate punctuation or conjunctions, creating a sentence that lacks clarity and may be difficult to read. It's important to properly punctuate or separate independent clauses to improve the readability and coherence of your writing. This can be achieved through methods such as using periods, semicolons, or conjunctions like "and," "but," "however," etc.
A conjunction that connects one adverb or adjective to another
The term you're referring to is a "correlative conjunction." Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together to connect elements in a sentence. These conjunctions are used in pairs to link similar grammatical structures, such as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, or verbs. They are often used to show a relationship between two or more things. Examples of correlative conjunction pairs include "either...or," "neither...nor," "both...and," "not only...but also," and "whether...or." These pairs of conjunctions help create balance and clarity in sentences by connecting related ideas or elements.