7th Grade English: Understanding Parts of Speech

Gerunds

• A gerund is correctly used in a sentence when it functions as a subject or complement, such as "I enjoy swimming in the ocean."
• A gerund is a verb form ending in "-ing" that functions as a noun.

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Correct subject-verb agreement is essential in a sentence, such as "Neither the plates nor the serving bowl has been washed."
• Incorrect subject-verb agreement can make a sentence grammatically incorrect, such as "The list of items are on the desk."

Cumulative Adjectives

• Cumulative adjectives are adjectives that describe the same noun and are used in a specific order, such as "The old, charming, small cottage was hidden behind the trees."
• The correct order of cumulative adjectives is opinion, size, age, shape, color, proper adjective, and material.

Demonstrative Pronouns

• Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out a specific person or thing, such as "This tastes amazing!"
• Demonstrative pronouns include "this," "that," "these," and "those."

Vague Pronouns

• A vague pronoun is a pronoun that does not clearly refer to a specific noun, such as "they" in "When the teacher handed the tests back, they did not include a grade."
• Vague pronouns can make a sentence unclear or confusing.

Singular "They/Them/Their"

• The singular "they," "them," and "their" are used as singular pronouns to refer to an unspecified person, such as "Everyone must ensure they lock their doors."
• The singular "they," "them," and "their" are used to avoid gender-specific pronouns.

Correlative Conjunctions

• Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs to connect words or phrases of equal importance, such as "Both the teacher and the student are correct."
• Examples of correlative conjunctions include "both…and," "either…and," "neither…nor," and "not only…but also."

Coordinate Adjectives

• Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that have equal importance and are used to describe the same noun, such as "She bought a bright, red shirt."
• Coordinate adjectives are separated by commas and are used to provide more detail about a noun.

Test your knowledge of parts of speech and their impact on sentence meaning, including gerunds, subject-verb agreement, adjectives, pronouns, and conjunctions.