Language: Levels E, M, D, and A Study Guide for the TABE Test

Conventions of Standard English: Part 2

Grammar

The term grammar refers to the structure or organization of language to create meaning. There are certain rules of grammar that you may be familiar with, such as starting a sentence with a capital letter and ending it with appropriate punctuation, putting adjectives in front of the nouns they are describing, or knowing when to use an apostrophe. English has a lot of grammar rules and a lot of exceptions to those rules. Here are some elements of grammar with which you should be familiar before the test.

Complete Sentences

A complete sentence must begin with a capital letter and close with an end mark. The sentence must contain a subject and a verb while expressing a complete thought.

The earthquake shook the entire neighborhood. (correct)

the earthquake shook the entire neighborhood (incorrect: no capital letter or end mark)

William trained his children to respond properly to earthquakes. (correct)

Training the children to respond to earthquakes. (incorrect: no subject to match with the verb “training” and it does not express a complete thought)

Subject-Verb Agreement

You know that a complete sentence must contain both a subject and a verb. This subject and verb must also agree. The simplest way to look at agreement between a subject and a verb is this: a singular subject must have a singular verb. Likewise, a plural subject must have a plural verb.

The toddler always hits his brother.

The toddlers always hit one another.

It gets a bit more confusing in cases where multiple people or items act as one subject.

The class walks to lunch at noon each day. (correct)

The class walk to lunch at noon each day. (incorrect)

Because a class is made up of multiple people, it can be tempting to treat the word as a plural subject and use a plural verb. However, the noun class is referring to a unit of people, and thus is a singular subject requiring a singular verb.

Use a singular verb when two singular subjects are separated by either/or or neither/nor.
Use a plural verb when two singular subjects are separated by and.

Neither John nor Mary is attending the banquet.

John and Mary are attending the banquet.

Be sure to research special or confusing cases of subject-verb agreement and study the reasons for choosing a singular or plural verb.

Verb Forms/Tense

Verb forms and tenses can seem confusing or daunting, but remembering the basics can go a long way in your writing.

In English, there are six verb tenses, three of them being simple tenses and three of them being perfect tenses. Here is a guide using the verb to dance:

• present—dance
• past—danced
• future—will dance
• present perfect—have danced
• past perfect—had danced
• future perfect: will have danced

These verbs are all written in the basic form. You must also learn the progressive form, which shows that the verb, or action, is continuing. Here is how those forms look:

• present—am dancing
• past—was dancing
• future—will be dancing
• present perfect—have been dancing
• past perfect—had been dancing
• future perfect—will have been dancing

There are many irregular verbs of which you need to be wary because they do not exactly follow these forms. Complete lists can be found online, but one of the most common irregular verbs is the verb to be.

There are five verb forms to be aware of in English grammar: base, third-person singular, present participle, past, and past participle.

• Base—This is basically the root word. The base of the verb to dance is simply dance.

• Third-person singular—This is usually just the base form + an s or an es. The third-person singular of to dance is dances. Irregular verbs will not follow this pattern, and care must be taken to review irregular verbs in this form, particularly the verb to be.

• Present participle—This form is the base form + -ing. The present participle of to dance is dancing.

• Past—the base form + -ed. The past form of to dance is danced.

• Past participle—this form goes with has or have. In regular verbs, this means adding an -ed to the base, just as in past form. In irregular verbs, however, the change can vary. For example, look at the irregular verb to swim. In past form, it would read swam, but in past participle it would be (have) swum. When in doubt, look it up!

You can see that irregular verbs can cause confusion in verb tenses and verb forms, so be sure to review a list of irregular verbs as part of your test preparation.

Parallel Structure

Parallel structure basically means making all grammatical “units” equal. When writing a list of things (usually items or actions), you want each part to follow the same pattern. You have parallel structure when listed items follow the same grammatical path. Here is an example:

In the morning, after camping all night, we folded the tent, soaked the fire, and were packing the cooler before driving back to town.” (nonparallel structure)

In the morning, after camping all night, we folded the tent, soaked the fire, and packed the cooler before driving back to town. (parallel structure)

In the first sentence, folded and soaked are actions written in the basic past tense, but were packing is an action in the progressive past tense. This makes the sentence nonparallel because all three actions don’t follow the same pattern. In the second sentence, the third action is changed to packed, which is simple past tense and follows the pattern of the first two verbs. This gives the sentence parallel structure.

Usage

Grammar is the general term for language structure and how to put language parts together, but usage refers to the way words and phrases themselves are used in speaking and writing. Selecting the proper word or phrase to use in a sentence ensures the sentence makes sense and conveys the message the speaker or writer intended. Using the wrong word can cause confusion or misunderstanding.

Use of Similar Words

The English language has many words that cause confusion for writers. These words may have similar spellings or sounds, yet mean completely different things. Using the wrong word in your writing can drastically alter the meaning of your sentences. It can lead to confusion on the part of the reader, as well as mistakes in grammar. Here are some examples:

The party guests ate they’re cake in silence after the host threw a fit. (incorrect)

The party guests ate there cake in silence after the host threw a fit. (incorrect)

The party guests ate their cake in silence after the host threw a fit. (correct)

Although they’re, there, and their sound the same, they all mean something quite different.

they’re—a contraction of they are

there—usually represents a place (It’s over there!) or shows that something exists (There are kids all over this mall!)

their—indicates possession (in the above example, the guests possessed the cake)

Dozens of other words like these can confuse you when you are writing. Review online lists of commonly confused words to differentiate between them.

Clarity in Sentences

It is very important to make your sentences clear, concise, and logically ordered.

When too many unnecessary words are added to a passage, it merely dilutes the main point of communication. It can also make the writing sound awkward. As a general rule, it is always best to say what you want to say in as few words as possible. Check out these examples:

Jenny offered to babysit her cousins because, after moving all week and working full time, her aunt and uncle were just plain tired and needed a rest.

This sentence is wordy and awkward. It should be rewritten in a more concise manner, like this:

Her aunt and uncle were tired after moving and working, so Jenny offered to babysit her cousins.

See how the second sentence communicates the same information without being redundant or awkward?

Less is more when it comes to clarity in sentences. Here’s another example:

Max, after grabbing his keys and turning off the lights, locked his door and walked to the subway so he could ride to work.

Rewritten in a more concise manner, the sentence could be changed to:

Max walked to the subway and rode it to work.

Correctly ordering the words in a sentence can also help to bring clarity. In general, it is best to use this order when writing a simple sentence: subject, verb, direct object. Like this:

Tom ate the cake.

Tom is the subject, ate is the verb, and the cake is the direct object. This is the correct order of the words. This is the incorrect way to do it:

Ate the cake Tom did.

More complicated sentences—those with indirect objects, adverbs, etc.—also have a correct order to follow. Make sure to research these types of sentences and familiarize yourself with the proper ordering of words.

Clauses

Grammar is the organization of language parts into a cohesive whole. One of those language parts is clauses. Clauses are a unit of language that can be independent or dependent.

Independent clauses are units that can stand on their own, independently, because they have a subject and a verb, and they express a complete thought. They are considered complete sentences.

Janet cooked an amazing meal for her friends.
The dog ran fast.

Dependent clauses rely, or are dependent, on their connection to other units of language to create meaning. They may have a subject and a verb, but they do not express a complete thought and therefore are not independent.

After the show Because we were late for school

Dependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own. They are incomplete or fragment sentences. They must be connected to an independent clause to make a complete sentence.

After the show, we walked to the bus stop. (dependent clause + independent clause)
We were in a hurry because we were late for school. (independent clause + dependent clause)

Nonrestrictive clauses contain pieces of additional information to enhance the meaning of a sentence. Removal of this type of clause does not affect the meaning of the sentence. For example:

Gisela looked for her teacher, who was also the soccer coach, all over the building.

This sentence, without the nonrestrictive clause, still makes sense:

Gisela looked for her teacher all over the building.

Sentence Types

Sentences come in all shapes and sizes, though each serves a specific function and has a specific structure. There are four main types of sentence structure: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Don’t be fooled by length when you are trying to determine a sentence type—look instead at the clause(s) included in the sentence and how they are put together.

Simple Sentences

As the name implies, simple sentences are simple in their structure. A simple sentence consists of one independent clause, meaning that there is a subject, a verb, and an expression of a complete thought. Simple sentences can vary in length depending on the modifiers included. Here are some simple sentences:

I’m here.

The car started.

The early autumn leaves drifted and danced in the wind across the old, cracked sidewalk.

Compound Sentences

When you join two or more independent clauses together, you create a compound sentence. The most common way to join independent clauses is with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (remember the FANBOYS acronym!), but they can also be joined using a semi-colon.

Dad took the car to work, so Mom had to walk to the store.

Marty has homework, but he’s still playing on his phone.

Nick is applying for jobs, yet he can’t find his resume!

Jackie bought a blue dress; Sarah bought a red one.

You’re going to be cold tonight; you can borrow my scarf.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence is a little more…complex. Rather than joining independent clauses, complex sentences are a combination of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Complex sentences offer more detail or information about related ideas within the same sentence. The independent and dependent clauses can be joined by a comma or a subordinating conjunction.

Because it was raining, the dog refused to go outside.

We had to hurry since the train was about to leave.

The package was delivered on time even though we mailed it late.

When she was young, Suzie slept with her favorite teddy bear every night.

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence is the most sophisticated of the four types of sentence structure. In it, two or more independent clauses are joined with at least one dependent clause.

When the tree fell, Rick called the arborist, but he said he couldn’t come out until Thursday.

(dependent clause [When the tree fell] + independent clause [Rick called the arborist] + comma and coordinating conjunction [, but] + independent clause [he said he couldn’t come out until Thursday])

We were enjoying our family reunion until Grandma called the ambulance for Grampa because he was sick.

When the movie finished and the credits began to roll, Amos clapped loudly and the audience cheered.

Combining Sentences

You will be asked to combine sentences on the TABE Language Test. This is often necessary to increase clarity and variation in the writing. Here are some of the sentence combination options and what they involve. Sentence combining helps writers be more succinct and less repetitive in their writing. This can help the text flow better and be clearer for the audience. There are a number of different ways to combine sentences.

Combining Simple Sentences

Simple sentences (independent clauses) can be combined to form longer (compound) sentences. To join simple sentences, use a coordinating conjunction and a comma. Alternatively, a semicolon may be used.

Marta hates going to the dentist, but she understands oral hygiene is important.

The forecast called for rain, yet it was sunny all day.

Sam loves baking; his coworkers enjoy his baking, too!

Simple sentences can also be used as a foundation for adding dependent clauses to make a complex sentence.

When the delivery person knocked, Mrs. Connor answered the door.

The store accepted the return since the item was damaged.

Combining Complex Sentences

It is also possible to add dependent clauses to complex sentences, which already contain at least one independent clause and one dependent clause.

Earthworms, who are a favorite snack of hungry birds, emerged on the sidewalk after the rain.

If this store is closed, we will need to try another one since we need milk!

Using a Correlative Conjunction to Combine Sentences

You can combine sentences using correlative conjunctions to highlight the relationship between the ideas and streamline the writing. Correlative conjunctions like both/and, either/or, and rather/than demonstrate how ideas within a sentence relate to one another.

My brother likes sour candy. My cousin, Malik, likes sour candy.

Both my brother and my cousin, Malik, like sour candy.

We could go to the movies this afternoon. We could also go to the art museum.

We could either go to the movies or go to the art museum this afternoon.

Kim and Elissa like to vacation on the warm, sunny beaches of Hawaii if they have a choice. They both think the forests of Maine are too cold.

Kim and Elissa would rather vacation on the sunny beaches of Hawaii than vacation in the chilly forests of Maine.

Using a Coordinating Conjunction to Combine Sentences

Sentence combining can happen by using a coordinating conjunction to connect clauses. Remember to use a comma when you use a coordinating conjunction to link independent clauses together.

Rami developed a delicious new recipe. He made it for the head chef of the restaurant. The head chef did not like it.

Rami developed a delicious new recipe, so he made it for the head chef of the restaurant, but the head chef did not like it.

Lacy studied for the exam for several days, and she earned an A on it.

Swimmers ran up the beach screaming, for surfers reported seeing a shark in the water.

Using a Semicolon to Combine Sentences

Instead of a comma and a coordinating conjunction, independent clauses may be combined using a semicolon. Using the sentences above as examples,

Lacy studied for the exam for several days; she earned an A on it.

Swimmers ran up the beach screaming; surfers reported seeing a shark in the water.

Semicolons can also be used with conjunctive adverbs to join two independent clauses:

Daisy loved chocolate milk; however, she discovered she was allergic to it.

The students cheated on the quiz; therefore, they earned no credit for the assignment.

Note: Semicolons cannot join an independent and a dependent clause together.