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Appositives: 

My pet skunk, Daisy, eats potato chips.

Daisy, my pet skunk, eats potato chips.

The well-known dancer Mikhal Baryshnikov won a Oscar for the   movie "The Turning Point."  

I picked up my daughter at the theater. My daughter is an actress..
I picked up my daughter, an actress , at the theater.

Complex sentences:

A complex sentence has a main clause and at least one subordinate clause, which is joined to the main clause with a subordinating conjunction such as: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, even if, even though, if, if only, in order that, now that, once, rather than, since, so that, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, while.

Here are some complex sentences. Which is the subordinate clause?

1. Because she already had a halo and a pair of wings, Gabby decided to dress up as an angel for Halloween.

2. Wherever he went, Johnny Appleseed planted apples.

3. Don't push that button unless you want something dreadful to happen.

4. I could get an A in Math if only I could remember to study before the test.

5. Chrissy can do her homework, as long as she can listen to her ipod.

6. Whenever the owl hooted in the woods, the little rabbits trembled.  

7. Although I look like I am paying attention, I am actually sleeping..

When you combine two or more simple sentences to write a complex sentence, you must decide what your main clause should be and which conjunction is the best. You can rearrange the sentences or use pronouns. Here are some examples of complex sentences:

I want to clean my room because it is messy. 
Since it is messy, I want to clean my room.
Whenever my room is messy, I want to clean it.  

Complex sentences are very useful in persuasion because their structure is logical. 

 Before you start writing, you must pick an interesting topic such as "Less Homework." Even though this topic is specific, it has a point that can be argued. After you choose a topic, you must create a draft. As long as some of the sentences in your writing are complex sentences, then your writing will be persuasive. Make sure to state your point a couple of times, so your reader knows what you are arguing about. Although persuasion writing seems difficult, it is fun to write, and it will enforce your argument.

Compound sentences:

The coordinating conjunctions are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet,  so. The acronym for remembering these is FANBOYS.

An independent clause has the same definition as a sentence. It contains:

• contains a group of words
• includes a subject and a predicate
• expresses a complete thought.

Participial phrases:

Will swung the broadsword. Will ran at the dragon.

Swinging the broadsword, Will ran at the dragon.

Will, swinging the broadsword, ran at the dragon.

Will ran at the dragon, swinging the broadsword.

There are many different ways to use participial phrases. 

It is important to place the participial phrase as close as possible to the noun it modifies. Otherwise, you will confuse your reader. 

Striking midnight, Emily noticed the clock.

In this sentence, it sounds as if Emily is making the noise, not the clock! Beware of dangling modifiers.

You can also use the past participle form ( the verb form ending in -ed) to combine sentences, when the participle describes the subject.

Libby was famished. Libby ate the chocolate-covered ants. 

Famished, Libby ate the chocolate-covered ants..

Parts of speech:

Verb: a word that expresses an action or makes a statement

Transitive verbs require a complement, while intransitive verbs do not.

Two main types of verbs are action verbs and linking (state of being) verbs. An action verb is something the subject does. It's something you can see or feel when you read it. If you can substitute "am," is," or "are" for a verb and still have the sentence make sense, it's a linking verb.

A verb can be active or passive. With an active verb, the subject does the action. With the passive verb, the action is done to the subject.

Verbs have different tenses. The tense is when something happens. Tense can be present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.

A verb can have as many as four parts, depending on its tense. You form tenses with a base verb and helping or auxiliary verbs. The base of a verb can have four different forms: present stem, past tense, past participle, and present participle.

English is FULL of irregular verbs--that is, the forms don't follow predictable rules. Look things up in the dictionary if you're not sure of the forms of a verb.

Noun: a specific word for a person, a place, a thing, a quality, an action, or a concept. A name for something. A noun has a meaning by itself and can be modified by articles and adjectives. A noun can be in many parts of a sentence: subject, object, predicate nominative.

Pronoun: a stand-in for a noun. There are a number of types: personal, (I, my, me)compound personal (myself), relative (which, that), indefinite relative (whose, whatever), interrogative (who, which, what), demonstrative (this, that), indefinite (many, few, somebody), and reciprocal (each other, one another)

Adjective: a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun (a, an, and the are usually classed as adjectives, as well, though they are articles). It makes the meaning more definite or describes the noun or pronoun.

Adverb: a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Preposition: a word that connects a noun or a pronoun to some other word in a sentence. It indicates a relationship, often in time or place.

Conjunction: a word that connects various words and groups of words.

Interjection: an exclamatory word which has no relationship to the rest of the sentence.

Click on Grammar Bytes! for further reading. 

Punctuation:

You will meet up with some punctuation marks every day, while you will almost never see other ones. Learn the common marks well, and if you have to use the uncommon ones, look them up before using them!

. Period  A period is used at the end of a sentence which is a statement, command, or indirect question. A period also ends an abbreviation. Always put a space after a period.

, Comma  A comma is used to separate or set off things inside a sentence. Commas make meaning clearer. Things a comma can set off are introductory phrases, independent clauses using conjunctions, interjections, added information, items in a list, series of adjectives, quotations, addresses, and dates. Always put a space after a comma.

“ ” Quotation marks  Use quotation marks to set off spoken or quoted language. Quotation marks always travel in pairs. Periods and commas always go inside the right-hand quotation mark. Single quotation marks set off quoted material inside quotations. Don't use quotation marks if you aren't quoting. There are rules for using other punctuation with quotation marks. 

‘ ’ Single quotation marks  Single quotation marks set off quotations inside other quotations.

’ Apostrophe  An apostrophe is used to create possessives and contractions. Don't use contractions in formal work you're going to hand in, unless it is a story. Possessive pronouns (mine, its) and determiners (your, its) don't have apostrophes. Possessive nouns do (dog's, teacher's).

? Question Mark   Use a question mark at the end of a direct question.

! Exclamation Mark  Use an exclamation mark at the end of an strong declaration, interjection, or command. Don't use them too often. Let your words do the work. 

: Colon   Use a colon before a list, or before an explanation that could stand by itself. Use a colon after a formal salutation in a letter. If the explanation is more than one sentence, or is a quotation, start it with a capital letter. Always put a space after a colon.

; Semicolon   These marks are tricky and shouldn't be used too often. They are good for sorting out lists of things that have commas in them, and for joining independent clauses which have balanced ideas and are related.

- Hyphen   Hyphens are used for making compound words and after certain prefixes. Also, when you have to break a word between lines, a hyphen tells the reader the rest of the word is coming. Avoid end-of-line hyphens in handwritten work. Start a new line instead.

— Dash   A dash is a sort of long hyphen, or two hyphens. Some writers use them as a kind of super-comma or parenthesis. They show a break in thought, another idea jumping in for a moment, one that is important. Avoid them in work you are submitting to a teacher. But use them  in your writing journal.

( ) Parentheses   These marks show material that you are including which is not necessarily important. Inside a parenthesis, you should not capitalize the first letter or add a period at the end, even if it is a sentence. If it is important material, find a way to say it without using parentheses.

[ ] Brackets   If you need to explain something that appears in a quotation, you use brackets. However, save them for later in your life. 

. . . Ellipsis   The main use of ellipsis is to show that you are leaving something out of a quotation. Some writers use it to show a break in speech. Many modern novelists use three dots ( . . . ) to indicate the passing of time, or to leave the reader hanging for a moment. But using an ellipsis is old-fashioned, and annoying!

/ Slash   A slash between words can show a choice between the two words. In a URL, it shows a path. Always use the slash exactly as it is written in a URL, without adding any spaces, and be sure you get the slant correct. Avoid using the slash in formal written work otherwise.

Sentences and phrases:

Transitional phrases:

Using transitional words and phrases helps give a paragraph coherence. English Workshop gives six types of transitional words:

Subordinating conjunctions:

Quotation marks:

Verbs:

Verb: a word that expresses an action or makes a statement. When you write or speak, choose strong, specific verbs. Avoid the passive tense. Try not to limit your use of the verb to be (is, was, are).