Grammar
Parts of speech: Correctly identifying and using nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and other parts of speech.
Important terms and usage: Knowing key grammatical terms and how to use them effectively.
Grammatical errors: Identifying and correcting common errors.
Punctuation: Using commas, apostrophes, and other punctuation marks correctly.
Sentence structure: Recognizing complete and incomplete sentences.
Capitalization: Applying proper capitalization rules.
Confusing words: Knowing the difference between homophones and homographs, such as "your" vs. "you're".
Have a look at at the common parts of speech. Familiarize yourself with them and use the information to answer the questions below the chart.
The following sentences have a bolded word. Identify what part of speech the word is. Check your answers at the bottom of this page
1. I bought a beautiful dress at the mall.
2. What did she ask you to do?
3. I left my shoes under the kitchen table.
4. If we finish our work quickly we can go see a movie.
5. On Saturday I work from seven to one.
6. I want to go to a university in Germany.
7. I am sure I have met your girlfriend before.
8. Well, I do not think I will be home before seven.
9. Martha knocked on the door but no one answered.
10. After lunch lets go out for milkshakes.
Aside from parts of speech there are some other important terms you should be familiar with before taking the HESI exam. Some of these terms are:
Subject: The person or thing that does the action. It answers the Question who or what.
Predicate: The part of the sentence that tells what the subject does. This part of the sentence includes the verb, words that modify it or complete is overall meaning.
Object: The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb
Clause: A group of words containing both a subject and a verb.
Phrase: A group of words that functions as a single part of speech but lacks a subject, verb, or both.
Lets practice identifying subjects and predicates. A portion of the sentences below are bolded. Identify if it is the subject or predicate. Answers can be found at the bottom of this page.
1. The children are dancing together.
2. The stars are brightly twinkling.
3. The flowers are very beautiful.
4. Next week my grandparents are going to visit.
5. My parents are discussing their vacation plans.
6. Mars in known as the red planet.
Period-A period is used to end a statement or bring a sentence to an end.
Comma-Separates items in a list, clauses, or ideas.
Question Marks-Ends a question.
Exclamation Mark-Used to show excitement or strong emotion.
Colon-Introduces a list, explanation, or example.
Semicolon-Connects two related independent clauses.
Apostrophe-Shows possession or the omission of letters in contractions.
Quotation marks-marks speech or a quoted text.
Below are some practice exercises with punctuation and or grammar errors. Follow the instructions above each section. Answers will be at the bottom of this page.
Select whether the word to fill in the blank needs an apostrophe or not.
1. What is ________ phone number?
a. Tim’s b. Tims
2. ________ you hear that the exam was changed to next week?
a. Didn’t b. Didnt
3. _______ a very bad idea to get into a car if the driver has been drinking.
a. Its b. It’s
4. _______ having the party tonight?
a. Who’s b. Whose
5. It drives me crazy when the ______ bark all night long.
a. dog’s b. dogs
6. Have you made a decision whether ______ going to go to university or go backpacking in Europe?
a. your b. you’re
Correct the following sentences by inserting or deleting a colon where appropriate
1. Boys who play “action adventure” and “sport” video games outnumber girls by a ratio of 51.
2. Both of these types of video games share one important factor they contain violence.
Dr. Samuel Barton is the author of a new study titled Video Games The Beginning of Aggression.
4. His study found an increase in the following behaviors verbal attacks and physical attacks.
5. Dr. Barton states something important “Playing a violent video game fosters aggressive thoughts.”
Correct the following sentences by either inserting or deleting commas where appropriate.
1. Skateboarding, which my brother is crazy about is a different experience for different people.
2. For some skaters skateboarding is a sport, where skaters perform tricks or ride the ramps.
3. For others however the skateboard is used as a mode of transportation.
4. This is a dangerous way to get around town but, many people do it.
5. Some people, take skateboarding very seriously.
Correct each sentence by either inserting or deleting a semicolon where appropriate. When necessary, replace the semicolon with correct punctuation.
1. To address the problem of childhood obesity; many schools are prohibiting the sale of junk food.
2. There are two causes of increased obesity; poor eating habits and a lack of exercise.
3. Fatty foods would be banned healthy snacks would be in.
Sentence Parts and Structure
Independent Clause: a group of words with a subject and a verb. It can stand alone and expresses a complete thought.
Sample: While walking at the park, John saw a raccoon eating potato chips.
Dependent Clause: A group of words that has a a subject and a verb. it does not stand alone nor express a complete thought.
Sample: Although it was raining, Maria went for a jog at Civitan Park
Lets Practice: Choose whether the bolded part is an independent or dependent clause.
Parts of Speech:
Important Grammatical Terms:
Apostrophe
Comma's
Colons
Semicolons
Clauses:
Except where otherwise noted, content in these research guides is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.