7th Grade Grammar

Vocabulary and Notes

Grammar Lesson 4

Vocabulary

•Micro – Greek prefix meaning small or minute

•Microbus – small vehicle shaped like a bus

•Microcosm – a little world

•Microscope – an instrument used to view very small objects

Action Verbs

• Action verbs tell what the subject is or does.

• A sentence can contain more than one action verb.

• Action verbs make writing more vivid and more precise.

• Diagramming simple subjects and simple predicates. See notes on board.

Grammar Lesson 5

• Vocabulary

• Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings.

• Waive – means to relinquish or give up voluntarily

• Wave – moving swell on the surface of the water

Capitalizing Proper Nouns

• A common noun doesn’t name a specific person, place, or thing.

• A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing.

• Proper nouns require a capital letter.

• Common nouns that are part of a proper noun are capitalized.

• Small words that are part of a proper noun are not capitalized unless they are the first or last word.

Grammar Lesson 6

• Vocabulary

• Climactic: refers to climax or culmination

• Climate: the general weather of a region over a period of years

Verb Tense

• Tense means time.

• Verbs tell us what action is occurring and when it is happening.

• Verb tense, or form, changes to show when the action takes place.

• Three verb tenses:• Present

• Past

• Future

Present Tense

• Present tense is action that is happening now.

• Add an s to the verb when it is singular.

• Do not add s to singular verbs when the pronoun is I or you.

• When verbs end in s, x, z, ch, or sh, add es when the subject is singular.

• When a verb ends in a consonant and a y, change the y to i and add es for a singular form.

Past Tense

• Past tense shows action that has already happened.

• Add ed to form the past tense of regular verbs.

• When one-syllable verbs end in a consonant, double the consonant and add ed.

• When a verb ends in e, drop the e and add ed.

Errors to Avoid

• Don’t use present tense form for past tense verbs.

• Do not use past and present tense in same phrase.