Grammar

The rule: A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. A common noun names any one (girl, city). A proper noun names a special one and starts with a capital letter (Ana, Boston).

• The baby slept in the car.
• Grandma lives in Kingston.

💡 Teaching tip: Play “Noun Hunt.” Point to things around the room and ask, “Can I touch it, see it, or visit it?” If yes, it is probably a noun.

The rule: Singular means one. Plural means more than one.

• Add -s to most nouns: cat → cats, pen → pens.
• Add -es to nouns ending in s, x, sh, or ch: box → boxes, dish → dishes, bench → benches.
• Change y to i and add -es after a consonant: baby → babies.
• Some nouns change in a special way: child → children, mouse → mice, foot → feet.

💡 Teaching tip: Say the plural aloud. If you hear an extra beat (box-es), you usually need -es.

The rule: A verb tells what someone or something does (jump, read) or is (am, is, are, was). Tense tells when it happens.

• Past: Yesterday I played. (Most verbs add -ed.)
• Present: Today I play.
• Future: Tomorrow I will play.
• Irregular verbs change in a special way: run → ran, go → went, see → saw, eat → ate.

💡 Teaching tip: Act out verbs and have children say “Today I…, Yesterday I…, Tomorrow I will…”

The rule: An adjective describes a noun: a tiny bug, three apples. An adverb describes a verb and tells how, when, or where: She sang softly. We left early. Many adverbs end in -ly.

• The old dog walked slowly. (old describes dog, slowly describes walked)
• Use -er to compare two (taller) and -est to compare three or more (tallest).

💡 Teaching tip: Write a plain sentence (“The dog ran.”) and have students add an adjective and an adverb to make it more interesting.

The rule: A pronoun takes the place of a noun so we do not repeat it.

• Subject pronouns do the action: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Maria plays. → She plays.
• Object pronouns receive the action: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. Give it to Sam. → Give it to him.
• Put yourself last and be polite: Mom and I baked. She helped Mom and me.

💡 Teaching tip: Not sure if it is “I” or “me”? Cover the other person’s name. “Mom and me baked” sounds wrong, so it is “Mom and I baked.”

The rule: A complete sentence has a subject (who or what) and a predicate (what they do or are), and it tells a complete thought. A fragment is missing part.

• ✅ The big green frog hopped away.
• ❌ The big green frog. (What did it do?)
• ❌ Because it was raining. (What happened?)

There are four kinds of sentences: telling (.), asking (?), commands (. or !), and exclamations (!).

💡 Teaching tip: Ask “Who or what?” and “Did what?” If you can answer both, it is a sentence.

The rule: Use a capital letter for the first word of a sentence, the word I, names of people and pets, places, days, months, and holidays. End every sentence with a period (.), question mark (?), or exclamation point (!).

• On Monday, I visited Aunt Rosa in Montego Bay.
• Where is my hat? What a big dog!

💡 Teaching tip: Use the “COPS” check when editing: Capitals, Organization, Punctuation, Spelling.

The rule: Commas help readers pause and keep ideas clear.

• In a list: We need eggs, milk, and bread.
• In a date or place: July 4, 2026 · Kingston, Jamaica
• After an introductory word: Yes, you may go. First, read the question.
• In a compound sentence: join two complete sentences with a comma and and, but, or, so: It started to rain, so we went inside.

💡 Teaching tip: In a compound sentence, cover the conjunction. If each side could stand alone as a sentence, you need the comma.

The rule: The subject and verb must match. A singular subject usually takes a verb that ends in -s. A plural subject does not.

• The dog barks. The dogs bark.
• She doesn’t like peas. They don’t like peas.
• Words like each, everyone, and nobody are singular: Everyone wants a turn.
• Two subjects joined by and are plural: Sam and Leo play.

💡 Teaching tip: Find the subject first, then ask “one or more than one?”

The rule: Linking words (also called connectives or transition words) join ideas so your writing flows. Each one tells the reader how two ideas are connected.

• Inside a sentence: put a comma before but and so when they join two complete sentences: It rained, so we stayed in.
• At the start of a sentence: put a comma after words like However, First, and Finally: However, Leo did well.
• Because needs a full idea after it. “Because it was late.” on its own is a fragment.

💡 Teaching tip: Give students two short sentences on strips of paper and a pile of linking-word cards. Have them choose a card, join the sentences, and explain why their linking word fits. Younger children can start with and, but, because, and then.

💡 Teaching tip: An apostrophe usually means letters are missing. Try saying the two words (“it is”). If it makes sense, use the apostrophe.