Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, OH MY!
Download the poem and "annotate" marking the portion your group has been asked to mark. |
A is for Apostrophe
Apostrophes can be used: In contractions to replace missing letters EXAMPLES: can't shouldn't aren't To show possession/ownership EXAMPLES Sarah's jumper The dog's toy (one dog) The dogs' kennel (more than one dog) Repeat after me: Apostrophes NEVER make words plural. That's what the letter S is for! An important Exception to Remember:
USUALLY, an apostrophe before an s indicates possession, but in the case of the word it's, that's not the case. it's = it is (a contraction) It's a great day to learn grammar! it's= it has (contraction It's been too long since I practiced apostrophes! its = ownership by it The bird lost its life in a window accident. |
One more thing to remember:
Many common nouns end in the letter S Ex: lens, cactus, bus Many proper nouns end in the letter S: Ex: Mr. Jones, Texas, Christmas There are conflicting rules about how to show possession when writing such nouns. Be consistent and choose either of the following: Add an apostrophe and and S to indicate ownership Ex: Mrs. Jones's diary Add only an apostrophe after the S Ex: Mrs. Jones' diary As long as you're consistent, you'll be correct! Oh, and plural nouns that do not end in S (children, fish, etc.) need and apostrophe AND an S to indicate possession! Ex: The Children's theater was renovated. The deer's tracks let us know there'd been at least 4 in our back yard. |
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Another rule of thumb: The grammar gods are big on humility; therefore, you ALWAYS put yourself LAST in the sentence. So,
I and my cousins went shopping. should be My cousins and I went shopping. Grandma has a room at her house for me and my brothers. should be Grandma has a room for my brothers and me at her house. My parents bought gifts for me and Donna. should be My parents bought gifts for Donna and me. And another thing, while we're on pronouns: hisself theirself themself his'/ his's hers' ARE NOT Words! but himself themselves his her ARE Words and should be used instead! |
I vs. Me and other Pronoun Issues
I vs. Me errors are one of the commonly made grammar mistakes. Although there's a fancy grammar rule that refers to "I" as the subject and "me" as the object, there's a much easier way to make sure you're making the right choice. Are you ready? Wait for it... When you write a sentence, like My friend Allison and me went shopping. take away the other person/people and read the sentence. If the I or me makes sense then you've made the right choice. If you sound like a foreign exchange student, then you're wrong. So... Me went shopping doesn't make me sound very smart; therefore, My friend Allison and I went shopping is correct. Many students think that I is always the correct choice because it just sounds better. Unfortunately, you can't go by sound! This "subtraction" rule always works and can help with the following tricky ones, too:
The practice exercises we will do for this lesson are under "pronoun case" in Chomp Chomp. |
Sentences and Fragments
The notes to the right should be review, and yet many of you are still writing fragments and/or run-on sentences.
Part One: After reviewing the notes, use the link above to go to chomp chomp and complete exercise one under fragments. Part Two: Turn fragments 1-5 to the right into complete sentences. Write them in your daybook. Then, Complete chomp chomp fragment exercises two and three. |
COPY THE FOLLOWING RULES ON A NEW PAGE IN YOUR NOTEBOOK. TITLE THE PAGE "COMMA RULES"
Rule One: "The List"- Add a comma after every item in a list except the last one.
Ex: I bought apples, oranges, and grapes for my fruit salad.
(The comma after oranges is optional. Fancy grammar people call it the "oxford comma." It doesn't matter what you call it, you may use it or not. It's one of the few times when you'll have a choice in grammar matters.)
Rule Two: "Adj, Adj Noun"- Use commas BETWEEN (not after) adjectives when there are two or more preceding (before) a noun.
Ex: The hot,sweaty body builder won the contest.
Ex: The scrawny, skinny, pale, freckled boy was laughed off the stage. (Notice no comma goes after freckled.)
Practice for Rules One and Two:
1. The tall unassuming man carried an umbrella a briefcase and a hat.
2. The pain of a heart attack can be felt in the chest arms and lower jaw.
3. The workers packed crates in the hot dusty plant all morning long.
4. Mary looked through her notebook around her desk and then in her locker.
5. Cleo gathered the firewood started the campfire and set up the tent.
6. Her thin lively face is almost never still.
7. He worked quietly efficiently and effectively.
Rule Three: "Introductory Phrase"- Use a comma to separate introductory words or phrases from the main complete sentence.
EX: Although I am tired, I must do my homework.
Ex: Usually, the bell rings at 7:30AM.
If you can take away the word(s) before the comma, then you've got it in the right place.
Practice Rule Three: Write complete sentences to make the following introductory words/phrases make sense. Write these in your daybooks with the rules!
1. Although I hate to admit it
2. Next season
3, Normally
4. Since it's cold today
5. At the end of the day
Rule Four: "Interrupter"- Use a comma to separate a word or phrase that interrupts a complete sentence. When using the interrupter rule, you will always need two commas!
EX: Your paper, I am sure, is excellent
EX: My favorite teacher, Mrs. Erdman, is on maternity leave.
Notice you can take out the underlined portion of the sentence and still have an easy to understand sentence.
Rule Five: "Direct Address"- Use a comma to set off nouns of direct address. (When the sentence directly addresses someone or something by name or pronoun.)
EX: My favorite class, second block, has the highest average.
Wayne, write down your comma rules, please.
Rule Six: Use a comma BEFORE the coordinating conjunction (fanboys) between two complete sentences.
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
EX: I like the boys in the class, but the girls are my favorite.
Rule One: "The List"- Add a comma after every item in a list except the last one.
Ex: I bought apples, oranges, and grapes for my fruit salad.
(The comma after oranges is optional. Fancy grammar people call it the "oxford comma." It doesn't matter what you call it, you may use it or not. It's one of the few times when you'll have a choice in grammar matters.)
Rule Two: "Adj, Adj Noun"- Use commas BETWEEN (not after) adjectives when there are two or more preceding (before) a noun.
Ex: The hot,sweaty body builder won the contest.
Ex: The scrawny, skinny, pale, freckled boy was laughed off the stage. (Notice no comma goes after freckled.)
Practice for Rules One and Two:
1. The tall unassuming man carried an umbrella a briefcase and a hat.
2. The pain of a heart attack can be felt in the chest arms and lower jaw.
3. The workers packed crates in the hot dusty plant all morning long.
4. Mary looked through her notebook around her desk and then in her locker.
5. Cleo gathered the firewood started the campfire and set up the tent.
6. Her thin lively face is almost never still.
7. He worked quietly efficiently and effectively.
Rule Three: "Introductory Phrase"- Use a comma to separate introductory words or phrases from the main complete sentence.
EX: Although I am tired, I must do my homework.
Ex: Usually, the bell rings at 7:30AM.
If you can take away the word(s) before the comma, then you've got it in the right place.
Practice Rule Three: Write complete sentences to make the following introductory words/phrases make sense. Write these in your daybooks with the rules!
1. Although I hate to admit it
2. Next season
3, Normally
4. Since it's cold today
5. At the end of the day
Rule Four: "Interrupter"- Use a comma to separate a word or phrase that interrupts a complete sentence. When using the interrupter rule, you will always need two commas!
EX: Your paper, I am sure, is excellent
EX: My favorite teacher, Mrs. Erdman, is on maternity leave.
Notice you can take out the underlined portion of the sentence and still have an easy to understand sentence.
Rule Five: "Direct Address"- Use a comma to set off nouns of direct address. (When the sentence directly addresses someone or something by name or pronoun.)
EX: My favorite class, second block, has the highest average.
Wayne, write down your comma rules, please.
Rule Six: Use a comma BEFORE the coordinating conjunction (fanboys) between two complete sentences.
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
EX: I like the boys in the class, but the girls are my favorite.
The first 5 pages of this PDF focus on coordinating conjunctions. Download the PDF and use the annotation tools to complete the practice. It just looks like a lot of work, isn't- I promise ;).
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Semi-Colon
The semi-colon is quite possibly the easiest punctuation mark to use! There are two basic semi-colon rules.
Rule One: Use a semi-colon to separate two complete sentences (that have something in common.) The semi-colon goes where the period would go and the following letter is not capitalized.
Ex: I would like to be a professional baseball player; my father played in the minor leagues after college.
Rule Two: Use a semi-colon along with a conjunctive adverb to separate two complete sentences. (Pay close attention to where the comma goes as well.)
Ex: I would like to be a professional baseball player; however, I do not think I am good enough.
Some popular Conjunctive Adverbs are: however, therefore, and nevertheless.
The semi-colon is quite possibly the easiest punctuation mark to use! There are two basic semi-colon rules.
Rule One: Use a semi-colon to separate two complete sentences (that have something in common.) The semi-colon goes where the period would go and the following letter is not capitalized.
Ex: I would like to be a professional baseball player; my father played in the minor leagues after college.
Rule Two: Use a semi-colon along with a conjunctive adverb to separate two complete sentences. (Pay close attention to where the comma goes as well.)
Ex: I would like to be a professional baseball player; however, I do not think I am good enough.
Some popular Conjunctive Adverbs are: however, therefore, and nevertheless.