GRAMMAR MECHANICS Grammar Punctuation and Spelling Grammar Subjects
GRAMMAR & MECHANICS Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling
Grammar Subjects and Verbs Adjectives and Adverbs Nouns Prepositions Pronouns Sentence Structure Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs (Idioms)
Subjects and Verbs Subject- a word or phrase (a person, place, or thing) doing or being something. Verb- a word that describes an action. Ex: The blue bird flew across the beautiful sky.
Adjectives and Adverbs Adjective- a word whose purpose is to modify, or describe, a noun. Ex: The little puppy was completely adorable. Adverb- a word whose purpose is to modify or describe verbs, adjectives, and clauses. Ex: She quickly exited the store.
Nouns and Pronouns Noun- a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea. Ex: Sharon drove to the store. Pronoun- a word that replaces a noun or another pronoun such as he, she, or it. Ex: She drove to the store.
Prepositions Preposition- a word that links nouns, pronouns, and phrases and signals the beginning of a prepositional phrase. Up, on, upon, by, to, and down are some examples of prepositions. Prepositional Phrase Ex: by the barking dog Prepositional Phrase Ex: She quickly ran by the barking dog.
Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs (Idioms) “Many verbs in English are followed by an adverb or a preposition (also called a participle), and these two-part verbs, also called phrasal verbs, are different from verbs with helpers. The particle that follows the verb changes the meaning of the phrasal verb in idiomatic ways. Idiom- a saying, usually in terms of common language, that can not be explained literally. Ex: A drop in the bucket
Two-Part Verbs (Idioms) Ex: Drop off-decline gradually Drop off-fall asleep Drop off-stop and give something to someone Note: Some idioms are not appropriate formal writing venues.
Sentence Structure Appositives Dangling Modifiers Independent and Dependent Clauses Subject and Verb Agreement Run-ons, Comma Splices, and Fused Sentences Sentence Fragments Improving Sentence Clarity
Appositives Appositive- a noun or pronoun, often with modifiers, set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. Ex: My teacher, Mr. Brown, is really interesting.
Dangling Modifiers Dangling Modifier- is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept. Ex: After finishing her homework, Sam turned on the radio. After finishing her homework, the radio was turned on.
Independent and Dependent Clauses Independent clauseis a group of words that contains a subject and verb. In other words, it is a complete idea. Ex: Ben and Maria love to go on vacation to Mexico city. Dependent clauseis a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. Ex: Purse ripped open
Subject and Verb Agreement Singular Ex: I was planning on buying lunch today. Incorrect: Ex: I were planning on buying lunch today. Plural Ex: We were planning on buying lunch today. Incorrect: Ex: We was planning on buying lunch today.
Run-ons, Comma, and Fused Sentences Run-ons, comma splices, and fused sentences are all names given to compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly. So, run-ons and fused sentences are terms describing two independent clauses which are joined together with no connecting word or punctuation to separate the clauses. Incorrect Ex: I love to go to the store, in the morning after I’ve had my coffee when I get up early.
Rules For Avoiding Run-ons And Comma Splices 1. Join the two independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions (but, for, or nor, so, yet), and use a comma before the connecting word. Ex: I need to go to class, but I have to eat breakfast first.
Rules Continued… When you do not have a connective word (or when you use a connecting word other than and, but, for, or nor, so, or yet between the two independent clauses) use a semicolon (; ). Ex: He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she preferred to read instead. 2.
Rules Continued… A semicolon may also be followed by a connecting word, followed by a comma. Ex: He often watched TV when there were only reruns; however, she preferred to read instead. 3.
Sentence Fragments In order to be complete, a sentence must contain a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. Sentences are made up of clauses; sentence fragments are nothing more that dependent clauses. (Another word for a fragment is dependent clause. )
Sentence Clarity Think of your writing as a ‘big picture’. Each sentence should be concise and complete. As you build on your writing, each sentence should add to and not detract from previous sentences. Always go from old information to new information, and don’t assume that the reader knows what you are trying to say.
Punctuation: Commas and Apostrophes Comma- separates the structural elements of sentences into manageable segments. Apostrophe- The apostrophe is a punctuation mark used to mark omissions and possessives of nouns and pronouns.
Comma 1. 2. 3. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, nor, so, yet. Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words that come before the main clause. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Commas Continued… 4. Do not use commas to set off essential elements of a sentence. 5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series. 6. Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjective that describe the same noun. 7. Use a comma near the end of a sentence to separate contrasted coordinate elements or to indicate a distinct pause or shift.
Commas Continued… 8. Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer back to the beginning or middle of the sentence. 9. Use commas to set off all geographical name, items in dates (except the month and day), addresses (except the street number and name), and titles in names. Birmingham, Alabama, gets its name from Birmingham, England. July 22, 1959, was a momentous day in his life.
Commas Continued… 10. Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation. Sally said with joy, “I just won the lottery!” 11. Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.
Comma Abuse 1. Don’t use a comma to separate the subject from the verb. Incorrect: An eighteen year old in California, is now considered an adult. 2. Don’t put a comma between the two verbs or verb phrases in a compound predicate. Incorrect: We laid out our music and snacks, and began to study.
The Apostrophe has three uses: 1. To form possessives of nouns 2. To show the omission of letters 3. To indicate certain plurals of lowercase letters
Apostrophe: Possessives 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Add ‘s to the singular form of the word Add ‘s to the plural forms that do not end in (s) Add ‘ to the end of plural nouns that end in (s) Add ‘s to the end of compound words Add ‘s to the last noun to show joint possession of an object
Twelve Common Errors 1. 2. Sentence Fragments- incomplete thoughts Sentence Sprawl-appropriate variations in sentence length
Errors Continued… 3. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers- Modifiers should be near the words in which they are describing. Incorrect: When writing a proposal, an original task is set for research. Correct Revision: When writing a proposal, a scholar sets an original task for research.
Errors Continued… 4. Faulty Parallelism- be sure to use grammatically equal sentence elements to express two matching ideas. Incorrect: The candidate’s goals include winning the election, a national health program, and the educational system. Correct Revision: The candidate’s goals include winning the election, enacting a health program, and improving the educational system.
Errors Continued… 5. Unclear Pronoun Reference- All pronouns must clearly refer to definite nouns. Incorrect: Einstein was a brilliant mathematician. This is how he was able to explain the universe. Correct Revision: Einstein, who was a brilliant mathematician, used his ability concerning numbers to explain the universe.
Errors Continued… 6. Incorrect Pronoun Case- determine whether the pronoun is being used as a subject, an object, possessive in the sentence, and select the pronoun form to match. Incorrect: Castro’s communist principles inevitably led to an ideological conflict between he and President Kennedy. Correct Revision: Castro’s communist principles inevitably led to an ideological conflict between him and President
Errors Continued… 7. Omitted Commas Incorrect: When it comes to running people differ in their racing times. Correct Revision: When it comes to running, people differ in their racing times.
Errors Continued… 8. Superfluous commas 9. Comma splices 10. Apostrophe Errors 11. Words Easily Confused Ex: There, Their, and They’re 12. Misspellings
Top Ten Goof-ups of Grammar 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Comma splices The abused apostrophe Subject verb disagreement Incorrect conjunction use Double negatives . Misplaced modifiers 7. Unclear antecedents 8. Preposition Overuse 9. Fragments 10. Run-ons 6
WWW. MYCOMPLAB. COM 1. Go to www. mycomplab. com 2. Click on “Register or buy access code” 3. Students Click on “I already have an access code” Or. . Click on “I need to buy access”
WWW. MYCOMPLAB. COM continued 4. Select your version
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Finally… The process of writing is considered, to most individuals, to be art-form. After practicing grammatical rules and guidelines, over time, you will naturally become a more proficient writer. By doing this, anyone who reads your work won’t be distracted by errors. They will be able to see your writing for all of the beautiful power that it possesses.
Resources http: //wire. rutgers. edu/p_grammar_top 10. html www. mycomplab. com www. owlpurdue. com
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