Teaching grammar to

Seniors in High school

that are going on to college

Danielle Kushner

Professor Spector

5/4/06

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Lesson 1:

Sentence Structure

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Sentence Structure Part 1: Yesterday we went to the store, then we went home, then

we went to the movies, and then we decided we wanted to go for ice cream before we had to go home and go to bed.

-Why is this wrong? It is a run-on sentence.

• A run-on sentence is formed when two or more independent clauses are conjoined without a conjunction or proper punctuation.

Joey went to the grocery store, he needed to buy eggs for supper.

-Why is this wrong? It is a comma splice.

• A comma splice is two independent clauses, separated by a comma instead of a period.

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They can both be fixed in various ways:

1. separating the sentence into multiple sentences-Ex. Yesterday we went to the store, and then we went home. After we got home we settled on going to the movies. After the movie we decided we wanted to go for ice cream before we had to go home and go to bed. Ex. Joey went to the grocery store. He needed to buy eggs for supper.

2. Inserting a comma with the proper conjunction: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yetEx. Yesterday we went to the store, and then we went home. Ex. Joey went to the grocery store, so he could buy eggs for supper.

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3. Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses:Ex. After the movie we decided we wanted to go for ice cream; before we had to go home and go to bed. Ex. Joey went to the grocery store; he needed to buy eggs for supper.

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Sentence Structure Part 2:

“Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.”

-Why is this wrong? It is a dangling modifier.

• Dangling Modifier: has two clauses

-In the first clause the subject is implied

- Subject of the second clause becomes the subject as the first one

- It occurs when the implied subject is different then the subject in the second clause.

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~There is no subject in the first sentence so the subject of the second, the TV also becomes the subject of the first.

- Can be changed to: After I finished the assignment, I turned the TV on.

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Sentence Structure Part 3: “She is still productive.”

- Why is this wrong? It is a sentence fragment.

• Even though it starts with a capital letter, and ends with a period it is not a complete sentence.

• Only on occasion do writers choose to use fragments, for example, when their writing mimics speech.o Fragments may be missing a verb: Ex. The white

plastic chair o Or a subject: Ex. Swam into the ocean.

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~They can be corrected by:

adding in missing details: The girl sat on the while plastic chair.

Or by attaching it to a related sentence: We swam into the ocean, after sitting in the sun all day.

One way to recognize sentence fragments is to learn which words often signal incomplete thoughts: after, although, as, because, especially, for example, if, including, since, that, unless, until, when, whether, which, while, and who.

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Lesson 1 Quiz~correct and identify what is wrong with the following?

1. I enjoy painting. I hate the mess it makes.

2. I got up late this morning, I didn't have time for breakfast.

3. Drooling all over the place, John decided to give the dog a bone.

4. That dog is the one that helped me he still scares me.

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Answers:* If you had any trouble answering these refer back to

the lesson.

1. Sentence fragment. “I enjoy painting, but I hate the mess it makes.”

2. Comma splice.  I got up late this morning. I didn't have time for breakfast. Or I got up late this morning; I didn't have time for breakfast. ( or a few others)

3. Dangling modifier. The dog was drooling all over the place, so John decided to give him a bone.

4. Run-on sentence. That dog is the one that helped me, but he still scares me.

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Lesson 2:

Agreement

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Agreement Part 1: “The teacher makes a lot of photocopies.”

-Verbs that end in “S” may seem like they should be plural, but they are singular.

Plural Ex. “The teachers make a lot of photocopies.”

“The dog, as well as, the cat needs to be fed.”

- The number of the subject( the dog) does not change with expressions like: as well as, in addition to, including, not to mention, etc.

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Agreement Part 2: “The council is voting today.”

-The group here is regarded as a single unit, so it is singular.

“Most of the students are not coming today.”

-The members are regarded as separate from each other, as individuals, so it is plural.

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Agreement part 3: Did anybody forget their briefcase?

-Why is this wrong? Possessive is used improperly.

• The following are pronouns/adjectives that are singular even though people think and use them as plurals

- each, every, everyone, everybody, none( no one), neither, either, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, and someone

These above words are very commonly replaced with plurals like: they, them, their, and theirs, which is wrong.

~Should use he, she, it, his, her, her, or its as replacements.

Ex.. Did anybody forget his briefcase? Not their briefcase which may seem more correct.

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Agreement Part 4: “Neither Professor Smith nor the students is prepared for

class”

-Why is this wrong? Improper agreement for the neither/nor sentence.

• A neither/nor sentence will have two subjects

• The subject closer to the verb decides whether it is singular or plural

• Ex. Neither James nor the girls are coming over.

Neither the girls nor James is coming over.

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Agreement Part 5: “Whomever is at the desk”

-Why is this wrong? No agreement, wrong usage of whomever.

• To check usage: See if the rest of the sentence after the word could substitute for a noun clause.

- noun clause: an entire clause that substitutes for a noun

-If you can substitute a name like “Jane” for the whole phrase it is a noun clause

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• Once you know it is a noun clause you substitute in “he” or “him” for Jane

- If “he” fits it is whoever

- If “him” fits it is whomever

Ex. _____ is at the desk.

~He is at the desk fits, him does not fit.

~So the answer is Whoever is at the desk, not whomever.

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Agreement Part 6: Comparing “My child is the best.”

- This is a superlative, the greatest degree of something, or in a comparison.

“This rose is much more perfect then that daisy.”

~Why is this wrong? It is an incomparable.

• Incomparables can not be compared

- These are words that cant have degrees, and that cant be more or less than something else.

Ex. Perfect, unique, dead, pregnant, infinite, etc.

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Lesson 2 Quiz:1. Neither my brothers nor my sister ____ baby sitting. ( enjoy

or enjoys)

2. Each one of these cakes ___delicious. ( is or are)

3. My child is so unique compared to her peers. ( What is wrong with it?)

4. The vase of flowers ______ beautiful.( look or looks)

5. The teacher will help ____ needs his help ( whoever, whomever)

6. Our team ____ playing really well tonight. ( is or are)

7. Neither Roberta’s parents nor her husband _____ going to be at the awards ceremony tonight. ( is or are)

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Answers: * If you had any trouble answering these refer back to

the lesson.

1. Enjoys ( My sister enjoys babysitting)

2. Is ( each is singular)

3. It is an incomparable

4. Looks (flowers look, a vase of flowers looks)

5. Whoever ( he needs help=whoever)

6. Is ( collective noun team is singular)

7. Is ( her husband is going)

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Mini-Lesson 3:

Punctuation

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Quotation Marks & Punctuation• What goes inside the quotes:

o Period- If the quote is at the end of the sentence, the period goes inside.

Ex. “I want to go home.” o Commas- Always go inside!Ex. “Hurry into your seats,” the teacher said.

• What goes outside the quotes:o Colon & Semi-Colon

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• Situational: ( depending on the situation depends were it goes)

o Question mark & Exclamation point:- If they are part of the actual quote = inside- If it is added by the writer = outside

Ex. “How are you doing today?” the grocer asked. Ex. Who sings “Piano Man”?

When there is a quote within a quote, use single quotes.

Ex. My mother said, “My teacher always told me, ‘ do onto others as you would want done onto you’.”

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Titles:• Hamlet is italicized because it is a long text.

- Books, Movies, plays, and magazines are italicized because they are larger works.

• “The Road Not Taken” is quoted because it’s a shorter text.

- Poems, stories, and essays are put in quotes because they are smaller works.

Prepositions and articles should not be capitalized in titles.

Ex. “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Angels and Demons”

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Lesson 3 Quiz:

~What is wrong with the following:

1. Amy said, “My boyfriend said, "I'll never leave you.“

2. "May I have a rain check on that lunch"? I asked.

3. “Cosmopolitan” is my favorite magazine.

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Answers:*If you had any trouble answering these refer back to

the lesson.

1. I’ll never leave you is a quote within a quote it should have single quotation marks.

2. May I have a rain check on that lunch? Is a question that the speaker poses so the question mark should be in the quotes.

3. Cosmopolitan is a magazine which is a longer text so it should be italicised.

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Lesson 4:

Word Usage

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• Shall is not commonly used

• Shall is only used in the first person- I shall, we shall

• Everybody else will!-You will, he will

Shall VS Will

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• Between- is used when only two things are involved

Ex. I can not decide between rice or corn. -Use between only with three or more when thinking of

individuals and their relations to one another Ex. Economic relations between Great Britain, France, and Italy are tense at present.

• Among- Used when three or more things are involved-Use among when you are thinking of the groupEx. I can not decide which to eat among rice, corn, or

French fries.

Between VS Among

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Hopefully• Hopefully = with hope

• NOT- I hope

• Hopefully we will all get A’s = I hope we will all get A’sINCORRECT!

• Will we all get A’s she asked hopefully? = Will we all get A’s she asked with hope CORRECT!

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• Lie- To recline

- I want to Lie down

- This morning, the dog lay quietly

- For years, she has lain quietly

• Lay- To Place something

- She lays it there

- The other day I laid the notebook on the table

-On many occasions I have laid it there

Lay VS Lie

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• Effect- Usually used when referring to a noun.

-The result, change, or consequence

~ex. The rain had a negative effect on the players season

• Affect-usually used when referring to a verb.

-to influence, or make a difference

~The sickness affected the girls schoolwork

Affect VS Effect

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• Imply- to suggest or throw out an action

-A writer implies

• Infer- to conclude or to take a suggestion

-A reader infers

Imply VS Infer

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Lesson 4 quiz:

1. Having to share a room with my sister has definitely _______ my ability to concentrate. ( affected or effected)

2. After working on my car all evening, I finally ___ down to sleep at around midnight." ( lay, or lied)

3. ______ after the changes in school policy the teachers will be happier. ( hopefully, or I hope)

4. I was unable to decide ______ the various types of girl scout cookies. (between, or among)

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Answers:*If you had any trouble answering these refer back to

the lesson.

• Affected

• Lay (form of lie)

• I hope ( does not follow hopefully is used)

• Among ( it is more than two things)

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