(As your writing is returned, make note of the errors indicated in the left hand margin. When you see errors repeated, this tells you where you need to focus and what error you need to address first.Find the problem in this booklet and see if you can solve it.Also, see me in Tutorials or during quiet moments in class, to get individualized assistance.)

GRAMMAR REVIEW

There are a few key words you need to know so that when we discuss your writing, you can understand how to improve your sentences and grammar. Much like it is easier to understand a mechanic if you understand a few of the more basic components of your automobile, so too is the case with understanding composition.

PARTS OF SPEECH

I.NOUNS: A noun is a word that names one (or more) person, place, thing or idea.

II.PRONOUNS: A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun and refers back to an antecedent which is named or implied.

Personal Pronouns

I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it, we, us, they, them

Possessive Personal Pronouns

my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, their, our, ours, their, theirs

Relative Pronouns: The relative pronoun is used to introduce subordinate clauses -- who, whom, which, what, that

Interrogative Pronoun: The interrogative pronoun is used in questions. Who...? Whom...? Which...? What...? Whose...?

III.ADJECTIVES: An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun. To modify -- means to describe, or to make more definite the meaning of the word.

Adjectives may modify nouns or pronouns in any one of four ways:

1.by telling what kind (blue eyes, strong wind)

2.by pointing out which one (that tall man, this suggestion)

3.by telling how many (several reasons, 10 players)

4.by telling whose (Geoff's watch, their papers)

Articles: The, a, an, are modifiers or determiners.

"the"=definite article

"a, an"=indefinite article

IV.VERBS: The verb is the heart of the sentence -- without a verb, any words is only a fragment. A verb is a word, or group of words, that expresses action or allows you to describe something.

Action Verb: An action verb may express either physical or mental action.

hit, blow, run (physical)

think, know (mental)

Linking Verbs: Linking verbs do not express action. They help to make a statement by linking the subject to a word or description. Eg. He is tall.She is a doctor.

e.g.appear, feel, sound, become, smell, taste, seem

The most common linking verb is the verb to be and its many forms.

SINGULAR

PLURAL

SINGULAR

PLURAL

I am

we are

I was

we were

you are

you are

you were

you were

he, she, it is

the are

he, she, it was

they were

I have been

we have been

I can be

we, you can be

you have been

you have been

you can be

you can be

he, it has been

they have been

he, she, it can be

they can be

Verb Phrase: A verb phrase is made up of a main verb and one or more helping verbs. Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) are so called because they help the main verb to express action or make a statement.

e.g.has played will be coming must have been hurt

Common Helping Verbs

e.g.do, did, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, can, may, will (shall) be, has (had), been, could, would, should, must, must have been, might have seen

V.ADVERBS: An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb may tell when, where, how, why, to what extent, or how much.

e.g.The band played stirringly.(how it played)

The band played immediately.(when it played)

Often adding "ly" to an adjective changes it into an adverb.

VI.PREPOSTIONS: A preposition is a small word that shows position or direction. It always introduces a prepositional phrase, which ends with a noun or pronoun. Most prepositions can fit into the following phrase:

The cat jumped _______ the box. The two exceptions are of and during

Common Prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with

others:about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, during, into, like, near , over, past, throughout, toward, under, underneath, through, up, upon, within, without

e.g.The boy (with a dog) lives (on a farm).

VII.CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses. There are four types of conjunctions. The two main types are

Coordinate Conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, and sentences of equal value. The Coordinating Conjunctions are: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so. FANBOYS

Subordinate Conjunctions: Subordinating conjunctions join less important clauses to the main ideas of the sentence. Therefore, the clauses are not of equal value.

The Subordinating Conjunctions are: after, although, as, because, before,if, since, so that, that, unless, until, when, where, while, unless, even though.

PARTS OF THE SENTENCE

THE SENTENCE

A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a verb.

A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause.

e.g.The whole class sang songs. (simple subject and simple verb)

Dawn and Sue were studying together. (compound subject)

Roberta finished her letter and mailed it. (compound verb)

SUBJECT: The subject is the doer of the action, or the word or group of words spoken about in sentence. VERB: The heart of every sentence is the verb. Every sentence MUST have a verb.

PREPOSTIONS: A preposition is a small word that shows position or direction. It always introduces a prepositional phrase, which ends with a noun or pronoun. Most prepositions can fit into the following phrase:

The cat jumped _______ the box. The two exceptions are of and during

Common Prepositions: at, by, for, from, in, of, to, with

others:about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, during, into, like, near , over, past, throughout, toward, under, underneath, through, up, upon, without

e.g.The boy (with a dog) lives (on a farm).

Circle the prepositions and bracket ( ) or highlight the prepositional phrases.

1.Early in the morning, we arrived at the lake beside Mount Reyson.

2.There was a strange cry in the middle of the night.

3.In Kindergarten, I once ate a worm covered in mud.

4.We moved to Vancouver in May of 2001.

5.The cup of tea was too warm.

6.During the night, the blazing fire burned the building to the ground.

7.The radio towers were visible for a distance of ten miles.

8.Below the North Pole, the sea has a depth of nearly ten miles.

9.At the South Pole, there is a solid mass of ice.

10.During the storm, the waves hurled heavy rocks onto the shore.

11.One of the Reyson sisters went shopping with her mother in the afternoon.

12.A crowd of angry aliens gathered outside the embassy.

13.Before the railroads, settlers traveled along the rivers in canoes.

14.For years, the Pennsylvania Shipping Company towed its boats over the mountains.

15.Some of the salesmen went about their business without a car during the recession.

Use prepositional phrases to create transition.

A large cardboard box had been placed in the centre of the street.

PREPOSITIONS: Worksheet II

1. On my way home, the neighbors dog snapped at me and bit me on the ankle.

2. After the festival, many of the guests retired to their boats and enjoyed a cup of tea.

3. During the robbery, one of the thieves tripped over a garbage can in the alley.

4. Two of the sailors drowned in the sea late last night.

5. Without thinking, I sprinted into the battle and to my death.

6. It was snowing too hard to see the road without our headlights on high.

7. For the first time in my life, I was unable to win a trophy in the long jump.

8. After midnight, we crept into the house near the cemetery in the centre of town.

9. The quarterback passed to the tight end who sprinted across the goal line for a touchdown.

10. You can find everything from frozen milk to soybean flour in the big box store by the mall.

11. Four of our players spent most of the game in the penalty box.

12. In the tenth century, the nobles of France lived much better lives than those on farms.

13. One of the wedding guests remarked that the wine served for dessert was too dry for him.

14. As we turned onto the road near the park, a truck filled with melons hit us.

15. The cat with the red ears rubbed against the old couch in our den.

16. With time, the squatters in tents were not welcome in town, and they headed west on the rails.

17. The evil in them surfaced in the dark of night.

18. While they waited for the first light of morning, the wind whipped around the house.

19. Some of these things were lost, and the crops died and the farms were repossessed by bankers without scruples.

20. During the Depression, the bankers owned the best of the farms in the valley.

At home tonight, complete the following exercises online.

http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/prepositions.htm

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm

A FEW BASIC RULES TO HELP YOU FIND THE SUBJECT

1. Normally, the subject precedes the verb