Grammar review course nov 2013

Presented by : Kirstin Ahearn
kahearn@ahearnink.com
www.ahearnink.com
November 2013

(c) Kirstin Ahearn, 2013

 Amazon has 104,000 books on grammar
 Google “grammar” – 85.7 million results
 Google “grammar books” – 329 million results
 Google “grammar course” – 74.6 million results


 “Writing

with poor grammar makes you

seem stupid!”
 (from www.brainmass.com)

 Poor grammar leads people to deduce that

you may be lacking other skills and abilities.

Poor grammar reeks of lack of education, lack of
intelligence, and sloppiness.

 If a reader has to pause to understand what the

writer (or speaker) is trying to convey, the reader
stops reading.


 Subject is a noun (person, place, thing, idea) or

pronoun
 Proper nouns are names, always capitalized
 Subject performs the verb
 Find verb first … then find who/what is performing

the verb
 Put “a” or “the” in front of word to see if it‟s a noun
 (a) mistake
 (the) moment
 (the) ideas

 Gerunds are nouns that end in –ing (skiing)

subject

The dog
The dog
The dogs

From www.towson.edu


Verb (shows action)

howled.
is howling.
were howling.

TIP:
Know subject
and verb for
correct
agreement

Main verb

Infinitive (to + verb)

The dog barked to warn of danger.

TIP:
Do not split
verbs (to warn
loudly vs. to
loudly warn)
From www.towson.edu


 Singular subjects EACH, EVERYONE, EVERY

ONE, EVERYBODY, ANYONE, ANYBODY, SOM
EONE, SOMEBODY require singular verbs
 Each of the girls sings well.

 EITHER/NEITHER take singular verbs when used

as subjects


TIP:
Know singular
verb vs. plural
by asking: What
would go with
“he” or “they?”

 Two subjects connected by AND take plural verb
 The cat and dog go to the vet every month.

 Two singular subjects connected by OR/NOR,

EITHER/OR, NEITHER/NOR take singular verb
 Either the boy or the girl takes that bus.

 A singular subject PLUS a plural subject

connected by OR/NOR, EITHER/OR,
NEITHER/NOR take singular verb
 Neither the doctor nor the nurse knew where the patient

went


 Verb makes up the “predicate” part of a sentence
 Verb in the doing/action of a sentence
 Sentence can have more than one verb (and/or

subject)

TIP:
No verb – no
sentence!


 Verb tense – place the action in time
 Present tense – happening now
 He is the one eating the piece of pie.
 They are the ones eating pie.

 Past – already happened
 He ate the pie then went jogging.

 Future – yet to take place
 He will eat pie after he jogs.
 He or she will eat pie tomorrow.


 Present Perfect – started in past, is still happening
 The teacher or the students have eaten 10 pies so

far.
 Past Perfect – double past tense or that happened

even earlier
 I had eaten 10 pies when Mom walked in the door.

 Future Perfect – combine past and future
 By next week, I will have gotten tired of pies.


 Continuous (progressive) form the -ing verb
 I am eating.
 I will be eating pies forever.


 PRESENT
 Bear
 Blow
 Bring
 Creep
 Dive
 Drag
 Draw
 Drink

 Freeze


PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
bore
blew
brought
crept
dived
dragged
drew
drank
froze

borne
blown
brought
crept
dived (dove, informal)
dragged
drawn
drunk
frozen

 PRESENT
 Get
 Grow
 Hang
 Hang
 Lay
 Lend
 Lie
 Ring

 Shake


PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
got
grew
hung
hanged
laid
lent
lay
rang
shook

got, gotten
grown
hung
hanged (a person)
laid
lent
lain
rung
shaken

 PRESENT

PAST

PAST PARTICIPLE

 Shrink

shrank, shrunk

Sink
Slay
Spring
Swear
Swim
Tear
Weep
Wring

sank
slew
sprang, sprung
swore
swam
tore
wept
wrung











shrunk,
shrunken
sunk
slain
sprung
sworn
swum
torn
wept
wrung

 In the active voice, the subject is doing the action
 The passive voice must have a past participle and

the subject fills a different role than in the active
voice.
 “Judy was given gifts by Sam.”
 Sam actually did the giving


TIP: Passive
sentences aren‟t
incorrect – just not
preferred.

(adjective)

The


subject

predicate

dog howled.

 Describe nouns
 Clarify nouns
 Show which one, how many

 Can be comparative
 Ugly, uglier, ugliest

 Mean, meaner, meanest
 More beautiful, most unbelievable

 Can be absolute


 Generally not capable of being intensified or

compared
 Absolute
 Complete
 Devoid
 Final
 Square
 Full
 Meaningless

 Superior


basic
empty
excellent
dead
essential
harmless
obvious
ultimate

certain
entire
fatal
perfect
unique
immortal
pure
universal

 “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here!”
 Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs
 Tell where, when, how
 Frequently end in –ly

 Don‟t confuse with adjectives
 Adverbs modify VERBS - adjectives modify NOUNS

 Keep modifiers close to the word they are

modifying!
TIP: Like teenagers,
modifiers want to be
closest to the ones
they love.


predicate

dog howled

(adverb)

(adjective)

The

subject

.

 Express relationships between other words

(nouns)
 Never end a sentence with a preposition?
 More formal (“from where will you graduate?”)
 OK to leave at end!

 Idioms require certain prepositions

TIP: Place the word
before “the fence” to
see if it‟s a preposition
.

subject

subject
The brown dog


(preposition)

adjective

predicate

adverb

howled loudly
.

 Phrases that don't mean what they literally

say, but have meaning to native speakers
 Under the weather is known by most English

speakers to mean “not feeling quite well”
 Sort of “holdovers” that had a more literal

meaning in the past
 Under the weather originates from when people

traveled by boat; and during storms seasick
passengers would go below deck, where they
were literally under the weather


A chip on your shoulder:

Upset for something that happened in the past

Bend over backwards:

Do whatever it takes to help

Have an axe to grind:

To have a dispute with someone

A blessing in disguise:

Something good that isn't recognized at first

Run out of steam:

To be completely out of energy

A piece of cake:

An easy task


 “Half” a verb
 Fallen / had fallen
 Screaming / was screaming

 Modifies the noun (or pronoun)
 Screaming with laughter, she fell off her chair.


 A. subject predicate (verb) = complete thought

(independent clause)
 The candidate addressed the crowd.

 B. Fragment = no subject and predicate “unit”
 addressing the crowd, ...

 C. Fragment = -ing verb without a helping verb
 the candidate addressing the crowd, …

 D. Dependent clause = no complete thought
 while the candidate addressed the crowd …

(c) Kirstin Ahearn,
From www.towson.edu

2013

 Introduced by relative pronoun (that, which, who) or

“linking conjunction” (after, although, as, because,
before, if, since, unless, until, when, while)
 Act as adjective, noun or adverb


 A. Dependent clause, independent clause
 Although Tom reads novels, Jack reads comics.

 B. Independent clause dependent clause
 Jack reads comics although Tom reads novels.

 C. Independent

clause,

,

nonessential dependent

clause.

,

,

 Jack who reads comics rarely reads novels.

 D. Independent

clause

essential dependent

clause.

 People who read comics rarely read novels.
(c) Kirstin Ahearn,
From www.towson.edu

2013

 Two independent clauses may form a compound

sentence.
 Separate the two independent clauses in a compound

sentence with a comma and conjunction, or semi-colon
(with or without adverb).

;

 Tom read the novel however, his friend saw the

movie.

,

 WRONG: Tom read the novel his friend saw the

movie.
(c) Kirstin Ahearn,
From www.towson.edu

2013

 “Conjunction Junction, What‟s Your Function?”
 Coordinating/matchmaking
 And, or, but, for, nor, so, yet
 Connect words to words, phrases to phrases,

clauses to clauses
 Correlative conjunctions
 Two conjunctions in one
 Either/or, neither/nor
 Not only, but also


 Hartford is the capital of Connecticut. It is the

second largest city in the state.
 The capital of Connecticut, Hartford, is the

second largest city in the state.
 Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, is the second

largest city in the state.
 Hartford, the second largest city in the state, is the

capital of Connecticut.
 Independent, non-essential dependent clause, clause


 Hartford was once known as an industrial center.

It was the home of several manufacturers. They
made firearms, typewriters, bicycles, and even
cars.
 Once known as an industrial center, Hartford

was the home of manufacturers of firearms,
typewriters, bicycles, and even cars.
 Dependent (adjective) clause, independent clause


 Today, great wealth abounds in Hartford. The

wealth is centered in the insurance industry.
However, few manufacturing jobs are still
available.
 Although there is much wealth centered in

Hartford's insurance industry today, there are
few manufacturing jobs available.
 independent clause, independent clause


 “Clarity, clarity, clarity. When you become

hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start
fresh: do not try to fight your way through against
terrible odds of syntax..”
 “The Elements of Style,” E.B. White and William

Strunk, Jr.


 Writing is really re-writing. Re-write when your

sentence looses clarity (too many
dashes, semicolons, commas, and other fancy
marks).
 Think about this: Can you “re-speak” what you

speak? Think about what you are going to say
(grammar/verbs and content) before opening your
mouth.
 Notice how “professionals” use the pause!

 A necessary tool to clearly express a thought,

direction, statement
 “Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of

a sentence, the results of which could be farreaching.”
 “The Associated Press Stylebook,” Norm Goldstein,

editor


 No one can write perfect English and

keep it up through a stretch of ten
chapters. It has never been done.
 Christian Science Monitor


„
 Possessive – “belonging to”
 Form the possessive singular of nouns with

‟s. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant
(only add „ if plural noun ends in “s”).
 The girl‟s food
 The girls‟ food

 The horses‟ food
 The waitress‟s food
 Exception: if the word that follows the now begins with an

“s,” only add „
 The waitress‟ seat


From The Elements of Style, Strunk & White

„
 Possessive, continued
 None of these pronouns need apostrophe
 Mine
 Ours
 Your/yours
 His/hers
 Its (note: it‟s = it is)
 Theirs
 Whose
 More than one noun, make last possessive
 John Adams Jr.‟s father
 Mary and Gary‟s apartment

Quiz
 1. During the past few (weeks‟, weeks) a

(week‟s, weeks‟) worth of mail has equaled
what is normally eight (weeks‟, weeks) worth.


 1. During the past few

weeks a week‟s

worth of mail has equaled what is normally
eight weeks‟ worth.


Quiz
 2. Though (its, it‟s) now named for the avenue

on which (its, it‟s) located, sometimes (its, it‟s)
referred to by (its, it‟s) old name.
.


it‟s now named for the avenue on
which it‟s located, sometimes it‟s referred
to by its old name.

 2. Though


Quiz
 3. The (children‟s, childrens‟) knowledge of

the apostrophe was better than anyone
(elses, else‟s), including the word
(columnist‟s, columnist).


children‟s knowledge of the
apostrophe was better than anyone else‟s,
including the word columnist‟s.

 3. The


Quiz
 4. These (kinds, kind‟s) of mistakes involving

(apostrophes, apostrophe‟s) are the bane of
(writers, writers‟) lives.


kinds of mistakes involving
apostrophes are the bane of
writers‟ lives.

 4. These


Quiz
 5. After giving her employer four

(months, months‟) notice of her departure, Jill
received a (weeks, week‟s) salary and ten
(dollars, dollars‟) worth of paper clips.


 5. After giving her employer four

months‟

notice of her departure, Jill received a

week‟s salary and ten dollars worth of
paper clips.


Quiz
 6. (Lets, Let‟s) stop at the (Smith‟s, Smiths‟).

house and greet all the (Smith‟s, Smiths).


 6. (Lets, Let‟s) stop at the (Smith‟s, Smiths‟).

house and greet all the (Smith‟s, Smiths).

Rob Kyff, "Word Watch," Hartford Courant (16 January 2000).


:
 Introduce lists
 Give emphasis to part of a sentence
 Time
 Biblical and legal citations
 Capitalize first word after colon ONLY if it‟s a

proper noun (or the start of a complete sentence)
 Do not combine dash and colon


 Just because it is “important” doesn‟t mean it should

be capitalized
 The new library service was popular with residents.

(NOT: The new Service was popular...)
 Capitalize first initial in names of people, departments,

places
 Capitalize first initial in titles BEFORE names
 According to Commissioner Roderick Bremby, the

Department of Social Services will close six offices …
 Roderick Bremby, the agency‟s commissioner, said …
 Follow agency style when necessary
 The Commissioner said …


 Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one

paragraph to each topic.
 Use short paragraphs
 A quote should be its own paragraph

 The active voice is usually more direct and

vigorous than the passive (start with I, we, he,
etc.)
 Use positive words; try to avoid the word “NOT”


,
 Helps reader understand rhythm of the sentence
 Read your sentence out loud for natural pause

(that‟s where comma goes)
 Use sparingly
 Use to avoid confusion and add clarification


,
 In a series of three or more terms with a single

conjunction, use a comma after each term except
the last.
 If using a conjunction add commas between each

item on the list
 The dinner will consist of light appetizers, beef, ham and

cheese omelets, and strawberries and cream.

 Series of adjectives
 It was a dark, stormy night


 If two clauses could stand alone, and are linked

by “and, but or for,” use commas
 She was glad she attended the show, for she was

able to meet the handsome actor.

 Restrictive relative clauses are not set off by

commas; you could NOT make these into two
sentences
 My brother that lives in Arizona is named Pat.


,
 A comma all by itself can transform the meaning

of a sentence:
 He helped the native guides who were sick with

malaria.
 No comma appears before “who.” Therefore, what follows is

a restrictive clause. Not all the guides had malaria.

 He helped the native guides, who were sick with

malaria.
 Putting the comma before “who” makes what follows a non-

restrictive clause. It also changes the sentence to mean
that all the guides had malaria.


,
 Use when introducing a quote
 President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country

can do for you…”
 Use at end of attributed quote
 “Ask not what your country can do for you,”

President Kennedy said.
 Note: commas always go inside the quotation
marks


,
 Use with hometowns, ages, states/country with cities
 John Jones, Minneapolis, Minn., was at the party.
 John Jones, 52, was at the party.
 John Jones wants to visit Dublin, Ireland, when he

returns from Fargo, N.D.
 Use with yes, no, and indirect addresses
 Yes, I will be there.
 No, sir, I will not be there.

 Use with numbers (except street addresses)
 The jar contained 1,200 jelly beans.
 John Jones moved to 1234 Main Street.
 Do

not use periods for commas


!
 To express surprise, emotion, disbelief
 That plane ride was fantastic!
 “Fantastic!” he said.
 Do not overuse!!


 “To be avoided whenever possible” – Winston

Churchill
 Use to join two words to form single idea
 Socio-economic

 Use to create modifier before a noun
 A little-used car; a little used car

 No hyphen with “very” or with adverb (-ly)
 With numbers (twenty-one)
 Suspension (10- to 20-year prison sentence)


- Two hyphens
 Use to justify the first part of your sentence
 We walked a long time – long enough to get

blisters.
 Use as alternative to parentheses
 We walked a long time – it was sunset before we

got home – and everyone had blisters.
 I love the dash – especially in corporate

documents!


()
 Use to clarify or add information (sparingly!)
 Do not capitalize first word when used within a

sentence
 Place period outside parentheses
 Try not to use. Perhaps you should re-write,
use commas or dashes?


.
 At end of sentence
 With initials
 T.S. Eliot
 Not with acronyms (LBJ)

 In listing using numbers (1., 2., 3.) or letters

(A., B., C.)
 Place inside quotation marks
 Single space at end of sentence


?
 End of question
 In list:
 Did he practice at all? At night? Before school?

 None needed here:
 He asked who practiced the piano before the

concert.
 Place inside quotes
 “Who practiced?” the piano teacher asked.

 Place outside quotes of book title.
 Who wrote “The Elements of Style”?

“”
 Direct quotes
 “I want to learn to cook,” the young girl said.
 Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream.”
 “There is no such thing as Santa Claus,” the boy told his

father. “All the kids on the bus say so.”

 When writing dialogue
 “Did you get the job?”
 “No.”
 “Did they say why?”

 With titles of books (except the Bible and reference

books), movies, plays, poems, songs, TV shows,
speeches, works of art.

“”
 Use to express irony
 The “teacher” could hardly spell!

 Unfamiliar terms
 “tweeting”

 Partial quotes
 She felt it was her “best-kept secret.”

 Quote within quote, use „‟
 “I felt the mayor‟s statement, „all is well,‟ was a bit

contrived,” the police chief said.


;
 Use sparingly, if at all
 Used to separate a thought to a greater degree

than a comma, but less than a period.
 The senator never showed up to vote on legislation;

therefore, it was a surprise that he won re-election.
 Used to clarify when lots of commas are needed
 The man left behind three daughters and a son from

Burlington, VT; a brother from Topeka, Kansas; and
his elderly parents, Janet and Greg Jones, also
from Topeka.


 Spell out
 Single digits (numbers less than nine)


I want five copies; I want 10 copies

 At start of sentence)
 Twenty-nine people won the award.
 Simple fractions, using hyphens
 One-half of the pieces have been eaten.
 A two-thirds majority is required for the bill to pass.
 Decades
 During the eighties and nineties…


 If using figures for decades, use these styles:
 During the „80s and „90s …
 During the 1980s and 1990s …

 Use figures for mixed fractions (except at start of

sentence)
 We expect a 5½ percent wage increase.
 Five and one-half percent was the interest rate.

 Spell out time of day, especially with o‟clock
 She gets up at four thirty before the baby.
 The baby wakes up at five o‟clock.

 Use numbers with exact times
 The flight leaves at 6:22 a.m.
 She had a 7:00 p.m. deadline


 Anyone who tries to explain “that” and “which” is

less than an hour is asking for trouble.
 „That‟ is most often what you would say, so is
what you should write.
 Mostly use „which‟ to describe, identify, locate, or
explain that which precedes a comma
 The house, which has a red roof, was on fire.
 - “On Writing Well,” William Zinsser, 2001


 As the first word in a question:
 Which movie was playing last week?
 Which team won last year‟s World Series?

 As a pronoun to refer back to one

single noun or to a whole idea:
 Referring to (or re-naming) one single word:

A week ago I bought a cashmere sweater which cost $150.
(The word which is “re-naming” the sweater.)
 Referring to a whole idea or phrase:
 In 2005, we took a vacation to Walt Disney World, which

helped to bond our family members together.
(The word which is referring to the taking of the family
vacation.)

www.jalc.edu

 Used after the word in.

Note: The use of in with which is correct only if there
is a sense of something being contained inside or
within something else.
 Illinois is the state in which I live. (I live inside or within

Illinois.)
 The room in which we are sitting is hundreds of years
old.
 Important: Do not repeat the word in after using it with

in which.
 Wrong: Illinois is the state in which I was born in.
 Correct: Illinois is the state in which I was born.

 Use other prepositions like these in front of the word

which:






to which
from which
at which
by which
under which, etc.

 The preposition you use will be determined by the

verb in the sentence
 Apply to a school (the school to which I applied…)
 Park under a lamppost (the lamp under which I

parked…)


 Use that before a restrictive clause and which

before everything else.
 Gems that sparkle often elicit forgiveness.
 Specific types of gems (ones that sparkle)
 Diamonds, which are expensive, often elicit

forgiveness.
 There was an earthquake in China, which is bad
news.


 The lawnmower that is in the garage needs

sharpening.
 We have more than one lawnmower. Only the one

in the garage needs sharpening.
 The lawnmower, which is in the

garage, needs sharpening.
 We have only one lawnmower. It's in the garage

and needs sharpening.

 Using “that” is never really wrong, though it may

be unnecessary
 Omitting “that” in some cases indeed may be

wrong.


 “That” introduces ESSENTIAL clauses (no

commas)
 I don‟t trust products that claim to be all natural.

 “Which” introduces NON-ESSENTIAL CLAUSES

(surrounded by commas)
 The product, which is on sale this week, claims to

be all natural.
 “Who” refers to people.
 She is the one who saved
the girl from drowning.


TIP: You can take out
the parts with “which”
and not change the
meaning.

 The statue that stands in the hall is on loan from

the museum.
 A number of statues are in the building. Only the one in

the hall is on loan from the museum.
 The statue, which stands in the hall, is on loan

from the museum.
 Only one statue is under discussion. It is on loan from

the museum and happens to be in the hall.


 Less formally, use “where,” BUT be sure you

are talking about place, not time.
 Incorrect: “He was born somewhere around

1970.”
 Correct: “He was born sometime around 1970.”
 The year 1970 is a time, not a place


 Use “he” or “him” to decide if it should be “who” or

“whom”
 WHO/WHOM wrote the letter? “He” wrote the letter

so WHO is the correct choice.
 For WHO/WHOM should I vote? Should I vote for
“him?” so WHOM is the correct choice.


 To lie is to tell an untruth
 Lie and Lay are present-tense verbs
 “Lie” means: to rest or recline.
 “Lay” means: to put or place something or

someone down .
 Verb followed by an object


VERB

SIMPLE
PRESENT

SIMPLE
PAST

PAST
PARTICIPLE

Lay

Lay(s)

Laid

Has laid

Lie

Lie(s)

Lay

Has lain

Use the simple present forms with action which happens consistently
or action which is happening presently.
Jack always lays the cordless telephone where no one can find
it.
I lie down for a nap at 2 p.m. every day.


TIP: you lay
something
down, and people
lie down by
themselves.

VERB

SIMPLE
PRESENT

SIMPLE
PAST

PAST
PARTICIPLE

Lay

Lay(s)

Laid

Has laid

Lie

Lie(s)

Lay

Has lain

Use the simple past forms with action completed in the past
Rachel laid her recipe on the counter.
I lay down for a nap yesterday.


VERB

SIMPLE
PRESENT

SIMPLE
PAST

PAST
PARTICIPLE

Lay

Lay(s)

Laid

Has laid

Lie

Lie(s)

Lay

Has lain

Use the past participle forms with “has, have”
I have lain down for a nap every day this week.
That hen has laid two eggs every day this week.


 Because indicates cause and effect
 Since used for relationship or time
 “Due to” is a adjective; follows “to be”
 I will go to the game because my daughter is on the

team.
 Since I have some extra money, I will buy the shoes.
 The cancellation was due to rain.
TIP: DO NOT start a
sentence with “due to”
(OK to start with
“because” …)


 Should have = should‟ve
 Could have = could‟ve
 Would have = would‟ve
 NEVER “should of” “could of” “would of”


 Use different from NOT different than
 The weather was different from what we expected.

 Use differently than when a clause precedes and

follows the expression
 He works differently than she does.


 “Good” is an adjective
 You did a good job. (Describes the job.)
 You did good – incorrect because there is no noun.

 “Well” is an adverb
 You did well on the test. (Answers “how you did”)
 Use when referring to health
 I do not feel well.


 Affect with an „a’ means "to influence”
 Will the budget cuts affect your staff?
 We can affect change by eliminating restrictions.

TIP: Most of the
time affect with an a
is a verb and effect
with an e is a noun.


 Effect essentially means "a result“
 The effect of the law was harmful to the elderly
 The ruling had an adverse effect on how fast

people drove on the highway.
 That book had a long-lasting effect on my
thinking.


princiPAL – a
“pal” is your
friend


Advice = recommendation
Advise = the act of giving a
recommendation

All ready = all are
ready
Already = refers to
(c)time Ahearn, 2013
Kirstin

Adverse = unfortunate;
opposed (things)
She had an adverse
reaction.
Averse = having
repugnance (people)
He is averse to a
military draft.

Among = 3 or more
Between = Just 2


 Assure = to promise or say with confidence
 Ensure = to make sure something will or

won‟t happen
 Insure = to issue an insurance policy

Connote = to suggest or
imply
Denote = to be a sign of
e.g. = for example
i.g. = that is, in other words

 Every day = each day
 Everyday = ordinary


Empathy = to understand
another‟s feelings
Sympathy = to feel
compassion for

 Fewer = number that can be

counted
 Less = uncountable amount
 Under = direction

Irregardless = NO SUCH
WORD EXISTS
Regardless = in spite of;
without regard

TIP: Less than $100
… NOT under $100

accidentally rhythm
formerly
benefit
privilege
latter
advice
ridiculous
humorous
challenge
pursue
led
affect
sacrilegious
hypocrisy
criticize
repetition
lose
beginning
immediately seize
deceive
rhyme
marriage
believe
separate
incidentally 2013
(c) Kirstin Ahearn,

definite
mischief
shepherd
describe
murmur
siege
despise
necessary
similar
develop
occurred
simile
disappoint
parallel
too

duel
tragedy
ecstasy
playwright
tries
effect
preceding
undoubtedly
existence
prejudice
until
fiery
principal

 See how the pros do it – again:
 Newspapers/magazines (articles, ads)
 E-mails, blogs, social networks (personal/work)
 Mail (letters, direct mail, newsletters)
 Catalogs
 Novels, non-fiction books
 Cereal boxes

 Fun to find the mistakes (menus)

 Read, read, read to write (and speak)!!

 Keep a word journal
 Write down words in a column; add definition (when you can);

include brief sentence using the word
 Read more often; read challenging material; look closely and pay
attention word structure
 Magazines
 Newspapers (Wall Street Journal)
 Business books
 Essays!! E.B. White, Anne Fadiman
 Fiction?? Grammar sometimes used poetically
 Underline new words (then look them up)
 Practice using new words to make them second nature

(don‟t sound forced)
 Use a thesaurus


 At least half of the words in the English language

are derived from Greek and Latin roots.
 Knowing these roots helps us to grasp the

meaning of words before we look them up in the
dictionary.
 It also helps us to see how words are often

arranged in families with similar characteristics.

Learn meaning of root words
Root (source)
Meaning
English words
aster, astr (G)
star
astronomy, astrology
audi (L)
to hear
audible, auditorium
bene (L)
good, well
benefit, benevolent
bio (G)
life
biology, autobiography
dic, dict (L)
to speak
dictionary, dictator
fer (L)
to carry
transfer, referral
geo (G)
earth
geography, geology
graph (G)
to write
graphic, photography
manu (L)
hand
manual, manuscript
phys (G) body, nature
physical, physics


 Consider the specific situation/reader

 Text messaging abbreviations place the needs of the writer before the

needs of the reader, unlike many other language developments, such as
punctuation, which are meant to assist the reader. (Grammar Snobs Are Great
Big Meanies, June Casagrande)

 It's rude to use text messaging abbreviations when the person on the

receiving end won't understand them.
 It may be rude NOT to use them when sending a message to someone

who you know will understand the abbreviations and who is reading (and
scrolling through) your message on a tiny cell phone screen. (Modern Manners
Guide, http://manners.quickanddirtytips.com)


http://www.slideshare.net

/kirstinah/grammarreview-course-march2013


Grammar review course nov 2013

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (16)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (19)

Similar to Grammar review course nov 2013

Similar to Grammar review course nov 2013 (16)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Grammar review course nov 2013

Editor's Notes