SENTENCES
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT |
COMPLETE SENTENCES |
TRANSITION WORDS |
Subjects agree with their verbs in number (singular or plural). |
A complete sentence as three requirements. |
Read the previous sentence. |
EXAMPLE: The friends are robbing banks. |
A subject: The dog sought shelter from the storm. |
Two agreeing sentences: consequently, thus, therefore, because of, furthermore, in fact, indeed, moreover |
Subjects can be nouns or pronouns. |
A verb: Manny proudly carried his bucket of lobsters. |
EXAMPLE: He studies; thus, he gets good grades. |
EXAMPLE: They are terrorizing the Midwest. |
A complete thought: Kyle seemed lost in thought. |
Two disagreeing sentences: conversely, despite, ironically, however, still, though, yet, nonetheless, in spite of, nevertheless |
Watch out for prepositional phrases! |
A complete thought is a collection of words that is fully understandable. |
EXAMPLE: Sam interviewed for the job; however, he did not get called back. |
EXAMPLE: The butterfly with the bright colors is beautiful. |
A complete thought could also just be one subject and one verb, as long as it makes sense. |
Other transitions: **in closing, generally, as, after, while, until, before |
COMPOUND SENTENCE |
Two complete sentences joined together to create one sentence. |
COMMA+FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so |
EXAMPLE: Savannah likes soccer and tennis, but she loves pro-wrestling more. |
SEMICOLON: No comma or FANBOYS needed |
EXAMPLE: Savannah likes soccer and tennis; she loves pro-wrestling more. |
COMPLEX SENTENCE |
One incomplete sentence and one complete sentence joined together to create one sentence. |
COMMAS are only used if the incomplete sentence comes first. |
EXAMPLE: Because Savannah loved pro-wrestling, she went to Buffalo Jim's Wrestling School. |
PARALLEL STRUCTURE
IF YOU START ONE WAY, YOU KEEP IT THAT WAY |
Verbs: He was walking, talking, and smiling. |
Punctuation: He smiled -- roguishly, strangely -- at the woman in the coffee shop. |
Voice: One will find that the library is a great place for one to study. |
MODIFIERS
MODIFIERS ARE ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS/DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES |
SUPERLATIVES |
EXAMPLE: Elegantly dressed, the queen floated into the room. |
Superlatives are just modifiers that distinguish differences between things or ideas. |
A MODIFYING CLAUSE GOES NEXT TO WHAT IT MODIFIES |
When comparing two things, use -er/-ier, more, or less. |
EXAMPLE: Driving home late after work, he proceeded cautiously. |
When comparing three or more things, use -est/iest, most, least. |
BAD EXAMPLE: Racing through the red light, the police officer pulled Liam over. |
EXAMPLE: I like chocolate ice cream more than vanilla, but peanut butter chocolate ice cream is my most favorite. |
COMMAS
SEPARATE ITEMS IN A LIST |
INTRODUCTORY PHRASES |
NON-ESSENTIAL PHRASES |
Millie remembered to bring her toothbrush, face wash, and sword. |
Over the weekend, Millie slayed many a demon. |
Millie, smart and brave, was soon praised by all in the town. |
APOSTROPHES
CONTRACTIONS |
POSSESSION |
When checking whether a word is a contraction or not, try pulling it apart into two words. |
If one owner: 's |
EXAMPLES: it's (it is), you've (you have), you're (you are), they've (they have), we've (we have), he's (he is), it's (it is), who's (who is) |
If more than one owner: s' |
WEIRD POSSESSIONS:
its, whose, your, their, ours
SEMICOLONS, COLONS, AND LONG DASHES
SEMICOLONS |
COLONS |
LONG DASHES |
Semicolon = ; |
Colon = : |
Long Dash = -- |
They can only be used to CONNECT TWO COMPLETE SENTENCES. |
A COMPLETE SENTENCE must come BEFORE the colon. |
If using a single long dash, a COMPLETE SENTENCE must go BEFORE it. |
Often, they are used to connect transitions as well. |
Colons are used to set off: lists, explanations, definitions, quotes, etc. |
If you want to add some drama, you can replace two commas with two long dashes for effect. |
EXAMPLE: Mike was very worried about Will; in fact, he couldn't even sleep because of it. |
EXAMPLE: Papa could often be heard singing his favorite song: "You are My Sunshine." |
EXAMPLE: The Rainbow Room -- deadly quiet, hauntingly still -- was not as empty as it seemed. |
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COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
Then/Than |
Its/It's |
Two/To/Too |
There/Their/They're |
Then refers to time. |
Its is possessive pronoun. |
Two is a number, as in 2. |
There usually refers to a place, like here and there. |
EXAMPLE: He went to the store; then he went home. |
EXAMPLE: I love its color! |
To is a preposition or the beginning of an infinitive. |
Their is a possessive pronoun. |
Than is a comparison. |
It's is a contraction that means it is |
Too means also or to indicate a large amount. |
They're is a contraction of they are |
EXAMPLE: She like big dogs more than little ones. |
EXAMPLE: It's (It is) so good to see youi! |
EXAMPLE: Two monsters went to Tokyo to destroy it, but Tokyo was too far away, and they had bellyaches, too. |
EXAMPLE: They're (They are) going over there to get their money back. |
PRONOUNS
PRONOUNS MUST BE CLEAR |
WHO VERSUS WHOM |
It needs to be obvious what the pronoun is referring to. |
Who is a subject. Subjects get to do things. |
EXAMPLE: Bob and John went shopping and they bought too much junk food. |
EXAMPLE: Who will be singing for us tonight? |
PRONOUNS MUST AGREE IN NUMBER/GENDER BASED ON ITS ANTECEDENT (THE NOUN THAT COMES BEFORE IT) |
EXAMPLE: I know this guy who will eat anything for a dollar. |
EXAMPLE: The new store sits between buildings more than twice its height. |
Whom is an object. Objects get stuff done to them. |
EXAMPLE: The first chair trombonist from Pea Ridge was very happy with his/her contest score. |
EXAMPLE: To whom are you speaking? |
IRREGULAR VERBS
Today, I... |
Yesterday, I... |
For years, I... |
begin |
began |
have begun |
break |
broke |
have broken |
bring |
brought |
have brought |
build |
built |
have built |
choose |
chose |
have chosen |
go |
went |
have gone |
lead |
led |
have led |
ring |
rang |
have rung |
rise |
rose |
have risen |
run |
ran |
have run |
see |
saw |
have seen |
seek |
sought |
have sought |
shrink |
shrank |
have shrunk |
sing |
sang |
have sung |
sink |
sank |
have sunk |
speak |
spoke |
have spoken |
swim |
swam |
have swum |
THESE ARE NOT WORDS -- SO, STOP USING THEM
irregardless, funner, where at, its', could of, kinda, boughten
PREPOSITIONS
CAN A SQUIRREL DO THIS WITH A TREE?
PREPOSITIONS
about |
above |
across |
after |
against |
around |
along |
among |
at |
behind |
before |
beneath |
beside |
between |
beyond |
by |
down |
during |
except |
for |
from |
in |
near |
of |
off |
on |
opposite |
out |
outside |
over |
past |
regarding |
round |
since |
to |
through |
under |
until |
up |
with |
within |
The squirrel and tree metaphor doesn't always work, but it's still helpful.
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