Senior Grammar
Grammar Unit -- Spring 2019
What will you have to do?
Take notes on lectures on Mondays (get notes from peer if absent)
Practice in class (sometimes graded, sometimes not)
See me before school school/breakfast time if you get lost/behind
Some weeks will be easy stuff, some weeks will be much harder
WEEKLY QUIZ on grammar skills on Fridays. QUIZZES WILL BE CUMULATIVE since these topics all build together. (You can’t do calculus without knowing algebra first)
General Outline -- might change slightly
Wk1 - nouns, verbs, prepositions,
Wk2 - subject, object
Wk3 - phrases and clauses
Wk 4 - types of sentences: simple and compound
Wk5 - punctuation: commas, colons, semicolons
Wk 6 - types of sentences; complex and compound-complex
WEEK 1
NOUNS, VERBS, & PREPOSITIONS
4 TYPES OF NOUNS
CONCRETE NOUNS: PERSON, PLACE, THING
KITTENS
ROCK
POPSICLES
BUILDING
CITY
4 TYPES OF NOUNS
ABSTRACT NOUNS: concepts, feelings, ideas, states of mind, and attributes.
HONOR
LOYALTY
COURAGE
TRUTH
FREEDOM
4 TYPES OF NOUNS
COLLECTIVE NOUN: describe a group of things, usually people
*** ALSO a type of concrete noun. (That may be why people find all these different categories hard to understand—there’s overlap between them.)
BAND
BOARD
CLASS
COMMITTEE
TEAM
4 TYPES OF NOUNS
COMPOUND NOUNS: made up of two different words
open compounds = coffee house
closed compounds = football
hyphenated compounds = collar-bone
3 TYPES OF VERBS
ACTION VERBS express physical or mental actions: think, eat, collide, realize, dance.
I finally realized my mistake.
The outfielder collided with the second-baseman.
She dances every Friday night.
LINKING VERBS express a state of being AND/OR relate to our five senses--seeing, tasting, touching, hearing, and smell
Is, am, was, were, feels, tastes, smells
Loren seems anxious about the test.
Loren is anxious.
HELPING VERBS create a complete verb and usually denote time (past, present, future)
I was working in my homework.
They are paying attention.
He will walk the dog later tonight.
PREPOSITIONS AND PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
PREPOSITIONS usually tell where or when & prepositional phrases never contain the subject
IN, ON, ABOVE
The dishes are in the sink.
The football is on the field.
I put the towels above the washer.
above beneath into to�across beside like toward�after between near under�against beyond of underneath �along by off unlike �among down on until �around during out up �as except outside upon �at for over with �before from past within �behind in through without
Practice with NOUNS -- identify
Practice with VERBS -- identify
Practice with NOUNS -- identify and label
The soccer ball is out front.
The soccer ball is out front. = open, compound
Honesty is the best policy.
Honesty is the best policy. = abstract, abstract
A committee of five was appointed.
A committee of five was appointed. = collective
Practice with NOUNS -- identify and label
We saw a fleet of ships in the harbor.
We saw a fleet of ships in the harbor. = collective, concrete, concrete
He gave me a bunch of grapes.
He gave me a bunch of grapes. = collective, concrete
The band is ready to play.
The band is ready to play. = collective
Practice with VERBS -- identify and label
The soccer ball is out front.
The soccer ball is out front. = linking
A committee of five was appointed.
A committee of five was appointed. = helping, action
We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour.
We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour. = linking
Practice with VERBS -- identify and label
Laura raises her hand.
Laura raises her hand. = action
Dustin will lay down his book.
Dustin will lay down his book. = helping, action
Jason became a business major.
Jason became a business major. = linking
Practice with NOUNS -- label
You know you love me, I know you care
Just shout whenever and I'll be there
You are my love, you are my heart
And we will never, ever, ever be apart
Practice with NOUNS -- label
Swag swag swag, on you
Chillin' by the fire while we eating fondue
I don't know 'bout me but I know about you
So say hello to falsetto in three two
Practice with NOUNS -- label
I hit you up like "Do you wanna hang right now?"
On the East Side and you know I'm with the gang right now
Practice with NOUNS -- label
Glasses of champagne out on the dance floor
Hangin' with some girls I've never seen before
Practice with VERBS -- label
You used to call me on my cell phone
Late night when you need my love …
And I know when that hotline bling
That can only mean one thing
WEEK 2
Subject, Object (and Prepositional phrases)
What is the SUBJECT?
The subject is the person or thing doing something
So, if a verb tells what’s happening
Then the subject does the action of the verb
Examples of SUBJECT and VERBS
The tall, dark stranger was singing.
She stood still.
The cat sleeps all day.
He is talking trash.
We will be seeing each other next week.
The wallet might have been lost at the party.
What pattern do you notice?
Most common sentence pattern =
Subject Verb.
What is the OBJECT?
the object is having something done to it
Examples of OBJECT (verbs in red)
He loves football.
The dog bit the postman.
The police have arrested three people.
Sally opened the door to the dining room.
The company fired one hundred of its employees.
What’s the pattern?
Subject -> Verb -> Object
What is a PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE?
They function as adjectives or adverbs (modify the noun or pronoun in the sentence)
The boy in the lake swam to the dock.
Boy = noun/subject
Swam = verb
Dock = object
“The boy swam” OR “The boy swam to the dock” would both be correct sentences.
Examples of PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
The fish below the water were hunting for their prey.
The orange in the bowl was looking past its prime.
She put her paper above the rest for grading.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
Mohamed threw me a Frisbee in the park!
2. Leah ate the sandwich as fast as she could.
Leah ate the sandwich as fast as she could.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
3. Are we supposed to bring Nina a birthday present?
Are we supposed to bring Nina a birthday present?
4. I can't wait to see you next month.
I can't wait to see you next month.
5. We have to buy strawberries on the way to the picnic.
We have to buy strawberries on the way to the picnic.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
Love hit me in the stomach like a freight train.
Love hit me in the stomach like a freight train.
John and I played a game.
John and I played a game.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
The pirate captain sang a sea song on his pirate ship.
The pirate captain sang a sea song on his pirate ship.
In our house, we don’t like to serve guests spoiled food.
In our house, we don’t like to serve guests spoiled food.
The students decided to celebrate their scores after lunch.
The students decided to celebrate their scores after lunch.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
Your dog ran away with your hat in his mouth.
Your dog ran away with your hat in his mouth.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
My dad tells me a joke every morning when I leave for school.
My dad tells me a joke every morning when I leave for school.
You can recycle the water bottle in the bin.
You can recycle the water bottle in the bin.
Practice with sentences (sub., verb, obj., P.P)
I will buy you a treat once we get there.
I will buy you a treat once we get there.
Abdirizak lent Tim the book during Ramadan.
Abdirizak lent Tim the book during Ramadan.
WEEK 3
Dependent & Independent Clauses
What is an Independent Clause (IC)?
Definition:
1) Expresses a complete thought
2) and has a subject and a verb
Are these Independent Clauses?
What is a Dependent Clause (DC)?
Although, after, as, even, if, since, because, besides, while, until
What’s the dependent clause?
Practice
I will put up a sentence; parts of that sentence will be in all capitals and underlined. Write down whether that part of the sentence is an Independent Clause (IC) or a Dependent Clause (DC).
5. I can't go to the movies SINCE I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY.
6. WHETHER HE ATTENDS THE PARTY OR NOT, I have decided to go.
7. I WILL STOP PLAYING THE DRUMS when you go to sleep.
8. SINCE YOU'VE TAKEN YOUR EXAM IN BIOLOGY, you probably don't feel like studying for tomorrow's exam in math.
9. Until he apologizes to me for his rude behavior, I REFUSE TO SEE HIM.
10. I wore my boots BECAUSE IT LOOKED LIKE IT MIGHT SNOW.
COMMA RULES WITH IC’S & DC’S
IC ---> DC. = NO COMMA
I don’t want ice cream at all since it’s vanilla.
DC ---> IC. = COMMA
Since it’s vanilla, I don’t want ice cream at all.
IC ---> DC ---> IC. = COMMA
I don’t want ice cream, since it’s vanilla, at all.
Practice (IC in red; DC in blue)
Practice (IC in red; DC in blue)
5. We are going to leave for the cabin Friday afternoon if the weather
is nice enough.
6. The fall weather, although it’s a little cold, is my favorite time of
year.
7. I distrust computers so I’ve decided to throw mine in the garbage.
8. Even though I can’t stand red meat, I cooked my husband a steak for
dinner.
WEEK 4
Simple and Compound Sentences
Simple Sentence
Examples of SIMPLE sentences
He was cold.
The chicken and the crocodile crossed the road.
Beyonce sang and danced with Rihanna during the awards show.
Compound Sentence
Compound sentence, con’t.
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Coordinating conjunction = joins together word groups of equal weight (two ICs)
Formula for compound sentences
IC, FANBOYS IC
I went to the lake, but I forgot how to swim.
She listens to Beyonce, and she listens to Rihanna.
He feels uncomfortable, so he is leaving the room.
Examples of Compound Sentences
Mary’s hair is blond, but Tom’s is red.
The restaurant was open, so we made a reservation.
Not only is he the best wrestler in the ring, but he is also the best cook in the kitchen.
PRACTICE
Identify the sentence -- can be an IC (simple), two ICs (compound) or a DC/sentence fragment.
PRACTICE
Week 5: Colons, Semicolons, and Commas!!!
What is a semicolon?
Semicolons separate two ICs
*** have to be closely related to each other
Examples
"It was below zero; Squiggly wondered if he would freeze to death."
Can also be: It was below zero. Squiggly wondered if he would freeze to death.
Why use a semicolon?
•Because they’re Ms. Nicole’s favorite.
•Sentence variety
•Draw attention to similarity between two clauses.
•(Note: can’t use semicolon if no relationship exists. Example: It was below zero; Squiggly likes pizza.)
Why else?
Lists that include commas within the items.
Example: The cities I love most are St. Paul, Minnesota; Boston, Massachusetts; and Hayward, Wisconsin.
What’s the difference between a semicolon and a colon?
One is a piece of punctuation and one is an organ!
The real difference, part 1
Example: “Squiggly checked the temperature: it was -20 degrees.”
The real difference, part 2
2. Semicolon joins two things of equal weight, a colon can join two things of equal or unequal weight.
For example, you can use either a semicolon or a colon to join two ICs, but you can only use a colon to join a main clause with a noun. Here's an example: "Squiggly missed only one friend: Piggly."
Colon rule #1
Only use a colon after a complete sentence.
Example: Squiggly has two favorite hobbies: eating pizza and checking the temperature.
Commas
IC, FANBOYS IC
DC, IC.
IC → DC (no comma)
IC, DC, IC.
What is a conjunctive adverb?
also then
however furthermore
otherwise moreover
consequently therefore
indeed hence
similarly nevertheless
finally thus
likewise nonetheless
How to punctuate conjunctive adverbs (, or ;)
When a conjunctive adverb connects two ICs it is preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.
I like to eat ice cream; however, I only eat it on the weekends.
How to punctuate conjunctive adverbs (, or ;)
If a conjunctive adverb is used in any other position in a sentence, it is separated by commas.
I like to eat ice cream, however, only on the weekends.
PRACTICE -- comma, colon, or semicolon?
2. Before we conclude, let me just ______ I have loved being your teacher for the past year.
PRACTICE -- comma, colon, or semicolon?
2. I can't decide which I like ______ cats or dogs.
PRACTICE -- comma, colon, or semicolon?
I spent my Saturday the best way I know ______ running around in the park with my dogs.
My sister likes to collect dead bugs __________ she is married with children.
PRACTICE -- comma, colon, or semicolon?
2. ___________ I have decided to throw a party.
3. After finding gum on the floor _________ have decided to ban it from school.
a. I b. , I c. : I
Practice -- answer #1
Jane wanted to be a surgeon; she learned from her doctor, who had been in practice for many years, that to reach her goal would require great ambition.
Practice -- answer #2
I have big plans for when I graduate: after the ceremony, I am going to take a really long nap.
Practice -- answer #3
Only three members of staff showed up to the party on time: Tim, Leslie, and Donald.
Practice -- answer #4
I plan on taking the test after school if I can get a ride from my mom.
Practice -- answer #5
The car, a Toyota Prius, needs to get an oil change.
Week 5: Complex and Compound-complex sentences
Complex Sentences
= one IC and one or more DCs
What does it look like with TWO DCs?
Separate DCs from ICs with commas.
Compound- Complex Sentences
Compound (two ICS)
= Compound Complex (two or more ICs and
one or more DCs)
Examples of Compound-Complex sentences
IC + IC + DC with FANBOYS
Despite my love of skiing, I haven’t found the time to go, and I haven’t found anyone to go with me.
Examples of Compound-Complex sentences
IC + IC + DC with semicolon
She could not see the band if she didn’t bring her glasses; her seat was in the upper balcony.
Practice (day 1)
4. Fruits are healthy; bright colored ones, like oranges,
have calcium. (compound-complex)
5. Although it’s bad for my health, I still eat
strawberry ice cream from time to time because I love
ice cream. (complex)
Practice (day 2)
4. Although I’m obsessed with movies, it’s kind of
entertaining, in a weird way, to watch them over and
over.
5. As I was going to give food to my cat, she disappeared
because of something loud she heard outside.
Practice (day 4 -- DC and IC)
Practice (day 4 -- DC and IC)
4. Everyone needs to get ready for winter since it’s going to be a bad one; I heard there will be record amounts of snow. (compound/complex)
5. I can’t believe it’s almost November; where has this year gone? (compound)
Practice (day 4)