Transcript Three major comma rules are

Grammar Review
Semester One
Commas, Semicolons, Title Punctuation,
Prepositional Phrases, Appositives and
Appositive Phrases, Adjective and Adverbs,
Modifiers
Comma Review, Lesson 1
Three major comma rules are:
1. Use commas to separate the items in a series.
Ex: She spoke of hockey, baseball, and softball
with authority.
2. Follow established commas rules in relation to
dates, addresses, geographical names, and
titles.
Ex: He left Chicago on December 31, 2007.
Ex: Janey visited Rome, Italy, this summer as
well as Bremen, Germany.
Comma Rules cont.
3. Use a comma to separate introductory phrases
and clauses from a main clause.
Ex: According to legend, Sherwood Forest is
haunted by spirits.
Ex: As soon as I finished grading essays, I took my
dogs for a walk.
* This section also has a review of the clause, the
phrase, prepositions, and subordinate
conjunctions.
Comma Questions
Identify where the commas go:
1. On July 20 1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin
Aldrin made the first moon landing.
2. Among the signs of a good restaurant are a
clean facility menu variety and a well trained
staff.
Phrase vs Clause: Which is which, and why?:
3. As we walked across the wet field, we could see
our pant-legs dampening.
4. Deceitfully scheming, the cat finally swatted the
dog underneath the table.
Comma Lesson 2 Rules
Use commas for the following:
•
•
•
•
Compound sentences
Introductory words
Nouns of direct address
Parenthetical expressions
• Appositives
• Nonrestrictive
Clauses
Comma Questions 2
Why are there commas in the following sentences?
1. Her shoes, which are certainly cute, cost much
more than I can pay.
2. I tried to read that book, but I found it boring.
3. You know, students, reading is necessary.
4. By the way, my favorite book is The Things They
Carried by Tim O’Brien.
5. Well, I am sure happy to have a break this
weekend.
6. Our principal, Mr. Anderson, addressed the school
board last night.
Semicolon Review
The three uses of a semicolon:
1. Between independent clauses
Ex: Our opponents were alert; we were not.
2. With conjunctive adverbs
Ex: I did not go to the movies; instead, I cleaned
the house.
3. Between word groups containing commas
Ex: The motorhome camouflaged itself in dirt,
leaves, and other unidentified material; but we’d
traveled to Alaska and back in it.
Ex: The examinations will be held on Tuesday,
January 15; Wednesday, January 16; and
Thursday, January 17.
Semicolon Questions
•
Correct or in need of semicolons?
1. Bruce was once a dedicated supporter of the
San Francisco 49ers now he expects them to
lose.
2. All of the girls who were interested in fashion
found the presentation fascinating.
3. The little girl eyed the ball, the doll, and the
bubbles but finally chose the bubbles.
Title Punctuation
Use Quotation Marks:
Other:
1. Exact words of a
speaker
2. For titles of short
stories, articles,
chapters, poems, songs,
and episodes
3. For slang, technical
terms, nicknames, and
other expressions that
are unusual.
4. Use single quotation
marks for a quotation or
title within another quote.
5. Commas and periods are
always placed inside
quotation marks (unless
at end of sentence and
citation is involved).
Semicolons and colons
are always outside.
Title Punctuation
Fix me!
1. Did you see the article on Mark Twain in
Time last week asked Marcel.
2. Edgar Allen Poe’s poem The Raven
appears in the anthology called American
Short Stories.
Prepositional Phrases
• A prepositional phrase is a group of words
beginning with a preposition and usually
ending with a noun or a pronoun. The prep
phrase is usually made up of a prep, the
noun or pronoun that is its object, and any
words that may modify that object.
Ex: The couch (with the deep purple
stripes) is in the living room.
Prep Phrase cont
• A prep phrase that modifies a noun or a
pronoun is an adjective phrase.
• A prep phrase that modifies a verb,
adjective, or another adverb is an adverb
phrase.
Prep Phrase Questions
Find the prep phrase(s) and identify if it is an
adjective or adverb phrase.
1. They were imprisoned without food and
water.
2. As I moved toward the kitchen, I could
see the dishes on the counter.
Appositive and Appositive Phrases
• An appositive is a noun or pronoun (often with
modifiers) set beside another noun or pronoun
to explain or identify it-(not change or modify).
• An essential or restrictive appositive or app
phrase is not set aside by commas because it is
necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
• A nonessential or nonrestrictive appositive or
app phrase adds extra meaning to a sentence in
which the meaning is already clear, and is set
aside with commas.
• Remember, an appositive phrase cannot
contain a subject and a verb because then, of
course, it would be a clause.
Appositive Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
A. for restrictive appositive/ app phrase
B. for non-restrictive appositive/app phrase
C. none of the above
Matt Damon, a very versatile actor, plays the
role of Jason Bourne in the Bourne Identity.
The movie Boondock Saints caused quite a
controversy.
A small, timid rodent, the shrew spends most
of its time underground.
My student Alex won the CSF award today.
Adverb & Adjective
• Adjectives describe or limit nouns or
pronouns
• Adverbs intensify or modify verbs,
adjectives, or other adverbs
• Know the basic rules about good/well,
less/fewer, et cetera.
Adjective & Adverb Questions
• Which is the (better, best) of these two
radios?
• Does he drive (good, well)?
• Jason ran absolutely steadfastly toward
the ball and threw out Ichiro at the plate.
Absolutely-adjective or adverb?
Steadfastly-adjective or adverb?
Modifiers
• The most important thing to know about
modifiers is that they should be placed as near
as possible to the words they modify for clarity.
(misplaced modifier)
• Also be sure the the subject that the modifier is
modifying is actually present in the sentence
(dangling modifier)
• Also be sure that a modifier can’t possibly refer
to more than one person or thing in a sentence
as this makes it difficult to understand.
Parallelism
• Express parallel ideas in the same grammatical
form.
Wrong: In summer school I studied writing and
how to increase my vocabulary.
Right: In summer school I studied how to write
and how to increase my vocabulary.
In the right example you have an infinitive paired
with another infinitive and that is what you need.