Verb Forms
What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences?
I am living in Maine.
I live in Maine.
The speaker feels that the first is temporary (happening right now) and the second is permanent.
Which is the modal verb and what does it express in this sentence?
You really should get more sleep.
Should: advice or suggestion
What is a comma-splice error and how might we fix this?
It happens when a comma is (INCORRECTLY) used to separate two independent clauses (a comma trying to do a period’s job). We can fix it with a period, semicolon, or a conjunction.
What kind of clause is this?
Where does it begin and end? What is its function?
Students who transfer from a two year college to a university need time to adjust.
Adjective clause: (who...university); it modifies the noun “students”
Please fix the informal language:
I’m trying to say that I really agree with her.
Informal word choice (and wordiness):
I strongly agree with her.
What is this verb form and why was it used?
They have tried sky diving.
Present Perfect
Time in the past, not specified.
Which is the modal verb and what does it express in this sentence?
When I was in middle school, I would go to Red’s for ice-cream every day after school.
WOULD: repeated past action that no longer happens
What kind of error is this?
Please fix it.
She has accumulated a very large number of pencils she keeps them in her desk drawer.
RUN ON (add a period or conjunction after “pencils”)
What is the tricky comma rule associated with adverb clauses (in complex sentences)?
When the adverb clause starts the sentence, we need a comma between it and the independent clause that follows.
However, when the adverb clause is in the middle-end of the sentence, no comma is needed.
What is the rule about when to use will and when to use going to when expressing the future?
The difference between will and going to is that will is used to make predictions, guesses, or promises, while going to is used to describe plans or logical deductions
Which is the best choice and WHY?
This is confusing. I do not know or I am not knowing the answer right now.
DO NOT KNOW, because it is a “non-continuous” or “stative” verb and cannot be used in the continuous tenses.
Which modal verb or modal phrase best fits here? Why?
She didn’t sleep well last night because of her terrible cough. She ______ be exhausted today.
Must: assumption based on evidence
What kind of error is this?
Please fix it.
Although she hadn’t studied for the test. She still decided to watch the football game with her friends.
Fragment (join two clauses)
What kind of clause is this?
Where does it begin and end?
Is it Identifying or non-Identifying?
The professor cannot find the assignment which the students completed last week.
Adjective clause: (which...week); it is IDENTIFYING as it gives essential information about the assignment.
How is a modal verb different from a “normal” verb? (List two ways)
Does not have a past simple form.
Is always followed by another verb.
Does not take a helping verb in a question/negative.
Does not have a third person singular form.
What tense is being used here and why?
I was doing my homework when the phone rang.
PAST CONTINUOUS: long past action interrupted by a shorter past action.
Which modal verb or modal phrase best fits here? Why?
I’m not sure what she did yesterday. She ______ (go) to the shopping mall.
May/Might/Could + have + gone: past possibility (we are not sure)
What is the error and how do we fix it?
I went to California over the break and ate at In-N-Out Burgers, was running on the beach, and visited Hollywood Boulevard.
Parallel Structure
I went to California over the break and ate at In-n-Out Burgers, ran on the beach, and visited Hollywood Boulevard.
What kind of word is at the beginning of an adverb clause?
Give three examples.
A subordinate conjunction
after, although, because, before, even though, since, though, and when
What are two of the three rules we have discussed for the use of the present perfect verb form?
Past event- we don’t know when the event that started in the past happened and if it is still true now.
Past action that happened, and could be repeated within, an unfinished period of time.
Find the error and fix it.
Each of the children have found a wildflower to bring home.
S+V agreement: Each of the children HAS found a wildflower to bring home.
What is the error? Please Fix it and explain it.
In the past, women in the US must not have voted. It was prohibited for women until the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920.
This modal expresses an assumption. However, here we want to express prohibition. “Were not allowed to” or “were not permitted to” or “could not vote”
What kind of error is this?
Please fix it.
For most people who have pets live longer, healthier lives.
Mixed Construction: the beginning and the end of the sentences do not fit together. Delete the FOR
Please combine these two sentence with the second becoming an adjective clause.
Michael plans to join his classmates for the evening study group. Michael failed the last two tests.
Michael, who failed the last two tests, plans to join his classmates for the evening study group.
What is the difference between an identifying and non-identifying adjective clause?
What are the comma rules for each?
An identifying adjective clause provides essential information to identify a specific noun in a sentence, meaning it is necessary to understand the sentence's meaning, while a non-identifying adjective clause adds non-essential details about a noun, often set off by commas, and can be removed without changing the core meaning of the sentence.