Grammar Really Rules!
“The boys or the girl have the book” contains this type of error
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Non-essential clauses can be indicated by these three punctuation marks
COMMAS, DASHES, AND PARENTHESES
True/False: To make a verb plural, you usually add an “s” to the end
FALSE
Explain the meanings of: to, too, and two
TO – PREPOSITION INDICATING DIRECTION
TOO – ALSO
TWO - NUMBER
Explain the meanings of: ambivalent, ambiguous
AMBIVALENT – MIXED FEELINGS
AMBIGUOUS – UNCLEAR MEANING
“Hanging from the trees, the boys watched the monkeys” contains this type of error
MISPLACED MODIFIER
These are the three ways to fix a comma splice
1. COMMA + FANBOYS
2. PERIOD AND CAPITALIZE
3. SEMI-COLON
“However” is an example of this type of transition
CONTRAST
Explain the meanings of: their, there, and they’re
THEIR – BELONGING
THERE – LOCATION
THEY’RE – THEY ARE
Explain the meanings of: allude, elude
ALLUDE – TO REFERENCE SOMETHING
ELUDE – AVOID, EVADE
“The class was interesting, took a lot of time, and challenging” contains this type of error
PARALLELISM
Colons usually serve these two purposes
1. INTRODUCE A LIST
2. GIVE AN EXAMPLE
The acronym “FANBOYS” helps us remember this type of conjunction
COORDINATING
Explain the meanings of: cite, site, and sight
CITE – REFERENCE SOEMTHING
SITE – LOCATION
SIGHT – ABILITY TO SEE
Explain the meanings of: anecdote, antidote
ANECDOTE – SHORT PERSONAL STORY
ANTIDOTE – CURE FOR A DISEASE
“Charles Ives’ music was less popular than Philip Souza” contains this type of error
FAULTY COMPARISON
Dashes usually serve these two purposes
1. INDICATE SHIFT IN TONE
2. GIVE EXTRA INFORMATION
Words that sound the same, but have different meanings are called these
HOMOPHONES
Explain the meanings of: a scent, ascent, and assent
A SCENT – A SMELL
ASCENT – TO CLIMB UP
ASSENT – TO AGREE
Explain the meanings of: afflict, inflict
AFFLICT – TO BE CAUSED HARM BY SOMETHING, LIKE A DISEASE
INFLICT – TO CAUSE HARM OR TROUBLE
“The movie was seen by Steven” contains this type of error
PASSIVE VOICE
This punctuation mark is used with a “s” to indicate this, not that the word is plural
APOSTROPHE
In the sentence “Mary, my sister, took a walk,” the phrase “my sister” is called this
APPOSITIVE
Explain the meanings of: dissent, descent, and decent
DISSENT – TO DISAGREE
DESCENT – TO GO DOWN OR LOWER
DECENT - ACCEPTABLE
Explain the meanings of: averse, adverse
AVERSE – STRONG DISLIKE
ADVERSE – HARMFUL, UNFAVORABLE