Grammar 1
Fix the subject verb disagreement:
Jada studies for math every weekend, and never got enough rest; next weekend she'll sleep in.
Jada studies for math every weekend, and never gets enough rest; next weekend she'll sleep in.
Which sentence is a good example of subject-verb agreement? Why?
A) She and her friend are at the fair.
B) She nor her friend are at the fair
A:
1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
It should be: She nor her friend is at the fair.
Correct the faulty parallelism:
Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and to have good eyesight.
Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and good eyesight.
Sister Ellis, a pious nun, visited the foster home every day to volunteer.
First, decide the type of phrase underlined above. Is it: an appositive, absolute, participial, or prepositional phrase? What does the phrase modify? Write your answer in the space below.
Appositive phrase modifying Sister Ellis.
Nonessential: 2 steps
Is the underlined phrase an essential or nonessential clause? How do you know if you consider the sentence’s overall meaning? Write your answer in the space below.
Nonessential because it’s surrounded by commas and her being a nun is not important to the idea of volunteerism.
What is the definition of a noun clause?
Noun clauses are used as a noun, including as a: predicate noun, object of a preposition, appositive, direct/indirect object, or subject.
*A trick for noun clauses* → If you can replace the underlined clause with ‘it’ (if the noun clause refers to a place, thing, or idea) or ‘they/them’ (if the noun clause refers to a person - use ‘they’ if acting as subject and ‘them’ if acting as object) and the sentence is still grammatically correct, then you have a noun clause.
Identify the misplaced modifier in the following sentence: "The teacher found the book on her desk with a red cover."
A) Teacher
B) Book
C) Desk
D) Red cover
D) Red cover
Which of the following sentences contains a dangling modifier?
A) Running down the street, the dog chased its tail.
B) After finishing the homework, the TV was turned on.
C) While driving to work, the rain began to pour.
D) Having studied all night, the exam seemed easy.
B) After finishing the homework, the TV was turned on.
Which sentence from shows the best use of parallelism?
a. I’ve tried to make these premises clear to the American people since last January.
b. This does not mean that we can conduct our foreign policy by rigid moral maxims.
c. We live in a world that is imperfect and which will always be imperfect–a world that is complex and confused and which will always be complex and confused.
d. What draws us together, perhaps more than anything else, is a belief in human freedom.
c. We live in a world that is imperfect and which will always be imperfect–a world that is complex and confused and which will always be complex and confused.
Tea that is caffeinated keeps me up at night.
Essential: That clauses are usually essential, like this one.
What is the definition of, and an example of, a euphemism?
Euphemism is a type of figurative saying used to replace a word or phrase that might make people uncomfortable. Euphemisms replace phrasing that might be considered impolite, unpleasant, or harsh.
Example:
In the film the character Kuzco has decided to fire his advisor Yzma.
"Um, how else can I say it? You’re being let go. Your department’s being downsized. You’re part of an outplacement program. We’re going in a different direction. We’re not picking up your option. Take your pick. I got more."
Which word or phrase in the sentence below is the direct object? "She baked a delicious cake for her friend's birthday."
A) Baked
B) Delicious
C) Cake
D) Friend's birthday
C) Cake
a direct object is a noun phrase denoting a person or thing that is the recipient of the action of a transitive verb
Identify the adverb clause in the following sentence: "Although he studied hard, he didn't pass the test."
A) Although he studied hard
B) He studied hard
C) Didn't pass the test
D) Pass the test
A) Although he studied hard
An adverbial clause, sometimes referred to as an adverb clause, is a group of words that, together, functions as an adverb. Adverbial clauses can be long, sometimes even longer than their sentences’ main clauses.
Unlike other types of clauses, an adverbial clause is always a dependent clause. This means that it cannot stand on its own as an independent sentence.
What is chiasmus? Give an example
Chiasmus: Two corresponding pairs arranged but in inverted order, but with parallel structure; a figure that reverses grammatical structure to emphasize a point. Chiasmus generally follows an 'XYYX' semantic pattern: 'learned (X) unwillingly (Y)' becomes '(Y) willingly (X) unlearned', for example
Examples:
Fair is foul and foul is fair.
Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.
My refrigerator, which is only about 5 years old, started leaking.
Nonessential:
Which clauses are often nonessential.
To test if a clause is indeed nonessential, leave it out and reread the sentence. If the main point of the sentence is not lost or distorted, then, yes, it is nonessential and needs punctuation. Otherwise, it is essential and no punctuation is required.
Give the definition of, then an example of, a paradox.
Paradox is a literary device used by authors to highlight a moment, scene, event, statement, or character that contradicts itself but after further examination, the contradiction makes sense.
Example: In the beginning of “The Hearth and the Salamander,” Montag’s bedroom is described first as “not empty” and then as “indeed empty,” because Mildred is physically there, but her thoughts and feelings are elsewhere. Bradbury’s repeated use of such paradoxical statements—especially that a character or thing is dead and alive or there and not there—is frequently applied to Mildred, suggesting her empty, half-alive condition.
Which part of the sentence below is an adjective prepositional phrase? "The girl with the blue dress won the singing competition."
A) The girl
B) With the blue dress
C) Won the singing competition
D) The singing competition
B) With the blue dress
What is the difference between polysyndeton and asyndeton?
A) Polysyndeton is the repetition of conjunctions, while asyndeton is the absence of conjunctions.
B) Polysyndeton is the absence of conjunctions, while asyndeton is the repetition of conjunctions.
C) Polysyndeton and asyndeton are the same thing and can be used interchangeably.
D) Polysyndeton and asyndeton are both figures of speech related to pronouns.
A) Polysyndeton is the repetition of conjunctions, while asyndeton is the absence of conjunctions.
What is antithesis? Give an example.
Antithesis: a figure that balances or contrasts by juxtaposing phrases or clauses; from the Greek anti 'against' and thesis 'setting' or 'place'
Antithesis creates oppositions between words or ideas. Chiasmus reverses grammatical structure in phrases or clauses. Both figures express complex ideas musically, wittily and memorably.
Examples:
I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.
Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in. Those left behind, we will help to catch up.
The astronaut who first walked on the Moon was Neil Armstrong.
The who clause is essential.
Punctuation, or lack thereof, can help identify an essential or nonessential clause. An essential clause is not set off by commas or other internal punctuation marks, such as dashes or parentheses, with the understanding that it is a necessary part of the sentence. Conversely, a nonessential clause is set off by punctuation that visually marks it as separate from the main part of the sentence.
Faulty Parallelism vs. Parallelism
•Faulty parallelism occurs when elements of a sentence are not balanced, causing the sentence to sound clunky and awkward. Although they are factually correct, the construction is clunky and confusing.
•Parallelism creates a sense of rhythm and balance in writing by using the same grammatical structure to express equal ideas. Parallelism may be created by connecting two clauses or making a list using coordinating conjunctions; by comparing two items using than or as; or by connecting two parts of a sentence using correlative conjunctions.
Identify the type of phrase in the following sentence: "Walking slowly, she entered the room."
Participial phrase
Choose the sentence that contains subject-verb disagreement:
A) The group of students is studying diligently for their exams.
B) Each of the boys have completed their assignments.
C) The cat, along with its kittens, sleep soundly in the cozy basket.
D) The committee members disagrees on the best course of action.
D) The committee members disagrees on the best course of action.
Explanation: In this sentence, "committee members" is a plural subject, so the verb should also be plural. However, the verb "disagrees" is in the singular form, which creates a subject-verb disagreement. The correct sentence would be "The committee members disagree on the best course of action."
Explain why the following examples are faulty or good examples of parallelism:
1) Some people think that being successful is the same thing as to have money.
2) Did you decide not to come because you are tired or are you feeling sick?
3) I would describe her as intelligent, caring, and thoughtful.
1) Not parallel: This is not a parallel structure as it should be ‘...as having money’ in order to match with ‘being successful’
2) Not parallel: In order to have a balanced sentence the second part should say ‘because you are feeling sick’ (or shortened to '...or feeling tired'). It will then match ‘because you are tired’
3) Parallel. Don’t get confused by the fact they have different suffixes (i.e. -ent, -ing, - ful) - they are all adjectives.
What is the difference between an essential clause and an absolute phrase? Give examples.
Essential clauses (restrictive, or relative, clauses) includes information that is important to the meaning of the sentence.
- The man who backed his car into me drove away without stopping to give me his insurance information
An absolute phrase is a group of words that modifies an independent clause as a whole. An absolute is made up of a noun and its modifiers (which frequently, but not always, include a participle or participial phrase). An absolute may precede, follow, or interrupt the main clause
- Harry froze, his cut finger slipping on the jagged edge of the mirror again.
Define then give examples of symbols vs. motifs: highlight the difference.
Symbol: can be a word, object, action, character, or idea that represents something else beyond its denotation (or literal meaning).A symbol does not need to repeat throughout a text.
Motif: is a literary technique in which an image, sound, action, object, symbol or idea repeats itself throughout a text, and through this repetition the author illuminates dominant ideas, central themes, and the deeper meaning of a story.
Examples of Motifs and Symbols from Fahrenheit 451:
Repeating motifs→ Death, religion, corruption, technology, nostalgia, nature, knowledge, censorship, paradox, fire (can also be considered a symbol in the novel), etc.
Significant symbols→ The salamander on firemen's’ uniforms, Beatty as a character, Mildred as a character, Denham’s Dentifrice, the TV wall set, the sand and the sieve, etc.