Grammar, Style and Mechanics

On Tuesdays, one of the short activities we will undertake (15 min.) is a review of common grammar/mechanics/style rules that will help improve your writing.

First Semester Grammar Review

I will begin with an assessment, and then we will be teaching and/or reviewing the following topics:

1. Types of sentences (to improve sentence variance)

2. Types of common sentence errors (comma splice, fused, and run on)

3. Proper use of commas, FANBOYS, colons, and other tricky punctuation.

Grammar Assessment Part 1Please identify the following as either a Fragment by answering F or a Sentence with an S. A fragment is not a complete sentence because it does not have an independent clause in it.

1. Some girls wear too much lip gloss .

2. And have greasy streaks in their hair.

3. When their hair gets stuck to their lips.

Grammar Assessment Part 2

Please identify the following as either a Phrase by answering P or a Clause with an C. A clause has a subject and verb, while a phrase has neither or only one.

1. Chocolate pudding on pants.

2. A teacher’s worst nightmare.

3. Nobody is looking at the board.

Grammar Assessment Part 3

Please indicate whether the following are independent or dependent clauses. Write DC for Dependent Clause or IC for Independent Clause.

1. Because Ted was thirty years old.

2. He had Star Wars sheets on his futon bed in the living room.

3. When he invited dates over to his house.

4. The women always made excuses to leave quickly.

5. So he would play X-Box Live late into the night.

The PhraseA phrase is a group of words that do not contain a subject (doer) and a predicate (action).

- Not a good idea- Hungering after prom- Late night Taco Bell- Stained coral taffeta - To sell on Ebay

The ClauseA clause is a group of words that do contain a subject (doer) and a predicate (action).

- Because he had bad breath

- He kept to himself a lot - With his cat’s love- He didn’t feel so lonely

The 2 Types of ClausesSome clauses stand on their own, and some lean on more information. Leaners are called dependent (think needy). Stand alone-ers are called independent. They are okay by themselves.

- Because he had bad breathDependent – needs more info (what happened?)

- He kept to himself a lot. Independent – A complete thought

- With his cat’s love.Dependent – needs more info (what happened?)

- He didn’t feel so lonely. Independent – A complete thought

Indie Clauses = SentencesBoth Dependent and Independent Clauses exist but only Indie Clauses can make sentences. Dependent Clauses need a big strong Indie Clause added to them to make them feel okay and be complete.

- Because he had bad breath (Incorrect)

Because he had bad breath, no one liked him. (Fixed with indie clause added)

- He kept to himself a lot. (Correct)

- With his cat’s love. (Incorrect) With his cat’s love, he wasn’t so sad. (Fixed with indie clause added)

- He didn’t feel so lonely. (Correct)

Proper SentencesProper sentences require an Independent Clause. They may or may not need a Dependent Clause added in.

An Independent Clause alone is called a Simple Sentence.

“She was cute.”

An Independent Clause with one or more Dependent Clauses added is called a Complex Sentence.

“If he has a nice car, she might date him.”

A sentence with two or more Independent Clauses is called a Compound Sentence.

He doesn’t have a nice car; he owns a moped.

A sentence with two or more Independent Clauses and one or more Dependent Clauses is called…yes you guessed it…a Compound/Complex Sentence.

Since he’s good at Calculus, however, she will overlook his car issues, and the cute girl will go out with him anyway.

Grammar Review – Part 1

The Run-on Sentence A run on sentence is a sentence with two independent clauses and a conjunction (for, and nor,

but, or, yet, so) but does not have proper punctuation.

So…

Grammar Review – Part 1

Independent clause + Independent Clause =

Compound Sentence

Hamlet loves Ophelia (indie clause) He cannot trust her because her father

advises Claudius (indie clause)

Hamlet loves Ophelia but he cannot trust her because her father advices Claudius.