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 Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:01 am
Scraps' Old Grammar Lessons This thread will be an archive of all my old grammar lessons from my Grammar Ho-Down. That way, my students can access all my old lessons in one place even after the week for that lesson has ended. Please, no one else post in this thread! Thanks.Table of Contents Just the Basics.
Diagnostic Quiz, 5/9/2010.
Word Usage, 5/19/2010.
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:02 am
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:03 am
Basic Grammar Rules, Common Errors, etc. ______ ⇧ Do not let these happen to you. ⇧ _______What is grammar, anyway?Grammar is the set of rules that make a language unique. It includes syntax (sentence structure), spelling, word usage, and to an extent, idioms. No two languages have the same set of grammar rules, however many are similar because languages evolve from each other. For example, English and German are very similar languages because English stemmed off of German (Germanic Languages). Spanish, Italian, and French are also similar because they all stem off of Latin (Romance Languages)._______So, why is it important?You wouldn't say, "I read book," right? No. You have to say, "I read the book." That "the" has to be present in English-- you need the article there. (Some languages don't have articles like "the" or "a"; Russian, Japanese, and Latin all lack these. But that's not necessarily important, since we're learning English grammar.)
If you don't type with proper grammar, people won't take you seriously. If your English paper consists of, "i liek futball b/c i play it gud," don't be surprised when you get a big ol' "F" handed back to you later on.
Don't worry if your grammar isn't up to par, though. With practice, you can perfect it! That, my friend, is exactly what this class is for. No one's grammar is perfect, however, not even in one's native language. Even Bible translators have made these errors. In one such misprint, the Seventh Commandment even read that, "You shall commit adultery." Pissah'.
But really; grammar is important:
1) "Let's eat, Grandpa!" or "Let's eat Grandpa!" The first, with the comma, is asking Grandpa to eat with you. The second, without the comma, is explicitly saying that Grandpa is on the menu.
2) "I helped Uncle Jack off the horse," or "i helped uncle jack off the horse." The first is helping your Uncle Jack physically get off of the horse. The second, without the capitalization of "Uncle Jack," means you helped your uncle molest a poor, defenseless animal and probably got a strong horse kick to your teeth as a result.
Let's avoid these sorts of confusions, okie-day? Capitalization and punctuation save lives.The Basics Let's start simple. If you're writing academically, ninety-nine percent of the time you will need to write in complete sentences. A complete sentence must have at least two parts: a subject, the noun doing the action, and the predicate, the verb or the action itself. If a sentence does not have all those components, it is called a sentence fragment. ("The dog" is a fragment. "The dog ate" is a sentence.) However, adding some words to a phrase with a subject and predicate can make it act as a dependent clause, which needs to be attached to an independent clause (more on that later). For example, "The dog ate" is a complete sentence. However, changing it to "What the dog ate" makes it a noun phrase which needs a predicate afterward.
(Note: for all further examples, I will be noting them in those colors respectively.)_____☆ There are four types of proper sentences:Declarative: Merely stating something as a fact. For example, "He ran, but still missed the train to Hogwarts."
Imperative: A command; that is, telling someone to do something. The subject of an imperative sentence is always "you"; however, in English, the "you" is not said aloud. For example, "Clean your room!" Note how there's no written subject, but it is still directed at "you."
Interrogative: A question, or asking someone for something. For example, "Why didn't you tell us the zombie bit you?" Interrogative sentences always end in a question mark (?). They will also always have a question word: who, what, where, when, why, or how.
Exclamatory: Basically a declarative sentence, but with more surprise or emotion. For example, "Holy crap! Where did that flying monkey come from?" They always end in an exclamation point (!). _____☆ There are eight parts of speech:A part of speech is a way of describing how a single word acts in a sentence. You've probably heard most or all of these words before: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. For more info on parts of speech, check this out.
Those are the ones all the English websites count, but I also want to address articles: the, a, and an. English only has those three. Basically, they identify a noun as either definite (the) or indefinite (a or an). Definite articles show that there is only one specific version of the noun it precedes. Indefinite articles, however, are less specific; they can literally refer to any version of the noun it precedes.
Here's a list of the other ones:
Nouns represent a person, place, thing, or idea. Most of the time, they are preceded by an article of some kind: the bacon, the zombies, a communist, etc. However, ideas usually do not have an article: "a fascism" doesn't really make sense. The first letters of proper nouns, such as names of people or places, have to be capitalized: See the above example with one "Uncle Jack" and a horse.
Verbs are actions. In the infinitive (before conjugation to match the subject), they are always preceded by "to": to run, to skip, to write. Verbs must be conjugated to match their tense and subject.
Adjectives describe (modify) nouns. In English, they come before the nouns they are modifying: the interesting book, the awesome vacation, the scary-as-all-hell roller coaster. Most nouns and verbs can be made into adjectives by adding a certain suffix: "-ish," "-ic," "-ient," "-ful," "-less," etc.: suffice ⇒ sufficient; book ⇒ bookish; heart ⇒ heartless; mind ⇒ mindful (NOT "mindfull" with two L's); alcohol ⇒ alcoholic (which can be a noun OR an adjective).
Adverbs describe (modify) adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. Usually, you can change an adjective into an adverb by adding the suffix "-ly" to the end of it: quickly, factually. Some adjectives can't be made into adverbs, though: friendly, neighborly, and lovely, for example, are all adjectives. For these, "In a ____ way" would work.
Pronouns replace nouns. He, she, I, you, it, this, these, those and that are all common pronouns. Using a pronoun is just as correct as using a pronoun. They are useful when you're using a noun too much and want to diffy things up a bit: "Rob ran the marathon. Rob was brilliant!" vs. "Rob ran the marathon; he was brilliant!"
Prepositions can be thought of as "transition words," so to speak. They are words like to, at, in, on, of, for, and with, but there are others. It's difficult to explain what a preposition is, so here are a few phrases with the prepositions emphasized:
___• The weather in April
___• The Life of Bryan
___• Attentive to their needs
Conjunctions are words which connect two or more clauses. And, but, if, then, however, or, either, both, not only, nor, plus, minus and whether are common ones. "Whether you like it or not, you have to go to school and graduate."
Interjections are words, often sound effects (onomatopoeia), which refer to an understood noun or emotion:
___• "Ahem" = "Attention!"
___• "Shh" = "Quiet!"
___• "Whew" = "What a relief!"
Very quickly, I'd also like to mention contractions: words with apostrophes (') which are combinations of two words. The apostrophe shows missing letters.
___• Couldn't = Could not
___• Isn't = Is not
___• Aren't = Are not
___• Can't = Cannot
___• We're = We are
___• I'm = I am
___• You're = You Are
You use these all the time, I'm sure, but avoid them in professional or academic writing. When writing essays, always write out your full contractions. For rhetorical questions like, "Don't we have a responsibility to fix the environment?" write, "Do we not have a responsibility to fix the environment?" instead._____☆ There are over 9000 punctuation marks:I guess you could describe punctuation marks as decorations around words that help you figure out how you say something, as well as add to meaning. There is always a space after almost every punctuation mark, unless it is a dash or a slash. I'll just go through the most common ones below:
 __• A period (sometimes called a full stop).
__• Designates the end of a sentence. It is read as a long pause.
__• A set of periods can be used to designate delay or an unending thought, but that is almost always found only in poetry and prose (NOT essays!). When you do this, it is ONLY three periods: "..." No more, no fewer.
__• The only time you can use the aforementioned three-period break in professional or academic writing is if you are using a broken citation. Say you have a really, really, really long quote you want to use, or there are just some words in it that don't syntactically make sense with the rest of your essay. Putting in a [...] with the squared brackets in place of words you omit is acceptable in almost all academic settings. (I say "almost all" because, although I haven't seen anyone who doesn't accept it, some professors may get picky about it.)
 __• A comma shows a separation between two ideas. There are many times when you need a comma and many times when you don't.
__• It is read aloud as a short pause. A quick, but not flawless, way of determining whether you need a comma or not is to read the whole sentence aloud to yourself. If you have a short pause, put a comma. If you have a long pause, you have a run-on and need to split the sentences with period. And if you have to take a really long pause, then your run-on is beyond repair, and you should probably rewrite the entire paragraph or so from scratch.
__• Commas are used between items in lists of more than two items (like this one!), between clauses of a sentence, in some quotations, to separate an interjection, and any number of other purposes.
__• Do not use a comma to separate essential elements of a sentence, such as clauses beginning with "that" or "which" describing the element directly before it: "The book that you lent me was excellent." ("that... me" modifying "book").
 __• A semicolon separates two complete sentences which are very similar in topic.
__• To use a semicolon is to eliminate the need for a conjunction. Therefore, do NOT use a joining conjunction (but, and, or) directly after a semicolon!
__• Proper use of a semicolon: "It was raining; the game was cancelled."
__• Improper use of a semicolon: "It was raining; and the game was cancelled."
__• Semicolons can, however, be followed by conjunctive adverbs, such as thus, therefore, hitherto, moreover, nonetheless, etc.
__• Here, be instructed on how to use a semicolon by a gorilla.
__• A colon is used to introduce the idea that follows it. For example, a definition, a logical conclusion, some descriptions, etc.
__• The word that follows the colon will always be lower-case. The only exception to this is if that word is "I" or a proper noun.
__• There is always a space after a colon. There is never a space before it.
__• I'm not going to lie: the colon is probably one of the easiest punctuation marks to learn to use.
__• Here, see someone a lot more stuck-up than me explain it.
 __• An apostrophe signifies one of two things: possession or missing letters, such as in a contraction.
__• It can also be used to signify the plurals (meaning more than one) of singular letters: A's, B's, C's. However, As, Bs, Cs, are also correct. So are "A"s, "B"s, "C"s. Other than that, though, apostrophes are NEVER used for plurals.
__• A possessive (designating ownership) adjective is usually formed with an apostrophe: Ralph ⇒ Ralph's girlfriend. If the noun is already plural and/or ends in an "S" already, then just but an apostrophe after the "S": Girls ⇒ Girls' slumber party.
__• Besides contractions, apostrophes can symbolize missing letters in jargon, or to emphasize an accent if you're writing dialogue: "I ain't got nothin' to hide, officah'."
__• Here, have yet another comic from The Oatmeal on the topic.
 __• Parentheses (single, parenthesis) are a pair of punctuation marks put around text that is meant as supplemental (usually unnecessary, like this) information.
__• There is always a space before a left parenthesis and to the right of a right parenthesis. There are never spaces directly touching the inner sides of a parenthesis mark.
__• Variants include various forms of brackets: [ ], < >, { } These are less common in literature, however; they are used almost universally only in math and programming.
 __• A hyphen can show one of three things:
______1. A conjunction between two words, such as "democratic-republicans" or "well-known."
______2. Writing the full names of the numbers twenty-one to ninety-nine, like "twenty-nine" or "sixty-six." Also, fractions: "five-eighths," "nine-twelfths," etc.
______3. Adding prefixes or suffixes to some words: "ex-husband," "pro-life," "anti-war."
__• A suspended compound is the only time you will ever see a space after a hyphen: "The third- and fourth-graders."
__• A dash, which is slightly longer than a hyphen, signals a clause which breaks the general flow of the rest of the sentence. This is more often found in dialogue, but it exists in academic writing, as well. "You're such an idio— Oww! Will you watch those goddamn tweezers?"
__• Most word processors, including Microsoft Word, will take two dashes next to each other ("--") and turn them into a longer dash ("—").
 __• A slash (sometimes called a virgule, solidus, or slant) is shorthand for "or." If you can use "or" without issue, please refrain from using a slash.
__• When used as "or," there is never a space before or after the slash: his/her, yes/no.
__• A slash can also be used to separate lines of poetry when written into a piece of prose: "Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!' / Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'" This does have a space before and after the slash and is limited to three or four lines within the flow of the larger text.
 __• Quotation marks are a little more difficult. You use them around text that you did not write yourself to show that someone else is saying it.
__• When writing dialogue in prose, quotes from different characters must be made into separate paragraphs.
__• All punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. A period at the end of a quote becomes a comma if there is more text after it in the sentence. There is always a comma after the last word before a quotation, unless it is "x-person said that '...'"
______1. "I love you," Jane announced.
______1. Jake blinked. "What?" he replied.
______2. Plato once said, "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers." That could also be said as, Plato once said that "[a] good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers." Note how since I changed the capital A to lower-case, I put square brackets around it. That shows that I changed something about the original quote._____☆ There are many usage rules you should know:Usage refers to the way in which a word is supposed to be applied in writing. There are a whole slew of common usage errors in English. I'll go through the ones that are so common that they make college English professors want to hang themselves for their ennui.
They're/Their/There: They're = There are. Their = Possessive, as in "their car": a car which belongs to them. There = a place ("over there") or something more abstract ("There are many reasons.")
Your/You're: Similar to above. Your = Possessive, as in "your car" which belongs to you. You're = You are. "You're car" means "You are car." Do not write that.
Two/To/Too: Two = the number 2. To = a preposition implying movement of the subject. Too = also, as well. Remember it like this: "too" with two O's means also, or it can be used in "too much" to denote excess. So, "too" has an excess of O's. "To" with one O is a preposition implying some kind of movement or change; one O means it's happening quickly. That leaves "two" as the number.
"Due to" means "caused by." If your "due to" cannot be replaced by "caused by," you should use "because of" instead.
____• "The delay was due to ("caused by") the rain," is correct. "We delayed the picnic due to ("caused by") the rain," is not.
____• Please, never write, "due to the fact that." It sounds pedantic and should really be written as "because."
For/Fore/Four: For = Preposition. Fore = having to do with being in front of something (i.e. "before"). Four = number 4.
Than/Then: Than = a word of comparison, e.g. "X is better than Y." Then = a designation of time, e.g. "First X, then Y."
Less/Fewer: Less = Something you can't count, like a quality or a general, singular object: less happy, less barley. Fewer = Something you can count: One zombie fewer, fewer casualties.
"Can't help" is always followed by a gerund (-ing verbs). "Can't help but ____" is nonstandard English.
Affect/Effect: "Affect" is the verb. "Effect" is the noun. Think about it this way: "Affect" begins with an A for action, thus it's a verb. _____☆ There are a two objects of nouns:English is a weird language sometimes. It is very descriptive-- it has the most adjectives and idiomatic expressions of any other language. It literally has a word or expression for nearly everything-- at a cost. Other languages have a very flexible word order because of noun declensions. In German, for example, one can say: "Der Hund beisst den Mann" and mean the same thing as, "Den Mann beisst der Hund." Both mean, "The dog bites the man," but the word order is more flexible because the article for "Der Mann" changes to "Den" when it is the recipient of the action. In English, however, we do not have declensions; instead, our language is analytic-- in short, word order matters in English to determine meaning.
If a noun is not the subject of a sentence, then chances are it is either a direct or indirect object:
A direct object is the recipient of the action of a sentence, kind of like an uke in a yaoi flick. It answers the questions, "Who? What?" For example, in the sentence "I kicked my neighbor's noisy dog," dog is the direct object.
An indirect object is who or what receives the direct object. It answers the question, "To whom? To what?" For example, in the sentence "I kicked my neighbor's noisy dog to Hong Kong," Hong Kong is the indirect object.
Both direct and indirect objects can be expressed as pronouns: me, him, her, it, them, here, there. Instead of the above sentence, for example, you could say, "I kicked it (to) there."_____☆ Clauses can be a pain in the a**:As I mentioned earlier, there are two types of clauses: dependent and independent. An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence. A dependent clause, however, cannot.
The following is an independent clause:
_________The dog ran.
It has a subject, predicate, and no words making it into another type of phrase. It is a complete sentence. This, however, is a dependent (subordinate) clause:
_________When the dog ran.
Because of the word when, our once-independent clause is now dependent (or subordinate). That means it needs to be attached to an independent clause, otherwise it is just a sentence fragment. Like so:
_________When the dog ran away, I was about to take him for a walk.
Take note of that comma
(",") between the clauses. Whenever you connect two clauses, you usually need a comma between them. If that subordinate clause came after the independent clause, however, that comma would not have been necessary:
_________I was about to take the dog for a walk when he ran away.
When an independent and dependent clause are joined, it is called a complex sentence. You can also join together two independent clauses; that is called a compound sentence. Compound sentences have a conjunction of some kind (but, and, if) before one of the independent clauses. For example:
_________I would love to walk the dog, but he ran away from me in sheer terror when I help up my chainsaw.
Compound sentences always require a comma between the two independent clauses.
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:04 am
Before You Start... This will be a quick diagnostic quiz and an ice-breaking survey, just for me to know who you guys are and what you already know. You guys should PM it to me. I don't want these in the thread! Anyone can join at any time, but I want this in my inbox first. But, again, it is NOT worth a grade of any kind. It's just for my information.
Also, a bonus: I actually made a few grammatical errors here, myself. If you can point them out, then you get bragging rights. Phantomkitsune (PK) was the first to do this, actually. Congratulations to you.Quote: Just the Basics User Name: Nickname: (Doesn't have to be your real name. A pen name would be fine, if you'd prefer.) Age: (If you just want to give a range or simply don't want to say, that's fine, but remember that I wouldn't make you say anything that I wouldn't be comfortable saying about myself.) Favorite Song: Writing Experience: Diagnostic Quiz Don't worry; you aren't being graded on this. This is just to give me a good idea of what everyone's prior knowledge of grammar is like so that I actually teach you things you don't already know. Just do the best you can.
Part 1: Pick the best answer from the italicized.1) I write (good/well). ____ [Answer here] 2) Aunt Suzy has a damn (good/well) ability to cook. ____ [Answer here] 3) John couldn't make it to school today because he isn't feeling (good/well). ____ [Answer here] 4) I like all ice cream flavors (accept/except) for pistachio. ____ [Answer here] 5) I'm sorry, but I simply cannot (accept/except) your offer. ____ [Answer here] 6) If I (was/were) a bird, I would fly. ____ [Answer here] 7) The reason (because/that) she hates me is (because/that) I stole her boyfriend. ____ [Answer here] 8_) (Can/May) we talk? ____ [Answer here] 9) Eliza (can/may) sing quite beautifully. ____ [Answer here] 10) The child cannot help (but laugh/laughing) at your silly antics. ____ [Answer here] 11) She could (of/have) won the beauty pageant had she not fallen over her high heels and broken her nose. ____ [Answer here] 12) The clown failed the exam (because of/due to) his laxness with your studies. ____ [Answer here] 13) (Regardless/Irregardless) of the rain, Jackie will be attending the show tonight. ____ [Answer here] 14) Snowboarding is very different (than/from) surfing. ____ [Answer here] 15) L.A. has more zombies (then/than) Boston. ____ [Answer here] 16) (They're/Their/There) are a variety of ways to punt a gnome. ____ [Answer here] 17) If (they're/their/there) so good at dancing, why can't I be? ____ [Answer here] 18_) No, that's (they're/their/there) ammo stash; we used all of ours killing Nazi-Zombies in WaW. ____ [Answer here] 19) That man is far (less/fewer) clumsy than I had expected. ____ [Answer here] 20) No matter; they were now two (less/fewer) zombie-hookers to worry about. ____ [Answer here] Part 2: Copy the given sentence below and correct all the mistakes that you can.21) Although paint ball is fun I dont think I can attend the game today unfortunately ____ [Answer here] 22) Im a lumberjack and im okay I sleep all night and I work all day ____ [Answer here] 23) Twelve items or less. ____ [Answer here] 24) I lay it down here yesterday before i lied down to sleep. ____ [Answer here] 25) You had ought to have gone to class today we had an interesting lecture about chimpanzees in africa ____ [Answer here] 26) she said i love you harold but I no she didnt meen it ____ [Answer here] 27) Do your homework and be sure to double-check you're answer's ____ [Answer here] 28_) there is to much wars these days and people should be more understanding to each other ____ [Answer here] 29) Who's book is this? ____ [Answer here] 30) Defensivewise, the Patriots are a great team. ____ [Answer here] [align=center][b]Just the Basics[/b][/align]
[b]User Name[/b]:
[b]Nickname[/b]: (Doesn't have to be your real name. A pen name would be fine, if you'd prefer.)
[b]Age[/b]: (If you just want to give a range or simply don't want to say, that's fine, but remember that I wouldn't make you say anything that I wouldn't be comfortable saying about myself.)
[b]Favorite Song[/b]:
[b]Writing Experience[/b]:
[align=center][b]Diagnostic Quiz[/b][/align]
[i]Don't worry; you aren't being graded on this. This is just to give me a good idea of what everyone's prior knowledge of grammar is like so that I actually teach you things you don't already know. Just do the best you can.
[b]Part 1[/b]: Pick the best answer from the italicized.[/i]
[b]1)[/b] I write [i](good/well)[/i].
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]2)[/b] Aunt Suzy has a damn [i](good/well)[/i] ability to cook.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]3)[/b] John couldn't make it to school today because he isn't feeling [i](good/well)[/i].
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]4)[/b] I like all ice cream flavors [i](accept/except)[/i] for pistachio.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]5)[/b] I'm sorry, but I simply cannot [i](accept/except)[/i] your offer.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]6)[/b] If I [i](was/were) a bird, I would fly.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]7)[/b] The reason [i](because/that)[/i] she hates me is [i](because/that)[/i] I stole her boyfriend.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]8[color=white][size=0]_[/size][/color])[/b] [i](Can/May)[/i] we talk?
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]9)[/b] Eliza [i](can/may)[/i] sing quite beautifully.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]10)[/b] The child cannot help [i](but laugh/laughing)[/i] at your silly antics.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]11)[/b] She could [i](of/have)[/i] won the beauty pageant had she not fallen over her high heels and broken her nose.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]12)[/b] The clown failed the exam [i](because of/due to)[/i] his laxness with your studies.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]13)[/b] [i](Regardless/Irregardless)[/i] of the rain, Jackie will be attending the show tonight.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]14)[/b] Snowboarding is very different [i](than/from)[/i] surfing.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]15)[/b] L.A. has more zombies [i](then/than)[/i] Boston.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]16)[/b] [i](They're/Their/There)[/i] are a variety of ways to punt a gnome.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]17)[/b] If [i](they're/their/there)[/i] so good at dancing, why can't I be?
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]18[color=white][size=0]_[/size][/color])[/b] No, that's [i](they're/their/there)[/i] ammo stash; we used all of ours killing Nazi-Zombies in WaW.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]19)[/b] That man is far [i](less/fewer)[/i] clumsy than I had expected.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]20)[/b] No matter; they were now two [i](less/fewer)[/i] zombie-hookers to worry about.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[i][b]Part 2[/b]: Copy the given sentence below and correct all the mistakes that you can.[/i]
[b]21)[/b] Although paint ball is fun I dont think I can attend the game today unfortunately
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]22)[/b] Im a lumberjack and im okay I sleep all night and I work all day
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]23)[/b] Twelve items or less.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]24)[/b] I lay it down here yesterday before i lied down to sleep.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]25)[/b] You had ought to have gone to class today we had an interesting lecture about chimpanzees in africa
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]26)[/b] she said i love you harold but I no she didnt meen it
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]27)[/b] Do your homework and be sure to double-check you're answer's
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]28[color=white][size=0]_[/size][/color])[/b] there is to much wars these days and people should be more understanding to each other
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]29)[/b] Who's book is this?
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
[b]30)[/b] Defensivewise, the Patriots are a great team.
[color=white]____[/color] [Answer here]
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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 3:49 pm
This Week's Assignment _____☆ Due Sunday, June 16th - Assignment: Write a short paragraph (six to eight sentences) about anything you want using at least six of the following word usage concepts properly. You can PM it to me or post it directly in the thread._____☆ This week's lesson... Word usage! Okay, from the diagnostic quiz, I noticed one thing: the only three people who sent it in have exceptionally good grammar in the first place. Congratulations! There were a few rocky points, but overall, you all did very well. The lowest score was an 83%, and the highest was a 92%. That's very impressive.
So, needless to say, I've had some difficulty coming up with grammar lessons for your level. There was one question everyone got wrong: number ten. I gave partial credit for mostly correct free responses and whatnot, but everyone missed that one. But don't worry; it's not an obvious error. It's just one that every crotchety English professor will recognize and penalize you for.
It's a really simple thing: When you have, "Can't help," it's always followed by a gerund (an -ing verb). Elvis had it right when he said, "I can't help falling in love with you." "Can't help but ___ (infinitive)" is nonstandard English.
I also made a list of common usage errors in another post, but I'll repost it here, too.Word Usage Rules _____☆ There are many usage rules you should know:Usage refers to the way in which a word is supposed to be applied in writing. There are a whole slew of common usage errors in English. I'll go through the ones that are so common that they make college English professors want to hang themselves for their ennui.
They're/Their/There: They're = There are. Their = Possessive, as in "their car": a car which belongs to them. There = a place ("over there") or something more abstract ("There are many reasons.")
Your/You're: Similar to above. Your = Possessive, as in "your car" which belongs to you. You're = You are. "You're car" means "You are car." Do not write that.
Two/To/Too: Two = the number 2. To = a preposition implying movement of the subject. Too = also, as well. Remember it like this: "too" with two O's means also, or it can be used in "too much" to denote excess. So, "too" has an excess of O's. "To" with one O is a preposition implying some kind of movement or change; one O means it's happening quickly. That leaves "two" as the number.
"Due to" means "caused by." If your "due to" cannot be replaced by "caused by," you should use "because of" instead.
____• "The delay was due to ("caused by") the rain," is correct. "We delayed the picnic due to ("caused by") the rain," is not.
____• Please, never write, "due to the fact that." It sounds pedantic and should really be written as "because."
For/Fore/Four: For = Preposition. Fore = having to do with being in front of something (i.e. "before"). Four = number 4.
Than/Then: Than = a word of comparison, e.g. "X is better than Y." Then = a designation of time, e.g. "First X, then Y."
Less/Fewer: Less = Something you can't count, like a quality or a general, singular object: less happy, less barley. Fewer = Something you can count: One zombie fewer, fewer casualties.
"Can't help" is always followed by a gerund (-ing verbs). "Can't help but ____" is nonstandard English.
Affect/Effect: "Affect" is the verb. "Effect" is the noun. Think about it this way: "Affect" begins with an A for action, thus it's a verb.
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