The complete idiot guide part 41 potx

Example: The teacher walked into the room there was a mouse in her desk.. Example: The teacher walked into the room.. Example: The teacher walked into the room, and there was a mouse in

• Interrogative pronouns begin a question

Examples: who, what, which, whom, whose

• Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing

to a specific one Here are the most common indefinite pronouns

another anyone each everyone everybody everything much nobody nothing other someone anybody anything either little neither

no one one somebody something

both few many others several

all any more most none some

Punctuation

Using the correct punctuation is more than following the grammar rules—it enables your audience understand your ideas more clearly

• Periods

Use a period after a complete sentence

Example: My dog is named Spot

Use a period after a command

Example: Fasten your seatbelt

3 8 * t Appendix (

Use a period after most abbreviations

Examples: Dr., Ms., Jr

Use a period after an initial

Example: John F Kennedy

Use a period after each Roman numeral, letter, or number in an outline

Example: I

A

B

1

2

• Question marks

Use a question mark after a question Place the question mark inside closing quotation marks if it is part of the quotation If not, place it outside the quota-tion marks

Examples:

"Where are you going?" Chris asked

Do you know who wrote "The Raven"?

• Exclamation marks

Use an exclamation mark after an exclamatory sentence

Example: What a terrible day!

• Commas

Use a comma to separate items in a series

Example: Shoppers need comfortable shoes, patience, and money

Use a comma to set off interrupting words and expressions

Examples:

Oh, my back aches from lifting weights

My baby, a light sleeper, awakens easily

Use a comma after introductory words and expressions

Examples:

Along the route from the stadium, the crowd cheered loudly

When I graduated college, I started paying back my loans

Use a comma to separate parts of a compound sentence Use the comma before the coordinating conjunction

Example: Henry didn't pay for dinner, but he promises that he will pay next time

we go out

Use a comma to set off a direct quotation

Examples:

"Tomorrow I will start my diet," she said

"Tomorrow," she said, "I will start my diet."

Use a comma after the greeting of an informal letter and the close of any letter

Examples: Dear Sammi, Dear Mudface, Yours truly, Sincerely,

Use a comma between the day of the month and the year

Examples: December 7, 1941, July 20, 1969

Use a comma to separate the parts of an address Do not use a comma before

the ZIP Code

Example: She lives at 763 Main Street, Farmingdale, New York 11735

• Semicolons

Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when the items contain commas

Examples: We elected Courtney Kassinger, president; Shelby Kravitz, vice

presi-dent; Elisabeth Fink, secretary; and Joe Schulman, treasurer

Use a semicolon between main clauses when the conjunction (and, but, yet, so, for, or) has been left out

Example: We have made many suggestions for your landscaping; you haven't

accepted a single one

• Colons

Use a colon before a list

Example: The grader will be looking for the following elements: a topic

sen-tence, specific details, and a strong conclusion

• Parenthesis

Use parentheses to enclose additional information

Example: The decline in literacy has been astonishing (see the following chart)

Use parentheses to enclose numbers or letters

Example: A book owned by a public library is usually catalogued by (1) title card,

(2) author card, (3) subject card

3 8 6 Appendix (

• Hyphen

Use a hyphen to show a word break at the end of a line

Example: By the time he finishes this book, your grandfather will be an

octo-grammarian

Use a hyphen in certain compound nouns

Examples: pint-size, great-grandmother

Use hyphens in fractions and in compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine

Examples: one-half, sixty-six

• Quotation marks

Use quotation marks to set off a speaker's exact words

Example: "Is that poem a sonnet?" we asked

Use quotation marks to set off the titles of short works such as poems, essays, songs, short stories, and magazine articles

Examples:

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

"The Poet"

"We've Only Just Begun"

• Apostrophes

Use an apostrophe to show ownership

Examples: Lisa's book, Jillian's manuscript, women's room, men's room

Use an apostrophe to show that letters have been left out of contractions

Examples: can't, won't, I'll

Q

Question Marks

See Punctuation

Quotation Marks

See Punctuation

R

Run-On Sentences

A run-on sentence is two incorrectly joined sentences

Example: The teacher walked into the room there was a mouse in her desk

You can correct a run-on sentence four ways:

• Separate the run-on into two sentences

Example: The teacher walked into the room There was a mouse in her desk

• Add a coordinating conjunction The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, for, yet, and so

Example: The teacher walked into the room, and there was a mouse in her desk

• Add a subordinating conjunction

Example: When the teacher walked into the room, there was a mouse in her desk

• Use a semicolon

Example: The teacher walked into the room; there was a mouse in her desk

S

Semicolons

See Punctuation

Sentence Types

There are four types of sentences in English: declarative, exclamatory, interrogative, and imperative

• Declarative sentences state an idea They end with a period

Example: Students are made, not born

• Exclamatory sentences show strong emotions They end with an exclamation mark

Example: What a good essay this is!

• Interrogative sentences ask a question They end with a question mark

Example: Which parts of the book do you have to study the most?

3 8 8 Appendix (

• Imperative sentences give orders or directions They end with a period or an exclamation mark

Example: Sit down and write!

Sentence Variety

Unless you are writing certain kinds of dialogue, all your sentences should be gram-matically correct In addition, craft your sentences to express your ideas in the best possible way Strive for rhythm, pattern, and variety as well Here are some ideas to try:

• Expand short sentences by adding detail

Short: The plane took off

Expanded: The plane took off, a shrieking golden ribbon in the morning sky

• Combine short sentences

Short: O Henry wrote a short story called "The Gift of the Magi." A husband

sells his watch to buy his wife combs They are for her beautiful hair

Combined: In O Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi," a husband sells his

watch to buy his wife combs for her beautiful hair

• Change sentence openings

Sentence: I unlocked the attic door with great difficulty

Revised: With great difficulty, I unlocked the attic door

Sentences

A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought A sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate The subject includes the noun or pronoun that tells what the subject is about The predicate includes the verb that describes what the subject is doing

Subject Predicate

New York City is called the "Big Apple."

Subject and Verb Agreement

See Agreement of Subject and Verb

T

Tense

Avoid shifting tenses in the middle of a sentence of a paragraph

Wrong: I was walking to class when a huge dog jumps up and attacks me

Right: I was walking to class when a huge dog jumped up and attacked me

Transitions

Transitions are words that connect ideas and show how they are linked The follow-ing chart shows some of these transitions and the relationships they create

Relationship

Addition

Example

Time

Contrast

Comparison

Result

Summary

Place

Transition Words

also, and, besides, too, in addition to, further for example, for instance, thus, namely next, then, finally, first, second, third, fourth, afterward, before, during, soon, later, meanwhile, subsequently

but, nevertheless, yet, in contrast, however, still likewise, in comparison, similarly

therefore, consequently, as a result, thus, due to this, accordingly

as a result, in brief, in conclusion, hence, in short, finally

in the front, in the back, here, there, nearby

Use transitions to show how ideas are linked

Without transition: Lisa completed her research She started her outline

With transition: After Lisa completed her research, she started her outline

V

Verb Tense

The tense of a verb shows its time Every verb has three parts

Verb Part Example

Present tense break

Past tense broke

Past participle broken

3 9 0 Appendix (

• Some verbs are regular This means they form the past tense by adding -d or -ed

to the present form

• Other verbs are irregular This means their form changes in the past tense The following chart shows the most common irregular verbs

Present Tense

arise bear beat become begin bend bite blow break bring burst catch choose come creep dig dive

do draw drink drive eat fall fight fly forget forgive freeze get give

Past Tense

arose bore beat became began bent bit blew broke brought burst caught chose came crept dug dived or dove did

drew drank drove ate fell fought flew forgot forgave froze got gave

Past Participle

arisen born or borne beaten

become begun bent bitten blown broken brought burst caught chosen come crept dug dived done drawn drunk driven eaten fallen fought flown forgotten forgiven frozen gotten or got given

Present Tense

g°

grow

hang

hang (execute)

hide

hold

hurt

kneel

know

lay

lead

lie (horizontal)

lie (falsehood)

lose

prove

ride

ring

rise

run

say

see

shake

show

sing

speak

steal

swim

take

teach

throw

wake

write

Past Tense

went grew hung hanged hid held hurt knelt knew laid led lay lied lost proved rode rang rose ran said saw shook showed sang spoke stole swam took taught threw woke or waked wrote

Past Participle

gone grown hung hanged hidden held hurt knelt known laid led lain lied lost proved or proven ridden

rung risen run said seen shaken showed or shown sung

spoken stolen swum taken taught thrown woken or waked written

3 9 2 Appendix (

Verbs

Verbs are words that name an action or describe a state of being There are four basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb phrases

• Action verbs tell what the subject does

Examples: jump, kiss, laugh

• Linking verbs join the subject and the predicate and name and describe the subject

Examples: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear, sound, stay, look, taste,

turn, become

• Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer

Examples: am, does, had, shall, can, did, may, should, could, have, might, will,

do, has, must, would

• Verb phrases are made of one main verb and one or more helping verbs

Examples: will arrive, could be looking

w

Word Choice

See Diction

Wordiness

Write simply and directly Omit unnecessary details or ideas that you have already stated Use a lot of important detail, but no unnecessary words

• Omit unnecessary words

Wordy: We watched the big, massive, black cloud rising up from the level prairie

and covering over the sun

Better: We watched the massive, black cloud rising from the prairie and covering

the sun

• Rewrite the sentence to eliminate unnecessary words

Wordy: Sonnets, which are a beautiful poetic form, have 14 lines and a set

rhythm and rhyme

Better: Sonnets are a beautiful poetic form with 14 lines and a set rhythm and

rhyme