Grammar for everyone part 15

Checklist: commas Students should now be able to: • explain at least two different ways to use commas • use commas correctly in a written list • use commas correctly in written work to i

A b From How Dumb Animals Talk by Christina Rossetti

… of the cat

If she is unhappy, or in pain, or hungry, she meows If she is angry, she sets up her back and her fur, moves her tail from side to side, and spits If teased, she growls and puts back her ears If she is treated in a way she does not like, up goes her tail straight in the air, and she marches out of the room

3 Students insert commas into unpunctuated sentences, for example:

a Lucy was late for school(,) having got up late

b Then after gobbling her breakfast(,) she had hiccups

c Her belt dangling on the ground(,) she ran to catch the bus

d Just as she reached the bus stop(,) her friend(,) Emma(,) trod on the end of the belt

e Lucy fell backwards(,) treading on Jenny’s foot(,) knocking her into a lamp post

f Lucy started to laugh(,) but then realised her friend had hurt herself(,) so she said she was sorry(,)* and hugged her

g Just then(,) the new(,) shiny green bus(,) driven by Emma’s Uncle Gary(,) swept around the bend

* This comma is optional Note, too, that a thing may be new, green and shiny, in which case it would read, shiny, green bus,

or the word ‘shiny’ may describe the kind of green, as in the sentence above

Checklist: commas

Students should now be able to:

• explain at least two different ways to use commas

• use commas correctly in a written list

• use commas correctly in written work to indicate sense groups

88 GrAMMAr for eVerYone

Inverted commas

Definition: The marks consist of the comma shape, while ‘inverted’

refers to the opening pair being written upside-down.

Before studying inverted commas, students should know about:

• the punctuation forms discussed previously to this section

• the correct construction of a simple sentence

Sometimes teachers refer to inverted commas, or speech marks,

as 66’s and 99’s (note the use of the apostrophe here) This is a

good way to remind children which of the marks open speech and

which ones close it.

Direct speech is much easier for learners to write than indirect

speech, which necessitates the use of conditional tenses (see page

146), but it is very important that they learn this punctuation at

an early stage.

The best way to introduce young students to the use of inverted

commas is through reading passages of dialogue, pointing out the

way it’s done Students then need to practise a conversation piece,

constructing it on the board together Together they should look

at a passage of dialogue from a school text, discussing the use of

punctuation and the layout, noting that usually a new line is used

to indicate a change of speaker.

Traditionally, double inverted commas (hence 66’s and 99’s)

were used for speech marks A quotation within speech would be

marked by one at either end.

For example:

“My favourite book is ‘The Goblet of Fire’, by J.K Rowling,” answered

Julie

13

89

Some modern texts choose to use these marks the opposite way round, as in ‘My favourite book is “The Goblet of Fire”, by J.K Rowling,’ answered Julie Either is correct, but teachers in an education institution should agree on the form to be adopted.

13.1 Activities: inverted commas

1 Students insert the correct punctuation into sentences using direct speech

a Dad said come quickly and you will see a goanna

b I can see it shouted Anna jumping up and down

c Shh don’t shout whispered Dad you’ll frighten it

d What are you all looking at called Gemma from the kitchen window

e Hush mouthed Anna her finger to her lips it’s a goanna

2 Students write a conversation they have had with one of the following, remembering that for each new speaker, we start a new line

a the shopkeeper at the corner store

b a friend

c a policeman

d a favourite star or sportsperson

e an astronaut

f an uncle or aunt

3 Students are given a copy of a selected passage from a well-known book, with punctuation omitted They reconstruct the passage, inserting punctuation They then compare their version with the original

A suggested passage, from J.K Rowling’s The Philosopher’s Stone:

‘I want to read that letter,’ he said loudly

‘I want to read it,’ said Harry furiously, ‘as it’s mine.’

‘Get out, both of you,’ croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope Harry didn’t move

90 GrAMMAr for eVerYone

A

‘I want my letter,’ he shouted

‘Let me see it,’ demanded Dudley.

‘Out!’ roared Uncle Vernon …

Checklist: inverted commas

Students should now be able to:

• insert inverted commas into the correct place in given sentences

• write direct speech, correctly using inverted commas, commas and

other punctuation already learnt, including apostrophes

91

inVerted coMMAs

Subject and predicate

Definition: The word ‘subject’ is from Latin sub meaning ‘under’

and ‘ject’ from jacere to throw – hence thrown under The subject

is that which is under our attention, i.e the person or thing that

we are talking about The word ‘predicate’, also from Latin, means

pre, ‘before’, and dicate, ‘spoken’ It is something told to someone

about the subject.

The students are already familiar with the term subject, being the person or thing that the sentence is about Now is the time

to confirm this – subjects do something, be something or have

something.

Every sentence has two parts: the subject and the remaining part which tells something about the subject, and is called the predicate Students should now learn the terms, and label sen-tences accordingly, as well as indicating the parts of speech of the individual words This can be treated like a puzzle.

Firstly, some sentences should be labelled on the board with student participation Students can then be given time to practise

on their own in their grammar exercise books Some sentences should be given for homework to demonstrate independent learning and accuracy It is, as always, important for the work to

be corrected to detect misunderstandings and errors.

‘Parse’ is from the Latin word pars meaning ‘part’ and describes

the task we are doing when we divide a sentence to show how it

is made up.

14

92

For example:

More information can be added to the sentence and allocated to

the correct part.

For example:

14.1 Activities: subject and predicate

1 Students diagram sentences such as these

a Peter bought me an ice-cream

b My uncle took us to the show

c Mum picked up her basket

d The fisherman gave us a flounder

e The number plate fell off his car

More difficult ones:

f In the morning the new tank will come

g The old lady always sits here

h Don’t forget your homework

i For lunch we had sausage rolls

j When did you paint that?

Subject

Snakes noun That pronoun

Predicate

eat verb is verb

frogs noun disgusting adjective

Subject

A large man

article adjective noun

Predicate

hurriedly entered the crowded lift

adverb verb article adjective noun

93

subject And predicAte

94 GrAMMAr for eVerYone

A Subject Predicate

a Peter bought me an ice-cream

noun (proper) verb pronoun article noun

b My uncle took us to the show

adjective noun verb pronoun preposition article noun

c Mum picked up her basket and left

d The fisherman gave us a flounder

e The number plate fell off his old car

article noun verb adjective adjective noun

f The new tank will arrive in the morning

article adjective noun verb preposition article noun

g The old lady always sits here

article adjective noun adverb verb adverb

h You (understood) Don’t (do not) forget your homework

i We had *sausage rolls today

j You did paint that when?

*Students can treat sausage rolls as one entity, that is one noun, or as

a noun ‘rolls’ plus a qualifying adjective ‘sausage’