End Of CourseReview

1. Comparative/superlative forms of adjectives/adverbs

bigbigger

biggest

ADJECTIVES-words that describe nouns

ADVERBS-words that describe verbs

fast faster fastest

Warning: Adverbs and adjectives with three or more syllables use more and most

excellent more excellent most excellent

PRACTICE: Create a sentence using 3 forms of each word

1. Good

2. Quick

3. Smart

4. Intelligent

5. Lucky

6. Fundamental

7. Infuriating

8. Perplexing

2. Double Negatives

In English, two negative words (not, no, none, nobody, no one, never,neither) are usually not used in the same sentence…

Incorrect: I do not know nobody here.

Correct: I do not know anybody here.Incorrect: I have not never been there.

Correct: I have never been there.

Correct: I have not ever been there.

Warning: A sentence may have two negatives if they are separated by a comma.

Example: No, I have never been there.

PRACTICE: Correct the following sentences

1. Nobody is not here.

2. No one is never perfect.

3. I don’t know nobody.

4. No I never knew her.

3. Singular and possessive nouns

In English, we usually show ownership by using a …

a. Single person ownership: The girl’s car. (The car belong to one girl).b. Two or more ownership: The girls’ car. (The car belongs to two or more girls.)

Some tricky words…

a. The woman’s car. (The car belongs to one woman).b. The women’s car. (The car belongs to more than one woman).

’

PRACTICE: Write a sentence using the following words to show possession

1. School and schools2. Hero and heroes3. Team and teams4. Council and councils5. Girl and girls

4. Choose the correct audience for a selected passage

Everyone uses different types of words and language depending uponwho we are speaking to. We usually decide what level of language, whichis also known as diction, depending upon our audience, or who are communicating with.

Connect Greeting With Appropriate Audience (Audience may be one person)

“Mornin’, Mom.”

“Good morning, Mr. Tate!”

“What it do?”

Someone on a professional level

A friend

Someone familiar, a relative

5. Choose the best title for a passage

How do we pick /know what we would call a piece of writing? Usually the writing gives us clues; it may talk about a subjectthroughout the passage or contain a thesis sentence/statement (a sentence that contains the main idea of the passage). However, sometimes the main idea of the passage is inferred, which means that it is not directly stated.

A long time ago, there lived a princess who was guardedby an evil dragon. She was very sad because she never had the chance to talk to anyone. One day a brave knight came to thecastle where she was imprisoned. The knight fought and killedthe dragon and took the princess far, far away.

a. The Days of Kings

b. Two Dragons

c. The Cowardly Knight

d. The Escape

NO-No kings are mentionedNO-Only one dragon is mentioned

NO-The knight is brave

YES-The princess escapes the castle

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon and died there at the age of 52 on April 23, 1616. He lived during the English Renaissance, also known as the Elizabethan Era, which was named after Queen Elizabeth. He moved to the city of London, where he became involved with The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, an acting company that later changed their name to The King’s Men.

a. The History of England

b. The Elizabethan Era

c. Shakespeare's Early Days

d. London

NO-only limited history of England

NO-only mentioned once

YES-name and dates given

NO-barely discussed

Harry Potter would soon be turning 17 yrs old. This was, for most wizards, an exciting time, their last year at Hogwarts and they were of legal age to practice magic. But for Harry the 17th birthday meant that the shield that he had carried with him since the day his parents were killed would no longer protect him. Lilly Potter’s sacrifice had shielded him since she gave her life trying to protect him from Lord Voldermort the night she and James Potter were murdered. He would no longer be safe at the Privett Street home of his aunt and uncle and had to be moved.

a. Return to Hogwarts

b. The Shield

c. Harry Turns 17

d. No Safe Place

NO-not mentionedNO-not the main point

NO-mentioned a lot, but not main idea

YES-main idea and hook, carries on to next paragraph

6. Determine fact from opinion in a writing sample

=

Can be proven

Not what you believe, but what is real

Can be backed up with evidence

Not based on feelings

=

More of a feeling

Can not be proven

May not be correct

There are seven days in the week.

FACT-can be easily proven

Saturday is the best day of the week.

OPINION-can not be proven, different people like different days

College is for everyone.

OPINION-too general and is not true

Everyone can do well in Math.

OPINION-not everyone can do well in Math.

7. Contractions and Tricky Homononyms

YOU MUST KNOW THESE SIMPLE WORDS!!!

YOUR = used when something belongs to you, or identifies youEXAMPLE: your life, your money, your looks, your education

YOU’RE = you areEXAMPLE: you are reading, you are learning, you are smart (you’re reading, you’re learning, you’re smart)

****************************************************

ITS: always shows ownershipExample: The car is new; its tires are also new. (The tires belong to the car.)

********************************************************

IT’S: always = it is

Example: It’s raining outside. (It is raining outside.)

THERE: always shows location

EXAMPLES: It is right there! There it is!

******************************************************

THEIR: always shows ownership

EXAMPLES: That is their money! (shows ownership) Their time is up! (the time belongs to them)

******************************************************

THEY’RE: always means they are

EXAMPLES: They’re here! (They are here!) They’re going to take the EOC! (They are going…)

WHERE: always shows location, may start a question

EXAMPLES: Where are you going? I know where he is.

*******************************************************WERE: past tense of are, goes with more than one person/thing

EXAMPLES: They were here today. We were there yesterday.*******************************************************

WE’RE: always means we are, present tense

EXAMPLES: We’re going to pass the EOC! We’re the best class in the school!

8. Choosing the topic sentence in a paragraph

a. The topic sentence, also known as the thesis sentence, sums up the passage.

b. Tells the main idea of the passage.

c. About 90% of the time it is the first sentence.

d. About 9% of the time it is the last sentence.

e. About 1% of the time it is somewhere in the middle of the passage.

1. Harry Potter would soon be turning 17 yrs old. 2. This was, for most wizards, an exciting time,

their last year at Hogwarts and they were of legal age to practice magic. 3. But for Harry the 17th birthday meant that the shield that he had carried

with him since the day his parents were killed would no longer protected him. 4. Lilly Potter’s sacrifice had shielded him since she gave her life trying to protect him from Lord Voldermort the

night she and James Potter were murdered. 5. He would no longer be safe at the Privett Street home

of his aunt and uncle and had to be moved.

Correct Answer: Sentence 5.-discusses what will happen in the following paragraphs, main idea

1. As well as being a stockholder, Shakespeare wrote and acted at The Globe, a three-story, open-air theater in London. 2. The stage had a trap door, a tower called “The Penthouse”, and a limited budget. 3. Because of their budget, the actors had very few costumes, props or backgrounds. 4. Also, they did not have electricity, special effects or electronics, such as microphones. 5. Therefore, the audience was expected to sit and listen very quietly so that the performance could be heard. 6. Also, boys and men had to play the women’s roles because women were not allowed to act!

Correct Answer: Sentence 1.-Sets up what isdiscussed in rest of passage (The Globe)

10. Correcting sentence fragments

In English, a sentence must have a subject and a verb. Read your sentences. They must make sense!

I live.I is the subject and live is the verb.“I live.” is a complete sentence.

Some sentences also use verbs that require an object.

I throw the football.

I is the subject, throw is the verb, and football is the object.

“I throw the football.” is a complete sentence. However, “I throw.” is not a complete sentence; it is a sentence fragment.

Something that stands for something besides itself.

A church is a building, but it represents God

This picture is two masks, but it symbolizes the theater.

= ?

Possibilities1.

2.3.

The narrator is in the story; told with I or we.1st Person Point of View

The narrator is not in the story; uses they, he, she.

3rd Person Limited Point of View

The narrator is not in the story; narrator knows the thoughts and actions of all characters3rd Person Omniscient Point of View

3rd Person ObjectiveSee above + lack of feeling

Allusion

Refers to someone or something in the past…usually the person is dead andthe time was before we were alive.

The Sphinx

In the days of Odysseus there were many heroes.

YES-Classical Allusion, refers to someone in the past

He’s a real Romeo!YES-Literary Allusion, refers to a character in literature

Their struggle was like that of Lee and Grant!

YES-Historical Allusion, refers to people in the past.

In the days of Odysseus, a great warrior who fought in the Trojan War, there were many heroes.

He’s a real Romeo, who was a famous Shakespearean romantic!!

Their struggle was like that of Lee and Grant, two famous Civil War generals!

No-a reference, describes the allusion!

No-a reference, describes the allusion!

No-a reference, describes the allusion!

When Martin Luther King Jr. was alive, civil rights were very limited.

YES-refers to a person and time in the past.

Yesterday I went to the movies.

NO-yesterday is just a day, not a certain or specific period in the past.

Sequence

Sequence is simply the order things happen or should be placed.Correct sequence makes sense: incorrect sequence does not.

Which goes 1st, 2nd, 3rd?

America is discovered

Man lands on the moon

Dinosaurs roam the Earth

3.

2.

1.

Historical SequenceFrom the oldest event To the most recent

You brush your teeth.

You eat breakfast.

You wake up.

You get on the bus.You go into school.

You get off the bus.

Chronological Sequence-ordered by time event occurred

To say one thing, but mean the opposite.

Verbal Irony

Example: You look out the window, and even though it is raining, you sarcastically say “What a beautiful day!”.

You expect one thing to happen, but the exact opposite occurs.

Fortunato means lucky, be he ends up being very unlucky.

Situational Irony

Dramatic Irony

You know something the character does not.You know something the character does not.

From reading the opening of the play, we know Romeo and Juliet are going to take their own lives!

To convey a message without saying it directly.

Inference…kind of like A+B=C

It is raining outside today.

I do not like to go out in the rain.

The Inference: I am not going out today.

Conflicts

A conflict is simply a struggle of some kind. It mayinvolve the weather, people, animals, etc.

A conflict must have resolution, or the way the conflict is settled.

External

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Technology

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Obstacle

Man vs. Society

Society establishes rules. If these rules are not followed, we must often facethe consequences.

Internal

Man versus

Himself

“I’m so lonely!”

“What is the meaning of Life?’

Man vs. Destiny

A prophecy (prediction) is made about someone and what they will do in their life is made.

The person struggles or denies the prophecy!

Resolutions

Team A Wins Team B WinsNeither Team

Wins

Two football teams are playing the championship game!

Have you ever wondered what monsters are scarier?You would be scared of him, your eyes will pop out.

He is tall with a deformed face, and has this mask he always where.Are you afraid of monster?

They will break in your home and kill you just like a cereal killer.When a gang come together it is not any telling what they going to do to somebody.

Monsters can come in any shape, form, or fashion. Usually they have a scary expression to match their monsterness.

I been scared of real monster and fake monsters but, I think real monsters are scarier. To prevent this from happening mothers should always keep their eyes on there children. Because it

is always easy for a predator to get it’s pray.I think factional monsters are scarier to me.Jason on the other hand was a real human.

Which do you think is scarier real monsters or unreal monsters?Most importantly by what his actions are in other words by what he does.

Although real monsters like serial killers are scared fake monsters like Michael Myers, Freddy Crouger, and ghosts are like scared to me.

He didn’t never like him.Then another good example of dramatic irony, which is you expect some thing to happen and the total

opposite happen.Persuasion-when you try to get someone to believe in what you believe or take you side.

English Regular Verbs:Regular verbs in English are conjugated using the infinitive for all forms, except that the past and past participle end in "ed", the present participle ends in "ing", and the third person singular ends in "s".

» to accept » to count » to invite

» to admit » to dance » to learn

» to agree » to discover » to miss

» to bless » to enjoy » to need

» to borrow » to fill » to permit

» to breathe » to greet » to smile

» to call » to hate » to touch

» to change » to hope » to use

» to clean » to hunt » to watch

» to clear » to imagine » to work

Present Past Past Perfect

ACCEPT

I

He/She

They

We

You

Present Past Past Perfect

DISCOVER

I

He/She

They

We

You

Present Past Past Perfect

I

He/She

They

We

You

BREATHE

English Irregular Verbs:Irregular verbs do not follow the standard patterns of conjugation.to say » to think » to hold

» to make » to tell » to write

» to go » to become » to stand

» to take » to show » to hear

» to come » to leave » to let

» to see » to feel » to mean

» to know »» to put » to set

» to get » to bring » to meet

» to give » to begin » to run

» to find » to keep » to pay

Determine the level of the writing process

a. Prewriting-stage of process when you get your ideas about what you will write: brainstorming, jotting down ideas

b. First Draft-the first copy (draft) of your essay, probably has several mistakes

c. Editing-mistakes are marked; suggestions for improvements may be made

d. Revision-mistakes are corrected

e. Publishing-paper is typed/written for grading/reading

1. A newspaper editorial

2. A list of possible ideas for a book

3. An essay with a few mistakes

4. A rewritten essay, mistakes are corrected

5. A hand written essay, no mistakes, but not typed or stored on a drive/CD

Publishing Prewriting First Draft

RevisionEditing

EDITORIAL

DEFINITION: Stating Opinions OR Giving A Perspective

Types of:

Editorial Letters

Editorial Cartoons-

Usually Uses Name Calling and Transfer

Examples:

An editorial letter is usually someone’s opinion or reaction to something they have seen, read, or heard about that is published in a newspaper

An editorial cartoon is a statement/reaction much like an editorial letter. However, an editorial cartoon is usually submitted by someone who is employed by the newspaper.

A True Republican

Editorial Cartoon

What is it inferring?

Propaganda:

"Any technique, whether in writing, speech, music, film or other means, that attempts to influence or persuade  the public opinion."

FEAR: This technique is very popular among political parties and was a favorite tactic of the Nazis against the Jews. The idea is to present a dreaded circumstance and usually follow it up with the kind of behavior needed to avoid that horrible event.

“Behind the Power of the Enemy: The Jews”

Loaded Words

1. Used to grab the audiences attention.

2. Usually an interjection.

LOGICAL FALLACIES: Applying logic, one can usually draw a conclusion from one or more established premises.

In the type of propaganda known as the logical fallacy, however, the premises may be accurate but the conclusion

is not.

EXAMPLE: Premise 1: Bill Clinton supports gun control.

Premise 2: Communist regimes have always supported gun control.

Conclusion: Bill Clinton is a communist. We can see in this example that the Conclusion is created by

a twisting of logic, and is therefore a fallacy.

Transfer• Good feelings or ideas/ideals are

transferred through the use of famous, political or patriotic images.

• Example: U.S. flag in the background of the advertisement.

GLITTERING GENERALITIES: This approach is closely related to what is happening in TRANSFER . Here, a generally accepted virtue is usually employed

to stir up favorable emotions. The problem is that these words mean different things to different people and are often manipulated for the propagandists' use. The important thing to remember is that in this technique the propagandist uses these words in a positive sense. They often include words like: democracy, family

values (when used positively), rights, civilization, even the word "American."

EXAMPLE: An ad by a cigarette manufacturer proclaims to smokers: Don't let them take your rights away! ("Rights" is a powerful word, something that stirs the emotions of many, but few on either side would agree on exactly what the

'rights' of smokers are.)

FEAR: This technique is very popular among political parties. The idea is to present a dreaded circumstance and usually follow it up with the kind of behavior needed to avoid that horrible event.

“You don’t want Jones to come back, do you?”

Testimonials

• An important person or famous figure endorses a product

• Air Jordan – This product uses NO OTHER technique.

Snob Appeal• Appeals to the special, rich and beautiful –

makes you feel that way, too.

• Example: Designer labels

Plain Folks• Appeals to “everyday” people from all

walks of life

• Example: Presidential candidates or presidents seen doing casual or everyday things

Name Calling• Positive and Negative words are used to create a

favorable or unfavorable opinion in the viewer's mind.

Example: Our “improved” product OR The “inferior” taste of our competitor’s cola

Bandwagon• Persuade everyone to join in and do the same thing . . .

“get on the bandwagon”

• Example: Cell phones and the “Family Plan” or “My Circle”

Concentrated, heightened language (also known as verse) that uses meter (a regular rhythmic pattern). It may employ in or end rhyme or no rhyme at all (free verse).

A rhyme is a repetition of identical or similar sounds in two or more different words and is most often used in poetry and song.

The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day?

by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summersday?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer's lease hath all too short a day:Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd:

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor loose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:So long as men can breath or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Alliteration is the repetition of a leading consonant sound in a phrase. A common example in English is “Peter Piper" picked a peck of pickled peppers".

Magazine articles: “Science has Spoiled my Supper” and “Too Much Talent in Tennessee?”

Comic/cartoon characters: Beetle Bailey, Donald Duck

Restaurants: Coffee Corner, Sushi Station

Expressions: busy as a bee, dead as a doornail, good as gold, right as rain, etc...

Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences.

Hear the mellow wedding bells. — Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells"

And murmuring of innumerable bees - Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Princess VII.203

The crumbling thunder of seas — Robert Louis Stevenson

That solitude which suits abstruser musings - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Dead in da middle of little Italy, little did we know that we riddled some middle men who didn't do diddily." - Big Pun

It's hot and it's monotonous. - Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George, It's Hot Up Here

Onomatopoeia (occasionally spelled onomateopoeia or onomatopœia, from Greek ονοματοποιία) is a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing, suggesting its source object, such as "click," "clang," "buzz," or animal noises such as "oink", "quack", "flap", "slurp", or "meow".

A simile is a figure of speech used to make a comparison between two things, usually with the words “like” "than" or “as”.

"My dad was a mechanic by trade when he was in the Army," Raymond Thompson said. "When he got the tools out, he was like a surgeon."

His mind is like a samurai's sword.

He walks like a ninja and runs like a cat.

He drinks like a fish.

Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, "a transfer", in rhetoric "transference of a word to a new sense", from μεταφέρω - metaphero, "to carry over, to transfer") is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects.

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances; — (William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2/7)

My friend, the swift mule, fleet wild hawk of the mountain, panther of the wilderness, after we joined together and went up into the mountain, fought the Bull of Heaven and killed it, and overwhelmed Humbaba, who lived in the Cedar Forest, now what is this sleep that has seized you? - (Trans. Kovacs, 1989)

'Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!Beware the Jubjub bird, and shunThe frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:Long time the manxome foe he sought --So rested he by the Tumtum tree,And stood awhile in thought

And as in uffish thought he stood,The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and throughThe vorpal blade went snicker-snack!He left it dead, and with its headHe went galumphing back.

"And has thou slain the Jabberwock?Come to my arms, my beamish boy!O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe.

“The Jabberwocky”by

Lewis Carroll

A Dream Deferredby Langston Hughes

                                                                                                                                                                What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.Or does it explode?

OZYMANDIASI met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frownAnd wrinkled lip and sneer of cold commandTell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains: round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,The lone and level sands stretch far away.[1]

Characters

Methods of CharacterizationCreating Believable Characters

• Indirect– physical appearance

– speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions of the character

– speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions of other characters

• Direct

– the narrator’s direct comments about a character

Types of Characters

•Main or Minor

•Protagonist or Antagonist

•Round or Flat

•Dynamic or Static

•*Stereotypes=Stock Characters*

The Main Character is easy to identify; he/she/it/they is what the story is about.

“Romeo and Juliet”

A minor character has a very limited role, though it may be important

“Prince Escalus”

Protagonist-usually the main character (hero), but can also be a minor character

“Mercutio”

Antagonist-usually a main character (villain), but can also be a minor character

“Tybalt”

Round or Flat?

A round character has may traits and is multi-dimensional.

A flat character is very shallow and is one dimensional.

Static or Dynamic?

A static character stays the same from the beginning of the story to the end of the story.

A dynamic character changes from the beginning of the story to the end of the story.

Plot

• The chain of related events that take place in a story.

• Built around conflict, which is a struggle between opposing forces.

a. “SHANE”

b. “Romeo and Juliet”

c. “The Cask of Amontillado”

d. “Jurassic Park”

“Two star-crossed lovers take their own lives because of the fightingbetween their families”

“A man tries to change his ways, but finds that he can’t.”

“Humans must escape an amusement park filled with dinosaurs.”

“A man seeks revenge againstSomeone who has insulted him.”

Plot at a Glance

climax

falling action

rising action

resolution

exposition

Exposition-

gives the background of the story

Rising Action-

introduces complications; builds suspense

Climax-

the turning point of the story

suspense reaches its peak

Falling Action and Resolution-

resolves the conflict

usually ties up loose ends

A singular subject demands a singular verb; a plural subject demands a plural verb. That is the simple principle behind subject-verb agreement.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT and ParallelismSUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT and Parallelism

With “of phrases,” try turning the sentence “inside-out” to find the right subject-verb combination.

Connecticut is one of those states that HAVE/HAS adopted a state income tax.

Turn this around to . . . .

Of those states that have adopted a state income tax, Connecticut is one.

This makes it easy to figure out the verb that belongs in a relative clause.

Indefinite pronouns such as everyone and everybody feel plural to some writers, but they are always singular — and take a singular verb.

Everyone associated with the project is proud to be part of the effort.

Someone has to be responsible.

Don’t be confused by phrases that come between the subject pronoun and its verb — phrases that may contain plural words.

Each of the project partners is responsible for writing a chapter summary.

Subject Verb Agreement Test1. We (is, are) going to go to the movies today after school.

a. is b. are

2. The tables (was, were) loaded down with food during the holidays.a. was b. were

3. Several of the children (was, were) painting the wall with their fingers.a. was b. were

4. Some of the cake (was, were) left on the table.a. was b. were

5. Some of the boxes (was, were) opened and thrown in the trash.a. was b. were

6. Nobody near the trees (likes, like) the new game that they are playing.a. likes b. like

7. Few of the apples (is, are) still hanging on the tree.a. is b. are

8. James and Sally (is, are) going to find the new book.a. is b. are

9. Tilda (seems, seem) to think that Tom was not at home.a. seems b. seem

10. J.J. (is, are) the neighbor's really sweet dog.a. is b. are

ANSWERS

1. b. are

2. b. were

3. b. were

4. a. was

5. b. were

6. a. likes

7. b. are

8. b. are

9. a. seems10. a. is

What is a pronoun?What is a pronoun?

• A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence.

• A noun is similar to an actor or actress in a movie.

• A pronoun is a stunt double or stand-in actor.

A pronoun is a part of speech that also answers the question of “who?” or “what?”

In a sentence, the word a pronoun refers to is called that word’s antecedent.

What is a pronoun?What is a pronoun?

Kinds of pronouns

PersonalDemonstrativeIndefiniteInterrogativeRelativeIntensive/reflexiveReciprocal

A pronoun must agree with the number of its antecedent. Singular antecedents require

singular pronouns. The car lost its license plate.

Plural antecedents require plural pronouns. Two cars lost their license plates

Pronoun agreementPronoun agreement

• Pronouns must have the same gender of its antecedent.– A masculine antecedent requires masculine pronoun.

• Bob sold his car to his neighbor– A feminine antecedent requires a feminine pronoun.

• Alice lost her purse.– A neutral antecedent requires a neutral pronoun.

• He lives in a green house. Its address is 1420 Elm St.

Pronoun agreementPronoun agreement

Author’sPurpose

There are many reasons for writing.

Knowing why an author has writtensomething can help us understandthe text.

Knowing our own purpose for writingcan help us be better writers.

Some authors write to entertain us.They want us to enjoy the story.

Examples of writing that entertains:

•Babysitter Club books

•Frindle

•Holes

•The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

•Wreck of the Zephyr

Some authors write to inform us.

Their purpose is to give us facts andtrue information.

Examples of writing that informs:

* Encyclopedias

* Newspapers

* Textbooks

* Nonfiction books

Some authors write to persuade us.

Their purpose is to convince us of something. They want us to agree with their opinion, purchase their product, or take a certain action.

Examples of writing that persuades:

*

Advertisements* Commercials

* Editorials

* Letters to the Editor

* Travel Brochures

Each time that you read or write, think about the author’s purpose! This strategy will help you be a better reader and a more effective writer.

CAUSE

AND

EFFECT

Cause

Effect Effect Effect

Cause

Effect Effect Effect

Prepositions

and

Prepositional Phrases

As tendons connect muscle to bone, prepositions connect their objects to another part of the sentence.

We left after the movie.

The flock of birds ate all the berries.

Sue and Tim met in the moonlit garden

Some prepositions give a position in space or time:

We left after the movie.

Time – The phrase tells when we left.

Sue and Tim met in the moonlit garden.

Space – The phrase tells where they met.

Some, but not all prepositions will fit into this sentence:

The plane flew _____________ the clouds.

The plane flew over the clouds.

The plane flew under the clouds.

The plane flew through the clouds.The plane flew above the clouds.

However, some prepositions don’t fit in the sentence.

The plane flew of the clouds.The plane flew except the clouds.

So what makes up a prepositional phrase?

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the last object of the preposition, which can be a noun or a pronoun.

…with Tom…

preposition object

The preposition can have more than one object:

…with Tom and me…

preposition objects

The prepositional phrase also includes any modifiers that go with the object

A modifier for a noun is called an adjective. Adjectives answer the questions: Which kind? Which one? How Many? and Whose?

Preposition +

Modifiers + Object(s)

in the moonlit garden

after the long, boring movie

among the white fluffy clouds

Remember, prepositional phrases begin with prepositions and end with the last

object. You can’t find prepositional phrases unless you memorize your prepositions.

Why are prepositions and their phrases important?

Read this paragraph from Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea with all of the prepositional phrases left in place:

“The sun rose thinly from the sea and the old man could see the other boats, low on the water and well in toward the shore, spread out across the current. Then the sun was brighter and the glare came on the water and then, as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back at his eyes so that it hurt sharply and he rowed without looking into it. He looked down into the water and watched the lines that went straight down into the dark of the water. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be for any fish that swam there. Others let them drift with the current and sometimes they were at sixty fathoms when the fishermen thought they were at a hundred.”

Now read it without the prepositional phrases:

The sun rose thinly and the old man could see the other boats, low and well, spread out. Then the sun was brighter and the glare came and then as it rose clear, the flat sea sent it back so that it hurt sharply and he rowed. He looked down and watched the lines that went straight down. He kept them straighter than anyone did, so that there would be a bait waiting exactly where he wished it to be. Others let them drift and sometimes they were… when the fisherman thought they were….

Doesn’t the text lose much of its meaning without the prepositional phrases?

Danger : While prepositional phrases are very important to the meaning of the sentence, they can

cause grammatical errors.

Danger 1 : They can come between a subject and a verb. The problem occurs when the writer thinks the object of the preposition is the subject of the sentence. The object of the preposition can NEVER be the subject of the sentence!

If you said paintings then you are right. Museum is the object of the preposition in. Because the subject, paintings, is plural, we must use

the plural verb, are..

What is the subject of the following sentence and what verb agrees with it?

Paintings in a museum (is/are) available for all to see.

Danger Two: Many times people will mistakenly use the subjective case pronoun as the object of a preposition. A pronoun that is the object of a preposition must be in the OBJECTIVE case.

The objective case pronouns are me, us, you, him, her, it, them.

This error most commonly occurs when the object of the preposition is compound.

Wrong: The Galloways are going to the beach with Tom and I.

Correct: The Galloways are going to the beach with Tom and me.

We wouldn’t say, “The Galloways are going to the beach with I,” would we?

Tip: When you have a compound object, and you are trying to decide which pronoun to use, try eliminating the other part of the compounded object of the preposition. If you use pronouns as the single object of the preposition correctly, you should have no problems choosing the pronoun to use in the compound object.

For example, Mike bought tickets for Zoe and (I/me) becomes Mike bought tickets for I, or Mike bought tickets for me.

Clearly, the second choice, me, is the correct answer.

This trick doesn’t work with the preposition between because, logically, between requires two objects. Always fall back on the rule:

Pronoun objects of the preposition must be in the objective case.