THE GRAMMAR PACKET

TABLE OF CONTENTS: I: Parts of Speech II: The Noun Types and Gender III: Noun (Continued) Number IV: Noun (Continued) Case (Nominative, Possessive, Objective) V: The Pronoun Antecedent, Number, Gender, Person, Types VI: The Pronoun (Continued) Case (Nominative, Possessive, Objective) VII: The Pronoun (Continued) Antecedents VIII: The Adjective Modification of Nouns and Pronouncs

Articles, Positioning IX: Comparison of Adjectives Positive, Comparative, Superlative, Irregular, Double X: The Adverb Modification of a Verb Modification of an Adjective Modification of an Adverb Comparison of Adverbs XI: The Interjection XII: The Preposition XIII: The Conjunction Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions XIV: The Verb Types: Action, Copulative, Auxiliary XV: Verb (Continued) Tenses: Simple (Past, Present, Future) Tenses: Perfect (Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect) XVI: Verb (Continued) The Voice of Verbs: (Active, Passive) XVII: Verb (Continued) Mood or Mode: (Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive) XVIII: Verbals: The Infinitive XIX: Verbals: Participles Present Participle Past Participle Participial Phrases Misplaced Modifiers and Dangling Participles XX: Verbals: Gerunds XXI: The Phrase Prepositional Phrases As Adjectives As Adverbs

TABLE OF CONTENTS, (CONTINUED): XXII: The Infinitive Phrase As Noun As Adjective As Adverb XXIII: The Participial Phrase and the Gerund Phrase XXIV: The Clause In the Predicate With Copulative Verbs XXV: The Clause (Continued) Independent Clause Dependent Clause Types of Sentences (Simple, Compound, Complex) XXVI: The Sentence Fragment XXVII: Punctuation XXVIII: The Comma Separating Independent Clauses Separating Items in a Series Separating Non-restrictive modifiers XXIX: The Comma (Continued) Separating Appositives Separating Parenthetic Elements Separating Introductory Remarks XXX: The Comma (Continued) Separating Items in Date or Address Separating Direct Address Introducing Short Quotation or Separating an Interruption Preventing Misreading XXXI: The Semicolon Separating Independent Clauses Separating Items in a Series When a Comma Is Confusing XXXII: The Apostrophe Possessive Case Contractions Acceptable Use with Letters, Numbers, and Symbols XXXIII: Quotation Marks Alteration of Quotations Punctuation of Quotations XXXIV: Underlining, Italics, and Quotation Marks for Titles XXXV: The Colon and Dash and Hyphen XXXVI: Parentheses and Brackets XXXVI: Parentheses and Brackets

Grammar Review I Parts of Speech There are eight parts of speech in English.

These are categories into which one places a word depending upon how the word functions in a sentence. The same word can be different parts of speech depending on the word’s use in the sentence. Example: I have a part in the play. (“Part” is a noun.) I part my hair on the left. (“Part” is a verb.) The dog is part collie. (“Part” is an adjective.) My love gave me a ring. (“Ring” is a noun.) I will ring the doorbell. (“Ring” is a verb.) Have you a ring holder? (“Ring is an adjective.) This is the fast lane. (“Fast” is an adjective.) The man runs very fast. (“Fast” is an adverb.) Only a close examination of what a word is doing in a sentence reveals its part of speech.

Parts of speech: Names: Noun Pronoun (substitute for a noun) Modifiers: Adjectives Adverbs Action: Verb Mortar of a

Sentence: Preposition Conjunction Exclamation: Interjection

Grammar Review II: The Noun The noun (L. nomen = name) is the name of: a person (Rumplestilskin; Claudette Colbert)

a place (Bear Mountain; New York City; Lake Chargoggoggogmanchargoggogcharbunagungamogg)

a thing (twig, frog, sesquipedalian) a quality (beauty, happiness, courage) an activity (swimming, dating) a concept (Communism, materialism) a condition (peace, security)

Types of Nouns:

common: the label for any member of a category (man, novelist, country, soup, city, religion). In English, one never capitalizes a common noun. proper: the label for a specific member of a category

(Walter Cronkite, Ernest Hemingway, Mongolia, Campbell’s Soup, Horseheads, Roman Catholicism). In English, one always capitalizes a proper noun.

abstract: name of a non-tangible thing, an idea (violence, empathy, catastrophe) concrete: name of something one can sense (prune, aroma, fire, violin)

general: the broad term naming all members of a group (like a common noun) (weapon, dwelling, fruit, furniture) specific: the name of a particular member of a group (sword, apartment, grape, sofa) collective: the name of a group, but written in the singular (committee, jury, army, club, team, society, majority, band, murder of crows,

exaltation of larks, pride of lions, knot of toads) Collective nouns may be singular or plural.

Gender of Nouns:

Since the Middle Ages (since about 1300), English nouns have natural gender, reflecting the sex of the entity: Males are masculine: actor, man, boy, aviator, bull, rooster. Females are feminine: actress, woman, girl, aviatrix, cow, hen. Anything without sex is neuter: tree, box, book, watermelon, floor. Terms applying to males and females have common gender: worker, assistant, student, principal. Note: So-called “sexist” nouns, containing the word “man,” as in chairman, fireman, mailman, and freshman, do not apply to one sex, but are considered common nouns, as is the word “man” when referring to the human race.

Grammar Review III: Noun (Continued) Number of nouns: Nouns may be singular (referring to one) or plural (referring to more than one).

- Most nouns form their plural by adding “s” to the singular form (hat = hats; duck = ducks; name = names).

- Nouns ending in a sibilant (s, z, sh, ch, x) form their plural by adding “es” to the singular

(class = classes; bush = bushes; church = churches; ax = axes).

- Nouns ending in a consonant = y change the y to i and add “es” to form the plural (spy = spies; country = countries; army = armies)

- Some nouns form their plurals irregularly:

man = men woman = women goose = geese ox = oxen child = children foot = feet tooth = teeth

- English is an eclectic language, taking into itself words and even their plurals from many

other languages: Latin datum = data Bacterium = bacteria Stadium = stadia Alumnus = alumni Alumna = alumnae Greek criterion = criteria Phenomenon = phenomena Crisis = crises Psychosis = psychoses French chateau = chateaux Beau = beaux Italian graffito = graffiti Hebrew cherub = cherubim Seraph = seraphim Kibbutz = kibbutzim Get a good dictionary, and use it to ascertain the plurals of unusual words or unfamiliar terms.

- A collective noun may be singular or plural. Once one designates a number, he must be consistent in using that number: Correct: The committee is finished with its work. The committee are finished with their work. Incorrect: The committee is finished with their work.

Grammar Review IV: Noun (Continued) Case: Nouns and pronouns have case. Case is a category into which one puts a noun depending on its function in the sentence. In Modern English, there are three cases: Nominative (Subjective) Case:

- used for the subject of a verb: (The lamp burned out.) - and for direct address: (John, come here.) - and for an appositive of a subject: (My friend, Bill, died.) - and for predicate nominative, the complement of a copulative verb:

(The last caller was Mary.) Objective Case: (Both the nominative and objective cases use the same form of a noun.)

- direct object of a verb: (I need a new lamp.) - indirect object of a verb: (Give Loretta the check.) - object of a preposition: (Give the check to Loretta.) - an appositive of an object: (Give the check to my friend, Loretta.) - subject of an infinitive: (They need Tom to help the children.) - objective complement: (The state elected Walter Bug senator.)

Possessive (Genetive) Case:

- shows ownership: (This is Jack’s car.) The possessive case is the only case in the noun that changes the form of the word: - usually, add ‘s to a singular name to form the possessive case: Clare = Clare’s god = god’s goddess = goddess’s; - if the singular noun ends in “s,” one may form the possessive simply by adding the apostrophe: Mr. Marks = Mr. Marks’s or Mr. Marks’ Anaxagoras = Anaxagoras’s or Anaxagoras’ Santa Claus = Santa Claus’s or Santa Claus’ - add just the apostrophe for the plural possessives, unless the plural ends in a letter other than “s”: class = classes’ boys = boys’ men = men’s

Grammar Review V: The Pronoun The Pronoun (L. pro nomine = for the name) is a word substituting for a noun or another pronoun. The noun for which the pronoun is a substitute is called the antecedent (ante – cedo = to go before) of the pronoun, and it must always be a single word, either stated of implied. Sometimes, the antecedent can follow the pronoun. Mark said that Mark would be late. Mark said that he would be late. (the pronoun “he” substitutes for the noun “Mark.”) After he built the fire, Chuck died. (The pronoun “he” substitutes for the noun “Charles.”) (The antecedent of the pronoun “he” is “Mark” in the first sentence and “Chuck” in the second sentence.) Number: Like nouns, pronouns can be singular (I, he, she) or plural (we, they). Gender: Like nouns, pronouns have natural gender, meaning that the pronouns and nouns have a gender based on the sex of the person or thing to which they refer. Masculine pronouns denote males (he, him, his). Feminine pronouns denote females (she her, hers). Neuter gender pronouns refer to males, females, and inanimate objects (they, them, one). Person: The concept of person in verbs and pronouns refers to which role the verb or pronoun identifies in the act of communication. First Person: (I, us, we, our) denotes the speaker referring to himself.

Second Person: (you, your, thou, ye) denotes the person to whom the speech is directed. Third Person: (he, she, it, one, they, them) denotes the person or thing about whom or about which) the speech is concerned. Types of Pronouns: Personal: refer specifically to the three persons (first, second, third): I, thou, he, they, we, your Impersonal: refer to everything not human:

it, they Relative: refer to persons or things and relate a dependent clause to the rest of the sentence: that, what, which, who, whose, whom Demonstrative: point to something: this, these; that, those Interrogative: ask questions: who? which? what? whose? Reflexive: repeat or intensify the antecedent: I, myself; you, yourself; he, himself; they, themselves; we, ourselves.

Grammar Review VI: Pronoun (Continued) Reciprocal: express mutual action or relationship: Each other, one another Indefinite: refer to no particular person or thing:

Singular: another, anyone, anything, anybody, someone, something, somebody, none, nothing, nobody, everyone, everything, everybody, each, either, neither

Plural: several, some, many, few, all

Case: Like nouns, pronouns have case. But the personal pronoun and “who” have distinctive case forms: Nominative Possessive Objective I my, mine me you your, yours you, ye thou thy, thine thee he his him she her, hers her it its it we our, ours us they their, theirs them who whose whom Note: the possessive case of the personal pronoun and “who” has no apostrophe. Nominative Case: We love summer. (Subject of verb) It is he. (Predicate nominative) Toys are we. (Predicate nominative) Possessive Case: Ours is here; yours is there. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Objective Case: Whom did you call? (Direct object of verb) Give her the answer. (Indirect object of verb) I bought it for them. (Object of the preposition) Antecedent: A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in gender and in number. Replace a singular, masculine noun (boy) with a singular, masculine pronoun (he). Replace a plural, feminine noun (women) with a plural, feminine pronoun (they). The problem is that often we cannot locate the antecedent easily, because:

- it is separated from the pronoun: Every member of the school’s choir did his best.

- the antecedent is ambiguous: John told Fred he was worried. (Who is he?)

Grammar Review VII: Pronoun (Continued)

- the antecedent is a collective noun: The committee is preparing its work. The jury are divided on their verdict. - the antecedent is one of two possibilities:

Either Mary or her sisters offered their help. ` Neither Mary nor her sisters offered her help. (The antecedent is the closer possibility.)

- the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun which seems plural but is really singular: Everybody had better shut his book. - the antecedent comes after the pronoun: When they finished, Jack and his brother went home.

Grammar Review VIII The Adjective: The adjective (L. adjectivum = added to) describes, modifies, alters our understanding of a noun or pronoun. Brilliant birds flew by. (“Brilliant” describes birds, particularizes birds.) The children are sad. (“Sad” describes children.)

To identify an adjective, you may take a noun or pronoun and ask, “What kind?” of the noun or pronoun. The answer, be it a word or group of words, is an adjective. The man who was elected chairman took his position. (The underlined clause describes man. What kind of man? The man who was elected chairman.) Those by the window are the records which I need. (“By the window” describes those. “Which I need” describes records.)

The articles (a, an, the) are always adjectives. In English, the normal position of the adjective is before the noun it modifies. The broken window let in the cold air. But, occasionally, to draw attention to the adjective, it may be mispositioned after the noun: The window, broken, let in the cold air.

Grammar Review IX: Comparison of Adjectives Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: - Positive (an adjective describes one thing and offers no comparison): sweet, fine, intelligent, beautiful - Comparative (an adjective compares two things only): sweeter, finer

more intelligent, less beautiful Use “more” or “less” in the comparative degree if the adjective has more than two syllables.

- Superlative (an adjective compares more than two things): sweetest, finest most intelligent, least beautiful Use “most” or “least” in the superlative degree if the adjective has more than two syllables. Irregular Comparatives: good, better, best well, better, best nigh, near, next bad, worse, worst little, less, least Absolute adjectives: These adjectives never compare because they identify qualities a person or thing

either has or does not have; there are no degrees. dead pregnant full

empty unique complete perfect Avoid Double Comparatives: Never use more than one form of the comparative or superlative degree in a sentence. He is more happier than I. This is the most sweetest fruit I ever tasted.

Grammar Review X: The Adverb Adverbs: An adverb is a word describing a verb, adjective, or adverb. Modification of a Verb: ask of the verb how, when, where, why, how much, to what extent, under what condition? The answer, whether a word or group of words, is an adverb. Jim swam rapidly. (swam how?) Jim swam yesterday. (swam when?) Jim swam in the river. (swam where?) Jim swam for exercise. (swam why?) Jim swam briefly. (swam how much, to what extent?) Jim swam despite the chilly weather. (swam under what condition?)

Modification of an Adjective: Ray was extremely exhausted. Claudette was devastatingly effective in the role. Modification of an Adverb: Claudette was very attractively coiffed. Most words ending in –ly are adverbs, but not all. The usual way to form an adverb from an adjective is to add –ly: beautiful (adj.), beautifully (adverb) quick (adj.), quickly (adverb) willing (adj.), willingly (adverb) sad (adj.), sadly (adverb) deserved (adj.), deservedly (adverb) Note: Surly grammarians insist that all words ending in –ly are adverbs! They are wrong. “Surly” is an adjective. So is “holy.” An adverb always follows a verb? No! “Always,” an adverb, precedes the verb!

Comparison of Adverbs: Like adjectives, adverbs have degrees of comparison. Because most adverbs are multisyllabic, they use “more,” “most,” “less,” and “least” in their comparative and superlative forms.

Positive: quickly, joyfully Comparative: more quickly, less joyfully Superlative: most quickly, least joyfully

Grammar Review XI: The Interjection

An interjection (L. inter + iacio = throw between) is a word thrown into a sentence, like a rock into a pond, to express surprise or emotion. It is autonomous, having no relationship to any other word in the sentence. The interjection is usually followed by an exclamation point, but in quiet, formal prose, mild interjections are followed by a comma. Oh! What a beautiful morning! Wow! That was exciting! Ouch! Indeed, the matter was disappointing. Well, the situation never did improve.

Grammar Review XII: Prepositions

A preposition is a word “pre-posed” or placed before another word (always a noun or pronoun) in order to relate that noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.

Give the crust to the birds. “To” shows the relationship between “give” and “birds.” The girl in the park is alone. “In” shows the relationship between “girl” and “park.” Common Prepositions: in, of, between, beside, over, around, through, like, near, by, within,

according to, among, above, off, with, without, after, against, past, from, beyond, into, behind.

The word that the preposition relates to is called the object of the preposition and is in the

objective case. A prepositional phrase = the preposition + its object and whatever modifies the object. Examples: over the river through the woods to grandmother’s house without doubt in conclusion The prepositional phrase may be used as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun: The book on the shelf is old. (The phrase describes the noun, “book.”) The prepositional phrase may be used as an adverb, modifying a verb: The book fell off the shelf. (The phrase describes the verb, “fell”: fell where?) Avoid concluding a sentence with a preposition, if possible, since a preposition is a weak word whose

function is to hold together parts of a sentence. Placing a preposition in the emphatic final position of a sentence wastes a dramatic opportunity to stress a key word.

WEAK: Do not betray the ideals these men died for. (Why stress “for”?) BETTER: Do not betray the ideals for which these men died. (“Died” is a powerful

word to stress.)

Review XIII: Conjunctions Conjunctions (L. con + junc- = to join with) link words or parts of the sentence. Coordinating Conjunctions: connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal grammatical rank. There are only six: and, yet, but, or, nor, for Mark and Luke wrote gospels. (2 subjects linked) Give me liberty or give me death. (2 clauses linked)* I heard your speech, for I was in the auditorium. (2 clauses linked)*

*in both cases, the clauses remain independent, or equal importance (grammatical rank).

Subordinating Conjunctions: connect and subordinate (reduce in importance) one clause to another. The subordinate clause is always of lesser value than the main clause, and the subordinate clause depends on the main clause for meaning. Examples: although, whereas, whether, because, after, before, since, until, when, where, while, though, if, than, as, unless, why. After we left, the party died. Although he knew when the appointment was set, Bill still planned another engagement for that time. Veronica delayed because the fog was thick. I wonder why you needed help.

Grammar Review XIV: The Verb The verb (L. verbum = word) is the only essential word in the sentence. The verb expresses either action or state of being. Types of Verbs:

a) Action Verbs: express a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual action.

Peter bent the rod.

Claudette Colbert won the Oscar.

We will hope for better weather.

We wish you a merry Christmas.

b) Copulative (Linking or State of Being) Verbs: couple or link a subject to a noun or adjective or pronoun and show a state of existence. Mary Claire is pregnant. The dog seemed ill. Coca-cola tastes better in small, six-ounce bottles. Some copulative verbs: be, seem, prove, appear, look, taste, sound, feel, become (when the verbs show no action.)

c) Auxiliary Verbs (Helping Verbs) are used with other verbs to form tenses, moods, and voices

of those verbs.

Examples: be, do, have, can, may, will, shall, must, ought, might, could, should, would. You may submit your work tomorrow. I should have met you at the station. Ralph shall have been admitted to the lodge by the time I arrive. I need help. Do you know anyone who would help me? Yes. Elaine may, but Natalie would.

Grammar Review XV: Verbs Tenses of Verbs: Tense (L. “time”) means the time at which the action or state of being of the verb was performed. English has six tenses: Simple Tenses:

a) Present (the action occurs now) Simple Present: John hopes. She gives. Emphatic Present: John does hope. (formed with auxiliary verb “do” + the infinitive) Progressive Present: John is hoping. (formed with auxiliary verb “be” + the past participle)

b) Past (the action is completed)

Simple Past: He hoped. She gave. Emphatic Past: He did hope. Progressive Past: He was hoping.

c) Future (the action will occur later)

Simple Future: I shall help. You, he, they will help. Emphatic Future: I will help. You, he, they shall help. Future Progressive: I shall (will) be helping.

Note: The emphatic forms stress the reality of he action. YES, these things did occur! The progressive forms suggest that the action occurred over a period of time in the present, past, or future. Perfect Tenses: “Perfect” means “completed”; these tenses identify action completed with respect to other \ actions. These tenses use the auxiliary verb “to have.”

a) Present Perfect (have, has + pastparticiple) (the action began in the past and ends now and may continue) John has helped me every Saturday for a month. (The action began a month ago and , as of now, he has helped me for one month – one month’s work is completed. John may now stop or may continue to help.)

b) Past Perfect (had + past participle)

(an action was completed in the past before another action occurred in the past.) I had had haddock before I had a headache. John had helped me every Saturday until he moved to Brooklyn.

c) Future Perfect (shall, will have + past participle)

(an action is completed in the future before another future action occurs) John will have worked twenty years fixing flats before he will retire. In this kind of sentence, it is common to replace the simple future with the simple present: John will have worked twenty years fixing flats before he retires.

Grammar Review XVI: Verbs The Voice of Verbs: Voice is a property of verbs (of only ACTION verbs) identifying whether or not the subject acts. Active Voice: the subject acts, acted, will act. Louise ate the kohlrabis. The team scored one last goal.

Passive Voice: the subject is, was, or will be acted upon. The passive voice consists of the verb “to be” plus the past participle. The kohlrabis were eaten by Louise. One last goal was scored by the team.

In general, one should prefer the active voice, which is simpler, clearer, and more direct than the passive voice.

Grammar Review XVII: The Verb Mood (Mode): Mood (Mode) refers to the manner in which the speaker means a verb. English has three moods:

a) Indicative Mood: the most prevalent mood; the speaker is stating a real or apparent fact or is asking a question. I am prepared. Barry makes more money than Walter. Lori requested my presence at the party. Forms: I ask I am I was I asked you ask you are you were you asked he asks he is he was he asked we ask we are we were we asked you ask you are you were you asked they ask they are they were they asked

b) Imperative Mood: the speaker commands.

Be prepared. Come here. Form: the infinitive without “to”; ask, from to ask.

c) Subjunctive Mood: the speaker states something that is hypothetical, unlikely, unreal, wished, requested, demanded, prayed for, or moved by parliamentary motion.

If she were twenty years younger, I would marry her. I demand that the speaker be still. We request that the janitor do the windows. God save the Queen! God bless you. Thy kingdom come. We move that parliamentary procedure be laid aside. Forms: the subjunctive mood is distinct in the third person singular, present tense * of all verbs, and in the present and past tenses of the verb “to be.” I ask I be I were I asked you ask you be you were you asked * he ask he be he were he asked we ask we be we were we asked you ask you be you were you asked they ask they be they were they asked

Grammar Review XVIII: Verbals: The Infinitive English has three verbals, verb forms used as other parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) but which retain the properties of the verb (they take objects and are modified by adverbs). They are the infinitive, participle, and gerund. Infinitives: the pure form of the verb, the form that appears in the dictionary. It is usually preceded by “to” as in “to walk,” but it also appears alone after verbal auxiliaries, as in “can do,” “must fix,” “may play.” The infinitive has tense and voice: Present tense, Active voice: to call Present tense, Passive voice: to be called Present Perfect tense, Active voice: to have called Present Perfect tense, Passive voice: to have been called The infinitive remains a verb and so may have a subject (always in the objective case), an object or complement, and adverb modifiers. The infinitive, its subject, object, and modifiers are called the

infinitive phrase. Emilio wanted me to buy chances now. (Infinitive phrase underlined) Subject = “me” Infinitive = “to buy” Object = “chances” Adverb = “now” Uses:

a) Adjective: Oh, give me something to remember you. (the infinitive phrase modifies the pronoun “something”)

Julia gave me a chance to help. (the infinitive modifies the noun “chance”) Show me the way to go home. (the infinitive phrase modifies the noun “way”)

b) Adverb: The baby is well enough to go home from the hospital. (the infinite phrase modifies the adverb “enough”)

The boy left school to go home. (the infinitive phrase modifies the verb “left”)

c) Noun: Would you like to swing on a star? (the infinitive phrase is object of the verb “like”) To dream the impossible dream is my quest. (the infinitive phrase is subject of the verb “is”) Split infinitives (modifiers placed between “to” and the verb) are clumsy and should be avoided:

“to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Better: “to go boldly where no man has gone before.”

Grammar Review XIX: Verbals: Participles The Participle The participle is the second verbal and is always an adjective. There are two participles:

a) Present Participle: always ends in –ing.

Active Voice: telling Passive Voice: being told

b) Past Participle: usually ends in –ed or –t (weak verbs), but strong verbs have distinct

forms; use this construction to identify the past participle: “I have _____.” I have earned. I have seen. I have understood. I have felt. I have known. (The past participle is always used in the perfect tenses of the verb.)

Active Voice: told Passive Voice: been told Perfect Tense: Active Voice: having told Passive Voice: having been told

Participles remain verbs and can take adverb modifiers and objects; the participle, its modifiers, and any objects or complements are called the participial phrase.

The boy, helping his sister cautiously, forgot the time. Participial phrase: helping his sister cautiously (modifies “boy”) Participle: helping Adverb: cautiously Object: sister

Other examples of participles and participial phrases: The weeping willow fell into the puddle. Dancing the mazurka violently, Edna died. Gus was cut by the broken window.

Note: Be very careful tro place the participial phrase close to the word it modifies. If you place it far away from the word the phrase modifies, you have a misplaced modifiers, which may accidently describe the wrong word in the sentence: Misplaced Modifier: Eating clover, Waldo saw the cow. I milked the goat sitting on the three-legged stool.

If a participial phrase (or any other modifier) describes nothing in the sentence, the phrase is called a dangling modifier (dangling participle) Dangling Participle: Swimming in the ocean, his big toe was cut by a clam.

Riding in the glass-bottomed boat, hundreds of tropical fishes could be seen

Grammar Review XX: Verbals: Gerunds Gerunds: The third and simplest verbal is the gerund:

a) the gerund always ends in –ing (like the present participle) b) the gerund always is a noun (the participle is an adjective).

Gerunds remain verbs, can take adverbial modifiers, and can take objects: Preparing the meatloaf attractively takes imagination. Gerund Phrase: Preparing the meatloaf attractively (used as a noun, subject of the verb “takes”) Gerund: Preparing Object: meatloaf Adverb: attractively. The gerund, its modifiers, and its objects constitute the gerund phrase.

Examples: Skiing can be dangerous. Claire prefers cheating on tests to studying. Olga asked if she could go clamming. By twirling her tassles, Millie won the contest.

Grammar Review XXI PHRASE: A group of words acting as one part of speech and containing no statement (subject + predicate) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: a preposition + its object in your hat around the world down the river by the road under an old tressle through the years with help beside Garfield Prepositional phrases can be adjectives: The fuzzy hat on the shelf is mine. (describes had) The chicken with the blue lips ate the blueberry pie. (describes chicken) I had a love of my own like yours. (both phrases describe love) Give me a drink of beer. (describes drink) Prepositional phrases can be adverbs. I began the project with caution. (began how?) … at noon. (began when?) … for the money. (began why?) Hilda went to the fishmonger. (went where?) Oswaldo smiled for the photographer. (smiled why?)

Grammar Review XXII Infinitive Phrase: an infinitive + its modifier + its object. to run quickly to buy socks to think with caution to open soon to be a man to write slowly an essay to die with anguish Infinitive phrases may be nouns: I like to dance the mazurka. (the name of the thing I like) To be still in a fire drill is necessary. (the name of the thing that is necessary) To live fruitfully means to love something deeply. (each phrase is the name of something) I want to help you. (the thing I want) Infinitive phrases may be adjectives: The book to read for the test is this. (describes book) I have a need to taste a pizza. (describes the need) The yearning to have sox can be controlled. (describes yearning) Infinitive phrases may be adverbs: Herb went to buy a car. (tells why he went) Lou was eager to ride the bull. (describes the adjective “eager”) This stuff is hard to learn fully. (describes the adjective “hard”) You must hurry to make the bus. (tells why you must hurry)

Grammar Review XXIII Participial Phrase: a phrase + its object + its modifier singing a hymn loudly kicked in the shins stealing red plums constantly opening an account frying liver spitting watermelon seeds conceiving a solution praying for help spoken with haste ruined in the fire All participial phrases are adjectives: Sailing on the lake, Melanie died. (describes Melanie) The boy, fighting his best battle, won. (describes boy) The cup broken in the accident could not be replaced. (describes cup) Having whirled right through the floor, Rumplestilskin disappeared. (describes Rumplestilskin) Walter, boarding the plane, tripped on the stewardess and died. (describes Walter) The English Channel, swum by many, is still a challenge. (describes Channel) Gerund Phrase: a gerund +its object +its modifiers kicking a football effectively playing the tuba superbly washing the socks thinking clearly challenging the faculty in softball cutting the lawn neatly baking bread All gerund phrases are nouns: Buying Christmas presents is a chore. (the name of the activity) Bernard appreciates my telling him the truth. (the name of the thing he appreciates) Shoeing horses is a lost art. (the name of the activity) Chris hates swimming laps. (the thing he hates) *** NO PHRASE MAKES A STATEMENT!

Grammar Review XXIV Clause: A group of words containing a statement (a subject + a predicate) SUBJECT PREDICATE (the topic of the statement) (the point made about the subject; the assertion) Bill raked the leaves. I am perplexed by clauses. To err is human. Tillie and Adrienne cooked amblongus pie. The once and future king will have lived by the year 2101. (You) Drop dead. (You) Be not afraid. In the summer, when the days are warm and the water cool, swimming is really delightful. The apple was eaten by Eve. Predicates: consist of the verb and its complement. Action verbs: -the verb may stand alone: Fred laughed. -the verb may take an adverb: Fred laughed loudly. -the verb may take a direct object (the thing that is affected by the action): (Verb + what, whom?) Tom broke the lamp. (“Lamp” receives the breaking.) -the verb may take an indirect object (the person or thing getting the direct object): (Object to, for whom?) Give me a hand. (The direct object = hand; the indirect object = me) -the verb may take an objective complement, a word which completes the object: (Object + what?) You make me happy. We made Sister chairman. Copulative verbs: -cannot take objects because, since the verbs have no action, nothing can be affected by an action. -the verb can take an adjective (predicate adjective) Molly was angry.

-the verb can take a noun or pronoun (predicate noun, predicate pronoun, predicate nominative: nominative case)

Toys are we. It is he. The winner will be Sally.

Grammar Review XXV Some clauses make sense all by themselves. These are independent (main, principal) clauses: After we deg the ditch, we went home. Help me! I heard that you died. When Oliver got into trouble, he could call on Stanley. But some clauses cannot make sense all by themselves. They are called dependent (subordinate, minor) clauses. After we dug the ditch, we went home. I heard that you died. When Ollie got into trouble, he could call on Stan. Although it is November, it is Summer in New Zealand. Dependent, subordinate clauses are formed by placing in front of the clauses either a Relative pronoun or a subordinate conjunction: -relative pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, what, that -subordinate conjunction: how, when, where, why, if, because, since though, although, unless, after, before, whence, while, until, as, etc. NOTE: - All independent clauses are stressed in reading a sentence.

- Whatever appears in a minor clause is less important than what appears in a major clause.

- Thus, in a paragraph, main ideas go in main clauses; minor ideas go in minor clauses. SENTENCE: a group of words containing at least one independent clause.

- If it contains only one indendent clause and nothing more, it is a SIMPLE SENTENCE. John loves Mary. In the summertime at mid-July in the middle of the woods beside the stream sits a frog.

- If ir contains several independent clauses and no dependent clauses, it is called a COMPOUND SENTENCE. School is challenging, but vacation is preferable. Bill ran home, Wanda ran with him, and both reached the gate at the same time.

- If it contains a man and a minor clause (or several), it is a COMPLEX SENTENCE.

When I am with you, I am getting to know what to say.

Grammar Review XXVI The Sentence Fragment Any group of words punctuated like a sentence (beginning with a capitalized word and concluding with end punctuation) but containing no subject or no verb – in other words, no clause – or containing no independent clause is a SENTENCE FRAGMENT. In formal writing, the fragment is forbidden, for it is the mark of casual composition and speech. Sample Fragments: Yes. (No subject, no verb, no independent clause) Since she broke her engagement with the man she always hoped to marry.

(No independent clause) The man in the grey flannel suit on the Third Avenue El. (No verb, hence no independent clause) Rushing across the great plain at midnight. (No subject, no verb, hence no clause)

Grammar Review XXVII Punctuation: a system of pauses to give clarity to what was said and to convey meaning, emphasis, and tone. End Punctuation: Complete a sentence with the appropriate punctuation: Ending a declaration with seriousness, factual content and no emotion: the period: Vendettas are common among vengeful men. Ending a question or statement of doubt: the question mark: When did Franklin Pierce serve as President? Are you that the year 2000 begins a new millennium? Ending a statement of strong emotion or command: the exclamation point: Close the door now! How fat you got!

Grammar Review XXVIII The Comma (A) The comma (,) is a very brief pause. It is not a substitute for any other punctuation mark. Its uses are many, the chief of which are:

1. To separate independent clauses in a compound sentence when the clauses are connected by a coordinate comjunction (and, yet, but, or, nor, for):

Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy. Wordsworth is a famous poet, but he is also a great critic. Omission of the coordinate conjunction is called comma splice, an error: The book was opened, the page was ripped. Omission of the comma and coordinate conjunction produces a run-on sentence, also an error: The book was opened the page was ripped.

2. To separate items in a series (the serial comma):

Use a comma between all items in a series of more than two, even before items linked by a Coordinate conjunction: The desk contained ink, papers, a lamp, and a map.

(The final comma is known as the Oxford comma, and its use is the mark of cultural sophistication.)

3. To separate nonrestrictive modifiers from the rest of the sentences:

My only brother, who lives in Brooklyn, got married Saturday. (The clause, “who lives in Brooklyn,” is not necessary to identify the brother, for the writer has only one brother.) My brother who lives in Brooklyn got married Saturday. (The clause, “who lives in Brooklyn,” is necessary to identify the brother if the author has more than one brother. The clause is thus called restrictive, because it restricts, limits, the word it modifies.)

Grammar Review XXIX The Comma (B) Other uses of the comma include:

4. To Separate sppositives from the rest of the sentence: Appositives are alternate ways of making a point already made in the sentence. John, my brother, is coming home for the holidays. His dog, a chihuahua, was eaten by a large goat,

5. To separate parenthetic elements from the rest of the sentence:

A parenthetic element interrupts the sentence to add a word of explanation. The final examination, I am sure, will be challenging. Williams said, however, that the picnic would be delayed.

6. To separate an introductory remark:

Use a comma to separate a word, phrase, clause, or interjection opening a sentence and constituting no part of the main clause of the sentence. Consequently, I had to buy a new car. Ah, today is beautiful! Since you lied to me, I can no longer believe you. Since I am unsure whether Tom did his own writing or purchased his term paper from a term-paper mill, I will submit his paper to Turnitin.com. In the beginning of creation, there was nothing.

Grammar Review XXX The Comma (C) Other uses of the comma include:

7. To separate items in a date or address from the first item:

Brooklyn, New York, is my home town. On May 29, 1453 AD, Constantinople fell to the Turks.

8. To Separate direct address from the rest of the sentence:

Claude, come here. I asked you, Marlene, to bake a cake. Direct address is the addressing of a person by name in verbal or oral communication.

9. To introduce a short quotation ot to separate an interruption from the rest of the quotation:

Paul asked, “Where is dinner?” “If I survive this semester,” Bob said, “I will take a long vacation.”

10. To prevent misreading:

Confusing: Inside the house was brightly decorated. Clear: Inside, the house was brightly decorated.

Grammar Review XXXI The Semicolon

The semicolon is a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period. (;) It is not interchangeably used with a comma.

a. Use a comma to separate independent clauses in a compound sentence: Maria chose a hot dog; Frank chose a hamburger.

\ b. To separate items in a series when a comma is confusing:

Confusing: Mr. Warner, my teacher, Mrs. Costa, my aunt, Miss Rudolph, my colleague, and Mr.

Wilder came with me. [The confusion here concerns the comma; did four or seven people come with me? Are

phrases like “my teacher” and “my colleague” appositives or the identification of other persons? Solve the problem by using semicolons.]

Clear: Mr. Warner, my teacher; Mrs. Costa, my aunt; Miss Rudolph, my colleague; and Mr.

Wilder came with me.

Grammar Review XXXII The Apostrophe The apostrophe indicates the omission of a letter. It must be used; it is not optional.

1. Possessive Case

Singular nouns and pronouns form their possessive cases with the apostrophe + “s”: [See Note below] man = man’s

dog = dog’s Richard Rodgers = Richard Rogers’s Note: Singular pronouns which form their possessive with only the apostrophe are the indefinite pronouns only (someone, anyone, everybody, another, etc.) another = another’s All other pronouns form their possessive without the apostrophe: she = hers he = his who = whose Plural nouns ending in “s” form their possessive cases by adding an apostrophe only: boys = boys’ walruses = walruses’

2. Contractions

A contraction is a union of two words in which one or more letters are omitted in the new word; the omission is marked by an apostrophe. cannot = can’t will not = won’t shall not = shan’t of the clock = o’clock it is = it’s [its = the possessive of it; “its’” does not exist as a form]

3. Plural of Letters and Numbers

The plural of letters and numbers is formed with the apostrophe: He wrote six 9’s on the blackboard. Watch your P’s and Q’s.

Grammar Review XXXIII Quotation Marks

Double quotation marks indicate an exact reproduction of a person’s words; introduce a quotation with a comma if the quotation is a short, complete sentence of a colon if the quotation is a long complete sentence. A quotation that is part of the main statement gets no introductory punctuation:

Walter said, “I will call you later.”

Shakespeare wrote: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest. It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

If you say, “the end is near,” I will ignore you.

Omit quotation marks around an indirect quotation, that is, a paraphrase of someone’s statement.

Walter said that he would be late.

Single quotation marks indicate a quotation inside a quotation:

The professor said, “I want you to memorize Hamlet’s speech beginning, ‘To be or not to be.’” Alterations of Quotations:

Quotations are the property of the original author and may not be altered without a clear indication to the reader that a word, phrase, punctuation mark, upper or lower case letter, or explanation has been added or deleted. To indicate the addition or change of anything in a quotation, use the brackets (not the parentheses): The president said, “The death of [John F.] Kennedy was a turning point in American history.” To indicate the omission of anything in a quotation, use the ellipsis (three spaced periods) within brackets: Shakespeare wrote: “The quality of mercy […] droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven […].” Punctuation of Quotations:

In the United States, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks: The bus driver said, “Please step to the rear.” Colons, semicolons, and dashes are placed outside quotation marks: The bus driver said, “Please step to the rear”; everyone complied.

Question marks and exclamation points are placed inside quotation marks if the quotation is a question or exclamation; if not, the marks go outside the quotation marks:

I asked, “Where may I park my car?” Did you ask, “Where may I park my car?” Did you say, “The parking lot is full?”

Grammar Review XXXIV Underlining (Italics) and Quotation Marks for Titles: Italics are indicated on a typewriter by underlining. For titles, underline the title work (book, newspaper, magazine, periodical, full-length poem or play, film, television series, pamphlet): Henry James’s novel, Washington Square, was made into the film, The Heiress.

quote the title of any work that is part of a larger work (a chapter, essay, short poem or play, n newspaper article, magazine article, short story, television series episode):

The short story, “Clay,” appears in the anthology, Dubliners.

Grammar Review XXXV The Colon and Dash and Hyphen The colon (:) is the Ed Sullivan of punctuation marks. It introduces a list, a series, a long quotation.

Tocqueville said: “In the United States, we easily perceive how the legal profession is qualified by its attributes … to neutralize the vices inherent in popular government.” Please bring the following things to the picnic: mustard, ketchup, watermelon, bagels, salt and pepper, and ant traps.

The dash is used to indicate the separation of a parenthetical remark or a sharp turn of thought in a sentence. It is a stronger separator than the comma and is typed by two short hyphens with no space before, after, or between the hyphens (--) :

After noon, we had an excellent view of the battle – namely, nothing at all. (a sharp turn of thought) When the speech ended – it took nearly three hours – we collapsed in exhaustion. (a parenthetical remark)

The hyphen is used to join two or more words into a single new term: He made a matter-of-fact statement. Sartre called the hero a judge-penitent.

Grammar Review XXXVI Parentheses and Brackets Parentheses separate extraneous comments or explanatory remarks from the rest of the sentence. They are stronger separators than commas and dashes: Mildred wore (we really should say sported) the most flamboyant hat in the wedding. Brackets are not interchangeable with parentheses. Brackets are used exclusively to indicate that something has been inserted into the direct quotation of another writer’s words: The author commented, “We know more about its state [the state of the English language] in the Middle Ages than we do in the Anglo-Saxon era.

C’est fini!