WRITING & LANGUAGE
GRAMMAR & PUNCTUATION RULES
CLASS NOTES
1) SENTENCE STRUCTURE
COMPLETE SENTENCE = INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
(A SUBJECT – A VERB – A COMPLETE THOUGHT)
EXAMPLE: BECAUSE SHE RAN. (INCORRECT) – Sentence fragment
CORRECT: Because she ran, she managed to catch the bus on time.
Strategy: NVC (Nicky vacuumed the carpet)
2) COMBINING 2 INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
EITHER A SEMICOLON (;) OR A COMMA (,) WITH A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION
Strategy: FANBOYS (For – And – Nor – But – Or – Yet – So)
INCORRECT: I love tacos I would eat them every day if I could.
CORRECT: I love tacos, and I would eat them ….
CORRECT: I love tacos; I would eat them ….
3) Comma without fanboys – Comma Splice
INCORRECT: I love tacos, I would eat them every day if I could. (…., and ….)
4) Know the difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
Subordinating Conjunctions: Although – After – As – Before – Because – By the time – Even if – Even though –
If – Until – Unless – Since – Wherever – While
They link a dependent clause to an independent clause.
INCORRECT: Work on Sundays, and you’re hired.
CORRECT: If you work on Sundays, you’re hired.
INCORRECT: Bobby always overslept, and he was late to class.
Correct: Bobby was late because he always overslept.
Strategy: Use the mnemonic A WHITE BUS
5) PARALLEL STRUCTURE
Sentences alike in function must be alike in structure.
Incorrect: I love biking, hiking, to run, and swimming. (running)
Incorrect: The teacher said Alex was a good student because he participated in class, studied
frequently, and never turned his work in late.
Correct: ……….. and turned his work in on time.
6) Modifiers (words, phrases or clauses that add explanation, emphasis or detail to a sense)
Red apple
Mr Barn, the principal, knew the name of every student in the building.
INCORRECT: We bought a cat for my sister named Socks.
Correct: We bought a cat named Socks for my sister.
7) Dangling Modifiers
Incorrect: With a sad sigh, the empty mailbox was closed.
Correct: With a sad sigh, Jessica closed the empty mailbox.
Strategy: Is it clear who or what these words and phrases are describing?
Watch out:
Misplaced modifiers – you need to move the modifier. (Socks – cat)
Dangling modifiers – require you to add sth new to the sentence. (Mailbox – Jessica)
8) Verb tenses ( Logical & Consistent)
INCORRECT: Although Jamie is once afraid to ride roller coasters, she loves them now.
Correct: Although Jamie was once …..
9) Nouns & Verbs must agree in number (Singular or plural)
One person eats / Two people eat
INCORRECT: The bathroom in most people’s homes are the smallest room. (is)
INCORRECT: There is a cake and three types of cookies on the dessert table. (are)
Strategies: 1st find the subject / 2nd find the verb / 3rd Ask: Are they both S or PL?
RULE: Collective Nouns (They stand for a group) / class, family, hers, pack, set)
Treat them as singular.
Your family enjoys going on bike rides.
10) Pronouns must have clear antecedents.
Pronouns: I, me, he, she, they, you, it
Antecedent: The word that the pronoun is referring to or replacing it.
Sam (antecedent) is a cook. He (pronoun) cooks delicious Chinese food.
INCORRECT: After the students brought the wrong forms to school, the teacher sent them back home.
Correct: ……………, the teacher sent the forms back home.
What’s unclear? Teacher sent the SS home or the forms home?
ASK: What noun is the pronoun replacing?
11) Understand the difference between it’s and its
ITS – possessive
IT’s – contraction of either It has or It is
_IT’S_ time for school. (It is)
Florida is known as a great summer vacation spot with it’s warm weather. (its)
Strategy: Break the sentence down. Does “it is” or “it has” make sense here?
12) Understand the difference between your & you’re
Incorrect: Your excited to see what the future holds.
Correct: You’re …
13) Understand the difference among their, there and they’re
Their – sth belongs to them
There – refers to a place
They’re – contraction of “they are”
INCorrect: Students were eager to get back to they’re own houses. (their)
14) Understand the difference between affect & effect and other commonly confused words.
Affect(v) – to influence
Effect(n) – result
Accept vs except
Proceed vs precede
Complement vs compliment
Sight vs site vs cite
Then vs than
Conscious vs conscience
Elicit vs illicit
Make flashcards for these commonly confused words with their parts of speech and example sentences.
15) Avoid illogical comparisons (They come in 2 ways)
*** 2 things can be compared. They must be alike in some way.
INCORRECT: I like Beymen’s shoes better than Peter. (1 clothing item is being compared to a human
being ????!!!!)
Correct: I like Beymen’s shoes better than Peter’s shoes. (2 clothing items are being compared now.)
*** You can’t compare an object to all things of that type.
Instead, you can use a phrase like “all other” or “any other”
INCORRECT: In my family, we eat pizza more than any food.
(Pizza is also a type of food. You can’t eat pizza more than pizza.)
Correct: In my family, we eat pizza more than any other food. (You’re excluding pizza)
Strategy: If you see “than”, be wary of comparisons that include the words “any” or “all”.
PUNCTUATION
16) Know when to end a sentence with a period, question mark or exclamation point.
Period (.) A Q. Mark (?) Exclamation Points (!)
a) It ends a declarative Naturally it ends a question. Show emphasis or excitement.
statement or a statement Sometimes it indicates surprise. Used with interjections.
of fact. Wow!
b) Also, it ends an imperative Really?
statement. You didn’t clean your room?
(Clean your room.)
INCORRECT: I OFTEN WONDERED ABOUT MY FUTURE, LIKE WHAT I WOULD BE WHEN I GREW UP? (.) – WHY?
THIS IS A DECLARATIVE STATEMENT.
17) Know how to correctly use a colon /:/
***To separate two independent clauses if the 2nd clause provides a definition, example, or explanation of the
1st clause.
Our school is one of the best in Izmir: we have high test scores and a strong STEM curriculum.
***Colons may be used after an independent clause when the independent clause is followed by a list.
I have many after-school activities: band, soccer, and robotics club.
18) (; ) semicolon
They link two independent clauses. You don’t need to use any conjunction with it.
You can use semicolon with the word “however” (The 1st independent clause must be followed by semicolon –
however must be followed by a comma.
I like dogs; however, I know that some people do not.
19) Commas
a) …. , and ….. (To separate independent clauses when they are linked with a coordinating conjunction.)
I like to ride bikes, and I like to read books.
b) ….., which is ….., (non-essential info)
Next Thursday, which is my sister’s birthday, is the first day of basketball try-outs.
c) Lists (My fav drinks are iced coffee, green tea, and water.)
d) Separating adjectives describing the same noun (Your daughter has a happy, sunny personality.)
e) Geographical names and dates (Orlando, Florida on Oct. 27, 2005)
f) Before and after quotation marks “During lunch,” she said, “let’s study for our exam.”
g) Addressing someone by name. (Ms. Tayran, when is our test?)
**** Fold a sheet of paper in half. In one column list each proper use of comma. In the other column, provide
an example.
20) Use commas and sometimes semicolons to separate items in a list.
There is an exception to this rule: If any of the items in the list contain a comma, you can separate them with a
semicolon instead.
The parents chaperoning the dance included Mr. Parker, Steve’s dad; Mrs. Grant, Tevin’s mom; and Mrs.
Thompson, Deliah’s mom.
Strategy: If you notice a list with excessive commas, see whether any of the items themselves contain a
comma. If so, know that you can separate the list items with semicolons instead.
Remember that the semicolons go at the end of each item. You will still use commas within the list items if
they are needed.
Final Thoughts
*** Continue practicing until you’ve made progress.
*** Read often, paying attention to grammar and punctuation.
Best of luck (Hey you don’t need luck - Practice, practice, practice! )
Ms.Tayran
