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© David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com Introduction As an English teacher, I always found grammar to be a tough sell for kids. They weren’t really all that interested in it for one thing. Identifying the parts of speech and fixing run-­‐ons and fragments has never been the most exciting part of language arts. Frequently kids would ask, “when are we ever going to use this?” (a valid question) or “we learned this in third grade. Why are we still doing it in high school?” The answer to the second question is embedded in the first: we still teach grammar in high school because students don’t learn it the first time, finding no value in it. However, grammar is important, and teachers shouldn’t neglect it just because students find it boring. The Grammar Comics series came out of a desire to bring life and entertainment to the study of grammar to engage students in the learning of their language. Of course, fun grammar lessons have been tried before, mainly by matronly English writers who condescendingly make bad grammar a sign of moral decay. Grammar Comics, however, is designed to meet kids where they are. Each cartoon teaches a particular concept with humor and wit to accomplish two goals. First, we all know that when students are actively engaged in a lesson, they will learn more. These cartoons are designed to help kids get interested in the topic. Perhaps more importantly, these cartoons will present a concept with a visual that will help embed the lesson in the students’ minds. I have also supplied worksheets for additional practice after each lesson. The cartoons can work without the worksheets, and vice versa. The idea is that you can copy the cartoon and put the worksheet on the back. While students may need extra practice beyond the few that I provide, there is no shortage of example sentences online for teachers to use. Thus after a wayward youth spent reading comic strips and MAD Magazine and a stint in college as a cartoonist on the school newspaper, I ventured into the classroom to teach students how to read and write. Grammar Comics combined my love of both and I am pleased at how well they have been received. I hope you and your students enjoy using them as much as I did creating them. David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com vague pronouns
Every pronoun should refer back to a specific noun. This noun is called the antecedent of the pronoun. One problem with grammar and spelling tools in word processing programs is that they rarely catch vague pronouns. Look at the following sentence:
They say eating pretzels makes you a genius. In this sentence, “they” doesn’t refer back to a specific noun. You can fix this error by changing the pronoun to a specific noun: A group of doctors has said that eating pretzels makes you a genius. The following sentence has another common pronoun error: Norman’s brother said that he ate pretzels before his math test. Does “he” refer to Norman, or his brother? We don’t know for sure. You can fix this error by replacing the pronoun: Norman’s brother said that Norman ate pretzels before his math test. Here’s another sentence with a mistake: I had a pretzel stuck in my throat once. It was scary. “It” does not refer back to a specific noun, but instead to the entire dependent clause. Eliminate the pronoun. I had a pretzel stuck in my throat once. That experience was scary. You can always try to rephrase a sentence to fix a vague pronoun as well: One scary experience from my childhood was when I had a pretzel caught in my throat. EXERCISES: Revise the following sentences to correct problems with faulty pronoun reference. 1.
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It is important to brush your teeth after every meal. Tom had to go to the dentist because of a cavity. This made him nervous. Susie’s mom bought her toothpaste at the grocery store. Henry’s mouth hurt because he ate some hot pizza and burned it. Don’t drink orange juice after brushing your teeth. It will taste weird. After a visit to the dentist’s office, you will realize how friendly he is. People who floss notice a change in the number of cavities they have when they do it regularly. 8. Eating a lot of sweets can cause tooth decay. This is why you should limit that amount of sugar you eat. 9. Being a dentist can be a rewarding career. This is why Dennis decided to major in it. 10. Melissa went with her mother to the dentist’s office because she was scared. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com VAGUE PRONOUNS EXERCISE KEY
Because of the nature of vague pronouns, more than one way to fix any of these sentences is possible. Teachers are encouraged to explore the various options with each sentence, either by asking students to do a couple of revisions of each sentence or by sharing the various possibilities as a class once the revisions are completed. Pay particular attention to whether or not the intended meaning of each sentence is preserved through each revision. 1. “It” does not refer back to a specific pronoun. Brushing your teeth after every meal is important. 2. “This” refers back to the entire dependent clause and not a specific pronoun. Tom was nervous because he had to go to the dentist because of a cavity. OR: Tom nervously went to the dentist to have a cavity removed. 3. Who is “her?” Susie, or Susie’s mom? Susie’s mom bought Susie toothpaste at the grocery store. 4. This sentence actually has two vague pronouns. “He” does not clearly refer to Henry and “it” does not refer back to a specific noun (either the pizza or mouth could be the antecedent.) Therefore: Henry burned his mouth on the hot pizza he ate. OR: Henry ate hot pizza and burned his mouth. 5. It refers back to the entire dependent clause and not a specific noun. Drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth will taste weird. 6. In this sentence “he” refers back to “office,” not “dentist.” After a visit to the dentist’s office, you will notice how friendly the dentist is. OR: You will notice how friendly the dentist is after visiting his office. 7. What is “it?” People who floss regularly will notice a change in the number of cavities they have. 8. “This” refers back to the entire dependent clause and not a specific pronoun. You should limit the amount of sweets that you eat because too much sugar can cause tooth decay. 9. “This” refers back to the entire dependent clause, not a specific noun. Dennis decided to major in dentistry because he thought dentistry might be a rewarding career. (Notice that you cannot use “it” for dentistry in the previous sentence because the pronoun would still be vague.) 10. Who was scared? Melissa, or her mother? Melissa was scared to go to the dentist’s office, so she went with her mother. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
Sentence fragments are incomplete thoughts. Just like you are dependent on your parents for food and a place to live, sentence fragments are dependent clauses that cannot exist on their own. A dependent clause either needs to be joined to an independent clause (just like you must be connected to your parents, who are perfectly able to live on their own without you) or by becoming an independent clause (just as you could become independent by moving out and getting a job.) Here’s an example of a sentence fragment: Because you wore that hat. Did you notice how the sentence is an incomplete thought? Because you wore that hat what will happen? We don’t know. Because you wore that hat I will take you to lunch. Now we know what will happen; you look really terrific in that hat, so I’m going to treat you to lunch because of your gifted sense of fashion. We have joined the fragment to an independent clause; “I will take you to lunch” works fine as a sentence on its own. Of course another option would be: Your hair is a mess because you wore that hat. Now the fragment follows the dependent clause. Another option is to get rid of “because” since that word is causing all of the trouble: You wore that hat. Therefore, I will take you to lunch. Exercises: Revise the following sentence fragments by either making them independent clauses or joining them to independent clauses. 1. Although eating a dozen cookies for lunch is tempting. 2. Which is hard to believe. 3. Unless you earn more than ten dollars a week. 4. Because you didn’t use suntan lotion. 5. By going to bed an extra hour early can increase your focus during the day. 6. Ever since John went to Rome. 7. Who wears glasses and likes to play table tennis. 8. While sitting next to the fireplace. 9. After you eat dinner. 10. Everybody in the audience.
© David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com SENTENCE FRAGMENTS KEY Each fragment has many possible fixes, and students are encouraged to explore various corrections. Perhaps you may want students to create three completely different ways to fix each fragment to reinforce that one correct answer does not exist. You may also encourage them to fix sentences by using specific methods: create an independent clause by removing a word or words, add an independent clause to the end of the fragment, add an independent clause to the beginning of the fragment, and so on. Teachers are also encouraged to explore the various shades of meaning that result from moving the dependent clause to various parts of the sentence. For example, does “Although eating a dozen cookies for lunch is tempting, you will probably get sick” mean the same as, “You will probably get sick, although eating a dozen cookies before lunch is tempting?” Both are grammatically correct, but which one sounds better? Which one captures the intended message best? Teachers can also encourage students to try to create sentences in which the independent clause has a completely different meaning each time. Here are some examples using the first fragment. Eating a dozen cookies for lunch is tempting. (Removing words to create an independent clause.) Although eating a dozen cookies for lunch is tempting, you will probably get sick. (Adding an independent clause, “You will probably get sick,” to the end of the fragment.) I will have a sandwich, although eating a dozen cookies for lunch is tempting. (Adding a dependent clause, “I think I will have a sandwich,” to the beginning of the fragment.) Of course in this last example it may make sense to move “for lunch” and possibly adding a word: I will have a sandwich for lunch, although eating a dozen cookies instead is tempting. The possibilities are endless, and allowing students opportunities for language play allows them to gain control and mastery over the language. When they understand the nuances possible in manipulating sentences, they will become better writers.
© David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com RUN-ON SENTENCES Run-­‐on sentences can be easy to fix, but hard to spot. The reason for the difficulty is that usually we can figure out what the writer intended to say. For example: I like to eat Henry likes to cook. Surely you could figure out what was meant in this sentence. But just for a second didn’t you think the sentence said, “I like to eat Henry?” Then your brain unscrambled it. Your job is to make reading as clear and effortless and possible, and run-­‐ons make extra work for your reader. To indentify a run-­‐on, look for a place where a pause occurs but no punctuation is present to indicate that pause (it may help to read your writing out loud). However, be careful that you don’t create another problem called a comma splice. A comma alone cannot be used to join two sentences together: Incorrect: I like to eat, Henry like to cook. There are three ways to fix run-­‐ons and comma splices. The first would be to split the run-­‐
on or comma splice into two sentences by adding a period. I like to eat. Henry likes to cook. The second method involves adding a comma and a coordinating conjunction: for, and, not, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS). However, you need to ensure that you use the right conjunction for what you want to write. I like to eat, and Henry likes to cook. (Both of you enjoy doing different activities) I like to eat, but Henry likes to cook. (Henry likes cooking more than eating) I like to eat, so Henry likes to cook. (Henry cooks because you appreciate his food) You may also use a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb: therefore, nevertheless, otherwise, etc. Just like with conjunctions, you need to select the appropriate conjunctive adverb that means precisely what you want. I like to eat; therefore, Henry likes to cook. Exercises: Fix the following run-­‐ons and comma splices. 1. I need some milk please go to the store. 2. Harold is a good football player he will be the starting quarterback. 3. I need a quiet room, I need to study. 4. Sue is throwing a surprise party for Joe don’t tell him. 5. The dog ran to his bowl he needed a drink. 6. Jeff’s mother is coming to take Jeff home from school, he has a fever. 7. Mr. Smeltz was proud of his English class all of them did their homework. 8. Alaska is a large state few people live there. 9. Summer vacation starts tomorrow everyone is very excited. 10. Please return that library book others are waiting to read it. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com RUN-ON SENTENCES KEY
The biggest problem students have with run-­‐ons is finding them. The best way for students to identify run-­‐ons is to have them slow down and listen to their own writing in their head. In some cases, reading their writing out loud may help. Have them develop awareness for the natural pauses in their sentences. A pause requires punctuation of some kind. Students who understand the concept of subjects and predicates can be prompted to look for sentences with more than one subject and more than one predicate. Teachers may find value in having students use more than one method to fix each sentence. Students can then explore the different meanings that result from each choice. In general, one fix may “sound” better than another, and one solution works best out of all the choices. Teachers can also use run-­‐on sentences to teach the meaning behind the various conjunctions. The FANBOYS acronym is a convenient way that students can learn them. Students will learn that the meaning of sentences changes with each conjunction is subtle and not so subtle ways. Finally, run-­‐ons sentences are an effective way to teach the semicolon, a useful bit of punctuation that many students use sparingly (and often incorrectly.) Semicolons frequently get little attention in many classrooms. However, appropriate semicolon use increases the sophistication of writing and arms students with another tool to better express themselves as authors. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs. This rule is easy to grasp, but several situations can cause problems. The first problem occurs when words come between the subject and the verb: Incorrect: Pancakes with syrup sounds yummy. Syrup is closest to the verb, but the subject is actually pancakes. Since pancakes is plural, it requires the plural form of the verb. Therefore, the sentence should be: Pancakes with syrup sound yummy. The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody, neither, either are singular and always require singular verbs. Everyone has to take the driving test. No one is allowed to skip it. Each is also singular and is particularly troublesome because a prepositional phrase can follow it. Each of my parents wear glasses. While and joins two words, nor and or do not combine. When using or and nor, the word closest to the subject determines whether or not the verb is singular or plural. Neither Sam nor his friends take geometry. Either my sisters or my dad is picking me up. Collective nouns like group, committee, and team, which imply more than one person, are singular. The group studies for the chemistry test. There are several other exceptions to the rules for subject-­‐verb agreement, but these are the most common problems you will encounter. Exercises: Correct the subject-­‐verb agreement problems in the following sentences. 1. The girls who left the classroom is headed to the gym. 2. Each of the trees drop their leaves in the fall. 3. Everyone are going to take swim lessons. 4. The runner, who spent the entire summer training for races, are going to win first place. 5. Neither potato chips nor ice cream sound good for a snack. 6. Either your parents or I needs to go to the store for groceries. 7. Anyone who wants to play football with the rest of us need to meet by the flagpole. 8. Your brothers and your sister likes to read mysteries. 9. The monkeys who live in the zoo enjoys the daily visitors. 10. The problems on that assignment requires a great deal of time to complete. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT KEY
First off, tricky subject-­‐verb agreement is a great lesson on the shortcomings of grammar check programs on software. The program used to create this book did not catch many of the errors in the examples and exercises. There are many, many rules and exceptions to subject-­‐verb agreement, and students can easily become confused when the study of grammar becomes a lengthy list of items to memorize. Teachers are encouraged to study their students’ writing to find the most common examples and focus on those. The examples highlighted in the worksheet cover the most likely errors, but a more thorough approach may require additional rules, such as those that cover subjects in school (Mathematics is singular, for instance.) The subject and the verb below are in bold in the answers. 1. The girls who left the classroom are headed to the gym. 2. Each of the trees drops their leaves in the fall. 3. Everyone is going to take swim lessons. 4. The runner, who spent the entire summer training for races, is going to win first place. 5. Neither potato chips nor ice cream sounds good for a snack. (Neither potato chips nor ice cream is the complete subject, but ice cream is closest to the verb.) 6. Either your parents or I need to go to the store for groceries. (Either your parents or I is the complete subject, but I is closest to the verb.) 7. Anyone who wants to play football with the rest of us needs to meet by the flagpole. 8. Your brothers and your sister like to read mysteries. 9. The monkeys who live in the zoo enjoy the daily visitors. 10. The problems on that assignment require a great deal of time to complete. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com MISPLACED MODIFIERS
Misplaced modifiers can create some funny sentences. Katie walked the dog wearing her new skirt. Clearly the intended meaning is that Katie is wearing the skirt. However, because of where “wearing the skirt” is placed, the dog is wearing the skirt. Modifiers are words or groups of words that describe something else. A misplaced modifier is separated from the word it describes. Fixing a misplaced modifier is usually pretty simple. Move the modifier next to or as close as possible to the word it modifies. Sometimes you may need to change some words. Katie wore her new skirt while walking the dog. You need to be careful with some adverbs as well. Jeff almost worked at the post office for two hours. (Jeff may not have worked at all.) Jeff worked at the post office for almost two hours. (Jeff worked close to two hours.) A dangling modifier does not modify anything in a sentence at all. Having eaten all of the cake, the dishes were cleared off of the table. Unless the dishes ate the cake, this sentence is missing a clear subject. Having eaten all of the cake, the guests cleared the dishes off of the table. Exercises: Correct the misplaced modifiers in the following sentences. 1. Without having the time, it is difficult to exercise. 2. I swam in the pool using my goggles. 3. Stacked next to the bed, I began to read all of my library books. 4. While driving a car, the speed limit must be followed. 5. I read about some serious vandalism in the newspaper. 6. Cooking in the oven, Jack thought the roast chicken smelled terrific. 7. Jack searched for information on World War II in the library. 8. My sister was accepted into the arts program with a terrific portfolio. 9. Feeling hungry, a sandwich was all I needed. 10. Peg went skiing on the mountain with her friend. For the following sentences, practice inserting the word in parentheses in various places to see how the meaning of the sentence changes. Jamie was asked to sell the prom tickets. (just) We spent the money we had earned. (carefully) © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com MISPLACED MODIFIERS KEY
The following corrections are just some of the possibilities for revision. Some revisions move the modifier to another part of the original sentence; other corrections involved minor tweaking to words and phrases to improve clarity. Students should be encouraged to think beyond just moving the modifier. They should find what sounds right and makes sense no matter what they need to do to get to that point. 1. People find it difficult to exercise when they don’t have the time. 2. I swam using my goggles in the pool. 3. I began to read all of my library books that were stacked next to my bed. 4. While driving a car you must follow the speed limit. 5. I read in the newspaper that there was serious vandalism. 6. Jack thought the roast chicken cooking in the oven smelled terrific. 7. Jack searched in the library for information on World War II. 8. My sister was accepted into the arts program because of her terrific portfolio. 9. I was hungry, and a sandwich was all I needed. 10. Peg went skiing with her friend on the mountain. The following two sentences offer an opportunity to practice some language play. Only Jamie was asked to sell the prom tickets. Jamie was only asked to sell the prom tickets. Jamie was asked to sell only the prom tickets. We spent carefully the money that we had earned. We spent the money we had earned carefully. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com http://www.comicteacher.com PARALLEL STRUCTURE
Parallel structure will help improve the clarity and efficiency of your writing. All of the items in a series should use the same form, regardless of whether or not they are words, phrases, or clauses. Incorrect: Chloe is cute, intelligent, and knows a lot of good jokes. Cute and intelligent are both adjectives. Knows is a verb. Therefore, to revise this sentence to improve the parallel structure you would write: Chloe is cute, intelligent, and funny. Alternatively, you could do this: Chloe has a terrific smile, a well-­developed intelligence, and a good sense of humor. But you don’t want to do this: Incorrect: Chloe has a terrific smile, intelligence, and a good sense of humor. Notice that the only part of the series without an a is intelligence. If each of the other two parts begins with a, then the third part must as well. Avoid mixing verb forms as well: Incorrect: Chloe likes playing tennis, watching movies, or to ride her bike. Correct: Chloe likes to play tennis, to watch movies, or to ride her bike. Or: Chloe likes to play tennis, watch movies, or ride her bike. Be careful with long phrases as well: Incorrect: Mr. Hernandez told his students that they should do their homework, that they study for their vocabulary test, and to read some articles. Correct: Mr. Hernandez told his students that they should do their homework, study for their vocabulary test, and read some articles. Exercises: correct the parallel structure in the following sentences. 1. Betty has a dog, a cat, and she just bought a turtle. 2. Samuel was looking for a job that paid well, had good hours, and he wanted to work close to home. 3. I received presents for Christmas, for my birthday, and I got a gift for graduation. 4. Your teacher and what he has taught you will come in handy in life. 5. Ryan likes biking better than to walk. 6. Taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and breakfast are all important parts of my morning routine. 7. I want to learn how to play guitar, write songs, and be able to read music. 8. The dog needed a bath and also grooming. 9. The children were excited to be at the park and starting to play on the new equipment. 10. We spent our lunch hour eating sandwiches, soup, and drinking lemonade. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com PARALLEL STRUCTURE KEY
Students should pay attention to parallel structure because it will make their writing more clear and efficient. However, parallel structure can also be a convenient way to review parts of speech: verbs, nouns, adjectives, and the like. However, it is not absolutely necessary to know the parts of speech in order to create parallel structure as long as students are able to recognize the patterns that they are using. Although an answer key is provided, teachers should also explore the different ways to fix these sentences. Many times a solution will be a matter of personal preference and may involve several tweaks to make the sentence sound right. Class discussion about what solutions work best from the students’ examples will encourage learning for all involved. 1. Betty has a dog, a cat, and a turtle. (discuss with students whether or not there is a way to keep the “bought” part of the sentence while fixing the parallel structure. I would suggest “Betty bought a dog and a cat. She also just bought a turtle.”) 2. Samuel was looking for a job with a good salary, good hours, and a desirable location. 3. I received presents for Christmas, for my birthday, and for graduation. 4. Your teacher and his has lessons will come in handy in life. 5. Ryan likes biking better than walking. 6. Taking a shower, brushing your teeth, and eating breakfast are all important parts of my morning routine. 7. I want to learn how to play guitar, write songs, and read music. (or “to play guitar, to write songs, and to read music.”) 8. The dog needed a bath and a grooming. 9. The children were excited to go to the park and play on the new equipment. 10. We spent our lunch hour enjoying sandwiches, soup and lemonade. © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com © David Rickert http://www.comicteacher.com