Download Grammar Packet: May

Name: ____________________________________
Period: _______
Grammar Packet:
May
Some of this material has already been covered in class;
some of it will be covered later on. You should be able to do the
packet independently, and it will help you prepare for class.
Submit your Holiday Grammar and Style Packet to the Packet
Box no later than Friday, May 29.
Even if you are able to finish your packet during school
hours, always take it home and ask a relative or homework helper to
review it with you before you turn it in.
If you ever have any trouble, remember you can always come
to my classroom at lunch on the first and last days of the week for
individual help. 
I have no extras. If you lose your packet, you will have to
print another from my teacher website (www.lusd.org/Page/3380).
This Month’s Learning Objectives:
 Correct fragments and run-ons.
 Understand the difference between coordinating and noncoordinating adjectives, and punctuate both types correctly.
 Use multiple-word modifiers (a.k.a. phrases) to add
information to sentences.
 Fix sentences that have dangling modifiers.
 Use one-word and multiple-word modifiers in a narrative.
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Run-Ons and Fragments
Here is a quick review of the two types of sentence errors you
studied last month:
Run-On Sentences
In these sentences, too many clauses are joined into a sentence:
She lost her family she even lost her freedom.
It is still a run-on if you have a single comma joining two
independent clauses. This is called a comma splice:
She lost her family, she even lost her freedom.
Only a comma AND a FANBOY can join two independent clauses. (A
semicolon can also do the job.)
Fragments
A complete sentence must have a subject and a predicate. When it is
missing one or both, it is not a sentence.
The young man in the blue jersey with a #10 on it.
On the wings of dragons that soar over villages and valleys.
Proofread the following essay. You will have to write directly on
the draft to fix it. Here is a partial, basic checklist:
 Tell the writer to INDENT. Draw the pilcrow symbol ¶ to the left
of any line that you believe should be indented.
 Capitalize the beginning of each sentence, proper
nouns/adjectives, and the pronoun “I”.
 Fix all misspelled words, including contractions.
 Fix run-ons, comma splices, and fragments.
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RICK HUNTER
english 7
may, 1 2015
safety 1st!!!!!!!!
You have to be prepared. If you want to go hunting. Some
things you ccould do too be pre pared are to dress warm, you
should also bring sleeping bags. Some people even bring a gun, you
had better be trained good if you do this, you should not let anyone
unlicensed get there hands on the gun.
You shouldnt go in the woods by yourselve, a bear can be in there.
Always take a buddy. Maybe even two or three! Even if the woods
are animal free, people, who don’t have experience can get lost,
make sure you know your directions.
Finaly, fires are good, you should never leeve one
abanoned, but if you take precautions fires is great they keep away
the wildlife and offers warmth, you don’t want to drink water
without purifiyin it.
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Coordinating Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Often, we use more
than one adjective to describe a noun. When we do so, we generally
use commas to separate the adjectives, just as we use commas to
separate items in any list:
Gloria is kind, generous, and fair. (Kind, generous, and fair
describe the noun Gloria.)
Those slimy, disgusting fish were the only food they served at
camp! (Slimy and disgusting describe the noun fish.)
Although you use commas to separate the adjectives, you do NOT
put a comma between the last adjective and the noun:
INCORRECT: Those slimy, disgusting, fish were the only food they
served at camp!
PRACTICE 1
Each sentence has coordinating adjectives that are missing commas.
#1. Add the commas correctly.
#2. Underline the noun that the adjectives describe.
EXAMPLE: I made a wish upon a bright blue twinkling star. 
I made a wish upon a bright, blue, twinkling star.
1. She contemplated the delicious beautiful apple that she was
holding in her hands.
2. He read the ancient suspenseful saga in a night.
3. The cat is sly sneaky and silent.
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Non-Coordinating Adjectives
The majority of adjectives are coordinating, or what we can call
“normal.” We separate them using commas. We are treating them all
as items on a list, as if they are all “equal.”
But are adjectives all equal, or are some more equal than others?
We put the lights on our dear old Christmas tree.
Notice that there are no commas in the above sentence, yet the
sentence is correct. The reason is that some adjectives “matter”
more than others in a sentence.
How can we tell if it is a case where adjectives “matter”? Test #1 is to
see if the adjectives can go in a different order. In this case, they
can’t. This sentence puts the adjectives in a different order, but it
sounds completely wrong:
We put the lights on our Christmas, old, dear tree.
Clearly, in this case, “Christmas” really has to go right next to “tree.”
Also, in English, “old” is usually a more important adjective for most
nouns than any other type. “Old” is not equal to “dear.”
Test #1 was to switch the order of the adjectives; if the result
doesn’t sound right, then there is no need to treat them as “equal”
or coordinating adjectives that require commas. Test #2 is to try to
separate the adjectives with “and” instead of a comma.
If the adjectives “pass” the test, they are coordinating:
My loud, annoying alarm woke me up at 6:30.
My loud and annoying alarm woke me up at 6:30.
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If the adjectives “fail” the test, they are non-coordinating:
My two black shirts are missing.
My two and black shirts are missing.
The second sentence is clearly not good English. “Two” and “black”
are not coordinating. (They also fail Test #1: My black two shirts are
missing makes no sense, either.)
Because “two” and “black” are non-coordinating, we do not put a
comma between them. Remember, commas are only for EQUAL
adjectives. For unequal adjectives that MUST come in a correct order
and that CANNOT take “and,” don’t use commas.
PRACTICE 2
Apply Test #1 (switch the order of the adjectives). Circle whether the
adjectives are coordinating or non-coordinating. Add commas
correctly if the adjectives are coordinating.
Remember: Adjectives that pass Test #1 are coordinating. Adjectives
that don’t pass Test #1 are non-coordinating.
EXAMPLE1:
The powerful relentless sun punished the desert for existing. 
The relentless powerful sun punished the desert for existing.
Coordinating Non-Coordinating
The powerful, relentless sun punished the desert for existing.
1. Carla left a gorgeous fragrant bouquet of flowers on the desk.
Test #1: _______________________________________________________
Coordinating
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Non-Coordinating
Some exercises adapted from Holt First Grammar Course p. 296.
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2. A bright electric light hung from the ceiling.
Test #1: _______________________________________________________
Coordinating
Non-Coordinating
Apply Test #2 (add “and” between the adjectives). Circle whether the
adjectives are coordinating or non-coordinating. Add commas
correctly if the adjectives are coordinating.
EXAMPLE2:
The powerful relentless sun punished the desert for existing. 
The powerful and sun punished the desert for existing.
Coordinating Non-Coordinating
The powerful, relentless sun punished the desert for existing.
3. The squad proudly saluted the new American flag.
Test #2: _______________________________________________________
Coordinating
Non-Coordinating
4. Venus Williams played a powerful brilliant game.
Test #2: _______________________________________________________
Coordinating
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Non-Coordinating
Some exercises adapted from Holt First Grammar Course p. 296.
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Review of One-Word Modifiers
Adjectives and adverbs are two types of speech known as modifiers.
We call them “modifiers” because they “modify” another part of the
sentence—that is, they add information to another part of the
sentence.
They are also called “modifiers” because they are not necessary.
Eliminate them, and your nouns and verbs should still carry the
sentence.
I happily hugged my noisy, ridiculous, adorable puppy.
In this sentence, “happily” is an adverb describing the verb
“hugged.” “Noisy, ridiculous, and adorable” describe “puppy.” If we
eliminate them, our sentence is still correct (though less
descriptive):
I hugged my puppy.
A few things to remember about one-word modifiers:
1) Adverbs can describe verbs or adjectives:
We unhappily ate very sour bananas for lunch.
In this sentence, the adverb “unhappily” describe “ate” (a verb), but
the adverb “very” describes “sour” (an adjective).
2) Adverbs often end in –ly. However, there are many common
adverbs that don’t: very, well, often, sometimes, always, early, late,
and fast.
3) There are also a few adjectives that end in –ly:
The friendly captain asked his new teammate to join them
afterwards for ice cream.
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In the above sentence, “friendly” describes “captain,” which is a
noun.
4) Remember that coordinating adjectives (the most common kind)
require either a comma or the word and to be joined to each other!
INCORRECT: The lot was full of amazing unbelievable vehicles.
CORRECT: The lot was full of amazing, unbelievable vehicles.
PRACTICE 3
Identify whether the given word is an adjective or adverb. Then
draw an arrow showing which word in the sentence the word
modifies.
EXAMPLE: I am sympathetic, sometimes.
sympathetic – Adjective Adverb (arrow points to I)
sometimes – Adjective
Adverb (arrow points to am)
1. That kid always acts like a spoiled brat.
always – Adjective Adverb
spoiled – Adjective Adverb
2. Nate Marshall and Demetrius Amparan are known as incredibly
talented poets!
incredibly – Adjective
Adverb
talented – Adjective
Adverb
3. We left early but still arrived late.
early – Adjective
Adverb
late – Adjective
Adverb
4. The dress with the black and white spots is cute.
black – Adjective
Adverb
white – Adjective
Adverb
cute – Adjective
Adverb
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Multiple-Word Modifiers
Adjectives and adverbs are single words. However, you can have
multiple words that act like a single modifier:
Mrs. Wilson, who gave me the ticket, is really sweet.
Who gave me the ticket is like an adjective because it modifies a
noun (Mrs. Wilson). Also, like an adjective, you can leave it out and
still have a grammatically correct sentence:
Mrs. Wilson is really sweet.
We can come up with a group of words that acts like an adverb, too.
Look at this sentence:
Early in the morning, Jamie finishes all his chores.
Early in the morning describes how Jamie is doing something; it
modifies the word finishes, which is a verb. Therefore, this group of
words is acting like an adverb.
When we have a group of words that work together, like who gave
me the ticket or early in the morning, to do the same job, we call
them modifying phrases.
There are several types of modifying phrases. Study these examples,
but do not worry about the names of the different types of phrases.
Instead, focus on how you can tell what word the phrase modifies.
One helpful hint is that our phrases will modify3 either a noun
(usually) or a verb (sometimes).
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HELPFUL HINT: A more familiar word for “modify” is “describe.” 
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Appositive Phrases
Appositive phrases are always noun phrases, and they always
modify (a.k.a. “describe”) a noun.
Mrs. Tennant, my history teacher, explained how Rome fell.
(My history teacher modifies Mrs. Tennant, a noun.)
I made cards for my siblings, Jane and Austen.
(Jane and Austen modify siblings, a noun.)
My mom made my favorite meal, macaroni and cashews.
(Macaroni and cashews modify meal, a noun.)
Participial Phrases
The participle is the form of a verb that ends in –ing.
Participial phrases begin with a participle. They always modify a
noun.
Rubbing his eyes, Oscar wondered if he was dreaming.
(Rubbing his eyes modifies Oscar, a noun.)
The runners, panting and wheezing, barely made it to the top.
(Panting and wheezing modify the runners, a noun.)
Darting in and out of the crowd, Leah searched desperately.
(Darting in and out of the crowd modifies Leah, a noun.)
Adjective Clauses
Adjective clauses begin with that, which, who, whom, or whose.
These phrases should sound familiar because they are actually a
specific type of clause. This particular type of clause is also a
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phrase. Adjective clauses, as the name implies, always modify a
noun.
The dance that we had in October was a blast.
(That we had in October modifies the dance, a noun.)
I apologized to the man whose toes I had stepped on.
(Whose toes I had stepped on modifies the man, a noun.)
I started to scream, which I later learned is the worst thing to
do in this situation.
(Which I later learned is the worst thing… modifies to scream,
which is the infinitive form of a verb and, therefore, a noun.)
Prepositional Phrases
You studied prepositional phrases in an earlier Grammar Packet.
These always begin with a preposition and always end with a noun.
These phrases can modify either a noun or a verb:
The trip to Los Angeles is very stressful.
(To Los Angeles modifies trip, a noun.)
Don’t forget your pen on my desk.
(On my desk modifies pen, a noun.)
I searched frantically in my backpack.
(In my backpack modifies searched, a verb.)
PRACTICE 4
The modifying phrase is already underlined for you. Highlight or
circle the word that the phrase modifies (a.k.a., the word that the
phrase describes).
EXAMPLE:
Akeem, who is a terrific writer, helped me revise my narrative. 
Akeem, who is a terrific writer, helped me revise my narrative.
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1. Richard, the race car driver, had his license revoked for
speeding too often.
2. I adore that pecan ice cream in your freezer.
3. We ate the plums that you were probably saving for dinner.
4. Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat” has pleased
audiences for over a century.
5. Punching her fist in the air, Kendra cheered.
6. The crowd shouted with all their might.
7. Did you touch the money on my dresser?
8. Apologizing a mile a minute, John and Rachel worked madly to
clean up the mess they had made.
Dangling or Misplaced
Modifiers
The antecedent is the name for the part of the sentence that a
modifier describes:
Mrs. Wilson, who gave me the ticket, is really sweet.
MODIFIER: who gave me the tickets
ANTECEDENT: Mrs. Wilson
There is an important rule when writing a sentence with a modifier:
KEEP YOUR MODIFIER AND YOUR ANTECEDENT AS CLOSE TOGETHER
AS POSSIBLE!
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A famous (and sometimes hilarious) type of mistake made by writers
too lazy to edit their work is called a dangling modifier or a
misplaced modifier.
Technically, a dangling modifier means a modifier that has no
antecedent. This is a big error. You must rewrite the sentence so
that the modifier has an antecedent:
With a sigh, the tablet was abandoned.
The phrase is with a sigh, but what noun is it describing? The only
noun in the independent clause is tablet, and tablets clearly cannot
sigh!
The sentence needs to be rewritten so that the sigh-er is clearly
identified:
With a sigh, Perry abandoned the tablet.
Ah-ha! Perry! There you are. The above sentence is well-written.
Most of the time in these poorly-written sentences, there is an
antecedent. However, the sentence is so messy that it can be
difficult to tell what the modifier is supposed to describe:
Though often stupid and pointless, Congress passes many bills
each year.
The modifier though often stupid and pointless describes the bills,
not Congress… probably. It’s hard to say! The writer meant to
describe her opinion of the bills, but, since she broke the biggest
rule of modifiers (KEEP IT CLOSE TO THE ANTECEDENT!), it’s difficult
for the reader to figure out what she’s saying.
One more classic misplaced modifier:
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.
Wait… who was wearing the pajamas?
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PRACTICE 54
Highlight or circle the word that each underlined phrase modifies.
If the antecedent is as close to the modifier as possible, label the
sentence as “Correct.” If the antecedent is confusingly far from the
modifier, label the sentence as “Misplaced Modifier.” If you cannot
find the antecedent, you do not have to highlight or circle anything,
but make sure to label the sentence as “Dangling Modifier.”
EXAMPLE:
She handed out cookies to the children who had turned in all their
homework that semester. 
Correct Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
She handed out cookies to the children who had turned in all
their homework that semester.
Emitting thick black smoke from the midsection, I realized that
something was wrong.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
1. Oozing slowly across the floor, Marvin watched the salad
dressing.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
2. The candy machine that had just eaten my quarter began to hum
loudly.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
3. She found the coin wandering down the sidewalk.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
4. Walking past the cemetery, an open coffin frightened me.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
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Many of these exercises are modified from https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CommonErrors_BestMod.html.
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5. Yawning and procrastinating, the students slowly got to work on
their Grammar Packets.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
6. He wore a straw hat on his head, which was obviously too small.
Correct
Misplaced/Dangling Modifier
Write It!
This month’s Write It! is optional. Any points you earn are extra
credit.
This Month’s Challenge:
Use as many multiple-word modifiers as you can. You get 1 point for
each one you correctly use AND correctly mark, for a maximum of
10 extra credit points.
Underline each modifier you write. Circle its antecedent. Finally,
draw an arrow from the modifier to the antecedent.
You with get no credit if you fail to make these annotations.
Feel free to write about absolutely any topic of your choice.
If you are stumped, describe your favorite meal and how your family
obtains it.
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Proofread! ** Indent your paragraph. ** Make sure your paragraph
is at least 8 sentences and enjoyable to read. ** Make sure you use
modifying phrases. ** Capitalize each sentence and all proper
nouns and adjectives. ** Make sure you have correct endpunctuation. ** Look up the spelling of words you are unsure of. Fix
ANYTHING you have learned this year how to fix.
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Grading Rubric:
“Sotp!” Proofreading Exercise (p. 3)5:
_____/15
Practice #1 (p. 4)
_____/3
Practice #2 (p. 7)
_____/4
Practice #3 (p. 9)
_____/4
Practice #4 (p. 13)
_____/8
Practice #5 (p. 15-16)
_____/6
Total (without extra credit)
_____/40
Write It! (p.11-12)
_____/10
Total
_____/40
Source: http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/files/K-12/Curriculum/english-languagearts/Feb-2010/nonfiction-writing-samples-1-6.pdf
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