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Learning to use the
Grammar Hammer
A, B, C Noun
 When
you use three adjectives
to describe a noun, separate
them with commas:
 EX: She wore an itsy, bitsy,
polka-dot bikini.
S, conjunction S



Sentence, conjunction sentence
Conjunctions:
– And
- Nor
– Or
- So
– For
- Yet
– But
EX: Sally swerved to miss the car, and she hit a
tree.
S;S



Sentence; Sentence
S: I want to attend the University of Florida
S: UF has one of the top advertising
programs.
 S;S:
I want to attend the University
of Florida; UF has one of the top
advertising programs.
S; SC, S



Sentence; sentence connector, sentence
Sentence connectors: however, therefore, moreover
(transitions)
EX: Rick went speeding by a police car; however, he
was not pulled over.
–
–
–
S: Rick went speeding by a police car;
SC: however,
S: he was not pulled over.
A, B, conjunction C

I love apples, bananas, and carrots.
–
–

A: Apples
B: bananas
Conjunction: and
EX:
C: carrots
NP, Appositive,




Julie Nye, the only girl in the class, received
the highest grade on the math test.
Noun Phrase: Julie Nye
Appositive (what describes her?): the only
girl in the class
The appositive CAN be removed and still
makes sense.
NP, Appositive,



As a test, if you can take out the
questionable phrase from the sentence and
it still makes sense, then separate it with
commas.
EX: Mrs. Cavicchia, previously Ms.
Sammons, used to work for Teen People
magazine.
You CAN remove the phrase between the
commas and it still makes sense: Mrs.
Cavicchia used to work for Teen People
magazine.
LB,S




Left Branch, Sentence
Sentence starts with transition, -ly or –ing
word
Lovingly, she kissed his cheek.
Running after the ball, he dove to make the
catch.
Although she loves tomatoes, she hates
ketchup.
Subject and Verb Agreement
Bad Swing: An important function of
managers are delegating responsibility.
 Direct Hit: An important function of
managers is delegating responsibility.
 The subject of the sentence is function,
NOT manager; the verb should
describe the action of the subject.

Subject and Verb Agreement:
Plural
Subjects joined by and require a plural
verb:
– Direct Hit: An English teacher and a
red pen make a dangerous mix.
 To determine a plural verb, replace the
subjects with Kate and I
 EX: Kate and I make or makes?

Subject and Verb Agreement:
Singular

Require singular verbs:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Amounts
Anybody
Anyone
Each
Every
Everyone
Much
No one
One
Other
Somebody
something


EX: Two hours is a
normal commute for
many modern
business people.
EX: Everyone learns
the basics of a
language by the age
of four.
Subject and Verb Agreement:
Singular



Titles of written works, company names, films
and other works of art require singular verbs.
EX: Procter and Gamble is best known for its
employee benefits.
EX: Writing: Research, Theory and
Application is a valuable book for English
teachers.
Subject and Verb Agreement:
Singular

Some subjects refer to groups of people yet
require singular verbs:
–
–
–

Team
Family
Jury
- Crowd
- Class
- Committee
EX: The team from R and D was nicknamed
the Widget Wizards of the West.
Subject and Verb Agreement:
Correlatives




When you have two subjects and they are joined
by:
– Or, either…or
– neither…nor
– Not only…but
The verb agrees with the nearer subject:
EX: Neither incorrect punctuation nor misspellings
appear as mistakes in spoken English
EX: Neither misspellings nor incorrect punctuation
appears as a mistake in spoken English.
Confusing Contractions


It’s = it is or it has
They’re = they are
–
–



there = place
their = people
You’re = you are
Who’s = who is
Try to avoid contractions in formal writing
Possessive words



To show possession, add ‘s to singular words:
– Captain Hook’s claw
– Today’s educated teens
Add ‘s to plurals that do not end in s:
– The children’s toys
– Women’s studies program
Add only an apostrophe to plural words ending in
s:
– English speakers’ attitudes
– Ms. Sammons’ red pen
Capitalization




Names of people: John Smith, Jane Doe
Specific names of places: the South, Wall
Street
Names of nationalities, races and languages:
Arab, Spanish, Iranian
Names of religions, followers and holy books:
Islam-Muslims-the Koran / Judaism-Jews-the
Talmud
Capitalization (cont’d)



Names of organizations and institutions: Rotary
Club, United States Senate, University of Florida
Names of historical events and documents: the
Vietnam War, the Mayflower Compact, the
Constitution
Days, holidays and months (but not seasons):
Friday, Labor Day, July (but not spring, fall,
winter summer)
Capitalization (cont’d)

The first, last and all MAJOR words in titles and
subtitles: The Country of the Pointed Firs

Trademarks and trade names: Ford Motors, Kmart,
Sharp Products
The first word in a quoted sentence: He yelled to the
bus driver, “Slow down!”


Geographic areas: Asia, Michigan
Pronouns



To test which form of the pronoun is correct,
use it without the noun or pronoun it is paired
with:
Bad swing: The senator’s use of the double
negative surprised my students and I.
Test: The senator…surprised I.
The senator…surprised me.
Direct Hit: The senator’s use of the double negative
surprised my students and me.
Numbers:


Spell out numbers between zero and ten
Spell out a number if it begins a sentence (try
to avoid starting a sentence with a number)
Abbreviations



When using an unfamiliar abbreviation through a
document (CBE for Council of Biology Editors), write
the full name followed by the abbreviation in
parentheses at the first mention of the name, and
use the abbreviation alone from then on.
DO NOT use abbreviations in formal writing (Mon.,
Xmas, FL)
Use periods between times: A.M., P.M., B.C., A.D.
Titles


Underline (or Italicize): books, magazines,
newspapers, plays, films, TV programs,
software.
Use quotation marks on subjects/divisions
within major works: chapters, sections, acts,
episodes, songs.
Spelling Rules

i before e, except after c (or when sounded like ay):
–

Drop a silent e when adding a suffix that begins with
a vowel, keep the e if begins with a consonant:
–

receive, deceive, sleigh, freight
combine-combination
achieve:-achievement
When adding -s or -ed to words ending in y, change
the y to i if preceded by a consonant:
–
comedy-comedies
monkey-monkeys
Spelling Rules (cont’d)

If a final consonant is preceded by a single vowel,
double the consonant when adding a suffix:
–

occur, occurrence
Add -es to singular nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x:
–

bet-betting
church-churches
-dish-dishes
-table-tables
Usually: add -s to noun ending in -o, if the o is
preceded by a vowel, add -es when preceded by a
consonant:
–
radio-radios
hero-heroes