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COMMAS AND APPOSITIVES
APPOSITIVE BEFORE WORD IT RENAMES –
 A legendary force during his day, Tom Swift was unparalleled as
a boxer.
APPOSITIVE AFTER WORD IT RENAMES –
 Macie’s first cousin, a ten-year Marine, stands at attention
when the president departs from Air Force One.
VAGUE PRONOUNS…AVOID THEM!!!
 After supper, Mel covered it with saran wrap and
placed it in the refrigerator.
• Hmmm…exactly WHAT was covered and placed
in the refrigerator???
APOSTROPHES, POSSESSION, AND
THAT FABULOUS RULE 4!!!
 Is the noun a NORMAL plural ending in –s?
Yes: Then add the apostrophe AFTER the –s.
No: Then the apostrophe goes BEFORE the –s.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
Make sure the noun is not simply a plural that needs NO
apostrophe at all! No possession = No apostrophe!
One patient – one patient’s injury
One bus – one bus’s seats
Two children – two children’s toys
Two dogs – two dogs’ crates
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT MADE EASY!!!
 Is the subject 1 SINGLE person, place, or thing?

YES? Then add -S to the verb!

NO? Then NO –S on the verb!
 Subject  NEVER in a prepositional phrase

 NEVER the word HERE or THERE
 Having trouble finding the subject? Look at the verb choices and
ask, “Who or what does this action?” or “Who or what is this verb
about?”
 TWO SUBJECTS joined by AND? NOT 1 SINGLE THING – no S on verb
 TWO SUBJECTS joined by OR or NOR? Use subject closer to verb…
YES 1 SINGLE THING – YES S on verb
NOT 1 SINGLE THING – NO S on verb
MORE SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT MADE EASY!!
 COLLECTIVE NOUNS: team, band, class, jury, committee, etc.
 Singular (S on verb) IF members function as 1 single unit (Remember the
team in the huddle = 1 group, so THE TEAM IS IN THE HUDDLE.)
 NOT Singular (NO S on verb) IF members act separately (Remember the team
breaking out of the huddle – more than 1, so THE TEAM ARE IN THEIR
VARIOUS POSITIONS.  CLUE WORDS HELP!!
 ELIMINATION IS YOUR BEST FRIEND!!! Eliminate any answers that CANNOT be
correct choices.
 Examples: its – not a verb at all
verbs ending in –ing  MUST have helping verbs
 Watch out for dependent clauses between the main subject and the main verb.
EX: The man [who is tending to the weeds in two of my neighbors’ yards]
(use/uses) an old-fashioned push lawn mower that is not gas powered.
AND MORE SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 
 IF AN ENTIRE PHRASE OR DEPENDENT CLAUSE IS A SUBJECT, ALWAYS USE A
SINGULAR VERB.
In other words… 1 SINGLE phrase or dependent clause subject = S on verb
Ex: [That he would consider harming anyone] (is, are) out of the question.
Ex: Tutoring every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday during the summer months
(is, are) Mandy’s way to afford a vacation.
 Pronouns ending with –one, -thing, -body, each, either, neither  SINGULAR
Ex: Everyone needs to bring his or her money for the trip.
NOTE: Remember to make pronouns match singular or plural subjects/verbs.
 ALL, ANY, MOST, NONE, SOME  Use prepositional phrase that follows to help.
Ex: Most of the movie (was, were) good.
Ex: Most of the children (was, were) well behaved on the field trip.
KEEP, ADD, OR DELETE WORDS TO PASSAGE???
1st Read question (notice if number refers to passage)
2nd Read passage, remembering to think about text meaning along the way
3rd Eliminate either the two “yes” answers or the two “no” answers.
4th Only one remaining answer will make sense.
COMMA USES…ONLY A FEW!!
 Before a FANBOY that joins two complete sentences
Ex: Will John and Cathy clean their house, or will they go to the movie?
 Between items in a series
Ex: Sam likes building towers with Legos, creating things with clay, and
drawing things on his Etch-a-Sketch.
 Between two adjectives that describe a noun IF putting the word “and”
between the adjectives would make sense
Ex: Brian is a kind, noble young man. Brian is a kind AND noble young man is
ok, so use the comma.
Ex: Mandy has two new dresses.  Mandy has two AND new dresses is NOT
ok, so NO comma.
 After introductory items:
Ex: Well, I’m not sure eating that is a good idea.
Ex: In the middle of the garden, there is a beautiful water feature.
Ex: Gusting furiously, the winds blew trees down and debris across the field.
 Remember SOUNDS RIGHT IS RIGHT strategy: Commas indicate a pause.
APOSTROPHES & CONTRACTIONS
 TIP: Read the sentence with the contraction as two words.
If the sentence makes sense, use the apostrophe.
Ex: I think you’re amazing. I think you are amazing.
If the sentence does NOT make sense, then NO
apostrophe is needed.
Ex: I had no idea you and you’re sister are twins.  I
had not idea you and you are sister are twins. – NO
apostrophe!
CONFUSING PAIRS OF WORDS
 THERE  Think “where” – place word or introductory word
 THEIR  Possessive
PLUG ‘N PLAY STRATEGY
If you find it difficult to make a decision about a choice, read
the sentence “plugging” in each choice to see which choice
works.