Download Grammar Matters - Durham College

Grammar Matters
Workshop
Student Academic Learning Services
SSB 204
Overview
•  Grammar terminology
•  Common sentence errors
•  Correcting common sentence errors
•  Resources for help with grammar
•  Questions
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8 Parts of Speech
1. Nouns name a person, place, thing, activity, or
quality (i.e. honesty, responsibility)
-common nouns (i.e. college, friend)
-proper nouns (i.e. Durham College, Sue)
2. Pronouns take the place of a noun (also
known as the antecedent)
-there are different types of pronouns
-subject pronoun=I, you
-possessive pronoun=my, your
-indefinite pronoun=everything
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Parts of Speech
3.
Verbs - show the action in a sentence
(walk, eat, study, call)
- express a condition or state of being
(is, seemed, were)
- show relationship to the senses
(smells, sounds, looks, feels, tastes)
- there are main verbs (eat), auxiliary/helping
verbs (is eating), modal verbs (might eat), and
linking verbs (appears full)
4. Adjectives are words that modify (describe or limit) nouns
or pronouns and tell what kind/which one/how many.
-some examples include new, bright, first
-articles (a, an, the) are a special group of
adjectives used before many nouns
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Parts of Speech
5. Adverbs modify (limit or describe)
-verbs: The clerk worked quickly.
-adjectives: The TV is too loud.
-adverbs: The TV is definitely too loud.
•  Frequently end in –ly
•  Usually answer the questions how? when?
to what extent? or how often?
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Parts of Speech
6. Prepositions are words that show the
relationship of a noun or pronoun to
some other word in a sentence
-about, of, before, by, from, in, to
•  Prepositions must be followed by a noun
or pronoun; this forms a prepositional
phrase which often expresses a
relationship to time or space (in the
spring, by the river, from the bank)
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Parts of Speech
7. Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses
in a sentence
-Coordinating: join two or more grammatically
equal parts in a sentence
-FANBOYS=For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
-Subordinating: join unequal parts of a sentence
- i.e. after, if, since, when, because, while
-Correlative/Paired: join equal grammatical
structures (i.e. either…or, not only…but also)
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Parts of Speech
8. Interjections are words that express
strong emotion. A comma or an
exclamation mark separates an
interjection from the rest of the
sentence.
-Hey! Wow! Oh,
-not used in formal or academic writing
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SSB 204
Sentences
•  A sentence is a group of words that
expresses a complete thought. Every
sentence has a subject (who or what the
sentence is about) and a predicate (the
verb and all its modifiers).
•  Every sentence begins with a capital letter
and ends with a punctuation mark.
•  The end punctuation is either a period, an
exclamation mark, or a question mark.
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SSB 204
Active and Passive Voice
•  Voice indicates how the subject relates to the
action of the verb.
•  In the active (direct) voice, the subject performs the action.
The ‘doer’ is emphasized.
I left the door open.
The intern made the coffee.
•  In the passive (indirect) voice, the subject is the receiver of
the action. The ‘by’ phrase indicates who did the action and
is often omitted from the sentence.
The door was left open (by me).
The coffee was made (by the intern).
*Only transitive verbs (verbs that are followed by an object)
can be used in the passive voice
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Phrases, Clauses
•  A phrase is a group of related words that may
contain a subject or a predicate but not both.
(i.e. the new manager, saw a rare bird)
•  A clause is a group of words that has a subject
and a predicate.
An independent/main clause can stand alone
as a sentence.
i.e. We can start the job tomorrow.
A dependent/subordinate clause can
not stand alone as a sentence.
i.e. Since the job starts tomorrow.
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4 Sentence Types
•  A simple sentence consists of 1 independent clause
and no dependent clauses
I leave for work at 7:30am each day.
•  A compound sentence has 2 or more independent
clauses (and no dependent clauses) which are joined
in one of the following ways:
, coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)
;
; conjunctive adverb, (i.e. however, therefore)
I leave for work at 7:30 am each day, and I get
to the college by 8:00 am.
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Sentence types
•  A complex sentence has 1 independent
clause and 1 or more dependent clauses.
If I leave for work at 7:30am, I get to the
college by 8:00 am.
•  A compound-complex sentence has 2 or
more independent clauses and 1 or more
dependent clauses
If I leave for work at 7:30am, I get to the
college by 8:00am, and I have my first
appointment at 8:10am.
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Sentence Errors
•  A sentence fragment is not a whole
sentence. It is missing a subject or a
predicate and/or is beginning with a
subordinating conjunction.
Because it is cold.
Is in the last row.
If I leave for work at 7:30am.
•  A fragment must be attached to an
independent clause and punctuated
correctly.
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Sentence Errors
•  A run-on/fused sentence occurs when no
punctuation is used to separate two
independent clauses.
Run-on sentences are a common problem students
must learn how to detect and punctuate them.
•  A comma splice occurs when only a
comma separates two independent
clauses.
Run-on sentences are a common problem, students
must learn how to detect and punctuate them.
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SSB 204
Correcting Common Sentence
Errors
•  Use a period to separate the two independent
clauses into two sentences.
•  Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction
(FANBOYS) to join the two independent clauses.
•  Use a subordinating conjunction (when, if,
although…) to make one clause dependent and
then join it to the independent clause.
•  Use a semi-colon between two closely related
independent clauses.
•  Use a semi-colon, a conjunctive adverb
(HOTSHOTCAT) and a comma to join the clauses.
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Grammar Resources
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Your writing handbook/communications text
Your professor
Workshops at the SALS Centre
Tip sheets and handouts from SALS
Grammar and punctuation resources on the SALS
website www.durhamcollege.ca/sals
•  Peer Writing Tutors at SALS
•  The ESL Specialist at SALS
•  The Writing Specialist at SALS
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SSB 204
Feedback
•  Please help us gather some feedback to
improve the service we provide in Student
Academic Learning Services
•  If you are viewing this presentation online,
please contact us with any suggestions
you have to improve the experience
–  email: [email protected]
–  phone:905.721.2000 extension 2491
Student Academic Learning Services SSB 204