This week in grammar class we went over sentence structure and its main components. Most specifically we reviewed verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives, and articles. These are very important to know because without them you will not be able to identify parts of a sentence. For me this is also very important because this was a part of grammar I didn’t understand in elementary school. I am excited to say that now I understand and I want to share what I’ve learned with you.
Nouns, adverbs, verbs, and adjectives are all part of the open word class. To start we will talk about nouns. Usually a noun is preceded in a sentence by an article, for example when you see “a, the, or an,” you know a noun is coming up next. Another giveaway is when there are numbers or other determiners. Of course you do not always have to have these in front of a noun for it to be a noun. If there are no determiners to give away that you have a noun in the sentence, stick with the fact that nouns are “namers.” Examples would be dog, cat, person, or soda. If words end with ness, tion, and ity, then you know you have a noun. There are also proper nouns that you should look out for which are names for specific people or places and start with a Capital. Now that you know how to find a noun we can move onto verbs which, in my opinion, are the second most important piece of a sentence.
Just like nouns there are a few tricks to determine what words are verbs. Most commonly known is that verbs show action or a state of being. Words that end with “ing” are verbs also when you can be something like: am, is, are, was, and were. That is pretty much all you need to know for verbs. Adjectives are also an easy concept to understand, for the most part. Adjectives are what describe a noun or other parts of the sentence. Common adjectives, to give you an idea, are delicious, sad, broken, and blue. Also adjectives are the words that can answer questions like: which one? How many? Which kind? And whose? When you can answer these questions it usually means you have an adjective. Now you can figure our almost all parts of a sentence, all that’s left is adverbs.
Adverbs are also describing words but in this case describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Just as adjectives, adverbs answer questions of how, when, where, why, how much, and to what extent. The easiest way to tell these two describers apart is that adverbs end with “ly.” These adverbs are often found near the verbs. To test if the word is truly an adverb check to see if the adverb can move around in the sentence. If so then it is an adverb because adjectives can’t move around in a sentence. These are a few of the tricks I’ve learned so far in determining pieces of a sentence. The best way to learn these 4 words is to practice finding them in sentences. Good Luck!
The question I have this week is whether or not I’m using colons correctly in my writing. I’m not sure when they are appropriate so I would love some feedback. Thanks everyone.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
What I've learned so far
Although it has only been the first two weeks of the semester I have realized there is much more to grammar then just periods and commas. In the world of grammar a simple apostrophe can do a lot. Within a paragraph the meaning can completely change based on how you punctuate it. A fun activity to try is punctuating a letter to sound like a friendly/love letter and then punctuate it to be a break up/angry letter. This was one of the first activities I did in my grammar course and it was amazing to see how punctuation could change the meaning. So in a sense I have learned that punctuation can go a long way. More importantly I have learned about commas and apostrophes.
Something I have always had trouble with is commas. In my writing I always make the mistake of putting commas where they are not needed. A simple way to think of commas is like they are a pause in your writing, kind of like you have to take a breath. It can be hard to figure out when to pause in your writing but if you can that’s when a comma is needed. When using a comma always put a space after it. So I can give you a tip on a couple of places not to use a comma. When you are listing something make sure to put commas in between your listings but when you get to the last item you may choose to use a comma before the “and,” or not. Either way you will be right, it depends on what looks better to you. Or when you are describing something using words like “such as” or “as in” you should use a comma before your descriptive words but not after them. This is an important point to remember because as a writer I always thought you should fully separate these words from the rest of your sentence. For example: “I love seafood, such as, shrimp, crab, etc.” The second comma is not needed. Another tip for comma use is to not use them before words like “because” or “but.” I do this a lot so I think it’s a good tip to keep in mind. Pretty much just remember that if you are already using a transition word you don’t need a comma.
The second thing I have brief knowledge on that I can share with you, is apostrophes. People use apostrophes all the time to make things plural and to create contraction words. What you may not know is how to use them correctly. Let’s start with contraction words because I just used one. When a word can mean two words like “it is” or “who is” it can be made into one word using an apostrophe. How you do this is by saying “it’s” or “who’s”. But these words can also be used without apostrophes when they are being used as possessive. When you use “its” as possessive think of it as saying “his” or “her,” you do not use an apostrophe with these words so you don’t not need to use an apostrophe with “its” or “whose.” Another way to use apostrophes is in making things plural. With numbers apostrophes are usually used to make them plural but with dates they are not necessary. When working with names it can be difficult to figure out how to make a plural name possessive. To make it simple I always add an apostrophe “s” like in “Chris’s” but you may like using “Chris’” either way is correct. Once again it is what you prefer. If a plural noun already ends in “s” then all you need is an apostrophe, same with words that are 3 or more syllables. The best thing to do is look how others use apostrophes and then test yourself on whether or not they are using them correctly. Usually if it looks wrong it probably is.
Hopefully this helps since it’s all I know so far but as the semester continues I am sure I will have more tips and ideas for those interested in expanding their grammar.
My question: I understand how to use contraction words with apostrophes but I still do not fully understand how to use them in making certain words plural or possessive. I have one example that I would love for someone to tell me if it is correct or not.
My wife’s cooking is considered the best.
And going along with this to make something that ends in “s” possessive do you only use and apostrophe at the end like “boys.” Would you add “boys’ “because it’s already plural or do you not need the apostrophe?
Something I have always had trouble with is commas. In my writing I always make the mistake of putting commas where they are not needed. A simple way to think of commas is like they are a pause in your writing, kind of like you have to take a breath. It can be hard to figure out when to pause in your writing but if you can that’s when a comma is needed. When using a comma always put a space after it. So I can give you a tip on a couple of places not to use a comma. When you are listing something make sure to put commas in between your listings but when you get to the last item you may choose to use a comma before the “and,” or not. Either way you will be right, it depends on what looks better to you. Or when you are describing something using words like “such as” or “as in” you should use a comma before your descriptive words but not after them. This is an important point to remember because as a writer I always thought you should fully separate these words from the rest of your sentence. For example: “I love seafood, such as, shrimp, crab, etc.” The second comma is not needed. Another tip for comma use is to not use them before words like “because” or “but.” I do this a lot so I think it’s a good tip to keep in mind. Pretty much just remember that if you are already using a transition word you don’t need a comma.
The second thing I have brief knowledge on that I can share with you, is apostrophes. People use apostrophes all the time to make things plural and to create contraction words. What you may not know is how to use them correctly. Let’s start with contraction words because I just used one. When a word can mean two words like “it is” or “who is” it can be made into one word using an apostrophe. How you do this is by saying “it’s” or “who’s”. But these words can also be used without apostrophes when they are being used as possessive. When you use “its” as possessive think of it as saying “his” or “her,” you do not use an apostrophe with these words so you don’t not need to use an apostrophe with “its” or “whose.” Another way to use apostrophes is in making things plural. With numbers apostrophes are usually used to make them plural but with dates they are not necessary. When working with names it can be difficult to figure out how to make a plural name possessive. To make it simple I always add an apostrophe “s” like in “Chris’s” but you may like using “Chris’” either way is correct. Once again it is what you prefer. If a plural noun already ends in “s” then all you need is an apostrophe, same with words that are 3 or more syllables. The best thing to do is look how others use apostrophes and then test yourself on whether or not they are using them correctly. Usually if it looks wrong it probably is.
Hopefully this helps since it’s all I know so far but as the semester continues I am sure I will have more tips and ideas for those interested in expanding their grammar.
My question: I understand how to use contraction words with apostrophes but I still do not fully understand how to use them in making certain words plural or possessive. I have one example that I would love for someone to tell me if it is correct or not.
My wife’s cooking is considered the best.
And going along with this to make something that ends in “s” possessive do you only use and apostrophe at the end like “boys.” Would you add “boys’ “because it’s already plural or do you not need the apostrophe?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Self Assessment
Writing papers used to be something I enjoyed to do, until my teachers started pointing out all the mistakes I was making. Being in college, sentence structure and good grammar has become an important part of my life and something I need to work on. When looking at my writing there are three specific things that I would like to improve. My writing needs work on run on sentences, punctuation with commas and semicolons and use of quotations. I look forward to working on these things throughout the semester and improving my overall grammar.
To work on these things I found a couple of old papers that I wrote last semester. Within these papers are several examples of what I can work on. A paper from my Greek Mythology class called The Story Within Us, has several examples of these areas of interest. First I’ll start with my run on sentences. I like to write papers from off the top of my head first and then work on the construction later. No matter how many drafts I do there are still sentences that people point out to me that should be broken up. To me they sound fine but I need to make sure that I don’t write the same way I talk. One example would be “Times and ideas change therefore society cannot keep the same stories forever; stories must change with everything else.” The professor for this course wrote on my paper that this was a run on sentence and added in a semicolon. I did not originally use a semicolon because I don’t understand when they should be used. What I hope to work on this semester is to break up these sentences into multiple sentences using commas, periods and semicolons. Another example of my run on sentences is in my World History paper on the repression of Haiti. This particular paper I got carried away with because I was very passionate about the topic. One of my run on sentences was: “If I were given no reason I would be extremely upset so I can understand why the Haitian people are unhappy with this government intervention.” This sentence could have been broken up into two but because I was in the groove I didn’t notice. Understanding grammar will help me to realize what I’m writing as I’m writing it.
The second area of work is my comma use. I have always gone with the rule of thumb that whenever you pause when your speaking you should use a comma in your writing. So far this rule has not helped me because I can never figure out where I naturally pause and therefore still use commas in the wrong place. Teachers always put red marks around commas I use or ones I should have used, for example “His story was not fitting his current situation and that confused him so instead of turning to love like Oconeechee did, he lost himself, he did etc.” This sentence could also be categorized as run on because I should have used a period rather than a comma.
Last but certainly not least is my use of quotations. When using quotes I usually just jump straight in and don’t lead up to them well. Even more importantly sometimes you have to quote multiple things at a time. I’m not sure how to do this because I don’t know if you should use quotes twice within a sentence. An example would be “This same idea is reiterated in Waguli’s rituals.” “remember to always listen to the God’s.” In this sentence I was quoting a paper but also quoting a ritual that the paper talked about. I was not sure how to do this so I separated the quotations. I’m not sure this was the right thing to do so I would love to learn. All of these things are common mistakes people can make and I am excited to learn how to use grammar correctly. By the end of this semester I will look back at this paper and laugh at myself.
To work on these things I found a couple of old papers that I wrote last semester. Within these papers are several examples of what I can work on. A paper from my Greek Mythology class called The Story Within Us, has several examples of these areas of interest. First I’ll start with my run on sentences. I like to write papers from off the top of my head first and then work on the construction later. No matter how many drafts I do there are still sentences that people point out to me that should be broken up. To me they sound fine but I need to make sure that I don’t write the same way I talk. One example would be “Times and ideas change therefore society cannot keep the same stories forever; stories must change with everything else.” The professor for this course wrote on my paper that this was a run on sentence and added in a semicolon. I did not originally use a semicolon because I don’t understand when they should be used. What I hope to work on this semester is to break up these sentences into multiple sentences using commas, periods and semicolons. Another example of my run on sentences is in my World History paper on the repression of Haiti. This particular paper I got carried away with because I was very passionate about the topic. One of my run on sentences was: “If I were given no reason I would be extremely upset so I can understand why the Haitian people are unhappy with this government intervention.” This sentence could have been broken up into two but because I was in the groove I didn’t notice. Understanding grammar will help me to realize what I’m writing as I’m writing it.
The second area of work is my comma use. I have always gone with the rule of thumb that whenever you pause when your speaking you should use a comma in your writing. So far this rule has not helped me because I can never figure out where I naturally pause and therefore still use commas in the wrong place. Teachers always put red marks around commas I use or ones I should have used, for example “His story was not fitting his current situation and that confused him so instead of turning to love like Oconeechee did, he lost himself, he did etc.” This sentence could also be categorized as run on because I should have used a period rather than a comma.
Last but certainly not least is my use of quotations. When using quotes I usually just jump straight in and don’t lead up to them well. Even more importantly sometimes you have to quote multiple things at a time. I’m not sure how to do this because I don’t know if you should use quotes twice within a sentence. An example would be “This same idea is reiterated in Waguli’s rituals.” “remember to always listen to the God’s.” In this sentence I was quoting a paper but also quoting a ritual that the paper talked about. I was not sure how to do this so I separated the quotations. I’m not sure this was the right thing to do so I would love to learn. All of these things are common mistakes people can make and I am excited to learn how to use grammar correctly. By the end of this semester I will look back at this paper and laugh at myself.
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