ELA Coach Lesson 19

Mechanics

Good writers understand that
using correct capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling is as
important as what they have to
say. Using proper mechanics shows
readers that you have carefully
crafted your writing.

Capitalization

2

You probably always remember to
capitalize the first le�er of the first
word in a sentence, people’s names, and
the pronoun I. But there are several
other important capitalization rules.

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Proper Nouns
A proper noun is a noun that names a specific person, place, or thing. The first le�er of a
proper noun is capitalized. For example, you do not capitalize the noun ocean, but you
do capitalize the proper noun Atlantic Ocean because it names a specific ocean. Here
are other examples of proper nouns.

●Days of the week: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday

●Months of the year: February, June, October

●Holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving

●Cities, States, Countries: Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
of America

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Proper Adjectives
A proper adjective is an adjective that comes from a
proper noun. As with a proper noun, the first le�er of
a proper adjective is capitalized. For example, Swiss is
a proper adjective that come front eh proper noun
Switzerland.

Read the sentences below. Underline the words
that should be capitalized.

we do not have school next monday because it
is a holiday.

tina says that the white dog cafe makes the
best french fries.

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Capitalize: We are waiting for Coach Brennan to arrive.

DO NOT capitalize: We are waiting for the coach to arrive.

Titles of People
When a person’s professional or military title is
followed by his or her name, capitalize the title.

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Other common personal titles that should be
capitalized when used with a person’ name are Mr.,
Jr., Ms., Mrs., and Miss.

Title of Works
Follow these guidelines to capitalize titles of books,
poems, and more.
●Capitalize the first and last words.

●Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs,
and adverbs.

●Do NOT capitalize articles, conjunctions, or
prepositions.

Besides properly capitalizing a work in your writing,
you also need to style it in certain ways. The cart
below explains what styles to use for writing the
titles of different kinds of sources.

Title of Works
Besides properly capitalizing a work in your writing, you
also need to style it in certain ways. The cart below
explains what styles to use for writing the titles of
different kinds of sources.

Type of Work

Style

Example

book, play, movie

italics (if text is
typed) underlining (if
text is handwritten)

Sideways Stories
from Wayside
School, Wicked, The
Iron Giant

short story, article,
poem, chapter, song

Quotation marks (if
text is typed or
handwritten)

“The Spider and the
Fly,” “The Boy Who
Lived,” Over the
Rainbow”

Write the titles of your favorite book, movie, and song using
correct capitalization.

“

A person’s quoted words are direct
speech. The dialogue in a story is an
example of direct speech. When
writing direct speech, enclose the
speaker’s words in quotation marks.
Usually, the speaker’s words are
separated from the rest of the
sentence by a comma inside the
quotation marks.

Punctuation with Quotations

“Let’s go to the game,” Julie said.

“

Punctuation with Quotations

If the dialogue tag come
before the speakers words,
the comma comes after the
the dialogue tag.

Julie said, “Let’s go to the game.”

“

When a speaker asks a question or
makes an exclamation, look at the
position of the dialogue in the overall
sentence. If the dialogue comes first,
use the question mark or exclamation
point in place of the comma. If the
dialogue comes last, use a comma
between the tag and the quote. Always
keep the end punctuation inside the
quotation marks.

Punctuation with Quotations

“Are we going to the game?” Julie asked.

Julie said, “Let’s go to the game now!”

“

If you want to use words from a text in
your writing, you need to write them
down exactly. Enclose them in
quotation marks and use a comma to
introduce them.

Punctuation with Quotations

The U.S. Declaration of Independence

states, “All men are created equal.”

Add the missing punctuation below.

I forgot my ticket Marty said

Keira cheerfully replied Good thing I have an extra

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Spelling

The following spelling patterns
and rules will help you correctly
spell words.

Words with ie/ei

● Write ie in most words:

believe, yield.

● Write ei if the letters come

after c: perceive, receive.

● Write ei if the vowel sound is

NOT a long e: foreign, their.

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Suffixes
Spelling Rule

Examples

If the root ends with e and the
suffix begins with a vowel, drop
the e before adding the suffix.

cure + able → curable
smile + ed → smiled
bake + er → baker
chase + ing → chasing
active + ity → activity

If the root ends with a consonant
+ y and the suffix begins with a
letter other than i, change y to i
before adding the suffix.

defy + ance → defiance
pity + ed → pitied
berry + es → berries
mercy + ful → merciful
happy + ness → happiness
mystery + ous → mysterous

If the root is a noun ending in
-ch, -sh, -x, -s, or -ss, add -es to
the end of the word to form the
plural.

branch + es → branches
ash + es → ashes
fox + es → foxes
bus + es → buses
glass + es → glasses

Suffixes
On a separate sheet of paper, correct
spell the new words made from these
word parts:

● Add the suffix -ing to the root word amplify.
● Add the suffix -ed to the root word promise.
● Add the suffix -ous to the root word luxury.
● Add the suffix -ity to the root word secure.

Language Spotlight: Frequently Confused Words

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Some words sound alike or nearly alike but have different meanings. Be careful to use the
correct word in your writing. The chart below lists several frequently confused words. On a
separate sheet of paper, write a sentence for each word.

Word

Definition

coarse
course

“rough”
“a direction” or “a series of classes”

no
know

used to show a negative response
“to understand”

principal
principle

“the person in charge of a school” or “most important”
“a law or fact of nature” or “a belief”

to
too
two

“toward”
“also”
a number

their
there
they’re

used to show possession
used to show location
contraction of they are

Read the paragraphs. There are some errors in mechanics.

(1) My grandma lives in Kansas city, in the state of
missouri. (2) Since Missouri is in the middle of the
United States, Grandma rarely gets a chance to see an
Ocean. (3) We live in Los Angeles, California, so it’s a
treat for her to see the Pacific ocean when she visits
us.

(4) Last may Grandma flew to L.A. Airport, which

is sometimes called “LAX.” (5) When she got off the
plane, she heard a voice over a loudspeaker say, “dr.
Boynton, please pick up a white courtesy telephone.”
(6) (Grandma is a doctor, and her last name is
Boynton.) (7) The person on the phone was my dad. (8)
He told Grandma that he would be an hour late to pick
her up. (9) Our next door neighbor had fallen from a
ladder, so Dad had to drive him to Beverly Glen
hospital. (10) While she waited for Dad, Grandma
reread her favorite book, Pride And prejudice by Jane
Austen.

Multiple Choice

Select the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Select the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Select the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Select the correct response.

• A

• B

• C

• D