Unit 1 Grammar Review

​1.1.3 page 7

Open Ended

Rewrite the following email following the guidelines for formal writing.

Yo mr. gardner. Im going 2 be late to shool today cuz of traffic and whatever.

But i have my science project ready, i promise?!

​About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announces the approaching storm.

Now.... .let's correct this sentence.

About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announced the approaching storm.

​Consistent Verb Tenses

​General guideline: Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is the same.

​The instructor explains the diagram to students who asked questions during the lecture.

Don't trust our ears. They're lying to us.

Explains is present tense, referring to a current state; asked is past, but should be present ( ask ) because the students are currently continuing to ask questions during the lecture period.

The instructor explains the diagram to students who ask questions during the lecture

​Here's another one......

​General guideline: Do shift tense to indicate a change in time frame from one action or state to another.

Examples:

1. The children love their new tree house, which they built themselves.

Love is present tense, referring to a current state (they still love it now;) built is past, referring to an action completed before the current time frame (they are not still building it.)

2. Before they even began deliberations, many jury members had reached a verdict.

Began is past tense, referring to an action completed before the current time frame; had reached is past perfect, referring to action from a time frame before that of another past event (the action of reaching was completed before the action of beginning.)

​I stole all of this from Purdue Owl.

​3. Workers are installing extra loudspeakers because the music in tonight's concert will need amplification.

Are installing is present progressive, referring to an ongoing action in the current time frame (the workers are still installing, and have not finished;) will need is future, referring to action expected to begin after the current time frame (the concert will start in the future, and that's when it will need amplification.)

​Give it a try... What do you think?

​The gravel crunched and spattered beneath the wheels of the bus as it swung into the station. Outside the window, shadowy figures peered at the bus through the darkness. Somewhere in the crowd, two, maybe three, people were waiting for me: a woman, her son, and possibly her husband. I could not prevent my imagination from churning out a picture of them, the town, and the place I will soon call home. Hesitating a moment, I rise from my seat, these images flashing through my mind.

​Inappropriate shifts from past to present, such as those that appear in the above paragraph, are sometimes hard to resist. The writer becomes drawn into the narrative and begins to relive the event as an ongoing experience. The inconsistency should be avoided, however. In the sample, will should be would, and rise should be rose.

​Did your ears lie to you?

​And the Answer is. . .

​Spelling? It's a gift from birth.... or NOT

​USE SPELLCHECK!!! It can be your best friend.

Let's look at a few common mistakes I often see.

's is never used for plurals.... except for numbers, letters and symbols.

I got three A's on my report card.
Look at that gymnast. She got 2 perfect 10's.
Of all the emojis, I like 💔's the best.

So.... We have 5 day's of school this week. WRONG
My grandmother cooked a many dinner's on this old stove. WRONG

​its and it's Don't let 3 little letters beat you!

​This one is confusing because 's usually indicates possession.... but not with its.

The dog was chasing its tail. That's
possession with no 's. Sorry.

It's so hard to resist those chocolate chip cookies. It's = it is...... (It's a contraction!)

​Your and you're ---- This one makes me cringe!

​Your shows possession:

Your phone is in your bookbag.

Your house is on the way to the mall.

You're = you are in contracted form.

You're going to win this competition.
You're the best friend ever.

​There, their and They're

​I rarely see mistakes with there and their any more. But they're is still a problem.

Like you're, it's contraction. It means they are.

So you cannot use there or their in place of it.

They're going to put their lunchboxes over there on the table.

​other often confusing homophones

​then-- when referring to time
than-- used in comparisons

are--a form of the verb to be
our--shows possession

accept--to receive something
except--a preposition to exclude something

allowed-- permitted to do something
aloud--out loud

principle--basic truth or law
principal--school administrator/ sum of money