An ELA GMAS Review

1. An ELA GMAS Review

2. Contents • Pronoun Agreement • Parts of a Sentence • Punctuation • Verb Usage • Subject-Verb Agreement • Fragments • Research and Writing

3. Pronoun Agreement

4. Pronoun Agreement: The Basic Principle • A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number — singular/plural — with the thing to which it refers. • Example: Bryan lost his book. (His is pronoun that refers to Bryan. • Example: The book had Dawn’s name written inside its cover. (Its agrees in number with book, which is the antecedent.)

5. Singular and Plural Pronouns • Singular Pronouns: • anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody • Also always singular: • Either • Neither • Plural Pronouns: • Both, few, many, several • Special Case: • All, any, more most, none, some • These may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.

6. Pronoun Agreement Rules • The need for pronoun-antecedent agreement can create gender problems. One can pluralize to avoid the problem. • Each student must see his counselor before the end of the semester. • Students must see their counselor before the end of the semester.

7. Pronoun Agreement Rules • Use a singular pronoun to refer to two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor. • Juan or Michael will bring his soccer ball. • Neither the mother nor the daughter had forgotten her running shoes.

8. Parts of a Sentence

9. Subjects • Who or what a clause, phrase, or sentence is about.

10. Verbs (Predicates) • What a subject is doing; what is being done to it; state of being • Verbs and subjects must agree in number • 2 singular subjects joined by and: verb is plural • 2 singular subjects connected by either… or, or neither… nor, the verb is singular • 2 plural subjects connected by either… or, or neither… nor, the verb is plural

11. Modifiers • Adjectives • Modify nouns and pronouns • Answer questions which one, what kind, how many, how much • Adverbs • Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs • Answer questions how, when, where, to what extent

12. Objects • Direct object – noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. I have read the book. • Indirect object – noun or pronoun for whom or to whom something was done. I read the class the entire book. • Object of a preposition – answers the question whom or what after the preposition.

13. Phrases • Prepositional phrases – made up of preposition plus object. Generally show location. • Common prepositions: about, above, according to, along, at, by, down, except, for, in, into, inside, outside, since, within, without. • Infinitive phrase – the word “to” plus a verb • Gerund phrase – the “-ing” form of the verb

14. Clauses • Group of related words which contain a subject and verb. • Independent clause: contains subject, verb, makes sense by itself. • Dependent clause: may contain subject and verb, but does not make sense by itself - fragment

15. Conjunctions • Conjunctions join words that link parts of sentences • FANBOYS • For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

16. Sentences • Kinds: • Declarative (statement), Imperative (command), Interrogative (question), Exclamatory (strong feeling) • Patterns: • S+V, S+V+O, S+V+IO+O • Forms • Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex

17. Punctuation

18. Commas 1 • Use with coordinate conjunctions: FANBOYS • Use to separate main clauses within a sentence or items in a series • Use with introductory elements • Use with dates (December 7, 1941) • Use with addresses (3301 Shoals School Rd, Douglasville, GA) • Use with numbers (1,345,000)

19. Commas 2 • Use with parenthetical expressions (John’s car, in my opinion, is a clunker.) • With adjectives (We felt the salty, humid air near the beach.)

20. Semicolons • Join related main clauses when a coordinating conjunction is not used (Sally built a tree house; she painted it blue.). • Work with conjunctive adverbs to join main clauses (I would like to go with you; however, I must visit my grandmother.) • Separate clauses when joined by words such as accordingly, besides, however, afterwards, consequently, furthermore, therefore.

21. Colons • End main clauses and introduce modifications • Frank introduced four kinds of fish into his new aquarium: three angels, six tetras, a pair of Bala sharks, and a spotted catfish. • Other uses • Business letter salutation – Dear Mr. Brown: • Title with subtitle – Dudes, My Story • Biblical citation – Genesis 1:1 • Bibliographic entries – Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

22. Apostrophes • Possession • Add ‘s to form the possessive of singular and plural nouns • Add ‘s to form the possessive of singular nouns ending in s • Add only an apostrophe to form the possessive of plural nouns ending in s • Omission • Cannot (can’t), will not (won’t)

23. Quotation Marks • Examples of direct quotations • Martha whispered, “I’m scared of the dark.” • “When,” she breathed, “do we get out of here?” • Use quotation marks around article titles, essay titles, short stories, chapter titles, song titles, poems, TV programs, movie titles. • Put periods and commas inside quotation marks.

24. Verb Usage

25. Principal Parts of a Verb • Base Form (work) • Present Participle (is working) • Past (worked) • Past Participle (have worked)

26. Regular Verbs • Regular verbs form their past and past participle by adding –d or –ed to the base form. • Use – used • Attack – attacked • Drown – drowned

27. Irregular Verbs • An irregular verb forms its past and past participle in some other way than by adding –d or –ed to the base form. • Ring – rang • Bring – brought

29. Verb Tense • The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or state of being expressed by the verb. • The 6 tenses are: • Past perfect • Past • Present perfect • Present • Future perfect • Future

30. Keep Tense Consistent • Inconsistent: When we were(past tense) comfortable, we begin(present tense) to do our homework. • Consistent: When we are comfortable, we begin to do our homework.

32. Verb Moods 1 • Indicative – statement of fact or opinion • The weatheris sunny today. • Interrogative – asks a question • Willtherebe rain tomorrow? • Imperative – a command • (You) Stop!

33. Verb Moods 2 • Conditional – expresses a hypothetical situation. Uses might, could, or would. • Imight go if it doesn’t rain. • Subjunctive – expresses wishes, doubt, or contradictions. • Iwish I could win the lottery.

34. Subject-Verb Agreement

35. Subject-Verb Agreement 1 • When the subject of a sentence is made up of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a pluralverb. • She and her friends areat the fair. • When two or more singular nouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb. • The book or the pen is in the drawer. (One, but not both.)

36. Subject-Verb Agreement 2 • When subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb. • The boy or his friendsrun every day. • His friends or the boyruns every day.

37. Subject-Verb Agreement 3 • The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase. • Oneof the boxes isopen. • The people who listen to that music arefew. • The team captain, as well as the players, is anxious.

38. Subject-Verb Agreement 4 • The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb. • Each of these apples is rotten. • No one is listening.

39. Fragments

40. Fragments 1 • Fragments are incomplete sentences. Some fragments are obviously related to the sentences before or after them. • Therefore, one of the easiest ways to correct a fragment is to connect it to a nearby whole sentence.

41. Fragments 2 • Fragment: I need to find a new friend. Because the one I have now is mean. • Revised: I need to find a new friend because the one I have now is mean.

42. Research & Writing

43. The Thesis Sentence & Introductions • Thesis sentence • The topic + your opinion on the topic = Thesis • You MUST have this in your essay! • Introductions • Have a hook to interest the reader (1 sentence) • Provide background on the topic (2 or 3 sentences) • Provide a counterargument (argumentative essays only) • Have a good thesis

44. Body Paragraphs • Body paragraphs • Deal with only one subject • Are indented • Have their own topic sentence • Provide supporting details or evidence • Provide transition to the next paragraph

45. Conclusions • A conclusion paragraph • Rephrases the main idea of your essay • Summarizes the main points of your essay • Leaves the reader with an interesting final impression OR suggests action

46. Sample R&W Questions • Mark is doing a presentation on the Earth’s layers. Which resource would give him information on the Earth’s core? • A dictionary • An encyclopedia • A world atlas • The Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature

47. Sample R&W Questions • Rewrite the following: • The woman is our new principal standing in the hallway. • Standing in the hallway, our new principal is the woman. • The woman standing in the hallway is our new principal. • In the hallway standing the woman is our new principal. • Our new principal the woman is standing in the hallway.