CRCT Conventions

1. CRCTConventions Complete sentences contain a subject and a predicate. Mardi and Janette repair broken toys and games. Sentence fragments - phrases that are missing either a subject or a predicate and do not express a complete thought. Repair broken toys and games A run-on sentence contains two or more sentences that are run together without correct punctuation and/or connecting words (conjunctions). The platypus is an odd animal it has webbed feet and a bill like a duck.

2. Types of Sentences: Simple Sentence includes a subject and a predicate. The lightreflected off the water. (The light is the subject and reflected off the water is the predicate.) Compound Sentence includes two independent clauses, each with a subject and a predicate. The clauses are often connected by words like and, but, or, and so. The light reflected off the water, butDave’s sunglasses reduced the glare.

3. More Types of Sentences: Complex sentence includes one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Words like after, although, as if, when and while are often used to introduce dependent clauses. After the sun came up, the light reflected off the water. After the sun is a dependent clause and the light reflected off the water is a independent clause. An independent clause is a group of words that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause is a group of words that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

4. Types of Sentences continued: Compound-complex sentence usually has two independent clauses joined by an, but, or, nor and one or more dependent clauses. After the sun came up, the light reflected off the water, and Dave decided to put on his sunglasses. After the sun came up is a dependent clause, the light reflected off the water is an independent clause, and is a conjunction, and Dave decided to put on his sunglasses is an independent clause.

5. Modifiers: A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that tells something specific about another word, phrase, or clause in a sentence. A modifier can describe, limit, or clarify something. For example: Brendon rescued the bird that had fallen out of the nest. The phrase had fallen out of the nest modifies the phrase the bird.

6. Remember: When combining sentences, make sure to keep all the information of the original sentences, but avoid repeating words unnecessarily. Remember that a complete sentence should tell you who or what performed the action and what action was performed. If a sentence does not express a complete thought, it is a sentence fragment.

7. The Tense of a Verb: The tense of a verb relates to when an action takes place. For example: Present tense verbs describes actions that are taking place now. The man works today. Past tense verbs describe actions that happened in the past. Last year, he worked at the zoo. Future tense verbs describe actions that will take place in the future. He will work at a new store next year.

8. Irregular Verbs: An Irregular Verb is one that does not add the ending –ed to form a past tense verb. For example: The verbs see (past tense saw), run (past tense ran), and is (past tense was) are all examples of irregular verbs.

9. Perfect Tense Verbs: The present perfect tense describes actions that started in the past and are continuing up to the present time or have recently been completed. Present perfect tense consists of the verb have or had plus the past participle (usually the same form as the past tense). He has been her before. They have been here before. The past perfect tense is used to describe two actions that happened in the past so the reader can understand which action happened first. It is formed by combining the verb had with the past participle. The boys had fixed the window before Dad got home last night.

10. Subject-Verb Agreement: In a sentence the verb must agree with the subject. If a subject is plural, then the verb must be plural. Mary and Jenna talk. If a subject is singular, then the verb must be singular. Mary talks.

11. Adjective and Adverb clauses: An adjective modifies a noun. An adjective clause, then, consists of a group of words (with its own subject and predicate) that modifies a noun. A building that is ten stories high should have an elevator. That is ten stories high is the adjective clause because it modifies the noun building. An adverb modifies a verb. An adverb clause is similar to an adjective clause, except that it modifies a verb by indicating time, place, manner, cause, reason and so on. The car started as soon as he turned the key. As soon as he turned the key is the adverb clause because it modifies the verb started.

12. Pronoun-antecedent Agreement: The pronoun’s antecedent is what or whom the pronoun refers. The pronoun must agree with the antecedent in terms of number and gender. After Tom and Ed found their fishing poles, they headed to the pond. They is the antecedent of Tom and Ed. Remember when answering questions about pronoun-antecedent agreement, replace the pronoun with each choice and decide which makes sense in the sentence.

13. Spelling/Grammar: Homonyms are words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings. Such as rode and road; flower and flour; know and no; to, too, and two; red and read. To show possession (ownership) you must use an apostrophe. For example: Aunt Mary’s favorite book. When punctuating a compound sentence, a comma is necessary before the conjunction but, which separates the two clauses in the compound sentence.

14. Spelling/Grammar: A semicolon (;) replaces the comma in a compound sentence when the conjunction is omitted. Quotation marks surround the EXACT words a person says, and a comma is used to set off the speaker from the words spoken. “I’m staring,” said Torie, “so I’ll order a whole pizza.” Refer to the charts

15. Remember: When you are working with homonyms, be sure to read the sentence or phrase carefully. Look for clues that will tell you which spelling is correct. Watch for missing punctuation on test questions. Apostrophes in contractions and possessive nouns are often left out on purpose. Be careful with words that indicate family relationships. If the word is just indicating a relationship, it is NOT capitalized. (I asked my mom for a ride.) If the word is being used as that person’s name, it IS capitalized. (I brought Mom flowers.)

16. Remember: As you read a passage, note any clues or hints that reveal the author’s purpose or point of view. Strong negative or positive adjectives and adverbs are clues to how the author feels about the topic. Remember to pay attention to special text features such a sidebars, footnotes, glossaries, indexes, graphics, maps, and so on. Some questions may be answered by information found in these features rather than in the text itself.

17. Analyzing What You Read: Some test questions may ask you to determine what type of organizational structure or pattern would work best when writing a paragraph about a particular subject. For example:

18. Organization Patterns: 1. Chronological order or sequence – the order in which something happens or the steps in a process Cause and Effect – what happens (effect) and why it happens (cause) Compare and contrast – how things are the same and different Description – how things look, act, sound, and so on Spatial order – how things are related in terms of location Order of importance – lists facts or events in relative order of importance Question and answer – poses a question and then gives an answer

19. Remember: Transitions are words and phrases that signal relationships between ideas. For example: words and phrases such as nevertheless, however, and in spite of signal a contrasting relationship. When answering questions about transitions, look for these words and phrases that signal transitions between ideas: after, again, also, and as a result of, because, before, but, finally, first, however, in addition, later, likewise, second, soon, then, therefore, and to conclude.

20. Evaluating and Revising What you Read: A topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph and is usually found at the beginning of a paragraph. A concluding sentence summarizes the information in the rest of the paragraph and is usually found at the end of a paragraph. Outlines are organized with main headings labeled with Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.) and subheadings labeled with capital letters (A, B, C, etc.)

21. Remember: After you choose the answer to a reorganizing text question, reread the paragraph with the sentences in the new order to be sure the text makes sense. If you are trying to find a detail sentence to add to a paragraph, first figure out the main idea of the paragraph. The correct detail sentence will support the main idea. To find the best topic sentence, read the detail sentences and decide what they are mostly about. The topic sentence should be broad enough to cover all the information in the detail sentences.