Grammar 101: A Crash Course in Clean Writing

1. Grammar 101: A Crash Course in Clean Writing Oregon City English Mr. Allen

2. Capitalization • Remember to capitalize the first word in every sentence. • Capitalize I. • Capitalize all names and titles: • Examples…January, Tuesday, North America, Julius Caesar, Uncle Frank, the Spotted Owl, the Deschutes River, Representative DeFazio, Sir Edward Applebee, Principal Richardson.

3. Practice • when i went to the store last week, i saw a dog walking lazily in the december evening. he looked like a german shepard, and i soon recognized his owner as none other than former senator gordon smith. i asked him what he had in store for the new year, and he said that he was heading up to canada to do some skiing.

4. Correct Way • When I went to the store last week, I saw a dog walking lazily in the December evening. He looked like a German Shepard, and I soon recognized his owner as none other than former Senator, Gordon Smith. I asked him what he had in store for the new year, and he said that he was heading up to Canada to do some skiing.

5. Using Comma’s • Always use a comma after an introductory clause: This last friday, I went to an italian restaurant. (what’s wrong with this sentence) • How do I know if it is an introductory clause? If there is qualifying information saying when, where, in what order, how, why, etc., then it is an introductory clause.

6. Using Comma’s • Similarly, we always use comma’s when we insert qualifying information in the middle of a sentence: • Ex. The other day, my sister, who always wears ugg boots, stepped into a giant puddle in portland. (what’s wrong with this sentence)

7. Using Comma’s (cont.) • Almost always use comma’s before or after transition words, such as: • And • But • Therefore • Moreover • However • Thus • Because

8. Using Comma’s • Always use comma’s when making lists: • Ex. Frank, John, and I, went to the store last night to pick up some eggs, milk, bacon, and pancake batter.

9. Using Comma’s (cont.) • The golden rule for using a comma: • Assume the sentence is going to be read out loud. • Whenever the reader should take a breath or pause, you should insert a comma. • It is usually better to use too many comma’s than too few. • “When you talk about my momma, you better use a comma.”

10. Practice • the other day i went to a blazer game with my friends jim jorge and ezekial. when we got there i couldn’t believe the price for food it was so expensive. i tell you going to one of those games is highway robbery they should be ashamed of themselves. it cost $4.00 for a pepsi $5.00 for a hot dog which by the way is crappy and $7.00 for a burger. my friends and i agreed that from now on we would get food before or after because it is just too expensive.

11. Correct Way • The other day,I went to a Blazer game with my friends Jim,Jorge, and Ezekial. When we got there,I couldn’t believe the price for food, it was so expensive. I tell you, going to one of those games is highway robbery, they should be ashamed of themselves. It cost $4.00 for a Pepsi, $5.00 for a hot dog, which, by the way, was crappy, and $7.00 for a burger. My friends and I agreed that from now on, we would get food before or after, because it is just too expensive.

12. Question Marks and Exclamation Points • You choose when to use an exclamation point: ex. “My friend said he loves Jack Johnson, but I told him that Jack Johnson sucks!” • Remember, a question mark must be used anytime a question is asked: • Look for the five question words: what, when, why, where, and how? Also, look for: should or could? • Is the intent of a sentence asking a question?

13. Practice • The other day I went to see “Avatar” It was awesome I wonder if it would really be possible to mentally jump into another body The battle scenes were so sick What was your favorite part • Use 2 ?’s, 2 !’s, and 1 .

14. Correct Way • The other day I went to see “Avatar.” It was awesome! I wonder if it would really be possible to mentally jump into another body? The battle scenes were so sick! What was your favorite part?

15. Quotation Marks • Use quotation marks when anyone is speaking. • Rules: • Start new paragraph every time a different person speaks. • Put punctuation inside quotations. • Use quotations for poems, movies, or for special emphasis.

16. Practice using quotations It seems like every single girl is wearing Ugg boots these days said Francisco. I know said Hannah, I think it’s because they are so fashionable and warm. Francisco pondered this, yeah he finally responded, I guess that is probably true. So when are you going to get some?

17. Correct Way “It seems like every single girl is wearing Ugg boots these days,” said Francisco. “I know,” said Hannah, “I think it’s because they are so fashionable and warm.” Francisco pondered this. “Yeah,” he finally responded.“I guess that is probably true. So when are you going to get some?”

18. Apostrophes for Ownership • We use apostrophes to show ownership: • 1. Ex. I can’t wait to ride Betty’s horse. OR James’ coat is super sweet. • 2. If plural, it goes after last name or noun. Ex. I can’t wait to ride on Sara and Betty’s horse. • 3. If name has an “s” at the end of it, put an apostrophe after. Ex. The other day I went to the Changs’ house. • DO NOT use an apostrophe after a plural name. Ex. We visited the Sanchezes in Los Angeles. • DO NOT use apostrophes for possessive pronouns, such as: his, hers, yours, its, theirs, ours, or whose.

19. Apostrophes for Contractions • We use apostrophes to fill in where letters have been removed. Ex. “should not,” becomes “shouldn’t,” or “is not” becomes “isn’t.” • WARNING: only use an apostrophe with “it’s” when it stands for it is or it has • RIGHT: It’s sure a nice day isn’t it? • WRONG: Have you seen it’s size—that building is huge!

20. Practice using apostrophes • Yesterday I went over to James house. He said that his computer was totally busted. I told him so was my mom and sisters laptop. The problem is that we do not know how to fix it. I guess they are all going to have to take them to Geek Squad. I will be interested to see how it all turns out.

21. Correct Way • Yesterday I went over to James’ house. He said that his computer was totally busted. I told him so was my mom and sister’s laptop. The problem is that they don’t know how to fix it. I guess they’re all going to have to take them to Geek Squad. I’ll be interested to see how it all turns out.

22. Word confusion • Make sure to re-read your writing to make sure you wrote what you meant. • Remember that good writing has three stages: writing, re-reading, editing. • Bottom line: pay attention to detail and review what you are turning in!

23. Word Confusion • Words that are often confused: • There (here), Their (possessive group), They’re (contraction: they are). • To (toward), two (2), and too (also or excess). • Bare (naked), Bear (animal), bear (carry).

24. Word Confusion • Witch (Halloween) and which (who, where, or what). • Desert (sand), and dessert (food). • Scared (afraid), and sacred (holy).

25. Word Confusion • Hare (rabbit), and hair (cut). • Fare (food or choices), fair (state). • Message (mail), massage (back). • While (time, during), and wile (trick, Wily Coyote). • Hour (time), our (me and others).

26. Confusion Quiz 1) 2) 3)

27. Confusion Quiz 4) 5) 6) 7)

28. 10) Confusion Quiz 8) 9) 11) 12)

29. Confusion Quiz 14) 13) 15) 16)

30. Confusion Quiz • 17) __________ all going to the store. • 18) We are going to _________ house. • 19) I ate _______ much. • 20) ______ Joe and Julio went to the store, we started making the tortillas.