D.L.P. – Week Three GRADE EIGHT

Day One – Skills Elimination of double comparison The subject and verb of a clause must agree in person and number. This involves something called conjugation. Every verb can be conjugated as to first person, second person, or third person and as singular or plural. Take the verb go. Use the nominative pronouns I, you, and he as singular and we, you, and they as plural. Make the verb go match the pronoun. “I go” means the verb is first person singular. “They go” makes it third person and plural. Note the third person singular – “he goes.” When an action verb is third person singular, it typically ends in an “s.” Be careful to not let words between the subject and verb such as prepositional phrases sway the verb choice. Subject-verb agreement The subject and verb of a clause must agree in person and number. This involves something called conjugation. Every verb can be conjugated as to first person, second person, or third person and as singular or plural. Take the verb go. Use the nominative pronouns I, you, and he as singular and we, you, and they as plural. Make the verb go match the pronoun. “I go” means the verb is first person singular. “They go” makes it third person and plural. Note the third person singular – “he goes.” When an action verb is third person singular, it typically ends in an “s.” Be careful to not let words between the subject and verb such as prepositional phrases sway the verb choice. Punctuation of a title When referring to a title when writing, it must be punctuated properly. Shorter works are placed in quotations. Shorter works include poems, short stories, songs, a chapter in a longer book, or a newspaper or magazine article. Longer works include books, names of magazines or newspapers, and movies. Capitalization in a title The first word of any title is capitalized. After that, all important words are capitalized. Words that are not capitalized are articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.

Edgar Allan Poe is the author of some of the most creepiest stories ever written. DAY ONE – SENTENCE ONE Edgar Allan Poe is the author of some of the creepiest stories ever written.

Among his most effective tales are “the Tell-Tale Heart. DAY ONE – SENTENCE TWO Among his most effective tales is “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Day Two – Skills Use of a dash A dash is used to set off a part of sentence that may not be directly related to the sentence or may add information. Commas can also be used where dashes are used. Use of an adverb to modify an adjective Adverbs are used to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. An adjective cannot be used to describe a verb. (opened quick must be opened quickly) An adjective cannot be used to describe another adjective. (real exciting must be turned into really excited.) Correction of a run-on sentence with a coordinating conjunction Run-on sentences occur when two complete thoughts run together without proper connection or punctuation. Run-ons can be corrected in one of three ways. First, simply separate the two sentences with proper end punctuation. However, if the two sentences can be connected by meaning, connect them with a comma and the proper conjunction. Finally, the two sentences can have a semicolon placed between them if the clauses relate closely in meaning. Note that the sentence following the semicolon would not begin with a capital unless that word is a proper noun or the pronoun I.

The narrator Poe never gives him a name says that he is extremely nervous and his hearing is unusual sharp. DAY TWO – SENTENCE ONE The narrator - Poe never gives him a name - says that he is extremely nervous and his hearing is unusually sharp.

He denies that he is mad, the reader knows otherwise. DAY TWO – SENTENCE TWO He denies that he is mad, but the reader knows otherwise.

Day Three– Skills Use of commas in a split quotation The spoken and non-spoken parts of a sentence must be separated. Typically, that is done with a comma. (“Hello,” Mom said. I said, “How are You?”) The exception would be when an exclamation or question mark is used to separate the two parts. (“How are you?” she asked. “How wonderful!” Bob yelled.) Avoiding redundancy Redundancy means that a writer says something more than once. Being repetitive in writing is unnecessary. (Ex. In my opinion I believe) Verb tense consistency For logic purposes, the verbs used in a sentence or longer piece must be in the same tense.

“I was never kinder to the old man” the narrator says ”than during the whole week before I killed him.” DAY THREE – SENTENCE ONE “I was never kinder to the old man,” the narrator says, ”than during the whole week before I killed him.”

He says that the reason was because the old man has had an evil eye. DAY THREE – SENTENCE TWO He says that the reason was the old man had an evil eye.

Day Four– Skills Agreement of pronoun and antecedent A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces. They must agree. For example, if one is singular, then the other must be. If one is masculine, then the other must be. Correction of a double negative Only one negative word should be used per sentence. Negative words include no, not, never, and none. Use of a period in an indirect question Unless a group of words asks a question, it is punctuated with a period or exclamation mark. Telling about what someone would ask is not a question; therefore, it would end in a period. Ex. I asked if he would need a pencil. The person is not actually asking the question. They are telling what they would ask. This would be punctuated with a period.

The reader realizes immediately that the narrator is a madman, but there isn’t nothing they can do about it. DAY FOUR – SENTENCE ONE The reader realizes immediately that the narrator is a madman, but there is nothing he or she can do about it.

Readers ask themselves if the narrator will get away with his insane act? DAY FOUR – SENTENCE TWO Readers ask themselves if the narrator will get away with his insane act.

Day Five– Skills Correct spelling plurals rather than possessives A plural means that there is more than one of something. (boys, cats) A possessive means that something is owned. (the boy’s bat, the cat’s toy) Do not confuse the two. Plurals never have apostrophes. Possessives do. Correct pronoun case in a compound construction Pronouns are used differently depending on what case they are. Subject pronouns, also known as nominative pronouns can work as subjects or predicate nouns. They are I, we, you, he, she, it, and they. Objective pronouns can work as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of the preposition. They are me, us, you, him, her, it, and them. Possessive pronouns show ownership. They are my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, their, and theirs. Note that possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes. To use pronouns correctly, they must be in the right case. See the explanation in the above entry. When the pronoun is compound, it must still be in the case to match the function of the pronoun in the sentence. (Maxine and I are friends. I talked to him and her.) If the pronoun is paired with a noun, the noun will precede the pronoun in the pair (Bobby and me). Use of compound personal pronouns The compound personal pronouns are: myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, and themselves. None contain apostrophes. “Hisself” and “theirselves” are not actually words despite people often using them in conversation.

If horror story’s keep you awake, you probably shouldn’t read Poe at bedtime. DAY FIVE – SENTENCE ONE If horror stories keep you awake, you probably shouldn’t read Poe at bedtime.

Reading aloud tales by Poe is a good way for my friends and I to scare ourself sleepless. DAY FIVE – SENTENCE TWO Reading aloud tales by Poe is a good way for my friends and me to scare ourselves sleepless.