English 11 Grammar Focus Correction Areas Subject-Verb (Hamlet Q3) Verb-Tense (Romantic Poetry Q3) Pronoun-Antecedent (Frankenstein Q3) Punctuation (Satire Q4) Parallelism (Post-Colonialism Q4) Misplaced Modifiers (WWI Poetry Q4) English 11 Grammar Focus Correction Areas Second Semester

Subject-Verb Agreement Subject: The noun that the sentence is about. The noun that is acting in the sentence. Verb or Simple Predicate: The action that is happening in the sentence. The cat jumped on the couch. Jack and Jill ran up the hill. Van Gogh is my favorite painter.

Verb-Tense Agreement Verb tense means using the right form of the verb. The verb needs to match the tense of the subject and the other verbs in the piece. We is going to the mall after school. We are going to the mall after school. We bought new jeans. We are going to the mall after school. We will buy new jeans.

Exercise (Purdue’s OWL site) Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject. 1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school. 2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting. 3. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie. 4. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer. 5. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France. 7. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

Exercise (www.English-grammar.at) 1. They ___________________ in Chicago for 20 years (be). 2. I ___________________ a wonderful film in the cinema last night. (see) 3. The sun ___________________ at 6:38 yesterday morning (rise) 4. The sun ___________________ when the climber reached Mount Everest. (shine) 5. I promise that I ___________________ this secret to anyone (not tell) 6. Unfortunately, just as we got to the airport their plane ___________________ off (take). 7. They ___________________ to the movies only once in a while (go) 8. I was tired yesterday because I ___________________ well the night before (not sleep).

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement A pronoun replaces another noun in a sentence. The antecedent is the noun that is being replaced. They need to match. Bob went to the store to buy his groceries. Bob- Antecedent His- Pronoun “Their” cannot replace “his or her.” “Their” is plural (more than one). Though this is changing! Each student should turn in their project. Each student should turn in his or her project.

Comma: Introductory Phrase Place a comma after an introductory phrase. This is a group of words at the start of a sentence that is outside the subject and predicate. It can be removed without changing the main meaning of the sentence. First, I went to the store. After the movie, I went to dinner.

Comma: Appositive Phrase Place commas around an appositive phrase. This is a group of words in the middle of a sentence that is outside the subject and predicate, but gives more information about a noun. It can be removed without changing the main meaning of the sentence. Frank, who is a dog, likes to eat steak. Sally, who is a vegetarian, does not like to eat steak.

Semicolon: Two Independent Clauses A semi-colon can be used to connect two related independent clauses. These could stand as sentences on their own. It is interchangeable with a period and coordinating conjunctions (like and, but, or, for) I like Girl Scout cookies; the best kind is Thin Mints.

Semicolon: List with commas Use a semi-colon to separate items in a list when the items have commas in them. This eliminates confusion. I have visited Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles, California; and Nashville, Tennessee.

Colon A colon is used to connect a list or example to the end of an already complete sentence. What is in front of the colon must be a complete sentence first. We read many books in English 11: Hamlet, Beowulf, and The Canterbury Tales. RIGHT! I bought: shoes, a skirt, and a shirt. WRONG!

Parallel Structure Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words throughout a sentence. Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling. PARALLEL! Mary likes hiking, to swim, and bicycling. NOT PARALLEL! I was asked to write my report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly. PARALLEL! I was asked to write my report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner.  

Misplaced Modifier A misplaced modifier is when a group of words tell us more about something in the sentence, but it is unclear. With no names, the teacher was confused about the assignments. WRONG! The teacher was confused about the assignment with no names. RIGHT!

Titles Put short stories, articles, and short poems in quotes. “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” “The Pardoner’s Tale” “Dulce Et Decorum Est” “A Modest Proposal” “Invictus” (poem) Put whole works, books, movies in italics or underline. Beowulf The Princess Bride Lord of the Flies Invictus (film)