When the bell rings you should be writing silently in your journal. Do you think electronic reading devices such as Kindles and Nooks will soon “destroy” traditional books?

Remember:  Materials:  Make sure to always have your notebook.  Make sure to always have something to write with. Make-up  IRP day; second reading log and second note card.  Thesis statements. Noodletools. Intro and thesis statements checked.  Parts of speech. Body paragraphs checked. -Grades are on MMS -IRP day/journals FRIDAY -Study Island TOMORROW- fewer multiple choice questions; you will be writing. -Your documented essay OR speech is due FRIDAY. Speeches will be presented to the class before we being IRP day. -Your cumulative FINAL will be next FRIDAY. Certain students must attend on the 30 th.

Parts of speech  Grammar gives us EIGHT basic parts of speech (we will not cover every single part in explicit details):  Noun  Verb  Adjective  Adverb  Prepositions  Conjunctions  Interjections  Pronouns  We will truly focus on the “core four”

Noun  A noun, as you know, is easiest to remember as a PERSON, PLACE, or THING. However, keep in mind that a noun can also be something like a FEELING or IDEA that is not tangible.

Verb  A verb is commonly referred to as an action word, but that’s for elementary students. Here is our new definition: a word that expresses time while showing an action, a condition, or the fact that something exists.  We can have action verbs (that verbs that you are probably most familiar with) and linking verbs.

Adjectives  Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns, OR give them a more specific meaning.

Adverbs  You probably know that adverbs modify verbs. HOWEVER, they have many other jobs that you might not have been aware of. Adverbs can also: modify adjectives or even another adverb. Adverbs answer where, when, in what way, or to what extent.

Prepositions  Prepositions: show the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.  Prepositions ALWAYS introduce a phrase (VERY important).  Prepositions can be quite similar to adverbs, so let’s take a look together.

Conjunctions  Conjunctions: join words OR groups of words.  Conjunctions are very important because they have the ability to help join clauses together.  For our purposes in English 9, you just need to know that three very popular conjunctions are: “and,” “or,” and “but.”

Interjections  Interjections are easy!  Interjections: are words that express emotion and have no grammatical relation to the rest of the sentence.  “Help!” “Wow!” “Gosh!” “Good grief!”  SOMETIMES you can have a mild interjection that is followed by a comma: “Oh, no you didn’t!”

Adverbs: How to find those tricky buggers  Look immediately after a verb and ask yourself if that word is DESCRIBING the verb.  Example: The man walked slowly.  Example: The man walked fast.  If there is a mysterious word before an adjective, chances are it is an adverb!  Example: The very smart man is walking home.  Example: I am tremendously bored.  Keep in mind that an adverb can modify other adverbs..  Example: I walked somewhat cautiously.  If you are really stumped on a word and honestly can’t seem to fit it into any other part of speech, ask yourself the adverb questions: Does it answer HOW, WHEN, WHERE, or TO WHAT EXTENT?  Finally, adjectives CANNOT modify adverbs.  Example: The tall quickly girl. (WRONG!!!)

Clauses

What is a clause?  A clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb and is used as part of a sentence.  Ok, so if a clause contains a subject and verb, can it also be considered a sentence if it’s all by itself?  Short answer: Yes. Long answer: It depends on the type of clause.

Independent clauses  Think about it: What does it mean to be independent?  An independent clause contains a subject and verb, expresses a complete thought, and can stand by itself.  The two clauses below are independent because they have subjects and verbs, express complete thoughts, and can stand alone as sentences.  Now, combine these two clauses into one sentence:  The people grumbled more every day.  The army threatened to revolt.

Subordinate clauses  Think about it: What does it mean to be subordinate to someone or something?  A subordinate clause may contain a subject and verb, BUT it does NOT express a complete thought and CANNOT stand on its own.  Subordinate clauses fill certain roles in a sentence just like parts of speech. You can have: Adverb clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses.  Look at the examples below. If you would say these clauses out loud they would sound wrong or incomplete.  who was the hero of a famous novel.  that he would find honor and glory.  because it is so funny.

Joining independent and subordinate clauses  A subordinate clause MUST be combined with an independent clause.  We use subordinating conjunctions to join subordinate clauses with independent clauses.  Subordinating conjunctions serve NO grammatical purpose in the clauses they introduce.

Subordinating conjunctions afterbeforeunless althoughifuntil asin order thatwhen as ifsincewhenever as long as so thatwhere as soon asthatwherever becausethoughwhile

Tips, tricks, and practice  If a subordinate clause begins a sentence, it will ALWAYS end with a COMMA.  Let’s look at some sentences:  Joan, who was an experience baby-sitter, was never short of cash.  The King did not express his suspicions about his brother; instead, he sent him to almost certain death in battle.  Mrs. Dillon likes to have plenty of room when she parks her car.  As soon as the program is over, refreshments will be served.

Library  Same procedure as Monday and Tuesday.  Today I am looking for conclusion paragraphs AND completed Works Cited pages for 20 points.  Today is, for most of you, your last day of class time to work on your paper. Mr. Smink’s dream home