Grammar Crammers 1-10 G. Herbst 2011

Dates Always use Arabic figures (1, 2, 3… not I, II, III…) without st, nd, th, or rd. Spell out all months unless used with a date o When used with a date, only abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. o When months begin sentences they must be spelled out  Examples 1.The game took place on Oct. 23, October 23, 2011 was the date of the game. 3.Classes began Sept Homecoming takes place in October.

Numbers One through ten are spelled out 11 and above are written numerically – Unless the number begins a sentence then spell out

Names Always use first and last names upon first mention for anyone For the second mention in the same story, only use the person’s last name o Example: Dr. Gary Woods is the new superintendant for BHUSD. Woods’s last job was in San Marino.

Titles Confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name Basic guidelines: o Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual’s name Ex: The president issued a statement. o Lowercase and spell out titles when set off from a name by commas Ex: The vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, declined to run again. o Capitalize formal titles when they are used immediately before one or more names Ex: Principal Carter Paysinger, Student Body President Joe Shmoe o Do not capitalize teacher or student

Classes and Sports Teams Do not capitalize unless using a specific title or if class name is already a proper noun o Ex: English, social studies, Algebra II, algebra, chemistry, AP Chemistry, Spanish, US History, biology, AP European History, drama, Advanced Journalism Names of sports teams are never capitalized o Only JV is capitalized If using the gender in the name of the team, the apostrophe goes on the outside of the s o Ex: girls’ varsity basketball, football, track, boys’ JV soccer

Where at Do not use at to end a sentence using where o Ex:  Incorrect: That was where he was at.  Correct: That was where he was.  Incorrect: Where is the party at?  Correct: Where is the party?

As/like As o Conjunction o Correct word to introduce clauses  Ex: Jim blocks the linebacker as he should. Like o Preposition o Use to compare nouns and pronouns; requires an object.  Ex: Jim blocks like a pro.

Double negatives: NO, NO! I didn’t do nothing is a double negative. o didn’t is negative; nothing is negative o Each negative cancels out the other o This is Colloquial English  does not follow the rules of standard grammar

Because/Since Because o Used to denote a specific cause-effect relationship  Ex: He went because he was told. Since o Acceptable in a casual sense when the first event in a sequence led logically to the second but was not its direct cause  Ex: They went to the game, since they had been given the tickets.

Imply/Infer Imply o Writers or speakers imply in the words they use Infer o A listener or reader infers something from the words they hear or read

Semicolon Used to indicate greater separation of thought and information than a comma can convey but less than a period implies. It is generally best to avoid semicolons to link independent clauses and always opt for separate sentences.

Semicolons To clarify a series: o use to separate elements of a series when items in the series are long or when individual segments contain material that must also be set off by commas.  Ex: He is survived by a son, John Smith, of Chicago; three daughters, Jane Smith, of Wichita, Kan., Mary Smith, of Denver, and Susan, of Boston; and a sister, Martha, of Omaha, Neb. (Note usage of semicolon before final and)

Semicolons To link independent clauses: o Use when a coordinating conjunction such as and, but or for is not present  Ex: The package was due last week; it arrived today.  Attempt to avoid this usage by creating separate sentences. o If coordinating conjunction is present, use semicolon before it only if extensive punctuation is required in one or more of the individual clauses  Ex: They pulled their boats from the water, sandbagged the retaining walls, and boarded up the windows; but even with these precautions, the island was hard-hit by the hurricane.

Semicolons Placement with quotes o Place semicolons outside quotation marks