D.L.P. – Week One GRADE EIGHT

Day One – Skills Sentence Fragment A fragment occurs because a sentence is missing a vital part, a subject or a verb. Correct it by adding the missing part. A second way that a fragment occurs is that it is not a complete thought. Perhaps, it is only a dependent clause. Correct this type of fragment by adding an independent clause. Punctuation – Comma – Compound Sentence When two independent clauses are combined with a conjunction to form a compound sentence, a comma must be placed before the conjunction. Capitalization – Proper Adjectives Adjectives describe nouns. When a proper noun is changed into an adjective form, then it must be capitalized. America is a proper noun, so when it becomes the adjective American, it must still be capitalized. Punctuation – End Marks Sentences must end with proper punctuation to signal that a thought has ended. Declarative sentences or statements end in a period. Interrogative sentences, which are also known as questions, must end in a question mark. Imperative sentences are punctuated based on how they are said. Commands that are forceful would end in an exclamation point, but a calmly stated command would merit a period. Finally, exclamatory sentences end in exclamation points since they are spoken with such enthusiasm.

Yoshiko Uchida was born in California. To parents who came from Japan. DAY ONE – SENTENCE ONE Yoshiko Uchida was born in California to parents who came from Japan.

Uchida learned about her Japanese culture but she always knew she was an american DAY ONE – SENTENCE TWO Uchida learned about her Japanese culture, but she always knew she was an American.

Day Two – Skills Dates A date that contains the month, day, and year can be written two ways. It can be done numerically (9/4/66) or in words (September 4, 1966). Note that in the written form, a comma is needed after the day, and the year contains four digits. When an entire date is included in the context of a sentence, it must be followed by a comma. Capitalization – First Word in a Sentence Sentences must begin with a capital letter to signal that a new thought has begun. Verb Usage – To sink The verb sink is an action verb that is irregular. In the past it changes to sank. As a past participle, it becomes have sunk.

On December the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. DAY TWO – SENTENCE ONE On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

by the end of the day, the attack had sank many American ships. DAY TWO – SENTENCE TWO By the end of the day, the attack had sunk many American ships.

Day Three– Skills Punctuation – Hyphen Some compound words are connected by a hyphen. To be certain if a word needed a hyphen, consult a dictionary. Hyphens are also used at the end of a written or typed line of text if the complete word does not fit. Use the hyphen between syllables of the word. Agreement – 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. Negatives – Elimination of Doubles Only one negative word should be used per sentence. Negative words include no, not, never, and none. Verb Usage – To be The verb “be” is a linking verb. Oddly, it is never used without another helping verb before it. (will be) The verb “be” is conjugated as am, are, is, are in the present tense, was, were in the past tense, and be in the future tense with either will or shall preceding it. The other two linking verbs been and being come from other tenses of this verb. Spelling – ie/ei Most English words follow the rule, “I before e except after c.” Hence, these words are spelled as such: piece and ceiling.

After Pearl Harbor, a confused country turned on their Japanese American citizens. DAY THREE – SENTENCE ONE After Pearl Harbor, a confused country turned on their Japanese-American citizens.

Many wouldn’t hardly beleive that people with Japanese names and faces be loyal Americans. DAY THREE – SENTENCE TWO Many would hardly believe that people with Japanese names and faces were loyal Americans.

Day Four– Skills Punctuation – Hyphen Some compound words are connected by a hyphen. To be certain if a word needed a hyphen, consult a dictionary. Hyphens are also used at the end of a written or typed line of text if the complete word does not fit. Use the hyphen between syllables of the word. Agreement – Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are words that can take the place of nouns, but they are not specific. They are also complicated to use since they affected by whether they are singular or plural. Another, anybody, anyone, anything, everybody, everyone, everything, much, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, and something are singular. That means these words would pair with an action verb that ends in an s or a linking verb like “is” or “was.” Both, few, many, and several are plural. That means these words would pair with an action verb that does not end in an s or a linking verb like “are” or “were.” All, any, more, most, none, and some can be either singular or plural. To determine how to make these words agree with their verb, look at the object of the preposition that follows the pronoun. If it is singular, it needs a singular verb. (All of ice is melted.) If it is plural, it needs a plural verb. (All of the pages are torn.)

Day Four– Skills – Cont. Confused Words – desert/dessert The word desert can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it is a barren area full of sand. As a verb, it means to leave. The words dessert is a noun that means a sweet after dinner treat. Remember, more dessert is desired, so double the s! Pronoun Usage – Case 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. Pronoun Usage - Case with Compounds 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). Plurals – Distinguished from 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.

Many innocent Japanese Americans was arrested and sent to camps in the Utah dessert. DAY FOUR – SENTENCE ONE Many innocent Japanese- Americans were arrested and sent to camps in the Utah desert.

Them and their families lost their homes and business’s. DAY FOUR – SENTENCE TWO They and their families lost their homes and businesses.

Day Five– Skills Punctuation – Apostrophes in Possession An apostrophe is used to show possession or ownership. If the word showing ownership is singular, then the apostrophe is placed before the s. (boy’s) If the word is plural and ends in an s, then the apostrophe is placed after the s. (groups’) However, if the plural word does not end in an s, then the apostrophe is placed before the s. (children’s) Joint possession means more than one person owns something. If one thing is owned by more than one person, the apostrophe and s appear only on the final person in the group. (Bob and Mark’s car) Punctuation – Comma – Coordinate Adjectives Two adjectives next to each other that could include the word and between them should be separated by a comma. (big, red boat) Run-on Sentences 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.

Yoshiko Uchidas experience did not turn her into a bitter angry person. DAY FIVE – SENTENCE ONE Yoshiko Uchida’s experience did not turn her into a bitter, angry person.

After her release, she became a teacher and a writer, her theme was tolerance for all people and races. DAY FIVE – SENTENCE TWO After her release, she became a teacher and a writer; her theme was tolerance for all people and races.