D.L.P. – Week Nine Grade eight

Day One – Skills Capitalization – Proper Nouns – People Names of people are always capitalized. If the person has a title such as Mr. or Dr., the title is also capitalized. Animal’s names are also 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. 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. Punctuation – Comma – Appositives If an appositive is a single word, it is the writer’s choice to place comas around it or not, but a multiple word appositive must be set off from the sentence with commas.

Day one – sentence one Have you read “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Have you read “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

Day one – sentence two It is about a baffling mystery the main character is the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. It is about a baffling mystery. The main character is the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Day Two – Skills Punctuation – Period in an Abbreviation When a word is abbreviated, a period must be used to show that the word has been shortened. (Mister – Mr. street – st.) Voice – Active vs. Passive Active voice means that the subject is in the tradition subject spot as the doer of the action. In a passive voice construction, the subject is either in a prepositional phrase at the end of the sentence or not stated at all. (Active – I like cats. Passive (The cats were liked.) Note that in the passive construction, there is typically a linking verb. Writers should write in active voice. Negatives – Elimination of Doubles Only one negative word should be used per sentence. Negative words include no, not, never, and none. Compound Personal Pronouns Th compound personal pronouns are: myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves. Although you may here people use them, hisself and theriselves are not actually words.

The story is told by Dr Watson, who helps Holmes in his work. Day two – sentence one The story is told by Dr Watson, who helps Holmes in his work. Dr. Watson, who helps Holmes in his work, tells the story.

Day Two – sentence two Watson sees the same clues Holmes does, but he can’t never put them together hisself. Watson sees the same clues Holmes does, but he can never put them together himself.

Day Three– Skills Punctuation – Comma – Appositives If an appositive is a single word, it is the writer’s choice to place comas around it or not, but a multiple word appositive must be set off from the sentence with commas. 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. Agreement – Subjects that are Compound Compound subjects connected by and are plural which then makes them need a plural verb. When compound subjects are connected by either/or or neither/nor, the subject of the second part is made to match the verb. (either the book or the papers are…. neither the books or the paper is)

Day three – sentence one A young woman asks Holmes to look into the death of her sister, Julia who dies mysteriously. A young woman asks Holmes to look into the death of her sister, Julia, who dies mysteriously.

Her and her sister was twins and very close. Day Three – sentence two Her and her sister was twins and very close. She and her sister were twins and very close.

Day Four– Skills Contractions with Have Contractions formed by combing a word with the helping verb have should end in ‘ve. (could’ve) This contraction sounds like the word “of.” Remember, the word “of” would never be between two other verbs. (should have gone) Confused Words – accept/except The word accept is an action verb means to take something that is offered. The word except is a preposition that means to leave something out. Punctuation – Comma – Introductory Subordinate Clause When a sentence begins with a subordinate (dependent) clause, the clause must be followed by a comma. If the subordinate clause ends the sentence, no commas separates it from the independent one. Punctuation – Indirect Questions Since an indirect question is not actually a question, it is punctuated with a period.

Day four – sentence one There seems to be no way Julia could of been murdered in a locked room, but Holmes excepts the case. There seems to be no way Julia could have been murdered in a locked room, but Holmes accepts the case.

Although there will be danger Watson asks if he can help? Day four – sentence two Although there will be danger Watson asks if he can help? Although there will be danger, Watson asks if he can help.

Day Five– Skills Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs – Elimination of Double Comparison The three degrees of comparison are positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive degree is simply the adjective or adverb. The comparative degree means that two things are being compared. The suffix “er” is used or the words more or less. (bigger, more interesting, less exciting) The superlative degree compares more than two things. The suffix “est” or the words most or least are used. (biggest, most interesting, least exciting) A double comparison occurs when both the suffix and the words are used. Use one or the other. 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) Capitalization – Titles 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.

Day five – sentence one Hoping to prevent an even worser crime, the two men travel to the country home of the twins stepfather. Hoping to prevent an even worse crime, the two men travel to the country home of the twin’s stepfather.

Day five – sentence two Read “the adventures of the speckled band” to find out how Holmes solves the mystery. Read “The Adventures of the Speckled Band” to find out how Holmes solves the mystery.