Daily Lessons and Weekly Quizzes

 As we view each lesson, take notes and participate in the practice activities and “Pop Quizzes” over rules you should know by this point in your education.  Title your notes “The Grammar Devotional: Lesson ______”.  Keep all notes together as a set for future review.

 Making Possessive Names Possessive  The Burger of McDonald’s  Subject vs. Object  I Love You!

 Avoid making possessive names possessive.  Technically you should add another apostrophe or apostrophe s on the end – which looks ridiculous!  Rewrite the sentence. McDonald’s’s earnings were super-sized last quarter. (technically correct) McDonald’s’ earnings were super-sized last quarter. (technically correct) Practice: Rewrite the sentence to avoid using an apostrophe or an apostrophe s.

 The subject is the person or thing doing something.  The object is having something done to it. Remember the sentence: I love you! I is the subject. You is the object of the sentence.

 Not Only…But Also

When not only is followed by but also (or simply but), it’s considered good form to make sure the parts that follow each set of words are formatted the same way. He is not only a great swimmer, but also a great musician. (Good: the sentence uses two noun clauses, which are underlined.) He is not only a great swimmer, but also plays amazing music. (Bad: the sentence uses a noun clause and a verb clause. They don’t match.) Practice: Correct the Bad sentence by using two verb clauses.

Which of the following is incorrect? a. Squiggly received a warm welcome. b. Please welcome Squiggly. c. Squiggly’s arrival was a welcome distraction. d. You’re welcomed. e. They welcomed Squiggly to the family. f. Welcome!

 The answer is d.  Welcome can be many things: a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an interjection.  Welcomed is the past tense form of the verb welcome, not an adjective.

 That Problem  Always make sure our thats are necessary.

 For example:  These two sentences mean the same thing, so you can leave out that. The sandwich that I ate yesterday was delicious. The sandwich I ate yesterday was delicious.  If your sentence has multiple thats, see if you can take some out without changing the meaning. I know that she would prefer that people call her Cookie. I know she would prefer that people call her Cookie.

 Many people eliminate that’s even though they’re needed for clarity.  Aardvark maintains Squiggly’s yard is too large. (WRONG)  Aardvark maintains that Squiggly’s yard is too large. (RIGHT!)

AND PER SE AND: AMBERSANDS

 The ampersand (&) is a symbol for and.  Only use the ampersand in the most informal situations.  Exceptions  As part of a formal company name (Smith & Wesson, Tiffany & Co.)  When the rest of the name is also an abbreviation (AT&T) and in common expressions (R&R, R&B)