1. Grammar!!! YAY! Kiser

2. Why do I need to know about grammar, Ms. Kiser?  The simple answer is you don't.....if you have a dead-end, low- paying job in mind that requires little or no language skills. However, for jobs that allow advancement and will pay the bills and then some, good communication is a must. That means good writing and speaking skills play an important part in your success.  Grammar is the terminology that allows us to fix what is broken and to improve what is dull. Plus, it's with an understanding of grammar that real style enters your speech and writing and separates your fifth grade and high school writing skills. In addition to being one of the most misspelled words in our language, it's useful. It makes powerful writing possible.

3. What’s Next???  Now that you have a reason for learning grammar besides "the teacher made me," it's time for some good news:  What you need to learn about grammar involves less memorization than for one chapter test in history or science. Plus, you use it forever, not just for one chapter test only to forget it the minute after the test.  FYI: American high school graduates are expected to know regardless of whether they take the ACT or not.

4. Why am I bad at grammar???  Now for some bad news: If you have had problems with grammar in the past, it's because you couldn't find the motivation to memorize some definitions for a short list of terms. Shame on you, I say! Get motivated, make some flash cards, learn it all, and reap the benefits, my young friends!

5. The Basics: Subjects and Verbs  Subjects and Verbs  Every complete idea/sentence has two parts, a subject and a verb. If a sentence is missing one or the other, then it's not a sentence, but it is a fragment, a very, very bad thing.  Example: The cat eats.

6. The Subject—Always a Noun  The subject is that "person, place, or thing" that is doing or being in the sentence.  You probably recognize the definition for a noun—a person, place, or thing.  The cat eats.

7. The Verb  The Verb  The action verb relates an action that the subject is doing, did, has done, etc. When you spot a verb ending, -s, -ed, -ing, etc., you have usually spotted a verb.  The cat eats.  Other examples of verbs: jump, listen, run, talk, earn, pay, speak, learn, rest, etc.

8. Sometimes, a sentence has a direct object, too!  What is a direct object?  The direct object gets its name by receiving the "direct" attention of an action verb. I remember that a direct object comes after a subject and an action verb by remembering that I would like to be rich, and for that to happen, I will have to save my money: SAVDO (Save dough.)  subject + action verb + what? (or) whom?  The car struck me.  Who did the car strike? ME! So, me is the direct object.

9. Adjectives  describe/modify nouns  Adjectives answer these questions about nouns: what kind, which ones, how many, and how much?  The orange cat eats.

10. Adverbs  Adverbs earn their name by adding to verbs!!!  So, they describe or modify VERBS!!!!  Adverbs answer the questions how, when, where, to what extent, and to what degree?  The orange cat eats quietly.

11. Prepositional Phrases  Prepositional Phrase= Preposition + Object (Noun)  The preposition is often a word that does nothing on its own and has to depend on an object in order to have any meaning. Consider of. Of is always a preposition. This little word can't add meaning to a sentence on its own. It's a wimp! It has to have help.  You have 3 minutes to look up and write down as many prepositions as you can on one of your index cards!

12. Here’s a trick for identifying a prepositional phrase!!!  "A rabbit can go where?" Ask where can a rabbit go? A rabbit can go...in the barn, under the fence, through the house, etc. Ask how can a rabbit go? A rabbit can go in a hurry, under its own power, by its choosing, etc. When can a rabbit go? A rabbit can go in a minute, after its nap, before lunch, etc.  Here’s a cute bunny video for ya!!! https://youtu.be/A9HV5O8Un6k

13. Prepositional Phrases Continued  The orange cat eats by the front door.  The orange cat eats under the awning.  The orange cat eats near the door to the house.

14. Pronouns- Singular  Singular :  First person: I, me, my, mine  Second person: you (singular), your, yours  Third person: he, she, it, him, her, his, her, hers, its

15. Pronouns- Plural  Plural  First person: we, us, our, ours  Second person: you (plural), your, yours  Third person: they, them, their, theirs

16. Conjunctions  A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.

17. Interjection  Hi! That's an interjection. :-)  Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing.  When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence.  An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

18. Clauses  Independent: Independent clauses are so named because they stand on their own and form a complete idea without help. (Independent Woman)  I was late to work.  Dependent: These are a little more complex. They are "dependent" on an independent clause since they don't form a complete idea on their own even though they have a subject and a verb. (Dependent Woman)  CUE WORDS: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.  Because I woke up late this morning… (what happened?)  When we arrived in class… (what occurred?)

19. Destiny’s Child- Independent Woman

20. GRAMMAR IS INSANE!!!!  It's strange but adding a word to an independent clause can make it dependent.  I saw the elephant is a sentence that can stand on its own because it has a subject and a verb. Therefore, it is an independent clause.  However, if we add a word, then When I saw the elephant is no longer a complete idea.

21. Let’s label what we know so far!!!!  1. We watched the exciting football game on Friday at the high school.  2. Because I was absent on Monday, I attended the after school program.  3. His coat was red and black, while her coat was solid orange.

22. How to combine clauses and or sentences???  Independent clause, (comma) coordinating conjunction (and, or, but, for, so, yet, nor), independent clause.  I went to the store, and she went to a friend's house.  Independent clause ; (semicolon) independent clause  I went to the store; she went to a friend's house.  Independent clause : (colon) independent clause  I went to the store: I needed some milk. [Use this when the second clause explains or gives an example of the first.]

23. Independent + Dependent  You typically use a comma in between your independent and dependent clauses if the dependent clause comes first!!!!!!  Because I woke up late this morning I was late for work.  I was at the mall while Ted was at the movies.  Where does the comma need to go?????

24. Run-on sentence  a run-on sentence occurs when one idea (independent clause) runs into another idea without appropriate conjunctions or punctuation.  I went to the store she went to a friend's house.

25. Sentence Fragments  When you leave out a subject or verb in a sentence.  Went to the store. Went to a friend's house.  They happen often when you answer a question in a lazy way.

26. Appositive  Additional information (usually a short, descriptive phrase) that is given to describe a noun or pronoun—must be set apart using commas.  When the appositive begins the sentence, it looks like this:  A hot-tempered tennis player, Robbie charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.  When the appositive interrupts the sentence, it looks like this:  Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player, charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.  And when the appositive ends the sentence, it looks like this:  Upset by the bad call, the crowd cheered Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.

27. Where is the appositive??  Callie, the red-haired girl, was shy in the group-setting.  Daron loves listening to Justin Timberlake and Drake, his favorite musical artisits.  The couple, Alex and Morgan, met in band class in high school.

28. Parallelism!!!!! SO IMPORTANT!!!  Whenever you include a list of actions or items, you must use equal grammatical units. If the first item is a noun, then the following items must also be nouns; if the first action is a simple past tense verb, then make the other items simple past tense verbs as well.noun, then the following items must also be nouns; if the first action is a simple past tense verb, then make the other items simple past tense verbs as well.  Students capped their pens, were closing their notebooks, and zipped their book bags  We spent the hour in the waiting room reading old magazines, eating stale cookies from the vending machine, and we wiggled on the hard plastic chairs.

29. How to use a long dash???  To show a shift in thought or an afterthought  Warm, sandy, and salty—the oceanic atmosphere brings thoughts of summer to mind.  The two dogs—Buster and Forrest—got into trouble when their owner was gone.  She looked at her watch—her gold, diamond encrusted watch.

30. Let’s Practice!!!!  1. Rosa ate oranges, bananas, and she ate strawberries at the fresh market.  2. Rosa, the girl at the market, at many different fruits  How could I punctuate the sentence above with dashes?  3. Carlos wanted to buy Skittles he also was interested in buying a soda.

31. Good vs. Well  Good is an adjective—it describes a noun/pronoun  Well is an adverb—it describes a verb  She did a well job on the project. Correct or incorrrect???  The boy did not feel good at school today. Correct or incorrect???

32. Who or Whom?  If you can replace the subject with he or she, use WHO!  If you can replace the subject with him or her, use WHOM!!  Fred, (who or whom) was playing short-stop, made the catch.  (Who or Whom) should I vote for?  I wondered (who or whom) the song was about.  (Who or Whom) wrote the letter.

33. Who or That?  Who refers to PEOPLE  That refers to THINGS  The cat (who/that) was orange ate the food.  Pat, (who/that) owns the restaurant, was very friendly.  Bob is the guy (who/that) sold me the car.

34. Sit or Set?  Sit= to rest in the sitting position  Set= to put/place something down  She set on the pier with her friends. TRUE OR FALSE  Mark set his keys on the kitchen counter. TRUE OR FALSE  Bailey decided to sit on the bench next to Molly.