2. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Gruesome Grammar It’s not just for Halloween!

3. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Flee from Freaky, Frightening Fragments A fragment is a group of words that is punctuated like a sentence but does not express a complete thought.

4. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Frightening Fragments Bought a new book at Border’s. Corrected: My mom bought a new book at Border’s. While you were in English class. Corrected: While you were in English class, the fire erupted. Running down the street in the pouring rain. Corrected: Running down the street in the pouring rain, Jimmy slipped and broke his arm.

5. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Frightening Fragments For additional information on fragments, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 14

6. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Run from Revolting, Repulsive Run-ons Two or more complete thoughts cannot be merged into a single sentence without the proper punctuation.

7. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Repulsive Run-ons  I closed the coffin I hurt my hand. Ways to correct this sentence: I closed the coffin. I hurt my hand. I closed the coffin; I hurt my hand. I closed the coffin, and I hurt my hand. I closed the coffin and hurt my hand. Because I closed the coffin, I hurt my hand.

8. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Repulsive Run-ons For additional information on run-ons, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 15.

9. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Beware of deadly, devilish disagreement  Subjects and verbs must agree.  Pronouns and antecedents must agree.

10. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Devilish Disagreement  Singular noun + singular verb  Example: The cat on the fence scream.  Plural noun + plural verb  Example: The boys teases their sister.  A singular noun must be replaced by a singular pronoun; a plural noun must be replaced by a plural pronoun.  Example: Each of the cats brought their best voice.

11. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Devilish Disagreement For additional information on subject-verb agreement, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 13. For additional information on pronoun agreement, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p.14.

12. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Beware of terrifying, tangled tenses Don’t go from past tense to present tense! Don’t go from present tense to past tense!

13. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Tangled Tenses The ocean contains (present tense) rich minerals that washed down (past tense)from rivers and streams. Corrected: The ocean contains (present tense)rich minerals that wash down (present tense) from rivers and streams.

14. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Tangled Tenses For additional information on tenses, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 14

15. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Be careful with creepy, crawly, crafty commas  Use commas to separate items in a series (and before the conjunction). Example: Alice got Milky Ways, Snickers, and Three Musketeers for Halloween.  An introductory phrase should be set off from the main part of the sentence with a comma. Example: By the end of the night, she couldn’t carry her bag.

16. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Creepy Commas  Use commas to distinguish items in an address and items in a date. Example: On October 31, 2009, I will visit my aunt at 23 Scary Drive, Newport, Rhode Island.  Use commas to set off words that explain or define other words. Example: Barack Obama, our president, made a speech last night.  Use a comma to separate clauses of a compound sentence. Example: Jimmy collected three bags of goodies, and he ate everything.

17. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Creepy Commas For additional information on commas, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 24.

18. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Watch out for weird and wacky misplaced modifiers A descriptive or explanatory phrase should go as near as possible to the thing it is describing.

19. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Jerry got new sneakers at the store with three stripes. Misplaced Modifiers The little kindergartener asked her teacher to explain the days of the week in her quiet voice. Correction: Jerry got new sneakers with three stripes at the store. Correction: In her quiet voice, the little kindergartener asked her teacher to explain the days of the week.

20. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 For additional information on misplaced modifiers, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 16 Misplaced Modifiers

21. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Paralyzing Parallel Structure Items in a series should follow the same general pattern. I spend my spare time reading, hiking, or at a movie. At camp, I learned to cook over an open fire, pitch a tent that wouldn’t blow down in the wind, and the proper way to pack a backpack. Corrected: I spend my spare time reading, hiking, or watching a movie. Corrected: At camp, I learned to cook over an open fire, to pitch a tent that wouldn’t blow down in the wind, and to pack a backpack properly.

22. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 For additional information on parallel structure, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 14 Paralyzing Parallel Structure

23. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Do not let awful, atrocious apostrophes drive you batty!  An apostrophe is used to show possession (ownership). the bat ’s wings the girl s’ coats the mice ’s tails  Apostrophes are also used in contractions. I ’ m, he ’ s, they ’ re, it ’ s, we ’ d, you ’ ve…

24. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Atrocious Apostrophes For additional information on apostrophes, see Garnet Valley Style Manual p. 29

25. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Pronoun Perils Pronouns as objects: Me, you, him, her, us, them, and whom Pronouns that show possession: my (mine), your (yours), his, her (hers), it (its), our (ours), their (theirs), and whose Pronouns as subjects: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who

26. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Pronoun Perils She gave her broom to Jane and I. Corrected: She gave her broom to Jane and me. She is taller than me. Corrected: She is taller than I. Us boys like the witch’s hat. Corrected: We boys like witch’s hat. The witch and me travel a good deal. Corrected: The witch and I travel a good deal.

27. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Pronoun Perils For additional information on pronouns, see Mr. Stevenson

28. B. Stevenson Sept. ‘07 Gruesome Grammar Come Again… If You Dare!!!