The Only use for the word capitOl with an O is when referring to the capitOl building/buildings!
Yep, you read that caption correctly! Contrary to what many people believe, capitOl does not refer to the head city, a good idea, or money invested. CapitOl Only refers to the capitOl building.
Here is the rundown:
1. Capitol a. Only has one use that we widely implement. b. Means the building or group of buildings in which the functions of government are carried out. c. Think. CapitOl Only means Office buildings for gOvernment--that is the Only meaning.
2. Capital a. All other uses of capital are the a one—capital is for all other uses. b. ALL other uses of capitol/capital are the word capitAL. c. Adjectives 1) Upper case letter: capital letter 2) Chief or primary: capital idea or the capital (most important) thing for us to remember 3) Die by the court: capital punishment 4) Primary city: the capital city d. Nouns 1) Stock of goods or income: to have capital in the bank 2) Capital used by itself for the city: go to the capital of the state (i.e. the city that is the capital--not the building--the capitol building).
Watch the blog and Facebook page tomorrow for a quiz over this Wacky Word pair--and over last week's vane, vein, and vain! Better start studying!
So what can you do if you have difficulty spelling Wednesday? Try any of the methods above.
Or try our combination syllabication/tricky trick of syllabicating it AND pronouncing each syllable (including the “silent letters” of the word) as you write it:
Wed/nes/day
Be sure to pronounce it like the following sounds as you spell it (not the way it really sounds):
So many of my students have trouble spelling today’s day of the week! Wednesday is definitely not phonetic, so students (and adults!) get stuck on the spelling of it. Most people say Wednesday without the sound of the d at all.
We teach our students to spell difficult words in many ways, giving them as many tools as we possibly can.
1.Syllable by syllable—longer words that are phonetic in nature can often be syllabicated and spelled syllable by syllable by a student who is fairly phonetically-savvy: con/se/quence.
2.Tricks and mnemonics—we call these “Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick” and use them often with our “Wacky Words”—words that have a wacky counterpart that can be confusing, such as the homophones their, there, and they’re. I had an elementary student this year who told the class that they could easily spell Nebuchadnezzar if they just divided it up and pronounced the ch as choo (not kuh): Neb/U/Chad/Nez/Zar! Of course, any tricks that help a person are handy tools to have (though the trick must help that person in order to be effective).
3.Visual tricks—many visual people spell by “seeing” the word—its shape, its sequence of letters (and the shapes those letters make), etc.
4.Memorization—some peopleare just naturally good spellers (it is now thought to be a specific skill set separate from intelligence) and can memorize a word’s spelling once it is seen.
The other day as I was reading aloud to my sons out of a book about Clara Barton, I came across a sentence that i read, then re-read, then re-read again. It was about Clara Barton, the founder of the US Red Cross during the Civil War, becoming weary on the battle front. I was sure that the author had misused the word weary--and really needed wary. It was then and there that I decided that the concept of weary and wary warranted its own "Tricky Trick to Help It Stick"!
Weary is a word that means tired or overwhelmed from something, such as too much work, no rest, difficult circumstances, etc. Wary is a word that means to be paranoid or suspicious.
Both words are adjectives, meaning they describe nouns (or sometimes pronouns, in the case of predicate adjectives: I am weary.). So, what can we use for a Tricky Trick?
Well, I will propose one that has worked for me since my Clara Barton encounter--see if it helps you as well:
1. The day was dreary, so she grew weary--just remember that the spellings are the same--dreary and weary (dreary weather makes you tired or weary!).
2. The salesman was scary, so the buyers were wary--just remember that the spellings are the same--scary and wary (a scary saleperson makes you wary or suspicious/paranoid).
Now, I hope you don't get weary in your grammar studies--or wary when you write a sentence using weary/wary!
In writing Mother's Day, I reminded you that the day belongs to one mother--your mother. Thus, you write Mother, then you show possession to the word mother: Mother's Day.
Possession can be so tricky because we think of whether the word is singular or possessive; we contemplate whether the apostrophe should be on the inside or outside of the s, etc. It doesn't need to be that complicated! You are probably thinking too hard!
Tricky Trick to Help It Stick: Do not worry about whether the word you want to show possession to is singular or plural.
1. Just write the word you want to show possession to
2. Then see if it does or does not end in an s:
a. If it DOES end in an s, just put apostrophe on the outside of the s that is already there (s')
i. glass
ii. glass' rim
b. It it does NOT end in an s, add apostrophe s ('s)
i. cup
ii. cup's rim
Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.
Here we are at the end of our Wacky Word pair—lie and lay.
Remember these lie and lay tips:
Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I lie in bed at wide awake.
Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.
Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
She lies down with a headache every day.
The sun is lying low.
She has lain down for a nap.
Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
Lay your book on the table.
He laid his money down.
She has laid the towels in the sun.
Okay…the tenses for the three:
1. Lie
a. Base form: lie—Tomorrow I will lie down early. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb; early is an adverb here, not an object.
b. Past simple: lay—Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Tricky part: past tense of lie is lay; lay is also the present tense of lay—to lay something down!)
b. Past participle: lain—They have lain low ever since then.
d. Third person singular: lies—The dog just lies under the tree all day long.
e. Present participle/gerund: lying—The sun was lying on the horizon for so long today.
2. Lay
Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.
Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick
Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)
I’m officially done with sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! Time to move on. I feel that I have risen to the occasion and am glad that I did not sit idly by and lay these tricky ones aside. Glad I did not let people lie in agony over these Wacky Words. I would like for all of us to set our grammar burdens aside and raise a toast in honor of sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! J (Last time for a while, honest!)
Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.
I like to start with the simplest Wacky Word pair—sit and set. Then I like to move onto rise and raise. (And leave the “wackiest” pair, lie/lay, for the end.)
Remember these rise and raise tips:
Rise has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I rise around
Yesterday I rose at dawn yesterday. (Not really!)
Before that I had risen when the cat jumped on me.
Rise means to come up to a higher position—anybody or anything can rise, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT raised)
She rose to greet us.
The sun is rising late.
Our grades have risen lately. (Technically, grades are raised by someone (“I raised my GPA”)—but if you do not state who raised them, they would be rising by themselves—which we know doesn’t really happen!)
Raise does have an i—but not only an I like rise—raise is done to something.
Raise must have an object following it—something that it is being raised.
Raise your glass for a toast.
He raised his children well.
The children are raising their hands in class now.
Okay…the tenses for the two:
1. Rise
a. Base form: rise—Tomorrow I will rise early. (Remember—no object; early is an adverb here, not an object.
b. Past simple: rose—Yesterday I rose late.
b. Past participle: risen—They have risen to the task.
d. Third person singular: rises—The sun rises early now.
e. Present participle/gerund: rising—The sun was rising later in the day before.
2. Raise
Base form: raise—Today I raise my voice in song. (Object—voice)
Past simple: raised—Yesterday I raised the log and found a mole.
Past participle: raised—Before I put the binoculars down, I raised them up and looked through them in the distance.
Third person singular: raises—She always raises her voice when she is angry.
Present participle/gerund: raising—I am raising the bar in that class!
Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.
Fill in the blanks below with the correct forms/tenses of sit/set.
She _________ down and wept when she heard the news.
They _______ down.
They _______ the plants out.
They will be _______ the clothes out beforehand.
Yesterday, he ________ down to rest.
They will ________ the clothes out to dry.
He _________ down.
He is ____________ down.
They will be _________ the clothes out beforehand.
Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.
"Sit, Fido! Before I have to set you down myself!"
Remember these sit and set tips:
Sit has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I sit down.
Yesterday I sat down.
Before that I had sat down.
Sit means to recline or lower down to a sitting position—anybody or anything can sit, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT set)
The chair sits in the corner empty, missing its owner.
She sat there and pouted all afternoon.
They are sitting down in protest.
She has sat there in tears all day.
They are sitting in the parlor.
Set does not have an I—it is done TO something.
Set must have an object following it—something that it is setting.
Set the table.
Set the baby down in her seat.
God set the stars in the sky.
Set the book on the counter.
We will be setting up decorations at noon.
The jello still needs to set . (It's like you are saying to set the jello!)
She sets the table as though a king is coming.
Set is the same base word for all of its tenses: set; set; set; sets; setting. That is why I recommend teaching this Wacky Word pair first (of the three).
Okay…the tenses for the three:
1, Sit
a. Base form: sit—Today I sit down. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb here, not an object.
b. Past simple: sat—Yesterday I sat down.
b. Past participle: sat—Before that, I had sat down.
d. Third person singular: sits—The dog sits in the corner.
e. Present participle/gerund: sitting—I was sitting down.
2. Set
Base form: set—Today I set the vase on the table. (Object—vase)
Past simple: set—Yesterday I set the vase on the table.
Past participle: set—Before that I set the vase on the table.
Third person singular: sets—She sets the vase on the table.
Present participle/gerund: setting—I am setting the vase on the table.
Sit and rise have I's--and lie does too.
"Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do.
Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose
When each one has an object after it to use.
I am going to take sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay one pair at a time over the next few days; however, I wanted to start the series (or at least this second post) with teacher tips.
I have watched kids with glossed over eyes as I have tried many techniques and order to teach these tricky pairs, and have had many difficulties “rise” up and confuse them (and me!):
People lie; things get laid down—sort of works, but it’s not just people who lie—the sun lies on the horizon; the city lies asleep in the early morning hours; the animal lies in the middle of the road….you get the idea
People lie; things get laid down—but it still didn’t help with the sit/set and rise/raise dilemma
The past tense of lie (as in yesterday I lay down to take a nap…don’t I wish!) is the same as the current tense of lay (as in I am going to lay the book on the table)—poor kids!
And so many more!
So here are a few tips that I would like to pass along to those trying to teach these rules:
Consider a rhyme or mnemonic like the one above to reinforce the I’s in sit, rise, and lie—when we remind students that I do those things—and they have I’s in them, we are helping them remember that these do not have objects following them.
Do NOT start with lie. It is by far the most confusing of the trio—and I try to do that one after rise and sit (with fewer exceptions, etc.) are established in students’ minds.
DO start with sit. Set has the same tense for all—present; past; and past participle. Today I set the table; yesterday I set the table; before that I have set the table.
If you are teaching from a Christian standpoint, Jesus and God are prime examples of rise/rose/has risen and raise/raised/has raised:
Jesus will rise from the grave. God will raise Jesus.
Jesus rose from the grave. God raised Jesus.
Jesus has risen from the grave. God has raised Jesus.
Suggested order: sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay.
After a student is reading well (and sometimes even before if things are not quite taught in order), he will start learning to write. Remember this is not penmanship. Penmanship is penning words. Writing is putting words together to form sentences. Sentences are then put together to form paragraphs. And paragraphs are put together to design essays, reports, and stories.
A student can learn to write sentences either by writing them himself or by dictating to you and having you pen the sentences for him. Either way, here are some “sentence writing tips”:
The CAVES acronym shows that a sentence must contain five parts: Capital; All makes sense; Verb; End mark; Subject. You can use this with your child as he writes sentences to evaluate if he truly has written sentences or just a group of words. (If he doesn’t fully understand the subject-verb part, ask him if his sentence has someone or something that it is about. And that someone or something doing or being something (verb). He doesn’t even have to know the terminology to see if the subject or verb is missing from a sentence.
The other two “easily visible” part of CAVES—capital and end mark—can be spotted quickly by your student as you ask him for each one.
The last one, All makes sense, is best discovered orally (both now and in writing for years to come). This is because what a person thinks he wrote (and reads silently) is not always what he truly wrote. Thus, if he reads something silently, he will often read in his head what he meant to write, not what he actually wrote. If he reads it aloud, he will “hear” it. (Incidentally, we use this “hear” your errors approach in our writing books for high schoolers as well—not just for individual sentence writing.)
If he is learning to write sentences and feels at a loss as to what to write, point out the speaking-writing connection to him by dialoguing:
Student: I can’t think of anything to write.
Teacher/Parent: What did you do today?
Student: school
Teacher/Parent: Say it in a complete sentence with “I” as the subject.
Student: I went to school.
Write this down for him, showing him once again that the written word is simply the spoke word written down.
More homework help for early writing tomorrow. Happy learning!
