day 53: action verbs

When you write sentences, you always use verbs! This is because each sentence must contain a verb. (Do you remember CAVES—Capital, All makes sense, Verb, End mark, Subject?)

The verb is the action or being of the sentence’s subject. It is what the subject is or does.

There are two main types of verbs:

        a. Action verbs
       b. Be, a Helper, Link verbs (a group of verbs we will learn containing being, helping, and linking verbs)



Action verbs are the most common type of verbs.

If the subject does something, the sentence has an action verb.



Examples:

       a. The dog barked.
       b. The cat meowed.



The easiest way to find an action verb is to ask, “What did
the subject do?”

Examples:

a. The girl smiled.
     1) What did the girl do?
     2) smiled

b. The boy ran.

   1) What did the boy do?
   2) ran

day 52: main subject pop quiz—answer key

 In the sentences provided, highlight the main subjects.



Hint: The main subject is usually one of the first few words of a sentence!


 

           

            1. Sickness is caused by different things.

           

       2. Some animals carry sicknesses. (You may have indicated the one-word subject animals or the describer with the one-word subject.)

           

       3. People can get sick from them.

           

       4. Other diseases are in the air.

           

       5. People breathe them in.

           

       6. Then they get sick.

           

           

       7. People would get sick less often if they would stay clean.

          8. Children need to learn to wash their hands frequently.

1. People can use anti-bacterial soap.

1. We can “wash away germs.”

day 51: main subject pop quiz!

 In the sentences provided, highlight the main subjects.



Hint: The main subject is usually one of the first few words of a sentence!


 

           

            1. Sickness is caused by different things.

           

       2. Some animals carry sicknesses.

           

       3. People can get sick from them.

           

       4. Other diseases are in the air.

           

       5. People breathe them in.

           

       6. Then they get sick.

           

           

       7. People would get sick less often if they would stay clean.

          8. Children need to learn to wash their hands frequently.

1. People can use anti-bacterial soap.

1. We can “wash away germs.”

Answers tomorrow!

           

day 50: final subject review—and a subject is not in a prepositional phrase

The main subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional phrase.

This is why we spent so much time on prepositions last month. If you can find prepositions, you can find prepositional phrases. If you find prepositional phrases, you can isolate them (mentally or with parentheses) and discover that the main subject is not in a prepositional phrase. This will help you determine subject verb agreement in your sentences more clearly.

For example:

1.                      Kara, (along with her sisters), is coming.

a.      Kara is the subject and needs the verb is

b.     Sisters is not the sentence’s subject.

2.                      Josiah and Jake, (though not Jonathan), are at basketball.

a.      Josiah and Jake are the subjects of the sentence, not Jonathan.

b.     Thus, Josiah and Jake need a plural verb—are.

In review, a sentence’s main subject has the following traits:

            a. It is the person or thing that the sentence is about.

            b. It usually comes at the beginning of the sentence.

            c. It is usually a noun or a pronoun.

            d. It is the source (person or thing) of the action.

            e. It is never found in a prepositional phrase.

Better study up! Tomorrow is a pop quiz! Smile…

day 49: still more about the main subject—compound subjects and more

          A sentence’s main subject is usually one of the following:

  a. A noun (person, place, thing, or idea)

            b. A pronoun (a word that replaces a noun—he, she, it, they,
etc.)

A sentence can have one subject, two subjects, or even three or more
subjects.

            a. One subject: Kayla is my first daughter.

b. Two subjects: Kayla and Cami are my first two daughters.

                         c. Three subjects: Kayla, Cami, and Kara are my daughters.

          
A sentence can have one subject at the beginning, and then later in the
sentence have another subject. However, most of your sentences will have
only one subject until you are at a more advanced level of writing.

Tomorrow—putting together the subject lessons and preposition lessons---a sentence’s main subject (and actually most other subjects in the sentence) are not usually found in prepositional phrases!

day 48: capitol building? capitol city? capital city?

Last "Presidents' Day" post, honest! In discussing how to punctuate Presidents' Day and when to capitalize and when not to capitalize president, I can't help but bring up another commonly-miswritten error--that of capitol and capital.

Here is the low-down, along with a trick or two to help you remember the details:

1. Capital
    a. Means upper-case letter--most people do not use this word incorrectly here
    b. Can be used as an adjective to mean primary--that was a capital idea!
    c. Can be used as an adjective to describe punishable by death--capital punishment
    d. A city that is the seat of the government for a state--this is where people sometimes use capitol instead


2. Capitol
   a. Refers to the building in which the U.S. Congress meets (when it is capitalized)
   b. Refers to a state's main government building (when it is not capitalized)
  c. Tricky Trick to Help It Stick: Only use capitol when referring to a goverment building---capitol does not have any other uses; all other uses need capital

day 47: capitalize president or not?

With the introduction of Presidents' Day last night, I decided that I couldn't pass up this opportunity to discuss when to capitalize president, I mean President.

Generally speaking (as with all grammar rules, of course!), the word president is capitalized when referring to a specific president but not when it is referring to the office in general.

Capitalize:

1. The President will be in town next week.
2. President Lincoln spoke first.


Do not capitalize:

1. A president must be thirty-five years of age.
2. The presidents reside in the White House.

The "capitalize when referring to a specific president" guideline is true of the highest official of any land--King, President, Queen, etc. It is not, however, true for other offices, such as senator, mayor, etc.

day 46: happy presidents' day or president's day or presidents day?

Tomorrow is Presidents' Day. Or is that Presidents Day? Or President's Day?

Well....it depends on which expert you ask! Here is the run down:

1. It is NOT President's Day
      a. President's denotes one President...and this holiday honors Washington and Lincoln both...as well as all presidents
     b. President's Day says that it is the day that belongs to one President (singular)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (President) then if the word does NOT end in s, put apostrophe s (President's Day)

2. Some say it is Presidents' Day
     a. The Gregg Reference Manual (my favorite handbook) cites it as such
     b. This denotes many presidents all owning one day (or at least Lincoln and Washington)
     c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (Presidents) then if the word ends in s, put an apostrophe on the outside of the s
     d. This is the correct way to show possession of one thing to more than one "owner"


3. Some say it is Presidents Day
     a. The Associated Press Stylebook cites is as such
     b. This method does not denote possession, but rather uses the word President as an adjective (actually a "proper adjective" in that it is an adjective made from a proper noun--some of the time--we will not even get into whether it is (President) or isn't (president) in this post!)
   c. This is like saying that, that is a Grisham book (as opposed to a book that Grisham owns--Grisham's book), and it is certainly  not incorrect

So there you have it! More subjectivity in our English language. Happy Presidents' Day! And Happy Presidents Day!

day 45: more about a sentence’s main subject

The main subject is the word or words in the sentence that the entire
sentence is about.

Two facts about the main subject for today:

            a. It is often found at the beginning of the sentence.

                        1) He turned his head.

                        2) The boy had heard something.

            b. It is the person or thing that the whole sentence is
about.

                        1) The girl ran. Who ran? girl

                        2) The father prayed. Who prayed? Father

Tomorrow--compound subjects!

day 44: examining caves more closely--subject

If you learn that a sentence contains five things—and you learn to recognize these things easily, you will learn to evaluate whether every sentence you write is a “real” sentence or not more easily.

Remember, CAVES is the acronym we will use to examine a sentence.

C apital

A ll makes sense

V erb

E nd mark

S ubject

The last letter of CAVES—subject—is what we will examine today. Each “simple sentence”—that is, each “real” sentence must contain a subject. We will call this the sentence’s main subject—because a sentence may contain other subjects in other parts, but a sentence must only contain one subject (the main subject) to be a real sentence.

Tomorrow we will learn the details of a sentence’s main subject—the S of CAVES—subject--each sentence must have a subject.

day 43: three types of sentences

Most second graders learn about three types of sentences—the declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory. Children do not have a lot of trouble with the three types of sentences—it is relatively easy to discover the difference between a statement (or declarative sentence) and a question (or interrogative sentence), etc.

Again, the problem most writers (of all ages) have is not determining what the ending punctuation should be for a sentence or determining if a sentence should begin with a capital letter or not. The real difficulty lies in determining whether a group of words is a sentence or not a sentence. We will examine that more closely as the month progresses.

For today, we will introduce the three types of sentence first learned in grade school.

1. A declarative sentence is a statement.

            a. It declares (tell or state) something.

            b. It ends with a period.

            c. It is sometimes called a telling sentence.

     

 2. An interrogative sentence is a question.

            a. It asks a question. (To interrogate someone is to ask him a
lot of questions.)

            b. It ends with a question mark.

            c. It is sometimes called an asking sentence or a question.

    

3. An exclamatory sentence is an excited sentence.

            a. It is used to show strong emotion or excitement.

            b. It ends with an exclamation point (or excited mark!).

            c. It is sometimes called on excited sentence.

 

day 41: sentence or not—pop quiz answers

Read the phrases below. Put an S beside the phrases that are
complete sentences and an N beside those that are not.

         1. A raccoon is an intelligent animal.    Sentence         

           

        2. He does not avoid danger.  Sentence           

           

        3. That he will go right into it.     Not a sentence        

           

        4. When a raccoon studies sounds, smells, and sights that are new to
him.     Not a sentence        

           

        5. Like tin cans and mirrors.     Not a sentence        

           

        6. One trap a trapper likes to set is called a mirror trap. Sentence

7. When he puts a trap in shallow water and ties a mirror to it. Not a sentence

8. When the light hits the mirror.    Not a sentence         

           

        9. When the raccoon sees the light.   Not a sentence          

           

       10. When he does, the raccoon’s paw becomes caught in the trap. Sentence

day 40: pop quiz--sentence or not?

Read the phrases below. Put an S beside the phrases that are
complete sentences and an N beside those that are not.

         1. A raccoon is an intelligent animal.             

           

        2. He does not avoid danger.             

           

        3. That he will go right into it.             

           

        4. When a raccoon studies sounds, smells, and sights that are new to
him.             

           

        5. Like tin cans and mirrors.             

           

        6. One trap a trapper likes to set is called a mirror trap.

7. When he puts a trap in shallow water and ties a mirror to it.

8. When the light hits the mirror.             

           

        9. When the raccoon sees the light.             

           

       10. When he does, the raccoon’s paw becomes caught in the trap.

Answers tomorrow! Smile…

day 39: more on caves—five parts of a sentence

When you write, it is vital that you know what is and what is not a
sentence.

A sentence must have five things in order to be complete:

            1. Capital at the beginning

            a. The first letter of the first word in a sentence must be
capitalized.

            b. It does not matter what the first word is; it is always
capitalized.

For example: A kindergarten child is so cute.

            2. All makes sense

            a. A sentence must make sense.

            b. If a phrase has four of the other things a sentence must
have, but it leaves you hanging and does not make sense, then it is not a
sentence.

Examples:

                        1) When the boy ran. This is not a complete sentence
because it leaves you hanging.

                        2) The boy ran though the woods. This is a complete
sentence because it has all five things a sentence must have.

            3. Verb

            a. A sentence must have a verb (action or BHL—being verb, helping verb, linking verb).

            b. This tells what the subject does or is.

For example: The boys played football in the snow.

            4. End mark

            a. A sentence must have ending punctuation: 

                        1) a period (.)

                        2) an exclamation point (!)

                        3) question mark (?)

            b. Examples:

                        1) The boys are playing football.

2) Watch out for the football!

3) Are they playing football?

            5. Subject

            a. A sentence must have a subject.

            b. This is what or whom the sentence is about.

 The following acronym will help you to remember these five things:

Capital at the beginning

All makes sense

Verb

End mark

Subject

day 38: parts of a sentence--caves

Now that “word” month is over (January) and January’s “homework help” week-plus is over, we can turn our attention to February’s topic—phrases, sentences, and clauses.

It has been said that when a banker or a counterfeit money “agent” learns about counterfeit money, he or she begins by learning what the real thing looks like. We use this same approach to teach about sentences, clauses, and phrases in our language arts books: teach the students what a real sentence looks like—and then teach what are not real sentences.

Thus, we will also start with sentences here on LL 365 and work backwards.

 We will begin with a simple acronym that we use to teach students the five things a sentence must contain in order to be a sentence:

CAVES

C  apital letter

A  ll makes sense

V  erb

E  nd mark

S  ubject

We will learn more about sentences throughout February, but for now, if you write a sentence and you are unsure of whether it is a “real” sentence, use CAVES.

When a sentence is not a "real" sentence, the culprit is usually the A one—All makes sense. And that “A” one will take us into sentences vs. phrases and clauses…on another day. Happy writing!

day 37: wrapping up prepositions

You are probably starting to notice that even a rudimentary knowledge of prepositions can unlock many more prepositions for you. I hope, that in the various studies we will do on LL 365, that you do not lose sight of the purpose of each one. Follow the links below to review prepositions—and join us tomorrow as we start our “sentence month”—and focus on fragments, sentences, clauses, and more!

Preposition list: http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-24-prepositions-list.html

Preposition-Check Sentence: http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-29-prepositionsthe-angel-flew.html

Why learn prepositions: http://languagelady365.blogspot.com/2011/01/day-22-homework-help-why-learn.html

day 36: prepositions that are synonyms

We have already learned prepositions that are antonyms (opposite). Now for our last day of preposition work, we will learn prepositions that are synonyms (meaning the same or almost the same).

First a little mnemonic for antonyms and opposites!

Antonyms—Opposite (both begin with vowel sounds—ant—opp)

Synonyms—Same (both begin with S—syn—same)

When you consider that prepositions show position, it makes sense that if you know one preposition that means a certain direction (i.e. over), then other words that mean the same thing may also be prepositions (above, on top of, etc.).

Consider these prepositions that might be considered synonyms—if you know one from each list, you are likely to be able to think of the others:

1. aboard

            a. on

            b. atop

            c. atop of

            d. astride

2. about

1. amid
2. amidst
3. among
4. amongst
5. around
6. by
7. near
8. next to
9. round
1. above
1. atop
2. atop of
3. on
4. on top of
5. over
6. up
7. upon

3. Against
1. anti
2. barring
3. despite
4. in spite of
5. opposite of
4. Ahead
1. ahead of
2. before
3. in front
4. in front of
5. Along
1. about
2. alongside
3. alongside of
4. Along with
5. Amid
6. Amidst
7. Among
8. Amongst
9. At
10. Beside
11. Besides
12. Round
13. Close
14. Close to
15. By means of
16. Near to
17. Next to
6. amid/amidst
1. about
2. against
3. among
4. amongst
5. around
6. at
7. beside
8. beside of
9. by
10. next to
11. round
12. through
13. throughout
7. anti
1. across from
2. against
3. barring
4. opposite
5. opposite of
6. versus
8. around
1. about
2. amid
3. amidst
4. among
5. amongst
6. aside
7. aside of
8. circa
9. aside
1. along
2. alongside
3. alongside
4. aside of
5. beside
6. beside of
7. by
8. next
9. next to
10. close to
11. near to
10. astride
1. a. atop
2. atop of
3. on
4. on top of
5. over
6. up
7. upon
11. at
1. beside
2. beside of
3.  by
4. toward
5. close to
12. barring
1. anti
2. opposite
3. opposite of
4. outside
5. outside of
6. due to
7. except for
8. save
13. before
1. ahead
2. ahead of
3. in front of
14. behind
1. beyond
2. following
3. in back
4. in back of

The purpose behind the “synonym prepositions” is two-fold: (1) help students realize that if a word is a preposition (and they know that one), then more than likely other words that mean the same thing and fit in the same space are probably prepositions as well; (2) to help students think of even more prepositions—that they might not realize they know. Again, if a student learns to recognize prepositions well, he will recognize prepositional phrases well and will be able to isolate them (mentally, at least) in his sentences to achieve correct subject-verb agreement. (Also, it will help in using prepositional phrase openers in sentences  and punctuating them correctly.)

day 35: prepositions then and than

We are almost finished with our preposition study--just in time to start tackling our sentence month of February! I thought I would address the prepositions then and than since they are both used as prepositions (at times--more on that in our "sentence study"!)--and since they are commonly confused with each other.

Then
1. Means "next"
2. Used as a preposition: She is getting pizza first, then pop.
3. You will always use the correct then and than if you substitute "next" in your questionable spot--and if it fits, use "then": He is coming here then going to town. (Say--he is coming here next going to town--is that the use you meant--the one that shows chronology? If so, you need then.)
4. Remember thEn has an E and nExt has an e.

Than
1. Means to compare
2. Used as a preposition: I would rather have pizza than tacos.
3. Only use than when you want to make a comparison.


"Tricky Trick to Help It Stick":

Substitute NEXT--if it almost fits (i.e. you are trying to show chronology), use THEN.

day 34: two or more word prepositions

You have probably already noticed that many prepositions are made up of other words. That is, they have one preposition at the beginning and are followed by another preposition. Or they are compound words (like within).

This is another way to learn prepositions—by learning prepositions that are made up of two or more words.

For example, read the prepositions below—the first one of each set is a common preposition that you probably already know. The one(s) beneath that one is a preposition (or more) that is made from the top one.

  1. across

      *across from

  2. ahead

      *ahead of

  3. away

      *away from

  4. in

      a. into

      b. inside

      c. inside of

  5. on

      a. onto

      b. on top of

  6. out

      a. out of

      b. outside

      c. outside of

  7. to

      a. toward

      b. towards

  8. through

      *throughout

  9. under

       *underneath

10. up

      a. upon

      b. up to

11. with

      a. within

      b. without

Now put all that together, and you have learned many, many prepositions!

day 33: prepositions that are opposites

Our “homework help” is going beyond one week! Just a couple more categories of prepositions to give you, and you will be ready for any preposition quiz you ever have! Smile…

A person becomes a good student and an effective learner when he or she learns how he or she learns! For example, some people study for a test by making note cards; others like to recite facts aloud while studying; others learn best just by reading the textbook over and over.

Language Lady 365 will help you become a better learner by teaching you different learning strategies--and you can use the one(s) that work best for you.

For example, in learning prepositions, you may use your “Preposition Practice Pal” (PPP) from earlier. Or you could memorize them in alphabetical order. Or you could learn them in categories, like beginning letters or opposites.

Besides learning prepositions that fit into the “Birdie flew” sentence and learning prepositions that begin with certain letters, you can also learn prepositions that are opposites!

After all, prepositions show position, so it makes sense that opposite words are prepositions since many of them show position too.

Birdie flew ___________________ the tube.

Fill in the blank for any opposite word that might fit.

Note: Many words have more than one opposite of them—under has over and possibly above. You may list any one you think of for each one.

  1. Birdie flew above the tube.

  2. Birdie flew ___________________ the tube.

  3. Birdie flew beneath the tube.

  4. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

  5. Birdie flew atop the tube.

  6. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

  7. Birdie flew below the tube.

  8. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

  9. Birdie flew inside of the tube.

10. Birdie flew__________________ the tube.

11. Birdie flew off the tube.

12. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

13. Birdie flew over the tube.

14. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

15. Birdie flew on the tube.

16. Birdie flew__________________ the tube.

17. Birdie flew inside the tube.

18. Birdie flew __________________ the tube.

19. Birdie flew to the tube.

20. Birdie flew__________________ the tube.

 Some of the prepositions that you may have listed include (but are not limited to):

  1. below, beneath, under, underneath

  2. out

  3. above, over, atop

  4. on

  5. below, beneath, under, underneath

  6. below, beneath, under, underneath

  7. outside

  8. down

  9. from

10. above, over, atop

11. above, over, atop

12. out, out of

13. to, toward, towards

14. outside of

day 32: prepositions that begin with vowels plus B—answers!

Read through the prepositions below beginning with A, I, O, U, and B---with your little toy and tissue tube in mind from earlier in the week.

Birdie flew _______________ the tube.

  1. aboard - Birdie flew aboard the tube.

  2. about - Birdie flew about the tube.

  3. above - Birdie flew above the tube.

  4. across - Birdie flew across the tube.

  5. across from - Birdie flew across from the tube.

  6. after - Birdie flew after the tube.

  7. against - Birdie flew against the tube.

  8. ahead of - Birdie flew ahead of the tube.

  9. alongside - Birdie flew alongside the tube.

10. alongside of - Birdie flew alongside of the tube.

11. along with - Birdie flew along with the tube.

12. amid - Birdie flew amid the tube.

13. amidst - Birdie flew amidst the tube.

14. among - Birdie flew among the tube.

15. amongst - Birdie flew amongst the tube.

16. around - Birdie flew around the tube.

17. aside - Birdie flew aside the tube.

18. astride - Birdie flew astride the tube.

19. at - Birdie flew at the tube.

20. atop - Birdie flew atop the tube.

Birdie flew…

  1. before the tube - Birdie flew before the tube.

  2. behind the tube - Birdie flew behind the tube.

  3. below the tube - Birdie flew below the tube.

  4. beneath the tube - Birdie flew beneath the tube.

  5. beside the tube - Birdie flew beside the tube.

  6. beside of - Birdie flew before of the tube.

  7. between the tube - Birdie flew between the tube.

  8. betwixt the tube (old English word) - Birdie flew betwixt the tube.

  9. beyond the tube - Birdie flew beyond the tube.

10. by the tube - Birdie flew by the tube.

Birdie flew…

  1. in the tube - Birdie flew in the tube.

  2. inside the tube - Birdie flew inside the tube.

  3. inside of - Birdie flew inside of the tube.

  4. into the tube - Birdie flew into the tube.

Birdie flew….

1. off the tube - Birdie flew off the tube.

2. off of the tube - Birdie flew off of the tube.

3. on the tube - Birdie flew on the tube.

4. on top of the tube - Birdie flew on top of the tube.

5. opposite the tube - Birdie flew opposite the tube. 

6.  out of the tube - Birdie flew out of the tube.

7. outside the tube - Birdie flew outside the tube.

8. outside of the tube - Birdie flew outside of the tube.

9. over the tube - Birdie flew over the tube.

10. under the tube - Birdie flew under the tube.

11. unto the tube - Birdie flew unto the tube.