Punctuation, Word Choice, and Spelling

Respond to this Quotation

"The writer who neglects punctuation, or

mispunctuates, is liable to be misunderstood.”

- Edgar Allan Poe

Punctuation

Apostrophes

Apostrophes

Use #1: The ‘ replaces missing letters in a contraction.

We are = we’reShe is= she’s*Be careful of its and it’s:

Its= possessive form; It’s = it is.

 

Apostrophe

Use #2: The ‘ is used to form the plurals of letters and numbers.

The 1960’s were groovy!

There are too many o’s in the word “toooooooooooooooo”.

*When shortening a year put the ‘ before the last two digits.

Ex. I graduated high school in ’03.

Apostrophes

Use #3: The ‘ is used to form possessives (to show ownership).

There are three rules which must be memorized: 

1. Of a singular noun: Add ‘S Girl’s dress; man’s car

2. Of a plural noun that does not end in S: Add ‘S Women’s dresses; men’s cars

3. Of a plural noun that ends in S: Just add the ‘ Friends’ books, nurses’ uniforms

Apostrophe

(ask yourself: “Is it more than one or just one?” If it is one of anything on earth add ‘s. If it is more than one, ask yourself: Does it already end is s?” If it does, just add’)

 Together, let’s add the ‘ where needed.Her mother smileWomen workSeveral boys bikes

Apostrophe Practice

1. Please complete exercises 1 & 2 in your punctuation guide packet.

2. Turn to pages 310-315 in your workbooks. *We’ve already completed these, but now that you know the rules make any corrections that you need to make.

Semicolons

Use #1: We use a ; to glue two sentences together:

I’m not going out; it is raining

 

Use #2: We use a ; when there are already commas in a series of things:

Elmira, New York; Horseheads, New York; and Ithaca, New York are all nice towns.

Colon

Use #1: We use a : after the greeting of a business letter:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Use #2: We use a : to introduce a list of items:

Bring the following: a pen, a pencil, paper, and your book.

Extra Uses

Use #3: We use a : between the numbers in the time of day, locations in a book, or separating the primary and secondary heading of a book.8:00amGenesis 1:5Hopeful: A Tale of Surviving

Cancer

Colon

Now you try: Insert needed colons.1. Dear Mr. President2. He ate the following foods

pizza, hot dogs, chips, and cake.

3. The book is titled Great Danes A Complete Breed Profile.

Practice

1.Complete Exercise 3 and 4 in your packet.

2.Complete pages 292 and 295

What do these three pictures have

in common?

THE MIGHTY COMMA

USES: 

1. in a series:1. We read, write, and speak English.

2. separating several adjectives:1. I want a bright, shiny, new bike.

3. separating introductory words and clauses:1. Yes, the Yankees are still in first place.

4. with interrupters:1. You may, of course, choose not to believe that.

THE MIGHTY COMMA

5. When speaking directly to someone. Don’t cry, Derek.

6. With appositives: Mr. Carpenter, our favorite teacher,

doesn’t like the Red Sox.

7. With first, second, and third:First, Mr. Carpenter is always right;

second, The Giants are in first place, not second; third, it won’t be long until they win again.

Practice Break

As a class, let’s insert the commas:

My favorite colors are green purple and blue.

I teach smart funny talented students.

English is of course the best class ever.

The best school Drakes Creek Middle School is the one we attend.

First we will do our work; second we might play jeopardy.

www.chompchomp.com

Practice

www.grammarbytes.com

Complete exercise 5 in your packet for homework!

When you’re finished, please begin showing your ability to use apostrophes, semicolons, colons, and the first 7 uses of commas (make that connection from practice to USAGE).

How are You Doing so Far?

(on your own paper)Apostrophes:

Use #1 – 1 sentence Use #2 – 1 sentence Use #3 – 3 sentences (1

for each rule)

Semicolons Use #1 – 1 sentence Use #2 – 1 sentence

Colons Use #1 – 1 example Use #2 – 1 sentence Use #3 – an example of

each

Commas (1st 7 uses) Use #1 - 1 sentence Use #2 – 1 sentence Use #3 – 1 sentence Use #4 – 1 sentence Use #5 – 1 sentence Use #6 – 1 sentence Use #7 – 1 sentence

Circle your correct usage of these punctuation marks in each sentence!

THE MIGHTY COMMA

8. after the greeting and closing in a friendly letter Dear Sue, Love,

9. between the date of the month and the year: October 31, 2007

10. between the city and the state: Horseheads, New York

11. to show a pause and/or to group words so that they make sense:

After eating, Otis always takes a nap.

THE MIGHTY COMMA

12. to set off words right before or after a quotation:

Mr. Carpenter said, “Good effort.”

“Good effort,” Mr. Carpenter said.

13. with words that give extra information but don’t need to be there to have a complete sentence:

The students, who all have Mr. C., think English rocks.

14. in a compound sentence (two sentences joined by a command a conjunction partnership):

A storm came, but school did not close.

COMMA PRACTICE

Complete exercise 6 in your packet.

Look at pages 281-289. Now that you know the rules, make any changes that you need to make.

Word Choice

Their, There, or They’re

Word Choice

Lose, Loose

Word Choice

Loss, Lost

Word Choice

Whose, Who's

Word Choice

Who vs. Whom

Word Choice

Good vs. Well

Word Choice

To, Too, Two

Spelling

ie vs. ei

Prefixes

Suffixes

Plurals