I. INDEPENDANT CLAUSES II. COMMAS III. APOSTROPHES IV. IT’S/ ITS V. PRONOUNS VI. COLONS AND SEMICOLONS VII. CAPITAL LETTERS VIII. VERBS IX. ACTIVE/PASSIVE VOICE X. MISPLACED MODIFIERS XI. PUNCTUATION GUIDE XII. FRAGMENTS AND RUN ONS XIII. THE END
If a FANBOYS word connects two independent clauses (whole sentences), use a comma before the FANBOYS.
She wanted to see a movie, but she stayed home instead.
He bought a pair of shoes, and he returned a shirt.
But do NOT use a comma if there is only ONE independent clause.
You can go or stay.
She didn't know if she wanted to stay home or go out.
Use a comma with items in a series if the items can: unorderedlist: be rearranged / have “and“ put in between them
Please bring cups, plates, pop, and chips.
Do NOT use a comma for idioms.
She’s a sweet little old lady.
You would not rearrange the words, nor would you use “and.” in between the words. You wouldn’t say:
“She was an old and little and sweet lady.”
Create a parallel structure with items in a series.
She enjoys swimming, hiking, bowling, and dancing.
He likes to read, to write, and to talk.
Use a comma to set off introductory material and afterthoughts.
Well, I really think this will work, don’t you?
When speaking directly to a person while using his/her name, use one or two commas to set off the person’s name.
Sam, please go wash up.
Please, Sam, go wash up.
Please go wash up, Sam.
If the interrupter comes in the middle of one independent clause, use two commas around the interrupter.
She was, however, nice.
I, too, went to the park.
His ego, nevertheless, could not suffer any type of deflation.
If the interrupter connects two independent clauses, use a semicolon ( ; ) and a comma ( , ) around interrupter.
She was nice; however, she had a temper.
Ringo had a broken arm; otherwise, he would have played the drums.
Use commas around nonessential material that is unnecessary to the sentence’s basic meaning.
My sister, who hates many foods, is a difficult dinner guest.
(When you read the sentence aloud, your voice drops with nonessential material.)
Essential
material is an important part of the writer’s thoughts, and it should not be set off by commas.
My sister hates many foods, so I hesitate to ask her over for dinner.
To decide if material is nonessential or essential, think about how the sentence would read without the material in it.
If a dependent clause begins a sentence, use a comma after the clause.
While waiting for the bus, he finished the rest of his book.
Do not use a comma if the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence.
He finished the rest of his book while waiting for the bus.
Reading aloud is a very helpful way to check to see if a comma is needed.
Put a comma in between a person’s name and title.
Dr. Jones, President
Put a comma in between elements of geographic address, such as between the city and state.
Akron, Ohio Houston, Texas
Use apostrophes for contractions (don’t = do not; won’t = will not) and possessives.
Do not use an apostrophe for a plural just because there’s an“s” at the end of the word!
1) Ask the question,“To whom does it belong?”
2)If the answer to the question ends in “s”, just add an apostrophe.
3)If the answer to the question does not end in “s”, add an apostrophe and an “s”.
Do not change the spelling!
The books belonging to the baby
Question: “To whom do the books belong?”
Answer: the baby.
Does the answer end in “s”?
No. So add an apostrophe and then an “s”:
The baby’s books.
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The books belonging to the babies.
Question: “To whom do the books belong?”
Answer: the babies.
Does the answer end in “s”?
Yes. So just add an apostrophe.
The babies’ books.
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The hat belonging to the lady.
Question: “To whom does the hat belong?”
Answer: the lady.
Does the answer end in “s”?
No.. So add an apostrophe and an “s”.
The lady’s hat.
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The room belonging to all the ladies.
Question: “To whom do the books belong?”
Answer: the ladies.
Does the answer end in “s”?
Yes. So just add an apostrophe.
The ladies’ room.
It’s = It is (100% of the time)
Its = Belonging to it
the contraction is It's with the apostrophy:
It’s going to rain.
not:
Its going to rain.
Without an apostrophe (Its) it becomes a possessive:
Its leg is broken.
There are other possessives without apostrophes, such as mine, hers, his, your…
Pronouns that take the place of the subject and are usually in the very beginning of a sentence. _______ threw it.
Most of us don’t have trouble with subject pronouns, unless it is a situation where there are 2 subjects:
Louise and (me/I) studied for the exam.
Here’s how to figure out what’s right: when you have a sentence with two pronouns, separate them so that you have two distinct sentences. Say them separately, and you won’t go wrong.
Louise and I studied for the exam.
Pronouns which RECEIVE instead of DO the action. They usually come near the end of a sentence. He gave it to ____.
Often, the object pronouns confuse us, especially if there is more than one.
You would always say, “Give it to her” not “Give it to she.” And you would say, “Give it to him” instead of “Give it to he.” Then, you also need to say, “ Give it to her and him.” Again, say them separately, and you won’t go wrong.
They blamed the accident on (she/her) and (I/me).
Break it up into two sentences:
They blamed the accident on her and me.
Some pronouns are ALWAYS considered singular and ALWAYS take singular verbs. These are called “Indefinite Pronouns”. Here is an easy-to-remember list of these:
So, correct usage would be as follows:
Neither of the answers IS correct.
Each of the girls IS to BRING HER own lunch.
Someone in this room IS wearing too much cologne.
Anyone who wants to IS welcome to bring in brownies.
Everybody IS responsible for HIS own gear.
Some pronouns are EITHER singular OR plural, depending on the word in the prepositional phrase which follows the subject. If the word to which the subject refers is singular, then the subject is singular if the word to which the subject refers is plural, the subject is plural. These words include some, any, none, all, & most.
ALL of the dogs BARK all night.
(The word “all” refers to “dogs”, which is plural. So you would say “the dogs bark” not “the dogs barks”.)
ALL of my homework IS done.
(“All” refers to “homework”, which is singular.)
SOME of the students HAVE been late more than 3 times.
(“Some” refers to “students”, which is plural, so you use the plural verb, “have.”)
SOME of the light IS still visible.
(“Some” refers to “light”, which is singular.)
Use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses which are connected in thought.
Please don’t cry about this; you can still bring up your grade.
Semicolons are also used to separate long, complex items in a series, especially if each item contains commas.
Your assignment is to write a focused, multi-paragraph essay; edit it using your notes, grammar folder, and grammar book; and type it, using 12 point, Times New Roman font.
Use colons for lists but not after prepositions or after verbs.
There is a lot for you to do today: water the lawn, pull the weeds, take out the garbage.
Use colons for the most important parts of sentences.
One thing will get you through college: time management.
If a "relationship word" such as "mom" or "uncle" just refers to the person, do NOT use a capital letter.
I'll ask my mom.
My uncle lives in a huge house.
If a "relationship word" takes the place of the person's name, capitalize it as you would the name.
Mom, please help me.
My Uncle Jack is crazy.
If a phrase such as high school just refers to a general place, then do NOT capitalize it.
My high school days were over so quickly!
But if the words "high school" are attached to a specific name, then use capital letters.
Newark High School.
The verb must agree with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
If the noun or pronoun is singular, the verb must be singular.
If the noun or pronouns is plural, the verb must be plural.
One of the boxes ( is / are) open.
The subject of the sentence is "one".
One of the boxes IS open
Thebowl of grapes (is / are) empty.
The subject of the sentence is "bowl".
The bowl of grapes IS empty. (The bowl…is empty.)
After the verb “to be” (is, are, was, were, have been, has been…), use a nominative (subjective) case.
This is she.
It is I, Don Quixote.
It was not I who called.
Active Voice : the subject does the action. It makes a paper more lively.
Bob milked the cow.
Bob, the subject, is ALIVE and ACTIVE.
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Passive Voice: The subject receives the action.
Use this sparringly as it tends to dull and water down writing
The cow was milked by Bob.
The cow, which is the subject, does not have to be either alive OR active.
A modifier must be right beside the subject it modifies.
Misplaced modifier examples:
People avoid black cats who are superstitious.
the cats aren’t superstitious; the people are
Correct:
People who are superstitious avoid black cats.
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A weird guy came into the classroom with a message dressed all in purple.
the message wasn’t dressed in purple; the guy was dressed in purple.
Correct:
A weird guy dressed all in purple came into the classroom with a message.
The following six sentences review correct punctuation:
1) The teacher lectured. Everybody took notes.
2 independent clauses.
2) The teacher lectured; everybody took notes.
A semicolon is needed because the second is a dependant clause
3) The teacher lectured; therefore, everybody took notes.
2 independent clauses connected by an interrupter. Both a semicolon and comma are needed here because there are TWO independent clauses (aka whole sentences.)
4) Everybody, therefore, took notes.
1 independent clause. The interrupter is set off by 2 commas because it interrupts ONE independent clause (aka whole sentence.)
5) The teacher lectured, and everybody took notes.
2 independent clauses are connected by a FANBOYS (aka coordinating conjunction.)
6) When the teacher lectured, everybody took notes.
Dependent clause is at the beginning of a sentence.
7) Everybody took notes when the teacher lectured.
Dependent clause is at the end of the sentence.
A whole sentence must have 2 parts:
1) subject 2) predicate, which is also known as the verb
SO: if you were “filming” a sentence, the subject would be the main character and the predicate/verb would be what the main character does.
If either the subject or verb is missing, it’s a FRAGMENT>
The long-haired, grey and white cat with the long, fluffy tail and yellow eyes.
THE CAT’S NOT DOING ANYTHING, SO THIS IS A FRAGMENT.
This is the end.
this version of the grammar handbook was edited by Regis Frey to format readably and be packaged with the editMonster program. Last updated January 3rd, 2008.