Why Study Grammar?

1. What’s the point? Why Study Grammar?

2. Four years of this...seriously!?

3. We already know how to read and write in English!

4. You have a good point. If you never took another English class from this day forward, you would have the basic skills needed to get by in some jobs. But…

5. You would struggle if you: • Plan to go to college • Plan to earn a living • Want to better understand other subjects (like math, science, history) • Want to form educated opinions on world events and issues • Want to become a critical thinker

6. In order to achieve these things… You need to be prepared to communicate effectively!

7. You don’t want to end up sounding like the creators of the following signs! Even if this was just a computer error and the commas were actually apostrophes, it’s STILL wrong. 7

8. But I thought this was the Guide Dog’s toilet. So if no vehicle is“trespassing,” why do we need the sign? 8

9. Where do we begin? 9

10. What caused the explosion? A gas leak? And you couldn’t find the gas valve because… Oh, I see. This is the “gas vavle”. 10

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12. Well, I know you won’t be earning a star… 12

13. And up “ahaed” you’ll glimpse a future without English class. 13

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17. And they probably do New Job’s, as well as Repair’s! 17

18. Unfortunately, even the college educated and professionals forget essential editing skills learned in English class. I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat. Well, I’ll need a few… 18

19. How many people looked at these before someone noticed the errors? Left, engraved on the Stanley Cup. Great job, “Ilanders”! 19

20. Sometimes it’s all about the placement of punctuation. Please don’t smoke your food or your pet! 20

21. The difference one comma can make… The pecans are just the added bonus! 21

22. And Hoppy New Yaer! 22

23. Hands off! This is Holiday’s. And nobody else’s! (Except maybe Marry’s or Happe’s.) 23

24. Because being a 1, 2, or even a 3 hour leader just isn’t the same. 24

25. A customer ordered a cake from Walmart and told the decorator to write “‘Best Wishes Suzanne’ and then underneath that ‘We will Miss You.’” And here’s what the customer got… 25

26. Yes! Just what I was craving… Just like mom used to make! 26

27. The benefits of studying grammar. . . Priceless! 27

28. To Avoid Sounding Uneducated . . . Let’s start with a review of the parts of speech

29. Whenever you see be sure to fill in notes on your handout.

30. There are 8 parts of speech • Noun • Pronoun • Adjective • Verb • Adverb • Conjunction • Preposition • Interjection

31. 1. Noun A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Find the noun(s) in the sentence below. Mrs. Vander Meer believes that wealth cannot buy happiness. Mrs. Vander Meer believes that wealthcannot buy happiness.

32. 2. Pronoun A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. Find the pronoun(s) in the sentence below. Alan’s focus before a football game allows him to give his best on the field. Alan’s focus before a football game allows him to give his best on the field. (Pronouns replace the noun Alan.)

33. 3. Adjectives An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. • An adjective usually comes before the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. Find the adjective(s) in the sentence below. • Lizzie “hip-hopped” her way through Homecoming Tuesday with her Lil Wayne jersey and gold chains. Lizzie “hip-hopped” her way through HomecomingTuesday with her Lil Wayne jersey and goldchains.

34. 4. Verbs A verb expresses actions, events, or states of being. Find the verb(s) in the sentence below. The Lady Chargers are starting strong on the volleyball court this season! • The Lady Chargers are starting strong on the volleyball court this season

35. 5. Adverbs An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. • An adverb answers questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much“ or “to what degree.” Find the adverb(s) in the sentence below. Joey carefully and skillfully eased the car into the parking space. Joey carefullyandskillfully eased the car into the parking space.

36. 6. Prepositions A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. • Some common prepositions are: at, under, over, of, to, in, out, beneath, beyond, for, among, after, before, within, down, up, during, without, with, outside, inside, beside, between, by, on, out, from, until, toward, throughout, across, above, about, around. Find the prepositions(s) in the sentence below. Madysanclaims The Awakening is the best book she has ever read in her life. Madysan claims The Awakening is the best book she has ever read in her life.

37. 7.Conjunctions Conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses. • You use a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) to join individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. Find the conjunction(s) in the sentence below. Students with a 4.0 GPA get to leave school early one day each grading period and be treated to lunch at Wicks Pizza by Dr. Pollio. Students with a 4.0 GPA get to leave school early one day each grading period and be treated to lunch at Wicks Pizza by Dr. Pollio.

38. 8. Interjections An interjection is a word that shows strong emotion. Find the interjection(s) in the sentence below. Awesome! J’town cheerleaders have hyped this football crowd up! Awesome! J’town cheerleaders have hyped this football crowd up!

39. Before leaving today . . . • Turn in your notes from the power point presentation. • Turn in your Language Inventory Self Evaluation form. • Turn in your reading logs for this week.