A Separate Peace II Week Skills and Principles

1. A Separate Peace II Week Skills and Principles Day 1 Apostrophe with Joint Possession When two or more nouns own the same thing, one uses an apostrophe after the final noun. When two or more nouns own different things, one uses apostrophes after each noun. Combining Sentences Using a Comma and Coordinating Conjunction In order not to seem repetitious, it is a good idea to combine sentences when possible, unless you have a good reason not to do so. One way to combine sentences is use a coordinating conjunction to join two independent clauses. The music was loud. The crowd wished it were louder. The music was loud, but the crowd wished it were louder.

2. Comma after Introductory Phrase Use a comma after a phrase that introduces a sentence.

3. Day 2 Infinitive Phrase An infinitive phrase is an infinitive of a verb (the word to plus the verb itself) and any words or phrases (such as prepositional phrases) that modify the verb. It is restrictive when the information in the phrase is necessary to the meaning of the sentence and is not set off with commas. It is non-restrictive when it is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence and is set off from the rest of the sentence with commas. Kevin thinks to run up the hill, is lots of fun. Incorrect Kevin thinks to run up the hill is lots of fun. Correct Use of Colon after Verb or Preposition Do not use a colon after a verb or a preposition. Add the words the following to the sentence if you really want to use a colon.

4. Pronoun Cases There are four cases (forms): Subjective case is for pronouns used as the subject. (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who) The objective case is for pronouns used as objects of verbs or prepositions.(me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom) Possessive case is for pronouns that express ownership. (my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, it/its, our/ours, their/theirs, whose) Reflexive case is for when you have already used the antecedent in the sentence. It is NEVER the subject of the sentence. (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves)

5. Day 3 Punctuation with Parentheses When parentheses are around a complete sentence, the period goes inside the parentheses. When they are around a word or phrase--not a complete sentence--the period goes outside the parentheses. Commas go outside parentheses. Unnecessary Preposition: off of The words off of are redundant; eliminate of to solve this problem. You need to get off of that chair and move around a little. Incorrect You need to get off that chair and move around a little. Correct =

6. Appositive--Nonrestrictive An appositive is a word or phrase following a noun that gives the noun another name. Commas go around appositives that do not add necessary information to the sentence if the appositive appears in the middle of a sentence. A comma goes after an appositive without necessary information if it introduces a sentence, and a comma goes before an appositive without necessary information that ends a sentence. These appositives without necessary information are called non-restrictive appositives. Dr. Benway, my personal physician, was arrested for performing illegal operations on swamp creatures.

7. Day 4 Pronoun Cases--Predicate Nominative When a pronoun follows any form of the to be verb (am, is, are, was, were), it should be in the nominative(subject) case (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who). We use the nominative case because the to be verb is like an equal sign in mathmatics--things should be the same on both sides of it. It is me. Incorrect It is I. Correct Unclear Antecedent: Pronoun Referents An antecedent is the noun to which a pronoun refers. If the antecedent is unclear-difficult to decide the noun to which the pronoun refers-correct the pronoun by using a specific noun in its place. Be careful not to use the same pronoun twice to refer to two different antecedents. At times, a sentence can be rewritten to bring the pronoun closer to its antecedent and thus make the antecedent clear.

8. Punctuation of a Direct Quotation Direct quotations are another person's exact words--either spoken or in print--incorporated into your own writing. Use a set of quotation marks to enclose each direct quotation included in your writing. Put a comma between the tag line (such as he said or she said) and the quote. Use a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of a whole sentence. Do not use a capital letter with the first word of a direct quotation of part of a sentence. If the quotation is interrupted and then continues in your sentence, do not capitalize the second part of the quotation.

9. Day 5 Commonly Misused Words: Between and Among Use between when there are two elements. Use among when there are more than two elements. Exclamation Point with an Interjection The exclamation point is used after an interjection to show strong emotion. An interjection shows surprise, excitement or dismay. Wow! Gosh! Golly gee! Heck! Subject and Verb Agreement: Group plus a Verb The verb of a sentence should agree in number with the subject. In the case of sentences that has the word both as the subject, the verb is singular because both is a collective noun. The group of students are shocked. Incorrect The group of students is shocked. Correct