Noun: person, place, thing, or idea

1. Noun: person, place, thing, or idea • Proper noun: name of a specific person, place, thing, or idea – should be CAPITALIZED • Common noun: a general noun – should NOT be capitalized

2. Examples of common nouns • actor • singer • magazine • author • school

3. Examples of proper nouns • Johnny Depp • Britney Spears • Sports Illustrated • Nicholas Sparks • Hazel Green High School

4. Singular, Plural, and Collective Nouns • singular: only one • plural: more than one (usually but not always end in “s” or “es”) • collective: names a group, and can be thought of as plural or singular depending on the meaning in the sentence

5. Examples of Singular Nouns and their Plurals • cat – cats • desk – desks • child – children • box – boxes • student – students • holiday - holidays

6. Examples of Collective Nouns • class – used as singularMy first block class is always on time. • class – used as pluralThe class turned in their homework. • committee – used as singularThe committee wants our attention. • committee – used as pluralThe committee have gone their separate ways.

7. Compound Nouns • One-word compound nouns: form the plural like other nounsblackberry = blackberriespenknife = penknives • Hyphenated compound nouns: make the most important word pluralfather-in-law = fathers-in-law

8. Singular & Plural Verbs • verbs in singular form for singular nouns = opposite • verbs in plural forms for plural nouns = oppositeex. The boywalks to school. The boyswalk to school.

9. Verb Tense: When Do I… • Present tense: this is what I do nowI walk, I run, I carry, I yell, I teach • Past tense: this is what I did yesterdayI walked, I ran, I carried, I yelled, I taught • Future tense: this is what I willdo tomorrowI will walk, I will run, I will carry, I will yell, I will teach

10. Verb Shift • If it is happening now, it should keep happening now.I woke up late this morning and brushed my teeth in a hurry.NOTI woke up late this morning and brush my teeth in a hurry. • This applies to sentences AND to paragraphs.

11. Subject / Verb Agreement • P. 380 • P. 575 • Recognize prepositional phrases and MARK THEM OUT!

12. Pronoun / Antecedent • Number & GenderThe girls forgot their lunches.That man dropped his wallet.They mean…The girls forgot the girls’ lunches.That man dropped that man’s wallet.

13. Pronoun Mistakes • Our’s, her’s, their’s are not wordsOurs, hers, theirs • Subtract, subtract:when you have more than one or with prepositional phrases (used the pencil) • Say it out loud (at least until Ms. Jacobs tells you to shush)

14. Active & Passive Voice • By • If the subject is DOING something it is ACTIVE. • If the subject is getting something done TO it the verb is PASSIVE. • If you hit something, you are active.If you get hit by something, you are passive.

15. Modifiers • Most of these start with a clause and a comma…HINT! • Can you think of a way to take the sentence as a bad English teacher’s joke? • Hanging on the wall, John liked his new poster. John is not hanging on the wall, is he? • By paying attention in class, the test was really pretty easy. Who is paying attention in this sentence? No one.

16. Commonly Confused Words (p. 653) • Already means it has happened onceAll ready means she can finally leave • Lose means you can’t find it or you don’t find itLoose means not tight (like those baggy pants) • Principal means main or Mr. Fanningprinciple means ethics • Affect is a verb meaning to changeor influenceeffect is a noun, like SFXeffect is a verb meaning to cause

17. Clear, Vivid Language • Does she want “nice” flowers, or does she want the deepest red flowers with the most romantic vase and the most delicious smell? Nice could mean a lot of things. • Would you rather be (or have your boyfriend be) “attractive” or, as you say, “swole”? Attractive could be a lot of things. • Use the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch • Avoid extra words (PIN number, ATM machine, the brand new car I just got)

18. Formal / Informal Language • Formal: business, the president, how would you want to talk to your great-grandmother’s preacher in front of the whole church, a job application • Informal: txt/sms, passing notes, IM, slang…swole, ain’t, ballin’, holla, trippin’

19. Sentence Structure • Run-on, and on, and on, and on… • Sentence fragments: I think they. • Comma splice: You take two sentence, you stick them together. • Fragments: missing a subject or a verb • CS: add a conjunction, make it two sentences, or change the comma to a semicolon ;

20. Parallelism / Parallel Structure • -ed, -ed, -ed-ing, -ing, -ingnoun, noun, noun • I like hunting, fishing, and camping. • I like to hunt, fish, and camp.NOT • I like to hunt, fishing, and camping.

21. Capitalization • Names • First words: sentences and quotations • Titles

22. Commas • Items in a series • Direct address, appositives, parenthetical expression (pencil) • Introductory adverbial clauses (pencil) • Instead of a period, if the quotation doesn’t end the sentence • Before conjunction in compound sentence (remember the comma splice)

23. ; :Semicolon and Colon • Series, when you are already using commas • Instead of a comma splice • Before a conjunctive adverb • Introduce a list…NEVER following a verb

24. “Quotation Marks” and Underlining • “quotation marks” if it is short (think a piece of the whole) • Underlining if it is long (think of the big piece made of the little ones) • “quotation marks” if the words are the exact ones said by someone

25. Apostrophe • Possessive singular nouns:my only dog’s bowl • Possessive plural nouns:my two dogs’ bowls • If two things are possessing, they both have to show itMr. Case’s and Mrs. Brady’s rooms • When letters are missing in contractions: don’t, can’t, won’t, musn’t, isn’t

26. Logical Progression • Introduction • Conclusion • Sequence • Transitions • Irrelevant (unimportant) or redundant (you already said that) sentences