Grammar Rule of the Week Capitalize names of people, titles used in front of a person’s name,...

Grammar Rule of the Week

Capitalize names of people, titles used in front of a person’s name, places, days, months, holidays, and special events.

Vocabulary Word:

Altercation (n)—a noisy dispute

Sentence Correction:The altercation on tuesday between joe and sam was recorded on cell phones and posted on the internet.

Vocabulary Word:

Ambrosial (adj)—delicious; fragrant; divine

Sentence Correction:The food in athens, greece was ambrosial.

Journal 1: (paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)

Many names have special meaning or history. For example, the name Hannah means “favor” or “grace.” The name Vito means “life.” Write your own name. Who named you? What does your name mean? Does it have a special ethnic or religious significance? Are you named after someone in your family? If you could change your name, would you?


Capitalize names of nationalities, peoples, languages, direction words referring to parts of the country, and the name of a school subject if it comes from the name of a country or is followed by a Roman numeral.

Vocabulary Word:Amalgam (n) – a mixture of different elements

Sentence Correction:The amalgam of students at mt. tabor was the subject of an assignment for the newspaper II class.

Vocabulary Word:Ambulatory (adj)—walking or moving; alterable

Sentence Correction:The french patient was ambulatory after the surgery.

Vocabulary Word:Androgynous (adj) – having both male and female characteristics; unisex

Sentence Correction:The polish public restrooms are often androgynous in the northern part of the country.

Vocabulary Word:Aperture (n) – an opening, a hole

Sentence Correction:In yearbook I, students learned about the

aperture of the cameras they were using.


Songs can invoke vivid memories; hearing a particular song can rocket you back to seventh grade or last summer. Write about a song that is really evocative of a certain time in your life.


Capitalize names, the first word and all important words in the titles of books, plays, newspapers, articles, paintings, periodicals, movies, musical compositions, poems, and other works of art.

Vocabulary Word:Apex (n)—highest point, summit

Sentence Correction:The apex of the book around the world in

eighty days was when the protagonist almost lost his bet.

Vocabulary Word:Apparition (n)—unusual or unexpected sight

Sentence Correction:The article in the winston-salem

journal reported that an apparition

stopped the political rally.

Vocabulary Word:Appendage (n)—something attached to a larger item

Sentence Correction:In the terminator movies, victims

often lose appendages.


To the naked eye, it looks like junk, but you know it’s precious: the beat-up stuffed animal you slept with every night as a kid, the raggedy baseball mitt you used in Little League, the tooth you couldn’t bear to throw away after it fell out. Choose a beloved object from your own childhood and explain why you feel sentimental about it or treasure it so much.


Capitalize references to religions, denominations, sacred works, books of the Bible, deities or prophets. Do not capitalize god or goddesses when it refers to the gods of mythology.

Vocabulary Word:Arcane (adj)—secret, mysterious

Sentence Correction:

Many people believe that religious books like the koran are full of arcane sayings.

Vocabulary Word:Archetype (n)—the original pattern or model


In genesis 1-3 in the bible, the fall of Adam and Eve from innocence is an example of an archetype.

Vocabulary Word:Ballyhoo (n)—a noisy attention-getting demonstration or talk


Many religious groups, such as some methodists and baptists, staged a ballyhoo outside the theater at the release of Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix.

Vocabulary Word:Bedlam (n)—uproar; confusion


In roman mythology, zeus often had to control the bedlam created by the many gods and goddesses who lived on Olympus.


Obstacles constantly present themselves. Some are fleeting, such as facing an important test in school. Some may take years to overcome, such as a major injury or the loss of a loved one. Write about an obstacle, you’ve faced in your life. Did the experience change you for the better, or did it leave you bitter and cynical?


Use apostrophes to show ownership, form contractions, and in place of omitted numbers in a year.

Vocabulary Word:Bellicose (adj)—warlike; quarrelsome


The students bellicose behavior made the teacher send him out of class.

Vocabulary Word:Billet-doux (n) – a love letter


The billet-doux taped to Sallys locker wasnt the first one she had received from Tom.

Vocabulary Word:Bombast (n) – pretentious, inflated speech or writing


The political campaigns of 08 were full of bombast.

Vocabulary Word:Bona fide (adj) – made in good faith; genuine


The teenagers offer to wash the dishes was a bona fide one, even though he didnt follow through on it.


An almost infinite variety of types of love exists. The love of parents for their children is very different from the love of brothers for their sisters, of wives for their husbands, of kids for their pets, and on and on. Choose two people in your life whom you love, and explain how your love for each of them is different.


Fragments may lack a subject, verb, or both, or may be punctuated incorrectly to form an incomplete thought.

Vocabulary Word:Boudoir (n) – a woman’s dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room


The boudoir in the mansion.

Vocabulary Word:Brouhaha (n)—hubbub; uproar; furor


Creating a brouhaha in class.

Vocabulary Word:Buffoon (n)—a clown, comedian, or laughable person


The buffoon in first period.

Vocabulary Word:Buttress (n) – to support or prop


Sticking out from the roof, the buttress.


Technology has led to the discovery of vaccines and medical treatments. It has brought computers and televisions into people’s homes, and it has provided us with electricity, the internet, phones, cars, planes, and much more. But an argument can be made that technology has largely worsened the quality of our lives, polluting the air, making our lives needlessly stressful, and dampening our enthusiasm for books. If you had to give up one technological advantage that you use all the time, what would it be? Do you think you’d be better off without it?


A run-on sentence is two or more complete sentences written as though they were one sentence. Two or more sentences may not be written without punctuation marks or conjunctions between them.

Vocabulary Word:Cacophonous (ad)—harsh-sounding or confused-sounding


The cacophonous music was coming from the car it was bad enough to make people cringe.

Vocabulary Word:Cadence (n)—rhythm


The military marches in cadence with each other sometimes they even sing when they march.

Vocabulary Word:Cameo (n) – a raised image on precious stone; a small role


Joe Flanigan had a cameo role in an episode of Warehouse 13 he did a great job as the devil figure.

Vocabulary Word:Carcinogen (n) – a substance that causes cancer


Cigarettes are a well-known carcinogen the surgeon general has a warning on each packet.


Most people have vivid memories of certain events from childhood. What sticks in your mind? Pick one particularly strong memory and describe it in detail.


Two or more sentences may not be connected with a comma. This is known as a “comma splice.”

Vocabulary Word:Carnivore (n) – a flesh-eating animal


Grizzly bears are carnivores, it is not a good idea to run from them.

Vocabulary Word:Caucus (n) – a closed meeting of members of a political party of faction


The Republican caucus was just as large as the Democratic one, they both discussed different topics, however.

Vocabulary Word:Celestial (adj) – heavenly


The celestial reflection of the moon on the water was romantic, there were many couples enjoying the beautiful view.

Vocabulary Word:Circumvent (v)—to avoid by going around; to encircle; to outwit


Many people believe that you cannot circumvent your fate, others believe that you have no fate and can make your life what you want it to be.


You probably share a basic outlook on life with your friends. However, most people have a few beliefs that would shock their friends. Write about a belief of yours that annoys or surprises the people who are close to you.


A comma is used before a coordinating conjunction joining two main clauses.

Vocabulary Word:Citadel (n) – a fortress


The college felt like a citadel, but it was easy to get on and off campus.

Vocabulary Word:Cogitate (v)—to ponder or think intently


The teacher encouraged the students to cogitate about the answer to the question but many students answered quickly.

Vocabulary Word:Comatose (n)—unconscious; inactive


After the surgery, Tom was comatose and he was moved to intensive care.

Vocabulary Word:Conflagration (n)—large, destructive fire


The conflagration in the mountains was the worst in history, but the firefighters managed to extinguish it.


Suppose you win $10 million in the lottery, but there’s a catch: You have to donate half of the money to charity. What charity would you choose? What would you do with the money you got to keep?

Grammar Rule of the Week Capitalize names of people, titles used in front of a person’s name,...

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