Mechanics of LanguagePunctuation Lesson

Review your Root Words for our vocabulary quiz in honor of Word Wednesday.

Subject & Predicate

Subject: The person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. It performs the action of the verb.

Predicate: Tells what the subject is doing or what condition it is in (verb); everything else.

Phrases vs. Clauses Phrases: Group of words (not a

complete sentence). It does not contain both a subject and a predicate.

› “Texting friends”

› “To finish this PowerPoint”

› “Across the room”

› “Filled with wonder”

› “The bored students”

Phrases vs. Clauses Clauses: A group of words that has a subject

(topic) and a predicate (tells what the subject is doing/what condition it is in).

› Independent Clause: Contains a subject and predicate that expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a complete sentence.

› Dependent (or Subordinate) Clause: Contains a subject and predicate, but does not express a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

Usually a dependent clause has a subordinate conjuction, such as: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.

Common Punctuation Errors

Sentence Fragment: The use of a dependent clause as a complete sentence.

› Example: Which is so fun.

How can you fix it?

› Combine it with another sentence to form a complete sentence.

› Sometimes, you can remove the subordinate conjunction (which, while, because, etc.) to make the sentence complete.

Common Punctuation Errors

Run-on Sentence: Two independent clauses fused together without a conjunction.

› Example: Learning about grammar is helpful it is fun too.

How can you fix it?

› Separate the independent clauses by forming two sentences.

“Learning about grammar is helpful. It is fun too!”

› Combine the independent clauses using a conjunction (and, but, although, while, etc.)

“Although learning about grammar is fun, it is helpful too.”

Comma Splice

Independent clause

Independent clause,

Common Punctuation Errors

Comma Splice: The use of a comma between two independent clauses.

› Example: I love learning about grammar, it is so fun!

Correct: I love learning about grammar; it is so fun.

Correct: I love learning about grammar. It is so fun.

How can you fix it?

› Separate the sentences with a period or a semi-colon.

› Add a conjunction to make one of the independent clauses a dependent clause.

How to Fix a Comma Splice

Independent clause

Independent clause;

Punctuation: ApostropheUse apostrophes for the following tasks: Contractions (Can’t, don’t, I’ll, etc.) Possessive Nouns

› Singular Possessive Nouns (Add “’s” to the end of the word)

› Plural Possessive Nouns (Add an apostrophe after the “s”)

Plurals of Letters, Signs, Words, Symbols, and sometimes Numbers/Decades› Ex. This year I hope to make straight A’s. › This is why we use an apostrophe for this rule:

“Mississippi is spelled with four is, four ss, and two ps.”› Ex. Mississippi is spelled with four i’s, four s’s, and two

p’s.

Punctuation: ColonUse colons for the following tasks: A full sentence that introduces a list

› For your unit test, memorize the qualities of a good claim: contestability, reasonability, interpretation, significance, and preciseness.

INCORECT USE OF A COLON› Do not use a colon after any words that are part of the

“To Be” verb (am, is, was, were, being, etc.). Things that are broken in my classroom are my Infinite

Campus gradebook, my SMART Board, and my door stop. Headings in a professional letter or email

› Dear Chairman of the Board: Ratios (21:1) Time (3:10pm is our favorite time of day.) Headings (Danger: Shark spotted in the water!)

Punctuation: CommaUse commas for the following tasks: Separate three or more independent clauses

› Mrs. Smith teaches AP Literature, Ms. Whitney teaches AP Language, and Mrs. Mamayan teaches Rhetoric.

After a dependent clause that comes before an independent clause› Because this lesson is so boring, students are drooling on the

desks. Between adjectives that describe the same noun

› Literature is her favorite subject because of the fascinating, weird, complicated books she reads for class.

Around phrases/clauses that give additional, but not necessary information. › In 1828 the city of Philadelphia, which is in Pennsylvania, tried

to sell the Liberty Bell for scrap metal.

Punctuation: CommaUse commas for the following tasks: After mild interjections

› No, I refuse to do my homework because I want to fail this class.

› Oh, I didn’t know I had to read books for Literature class.

To separate two of the same words› When business went down, down went the

stock. Separate three or more items in a series

› I ate bacon, eggs, hash browns, and a protein shake for breakfast; I guess I was hungry.

Punctuation: CommaUse commas for the following tasks: At the end of a direct quotation unless it is

the end of the sentence› “Stay afterschool for detention,” I said, “but

please bring gloves to scrub the gum off the bottom of the desks.”

Before/after/around a noun of direct address.› I beg you, Ms. Brooks, please stop talking.

Punctuation: EllipsisUse ellipses to omit information from a direct quote

Examples: “Three dots in a row is called an ellipsis. Use an ellipsis to show

where you left words out of a quotation.” “Three dots in a row… show you left words out of a quotation”

(Terban 85). “Three dots in a row...show you left words out of a quotation”

(Terban 85).

Do:• Insert one space between each

of the three ellipsis points.• Insert a space before and after

the ellipsis points.• Include the sentence’s ending

punctuation followed by the ellipsis.

Don’t:• Use ellipsis points at the

beginning or end of a direct quotation (except in rare instances).

• Use ellipses to make a quote say something other than what the author originally intended.

• Leave out the spaces before and after the ellipsis points or between them.

EDITING WORKSHOP(In Partnerships)

1. Read over your essay and circle every comma in your rough draft.

› Check each comma to ensure it is not a comma splice and that it is used correctly.

2. Read over your essay and circle any contractions (outside of quotations). Eliminate these contractions.

3. Read over your essay and circle in 1st or 2nd person (“we” “our” “I” “you” and “your”). Correct.

4. Circle any in-text citation after your quotes. Your quote should look like this:

John McWhorter explains how “LOL is a empathetic expression” (McWhorter 2).

Homework Your final draft is due on

Friday.› You will also be turning in:

Your rough draftYour outlineYour rubric