Mrs, Stephenson's ENGLISH Grammar Cheat Sheet Spring 2011 ‘THE THREE CARDINAL RULES OF AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR TEST (1) Most critical to remember is to begin on the left side of the page and read until you get to a question. Do not start on the right side of the page and read “around” the question to figure it out, The test makers know that you are going to do this, so they design questions that will catch you. (2) WRITE ON YOUR TEST. Make the corrections before you look at the answer choices so that you aren't duped by wrong answers. (3) Know the rule for the answer you choose; don't choose “what sounds best.” Complete Sentonces 4. Complete sentences have atleast one subject and at least one verb. 2. Complete sentences do not start with WHICH or THAT. Run-On Sentences 1. You cannot have two complete sentences put together without a comma and a fanboy (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, 80) of with a semicolon (). 2. Commas cannot hold together two complete sentences. Dependent Clauses/Fragments 1. These are not sentences because they don't make sense by themselves. 2. They almost always begin with WHICH, THAT, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, BECAUSE, UNTIL, UNLESS, BEFORE, AFTER, AS, IF, SINCE, THOUGH, ALTHOUGH, 3. If your sentence starts with one of these words, you will need a comma after the clause ends and before your independent clause starts. ‘Subject-Verb Agrooment Singular verbs end in-s. ex. John runs. Plural verbs do not end in-s. ex, John and Joe run, Ignore intervening phrases when evaluating subject-verd agreement. The STUFF between subjects and verbs doesn't count when you are correcting mistakes. ‘Scratch them out and then make the corrections. Contractions and Possessives. ts and it's whose and who's its is possessive whose is possessive its = itis who's = who is their and they're ‘your and you're their is possessive your is possessive they're = they are you're = you are Ifa singular noun ends in ~s, use ‘s. ex. Chris's bike shop Ia plural noun ends ins, use only an apostrophe. ‘ex. The gifs’ basketball team Unnecessary Shifts in Point of View ‘st PERSON of 3rd PERSON 1, mo, we orho, sho, thoy Wien you begin reading the passage, note the point of view itis writen from. Keop that point of iow throughout. NOTE: Most often, the use of YOU on the ACT should be eliminated. However, pay attention to the context of the passage before making your decision. Punctuating Titles 4. f the thing can sit on a sholf, it must be underlined. Ex. Books, movies, eds, newspapers, magazines. 2. If the thing is inside of something, its inside quotes. Ex. Poems, songs, aticles, short stories, essays. WHO or WHOM? WHO=he, she, it, thoy WHOMEhim, her, them Plug in he or him; whichever one makes sense tells you if you should use who or whom. Also, ifthe whoAvhom is followed IMMEDIATELY by a verb, use who. Parallol Structure Language has to ‘match;" that is, the parts of speech in a list must be the same, sentences should follow a pattern if you are trying to make a point. Generally this rule applies, tolls.Mrs. Stephenson's ENGLISH Grammar Cheat Sheet s Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement ‘These words—he, she, they, them, i, his, her, thelr—are pronouns. They replace nouns to make reading easier. ‘The nouns they replace are called their antecedents. DO NOT USE A PRONOUN THAT DOES NOT HAVE A CLEAR ANTECEDENT or that DOES NOT AGREE WITH ITS ANTECEDENT. Unnecessary Shifts in Verb Tense. When you begin reading the passage, note the fense it is writien in_ Keep that tense consistent throughout. ring 2014 PAST PRESENT FUTURE? Conditional was ‘am can | wil were sb could had are ‘might id have may do Generally end | does Takes two in-ed verbs together Sometimes end | Ex. wil run, ins might see Punetuation {Commas 1. affer introductory stuff before the independent clause l2. around unnecessary stuff between ftems in a series I4. with FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) between two] independent clauses. | THERE WILL NEVER BE JUST ONE COMMA BETWEEN {A SUBJECT AND A VERB. THERE WILL NEVER BE A COMMA BEFORE BECAUSE lor THAT. fn ollow an independent clause but what follows the colon '3 NOT have to be an independent clause hes occur in pairs— 1as on steroids that set off unnecessary information that| jeeds fo be emphasized Marks *., 71" unctuation goes INSIDE quotation marks IRRELEVANCE When asked to evaluate information to choose whether to include it or not, make sure it is RELEVANT to, or Supports, the main idea of the passage as a whole. If the information the author wants to add doesn't support the argument, OMIT (REMOVE) it or choose the answer that replaces it with relevant information, VERBOSITY due to the fact that = because eighteen years of age = eighteen The two examples above illustrate verbosity. Using too ‘many words to communicate your message frustrates your reader in the same way that having too many pillows on your bed makes sleeping comfortably impossible. Use only ‘what you need to get your message across. REDUNDANCY ‘The general rule for writing is to find the shortest and simplest way to say something. Thus, unnecessary repetition is as iritating to a reader as your mom's nagging is to you. Say it once and leave it alone. ‘ADDING DETAILS/CONSIDERING PURPOSE The questions about adding details ofien contain a key ‘word that conveys to the author's purpose. Example: Ifthe writer wants fo lusirate the contrast between his mother and his grandmother, which choice works best hore? ‘You'd look forthe answer that shows how those two ‘women are different. Pay attention to the words that tell you what the author wants to do. Underline them, ifneed be, and make your choice based on that idea.