República Bolivariana de Venezuela

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL EXPERIMENTAL SIMON RODRIGUEZ

NUCLEO PALO VERDE

CURSO: COMPOSITION & STYLE

EXERCISES
CHAPTER 10, 11 & 12

Student: Professor:

Ilse Alvarez Myrla Lozano

C.I.: 11.557.846
Exercises Chapter 10 From 335 to 337

1. In each of the following groups, arrange the words and expressions in ascending order of the
levels of abstraction.

a. (1) literature (2) novel (3) David Copperfield (4) fiction.

a. 3—2—A—1

b. (1) sweater (2) cardigan (3) garment.

b. 2—1—3

c. (1) food (2) pumpernickel (3) bread.

c. 2—3—1

d. (1) firearm (2) revolver (3) weapon (4) pistol.

d. 2—4—1—3

e. (1) periodical (2) New York Times (3) newspaper.

e. 2—3—1

2. In each of the following pairs, the richer in connotation.

a. odor, aroma (Aroma)

b. God, Deity (God)

c. water, H20 (Water)

d. window, casement (Casement)

e. coat, cloak (Cloak)

f. children, offspring (children)

g. feather, plume (Plume)

h. trepidation, alarm (Alarm)

i. hero, protagonist (Hero)

j. mother, female parent (mother)

3. Identify the figures of speech in the following expressions:

a. It rained the whole week, and the car broke down twice. We had a wonderful trip! (Irony)

b. a fleet of fifty sail (Synecdoche)

c. We simply perished with the heat! (Overstatement)

d. The car rode as smoothly as a ship in calm waters. (Simile)

e. His ruin began when he took to the bottle. (Metonymy)

f. She found success and happiness to be not at all unpleasant. (Understatement)

g. “Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.” (Wordsworth) ( Personification)

h. “. . . the honorable men whose daggers have stabbed Caesar.’’ (Shakespeare) ( Irony)

i. “Life’s a walking shadow.” (Shakespeare) (Metaphor)

j. “Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing . . (Shelley

(Simile)

4. Substitute something more specific for each of these italicized expressions:

a. Last night we went to see a play.

The comedy She Stoops to Conquer, by Oliver Goldsmith

b. She was wearing a beautiful piece of jewelry.

Emerald brooch

c. My parents gave me a present for graduation.

A portable typewriter

d. The final course was a delicious dessert.

Baked Alaska

e. The setting sun made a display of gorgeous colors.

Crimson and orange, merging imperceptibly into pale violet above.

5. Rewrite the following sentences, eliminating the cliches. Stay as close as you can to the
presumptive meaning; try to express it more effectively. (There may be a few cliches here which
do not appear in the list on page 316; try to recognize and eliminate them anyway.)

a. There is a crying need for more engineers.

There is a great need for more engineers.

b. Central has defeated Parkhurst, and we have beaten Central; it stands to reason that we will
win the game with Parkhurst.

Central has defeated Parkhurst, and we have beaten Central; it is logical to believe
that we will win the game writh Parkhurst.

c. In my humble opinion, you are wrong; the Parkhurst game will really be the acid test for our
team.

I think you are wrong; the Parkhurst game will really be the decisive test for our
team.

d. I think I had better see the Dean and get an approval from the powers that be.

I think I had better see the Dean and get an approval from the Administration.

e. The coach really laid down the law; when he finished speaking, you could have heard a pin drop.

The coach gave instructions vigorously and unequivocally; when he had finished
speaking, there w'as complete silence.

6. List five native English suffixes and five prefixes other than those included in the examples on
pages 321-322.

Suffixes (writer) Prefixes (aground)

-ful (scornful) be- (bedecked)

-ie (birdie) fore- (forewarn)
-ish (sheepish) out- (outmaneuver)
-less (reckless) over- (overemphasize)
-ship (partnership) under- (undervalue)
-some (foursome) up- (uphill)
-y (sunny) with- (withdraw)
7. As accurately as you can, infer the meaning of the root which recurs in each of the following
sets of words:

a. astrology, astronomy, astrophysics

astro (Greek)—star

b. temporal, temporary, contemporaneous

temp (Latin)—time

c. exclamation, declamation, reclamation

clam (Latin)—shout, cry out

d. restriction, constriction, district

strict (Latin)—tie, bind

e. factor, artifact, manufacture

fact (Latin)—make, do

8. Find out from your dictionary and indicate the language or languages from which each of the
following words came into English:

apricot, campus, chief, dollar, dun, homonym, poltergeist, seraph, sky, theater.

apricot: French, through Portuguese and Arabic, ultimately from Latin and Greek

campus: Latin

chief: French, ultimately from the Latin caput, head

dollar: German and Dutch

dun: Anglo-Saxon or old English (i.e., a native word)

homonym: Greek

poltergeist: German

seraph: Hebrew

sky: Old Norse

theater: French, ultimately from Latin and Greek

10. Rewrite the following sentences, improving the diction or usage. Assume that you are writing
on the formal level.

a. The intramural athletic program includes competition in such sports as tennis, softball, touch
football, and etc.

The intramural athletic program includes competition in tennis, softball, touch

football, and similar sports.

b. A faux pas is when you break some rule of etiquette.

A faux pas is a breach of some rule of etiquette.

c. He is not too good a teacher, but he is a nice man.

He is rather a poor teacher, but he is a pleasant man.

d. I can’t help but think that she is prejudice toward me.

I cannot help thinking that she is prejudiced against me.

e. Not having heard him distinctly, I do not really know, but I am quite sure the teacher inferred
that the next assignment would be difficult.

Not having heard him distinctly, I do not really know, but I am reasonably sure the
teacher implied that the next assignment would be difficult.
Exercises Chapter 11 Only 335

1. Add the suffixes ed and ing to each of the following words:

admit admitted admitting

drop dropped dropping
locate located locating
occur occurred occurring
treat treated treating
benefit benefited benefiting
guide guided guiding
maintain maintained maintaining
plan planned planning
try tried trying
dine dined dining
like liked liking
occupy occupied occupying
refer referred referring
vacate vacated vacating

2. Insert ie or ei into each of the following:

Ach-ve achieve
Bel-f belief
c-ling ceiling
Ch-ftain chieftain
Dec-ve deceive
f-id field
f-rce fierce
l-sure freight
Fr-ght freight
n-ce niece
Gr-f grief
r-gn reign
s-ge siege
s-ze seize
p-ce piece
3.Choose the correct word from within the parentheses.

a.Columbus is the (capital, capitol) of Ohio. Capital

b.An (emigrant, immigrant) is one who comes into the country. Immigrant

c. He would not (prophecy, prophesy) a successful trip to Mars. Prophesy

d. The boy spoke (respectfully, respectively) to his uncle. Respectfully

e. Sir John Gielgud appeared in the (role, roll) of Hamlet. Role

f. How long has it been (sense, since) you wrote the letter? Since

g. He is older (than, then) his sister. Than

h. The machinery in the shop is (stationary, stationery). Stationary

i.The sailors (threw, through) (their, there, they’re) caps in the air. threw, their

j. Can you tell (who’s, whose) (advice, advise) will have the greatest (affect, effect) on
(your, you’re) plans? whose, advice, effect, your
4. Write the plural forms of the following:
airstrip airstrips
alley alleys
ally allies
alumna alumnae
alumnus alumni
army armies
baseball baseballs
C Cs or C´s
basis bases
belief beliefs
box boxes
chairmna chairmen
child children
Chinese Chinese
dish dishes
echo echoes
hero heroes
hobby hobbies
house houses
index indexes or indices
Kelly Kellys
knife knives
leaf leaves
library libraries
Loss losses
manservant menservants
mouse mice
ox oxen
potato potatoes
problem problems
quarterback quarterbacks
radio radios
salesman salesmen
seven sevens
sheep sheep
sister-in-law sisters-in-law
Sky skies
solo solos
spoonful spoonfuls
Exercises Chapter 12 From 386 to 388

1.Supply appropriate end punctuation for the following sentences. State the reason for each
mark.

a. In which direction were the geese flying

In which direction were the geese flying? (A question mark closes a direct
question.)

b. She explained why she prefers Beethoven to Bach

She explained why she prefers Beethoven to Bach. (A period closes a statement
incorporating an indirect question.)

c. How far is it from Paris to Rome

How far is it from Paris to Rome? (A question mark closes a direct question.)

d. The question for discussion concerned whether or not a new expressway should be
built
The question for discussion concerned whether or not a new express* way
should be built. (A period closes a statement incorporating an indirect
question.)

e. How absurd it is to think that mankind is perfect

How absurd it is to think that mankind is perfect! (An exclamation point closes
an exclamatory sentence.)

f. I wondered why he was running down the street

I wondered why he was running down the street. (A period closes a statement
incorporating an indirect question.)

g. Will you please hand me the dictionary

Will you please hand me the dictionary. (A period closes an indirect request,
that is, a request in interrogative form.)

h. The police questioned the suspects for an hour

The police questioned the suspects for an hour. (A period closes a declarative
sentence.)
2. Use commas to set off the nonrestrictive appositives and modifiers in the following
sentences. Do not punctuate the restrictive elements.

a. He learned to distinguish the word allusion from the word illusion.

He learned to distinguish the word allusion from the word illusion.

b. The victim’s father who saw the accident occur testified in court.
The victim’s father, who saw the accident occur, testified in court.

c. The SJ{ate a famous submarine came to the surface through the ice at the North
Pole.
The Skfite, a famous submarine, came to the surface through the ice at the
North Pole.

d. Anyone who likes social drama will probably enjoy Ibsen’s plays.
Anyone who likes social drama will probably enjoy Ibsen’s plays.

e. Ghana located in West Africa and Kenya located in East Africa are both on his
itinerary.
Ghana, located in West Africa, and Kenya, located in East Africa, are both on
his itinerary.

f. Tom lives in the house built of California redwood.

Tom lives in the house built of California redwood.

g. He read Joseph Conrad’s novel Victory.

He read Joseph Conrad’s novel Victory.

h. Victory a novel by Joseph Conrad is a story which concerns an individual’s

detachment from society.
Victory, a novel by Joseph Conrad, is a story which concerns an individual’s
detachment from society.
3. Supply commas where they are needed for clarity in the following sentences:

a. The crowd shouted for the quarterback had just scored a touchdown.
The crowd shouted, for the quarterback had just scored a touchdown.

b. High above the jet plane streaked through the sky.

High above, the jet plane streaked through the sky.

c. Just when she tried to swallow the dentist began drilling on her tooth.
Just when she tried to swallow, the dentist began drilling on her tooth.

d. The class continued to wait patiently for the professor had explained that he might be
detained.
The class continued to wait patiently, for the professor had explained that he
might be detained.

4. The following sentences contain more commas than they need. Copy the sentences,
keeping only the necessary commas. State your reason for omitting or for keeping each
comma.

a. The store on the corner, has been vacant since Monday, October 20.
The store on the corner has been vacant since Monday, October 20. (The
comma after corner has been omitted because a comma is not needed between
a short subject and its verb. The comma after Monday is needed to help set off
the second item in the date.)
b. He decided, that he would enroll in three courses in day school, and two courses in
night school.
He decided that he would enroll in three courses in day school and two courses
in night school. (The comma after decided has been omitted because a comma
is not needed before the subordinating conjunction that introducing a noun
clause used as the object of a verb. The comma before and has been omitted
because a comma is not needed before a co-ordinating conjunction joining two
words or phrases.)
c. He bought, apples, bread, coffee, and cream.
He bought apples, bread, coffee, and cream. (The comma before apples has
been omitted because a comma is not needed before the first unit of a series.
The commas after apples, bread, and coffee are needed to separate units in a
series.)
d. For as long as I can recall, the neighborhood has been a quiet, peaceful, one.
For as long as I can recall, the neighborhood has been a quiet, peaceful one.
(The comma after recall is needed for clarity. The comma between quiet and
peaceful is needed to separate co-ordinate, consecutive adjectives. The comma
after peaceful has been omitted because a comma is not needed between an
adjective and the word it modifies.)
5. Certain commas in the following sentences need to be replaced by semicolons or colons.
Correct as necessary and state the reason for each correction.

a. Janet plays four instruments, the piano, the harp, the flute, and the violin.
Janet plays four instruments: the piano, the harp, the flute, and the violin. (The
colon anticipates the series of terms functioning in apposition to instruments.)

b. The meanings of some words ameliorate, the meanings of other words pejorate.
The meanings of some words ameliorate; the meanings of other words
pejorate. (The semicolon separates independent clauses not joined by a
coordinating conjunction.)

c. The chairman presided at every meeting, however, he did not participate in the
voting.
The chairman presided at every meeting; however, he did not participate in the
voting. (The semicolon separates main clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb.)
d. He had three duties when he worked in the library, answering the telephone,
shelving books, and operating the microfilm machine.
He had three duties when he worked in the library: answering the telephone,
shelving books, and operating the microfilm machine. (The colon anticipates
the series of phrases functioning in apposition to duties.)

e. During the tour they stopped at Grant’s Farm, where they saw several Clydesdale
horses, Forest Park, where they visited the zoo, and Lambert Field, where they
watched the airplanes take off and land.
During the tour they stopped at Grant’s Farm, where they saw several
Clydesdale horses; Forest Park, where they visited the zoo; and Lambert Field,
where they watched the airplanes take off and land. (The semicolons are
necessary to separate terms in a series when the terms contain internal
commas.)

f. When he entered college last year, Bob had already studied trigonometry, analytic
geometry, and calculus, but Harry, who is already a junior in college, is only now
studying trigonometry.
When he entered college last year, Bob had already studied trigonometry,
analytic geometry, and calculus; but Harry, who is already a junior in college,
is only now studying trigonometry. (The semicolon separates long independent
clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction when the clauses contain internal
commas.)
6. Supply quotation marks where they are needed in the following sentences. Be sure to
follow convention in placing the quotation marks before or after other marks.

a. Did you call me? asked Nora.

“Did you call me?” asked Nora.
b. If you wish, said the instructor, you may write two short papers instead of one long
one.
c. “If you wish,” said the instructor, “you may write two short papers instead of
one long one.”

d. The short story entitled Brooksmith is one of my favorite stories, said John.
“The short story entitled ‘Brooksmith’ is one of my favorite stories,” said John.

d. The officer said, Mrs. Jones, you were speeding; but Mrs. Jones insisted that she was
not.
The officer said, “Mrs. Jones, you were speeding**; but Mrs. Jones insisted that
she was not

7. Punctuate the following sentences with whatever marks they need. State the reason for
each mark you use.

a. Father brought in a tree from the timber we children decorated it with cranberries
popcorn and pictures.
Father brought in a tree from the timber; we children decorated it with
cranberries, popcorn, and pictures. (The semicolon separates independent
clauses not joined by a co-ordinating conjunction. The commas separate terms
in a series.)

b. We went fishing on hot humid days.

We went fishing on hot, humid days. (The comma separates co-ordinate,
consecutive adjectives.)

c. Miss Brown how soon will you need my book asked Ruth.
“Miss Brown, how soon will you need my book?’’ asked Ruth. (The comma
sets off a name used in direct address. The question mark follows the direct
question quoted within the sentence. The quotation marks enclose the exact
words of the speaker.)

d. The children are looking forward to a party for Judith will celebrate her birthday
next week.
The children are looking forward to a party, for Judith will celebrate her
birthday next week. (The comma prevents the misreading of the conjunction
for as a preposition.)
 e. All night long the snow fell and the wind blew consequently many roads were
drifted the next morning.
All night long the snow fell and the wind blew; consequently, many roads were
drifted the next morning. (The semicolon separates independent clauses joined
by a conjunctive adverb.)

f. The boys carried blue banners the girls white balloons.

The boys carried blue banners; the girls, white balloons. (The semicolon
separates independent clauses not joined by a co-ordinating conjunction. The
comma indicates the omission of the verb understood from the earlier clause.)

g.She ordered the following supplies ink paper and pencils.

She ordered the following supplies: ink, paper, and pencils. (The colon anticipates
a series used as an appositive. The commas separate terms in a series.)
h. Goodness beauty truth these qualities continue to influence the development of
civilization.
Goodness, beauty, truth—these qualities continue to influence the development of
civilization. (The commas separate terms in a series. The dash indicates the
suspension of one kind of construction and the continuation of the sentence in a
different form; the dash also anticipates a general term that has already been
illustrated by a series of specific terms.)

i. Thomas DeQuincey 1785-1859 was an English author.

Thomas DeQuincey (1785-1859) was an English author. (The parentheses
enclose supplementary information that is structurally unrelated to the
sentence.)

j. William Shakespeare who was an actor as well as a playwright must have led a busy
life.
William Shakespeare, who was an actor as well as a playwright, must have led
a busy life. (The commas set off the nonrestrictive clause.)

8. Supply capitals and indicate italics or use quotation marks where necessary in the
following sentences:

a. A group of tourists guided by professor kent larson sailed from new york on the
queen elizabeth in July.
A group of tourists guided by Professor Kent Larson sailed from New York on
the Queen 'Elizabeth in July.
b. She went to grade school in the south, high school in the midwest, and college in the
east.
 c. She went to grade school in the South, high school in the Midwest, and college
in the East.

d. Chapter 10, the technical report, in the book english communication is part of the
assignment.
Chapter 10, “The Technical Report,” in the book English Communication is
part of the assignment.

e. Students of central high school had a holiday the day before thanksgiving.
Students of Central High School had a holiday the day before Thanksgiving.

f. Tom’s course of study includes english, latin, algebra, biology, and history.
Tom’s course of study includes English, Latin, algebra, biology, and history.

f. Matthew arnold’s poem dover beach and John henry newman’s essay the educated
man are both in the anthology entitled adventures in english literature.

Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach” and John Henry Newman’s essay “The
Educated Man” arc both in the anthology entitled Adventures in English Literature.

9. In the following exercise pay careful attention to spelling as well as to possessive forms.

a. Write the possessive singular and the possessive plural of each of the following nouns:

Singular Possessive Plural Possessive

Adult´s Adults´
Albatross´s Albatrosses´
Bird´s Birds´
Child´s Children´s
Davis´s Davises´
Deer´s Deer´s
Donkey´s Donkeys´
Editor-in-chief´s Editors-in-chief´s
Governess´s Governesses´
Horse´s Horses´
Irishman´s Irishmen´s
Laborer´s Laborers´
Man´s Men´s
Negro´s Negroes´
Passer-by´s Passers-by´s
Poet´s Poets´
Son-in-law´s Sons-in-law´s
Student´s Students´
Swede´s Swedes´
Woman´s Women´s
b. Write the following pronouns in the possessive case:

another another´s
he his
one one´s
someone someone´s
who whose
anyone anyone´s
it its
she her or hers
they their or theirs
you your or yours