PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

There were a lot of applauses at the oscars; and they had rose most when the winner of the best movie had been announced and them receiving the direct was going to the stage as quick as possible.

1.      Noun form: Applause is non-count noun--there is no plural form.

2.      Subject-verb agreement: Because “applause” is singular, the verb must also be singular--change “were” to “was”.

3.      Capitalization: the “Oscars” is a proper noun--it needs a capital letter.

4.      Noun-pronoun agreement: Again, because “applause” is singular, the pronoun referring to it must also be singular--change “they” to “it”.

5.      Verb tense: “had rose” is the past perfect; here you need the simple past “rose”.

6.      Verb  tense: “had been announced” is the past perfect in the passive voice; here you need the simple past passive--“was announced”.

7.      Pronoun error: “them” is a plural object pronoun; here, we know that the winner is singular, but the word order is also a problem--replace with “the person receiving it”,

8.      Word form: When referring to a person, the word form is “director”.

9.      Verb tense: Instead of the past progressive tense, use the simple past--went.

10.  Word form: “quick” is an adjective--here you need the adverb “quickly” as it modifies “went”.

11.  Punctuation: Don’t use a semicolon before the coordinating conjunction “and”; a comma is required. Similarly, a comma is needed after “announced”.

Possible Answer: There was a lot of applause at the Oscars, and it rose the most when the winner of the best movie was announced, and those receiving it were directed to go to the stage as quickly as possible.

GRAMMAR QUESTION, May 16th, 2013

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

Please ask her where is she going over the week-end and is her boyfriend going to but don't tell her that I ask for the informations.

There are many possible ways to correct this sentence--many possible bonus marks!

PUZZLE, May 16th, 2013

Previous puzzle: Congratulations to Jessica for being first with the correct answer. Here are the suggested answers:

1. BO---  BOARD       2. BO---BORED                 3. BO--BORN                      4. -BO--ABOVE

5. BO---BOSUN         6. BO----BORROW            7. BO----BOILED                8. ---BO-SYMBOL

New Puzzle:

When beheading a word, remove the first letter and still have a valid word. The clue for the longer of the two words is first (behead the first word).
Example: a. Begin  b. Sour, acidic               Answer: Start and Tart.

1. a. Mark left after healing         b. Vehicle
2. a. To have hit                           b. Vehicle
3. a. Intelligent                             b. Individual store
4. a. Tiny                                      b. Large retail complex
5. a. Take illegally                        b. Bluish green
6. a. Clean the floor                      b. Cry
7. a. Expressed in words               b. Give assistance
8. a. Talk                                       b. Highest level; summit

ALL CHANGE! May 16th, 2013

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated. If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make. Please number the change that you make.

Amber happily planted the beautiful flowers in the garden.

Changes:  1. subject noun         2. direct object noun                3. indirect object noun                       
4. adjective(s)       5. adverb(s)         6. verb name           7. verb tense

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE, May 16th, 2013

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

... it will be good to have another three-day weekend...

Sentence 1. Add a phrase           
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause        
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause

VOCABULARY, May 16th, 2013

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.

feckless      (adjective)     +      veracity      (noun)

ACTIVE & PASSIVE, May 16th, 2013

Use the verb with the base form of bear in two different sentences.

Sentence 1 should be in the active voice.
Sentence 2 should reword the sentence to the passive voice.

SENTENCE COMBINATION, May 16th, 2013

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important skill in writing. There are many ways to do this--many possible bonus points! Try to combine the following three sentences into just one sentence.

1.      The celebration of Victoria Day is associated with the arrival of summer.

2.      In many parts of Canada, it is still spring as the trees are just beginning to leaf out.

3.      This weekend, avid gardeners flock to greenhouses to buy bedding plants for their gardens to ensure a good start on summer.

HALF-WAY THERE CHALLENGE! May 16th, 2013

This exercise on advanced sentence combining is designed for students who have completed this part of  Engl 177:

Sentence 1: Most of us are looking forward to being able to enjoy our parks and gardens soon.

Sentence 2: It is too easy to forget about parks and gardens during the long winter.

Sentence 3: Spring and summer tend to make us think of doing outdoor activities.

1. Use a gerund

2. Use an appositive to combine the sentences.

3. Use a relative pronoun to combine the sentences.     

PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

Studying on my own pace is a lot of benefit for me do to I am not needing to be worrying about no time for attend class. Being a single parent, the classes allows me working and studying and to spend time with my children.

1.      Preposition usage: the wording is “studying at” not “studying on”.

2.      Wording: “a lot of benefit” is not idiomatic; use “beneficial”.

3.      Word confusion: Although they sound the same, do not confuse “do to” with “due to”. Either replace this connective with a different one, or use “due to the fact that …”.

4.      Verb form/tense: with a negative verb form, use the auxiliary verb “do”; also note that for something that is generally true, use the simple present tense. The verb phrase then becomes “do not need”.

5.      Infinitive: the correct form of the following infinitive is “to worry”.

6.      Double negative: There is already a negative form with the verb, and in English, a double negative means the opposite (becomes a positive), so omit the second negative “no”. Replace it with “having”.

7.      Preposition usage: While “time for something” is correct, when there is a verb, the usage is “time to do (attend) something (class).

8.      Word confusion: Here you need the preposition “to” not the adverb “too”.

9.      Word usage: “never minding “ is not idiomatic; use “without regard” or “without worrying about”.

10.  Word confusion: “Whether” is a word to do with choice; in this sentence the noun “weather”, as related to climate, is needed.

11.  Dangling modifier: What is the subject of “being a single parent”? The next clause starts with the subject “the classes”, but that’s not the subject for the previous phrase—you have to supply a subject: e.g. As I am a …

12.  Subject-verb agreement: The plural “classes” requires a plural verb “allow.”

13.  Gerund/infinitive: in this context, use the infinitives “to work” and “to study.”

14.  Parallel structure: With infinitives in place, use parallel structure to simplify the clause: …to work, study, and spend time… .

Possible Answer: Studying at my own pace is beneficial to me as I do not need to worry about having time to attend class or travelling to and from class without regard for the weather. As I am a single parent, the classes allow me to work, study and spend time with my children.

GRAMMAR QUESTION,May 2nd, 2013

Correct the errors in the following sentence:
There were a lot of applauses at the oscars; and they had rose most when the winner of the best movie had been announced and them receiving the direct was going to the stage as quick as possible.

There are many possible answers--many possible bonus points!