This was heard on a flight announcement. The
first person to explain the error
and correct it gets an extra point!
The use of mobile devices are now
permitted.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
PUZZLE, May 2nd, 2013
Previous puzzle: Congratulations to Yadiriny for being the first to solve the previous puzzle.
1a. trap b. meat 2a. rapt b. team 3a. part b. tame
This week’s puzzle:
Guess the words below, which contain the following letters
in them: "BO"
Fill in the blanks using the list of letters below--use each letter once:
A, A, D, D, D, E, E, E, I, L, L, M, N, N, O, R, R, R, R, R, S, S U, V, W, Y
1. BO_ _ _
2. BO _ _ _
3. BO _ _
4. _ BO_ _
Fill in the blanks using the list of letters below--use each letter once:
A, A, D, D, D, E, E, E, I, L, L, M, N, N, O, R, R, R, R, R, S, S U, V, W, Y
1. BO_ _ _
2. BO _ _ _
3. BO _ _
4. _ BO_ _
5. BO_ _ _
6. BO _ _ _ _
7. BO _ _ _ _
8. _ _ _ BO _
ALL CHANGE! May 2nd, 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 you make!
Mira happily gave friendly Omar a birthday gift.
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 2nd, 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:
... I have mixed feelings about Mother’s Day ...
Sentence 1. Add a phrase
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause
... I have mixed feelings about Mother’s Day ...
Sentence 1. Add a phrase
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause
VOCABULARY, May 2nd, 2013
Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and
writing. Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.
expedite (verb) + myriad (noun)
expedite (verb) + myriad (noun)
SENTENCE COMBINATION, May 2nd, 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.
Sentence 1: The French were the first Europeans to settle in what is now Canada.
Sentence 2: Many of the British who came to Canada went to the New England colonies first.
Sentence 3: The American War of Independence prompted many Loyalists to leave the colonies and head for Canada as it was still under British control.
Sentence 1: The French were the first Europeans to settle in what is now Canada.
Sentence 2: Many of the British who came to Canada went to the New England colonies first.
Sentence 3: The American War of Independence prompted many Loyalists to leave the colonies and head for Canada as it was still under British control.
HALF-WAY THERE CHALLENGE! May 2nd, 2013
This exercise is advanced sentence combining; it is designed
for students who have completed Lesson 9 of Engl 177:
Sentence 1: The students eagerly exchanged information about how to work together on the presentation they were making.
Sentence 2: They posted their information and ideas to a wiki they had created specifically for that presentation.
Grammar: 1. Use a gerund to combine the sentences. 2. Use an infinitive to combine the sentences.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION
Driving to
the mall last week my car was near disappearing in a pothole: deciding to call
the cities administration reporting the problem, I was hoping the problem was
to be fixed quickly however its still their and its to be avoided.
1. Dangling
modifier: There is no subject for “driving to the mall”—currently the only one
available is the car”. Therefore it needs a subject such as “ When I was
driving …” That is now an adverb clause of time—it needs to be followed by a
comma.
2. Wording: “was near disappearing” is bad
grammar and non-idiomatic—reword to something such as “nearly disappeared.”
3. Gerund
or infinitive? The gerund “reporting” doesn’t work here; use the infinitive ‘to
report.”
4.
Possessive: “Cities” is a plural form; the singular possessive is needed—city’s
(no capital).
5. Verb
form: instead of “was to be” use the modal passive “would be.”
6. Word
confusion: When “its’ means “it is”, use an apostrophe (it’s); when “their”
refers to a place and is not a possessive pronoun, use “there.”
7. Awkward
wording: “to be avoided” is awkward in this sentence—it would be more usual to
use “should be avoided.”
8.
Punctuation: replace the colon with a semicolon. The comma after “problem” is
insufficient—more of a break is needed. Use either a semicolon or a period. The
word “however” separates 2 independent clauses—either make them separate
sentences or separate them with a semicolon. After an introductory “however”,
use a comma. In the last sentence, “and” separated 2 independent clause; use a
comma after “there.”
Possible Answer: When I was driving to the mall last week, my
car nearly disappeared in a pothole. I decided to call the city’s
administration to report the problem. I
was hoping the problem would be fixed quickly; however, it’s still there, and
it should be avoided.
GRAMMAR QUESTION, April 18th, 2013
There are a number of grammatical errors in the following
sentence. Rewrite the sentence to correct for those errors. There are many
possible solutions.
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.
The problems, and their corrections, will be posted in
the next edition of the blog.
PUZZLE, April 18th, 2013
Previous Puzzle: Congratulations to Yadiriny for being the first to solve it.
Five words that contain GM as a
letter pair have had all of their other letters removed and placed into a pool.
Put those letters back in their proper places. What are the words?
**GM*, **GM**, ***GM*, ****GM, **GM***
Pool: A, A, A, A, B, E, E, H, I, L, N, N, P, P, S, T, T, U, Y, Y
**GM*, **GM**, ***GM*, ****GM, **GM***
Pool: A, A, A, A, B, E, E, H, I, L, N, N, P, P, S, T, T, U, Y, Y
Answer: (PYGMY, BAGMAN, STIGMA, PHLEGM, AUGMENT)
New puzzle:
There are two groups of four-letter
words used in the sentences below. The first missing words (A) of each sentence
are anagrams of each other, and the second missing words (B) are also anagrams
of each other. Can you find them? (All the A words are anagrams of each other,
and all the B words are anagrams of each other).
1. The hunters set a __A__ for the hare. How else were they to enjoy its succulent __B___ ?
2. They all listened in __A__ attention as their leader spoke and motivated them to work as a __B__.
3. There will always be a small __A__ of wildness in a cat, though it is considered to be a __B__ animal today.
1. The hunters set a __A__ for the hare. How else were they to enjoy its succulent __B___ ?
2. They all listened in __A__ attention as their leader spoke and motivated them to work as a __B__.
3. There will always be a small __A__ of wildness in a cat, though it is considered to be a __B__ animal today.
*First student with the correct answer
gets the point.
ALL CHANGE! April 18th, 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 you make.
Yasmin excitedly rode her new bicycle to school.
Changes: #1 Subject noun #2 Direct object noun #3 Indirect object noun
#4 Adjective #5 Adverb #6 Verb name #7 Verb tense
Yasmin excitedly rode her new bicycle to school.
Changes: #1 Subject noun #2 Direct object noun #3 Indirect object noun
#4 Adjective #5 Adverb #6 Verb name #7 Verb tense
SENTENCE COMPLETION, April 18th, 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 the clause below:
...we are already one-third of the way through the year...
Sentence 1: Add a phrase
Sentence 2: Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3: Add an independent clause
VOCABULARY, April 18th, 2013
Vocabulary building is important for
both reading comprehension and writing. Use the following two words (note the
part of speech) in one sentence.
millennial (adjective) + diminution (noun)
millennial (adjective) + diminution (noun)
ACTIVE & PASSIVE, April 18th, 2013
Write one sentence in the active voice and one in the
passive voice using the verb use.
SENTENCE COMBINATION, April 18th, 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.
Sentence 2: Spring is particularly appreciated in such a cold country where most people experience a very long winter.
Sentence 3: This winter has seemed longer than most with snow still on the ground in many parts of the country.
HALF-WAY THERE CHALLENGE! April 18th, 2013
This exercise is advanced sentence combining; it is designed for students
who have completed Lesson 9 in Engl 177.
Sentence 1: The month of April has only 30 days.
Sentence 2: In many places the month of April signifies the coming of spring.
Sentence 3: In much of Canada, spring doesn’t arrive until later in the year.
Use the following grammar to combine these sentences:
1. Use a gerund
2. Use an appositive to combine the sentences.
3. Use a relative pronoun to combine the sentences.
Sentence 1: The month of April has only 30 days.
Sentence 2: In many places the month of April signifies the coming of spring.
Sentence 3: In much of Canada, spring doesn’t arrive until later in the year.
Use the following grammar to combine these sentences:
1. Use a gerund
2. Use an appositive to combine the sentences.
3. Use a relative pronoun to combine the sentences.
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