Author: Sharon Porterfield
192. Common Nouns
Common nouns name people, places, and things that don’t need to be capitalized. Proper nouns are names for actual people, actual locations and buildings. Common nouns are names for plain, unspecific people, places, and things. A proper noun is Chicago,… Read more192. Common Nouns
189. Use Italics to Emphasize Words
Italics are most often used for titles and names. However, we sometimes use italics when we want to emphasize certain words in our writing. Italicizing the words makes them stand out to the reader. Here is an example of using… Read more189. Use Italics to Emphasize Words
183. Pronoun Problem
Look at this sentence: He likes ice cream more than me. Do you know what the writer is trying to say? Here are two possibilities: He likes ice cream more than he likes me.He likes ice cream more than I… Read more183. Pronoun Problem
179. Using Hard and Hardly
The word hard works as an adjective when it modifies a noun.That was a hard test.You took a hard fall down the stairs. The word hard acts as an adverb when it modifies a verb.The team played hard but they… Read more179. Using Hard and Hardly
177. Mistakes with Using Adverbs
An adverb modifies a verb by telling more about the action. Be sure to put the adverb as close to the verb as possible. Sam walked to his room dejectedly. In this sentence, the adverb dejectedly is separated from the… Read more177. Mistakes with Using Adverbs
172. Parentheses
Parentheses ( ) are a type of punctuation. Parentheses always come as a pair – in twos. We put parentheses around words and information that are not of major importance. The words in a parentheses can be left out and… Read more172. Parentheses
467. Avoid the Fragment – Use a Subject and a Verb
A complete sentence needs a subject and verb. If you leave out either the subject or the verb, you have written a fragment. A fragment is only a piece of a sentence. The beautiful flowers in my back yard.Three giant… Read more467. Avoid the Fragment – Use a Subject and a Verb
215. Practice Using the Conjunction And
Section A: A simple sentence has only one main idea. A compound sentence is two simple sentences joined with a comma and conjunction. Decide if each sentence below is simple or compound.1. Yesterday the track team ran laps around the… Read more215. Practice Using the Conjunction And
211. The Compound Sentence
We know that compound means having two or more parts. We talked last week about a compound subject or a compound verb in a simple sentence. Compound Subject in a simple sentence: Mom and Dad went out for dinner. In… Read more211. The Compound Sentence