The Grammar Teacher's Activity-a-Day E-Book

Jack Umstatter

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: 5-Minute FUNdamentals
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 244

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

Quick, daily classroom lessons for improving students' grammar and writing skills This must-have resource features 180 practical, ready-to-use grammar and usage lessons and activities-one for each day of the school year. The activities included help students in grades 5-12 to acquire, improve, and expand their grammar skills, and become more adept and confident writers. Veteran educator and best-selling author Jack Umstatter helps teachers to familiarize students with the type of grammar-related content found on standardized local, state, national, and college admissions tests. * Includes ready-to-use, yet comprehensive and authoritative activities for use as sponge activities, extra homework, or regular daily lessons * Reproducible lessons are designed to be non-intimidating and clear for students * Other titles by Umstatter include Grammar Grabbers!, 201 Ready-to-Use Word Games for the English Classroom, Brain Games!, and Got Grammar? Tips for educators on how to best utilize each specific topic or lesson are included for easy classroom instruction.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

JOSSEY-BASS TEACHER

Dedication

Title Page

Copyright Page

THE AUTHOR

Acknowledgements

ABOUT THIS BOOK

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

SECTION ONE - Grammar

1 the noun

2 types of nouns

3 the pronoun

4 personal pronouns

5 Do you know your personal pronouns?

6 reflexive, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns

7 singular and plural nouns and pronouns

8 the adjective

9 the noun-adjective-pronoun question

10 the verb

11 Is it an action, linking, or helping verb?

12 the adverb

13 the preposition

14 compound prepositions and the preposition-adverb question

The Preposition-Adverb Question

15 the coordinating conjunction

16 the correlative conjunction

17 the subordinating conjunction

18 combining ideas with the subordinating conjunction

19 the interjection

20 parts-of-speech review (part one)

21 parts-of-speech review (part two)

22 parts-of-speech parade

23 filling in the parts of speech

24 What’s missing? (parts-of-speech review)

25 fun with literary titles (parts-of -speech review)

26 parts-of-speech matching

SECTION TWO - Usage

27 complete and simple subjects

28 complete and simple predicates

29 compound subject and compound predicate

30 the direct object

31 the indirect object

32 the object of the preposition

33 objects and 8-7-5

34 subject complements—predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives

35 Predicate nominative, predicate adjective, or neither?

36 introducing phrases

37 the verb phrase

38 the prepositional phrase

39 the adjective phrase

40 the adverb phrase

41 adjective and adverb phrases review

42 prepositional phrases review

43 the appositive

44 Appositive, verb, or prepositional phrase?

45 the participle and participial phrase

46 Participial phrase or not?

47 the gerund and gerund phrase

48 Gerund or not?

49 the infinitive and infinitive phrase

50 the many uses of the infinitive phrase

51 verbal phrase review

52 matching the phrases in context

(SELECTION ONE)

(SELECTION TWO)

53 showing what you know about phrases

54 happy in ten different ways

55 writing with variety

56 phrases finale

57 introducing clauses

58 the adverb clause

59 nailing down the adverb clause

60 the adjective clause

61 recognizing adjective clauses

62 the noun clause

63 the many uses of the noun clause

64 adjective, adverb, and noun clauses

65 identifying phrases and clauses

66 Do you know your phrases and clauses?

67 putting clauses into action

68 what good writers do

69 starting the sentence

70 it’s all about form

71 sentences, fragments, and run-on sentences

72 What’s what? sentences fragments ,and run-on sentences

73 making sense (and sentences)

74 types of sentences by purpose

75 “purposeful” sentences

76 sentences by design (or construction)

77 simple and compound sentences

78 complex sentences

79 compound-complex sentences

80 Know the sentence’s structure?

81 subject and verb agreement

82 agreement involving prepositional phrases

83 knowing your prepositional phrases and agreement

84 pronouns and their antecedents

85 agreement between indefinite pronouns and their antecedents

86 showing what you know about pronouns and their antecedents

87 indefinite pronouns

88 indefinite pronouns and agreement

89 writing with indefinite pronouns

90 compound subjects (part one)

91 compound subjects (part two)

92 working with compound subjects

93 subject-verb agreement situations

94 more subject-verb agreement situations

95 making the wrong right

96 knowing your subject-verb agreement

97 subject-verb agreement parade

98 practicing agreement

99 How well do you know agreement?

100 regular verb tenses

101 selecting the correct verb tense

102 irregular verbs (part one)

103 working with irregular verbs from part one

104 irregular verbs (part two)

105 working with irregular verbs from part two

106 irregular verbs in context

107 Correct or incorrect?

108 helping out with irregular verbs

109 the verb “be”

110 busy with the verb “be”

111 the nominative case

112 the objective case

113 the possessive case

114 the possessive case and pronouns

115 indefinite pronouns and the possessive case

116 using the possessive case

117 confusing usage words (part one)

118 confusing usage words (part two)

119 confusing usage words (part three)

120 confusing usage words (part four)

121 confusing usage words (part five)

122 confusing usage words (part six)

123 confusing usage words (part seven)

124 confusing usage words (part eight)

125 matching up the confusing words

126 Which is the correct word?

127 select the correct word

128 double negatives

129 misplaced and dangling modifiers

130 revising sentences that have misplaced and dangling modifiers

131 transitive and intransitive verbs

132 Do you know your transitive and intransitive verbs?

133 active and passive voices

134 sound-alike words (part one)

135 sound-alike words (part two)

136 sound-alike words (part three)

137 sound-alike words (part four)

138 making your mark with sound-alike words

139 regular comparison of adjectives and adverbs

140 irregular comparison of adjectives and adverbs

SECTION THREE - Mechanics

141 periods, question marks, and exclamation marks

142 working with periods, question marks, and exclamation marks

143 commas (part one)

144 commas (part two)

145 commas (part three)

146 commas (part four)

147 commas (part five)

148 commas in action

149 some more commas in action

150 comma matching contest

151 the apostrophe

152 more apostrophe situations

153 working with apostrophes

154 the colon

155 the semicolon

156 colons and semicolons in context

157 quotation marks (part one)

158 quotation marks (part two)

159 quotation marks (part three)

160 italics, hyphens, and brackets

161 parentheses, ellipsis marks, and dashes

162 all sorts of punctuation problems

163 All the punctuation is missing!

164 first capitalization list

165 second capitalization list

166 using capital letters

167 capitalize these (part one)

168 capitalize these (part two)

169 challenging spelling words

170 spell it right—and win the battle

SECTION FOUR - Show What You Know

171 Where did all the letters go?

172 grammar and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

173 grammar, mechanics, and Alice in Wonderland

174 phrases, clauses, and sentences found in “One Thousand Dollars”

175 find the mistake

176 five questions in five minutes (parts of speech, prepositional phrases, and clauses)

177 five questions in five minutes (sentences and usage)

178 five questions in five minutes (mechanics)

179 five questions in five minutes (verbals and subject complements)

180 five questions in five minutes (confusing and sound-alike words)

ANSWER KEY

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

NOTES

Titles in the Jossey-Bass Education

5-Minute FUNdamentals Series

THE MATH TEACHER’S PROBLEM-A-DAY, GRADES 4-8

Over 180 Reproducible Pages of Quick Skill Builders

Judith A. Muschla, Gary Robert Muschla • ISBN 978-0-7879-9764-9

THE READING TEACHER’S WORD-A-DAY

180 Ready-to-Use Lessons to Expand Vocabulary, Teach Roots, and Prepare for Standardized Tests

Edward B. Fry, Ph.D. • ISBN 978-0-7879-9695-6

THE WRITING TEACHER’S LESSON-A-DAY

180 Reproducible Prompts and Quick-Writes for the Secondary Classroom

Mary Ellen Ledbetter • ISBN 978-0-470-46132-7

THE SPELLING TEACHER’S LESSON-A-DAY

180 Reproducible Activities to Teach Spelling, Phonics, and Vocabulary

Edward B. Fry, Ph.D. • ISBN 978-0-470-42980-8

THE GRAMMAR TEACHER’S ACTIVITY-A-DAY, GRADES 5-12

Over 180 Ready-to-Use Lessons to Teach Grammar and Usage

Jack Umstatter • ISBN 978-0-470-54315-3

THE ALGEBRA TEACHER’S ACTIVITY-A-DAY, GRADES 5-12

Over 180 Quick Challenges for Developing Math and Problem-Solving Skills

Frances McBroom Thompson • ISBN 978-0-470-50517-5

JOSSEY-BASS TEACHER

Jossey-Bass Teacher provides educators with practical knowledge and tools to create a positive and lifelong impact on student learning. We offer classroom-tested and research-based teaching resources for a variety of grade levels and subject areas. Whether you are an aspiring, new, or veteran teacher, we want to help you make every teaching day your best.

From ready-to-use classroom activities to the latest teaching framework, our value-packed books provide insightful, practical, and comprehensive materials on the topics that matter most to K-12 teachers. We hope to become your trusted source for the best ideas from the most experienced and respected experts in the field.

DEDICATION

To my teacher, colleague, and friend, Ira Finkel. I sat in your classroom and learned so much from your words and dedication to your profession. Then I learned even more about teaching from you as your Dowling College colleague. You were the best—the teacher that all students should have at least once in their lives, the fellow educator that we all truly admired. Thanks for your inspiration . . .

Copyright © 2010 by Jack Umstatter. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Permission is given for individual classroom teachers to reproduce the pages and illustrations for classroom use. Reproduction of these materials for an entire school system is strictly forbidden.

Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax [phone].

Jossey-Bass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

eISBN : 978-0-470-60942-2

PB Printing

THE AUTHOR

Jack Umstatter taught English on both the middle school and senior high school levels for thirty-five years. He also taught at Dowling College and Suffolk County Community College (New York). In 2006, he retired from the Cold Spring Harbor School District where he had co-chaired the English department.

Mr. Umstatter graduated from Manhattan College with a B.A. in English and completed his M.A. degree in English at Stony Brook University. He earned his educational administration degree at Long Island University.

Jack has been selected Teacher of the Year several times in his school district, was elected to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and has also appeared in Contemporary Authors. A contributing writer for the Biography Channel, he now conducts teacher training workshops and performs demonstration lessons in classrooms across the country.

Mr. Umstatter’s publications include Hooked on Literature (1994), 201 Ready-to-Use Word Games for the English Classroom (1994), Brain Games! (1996), Hooked On English! (1997), the six-volume Writing Skills Curriculum Library (1999), Grammar Grabbers! (2000), English Brainstormers! (2002), Words, Words, Words (2003), Readers at Risk (2005), and Got Grammar? (2007), all published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the folks at Jossey-Bass, especially vice-president and publisher, Paul Foster, and editor, Margie McAneny, for their continued support, confidence, and guidance. Their assistance and friendship over the years has been invaluable.

I applaud and thank Diane Turso, my proofreader, for her meticulous work and careful review of this and other books that I have written.

Thanks to all my students, past and present, for making my teaching experiences both memorable and fulfilling.

As always, thanks to my wife, Chris, and my two daughters, Maureen and Kate, for their perpetual love and inspiration that mean so much.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Contrary to what some out there are touting, grammar is not a lost art—nor should it be! Like the planet and the people who live on it, the English language is constantly evolving and changing. Some argue that this is for the better; some feel that it is not so healthy a change. Yet, the grammatical structure of the English language remains pretty much the same and has certainly not lost its importance. In fact, the constructors of local, state, national, college entrance exams, including the SAT Reasoning Test, the ACT, and even the Graduate Record Exam (used for graduate school admissions), have placed more emphasis on grammar and its components, as evidenced by the questions and tasks currently found on these highly regarded assessments.

Acknowledging the importance of grammar, usage, and mechanics on not only a student’s academic profile, but also, and perhaps more significantly, on a student’s ability to use language to communicate effectively and intelligently, The Grammar Teacher’s Activity-a-Day: 180 Ready-to-Use Lessons to Teach Grammar and Usage was created to assist students to learn, exercise, and appreciate the many intriguing aspects of the English language. Though each of the 180 reproducible, ready-to-use lessons and activities that cover a wide range of grammatical components and more can be done within a short window of time, the long-lasting effects of these minutes will reap benefits for all of your students. These learners will speak more cogently, listen more astutely, and write more powerfully. Grammar will no longer be a foe, a force to be feared; instead, it will be an ally, a powerful friend who furnishes comfort and inspires confidence.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The Grammar Teacher’s Activity-a-Day: 180 Ready-to-Use Lessons to Teach Grammar and Usage is divided into four sections of reproducible grammar, usage, and mechanics pages.

The first section, Grammar, features 26 lessons and activities that cover the eight parts of speech in detail.

Usage, the second section, includes 114 lessons and activities. Here students will study important topics including sentence parts, phrases, clauses, sentence design and purpose, agreement, cases, and confusing and sound-alike words.

The 30 lessons and activities in the last major section, Mechanics, focus on punctuation, capitalization, and spelling, three essential elements of effective writing.

Show What You Know, the short, final section, serves as a check on what the students have studied. These 10 activities allow students to display their knowledge of all the topics covered within the book’s pages.

Each of the 180 reproducible lessons and activities will take up only a few minutes of time in the already crowded curriculum that you and your students will cover during the year. If the pages inspire greater interest and discussion, go with it, for that is the desired teachable moment.

Use these pages as needed. They do not have to be done sequentially. So, if you need a lesson or an activity on commas, use the Table of Contents to select your specific need. Simply flip to the page(s), and you are ready to go.

You can use these pages for introduction, warm-up, review, reinforcement, remediation, or assessment. They are appropriate for whole class, small-group, or individualized instruction. Select what is most appropriate and beneficial for your students. An added plus is the Answer Key that will save you valuable time, a teacher’s dream!

In short, the ready-to-use lessons and activities in The Grammar Teacher’s Activity-a-Day will help your students improve their grammatical skills, enjoy learning about the English language, and gain confidence in the process. Isn’t that what we all want for our students?

Jack Umstatter

SECTION ONE

Grammar

1 the noun

A noun, the first of the eight parts of speech, is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

person: Darlene, boy, mayor, worker, scientist, assistant

place: Los Angeles, dock, home, park

thing: automobile, tool, balloon, penguin, tree

idea: freedom, independence, enmity, thoughtfulness

A singular noun is the name of only one person, place, thing, or idea. Examples of singular nouns include woman, auditorium, bicycle, and honesty.

A plural noun is the name of more than one person, place, thing, or idea. Examples of plural nouns include teammates, cities, houses, and freedoms.

Activity

Underline the three nouns in each of the following sentences.

Rose carried her pet into the office.

The newspaper was left on the table in the classroom.

The group spent many hours discussing the new plan.

Joshua saw the bridge and the lighthouse.

Her computer was repaired by the technician on Tuesday.

Challenge

For each of these four letters, list four nouns, each having at least four letters.

2 types of nouns

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. There are singular nouns that name ONE person (player), place (room), thing (towel), or idea (love), and there are plural nouns that are the names for MORE THAN ONE person (players ), place (rooms), thing (towels), or idea (loves).

There are other types of nouns that are good to know. They include the following.

• Common nouns begin with a lowercase (or small) letter since they name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are nonspecific. Some singular common nouns include actor (person), lounge (place), stick (thing), and kindness (idea). Plural common nouns include men (persons), head-quarters (places), computers (things), and liberties (ideas).

• Proper nouns begin with an uppercase (or capital) letter because they name specific persons, places, things, and ideas. Proper nouns include President Harry Truman (person), Eiffel Tower (place), American Federation of Teachers (thing), and Theory of Relativity (idea).

• Concrete nouns name a person, place, thing, or idea that can be perceived by one or more of your senses (seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling). Popcorn, thunder, rainfall, skunk, windmill, and hair are concrete nouns.

• Abstract nouns name an idea, feeling, quality, or trait. Examples of abstract nouns include pity, weakness, humility, and elation.

• Collective nouns name a group of people or things. Some collective nouns are squad, assembly, team, jury, flock, and herd.

3 the pronoun

The pronoun, the second of the eight parts of speech, is a word that takes the place of a noun.

• In the sentence, “Felipe is an intelligent student,” the noun, Felipe, can be replaced by the singular pronoun he. Thus, the new sentence reads, “He is an intelligent student.”

• In the sentence, “We offered the baseball tickets to Rita and Drew,” the nouns, Rita and Drew, can be replaced by the plural pronoun, them. The new sentence will now read, “We offered the baseball tickets to them.”

There are several types of pronouns.

Personal pronouns refer to people, places, things, and ideas. I, me, you, your, they, us, and it are all personal pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding “-self” or “-selves” to certain personal pronouns. They “reflect” back to the person or thing mentioned in the sentence. Myself, himself, herself, itself, yourself, yourselves, and themselves are reflexive pronouns. There is no such word as theirselves.

Demonstrative pronouns can be singular or plural. They point out a specific person, place, or thing. This, that, these, and those are demonstrative pronouns.

Interrogative pronouns, like their name suggests, are used when asking a question. Who, whom, which, and whose are interrogative pronouns.

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, place, or thing. Some indefinite pronouns are another, both, everyone, most, no one, and several.

4 personal pronouns

A personal pronoun refers to people, places, things, and ideas.

• A first-person personal pronoun refers to the one (or ones) speaking. The singular first-person pronouns are I, me, my, and mine. The plural first-person personal pronouns are we, our, ours, and us.

We told our story.

I offered my opinion to the reporters.

Ours is the less expensive model.

The new family moved next door to us.

• A second-person personal pronoun refers to the one (or ones) spoken to. The singular and plural second-person personal pronouns are the same three words—you, your, and yours.

Can you bring your book back here today?

The present will be given to you.

This award is yours.

• The third-person personal pronoun is the one (or ones) spoken about. The singular third-person personal pronouns include he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, and its. The plural third-person personal pronouns include they, their, theirs, and them.

He and she wanted to take their children on a vacation.

They asked him and her if the house had kept its appeal.

Do you think that they will think that this car is theirs?

5 Do you know your personal pronouns?

Activity

Underline the appropriate personal pronoun in each of these fifteen sentences.

(We, Us) love to read books.

Most of these dresses had belonged to (her, hers).

(I, Me) will be waking up early tomorrow.

Emma has finished (her, mine) piano lesson.

Is this sweater (your, yours)?

You and (they, us) were invited to the graduation ceremony.

(Their, Theirs) is the cutest dog in this show.

Please pass the ball to (him, his).

Her grade is higher than (mine, him).

Does this instrument belong to (him, hers)?

(Our, Ours) car needs an inspection.

Were you able to hear (us, we) from that spot?

(We and they, Us and them) will meet at the movies.

Please help (they, us) lift this heavy box.

Listen to what (she, her) is telling (you, your) about the ship’s cargo.

6 reflexive, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is formed by adding “-self” or “-selves” to a personal pronoun.

• Reflexive pronouns include the first-person pronouns, myself and ourselves . The second-person pronouns are yourself and yourselves. The third-person pronouns are himself, herself, itself, and themselves.

The young lady carried in all her packages by herself.

They relied upon themselves to finish the daunting task.

Will he remember to help himself to the food on the table?

• Demonstrative pronouns point out a specific person, place, thing, or idea. This, that, these, and those are demonstrative pronouns.

This birthday card is intriguing.

These crossword puzzles sure are stumpers!

Are those stars always visible to us?

• Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. What, which, who, whom, and whose are interrogative pronouns.

Whose bicycle is this?

Which of these is the correct answer, Paula?

Whom did you ask to watch your dog while you went on vacation?

Activity

Underline the reflexive (REF), demonstrative (DEM), and interrogative (INT) pronouns in these sentences. Above each of those pronouns, indicate its type by using the three-letter code.

Who can learn this dance by herself?

Will you complete those problems by yourself?

Whom can I ask for help with these directions?

7 singular and plural nouns and pronouns

A singular noun or pronoun is a word that refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.

• Singular nouns include car, desk, pool, friend, computer, video, geography, and poetry.

• Singular pronouns include he, she, it, I, me, mine, my, his, and her.

A plural noun or pronoun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

• Plural nouns include women, bottles, games, crafts, cylinders, and instruments .

• Plural pronouns include they, them, we, our, ours, their, theirs, themselves, and us.

Activity

Write the letter S for singular or P for plural on the line next to each word.

1. ___ fan

2. ___ their

3. ___ ourselves

4. ___ licenses

5. ___ herself

6. ___ swimmer

7. ___ it

8. ___ bats

9. ___ graveyard

10. ___ few

11. ___ lights

12. ___ families

13. ___ I

14. ___ muscles

15. ___ gasoline

16. ___ myself

17. ___ them

18. ___ its

19. ___ we

20. ___ slide

8 the adjective

The adjective, the third of the eight parts of speech, modifies (qualifies or limits the meaning of) a noun or pronoun. An adjective can answer any one of these questions: What kind? Which one? How many? or How much?

In addition to regular adjectives such as tall, muscular, beautiful, and intelligent , there are two specific types of adjectives—the proper adjective and the compound adjective.

• A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun. Examples of proper adjectives include French onion soup, the Belgian detective, Orwellian philosophy, and the Kenyan landscape.

• A compound adjective is composed of two or more words. Examples include part-time referee, eight-foot tree, and fifteen-year-old musician.

• Note: Do not hyphenate an adjective preceding an adverb that ends in -ly. Some of these instances are smartly dressed politician and nicely groomed model.

Activity

Write an appropriate adjective in each blank.

Many of the __________ students voiced their displeasure with the new school rules.

These __________ geese were searching for a __________ place to meet.

and __________, the losing team did not look forward to their coach’s speech.

Although the boss was __________, her __________ workers felt

__________ people attended the play’s __________ performance.

9 the noun-adjective-pronoun question

When is a specific word a noun? an adjective? a pronoun? Great questions!

• Sometimes, a noun is used as an adjective. This is true for the word garden in the sentence, “The garden display attracted many visitors” since garden describes the type of display.

• Examples of when a noun is a noun and when it acts as an adjective are found in the following sentences.

Joseph left his empty glass on the table. (noun)

Joseph left his cup on the glass table. (adjective)

The ball sailed through the window. (noun)

The ball sailed through the window pane. (adjective)

• Sometimes, a pronoun is simply a pronoun. In other instances, it is an adjective and a pronoun at the same time and is then called a pronoun-adjective.

Several of the watches were expensive. (Several is simply a pronoun since it replaces the names of various watches.)

Several watches were expensive. (Several is a pronoun-adjective that describes the noun watches.)

Many of these computers were recently purchased. (Many is a pronoun that replaces the names of the computers.)

Many computers were recently purchased. (Many is a pronoun-adjective that describe the noun computers.)

Some of the roads were repaired. (pronoun only) Some roads were repaired. (pronoun-adjective)

Activity

On a separate sheet of paper, write three additional examples of the noun-adjective-pronoun concept featured on this page.

10 the verb

The verb, the fourth of the eight parts of speech, is an action word. Since all good writing starts with strong verbs, this part of speech is very important.

The three basic types of verbs are the following:

• The action verb tells what action the sentence’s subject (or doer) performs, is performing, has performed, or will perform.

Our lawyer speaks frequently with her clients.

This lawyer has spoken with some clients this week.

These attorneys will be speaking soon.

• The linking verb connects (or links) a subject (or doer) to a noun, pronoun, or adjective in the sentence. The words that follow a linking verb answer the question “What?”

Common linking verbs are am, is, are, was, be, being, appear, grow, seem, smell, stay, taste, turn, sound, remain, look, feel, and become.

These chickens are hungry.

Selena is the club president.

Note: To tell the difference between an action verb and a linking verb, substitute a form of the verb be. If the new sentence seems logical, the verb that you replaced is probably a linking verb.

Sylvia sounded the alarm. (action verb)

Sylvia sounded nervous. (linking verb)

• The helping verb assists the main verb in a sentence. One or more helping verbs can assist the main verb. If a sentence is a question, answer the question, and the helping verb will precede the main verb.

This mechanic will repair the auto this morning.

These mechanics will be inspecting the auto this afternoon.

Has the mechanic spoken with you yet?

11 Is it an action, linking, or helping verb?

Activity

Indicate the action verbs by writing A on the line before the sentence. Do the same for the linking verbs (L) and the helping verbs (H). There are at least three examples of each of these verbs within these fifteen sentences.

_____ Last night’s audience members seemed more enthusiastic than tonight’s audience members.

_____ Warren is going to ask his sister for some advice.

_____ Can you remember your teacher’s first name?

_____ This talented surfer rode the wave all the way to the shore.

_____ Since Vicki had not eaten much today, her dinner tasted especially delicious.

_____ The doctor examined each patient twice.

_____ Hustle to first base, Charles!

_____ My niece quickly grew bored with the dull cartoon.

_____ Much of the required information will