PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

I am always eating my dinner late while I get home at 8:00 pm but the food is warmed quick in a microwave we brought at a neighbours garage sale.

1. Verb tense: 

For repeated actions use the simple present tense: change “am eating” to “eat”.

2. Word confusion: 

With a specific time reference, use ‘when” not “while”.

3. Word form: 

The adverb is “quickly”--“quick” is an adjective.

4. Word confusion: 

The word needed here is “bought”. The simple past tense of “buy”; “brought” is the past tense of “bring”.

5.  Missing word: 

The correct usage is “to warm [something] up”: “the food is warmed up”.

6.  Article usage: 

A specific microwave is referred to, so use the definite article (“the”). 

7. Punctuation: 

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (but) when it separates 2 independent clauses. Also note that an apostrophe is needed in neighbours (neighbour’s) because it is a possessive noun.

8. Capitalization: 

Capitalize PM. (MLA format).

Suggested solution: 

I always eat my dinner late when I get home at 8:00 PM, but the food is quickly warmed up in the microwave we bought at a neighbour’s garage sale.

*GRAMMAR QUESTION*

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

As the matter of fact, she was a person who hard being convinced for instant, she certainly would likes to thinks that his opinion are the corrected then any one else view.

Solutions will be posted in the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Solution to the previous puzzle:  

1.  blankout + beep              BLEEP

2.  pain + sting                     PANG            

3.  haggle + tussle                HASSLE

4.  dumb + confound             DUMBFOUND

5.  bold + rash                      BRASH

6.  chuckle + snort                CHORTLE

7.  internal + communication  INTERCOM

8.  blow + spurt                     BLURT  

New Puzzle:

Insert one word in each pair to link the two words together. 
The end of the first word is the beginning of the second.

1. Push __ __ __ Cushion

2. Digital __ __ __ __ __ __ Shy
3. Crystal __ __ __ __ Park
4. First __ __ __ __ __ Clown
5. Bed __ __ __ __ Candy

*Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use TEA:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090303_teacher_food_tea.shtml

Watch this video, and then write a sentence that uses one of these three idioms.

Try not to use the same idiom as the other posters.

*ALL CHANGE!*

Change the words in the following sentence as indicated.

The weather channel unhappily forecast heavy snow for Edmonton next week.

Please change only the exact word in the sequence given, and wait until someone else has posted the next change before making another. Each participant should build on the changes made by the previous participant.

For instance, Participant 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Participant 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes the direct object noun, etc.

Each participant should make just one change at a time, following the order indicated below.

When all 7 changes have been made, return to the top of the list and continue.

Changes:                                                                                                                          

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

AFFIXES

The word stem -voc/vok (meaning call) occurs in many words. 

Add an affix (either a prefix or a suffix) to this stem to make another word. 

Each participant should add a different word to the list.

*COMPLETE THE SENTENCE*

Follow the instructions below to create three different sentences from the following clause.*

... I wish you a happy birthday ...

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


*Add your words to the beginning or end of the clause (but not both).

*NUMBER CHANGE*

If the sentence is singular, change it to the plural; if it is plural, change it to the singular.

My birthday dinner was a real pleasure; the food was good and the company even better!

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the part of speech).

exacerbate (verb)     +  miscreant (noun)

To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day. 

The site also has word games and puzzles.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe something obviously bad as flagrant. 

Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word. Each participant should suggest a different word.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the word ring.

In the first sentence, use the verb in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.

*TIME CHANGE*

Change the time in the following sentences using a different verb tense and replacing and necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.

We celebrate Pancake Day by cooking a lot of traditional pancakes. We think the home-made ones taste better than ones served in restaurants. Tradition calls for using lemon juice and sugar on top of the pancakes. The idea is to use up lots of good, rich ingredients before the fast for Lent starts the next day. 

*SENTENCE COMBINATION*

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important writing skill. There are many ways to do this. Try to combine the following three sentences.

Sentence 1: Many people celebrated Pancake Day by cooking pancakes at home.

Sentence 2: Other people went to restaurants offering “all you can eat” pancakes that day.
Sentence 3: Pancake Day is more properly known as Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, which is when Christians start the Lenten fast.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

The following question is similar to the one in part 3 of the ENGL140 final exam. Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.

Write a sentence using a conditional with the past perfect and an independent clause.

HALF-WAY THERE CHALLENGE!

This is an exercise in advanced sentence combining. It is designed for students who have completed Lesson 9 in the course.

Sentence 1: Chinese New Year was celebrated around the world.
Sentence 2: Most people hoped for a more peaceful year to come.
Sentence 3: This year many are also hoping for more prosperity.

Grammar:

1.    Use an appositive to combine the sentences.

2.    Use a gerund to combine the sentences.
3.    Use a relative pronoun to combine the sentences.