Here are some interesting and helpful pages to explore:
Avoiding typos:
Choosing between the simple present and simple past:
Avoiding double negatives:
5 September 2014
PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION
The twin’s were unusual amused, first they
entertain there school’s friends’ by telling jokes, than they had chased after
the neighboring dog and it was ended when they had imitated their friend’s.
1. Active or passive voice:
If the twins
were amused, then someone or something was amusing them. Given their actions,
it makes more sense to use the active voice and use the past progressive
tense ("were amusing") as they were amusing the others. Similarly use the simple
past "ended" in the active voice instead of the passive "was ended".
2. Word form:
"Unusual" is an adjective, but here it is a verb that is being modified, so we need to use an adverb ("unusually").
3. Possessive or plural:
"Twins" and "friends" are plural not possessive, so they should not have an apostrophe. Similarly, the word "school's" modifies "friends", so it is an adjective and therefore cannot be possessive or plural. We need to use the word "school".
4. Verb tense:
This story is set in the
past, so we need to use either the past progressive or simple past. Instead of "entertain", we should use "entertained". To be consistent, we need to use the simple past tense ("chased" and "imitated") rather than the past perfect ("had chased" and "had imitated").
5. Word confusion:
The possessive pronoun is "their"; "there" is an adverb of place.
6. Word confusion:
The word “than” is used to
compare two things; to indicate what happened next, we need to use the word "then".
7. Word confusion:
The word "neighbouring" refers to
a place. Here, we need to use either the possessive ("neighbour's" or "neighbourhood").
8. Punctuation:
The first two clauses are
independent, so we need to separate them with either a full stop (period) or a semicolon.
9. Parallelism:
As we are constructing a list of actions, we should try to maintain a parallel structure among each of the clauses: "they entertained...", "they chased..." and "they imitated...". the last clause should therefore be rephrased: "...and finally they imitated..."
Possible solution:
The twins were unusually amusing; first they entertained their school friends by telling jokes, then they chased after
the neighbour’s dog, and finally they imitated their friends.
*GRAMMAR QUESTION*
Correct the errors in the following sentence:
Solutions will be posted in the next edition of the blog.
Seeing that starbucks’ opens at safeway stores now and they had also opened at many book stores’; I wonder if it would now loose customer’s from their regular outlets.
PUZZLE
Solution to the previous puzzle:
New Puzzle:
model, synod, bodice, product, cathode
New Puzzle:
Now that we know how to play this game, let's try it again!
Five words that contain EM 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?
*EM**, *EM***, **EM**, ****EM, **EM***
Pool: A, A, C, D, F, H, H, I, I, I, L, N, N, O, P, R, R, S, T, U
Five words that contain EM 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?
*EM**, *EM***, **EM**, ****EM, **EM***
Pool: A, A, C, D, F, H, H, I, I, I, L, N, N, O, P, R, R, S, T, U
Each asterisk represents one missing letter.
Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.
*ALL CHANGE!*
Change the words in the following sentence as indicated.
Please change only the exact word in the sequence given. 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.
You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.
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
My favourite band just started a new concert tour.
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.
You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.
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 -ceed- or -cede- (meaning "go", "yield" or "give way") 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.
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.*
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).
… I had a lot of plans for the summer …
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.
Over the next few weekends, we are going to
several festivals that are happening in different towns around the province.
They will all be short drives as we want
to spend our time at the festivals rather than on the roads. At this time of the year,
thunderstorms are always possible, but we are hoping that they won’t affect our
plans.
*VOCABULARY*
Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing.
Use the following two words in one sentence (note the part of speech).
retort (noun) and supercilious (adjective).
The site also has word games and puzzles.
SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
We can describe something that has come together as combined.
Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word. Each participant should suggest a different word.
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 beat.
In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.
*TIME CHANGE*
Change the time in the following sentences by using a different verb tense and replacing any necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.
Next weekend, I am going
to a multi-cultural festival to be held at a community centre. I am going to wander around the site first to see what looks good and what is popular. Afterwards, I am going to
sample food from several different countries. I am also going to enjoy some traditional dancing and other displays.
*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: A $2,000 car has been
introduced in India
Sentence 2: It is more available and affordable for the masses.
Sentence 2: It is more available and affordable for the masses.
Sentence 3: It may also cause a
number of problems in India
BUILD-A-SENTENCE
Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.
Write a sentence that begins with the phrase "my friends" and includes the word "attend" in the future perfect progressive tense and the word "meet" in the simple past tense.
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