Grammer homework | English homework help

Introduction to Assignment: This assignment contains a number of sections. Each section contains a reading followed by a practice exercise. To complete the assignment, you need to respond to all the practice exercises in the assignment.

Directions: Type out the answers to all the practice exercises on a separate sheet of paper. This sheet of paper or document will be known as the “Answer Sheet for Grammar Assignment 2” Be sure to number your answer sheet in the same way the practice exercises are numbered. For this assignment, your answer sheet should be numbered from 1 through 56. Also, be aware that for some of the practice exercises you have to rewrite the sentences to complete the practice, and for some of the practice exercise you do not have to rewrite the sentences to complete the practice.

Where and How to Submit Assignment: When you complete the assignment, you will submit it either by uploading it as an attachment or by cutting and pasting the assignment from your word processing program into the textbox. Both of these options appear at the bottom of the assignment page. If you cut and paste your assignment into the textbox, be sure to do so by choosing the option to “Paste from Word.” Using this option will maintain your original formatting. To access the “Paste from Word” option, click on the three dots that appear in the box in the far right hand corner of the textbox. After you do this, several more buttons should appear. Once these buttons appear, click on the arrow beside the picture of the clipboard in order to see the option “Paste from Word.” Click on this option and follow the directions provided.

If you send the assignment as an attachment, name the attachment in the following way: GA2LastName. For example, if I were submitting the assignment as an attachment, I would name the attachment GA2Tolbert.

If you submit the exercise as an attachment, be sure to save it and attach it as a Rich Text Format (RTF) since the majority of computers can open an RTF attachment. If you submit an assignment as an attachment that my computer will not open, I will return the assignment to you ungraded. The assignment will remain ungraded until you submit it in a form my computer will open.

 

When to Submit Your Assignment: Grammar Assignment 2 is due by 11:59 Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, November 2, 2014.

 

How to Format Assignment:

Title: Center the following information at the top of the completed exercise:

Answer Sheet for Grammar Assignment 2

Font: 12pt Times New Roman

Spacing: Double Spacing

If you have any questions about how to do Grammar Assignment 2 or how to submit it, be sure to let me know.

 

Section 1: Past Tense of Regular Verbs [The following information about verb tenses is taken from p. 72 of Writing for Success.]

Suppose you must give an oral presentation about what you did last summer. How do you make it clear that you are talking about the past and not about the present or the future? Using the correct verb tense can help you do this.

 

It is important to use the proper verb tense. Otherwise, your listener might judge you harshly. Mistakes in tense often leave a listener or reader with a negative impression.

Regular Verbs

Verbs indicate actions or states of being in the past, present, or future using tenses. Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from the present to past tense. For example, to form a past-tense or past-participle verb form, add -ed or -d to the end of a verb. You can avoid mistakes by understanding this basic pattern.

 

Verb tense identifies the time of action described in a sentence. Verbs take different forms to indicate different tenses. Verb tenses indicate

  • an action or state of being in the present,

  • an action or state of being in the past,

  • an action or state of being in the future.

     

Helping verbs, such as be and have, also work to create verb tenses, such as future tense.

 

Present Tense: Tim walks to the store. (Singular Subject)

Present Tense: Kimmy and Sue walk to the store. (Plural Subject)

Past Tense: Yesterday, they walked to the store for milk. (Plural Subject)

Future Tense: Tomorrow, Kimmy will walk to the store to buy some bread. (Singular Subject)

 

Practice 1: On your answer sheet, type out past tense of the regular verb in parenthesis. You do not need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

1. The Dust Bowl ______(occur) during the 1930s in the United States.

2. The Dust Bowl mostly ______(affect) the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

3. During the Dust Bowl, the dust storms ______ (cause) irreparable damage to farms and the environment for several years.

4. When early settlers ______ (move) into the area, they ______(remove) the natural prairie grasses in order to plant crops and raise cattle.

5. The worst dust storms ______(happen) on April 14, 1935.

 

Section 2: Past Tense of Irregular Verbs [The following information about irregular verbs is taken from pp. 73-76 of Writing for Success.]

Irregular Verbs

The past tense of irregular verbs is not formed using the patterns that regular verbs follow. Study Table 2.1 “Irregular Verbs” on pp. 73-76 of Writing for Success, which lists the most common irregular verbs.

 

Tip

The best way to learn irregular verbs is to memorize them. With the help of a classmate, create flashcards of irregular verbs and test yourselves until you master them.

Here we consider using irregular verbs.

Present Tense: Lauren keeps all her letters.

Past Tense: Lauren kept all her letters.

Future Tense: Lauren will keep all her letters.

 

Practice 2: On your answer sheet, type out past tense of the irregular verb in parenthesis. To complete this practice, you will need to refer to the table of irregular verbs on pp. 73-76 of Writing for Success. You do not need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

6. The house ______(shake) as the airplane rumbled overhead.

7. I _______ (buy) several items of clothing at the thrift store last Wednesday.

8. The prized goose ______(lay) several golden eggs last night.

9. Martha ______ (put) the lotion in her shopping basket and started toward the checkout line.

10. Although Hector ______(grow) three inches in one year, we still call him “Little Hector.”

 

 

Section 3: Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense [The following information about maintaining consistent verb tense is found on pp. 76-78 of Writing for Success.]

Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense

Consistent verb tense means the same verb tense is used throughout a sentence or a paragraph. As you write and revise, it is important to use the same verb tense consistently and to avoid shifting from one tense to another unless there is a good reason for the tense shift. In the following box, see whether you notice the difference between a sentence with consistent tense and one with inconsistent tense.

Inconsistent Tense: The crowd starts cheering as Melina approached the finish line.

Consistent Tense: The crowd started cheering as Melina approached the finish line.

Consistent Tense: The crowd starts cheering as Melina approaches the finish line.

Tip

In some cases, clear communication will call for different tenses. Look at the following example:

If the time frame for each action or state is different, a tense shift is appropriate.

 

Practice 3: On your answer sheet, write out the correct verb from the two choices in parentheses. If the sentence is talking about something that happened in the past, be sure to pick out a past tense verb. If the sentence is talking about something that is happening in the present, be sure to pick out a present tense verb. Also, be sure there are not any illogical shifts from past tense to present tense or from present tense to past tense within a sentence. You do not have to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

11. In the Middle Ages, most people lived in villages and ______(work, worked) as agricultural laborers or peasants.

12. Every village ______(had, has) a “lord,” and the peasants worked on his land.

13. A peasant’s day usually began before sunrise and ______(involved, involve) long hours of back-breaking work, which ______(included, include) plowing the fields, planting seeds, and cutting crops for harvest.

14. Although the lord offered the peasants protection, their working life ______ (was, is) demanding and exhausting.

 

Section 4: Commas with Introductory Elements [The following information about using commas after introductory words and phrases is found on p. 107 of Writing for Success. The following information about using commas after introductory adverb clauses is found in Lecture 1 of Module 4. If you would like to see and hear the lecture about using commas after introductory adverb clauses, then go to Lecture 1 of Module 4: Accuracy in Punctuation and Mechanics found under the Modules tab in the Course Resources area of the course site. ]

 

One of the punctuation clues to reading you may encounter is the comma. The comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause in a sentence or a separation of things in a list. Commas can be used in a variety of ways. Look at some of the following sentences to see how you might use a comma when writing a sentence.

 

Commas after an Introductory Word, Phrase, or Adverb Clause

You may notice a comma that appears near the beginning of the sentence, usually after a word, phrase, or clause. This comma lets the reader know where the introductory word or phrase ends and the main sentence begins.

 

Example of introductory phrase: Without spoiling the surprise, we need to tell her to save the date.

  • In this sentence, without spoiling the surprise is an introductory phrase, while we need to tell her to save the date is the main sentence. Notice how they are separated by a comma.

 

Example of introductory word: Ironically, she already had plans for that day.

 

 

Examples of introductory adverb clauses:

 

  • When Harold received his paycheck, he went straight to the mall to spend it.
  • Before Patrick began lifting weights, he was the skinniest boy in class.
  • After the stock market crashed, investors were hesitant to invest in technology stocks.
  • Because a storm is coming, we are not advised to go fishing.

Notice that these sentences all begin with when, before, after, or because. These are known as adverb clause markers. When Harold received his paycheck is an adverb clause. When you start your sentence with that type of a clause, you put a comma after it and then conclude with the main clause. The reason this is called an adverb clause is because it tells you when he went straight to the mall. An adverb clause tells you information about the verb in the next clause. Before Patrick began lifting weights, he was the skinniest boy in class. This tells you when he was the skinniest boy in class. That’s why it’s called an adverbclause. But, you can see, the comma after it is necessary because of the pause in your voice as you read the sentence. After the stock market crash, investors were hesitant to invest in technology stocks. Again, after the stock market crash is an adverb clause telling you when investors were hesitant and you need a comma after that clause. Because a storm is coming, we are not advised to go fishing. Because the storm is coming tells you why we are not advised to go fishing. It tells you more information about the verb: are not advised. So, in this case, we’ll want a comma after this adverb clause.

More examples:

  • If the Federal Reserve Board increases the prime rate, interest rates will rise.
  • Unless Sharon gets the job offer, she will not move from this city.
  • Although Henry did not agree with the talk show host on many issues, Henry still agreed to appear on his program.

The if clause is followed by the comma, the unless clause is followed by a comma, and the although clause is followed by a comma. All three clauses are adverb clauses. When they begin a sentence, you’ll need a comma after those clauses and conclude the sentence with a main clause.

Practice 4: On your answer sheet, place commas in the following sentences where needed. You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

15. In the blink of an eye the kids were ready to go to the movies.

16. Suddenly the dog ran into the house.

17. Although Mark was exhausted from the four mile hike he still put up the tents for all his family.

18. Without a doubt green in my favorite color.

19. If the rain stops by noon the family reunion will proceed as planned.

 

Section 5: Section 5: Commas with Coordinating Conjunctions [If you would like to see and hear the lecture about commas with coordinating conjunctions, then go to Lecture 1 of Module 4: Accuracy in Punctuation and Mechanics found under the Modules tab in the Course Resouces area of the course site.]

 

Use a comma when a coordinating conjunction separates independent clauses

We discussed this a bit in a previous lecture. Let’s recall what the coordinating conjunctions are.

These words are called coordinating conjunctions. An easy way to remember them is to remember the acronym: FANBOYS. If these words separate two independent clauses, two clauses that could stand alone as sentences, you’ll want to insert a comma into the sentence. Take a look at these examples:

  • Hal never got his refund, for he never sent in his tax return.
  • Alice lives in Missouri, and Jeff lives in Mississippi
  • I have no savings, nor do I have any debts.
  • Jack is taking physics, but Jerry is taking biology.

First of all, notice that both clauses have subject-verb combinations: Hal never got, he never sent, Alice lives, Jeff lives, I have, I have, Jack is taking, Jerry is taking. We have two subject-verb combinations, a separate subject-verb combination in each clause. Notice that in addition, in all these cases we have independent clauses. Hal never got his refund is an independent clause.He never sent in his tax return is an independent clause. They can both stand alone themselves as sentences. Alice lives in Missouri. Jeff lives in Mississippi. Two independent clauses. The last item: Jack is taking physics, Jerry is taking biology, again two independent clauses. The third item represents somewhat of an exception because the word nor. The first clause, I have no savings, is an independent clause. The next clause is an independent clause which has the auxiliary, do, in front of it because of the negative word nor. We won’t get into the grammatical technicalities here about why this is the case, but understand that when you use the word nor, you are going to have the auxiliary, in this case do, preceding the subject, in this case, I. But in all four cases, we have coordinating conjunctions separating independent clauses and we need commas in cases like these.

Take a look at more examples:

  • You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.
  • Maxine has no degree in computers, yet she is working as a web developer.
  • Arnold just bought a new condominium, so he is moving next week.

Again, subject-verb combinations in each clause: you can pay, you can pay, Maxine has, she is working, Arnold just bought, he is moving. We have subject-verb combinations, a different one in each clause. In addition, we have independent clauses for each clause. You can pay me now is an independent clause. You can pay me later is an independent clause. Both clauses could stand by themselves as sentences. Maxine has no degree in computers is an independent clause. She is working as a web developer, again, an independent clause. Arnold just bought a new condominium. An independent clause can stand by itself. He is moving next week. An independent clause that can stand alone by itself. We are connecting independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions so we put commas between the conjunctions. This is our first rule in the use of commas: use commas when a coordinating conjunction separated independent clauses.

Practice 5.1: On your answer sheet, place commas in the following sentences where needed. You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

20. We could go camping for vacation or we could go to the beach.

21. He wanted a snack before bedtime so he ate some fruit and drank some milk.

22. Mark spent most of the night studying by himself and he spent most of the morning studying with his friends.

23. I have never dealt with this client before but I know that Leonardo has worked with him so let’s ask Leonardo for help.

 

Practice 5.2: Practice 5.1: On your answer sheet, place commas in the following sentences where needed. You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice. Some of the following sentences have introductory elements and some of the sentences have coordinating conjunctions.

24. Believe it or not the criminal was able to rob the same bank three times.

25. The conference was scheduled for Monday yet none of the participants had arrived.

26. When John realized he had left home without his driving directions he became nervous.

27. Confused he tried to open the box from the wrong end.

28. I cannot move forward on this project but I cannot afford to stop on this project.

 

Section 6: Sentences and Sentence Fragments

A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

Sentence: The truck with the red roof stopped at the sign.

  •          Subject: truck
  •          Verb: stopped
  •          Expresses a complete thought: the truck stopped at the sign.

 

A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete thought. Often, the sentence fragment is missing a subject or a verb.

Sentence Fragment with a missing subject: Told her mother about the broken vase.

  •          In this sentence fragment, there is not a subject. That is, there is no “doer” of the action. As readers, we do not know who told her mother about the broken vase.

Complete Sentence: Mary told her mother about the broken vase.

  •          Now, the word group is a sentence because it has a subject. That is, as readers we now know who told her mother about the broken vase.

Sentence Fragment with a missing verb: The new store on Main Street

  •          In this sentence fragment, there is not a verb. That is, there is not action or state of being in the sentence. As readers, we do not know what the new store on Main Street does.

Complete Sentence: The new store on Main Street sells guitars and sheet music.

  •          Now, the word group is a complete sentence because it has a verb. That is, as readers, we now know what the new store on Main Street does.

 

Be aware that a word group can have a subject and a verb and still be a sentence fragment. For example, a dependent clause has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought.

Dependent Clause/Sentence Fragment: When the snow began falling,

  •          Subject: snow
  •          Verb: began falling
  •          Does not express a complete thought. That is, the word group “When the snow began falling” does not make sense by itself.

Complete Sentence: When the snow began falling, the children ran into the front yard.

Certain words are commonly used to begin dependent clauses. Recognizing these words can help you determine whether a word group with a subject and a verb is a dependent clause and therefore a sentence fragment.

Words that are commonly used to begin dependent clauses

Although

If

What

As

So that

When

Because

That

Where

Though

Whether

Even though

Unless

While

Which

How

Who

Whose

Since

After

 

 

Finally, remember that length does not determine whether a group of words is a sentence or a sentence fragment. That is, you can have a very short sentence and a very long sentence fragment.

  •          Complete Sentence: Susan wept.
  •          Sentence Fragment: Unless Mr. Bithers changes his mind about the final exam that he gave last Friday during sixth period

Practice 6: Decide whether each of the following group of words is a sentence or a sentence fragment. On your answer sheet, type a S if the word group is a sentence or a SF if the word group is a sentence fragment. You do not need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

29. The teacher scolded the class

30. Ran over the skateboard lying in the driveway

31. The basketball game at the high school in the neighboring town

32. Martha enjoys gardening

33.  After the sun settled behind the sparkling water of the large lagoon at the south end of the island

 

Section 7: Different Types of Sentence Fragments  [The following information about sentence fragments is taken from pp. 48-55 of Writing for Success. The textbook provides diagrams for editing the different types of sentence fragments that is not included in the following information. If you would like to review these diagrams, you will need to go to pp. 48-55 of Writing for Success. For additional information about sentence fragments, view Lecture 6 of Module 1: Sentence Accuracy located under the Modules tab in the Course Resources area of the course site.]

 

Fragments

The sentences you have encountered so far have been independent clauses. As you look more closely at your past writing assignments, you may notice that some of your sentences are not complete.

 

(1) Missing Subject or Verb: A sentence that is missing a subject or a verb is called a fragment. A fragment may include a description or may express part of an idea, but it does not express a complete thought.

 

Fragment: Children helping in the kitchen.

Complete sentence: Children helping in the kitchen often make a mess.

 

You can easily fix a fragment by adding the missing subject or verb. In the example, the sentence was missing a verb. Adding often make a mess creates an S-V-N sentence structure.

 

See whether you can identify what is missing in the following fragments.

Fragment: Told her about the broken vase.

Complete sentence: I told her about the broken vase.

 

Fragment: The store down on Main Street.

Complete sentence: The store down on Main Street sells music.

 

Common Sentence Errors

Fragments often occur because of some common error, such as starting a sentence with a preposition, a dependent word, an infinitive, or a gerund.

 

(2) Prepositional Phrases: When you see a preposition, check to see that it is part of a sentence containing a subject and a verb. If it is not connected to a complete sentence, it is a fragment, and you will need to fix this type of fragment by combining it with another sentence. You can add the prepositional phrase to the end of the sentence. If you add a prepositional phrase at the end of a sentence, then you do not need to put a comma before the prepositional phrase. If you add a prepositional phrase to the beginning of a sentence, then you will need to put a comma after the prepositional phrase.

Incorrect: After walking over two miles. John remembered his wallet.

Correct: After walking over two miles, John remembered his wallet.

Correct: John remembered his wallet after walking over two miles.

 

(3) Clauses:Clauses that start with a dependent word—such as since, because, without, or unless—are similar to prepositional phrases. Like prepositional phrases, these clauses can be fragments if they are not connected to an independent clause containing a subject and a verb. To fix the problem, you can add such a fragment to the beginning or end of a sentence. If the fragment is added at the beginning of a sentence, you will need to put a comma after the dependent clause. If a dependent clause is added to the end of a sentence, you do not need a comma before the dependent clause.

Incorrect: Because we lost power. The entire family overslept.

Correct: Because we lost power, the entire family overslept.

Correct: The entire family overslept because we lost power.

Incorrect: He has been seeing a physical therapist. Since his accident.

Correct: Since his accident, he has been seeing a physical therapist.

Correct. He has been seeing a physical therapist since his accident.

 

(4) Gerunds (ing verbs): When you encounter a word ending in -ing in a sentence, identify whether or not this word is used as a verb in the sentence. You may also look for a helping verb. If the word is not used as a verb or if no helpingverb is used with the -ing verb form, the verb is being used as a noun. An -ing verb form used as a noun is called a gerund.

 

ing verb used as verb: I was working on homework until midnight.

ing verb used as noun: Working until midnight makes me tired the next day.

 

Once you know whether the -ing word is acting as a noun or a verb, look at the rest of the sentence. Does the entire sentence make sense on its own? If not, what you are looking at is a fragment. You will need to either add the parts of speech that are missing or combine the fragment with a nearby sentence. If you add the ing phrase to the beginning of a sentence, you will need to put a comma after the phrase.

 

Incorrect: Taking deep breaths. Sam prepared to give his speech.

Correct: Taking deep breaths, Sam prepared to give his speech.

Correct: Sam prepared to give his speech. He was taking deep breaths.

 

Incorrect: Congratulating the entire team. Sarah raised her glass to toast their success.

Correct: Congratulating the entire team, Sarah raised her glass to toast their success.

Correct: Sarah was congratulating the entire team. She raised her glass to toast their success.

 

(5) Infinitives (To + a verb): Another error in sentence construction is a fragment that begins with an infinitive. An infinitive is a verb paired with the word to; for example, to run, to write, or to reach. Although infinitives are verbs, they can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. You can correct a fragment that begins with an infinitive by either combining it with another sentence or adding the parts of speech that are missing.

 

Incorrect: We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes. To reach the one thousand mark.

Correct: We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes to reach the one thousand mark.

Correct: We needed to make three hundred more paper cranes. We wanted to reach the one thousand mark.

 

(6) Added Details: Added-detail fragments add details to a sentence but are not sentences themselves.

Look at the following examples:

Example 1: I hate all vegetables. Including broccoli.

Example 2: Harry is always in a bad mood. Except on Fridays.

Example 3: Joan stays away from spicy food. Especially Thai food.

In each of the above examples, we can see that “including broccoli,” “except on Fridays,” and “especially Thai food” are added details that come at the end of sentences, but they cannot stand alone as sentences themselves.

To correct the above fragments, we need to replace the period in the middle of the sentence with a comma in order to connect the fragment to the preceding sentence:

Example 1: I hate all vegetables, including broccoli.

Example 2: Harry is always in a bad mood, except on Fridays.

Example 3: Joan stays away from spicy food, especially Thai food.

 

Now, let’s look at some added-detail fragments that begin with “for example”:

Example 1: Jack likes taking remote vacations. For example, visiting the redwood forests of California.

Example 2: My old house has problems. For example, no insulation in the attic.

Notice that in both examples, the word groups that begins with “for examples” is not a complete sentence. That is, neither “For example, visiting the redwood forests of California” nor “For example, no insulation in the attic” is a complete sentences.

To correct the above fragments, we need to add a subject and verb to the word group that begins with “For example”:

Example 1: Jack likes taking remote vacations. For example, he enjoys visiting the redwood forests of California.

Example 2: My old house has problems. For example, it has no insulation in the attic.

The point to remember is that the phrase “for example” doesn’t necessarily start a new sentence. You have to have a subject and verb coming after it before you have a complete sentence.

 

 

Practice 7: On your answer sheet, revise the following word groups by joining the fragments to the sentences before or after them. If you prefer, you may revise the fragments by supplying the missing element. You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice.

34. The coach did not cancel practice. Although the field was covered in snow.

35. Jerry left his wallet and his glasses. On the table in his bedroom.

36. Jimmy likes to spend his weekends watching professional sports on ESPN. For example, football and basketball

37. Susan went to Idaho. To visit her aunt and uncle.

38. Since Margaret did not turn in her permission slip. She could not go on the field trip.

39. Noticing the posted speed limit was 45. Mark took his foot off the accelerator to slow down the car.

40. Martha backed the family car into the side of the garage. Because she was distracted by her two children fighting in the back seat.

41. Understanding computer programming languages is an important skill to have. In today’s job market.

 

Section 8: Section 8: Run-On Sentences: Fused Sentences and Commas Splice Sentences [The following information about run-on sentences is taken from pp. 55-58 of Writing for Success. For additional about run-on sentences, view Lecture 7 of Module 1: Sentence Accuracy located under the Modules tab in the Course Resources area of the course site.]

Just as short, incomplete sentences can be problematic, lengthy sentences can be problematic too. Sentences with two or more independent clauses that have been incorrectly combined are known as run-on sentences. A run-on sentence may be either a fused sentence or a comma splice. A fused sentence is two complete sentences that have been run together without any mark of punctuation. A comma splice sentence is two complete sentences that have been run together with only a coma between them.

 

Fused sentence: A family of foxes lived under our shed young foxes played all over the yard.

Comma splice: We looked outside, the kids were hopping on the trampoline. 

Punctuation

One way to correct run-on sentences is to correct the punctuation. For example, adding a period will correct the run-on by creating two separate sentences.

Fused Sentence: The accident closed both lanes of traffic we waited over an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.

Comma Splice: The accident closed both lanes of traffic, we waited over an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.

Correct: The accident closed both lanes of traffic. We waited over an hour for the wreckage to be cleared.

 

Using a semicolon between the two complete sentences will also correct the error. A semicolon allows you to keep the two closely related ideas together in one sentence. When you punctuate with a semicolon, make sure that both parts of the sentence are independent clauses. For more information on semicolons, see Section 2.4.2 “Capitalize Proper Nouns.”

 

Fused Sentence: There were no seats left we had to stand in the back.

Comma Splice: There were no seats left, we had to stand in the back.

Correct: There were no seats left; we had to stand in the back.

 

Practice 8.1: On your answer sheet, do the following two tasks for each of the following sentences.

  •          Identify each sentence as either fused (F), commas splice (CS), or correct (C )
  •          Correct each of the fused and comma splice sentences by using either a period or a semicolon.
  •          You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice

 

42. After falling into the swimming pool, John began to flail his arms wildly.

43. The lifeguard saw that John was in trouble, he jumped in the pool and swam quickly toward John.

44. At first, John was afraid he pushed the lifeguard away from him.

45. The lifeguard worked hard to calm down John, John eventually stopped flailing his arms and began to breathe more deeply.

46. The lifeguard secured John with his left arm the lifeguard then began to swim carefully toward the edge of the pool.

 

 

 

Coordinating Conjunctions

You can also fix run-on sentences by adding a comma and a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction acts as a link between two independent clauses.

 

Tip

These are the seven coordinating conjunctions that you can use: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Use these words appropriately when you want to link the two independent clauses. The acronym FANBOYS will help you remember this group of coordinating conjunctions.

 

Fused Sentence: The new printer was installed no one knew how to use it.

Comma Splice: The new printer was installed, no one knew how to use it.

Correct: The new printer was installed, but no one knew how to use it.

 

Fused Sentence: John had the best grades in the class he was the star of the football team.

Comma Splice: John had the best grades in the class, he was the star of the football team.

Correct: John had the best grades in the class, and he was the star of the football team.

 

Practice 8.2: On your answer sheet, do the following two tasks for each of the following sentences.

  •          Identify each sentence as either fused (F), commas splice (CS), or correct (C )
  •          Correct each of the fused and comma splice sentences by using coordinating conjunctions. Be sure to use the coordinating conjunction that best completes the sentence. Use Table 8.2 at the end of the practice to help you choose the correct coordinating conjunction to use in each sentence. Remember that you will need a comma before the coordinating conjunction.
  •          You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice

 

47. Prospective employees need to wear appropriate business attire to their interviews many prospective employees seem unaware of this fact.

48. Some prospective employees wear dirty tee shirts and torn jeans to their interviews, these people do not make a good first impression.

49. Once hired, many employees continue to wear appropriate business attire they can contribute to the professional appearance of their companies.

50. Selecting appropriate business attire is important for a successful interview, it is not the only way to impress a potential boss or supervisor.

51. A well-prepared resume and punctuality are just as important for a successful interview as selecting the correct business attire.

Table 8.2: Coordinating Conjunctions

 

Dependent Words

Adding dependent words is another way to link independent clauses. Like the coordinating conjunctions, dependent words show a relationship between two independent clauses.

 

Fused Sentence: We took the elevator the others still got there before us.

Comma Splice: We took the elevator, the others still got there before us.

Correct: Although we took the elevator, the others got there before us.

 

Fused Sentence: Cobwebs covered the furniture the room hadn’t been used in years.

Comma Splice: Cobwebs covered the furniture, the room hadn’t been used in years.

Complete sentence: Cobwebs covered the furniture because the room hadn’t been used in years.

Practice 8.3: On your answer sheet, do the following two tasks for each of the following sentences.

  •          Identify each sentence as either fused (F), commas splice (CS), or correct (C )
  •          Correct each of the fused and comma splice sentences by using dependent word. Be sure to use the dependent word that best completes the sentence. Use Table 8.3 at the end of the practice to help you choose the correct dependent word to use in each sentence. Remember that when you use a dependent word, you will turn one part of the sentence into a dependent clause. If the dependent clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, you will need to follow it with a comma.
  •          You will need to rewrite the sentences to complete this practice

52. The teacher was not in the classroom the students were noisy and disruptive.

53. The teacher came into the room and slammed the door behind her, the students stopped talking and settled down.

54. The teacher went to her desk and threw her books and purse onto the desk, she looked out the window angrily without speaking.

55. Although the teacher was obviously angry, she turned to her students and apologized for her angry entry into the room.

56. The students relaxed and began to smile they realized the teacher was not angry with them.

Table 8.3: Commonly Used Dependent Words

After

If

What

Although

Since

As

So that

When

Because

That

Where

Before

Though

Whether

Even though

Unless

Which

How

Until

While

Who

Whose

 

 

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