Grammar-Quizzes.com

complthought

"The Sentence to Nowhere"

On completing thoughts  . . .

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so (find the U.S. on a map) because, uh, some people out there in our nation don't have maps and, uh, I believe that our, uh, education like such as in, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq and everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uh, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future for our children."

run-ons

Avoiding run-on sentences

• developing complete thoughts
• punctuating separate sentences 

* My friend and I blogged and read over his shoulder.
My friend blogged, and I read over his shoulder.

commas

Punctuating items list in a row

• commas
• word forms

He kicks rocks and rolls.
He kicks rocks, and rolls.
He kicks, rock, and rolls.

Bulleted Lists

Punctuation of bulleted lists

• list styes
• introductory phrases
• capitals
• parallel phrasing
• periods

Job applicants will need to have:

• a high-school degree
• a bachelors degree
• two years of experience
• three recommendations

commas/paren

Punctuating comments within sentences

• commas
• parentheses
• dashes

Compare:

Jay, my adventurous friend, is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay (my adventurous friend) is kayaking to Alaska.
Jay — my adventurous friend — is kayaking to Alaska.

hyphens

Reasons for hyphenating words; capitalizing hyphenated words in titles and headings

• Determining when to use hyphens
• Capitalizing hyphenated words
• Consulting writing style manuals

Two footstools sold for a half-million dollars at  Sothebys.

Two-foot stools sold for a half-million dollars at  Sothebys.

Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Treatments

President-Elect  or -elect Barack Obama

so/so-that

Punctuating statements of result versus statements of purpose with:

• so  – result (commas)
• so that  – purpose (no commas)

The baby cried, so his mother gave him candy.

The baby pulled the lever so (that) he could get some candy.

FANBOYS

Punctuating coordinating conjunctions

• joining phrases
• joining independent clauses (complete sentences)

FANBOYS:  for, and,   nor,  but,   or,   yet,   so

She danced and waved a fan.

She danced, and he played a flute.

because/tho

Punctuating sentence with altered word order

• standard word order (no comma)
• initial sentence position word order (comma)

I went biking even though there was snow on the ground.

Even though there was snow on the ground, I went biking

indeed-even

These adverbs introduce phrases and clauses  of emphasis and detail.

• indeed
• in fact  (details data)
• even   (unexpected)
    

His work is indeed more amazing than before
His work is in fact more amazing than before
His work is even more amazing than before

presreal

Present & future real conditionals – considering cause and effect relationships & strategizing

• If  . . . then
• hypothetical future – will
• hypothetical present

If there are no bees, flowers will not be pollinated. (future)

that/ which

Punctuating an adjective clause that

• identifies the noun it modifies (no commas) 
• adds extra information to the noun it modifies (commas) 

The water that I drank last night contained sodium.

The Evian water, which I drank last night, contained sodium.

some or all

Punctuating a sentence to include

• a few or some -  specific (restrictive) 
• all (non-restrictive) 

The bio-scientist who creates green energy will make a profit.

The bio-scientist, who creates green energy, will make a profit.

which-clause

Referring to part or all of a clause

• that  (noun)
• which  (noun, phrase or clause)

He deleted the picture that upset me. (The picture upset me.)

He deleted the picture, whichupset me. (The action upset me.)