by Donna | Jul 7, 2011
Without being too heavy on the grammar (which is nearly impossible when talking about writing or speaking, which is why it is important that grammar is paired with writing whenever possible). I want to discuss subjective and objective pronouns–and when to use each one.
First, we teach our students in our books that a pro-noun is “for a noun”–that is, it often takes the place of a noun. This is the most elementary description of a pronoun and one that is often accurate. (Of course, there are various classes and types of pronouns that can be extremely confusing, but for the instruction in subjective and objective ones, we will stick with the idea that pronouns are FOR nouns.)
Most everybody knows that we say I at the beginning of a sentence: I am going to the store.
And we say me at the end of a sentence: Give it to me.
But do we really know why?
The reason is because at the beginning of a sentence, generally speaking (and not utilizing sentence openers before the subject), the first part of a sentence contains the subject.
And generally speaking, a word at the end of a sentence is not a subject, but is an object.
And we all know that it is wrong to say Me am going to the store and Give it to I.
We usually understand that pronouns that are used as subjects (that is, subjective ones) include, but are not limited to, I, you, he, she, they, we. (Remember, these are used to tell who are what is doing the action–the sentence’s subject.)
We also usually understand that pronouns that are used as objects (that is, objective ones) include, but are not limited to, me, you, him, her, them, us.
So…why worry about subjective and objective pronouns at all? Join us tomorrow to find out!
by Donna | Jun 30, 2011
More root word learning for this week’s Wordy Wednesday. But before that, I have to ask if you are using what you already know? Are you examining unknown words and asking yourself if there is anything about that word that you already know—a root, prefix, or suffix?
Today’s root: SUPER, SUR, SUM
Meaning: ABOVE
What do you already know about this ABOVE root:
- surpass—to go above and beyond
- summit—above; the high mountain or peak
- supersede—to be above in authority, etc.
- superstition—a belief that is ABOVE the normal
- super star—a star above others
by Donna | Jun 27, 2011
June is quickly getting away from us! I did not post the “official” spelling for all (two!) of the June US-nationally-recognized holidays, so here they are:
1. Flag Day
a. No possessives to deal with!
b. Capitalize both words as both are words in the actual holiday
c. Bonus: Great holiday since I was born on this date! 🙂
2. Father’s Day
a. We went through this earlier–but remember–one father; his day: father’s
b. Cap both words!
by Donna | Jun 24, 2011
Do you remember how I talked earlier about how we (and our students if we are teachers) know much more than we think we do! There is no place that this is more apparent than vocabulary learning!
Root words, and sometimes even syllables, have meaning. And we often already know meanings of bits and pieces that we can put together to gain more knowledge. (If you know a foreign language, you will have even more success unlocking unknown words or parts of words since much of our language is taken from other languages.)
How can you use this concept to help you or your students? When you come to an unfamiliar word, don’t assume that you do not know it. Look more closely at the word. (And help your kids to do the same—question them all the time: “What do you know about the ‘aqua’ part of aquamarine?” [Or even, “What do you know about the ‘marine’ part?”)
Today’s root is SPEC, SPIC, or SPIT
It means LOOK or SEE
What do you already know about these “spec,” “spic,” and “spit” words?
- Perspective—seeing a point of view
- Aspect—one part or one thing you can see
- Spectator—one who sees
- Spectacle—a sight to see
- Suspect—a person you see that might be guilty
- Others???
Keep reading. Keep asking yourself what you already know!
by Donna | Jun 19, 2011
Father’s Day presents some of the same challenges in writing as Mother’s Day. Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is written with a capital letter at the beginning of each word—and is written as a day for the singular father—not plural (fathers).
The “official” take on that goes like this (according to encyclopedias as well as the Chicago Manual of Style):
“Although the name of the event is usually understood as a plural possessive (i.e. ‘day belonging to fathers’), which would under normal English punctuation guidelines be spelled ‘Fathers’ Day,’ the most common spelling is ‘Father’s Day,’ as if it were a singular possessive (i.e. ‘day belonging to Father’). In the United States, Dodd used the ‘Fathers’ Day’ spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling ‘Father’s Day’ was already used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday, and it was still spelled the same way when its creator was commended in 2008 by the United States Congress.”
So…Happy Father’s day to my father, my children’s father—and all fathers—regardless of whether it is written in a singular or plural possessive manner!
by Donna | Jun 15, 2011
Many of my full time language arts students (those who come to class each week during the academic year to help us test our complete language arts curriculum) use the root/prefix “dict” each week—as they take “dictation” over the passage of material in our book. They label their papers Dict then the unit we are in and the date. They even call it “dict” time—which is so appropriate since the root “dict” literally means “word”—and they are writing down many words when they take dictation!
We will look at the root/prefix “dict” today!
DICT, DIT, DIC—means to tell, to say, or word
Like we always tell our students—focus on something you already know in order to understand the unknown. In my students’ case, they take “dictation” (writing down words) every week—so they can remember that dict has something to do with words. If you are of my generation, you might remember television programs in which secretaries use a Dictaphone to take dictation from their boss.
Consider what you already know to unlock the unknown! If you have kids, repeat this to them over and over again to help them in their learning and to encourage them about their vast store of knowledge.
Take a look at some words containing dic/dict/dit—and see how they can mean what they do—with to tell, to say, or word :
- Dictate—to speak words to someone (for that person to write)
- Verdict—a word/determination that was spoken at the end of a trial
- Edict—words that are authority or law/rule
- Contradict—contra means opposite; dict means word—opposite of the words that someone spoke
- Predict—pre means before; dict means word—speak words before they happen
- Diction—the pattern of someone’s speech
What other dit/dict/dic words do you know? When you see dic/dit/dict in a word—even if you do not know any other part of the word—use what you do know and the words within the sentence to unlock the meaning.
