by Donna | Mar 17, 2011
Capitalization can be so tricky! Capitalize Susan in black-eyed Susan but not geraniums. Capitalize Mom in Tomorrow Mom is taking us to town. But not mom in Tomorrow my mom is taking us to town. Capitalize President when referring to a certain president but not mayor unless his or her name is with the word….agghgh…..
And so it is with compass directions!
Here’s the run-down:
1. Capitalize a direction when it is referring to a specific location or place:
a.We are going out West for vacation.
b. My daughter is in South Carolina.
c. She is moving out East.
2. Do not capitalize a direction when it is referrig to a compass direction:
a. Turn west at the light.
b. We live on the south side of the road.
Tricky huh? I’ll give you a few more in days to come. Study hard! 🙂
by Donna | Feb 27, 2011
In the sentences provided, highlight the main subjects.
Hint: The main subject is usually one of the first few words of a sentence!
1. Sickness is caused by different things.
2. Some animals carry sicknesses. (You may have indicated the one-word subject animals or the describer with the one-word subject.)
3. People can get sick from them.
4. Other diseases are in the air.
5. People breathe them in.
6. Then they get sick.
7. People would get sick less often if they would stay clean.
8. Children need to learn to wash their hands frequently.
- People can use anti-bacterial soap.
- We can “wash away germs.”
by Donna | Feb 23, 2011
The main subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional phrase.
This is why we spent so much time on prepositions last month. If you can find prepositions, you can find prepositional phrases. If you find prepositional phrases, you can isolate them (mentally or with parentheses) and discover that the main subject is not in a prepositional phrase. This will help you determine subject verb agreement in your sentences more clearly.
For example:
1. Kara, (along with her sisters), is coming.
a. Kara is the subject and needs the verb is
b. Sisters is not the sentence’s subject.
2. Josiah and Jake, (though not Jonathan), are at basketball.
a. Josiah and Jake are the subjects of the sentence, not Jonathan.
b. Thus, Josiah and Jake need a plural verb—are.
In review, a sentence’s main subject has the following traits:
a. It is the person or thing that the sentence is about.
b. It usually comes at the beginning of the sentence.
c. It is usually a noun or a pronoun.
d. It is the source (person or thing) of the action.
e. It is never found in a prepositional phrase.
Better study up! Tomorrow is a pop quiz! Smile…
by Donna | Feb 22, 2011
A sentence’s main subject is usually one of the following:
a. A noun (person, place, thing, or idea)
b. A pronoun (a word that replaces a noun—he, she, it, they,
etc.)
A sentence can have one subject, two subjects, or even three or more
subjects.
a. One subject: Kayla is my first daughter.
b. Two subjects: Kayla and Cami are my first two daughters.
c. Three subjects: Kayla, Cami, and Kara are my daughters.
A sentence can have one subject at the beginning, and then later in the
sentence have another subject. However, most of your sentences will have
only one subject until you are at a more advanced level of writing.
Tomorrow—putting together the subject lessons and preposition lessons—a sentence’s main subject (and actually most other subjects in the sentence) are not usually found in prepositional phrases!
by Donna | Feb 22, 2011
Last “Presidents’ Day” post, honest! In discussing how to punctuate Presidents’ Day and when to capitalize and when not to capitalize president, I can’t help but bring up another commonly-miswritten error–that of capitol and capital.
Here is the low-down, along with a trick or two to help you remember the details:
1. Capital
a. Means upper-case letter–most people do not use this word incorrectly here
b. Can be used as an adjective to mean primary–that was a capital idea!
c. Can be used as an adjective to describe punishable by death–capital punishment
d. A city that is the seat of the government for a state–this is where people sometimes use capitol instead
2. Capitol
a. Refers to the building in which the U.S. Congress meets (when it is capitalized)
b. Refers to a state’s main government building (when it is not capitalized)
c. Tricky Trick to Help It Stick: Only use capitol when referring to a goverment building—capitol does not have any other uses; all other uses need capital
by Donna | Feb 22, 2011
With the introduction of Presidents’ Day last night, I decided that I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to discuss when to capitalize president, I mean President.
Generally speaking (as with all grammar rules, of course!), the word president is capitalized when referring to a specific president but not when it is referring to the office in general.
Capitalize:
1. The President will be in town next week.
2. President Lincoln spoke first.
Do not capitalize:
1. A president must be thirty-five years of age.
2. The presidents reside in the White House.
The “capitalize when referring to a specific president” guideline is true of the highest official of any land–King, President, Queen, etc. It is not, however, true for other offices, such as senator, mayor, etc.
