by Donna | Feb 21, 2011
Tomorrow is Presidents’ Day. Or is that Presidents Day? Or President’s Day?
Well….it depends on which expert you ask! Here is the run down:
1. It is NOT President’s Day
a. President’s denotes one President…and this holiday honors Washington and Lincoln both…as well as all presidents
b. President’s Day says that it is the day that belongs to one President (singular)
c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (President) then if the word does NOT end in s, put apostrophe s (President’s Day)
2. Some say it is Presidents’ Day
a. The Gregg Reference Manual (my favorite handbook) cites it as such
b. This denotes many presidents all owning one day (or at least Lincoln and Washington)
c. It follows the rule of writing the noun first (Presidents) then if the word ends in s, put an apostrophe on the outside of the s
d. This is the correct way to show possession of one thing to more than one “owner”
3. Some say it is Presidents Day
a. The Associated Press Stylebook cites is as such
b. This method does not denote possession, but rather uses the word President as an adjective (actually a “proper adjective” in that it is an adjective made from a proper noun–some of the time–we will not even get into whether it is (President) or isn’t (president) in this post!)
c. This is like saying that, that is a Grisham book (as opposed to a book that Grisham owns–Grisham’s book), and it is certainly not incorrect
So there you have it! More subjectivity in our English language. Happy Presidents’ Day! And Happy Presidents Day!
by Donna | Feb 18, 2011
The main subject is the word or words in the sentence that the entire
sentence is about.
Two facts about the main subject for today:
a. It is often found at the beginning of the sentence.
1) He turned his head.
2) The boy had heard something.
b. It is the person or thing that the whole sentence is
about.
1) The girl ran. Who ran? girl
2) The father prayed. Who prayed? Father
Tomorrow–compound subjects!
by Donna | Feb 17, 2011
If you learn that a sentence contains five things—and you learn to recognize these things easily, you will learn to evaluate whether every sentence you write is a “real” sentence or not more easily.
Remember, CAVES is the acronym we will use to examine a sentence.
C apital
A ll makes sense
V erb
E nd mark
S ubject
The last letter of CAVES—subject—is what we will examine today. Each “simple sentence”—that is, each “real” sentence must contain a subject. We will call this the sentence’s main subject—because a sentence may contain other subjects in other parts, but a sentence must only contain one subject (the main subject) to be a real sentence.
Tomorrow we will learn the details of a sentence’s main subject—the S of CAVES—subject–each sentence must have a subject.
by Donna | Feb 14, 2011
Read the phrases below. Put an S beside the phrases that are
complete sentences and an N beside those that are not.
1. A raccoon is an intelligent animal. Sentence
2. He does not avoid danger. Sentence
3. That he will go right into it. Not a sentence
4. When a raccoon studies sounds, smells, and sights that are new to
him. Not a sentence
5. Like tin cans and mirrors. Not a sentence
6. One trap a trapper likes to set is called a mirror trap. Sentence
7. When he puts a trap in shallow water and ties a mirror to it. Not a sentence
8. When the light hits the mirror. Not a sentence
9. When the raccoon sees the light. Not a sentence
10. When he does, the raccoon’s paw becomes caught in the trap. Sentence
by Donna | Feb 6, 2011
We are almost finished with our preposition study–just in time to start tackling our sentence month of February! I thought I would address the prepositions then and than since they are both used as prepositions (at times–more on that in our “sentence study”!)–and since they are commonly confused with each other.
Then
1. Means “next”
2. Used as a preposition: She is getting pizza first, then pop.
3. You will always use the correct then and than if you substitute “next” in your questionable spot–and if it fits, use “then”: He is coming here then going to town. (Say–he is coming here next going to town–is that the use you meant–the one that shows chronology? If so, you need then.)
4. Remember thEn has an E and nExt has an e.
Than
1. Means to compare
2. Used as a preposition: I would rather have pizza than tacos.
3. Only use than when you want to make a comparison.
“Tricky Trick to Help It Stick”:
Substitute NEXT–if it almost fits (i.e. you are trying to show chronology), use THEN.
by Donna | Jan 23, 2011
January is “word” month here at Language Lady 365, so today I have another Wacky Word pair for you…and more”Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick”!
Do you know when to use further? How about when to use farther? Most people do not–I know I didn’t know until I began writing language arts books!
Here’s the scoop:
1. Farther is for going distances: I ran farther than he did OR He drove farther than I did.
2. Further is for other uses, such as thinking or understanding: Let me explain this further.
Of course, I have “Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick”:
1. fArther–has an A in it and is for Area…distances
2. fUrther–has a U in it and is for Understanding (you further your thinking or go further in college or make your point further..)
Hope this helps! Don’t forget to join us next week for “Homework Help” here at LL 365!
