English Flashcards
Complete sentences contains…
1) subject
2) Main verb
3) complete idea
Incomplete sentences
They may or may not have a subject or verb combo but never have a complete idea, do a comma swap with a period to see if it makes sense
How to figure out if a comma is right or wrong
do a comma pause test
See if it makes sense with the pauses still there
Commas on either side of a word Group means what
That you can pull the word group out of the sentence
Colons
Colons are used after a statement (an independent clause or a complete idea) to let you know that a question, example, list, or explanation is coming up
Collins function like what
1) and equal sign in math equations
The complete idea in front of a colon
How to figure out if a colon is right or wrong
Check for independent and equality. In order for a colon to be correct, two things have to happen:
1) independence: The statement in front of the colon has to be able to stand alone in front of a sentence.
2) equality: The words behind the colon need to be equal the statement in front of the colon.
Dashes and colons never follow what?
Incomplete ideas or clauses beginning begging with the word that
Can a dash and a colon be in the same sentence?
No
How to figure out if a dash is right or wrong.
- if there is just one dash make sure there is a complete sentence before the dash, and an equal statement following it
- if there is two dashes take out the interruption
Can a dash and a Colon be in a sentence together
No
Where are semicolons come in at
They come at the end of a complete idea and they have words that relate to the complete idea.
What do apostrophes do?
They show possession
Take place of missing letters
It’s
Contraction for it is
Its
Shows possession of the pronoun
Who’s
Contraction between who and is or who and has
Whose
Shows possession of the word who
How to figure if an apostrophe is right or wrong
Make it into a movie title, add the in front and of or of the in the middle.
Ex: the dog’s day / the day of the dog
Agreement
It is when the subject and verb match in, when a pronoun and it’s antecedent ( the word replacing) match in
Modifiers
They are words that change the meaning of another word.
Adjectives and adverbs are modifiers.
Weird adverbs
Adverb- well
Comparative- better
Superlative- best
Weird adjectives
Adjective- bad, good, little, many
Comparative- worse, better, less, more
Superlative- worst, best, least, most
What is an Idiom?
Phrases made up of verbs and prepositions that have come to be expected to go together for particular reason.
Ex: go the extra mile
It’s a small world
How to figure out if a sentence contains structural errors.
See if it can stand alone
What are the three sentence structure errors
Fragments
Run-ons
Comma splices
Fragments
The sentence is missing a major piece- subject, main verb or complete idea.
Ex: Even though she told him she’d be there by 9:00.
Run-ons
Two or more sentences are smooched together without punctuation.
Ex: Aristotle was a genius he invented the light bulb, right?
Comma Splices
A comma Joins two complete sentences
Ex: Kevin could think of two reasons to join the chess club, he was smart, and Lily, his crush since preschool, was president.
Ex: Joanna tried on shirts and shorts, dresses and overalls, she found nothing to wear to the barnyard dance.
What is parallelism
It is a similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
How to figure out if a sentence is parallel or not
If you can label the parts of speech in the non-underlined part of the sentence you’ll be able to figure out if the underlined section is parallel to it or not.
Verb. Adverb. Prepositional phrase
How will the ACT ack you to organize
Organization of the passage as a whole
Organization of paragraphs
Organization of sentences
Introduction paragraph
Contains the main idea of the essay
Supporting paragraphs
Each contains
- topic sentences that transition from the previous idea.
- supporting sentences that provide details about the topic sentences
- concluding or transitional sentence that leads to the next idea
Concluding paragraph
Contain sentences that provide extra insight and summarize the essay.
How to keep essays organized
Get rid of the fluff; keep the good stuff
- One word: if you had only one word to describe the paragraph, what would it be?
- Underline: draw a line under the word or phrase that seems to show the main point of the paragraph.
What transitions would use use to compare
Also, in the same way, just as, so too, likewise, similarly
What transitions would you use to show cause
Accordingly, consequently, hence, so, therefor, thus
What transitions would you use to contrast
But, however, in spite of, on the one hand, n the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, in contrast, on the contrary, still, yet
What transitions would you use to show a sequence of events
First, second,third……. Next, finally
What transitions would you use to give examples or more info
Or, for example, for instance, namely, specifically, to illustrate, additionally, again, also, and, as well, besides, equally important, further, furthermore, in addition, moreover
Make sure the words and phrases in between commas in a list are what?
Parallel
If you are using a dash like a comma in a sentence then how many dashes need to be in the sentence?
two
If there is two dashes in a sentence then what can happen to the part in between.
it can be removed.
You can not use dashes and colons after what?
Incomplete ideas or the word “that”
Does a semicolon only follow a complete idea?
Yes
What is the difference between a semicolon and end and marks?
Semicolons have to have words behind them that relate to the complete idea, whereas end marks like periods, exclamation points, and question marks do not.
semicolons should never come before what?
a coordinating conjunction such as: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet.
How to figure out if a semicolon is right?
take out the semicolon are replace it with a period; if it works then you are right.
