English Flashcards by mason miller

Complete sentences contains…

1) subject
2) Main verb
3) complete idea

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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

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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

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Commas on either side of a word Group means what

That you can pull the word group out of the sentence

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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

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Collins function like what

1) and equal sign in math equations

The complete idea in front of a colon

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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.

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Dashes and colons never follow what?

Incomplete ideas or clauses beginning begging with the word that

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Can a dash and a colon be in the same sentence?

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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

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Can a dash and a Colon be in a sentence together

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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.

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What do apostrophes do?

They show possession

Take place of missing letters

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It’s

Contraction for it is

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Its

Shows possession of the pronoun

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Who’s

Contraction between who and is or who and has

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Whose

Shows possession of the word who

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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

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Agreement

It is when the subject and verb match in, when a pronoun and it’s antecedent ( the word replacing) match in

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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 1. One word: if you had only one word to describe the paragraph, what would it be? 2. 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.