Eleventh Grade Exam: Grammar Portion

You will have a sentence that contains an error. You will be asked to identify what type of error. Answers are multiple choice.

Dangling Modifier

Sneaking up behind me, I was surprised.

The phrase is dangling because it does not describe anyone in the sentence.

You fix them by supplying the missing “who.”

Corrected: Sneaking up behind me, Crimson surprised me when he yelled.

Misplaced Modifiers

I found some old magazines cleaning the attic.

Correct it by moving the phrase closer to the word it describes.

Corrected: Cleaning the attic, I found some old magazines.

Informal vs. Formal Language

Hey, guys, listen up!-----Informal (slang)

She can’t even spell language.-----Informal (contraction)

You need to read a book.----Informal (personal pronoun)

She ain’t a mean person.-----Informal (not correct grammar)

The papers were graded quickly.----Informal (passive)

Parallelism

Incorrect: She looked on the desk, in the drawer, and everywhere. (prep phrase, prep phrase, pronoun)

Incorrect: She is pretty, an artist, and loud. (adj., noun, adj)

Incorrect: He went to the store last week, traveled to Guam, and buys a car. (past, past, present)

Active vs. Passive Voice

Active: The cat ate the hamster.

Kendrick watched a movie.

Samantha drew a picture.

(The subject performed the action of the verb.)

Passive: The hamster was eaten by the cat.

A picture was drawn by Samantha.

The movie was watched by Kendrick.

(The subject received the action of the verb.)

Commas

I washed the cat, the dog, and the iguana.

I went to Gnome, Alaska, and Rio, Arkansas.

I was born on July 27, 1978, in a hospital.

Consequently, I am inclined to reserve all judgment.

All in all, I enjoyed my class.

“I wish, Kromer, you would be quiet.”

“Jacob, tell the class about your project.”

It was a cool, windy day. (If you can say AND between the adjs, add a comma.)

Comma Splice----Two sentences spliced together with a comma…but the comma is not strong enough. Use a semicolon….or the super comma. (;)

I am ready for summer to start, however, I am also not ready to stop seeing my first block class.

Other Punctuation

We studied the 1920’s.

Ross’ keys were on the table.

We are: short, tall, smart, and silly.

We went to: the mall, the store, and the gas station.

Fragments and Run-ons

When on the ship. (fragment)

I watched the dolphins my husband looked for whales. (run-on)

What’s happening? What- subject

Is- verb

Pronoun-Usage

I gave he and Kendrick the paper.

I gave he the paper.

Correct: I gave him the paper.

I gave him and Kendrick

the paper.

It is her that is hard to deal with---It is she that is hard to deal with. NEVER use her or him after am, are, is, was, were, be, being, been!!!!

Verbs: Make sure your verbs agree in number and be careful when

You is kind, you is smart, and you is important!

(instead of is use are)

There is balloons on the desk. (are)

She is laying out on the grass. (lying)

Spelling----Just pay close attention.