Excelsior OWL > Grammar Essentials Quiz

Importance of Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation

• Grammar, usage, and punctuation are essential to master for effective formal speaking and writing.
• Native speakers of English often take grammar for granted, but it's still important to learn and understand the conventions and rules for correctness.

Language Development

• Children develop language skills at a young age, understanding what is necessary for language to make sense.
• However, formal speaking and writing require knowledge of specific rules and conventions.

Correctness and Usage

• Correctness goes beyond basic grammar rules and involves knowing cultural conventions and rules for language use.
• Usage rules are more numerous and complex than grammar rules and require practice to master.
• Correctness is relative to a particular situation, and usage rules are constantly changing.

Benefits of Grammar Essentials

• Grammar Essentials provides a comprehensive overview of punctuation, grammar, and usage, covering common errors and areas of struggle for students.
• This resource is helpful for both native and non-native English speakers looking to improve their language skills.
• The materials are presented in an engaging and humorous way to make learning grammar and punctuation more enjoyable.

The Importance of Apostrophes

• Apostrophes are often neglected in informal writing, such as text messaging, but they are crucial in formal writing situations.
• Academics debate whether text messaging will lead to the decline of proper apostrophe use.

The Evolution of Language

• According to Rob Jenkins (2012), one of his professors predicted that punctuation marks, including the apostrophe, may eventually cease to exist as language evolves.
• Despite this prediction, the apostrophe remains an essential part of proper punctuation.

The Purpose of Apostrophes

• The following pages provide guidance on the correct use of apostrophes in writing.

Using Apostrophes to Show Possession

• The apostrophe is used to show possession or ownership, not to make words plural.
• To determine if an apostrophe is needed, use the "of" test: reword the sentence and substitute the apostrophe with "of".
• If the sentence does not make sense with "of", an apostrophe is not needed.
• Adding an apostrophe to make a word plural is incorrect usage.
• Example of incorrect usage: "the planned of the students" does not make sense and should not include an apostrophe.

Correct Apostrophe Usage

• An apostrophe is only used when showing ownership or possession.

Possessive Plural Nouns

• Plural nouns that do not end in 's' become possessive by adding 's.
• Plural nouns that end in 's' become possessive by adding only '.
• The addition of 's' or ' to plural nouns can be confusing due to the similarity with forming plural nouns.

Coordinating Conjunctions

• An independent clause is a complete thought or sentence with a subject and a verb.
• Coordinating conjunctions combine two equal elements, including two complete sentences.
• There are seven coordinating conjunctions in American English, often referred to as FANBOYS.
• FANBOYS is a mnemonic device to help remember the seven coordinating conjunctions.
• Coordinating conjunctions can connect various words and phrases.
• When used to connect independent clauses, a comma must be placed before the coordinating conjunction.

Emotional Responses to Sports

• A person refused to discuss a specific Super Bowl game for two years due to their favorite team's loss.
• This behavior demonstrates an intense emotional attachment to the team's outcome.

Emergency Preparedness

• A family has stockpiled food in their basement, indicating a level of preparedness for potential emergencies.
• However, it is uncertain whether their stored food supply would be sufficient to sustain them during a hypothetical zombie apocalypse.

Commas and Subordinating Conjunctions

• Use commas after introductory words or phrases that begin a sentence.
• Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent clauses (incomplete thoughts) to independent clauses.
• When a subordinating conjunction starts a sentence, it signals an introductory phrase, and a comma is needed at the end of that subordinate phrase.

Common Subordinating Conjunctions

• The following are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions:
  • because
  • although
  • after
  • while
  • since

Comma Placement

• Introductory phrases at the beginning of a sentence require a comma at the end of the phrase.
• When these phrases appear at the end of a sentence, they are not set off by commas.
• Exception: Use a comma in cases of strong contrast, as with the word although.

Using Commas in Sentences

• Use commas to set off words or phrases that are not essential to the meaning of a sentence.
• The trick to determine if a word or phrase is essential is to remove it and see if the sentence's meaning is affected; if not, it's non-essential and should be set off with commas.

Identifying Non-Essential Information

• A common mistake is to think that if a sentence is still complete after removing a word or phrase, you need commas around it.
• Instead, think about how the sentence's meaning would be affected if you removed the word or phrase.

Coordinate Adjectives

• Use commas to separate coordinate adjectives describing the same noun.
• Coordinate adjectives are "equal" in importance and can be read in reverse order or with "and" between them.
• To determine if adjectives are coordinate, try reading the sentence with the adjectives in reverse order or with "and" between them; if it still makes sense, they're coordinate and need a comma between them.

Understanding Hyphens and Em Dashes

• A hyphen is a small punctuation mark used to connect words, such as in "mother-in-law".
• An em dash is a longer punctuation mark used in writing, often to indicate a break in thought or to set off a parenthetical remark.
• To create an em dash using a word processor, type two hyphens in a row, and then press the space bar after the word following the dash.
• Alternatively, an em dash can be created by using the keyboard shortcut Alt + 0151 on a Windows device.
• On a Mac, an em dash can be created by selecting Option, Shift, and the hyphen key (‐).