Grammar Girl Topic

I learned a lot about punctuation questions. There is a big difference between indirect and direct questions, indirect questions get periods while direct questions get question marks. For example if you said "I wonder why he went to the store." you would use a period because it is an indirect question. Add on questions to the end of sentences also all get question marks. For example say someone said,"How many people will be here? ten people? twenty people? 50 people?" they all get question marks. Tag questions are tags you add on the end of a sentence that make the whole thing a question. Examples of these are: "did you?", "Am I?", and others. With quotations sometimes it is difficult to decide where to put the question mark. If the whole sentence is a question then put it outside the quotations, but if just the quotation is a question you put it inside. Polite requests like "Can you please hand me the salt." actually get a . instead of a ? because it is more of a demand than a question. In an outburst where you don't know weather to use a ? or a ! you have to decide whether its more of a question or an outburst to determine the correct punctuation.

Sentence composing #5

Practice 3: Combining to Imitate

In the model, identify the opening adjectives. Next, combine the list of sentences to imitate the model. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify any opening adjectives.

Model: Dark, velvety, the beauty of his mustache was enhanced by his strong clean-shaven chin.
--Toni Morrison, Beloved

a. His cautionary steps were slow.
b. His cautionary steps were weary.
c. His cautionary were caused by something.
d. The cause was the surrounding overexcited horses.

Weary, slow, his cautionary steps were caused by the surrounding overexcited horses.

--Strong, defined, the power lifters muscles bulged when he lifted the winning weight.

Practice 4: Imitating

1. Identify the opening adjectives in the models and sample imitations. Then write an imitation of each model sentences, one sentence part at a time. Read one of your imitations to see if your classmates can guess which model you imitated.

Models:

1. Wordless, we split up.
--Annie Dillard, An American Childhood

Sample: Wet, the napkin fell apart

-Soft, the cookie melted in my mouth.

2. Cold, dark, and windowless, it stretched the length of the house.
--Jessamyn West, "The Child's Day"

Sample: Hot, humid, and muggy, the weather exhausted the stamina of the bikers.

Exhausted, powerless, and faint, the marathon runner collapsed at the end of the race.

3. Afraid that we might hunt for a cheaper apartment for the next two weeks and find nothing better than this one, we took it

Sample: Happy that we would escape to a lovely beach for the upcoming one month and have nothing but good time, we left home.

-Scared that the cops might catch him in the next month in that city and arrest him, he left town.

Practice 5: Expanding

The opening adjectives are omitted at the caret mark(^) in the following sentences. For each caret, add an opening adjective or adjective phrase, plending your content and style with the rest of the sentence.

1. ^Optionless, I began climbing the ladder's rungs, slightly reassured by having Finny right behind me.
--John Knowles, A Seperate Peace

2. ^Freezing and ^weary, he wandered about the many tents, only to find that one place as cold as another.
--Jack London, "To Build a Fire"

3. ^Bright and ^knowledge hungry my limited reading helped me to know something of a world beyond the four walls of my study.
Christy Brown, My Left Foot

Beowulf argument

Pride was both Beowulf's downfall but also it was what made him as famous as he was. Beowulf was a man who was very boastful and had a lot of pride in himself, like in the book when he was talking of his swimming race with Brecca and he said he easily could have won if not for him having to stop and kill all the monsters of the deep ocean. This shows how prideful and boastful he was, but in reality he had all the reason to be because he actually did save a lot of frentic people's lives and killed a lot of monsters that no one else could have. Beowulf had the strength of 30 men, no one could match that. When he fought with Grendel and won that was another reason for him to be boastful. When he jumped in the lake to travel to the bottom to rid the Dane's of Grendel's mom he was successful, which gave him yet another reason to be boastful and have a lot of pride in himself. He had never been challenged in his life this is also probably the main cause of his downfall with the dragon. When Beowulf was old and past his prime he went to fight the dragon and save his people once more. He had never been beaten or even challenged so why not? In his prideful state though he underestimated the dragon and needed help. When Wiglaf came to his side they together defeated the dragon but Beowulf didn't let Wiglaf fight he just used his sword which led to the dragon killing Beowulf in the end. Yes I believe his pride was his downfall but also it was who he was and what made him him. Beowulf was the greatest fighter/defender in the land, why wouldn't he have been proud and boastful of it. Beowulf's aptitude was far beyond every other warriors of this time and he could back up everything he was boastful about, he was a willful hero of that era.

Sentences compsing #4

Practice 1: Matching

Directions: Match opening adjectives with the sentences. Write out each sentence inserting the opening adjectives

Opening Adjectives

A. Alive

B. Hot and justy and over-wearied

C. Lonesome

D. Able to move now

E. Frantic, never turning my head-- because the water buffalo had started his charged

Sentences

1. ^, I wanted to run away and be gone from his strange place.
--Keith Donahue, The Stolen Child
D. Able to move now

2. ^, I felt behind me, my hand pleading with the rifle
--Theodore Waldeck, "Certain, Sudden Death"
E. Frantic, never turning my head-- because the water buffalo had started his charged

3. ^, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds, but dead, we would only be worth the value of his tusks, five pounds, possibly
--George Orwell "Shooting an Elephant:
A-Alive

4. ^, he rocked his own body back and forth, breath deeply to release the remembered pain.
--Lois Lowry, The Giver
C-Lonesome

5. ^, he came to our door and eases his heavy pack and asked for refreshment, and Devola brought him a pail of water from our spring.
--Bill and Vera Cleaver, Where the Lilies Bloom
B. Hot and justy and over-wearied

Practice Two: Unscrambling to Imitate

Directions: In the model and the scrambled list, A. identify the opening adjective. B. Next, unscramble and write out the sentence part to imitate the model. C. Finally, write your own imitation of the model and identify the opening adjective.

Model: Speechless, Bryson scanned the small living room, frantically.
--Robert Ludium, The Prometheus Deception

d. uncomfortable,
c. Kendra
b. spotted the soft inviting sofa,
a. hopefully.

My own---- Dazed, Nick looked for a place to sit and gather his wits, perplexedly.

Sentences compsing #3

Directions: 1. Combine the following sentences to create a sentences that has the same order of sentences parts of the model. 2. Then write your own imitation of the model.

1. Model: Twisting and punching and kicking, the two boys rolled across the floor.

--Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic

a. The winning team was laughing and yelling and celebrating.

b. The team cavorted.

c. The cavorting was inside the locker room.

Laughing and yelling and celebrating the winning team cavorted in the locker room.

Own Sentence: Spinning and twirling and blowing, the twister tore up the town.

2. Model: He fell back exhausted, his ankle pounding.

--Raplh Ellison, "Flying Home"

a. She raced fast.

b. She was determined.

c. Her lungs her bursting

She determinedly raced fast, her lungs were busting.

Own Sentence They whooped victoriously, their team won.

3. Model: Alone, Tom looked around the room and knew that he was a stranger here.

--Hal Borland, When the Legends Die

a. Clark was afraid.

b. Clark walked down the alley.

c. Clark hoped something.

d. Clark hoped that he was alone there.

Afraid, Clark walked down the alley and hoped he was alone there.

Own Sentence Determined, The team walked on the field and knew they would win.

4. Model: The room was empty , a silent world of sinks, drain boards, and lock cupboards.

--Frank Bonham, Chief

a. The arena was full.

b. The area was a huge cavern.

c. It was filled with fans.

d. It was filled with bright lights.

e. And it was filled with exciting music.

The arena was full, a huge cavern filled with fans, bright lights, and exciting music.

Own Sentence The stadium was packed, a huge fan club filled with screaming fans, huge signs, and talented players.