Friday, November 14....grammar exercises

As I am not in class today, we will continue with Virginia Wolff's A Room of One's Own on Monday. Please note you have a vocabulary test on Tuesday.

In class: practicing using semi-colons. 1)Your substitute teacher will review the rules regarding semi colon usage and practice the first six as a class, after which you will complete the work independently (class handout and copy below) 2) When this is finished, please complete the practice exercise on semi-colons / commas. (class handout / copy below)  This is independent work to be completed for homework. On Tuesday, you will have an assessment on this material, as well as this week's vocabulary.

Semicolon Use

The semicolon (;) is probably the most commonly misused punctuation mark. It is easy to use, but many people do not understand how to use it correctly. 

Semicolons are easy to use correctly, as long as you remember one simple rule about semicolon use: a semicolon should be used to separate two independent clauses (or complete sentences) that are closely related in meaning.

That's it--that's all that you need to remember to use semicolons correctly. Wow. That was easy.

To help you determine if you are using a semicolon correctly, just ask yourself if a period would be correct if used where the semicolon is used. If so, then you have used the semicolon correctly. If a comma could be used where a semicolon is used, then the semicolon is not used correctly. To some extent, periods and semicolons are interchangeable--in many situations, you can use one or the other. But semicolons and commas are not interchangeable--if you can replace a semicolon with a comma, you have used the semicolon incorrectly.

Semicolons are often misused. Some writers seem to think that semicolons are fancy commas that create longer pauses than commas. This is not true. A semicolons NEVER should be used to try to create a "pause" longer than that achieved by a comma.

If you can use a period correctly, then you can use a semicolon correctly. A semicolon is used just like a period, but it is used to separate two complete sentences when the sentences are closely related in meaning.

(Note: There are some exceptions to these rules of semicolon usage, but they are so rare that they seldom come up in student papers.)

Please insert the semi-colon in the following sentences as needed. Some commas may need removing; as well, some sentences might be fine as they are written.

1.  The score was tied the game went into overtime.

   

2.  Professor Brown has left the laboratory, however, you may still be able to reach her through email.

3. We didn't attend the play, besides, we had heard that all the good seats were taken.

4.  We stayed in Baltimore, Maryland, Omaha, Nebraska, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

5.  The keys to the lower door were not, however, in their usual place.

6.  The three performers included Jasper, a trained squirrel, Belzar, a tightrope walker, and Petunia, a magician.

7.  Ingrid, a shortstop, made the team, but Joe, her cousin, did not make the cut.

8.  Read the article out loud, then answer all ten questions on the quiz.

9.  Martin had paid his dues; therefore, we allowed him to vote in the election.

10. The World Series had begun, however, we were still stuck in traffic.

11..  Martin Luther King did not intend to become a preacher, originally he wanted to be a lawyer.

   

12.  Bill helped Susan with her homework, coached her in softball, and encouraged her to stay in school, but when her uncle died, she quit school and gave up.

   

13.  The parole hearing was attended by James Thomas, who was a federal prosecutor, Irene Milton, who supervised the state prison system, and Jeremy Ingram, a former legal aide for the city.

   

14.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, try a good diet, if you are serious about your goal, you should be successful.

   

15.  The route suggested by Map Quest was not, however, open to traffic that day.

   

16.  Her hand, her neck, and her right leg, which was severely twisted, were all caught in the trap, yet she managed to extricate herself and crawl all the way back to the campsite.

   

17.  Many parents are in favor of school uniforms, they feel that the uniforms develop a sense of community among students.

   

18.  The rain was causing flooding in many areas, however, we still carried out our plans.

   

19.  My parents, who hadn't known anything about the party, Mrs. Schultz, who trusted me implicitly, and Jim Bell, a police officer with the juvenile services division, were all waiting for me when I got home.

   

20. Throwing his arms into the air, Mike looked absolutely dumbfounded, so he stood up, knocking all of the materials on the floor, and left the building.

21.  John is a former police officer, he now stays home with his children.

   

22.  He is not doing well in school, however, everyone hopes that he will be able to graduate.

   

23. The dean, whom everyone admires, my mother, who is my biggest fan, and my English teacher, a wonderful person, congratulated me for my work.

   

24. Her mother, an artist, held her own show, but her aunt, also an artist, could not attend the exhibit.

   

25.  Go straight until the second stop light, then turn left when you see the house with blue shutters.

   

26.  The cousins loved to play video games, they stayed up all night to get to the next level.

   

27.  If you trim the tree, it will look better, but if you chop it down, we will miss it.

   

28.  Mary had been the captain of the ship for twenty years, therefore, she knew exactly what to do.

   

29.  John, the singer, Jack, the bassist, and Sean, the drummer, were the three most talented members of the band.

   

30. Time passes very quickly these days it seems as if you were here just yesterday.

Homework: due on Monday. 

Commas vs. Semicolons in Compound Sentences

A group of words containing a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought is called a sentence or an independent clause. Sometimes, an independent clause stands alone as a sentence, and sometimes two independent clauses are linked together into what is called a compound sentence. Depending on the circumstances, one of two different punctuation marks can be used between the independent clauses in a compound sentence: a comma or a semicolon. The choice is yours.

Comma (,)

Use a comma after the first independent clause when you link two independent clauses with one of the following coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet. For example:

I am going home, and I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon, but we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark, so they decided to camp for the night.

Semicolon (;)

Use a semicolon when you link two independent clauses with no connecting words. For example:

I am going home; I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon; we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; they decided to camp for the night.

You can also use a semicolon when you join two independent clauses together with one of the following conjunctive adverbs (adverbs that join independent clauses): however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc. For example:

I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway.

They couldn't make it to the summit and back before dark; therefore, they decided to camp for the night.

Practice:

1. It is raining outside I will bring my umbrella with me.
	raining
	outside
	umbrella
2. Hopefully, the weather will change soon otherwise, the whole summer will go by without the sun shining.
	soon
	otherwise
	summer
3. She doesn't understand algebra therefore, she will probably not pass the math final.
	understand
	algebra
	therefore
4. We will play tennis tomorrow then we will go out for dinner.
	play
	tennis
	tomorrow
5. She had very high grades in high school she applied to Harvard University.
	grades
	school
	applied
6. Some colleges offer full time scholarships others do not.
	colleges
	time
	scholarships
7. There is a lot of financial aid around you just have to know where to look for it.
	lot
	aid
	around
8. Some institutions require a lot of financial support from parents some require only a little.
	support
	parents
	require
9. You should always choose a college according to whether you believe you'll be happy you're the one who will be attending for four years.
	college
	believe
	happy
10. It's such a beautiful day I will walk in Niagara Falls.
	beautiful
	day
	walk

11. He wanted to take a walk, so we drove to Niagara Falls and walked around the park.
	walk
	Falls
	no semicolon
12. She did the laundry she used the last of the laundry detergent.
	laundry
	up
	no semicolon
13. They both went swimming while they were on vacation in Mexico.
	swimming
	vacation
	no semicolon
14. They finished digging in the garden and planting flowers they admired their work.
	garden
	flowers
	no semicolon
15. To build the fence around the garden, they needed to dig trenches close to seven feet deep.
	garden
	trenches
	no semicolon
16. The garden contained vegetables they will harvest them in fall.
	vegetables
	them
	no semicolon
17. Their house and garden are extremely important to them that's why they take care of their property so well.
	garden
	them
	no semicolon
18. When planting impatiens, it's important to plant some in the sun and some in the shade because it's hard to tell how much of each they need.
	sun
	shade
	no semicolon
19. All of the garden tools are kept in the garage they are cleaned every spring.
	tools
	garage
	no semicolon
20. My favorite flower is forget-me-nots even though some people consider it a weed.
	forget-me-nots
	though
	no semicolon