FSA Review
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, COMMAS, AND PRONOUNS
Personification
Is a type of metaphor that gives objects or abstract
ideas human characteristics.
* Poem, “Haikus”
Example: The song’s upbeat melody danced across
the evening sky.
Personification
Example: The moon sang through the darkness,
lighting the world with its notes.
Simile
Compares two unlike things using words such as
“like” or “as.”
Example: His music is like a fast trip on a roller coaster.
Metaphor
Compares two unlike things without using words
“like” or “as.”
Example: Clouds sailed across the sky.
Metaphor
Example: The NBA player was a tree, blocking
everything in its way.
Rhetorical Question
A question asked to emphasize a point or create an effect; no answer
is expected. ** see FSA ELA Reading grade 6 example # 12
Washington State University
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/rhetorical.html
A teacher example: Why are you calling out?
(don’t really need an answer, want you to think about it on your own)
Commas
The comma is the most misused punctuation mark. Since there are so many
comma rules, it is understandable why people become confused about their
use.
Commas are supposed to clarify sentences and note the logical pauses.
1. To ensure clarity, use commas to separate items in a series.
Ex: Clear the bushes, pull the weeds, and plant the spring flowers.
2. Use commas to separate words or groups of words that interrupt the flow of
the sentence.
Ex: Hubert Humphrey, presidential hopeful, lost the election to Richard Nixon.
Ex: Hubert Humphrey lost the election to Richard Nixon. **sentence still flows
Commas
FSA Examples:
The Red knot spends spring and summer in northern Canada, where
its breeding grounds are located, and winters as far south as the
southern tip of South America.
The Red knot spends spring and summer in northern Canada and winters
as far south as the southern tip of South America.
The wood thrush, a type of song bird, travels from Central America to
the Mid-Atlantic States, such as Maryland and Virginia.
The wood thrush travels from Central America to the Mid-Atlantic
States, such as Maryland and Virginia.
Commas
3. Use a comma to separate introductory words from the main part of the
sentence, that is, from the part that can stand alone.
Ex: Before Michael Jordan retired from basketball, he was my favorite player.
Before Michael Jordan retired from basketball is not a complete thought. In
other words when you read or hear this statement you know that the rest of the
sentence is missing.
He was my favorite player is a complete sentence.
Commas
Add commas to the following sentences:
Pete Meyer the French fry king has finally announced his retirement.
The mayor a good neighbor of mine has gone into a private law firm.
While I waited for the estimator to arrive I looked at many paint colors.
A friend of mine a recent graduate is working hard to write an excellent resume.
Your job however will be to finish cleaning the basement.
My summer garden always includes squash tomatoes and cucumbers.
Commas
Answers
Pete Meyer, the French fry king, has finally announced his retirement.
Pete Meyer has finally announced his retirement.
The mayor, a good neighbor of mine, has gone into a private law firm.
The mayor has gone into a private law firm.
While I waited for the estimator to arrive, I looked at many paint colors.
(not a complete sentence- introductory words)
(complete sentences- main part of the sentence that can stand alone)
Commas
Answers
A friend of mine, a recent graduate, is working hard to write an excellent resume.
A friend of mine is working hard to write an excellent resume.
Your job, however, will be to finish cleaning the basement.
Your job will be to finish cleaning the basement.
My summer garden always includes squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
Good vs. Well
Incorrect: Ollie plays the guitar so good.
Correct: Ollie plays the guitar so well. ** describes the action of playing the guitar.
Because the word good is an adjective, it describes people, places, or things- nouns. Good never
describes an action. Well is an adverb form of good, so it describes an action.
VIP
Incorrect: Jackie doesn’t feel so good today.
Correct: Jackie doesn’t feel well today.
Pronouns
To ensure that pronouns agree with their related nouns, check agreement in
person and number.
Agreement in person means that both are in the same point of view: first,
second, or third person.
If you are writing in first person (I), avoid confusing your reader by switching to
the second person (you) or third person (he, she, it, they etc.)
Example: I sometimes get nervous because I don’t know what other people are
thinking of me. (NOT: I sometimes get nervous because you don’t know what
other people are thinking of you.)
Pronouns
Agreement in number means that both are either singular or plural.
If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you must use a singular
pronoun. If it takes the place of a plural noun, use a plural pronoun.
Example: Just because a man looks old on the outside doesn’t mean that he isn’t
still young at heart. (Not: Just because a man looks old on the outside doesn’t
mean they aren’t still young at heart.)
Pronouns (p. 62, English Grammar Demystified)
Here’s a trick you should know when you have a choice between two pronouns:
Try one pronoun at a time.
I ran into Jack and (he/him) at the mall.
◦ I ran into he at the mall.
I ran into him at the mall.
Kaya liked the movie more than (she/her).
* Kaya liked the movie more than she did. Kaya liked the movie more than her.
Pronouns
Do not ever use the words hisself or theirselves.
Correct: They moved the couch themselves.
More practice
Each of the members (have/has) one vote.
Because the subject each is singular, has is correct.
A few of the teenagers were voicing their disapproval.
Pronoun practice
Me and my friends meet one night a month for dinner.
One of the girls gave up (their/her) seat.
They wished (themselves/theirselves) good luck.
Pronoun practice answers
My friends and I meet one night a month for dinner.
One of the girls gave up (their/her) seat. Because her refers to one, it is singular.
They wished (themselves/theirselves) good luck.
Adjectives
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/1/
Adjectives
Practice
A playful beagle won the competition.
A sleek car arrived at the front door.
Race cars drive quickly.
The green frog hopped across the yard.
The students wore a purple shirt to school on Friday.
Heroic deeds are worthy of admiration.
Adjectives
A playful beagle won the competition.
A sleek car arrived at the front door.
Race cars drive quickly.
The green frog hopped across the yard.
The students wore a purple shirt to school on Friday. ** Didn’t want to forget to remind you.
Heroic deeds are worthy are admiration.
Adverbs
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/536/1/
Adverbs (review)
Modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb.
It is easy to recognize an adverb because many of them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.
For example: add –ly to the adjective sincere to make the adverb sincerely.
Yet, not all adverbs end in –ly. Words like, very, almost, quite, always, and often are adverbs.
Limerick
Is a light, humorous, nonsensical verse of five lines, usually with a rhyme scheme, or rhyming
pattern, of a-a-b-b-a.
In poetry, rhyme refers to the pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed
and unstressed syllables. Many types of poems, such as limericks, have specific rhyme.
Punctuation conventions for poetry:
Commas (,) and semicolons (;) signal a brief pause, so slow down the rate of speaking.
The dash (-) is used to emphasize the content that follows, so read the content with infliction.
Exclamation points (!) indicates that the speaker feels strong emotion (e.g., excitement,
concern, or surprise), so read the content with louder volume, a faster rate, and a higher
infliction.
Limerick example
“ from a book of nonsense”
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have a built their nests in my beard!”