The Best Grammar and Writing
Practice Ever!
Now that’s some hyperbole!
1. Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a
coordinator. Remember FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Except
for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a
comma. COMMA CONJUNCTION!
WRITE your very own compound sentence, and make sure you
punctuate it correctly!
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more
dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator,
such as because, since, after, although or when (and many others), or a
relative pronoun, such as that, who or which. When a complex
sentence begins with a subordinator, a comma is required at the end of
the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the
sentence with subordinators in the middle, no comma is required.
Go to the next slide to answer a multiple choice question!
2. Which of the following sentences is
punctuated correctly?
A. My absolute favorite snack is Takis and I don’t care if they get my
hands all messy.
B. Whenever I eat Takis, my hands get all disgusting with icky red
powder.
C. I went to the store, and bought the biggest bag of Takis I could find.
D. I begged my mom to buy me a bag of Takis, because I have such a
weakness for them.
Go to the next slide for another question!
3. Which of the following sentences is
punctuated INCORRECTLY?
A. Cats and dogs make great pets, but I prefer cats over dogs because
they are easy to take care of and super-sweet.
B. Cats, and dogs make great pets, but I prefer dogs over cats, because
they are easy to take care of and super-sweet.
C. If you want a pet, choose carefully because both cats and dogs
needs lots of love.
D. This is the last sentence about cats and dogs, and I’m sure you’re
happy about that.
Go to the next slide for useful, thrilling information about coordinate
adjectives!
Coordinate Adjectives
Coordinating adjectives are adjectives that describe the same noun and are
equal in importance. You can ask yourself these questions as a way to
determine if the adjectives are coordinating adjectives.
1. Does the sentence make sense if “and” is added between the adjectives?
2. Does the sentence make sense if the adjectives are reversed?
If the answer is yes to both of these questions, then they are coordinating
adjectives, and you must use a comma between them.
Adjectives that give information about size, shape, age, color, material,
religion or nationality are not coordinate adjectives and should not be
separated with commas.
Go to the next slide to test yourself!
4. Which of the following sentences with
coordinate adjectives is correctly punctuated?
A. Our internship program accepts only ambitious dedicated students.
B. My little, French music box now lay smashed on the floor.
C. The rolling, pitching, tossing motion of the ship quickly made Elsie
seasick.
D. Grandma knitted the baby a blue, wool sweater for her birthday.
Be careful, this isn’t easy!!!
(Thank you SpringBoard from The College Board for these sentences.)
Go to the next slide to review how to punctuate dialogue.
Punctuating dialogue is easy once you know
the rules….
• Use quotation marks before and after a character's exact words. Place a
period inside closing quotation marks.
“Peter and Esteban are joining us.”
• Use a comma to set off the speaker's tag (he said) from the beginning of a
quotation. Place the comma inside closing quotation marks when the
speaker's tag follows the quotation.
Harry said, “Come on, Ray. It'll be fun.”
“Let's go," Gilda said.
• Use quotation marks around each part of a divided quotation. Remember
to set off the speaker's tag with commas.
“I'm not sure,” said Ray, “that I feel like it.”
Read a few more rules on the next slide.
Punctuating dialogue is easy once you know
the rules….
• Place a question mark or an exclamation point inside the quotation marks when it is
part of the quotation.
“When will we be back?” Ray asked.
“Hooray!” Debbi said.
• Place a question mark or an exclamation point outside the quotation marks when it is
not part of the quotation.
Did I hear Ray say, “Okay”?
I can't believe he said, “Okay”!
• Start a new paragraph when you move from one speaker to another.
“How long a hike is it?” Ray asked. “I don't know whether I have the energy.”
“I think,” said Iris, “that it's about seven miles to the top.”
Thank you, www.glencoe.com, for these easy-to-understand rules!
Move on to the next slide for a little practice.
5. Write three or four sentences about the child in this
photo. At least TWO sentences should be DIALOGUE that’s
correctly punctuated.
Who is this little girl, anyway?
6. Which of the following sentences is NOT
punctuated correctly?
A. “I’m ecstatic to be back at school!” I said to my friend as I got off
the bus Monday.
B. “I can’t believe,” Sam said back to me, “that you are so full of
energy on a Monday.”
C. “It’s crazy. I know”. I replied.
D. After that, I went to my locker to put away my phone and backpack.
“It’s going to be a great semester,” I thought to myself.
Go on to the next slide for another question.
7. Which of the following sentences is
punctuated correctly?
A. “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold”. Johnny said to Ponyboy.
B. “Can you see the sunset real good on the West side”? Ponyboy
asked Cherry. “You can see it on the East side too.”
C. “Things are rough all over”, Cherry said.
D. “It's okay. We aren't in the same class,” Ponyboy said. “Just don't
forget that some of us watch the sunset too.”
Go to the next slide for another challenge!