NAME: EGR386W GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION EXERCISE IDENTIFYING SENTENCE PARTS A. Subjects and Verbs
The s ubject is the d oer of the action. Jane went to the store to buy juice. The verb is the action. Jane went to the store to buy juice. The rest is the object. Jane went t o the store t o buy juice. B. Independent Clauses, Dependent Clauses, and Phrases
Independent clause: a clause that has a subject and a verb and CAN STAND ALONE; a complete sentence: He ran. It rained. Illness took him. Independent Markers
An independent marker is a connecting word u sed at the beginning of an independent clause. T hese words can also begin a sentence that can stand-­‐alone. Consequently, the store closed before we could get there. Some common independent markers a re also, consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, a nd therefore. Dependent clause: a clause that has a SUBJECT AND A VERB but cannot stand alone; an incomplete sentence: When he ran, Because he ran in the rain, Dependent Markers
A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of a n independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause. When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was v ery noisy. Some common dependent markers a re after, although, as, if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, that, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whereas, where, whenever, whether, while, which, who, and whom. Phrase: a phrase is a group of words lacking a subject OR a verb, also an incomplete sentence: On the way, Because of the storm, After tomorrow, 1 PROBLEM S ET 1: I NDEPENDENT AND D EPENDENT CLAUSES Indicate whether the bold words are an independent or dependent clause or a phrase. (You can write I, D, or P.) a) While box turtles can make great pets, they bite. b) If insects are scarce, owners can give their turtles moist dog food. c) In western North America, river damming threatens native riparian forests. d) Thus, high flows scour e stablished vegetation and deposit sediment, contributing to the creation of nursery sites at topographic elevations suitable for s eedling s urvival. e) For P. angustifolia, climatic conditions are important for recruitment because r ecruitment of A. negundo is associated with unusually high peak flows of r egulated rivers. f) Even though we found no s upport for a relationship between functional diversity and 302 nitrification potential, functional diversity was positively associated with total herbaceous 303 biomass. g) In recent years, the presence of heavy contiguous canopy and s urface fuels has facilitated the exponential growth in the size of s evere fires. h) Early in the t wentieth century, Aldo Leopold ( 1924, 1937) called attention to the problems stemming from the changing patterns of ecosystem structure a nd disturbance. i)
As a consequence, forest structure changed to dense stands of young trees, forest floor fuels accumulated, a nd fire-­‐sensitive conifers such as Abies and Pseudotsuga expanded in mixed-­‐conifer ecotones. j)
These issues are not confined to North America; strikingly similar patterns of larger fires resulting from higher fuel loads and warmer climate have been observed across pine forests of the Mediterranean Basin. k) Frequent fires maintained relatively u neven-­‐aged forests with diverse understories over most of the landscape, though some areas may also have experienced infrequent severe fires. I.
PUNCTUATING COMMON SENTENCE PATTERNS
A. 2 or more independent clauses
1.
Join 2 independent clauses with a comma AND a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so). Road construction can be inconvenient, but it is necessary. 2. When the second independent clause in a sentence has a n independent marker, a s emicolon is needed BEFORE the independent marker and a comma AFTER the marker. Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz; however, it was hard to concentrate because of the noise. 2 3. Join 2 independent clauses with only a semicolon when the second clause restates the first or when the two clauses a re of equal e mphasis. Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town; streets have become covered with bulldozers, trucks, and cones. B. 1 or more dependent clauses and 1 or more independent
clauses
1.
Join a n introductory dependent clause with the independent clause by a comma. Because road construction has hindered travel around town, m any people have o pted to ride bicycles o r walk to work. 2. No comma is needed if the dependent clause comes AFTER the independent clause. Many people have o pted to ride bicycles or walk to work because road construction has hindered travel around town. PROBLEM S ET 2: S ENTENCE P ATTERNS First, identify independent clauses ( with a subject and a verb). Then, identify any dependent clauses and/or phrases. Next, add the needed punctuation where necessary. 1.
We have to pay the bills a nd I’m afraid we d on’t have the money! 2. Before the wolves get here we should climb a tree. 3. The Dolores River begins in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado a nd flows northwest into the Colorado River in southeast Utah. 4. The nearly unregulated San Miguel River contains a few diversion dams but flow is largely controlled by snowmelt a nd precipitation. 5. At the San Miguel River study site the 11.2 km stretch of river at the Tabeguache Preserve was divided into two equal-­‐length segments while the 3 .2 km stretch of river at the Canyon Preserve only included one segment. 6. For mature trees 10 to 100 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) we extracted two increment cores spaced 9 0 cm a part per tree a nd for saplings 0 to 10 cm dbh we extracted only one core per tree. 7. Much attention has been focused on e stablishment of Populus spp. within the Aigeiros section but less is known a bout e stablishment of the widespread riparian species Populus angustifolia and Acer negundo which can reproduce through seedling recruitment and clonal processes. 3 8. The internal cycling of nitrogen (N) a critical process in terrestrial ecosystems is one step of the process where microbes convert a mmonium to nitrate. 9. While this study shows that the leaf economics spectrum is a n important gradient of functional trait variation functional diversity was not important to nitrification potential but it was a n important predictor of total herbaceous production. 10. These results suggest that the mass ratio hypothesis may explain patterns relating to nutrient cycling whereas the diversity hypotheses may explain some of the patterns relating to plant productivity. II.
ERRORS TO AVOID: RUN-ONS AND FRAGMENTS
C. Run-on Sentences
Run-­‐on sentences happen when there a re two or more independent clauses not separated by a ny form of punctuation. T his error is also known a s a fused sentence. T he e rror can sometimes be corrected by adding a period, semicolon, or comma a nd coordinating conjunction to separate the two sentences. You may also make one clause dependent by inserting a dependent marker word in front of it. Incorrect: My professor is intelligent I've learned a lot from her. Correct: My professor is intelligent. I've learned a lot from her. (or) My professor is intelligent; I've learned a lot from her. (or) My professor is intelligent, and I've learned a lot from her. A. Comma Splices
A comma splice is the incorrect use of a comma between two independent clauses. You can u sually fix the e rror by changing the comma to a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction and a comma. You may also make one clause dependent by inserting a dependent marker word in front of it. Incorrect: I like this class, it is very interesting. Correct: I like this class. It is v ery interesting. (or) I like this class; it is very interesting. (or) I like this class, and it is very interesting. (or) I like this class because it is very interesting. B. Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragments happen by treating a dependent clause or a phrase as a complete sentence. You can usually fix this e rror by combining it with a nother sentence to make a complete thought or by removing the dependent marker. Incorrect: Because I forgot the exam was today. Correct: Because I forgot the exam was today, I didn't study. (or) I forgot the exam was today. 4 PROBLEM S ET 3: SENTENCE S TRUCTURE E RRORS Identify the common sentence e rror for each of the problems below (RO, CS, or SF). T hen, correct the sentence by adding punctuation a nd/or words. None of the original sentences a re correct. a) _________ We have to pay the bills a nd I’m afraid we d on’t have the money we’re going to l ose the house! b) _________ Jane went to the store to buy juice, however the store was out of juice. c) _________ While she was sleeping in the den a nd the television was on all night. d) _________ We scouted the e ntire segment sites were selected that contained a broad range of tree size classes. e) _________ Located on the western bank of the river just past mile marker 17 along Highway 145, on the eastern bank of the river across from the Dolores Public Library, a nd on the eastern bank of the river across from Joe Rowell Park in the town of Dolores. f) _________ Testing treatment effectiveness in restoring natural fire behavior is not entirely amenable to direct experimentation, numerous studies have shown that treated sites can be burned safely a nd effectively with prescribed fire. g) _________ Despite finding no support for a relationship between functional diversity a nd 302 nitrification potential. h) _________ Resolution of the “natural” vs. “historical” debate is not within the scope of this review but here we use “natural” first because reference ecosystems are not only found in the historical past but also in modern times such as in remote or protected areas a nd second because the implicit link to specific time periods in the term “historical” tends to understate the evolutionary lineage of ecological attributes. i)
_________ For example clearing of wide firebreaks and suppression of all naturally occurring fire without occasional prescription burns. 5