Sentence Stalking Week 1

Via fell asleep, too, and Mom and Dad talked quietly about grown-up things I didn't care about. Why is there an apostrophe in "didn't"?

"Didn't" is a contraction of "did" and "not". When joining to words together to make a contraction, the apostrophe represents the letter that was taken out.

Via fell asleep, too, and Mom and Dad talked quietly about grown-up things I didn't care about. Why is "too" used in this sentence instead of "to" or "two"?

"Too" means "also" or "as well". "

He owned many head of cattle and worked as their village's judge--an honored, respected position Why is there a comma after "honored"?

A comma is used to separate two adjectives.

It was a gray, rainy day. Why is there a comma after "gray"?

A comma must be used to separate two adjectives describing the same noun.

What is a noun?

A person, place, thing, or idea

What is an adjective?

A word that describes a noun

Via fell asleep, too, and Mom and Dad talked quietly about grown-up things I didn't care about. Why is there a comma after "asleep"?

Because "Via fell asleep" is an introductory phrase. Commas separate introductory phrases from the rest of the sentence.

I can't go to the game tonight. What does "can't" mean, and why is there an apostrophe?

Can't is short for can not, and the apostrophe shows that it is a contraction.

Meanwhile, Mom's regular doctor wasn't on duty that night, so mom got stuck with this cranky kid doctor she and Dad nicknamed Doogie after some old TV show or something. Why is TV capitalized?

It is an abbreviation, and abbreviations should be capitalized.

Today for lunch students ate pizza, apples, and chips. Why are there commas after "pizza" and "apples"?

There must be commas used to separate items in a series .

Many people watch CNN or CBS for their news. Why are "CNN" and "CBS" capitalized?

They are abbreviations and need to be capitalized.

In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods--packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears-- that used to threaten our streets. What part of speech is "lone"?

an adjective, as it is used to describe a noun.

I used to want to be a ballerina when I became a grown-up. What is the punctuation used between "grown" and "up" and what does it do?

it is a hyphen, and it is used to connect two unlike words together to form a new one.

He owned many head of cattle and worked as their village's judge--an honored, respected position. Why is "their" used instead of "there" or "they're"?

their is possessive, and shows that the village belongs to somebody.

What is a verb?

An action word

Via fell asleep, too, and Mom and Dad talked quietly about grown-up things I didn't care about. Why are "Mom" and "Dad" capitalized?

Because "Mom" and "Dad" are being used as names.

In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten down. Why is there a comma after "sleep"?

Because "in sleep" is an introductory phrase.

In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down. What is the punctuation in between "beaten" and "down" called, and what does it do?

It connects two different word to make them into one new word.

He owned many head of cattle and worked as their village's judge--an honored, respected position. What is the punctuation after "judge", and what is its purpose?

It is a dash, and it is used to separate extra information from the rest of the sentence.

He owned many head of cattle and worked as their village's judge--an honored, respected position Why is there an apostrophe in "village's"?

The apostrophe shows that the judge belongs to the village.

In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods--packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears-- that used to threaten our streets. Why are there commas after "dogs and "cougars"?

The commas are used to separate a list.