MMC midterm (quizzes plus rules)

colon-- inside or outside quotation marks?

outside

dash-- inside or outside quotation marks?

outside

semicolon-- inside or outside quotation marks?

outside

the Orlando magic (is/are) winning

are team names are always plural

how to add apostrophes when there are distinct compound subjects

make each subject possessive ex: Few of Bill's and Sam's friends know each other

how are singular proper nouns ending in a s made possessive

only add an apostrophe ex: Samuel Adams'

is the word following a colon capitalized?

only if it is a complete sentence

should you put spaces around both sides of a ellipsis?

only if it is in the middle of a sentence

how to add apostrophes when there is a shared compound subject

only make the second item possessive ex: Let's go to Bill and Sam's apartment

when to use an apostrophe to form a plural

only with single letters!!! ex: I got all A's not: I only go out on Wednesday's

correct: the Grand Canyon is unique

the Grand Canyon is unusual UNIQUE: one and only UNUSUAL: special; rare

who vs whom

use who as a subject use whom as an object to help substitute the word he/him in their place

what do you do if an elipsis is at the end of a sentence?

4 periods

difference between because and since

because: cause and effect since: passage of time

difference between among and between

between: two parts among: two or more parts

nonessential clause

can be removed from a sentence without changing the interpretation of that sentence uses which or who and requires a comma ex: he has longed to read "To Kill a Mockingbird," which is the only book Harper Lee ever published. students, who make up half the crowd, bring zest to college football games

when to use a hyphen with a compound modifier

1. each word is an adjective or not an adverb ending in -ly or the word very 2. the words appear before the noun they modify or after a linking verb

question mark-- inside or outside quotation marks?

inside if it applies to quoted material ex: Do you know why people stand during the chorus of "Hallejuah"?

exclamation point-- inside or outside quotation marks?

inside if it applies to quoted material, outside if not ex: Grandma yelled "Bingo!"

that/which/who how to use who

instead of which or that when referring to a person or named animal essential- no comma nonessential- comma ex: the miami sound machine is the band that I most like to hear Gloria Estefan is the singer who I most like to hear

Japan (is/are) beautiful

is city, state or nation is always singular

half of the battle (is/are) trying

is half is a portion which means the object decides. battle is singular, so singular agreement is necessary

none of the scientists (is/are) working today

is when none is used for "no one" it is singular

it's fun to watch Apple literally run roughshod over the laptop industry

it's fun to watch Apple figuratively run roughshod over the laptop industry LITERALLY: word for word FIGURATIVELY: metaphoric

the team played (its/their) best tonight

its the word team is always singular

she will (lay/lie) her head on the pillow

lay she will place her head on the pillow *head is the direct object

lay vs lie

lay = to place *always has a direct object lie = to recline *never has a direct object

difference between less and fewer

less: uncountable fewer: countable on your fingers

she will (lay/lie) down

lie she will recline down *no direct object present

how to use a hyphen

no spaces around the hyphen with compound modifiers that follow the rules suspensive hyphenation ex: "one- to two-year commitment" "most first- , second- , third-grade teachers" in order to avoid ambiguity ex: "she is a small-business owner" "she is a real estate agent" "she is a black-coffee drinker" DO NOT use a hyphen to substitute for the word to

do you put commas around essential or nonessential phrases

nonessential phrases that do not affect your understanding of the sentence

effect

noun used as a verb- to cause or change ex: the fire effected a change in safety procedure the fire caused a change in safety procedure

difference between further and farther

further: to advance farther: distance

essential clause

AKA restrictive clause is essential to correctly interpretting the sentence its omission could change the meaning uses that or who without a comma ex: the only book that Harper Lee ever published was "To Kill a Mockingbird" Students who attend football games feel more connected to their school.

difference between anxious and eager

anxious: nervous, worried eager: excited, enthusiastic

antecedent

the word to which a pronoun stands for, the nearest noun

correct: when Joni compared the cost of her education to her lifetime earnings, she decided a graduate degree made sense

when Joni compared the cost of her education with her lifetime earnings, she decided a graduate degree made sense COMPARED WITH: differences, similarities or both; to juxtapose COMPARED TO: liken to

who/whom is at the door?

who help: turn the question into a sentence first... who/who is at the door. the word is used as a subject meaning you use who help: he is at the door NOT him is at the door

the athletes, (who/whom) had trained for three years, were upset when the olympics were canceled

who help: when who/whom is part of a phrase surrounded by commas, ignore the rest of the sentence... "who/whom has trained for three years" the pronoun is used as a subject meaning who is used help: he has trained for three years NOT him has trained for three years

the president wants to meet with (whoever/whomever) can persuade legislators

whoever tip: when both whoever and whomever seem to work... use whoever the president wants to meet with whom (him) who (he) can persuade legislators

who/whom were you visiting?

whom help: turn question into a sentence first... you were visiting who/whom the word is used as an object meaning you use whom help: you are visiting him NOT you are visiting he

the adviser (who/whom) Peter was assigned to was supportive

whom tip: watch for stray prepositions that pair with who/whom. place stray preposition in front and its easier ...peter was assigned to who/whom= to whom

that/which/who how do you use that

with essential clauses never use a comma ex: corgi is the breed that I like best

that/which/who how do you use which

with nonessential clauses that are not essential in correctly interpreting the sentence use a comma ex: the corgi, which is my favorite breed, is at home in the buckingham palace

correct: we can't hardly wait for the match to begin

we can hardly wait for the match to begin can't hardly is a double negative

none of the taxes (was/were) paid

were when none is used for "no amount" it is plural

correct: what do you imply from Ron's casual indifference toward his job?

what do you infer from Ron's casual indifference toward his job? infer: listener assumes imply: speaker suggests

correct: you should try and eat something for breakfast

you should try to eat something for breakfast NOT try and CORRECT try to

agreement for the word "none"

-when it means "no one"= singular ex: none of the scientists is working today - when it means "no two"= plural ex: none of the physicians agree - when it means "no amount"= plural ex: none of the taxes were paid

difference between compared to and compared with

COMPARED WITH: differences, similarities or both COMPARED TO: liken to

correct: George compared his brother with a porcupine: placid until threatened

George compared his brother to a porcupine: placid until threatened COMPARED WITH: differences, similarities or both COMPARED TO: liken to

how to tell if a word is possessive or just descriptive

If you would use the word of, it is possessive--- use an apostrophe ex: The women's team .. team of women the men's group.. group of men If you would use for or by, the word is descriptive and does not need an apostrophe ex: teachers union... union for teachers farmers market.... marker for farmers not market of farmers

should you place a comma after the second or more word in a list if it is followed by and (in normal circumstances)

NO ex: red, white and blue not: red, white, and blue

parallel phrases

ensure that two or more verbs and phrases are of the same type ex: he came, he saw, he conquered not: he came, he saw, and the enemy was conquered

comma-- inside or outside quotation marks?

inside

correct: Sarah is anxious to get home for the weekend and catch up on sleep

Sarah is eager to get home for the weekend and catch up on sleep ANXIOUS: nervous, worried EAGER: excited, enthusiastic

agreement for collective nouns that denote a unit such as class or department

always singular ex: the family must get its affairs in order the orchestra honored its publicist

correct: The Gator are in control of their destiny in the SEC

The Gators are in control of their own season NOT: in control of destiny no one can be in control of their own destiny

agreement for the word team

always singular ex: the team is playing its best

period-- inside or outside quotation marks?

inside

correct: an internship sophomore year can farther your career aspirations

an internship sophomore year can further your career aspirations further: to advance farther: distance

correct: UF's distinguished record in genetic research has generate considerable notoriety.

UF's distinguished record in genetic research has generate considerable acknowledgment notoriety: negative attention ex: Lindsey Lohan has a notorious public record

half of the pens (is/are) broken

are half is a portion which means the object decides pens are plural which means plural agreement is necessary

"10-15 minutes"

WRONG do not use a hyphen in place of the word to right: 10 to 15 minutes

what is required of a complete sentence

a subject and a verb subject can be implied ex: "Halt!" (you is the implied subject)

how are singular proper nouns that do not end in s made possessive

add an apostrophe and a s ex: Kyle's

how are plural proper nouns made possessive

add only an apostrophe ex: I am going to the Smiths' the Davises' children are well-mannered

television (affects/effects) public opinion

affects used as a verb... to influence television influences public opinion

what do you put commas around both sides of?

ages year after an exact date state or nation if it follows a city or local

none of the physicians (agrees/agree)

agree when none is used as "no two" it is plural

agreement for subjects joined by or/nor

agreement is determined by the word closest to the verb ex: "sam or the twins are likely to attend" "the twins or sam is likely to attend"

agreement for a team mentioned by name

always plural ex: the heat are killing it

agreement for a city, state or nation

always singular ex: Miami is a beautiful city France is a wonderful place to visit

ambiguous antecedent

avoid putting a pronoun far away from its antecedent, the antecedent should be the closest noun not: although the scooter hit the tree, it was not damaged correct: the scooter was not damaged when it hit the tree

correct: compared to Miami, Gainesville's Cuban population is relatively small

compared with Miami, Gainesville's Cuban population is relatively small COMPARED WITH: differences, similarities or both COMPARED TO: liken to

correct: critics say the movie is an instant classic

critics say the movie is a huge hit NOT instant classic instant classic is an oxymoron

spaces always go around which: dash or hyphen

dash

the (affect/effect) of the inhaler on Molly's asthma was surprising

effect noun

principled passion can (affect/effect) a dramatic change in washington

effect used as a verb.. to cause principled passion can cause a dramatic change in washington

in what circumstances would you not place a comma after the second or more word in the sentence followed by and

for clarity ex: "Thanks to my parents, the pope, and Mother Theresa" not "Thanks to my parents, the pope and the Mother Theresa" when the last item in a series is a compound object requiring and ex: "I love wine, beer, and macaroni and cheese." not "I love wine, beer and macaroni and cheese" when each item in the series is a complex phrase resembling a detailed and independent clause

correct: grocery stores have express lanes for shoppers with less than 10 items

grocery stores have express lanes for shoppers with fewer than 10 items LESS: uncountable FEWER: countable on your fingers

correct: he was different than other singers of his era

he was different from other singers of his era NOT different than CORRECT different from

correct: her boss is such a jerk that she could care less what he thinks

her boss is such a jerk that she couldn't care less what he thinks NOT: could care less CORRECT: could not care less could care less means you do care a little bit

when do you put commas between adjectives

if they are equal adjectives.. if you could reverse them and put and between and it would still make sense

when do you use a comma with a "free" modifier

if you would use commas with it no matter where it appears in the sentence ex: Freud would have disagreed, too Freud, too, would have disagreed not: Freud would have disagreed also Freud would have also disagreed

subjunctive mood

indicate something contrary to fact use WERE instead of was ex: if I were president...

linking verb

indicates a state of being *to be verbs am, are, being, did, is, was, were, become, seem, feels, smells, sounds

agreement for entities such as companies or organizations

singular ex: apple is an international brand starbucks is my favorite coffee

agreement for pronouns that refer to a single person or thing such as anybody and everyone

singular verb ex: everyone is my friend anybody sings the anthem

agreement for compound independent subjects using and

take a plural verb ex: steak and fish are rich in protein

agreement for compound independent subjects using and that form a single unit

take a singular verb ex: mac and cheese is my favorite food

correct: an argument broke out between the half-dozen people in the room

the argument broke out among the half-dozen people in the room BETWEEN: two parts AMONG: two or more parts

correct: the fire partially destroyed the house and repairs will cost about $50,000

the fire damaged the house and repairs will cost about $50,000 NOT: partially destroyed destroyed means complete

agreement for words that indicate a portion

the object determines if it is singular or plural ex: half of the battle is trying half of the pens are broken

correct: the repair took longer than expected since the head mechanic was gone for the day

the repair took longer than expected because the head mechanic was gone for the day BECAUSE: cause-effect SINCE: passage of time

correct: that restaurant we like is further up the road

the restaurant we like is farther up the road further: to advance farther: distance (far)

compound modifier

two words expressing a single concept if both words are needed --- use a hyphen if both words are not needed --- do not use a hyphen ex: fat-free yogurt rich, creamy yogurt mango-orange yogurt

difference between unique and unusual

unique: one and only unusual: special, rare

suspensive hyphenation

use a hyphen to replace words in a series of parallel compound modifiers do not put a hyphen between words or numbers that are not compound modifiers wrong: let the meat stand for 10-to-15 minutes right: let the meat stand for 10 to 15 minutes

affect

verb to influence ex: the fire affected the entire family the fire influenced the entire family