Prepositions

Did you know that you use prepositions all the time in your writing & speaking? According to Wikipedia, a preposition indicates a relation between things mentioned in a sentence. In English, the most used prepositions are "of", "to", "in", "for", and "on." (Wikipedia link)

Think about it! Without prepositions, you wouldn't be able to give you reader that exact picture that you want to paint for them.Test your preposition skills by playing this short 8-question game by going here:

http://www.quia.com/pop/46312.html.

Once you're on that site, click the "Play this game" box to start the activity. Once you're done, return to the blog & post your results by using complete, correctly-written sentences!

Commas- The Best Trick!

The English language has so many rules and even more exceptions to those rules. This is especially true of rules relating to comma usage in writing. Rather than go over all of those rules, I'm going to share with you my favorite "trick" for writing. You're going to love it!

Writing and speaking are very closely related. If you have a sentence and don't know if a comma is needed, read your sentence out loud. Pay close attention to where you naturally tend to pause. That's where a comma is probably needed!!! Let's try it now.

Read the sentence (shown below) out loud and see where you pause.

While flipping channels I came across a new television show.

I bet you paused after the phrase "while flipping channels." That gives you an indication to put a comma at that point in the sentence. Doing so, you'd end up with this: "While flipping channels, I came across a new television show."The next time you're unsure if a comma is needed, try this trick!

In fact, reply to this post and tell me if you think it will help you.

Writing: Subject Pronouns

An important part of writing is varying the words you use. To help accomplish this, you can use subject pronouns such as "he," "she," and "they." But, be sure you use them correctly!

Think about whose name you're replacing with the pronoun and then make sure the pronoun matches in both gender and number.

Try this Quia game about subject pronouns. Then, come back here & post how you did!

Remember to write your results in complete, correctly-written sentences.

http://www.quia.com/pop/51661.html

Enjoy!

Usage- "A" versus "An"

In grammar, the terms "a" and "an" are referred to as indefinite articles. They're used before singular nouns. But what's the difference and how do you know which one to use? In most instances, the article "a" can be used. The exception, however, comes when the noun that follows starts with a vowel (the letters 'a,' 'e,' 'i,' 'o,' and 'u').

Let's look at some examples!

1.) I borrowed a book from the library.
2.) A thunderstorm is predicted for tomorrow.
3.) Did you see a movie this weekend?

4.) An elephant was part of the circus.
5.) My sister packed an umbrella in her car.
6.) Did you taken an English class this year?

How good do you think you are at using "a" and "an" correctly?

Test your skills by playing the "Rags to Riches" game found here: http://www.quia.com/rr/53245.html. Then, come back & report how you did. Don't forget to include your thoughts on the activity. Was it fun? Did you challenge yourself? Would you recommend this activity to others who'd like to practice their "a" versus "an" skills?

Writing-Political Cartoons

Have you ever heard the term "political cartoon" or seen one of these? With all that's going on in politics right now, I bet you have!

Wikipedia.com defines a political cartoon (sometimes called an editorial cartoon) as an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message, that usually relates to current events or personalities.

Let's look at an example.

What does that image say to you? Look at the title shown on the image. It says "World Markets." So you know it's dealing with economics. Next, look down the left side. You see negative percentages. The shape that's used (a spiral) is also significant. To me, this political cartoon is expressing that the world markets seem to be in a downward spiral. Isn't that what you've been seeing & reading on the news lately?

Visit this site: http://www.cagle.com/politicalcartoons/. Once you're there, be sure to scroll down to see all of the cartoons. Find one that you can relate to or maybe one that you've read about recently. Then, come back here and tell us about what the cartoon showed and what current event it was related to.

Commonly Misued Words: Been and Being

The words "been" and "being" have very different meanings & usages. Getting them confused and using the wrong one can really jump out at a reader. So let's spend some time focusing on each one and learning more about them.

Been: This word is pronounced like "bin." It is used as a helping (or auxilary) verb and is the past participle of the verb "be." Here are some examples of the word "been" in a correct sentence.

1.) I have been waiting for 5 hours.
2.) Terrance has been on the varsity football team for a while.
3.) My grandparents have been in the hospital.
4.) You have been a great student.
5.) She has been shopping already.
6.) The test has been completed as of yesterday.

Being: This word is pronounced like "bee-ing." It can be used in various formats including a noun and a present participle. Let's look at some examples of each.

1.) We are all human beings. (noun)
2.) The alien beings are shown in movies. (noun)
3.) I am being a cat for Halloween. (present participle)
4.) You are being a good student by studying. (present participle)
5.) They are being taken to the airport right now. (present participle)
6.) She is being given an award. (present participle)

Here are some helpful hints to use!

** The word "been" will always have either "has" or "have" in front of it. It' s used when talking about something that already happened.

** The word "being" might use "am," "is," "are," "was," or "were" in front of it. It will never have the words "has" or "have" used with it.

Can you correctly use the words "being" and "been" in a sentence? Give it a shot!!!

Writing: Let's End Hunger (Part 1)

Have you ever heard of a website called freerice.com? It's a great site with 2 main goals: to provide education to everyone for free and to help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. How nice would it be to help others while helping yourself?

On that site, you can play vocabulary games. For every question that you answer correctly, the freerice.com website will donate 20 grains of rice through the United Nations' World Food Program to help end hunger.

Your task is to visit the site (freerice.com), play a vocabulary game (or even a few of them), and then report back on your experience! Did you enjoy the site? Was the vocabulary easy or difficult? How many games did you play? How many games did you win by answering correctly

Writing-Word of the Day

I found a neat website called DailyWritingTips.com and on there they have a "word of the day" section. If you click that link above, you're brought to the archive area where you can see past words of the day.

There are tons of great words there that you may not know. I'd like you to visit that site (DailyWritingTips.com/), find a word you do not currently know (or know well), and click on it. When you do that, you'll see the word and its definition. Come back here & post the word plus its definition so we can all learn new words.

I'll start!

Word of the Day: MeritocracyMeritocracy (mĕr’ĭ-tŏk’rə-sē) is a system where the advancement of individuals is based on their performance and ability. American companies, for instance, are said to be more meritocratic than Italian ones, where nepotism (family connections) prevail.

Now you try!

Writing-Be Descriptive!

Did you know that October 10th is "National Cake Decorating Day?" Doesn't that sound fun?

Imagine that you were going to create and decorate a cake to represent you and your personality. What would it look like? What colors would you use? Why did you pick those colors? What kind of decorations (edible or not) would be included on the top? Be as descriptive as possible! Good writing should paint a picture in the reader's mind and that's your task for this blog topic. Are you up to the challenge?

The inside of my cake would be yellow since that's a bright, happy, cheery color. I would make a creamy light blue icing because that's my favorite color and is soothing to the eyes. Lastly, I'd include multi-color sprinkles on top. Sprinkles are fun and always make me smile. Like my cake, I think every day should include those things: happiness, fun, and smiles!

Now describe your cake to me! How delicious and wonderful can you make those words and images?

Writing-Problem Phrases (Part 3)

Let's continue on with our examination of some problem phrases.

Knowing how to use these items correctly will make your writing and speaker even better!

Problem phrase: Couldn't care less

Rule: Be sure to make it negative.

The phrase "I could care less" is incorrect.

Here's an example of how that phrase is used correctly.
I'm not a fan of broccoli. I couldn't care less about how it's cooked. I know I will never like it.

Now you try!

Writing-Problem Phrases (Part 2)

The next problem phrase that you should know about (and be able to use correctly) is below.

Problem phrase: Used to
Rule: Do not omit the "d."

The phrase "use to" is incorrect.

Here's an example of it being correctly used.

I used to love eating ice cream every night.

Now you try it!

Writing-Problem Phrases (Part 1)

In writing (and even speaking), it's important to use your words and phrases correctly.

This next series of blog posts will focus on some commonly misused phrases. These items are ones highlighted on the Weber State University webpage.

Problem phrase: Supposed to
Rule: Do not omit the "d." The phrase "suppose to" is incorrect.

I was supposed to go running today, but the rain stopped me.

Try using it correctly in a sentence!