LAE 4332/6644 Grammar for Teachers - Final Happy Fun Paper

Name: ______________________

1.
a) Give three examples of a word that can be both a noun and a verb.

b) Choose one example from above and create two different sentences: One sentence
using the noun version of the word, another sentence using the verb version.

c) Explain how one word can be both a noun and a verb. Feel free to use the sentence
you created as an example.

2.
a) Write a sentence using the passive voice.

b) Explain why a writer might choose to use the passive instead of the active voice.

3. Identifying sentence patterns

a) Create a sentence using the sentence pattern #2 (subject/be verb/subject complement).

b) Create a sentence using sentence pattern #5 (subject/transative verb/indirect

object/direct object).

4. Find the border between the subject and the predicate of the sentences; then supply a pronoun
for the subject.
a) Theodore Roosevelt was the first American winner of the Nobel Prize. ( )
b) Voters elected Roosevelt to be president of the United States in 1904. ( )
c) New York City is where the 26th president was born. ( )

5. What function do adverbs serve? Circle one answer.

 When
 Where
 How
 Manner
 All of the above

6. What function do adjectives not serve? Circle one.

 Which one
  How big
 What sort
 What purpose
 All of the above

7. Antecedent Ambiguity: Is the sentence clear enough? Revise the sentences with ambiguous
antecedents to make them more clear.

a) When Marcus drove his motorcycle into the pier, it took thousands of dollars to
repair.

b) Emmanuel loves his baby and his wife very much, it cries frequently, however.

c) Margot and Stevie took the two boys on their favorite carnival ride at the state fair
last weekend.

8. True or False: Do not use a comma with a coordinating conjunction when it joins two
required sentence units.
a. True
b. False

9. Revise the following sentence by substituting correlatives for the coordinating conjunctions
using both-and, either-or, neither-nor, not only, but also.
“It is important to work hard and be positive to achieve your dreams

10. Change this sentence to make it parallel

“I was going to either see a comedy or a drama.”

11. Which correlative could you add to the sentence below?

“Sandals and flip flops are open-toed shoes”
a. Neither
b. Nor
c. Both
d. Either

12. Choose the correct verb:

“Either the children or the chaperone (check/checks) to make sure the bags are off the bus.”
a. Check
 b. Checks

13. Place the comma in the sentence.

“When she was little the woman played baseball and soccer.”

14. All of the following describe the function of prepositional phrases except one. Choose the
incorrect description.
a. Prepositional phrases provide additional information about the setting
b. Prepositional phrases show actions and movement
c. Prepositional phrases describe the manner or reason of/for the action
d. Prepositional phrases tell the duration of an action

15. Each sentence features a prepositional phrase except one. Which sentence does not contain a
prepositional phrase?
a. Sally placed the book on the table.
b. Kobi snatched the pencil and began to write furiously.
c. Janie slid the pot under the sink.
d. Llane in the grass and watched his friends play

16. True or False: Adverbials have high movability.

a. True
b. False

17. What are two functions of adverbials? Please give examples for each.

18. Rewrite the sentences so the because-clause does not create a sentence fragment:
“Everyone had to wait a long time to be helped at the office. Because appointments were not
available.”

19. Combine the two sentences into one sentence using adverbial clauses. You can reword the
sentences if needed.

There was a local concert Sunday night. Many high schoolers were absent from class
Monday morning.

20. First underline the adverbial structures. Then identify the form of each (adverb phrase, noun
phrase, prepositional phrase, infinitive phrase, or dependent clause). Finally, identify the
information it provides (time, frequency, duration, place, purpose, reason, manner, condition,
direction).
 a. To improve my health, I often eat healthy meals.

b. The wedding started early that afternoon.

c. Because the weather was unusually rainy, people stayed in doors.

21. Adjectivals are___of nouns. Circle one.

a. Determiners
b. Modifiers
c. Clauses
d. Part

22. Another form of the verb that functions as a nominal is the ___. Circle one and give an
example.
a. Gerund
b. Participle
c. Infinitive
d. Nominal Verb

23. Is this sentence restrictive or non-restrictive? If it is non-restrictive, where would you place
the comma?

“The group of thieves in Memphis were hoping that the house was empty.”

24. What is a sentence appositive normally punctuated with?

a. Dash
b. Comma
c. Semi-Colon
d. Colon

25. One of the most common nominal clauses is introduced by the word___.
a. was
b. that
c. by
d. their

26. When a phrase with a verb form opens the sentence, the subject of that verb will be the ___
of the sentence. (Ex. In answering this question, you will ace this test)
27. Antithesis is used in writing to add impact using two opposing ideas. Identify the opposing
ideas in the examples below:
a. We only live once but we sit many, many times.
b. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
c. There was never a good war, or a bad peace.
d. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person
from another.

28. Identify the sentence that interrupts the parallelism in the paragraph below, then explain why
you believe this sentence interrupts the parallel structure.

"It paused and stared intently at something that wasn't there. Then it went down into a low
crouch and moved slowly forward, two or three steps. It seemed to be stalking an invisible
mouse. Abruptly, it turned tail and dashed for the woods. It vanished among the trees. Coraline
wondered what the cat had meant."
-Coraline, Neil Gaimain

29. Make the following sentence parallel:

“Michael likes skating, running, and bike rides.

30. Underline examples of antithesis in this paragraph from Charles Dickens:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of
Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way.”

31. Determine if the sentence is active voice or passive voice:

“New York is known for its delicious pizza.”

32. Rewrite the following sentence in a way that maintains the gerund without dangling:
“Having slept in, the thought of going to class seemed daunting to John.”

33. Which of the two sentences is passive voice?

a. Jill ate six shrimp for dinner.
b. Six shrimp were eaten by Jill at dinnertime.
34. Give an example of parallel structure in a sentence by describing a day with the following
activities:
Watching a movie, A trip to the park, a phone call with your mother

35. Improve the flow of the following sentences. Answers may vary.
“He took another step, but he was still in the glen. There were high ferns, and elm trees, and
foxgloves in abundance, and the moon had set in the sky. He held up the candle, looking for
a fallen star, a rock, perhaps, or a jewel, but he saw nothing.”

36. Replace the vague pronouns:

The women had to take care of the children during the week. They were going stir crazy locked
in the house and their brains were going out the window.

37. What is the end-focus in the following sentence?

“The common cold is caused by a virus”
a. Virus
b. Common
c. Cold
d. The

38. Rewrite the sentence from the previous question to shift end-focus to a different word.

39. Which of the following is NOT a correlative conjunction?

a. Either, or
b. Neither, nor
c. Both, not-only

40. Rewrite the following sentences to utilize the It OR What cleft:

“The dog barked loudly.”

“The weather was great.”

41. Which of the following is a metaphor?
a. Time is money
b. All the world’s a stage
c. He is a shining star
d. All of the above

42. Which of the following is a definition for an idiom?

a. A set phrase whose meaning cannot be predicted from the separate meaning of the
words.
b. Comparing something using like or as
c. A noun-plus-participle phrase.

43. Check for subject-verb agreement. Edit where necessary.

a. Some of the stray cats that lives in my apartment complex was meowing loudly on
my back patio.

b. If the captain of the football team does not scores a touchdown, what were the point
of reinstating him to that position?

c. The chocolate cupcakes my grandmother baked for my birthday was eaten three days
before my party.

44. Change the class of these words using affixes. Answers will vary.
a. Compete —> __________ (Verb —> Adjective)
b. Grow —> _____________ (Verb —> Noun)
c. Integrate —> ___________ (Verb —>Nominalization/Noun)
d. Effect —> _____________ (Noun —> Adverb)
e. Spite —> ______________(Verb —> Adjective)
f. Satisfaction —> _________ (Noun —> Verb)

45. Replace underlined words with one word. Answers will vary.
a. The traffic on Hillsborough Ave is very crowded during rush hour.

b. Tony Stark was really brave when he saved the universe, and the world experienced a
very big loss when he died.

c. I will graduate next spring after a(n) very hard time getting through my courses these
past few years.
46. Describe the difference between “its” and “it’s.” Answers will vary.

47. Correct the pronoun problems in the following sentences. Answers will vary.
a. My husband and me were thinking of going on vacation, but with that, we realized we
needed a babysitter.

b. I myself do not like grammar exams, because it often fail to replicate grammar’s
practical application.

48. Compare the following sentences. How are they different? Answers will vary.
o Reading Poe’s stories this semester has turned my dreams funny. I think I hear the
Raven cawing in my sleep.
o Reading Poe’s stories this semester has turned my dreams funny — I think I hear
the Raven cawing in my sleep.

49. Please put the punctuation marks back into the sentences. Some punctuation is
interchangeable. (Only sentence-end marks have been retained.) Answers will vary.

“In the beginning during observations the students in my host teachers class were covering
Hamlet. I remember feeling a bit lost frustrated and even inferior because as a high school
student I never went over Shakespearean works like Hamlet Macbeth etc. For growth I have
realized that I need to familiarize myself more with certain Shakespearean texts even though I
originally had no intention to teach Shakespeare. I did not know anything about Hamlet before
observing this class but now that I have I see that the text can be used to enhance the students
language arts and reading skills in a variety of ways. I used to be uninterested and intimidated by
Shakespearean text simply because they seemed “dry” and overused I figured if I was not
passionate about teaching it my students would not care to learn it.

50. What is the most important thing you learned about grammar from this course? Answers will
vary.

Congratulations! You are now a grammar guru. 

Please remember to fill out a course evaluation before you leave.