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Culture Documents
Grammar Workshop
Grammar Workshop
Vocabulary
Parts of Speech
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Conjunction
Preposition
Interjection
To sum up :
Put a full stop at the end of a complete
statement.
Do not connect two statements with a
comma.
To sum up :
Use a question mark at the end of a
direct question.
Do not use a question mark at the end
of an indirect question.
Use an internal question mark to show
that something is uncertain.
To sum up :
Don't use an exclamation mark unless it's
absolutely necessary.
Use an exclamation mark after an
exclamation, especially after one
beginning with what or how.
A final point!
Note that a full stop, a question mark or
an exclamation mark is never preceded
by a space.
Ex : How well has Darwin's theory stood
up ?
A sentence-final punctuation mark is
always written next to the last word of
the sentence.
The comma
The comma (,) is very frequently used
and very frequently used wrongly.
Ex :
The Three Musketeers were Athos,
Porthos and Aramis.
You can fly to Bombay via Moscow, via
Athens or via Cairo.
Lisa speaks French, Juliet speaks Italian
and I speak Spanish.
To sum up :
Use a listing comma in a list wherever
you could conceivably use the word and
(or or) instead. Do not use a listing
comma anywhere else.
Put a listing comma before and or or only
if this is necessary to make your meaning
clear.
Ex :
Ram has applied to join the army, and
Laxman is expected to do the same.
You must hand in your essay by Friday, or
you will receive a mark of zero.
France has long been isolated in Europe,
but now she is beginning to find allies.
Ex :
Saturn was long thought to be the only
ringed planet, however, this is now
known not to be the case.
Two members of the expedition were
too ill to continue, nevertheless the
others decided to press on.
Bracketing commas
Bracketing commas (also called isolating
commas) do a very different job from the
other three types.
The rule :
A pair of bracketing commas is used to
mark off a weak interruption of the
sentence - that is, an interruption which
does not disturb the smooth flow of the
sentence.
Dash?
Ex :
These findings, we would suggest, cast
doubt upon his hypothesis.
Darwin's Origin of Species, published in
1859, revolutionized biological thinking.
We have been forced to conclude, after
careful study of the data, that the
proposed correlations, in spite of their
obvious appeal, do not stand up.
Nonrestrictive clause :
Margaret Thatcher, who hated trains,
refused to consider privatizing the
railways.
Noam Chomsky is the originator of the
innateness hypothesis, according to
which we are born already knowing what
human languages are like.
Restrictive clause :
Anybody who still believes that Uri Geller
has strange powers should read James
Randi's book.
Because of problems with the test, all
the people who were told they were HIVnegative are being recalled.
To sum up :
Use a listing comma in a list where and
or or would be possible instead.
The colon
The colon (:) is never preceded by a
white space; it always followed by a
single space in normal use, and it is
never, never, never followed by a hyphen
or a dash.
The colon is used to indicate that what
follows it is an explanation or elaboration
of what precedes it.
Ex :
Africa is facing a terrifying problem:
perpetual drought.
[Explains what the problem is.]
We found the place easily: your
directions were perfect.
[Explains why we found it easily.]
Other uses :
when you cite the name of a book which
has both a title and a subtitle, you should
separate the two with a colon:
I recommend Chinnery's book Oak
Furniture: The British Tradition.
You should do this even though no colon
may appear on the cover or the title
page of the book itself.
The semicolon
The semicolon (;) is used to join two
complete sentences into a single written
sentence when all of the following conditions
are met:
1. The two sentences are felt to be too closely
related to be separated by a full stop; 2.
There is no connecting word which would
require a comma, such as and or but; 3. The
special conditions requiring a colon are
absent.
Ex:
It was the best of times. It was the worst
of times
It was the best of times, and it was the
worst of times.
It was the best of times; it was the worst
of times.
Other oddities
He gave him a good night kiss.
This is a well thought out essay.
Her face turned an ugly brick red.
The earliest known hominid was Homo
habilis.
She recovered the sofa.
S-V-N-P-N-G agreement.
Correct use of the tense.
Correct use of adjective.
Position of adverb.
Preposition
Article
Usage
Vocabulary