Why you should care about commas:

A panda walks into a caf. He eats shoots and leaves. A panda walks into a caf. He eats, shoots, and leaves.

The San Fran Earthquake of 1989

There was a major earthquake in San Fransisco in 1989. It must have been a frightening experience for the residents. My grandparents were there, and they could have died when their house collapsed, but they escaped. My grandmothers wedding ring disappeared while she was escaping. It might have come off as she struggled to open the door The quake occurred at rush hour, and many more people should have been on the Nimitz Freeway when part of it fell, crushing cars underneath. However, many people left work early that day, so it may have been much worse. They must have gone home early to watch the World Series on TV. Two local teams were playing, and that coincidence may have saved some lives.

The April 15th Blues

We all have to pay our income taxes by April 15th. The envelope must be at the post office before midnight, and I always get there about 11pm. One problem is that Im very disorganized. My wife says I should keep my records in better order, but I never do. Also, I just dont know enough about taxes. Probably I should hire an accountant to do them for me. Small business owners like me do not have to hire an accountant, but some people say I must hire one if I want to save money.

First Fight
Last year was the first year we were married, and we prepared our tax return together. Big mistake! We should have seen an accountant. For one thing, our records were incomplete and we shouldnt have guessed about some of our expenses. We could have used some professional advice about what to put down. But the main problem was that we made each other crazy. We had our first big fight doing our taxes. Of course, we should not have fought about taxes, but with an accountant, we might have avoided the fight. We certainly could have gotten over it faster.

Why you should care about commas:

The evil queen walked and talked. A half hour after, her head was cut off. The evil queen walked and talked a half hour after her head was cut off.

1. Nate deserved to win/winning the prize for to write/writing that amazing short story about traveling/to travel through Peru. I don't understand him not to receive/his not receiving the award. 2. I can't believe you wanted to go/going fishing/to fish, and you forgot to bring/bringing a fishing pole. How did you expect to catch/catching any fish? Were you just going to sit in the river to try/trying to catch/catching fish with your bare hands? You would have had a hard time doing/to do that! 3. Vince is determined to save/saving enough money to travel/traveling to South Africa next year. If he avoids wasting/to waste his money and manages saving/to save what he needs making/to make the trip, he plans on leaving/to leave in June. 4. When Sam mentioned wanting/to want going/to go swimming/to swim, Nina warned his not going/ him not to go into the river. 5. The Oscar-winning actor avoids talking/to talk to his fans and refuses giving/to give his autograph. Moreover, he has difficulty giving/to give interviews and appears having/to have problems interacting/to interact with other people. Doesn't he seem way too shy being/to be an actor?

1. Nate deserved to win /winning the prize for to write/writing that amazing short story about traveling/to travel through Peru. I don't understand him not to receive/his not receiving the award. 2. I can't believe you wanted to go /going fishing/to fish, and you forgot to bring /bringing a fishing pole. How did you expect to catch/catching any fish? Were you just going to sit in the river to try/trying to catch/catching fish with your bare hands? You would have had a hard time doing/to do that! 3. Vince is determined to save /saving enough money to travel /traveling to South Africa next year. If he avoids wasting /to waste his money and manages saving/ to save what he needs making/ to make the trip, he plans on leaving /to leave in June. 4. When Sam mentioned wanting/to want going/ to go swimming /to swim, Nina warned his not going/ him not to go into the river. 5. The Oscar-winning actor avoids talking /to talk to his fans and refuses giving/ to give his autograph. Moreover, he has difficulty giving /to give interviews and appears having/ to have problems interacting /to interact with other people. Doesn't he seem way too shy being/ to be an actor?

A.

Grammar Final Exam Spring 2012 Clauses & Punctuation Page 1

Directions : Edit the following sentences, paying special attention to correct use of coordinators, subordinators, clauses and punctuation. Examples: 1. We always eat dessert after dinner. Even though Mom says its not very good for our health. 2. Tony and Alexandra are going to climb Mount Everest, is a very high mountain. Directions: Write a sentence using each of the following subordinators or coordinators. Examples: 1. Whenever 2. Unless 3. Yet B. Gerunds & Infinitives Directions : Fill in each blank with either the gerund or the infinitive of the verb in parentheses. 1. It is important _______ (study) in advance for the final exam, and not just the day before. 2. I use the internet often ______ (find) up-to-date news quickly.

C. Passive Voice & Active Voice

Directions : If the sentence is in passive voice, rewrite it in active voice. If the sentence is in active voice, rewrite it in passive voice. Then choose which sentence from each pair is BEST. Example: We dont know who ran over that pedestrian, but we do know that he was run over by a 1998 blue Toyota.

D. Modals

Directions : Edit the following sentences, paying special attention to correct use of modals and tenses. Examples: 1. You should have begin to save your money when you were very young. 2. I dont see your glasses anywhere. You had to forgotten them at home.
Directions : Write one sentence using each of the following modals. Examples: 1. Should have 2. Might

paint write manufacture first see

discover invent build climb kill cause grow eat make shoot assassinate destroy

1. Romeo and Juliet ______________________Shakespeare. 2. San Francisco __________________ an earthquake in 1906. 3. More traffic accidents ___________________ drunk drivers than anything else. 4. The Sistine Chapel ___________________ Michelangelo. 5. The Mona Lisa ___________________ Leonardo da Vinci. 6. Rice ___________________ Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese. 7. The light bulb ___________________ Edison. 8. The Law of Gravity ___________________ Newton.

One last complete the sentence

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. If I could have any job in the world, I When I become fluent in English, I Before Ms. Maddie leaves Morocco, she I will graduate from Fes-Saiss if If I could go anywhere in the world, I