Grade 9 Grammar 4 - Punctuation & Spelling

A. Punctuation - commas, periods, semi-colons

Use periods at the end of a _____________ and after most abbreviations.

Semi-colons are stronger breaks than commas, but not as complete as ___________. They separate
independent clauses that are related and longer items in a series.
Four uses of commas include
(1) separate items in a series of three or more.
(2) separate nonessential words from the rest of the sentence – John, my friend from school, is great.
(3) put before ____________________ conjunctions (FANBOYS) when they connect two independent clauses.
(4) put after a word or group of words that come before an independent clause – Sue, you're not here!
A comma splice error occurs when two closely related but independent sentences are joined by a
___________ . To correct a comma splice error either punctuate each independent clause
as a sentence (with a period or semi-colon), use a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) or
use a connecting word to subordinate one of the independent clauses (the less important one).
Put Quotation Marks around the exact words of a speaker, quotations of less than 3 lines, around titles
of poems, short stories, essays, articles, chapters, songs, and television programs.
Use Apostrophes to indicate either _______________ or possession of nouns.
In Contractions (two words shortened into one by dropping a letter), put the apostrophe in the place of
the missing letter.
Most nouns are made possessive by adding 's. If the word results in a double or triple s, erase the
last s, leaving the apostrophe in place. Do NOT use apostrophes with possessive pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns such as everyone, anybody, someone, etc. require apostrophes when they are
possessive.

Identify the mistakes in the following sentences as either comma splice (CS), run-on (RO) or
apostrophe problems (AP). Correct each mistake.

1. John is very kind, he helps people in need almost everywhere.

2. My dog is obedient he has been well trained.

3. Many players uniforms are red

4. Its nice to see you again

5. My dog is obedient, he has been well trained.

6. The dog is chasing its tail.

7. Everyones case will be handled differently.

B. Spelling Rules – Write one or two examples for each rule below.

1. Final e
– drop the final, silent e when adding an ending that begins with a __________.

- keep the final, silent e when adding an ending that begins with a ____________ .

2. Doubling final consonant – when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, double the final
consonant of the root word if the word
- ends with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel and
- is stressed on the last syllable

3. ie or ei?
write i before e except after c or when pronounced ay as in neighbour or weigh

4. The letter q is always followed by the letter ______ .

5. When a suffix is added to a word ending in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to ___ .
When a suffix is added to a word ending in y preceded by a vowel, the y usually does not
change.

6. Plural Nouns
Most nouns add ________ .
Nouns ending in sh, s, z, x, or ch (except when it is pronounced 'k') – add _______ .
Nouns ending in y preceded by by a consonant – change y to _____ and add ______ .
Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel, add _______ .
Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant , add _______ or ________ - check dictionary.
list a few -
Nouns ending in f or fe - either add _____ or change the ____ to ____ and add _______ .
list a few -
Some nouns have the same form for both plural and singular – list a few

7. Some irregular plural spellings – list a few

8. List a few words that sound similar, but are spelled differently – affect/effect etc.
C. Choose the correct spelling for the following words.

1. Learning about the (effects, affects) of caffeine (effected, affected) my coffee-drinking habits.

2. Everyone (accept, except) John (accepted, excepted) my explanation.

3. I (advice, advise) you not to listen to free (advice, advise).

4. Farley Mowat and Alice Munro (are, our) two of (are, our) best-known writers.

5. (Its, It’s) really not difficult to see that the dog has lost all (its, it’s) energy.

6. Karim is a better speller (than, then) I am.

7. (Who’s, Whose) paper is this?

8. How many people are coming to (they’re, thier, their) party?

9. We'll (meet, meat) at Place at six. See you (than, then).

10. If you insist on carrying out our former plan, (then, than) I'll have no choice but to (choose, chose)
to comply.

11. The party last night was very (amuseing, amusing).

12. I didn't appreciate your pushing me. You should not be so (forceful, forcful).

13. Our education is (equiping, equipping) us for future success.

14. When can we expect to (recieve, receive) our test marks?

15. I would have (achieved, acheived) a good mark, but (thieves, theives) broke into my house and
stole my essay.

16. She should get a (sizeable, sizable) amount of money (immediately, immediatly).

17. Her (lonelyness, loneliness) has become unbearable.

18. We just went shopping for (pianos, pianoes) for the (twentyeth, twentieth) time this week!

19. The teacher (admited, admitted) to (quizing, quizzing) his students twice a week.

20. The students (rebeled, rebelled) against being (testted, tested) so often.