Summer Skills-July 5, 2023

A Big Hello to Everyone! I hope you're having a great week. It's nice to finally see some sun, and I truly hope this continues for a bit! The following exercises are more review work to keep your grammar skills sharp! Please continue to feel free to send me your answers and essays (on the writing form), and I will send you any corrections and edits. I have received some nice essays so far, and I am happy to see so many of you working hard beyond regular school hours! Keep up the great work!

Part One:
Subject Work
Directions: Please select the subject(s) in each sentence below. Remember that there may be more than one per sentence, so check to be sure the main verb works best with the subject you choose.
Example:
Matt and Issa played basketball all day.
Matt and Issa (without the word "and") make up the compound subject in this sentence. The main verb or predicate is played, which works with both Matt and Issa. 

Your Turn:
1. Sheralyn, a crossing guard for the children, worked Monday through Friday every morning of the school year.  Subject: __________________________________
2. Kenika and Jill selected some nice back-to-school clothes from Macy's yesterday.
Subject: _____________________________________________
3. There were two boys waiting for ice cream at the new store.
Subject: (Hint: The subject is NOT there, which is an adverb! Ask yourself which noun or pronoun in the sentence is doing the action!) ___________________________________
4. Dave and Domenic, two young men from Somerville, were picked to play in the NFL!
Subject: ______________________________________________
5. The quick and compassionate firefighters were able to guide an entire family out of a burning building. Subject: ______________________________________
6. There are four puppies waiting for adoption at the MSPCA. 
Subject: ______________________________________________
7. Where is your new house located? Subject: ________________________________
(Hint: Flip the question into a statement to make it easier to find both the subject and the verb!)
8. My summer dress was a lovely shade of purple! Subject: ________________________
9. Did you find your lost keys? Subject: ______________________________________
10. The pancakes, French Toast, eggs, and bacon were cooked to perfection!
Subject: _________________________________________________________________

Part Two:
​Find the Appositives Above!
Directions: In the ten sentences above (in Part One), you will find two appositives. Write them in the spaces provided below.

Remember: An appositive is a word or group of words that renames a noun in a sentence. 
Example: Massachusetts, our home state, has been very rainy this summer.

Our home state is the appositive because it is renaming Massachusetts. It is another way to refer to Massachusetts! You could use it in place of Massachusetts, and the sentence would still make sense, as in the following:

Our home state has been very rainy this summer.

You could also remove the appositive, and the rest of the sentence would make sense, as well.

Massachusetts has been very rainy this summer.

Now find the two appositives in Part One, and list them on these lines:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part Three:
Phrase Work
Directions: Please find the prepositional phrases in the sentences below. Write them on the line that follows.

Example: The people at the concert were clapping wildly!
At the concert is a prepositional phrase that shows position. It begins with the preposition at, and it tells where the people were. This means it is an adverb phrase of place, as well. 

Your Turn:
1. It was difficult to resist the delicious ice cream at the carnival. 
_______________________________________________________________________
2. Where in the front yard did you find your keys?
_______________________________________________________________________
3. I love to spend a day at the beach!
_______________________________________________________________________
4. Do you prefer to be in the sand or by the shore? (Hint: There are two in this one!)
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
5. I bought so many books from Barnes and Noble!
_______________________________________________________________________

Part Four: 
Clause Work
Directions: Please find the clauses in the sentences below! Remember that a clause differs from a phrase in that it contains a verb and usually begins with a conjunction!

Example: The house that Taylor almost bought last year was for sale once again.
The clause in bold print provides extra information about the house, but it does not rename it. It also includes the word bought, which is a verb; this tells me it cannot be a phrase! Also, that is used as a conjunction!

Try these:
1. Sally and Rowena went down to the Cape, but they could not find a place to stay!
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Our neighbor's grass never seems to grow, yet she mows it every single week.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. If I call this number, will I get a person or a machine on my phone?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Do not leave your house until you hear from me!
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. My sister took a nice vacation, and she relaxed and had a great time!
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

BONUS: Which of the above clauses are independent clauses (meaning they can stand alone) and which ones are dependent (meaning they must rely on the rest of the sentence to make sense)?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

I hope you had fun with these exercises, and I look forward to receiving your work! Have a wonderful evening!
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