English 104/Spring 2013
Assignment Sheet #5: Final Test Review
I will not be collecting this homework. We’ll go over it in class, and you can keep it to study for the
final. Please ask a lot of questions in class!
Due Thursday, June 6: Read Writers’ Choices, Ch. 18 (pp. 241-247). Do Sentence Combining #1-10 on
pp. 247-248. Do “On Your Own” #1-4 on p. 249 (for each item, write only one sentence for a total of
four sentences).
Today you will form groups of 4-5 people (we need six groups total). You will work with this group for
the rest of the week. At the beginning of class for the next three days, I will assign specific items from
the review for each group to write on the board. Each group should create a clever group name using
grammatical terms.
Due Friday, June 7: Complete review questions #1-6 and #12-22.
Due Monday, June 10: Complete review questions #7-11 and #23-31.
Due Tuesday, June 11: Complete the additional review material at the end of this handout.
Thursday, June 13: Final Exam from 1-3pm. You may use two pages of notes (must be handwritten
by you!) and a dictionary (book, not electronic).
Review Questions
Diagram:
1. To avoid insulting his hosts, Larry decided that he should try to eat all the strange food that they
put in front of him.
2. After trying the deep-fried chicken feet, he felt fine, but it was a little harder to make himself try
the pickled beef tongue.
3. Trying to swallow the beef tongue, Larry felt so sick that he left the table while the host was
proposing a toast.
4. In his toast, the host was saying that cultural differences among people could be more difficult to
overcome than political differences.
5. Regular exercise both gives people a healthy appetite and lets them stay attractive.
6. If chosen by the committee, you will be notified by a registered letter which will tell you where to
pick up your prize.
7. Shopping being the great American pastime, malls on Saturday nights are crowded with people
trying to have a good time by spending money.
8. Upon hearing about the coming storm, Lee decided that it would be wise to purchase some
candles and a portable radio.
9. To obtain approval of higher tax rates, the President argued that they will mainly affect people
earning annual incomes above one hundred thousand dollars.
10. During its first year, the Simpsons’ marriage was happy, but after that, it became clear that they
had extremely different ideas about spending money.
11. People who love language often find sentence diagramming fun; others consider it torture.
12. Prepositional phrases/adverbs (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 2): Do you know when to use a prepositional
phrase to highlight something or to avoid an awkward series of adverbs? Combine: (a) People
listened to the news about a possible volcanic eruption. (b) The listening was anxious. (c) The
anxiety was increasing.
13. Appositives (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 3): Are you able to put information in an appositive when that
is most efficient? Combine: (a) Prozac has side effects that many people are not warned about. (b)
Prozac is a widely prescribed anti-depressant.
14. Adjectives/appositive adjectives (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 3): Do you know when it might be
desirable to place adjectives in an appositive position and when to leave them in standard position?
Combine: (a) The wedding set a happy tone for the marriage. (b) The wedding was an outdoor
wedding. (c) It was a simple wedding. (d) It was a tasteful wedding. (e) It was a high-spirited
wedding.
15. S-LV-SC pattern (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 6): Do you know how to use this pattern to make a simple
statement that something equals something else? Revise: Mt. Rainier has a quality of majesty on a
cold, clear morning. Revise: Sam likes to tell lies.
16. S-TV-DO pattern (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 7): Do you know how to use a strong transitive verb to
avoid unnecessary prepositional phrases and expletives? Rewrite: There is a strong preference in me
for cookies in which there are nuts.
17. S-TV-IO-DO pattern (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 8): Do you know when it might be best to put
something in an indirect object and when it might be best to put it in a prepositional phrase?
Combine: (a) Chris wrote a letter to the company. (b) He wrote a letter in which he complained
bitterly about unfair treatment.
18. S-TV-DO-OC pattern. (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 9): Do you know how to choose a verb that can link a
direct object and an object complement? Do you know when it might be desirable to move the
object complement from its normal position and place it before the direct object? Combine: (a)
Some people have an opinion about shopping malls. (b) The opinion is that shopping malls are
depressing in their sameness. Combine: (a) The courts made a declaration about the agreement
among major cable TV companies to raise their rates for the second time in one year. (b) The
declaration was that this was illegal.
19. Passive voice (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 10): Can you use passive voice to improve coherence between
two sentences? Rewrite sentence b to create coherence with sentence a: (a) A Harvard Medical
School study demonstrated that eating a lot of tomato products reduces one’s chances of getting
prostate cancer. (b) Manufacturers of spaghetti sauce welcomed the study.
20. Adverb clauses (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 11): Do you know how to punctuate adverb clauses
depending on where they occur in a sentence -- beginning, middle, or end? Do you know how to
position an adverb clause in the middle of a sentence so as to place it as close as possible to a word or
idea it modifies? Do you know how to use elliptical clauses that don’t dangle (p. 128)? Combine: (a)
Edna is so afraid of flying that she needs special sessions with a therapist and a hypnotist. (b) She
needs these when she absolutely has to fly. Combine: (a) I saw an accident. (b) I was driving to work
at the time.
21. Relative clauses (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 12): Do you know how to put information into a relative
clause that could interrupt the flow of a paragraph if it were in a separate sentence? Do you know
how to determine if a relative clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive, and how to punctuate it?
Combine (place focus on starred sentence): *(a) Michael Jackson was very popular in the 1980’s. (b)
Michael Jackson wrote many award-winning songs.
22. Noun clauses (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 13): Do you know when to use a noun clause in its normal
position (as subject, say, or direct object) and when to use it as a delayed subject or direct object?
Combine: (a) You refuse to apologize. (b) This is frustrating. Combine: (a) A little-noticed part of a
new law has permitted logging to resume in old-growth forests in Oregon. (b) This is a terrible
development.
23. Gerund phrases (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 14): Do you know how to use gerunds in making general
observations about actions or states of being? Combine: (a) Someone starts a war. (b) This is easier
than for someone to end it. Combine: (a) Sue talked to her roommate about her troubles. (b) After
this, she felt better.
24. Participle phrases (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 15): Do you know how to use participle phrases to add
details to a sentence? Do you know how to make sure a participle phrase doesn’t dangle? Combine:
(a) Brian cleaned the house with his usual thoroughness. (b) He moved each piece of furniture. (c)
He dusted each picture frame. Combine: (a) He was alarmed by the sound of footsteps downstairs.
(b) He immediately called 911.
25. Infinitive phrases (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 16): Do you know how to use infinitive phrases to tighten
the syntax and focus of a sentence? Do you know how to place adverb infinitive phrases for
maximum emphasis? Revise: “We hope that notifying you will be possible by next week.” Combine:
(a) He wrote her letters. (b) He sent her gifts. (c) He spent hours fixing her car. (d) His aim was that
he would win her heart.
26. Nominative absolutes (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 17): Do you know how to use nominative absolutes
to “zoom in” on a detail? Do you know how to use them to show a time or causal relation? Combine:
(a) The boxer climbed out of the ring. (b) His right eye was blue and swollen. (c) His lip was puffed
up. Combine: (a) Julie’s hands were trembling. (b) Julie dropped her keys. Which of these
nominative absolutes shows detail and which shows cause?
27. Coordination, parallelism, and balance (Writers’ Choices, Ch. 18): Can you construct sentences in
which elements are coordinated and made parallel? Can you properly use coordinate correlative
conjunctions such as both. . . and and not only. . . but also? (a) Complete the following sentence with
a structure that parallels the ones already in the sentence: “Felix promised that he would stop
coming late to work, that he would start being more polite to his co-workers,
____________________________.” (b) Complete the following with a coordinate structure: “Felix
not only used to come to work late _____________________.”
28. Compound elements: Can you distinguish between sentences that contain compound elements
(compound subject, compound verb, etc.) and compound sentences? Do you know how to punctuate
each kind of sentence? In the following sentences, a short blank indicates a point of coordination;
decide whether a comma, a semicolon or period, or nothing is required at that point: (a) The
Republicans keep telling the President he should cut spending even more ___ but do not tell him
where he should cut it. (b) When I had a lot of money, I thought I had many friends ___ but when I
became poor, I discovered who my real friends were. (c) Some people think ancient bones near the
Columbia River should belong to the Indians who live in that region ___ others believe the bones may
pre-date the Indians and should be scientifically analyzed.
29. Please fill in the blanks below with sentence structures that are coordinated, parallel, or balanced
with other structures in the sentence:
(a) When studying, I like to be alone;________________________.
(b) Either you will start showing up to work on time___________________________.
(c) The Governor’s popularity has fallen among both Democrats and _________________.
(d) Carol’s excellent job performance earned her a bonus check from the company, a
congratulatory letter
from her boss, _______________________________________.
(e) Love me or _______________.
30. If a sentence contains a dangling modifier, rewrite it correctly. It if is correct, write “C” in the
space.
(a) Impressed by the young performer’s ability, a special scholarship was awarded to her by the
judges.
(b) Understanding that American leadership was essential in the Bosnia peace process, the
President committed American troops to help in the process.
(c) Knowing that a letter from a handsome young man in New Zealand awaited her, the young
woman’s steps quickened as she approached her house.
(d) Running across the “Finish” line yards ahead of the other runners, loud cheering greeted
Lena.
31. Some of the sentences below contain participle phrases; some contain relative clauses. Some of
the phrases or clauses are nonrestrictive and should be set off by commas and some are restrictive
and should not be set off by commas. Write “nonrestrictive” or “restrictive” next to each sentence;
add commas to the sentences with nonrestrictive clauses or phrases.
(a) Camels which have two humps are more comfortable to ride than camels with only one.
(b) The State of Washington which borders the Pacific usually gets mild weather.
(c) Some people feel that everybody who purchases a gun should have a background check by
the police.
(d) My oldest brother who is a member of the National Rifle Association opposes almost any
restriction of gun ownership.
(e) An airplane carrying a full load of passengers and luggage uses much more fuel than a halfempty one.
(f) AIDS once considered a homosexual’s disease has now become a real danger for
heterosexuals who practice unsafe sex.
Additional Review Material (for Tuesday, June 11)
Diagram:
1. It is very hard to imagine any concept of manliness that does not belittle women, and it begins
very early. (Paul Theroux, from “Being a Man”)
2. Most people think that the principal problem is that writers are too proud of what they have
written. (Donald M. Murray, from “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscript”)
3. Behind the newspaper Julian was withdrawing into the inner compartment of his mind where he
spent most of his time. (Flannery O’Connor, from “Everything That Rises Must Converge”)
4. He was standing at the gate, his peaked cap pushed back on his head and his hair tumbled
forward over a face of bronze. (James Joyce, from “Eveline”)
Follow the instructions carefully for each item below:
5. Combine the following two sentences by reducing one to a relative clause. Keep the focus on the
sentence with an asterisk (*). Punctuate carefully. *(a) Students were given extra credit. (b) The
students participated in Making Learning Visible.
6. Combine, using either adverbs or a prepositional phrase: (a) The young pianist played the
Chopin waltz. (b) The playing was passionate. (c) The passion was intense.
7. Combine into S-TV-DO-OC pattern, being sure to place the OC in the best possible position: (a)
The employees made a declaration about the management’s decision to start requiring overtime
without advance notice. (b) The declaration was that this decision was unacceptable.
8. Compose a sentence with a noun clause as a delayed subject.
9. Compose a sentence with an elliptical adverb clause.
10. Compose a sentence with a nominative absolute phrase that shows detail.
11. Rewrite the sentence below, incorporating the following adjectives to modify “student”: young,
studious, motivated, chemistry. Place the adjectives in normal and/or appositive positions:
The student earned a 4.0 in the class.
12. If a sentence contains a dangling modifier, rewrite it correctly. If it is correct, write “C” in the
space.
(a) Having finished the difficult crossword puzzle, the morning coffee break was over.
(b) Surprised by the bitterness of the fruit, the grapefruit was left on the plate.