GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Capitalize names of people, titles
used in front of a person’s name,
places, days, months, holidays, and
special events.
VOCABULARY TERM:
aborigine (n) – an original inhabitant
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The Pilgrims celebrated the first
thanksgiving in plymouth
massachusetts with the aborigines of
the New World.
VOCABULARY TERM:
altercation (n) – a noisy dispute
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The altercation on tuesday between
joe and sam was recorded on cell
phones and posted on the internet.
VOCABULARY TERM:
amalgam (n) – a mixture of different
elements
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
My neighbor, ms. smith, includes an
amalgam of ingredients in her famous
apple pie that she serves for
christmas.
VOCABULARY TERM:
ambrosial (adj) – delicious; fragrant;
divine
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The food in athens, greece was
ambrosial.
VOCABULARY TERM:
ambulatory (n) – a mixture of different
elements
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The doctor told mr. jones that he would
not be ambulatory after his surgery in
october.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Capitalize names of nationalities,
peoples, languages, direction
words referring to parts of the
country, and the name of a school
subject if it comes from the name
of a country or is followed by a
Roman numeral.
VOCABULARY TERM:
amphibious (n) – able to function on land
and in water
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Sammy was always in the pool and was
nearly amphibious while his family
was on vacation up north.
VOCABULARY TERM:
androgynous (adj) – having both male
and female characteristics
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The polish public restrooms are often
androgynous in the northern part of
the country.
VOCABULARY TERM:
aperture (n) – an opening; a hole
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
In yearbook I, students learned about
the aperture of the cameras they were
using.
VOCABULARY TERM:
apex (n) – the highest point
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The student from Biology fell from the
apex of the mountain that was located
in the south of the country.
VOCABULARY TERM:
apparition (n) – an unusual or
unexpected sight
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The article in the chinese newspaper
reported that an apparition
caused the uproar in chemistry III class.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Capitalize names, the first word and all
important words in the titles of books,
plays, newspapers, articles, paintings,
periodicals, movies, musical compositions,
poems, and other works of art, references
to religions, denominations, sacred works,
books of the Bible, deities or prophets. Do
not capitalize god or goddesses when it
refers to the gods of mythology.
VOCABULARY TERM:
appendage (n) – something attached to a
larger item
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
In the terminator movies, victims often
lose their appendages.
VOCABULARY TERM:
arcane (adj) – secret; mysterious
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Many methodists believe that gods like
zeus from mythology are arcane.
VOCABULARY TERM:
archetype (n) – the original pattern or
model
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
In the bible, the fall of Adam and Eve
from innocence is an example of an
archetype.
VOCABULARY TERM:
ballyhoo (n) – a noisy, attention-getting
demonstration or talk
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Many religious groups staged a
ballyhoo outside the theater at the
release of Harry Potter and the order of
the phoenix.
VOCABULARY TERM:
bedlam (n) – uproar; confusion
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The bedlam caused by Johns altercation
with Kyra upset the entire school for
the remainder of the day.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Use apostrophes to show
ownership, form contractions,
and in place of omitted numbers
in a year.
VOCABULARY TERM:
bellicose (adj) – warlike; quarrelsome
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The students bellicose behavior made
the teacher send him out of class.
VOCABULARY TERM:
billet-doux (n) – a love letter
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The billet-doux taped to Sallys locker
wasnt the first one she had received
from Tom.
VOCABULARY TERM:
bizarre (adj) – out of the ordinary;
eccentric; freakish
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Students in the class of 09 thought the
new teachers cat tie that he wore every
day was very bizarre.
VOCABULARY TERM:
bombast (n) – pretentious, inflated
speech or writing
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The political campaigns of 08 were full
of bombast.
VOCABULARY TERM:
bona fide (adj) – made in good faith;
genuine
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The teenagers bona fide offer to wash
the dishes.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Fragments may lack a subject,
verb, or both, or may be
punctuated incorrectly to form an
incomplete thought.
VOCABULARY TERM:
boudoir (n) – a woman’s dressing room,
bedroom, or private sitting room
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The boudoir in the mansion.
VOCABULARY TERM:
brouhaha (n) – hubbub; uproar; furor
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Creating a brouhaha in class.
VOCABULARY TERM:
buffoon (n) – a clown, comedian, or
laughable person
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The buffoon in first period.
VOCABULARY TERM:
buttress (n) – a support
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The buttress on the back of the picture
frame.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cacophonous (adj) – harsh-sounding
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The cacophonous music was coming
from.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
A run-on sentence is two or more
complete sentences written as
though they were one sentence.
Two or more sentences may not
be written without punctuation
marks or conjunctions between
them.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cadence (n) – rhythm
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The military marches in cadence with
each other sometimes they even sing
when they march.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cameo (n) – a raised image on a precious
stone; a small role in a movie or play
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Joe Flanigan had a cameo in an episode of
Warehouse 13 he did a great job as the
devil figure.
VOCABULARY TERM:
carcinogen (n) – a substance that causes
cancer
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Cigarettes are a well-known carcinogen
the surgeon general has a warning on
each packet.
VOCABULARY TERM:
carnivore (n) – a flesh-eating animal
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Grizzly bears are carnivores it is not a
good idea to run from them.
VOCABULARY TERM:
caucus (n) – a closed meeting of
members of a political party or faction
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The Republican caucus was just as
large as the Democratic one they both
discussed different topics, however.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Two or more sentences may not
be connected with a comma. This
is known as a “comma splice.”
VOCABULARY TERM:
celestial (adj) – heavenly
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The celestial reflection of the moon on
the water was romantic, there were
many couples enjoying the beautiful
view.
VOCABULARY TERM:
circumvent (v) – to avoid by going
around; to outwit
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Many people believe that you cannot
circumvent your fate, others believe
that you have no fate and can make
your life what you want it to be.
VOCABULARY TERM:
citadel (n) – a fortress
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The college felt like a citadel, it
was easy to get on and off campus.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cogitate (v) – to ponder or think intently
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The teacher encouraged the students to
cogitate about the answer to the
question,many students answered
quickly.
VOCABULARY TERM:
comatose (adj) – unconscious or inactive
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
After the surgery, Tom was comatose
and he was moved to intensive care.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
A comma is used before a
coordinating conjunction joining
two main clauses.
VOCABULARY TERM:
conflagration (n) – a large, destructive
fire
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The conflagration in the mountains
was the worst in history but the
firefighters managed to extinguish it.
VOCABULARY TERM:
contretemps (n) – an embarrassing
incident
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Samantha thought the worst
contretemps was falling down the
stairs but she changed her mind after
breaking her finger in gym.
VOCABULARY TERM:
conveyance (n) – a means of
transporting; a vehicle
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
Her conveyance shut down on the
highway so she called a tow truck.
VOCABULARY TERM:
corona (n) – a halo of light around the
sun or the moon
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
She thought she saw a UFO but it was
actually just a corona.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cryptic (adj) – secret; mysterious
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
When the old friends saw one another,
they shared a cryptic handshake and
James felt left out.
GRAMMAR RULE OF THE WEEK
Using the grammar rules from
this quarter, identify the errors in
the following sentences.
VOCABULARY TERM:
cuisine (n) – food; a style of cooking
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The class of 12 shared a nice meal of
german cuisine at the reunion in
seattle, washington.
VOCABULARY TERM:
debonair (adj) – suave; charming
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The new boy at school seemed very
debonair Crystal was too nervous to
talk to him.
VOCABULARY TERM:
decanter (n) – a vessel used to receive
liquid poured from another
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
My grandfather wont pour the wine
from the north of japan into the
decanter, he says the bottle is so
special that is should be used.
VOCABULARY TERM:
deciduous (adj) – shedding at a certain
stage
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
In october, the leaves of many deciduous
trees.
VOCABULARY TERM:
demagogue (n) – leader who promises
things to people to gain power
SENTENCE CORRECTION:
The demagogue running for president
was a liar so the public refused to vote
for him, despite his promises.