Mini-lessons for
Clocking
Carole Hyde
PISD 2009
Punctuation Surrounding
Dialogue
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Each time a new speaker speaks, a new
paragraph should begin.
Everything a character says should be in
quotation marks.
Use a comma to separate conversational tags.
Place an !, ?, or . inside the closing quotation
mark. Put a comma instead of a period if the
quotation does not end the sentence.
Example:
“Don’t fall down the hill!” Jack exclaimed.
Jack said, “Jill, let’s go up the hill.”
“We need a pail of water,” said Jill.
Dialogue
Does all dialogue have quotation marks
around it?
“I gave him his medicine at noon,” she
confirmed.
Jackie mumbled under her breath, “But not
all of it.”
“What did you say?” she snapped.
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Dialogue Practice
I knew she wouldn't come. She is
always flaking out Jenny complained.
What time are we supposed to be
going tonight I asked?
She lifted her head up from her phone
and replied around midnight. Isn’t that
kind of late I said.
Answer to Dialogue Practice
“I knew she wouldn't come. She is
always flaking out,” Jenny complained.
“What time are we supposed to be
going tonight?” I asked.
She lifted her head up from her phone
and replied, “Around midnight.”
“Isn’t that kind of late?” I said.
New paragraph
6 Reasons to Begin a New
Paragraph
 1.
Start of an essay
 2. Place changes
 3. Action changes
 4. Time changes
 5. Setting changes
 6. Topic changes (Expository essay)
Run-on Sentences
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When two or more complete sentences are joined
together without the proper punctuation
Example: I put small braids in my sister’s hair she is short
and skinny.
What would make this correct?
I put small braids in my sister’s hair. She is short and
skinny.
Even better, how could you combine these sentences?
I put small braids in my short and skinny sister’s hair.
Independent Clause
(This slide is for the purpose of note taking only. Do not clock for errors until
next slide)
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An independent clause is a group of words
that contains a subject and verb and
expresses a complete thought. An
independent clause is a sentence.
Example: The child became placid as the
mother condemned her behavior.
Dependent Clause/AKA- the
FRAGMENT
(Don’t rotate. Use same clocker from last slide)
A dependent clause is a group of words that
contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. A dependent
clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent
clause is marked by a dependent marker word
or subordinating conjunction.
Examples:
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When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.
After she said those horrible things.
How could you fix this?
After she said those horrible things, she felt remorse for not
holding her tongue.
. ! ?
.- goes at the end of a complete thought
 ! – goes at the end of something being
yelled or expressed in a dramatic way.
 ?- goes at the end of a question- DUH!
Practice:
“I told you never to see him again__” the
father screamed__
“This is so stupid__ Why can’t I see
him__” she mumbled under her breath__
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Sentence Combining
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Find a way to combine the following
simple sentences to make the writing
sound more advanced.
The bull pivoted and charged the cape.
 The bull was in full gallop.
 The bull’s head was down.
 The bull’s tail was rising.
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Capitalization
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The main things to capitalize:
Proper names of people and places
Months and days of the week
Company names
Countries, cities, states
Holidays
1st letter inside dialogue
Important words in a title
All letters of an exaggerated onomatopoeia
The beginning of every new sentence
Acronyms
Capitalization Practice
i have Decided not to go with jane and lisa
to nasa space center as i’ll be out of town
next tuesday having Eye Surgery in dallas.
Some Spelling and Usage Issues
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Common Spelling and Usage Errors that won’t get their
own slides:
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Whole numbers one through one hundred are
spelled out (Chicago Manual of Style).
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I now know how to spell.
- Text message lingo is NOT okay in a formal paper.
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Alot is not a word. (“a lot” is two words)
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Any symbol that stands for “and” is not okay. Spell
it out.
- Use affect as a verb and effect as a noun.
Where, Were, We’re, Wear
Where were you?
Where refers to a place.
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Were refers to a 2nd person singular
pt. indicative, plural past indicative, and
past subjunctive of be.
 We’re- a contraction of we are
we + are = we’re
Wear- the clothes or the smile that you
wear…
Your, You’re
“Your” – shows ownership
-Is this your textbook?
“You’re”- a contraction of you are
you + are = you’re
-You’re awesome! - correct
-Your awesome! - incorrect
Your and You’re Practice
___________ an amazing writer, and I just
know that you will do well on _________
STAAR Test.
There, Their, They’re, and There’s
There- a place
-He sits over there by the window.
Their- shows ownership of something to more than one
person
-Their dog is always in my yard.
They’re- a contraction of “they” and “are”
They + are = they’re
-They’re messing up the whole house with
those muddy shoes.
There’s- a contraction of “there” and “is”
There + is = there’s
- There’s going to be a big party this weekend.
There, Their, They’re, and
There’s Practice
____________ always a reason to be kind
to others. You never know what
____________ home life is like. _______
could be a situation at home that we might
not understand. _____________ human as
well and deserve compassion.
Then and Than
Then is used when applying to a time frame
such as an event or consequence that
happens next.
When you study, you will then be more likely to pass.
First, open the bag. Then, pour out the contents.
Than is used when a comparison is being
made.
He is smarter than what he is showing you in class.
She is more apt to doing homework than her sister.
Follow these simple rules and _______
you’ll be using them better _______ anyone.
Apostrophe
The apostrophe shows ownership
-This is Karen’s pencil.
Common misconception: All words ending in “s” need an
apostrophe. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!
-The hot dogs were the best I ever had.
The hot dogs do not own anything in this sentence. Now look at
this:
-The hot dog’s container is dirty.
The container belongs to the hot dog; Therefore, an apostrophe
is needed.
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Bonus: How many hot dogs are being referred to in the sentence above?
The weird thing: If someone’s name ends in “s,” such as Jesus or
Joss, and the name is showing ownership of something, the
apostrophe generally goes after the “s.”
-This is Jesus’ pencil.
(Do not add an additional “s”)
According to some rule books, if the name is one syllable, add an
additional “s.” If the name is two syllables don’t add an additional
“s.” Examples :Joss’s pencil; Jesus’ pencil
The Plural Apostrophe
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The plural apostrophe goes after the “s.” This means
that something belongs to more than one person. Pay
close attention for the exceptions (when the plural does
not end in “s”:
Boyd’s desk is messy. (Singular apostrophe)
The students’ desks are messy. (Plural Apostrophe)
The student’s desk is messy. (?)
The Jones’ dog is loud. (?)
The children’s desks are messy.(?)
Where does the apostrophe go? For one dog? For two
dogs?
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The dogs food is scattered all over the floor.
More Apostrophe Practice
Where does the apostrophe go for one hot dog?
For two hot dogs?
For three hot dogs?
The hot dogs container is dirty.
Where does the apostrophe go in the sentence below?
The hot dogs were delicious.
Me Talk Like Caveman:
You and I
Put yourself last. I designates the subject of the
sentence and me designates the object. An easy way to
figure out if I or me is correct is to remove the words
associated with the other person from the sentence, and
then check to see if it sounds like caveman talk.
For example:
 Me and Jaime went out last night.
 Me and Jaime went out last night.
 Jaime and I went out last night.
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Here, me is used correctly as the object of the sentence:
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Jaime told me that we should have gone out last night.
Some 1st Grade Words to Avoid
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fun
very
really
mad
sad
great
good
said/ says
many
hot
got
very
was (or any BE verb)
put
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cold
like (when used like a valley
girl)
excellent
sit/ sat/ sitting
ran/ run/running
walk/ walked/ walking
important/ importance
saw/ seen/ seeing
want/ wanted/ wanting
Bad
Cause (only because it’s most
likely used it incorrectly)
Verbs: Present to Past to
Present to Past to Present…
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Verbs need to stay in the same tense within a piece
of writing. An expository essay can switch tenses as
you explain issues in the present, tell anecdotes of
the past, and look toward the future, but be careful.
Choose either past, present, or future tense and write
at least three sentences where you only make ONE
verb tense error. Exchange with a partner and see
if they can spot the verb tense shift. If you make
more than ONE error, then it’s you who has the
problem!
Pronouns and their Antecedents
Pronouns and antecedents must match in person, thing,
and number.
For example:
Sylvia’s purse was loaded with rocks when
she flung them at the intruder.
When there is an error in pronoun/ antecedent agreement,
it can be confusing as to what Sylvia flung. Was it her
purse or the rocks out of her purse? If the writer meant for
Sylvia to have flung her purse, what pronoun should have
been used?
Pronoun/Antecedent: Other types of errors you
might see on STAAR
Sylvia’s purse was loaded with rocks when
he flung it at the intruder.
 Sylvia’s purse was loaded with rocks when
it flung it at the intruder.
 Sylvia’s purse was loaded with rocks when
her flung it at the intruder.
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Find the errors: There is one verb tense error and one
pronoun/antecedent error.
At the border there is a problem. I am required to show my
passport in order to validate the passports of my wife and
baby. The officials disappear with them and return only
after several minutes, just as our train is about to leave.
When I check to see if my passport has been stamped, I
find they have exchanged my photo for one of a man on a
bar terrace raising a drink to his lips. It looks like a holiday
snapshot, except the photo is faded like that of someone
who has recently died. There is no time now to change it
back, and I realized I can still use my passport — the face
is so unclear that no one will know it isn ́t me.
To introduce the next type of error for discussion, see if you can find
and guess the new type of error in the passage. This is an error type
that we always see on STAAR.
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At the border there is a problem. I am required to show
my passport in order to validate the passports of my wife
and baby. The officials disappear with it and return only
after several minutes, just as our train is about to leave.
When I check to see if my passport has been stamped, I
find they have exchanged my photo for one of a man on
a bar terrace raising a drink to his lips. It looks like a
holiday snapshot, except the photo is faded like that of
someone who has recently died. There is no time now to
change it back, and he realizes he can still use his
passport — the face is so unclear that no one will know it
isn ́t him.
Did you guess correctly?
Shift in POV:
 The entire piece is written in 1st person POV;
however, the last sentence is written in 3rd
person. Watch out for these tricky shifts on
the STAAR test. This type of error is impossible
to find unless you read the whole selection
(just one of many that you can’t answer
correctly unless you read the whole selection).
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Semicolons;
*Used to join two clauses that could stand alone as sentences instead
of using a FANBOYS word (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
*Used to join two clauses that could stand alone as sentences joined by
a conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, in addition, meanwhile,
etc.).
I was late to practice that day; however, I did not get a ticket for
speeding again.
*Used between items in a series or a series of phrases if the items or
phrases contain commas themselves.
The Writing Center will gladly work with students who want help with
improving their writing skills; with students who need assistance with
citing, documenting, or researching internet sources; and with
students who desire feedback on resumes, cover letters, or
graduate school applications.
The winners of the writing contest were: Marty Rubens, original fiction;
Janet Spurlow, poetry; and Mike Jacobs, who received the award for
the most creative piece overall.
Semi-colons
On vacation we went to Paris, Texas,
Orlando, Florida, Branson, Missouri, and
San Diego, California.
Do you see how semi-colons could help this be less
confusing?
Colons:
The colon is used after an independent clause to introduce a
list of items.
Ex: The following energy sources are renewable: wind,
hydropower, biomass, solar, and nuclear.
HINT- a colon will NOT follow a verb.
Ex: Some renewable energy sources are: wind, hydropower,
biomass, solar, and nuclear. ---WRONG!
Some renewable energy sources are wind, hydropower,
biomass, solar, and nuclear. ----RIGHT!
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Colons continued…
2. The colon may be used to emphasize a word,
phrase, clause, or sentence which explains or
impacts the main clause.
Ex: Yesterday, a revolutionary new plan was
unveiled to "solve" one of Lamar's most frustrating
problems: parking.
(Added teaching moment: Why do you think I used quotes around solve?
What does this do to the tone?)
3. Use a colon to introduce a quotation (only if the
words before the colon are an independent
clause).
Ex: The writer offered wise advice: "Get into the habit of
reading your work aloud."
Commas
A. Between items in a series
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Place a comma between three or more
items that are listed or three or more
verbal/prepositional phrases.
I like my hot dog with chili, cheese, onions,
and relish.
 I like my hot dog with chili and cheese.
 After school I go play soccer with my friends, I
do my homework, and I take a shower.
 After school I go play soccer with my friends
and I do my homework.
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Commas
B. In dates and addresses
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Place a comma after a numerical day.
March 12, 2009
Place a comma after the name of a city and
before the name of the state.
• South Houston, TX
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4567 South Shaver
South Houston, TX 77504
Commas
C. To set off interruptions
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Use commas to set off a word, phrase, or
clause that interrupts the main thought of a
sentence.
Becky, however, traveled only 100 miles.
 However, Becky traveled only 100 miles.
 On the other hand, she didn’t pay for her gas.
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Commas
D. To set off dialogue
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Set off the exact words of the speaker
from the rest of the sentence with a
comma.
Sandra said, “I will be late if I stop to talk.”
 “I will be late if I stop to talk,” Sandra said.
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Commas
E. In direct address
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Use commas to separate the person being
spoken to from the rest of the sentence.
Please, Ramon, sit quietly.
 Antonio, please have a seat.
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Commas
F. Between Two Independent
Clauses
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Use a comma between two complete
sentences that are joined by coordinating
conjunctions: (FANBOYS) for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, and so
Tom ran quickly for the door, but he did not
answer it.
*Only place a comma before a FANBOYS word
if the words after it make a complete
sentence.
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Commas
G. In letter writing
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Place a comma after the greeting in a
friendly letter and after the closing in all
letters.
Dear Mr. Green,
 Sincerely,
Joe
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Commas
H. To set off appositives
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Use commas to set off appositives. An
appositive is a word or phrase that
renames or redescribes the word before it.
If you were to take out the words between
the commas, you would still have a
complete sentence.
Gerald, my best friend, went with me to the
movies.
 Susan, the girl who sits behind me in French,
is really cute.
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Commas
I. To set off interjections
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Use a comma to separate an interjection
or a weak exclamation from the rest of the
sentence.
Wow, look at that sunrise!
 Hey, did you see the sunrise this morning?
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Commas
J. To separate adjectives
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Use commas to separate two or more adjectives that equally modify
a noun.
 Mandy liked the feel of the cool, wet pool water.
Remember the trick: Place commas between the two adjectives if
you can switch the adjectives and it doesn’t sound awkward.
Mandy liked the feel of the wet, cool pool water.
 Mandy’s ginormous custom houseboat was the venue for the
event.
X Mandy’s custom ginormous houseboat was the venue for the
event.
Ginormous and custom cannot be swapped; therefore, do not use a
comma.
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Commas
K. To set off introductory phrases
and clauses
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Use a comma to separate a long phrase
that comes before the main part of the
sentence. Sometimes you can spot these
by thinking of cause and effect or looking
for a subordinating conjunction or
preposition that starts the sentence.
After falling to the ground, Leslie picked
herself up and went on.
 If you hit your brother, you will get in trouble.
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To, Too, and Two
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We are going to the store after school.
-Is used for expressing motion or direction toward a point
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There is too much talking in here!
-An adverb meaning "excessively" or "also."
One, two, three…
-A number
He is in our class _______.
 He is ______ funny.
 She is going with us ______ the circus.
 There were ______ students left.
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Facts about “Because”
“Cause” is not the same as “because”
Use cause as a noun. Think cause and effect.
The cause of the weight gain is from eating
too much.
Use because as a subordinating
conjunction:
You have gained weight because you have
eaten too much.
* “Cuz” is not a word (because or cousin
are words)
Facts about “Because” cont…
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If you start a sentence with because it will
become an introductory phrase that will need
a comma later in the sentence.
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Because you missed school yesterday, you will have to
come to tutorials.
Cause or because?
_____________ you can’t sit still, you will have
detention.
You will have detention ___________ you can’t
sit still.
What you state as the ______________ of
global warming is specious.
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Because and the Comma
Some elementary teacher somewhere started this rumor that you
always put a comma before the word because. Hmmmm….NO.
Usually, a comma will not be adjacent to the word because. It is
probably best to think of the word because as of not ever having
a comma touching it. However, as with everything in the English
language, there are exceptions:
(1) When what follows the word because could be used in a
parenthetical phrase (meaning that it’s not that important).
Or, better yet;
When what follows the word because could be used in a
parenthetical phrase, because it’s not that important. irrelevant
information exception
(2) He then replied, “Because I told you so.” dialogue exception
(3) I once had a college professor tell me that if you find yourself using a comma
adjacent to a because, then he would have to ask you why you felt it necessary
to include the irrelevant information anyway. Writing should be concise and to the
point. I used because as a noun (the actual word) and at the end of an
introductory phrase. - exception
Common Article Errors
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An article goes in front of a noun. Many
people confuse the articles “A” and “An.”
“A” goes in front of a noun that begins
with a consonant.
- A child who is failing should go to tutorials.
“An” goes in front of a noun that begins with a
vowel.
-An owl usually comes out at night.
Spelling
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The letter q is always followed by u in English words. (question, quite)
English words do not end with the letter v. (gave, have)
When a one-syllable word ends with a short vowel and a single consonant, double
the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel. (swim + -ing is
swimming)
In a two-syllable word, double the final consonant only if the word is accented on
the last syllable. (begin + -ing is beginning but open + -ing is opening)
When a word ends in silent e, drop the e before adding a suffix beginning with a
vowel. (make + -ing is making)
Keep the silent e before adding a suffix beginning with a consonant.
(time + -ly is timely)
When a word ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i before adding a suffix,
unless the suffix begins with i. (happy + -ly is happily, but hurry + -ing is hurrying)
When a word ends in a vowel and y, do not change the y to i. (play + -ed is played)
Write i before e except after c, or when sounded like -ay as in neighbor and weigh.
This rule doesn't apply when ci is pronounced ch as in ancient.
Use a dictionary to check your spelling and always check those homophones,
too.
Plural Nouns are difficult and deserve several of their own slides (see
following).
Spelling cont…Plural Rule 1
Most words add ‘s’ to make the plural.
 one apple
two apples
 desk → desks
month → months
 book → books
train → trains
 pen → pens
name → names
 shop → shops
friend → friends
 chair → chairs
teacher →teachers
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Spelling cont…Try these…
pencil →
 road →
 flower →
 girl →
 plant →
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window →
 door →
 cake →
 banana →
 shoe →
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 2
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Add ‘es’ to words ending in ‘ch’, ‘sh’, ‘s’,
‘ss’, ‘x’ or ‘z’ to make the plural.
one box
many boxes
wish → wishes
beach → beaches
cross → crosses
waltz →
waltzes
bus → buses
church → churches
dish → dishes
loss →
losses
fox →
foxes
bunch → bunches
Spelling cont…Try these…
watch →
 pitch →
 wax →
 class →
 gas →
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glass →
 dress →
 bush →
 hutch →
 quiz → quizzes
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 3
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When the letter before a ‘y’ is a consonant,
change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding an ‘es’.
one baby
two babies
city → cities
pony → ponies
reply → replies
berry →
family →
lady →
berries
families
ladies
Spelling cont…Try these…
daisy →
 ferry →
 army →
 party →
 fly →
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diary →
 cherry →
 belly →
 jelly →
 filly →
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 4
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When words end in ‘ay’, ‘ey’, ‘iy’, ’oy’, and
‘uy’ add an ‘s’ to make the plural.
one donkey
two donkeys
day →
key →
play →
days
keys
plays
boy →
delay →
guy →
boys
delays
guys
Spelling cont…Try these
quay →
 valley →
 tray →
 pulley →
 toy →
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monkey →
 trolley →
 buoy →
 relay →
 holiday →
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 5
When words end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’ change the
‘f’ or ‘fe’ to a ‘v’ before adding ‘es’.
 one knife
two knives
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leaf → leaves
 half → halves
 wife → wives
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life →
hoof →
thief →
lives
hooves
thieves
Spelling cont…Try these
wolf →
 elf →
 loaf →
 self →
 calf →
 shelf →
 Exceptions → cliffs, chiefs, roofs, dwarfs
and handkerchiefs.
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 6
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When a word ends in an ‘o’ and comes after a
consonant, add ‘es’ to make the plural.
one tomato
two tomatoes
cargo → cargoes
mango → mangoes
echo → echoes
hero →
heroes
volcano →volcanoes torpedo→ torpedoes
Spelling cont…Try these
potato →
 avocado →
 mosquito →
 domino →
 buffalo →
 dingo →
 Exceptions → pianos, banjos, solos,
radios and Eskimos.
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Spelling cont…Plural Rules 7
Sometimes a word may completely
change its form when a plural is made.
 one child
two children
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person →people goose → geese
 man → men
woman →women
 cactus →cacti
fungus → fungi
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Spelling cont…Try these
tooth →
 dice →
 foot →
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mouse →
 nucleus →
 criterion →
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Spelling cont…Plural Rule 8
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Sometimes a word may stay the same in both its
singular and plural form.
one fish
many fish
tuna → tuna
 deer → deer
 moose moose
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trout → trout
sheep → sheep
series → series
Spelling cont…Try these
aircraft →
 species →
 offspring →
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salmon →
 bream →
 perch →
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