Reviewing Basic Grammar, 9th edition
Published by Pearson (January 5, 2012) © 2013
- Mary Laine Yarber
- Robert E. Yarber San Diego Mesa College
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Reviewing Basic Grammar uses a step-by-step approach to combine an intense grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing.
- A variety of exercise types—including self-editing, collaborative writing, and MyWritingLab (www.mywritinglab.com) activities—are used to maintain students’ interest in the content.
- A “Writing Paragraphs” section at the end of each chapter offers instruction on writing effective topic sentences and paragraphs.
- “Writer's Tips” throughout the text provide practical advice for students on matters such as selecting the best dictionary, formatting papers, and so on.
- A chapter review summarizes the grammar coverage in each chapter, reinforcing the material needed to improve.
- An end-of-book “Checklist for the ESL Writers” addresses troublesome and confusing problems ESL students encounter with a new language.
- The in-chapter exercises provide additional opportunities for practice and review based on topics of compelling interest.
- Chapter Review Tests offer feedback to alert students to the areas in which they would benefit from more practice.
- The rule explanations and term definitions are extremely accessible and simple to follow allowing students to bolster their understanding of the instruction and content.
- Exercises that integrate grammar and sentence writing at the end of every chapter demonstrate how grammar knowledge enhances writing skills.
- MyWritingLab links direct students to additional practice opportunities at Pearson’s robust online practice resource MyWritingLab.
- “Language Tips” boxes in every chapter provide more help to students whose first language is not English, and complement the “Checklist for ESL Writers.”
- Punctuation (11) and capitalization (12) are now covered in two separate, more manageable chapters. Thus, students get more instruction and additional practice (including with MyWritingLab) on these two very important sentence level skills.
- Coverage of some grammar topics, including basic sentence types, gerunds, and participles, has been expanded upon in order to give students the additional instruction, examples, and practice they need.
- Each chapter contains the answers to selected exercises, allowing students to check their comprehension and overall mastery immediately after reading.
- New review tests accompany each chapter. Thus giving students mastery opportunities at every turn.
- Fresh, relevant examples, writing prompts, and exercises have been added throughout the book.
- There is stronger correlation of MyWritingLab (www.mywritinglab.com) topics with the text throughout each chapter for additional practice, instruction, and review.
- The new Reviewing Basic Grammar eText is accessed through MyWritingLab and allows students to highlight important material, add notes to any page, and bookmark various pages for further study.
Preface xiii
CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Computers, Grammar, Sentences, and Paragraphs 1
Standard English: Who Needs It? 1
Writing with the Computer 3
No Worries 4
Writing Sentences 4
Editing Exercise 4
The Paragraph: An Overview 6
Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs 7
Introductions 7
Conclusions 9
Writing Paragraphs 11
CHAPTER 2 The Parts of Speech: A Review 12
The Noun 13
The Pronoun 13
The Verb 15
The Adjective 18
The Adverb 21
The Preposition 24
The Conjunction 26
The Interjection 28
A Word of Caution 29
Editing Exercises 29
Writing Sentences: The Parts of Speech 30
Review Test 2-A: Parts of Speech 32
Review Test 2-B: Parts of Speech 34
Writing Paragraphs: The Topic Sentence and Unity in the Paragraph 36
CHAPTER 3 Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 44
The Subject and the Verb 44
Finding the Verb 45
Action Verbs 46
Linking Verbs 47
Words Mistaken for the Verb 49
Finding the Subject 52
Subjects and Other Words in the Sentence 52
Simple and Complete Subjects 53
Compound Subjects 53
Subjects in Inverted Sentences 54
Subjects with Verbs in Active and Passive Voice 55
Subjects and Prepositional Phrases 57
Subjects and Verbs in Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Sentences 59
Editing Exercises 62
Writing Sentences: Identifying Subjects and Verbs 64
Review Test 3-A: Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 65
Review Test 3-B: Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 67
Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Chronological Order 69
CHAPTER 4 Making the Subject and Verb Agree 72
Subject-Verb Agreement 72
Editing Exercises 83
Writing Sentences: Subject and Verb Agreement 84
Review Test 4-A: Making the Subject and Verb Agree 86
Review Test 4-B: Making the Subject and Verb Agree 88
Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Spatial Order 90
CHAPTER 5 Common Errors Involving Verbs 93
Regular Verbs 94
Irregular Verbs 95
Suggestions for Using Irregular Verbs 96
Using the Correct Tense 101
A Few Suggestions for Using the Correct Tense 104
Shifts in Tense 106
Two Pairs of Irregular Verbs: Lie and Lay and Sit and Set 109
Lie and Lay 109
Sit and Set 110
Editing Exercises 113
Writing Sentences: The Correct Form of the Verb 115
Review Test 5-A: Common Errors Involving Verbs 116
Review Test 5-B: Common Errors Involving Verbs 118
Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Order of Importance 120
CHAPTER 6 Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 123
The Classes of Pronouns 124
Personal Pronouns 125
Subject Pronouns 125
Object Pronouns 128
Possessive Pronouns 131
Relative Pronouns 132
Who, Which, and That: Special Uses 133
Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns: Pronouns Ending in - self and - selves 134
Some Problems with Pronouns: Who and Whom 135
Editing Exercise 137
Writing Sentences: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 137
Review Test 6-A: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 139
Review Test 6-B: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 141
Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph by Using Transitional Words and Phrases 143
CHAPTER 7 Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 148
Agreement in Number 149
Agreement in Person 154
Pronoun Reference 156
Avoiding Sexism in Pronoun Usage 158
Editing Exercises 159
Writing Sentences: Avoiding Common Errors
in Pronoun Usage 161
Review Test 7-A: Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 162
Review Test 7-B: Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 164
Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Using Examples 166
CHAPTER 8 Compound and Complex Sentences 170
Compound Sentences 171
Punctuating Compound Sentences 173
Complex Sentences 174
Compound-Complex Sentences 177
Three Kinds of Dependent Clauses 177
Editing Exercises 183
Writing Sentences: Using a Variety of Sentence Types 185
Review Test 8-A: Compound and Complex Sentences 186
Review Test 8-B: Compound and Complex Sentences 188
Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Comparison and Contrast 190
CHAPTER 9 Correcting Sentence Fragments,
Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 193
Sentence Fragments 193
Phrases as Fragments 194
Dependent Clauses as Fragments 197
Run-on Sentences 200
Comma-Splices 201
Comma-Splices and Conjunctive Adverbs 203
Editing Exercise 205
Writing Sentences: Avoiding Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 206
Review Test 9-A: Correcting Sentence Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 207
Review Test 9-B: Correcting Sentence Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 209
Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Classification 211
CHAPTER 10 Confused Sentences 214
Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 214
Illogical Comparisons 220
Confusing Adjectives and Adverbs 222
Using Adjectives after Linking Verbs 222
Using Adverbs to Modify Verbs 223
Parallel Structure 224
Editing Exercises 227
Writing Sentences: Avoiding Confused Sentences 229
Review Test 10-A: Confused Sentences 230
Review Test 10-B: Confused Sentences 232
Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Process and Analysis 234
CHAPTER 1 1 Punctuation 237
End Marks 237
The Period 238
The Question Mark 238
The Exclamation Point 239
Internal Punctuation 240
The Comma 240
Additional Uses of the Comma 245
Omitting Commas 249
The Semicolon 250
The Colon 251
Parentheses 253
The Dash 253
Quotation Marks 255
Italics 256
The Hyphen 258
The Apostrophe 259
Numbers 262
Editing Exercises 264
Writing Sentences: Using Correct Punctuation 265
Review Test 11-A: Punctuation 266
Review Test 11-B: Punctuation 268
Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Cause and Effect 271
CHAPTER 1 2 Capitalization 274
Capitalization 274
Editing Exercise 280
Writing Sentences: Using Correct Capitalization 281
Review Test 12-A: Capitalization 282
Review Test 12-B: Capitalization 284
APPENDIX A
A Checklist for the ESL Writer 286
Learning to Use Articles and Quantifiers 287
Articles ( a/an and the ) 287
Quantifiers 291
Detailed Contents xi
Problems with Verbs 294
The Twelve Verb Tenses 294
Tips for Choosing the Right Tense 298
Learning to Use Verb Phrases 303
Learning to Use Adjectives and Adverbs 304
Common Expressions 306
Using Used To 307
Using When and If 308
Using Since and For 308
Using - s and - es 308
Problems with Word Order and Unnecessary Words 309
Adjectives 309
Adverbs 310
Repetition of the Subject 310
Other Problems with Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation 311
Additional Reference Books for ESL Students 311
APPENDIX B
A Brief Guide for Avoiding Errors in Grammar and Usage 312
A Glossary of Usage 316
A Glossary of Grammatical Terms 321
Answers to Selected Exercises 329
Credits 334
Index 335
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