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Rebekah Hendershot

Rebekah Hendershot

Dashes, Hyphens, Ellipses, & Parentheses

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Table of Contents

Section 1: Punctuation
End Punctuation

11m 28s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
What is End Punctuation?
0:44
End Punctuation Contributes to Tone or Meaning of Sentence
0:53
Period, Question Mark, and Exclamation Point
1:06
Kinds of Sentences
1:28
Three Kinds of Sentences: Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory
1:35
Imperative and Subjunctive Sentences Don't Have Single Kind of Punctuation
1:56
Declarative Sentences
2:05
Declarative Sentences State a Fact
2:08
Examples of Declarative Sentences
2:13
Interrogative Sentences
2:42
Interrogative Sentences Ask a Question
3:00
May Have Inverted Subject-Verb Order
3:04
May be Constructed Like Declarative Sentences
3:12
Can be One Word Long
3:30
Examples of Interrogative Sentences
3:35
Exclamatory Sentences
4:25
Exclamatory Sentences Express Strong Emotion
4:30
May be Constructed Like Declarative Sentences
4:33
May be Grammatically Incomplete
4:37
Can be One Word Long
4:40
Examples of Exclamatory Sentences
4:42
Imperative Sentences
5:05
Imperative Sentences Give a Command
5:11
Have No Grammatical Subject, Implied Subject is 'You'
5:16
Examples of Imperative Sentences
5:22
Subjunctive Sentences
5:52
Subjunctive Sentences Describe Events Contrary to Fact
6:04
More on the Subjunctive Mood in Basic Grammar Course
6:14
Examples of Subjunctive Sentences
6:18
Periods
6:47
Period is Used for Declarative, Some Imperative, and Some Subjunctive Sentences
7:04
Examples of Using Periods
7:11
Question Marks
7:16
Question Mark is Used for Interrogative Sentences and Fragments
7:21
Speak Questions with a Rising Inflection at the End
7:33
Examples of Using Question Marks
7:42
Exclamation Points
8:21
Exclamation Point is Used for Exclamatory, Some Subjunctive, and Some Imperative Sentences for Emphasis
8:29
Examples of Using Exclamation Points
8:45
Choose the End Punctuation
9:04
Choose the End Punctuation Answers
9:41
Apostrophes & Quotation Marks

23m 45s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
Quotation Marks
0:32
Quotation Marks Indicate that Someone is Speaking
0:35
Examples of Using Quotation Marks
0:44
Rules for Quotation Marks
1:23
When Quoting Within a Quote, Use Double Quotation Marks Outside and Single Quotation Marks Inside
1:28
British Commonwealth Reverse This Custom
1:53
Periods and Commas Go Inside Quotation Marks
2:13
Examples of Using Periods, Commas, and Single Quotation Marks in Double Quotation Marks
2:20
Place a Question Mark Inside or Outside of Quotation Marks
3:00
Use Only One Ending Punctuation Mark
3:16
Examples of Using Quotation Marks and Question Marks
3:40
When You Have a Question Inside and Outside Quoted Material, Put One Question Mark Inside the Quotation Marks
4:08
Set Off a Quotation With Comma(s)
4:24
Question Marks May be Used Only to Set Off a Direct Quotation
4:35
Examples of Commas, Quotation Marks, and Question Marks
4:40
Quoting Paragraphs
5:50
Quoting Spelling or Grammatical Errors with [sic]
6:27
Apostrophes
7:25
Apostrophes Take the Place of Missing Letters in Contractions and Form Possessives
7:28
Examples of Using Apostrophes
7:36
Rules for Apostrophes
8:14
Place an Apostrophe to Replace Missing Letters in Contractions
8:15
Double Contractions
8:30
Examples of Using Apostrophes in Contractions
9:00
Place an Apostrophe to Show Possession
9:57
Showing Possession when the Name Ends in 'S'
10:13
Examples of Using Apostrophes to Show Possession
10:28
Showing Plural Possession
10:57
Examples of Using Apostrophes to Show Plural Possession
11:18
Use Apostrophes where the Noun that should Follow is Implied
12:12
Examples of Using Apostrophes where the Noun that should Follow is Implied
12:20
Don't Use Apostrophes for the Plural of a Name
12:40
Examples of Not Using Apostrophes for the Plural of a Name
12:44
Singular Compound Nouns
13:14
Plural Compound Nouns
13:30
Two People Owning the Same Item vs. Two People Owning Different Items
14:00
Never Use an Apostrophe with a Possessive Pronoun
14:45
It's vs. Its
15:17
Examples of It's vs. Its
15:40
Don't Use Apostrophes for Plurals for Capital Letters and Numbers
16:52
Use Apostrophes with Capital Letters and Numbers when the Meaning would be Unclear Otherwise
17:20
Use Possessive Case in Front of a Gerund
18:09
Use the Possessive Form of Pronouns before Gerunds
19:02
Quotation Mark Practice
19:26
Quotation Mark Practice Answers
20:03
Apostrophe Practice
21:27
Apostrophe Practice Answers
21:59
Commas

20m 17s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:07
Commas
0:21
Commas Indicate Pauses Within Sentences
0:24
Rules for Commas
1:05
Commas Separate Words and Word Groups in a Series of Three or More
1:11
Oxford Commas
1:30
Use Commas Surrounding the Name or Title of a Person Being Addressed
2:02
Use Commas to Separate Two Adjectives when 'and' can be Inserted Between Them
2:35
Use Commas when an -ly adjective is Used with Other Adjectives
3:20
Use Commas to Separate the Day of the Month from the Year
4:10
Use Commas Between City and State
4:47
Use Commas to Surround Degrees or Titles Used with Names
5:18
Use Commas to Set Off Expressions that Interrupt Sentence Flow
6:05
Use Commas After Weak Clauses that Begin Sentences
6:32
Use Commas After Phrases of More than Three Words that Begin Sentences
7:29
Use Commas to Surround Nonessential Descriptions
8:11
Use Commas to Separate Two Strong Clauses Joined by a Coordinating Conjunction
9:10
Use Commas to Separate Two Independent Clauses To Avoid Confusion
9:50
Comma Splices
10:49
Run-On Sentences
11:47
If Subject Doesn't Appear in Front of Second Verb, Don't Use Comma
12:40
Use Commas to Introduce or Interrupt Quotations Shorter than Three Lines
13:02
Use Commas to Separate Statements from Questions and Contrasting Parts
13:40
Use Commas When Beginning Sentences With Introductory Words
14:08
Use Commas to Surround Interrupters
14:35
Use Either Commas or Semicolons before Introductory Words When Followed by Series of Items
14:45
Comma Practice
15:20
Comma Practice Answers
16:11
Colons & Semicolons

13m 49s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
Colons vs. Semicolons
0:28
Colons
0:32
Semicolons
0:46
Rules for Colons
1:11
Use Colons after Complete Sentences to Introduce Lists
1:13
Don't Use Colons Unless it Follows a Complete Sentence
1:41
Capitalization and Punctuation are Optional when Listing in Bulleted Form
2:10
Use Colons Instead of Semicolons Between Two Sentences When The Second Explains the First, and There's No Coordinating Conjunction
3:29
Use Colons to Introduce Direct Quotations More Than Three Lines Long
4:44
Use Colons to Follow Salutations of Business Letters
6:06
Rules for Semicolons
6:40
Use Semicolons to Separate Two Independent Sentences Without Conjunctions
6:45
Use Semicolons Before Introductory Words
7:21
Use Either Semicolons or Commas Before Introductory Words When They Introduce Lists
7:55
Use Semicolons to Separate Units in Series When Units Contain Commas
8:49
Use Semicolons Between Two Sentences Joined by Coordinating Conjunctions when Commas Appear in First Sentence
9:48
Colon and Semicolon Practice
11:06
Colon and Semicolon Practice Answers
11:55
Dashes, Hyphens, Ellipses, & Parentheses

21m 47s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:12
Hyphens
0:32
Hyphens Connect Words together into Compound Nouns, and are Not Dashes
0:37
Rules for Hyphens
1:04
Refer to a Dictionary
1:07
Phrases with Different Forms should be Separate as Verbs and Together as Nouns or Adjectives
1:46
Compound Verbs are either Hyphenated or Appear as One Word
2:32
Hyphenate Between Two or More Adjectives when Before a Noun and are Single Idea
3:35
Hyphenate Adverbs Not Ending in -ly that are Used as Compound Words in Front of Nouns
4:33
Use Commas, not Hyphens, between Two Adjectives when you can Insert 'and' between Them
5:35
Hyphenate Compound Numbers and Spelled-Out Fractions
6:09
Attach Prefixes and Suffixes Without Hyphens
6:38
Hyphenate Prefixes before Proper Nouns
6:56
Hyphenate Prefixes to Avoid Doubled 'a' and 'I'
7:32
Hyphenate All Words Beginning with 'self' except 'Selfish' and 'Selfless'
8:48
Use Hyphens with the Prefix 'ex-'
9:06
Use Hyphens with 're-' when 're-' means 'Again'
9:32
Ellipses
10:34
Ellipses Mark Where Words have been Omitted from Quoted Passages
10:43
Use No More than Three Marks when Omission Occurs in Middle of a Sentence or Between Sentences
11:02
Use Ellipsis Marks after the Last Punctuation Mark when Omitting Paragraphs
11:40
Dashes
12:12
Em Dashes Show Pause or Digression in a Sentence
12:26
En Dashes Show Connections Between Two Equivalent Things
12:37
En Dashes
13:36
Use En Dashes for Periods of Time Instead of 'to'
13:39
Use En Dashes to Combine Open Compounds
14:12
Em Dashes
14:43
Use Em Dashes Sparingly in Formal Writing
14:46
Em Dashes in Informal Writing May Replace Commas, Semicolons, Colons, and Parentheses
14:58
Parentheses
16:18
Use Parentheses to Enclose Words or Figures that are Used as an Aside
16:23
Use Parentheses to Enclose Numbers or Letters Used for Listed Items
17:03
Periods go Inside Parentheses only if an Entire Sentence is Inside the Parentheses
17:21
Practice
17:57
Practice Answers
18:56
Capitalization

12m 26s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
Rules for Capitalization
0:24
Capitalize the First Word of a Sentence and the First Word of a Quoted Sentence
0:29
Capitalize Proper Nouns
0:52
Capitalize a Person's Title when it Precedes the Name
1:07
Capitalize a Title when it Appears after a Name in an Address or Signature Line
1:40
Capitalize the Titles of High-Ranking Government Officials When Used with Their Names
1:52
Capitalize Any Title When Used as a Direct Address
2:30
Capitalize Points of the Compass Only when they Refer to Specific Regions
2:50
In Titles of Publications, Capitalize the First and Last Words, Plus Other Words within Titles
3:31
Capitalize 'Federal' or 'State' when Used as part of an Official Agency Name or in Government Documents
5:10
Don't Capitalize Names of Seasons
5:46
Capitalize the First Word of a Salutation and the First Word of a Complimentary Close
6:09
Capitalize Words Derived from Proper Nouns
6:35
Capitalize Names of Specific Course Titles
7:07
After a Sentence Ending with a Colon, Do Not Capitalize the First Word if it Begins a List
7:26
Do Not Capitalize When Only One Sentence Follows a Sentence Ending with a Colon
7:54
Capitalize when Two or More Sentences Follow a Sentence Ending with a Colon
8:14
Practice
8:52
Practice Answers
10:02
Section 2: Spelling
Spelling Basics

10m 56s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:07
History of Spelling
0:19
English Uses Roman Phonetic Alphabet Designed to Represent Latin Sounds
0:30
Writers 'Sounded Out' Words and Different Accents Produced Different Spellings
0:59
The Standard for Spelling After the Norman Conquest of 1066
1:31
Advent of Printing in 1400's and An Explosion of Documentation, Reading, and Writing
2:12
London English Became the Basis of Standard Spelling
2:28
The Great English Vowel Shift of the 1500's and The Creation of the Silent E
2:45
Bible Translated to English King James Version of 1611 Had Impact on Spelling
3:24
Nonstandard Spelling Slows Down Silent Reading
4:01
1700's Rise of Dictionaries and The First Dictionary by Samuel Johnson
5:12
Noah Webster Created a Standard Dictionary of American Spellings
5:55
Spelling Reform Movements Have Little Effect After Dictionary
6:26
English Speakers Adopt American Variations of British Spelling in United States
6:38
Languages Change All The Time
7:17
Why Spelling Matters
7:52
Spelling Is a Regional And Cultural Identifier
7:58
Good Spelling is Considered a Mark of Good Education
8:12
Bad Spelling Makes Writing More Difficult to Understand
8:22
Bad Spelling Is Unprofessional
8:54
Ways to Improve Your Spelling
9:06
Read
9:08
Play Word Games
9:33
Use Mnemonics
9:48
Spell-Check
10:12
I Before E

6m 52s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:10
The Rule
0:27
I Before E, Except After C, Or When Sounding Like A As in Neighbor or Weigh
0:34
Examples
1:01
Examples After C
1:09
Examples Sounding Like A
1:25
Exceptions To The Rule
1:59
Loanwords or Words Pronounced Differently Before Great Vowel Shift
2:00
List of Major Exception Words
2:24
Practice
3:22
Practice Answers
4:13
Ways To Improve Your Spelling
5:36
Read
5:38
Play Word Games
5:59
Use Mnemonics
6:15
Spell-Check
6:24
Forming Plurals

9m 23s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:10
Five Rules for English Plurals
0:43
1. Add an 'S' to Most Words
0:46
2. Add an 'es' to Words Ending In 'x', 's', 'sh', or 'ch'
0:56
3. When a Word Ends in a Consonant Plus 'y', Change the 'y' to 'ie' then Add 's'
1:33
4. Add 'es' to Nouns Ending in a Long 'o' Preceded by a Consonant (Except Musical Terms and Loanwords)
1:52
5. For Many Words Ending in 'f' or 'fe' Change 'f' or 'fs' to 'v' then Add 's' or 'es'
2:53
Plurals for Foreign Words
3:22
How English Creates Plurals From Foreign Words
3:23
Most Relevant with Words Derived from Greek and Latin
4:10
Latin Words Ending With 'um' Usually Form a Plural with Ending 'a'
4:15
Latin Words Ending With 'us' Usually Form a Plural with Ending 'i'
4:30
Latin Words Ending With 'a' Usually Form a Plural With The Ending 'ae'
4:50
Greek Words Ending With 'is' Usually Form a Plural With Ending 'es'
5:01
Greek Words Ending With 'on' Usually Form a Plural With Ending 'a'
5:11
Practice
5:23
Practice Answers
6:13
Ways To Improve Your Spelling
8:14
Read
8:19
Play Word Games and Word Puzzles
8:37
Use Mnemonics
8:52
Spell-Check and Dictionary
9:06
Final Consonants and Final Es

8m 38s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:11
Doubling Final Consonants
0:30
Double Final Consonant Before Adding Suffix When Suffix Begins With Vowel
1:27
Double Final Consonant Before Adding Suffix When Last Syllable is Accented and Ends in Single Consonant
2:05
Dealing With Final Es
2:35
1. Adding a Suffix That Starts With a Vowel to Word Ending in a Silent E
2:51
Exceptions
3:19
2. Adding a Suffix That Starts With a Consonant to Word Ending in a Silent E
3:58
Exceptions
4:24
3. Adding a Suffix to Words With Silent E Preceded by Another Vowel
4:34
Practice
5:04
Practice Answers
5:52
Ways to Improve Your Reading
7:04
Read
7:09
Play Word Games
7:34
Use Mnemonics
7:45
Spell-Check
8:07
Writing Numbers

17m 25s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
Two Ways to Write Numbers
0:28
Numerals and Spelled Out Words
0:31
The General Rule is to Spell Out Single Digit Whole Numbers and Use Numerals for Bigger Numbers
0:51
Rules for Writing Numbers
1:20
Be Consistent Within a Category
1:23
If Your Group of Numbers Has a Number Greater Than Nine, Use Numerals for All
1:45
If You Have Numbers in Different Categories Use Numerals for One and Spell Out the Other
1:52
Always Spell Out Simple Fractions and Use Hyphens
4:11
A Mixed Fraction Can be Expressed in Numerals Unless it is the First Word in a Sentence
4:32
The Simplest Way to Express Numbers is Best
5:26
Examples
5:36
Write Decimals in Figures
7:24
Use Commas With Numbers of Four Digits or More
8:04
But Do Not Use A Comma When Writing Out a Number of Four or More Digits
8:29
Writing Dates
8:57
Writing Decades, Spell Them Out and Lowercase Them
9:54
Expressing Decades Using Incomplete Numerals With Apostrophes
10:23
Spell Out the Time of Day in Text
11:05
Use Numerals With Time of Day When Exact Times Are Being Emphasized
11:38
Use Noon and Midnight Rather Than 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.
12:27
Hyphenate All Compound Numbers From Twenty-One to Ninety-Nine
12:58
Write Out a Number if it Begins a Sentence
13:20
Practice
14:00
Practice Answers
14:58
Tips to Improve Your Spelling

8m 41s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
Make Your Own Spelling List
0:27
Keep a List of Words You Frequently Misspell and Add Words
0:42
Write Down the Definition of a Troublesome Word Beside It
1:07
Study Your List Often
1:25
Create Mnemonics
1:35
Mnemonics Definition and Examples
1:42
Organize and Reorganize Your List
3:13
Group Words
3:24
Come Up With Different Versions of List and Study Each Version
3:40
Make Flashcards
3:58
Test Yourself
4:02
Take Traditional Spelling Tests
4:08
One-Person Spelling Bee
4:22
Read Actively
6:49
Most of the Spelling We Absorb Comes From Reading
6:55
Focus On the Image of the Typed Words to Reinforce Correct Spelling
7:18
Imagine Sounds of Words or Try to Pronounce In Your Head
7:36
Keep Reading
8:26
Forming Contractions

16m 31s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
What is a Contraction?
0:51
Definition of Contraction
0:52
Quicker to Write and Pronounce, Are Considered Less Formal
1:02
Apostrophes Used to Create Possessives Are Not Contractions
1:52
Are Contractions
2:26
Forming a Contraction With the Verb 'Are'
2:30
Using 'Are' Contractions With Nouns or Pronouns in Conversation
2:54
Have Contractions
3:39
Forming a Contraction With the Verb 'Have'
3:40
Using 'Have' Contractions With Nouns or Pronouns in Conversation
3:57
Is/Has Contractions
4:19
Forming a Contraction With the Verb 'Is' and 'Has'
4:21
'Is' and 'Has' Contractions With Nouns and Pronouns in Written and Spoken English
4:56
Not Contractions
5:44
Forming a Contraction With the Adverb 'Not'
5:45
Contraction From 'Will Not' to Special Form 'Won't', and 'Are Not' to 'Aren't'
6:22
Will/Shall Contractions
6:41
Forming a Contraction With the Verb 'Will' or 'Shall'
6:42
Contraction Will/Shall With Nouns and Pronouns
7:03
Would/Had Contractions
7:31
Forming Would/Had Contractions
7:32
Would/Had Contractions With Nouns and Pronouns
8:00
Other Contractions
8:21
Ain't
8:30
Cause
9:18
D' is an Informal Contraction For Do
9:48
Let's
10:06
Ma'am
10:35
O'clock
11:03
Y'all
11:39
Doubling Contractions
12:56
Grammatically Correct but Highly Informal
12:59
Rules For Contractions
13:44
Contractions Are Almost Always Less Formal
13:45
Academic Writing and Professional Writing Prohibits Contractions
14:06
Always Use Contractions With Apostrophes
14:27
Avoid Doubling Contractions
15:01
Practice
15:11
Practice Answers
15:51
Section 3: Problematic Words
Problematic Words (A-B)

14m 6s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:13
Problematic Words
0:45
Affect Vs. Effect
0:46
Adverse Vs. Averse
2:06
Advice Vs. Advise
3:01
Allot Vs. A Lot
3:25
Already Vs. All Ready
4:32
Among Vs. Between
5:33
Amount Vs. Number
6:20
Assure/Ensure/Insure
7:13
Been Vs. Bin
7:58
Buy/By/Bye
8:51
Because Vs. Since
9:32
Practice
10:56
Practice Answers
11:48
Problematic Words (C-E)

10m 20s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:12
Problematic Words
0:44
Cannon Vs. Canon
0:45
Capital Vs. Capitol
1:29
Complement Vs. Compliment
2:12
Connote Vs. Denote
2:44
Desert Vs. Dessert
3:40
Different From Vs. Differently Than
4:34
Elicit Vs. Illicit
5:34
Emigrate Vs. Immigrate
6:50
Every Day Vs. Everyday
7:31
Practice
8:03
Practice Answers
8:52
Problematic Words (F-J)

9m 34s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:14
Fewer/Less/Under
0:45
For/Fore/Four
1:55
Foreword Vs. Forward
2:37
Gone Vs. Went
3:19
Hole/Whole
3:58
Holy/Wholly
4:43
Imply Vs. Infer
5:14
Irregardless Vs. Regardless
6:10
Practice
6:55
Practice Answers
7:40
Problematic Words (K-P)

16m 10s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
Problematic Words
0:54
Lay/Lie
0:55
Lay/Lie/Lying/Lain to Recline
1:05
Lay/Laying/Laid to Put or Place
2:08
Lie/Lied/Lying/Lied to Tell Falsehoods
3:15
Lightning/Lightening
3:52
Lightning/Lightening Examples
4:49
Loose/Lose
5:03
Medal/Meddle
5:42
Metal/Mettle
6:09
Of Vs. Have
6:58
On to Vs. Onto
7:51
Pair/Pare/Pear
8:40
Passed Vs. Past
9:11
Peak/Peek/Pique
9:37
Perpetrate Vs. Perpetuate
10:40
Pi Vs. Pie
11:17
Praise/Prays/Preys
11:36
Precedence/Precedents/Presidents
12:02
Principal/Principle
12:50
Profit/Prophet
13:38
Practice
14:11
Practice Answers
14:55
Problematic Words (Q-U)

10m 43s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:12
Problematic Words
0:46
Rain/Reign/Rein
0:47
Read/Read/Red
2:03
Right/Rite/Write
2:36
Role Vs. Roll
3:19
Root/Rout/Route
4:08
Set Vs. Sit
4:47
Stationary Vs. Stationery
5:23
Take Vs. Bring
5:50
Than Vs. Then
6:24
Threw Vs. Through
6:47
To/Too/Two
7:19
Their/There/They're
8:03
Practice
8:44
Practice Answers
9:26
Problematic Words (V-Z)

13m

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:12
Problematic Words
0:59
Vary Vs. Very
1:00
Verses Vs. Versus
1:22
Vice Vs. Vise
2:12
Wail Vs. Whale
2:50
Warrantee Vs. Warranty
3:34
Wear Vs. Where
4:00
Weather Vs. Whether
4:42
Were Vs. We're
5:13
While Vs. Wile
5:52
Who's Vs. Whose
6:37
Who Vs. Whom
7:05
Won/Won't/Wont
8:45
Yore/Your/You're
9:45
Practice
11:12
Practice Answers
11:48
Latin Terms & Abbreviations

13m 10s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
The Big Three
1:07
Etc./Et Cetera
1:08
Use a Comma Before Etc. at the End of a List
1:40
Never Use Etc. More Than Once in a Row
1:48
When Using Etc. Make Sure All Items Are of the Same Kind
2:19
E.g./Exempli Gratia
2:42
I.e./Id Est.
3:07
I.E. or E.G.?
3:35
Use E.g. to Give Examples Not Necessarily the Only Example
3:36
Use I.e. to Demonstrate Equivalency
4:20
Some Situations Can Use Either I.e. or E.g.
4:58
More Latin Terms
5:53
Sic
5:54
Circa
6:49
Et Al.
7:39
Viz.
8:09
Problematic Words
8:55
Versus
8:56
Practice
9:49
Practice Answers
10:30
Section 4: Improving Your Grammar
The Essential Sentence

13m 22s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
A Complete Sentence
0:32
A Complete, Grammatical English Sentence Only Needs Two Elements
0:33
A Complete, Grammatical English Sentence Needs a Subject
0:47
A Complete, Grammatical English Sentence Needs a Predicate
1:18
Subject and Verbs Must Agree in Number
1:44
The Other Stuff
1:58
Other Stuff That Can Show Up in a Sentence: Phrases, Clauses, Parenthetical Statements and Interjections
1:59
A Few Examples
2:44
Rules for Subjects
4:33
A Subject Will Come Before a Phrase Beginning With Of
4:34
Sentences May Have Multiple Subjects
5:23
A Request or Command Has an Implied Subject
5:50
Rules for Verbs
6:57
An Infinitive
6:58
To Find a Subject and Verb, Look for the Verb First
8:02
Multiple Verbs in One Sentence
8:58
Practice
9:36
Practice Answers
10:40
Problems With Subjects and Verbs

14m 32s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:10
Singular Vs. Plural Verbs
0:43
Singular Subjects with Singular Verbs and Plural Subjects With Plural Verbs
0:44
Singular and Plural Subjects
2:14
Two Singular Subjects Connected by 'Or' or 'Nor' Require a Singular Verb
2:15
Two Singular Subjects Connected by 'Either/Or' or 'Neither/Nor' Require a Singular Verb
2:42
'I' as One of the Subjects
3:08
Singular and Plural Subjects Connected by 'Either/Or' or 'Neither/Nor'
4:06
Plural Verb for Two or More Subjects Connected by 'And'
4:37
Subject Separated from Verb
5:07
Words Indicating Portions
5:43
Singular Pronouns Require Singular Verbs
8:06
Subjects 'Either' and 'Neither' Take a Singular Verb
8:45
Adverbs Here and There
9:07
Singular Verbs With Sums of Money or Periods of Time
9:43
Collective Nouns May be Singular or Plural
10:10
Pronouns That Become Plural According to Noun: Who, That, Which
11:10
Practice
11:42
Practice Answers
12:33
Problems With Pronouns

15m 36s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
Pronouns and Pronoun Cases
0:36
Pronoun Definition and The Three Cases
0:37
Subject/Nominative
0:56
Object/Objective
1:02
Possessive
1:06
Rules for Pronouns
1:15
Subject Pronouns as the Subject of a Verb
1:16
Subject Pronouns Used to Rename the Subject, Following To Be Verbs
1:37
Object Pronouns Following 'To Be' Verbs in Spoken English
2:09
Object Pronouns Everywhere Else
2:40
Weak Clauses Versus Strong Clauses When Using Pronouns
3:19
Strong Clauses
3:29
Weak Clauses
3:36
Deciding What Kind of Pronoun to Use
4:12
Completing The Sentence Differently Changes the Meaning
4:48
Possessive Pronouns Do Not Need Apostrophes
5:43
Using Reflexive Pronouns; The 'Self' Pronouns
6:38
When to Use Who or Whom
8:17
Choosing Between Whoever and Whomever
9:08
Who Refers to People, That or Which Refer to Groups or Things
9:38
That and Which, Essential and Nonessential Clauses
10:04
Practice
12:32
Practice Answers
13:17
Problems With Adjectives and Adverbs

11m 9s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:10
Adjectives Vs. Adverbs
0:30
What Are Adjectives and When to Use Adjectives?
0:31
What are Adverbs and When to Use Adverbs?
0:58
General Rules
2:03
If a Word Answers the Question 'How?', it is an Adverb
2:05
Rule Change: If a Verb is Being Used Actively, Use an Adverb
2:38
If a Verb is Not Being Used Actively, Use an Adjective
3:21
Good Vs. Well
3:59
Good is an Adjective, Well is an Adverb
4:00
Well When Referring to Health, Good When Referring to Emotional State
4:58
Comparisons
5:24
The Comparative, and the Superlative
5:25
Making a Comparison Using -ly Adverbs
6:21
This/That/These/Those
6:54
Adjectives or Pronouns?
6:55
This and That Are Always Singular, This is Nearer Than That
7:24
These and Those Are Always Plural, These are Nearer Than Those
7:41
Than Vs. Then
7:51
Use Than to Show Comparison, Use Then to Answer the Question When
7:52
Practice
8:21
Practice Answers
9:06
Problems With Prepositions

7m

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:10
What is a Preposition?
0:22
Defining a Preposition
0:23
The Log
0:29
Rules for Prepositions
1:40
Ending a Sentence With a Preposition
1:41
Do Not Use Extra Prepositions
2:12
Indicating Dates With a Preposition
2:43
'Of' Versus 'Have'
2:59
Between Versus Among
3:27
The Word Like as a Preposition
4:06
Practice
4:43
Practice Answers
5:32
Section 5: Effective Writing
Concrete Language

10m 39s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:08
What is Concrete Language?
0:26
Concrete language is Not Abstract
0:27
Concrete Language is About the Real World
0:54
Specificity
1:50
The First Rule of Concrete Language is Specificity
1:51
Sensory Details
3:11
Concrete Nouns
3:12
Sensory Details Can be Applied to Abstract Concepts
3:47
Vivid Verbs
4:31
Vivid Verbs Can Make Sentences Come Alive!
4:32
Use a Thesaurus to Find Vivid Verbs
5:38
Do Not Overuse Vivid Verbs
5:46
Active Voice
6:35
What is the Active Voice?
6:36
Fun Tip
7:18
Practice
7:51
Practice Answers
8:37
Clumsy Sentences & Double Negatives

6m 29s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
What Makes a Sentence Clumsy?
0:23
English Includes a Tremendous Variety of Sounds
0:24
Clumsy Sentences
0:44
What is a Double Negative?
1:02
In English, Two Negative Words Make a Positive
1:03
Avoiding Clumsy Sentences
2:11
Use Active Voice Whenever Possible
2:12
Fun Tip
2:48
Avoid These Phrases
3:17
Practice
4:32
Practice Answers
5:02
Parallel Structure & Flow

12m 12s

Intro
0:00
Lesson Overview
0:09
What is Flow?
0:30
Writers and Teachers Use of the Term Flow
0:31
Flow is a Matter of Practice but Has Several Key Elements
1:04
Parallel Structure
1:22
Parallelism (Word Lists, Phrases, Clauses, Etc.)
1:23
Modifiers
4:04
What is a Modifier?
4:05
If You Start a Sentence With an Acton, Follow it Up Immediately With an Actor
4:33
Place Modifiers as Close as Possible to the Thing Being Modified
5:37
Fragments
7:05
What is a Sentence Fragment?
7:06
Practice
8:23
Practice Answers
9:03
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Lecture Comments (2)

1 answer

Last reply by: Professor Hendershot
Tue Oct 1, 2013 11:52 AM

Post by Beverly Terry on October 1, 2013

Thanks so much for this course; I'm learning a lot.

I watch the lesson, take notes, then study, and that is why I have to backtrack to ask questions.

Regarding the em dash in dialogue: can it be used after a period, question mark, or exclamation mark?

Dashes, Hyphens, Ellipses, & Parentheses

Lecture Slides are screen-captured images of important points in the lecture. Students can download and print out these lecture slide images to do practice problems as well as take notes while watching the lecture.

  1. Intro
    • Lesson Overview
      • Hyphens
      • Rules for Hyphens
      • Ellipses
      • Dashes
      • En Dashes
      • Em Dashes
      • Parentheses
      • Practice
        • Practice Answers
          • Intro 0:00
          • Lesson Overview 0:12
          • Hyphens 0:32
            • Hyphens Connect Words together into Compound Nouns, and are Not Dashes
          • Rules for Hyphens 1:04
            • Refer to a Dictionary
            • Phrases with Different Forms should be Separate as Verbs and Together as Nouns or Adjectives
            • Compound Verbs are either Hyphenated or Appear as One Word
            • Hyphenate Between Two or More Adjectives when Before a Noun and are Single Idea
            • Hyphenate Adverbs Not Ending in -ly that are Used as Compound Words in Front of Nouns
            • Use Commas, not Hyphens, between Two Adjectives when you can Insert 'and' between Them
            • Hyphenate Compound Numbers and Spelled-Out Fractions
            • Attach Prefixes and Suffixes Without Hyphens
            • Hyphenate Prefixes before Proper Nouns
            • Hyphenate Prefixes to Avoid Doubled 'a' and 'I'
            • Hyphenate All Words Beginning with 'self' except 'Selfish' and 'Selfless'
            • Use Hyphens with the Prefix 'ex-'
            • Use Hyphens with 're-' when 're-' means 'Again'
          • Ellipses 10:34
            • Ellipses Mark Where Words have been Omitted from Quoted Passages
            • Use No More than Three Marks when Omission Occurs in Middle of a Sentence or Between Sentences
            • Use Ellipsis Marks after the Last Punctuation Mark when Omitting Paragraphs
          • Dashes 12:12
            • Em Dashes Show Pause or Digression in a Sentence
            • En Dashes Show Connections Between Two Equivalent Things
          • En Dashes 13:36
            • Use En Dashes for Periods of Time Instead of 'to'
            • Use En Dashes to Combine Open Compounds
          • Em Dashes 14:43
            • Use Em Dashes Sparingly in Formal Writing
            • Em Dashes in Informal Writing May Replace Commas, Semicolons, Colons, and Parentheses
          • Parentheses 16:18
            • Use Parentheses to Enclose Words or Figures that are Used as an Aside
            • Use Parentheses to Enclose Numbers or Letters Used for Listed Items
            • Periods go Inside Parentheses only if an Entire Sentence is Inside the Parentheses
          • Practice 17:57
          • Practice Answers 18:56

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