English 10—Fall Semester

GENRES

ú Novel (Lord of the Flies)

ú Short stories

ú Nonfiction

ESSAYS

ú Biographical Narrative

ú Cause-Effect Essay

ú Critical Review / Evaluation Essay (teacher’s choice)

ú an in-class essay (writing for assessment / on-demand writing)

WRITING AND GRAMMAR

ú phrases: prepositional phrases, gerund phrases, infinitive phrases, participial phrases, appositive phrases

ú punctuation: commas, semicolons, and colons

READING, LITERATURE, AND LITERACY

ú these literary terms and concepts: allusion, antagonist, autobiography, biography, character, characterization, critical review, dialogue, direct characterization, dynamic character, genre, flat character, indirect characterization, motivation, parable, protagonist, round character, static character, suspense, symbol

Prepositional Phrases

ú A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition.

ú The object of the preposition will be a noun or a pronoun.

ú Many (but not all) prepositions show the relationship between two physical objects.

ú The complete list of prepositions totals approximately 150 words.

ú Here is a shorter list of common the more common prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, outside, over, past, since, through, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without

Examples of Prepositional Phrases

ú Gandolfo was fluent in three languages.

ú Beneath the bridge the troll waited.

ú The paddle in the canoe was broken.

Verbals

ú Gerunds, infinitives, and participles are known as verbals.

ú Verbals are words that are rooted in the verb family, but that get used as other non-verb parts of speech.

Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

ú Verbs used as nouns are called gerunds.

ú All gerunds end with –ing.

ú Gerund phrases are created by adding words to a gerund.

Examples of Gerunds

ú Cheating is forbidden.

ú The players practiced their dribbling.

Examples of Gerund Phrases

ú Cheating on the final exam is forbidden.

ú The players practiced dribbling the length of the court.

Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases

ú Infinitives consist of to + a verb.

ú Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

ú Infinitive phrases are created by adding words to infinitives.

Examples of Infinitives

ú To educate is our goal.

ú Barry learned to forgive.

Examples of Infinitives

ú To educate all the students in the school district is our goal.

ú Barry learned to forgive those who had wronged him.

Participial Phrases

ú Verbs used as adjectives are called participles.

ú Two types of participles are the present participle and the past participle.

ú Present participles always end in –ing.

ú Past participles usually—but not always—end in –ed.

ú Participial phrases are created by adding words to participles.

ú Participial phrases are moveable phrases; they can be placed in various places within a sentence.

Examples of Present and Past Participles

ú The glowing rock came from the planet Krypton. [present]

ú No one was aware of the hurtling meteor. [present]

ú The illuminated room was a perfect place to read. [past]

ú The wrecking crew gazed at the leveled building. [past]

Examples of Participial Phrases

ú Glowing with an eerie green light, the rock awed the spectators who had gathered to see it.

ú The meteor, hurtling through space at an incredible speed, came closer to the planet Earth.

ú Illuminated by over a hundred lamps, the room was a perfect place to read.

ú The building lay smoldering on the ground, leveled by the strategically placed explosive.

Appositive Phrases

ú An appositive is a word or word group that “re-names” or “is another name for” a noun.

Examples of Appositives

ú The yak, a long-haired bovine found in Central Asia, is kept warm by his long, shaggy hair. [The appositive is another name for “yak.”]

ú Charlton had always wanted to see a wildebeest, an animal that combines qualities of both the horse and the cow. [The appositive is another name for “wildebeest.”]

Commas

comma rule 1—Separate introductory words, phrases, or clauses from the main clause. Example: Leveled by the strategically placed explosive [,] the building lay smoldering on the ground.

comma rule 2—Separate medial words, phrases, or clauses from the main clause. Example: The building [,] leveled by the strategically placed explosive [,] lay smoldering on the ground.

comma rule 3—Separate terminal words, phrases, or clauses from the main clause. Example: The building lay smoldering on the ground [,] leveled by the strategically placed explosive.

comma rule 4—Separate items in a series. Example: The cannibal [,] the capitalist [,] and the chiropractor walked into a bar.

comma rule 5—Separate two adjectives. Example: The nimble [,] radiant ballerina performed an arabesque.

comma rule 6—Before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence. Example: The ballerina performed an arabesque [,] but her partner performed a pirouette.

Semicolons

semicolon rule 1—Separate two main or independent clauses. Example: The patrol car cruised slowly down the street [;] the fugitive crouched behind the dumpster.

semicolon rule 2—Separate two main clauses when the second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb. Example: The patrol car cruised slowly down the street [;] meanwhile, the fugitive crouched behind the dumpster. [Though semicolon rule 2 can be considered separately, it is actually a subset of semicolon rule 1.]

semicolon rule 3—Separate items in a series when one or more items contain commas. Example: Eleanor had visited Arcata, California [;] Boulder, Colorado [;] and Muskegon, Michigan. [Semicolon rule 3 is a variation of comma rule 4.]

semicolon rule 4—Place a semicolon before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence when either or both of the main clauses contain commas. Example: Eleanor was off once again, this time for Daytona Beach [;] but Leroy refused to leave the farm, the place where he felt most at home. [Semicolon rule 4 is a variation of comma rule 6.]

Colons

ú The colon says “note what follows.” Words to the right of a colon elaborate on or complete the meaning of words to the left of a colon. The movement from the left side of a colon to the right side of a colon is a movement from the more general to the more specific.

ú A colon can be followed by a single word, a phrase, a list, or even a complete sentence.

colon followed by a single word: Every member of the band knew what their song was missing [:] cowbell. [The word “cowbell” to the right of the colon is the more specific statement of “what their song was missing” to the left side of the colon.]

colon followed by a phrase: There in the center of the carpet lay the clue [:] a muddy footprint. [The phrase “a muddy footprint” to the right of the colon is the more specific statement of “the clue” to the left side of the colon.]

colon followed by a list: There in the center of the carpet lay the clues [:] a muddy footprint, a still-smoking pistol, and a tube of lipstick. [The three-item list to the right of the colon is the more specific statement of “the clues” to the left side of the colon.]

colon followed by a complete sentence: For once, Sherlock Holmes had made a grievous mistake [:] he had arrived on the scene without his deerstalker hat. [The sentence “he had arrived on the scene without his deerstalker hat” to the right of the colon is the more specific statement of “a grievous mistake” to the left side of the colon.]