Hole and Whole

Hole and whole sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

Hole

Hole is about emptiness, like a hole in the ground, or a hole in my grade book where there is a missing assignment.

You can also have a hole in your heart when someone breaks up with you, which makes you want to hide in a hole in the wall

Practice:

There was a four-foot ________________________ in front of my doorstep this morning.
Did that ________________________ in your ear hurt?
There is a huge ________________________ where the towers stood.

Whole

Whole is about completeness, like eating a whole candy bar, or a whole bag of chips.

A hole needs a “w” to make it whole, complete.

Two, to, and too

Two, to, and too sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

Two

Two refers to the number 2. Use it when the word is communicating that there are 2 objects or people.

It was two o'clock in the morning.
There were two slices of pie left.
There are two people in front of me in line.

To

To tells you that someone of something is going somewhere, or is moving towards something.

I went to the store.
She took me to the doctor.
We walked to the waterfront.

The idea that to is moving towards something is a little bit tricky. Notice this sentence:

He said that in order to complete the assignment, we should read the book.

Notice that he said “to complete the assignment.” This shows that he wants to move something towards completion.

We wanted to create a web page.

Notice that “to create” shows a desire to move towards creating a web page.

Too

Too is used to emphasize something. You can usually substitute too for also.

We'd like to go, too.
This, too, is important.
Shari wants to participate, too.

* Notice that too, when used like also, always has a comma before it if it is at the end of a sentence, and has a comma before and after it if it is in the middle of a sentence.

Too can also be used to express an excess of something.

There are too many of us here today.
I have too much homework.
There is too little being done to save the polar bears.

Where, were and we're

Where, were, and we're sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

Where

Where is about place. It is used to ask about the location of someone or something, You can remember that by looking at the word like this:

W(here)

“Where” is like “here” because both show a location. For example:

Where is the park?
Where are they going?
I want to know where they went.

Were

Were is a past plural form of the verb to be. It means that a group of people or objects was somewhere or in some state at a point in the past.

We were alone out there.
They were afraid of the dark.
Sam and Tom were not finished with their assignment.

In each case, notice that were is describing a past situation.

We're

We're is telling you that we are somewhere. You can look at it like this:

We're = we + are

Whenever you use we're, you should be able to substitute for we are.

We're not going to be late this time.
I don't know when we're coming back.
Did they say when we're planning to eat dinner?
How come we're getting less?

Your and You're

Your and you're sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

Your

Your means it belongs to you. You can look at it like this:

Y(our)

“Your” is like “our” because both express ownership, or possession. For example:

Your car is parked in an illegal space.
Your apartment is really close to the subway.
We saw your friends outside the deli.

You're

You're is telling you that you are somewhere. You can look at it like this:

You're = you + are

Whenever you use you're, you should be able to substitute for you are.

You're not going to be late this time.
I don't know when you're coming back.
You're not serious, are you?
How come you're getting more more than I am?

There, Their and They're

There, their and they're sound alike, but they mean different things. We're going to discuss some tricks to use when you're trying to figure out which one you need in your sentence.

There

There is about place. You can remember that by looking at the word like this:

T(here)

“There” is like “here” because both show a location. For example:

The park is over there.
They went with him there.
We went there with our friends.

There is also used before the verb “to be.”

There are fourteen of us going.
There is something I have to tell you.
I don't want whatever there is left.
I remember when there were four buildings on this block.

Their

Their is about possession (something that belongs to them). You can remember that by looking at the word like this:

The(i)r

“Their” is like “I” because I is mine and their belongs to them.

Their car was parked by the corner.
I was waiting for their phone call.
How can I get their autographs?
What were their names again?

In each case, notice that their is showing possession.

They're

They're is telling you that they are somewhere. You can look at it like this:

They're = they + are

Whenever you use they're, you should be able to substitute for they are.

They're not going to be late this time.
I don't know when they're coming back.
Did they say when they're planning to eat dinner?
How come they're getting more more than I am?

Directions: Fill in the blanks with there, their and they're as appropriate.

1. ________________________________ never going to come home, are they?
2. When will we go back ________________________________?
3. How's the weather down ________________________________?
4. ________________________________ phone was disconnected yesterday.
5. When will we get ________________________________?
6. ________________________________ are two avocados left.
7. How come ________________________________ are only four of us here?
8. When will ________________________________ phone get fixed?
9. How come ________________________________ not at the party yet?
10. Well, I guess we'll see you ________________________________.
11. When will ________________________________ be ice cream again?
12. They still haven't done ________________________________ homework.
13. Where are ________________________________ exams?
14. ________________________________ not going to stop.
15. What's ________________________________ number again?
16. ________________________________ is too much wrong with the world.
17. ________________________________ too fast for you to catch!
18. ________________________________ is nothing you can do to stop us!
19. We did not steal ________________________________ delicious snacks!
20. What's ________________________________ deal, anyway?

Grammar Quiz on Wednesday, Sept. 30

Go over the capitalization worksheets you got back. Check your mistakes and try to correct them as you study. Let me know if you have any questions.

The quiz will be out of 25 points.

Homework (due 9/24)

Grammar worksheet was distributed in class.

Grammar Workshop - Capitalization II

Grammar Practice

Mrs. Koza

10^th Grade English

Name:____________________________________________ Section:_________________________

Capitalization II

Using Visual Representation for Information

It's in the middle of a sentence! How do I know if it's capitalized?

In English and other languages, we capitalize proper nouns. A proper noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. A capitalized noun in the middle of a sentence tells us that we are looking at someone or something's unique name.

Your name is a proper noun!

What other proper nouns can you think of?

___________________________

___________________________

___________________________

___________________________

___________________________

___________________________

What should I capitalize?

There are many kinds of proper nouns that get capitalized. Remember that a proper noun is a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

Names of Individuals

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Names of national or ethnic groups

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Names of languages

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Religious terms

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Organizations

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Institutions

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Monuments, Buildings, Bridges

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Names of countries

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Names of heavenly bodies

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Names of political institutions

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Titles in family relationships

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Titles of Works

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

Grammar Workshop - Capitalization

Grammar Practice

Mrs. Koza

10^th Grade English

Name:______________________________________________ Section:_______________________

Capitalization I

The Visual Organization of Words

What is capitalization?

Capitalization is when we use a capital letter at the beginning of a word. There are many reasons to capitalize.

Capitalizing at the beginning of a sentence

Capitalizing the first word in a sentence is a way to visually organize writing. As you know, every sentence must end with some kind of punctuation mark (period, question mark, exclamation point, etc.), showing that a complete thought has ended. Similarly, a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence tells us when a new thought has begun.

The street is really noisy at night.

She told me the bus would be late.

Circle the words that need capitalizing in the paragraph below:

doesn't everyone in Williamsburg know that drinking out of a plastic water bottle will lead to certain death? one water consumer ordered a case of Poland Spring to the mail room recently, only to have it stolen. the bisphenol-A has clearly gone to their head, as they skipped right over passive-aggressive and penned an aggressive-aggressive note to the thief, wishing them to choke. a ransom note, declaring the water was "fine," was posted in reply.

Capitalizing direct quotations

Capitalize a direct quotation when it is a complete sentence, even if the quote starts in the middle of the sentence.

“When can I turn in this assignment,” he asked the teacher.

I said to her, “Please help me with my homework.”

Circle the words below that need to be capitalized:

One tenant in the building says, "this goes a long way to explaining my love/hate relationship with my neighbors."

Heyward agreed, telling the cops, "yeah, that does look like me."

Quotations that are not capitalized

If a quotation is not a complete sentence, or does not express a complete thought, then it is not capitalized.

Sarah said she was “on the move.”

They said we were “creative thinkers.”

Capitalizing sentences in parentheses

Sentences in parentheses only get capitalized if the sentence stands alone.

Amelie refused to continue down the path. (We continued to walk.)

Sunaura ran the red light. (Mom got really scared.)

If the parentheses are within another sentence, the parenthetical does not get capitalized, even if it is a complete sentence.

We ran (and far) to get to the other side of the track.

Sylvia got her test back (it was a good grade), and showed it to her friends.

Circle the words below that need to be capitalized:

After last November's fake New York Times treatment, lefty political pranksters The Yes Men are back with a fake "Special Climate Edition" of the New York Post. The front page story covers the catastrophic events which the scientific community expects humanity to endure due to climate change. (in Bizarro-world Post fashion.)

Homework (due 9/23)

Grammar worksheet distributed in class.