Stop! Grammar time.

 

                           The punctuation station. (2010). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Lerner Publishing Group, 36.

You can find this book here.

Apostrophes, like commas, can be tricky punctuation to use well. As the example above shows, apostrophes have two main meanings: working with contractions and working with possessives. Perhaps that already sounds a little tricky? Don't worry, even professionals make mistakes:

The first image (click on it for a link to the source) is missing an apostrophe. It should be we're open (we are open) to show that you can go in. However, the mistake by removing the apostrophe has suggested the past tense to show they once were open, but currently are not. They needed to create a contraction.

The second image (click on it for a link to the source) has added apostrophes to CD and DVD. The sign means to make these objects plurals to show they sell more than one CD and DVD; however, they have instead written it so that it looks like a CD and DVD own something, though we don't know what. They have created a possessive instead of a plural. 

So let's have a look at how to do this together.

A contraction is a shortened version of a single word or a combination of a group of words. What the apostrophe does in these instances is replace the missing letters or words from what has been shortened:

                                                             I've = I have

Mornin' = Morning

We're = We are

She'd = She would

Could've = Could have

You'll = You will

'ere = Here

A possessive is when nouns and pronouns have ownership over something. The general rule is to add an apostrophe followed by an s ('s) after the word. 

This is Peter's chair. 

This one is not too hard. Peter, whether he physically owns the chair or is just using it, shows that it is currently his chair. 

A hard day's work. 

In this sentence, there isn't a human subject to own something; however, "day" is the noun that is able to possess something, in this case work. Think of it like this: "A hard day of work". This sentence shows that the day has been full of work and therefore "work" cannot be the noun because it has described what has been done during the day. 

Let me show you a couple more:

I am reading today's newspaper.

Stacey and Tanisha's project won first place in Science.

Does that help? Hopefully. Until you meet this one ...

There is one more rule when it comes to possessives. And that is the pluralised possessive. This rule is for nouns and pronouns that are already pluralised, or if they have an s on the end of them. When this comes up, you add an apostrophe at the end of the word only if the plural ends with s, and you add an 's if it does not.

The job ad required someone with five years' experience.

'Years' is the plural form of 'year'. Therefore, to make this possessive, you just add an apostrophe. 

There is going to be a New Year's Eve party at the Smiths' holiday home.

'Smith' is someone's surname. If the word is 'Smiths' this means the noun incorporates everyone in the Smith family. Therefore as it ends with an s, only an apostrophe is needed. 

"The children's toys are everywhere!" 

'Children' is a plural that does not end in s. Therefore, 's is required to show the possessive form of this word. 

Dolphins were caught in the fishermen's nets.

'Dolphins' and 'fishermen' are both plurals and nouns in this sentence. However, it is only the fishermen who own the net to catch fish. Therefore, 's is added to 'fishermen'.

And that should be it. It should be noted that sometimes people will always just use 's for possessive plurals (which does make it easier); and some follow the directions I have laid out here. The most important part of this post, is to know the difference between contractions and possessives. This way, hopefully, you'll remember to add them in before you pay the sign-writer. 😉

Stop! Grammar time.

 

You can find this resource here.

Today we will be looking at two different kinds of nouns ... and they are fun ones too!

First up is:

Visual guide to grammar and punctuation. (2019). Melbourne, Victoria: DK Australia, 18.

As the book suggests for this type of noun, two other nouns are combined to make a new one. The reason it is therefore called a compound noun, is because two words are compounded (or combined) together.

However, it is the whole word. So, for example, superrific is not a real compound word. That is because even though it comes from superb + terrific, it isn't each whole word combined. 

Another thing to note about compound nouns is that you might join the words together without a hyphen (sunrise), but you may also use a hyphen between them (dry-cleaning). Surprisingly, they could also be neither ...

Take for example the noun Christmas tree. This is a compound word that refers to one object, even though the words are not squished together or connected by a hyphen, but when read or spoken is done so more quickly.

This makes it slightly more confusing, but also more fun! It means that a lot of the time we may be using compound nouns without realising what they are. Fascinating!

Secondly:

Visual guide to grammar and punctuation. (2019). Melbourne, Victoria: DK Australia, 19.

You can't stop the fun just yet! Collective nouns refer to a group of animals, people or things (as the description says). So, for example, if you have ten elephants, they become a herd. What I would also like to point out about this book, is that though they use the collective noun flock for geese, it's ... wait for it ... actually gaggle when they are on the ground or in the water! 

Other collective nouns that highlight the group are things like team, family and even police! See, when you say "The police are coming" it is more than one person in the car (or even multiple cars) which shows the collective group. This is the same for family, which is made up of you and however many other members.

So, start watching out for these two types of nouns. Either find them in your everyday language or look up. For example, you might know that it's a swarm of bees, but did you also know it could be a bike of bees? What about a murder of crows? 

Grammar is way too fun!

Stop! Grammar time.

 

The first Grammar Time of the new year! What does it bring?

OXYMORONS

An oxymoron is when two words with opposite meanings are placed next to each other in the sentence. 

The sentence then looks like it is a contradiction of terms; however, it can add drama to your sentence or speech, or it can make the reader or listener stop and think or laugh at the idea. 

One of the most used oxymorons in Australia is:

Yeah nah

It can be written in different ways (yeah-nah or yeahnah), but that doesn't change its meaning or impact. 

'Yeah nah' actually means that yes, I have heard you speak; no, I don't agree with you. It is a phrase that may minimise offense when you think the person you are speaking with is wrong though you understand what they are saying, or if you think it is a bad idea and won't go along with it. Of course, if there is a longer pause between the words; then the point is being made more strongly that there is disagreement. 

Also with oxymorons, 'yeah nah' can go in the opposite direction: nah yeah

Head spinner! Particularly because whilst it can mean the opposite of 'yeah nah', it also necessarily doesn't. Maybe something was missed from the conversation and so nah, I see your point, but yeah there's also this to consider. Or, maybe it is just to highlight the fact that something isn't right, or it is silly, or it doesn't make sense: nah that's wrong, and yeah I/we know it's wrong. 

I know it is a long explanation; but it shows the depth of oxymorons. There are also plenty of others that are more well-known globally:

That's the same difference.

You are clearly confused.

I better act naturally. 

A small crowd gathered to watch the bittersweet performance.

What others can you think of?

Stop! Grammar time.

 

Time for two more punctuation marks: semicolons and colons.

The resource can be found here. It is "Good grammar for students" by Howard Jackson.

Semicolons ( ; )

The semicolon is a stronger pause than the comma in a sentence. It is used mostly to separate clauses (smaller sentences) that are not as related to each other as they would be if you used a comma. The example in Howard's (2005) book is:

(p. 118)

While the paragraph is technically about the same topic, the two clauses are not as connected as they change from having a human subject to an environmental one. Also, be aware that if you have a semicolon there, a joining word (or conjunction) like "and" will not (the semicolon replaces it).

Semicolons can also be used to separate lists. For example, if the list is rather detailed (almost like sentences themselves); then a semicolon can be used:

We visited Thailand and Singapore in spring; Germany, France, and Italy in summer; and Argentina in autumn.

You can also use semicolons for words that join two clauses together. These particular words are called conjunctive adverbs and include: moreover, nevertheless, however, otherwise, therefore, then, finally, likewise, and consequently:

The shop was open Monday; however, every day after that it was closed for refurbishment.

Colons ( : )

Colons also separate sentences; however, it might not be a whole sentence, but just one word! It is all about the impact when it comes to a colon to make a strong point. For example:

We have two options: stay and fight, or run like wild horses.

The research is conclusive: climate change is a reality.

And then I had a single thought: stop!

Colons can also introduce lists or quotes (which are important for assignments so you do not plagiarise). 

And that are two more punctuation marks! They can be tricky if you are not used to them; but, they can be fun for writing with more impact. They also make the sentences stronger when you read them. They are also good for faces:

A smile:  :) 

or a wink:   ;)

    

Stop! Grammar time ... kind of.

 

Mellonie, B. (2003). Bruce's Aussie dictionary. Camberwell, Victoria: Penguin, [n.p.].

This resource can be found here. 

What do I mean by kind of'? Well, this book is an English language book; but ... it focusses on Australian sayings and slang. Maybe you are used to hearing it everyday, maybe you don't realise you use the terms yourself; or maybe it has been awhile with all those strong American accents you are used to on YouTube?

Regardless, Australian slang is part of culture and language in Australia today. A lot of it is used as a shorthand version of saying things that may 'take too long' to say. For example:

s'arvo = this afternoon

See how much time you save here? 😀

Anyway, the book is written for a young audience and so doesn't go into a lot of history, but it does come with phrases and words, definitions and examples. Here's a couple you may (and may not) have heard before:

... as = an emphasis of emotion on your circumstance or emotion. For example: busy as ; hot as.

chockers = completely full. For example: that car is chockers, mate!

Digger / digger = Australian soldier; or also another term for 'mate'.

fair dinkum = describes something that is true. For example: Ben's a fair dinkum friend.

knackered = tired.

Nick off = go away.

No worries = Used to put people at ease. 

Ocker = refers to someone who is very Australian in how they speak and act.

Packin' it = someone who is feeling scared. 

Rapt = someone who is happy or excited about something. For example: Miguel was rapt to see his old mate Fergus, since they hadn't seen each other for twelve years.

skerrick = the smallest amount of something. For example: I don't have a skerrick to share.

uey = shortened version of U-turn.

Those are just some examples. But, if you don't know these and have heard the terms before, at least now you will be able to use them. And if you haven't used them before? Bring them back into the conversation. 

And if you like a challenge? Soon you'll be speaking like this:

"Billy had an ace time swimming with Mick. It had been a great arvo swimmin’ at the back of Bourke and no one gettin’ aggro at the other. Sure it had been hot as, but Mick was a true-blue bloke.

After the swim, Billy had to choof off back to the old man to have tucker ‘til he was full as a goog. It was a ripper of a day; the best in yonks!"

Exactly 😀

Stop! Grammar time.

 

Merrick, D. (2015). Blake's grammar and punctuation guide. Glebe, NSW: Pascal, [69].

This resource can be found here. 

As the image above shows, commas break up parts of sentences and helps strengthen understanding of the clauses in the sentences. In case you don't know, clauses are the basic make-ups of sentences and we have covered this in previous Grammar Times.

A comma enables a sentence to be longer, breaking up two separate ideas but putting them in the one sentence. These ideas can be in the middle, or at the beginning, of a sentence:

The hiker, who had been lost for many days, was found hidden in a cave.

Afterwards, we had lunch on the beach.

lightning flashed and, within a few minutes, the storm struck.

By day, he is Bruce Wayne. By night, he is Batman. 

However; commas can do so much more than make our sentences longer! 

Commas also help list items:

I like strawberries, bananas and mangoes. Roy doesn't. Roy likes apples, pears, figs and durian.

As a note, you do not need one before the "and" in your lists. It will flow on without adding the extra comma.

But be aware of placing too many commas in your sentences. It will confuse readers and not make much sense grammatically. Just look at the next example:

Hey, come, back, here Ken. You, have, forgotten to, take this, with, you.

See how the sentence does not flow very well? Now, there are other punctuation marks like semi-colons and colons that help with pauses and lists; but we will look at those another time. 

But be wise with commas. They comma at you anytime you read or write!

Stop! Grammar time.

Prasoon, S. (2015). English grammar and usage: Read swiftly, speak fluently and write correctly. New Delhi: V & S Publishers, [97]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=1586151&site=ehost-live&ebv=EK&ppid=Page-__-97

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.

In this Grammar Time, I would like to look at passive voice. However; the example from above also mentions transitive verbs. So I think we should start there. 

A transitive verb is a verb that takes or demands an object be given to a subject (person or thing). When you look at the sentence that contains transitive verbs, the object (another noun in a sentence, but one that has actions done to it, not like subjects discussed in an earlier post where they cause the action) comes directly after the verb:

Sally kicked Sam.

The dog barked at me.

Terry eats ice cream every day.

Laverne wants Shirley, but Shirley doesn't notice her.

In the above examples, the words in purple are the transitive verbs. The words in red are the objects directly affected by the verb: the verb is demanding or transferring what it does to an object (person or thing).

Everyone still on board? 

Now, passive voice. This is something you might have seen working in any kind of electronic document. The squiggly line underlines your sentence and says 'passive voice', and never quite offers up how to fix it. Or even if you should fix it (I'll get to that later).

What is passive voice? Passive voice is when you kind of turn your sentence around so that the object in your sentence becomes the subject. If you would like examples, visit this link here. Your Dictionary also have an option to look at a very solid PDF of examples and definitions of passive and active voice on this page (active being the way we learnt our basic sentence structures previously).

Is the passive voice a little clearer? 

We all do this in every day language and in our writing. It also doesn't mean, that just because squiggly lines are there, that the sentence is incorrect or shouldn't be used:

Booher, D. (2013). Write to the point. United States: Dianna Booher, [24]. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=580210&site=ehost-live&ebv=EK&ppid=Page-__-24

In this resource, changing sentences so that some are passive are good for variations in your writing. It is not recommended for essays or academic writing; but letters, emails, creative writing, passive voice can work well here.

So do not always be disheartened when you see this popping up in what you are doing. It doesn't make it incorrect. It is just a different way to write a sentence that can help vary pace or add variety to the paragraph.

Stop! Grammar time.

Grammar and usage. (2011). Irvine: Saddleback Educational Publishing, 8. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=435827&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_8

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.

Remember that sentence work we started here? Well, we are going to break it down even more. A sentence is a full thought that contains the 'who' and 'what they did'. Sentences do this by dividing into a subject and a predicate.

Let’s start with subject. The subject in a sentence is a noun that names a person, place or thing. A noun can be a name like Bob; a word that defines an animal or object like cat, dingo or chair; a place like Blue Mountains, Hollywood or forest; a feeling like fear, happiness or anger; a quality like laughter, plumpness or strength; or even something more abstract like biology, holiday or friendship (abstract because these aren’t tangible [able to touch and see them] nouns).

That is so many different types and examples!

It can be very confusing understanding even that little list; so we will go into more detail of nouns in another post; but for now, this list is a good example for working through sentences.

The predicate in a sentence tells a reader what the subject (noun) does or is. This means a predicate is a verb. Before I give you examples of predicates: there are two kinds. There are the action verbs (also known as doing words) that show action; and there are linking verbs that show “what is or seems to be”. When thinking about these two types of verbs; action verbs are much more recognisable: running, flew, ducked, steaming. Linking verbs are harder to spot: is, are, seems, appears, was, must, should.

So, let’s have a look at some examples and hopefully clear this up even more.

The boy jumped.

Boy is the subject because it relates to a person and jumped is the verb because the person is doing something; e.g. jumping.

The cat sat on the mat.

This is a sentence everyone hears about. In this short sentence the subject, or noun, is cat. Sat is the verb because the cat has done something; it has performed an action. Mat is also a noun, but because it follows the verb (remember verbs are doing words) and so is receiving action, not doing or completing an action, it becomes an object within the sentence.

The chair is in the kitchen.

In this short sentence the subject, or noun, is chair. Is, is the linking verb because it does not show an action; instead it links the subject with the object, which is kitchen.


And so that is sentences; at least short ones. Easy? We use them everyday; but maybe breaking it down shows how complex they can be so we can build on them and create new ones.

Stop! Grammar time.

Grammar and usage. (2011). Irvine: Saddleback Educational Publishing, 6. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e700xww&AN=435827&site=ehost-live&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_6



This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.


The image gives the perfect summary for what a sentence is: a full thought that contains the 'who' and 'what they did'. So as long as you have both of those elements and it is a complete thought, then you have a sentence. It will also always start with a capital letter (ABC) and have punctuation like a full stop (.) at the end. And the resource allows you to practice this on following pages; so feel free to use them if you are trying to show or explain to someone how to write a sentence.

But, stop! What if I have a question? Or, you need to understand how I feel! Or, I need to tell you to do something. ... Well, a sentence does not have to end in a full stop (.). Ending a sentence with a question mark (?) or an exclamation mark (!) still shows a complete thought; as long as the 'who' and the 'what they did' or 'how they felt' is in there.


What sound does a dog make?

I wanted the last piece of chocolate!

He jumped on the trampoline. 

Go over there now!

The fireworks are pretty.

Now I know that these sentences seem small; especially since the sentences I am writing are very long. Books like 'Grammar and usage' go into more detail; but ease you in to learning things that seem much more complicated than they first appear. And we have a lot of books you can use to help you!

But 'Grammar time' will also break things down ... and over time there will be a lot more about sentences coming. So, watch out! It's time to break grammar down.

via GIPHY

Stop! Grammar time.

Tense. Yes, you may feel this way when it comes to writing, whether informally or formally (for work or educational purposes). But 'tense' is also important for understanding what people are talking or writing about: whether it is in the past, present or future.

Tense takes a base word (basically any word in the dictionary) and changes its ending so either a listener or reader understands the time period someone is writing or speaking about.

Cleary, B. P and Lew-Vriethoff, J. (2010).

This resource can be found 

So, take an example like the word tolerate. As the image above shows, this word will change its ending to show its tense.

• Mike tolerates Mitchell : This is the present tense for third person use. Because you can switch 'Mike' for 'he' and the sentence still makes sense, the present tense is used and the -s is added to the end.

• Mike thought he was tolerating Mitchell well :  This is the present tense for first or second person use. In the sentence, 'Mike thought' shows his internal monologue and perspective, suggesting that for present tense -ing is added to the end of the word.

• Mike had tolerated Mitchell for long enough : This is the past tense of the word and can be used for first, second or third person writing. The sentence shows Mike has been around Mitchell in the past, for possibly a long time, and has found he can no longer take what Mitchell is like anymore. To show the past relationship; therefore, -ed is added to the end of the word. 

These are past, present and future 'simple' tense examples. That doesn't mean it is always easy to stay consistent and clear in your writing though, particularly for essays.

Whilst you can write past and present tense in essays at the same time:

Smith argues that ...

Smith has argued that ...

You want to make sure that the work is consistent, clear and makes sense before you hand it in. 

As seen above, mixing tenses can also add a lot more depth to creative writing pieces. You just need to make sure your time periods and phrasing work well with each other.

The best way to know if a paragraph or sentence is working the right way for essays or stories? Rewrite them using different tenses! Then you get some well-worn practice in and you will see which works better for the point or plot you are creating.

Stop! Grammar time.

This resource can be found here. It is part of our online nonfiction collection of items that you have free access to with a library card. All you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page, and log in.



This first 'Grammar time' is going to look at something that can confuse anybody. Homonyms and homophones ... big words that mean big, fun things.



Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and sound the same, but have different meanings. As you can see from the cover of this book, the word 'bear' is both spelled exactly the same and sounds the same when you say it, but it has two different meanings. 

So, in the title of this book:

Bear means the animal and
Bear means how much one person can handle

So that is what a homonym is! 

Homophones are words that sound the same, but are both spelled differently and mean different things. Again, the example on the cover uses the words 'bare' and 'bear' to show this. These words are spelled differently and mean different things, but sound the same. 

So:

Bare is b, a, r, e and means to wear no clothes (like in the cover image) and
Bear is b, e, a, r and means the animal 

You might not be interested in understading the names of these kinds of words; but knowing the difference is important when you are writing documents or even learning to read and write. 

The good thing about our eResource collection, is that this book by Cleary and Gable is written in a fun way that gives readers a lot of examples of both homonyms and homophones. The illustrations are fun too! It is also written for younger audiences, so it won't take long. 

Have a look at the book; or try and find other homonyms and homophones to play around with! 

Words are fun! Get it right when you write, and one by one, you'll have won at 'Grammar time'!