Wales Skills and Explanations Day 1

Punctuation with Parentheses

When parentheses are around a complete sentence, the period goes inside the parentheses. When they are around a word or phrase--not a complete sentence--the period goes outside the parentheses.

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence is a sentence comprised of two complete independent clauses joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Coordinating Conjunctions

A coordinating conjunction is a word which joins together two independent clauses (has both a subject and predicate) that are equally important. A comma comes before the conjunction. The most common coordinating conjunctions are the following: and--joins two similar ideas meaning

but

but--joins two contrasting ideas meaning

because

or--joins two alternative ideas joins two negative alternatives so--shows the second idea is the result of the first nor yet- for- nor--

Possession of Nouns

Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding

's

. For a plural noun ending in

-s

, just add an apostrophe after the

-s

. For nouns ending in

s

, add an

's

. Some grammarians suggest that you should only add an apostrophe (without an

s

) if a proper noun would sound awkward if pronounced with

-iz

as in

Jesusiz

(

Jesus's

).

Day 2

Subjects joined by And

When singular subjects are joined by

and

, the verb that follows should be plural.

Capitalization: Names of Languages

Capitalize the names of languages (

Latin, Spanish

not

latin, spanish

).

Antecedent

The antecedent is the noun to which a pronoun refers. The pronoun should be in the same person and number as its antecedent.

Possessive Pronouns--His or Her for Singular

When there is a singular antecedent to a pronoun and the gender of the antecedent is not known, use

his or her

rather than the plural

they

.

Day 3

The Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is used to show that one ongoing action in the present occured before another action in the present. It is formed by adding the auxilary verb

has

before the main verb.

Apostrophes in Contractions

Use apostrophes in contractions to indicate where the letter (or letters) has been omitted.

Capitalization: Names of Countries

The names of countries are proper nouns and are thus capitalized.

Day 4

Possession of Nouns

Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding

's

. For a plural noun ending in

-s

, just add an apostrophe after the

-s

. For nouns ending in

s

, add an

's

. Some grammarians suggest that you should only add an apostrophe (without an

s

) if a proper noun would sound awkward if pronounced with

-iz

as in

Jesusiz

(

Jesus's

).

Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (-er/-est) one-syllable adjectives two-syllable adjectives ending in

-y

or

-er

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (more/most) adjectives of three or more syllables (and two-syllable adjectives

not

ending in

-y/-er

) Do not double up (use both the

-er/-est

form with

more

or

most

)

Use of Hyphens in Fractions Written as Words

Use a hyphen between parts of fractions written as words.

two-thirds

not

two thirds

Day 5

Adverb: Hopefully

The word

hopefully

is an adverb and thus modifies the verb of a sentence. It is not a synonym for the phrase

I hope

. Only use

hopefully

if you mean that the action of the verb is done in a hopeful manner. If you mean

I hope

, use

I hope

.

Punctuation of an Indirect Question

An indirect question is when you write down what someone has said or written in your own words--not writing down exactly what the person wrote or said. These types of quotations are usually introduced by that (

Steven said that

he was angry), and you do not put quotation marks around what is being restated. If you are writing down a question indirectly, do not end the sentence in a question mark unless the entire sentence is a question.

Did Myra ask if the doctor was still alive?

Myra asked if the doctor was still alive.

Use of Colon after Verb or Preposition

Do not use a colon after a verb or a preposition. Add the words

the following

to the sentence if you really want to use a colon.

Sally ate: the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. Incorrect Sally ate the following: the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. Correct Sally ate the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. Correct Milo went under: the bridge and the highway. Incorrect Milo went under the following: the bridge and the highway. Correct Milo went under the bridge and the highway. Correct .