Hot Fudge Monday: Tasty Ways to Teach Parts of Speech to Students Who Have a Hard Time Swallowing Anything to Do with Grammar

Hot Fudge Monday Tasty Ways to Teach Parts of Speech to Students Who Have a Hard Time Swallowing Anything to Do with Gr...

Author: Randy Larson

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Hot Fudge Monday Tasty Ways to Teach Parts of Speech to Students Who Have a Hard Time Swallowing Anything to Do with Grammar

Randy Larson Illustrated by Judith Ann Larson

Cottonwood Press, Inc. Fort Collins, Colorado

Third edition copyright © 2007 by Cottonwood Press, Inc. Second edition copyright © 2003 by Cottonwood Press, Inc. First edition copyright © 1993 by Cottonwood Press, Inc.

Permission is granted to reproduce activities in this book, in other than electronic form, for the purchaser’s own personal use in the classroom, provided that the copyright notice appears on each reproduction. Otherwise, no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Cottonwood Press. Requests for permission, other than personal classroom use, should be addressed to: Cottonwood Press 109-B Cameron Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525 1-800-864-4297 Fax: 970-204-0761 www.cottonwoodpress.com ISBN 978-1-877673-74-0 Printed in the United States of America

To my wife, Judith Ann, and my son, Gabriel Wallace Larson, who let me go off each day to write this book, then put up with me afterwards.

Table of Contents Using Hot Fudge Monday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 What Are Verbs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Five Hundred Horsepower Verbs . . . . . . . .12 Pop Goes the Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Verbs Alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Verb Variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Catastrophic Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 The Ls Have It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Time Warp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Tight Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Verbs that Personify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Rewriting Mother Goose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 It Tolls for Thee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Disturbed Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Hire Me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Peanut Butter Spreader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Verbs Doing Two Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Piñata Party Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Turkey Melt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 29 What Are Nouns? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 On a Clear Noun You Can See Forever . . .32 Common Nouns and Proper Nouns . . . . . . .33 Replace Dead Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Muckberry Gazette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 More Muckberry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Be Sharp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 What’s the Dif? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Leaving Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Turtlebiscuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Metaphor Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Weird Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Cheese Balls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 What Are Prepositions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 In the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Catching the Drift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Cleaning Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 The Correct Preposition, Please . . . . . . . . .51 Unnecessary Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 What is a Prepositional Phrase? . . . . . . . . .53 Prepositions in Concert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Professional Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Make Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Pick Your Preposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Phrases From the Dark Side . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Idioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Preposition Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 What Are Adjectives? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Here’s . . . the Adjective! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Jazzing It Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 A Deal You Can Refuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Jailbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Do You Love L.A.? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Snake Spit! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Ms. Silvershine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 No One Nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Roadside Attractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 Secret Shopper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 What Are Conjunctions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Get Coordinated! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 And You’re Breathless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 A Series of Ands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Details, Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 The Exclusive Or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 But Put in the Comma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 For the Love of Commas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Yet and Nor—Say No More . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Either/Or . . . Neither/Nor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Use Them or Lose Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Make Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Write On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 Subordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Subordinating Combos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 The Making of a Dependent Clause . . . . . .92 Subordinatium Gladiloli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Smothered Burrito Investigation . . . . . . . . .94 Fruitful Fashion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Ice Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Spaghetti Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 What Are Pronouns? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 The Case of the Pronoun Prank . . . . . . . . .102 Getting Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 “Self” Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104 Always Single . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 Everyone’s Favorite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 Pronouns of Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Find Them and Fix Them . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 Possessive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109 Non-Sexist Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 It’s All Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Pronouns Out of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 Writing with Relatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Nobody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 Wild Weekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Messed Up Titles and Bicycle Stew . . . . .116 Interjections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 What Are Interjections? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 All Alone in the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 Hey! This Is Serious . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Holy Bat Wings! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Pirate Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Super Socket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 A New Search Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 Schloopy, Schloopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 What Are Adverbs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 Adverbs? How? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 Adverbs? Where? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131 The Case of the Adverb Clue . . . . . . . . . .132 Adverbs? When? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133 Adverbs? To What Extent? . . . . . . . . . . . .134 Adverbs . . . Not Just for Verbs Anymore .135 Lights! Action! Adverbs! . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136 Tagging Along . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Adverb Overflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138 Party Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139 Cat Whisperer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140 Somewhere, Over the Dumpster . . . . . . . .141 Going Somewhere? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Weird Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 Swiss Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144 Answer Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Using Hot Fudge Monday Hot Fudge Monday proposes to bring humor and a fair amount of joy to the writing process, while at the same time teaching students the basics about parts of speech—no small trick. When teachers hand out pens and paper to students, the mood in the room often darkens. Polite students try not to grimace. Add a grammar book to the picture, and the situation becomes frightening as eyes glaze over and catatonia sets in. It is my contention that with humor, all things are possible. That means that students can smile, write and learn grammar simultaneously. It makes sense to study parts of speech in the context of the writing process. It makes sense to find joy in putting words on paper, and it makes sense to learn how to use words skillfully. Hot Fudge Monday was written to make sense. More important, it was written to make sense to young people, using words and terms they can understand, in a context they can understand. Hot Fudge Monday joins the study of words to the process of writing those words into meaningful sentences. The book consists of eight chapters, each one dealing with one part of speech: verbs, nouns, prepositions, adjectives, conjunctions, pronouns, interjections, adverbs. Students learn about the various parts of speech through short writing activities that are interesting, humorous and a bit offbeat. The exercises are purposely quite different from those found in standard classroom texts. Teachers who find themselves bumping along through Warriner’s Grammar may want to dish out a few pages of Hot Fudge Monday to supplement and vary the daily routine. Others may wish to use Hot Fudge Monday activities as a springboard to longer, more creative writing assignments. The book can be used by itself to teach the basics or as a supplement for those who prefer to stick to more traditional texts. Either way, students are bound to benefit by studying about language as they use language.

Randy Larson

Verbs

RUN GO DO FALL SIT WRITE SEE

GRAB BUY HAVE

What Are Verbs?

SLAM FLY CRY

LAUGH BAKE BUILD MAKE CLEAN

Are you bored? Do you daydream through most of the daylight hours? If so, it is possible that you lack the proper number of verbs in your life. Tests have shown that without verbs, life becomes dull, drab, dreary and slow. You want action? Get your hands on a verb. Verbs move things—planets, people, cars, bikes, Rollerblades, sentences of all kinds. In all of the following sentences, verbs provide the action, the movement: Marvin slammed his finger in the door and howled, “Grab me some ice!” Lisa snatched her briefcase off the counter and ran for the subway. Jay whined and whimpered until his mother said, “Okay. You can go to the party.” Verbs are everywhere. Take a ride and you will see them littering our highways: STOP! GO! MERGE! YIELD! Go shopping. Look at the signs in store windows and above merchandise: BUY now! SAVE! CHARGE it! TEST DRIVE this beauty! Pick up a newspaper or a comic book or a novel. The verbs are the words that make you see what is happening: Juanita gobbled three mini-pizzas and a burger before she fainted. Cheng grabbed a pitcher of orange juice and sloshed it in Juanita’s face. Juanita bolted upright and gasped for air. “You could have murdered me!” she screamed. Verbs are a very important part of the English language. They are so important that every sentence has to have one. Without a verb, you don’t have action—and you don’t have a sentence, either.

Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Verbs Name

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Five Hundred Horsepower Verbs Verbs are to sentences what engines are to cars— they drive them, energize them and pull them along, sometimes at breakneck speed. But speed is not the greatest measure of a verb; it is the power a verb generates that really matters. For example, a sentence like “She went into the office after school” has nowhere near the impact of “She sneaked into the office after school.” The word went is a one horsepower verb, while the verb sneaked generates a good five hundred horsepower. It pulls us into the sentence by our eyeballs. We can see the girl nervously managing the door, looking over her shoulder, sliding carefully yet quickly over the threshold into the office—all with one verb: sneaked. Read the sentences below and circle the verbs that energize each sentence. If more than one verb moves a particular sentence, circle both verbs. 1. Melanie weaseled her way into my heart, and later I cursed myself for letting her in. 2. As he kneaded the bread, he wished it were Harry’s face there on the counter, in a convenient, doughy lump. 3. She pounded the desk with a frozen fish and demanded complete silence in the room. 4. Doug snapped the head off a match with his thumbnail and stuck the flame into a pile of dry grass. 5. Nobody peered into the crystal ball without Ursula’s permission. 6. Lenny snickered as Angela tiptoed into the room. 7. Antonio hurled the chocolate éclair across the room, and it plopped into the fish tank. 8. Marcy spit out her words like watermelon seeds, one at a time, straight at the prosecuting attorney. Now write five sentences of your own with verbs that energize them. Circle the verbs in each sentence. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Verbs Name

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Pop Goes the Verb You are a pop can. You have been popped, drained, smashed, bashed and trashed. Tell your story to your psychologist. You are on the couch. Life has been hard. Use vivid, interesting verbs to tell the tale of your miserable aluminum life. (Decorate the can with a logo and brand name of your choice.) ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Verbs Name

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Verbs Alive Good writing uses lively, active verbs. When sentences are dull, it is usually because the verbs are lifeless. Rewrite each sentence below, replacing the dull, ordinary verbs in italics with verbs that are alive. Then add a sentence, using another verb that is alive. Example Ordinary: The wolf came to the door and said, “Let me in, or I’ll disturb your house.” Alive: The wolf crept to the door and snarled, “Let me in, or I’ll demolish your house!” 1. Philip said, “I love you, Elizabeth! Really!” ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Louise glanced at the fruitcake and gasped, “Rashad, you’ve made a multi-fruited masterpiece!” ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Harold opened his jaws wide and bit off 12 square inches of pineapple pizza. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. The beauty queen walked up to the judges and slammed her crown on the table. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Paula removed her mittens and threw them into the fire. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Walter walked into the bedroom and fell flat on his face. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. The pigeon sat on the dead branch, mourning the loss of his friend Earl. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Verbs Name

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Verb Variety Every activity has its own set of movements and behaviors. Verbs describe these movements and behaviors. List at least ten verbs for each of the activities below. Use verbs that are specific, vivid and alive. For example, don’t write the verb walk. It’s too vague. Use march, stomp, skip, limp or some other verb that portrays the exact movement. Example Bake cookies:

dump, pour, mix, stir, roll, flatten, shape, grease, bake, watch, cool, remove, gobble

Build a snowman

Throw a party

Fly a kite

Make a banana split

Clean your room


15

Verbs Name

________________________

Catastrophic Verbs In the late summer of 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck the coast of Florida. The September 7, 1992, issue of Newsweek ran a lead story called, “Andrew’s Wrath.” The opening of that story contained these lines: “The storm splintered houses, flattened cars, toppled trees and whipped power lines around like children’s jump ropes . . .” Notice the verbs. They are accurate and powerful: splintered, flattened, toppled, whipped. Write a news report about a disaster that struck a city or village somewhere in the world, and use the most vivid verbs you can to describe the devastation. You could describe a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, monsoon or volcanic eruption. (You don’t have to describe an actual disaster; use your imagination.) Use the space below for your first draft. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 16


Verbs Name

________________________

The L’s Have It Write a short news article using at least ten of the verbs starting with l listed in the box below. Circle each verb as you write. Base your news report on an event that happened in your town or in your school. (If your town or school is devoid of happenings, then make something up!) Use the space below for your first draft. lulled lurched lounged loaded lapsed longed lolled logged loathed linked leered leaned loaned lapped lashed lanced lodged limped left leapt loped ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Verbs Name

________________________

Time Warp Verbs do more than describe action. They also tell when that action took place—now (present tense), before (past tense), or in the future (future tense). For example, you can say, “Marsha brushed her poodle,” if you mean that she brushed it last week, yesterday or even just a minute ago. If you say, “Marsha is brushing her poodle,” you mean that she is brushing it right now. If you say, “Marsha will brush her poodle,” you mean that she will do it later. When writing, it is important to keep all the events in the same time frame. You don’t want to start in the past tense, switch to the present, and then flip back to the past all in one paragraph. It won’t make sense. The time warp will give readers a headache. Read the example below to see how confusing mixed-up tenses can be: Abraham Lincoln, one of the finest leaders in American history, had a rough beginning. He hires out to other farmers to pay his father’s debts. He lives in a lean-to along a riverbank, and he teaches himself to become a lawyer after going broke trying to be a businessman. Abe knew how to overcome hardship because he will have plenty of it to overcome. The piece begins using the past tense verb had, then moves into the present tense hires, lives and teaches. The story then swings back to past tense with knew and then to future tense with will have. This kind of verb-switching will drive readers nuts. It is very important to keep your verbs in the same time dimension. If your story happened ten minutes ago or ten years ago or ten centuries ago, use past tense and stick with it. If a story supposes what the future will be, then begin with future tense and stay there. If you want to tell something as if it is happening right now, start in present tense and stay in present tense. Using your own paper, practice using the past tense. Describe something that you are trying to accomplish right now, but describe it as if it has already happened and you are looking back on the experience a year later. For example, suppose you are trying to learn to play the guitar. Imagine that it is a year from now and you have been successful. Describe what it was like to learn to play. What was hard? What was easy? Be clear. Be concise. And don’t forget to stay in the past tense as you tell your story.

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Verbs Name

________________________

Tight Connections Action verbs are not the only kind of verbs in the world. There are also helping verbs. Helping verbs are easy to overlook, just because they are so common. You see them everywhere. Here is a list of all of them: is be am are was were been has have had do does did can could shall should will would may might must being Helping verbs appear along with action verbs, “helping” them tell time. For example, the word is indicates “now.” The word was indicates “before.” The word will indicates “the future.” You wouldn’t write, “I studying French when I visited Paris.” You would insert the helping verb was, like this: “I was studying French when I visited Paris.” The was helps show that you are talking about something in the past. Sometimes some of the verbs in the box above appear alone, instead of “helping” an action verb. Technically, they are then called “linking” verbs. The linking verbs make connections, or links, between words in sentences. In the sentence, “The taco was tasty,” the word was shows no action. But without the word was, the sentence would read, “The taco tasty,” which makes no sense at all. Rewrite the sentences below on the lines provided, using appropriate helping verbs from the gray box above. (You may use any of the helping verbs more than once, if you wish.) 1. “I been thinking, Billy.” ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. “What you thinking?”________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 3. “I thinking that we ought to sell water balloons as a business.” ________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 4. “You kidding! We sell them with water, or without?” _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 5. “We sell them full of water, Billy. I not one to cheat my customers.” ___________________ __________________________________________________________________________


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Verbs Name

________________________

Verbs that Personify The delivery truck bullied its way into a parking spot in front of the convenience store. The fire truck whined as it sped past. The verbs in the sentences above involve personification—giving human qualities to animals or objects. Here’s another example: The chimney coughed black smoke into the city sky. Coughed is a distinctly human action. But a chimney is something made of brick or metal— not human at all. By saying the chimney coughed, the writer is giving it another dimension, adding some “character” to an ordinary object. Write a sentence that personifies each of the subjects below. Choose verbs that give the subjects human qualities. 1. phone booth ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. police car __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. skyscraper __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. bus ________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. dumpster __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Now describe your first day in the big city. You are from the tiny town of Fishbone, Arkansas, and you have moved to the city, hoping to make your fortune in neon sign repair. Tell about the street objects you notice, and describe them using personification verbs— verbs that give human actions to nonhuman things. Use your own paper.

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Verbs Name

________________________

Rewriting Mother Goose Choose any children’s song or nursery rhyme and rewrite it into prose (story) form. A few suggestions: “Hickory, Dickory, Dock,” “Humpty Dumpty,” “Little Miss Muffet,” “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,” “Little Jack Horner,” “Little Boy Blue,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “Three Blind Mice,” “Pat-a-Cake,” “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Simple Simon.” Use lively verbs, and circle each one that you use. Example There was a lady who lived in the country on a farm, and she loved it, except for one thing—mice. The place was loaded with them. They raced across the kitchen counters, leaped over the bread box, dashed under the refrigerator and basically scared her half to death. The lady bought big yellow tomcats who prowled in the basement every night but caught nothing. She bought mousetraps that snapped down upon empty air. She dusted the corners of the kitchen with mouse poison but killed nothing. One day the lady suddenly snapped under the pressure and flew around the kitchen, slashing at the mice with her carving knife. She chopped three tails from three blind mice who didn’t see her coming. You never saw such a sight in your life. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Verbs Name

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It Tolls for Thee Your mother crossed over. Your dad crossed over. Your grandfather would have crossed over, but he had wobbly leg syndrome. Now, it’s your turn to cross a road. But it’s not just any road you will be crossing. It’s Interstate 5 south of Los Angeles—wide, wild, and dangerous. Holly Cluck from CHI TV in San Bernardino will be waiting on the other side, along with all the gang from the coop. They will want to know why—why would a perfectly healthy chicken risk his gizzard to cross the road? Is it money? Is it fame? Or is it something deeper, something deep down in your chicken soul that drives you to reach new heights, or flats, that no chicken has yet reached? Describe your run to glory, using some of the vivid verbs in the box below—all synonyms for the verb run.

dash dart bolt tear sprint stride flit fly race whisk zip zoom hustle hurry scurry scoot scramble hightail scamper lope propel split

____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

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Verbs Name

________________________

Disturbed Verbs Yesterday at the Institute for Disturbed Livestock there was a food fight in the swine development center. For some reason, the hogs who work in the center started calling each other names like “Pig Face” and “Oinker,” and things quickly got out of hand. The superintendent waddled into the room just in time to receive an entire bowl of chicken alfredo dumped onto his head. Two porkers in the corner by the slop machines heaved a bowl of RoosterRoni at the security guard, a mule named Bob. And that was only the beginning. Describe what happened when other disturbed livestock at the Institute became involved in the food fight. Use some of the verbs in the box to write a piece that really captures the flavor of what happened at the Institute. gobble munch crunch nibble ingest devour consume bolt wolf bite gorge snack scarf quaff sip sup gulp swallow lap chug guzzle swill stuff cram pack jam squeeze load overload ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


23

Verbs Name

________________________

Hire Me! Wanda just received a job offer for the job of her dreams. She will be paid $1,000 per day to sit in a velvet recliner with a built-in neck massager, a fold away television/computer/cell phone, and a soft drink bar located in the left armrest. Starting next week, she will spend her days sipping Coke and nibbling on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. While nibbling and sipping, she is to create new and engaging sitcoms for all major networks. She will receive a bonus for any television series she creates that lasts longer than 20 minutes. How did Wanda find this job? She submitted a brilliant resume to Dream Machine, a company that specializes in matching people with their dream jobs. Wanda’s resume was full of active verbs that described her skills and told what she could do for any company that employed her. Now it’s your turn. Write a letter to Dream Machine describing your ideal job in one or two sentences. Then tell what you could do to help make your would-be employers more successful. Use some of the verbs in the box to make yourself sound incredible, irresistible, and employable. create build design organize compute listen assist adapt speak guide encourage develop teach lead contribute motivate cooperate collaborate direct supervise oversee initiate produce market sell invent ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

24


Verbs Name

________________________

Peanut Butter Spreader Some Americans have a lot of appliances. They have hair straighteners, hot dog warmers, espresso machines, electric toothbrushes, handheld vacuum cleaners, blenders, hair dryers, and much more. Are all these appliances really necessary? You have decided to take advantage of the popularity of appliances by inventing one yourself. Imagine the most ridiculous appliance you can think of. Name it. If you like, draw a picture of it in the large circle below.

1. What does your appliance do? In each of the other circles, write an action verb that your appliance performs. 2. Write a paragraph telling what would happen if your appliance went crazy and the verbs got out of hand. You may use any, all, or none of the verbs you put in the circles. 3. Underline each action verb in your paragraph. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

25

Verbs Name

________________________

Verbs Doing Two Jobs Some verbs work two jobs. One minute they’re verbing along, doing something or other and acting out their verbal personalities, when suddenly—because of the way they’re used in a sentence—they become nouns. Example Braiden breaks the rules and takes a break before ten o’clock. The first “break” is a verb: Braiden is doing something. The second “break” is a noun: It is the pause in Braiden’s daily routine. Each of the verbs below can also act as a noun. For each, write a sentence that uses the word once as a verb and then again as a noun. 1. saw______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. coast

_____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________ 3. scratch ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. fish______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. call ______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. slice _____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. hand ______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. duck _____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

26


Verbs on the Internet Name

________________________

Piñata Party Time Party people, gather ’round. It’s piñata party time! Nearly everyone loves the great Mexican tradition of a blindfolded person bashing a paper mache critter to smitherines, scattering candy for everyone to grab. Go to the Internet and type “piñata” into a search engine such as Yahoo, Google, or Dogpile. Find at least three sites that tell how to make a piñata, and read the instructions carefully. If possible, print out the instructions for all three. Design the piñata of your dreams—one that is school appropriate, of course. Sketch your piñata. Below your drawing, tell how to make your piñata, based on what you learned in your research. However, here is the catch: You must tell how to make the piñata in only 10 steps of one sentence each. Underline each verb that you use. If you copy any sentences or phrases word-for-word from a Web site, put quotation marks around the words you used, to show that they are not original. At the bottom of the page, list the Web sites you used for your research. (Do this even if you didn’t copy anything word-for-word.)


27

Verb Quiz Name

________________________

Turkey Melt Underline the verbs in the story below. My family took a journey to Canada, a friendly nation full of kind people and giant plastic animals. We wanted to see the world’s largest turkey. We found it in Slipwaddle, Ontario. It was noon when we arrived. The sun seared my skin, cooked my hair, and melted my tennis shoes. My little brother, Simpwell, jumped out of the car screaming, “Look!” He was pointing like a bird dog to the tallest, widest, ugliest plastic turkey in the world. “Let’s climb on him!” he said. Before I could answer, Simpwell climbed a giant turkey leg, shinnied up the turkey’s neck and sat on its head. “Get down from there!” I yelled, but Simpwell ignored me and spurred the turkey like a wild mustang. Then the turkey blinked. I stood stunned. It blinked again; then took a step out into the road. Cars screeched to a halt. A police car flipped on its siren. People leaped out of their cars. The turkey was running now in giant leaps, heading for the cool blue lake shimmering in the distance. “Help!” Simpwell screamed. The police car roared off in a spray of gravel. I raced after Simpwell yelling, “Hold on!” At the turn into the lake, the turkey slowed, staggered, then wobbled and collapsed, flipping Simpwell like a pork chop into the air. He tumbled and soared, higher and higher, until he spun into the water and surfaced on the shore like a chubby chunk of driftwood. The turkey, meanwhile, was melting in the summer sun. It was exhausted by the run to the lake, and now lay on the boiling pavement outside Jack’s Hot Dog City. “I’m melting! I’m melting!” the turkey croaked. The cries of the turkey could be heard for miles, and everyone gathered to watch the disappearance of one of Canada’s leading roadside distractions. We drove back there years later to see the stain in the road where the great gobbler once was. There on the side of the highway, like a beacon of hope for health-food enthusiasts, was a sign over old Jack’s Hot Dog City: “EAT HERE—HOME of the ORIGINAL TURKEY MELT.” Simpwell and I strolled inside, plopped ourselves at the counter and ordered a super-sized turkey melt with fries. Then we gobbled it down. Now that is closure!

28


Nouns

TOY FENCE BIRD ZOO GOAT CAT

SCHOOL STORE DOG

What Are Nouns?

CAR BALLOON FORT

ORANGE PENCIL PANTS MONEY

The first words you ever spoke were probably nouns: Mommy! Daddy! Ball! Cookie! Remote control! You learned nouns first because nouns are words that name things. You found that using nouns is much easier than pointing. Remember pointing? You would see something you wanted, aim your little finger at it and grunt, and a whole posse of adults would race to get it for you. Then you discovered it was easier to say the name of the thing and watch the adults scramble. Attaching a word to something gives it an identity, a name, but the process can be complicated. Pretend that you are 12 months old and you say, “Ball.” The adults jump into action. Your mom, dad, grandma and grandpa all bring you a ball—a baseball, a football, a tennis ball and a beach ball. You start to cry because you wanted a ball with black pentagons on it. You should have said, “Soccer ball.” Nouns sometimes name things that you can “see,” but not in the usual sense. These are things that have no physical shape—things like love, joy, peace, patience, intelligence, eagerness, alertness and boredom. Most people know what “joy” looks and feels like, even though they can’t see it in the same way they can see a kitten or a lawn mower. Many nouns like “joy” name a quality or a feeling, rather than a physical object. Along with verbs, nouns are probably the most important words in our language. Every sentence has to have at least one noun or pronoun in it—otherwise you don’t have a sentence.


31

Nouns Name

________________________

On a Clear Noun You Can See Forever Here’s a sentence that doesn’t say much: The man slipped on some food and hurt his leg. We don’t know this person. We can’t see him. Is he a minister, a thief, a fireman, a fruit peddler? How was his leg hurt? Was it broken? Were bones sticking out? Where did this accident occur? When did it happen? Here’s a sentence that gets our attention: Mr. Suave, our new history teacher, slipped on a blob of pudding in the lunchroom yesterday and cracked his shin. We can see the guy now. We know who he is because the nouns have changed from man, food and leg to Mr. Suave, teacher, blob, pudding, lunchroom, yesterday and shin. These nouns make the picture clearer and more interesting. (If Mr. Suave had been your history teacher, and it had been your pudding he’d slipped on, you would probably be very interested.) There are dead sentences just ahead. They are littered with vague, boring nouns. Rewrite the sentences, using nouns that readers can see. Be clear. Be specific. Use nouns that are alive!

1. Dead sentence: 2. Dead sentence: 3. Dead sentence:

A dog came to the school and made a scene. A girl jumped into the water and saved another girl. Two boys ate all the food.

1. ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

32


Nouns Name

________________________

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns There are two different kinds of nouns in our language—common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns are words that name things in a general sense: car, dog, person, building, state, music, book, etc. Proper nouns name things specifically: Mercedes, Fido, Condoleezza Rice, Empire State Building, Delaware, “The Star Spangled Banner,” Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, etc. Notice that proper nouns are always capitalized. When you use a proper noun you are getting very, very specific. And that’s good. Readers feel more connected to you and your writing when they can picture things precisely. For example, you could write, “I bought a car and a hamburger ten minutes after I won the lottery.” The words car and hamburger are common nouns, nothing special. But if you wrote, “I bought a Mercedes and a Big Mac ten minutes after I won the lottery,” you would be giving your readers a specific picture. Here’s another way to look at it: proper nouns stand out, while common nouns blend in with the crowd. If you were in England on a summer day and Queen Elizabeth walked out into a crowd of 50,000 people, you would notice her instantly. You wouldn’t pay much attention to all the common folk standing around. The same thing happens when you use specific proper nouns in your writing. People pay attention. Of course, you can carry proper nouns too far. You wouldn’t want to write something like this: Mickey grabbed his Superfine Model 401 Fireblaster MicroTipped Hardroller Pen and drafted a letter to his grandmother, Eunice Cornelia Hemmersmith III, then addressed and mailed the letter in a pale blue envelope made by the Gail Scowcroft Fine Letter and Stationery Company in Weak Willow, Washington. You have to use good sense. It would be much better to say something simple like this: Mickey grabbed his favorite Bic and drafted a letter to Grandma Eunice. Be sensible. Be descriptive. Be aware that using a proper noun now and then can give your writing a precision and exactness that readers will appreciate. On your own paper, rewrite the sentences below. Replace the vague, general nouns with specific proper nouns. 1. At the arena, I cheered for the winning team. 2. Her car was far more expensive than our family van. 3. I visited a famous restaurant one day last week. 4. Meg got jeans, running shoes and a CD for her birthday.


33

Nouns Name

________________________

Replace Dead Nouns Rewrite the sentences below by replacing the vague, lifeless nouns with common and proper nouns that are clear and specific. Use nouns that draw a picture in the reader’s mind. Example Lifeless: The dog ate the man’s shoes. Alive: Toby, my toy poodle, ate Mr. Ribble’s rubber flip-flops.

1. Someone climbed the fence and turned loose every dog in the pound. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. The storekeeper’s pet bird insulted the minister. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Our teacher accidentally rubbed chalk all over his face. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. A chef in town uses leftovers to make snacks for his dog. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. A boy hit an animal with his motorcycle. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. My neighbor’s car blew up last night. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

34


Nouns Name

________________________

Muckberry Gazette You are an editor for the Muckberry Gazette. A new reporter just sent in a story that is dull and needs to be rewritten by—guess who? (Don’t whine. That’s what editors are paid to do.) Write in the specific names of people, places and objects. Use exact dates and times. Make the story clear and alive in the reader’s mind. Use common and proper nouns to your advantage, and remember to capitalize the proper nouns.

TRAIN DERAILS A train derailed today on its way to a city near here, hurting some children and a few adults. Animals bound for a circus were injured when some cars collided with the end of the train. A spokesperson said that the accident was being cleaned up by some guys. People are asked to stay away from the wreckage until sometime tomorrow.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

35

Nouns Name

________________________

More Muckberry Below are Muckberry Gazette news stories that need some interesting nouns—desperately! Juice up these sorry tales with some specific nouns and proper names. Identify the people, places and things that make the story worth reading. Inject some life! __________________________________________ EGGS UNEARTHED

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

Two men and one famous female archaeologist have found the eggs of a rare dinosaur believed to have roamed the dry regions of one of the western states many, many years ago. The scientists insist that a noted university should receive the eggs and begin testing for signs of life soon.

__________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________

__________________________________________ SHOPLIFTERS BEWARE!

__________________________________________

Two girls were seen entering a store in a town near here yesterday sometime in the afternoon. They left with some items that they didn’t pay for, and the police are very interested in where these young ladies are at the present time. The store owner is upset and wishes to get her merchandise back and see justice done.

__________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________

36


Nouns Name

________________________

Be Sharp You have witnessed a fire at the fireworks factory on Hauser Street. It was a horrible scene. You are writing a story about the incident for the Muckberry Gazette, a local newspaper. Using sharp, precise nouns, write the first draft of your report below. Don’t be crude. Don’t try to shock the reader. Just give the facts in detail and let the reader see the events that took place, through your eyes. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

37

Nouns Name

________________________

What’s the Dif ? Are you a student or a scholar? A teenager or a young adult? A know-it-all or an expert? An athlete or a jock? A reader or a bookworm? Nouns make a difference. The noun you choose often depends upon the impression you want to make, or the image you want to create. Look at the difference a change in nouns makes in the following sentences: “Officer, how do I get to Spider’s Cafe?” (“Hey, cop! How do I get to Spider’s?”) There was something on the front steps. (There was a corpse on the front steps.) It pays to choose nouns carefully. Look at the pairs of nouns below. One noun in each pair is harsh-sounding, the other mildsounding. Each is a perfectly good noun, but some nouns would be more appropriate in some circumstances than in others. For each pair below, put an H on the line next to the noun that sounds sharp or harsh, and put an M on the line next to the noun that sounds milder. 1.

________ perspiration ________ sweat

6.

________ guts ________ courage

11.

________ slammer ________ prison

2.

________ cabin ________ shack

7.

________ pimple ________ blemish

12.

________ informer ________ snitch

3.

________ debris ________ trash

8.

________ alcohol ________ booze

13.

________ dirt ________ filth

4.

________ news ________ gossip

9.

________ war ________ conflict

14.

________ mess ________ trouble

5.

________ job ________ career

10.

________ underarm ________ armpit

15.

________ dump ________ landfill

Now come up with ten more harsh/mild noun pairs of your own.

38


Nouns Name

________________________

Leaving Home You are living in Chicago after a breathless, exciting career in high school. You have an apartment that you are sharing with a friend, and you have a new job as a peanut butter taster. However, problems have developed. Your teeth are rotting, the rent is going up and your roommate is making plans to marry a Brazilian trapeze artist. You want to go to the wedding, but you have no proper clothes and no money to get to Brazil. The landlord is getting crabby, and your boss wants you to work nights and weekends for the next 22 years. What are you to do? You need to talk to someone about your problems. You need to get help. You could phone home. Unfortunately, the phone has been disconnected, and you are out of money. You decide to write a letter to your parents, telling them about your difficulties and asking them for help. Don’t make things sound too terrible, though, or they will make you come home and go to barber school—just as you promised to do if Chicago didn’t work out. Use mild-mannered nouns in your letter. Tell the truth, but tell it carefully. Write the first draft of your letter in the space below. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


39

Nouns Name

________________________

Turtlebiscuit Turtle racing is an ancient sport that takes awhile. No one attends a turtle race without packing a lunch and bringing a flashlight. In ancient times, it is said, torches lit the raceway and people slept until dawn, waking just in time to see what was happening on the first turn. Legends of the sport reach no higher than Turtlebiscuit, the greatest racing turtle ever to pack a shell. His achievements speak for themselves: he was the first turtle to be admitted to the Slow-Track Racing Association, the first turtle to win a major race after the age of 70, the first turtle to carry a jockey (very small), and the first turtle to complete the dangerous Santa Tortoise Raceway in under three days. But the story of Turtlebiscuit is not without pain, struggle, and great loss. His father was born fast. Because he hoped his son could be everything he was not, Turtlebiscuit had to live up to some shell-shocking expectations. One thing led to another and, in the end, Turtlebiscuit was abandoned under the boardwalk in New Jersey. His story is one of patience, courage, and pride—but mostly patience. Write the heart-wrenching story of Turtlebiscuit, the world’s winningest turtle. Tell everything—the good, the bad, the ugly (but not too much ugly because under that hard shell beats the sensitive heart of a champion). When you have completed the story, circle all of the common nouns used. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

40


Nouns Name

________________________

Metaphor Magic Metaphors can make the magic happen in a piece of writing. With a metaphor, a writer compares one object or idea to another, as in, “The cat was a bolt of lightning whenever it caught sight of a mouse.” An effective metaphor challenges the reader’s mind to play with associations and make connections that help him or her feel the power of what the writer is saying. But sometimes writers goof up. Sometimes they write metaphors that are so messed up that no one can understand them. Take this metaphor for example: Her eyes were coffee pots in the moonlight. What? Her eyes were coffee pots? What does that mean? Who has eyes like coffee pots? What kind of coffee pots? Glass? Stainless steel? Insulated? Hot? Metaphors have to make sense at some level. People have to see the connection the writer is making between things. The items below don’t make a lot of sense. Replace one noun in each mixed up metaphor with a noun that works—but don’t use clichés. 1. The moon was a silver mop bucket in the night sky. The moon was a silver _____________________ in the night sky. 2. Her brain was a chair. Her brain was a _____________________________. 3. Juan’s heart of flour beat no more. Juan’s heart of __________________________ beat no more. 4. He was a flyswatter of a man. He was a ___________________________ of a man. 5. She looked deep into the steering wheel of my soul. She looked deep into the _____________________________ of my soul. Write a metaphor for the following items. Circle the nouns in your metaphors. 6. school lunch: _______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. dirty socks: _________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


41

Nouns on the Internet Name

________________________

Weird Careers Ed Snavely lives in South Dakota on a mink farm. On weekends, he works for a firm that imports sheep milk. The firm is trying to develop new sheep cheese products, like sheep cheese fudge and sheep cheese hand lotion. Ed used to be a Zamboni driver, but the mist off the ice kept giving him frozen eyelashes, and he finally couldn’t stand it anymore. Next, he worked for his mother, bagging her personal cure for cat fleas, but he became allergic to his mother and had to move to Sacramento. After countless jobs, he found he missed driving a Zamboni. He bought a used one and drove it to South Dakota, which took two and a half years. Now, Ed is set up on his little mink farm on the prairie. His sheep cheese work is going well, and his dog Edna is expecting puppies—again. Life is good. You betcha. Ed is not the only person to have had some unusual jobs in his life. Using the Internet, find out about a really, really strange career. On your own paper, describe the career—what it is, how it works, and possibly even what it pays. In the space below, list the common nouns that you use in your report. Then list the proper nouns. At the bottom of this page, list the Web site address or addresses used for your report. Common Nouns

Proper Nouns

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

Web sites used: _________________________________________________________________ 42


Noun Quiz Name

________________________

Cheese Balls Circle all the nouns in the story below. The year was 1949. The place was Wisconsin, a land where people loved cheese, ate cheese, sold cheese, and even painted the helmets of their professional football team a sharp cheddar yellow. Dr. Asiago Spore and I, both cheeseologists from the University of Parmesan, had set up camp outside the village of Oconomawaca. Our mission was to uncover the Lost City of Gouda. Dr. Spore and I believed that, of all ancient cheese sites, the Lost City of Gouda was most likely to be the home of ancient Cheddar Man. Cheddar Man was believed to have walked upright, but bent over, his back bowed from all the cows he milked to make cheese for the ritual cheese dance. We dug for many days and grew very frustrated. We were all about to throw in the shovel and give up. Then Dr. Spore struck something soft and spongy. It was the Great Gouda: a fortypound cheese ball used in the ancient games of Cheddar Man. We had struck the mother lode of cheese digs. We celebrated. We cheered. And then, at the bottom of our 100-foot dig, the earth began to shake. Great heat seared our feet, and the sacred cheese ball melted. It ran over our boots and into crevices that started to open within the earth. Suddenly, a volcanic blast tore the ground, blowing a spout of cheese 500 feet into the air. “Spray cheese!” yelled Dr. Spore. And so it was. We had not discovered Cheddar Man, but we had discovered a new product— spray cheese. Today, because of our long-ago mission, we all enjoy squirting spray cheese on crackers with pickles, crackers with olives, or crackers with those little dead fish with the shiny eyes. Though we didn’t discover Cheddar Man himself, Dr. Spore and I look back happily on our contribution to world history.


43

Prepositions

WITH UP UNTIL TO SINCE OVER OFF INTO

UPON TOWARD BY

What Are Prepositions?

OF BESIDE WITHIN

FOR AROUND BETWEEN AT ABOVE FROM

Prepositions in sentences are like wheels on a car—it’s hard to make things run smoothly without them. Prepositions are often small words like to, by, of, in, on, up, off and from. They make up for their size by performing important tasks. Prepositions show how one thing relates to something else. For example, suppose that you have a pencil, and you want to show its relationship to a desk. You might say it is on the desk or in the desk or by the desk or under the desk. On, in, by and under are prepositions showing how the pencil “relates” to the desk. Sometimes prepositions relate one idea to another. For example, you might write to your mother, “I’m staying in Phoenix for the weekend,” which means that you will be spending some time in Phoenix and not with your mom. But if you add “in the county jail,” you have a completely different message—and a very aggravated mother. If you add “for armed robbery,” your mother will probably become hysterical at the ideas these prepositions are relating. Mothers much prefer messages like, “I’m staying in Phoenix for an interview about a scholarship to Harvard.”


47

Prepositions Name

________________________

In the Beginning Language probably began with one-word sentences. A cave man would rub his stomach and say, “Hungry!” The cave woman would hand the man a raw chunk of sabertoothed muskrat and say, “Cook!” But when people started going to college, they needed several smaller words to fit in between the big ones, so that messages would be more exact. They invented words like in, of, on, at, by, to, for, up, down, with, since and from. They gave these little words a big name: prepositions. People started talking nonstop once prepositions were created, and there hasn’t been a quiet moment since. Rewrite the sentences below spoken by cave couple Og and Ug. Add prepositions as you see fit, from the box below. Circle each preposition. (You will also need to add words that are not prepositions.)

within without with upon up unto until underneath under toward to through throughout since past over on off of near like amid into in from for during down by outside beyond between beside beneath below behind before at around among along against after across above about aboard inside

1. Og: “Sky dark.” ____________________________________________________________ 2. Ug: “Rain.” ________________________________________________________________ 3. Og: “Get wet.” ______________________________________________________________ 4. Ug: “Hide cave.” ____________________________________________________________ 5. Og: “No. Climb tree. Hide leaves.”

____________________________________________

6. Ug: “Afraid heights.” ________________________________________________________ 7. Og: “Before married, weren’t afraid heights.” 8. Ug: “Crawl hole.”

____________________________________

__________________________________________________________

9. Og: “Afraid dark.” ________________ “You afraid everything.” ______________________ 10. Ug: “I not afraid you.”

______________________________________________________

Write at least six more lines, continuing the conversation between Og and Ug. Circle each preposition.

48


Prepositions Name

________________________

Catching the Drift Prepositions are words that work hard in everyday speech. They pop up everywhere and help “smooth out” our speech, the kind of speech you use with your friends, enemies, parents, teachers and coaches. For example, you might say, “I went into the bathroom yesterday and found a pair of penguins in the tub.” This is an ordinary statement that anybody might make after running into a pair of penguins in the bathroom. But listen to the sentence without the prepositions: “I went the bathroom yesterday and found a pair penguins the tub.” Most people would get the drift of what you’re saying, but what a clumsy way to talk! Read the strange, preposition-less sentences below. Then rewrite them, inserting prepositions to help the sentences read more smoothly. (Choose from the prepositions listed in the box. You may use any preposition more than once.)

like

without

to

up

into

on

by

with

of

in

at

1. Nobody my family has a nose my dad’s. __________________________________________________________________________ 2. Whenever I’m Jennifer’s house, I always start to sneeze. __________________________________________________________________________ 3. Take the knife out that toaster, or you’ll light up a Christmas tree! __________________________________________________________________________ 4. Anyone any sense takes an extra pair shoes along when camping the mountains. __________________________________________________________________________ 5. The time I reached Andrew, he was plastered artichoke dip. __________________________________________________________________________ 6. I ran the stairs the bathroom, and slammed the door my foot. __________________________________________________________________________ 7. Money, there is no reason to go shopping. __________________________________________________________________________ 8. Always jog the morning; it’s cooler, and no one sees you those strange outfits. __________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

49

Prepositions Name

________________________

Cleaning Up Prepositions are small words with big responsibilities. Suppose that you say to your brother, “On our way to the store, will you drive me by the library?” You shouldn’t be surprised if drives on past the library on his way to the store. Brothers are like that. After all, you never said to stop. You said you wanted to go by the library. You should have said, “On your way to the store, will you drive me to the library?” Practice being clear when you use prepositions. From the prepositions in the box below, choose those that best complete sentences 1–9. Write the prepositions on the lines provided. (Some prepositions will be used more than once.)

within without with upon up unto until underneath under toward to through throughout since past over on off of near like amid into in from for during down by outside beyond between beside beneath below behind before at around among along against after across above about aboard inside

1. The vacuum cleaner salesman knocked a smile. and braced himself 2. Jill’s father leaped 3.

the door

house number 2910

the dog to open the door.

two seconds, the salesman had reached his pocket, grabbed a handful _________ dirt, and tossed it the living room carpet.

4. “I can clean that up

you,” the young man said.

the rug. He reached 5. Jill’s father looked down the broom. “Come right in,” he said. 6. The salesman stepped had just tossed _________ his hands.

the door and grabbed

the threshold and the pile dirt he the carpet and started to untangle the hoses and gadgets he had

7. “Now wait just one minute, young man,” Jill’s dad said. “You’re going to clean this up the job.” before you leave, and I’ve got just the tool 8. “You mean you’ll buy one asked.

my fine, supersucking ZP 2000s?” the salesman

9. “No. I mean you’re going to buy my supersweeping B-R-O-O-M! Clean up this mess and get out __________ my house.”

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Prepositions Name

________________________

The Correct Preposition, Please Some prepositions can send you to jail. If the judge asks, “Did you drive past the store, or into it?” you had better hope that past is the preposition that applies to you. Below are some questions that include some critically important prepositions. Answer each question as imaginatively as you can. Circle each preposition you use. Be careful. Jails are full of people who got caught by the wrong preposition! The first item is done for you.

1. Did you disappear after the chase or before the chase? I was never anywhere near the chase because I was busy feeding the homeless. ___________________________________________________________________________

2. Did you throw the diamonds beside the fire or into the fire? __________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Were you sneaking around the dorm or into the dorm? _______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Were you sliding up the pole or down the pole when Officer Blueprint yelled, “Halt!”? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Did you check the oven during the robbery or before the robbery? _____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Does the jury find for the defendant or against the defendant? _________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Prepositions Name

________________________

Unnecessary Prepositions Some people use prepositions when they shouldn’t. It is a habit with them, like scratching their noses when they are nervous. They might say, “Where are my shoes at?” when they really should say, “Where are my shoes?” The word at is unnecessary and clutters the sentence. Read the sentences below and rewrite them, eliminating unnecessary prepositions and any other words that clutter the meaning. 1. When do I have to return it by? ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where are we at in the story? ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why are you hanging around for? ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Except for John, everyone but him is finished. ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Where will you be sitting at when I come into the theater? ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Where did you buy that interesting green blouse from? ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. I can’t figure out where Jolene goes to every Tuesday afternoon. ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. You shouldn’t have gotten us into all this trouble we’re in. ___________________________________________________________________________ 9. Tell me where you put my radio at! ___________________________________________________________________________ 10. Where is your brother heading to? ___________________________________________________________________________

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Prepositions Name

________________________

What Is a Prepositional Phrase? Prepositions rarely work alone. They are almost always found with nouns (or pronouns), forming a group of words called a prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases give additional information about nouns and verbs. They tell how, when, where, what kind, under what conditions, how long, how much, which one and how many. Examples: How: with a sneer, without a trace, like a shotgun When: on Sunday, after this message, before sundown, during the trial, until I choke Where: above his eyebrow, beyond the rainbow, inside the tornado, in Toledo, with me Under what conditions: amid the confusion, under stress, for no good reason Which one: with the yellow underwear, without a nose, beside me, under my toaster Besides adding information, prepositional phrases can also add rhythm to your sentences. Ernest Hemingway’s opening line in the novel The Old Man and the Sea reads: “He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream, and he’d gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.” Notice the rhythm of that sentence—like the feeling of waves slapping against the bow of a boat. The movement within this sentence comes from artistic use of all the parts of speech, including the prepositional phrases in a skiff, in the Gulf Stream, without taking a fish. It is important to know that even a long and detailed prepositional phrase is still a phrase, not a sentence. Many students will write something like this: Before the entrance of the talented star of the extravaganza. This is a series of prepositional phrases, not a sentence. Therefore, it needs to be finished before a period is used. Here is one way to finish it: Before the entrance of the talented star of the extravaganza, the audience started getting restless and threw tomatoes. Each of the sentence fragments below consists of a string of prepositional phrases. Complete each so that it becomes a complete sentence. 1. Beside the bowl of soup with a large grasshopper in it._______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. After the strange commercial on Channel 4 about wart detectors. ____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. During the long, boring speech about the future of paper clips in modern society. _________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Prepositions Name

________________________

Prepositions in Concert Prepositions always perform with a noun (or a pronoun). These preposition/noun (or preposition/pronoun) combinations are called prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases can be short, like these: to Mom, for John, at him. Or they can be long, like this one: for the curly-haired, blue-footed hipposaurus. They always begin with a preposition and end with a noun, but there may be other words between the preposition and the noun. The job of prepositional phrases is to add information to a sentence, and that information usually tells how, when or where something is happening, has happened or will happen. In the sentence, “The cow jumped over the moon,” the phrase over the moon adds information because it tells where the cow jumped. Circle the prepositional phrases in the first five sentences below. 1. We’re not in Kansas anymore. 2. The power is in your slippers, Dorothy. 3. The monkeys dropped on him like a ton of bricks. 4. If you’ve got a water bucket and a smart scarecrow, you’re in business. 5. Don’t leave home without Toto. Now write sentences containing some prepositional phrases of your own. Make your sentences about The Wizard of Oz or another movie you have seen recently. Put parentheses around the prepositional phrases. 6.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

7.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

8.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

9.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

10. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

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Prepositions Name

________________________

Professional Phrases Some prepositional phrases have had the honor of being used in famous books written by great writers. In the opening sentences from the novels listed below, put parentheses around the prepositional phrases. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque We are at rest five miles behind the front. Yesterday we were relieved, and now our bellies are full of beef and haricot beans. We are satisfied and at peace. Each man has another mess tin full for the evening; and, what is more, there is a double ration of sausage and bread. That puts a man in fine trim. We have not had such luck as this for a long time. The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck It was Wang Lung’s marriage day. At first, opening his eyes in the blackness of the curtains about his bed, he could not think why the dawn seemed different from any other. The house was still except for the faint, gasping cough of his old father, whose room was opposite to his own across the middle room. Every morning the old man’s cough was the first sound to be heard. The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox In a hinged wooden box upon the top of which was carved a winged fish, my mother kept the tools of her trade. Sometimes I touched a sewing needle with my finger and reflected how such a small object, so nearly weightless, could keep our little family from the poorhouse and provide us with enough food to sustain life—although there were times when we were barely sustained. Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. “Out to the hoghouse,” replied Mrs. Arable. “Some pigs were born last night.” “I don’t see why he needs an ax,” continued Fern, who was only eight. “Well,” said her mother, “one of the pigs is a runt. It’s very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything. So your father has decided to do away with it.” On a separate sheet of paper, use any 10 of the prepositional phrases you have marked above in sentences of your own.


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Prepositions Name

________________________

Make Your Own The box on the left contains a number of prepositions, while the box on the right contains nouns and pronouns. Match any noun or pronoun with an appropriate preposition to create a prepositional phrase. Then put the prepositional phrase into a sentence of your own design. Write your sentences on the lines provided. Put some snap, zing, vim and vigor into your sentences. 1.

____________________________________ suspicion

above ____________________________________ after

winter 2.

to by

____________________________________ 3.

for about

4.

with without

5.

throughout around

____________________________________

6.

____________________________________

her

____________________________________

us

____________________________________

them

____________________________________

tomorrow

____________________________________

Wednesday

____________________________________

Christmas

____________________________________

history

____________________________________

homework

in 7.

him

____________________________________

of

pimples

____________________________________ trouble

at 8.

darkness

on during

____________________________________ 9.

before against beyond

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____________________________________

____________________________________ ____________________________________

10.

vacation dreams

____________________________________

hopes

____________________________________

joy


Prepositions Name

________________________

Pick Your Preposition Some prepositions are more important to some people than to others. One person might like the preposition in because he or she likes to be in on the secrets going around, or in on the punch line of knock-knock jokes, or in the right group at school or at work, or in the right neighborhood, or in line for Grandma’s fortune. Which preposition appeals to you? Decide on your favorite and write a paragraph or brief essay explaining why you like it best. You may choose any preposition from the list in the box. (Be sure to finish in time.)

within without with upon up unto until underneath under toward of to through throughout since past over on off near like amid into in from for except during down by outside beyond between beside beneath below behind before at around among along against after across above about aboard inside

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Prepositions Name

________________________

Phrases From the Dark Side Using at least ten of the prepositional phrases listed in the box below, plus at least five of your own, write a scene from your new vegetable horror novel, Squash Cemetery. See if you can write something horrible enough to keep your teacher awake for a week!

in the garden, on a sunny day, before midnight, after midnight, against the door, between the stairs and the doorway, under the covers, by the window, throughout the night, until morning, without a sound, amid the screams, of my little brother, past the cellar door, like the scream, of wet boots, in slimy muck, into the bedroom, beyond the garden wall, beneath the ground, to no one else, with a deep sucking sound, like the screams of a coyote, behind the couch, in the shed, around 600 pounds, among the cabbages, along the fence, across town, inside my house

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ 58


Prepositions on the Internet Name

________________________

Idioms Anyone studying another language knows that “idioms” in the language can be hard for nonnative speakers. Idioms are phrases that have a different meaning than the meaning of the individual words. For example, when English speakers say that someone “let the cat out of the bag,” they really mean that someone revealed a secret. If they say someone has “kicked the bucket,” they mean that someone died. If they say someone “went on a wild goose chase,” you can be sure there were no actual geese involved. Many idioms happen to begin with prepositions. Go to the Internet and open a search engine such as Dogpile, Google, or Yahoo. Then find a site that lists many idioms. Find at least ten idioms that begin with a preposition. (Example: under the weather.) List the idioms below, as well as what they really mean. (If you don’t know, put the word idiom in the search engine search box, followed by the idiom you don’t understand, enclosed in quotation marks. You will probably find a site that gives the meaning.) IDIOMS THAT BEGIN WITH PREPOSITIONS 1. ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. ___________________________________________________________________________ 9. ___________________________________________________________________________ 10. ___________________________________________________________________________ Now, for the full story. Include the idioms you wrote, above, in a paragraph about Ed, an iguana whose life hasn’t gone all that well.


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Preposition Quiz Name

________________________

Preposition Recall Do you remember two years ago when all prepositions were recalled? The Commission for Grammatical Excellence decided that overuse of certain prepositions could cause sentences to implode. But as of today, 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time, the preposition recall has been recalled. That means we can speak and write again with power, pride, and prepositions. But damage has been done. Many articles, stories, plays, birthday cards, job applications, and want ads are weak and clumsy and need to be grammatically overhauled. Look at the following want ads placed on the bulletin board at Weemowap High School. They lack prepositions. They were written during the preposition recall and should now be rewritten. Fill in the blanks with prepositions that work. 1. FOR SALE: Two cats, one large and loveable, the other suffering _________ minor mental problems. Main habit is sitting _______________ the window and shivering to be let out. Both love tuna and classical music played backwards. Call: 444-444-4445 anytime! 2. NEEDED: Former rock star to sell air guitars door ____ door. Apply ____ person. You must bring your driver’s license ________ you ____ the interview. Come see us ____ 112 North String Avenue, mornings only. Bring your energy! 3. FOR RENT: Toaster oven, ______________ oven mittens. Cooks anything ___ normal size and shape. Very handy _____ those weekend gatherings. Operates ____ 110 volts, or propane. $15 per week. Slides ________________ the counter _________ easy storage. Call Mr. Toasty ____ 222-222-2227. 4. MISSING: Homeroom teacher. Last seen ____ Tuesday, leaving the building ____________ his shoes. If spotted, please notify Homeroom Teachers Anonymous. You may be eligible ______ a small, basically meaningless reward. Note: He goes ____ the name ___ Pooky. Call: 333-333-3336. 5. LOST: A mullet. If you see my mullet, be kind. It’s a special gift ________ my mother. You see, she was ___________________ jobs, and didn’t have a lot ____ money, and a full headpiece was too expensive. So she bought me this mullet, which now I have lost. Please help. No reward. I am currently _______________ the hall _________ chemistry class. If you can find me, my name is Lonnie. Thanks. Bye. 6. GARAGE SALE: I am selling our garage because my dad doesn’t want to listen ____ my band practice there anymore. Bring chainsaw and some friends. Also a big truck. Meet me ___ the parking lot ___________ school. Don’t tell my dad. Thanks. Mick. Now write your own ad, using at least five prepositions. Underline each preposition you use.

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Adjectives

PRETTY SILLY GRUMPY HAPPY DOPEY

CUTE BRILLIANT

What Are Adjectives?

BLACK STURDY

BASHFUL COLORFUL IMMATURE SMALL

Adjectives are to a writer what paints are to a painter—they bring color, texture, depth and detail to the scene you are creating. Suppose you were writing a short paragraph about a night when the moon was visible from your front lawn. You could write this: One night I sat on the grass looking up at the sky. I saw the moon. Or you could write this: One chilly fall night, I sat on the grass looking up at the sky. The moon threw cool, white light down upon me as if I were in the spotlight on a dark stage and the crowd waiting in the shadows was about to explode into wild applause. The words in italics above are adjectives. They add depth to the description and help the reader feel as well as see what it was like to be there on the grass looking up at the night sky. They give us more information about the nouns in the sentences. And that is the main job of adjectives—to give us more information about nouns and pronouns. Because of their important job, adjectives are often one of the most interesting parts of a sentence.


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Adjectives Name

________________________

Here’s . . . the Adjective! Adjectives are the spice of a sentence. They do a lot to make things interesting. Here is an ordinary sentence: The sheriff held the pistol to the light. The addition of one adjective adds some spice: The sheriff held the smoking pistol to the light. The adjective smoking changes the sentence by telling us something important about the pistol, and it suggests some interesting possibilities about what the sheriff is doing. Adjectives are words that give us more information about nouns. They tell: • • •

the color of nouns the size of nouns the shape of nouns

• • •

the texture of nouns the condition of nouns how many there are of a noun

Example Three huge red ants crawled onto the glassy surface of the oval desk, ate most of a day-old enchilada and immediately got sick. In the example above, the adjective three tells how many ants. The adjective red tells their color; the adjective huge tells their size; the adjective sick tells their condition. The adjective oval describes the shape of the desk; the adjective glassy describes its texture. Day-old tells the condition of the enchilada. Circle the adjectives in the sentences below and draw an arrow to the nouns they describe. (Note: a, an and the are always adjectives. They are sometimes called articles or article adjectives.) Example Pouring hot beef gravy on cold pancakes is no way to start the day. 1. Sour music filtered out of the smelly basement. 2. A hot, red dawn opened the sky in the east. 3. A pale, white moon sat in the branches like a bird roosting for the night. 4. Nobody likes cold french fries with ice cream. 5. Black hate boiled out of his eyes as he looked at the crumpled car. 64


Adjectives Name

________________________

Jazzing It Up Lifeless adjectives can make your writing dull. For example, look at this sentence: It was a nice party. Everyone had a great time. At first glance, nice and great seem like fine adjectives. But think about them for a minute. They give us nothing to see in our mind’s eye. They mean nothing more than “better than lousy.” The party would sound much more interesting if described like this: The party started at midnight. Waldo brought his golden saxophone, and Myra brought her new drums, which she pounded all night until she broke the sticks. After that she used Mom’s silver spoons from the china cupboard to play “Wipe Out!” We consumed twelve giant pizzas, six dozen chocolate doughnuts and enough greasy chips to fill a dump truck. By early morning, the house was trashed, and I knew it would take ten hours to clean up the mess. “Fantastic party!” Myra said as she stumbled past me, toting her battered drums. I didn’t give a very pleasant reply. It takes more effort to write a description like the one above, but it is worth it. Now we can see the party. Rewrite the description in the box so that we can really see something. Use adjectives and nouns that will make your words come alive.

Last night was the longest night of my life.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adjectives Name

________________________

Brothers Below are two columns of adjectives that are like brothers to each other. The adjectives on the left are mild-mannered ones, and their brother adjectives, on the right, are hot-tempered ones. Draw a line from the mild adjective on the left to the corresponding hot adjective on the right. Example MILD ill-tempered laid-back

MILD

HOT lazy vicious

HOT

1. upset

a. tight

2. particular

b. fat

3. overweight

c. skinny

4. unpleasant

d. cheap

5. decaying

e. gutless

6. inexpensive

f. hysterical

7. thrifty

g. bratty

8. slender

h. snooty

9. cultured

i.

old

10. mature

j.

filthy

11. soiled

k. fussy

12. timid

l.

rotting

Sometimes mild adjectives are more appropriate than hot ones. Sometimes hot ones are more appropriate. For each pair of adjectives above, write one sentence using the mild adjective appropriately and one sentence using the hot adjective appropriately. (Make note of both the speaker and the audience for each sentence. Use your own paper.) Examples ill-tempered (MILD) and vicious (HOT) • Teacher trying to be tactful to the parents of a bully: Edward can be rather ill-tempered at times. •

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The president of the United States, explaining why he has sent troops to a battle overseas: Our troops will protect the innocent citizens from the vicious attacks of the enemy.


Adjectives Name

________________________

A Deal You Can Refuse Many people buy cars because they are influenced by adjectives like sleek, new, powerful, sporty and inexpensive in the advertisements they read and the commercials they see. Suppose that someone has a car to sell, but she can’t honestly use words like sleek, powerful and sporty to describe it, because the car is a real junker. She doesn’t want to come right out and say so, so she tries this ad in the paper:

Mature auto, 4-door, well-traveled, small. Traditional sound system, fog-lights, natural air conditioning, fully carpeted. Needs some body work.

Remember, the car is a bomb. The seller has told the truth, but she has used kind, mildsounding adjectives and adjective phrases to take the sting out of the truth. Draw a line matching the seller’s words on the left with the real meanings, listed on the right. 1. mature 2. well-traveled 3. natural air-conditioning 4. fully carpeted

a. A bowling ball fell through the floor last spring. b. Two flashlights are welded to the bumper. c. The scratchy AM radio is stuck on station KYUK. d. The car is 48 years old.

5. traditional sound system

e. The car has 241,689.9 miles on it.

6. fog lights

f. The driver’s window has a rock through it.

7. small

g. No one over five feet tall can sit in the car comfortably.

8. needs some body work

h. Sample squares from Wally’s Carpet World are glued to the floor.

Now write your own ad for an obnoxious pet that you absolutely have to sell or give away, soon, before your father sells or gives you away! Remember—be honest, but make your adjectives kind and mild.


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Adjectives Name

________________________

Jailbird You have a son who has gone astray. He held up a knitting store on Seventh Avenue, and now he is about to do five years in the penitentiary for his misdeed. You know, of course, that little Harold really didn’t mean to hold up the knitting store. He has never done anything in his life that was his fault. Using mild-mannered adjectives and nouns, write a letter to the judge of District Three, telling how sweet and innocent little Harold really is. Help the judge realize that Harold is a wonderful young man who doesn’t deserve to be put in jail. Some adjectives you might use: rambunctious, immature, unpleasant, ill-tempered, unsure, timid, serious, caring, impulsive, cute, etc. Dear Judge Winkner: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 68


Adjectives Name

________________________

Do You Love L.A.? Here is a letter you wrote to your best friend who moved to Los Angeles six months ago:

Dear Twigs: I hope you’re having a great time in L.A. because I’m sure having one here. The other night I went out with some friends, and we went to a place and had some great food. The atmosphere was nice, and there was a singer who did comedy stuff in between the songs. Afterward we went out for a drive and had a super night. Wish you were here to have fun with us! Bye! Love, Me

After you reread your letter, you realize that you haven’t told Twigs anything. Which friends were you with? Who was the singer? What food did you eat? Where did you drive? Rewrite the letter and add the details. Use interesting, exciting adjectives and nouns. Use the space below for your first draft. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adjectives Name

________________________

Snake Spit! Below is a letter you wrote to your boss at Little Willy’s Snake Shop in Big Draw, Texas. You want working conditions to improve, or you are leaving. You have written Willy the mildmannered letter below, to try to help him understand. Now rewrite the letter, saying what you would really like to say. You will need sharp, hard-hitting adjectives to explain your feelings (but keep the letter G -rated). Don’t mail your version, of course, or you will be out of a job faster that you can say snake spit!) Dear Willy, I’m writing because I’m rather disturbed by something concerning my job. It would be better for business if you could possibly refrain from coming in at lunch and snapping your whip at the reptiles. They get excited, and it’s kind of hard to feed them. They seem to want to approach me with their fangs out, and they curl themselves around my arms until I’m so numb that I can’t reach into the bag for the Dinky Winky Snake Pellets. The snakes get hungrier and I get a little bit more nervous. Pretty soon the place is in a state of confusion. If you could kindly correct this difficulty, I would appreciate it. If not, I guess I’ll have to find other employment. Sincerely, Your Employee

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Adjectives Name

________________________

Ms. Silvershine You are a counselor at Camp Runamuck, a summer camp for rich kids from England. One of your campers is a brat, and you want to write a letter home telling her parents what trouble this child is causing. However, the girl’s mother is Ms. Silvershine, one of the friendliest, sweetest camp supporters you have ever met. How can you write the letter so as not to hurt Ms. Silvershine’s feelings? She must know the truth about her daughter, or the nastiness will continue and eventually drive you (and everyone else) nuts. Use mild-mannered nouns and adjectives. Don’t say, “Your kid is a jerk.” Instead, explain what the child does that keeps her (and others) from having the best time of her young life. This type of writing is usually not very much fun, but it is something we all need to practice. Diplomacy involves stating the truth in as gentle a way as possible. It comes in handy in life more often than you might expect. Ms. Emma Silvershine 1212 Goldtone Drive Big Bucks, England Dear Ms. Silvershine, ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adjectives Name

________________________

No One Nose Imagine that you are a giant nose, with sensors the size of saucepans. You have been everywhere and sniffed everything from the back streets of Pakistan to the avenues of New York. You can sniff out odors long before they even hit the radar for other people. Tell about your “nosy” life on the lines below. Describe the kinds of smells you have smelled, the sniffs you have sniffed. Use a thesaurus if you have to, but use as many adjectives as you can to describe the odors you have inhaled as a giant nose. Example People just don’t understand what it’s like to be a giant nose and sit down at a place like Juanita’s Hot Taco Magic restaurant. Flaming hot spices shoot up my nostrils and make gigantic tears leak down my tiny, but sensitive eyes. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Adjectives on the Internet Name

________________________

Roadside Attractions A giant cow made out of fiberglass. The world’s largest ball of twine. A restaurant in the shape of a coffee pot. These and other roadside attractions give lonely travelers something to look at, something to think about as the road runs on and on into the hazy distance. Americans seem especially gifted in the area of roadside attractions. Roadside wonders dot the entire country, from California to New York, from Canada to Mexico. Take a ride on the cyber highway, the Internet, and go to a search engine such as Google or Dogpile or Yahoo. Type the words “roadside attractions” into the search box and search for the strangest, weirdest, most bizarre roadside attraction you can find. Then find out as much as you can about it. Imagine that you have actually visited this bizarre attraction and are writing about it to a friend. Describe the site, using adjectives of color, size, shape, texture and condition to help make your description come alive. Your friend should be able to “see” this roadside wonder long before he or she actually drives up to it for once-in-a-lifetime photos. Circle each adjective that you use. Remember, numbers and amounts of things are adjectives too.


73

Adjective Quiz Name

________________________

Secret Shopper Circle all the adjectives in the following story: My stepmom signed up to be a secret shopper. Her first assignment was to test the security of Baldini’s Sausage Emporium—100,000 square feet of glimmering coolers and shiny glass counters full of luscious sausages imported from hundreds of foreign countries. She saw chicken beak sausage from Morocco; duck feet sausage from China; Red River moose sausage from Canada, as well as spicy radish butter from Russia, yak cheese from Bulgaria, watermelon poppers from Romania, and dried turtle chips from the Pimple Islands. Mom arrived on Wednesday morning armed with sixteen colored markers. She was supposed to quietly change price tags, writing ridiculous prices on the tags to see if the clerks would catch the changes. But all went wrong when slippery Charlie, the head security guard, sneaked up on mom and whipped out his shiny handcuffs. “You’re under arrest ma’am,” Charlie said, “for tampering with the goods.” “I’m supposed to tamper with the goods,” Mom replied. “I’m a secret shopper.” “A likely story,” Charlie sneered. “Let’s go.” The sausage police questioned my poor mother for two hours before the furious owner, Big Wanda, showed up with her three brawny bodyguards and a miniature chihuahua named Pete. “Let her go, boys,” she said. “She’s with me.” Mom left the shop with her paycheck and coupons for 600 jars of red lizard sausage nuggets. Our entire family was thrilled, obviously. Mom was still upset about being arrested, but she is attending a secret shopper support group and taking serenity lessons from Dr. Elroy Frill. She will make it to shop another day—secretly, of course.

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Conjunctions

AND BUT OR FOR NOR YET ALTHOUGH

BEFORE DURING

What Are Conjunctions?

AFTER UNLESS

SINCE WHEN WHILE WHEREVER BECAUSE

When you look at a beautiful fountain with the water splashing over the cool stones, you don’t say, “Look at the lovely mortar connecting those stones!” Nobody notices the mortar, not even the people who put it there. But everyone sees the pattern of the stones, with their unique shapes and colors made dark and vivid by the water. So it is with conjunctions. They are the “mortar” between words; they bind other words, and even entire sentences, into one unit. For example, you might say, “I’m digging a hole and burying my poor dead cat.” The reader concentrates on the actions of digging and burying and doesn’t give a second thought to the word and. Yet without and, the sentence wouldn’t look or sound right. Another way to think of conjunctions: they connect things. Here are a few examples of commonly used conjunctions in our language:

and but or for nor yet although because when while wherever since unless whenever


77

Conjunctions Name

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Get Coordinated! Some conjunctions have a fancy name—coordinating conjunctions. The name isn’t as important as what these conjunctions do. They connect things that are roughly equal, like two sentences or two nouns or two verbs. Examples Alicia lies out in the sun all day and pays for it afterwards. I’m not moving to Peru or Connecticut. They said I would be eaten alive, but I swam on anyway. I don’t hate you, nor do I fear you. I feel sorry for you, for you’ve never eaten a submarine sandwich. You are all alone, yet you don’t seem sad. There are only seven coordinating conjunctions: and but or for nor yet so The most common coordinating conjunction in the English language is and. It is everywhere. Some words joined by the conjunction and are used so often, by so many people, that they’re almost considered as one unit: hamburger and fries, peanut butter and jelly, Bert and Ernie. On the lines below, write as many common and combinations as you can. You may include foods, places, teams, people, buildings, sayings, monuments—whatever works. Then get together with a classmate and brainstorm. Two heads are better than one. See if you can complete a list of at least 20 and combinations. The first three are done for you.

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cake and ice cream 1. __________________________________

11. __________________________________

Romeo and Juliet 2. __________________________________

12. __________________________________

3. __________________________________ green eggs and ham

13. __________________________________

4. __________________________________

14. __________________________________

5. __________________________________

15. __________________________________

6. __________________________________

16. __________________________________

7. __________________________________

17. __________________________________

8. __________________________________

18. __________________________________

9. __________________________________

19. __________________________________

10. __________________________________

20. __________________________________


Conjunctions Name

________________________

And You’re Breathless The conjunction and is probably the most useful of the coordinating conjunctions. However, too many ands can make any piece of writing appear ridiculous. Read the essay “Things I Hate to Wait For,” below.

THINGS I HATE TO WAIT FOR I hate the first second or two after I put money in a pop machine when I’m waiting for the pop to drop. And I hate waiting for french fries to thaw in the microwave and for the dentist to come back to the chair with the drill in his hand and for the VCR to rewind and for commercials to end and for the alarm clock to go off and for Saturday and for my luggage at the airport and for my name to be called in gym class and for the cat to come in from her stroll outside and for the light to turn green and for my hair to grow out after a bad haircut and for spring to come and for the six o’clock news to end and for copies on the photocopy machine and for Christmas and for a clerk in a department store to help me find socks.

After you catch your breath, rewrite the piece, eliminating some ands and combining ideas into sentences. Finally, add a few sentences of your own, including more “Things I Hate to Wait For.” ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Conjunctions Name

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A Series of Ands A list of items connected by and can get tiresome. It is usually better to turn such a list into a series. How? Just substitute a comma for each and except the last one. (Some people also put a comma before the remaining and, although many U.S. publications now leave it out.) Example I fell and hurt my knee and my head and my back and my pride. Revision I fell and hurt my knee, my head, my back and my pride. In the sentences below, the word and is overused. Rewrite each sentence, replacing the unnecessary ands with commas. 1. Jen and Millie and Aaron and Hal and Shawna are all expert spies. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. I don’t want to go to summer camp because I’m allergic to grass and hot marshmallows and frogs and black-roasted wieners and team sports. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. If you teach me how to develop photographs, I’ll trade you my walkie-talkies and my two goldfish and my old stereo and my blue jacket and my little brother. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. To write poetry, you must be sensitive and clever and wise and mysterious and brave. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Complete each sentence below with a series of at least five items. 5. I love

____________________________________________________________________

6. I hate ______________________________________________________________________ 7. Someday I hope I can ________________________________________________________

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Conjunctions Name

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Details, Details There is an important punctuation detail to remember about the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, for, nor and yet. When they are used to connect something big—namely, two sentences—you need to put a comma before the conjunction. Let’s concentrate on the conjunction and for now. If you use the word and to join a couple of nouns, you don’t need any punctuation. (I’m going to the mall AND the supermarket.) Similarly, if you use the word to connect a couple of verbs, you don’t need any punctuation. (I’m borrowing the car AND going to the mall.) But if you join two complete sentences (also known as independent clauses) with the word and, then you need to add a comma before the and. Look at this example and revision: Example I’m going to the mall. You’re not coming with me. Revision I’m going to the mall, and you’re not coming with me. Note: Sometimes, if two sentences connected by a coordinating conjunction are very short, you can leave out the comma, if you like. Combine the sentences below, using the comma/and combination as necessary. 1. It’s Wednesday afternoon. It’s time to bathe the baboon. _____________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Larry ran out of the room carrying the smoking VCR. Zeb got the fire extinguisher. ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. I want to be rich. I want to be gorgeous. __________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Put commas in the sentences below, only when necessary. Remember, a comma is needed only if the word and joins two complete sentences. If a sentence needs no comma, write “OK” beside it. 4. I’m going to buy an armored car and run for treasurer of Student Council. 5. I saved money for years to buy a trampoline and now that I have one I’m too depressed to bounce. 6. Elena and Jeff yelled and threw confetti at the winners and their coach.


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Conjunctions Name

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The Exclusive Or The conjunction or is used to eliminate possibilities. Humans can be male or female, but not both at the same time. The conjunction or has the same rule as the conjunction and: You need to put a comma before it only if it is used to join two complete sentences (also known as independent clauses). If it is used to join anything else, the comma is unnecessary. Examples Chill the pudding before serving, or you’ll be wearing it. (The or joins two complete sentences, so a comma is needed.) Please dive or jump or get out of the way. (No commas are needed because the ors join items in a series.) Put commas in the sentences below, only if they are necessary. Remember, a comma is needed only if the word or joins two complete sentences. If a sentence needs no commas, write “OK” beside it. 1. Smile when you ask Ms. Keetz for a Kleenex or she will be furious. 2. Whether you climb up or down a mountain, you are going to shed some sweat. 3. You can have new shoes or a haircut. 4. Did you hear what I said or do you need to have your hearing checked? 5. To be or not to be, that is the question. 6. Do all of you have money or should we borrow some? Imagine that you are babysitting 12 wild children from three different families, and you need to lay down some ground rules for survival before the evening begins. You might sit at the table and begin your list of rules like this: You must put away all ropes and chains neatly in the closet, or I’ll pull the plug on the TV. Finish the list with at least three more creative sentences of your own, each using the conjunction or.

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Conjunctions Name

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But Put in the Comma The word but is a talented word. Sometimes it acts as a preposition, showing how something is an exception. (Everyone but Pablo had the flu.) Sometimes it is used as a conjunction, joining two complete sentences. (I love you, but we have to break up.) When it is used to join two complete sentences, the conjunction but needs a comma before it. Put commas in the sentences below, only if they are necessary. Remember, a comma is needed only if the word but joins two complete sentences (also known as independent clauses). If a sentence needs no commas, write “OK” beside it. 1. Keep your eyes open but close your mouth. 2. I suspect no one but you. 3. All but Jake were presented with a gold watch and a lobster. 4. I’m going to New Jersey but I’m going alone. 5. Louise ate everything but the creamed snails. 6. I told her about Eddie but she wouldn’t believe me. 7. I will go to the play with you but first I have to floss. 8. Taming a cobra is a chore but it’s not as dangerous as substitute teaching. 9. He seemed dead but we noticed his hands were still warm. 10. Everyone but Janet walked the plank with grace. 11. No one but a low-level louse would skip ceramics class to go snorkeling. 12. Evelyn called me a zucchini-face once but that was before I kissed her.

Using the conjunction but in at least three different sentences, write instructions for wearing the right clothes for the right occasion. For example, you might give this suggestion: Be sure to dress in summer clothes for church picnics, but leave your bikini at home.


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Conjunctions Name

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For the Love of Commas Like the conjunction but, the word for is also talented. It can be used as a preposition. (I’m here for you.) Or it can be used as a conjunction. (I won’t leave you, for our love is strong and pure and wise.) When it is used to join two complete sentences, the conjunction for needs a comma before it. Put commas in the sentences below, only if they are necessary. Remember, a comma is needed only if the word for joins two complete sentences (also known as independent clauses). If a sentence needs no commas, write “OK” beside it. 1. I’m cancelling your debt for the good of our relationship. 2. I’m cancelling your debt for our friendship means more to me than a measly million dollars. 3. Mr. Howe, I’m sentencing you to five years of intensive babysitting at Little Munchkins Day Care Center for lying about the missing corn dogs. 4. Do you love me for my money or for my perfect teeth? 5. Janet took the leopard for a walk in Central Park. 6. Goldilocks flopped into the little bear’s bed for she had travelled far and was exhausted. 7. Take your nose drops for it is sure to rain and turn cold. 8. The chef broke down and cried for he had lost his silver filling in the noodles. 9. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, a CD player and my own black-footed ferret. 10. Take care of your tonsils for they are your friends. Using the conjunction for in at least three different sentences, write some sayings that would fit into Dr. Wong’s Wacky Book of Wisdom. An example: Never set a slice of pizza on your head, for you will end up wearing pepperoni earrings.

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Conjunctions Name

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Yet and Nor—Say No More The conjunctions yet and nor require the same punctuation as and, but, or and for. In other words, when they join two sentences, they need a comma. Examples I trusted you, yet you sold my collection out from under me. I don’t like potato chips, nor do I care for corn chips or salted peanuts. Put commas in the sentences below, only if they are necessary. Remember, a comma is needed only if the word yet or the word nor joins two complete sentences (also known as independent clauses). If a sentence needs no commas, write “OK” beside it. 1. I don’t like pigeons nor do I care to eat them. 2. Is Manny home yet? 3. Val has yet to receive any allowance for the first six years of her life. 4. I want to believe in Santa Claus yet here are all these uneaten cookies. 5. I don’t believe in you and your ideas nor do I believe in this tonic. 6. I have yet to find anyone who got rich playing the accordion. 7. Jane hasn’t called nor has she written in over ten years. 8. Omar knew his father wasn’t coming yet he sat in the station and waited anyway. 9. Ms. Bolt is neither rich nor eccentric. 10. Have you cleaned your room yet? 11. I knew you liked rubber cement yet I didn’t think you would eat it. 12. I have yet to meet a cheeseburger I didn’t like. Write three interesting sentences that need a comma and the conjunctions yet or nor. You might write advice to parents who want to know best how to raise their children. Or you might play the role of a pet psychiatrist and write advice to the owner of a neurotic dachshund.


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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Either/Or . . . Neither/Nor Some conjunctions are married and should appear as couples in a sentence. When you want to say something that implies a consequence, then the either/or couple works well: Either you give me the keys, or I’m telling Mother. When you want to make it clear that neither of two choices or situations will work, then the neither/nor combination works best: Neither you nor I know if she really took the necklace. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct conjunction combinations. 1.

________ you bring the poison,

2.

________ Carlos

3.

________ Felicia gets first prize,

4.

________ Marvin marries me,

5.

________ Monty

6.

________ John

I will.

Linda believed that Mark was dangerous. I squeal about the videotape. I’m selling his sled dogs.

his mother could figure how the mouse got in the salad. I have enough money to buy a car. lose your breathing privileges,” the man said.

7. “ ________ pay me,

Rudolph could find Phoenix in the smog.

8.

________ Santa

9.

________ you’ve got it,

10.

________ your pizza

11.

________ you brush between meals,

12.

________ measles

you don’t. your fancy promises can keep me from leaving Tulsa. we don’t kiss until Christmas.

the flu can take my mind off you.

Write a paragraph that includes two interesting either/or sentences and two neither/nor sentences about the Ding-A-Ling Brothers Circus, the worst circus in the world. You can take the role of a performer writing a letter of complaint, or you can be a reporter from the Muckberry Gazette, writing a review of the circus for the entertainment section of the paper.

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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Use Them or Lose Them Using the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, for, nor, and yet, complete the sentences below. Write an appropriate coordinating conjunction in each space provided. 1. Sticks

stones will break your bones,

I believe every word of it.

2. I heard your story,

3. Plug the holes in that boat,

it will sink like a stone. no one likes a liar.

4. You must always tell the truth, 5. You whine about the cold weather,

you won’t move to Tucson with me.

it’s just a lot of talk.

6. You say you love me, 7. If you’ve got cake 8. Life is a gas,

ice cream, you’ve got a party. it can blow up in your face.

9. Surprisingly, neither Wilma

anyone in the band knew “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

10. You’ll have to leave by sundown, Big Bart, Sludgeville. 11. Bring your ticket money,

you have worn out your welcome in

you will end up on the outside looking in.

12. I’m not bringing my French horn, 13. I’m glad I came,

names can break your heart.

am I helping clean up afterwards.

otherwise I would not have met the beautiful Ms. Wimple.

14. I don’t know whether to rent a billboard

send a singing telegram.

Write a sentence about a personal habit that you absolutely hate to see people demonstrate (eating with their mouths open, picking their noses, snapping their gum and blowing bubbles in your face, assigning boring homework, etc.). Be sure your sentence includes at least one coordinating conjunction that connects two complete sentences (independent clauses).


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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Make Your Own Use the nouns on the left in conjunction with the conjunctions in the box below to make sentences of your own. Use the conjunctions as often as you wish, but use each noun only once. (You need not use every noun in the box.) The first one is done for you. vandal accordion outlaw truth love tickle pumpkin mothball sea horse rubbish reindeer punch suds plutonium trombone noodle nectar morsel spinach traffic lightning knuckle keyboard dumpster inchworm habit gerbil answer ghost concert hostage detective crown apple flea advice bracelet blubber apricot hamster allowance cocoa vampire

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and but for nor or yet

1. ________________________________________________________ I found my accordion in the dumpster, ________________________________________________________ but I don’t know who put it there. 2. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 4. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 6. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 7. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 8. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 9. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 10. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________


Conjunctions Name

________________________

Write On Use all six coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, for, nor, yet and so) to write a news report about the appearance of a popular singing star at your school last Thursday at 1:00 P.M. The singer is a distant cousin of the principal, and the family is having a reunion at the park downtown on Saturday. The star has agreed to do a short performance at the school on Friday at 2:00 P.M., with the proceeds going to the school. Name the star, and name the songs. Be specific. Circle each coordinating conjunction that you use. Remember to use all seven of them. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Subordinating Conjunctions As you learned earlier, some conjunctions connect things that are roughly equal. They are called coordinating conjunctions. Another kind of conjunction connects things that are not equal. These conjunctions are called subordinating conjunctions. One part of a sentence is not equal to another part if it depends on the other part for its meaning. Look at this sentence, for example: Pat loves to eat, although she is allergic to cooking. Pat loves to eat makes perfectly good sense all by itself. It could stand alone as a complete thought. It could be independent. Although she is allergic to cooking, however, cannot stand alone. It doesn’t make sense all by itself. It depends on the other part of the sentence for some of its meaning. So—the conjunction although connects the dependent part of the sentence to the independent part and is called a subordinating conjunction. Try this. Write the word although in front of one of the sentences below. Then combine the two into a single sentence. Marvin loves Jamaica. He is leaving the island. You should have come up with one of these sentences: Although Marvin loves Jamaica, he is leaving the island. Although Marvin is leaving the island, he loves Jamaica. Marvin is leaving Jamaica, although he loves the island. Marvin loves Jamaica, although he is leaving the island. In all of the sentences, although is a subordinating conjunction. Notice that it can be used at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle of it. Using the subordinating conjunction although, try joining each of the sentences below. Don’t forget to put a comma between the dependent and the independent part of each resulting sentence. 1. Cheri loves aardvarks. She has never owned one. __________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Mikey eats mangoes. He prefers enchiladas. ______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Evelyn loves winter. She’s afraid of the snow. ____________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Subordinating Combos The box below contains a number of common subordinating conjunctions. Use them to help you combine each pair of sentences below into one sentence.

after although because before if since though unless until when whenever where wherever while

1. I see an aquarium. I want to jump into it and blow bubbles against the glass. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Edwina keeps showing up at the circus. She hopes the Great Valentino will throw her a kiss from the high wire. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Dawn loves company. She prefers that the guests sleep in the yard. ____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Pat learned to cook last September. No one feels safe. _______________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Gabe hates meat loaf. He stuffed his sandwich into Felicia’s French horn. _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Spot was a decent-looking dog. He got the measles. _________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. You give me the keys to your car. I won’t tell how you rigged the fog machine to belch. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Conjunctions Name

________________________

The Making of a Dependent Clause Add a subordinating conjunction from the box to each of the sentences, forming a dependent clause. Then add words to complete a new sentence. The first item is completed for you.

after although because before if since though unless until when whenever where wherever while

1. Amy buttered the toast. __________________________________________________________________________ Although Amy buttered the toast, she wouldn’t eat it. 2. Mavis lost her sandals. ________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Albert believes in himself. _____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. People sneeze in crowded elevators. _____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

5. Nobody believed Wilbur could have won. _________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Jody placed the custard pie in the box. ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. It became obvious that Mark was hallucinating. ____________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 8. Margot ate all the carbohydrates in the house. _____________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Conjunctions Name

________________________

Subordinatium Gladiloli Using at least five of the subordinating conjunctions in the box below, tell about your life as a potted plant. You sit all day on a small table in the lunch room at school. A cook brought you in last September to provide “atmosphere” at lunchtime. Since then, life has not been easy. In writing your heart-wrenching story, you might consider the following: Is it better to be tall, green and beautiful than short, dry and stubby? Is there one special person who drops by every day and whispers something nice in your leaves? When people bury gum wrappers in your roots, how do you feel? Are there days when it is too quiet? How does it feel to be thirsty, and then have someone pour old milk on your petals? What would you say if you could speak the language of humans? Circle each subordinating conjunction that you use. after although because before if since though during unless until when whenever where wherever while so ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________


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Conjunctions Name

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Smothered Burrito Investigation Have you heard the newspaper account of the smothered burrito found dead in his apartment? What makes the story even more tragic is the absence of correlative conjunctions. What kind of news report leaves out correlative conjunctions? Correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that always come in pairs. Common correlative conjunctions are listed in the box below. both…and,

neither…nor,

either…or,

not only…but also

Read the crime story below, then insert the appropriate correlative conjunctions where needed. Choose from the correlative conjunctions listed in the box. (Correlative conjunctions always come in pairs.) SMOTHERED BURRITO FOUND DEAD IN APARTMENT _______________ the detectives from the Santa Rosita police department _______________ the landlord of the apartment building at 112 S. Bean Boulevard, could believe what they found when they opened the door to the upstairs unit. There in a pool of _______________ salsa _______________ sour cream, lay a smothered burrito named Ralphino. There was no sign of forced entry. _______________ the criminal was allowed in, _______________ he slipped in without leaving a trace of evidence. A note indicating mild depression and concern that things were about to get “hot around here” prompted law enforcement officials to contact the neighbors at 114 S. Bean Boulevard. Sure enough, they found a Jar-O-Matic jar opener and six bottles of used salsa. Sour cream was found embedded in footprints leading to the back door of the nextdoor apartment. The investigation continues with interviews planned for the Guacamole Dip-Off this Saturday at noon at the Pepper Pavillion on Broadway. People are asked to bring their own beverage. Now write your own newspaper account of the disappearance of America’s most famous vegetable couple. Use all four pairs of correlative conjunctions listed in the box above. MR. AND MRS. POTATO HEAD MISSING AFTER AN OUTING WITH THE SILVER SPUDS CLUB ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 94


Conjunctions Name

________________________

Fruitful Fashion You are fashion designer. Your last show was a bust. The reviews smelled like bad cheese. So, to recover, you have created something truly original: the world’s finest line of clothing made of food. The next show in New York will be your organic clothing debut. This is it. You either impress the critics or start selling Spandex door-to-door. It’s time to write the copy for your catalog. Here are just a few of the materials used in your clothing line: banana fronds, coffee leaves, prune pits, yak yarn, carved peach pits, corn shocks, pumpkin seeds, coconuts, squash, cedar bark, cherry pits, and pine cones. Below, describe each of the items you have designed. Use at least 10 conjunctions. Circle all the conjunctions that you use. Different kinds of conjunctions are listed in the boxes below.

and . . . . but . . . . or . . . . for . . . . nor . . . . yet . . . . so

both…and,

neither…nor,

either…or,

not only…but also

after although as as if because before if since so that than though unless until when whenever where wherever while 1. A sweater.

2. A purse or a backpack.

3. Shoes.

4. A winter coat.


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Conjunctions on the Internet Name

________________________

Ice Hotel Lots of young people travel in the summer to far-off places. Lots of them travel to exotic, unheard-of places. However, very, very few of them ever get to travel and stay in a hotel made completely of ice. That’s right, ice. The walls are ice, the roof is ice, the floor is ice, even the beds are made of ice. Go to an Internet search engine (Dogpile, Yahoo, Google, etc.) and type in the words, “ice hotel.” Then locate information about the ice hotel in Jukkäsjarvi, Sweden. Read all you can about the building, the rooms, the store, the activities, the natural surroundings. Picture yourself staying overnight in this ice hotel. Write a letter telling someone what it’s like in the coolest hotel on the planet. As you tell your tale, use conjunctions to help connect your work and make it flow. The boxes below include a number of common conjunctions that you might use. Be specific, be clear, be creative. Let your friend know what the ice hotel is all about, conjunctively speaking. Circle the conjunctions you use.

and . . . . but . . . . or . . . . for . . . . nor . . . . yet . . . . so

both…and,

neither…nor,

either…or,

not only…but also

after although as as if because before if since so that than though unless until when whenever where wherever while

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Conjunction Quiz Name

________________________

Spaghetti Heaven Underline all the conjunctions in the following story. Before dining out with my three-year-old brother Philly, you have to prepare yourself. Since eating out with Philly is a messy proposition, you need a handful of plastic trash bags and duct tape and a damp wash cloth and a camera. (You will need pictures to prove what happened, because people won’t believe you if you try to describe it to them.) It doesn’t matter what restaurant you go to, nor does it matter what food you order; it will end in disaster. Here’s what happened when my family went to Spaghetti Heaven with Philly. We all got there and sat down and cut holes in our trash bags for our arms and heads and then put them on. Then the food came. Philly lunged for his massive bowl of spaghetti and promptly shoved Grandma into the salad bowl. She came up spitting lettuce and parsley greens, but she was not discouraged. Because she had her trash bag on, she was relatively safe. When the meal began, violin players came drifting by our table. One by one they were splattered with spaghetti sauce, though not on purpose, for Philly has a good heart. Meanwhile, Grandma was getting overheated, so she pulled off her protective leaf bag. This was not a good idea, as Philly was not only hungry but also in a hurry. Grandma soon resembled a woman fresh from a pizza fight. By the time this particular evening was over, both the waiter and the bus boy were covered in spaghetti splatter, the dessert cart was buried, and Grandma had to be duct taped to the front fender and run two times through the car wash. However, we are gaining ground. After we ate out last time, the waiter power-washed the entire family as we left through the side door.


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Pronouns

HE SHE IT WE US THEM OUR HERS HIS

WHICH WHOSE WHO

What Are Pronouns?

ANYBODY WHOM I

YOU ME SOMEONE HIM MY MINE HER

Actors and actresses who are about to take a hard fall usually stop and yell, “Stand in!” This means that someone else who resembles the star is going to have to tumble into a waterfall, jump from a burning potato chip truck, or leap out of an exploding helicopter. Pronouns do the same for nouns. When a noun is about to wear itself out in a sentence, a pronoun can hop in. The sentence reads better, the noun takes a break, and the reader is happier. Here is a paragraph that could use some more pronouns: Meg stepped to the end of the diving board and looked down. Meg then turned back and looked longingly at her sister, who was perched safely on the ladder, smiling. Meg knew this was it. One! Two! Three! Meg ran to the end of the board, leaped, tucked and made one and one half turns, then straightened out like an arrow and hit the water cleanly. Meg knew Meg had made the best dive of her life. Here is the same paragraph, with pronouns standing in for some of the nouns: Meg stepped to the end of the diving board and looked down. She then turned back and looked longingly at her sister, who was perched safely on the ladder, smiling. Meg knew this was it. One! Two! Three! She ran to the end of the board, leaped, tucked, and made one and one half turns, then straightened out like an arrow and hit the water cleanly. She knew she had made the best dive of her life. Here are some common pronouns:

I you he she her him me them it yours hers his theirs mine myself yourself himself herself who whom whose which what anybody someone everyone


101

Pronouns Name

________________________

The Case of the Pronoun Prank The paragraph below sounds pretty strange. It needs some pronouns to stand in for the nouns once in a while. Rewrite the paragraph using pronouns from the box on the left. You may use the pronouns more than once.

I he she we they me him her his

Brian walked into the room with no intention of doing any mischief until Brian saw Brian’s grandmother’s false teeth in a glass on the lamp stand next to Grandma’s bed. Brian approached the false teeth with a smile on Brian’s face. What a find! Brian knew exactly what Brian would do. Brian sneaked down to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Brian saw trays full of cheese snacks, and Brian knew who the snacks were for—Brian’s mother’s bridge club friends who came to play cards every Thursday night. Brian slipped the teeth out of Brian’s pocket and stuffed them into the bacon-onion dip. Then Brian closed the door and went upstairs. That night, from far below in the dining room, his mother’s guests’ screams drifted up to Brian in sharp, pleasant waves. ________________________________________________________________

us ________________________________________________________________ them ________________________________________________________________ it ________________________________________________________________ you

________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 102


Pronouns Name

________________________

Getting Personal A personal pronoun is a pronoun that stands in for a person. (There is one exception. The personal pronoun it stands in for an object instead of a person.) There aren’t very many personal pronouns. Here are all of them: I he she we they me him her us them you it As you can see, some of them are singular (I, he, she, me, it) while others are plural (us, we, them, they). Read the sentences below. Then rewrite them, using personal pronouns from the list above. 1. When I turned on the lie detector, the lie detector told me the lie detector had a headache. Honest! ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. If the doctor ever shows up, ask the doctor if the doctor will deliver the baby. ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. “I can’t believe you ate 39 kumquats,” said Tom to Tom’s brother. ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Gertrude threw the banana cream pie at the judge, but Gertrude later apologized. ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Alvin asked Tim to loan Alvin Tim’s skateboard, but Tim said, “Buy your own!” ___________________________________________________________________________ You are the captain of the Roughriders Ring Toss Team from Loose Tooth, Alaska, and your team is up against a tough bunch of competitors from Tennessee who have won six Ring Toss Super Bowls in the past ten years. Everyone in the locker room, including NBC television, is awaiting your inspirational speech before the contest. What do you tell your teammates who have never gone this far before in post-season play and who are all used to playing outside with their mittens on? Write down the main points of your speech. Then circle the personal pronouns.


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Pronouns Name

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“Self” Pronouns The “self” pronouns are easy to recognize because they all end in “self.” Here are all of them: myself oneself himself herself itself yourself yourselves ourselves themselves Notice that some of the pronouns are singular (myself, oneself, himself, herself, itself, yourself) and some are plural (ourselves, yourselves, themselves). Notice also that you don’t see theirselves. That’s because it is considered nonstandard English. For each of the items below, choose the pronoun from the above list that best completes the sentence. 1. The twelve members of the Beagle family considered Beezle Street, bar none.

the best bagel bakers on

to be an arti-

2. We were quite concerned when Stuart confessed that he believed choke. 3. Miss Apple always says to the class, “Behave 4. Annette saw 5. Beatrice considers

out there!”

as the only cop on the beat worth her uniform. the roller blade champion of Junction City.

6. If you worry about the world too much, you will tie 7. “I declare 8. The tornado blew 9. One must take 10. We humans see

in knots.

to be the winner!” Juan said, even before the starting gun was fired. out before it reached Kansas. seriously in this class. as the brightest things on the planet.

Using any three of the singular “self” pronouns listed above, write a letter to the Ajax Candy Company asking for a job as a chocolate taster on the night shift. Tell what qualities a good employee should have, and promote yourself as a hard worker, a punctual person, and someone with “taste.”

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Pronouns Name

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Always Single There are four pronouns that are always considered singular. The four pronouns are:

each either neither one

These four pronouns always need to be used with a singular verb. That sounds easy enough. The problem is that a prepositional phrase may confuse you by getting in the middle. Because there is a plural noun in the prepositional phrase, you may want to throw in a plural verb—even though a singular verb is correct. How can you tell what verb goes with a singular pronoun? First leave out the prepositional phrase. Then, to see what verb goes with a singular word, substitute the word one for the pronoun. This sounds a lot harder than it is. Take a look at the examples below: Examples Each of the parrots is/are an excellent speaker. (One is an excellent speaker.) Neither of the sundaes has/have fudge. (One has fudge.) Either of the pies is/are acceptable. (One is acceptable.) One of the alligators limp/limps. (One limps.) In the above examples, the phrases of the parrots, of the sundaes, of the pies, and of the alligators may lead you to want to use a plural verb. However, the pronouns each, either, neither and one are always singular. In the sentences below, circle the correct form of the verb. Example Either of them is/are ready to go. 1. Neither of us is/are brave enough to face Gertrude. 2. One of us has/have to go to the door and knock. 3. Either of us is/are capable of apologizing. 4. Each of us want/wants to, but we can’t find the courage. 5. Each of the contestants has/have a bad hairdo. 6. Neither of the players likes/like practicing in the rain. 7. One of the anchorwomen always wink/winks at the end of the broadcast. 8. Either of the bull riders are/is worthy of the trophy. 9. Each of the girls wants/want to take the cruise. 10. Neither of the twirlers likes/like flaming batons.


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Pronouns Name

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Everyone’s Favorite Each, either, neither and one are always considered singular. There are also a dozen more pronouns that require singular verbs. (These are called “indefinite” pronouns, because the nouns they stand in for are not named specifically. For example, who, exactly, is everyone?) These singular, indefinite pronouns are listed in the box below:

everyone someone anyone no one everything something anything nothing everybody somebody anybody nobody

In the sentences below, circle the correct form of the verb needed in the sentence. Remember, indefinite pronouns are singular. Try substituting the word one for the indefinite pronoun, to see which verb form to use. Example Everybody in dance class wears/wear sneakers. (One wears sneakers.) 1.

Everyone at the dance have/has a favorite move.

2.

Someone in the band does/do not play worth a dime.

3.

Anyone with any brains love/loves accordion music.

4.

No one in the audience listen/listens to the words.

5.

Everything is/are black except for the strobe lights flickering off Rita’s cast.

6.

Something happen/happens each time Ruby teams up with Howard on the sax.

7.

Anything goes/go when Waldo shows.

8.

No one wants/want to hear Ms. Kruger play the bagpipes.

9.

Everybody love/loves the way Angelo keeps time with his salad fork.

10. Somebody gag/gags every time they turn on the fog machine. Using five of the indefinite pronouns listed above, write five sentences about any one of the following topics: • • • •

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You attend your first meeting of the Royal Order of the Restless Mugwumps. You are an alien dropped off at a mall in Detroit. You attend an Italian opera with your Aunt Lilith. A large tuba player faints during the Fourth of July parade.


Pronouns Name

________________________

Pronouns of Your Own Below is a list of singular, indefinite pronouns, and a list of prepositional phrases. Using your own paper, combine items from each list to make ten sentences that work. Make your sentences interesting. Remember that indefinite pronouns need singular verbs. Example Neither of the worker bees wants to marry the queen.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

one

of the worker bees

each either

of the oranges with a grain of sense with money

neither by the book everyone in the fish tank everything everybody

throughout the country below ground

someone

but me

something

of the eggplants

somebody

of the elves

no one

of the cows

nothing

of the boys

nobody anyone

of the girls of the incidents of the winners

anything of the losers anybody of the elephants of the auctioneers in the cellar in her right mind Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Pronouns Name

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Find Them and Fix Them Below is a story that contains errors in grammar; some of the singular indefinite pronouns are not matched correctly with singular verbs. Find each verb that is inappropriate and cross it out. Then write in the correct verb above. Everyone believe Bernice to be the kind of girl who finds trouble in the weirdest places. Each of her brothers are sure she won’t live to graduate from high school. For example, last year on the ski trip everybody were having fun. Someone were learning to ski for the first time, while another was taking the toughest runs with ease. Bernice, however, created a disaster. No one could believes it. Bernice missed a turn and slammed into a stretch of snow fence, taking out an entire first grade class that was playing on the bunny hill. No one were hurt, except Bernice—she was carried off the hill and into a waiting ambulance. The following spring someone brought a pet pig to school in a cardboard box. Everybody were a little afraid of it at first and stayed back. But not Bernice. She scooped up the pig and cuddled it under her chin. She was tickling its ear when it chomped off her earring and tried to swallow it. The pig started to choke. The owner rushed it to the veterinary clinic, but it died on the way—earring overdose. Even going to the grocery store is dangerous for Bernice, and for the store. Her mother gave her a list of produce to buy one day, so Bernice went to the supermarket. Neither of the clerks were there to help her, so she started rummaging through the broccoli on her own. One of the broccoli bunches were especially nice, but it was at the bottom of the pile. Bernice reached way over and down into the mound of bushy vegetables to get the one she wanted, when the vegetable sprayer turned on. Bernice screamed, jerked back and rammed into two stock boys carrying boxes of bananas. They were equally surprised as they fell backward into the strawberry shortcake display. As bananas flew and strawberries tumbled, Bernice scampered away with four heads of broccoli cradled in her arms. The checkout lady let her go through, free of charge, because she valued her life. Two weeks later when no one were home, Bernice made grilled cheese sandwiches and somehow managed to melt the microwave. A week after that, she washed her mom’s BMW and forgot to roll up the windows. Two days later she was babysitting for the neighbors and took the children to a fast-food restaurant. She placed them in the romper gym in the kiddie room and went to order lunch. Two hours later the children still would not come out. Bernice begged them. Neither of the managers were able to coax the kids out. When Bernice tried to get at them through the emergency door, they screamed so loudly no one could stand it. Finally, the parents had to come and dig their children out from under four thousand plastic baseballs. The children said they were having too much fun to quit. Everyone else believe that the kids just didn’t want to deliver themselves into the hands of the “human accident.” 108


Pronouns Name

________________________

Possessive Pronouns Some pronouns have the special job of showing ownership in a sentence. These are called possessive pronouns. Examples We love our little trips to Paris. Their dog ate our picnic. I enjoyed your comments about celery juice. His brother is no angel either. People sometimes get confused about possessive pronouns. Most possessive words need an apostrophe—but not possessive pronouns. Pronouns like hers, yours, ours, theirs, and its do not require apostrophes. These pronouns are possessive in themselves and need no punctuation at all. Nothing. Zip. Zero. To practice using possessive pronouns, write a brief account of a nightmare vacation you might envision taking with your family or your friends. Use at least six different possessive pronouns in your story, and don’t forget details like these: ice cream cones melting all over your luggage, travelling 1,000 miles from home and meeting your math teacher in a public restroom, getting to “Reptile Acres” and finding it closed, arriving at “Waterland” with no swimsuit, sitting next to the family dog who suddenly gets carsick, etc.

my mine your yours his her hers its our ours their theirs ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Pronouns Name

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Non-Sexist Pronouns If you write, “Jasper lost his lunch,” you use the pronoun his to refer to Jasper. But suppose you want to say that all the people lost their lunches. You might write, “Everyone lost his lunch,” because you know that everyone is a singular indefinite pronoun that needs a singular verb. But wait a minute . . . What about the females? Women and girls don’t want to be called a his when they lose their lunch. English has a problem when it comes to singular pronouns. We don’t have a pronoun that means either male or female. So what do you do when you have a singular indefinite pronoun like “everyone”? The old recommendation was this: Use the word his. His was said to refer to either males or females. Well, if you followed that rule all the time, you could wind up with some pretty strange sentences, such as this one: Everyone who is pregnant should check with his doctor about what foods to eat during pregnancy. That’s obviously pretty silly. Another problem is that a lot of women don’t like the idea of being called his. “What if we used her instead?” they ask. “How would guys feel if they had to read sentences like this one: Everyone who gets a passport should have her birth certificate with her.” So—what to do? At the present time, there is no universally accepted answer. You might stick with the old rule. However, most publications nowadays recommend that you just try to avoid singular indefinite pronouns altogether. Instead of writing, “Everyone who wants a refund should bring his coupon,” they recommend rewriting the sentence so that it reads, “People who want refunds should bring their coupons.” Another possibility is to say his or her instead of his. That is sometimes a bit awkward, but it is more accurate. Still another possibility is to alternate, saying “his” some of the time and “her” some of the time in the same document. Finally, another possibility is to say “their” instead of “his,” which most of us do anyway in informal speech. (Example: Everyone should bring their umbrellas in case of rain.) Although a few publications now approve of this solution, it is not generally accepted as “proper” writing. Because their is plural and everyone is singular, your English teacher will probably not approve of this idea! Rewrite the sentences below so that they clearly refer to both males and females. 1. Everyone kept his cool during the food fight. 2. No one did his homework over the weekend, so everyone failed. 3. Anyone who loves his dog should avoid large, vicious cats. 4. Somebody left his dirty socks on the bus. 5. Everybody ate his fill at the taco bar.

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Pronouns Name

________________________

It’s All Relative Relative pronouns relate descriptive parts of a sentence to other parts of the sentence. They make messages more readable by helping words flow into a pleasant-sounding pattern. Read the messages below. Which one reads more smoothly? • •

Hank ate a hot pepper. The hot pepper made him hallucinate and cry out for Rolaids. Hank ate a hot pepper that made him hallucinate and cry out for Rolaids.

Your ear should have told you that the second message sounds better. That is because of the hardworking relative pronoun that. It relates the last, descriptive part of the sentence to the word hot pepper. Make each message below read more smoothly by rewriting it into one sentence, adding one of the four relative pronouns listed in the box below. that which whose who 1. Nobody came to the beach party. I’m talking about the beach party held in Mary’s dad’s garage. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. I like mystery stories. The mystery stories I like best don’t have butlers, knives, or English castles looming in the fog. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. My teacher was a tall woman. She wore red hats and plastic shoes when she wasn’t in school. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. My neighbor once owned a cocker spaniel. It was a dog with pups that bit into their mother’s ears and hung on like wood ticks. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Joey has a nickname. He hates the nickname. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Pronouns Name

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Pronouns Out of Place Relative pronouns are known for being able to turn a series of sentences into one smooth sentence. However, there is a hitch. The relative pronoun always relates part of a sentence to the noun mentioned right before it. Here is an example: Two young women who wore matching sundresses held identical collie puppies. Who wore matching sundresses relates back to women. No problem. But look what happens if we put the relative pronoun in the wrong place: Two young women held identical collie puppies who wore matching sundresses. Who wore matching sundresses now relates back to puppies. Because the puppies weren’t wearing sundresses, the sentence doesn’t say what it means to say. The relative pronoun who needs to come right after the word it relates to—in this case, women. Fix the sentences below that have been confused by the misplacement of a relative pronoun. Rewrite each sentence on the line provided. 1. The trainer turned to the crowd and said, “We need someone to jump into the tank with Boris the shark, who is absolutely odorless.” ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Julio bought cotton candy from a girl at the fair that was way too sweet. ________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. I’d like to hire someone to feed and train our horse who doesn’t smoke._________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Never trust a lady with a dog who walks everywhere in high heels. ____________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. At the race track, I saw a horse which was oval shaped and 300 yards wide._____________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. I met two men carrying smoked fish who wore chrome-plated sunglasses. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Pronouns Name

________________________

Writing with Relatives Using one of the four relative pronouns (who, which, that or whose), combine each set of sentences below into one sentence that reads smoothly and makes good sense. 1. This is a new flotation device. It instantly inflates to the size and shape of a St. Bernard and dog-paddles you to safety. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. We are looking for a new photographer’s assistant. This person must be able to distract children for at least 30 seconds, using distorted facial expressions. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Our circus needs a new act. It must have pizazz, pizoom and free balloons. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Across the vast distance of the Grand Canyon hung a massive black web. Everyone knew the web was the work of Spiderman. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. The police are searching for a distraught woman. Her chimpanzee apparently stole the family car and left for St. Louis. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Pronouns Name

________________________

Nobody Bob feels he is a nobody—a small, unimportant person with no real shot at life. But there is hope for Bob. His new book, using his favorite pronoun “nobody” as the title, is about to be published. Nobody is a CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) novel about an unknown detective, just out of Morrie’s Detective School. Although the detective has never been on a real case before, now he is right in the middle of Moptown’s greatest mystery. The mystery? Someone is going around Moptown drawing chalk outlines of people on the sidewalks and in parking lots, with initials scratched inside the outlines. However, NOBODY is ever found dead. After sixteen of these chalk outlines turn up, an outline of the mayor’s pet squirrel, Adrian, appears outside the municipal building. Worse, poor little dead Adrian is found smack in the middle of it. What happens next? Write a synopsis of the book for Bob, who has been too nervous about the publication of the book to do it himself. (“I’m sure practically NOBODY will read it,” he says.) A synopsis is a short summary of what happens in the story. Circle the pronouns you use in your synopsis. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Pronouns on the Internet Name

________________________

Wild Weekend This weekend we’re going to go somewhere and see somebody. Then we’ll eat something and probably do nothing but talk and email someone and call everyone and see everything. The description above sounds pretty vague—one indefinite pronoun after another. It sounds like the dullest weekend on record. Find a weekend with definite possibilities by taking a trip down the cyber highway. You can find weekend getaways all over the Internet. Maybe you would like to see a complete list of weekend happenings just for tall people, or maybe you would like to join fellow yarn lovers at a knitting retreat in Manchester, Vermont, where the head knitter will “de-mystify knitting techniques.” Choose a weekend getaway that’s school appropriate but a little wacky—perhaps something that would thrill you, chill you, or make you laugh. Then write a letter inviting a friend to join you for the weekend. Make sure your letter answers the five w’s: who, what, where, when, and why. Be specific. Use clear, precise words. Don’t be indefinite. When you are finished, highlight all the nouns you have used in one color, and all the pronouns in another color. (Be sure to include a key telling which is which.) _____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Pronoun Quiz Name

________________________

Messed Up Titles and Bicycle Stew Read the titles of songs, movies, books, and poems listed below. These are pieces that should have been written, but never were. The authors ran out of gas and quit after writing only the titles. Besides that, they got the pronouns in the titles messed up. Rewrite each title, replacing the incorrect pronouns with correct choices. Example Bernice is She Name. Cooking is She Game. (Bernice is Her Name. Cooking is Her Game.) NOTE: In titles of more than three words, small words like “of” and “or” are usually not capitalized. 1. Song: Him and Me and a Cat Named Sky. ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Book: Me Never Promised Youse a Stairmaster ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Play: And Then Them Were Tardy ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Movie: Me Was a Teenage Pronoun ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Poem: Mine Heart Can’t Hold They ___________________________________________________________________________ Circle all the pronouns in the following: Michel Lotito of Grenoble, France, has eaten over a dozen bicycles. That’s right, bicycles for breakfast, bicycles for lunch, and bicycles for supper—a very tough way for a person to put iron in his diet. He is listed in Guinness World Records as holding the record for eating the most bicycles in his life. (Actually, he has no competition.) He is quoted as saying, “I drink a lot of water. I need it.” His wife thinks he needs something else—to have his head examined. Now he has invented a way to put both iron and water into his system more quickly. He has created a recipe for a bicycle stew. His wife is not really thrilled about cooking it. She prefers that Michel cook his stew himself and leave her out of the picture entirely.

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Interjections

HEY WHY WOW YO YIKES WELL OH BOY

ICK YUCK AH EH

What Are Interjections?

OOPS NO HURRAH

POW AH GOSH GEE UGH OUCH OOF HUH

Interjections are words or short phrases that show strong emotion or surprise in a sentence; they act like crashing cymbals. Bang! The reader is suddenly alert. Examples Hey! Don’t kill flies with my new shoes! Yikes! That’s a long way down! Oops—I didn’t see you sitting there! Boy, am I glad to see you! Well, I’ve never been so insulted in my life! Why, I can’t believe you are saying this to my face! Interjections help us express how we feel about something. They add a dash of intensity to our everyday comments, proving that it’s not just what we say, but how we say it that matters.


119

Interjections Name

________________________

All Alone in the World Interjections are set off from the rest of the sentence with special punctuation, most often an exclamation point (!). Sometimes, however, interjections are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma (,) or even a dash (—). Examples Hey! Get your hands off my lasagna! Say—aren’t you the lady who drives the ice cream truck? Gee, I think I left my wallet in the cave. Rewrite the sentences below, inserting the correct punctuation and capitalization. (Look at the examples above to see how it is done.) And remember, not all interjections appear at the opening of a sentence. 1. wow three large pizzas and no one is home but me _________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. whoa i can’t write as fast as you think ____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. yikes it’s hotter in here than the inside of a jalapeno pepper ___________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. I’m sure well actually I’m pretty sure I did it right __________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. halt this is your principal speaking ______________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. say would you like to win a trip to Disneyland_____________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 7. great Scott your teeth have all turned yellow _______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Write about two friends meeting at a class reunion ten years after high school graduation. In your description, use at least three sentences with interjections.

120


Interjections Name

________________________

Hey! This Is Serious Some people are walking interjections. Everything they say is full of drama and passion and dangerous emotion. These people could walk onto the set of a soap opera and be stars. They say things like this: Hey! Could you lend me a pencil? Gosh! The lead broke! Good grief! Could you loan me another one? Seriously! Could you lend me another pencil? Holy cow! You’re my best friend! Using the interjections listed below, and any of your own you would like to throw in, write a ten-sentence dialogue between yourself and an interjection user. The situation should be an ordinary event that is made bigger than life (more important than it really is) by the person you are talking to. Have fun. Be weird. And borrow a pencil if you need one! hey geez gosh say aha ha yes no oh oops bravo well what now so sure why ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Interjections Name

________________________

Holy Bat Wings! An interjection is an expression of strong emotion. But all expressions of emotion don’t have to be serious. In fact, in the television show Batman, crime fighter Robin uses a collection of goofy and humorous interjections. He says things like, “Holy spider webs! It’s that malicious fiend, Black Widow!” or “Suffering Stalactites! This cave is lined with super-repellent Bat-foil!” On the lines below, write some sentences that use a ridiculous interjection at the opening. You may create several sentences about one topic or situation, or you may write a random collection of sentences on a variety of subjects. Examples Holy hubcaps! The car won’t start! Jumpin’ jelly beans! It’s Arbor Day! 1.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

3.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

4.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

5.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

6.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

7.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

8.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

122


Interjections Name

________________________

Pirate Talk You are a pirate sailing the seven seas, spending endless hours saying interjections: Arrgh! Ahoy! Land ho! By garrgh! However, you are retiring this year to a small island in the Pacific where you can set up a pirate training school with specific goals and a mission statement. One of your goals is to create a pirate’s dictionary of interjections that will help pirates everywhere communicate and build understanding. So get to it, matey! Look at the list of interjections on the lines below, left. Then explain what each interjection means when a pirate uses it and means it from the squishy center of his or her heart. Example Ack!—This is what a pirate says when the parrot on his shoulder gets cranky and bites his ear. 1. Argh!______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Aha!_______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Uh oh!_____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Oopsies!____________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Gazookledorf! _______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Flumgumption! _____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________


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Interjections Name

________________________

Super Socket There’s a machine being installed in supermarkets across the country that will determine your emotional state. You stick your finger in Super Socket, and the device lights up and spits out a small piece of paper with one word on it. That word is an interjection that represents your emotional condition at the moment. On the lines provided, tell which interjection would describe your mood and emotional state after each of the events described. Choose the interjections from the “Interjection Sampler” box, below. 1. You look in the mirror and see that someone has cut your hair while you were sleeping: _______________! 2. You hear on the radio that the Energizer® bunny had a breakdown somewhere in Iowa: ______________! 3. You shovel the stuff from under your bed and discover the lost math book for which you owe the school $600 in overdue fines: _____________! 4. Nobody shows up for your homework party: ______________! 5. You realize that you have just combed your hair with aloe vera gel: ____________! 6. You run home to discover that you are completely out of cheese: _______________! 7. You realize that you are traveling through a land full of lions and tigers and bears: _______________! 8. One of the anchovies on your pizza is alive: _________________! 9. You have been voted the most gorgeous person ever to buy coffee at Starbucks: ________________! 10. You just learned that the Keebler elves have revolted and gone over to Nabisco for a better deal: __________

Interjection Sampler: Oh no!

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Oh yes! No! Yes! Yipee! Yuck! Ouch! Geez! Balderdash! Ah! Oh! Ooh! Aaaah! Aha! What! Hey! Yo! Yikes! Shucks! Well! Eek!

Gosh!


Interjections on the Internet Name

________________________

A New Search Engine What’s the biggest interjection in the world? It’s undoubtedly the search engine “Yahoo!” Millions of people use it every day to get information such as news about movie stars and sports heroes, and, of course, a decent weather report. What if there was a new search engine and email provider? What if it was called Yipee! or Wazoo! or Yikes! or some other interjection? Imagine that you are the creator of a new search engine to rival Yahoo! You have decided it will have seven different departments, each titled with a different interjection. First explore several different search engines on the Internet. How are they organized? What are the department names or categories? Think about how you would like your search engine to be different, how you would like it to be the same. Then answer the following questions. 1. What will be the interjection name of your search engine? ____________________________ 2. What will be the names of each of your seven departments? (Again, all will have interjection names.) ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Describe your new search engine. How will it be unique? What information will each department provide—images, maps, notes, ideas, chat rooms, other services that people might use to make their lives better and more interesting? Will there be a weather department? How will the weather be presented in this department? Will there be a news section? Describe it. What other departments will make your search engine appealing? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Interjection Test Name

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Schloopy, Schloopy Directions: Circle the interjections in the story below. Well, we’re driving down the road— my teenage sister, her boyfriend Fred, and me. It’s high noon and hot in the van. The dog is panting and drooling and stomping over the packages from our crazy shopping trip. A Girl Scout bus stops right in front of us. Fred stomps on the brake. “Hey!” my sister yells. Our St. Bernard, Bobo, slams forward into the passenger seat, knocking gobs of grape Schloopy from my sister’s 100 ounce super mug all over her. She screams, “Yikes!” “Wow! You look ridiculous!” Fred exclaims. My sister scrapes off the first layer of Schloopy. “What! How dare you sit there and laugh. You’re the one who caused this!” The Schloopy is starting to run down her neck, and Bobo thinks this is interesting. He leans over and starts licking Mindy’s neck. “Holy cow! He likes it!” I bellow from my perch by the spare tire, laughing. “Ouch!” Mindy yells. Fred leans away to avoid the dog drool. “Get me a towel!” Mindy screams as the Schloopy runs down onto her hundred-dollar jeans. “Well, I don’t have a towel,” says Fred. Mindy stares at him and says in a calmer, more dangerous voice, “Get me something. Now.” She shoves Bobo back and away from her. “Ick. Get off me!” Fred starts to take off his T-shirt. I really don’t want to see his scrawny chest, so I pull off my flannel shirt. “No, take mine.” I rip off my shirt and hand it to Mindy over the back of the seat. Mindy wipes her face, her neck, the front of her blouse, the new jeans, and the face of the CD player, which used to have buttons that actually worked. She clicks the button of KYAH radio, and they’re playing oldies. Fred starts singing, “Hang on, Schloopy, Schloopy hang on.” I look at Mindy. “You should have hung on.” She hits me with a Schloopy-soaked flannel shirt.

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Adverbs

CAREFULLY SLOWLY TOO SOMEWHERE

ANYWHERE DARINGLY

What Are Adverbs?

VERY CALMLY SHYLY

OFTEN HERE THERE NEVER NOT SOON

You can tell what adverbs do just by listening to their name. Adverbs add to verbs. They give us more information about how, where, when or to what extent the action of the verb is being performed. For example, you could say, “Louise stirred the mashed potatoes.” Or you could say, “Louise stirred the mashed potatoes menacingly.” (In other words, look out!) Menacingly is an adverb that tells us how Louise stirred. It adds to the meaning of the verb. All that sounds pretty easy, but it gets a bit more complicated. Adverbs give us more information about two other kinds of words, besides verbs: adjectives and other adverbs. If you write, “The salami sandwich was amazingly delicious,” you are telling us how delicious it was. Amazingly is an adverb that gives us added information about the adjective delicious. If you write, “Mr. Keith rather tactfully insulted the other coach,” you are telling how tactfully he insulted. Rather is an adverb giving added information about another adverb. Here are three hints to help you recognize adverbs: • • •

They often end in ly. The words very and too are probably the most common adverbs. The words never and not are usually adverbs.


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Adverbs Name

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Adverbs? How? Adverbs often answer the question, “How?” They give more information about verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Look at the examples below. Each adverb has an arrow pointing to the verb, adjective or adverb it is giving added information about. Examples Bernice was terribly mean to Dwight during the holidays. (How mean? Terribly mean.) Wayne’s parrot has a very scary face. (How scary? Very scary.) The frog sat perfectly still as the snake slithered toward it. (How still? Perfectly still.) Each of the sentences below contains an adverb. Draw an arrow from the adverb to the verb, adjective or adverb it gives added information about. 1. Jane smiled wickedly at the sound of Alonzo’s footsteps on the porch. 2. Alphonse used to own an incredibly lazy Siamese cat. 3. Juan tore anxiously at the wrapping on the long, heavy box. 4. April quickly inserted the breath mint under her tongue. 5. Chen cautiously slipped the key from the lock and turned the rusty knob. 6. Elaine carefully stashed the peanut butter cups in her top drawer. 7. Glen reached desperately for the plunger. 8. His badly cut hair went unnoticed at the dance. 9. Will’s goldfish slowly nibbled the worm to pieces. 10. Allan completely ignores his hunger pangs until he gets off the bus.

Add your own adverbs to the sentences below: • • •

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Elizabeth faced the dangerous enemy. Melanie examined her haircut and bawled. A tornado descended upon the town and tore it apart.


Adverbs Name

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Adverbs? Where? Besides telling you how something is done, adverbs can tell you where it is done. Examples Help! Somebody help! She’s going under for the third time! (Going where? Under.) Her hair was combed up into an ice cream cone swirl. (Combed where? Up.) Come back, Toto! Come back! (Come where? Back.) Choose adverbs from those in the box below to help tell where in the sentences below. Use each adverb only once, writing it on the line provided.

in out up down around back forward behind there to

1. If all the passengers will lean 2. If you sit

doing this all day, you’ll drive me, your mother and the dog nuts!

3. You should have left your guilt 4. “We can’t go

, it will reduce the chance of an immediate crash.

when you moved out here.

now,” Mike said. “The elephant’s dead!”

Using five “where” adverbs, write the directions for a treasure map that tells your teacher where to find the restroom pass that the class “accidentally” hid somewhere in the school. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adverbs Name

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The Case of the Adverb Clue Some adverbs slip into a sentence, and you hardly know they are there (like the adverb there, for example.) Other adverbs tell you in neon lights, “Yo! Hey! Check this out—I’m an adverb!” These brassy adverbs carry the word where right in their names.

somewhere nowhere everywhere anywhere elsewhere

Choose one of the five “where” adverbs to complete each sentence below. 1. “If you don’t change your attitude, you are going manager said. 2. “I can book a concert 3. “I’ve got friends

in this business,” Ricky’s

in this country!” Ricky replied. ,” he added.

4. “Someday you’re going to meet somebody two,” Ricky’s manager threatened. 5. “I’m going somewhere else,” Ricky said. “Don’t you mean, in proper English, ‘ stomped out of the room.

who’ll take you down a notch or

’?” Ricky’s manager retorted as he

Using five “where” adverbs in your sentences, describe how six kids got lost on a science field trip and spent the night in the woods along Lake Minirumpus. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 132


Adverbs Name

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Adverbs? When? Adverbs not only tell you how and where something is done, they tell when. Examples I sold my first tricycle yesterday. (Sold it when? Yesterday.) Whenever I’m blue, I think of you. (I think of you when? Whenever I’m blue.) I’ll always remember the time you ate that raw squid. (Remember when? Always.) Before you open your mouth, consider the consequences. (Consider when? Before you open your mouth.) The ten “time” adverbs listed below tell when something has happened, is happening, or will happen. For each of the sentences below, choose a time adverb that is appropriate and write it on the line provided.

sometime someday never eventually suddenly after before until immediately later

1. Billie’s mom believed with all her heart that over a nice green salad and talk.

she and Billie would sit down

met a hamburger I didn’t like.”

2. Pablo looked at his plate and said, “I , alligator.” 3. Tomiko said, “See you William replied, “After while, crocodile.”

Eleanor got used to the python’s habit of entwining itself around the garden

4. hose.

5. It was a stormy night at sea. the cruise ship.

Sam Blackhawk realized he was not alone on

Write three sentences that use “when” adverbs to tell about a family event that you absolutely hated from the minute you arrived until the minute you left (Uncle Elvin’s birthday party, the family reunion at Lake Towanda, a 50th wedding anniversary, etc.).


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Adverbs Name

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Adverbs? To What Extent? Some adverbs don’t tell how, when, or where. They tell “to what extent” or “to what degree” something happens. For example, you could say, “Joanne hates me.” Or you could say, “Joanne almost hates me.” The adverb almost hints at a certain complexity in the relationship between Joanne and you. To what degree does Joanne hate you? The verb almost, as it is used here, makes the message of the sentence more intriguing. Using the adverbs listed below, write five sentences of your own that build some suspense.

rather somewhat largely clearly quite 1.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

3.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

4.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

5.

__________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

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Adverbs Name

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Adverbs . . . Not Just for Verbs Anymore Adverbs add information about verbs. They also do the same for adjectives and other adverbs. For example, you could use the adverb always to describe the adjective mean: “Bernice was always mean to Dwight during the holidays.” Or, you could use the adverb always to describe the adverb terribly: “Bernice was always terribly mean to Dwight during the holidays.” The sentences below use adverbs to add information about verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Draw a circle around each adverb. Draw an arrow to the verb, adjective or adverb it gives information about. Examples Agnes counts her chickens very carefully before they are hatched. Hadleyville is delightfully beautiful on the night before Christmas. 1. Judy’s dog has a very ferocious bark. 2. Jubal said, “I can’t love a girl I never have seen!” 3. Jane’s dad cut the cake into ridiculously tiny pieces. 4. The car was so thoroughly rusted that Billy’s lunch fell through a hole in the floor and was quickly lost along Highway 30. 5. Darlene was moving dangerously close to the plate of burritos at the end of the counter. 6. Pedro entered the room and gave a completely fake smile to everyone at the table. 7. Hippos would get more respect if they weren’t so awkwardly built. 8. Edward eventually gave away every cent he had won. Write three sentences using adverbs to describe how Elaine Hidalgo got locked into her seat on the ride called the Bullet at the carnival and hung upside down for the entire afternoon. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adverbs Name

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Lights! Action! Adverbs! You are a movie mogul who has five new releases coming out next year, each with a title that is exciting and intriguing—and which contains at least one adverb. You are aware that films like Always, Forever Young, Never Cry Wolf, and Living Dangerously all have adverbs in their titles. However, you want your titles to be even more alluring to crowds with movie money rattling around in their pockets. Below, invent four separate movie titles of your own. Then write a brief description of each film, using at least two adverbs for each description. Circle every adverb you use. Try to create titles and movies with some variety: a love story, an action film, a horror movie and a Western, for example. Be wild. Be creative. And don’t forget the adverbs! 1. Title: ______________________________________________________________________ Description: ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Title: ______________________________________________________________________ Description: ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. Title: ______________________________________________________________________ Description: ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Title: ______________________________________________________________________ Description: ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Adverbs Name

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Tagging Along Tag lines are used when writing dialogue. The tag line is the part of the quotation that tells who spoke and how they spoke. “Come here!” Walter said. “No!” Herbert replied.

Have some fun with tag lines in the exercise below. Add an adverb from the box to each tag line, making an adverb pun. Examples “This knife is dull!” the butcher said sharply. “You light up my life,” the firefly said glowingly.

haltingly fittingly hollowly slowly quizzically dramatically speedily aimlessly sheepishly flatly

1. “Go fix the tire,” the mechanic said

. .

2. “That suit looks perfect on you,” the tailor said 3. “Are we ready for our test?” the teacher asked

. .

4. “This will be a sad performance,” said the playwright

.

5. “Would you all please wait for little old me?” the snail said 6. “I’m ashamed to be part of this herd,” said the ewe

. .

7. “I think—I really think—we should stop this train,” the brakeman said .

8. “Alas, I will never be a real boy,” said the hand puppet 9. “I wish I could hit the bull’s-eye,” the marksman said 10. “I’m the one who took home the trophy,” said the runner

. .

Now write at least five wacky adverb tag lines of your own.


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Adverbs Name

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Adverb Overflow Adverbs can be useful, like ice cubes in a punch bowl. However, too many can water down your message until it is meaningless. Read the summary below of the film Beauty and the Beast. Then rewrite the summary in your own words, eliminating the adverbs that are, in your opinion, overdone, unnecessary and downright useless. Beauty and the Beast is the story of a rather intelligent, rather dreamy-headed girl named Belle, who lives in a rather small village with her aging father, who is a somewhat fumbling inventor. He spends all day creating quite strange machines that fairly often don’t work. One day he decides to travel to the fair to demonstrate his latest invention, but he gets rather lost on the way. He walks to the quite creepy castle of the Beast, who traps the old man in a quite nasty prison. Belle hurriedly comes looking for her father and quickly exchanges herself for her father, who is rather ill. The Beast treats her somewhat badly at first, but he eventually falls deeply in love with her. Meanwhile she learns of the simply incredible legend surrounding the rather lonely beast. He must be loved truly and simply by someone in order for the terribly awful spell of ugliness to be broken. Belle eventually learns to love him enormously, but not before the Beast’s castle is stormed and the horribly jealous character Gaston viciously stabs the Beast, fatally wounding him. The Beast bravely shoves Gaston to his death, then promptly gasps his last incredibly long breath and dies. Belle kisses him, and the Beast comes to life and is transformed into an unbelievably handsome prince. Belle and the Prince live totally, completely, happily ever after. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 138


Adverbs Name

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Party Time Describe the dullest party in teenage history. In your description, use at least five adverbs from the box below. Here are a few facts about this party, to get you started: • • • •

The dining room table is set with glasses of buttermilk. Orchestra music wafts from the stereo like a bad odor. Nobody is allowed to hold hands. Everyone is asked to use quiet “inside” voices. unbelievably incredibly awfully very never quite somewhat terribly endlessly badly slowly anxiously cleverly stupidly numbly hysterically absolutely completely foolishly unbearably angrily nervously surely

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Adverbs Name

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Cat Whisperer Your name is Rikki. You’ve got white fur, long whiskers, and a fluffy tail. After a long day at the North American Cat Agility Trials, you are feeling stressed. The curtain climb was tough; you may have pulled a muscle in your quadriceps. And there’s that third toe on the front foot that’s been out of joint since the Canadian Tree Climbing Finals. But even more than the physical challenges, there are the mental pressures of staying on top, being number one for six years in a row. The interviews, the television commercials, and constantly having to update your website—all these have taken their toll. It’s time to go to the Cat Whisperer for help. To get the help you need, start by answering each of the Cat Whisperer’s questions below, tapping out your answers on a computer keyboard. (Watch that sore toe.) Use adverbs to intensify your verbs, to make them really meaningful. Use your own paper for your responses. Circle every adverb you use. 1. Cat Whisperer: Tell me about your relationship with your mother. Your response:

2. Cat Whisperer: Was your father there for you? Talk to me. Your response:

3. Cat Whisperer: How are you taking care of you? I mean, are you getting the 22 hours of sleep you need per day? Do you have enough quilts under you? How’s the lighting? Your response:

4. Whisperer: Losing your personal trainer was tough, I’m sure. But you must forgive that pit bull, even though feline unforgiveness is legendary. Let it go. What are you doing to set yourself free? Your response:

5. Cat Whisperer: What are you grateful for? Small rodents? The internet? Your movie deal with Spielberg? Tell me what makes you run to your happy place and purr. Your response:

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Adverbs Name

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Somewhere, Over the Dumpster You are a shoe, and you are alone in New York City in the middle of the night. You haven’t always been alone. You once lived in a home in Seattle, with kids and a back yard and a trampoline. There was green grass and a kiddie pool for the two Labrador retrievers, Jack and Jill. Barbecue smoke hung in the air, while lawn mowers whined their way through cloudy Saturday mornings. Then the family took a trip and stuffed you in a duffel bag on top of their mini van. The rest is a lonely story of potholes, loose duffel bags, and high winds. Like many other single shoes left inexplicably in the middle of nowhere, you dream of going home. You break out in song—“Somewhere Over the Dumpster”—but the lump in your sole gets bigger and you start to cry. Suddenly, you look up and see, coming toward you, a boot, a flip-flop, and a sandal (strappy with an open toe). The three shoes scoop you up, take you in, and head off over the bridge down the yellow center line. Write the story of your journey home, where comfort, support, and your other shoe await. Use lots of adverbs and circle them. This is going to be a very moving story. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Adverbs Name

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Going Somewhere? You are sleeping in an airport in Nepal. The lights are out. It’s getting cold. The little blue air pillow you bought in Paris is puffed up and planted beneath your droopy head. Four hundred stranded passengers are scattered around you, their stuff piled everywhere. Some are snoring. No one is going anywhere. A lot of noise is coming from a Lower Slobovian toe-wrestling team that has a computer terminal surrounded and is chanting, “No more delays! No more delays!” It’s going to be a long night. You should have booked your trip with a tour. Describe the rest of your long night in the airport. Circle every adverb you use. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Adverbs on the Internet Name

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Weird Sports Search the Internet for descriptions of weird sporting events. Choose one that you find interesting and briefly describe it. Put the Web page address you use here: ______________________________________________________________________________ Short description of the actual sporting event: _________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Now imagine that you are a world-traveling reporter for the Eastern Bugle and are attending this event. Describe the event in a short but detailed news article. What happens? Who wins? What is the audience like? Be sure to answer the newspaper reporter’s six questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Be creative. Be brave. Circle the adverbs in your story. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________


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Adverb Quiz Name

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Swiss Only Swiss Army concept stores are popping up all over the globe. They sell products that have as many helpful features as possible, just like the Swiss Army knife. For example, the Swiss Army toaster comes with an automatic butter knife, a jelly dispenser, and a re-toast sensor. (It takes a piece of toast that is under-toasted, sucks it back down inside, and toasts it again until it’s perfectly golden brown.) A small toast saw cuts each slice into attractive shapes, depending on the season—turkey-shaped during Thanksgiving, shamrock-shaped on Saint Patrick’s Day, pumpkinshaped at Halloween, etc. The newest version also stamps the initials of the person about to eat the toast into the surface of the bread. The self-cleaning model costs just $3,000 dollars. Read the brief description of the Swiss Army items listed below. Then pull out the adverbs and write them in the boxes at the bottom of the page. Put the how adverbs in the first box; put the when adverbs in the second box; put the where adverbs in the third box. Swiss Army combs. Aisle seven conveniently holds the world’s largest display of Swiss Army combs. The combs expand to match the coarseness and amount of hair, and a meter on the comb senses the type and number of tangles. As users apply the comb to wet, tangled hair, small plastic fingers suddenly appear and then gently separate tangled strands. Then, at the appropriate moment, a fine mist of conditioner is expelled forward through micro-pores at the end of each tooth in the comb. Later, warm woozy air wafts out of the back of the comb to carefully dry each clean, refreshed strand of hair. Swiss Army three-ring binder. At the rear of the store, near the shark tanks and turtle cages, quietly sits the ultimate in school supplies: the Swiss Army three-ring binder. This cleverly designed unit comes with a flip-on night light for late-night writing, a flip-up screen for the laptop computer, and a flip-over mini-work surface. When students first use the Swiss Army binder, they have to quickly punch three numbers into the mini-key pad built into the spine of the binder. This is the access code for the documents stored inside. On the outside of the binder, a thin coating of titanium shields the contents from ultra-violet rays and extremely nosy neighbors. Finally, there is a punch-in menu for every restaurant in the town. A snack pocket sits nicely inside the back cover (thin snacks only, please).

How

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When

Where


Answer Keys

NOTE: Almost every activity in Hot Fudge Monday can be completed in many ways. The answer keys that follow are provided as examples.

Five Hundred Horsepower Verbs, page 12 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

weaseled, cursed kneaded, wished pounded, demanded snapped, stuck peered snickered, tiptoed hurled, plopped spit

• The dog and cat gripped each other’s paws as they plunged over the edge of the cliff into the stunt net below. • Henry jerked the cap off the soda bottle, and it exploded. • The chemistry teacher sashayed up to the health teacher and asked her to dance with him. • As Mick bowed, his toupee slid to the floor, and the audience howled. • Alfredo tumbled head over heels into the trash cans.

Pop Goes the Verb, page 13 Sample answer, with only the more lively verbs in bold: I never thought it would come to this. When I was just a little can—the size they sometimes give you on airplanes—I had big dreams. I thought one day I might rise to stardom, maybe even star in a commercial or refresh the thirst of a big NFL player during the Super Bowl. But then those yuppie little sports drinks arrived on the scene, and nobody wanted soda anymore. I guess you could say I was canned. I ended up as part of just another twelve pack. Some kid popped my top off, guzzled my soda and burped. Then he dropped me down in the grass and sauntered away. I rusted in the rain for three days before some guy crunched me flat with the heel of his boot and slung me into a trash bag. Luckily, I managed to tear a hole in the bag and slip out before I was crushed even smaller and then ground up at the recycling center. But life is still hard. I’ve been slammed around the street like a hockey puck, launched into the air like a boomerang and slapped on the river, like a stone. Will it never end?

Verbs Alive, page 14 1. Philip crooned… Elizabeth screamed, “Then buy me some new flatware!” 2. you’ve created… Rashad snarled, “Don’t toy with me, Louise!” 3. and gnawed off…. Alvin shrieked, “Get this man some Tums!” 4. The beauty queen marched… “Consider me fired,” she sneered. 5. Paula ripped off… “I hate anything made of polyester,” she whined. 6. Walter stumbled… “I’m a goner,” he moaned, and closed his eyes for the last time. 7. The pigeon slouched… He remembered scrounging french fries at the drive-in with his old buddy.


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Verb Variety, page 15 Build a snowman

bend, roll, pack, lift, stack, pat, smooth, insert, dress, photograph, admire

Throw a party

decorate, sweep, invite, wax, dust, rearrange, buy, bake, dance, yawn, sleep

Fly a kite

tie, tighten, tug, pull, run, reel, gaze, drag, jerk, laugh

Make a banana split

dip, scoop, open, slice, thaw, spray, slurp, lick, smile, burp

Clean your room

lift, stash, stuff, bury, wipe, wash, scrap, fluff, sort, find, hide, lock, leave

Catastrophic Verbs, page 16 Sample answer, with only the more lively verbs bolded. If tornadoes had names, the one that hit rural Oklahoma Saturday afternoon would surely be called “Total Devastation.” In only three minutes, the tornado completely flattened the small community of Okey Dokey. The twister first touched down at 3:10 P.M., ripping the roof off Dalyrimple’s Shoe Store. Reeboks and Nikes flew down the street, spinning in the twister’s 90-mile-per-hour winds. Within minutes, the twister pummeled City Hall and splintered the bandstand in the city park. As the twister thundered down the road, terrified residents screamed and scurried for cover. Store fronts collapsed, park benches tumbled, and bicycle racks screeched down the center of the street. After just three minutes, the tornado disappeared into the clouds, leaving the stunned citizens of Okey Dokey to cope with the devastation it left behind.

The L’s Have It, page 17 On Saturday morning, the citizens of Garland, Kansas, gathered in the field north of town to await the arrival of Dr. Dee and his hot air balloon. National television reporters, who loathed small-town events, leered at each other. The townspeople lounged on the ground eating. They had loaded their cars with hot dogs, portable grills and coolers full of soda. Dr. Dee’s hot air balloon journey across the United States was national news, and the scheduled stop in Garland was cause for celebration. As Dr. Dee’s balloon appeared in the sky about 2:00 P.M., Mayor Young and all six city council members linked their arms together and put on their specially-designed hats with letters that spelled WELCOME. Picnickers leapt to their feet and waved. As the balloon floated closer, Dr. Dee leaned over the edge of the basket and waved to the crowd. Unfortunately, as the balloon landed, it lurched toward the excited crowd. The mayor and the entire city council were knocked to the ground. The mayor limped to the balloon but fell just as he reached Dr. Dee. We learned later that the mayor’s ankle was broken in three places and that he will be on crutches for six weeks. During an interview from his bed, the mayor remarked, “How I longed to be the first to greet Dr. Dee.” During Dr. Dee’s one-hour stay in Garland, he ate four hot dogs, a bowl of potato salad and drank three root beers. He then left Garland and headed for Chicago.

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Time Warp, page 18 Last summer my mother agreed to let me take horseback-riding lessons. I was sure it would be easy. The first problem I had was just getting on the horse. The instructor showed me how to boost myself into the saddle. I grabbed the reins and held on to the saddle horn. After a half hour of riding, my legs ached and my hands were stiff from clutching the reins. When the first lesson was over, I was happy to get down from the horse and go home. I thought about quitting, but since my mom had paid for six lessons, I went back the next week. This time, I got on by myself, relaxed my hands on the reins and looked around as the horse walked. It started to be fun. After the second lesson, I couldn’t wait to come back. I loved riding horses. I really enjoyed being outside, and the horse I rode acted like he knew me. Best of all, I learned not to quit something after just one attempt.

Tight Connections, page 19 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

“I have been thinking, Billy.” “What have you been thinking?” “I have been thinking that we ought to sell water balloons as a business.” “You are kidding! Should we sell them with water, or without?” “We should sell them full of water, Billy. I am not one to cheat my customers.”

Verbs that Personify, page 20 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Phone booth: The phone booth sat patiently on the corner, waiting for someone to use it. Police car: The police car screamed as it raced past the pedestrians. Skyscraper: The tallest skyscraper lorded it over the surrounding buildings. Bus: The bus lumbered down the street like a sad giant. Dumpster: The dumpster barfed its contents into the garbage truck.

As I strolled through the busy city for the first time, the stoplights winked in green at me, beckoning me across the street. The flags on the U.N. building waved at me and flapped their friendly greetings as I passed by, while the taxi cabs vied for my attention and the store windows flirted with me, trying to lure me inside.

Rewriting Mother Goose, page 21 Sample answer, with only the more lively verbs bolded: Once there was a man named Jack who swore up and down that he definitely, without any doubt, could not eat fat. He claimed it was a digestive problem he had had since birth. Because he lived in a ranching community, his refusal to eat fat was a very big deal. The townspeople scolded and whined and acted disgusted with him. Jack wasted a lot of food, not eating fat. Then one day in the grocery store as Jack was wandering along, carefully examining the celery and cauliflower, he accidentally rammed his cart into a beautiful woman selecting radishes. Their eyes met and locked. She smiled. He blushed. They did the rest of their shopping together that day. That’s how he found out the woman’s secret: She survived on vegetables and fat cut from the meat she bought. She adored fat. Jack knew in an instant that this was the woman for him. He knew that, together, they would lick the platter clean.

It Tolls for Thee, page 22 The sound of engines roared in my ears. The mob of chickens on the other side shouted encouragement, urging me on. I envisioned myself sprinting across the road as I dodged semi-trucks and Volvos. I would flit through traffic like a fly. Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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I came back to earth and took a deep breath. Swinging my wings back and forth, I began my historic crossing. Reality blurred as I darted onto the road. All my strategizing evaporated. I flung one foot in front of the other and squawked the entire way, scurrying as fast as I could. The crowd cheered wildly, until I was arrested for jay-dashing.

Disturbed Verbs, page 23 Henry Hog laughed as he jammed sliced pickles into his hot fudge sundae, then lobbed the concoction at Heidi Hog. Heidi retaliated by squeezing a bottle of spicy mustard on top of Henry’s head. Meanwhile, as Hildegard Hog was gobbling cheeseburgers and munching on potato chips, Harry Hog suddenly grabbed Hildegard’s strawberry milkshake and began gulping it. Hildegard smashed a gooey piece of lasagna in Harry’s face and grabbed his minestrone soup, which she guzzled in one swift movement. Hank Hog decided to stop devouring his pepperoni pizza and turn it into a flying weapon, which he then launched at Hillary Hog. By the time lunchtime ended, the floor was covered with food, from wall to wall.

Hire Me!, page 24 Dear Dream Machine: As an expert food taster, I would like to assist your restaurant in refining and perfecting your menu. I have developed a food tasting system that would be a tremendous asset to any establishment. With amazing accuracy, I can pinpoint exactly what is right and what is wrong with any item on your menu. I can also analyze the kind of people who patronize your restaurant and help you design new items that will appeal to their tastes. Furthermore, I can teach any cook to build enticing menus that lead to a full house every night. I guarantee it. Sincerely, Rachel Rayster

Peanut Butter Spreader, page 25 Automatic marshmallow roaster: turns, cooks, burns, roasts, serves, spears, rotates, melts. I was minding my own business, roasting marshmallows at my campsite, when my automatic marshmallow roaster started rotating much too fast. I reached for the switch to shut it off, but it was spinning out of control, and I could barely hold on to it. The marshmallows were burning and melting because of all the oxygen generated. When I went to toss the roaster into the river to quench the fire, a bear leaped out from behind a bush, grabbed the flaming device and disappeared into the forest.

Verbs Doing Two Jobs, page 26 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Saw: I saw the saw cut the log. Coast: We coasted along the coast in our car. Scratch: I scratched the scratch on my leg. Fish: He fished the fish from the net. Call: During my phone call, my mom called for me. Slice: While cutting a tomato slice, she sliced her finger. Hand: The hand in the ticket booth reached out and handed me my ticket. Duck: The duck decided to duck its head as it swam through the small tunnel.

Piñata Party Time, page 27 Note: The answer key, below, includes the verbs in the predicate of each sentence, as well as the verbs in subordinate clauses and in participial and infinitive phrases.

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1. Buy some balloons, flour, string, newspaper, paint or crayons, and crepe paper. 2. Blow up the balloon and cover it with newspaper strips that have been dipped in a mixture of flour and water. 3. Let the balloon dry, and then slather another layer of flour-and-water-dipped newspaper strips on the balloon. 4. Repeat with one more layer of newspaper, but don’t forget to leave a hole at the top. 5. When the newspaper layers have dried, pop the balloon. 6. Decorate your pinata with paint. 7. Punch two small holes in the top near the bigger hole, and thread the string through to make a hanger for the piñata. 8. Fill your piñata with small trinkets, toys, and lots of delicious candy. 9. Tie the piñata to something high up in the air. 10.Invite friends over, and have them take turns trying to whack the piñata with a bat while blindfolded.

Web sites used: www.chevron cars.com/learn/fun-games/how-to-make-pinata www.nacnet.org/assunta/nacpinat.htm www.elisakleven.com/pinstruct.html

Turkey Melt, page 28 Note: The answer key, below, includes the verbs in the predicate of each sentence, as well as the verbs in subordinate clauses and in participial and infinitive phrases. Students should probably not be expected to catch every verb. It is important to remember that the point of the quiz is to see if students can generally recognize verbs. My family took a journey to Canada, a friendly nation full of kind people and giant plastic animals. We wanted to see the world’s largest turkey. We found it in Slipwaddle, Ontario. It was noon when we arrived. The sun seared my skin, cooked my hair, and melted my tennis shoes. My little brother, Simpwell, jumped out of the car screaming, “Look!” He was pointing like a bird dog to the tallest, widest, ugliest plastic turkey in the world. “Let’s climb on him!” he said. Before I could answer, Simpwell climbed a giant turkey leg, shinnied up the turkey’s neck and sat on its head. “Get down from there!” I yelled, but Simpwell ignored me and spurred the turkey like a wild mustang. Then the turkey blinked. I stood stunned. It blinked again; then took a step out into the road. Cars screeched to a halt. A police car flipped on its siren. People leaped out of their cars. The turkey was running now in giant leaps, heading for the cool blue lake shimmering in the distance. “Help!” Simpwell screamed. The police car roared off in a spray of gravel. I raced after Simpwell yelling, “Hold on!”. At the turn into the lake, the turkey slowed, staggered, then wobbled and collapsed, flipping Simpwell like a pork chop into the air. Simpwell tumbled and soared, higher and higher, until he spun into the water and surfaced on the shore like a chubby chunk of driftwood. The turkey, meanwhile, was melting in the summer sun. It was exhausted by the run to the lake, and now lay on the boiling pavement outside Jack’s Hot Dog City. “I’m melting! I’m melting!” the turkey croaked. (Note: “Am” is the verb in “I’m.” The cries of the turkey could be heard for miles, and everyone gathered to watch the disappearance of one of Canada’s leading roadside distractions. We drove back there years later to see the stain in the road where the great gobbler once was. There on the side of the highway, like a beacon of hope for health-food enthusiasts, was a sign over old Jack’s Hot Dog City: “EAT HERE—HOME of the ORIGINAL TURKEY MELT.”


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Simpwell and I strolled inside, plopped ourselves at the counter and ordered a super-sized turkey melt with fries. Then we gobbled it down. Now that is closure!

On a Clear Noun You Can See Forever, page 32 1. Kodiak, a huge Saint Bernard, bounded onto the playground and knocked over five kindergartners with his tail. 2. A trapeze artist hurled herself into the circus elephants’ water trough and dragged the toddler out of the fodder and algae. 3. Two Boy Scouts devoured a two-layer chocolate mint cake, three packages of wieners and half a bucket of leftover Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns, page 33 1. 2. 3. 4.

At the Pepsi Center, I cheered for the Denver Nuggets. Paula’s Porsche convertible was far more expensive than our Dodge Caravan. I visited the Hard Rock Cafe on Friday last week. Meg got Old Navy jeans, Nikes and a Faith Hill CD for her birthday.

Replace Dead Nouns, page 34 1. My little sister climbed the fence and turned loose every Doberman in Doggy Land. 2. Mr. Langston’s cockatoo, Manny, insulted Reverend Goddard from the First Baptist Church. 3. During a chemistry lecture, Mr. Vincent accidentally rubbed chalk all over his chin and the tip of his large nose. 4. Raphael, the chef at Smithy’s, uses leftover linguini to create tasty snacks for his little terrier, Max. 5. Bart hit a goat with his Harley Davidson. 6. My neighbor Justine’s 1972 station wagon blew up last night.

Muckberry Gazette, page 35 BM3 TRAIN DERAILS The BM3 commuter train derailed today on its way to Pleasantville, injuring seven Sunshine Girls from Troop #209 and five troop leaders. Four monkeys bound for the Big Top Circus were also injured when a Volvo, a Honda and a Hummer collided with the train’s caboose as it tipped over. City Manager Donna Nicklos said the accident was being cleaned up by volunteers from the Muckberry Emergency Response Association. Muckberryites are asked to stay away from the wreckage until noon on Thursday.

More Muckberry, page 36 EGGS UNEARTHED Well-known archaeologist Lily Leakston and two other scientists, Gerome Clancy and Jethro Manahan, have stumbled onto the eggs of a Horuptosaurus, a rare dinosaur believed to have roamed the dry regions of Nevada 65 million years ago. Leakston and her colleagues insist that Muckberry University should receive the specimens and begin testing for signs of life soon. SHOPLIFTERS BEWARE! Two adolescent females were seen entering Sally Grugen’s Grocery, the only grocery store in Pleasantville, yesterday at approximately 2:00 p.m. Soon after, the youngsters were observed fleeing the store with two stolen potatoes and a bag of tortillas. Officers John Johnson and James Jamison have asked that anyone with information on the suspects call them at 555-8123. Sally Grugen appeared on local station KCOD yesterday evening, offering a tearful plea for the return of her potatoes and tortillas. “I hope they find these juvenile delinquents and lock them up forever!” she said. “Now I can’t trust anyone anymore!”

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Be Sharp, page 37 Chaos reigned over Muckberry late Thursday night as a fire in Freddie’s Firework Factory caused fireworks to explode in the dark sky. The unintentional fireworks display occurred at 11:15 p.m., leaving 12 factory workers injured. No one can explain the cause of the fire that set off everything from Roman candles to sparklers, but investigators are searching around the clock for clues. Anita Barrows, 79, who lives across the street from the factory, was home when the explosion of fireworks occurred. “I was watching ‘Gray’s Anatomy’ when I heard the loud whistles of fireworks shooting up into the air and firecrackers going ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!’ At first I thought the thunderous noise was coming from my television, but I soon realized that it was not. I stepped outside and narrowly missed being hit by flying blue and red sparks! Other eyewitnesses said when they heard the explosions, they went outside to investigate and ended up being treated to a lovely scene of fireworks in the sky. Avery Kidder, 19, was walking home past the factory when the fireworks began exploding. “First I heard a hiss and then I saw a beam of green light shoot up into the sky and arc. After that there was a loud ‘Bang!’ and I just stood there, mesmerized.” The names of the 12 injured factory workers have not yet been released. They have been taken to St. Dominick’s Hospital for treatment.

What’s the Dif?, page 38 1. mild: harsh: 2. mild: harsh: 3. mild: harsh: 4. mild: harsh: 5. harsh: mild:

perspiration sweat cabin shack debris trash news gossip job career

6. harsh: mild: 7. harsh: mild: 8. mild: harsh: 9. harsh: mild: 10. mild: harsh:

guts courage pimple blemish alcohol booze war conflict underarm armpit

11. harsh: mild: 12. mild: harsh: 13. mild: harsh: 14. harsh: mild: 15. harsh: mild:

slammer prison informer snitch dirt filth mess trouble dump landfill

More harsh/mild noun pairs: 1. converse yak 2. group gang 3. eccentric nut 4. celebration bash 5. juvenile kid

6. soil dirt 7. altercation fight 8. film flick 9. admirer stalker 10. cut gash

Leaving Home, page 39 Dear Mom and Dad, I hope you are doing well. How are you enjoying the garage? I am so glad I was able to clean it for you before I left. Boy, was it a mess! Well, Jerry and I are getting along well. I’m sure you’ve heard he’s getting married and would like me to attend the wedding in Brazil. Of course, I would love to go, but you know how it is when you have to be a responsible adult. I have to pay the phone bill, the gas bill, the water bill, the credit card bill and the rent. Things are going okay, though. Food can be a little scarce sometimes. I eat a Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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lot of Budget Noodles. All I have to do is add hot water. That is sometimes a little difficult when, every once in a while, the gas gets turned off. But even then I can heat the water over our Ever-Heat halogen lamp. Those things put out a lot of heat, so you won’t have to worry about me freezing to death this winter. I am so grateful you guys taught me to be so resourceful! I hope I didn’t worry you with that comment about freezing to death this winter. Just to put your minds at ease, I have thought of another way to make sure I survive the winter. Lucky for us, Jerry’s wedding will be in Brazil, and it’s very warm there. If you let me borrow money to go to Brazil for a few weeks this winter, there will be absolutely no danger of my freezing to death in Chicago. I’ve got to run. There’s a guy from the electric company at the door. Hope to hear from you soon! Love, Your shivering son, Michael

Turtlebiscuit, page 40 Turtlebiscuit, sired by the great racer Turtlewax and reared by his tender loving mother Softshell, was born to race. His daddy was a champion and Turtlebiscuit was expected to live up to his name. He started racing as an infant in the Tiny Turtle Tykes league. He won every title in his league before graduating to the next level. At the next level, Trekking Turtle Teens, his competition became harder, but so did his shell. Driven by the expectations of his papa, he denied himself the ordinary pleasures of turtle life and devoted himself to training, more training, and racing, always racing. In his career, he won more titles than any racer before him, including his daddy. He was still winning races at the age of 70, which put him in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest racer in turtle racing history. All good things must come to an end, however, and one day Turtlebiscuit’s shell cracked under the pressure of his rigorous and demanding schedule. His career over, he was put out to pasture, so to speak, under the New Jersey Boardwalk, where he languished sadly for many moons. Just when Turtlebiscuit thought his life was over, the Racing Turtle Rescue Mission discovered his plight and rescued him from his boardwalk dungeon. They rehabilitated him and relocated him to the Tranquil Turtle Retirement Retreat where he lives to this day, writing his memoirs and inspiring young turtle racers with his stories of self-denial, pain and triumph.

Metaphor Magic, page 41 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The moon was a silver dime in the night sky. Her brain was a neatly organized chest of drawers. Juan’s heart of concrete beat no more. He was a toothpick of a man. She looked deep into the command center of my soul. School lunch is a train wreck of fatty food. Dirty socks are the dust bunnies of my closet.

Weird Careers, page 42 An odor judge is someone paid to smell people’s armpits to determine the effectiveness of deodorants. If a deodorant isn’t working, the odor judge will know and make the recommendation to the deodorant makers. Odor judges also smell people’s breath to see if a company’s mouthwash works. Common nouns: judge, armpits, effectiveness, deodorants, deodorant, recommendation, makers, breath, mouthwash. Proper nouns: none.

Cheese Balls, page 43 Note: Answers can vary on this quiz. Below, phrases like “cheese ball” are considered to be an adjective (cheese) and a noun (ball)—except when part of a proper noun. However, others may prefer to

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think of terms like “cheese ball” as a unit, i.e. one noun. It is important to remember that the point of the quiz is to see if students generally recognize nouns, not to quibble about small matters. The year was 1949. The place was Wisconsin, a land where people loved cheese, ate cheese, sold cheese, and even painted the helmets of their professional football team a sharp cheddar yellow. Dr. Asiago Spore and I, both cheeseologists from the University of Parmesan, had set up camp outside the village of Oconomawaca. Our mission was to uncover the Lost City of Gouda. Dr. Spore and I believed that, of all ancient cheese sites, the Lost City of Gouda was most likely to be the home of ancient Cheddar Man. Cheddar Man was believed to have walked upright, but bent over, his back bowed from all the cows he milked to make cheese for the ritual cheese dance. We dug for many days and grew very frustrated. We were all about to throw in the shovel and give up. Then Dr. Spore struck something soft and spongy. It was the the Great Gouda: a fortypound cheese ball used in the ancient games of Cheddar Man. We had struck the mother lode of cheese digs. We celebrated. We cheered. And then, at the bottom of our 100-foot dig, the earth began to shake. Great heat seared our feet, and the sacred cheese ball melted. It ran over ouTr boots and into crevices that started to open within the earth. Suddenly, a volcanic blast tore the ground, blowing a spout of cheese 500 feet into the air. “Spray cheese!” yelled Dr. Spore. And so it was. We had not discovered Cheddar Man, but we had discovered a new product— spray cheese. Today, because of our long-ago mission, we all enjoy squirting spray cheese on crackers with pickles, crackers with olives, or crackers with those little dead fish with the shiny eyes. Though we didn’t discover Cheddar Man himself, Dr. Spore and I look back happily on our contribution to history.

In the Beginning, page 48 1. “The sky is getting dark toward the east.” 2. “It may rain on us.” 3. “We should take cover before we get wet.” 4. “We might hide in a cave.” 5. “No. We should climb a tree and hide among the leaves.” 6. “I can’t. I’m afraid of heights.” 7. “Before we were married you weren’t afraid of heights.” 8. “I’d rather crawl into a hole.” 9. “You are afraid of the dark. In fact, you are afraid of everything.” 10.“I am not afraid of you.” Og said to Ug, “If you’re not afraid of me, come with me to those trees. We’ll take shelter beneath the branches.” So Ug walked behind Og to the trees where they stayed under the canopy of leaves. They sat and watched the rain fall from the sky and kept warm and dry until the storm ended. “I’m hungry; let’s go get some grub,” said Ug. “You must wait until I go hunting,” said Og. “I can’t wait that long,” said Ug. “Let’s just sit here under these trees and eat some leaves.” “You’re too impatient,” said Og. “You can’t wait for anything.” “Not true,” said Ug. “I waited for you.”

Catching the Drift, page 49 Note: When “to” precedes a verb, “to” is part of an infinitive phrase, not a preposition. 1. Nobody in my family has a nose like my dad’s. 2. Whenever I’m at Jennifer’s house, I always start to sneeze. 3. Take the knife out of that toaster, or you’ll light up like a Christmas tree! Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Anyone with any sense takes an extra pair of shoes along when camping in the mountains. By the time I reached Andrew, he was plastered with artichoke dip. I ran up the stairs to the bathroom and slammed the door on my foot. Without money, there is no reason to go shopping. Always jog in the morning; it’s cooler, and no one sees you in those strange outfits.

Cleaning Up, page 50 1. on, of, with 2. over 3. within, into, of, on

4. for 5. at, for 6. across, over, of, onto, in

7. for 8. of 9. of

The Correct Preposition, Please, page 51 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I was never anywhere near the chase because I was busy feeding the homeless. I pretended to throw the diamonds into the fire, but I really gave them back to their rightful owners. I was in the basement under the dorm playing Nintendo. I ran into the pole just before the officer yelled, “Halt!” I checked the oven several times throughout the robbery because I wasn’t going to let any criminal ruin my Bundt cake. 6. The jury finds against the defendant because no one believes his excuse about psychological abuse.

Unnecessary Prepositions, page 52 1. When do I have to return it? 2. Where are we in the story? 3. Why are you hanging around? 4. Everyone but John is finished. 5. Where will you be sitting when I come into the theater? 6. Where did you buy that interesting green blouse? 7. I can’t figure out where Jolene goes every Tuesday afternoon. 8. You shouldn’t have gotten us into all this trouble. 9. Tell me where you put my radio. 10.Where is your brother heading?

What Is a Prepositional Phrase?, page 53 1. Beside the bowl of soup with a large grasshopper in it sat a baby grasshopper who hoped his mother knew how to tread water. 2. After the strange commercial on Channel 4 about wart detectors, Mr. Hartford seriously considered trying to sell his invention—a wartwarning system for warts. 3. During the long, boring speech about the future of paper clips in modern society, Sylvia thought about livening things up by throwing a pie.

Prepositions in Concert, page 54 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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in Kansas in your slippers on him/like a ton/of bricks in business without Toto The munchkins danced (in a circle).

7. The wicked witch (of the west) scared Dorothy. 8. Dorothy’s friends were standing (around her bed) as she awoke. 9. The wizard’s balloon disappeared (into the sky).

10.The wizard performed magic tricks (behind the curtain).


Professional Phrases, page 55 A Farewell to Arms: In the late summer; of that year; in a house; in a village; across the river and the plain; to the mountains; in the bed; of the river; in the sun; in the channels; by the house; down the road; of the trees All Quiet on the Western Front: at rest; behind the front; of beef and haricot beans; at peace; for the evening; of sausage and bread; in fine trim; for a long time The Good Earth: At first; in the blackness; of the curtains; about his bed; from any other; except for the faint, gasping cough; of his old father; to his own; across the middle room The Slave Dancer: In a hinged, wooden box; upon the top; of which; of her trade; with my finger; from the poorhouse; with enough food Charlotte’s Web: with that ax, to her mother; for breakfast; to the hoghouse; of the pigs; to anything; with it Jolene looked at the box for a long time. Linda knew the night would not be different from any other Christmas. “Don’t chop wood with that ax,” cried Uncle Ralph. Her mother cooked up a bunch of sausage and bread for breakfast. In the blackness, Emily tried to find a candle. It was quiet except for the faint gasping cough of the pigs. The family kept the wood in a hinged, wooden box by the house.

Make Your Own, page 56 1. Erika was under suspicion for the Great Chocolate Potato Chip Heist because of the unusual outbreak of pimples on her face. 2. Wendy called the wedding off on Wednesday when she realized that Walter wasn’t the man of her dreams. 3. “Before tomorrow,” Phil’s mother warned, “you need to have cleaned the litter-box, eaten your succotash and finished all of your homework.” 4. Molly knew she would be in trouble when her older sister Dena discovered the mysterious blue streak on the knee of her favorite pink gabardine pants. 5. During Christmas break, I will rewrite all of history with my new recipe for death-defying fruitcake. 6. Francis knew he couldn’t pretend to love Felicia throughout winter, so he made plans to break up with her before Valentine’s Day. 7. Against all odds, I will train my gerbils to swim the breaststroke by Halloween. 8. In the darkness of the Sadie Hawkins luau, Sabrina mistakenly thought Ralph was cute. 9. When Dylan adopted his Chihuahua from the pound, he was determined to teach this sad puppy a little about joy and love. 10.Rita returned Ryan’s class ring and chose to live her life without him.

Pick Your Preposition, page 57 Between you and me, between is my favorite preposition. In the summer, I stand between my brother Jake and the electric fan so I can cool off first. When he complains, I place a door between his whines and my mother’s ear so that she can’t hear him tattling. Later, to make up to him, I hide a peanut butter and jelly sandwich between his mattress and his pillow so when he gets hungry in the night, he doesn’t have to go to the kitchen. We squeeze the air out from between us when we hug in the morning.

Phrases from the Dark Side, page 58 Across town, just before midnight, a wail like the scream of a coyote sliced the silent night air. I sat Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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up in bed, shaking from head to foot. I slept by the window and didn’t know whether it was fear or the cold that made me shiver. Awake, I concentrated on any other unusual sounds that fell upon my ear. I thought about the space between the stairs and the doorway and wondered if it was large enough to hide an intruder, waiting under the stairs until my family went to bed. With these thoughts circling in my head, I almost missed the sound of wet boots in the slimy muck under my bedroom window. I threw off my covers, hopped out of bed, ran straight to my parents’ room and dove under their covers. My father was missing! I crept to the garden. It was very dark, but I was able to see among the cabbages the form of a hulking creature weighing around 600 pounds. I screamed. This was the end. Then I began to recognize certain creature features: the handlebar mustache, the wagging tail, the striped pajama bottoms, the wet black nose. The creature was Dad holding Ralphie, our poodle! “Ralphie has been in a fight with a skunk,” said Dad. I ran to the house, holding my nose.

Idioms, page 59 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

in the buff: naked over the top: excessive or exaggerated in the bag: secured or guaranteed off the cuff: spontaneously on the fritz: not working properly off the record: not for publication in your face: bold or aggressive up a blind alley: not headed in the right direction on a wing and a prayer: relying on good fortune on the dole: receiving unemployment benefits

There was a time when Ed, the iguana, thought he had his career as a circus performer in the bag. But now he lives in a shack, where every appliance is on the fritz. He’s on the dole, too, but that is officially off the record. No matter what direction he turns, he runs into a blind alley. It all started when Ed made one too many rude remarks to his handler, Twiggy. He made an off the cuff statement, wondering out loud what Twiggy would look like in the buff. She was not happy. She told him his many comments over the years were over the top, and she was resigning. “If you hadn’t been so in your face, maybe I would’ve stayed!” she yelled as she stormed out of the tent. Then Ed was left alone to continue his circus act alone. But without a handler to attend to all the details of his high-diving act, he was operating on a wing and a prayer. After he dove and injured himself, he had to retire.

Preposition Recall, page 60 1. FOR SALE: Two cats, one large and loveable, the other suffering from minor mental problems. Main habit is sitting in the window and shivering to be let out. Both love tuna and classical music played backwards. Call 444-444-4445, anytime! 2. NEEDED: Former rock star to sell air guitars door to door. Apply in person. You must bring your driver’s license with you to the interview. Come see us at 112 N. String Avenue, mornings only. Bring your energy! 3. FOR RENT: Toaster oven, with oven mittens. Cooks anything of normal size and shape. Very handy for those weekend gatherings. Operates on 110 volts or propane. $15.00 per week. Slides under the counter for easy storage. Call Mr. Toasty at 222-222-2227. 4. MISSING: At-risk teacher. Last seen on Tuesday, leaving the building with his shoes. If spotted, please notify At-Risk Teachers Anonymous. You may be eligible for a small, basically meaningless reward. Note: He goes by the name of Pooky. Call 333-333-3336.

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5. LOST: A mullet. If you see my mullet, be kind. It’s a special gift from my mother. You see, she was between jobs, and didn’t have a lot of money, and a full headpiece was too expensive. So she bought this mullet, which now I have lost. Please help. No reward. I am currently in the hall outside chemistry class. If you can find me, my name is Lonnie. Thanks. Bye. 6. GARAGE SALE: I am selling our garage because my dad doesn’t want to listen to my band practice there anymore. Bring chainsaw and some friends. Also a big truck. Meet me in the parking lot behind school. Don’t tell my dad. Thanks. Mick. 7. WANTED: Date for the dance on Friday night in the gym. I am running for queen, so I have to go. Really, really, really don’t want to go with my brother. Please help.

Here’s . . . the Adjective!, page 64 1. Sour music the smelly basement 2. A hot, red dawn the sky, the east 3. A pale, white moon the branches, a bird, the night 4. cold french fries (Note: French fries and ice cream are generally considered to be two-word nouns.) 5. Black hate the crumpled car (Note: Depending on preference, his may be considered a possessive pronoun or an adjective.)

Jazzing It Up, page 65 I hate camping and hiking and all those outdoor activities that include insects and sweating and climbing and sleeping on the ground. But my dad promised to go backpacking with my brother and his two weird friends, and he said he couldn’t leave me alone. That’s why I spent a miserable, sleepless night in a smelly sleeping bag instead of going shopping at the mall with my girlfriends. After an exhausting five-mile hike up a steep, winding trail through a damp, mosquito-infested forest, we finally stopped and set up camp in a clearing at the top of a colossal hill. The boys had planned the menu, and supper consisted of burnt hot dogs on dry buns, greasy potato chips, chocolate bars and grape juice. After this disgusting meal, I crawled into my sleeping bag and tried to digest. It was going to be an uncomfortable, miserable night. My stomach churned and gurgled while I watched the stars disappear behind large thunderclouds. As the first few raindrops plunked onto my forehead, I whimpered softly, knowing no one within ten miles would hear me. I pulled the sleeping bag over my head and tried to imagine myself sleeping in a dry bed under a white fluffy comforter in my pink and white bedroom with the rose-covered wallpaper. Morning was still many hours away. Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Brothers, page 66 1. f 2. k 3. b

4. g 5. l 6. d

7. a or d 8. c 9. h

10. i 11. j 12. e

1. Cake decorator trying to explain an error to a bride: I hope you are not upset that I accidentally wrote the name Dolores on the cake instead of Gladys, since I just got your cake confused with the Happy Retirement cake I was decorating. Student explaining why the teacher can’t flunk him: Mrs. Risenhover, if you flunk me, my parents will be hysterical and most likely will not buy me the new skis I need for this winter. 2. An interior decorator talking to a customer: Mrs. Birroteau, I do appreciate the discriminating taste of a particular client. Same interior decorator talking to co-workers: Mrs. Birroteau is nothing but a fussy snob who has nothing to do but make my life miserable. 3. Husband answering wife’s questions: Well, honey, maybe you are just the tiniest bit overweight. Aerobics instructor getting her class to work harder: Lift those knees higher, or you are all going to wind up being fat. 4. Babysitter reporting to some parents: Jeff started out the day being rather unpleasant, but it was nothing a nap couldn’t solve. Babysitter reporting to other parents: I wouldn’t care if you paid me $20 an hour; I will never ever baby sit your bratty kid again. 5. Dentist talking to a new patient: Of course we will work together to try to prevent decayed teeth. Dentist trying to convince a difficult patient to brush her teeth: Mrs. Pratt, you cannot go another five years without brushing because you already have a mouth full of rotting teeth. 6. Waiter talking to customers: If you are interested in our more inexpensive entrees, I could always bring you the children’s menu. Girl breaking up with her boyfriend: I’m returning this cheap piece of tin you tried to pass off as an expensive promise ring. 7. Woman defending her husband to her children: Yes, Dad is very thrifty, but he only wants what is best for you. A woman complaining about her husband to a friend: Honestly, my husband is so tight he told me I have to start reusing my Kleenex. 8. Woman talking to a guest: Melinda, you are so slender you can eat as many snickerdoodles as you want. Girls talking about a boy: Skip is so skinny he looks sick. 9. Newspaper music columnist: The very cultured Carlos Olivetti refuses to listen to any music except opera. Friends gossiping: Suzette is so snooty that she won’t buy any of her clothes at Wal-Mart. 10. Singles ad: Ralph, a mature and distinguished looking man, is seeking a cute young woman to share hot fudge brownie sundaes, play dominoes and do laundry. Son to father: Pops, you are too old to understand that I need to play Star Craft much more than I need to wash the dishes. 11. Secretary to boss before an important meeting: I hate to mention it, but maybe you should change your tie. It must have gotten soiled at lunch. Mother to daughter: Sarah, your room is filthy, and you will not leave this house until it is clean! 12. Girl talking to veterinarian: Dr. Klinkerman, my new cat is so timid, she hasn’t come out from under the bed in four days. Brother persuading sister to eat a bug: Don’t be so gutless, Molly. Bugs are full of protein.

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A Deal You Can Refuse, page 67 1. d 2. e

3. f 4. h

5. c 6. b

7. g 8. a

Free puppy. Good appetite, extremely affectionate, nearly house broken, very vocal. Great watch dog potential.

Jailbird, page 68 Dear Judge Winkner: I’m writing to inform you that you have made a dreadful mistake by incarcerating my dear Harold. If you remember, you just sent a young and innocent Harold Weber to jail for five entire years because of a misunderstanding involving a knitting shop. You see, Your Honor, the poor boy had no money to buy his mother a birthday present because he recently lost his job because of his tendency to oversleep. (The lad has an inherited sleeping disorder.) He wanted to knit me an afghan as a gift, so I could stay warm all winter in my drafty house. This is why he needed to get his hands on some knitting equipment. Harold put his life on the line not for his own gain, but for the warmth of his mother. I knew if you understood the reason behind Harold’s misdeed, you would recognize that you judged him too harshly. Obviously, Harold does not deserve jail at all. Perhaps you could give him some community service or help him to get a new job. Thank you in advance for releasing my son from jail. Sincerely, Florence Weber

Do You Love L.A.?, page 69 Dear Twigs: I hope you’re having a great time in L.A. because we are all having a great time here. On Friday night, Carrie, Jen, Andy, Degan and I went to that new restaurant that opened where Babs’ Bagels used to be. It is now called My Uncle Vinnie’s Vittles. I ordered the lasagna, like I always do, and it was the best lasagna I ever had. Then after dinner, this really cheesy singer sat on a stool and sang ancient love songs. He even told corny jokes in between his songs, but since it was dark in there and no one could see us, we laughed and clapped for him. Afterwards, we drove down by the lake and met up with Jerry, Trish, Joshua and Tweet. It was a really warm night, so we sat on the grass and joked around for a while. We all miss you a lot and wish you were here to hang out with us. Love, Me

Snake Spit, page 70 Dear Willy: I’ve had it. You need to stop driving me—and the snakes—crazy every day during lunch. If you don’t, you’re not going to have any customers or employees left. First of all, put away the aggravating whip! When you snap it at the snakes, they go nuts. They lunge at me with their fangs out and wrap themselves around my arms until I’m too numb to reach into the bag for their Dinky Winky Snake Pellets. Pretty soon they’re starving and I’m hysterical because I’ve got starving snakes wrapped around my arms. I start hyperventilating and thrashing around, trying to get the snakes to let go. Customers freak out and run out of here. You are insensitive and rude in your conduct. Either you stop, or I’m going to take a job as a cook over at the Burger Barn. Unhappily yours, Felix Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Ms. Silvershine, page 71 Dear Ms. Silvershine: First of all, I would again like to thank you for your generosity. The new gourmet chef you have provided is a huge hit with counselors and campers alike. We all agree that filet mignon is much better than mystery meat deluxe. As you know, Ms. Silvershine, all of us at Camp Runamuck think the world of you. You are not only generous but also thoughtful, kind and friendly. Because of your own high standards and morals, I think you need to know that your dear Kelsey is not always following your fine example. While we do appreciate Kelsey’s feistiness and spunk in some situations, at other times those same traits cause a fair amount of trouble. Ms. Silvershine, I think that you and a Camp Runamuck staff members need to work together to help Kelsey to funnel her energy and creativity toward good, rather than organizing underwear raids, hiding cockroaches in the head counselor’s bed and putting super glue around the edge of the boy’s outhouse seat. We would like to set up a time for you to come in and talk with us about Kelsey. We hope that you will work with us to help her on the road to becoming a more positive role model. Sincerely, Charlie Thompson, Camp Counselor

No One Nose, page 72 It’s hard to be a nose. Everywhere I go, smells attack me. Sometimes the attacks are rather pleasant, of course. I love the buttery smell of popcorn at the movies and the tangy, mustardy smell of hot dogs at the carnival. However, other attacks aren’t so pleasant. I stay away from barnyards. The ripe smells there are just too much for me. I can’t hike in the mountains because of the lingering aroma of skunk that is often in the air. I can’t be in the same room as boiled cabbage. I can’t come within two blocks of a woman wearing too much cheap perfume. And don’t even get me started on being around people with new babies. The sweet smell of talcum is wonderful, but the foul odor of diapers is enough to send me into a dead faint.

Roadside Attractions, page 73 Dear Howie, I saw the most amazing office building yesterday on my road trip. Not only is it the world’s largest basket, it is also where people work! Can you imagine going to work every day inside a seven-story, hand-woven basket? Crazy! You should see it at night, too. Light shines from the windows, creating a beautiful pattern on the basket building. The giant handles of the basket are also lit up on top of the building. The enormous basket looks very bizarre just sitting there in the middle of normal office buildings. It’s as if a humongous Easter bunny is going to come hopping along to grab it! You should definitely take some time off from work to go see it. You won’t be sorry. Love, Sammie Kay

Secret Shopper, page 74 The adjectives in bold below do not include the articles “a,” “an,” and “the.” My stepmom signed up as to be a secret shopper. Her first assignment was to test the security of Baldini’s Sausage Emporium: 100,000 square feet of glimmering coolers and shiny glass counters full of luscious sausages imported from hundreds of foreign countries. She saw chicken beak sausage from Morocco; duck feet sausage from China; Red River moose sausage from Canada, as well as spicy radish butter from Russia, yak cheese from Bulgaria, watermelon poppers from Romania, and dried turtle chips from the Pimple Islands.

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Mom arrived on Wednesday morning armed with sixteen colored markers. She was supposed to quietly change price tags, writing ridiculous prices on the tags to see if the clerks would catch the changes. But all went wrong when slippery Charlie, the head security guard, sneaked up on mom and whipped out his shiny handcuffs. “You’re under arrest ma’am,” Charlie said, “for tampering with the goods.” “I’m supposed to tamper with the goods,” Mom replied. “I’m a secret shopper.” “A likely story,” Charlie sneered. “Let’s go.” The sausage police questioned my poor mother for two hours before the furious owner, Big Wanda, showed up with her three brawny bodyguards and a miniature chihuahua named Pete. “Let her go, boys,” she said. “She’s with me.” Mom left the shop with her paycheck and coupons for 600 jars of red lizard sausage nuggets. Our entire family was thrilled. Obviously. Mom was still upset about being arrested, but she is attending a secret shopper support group and taking serenity lessons from Dr. Elroy Frill. She will make it to shop another day—secretly, of course.

Get Coordinated, page 78 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

cake and ice cream Romeo and Juliet green eggs and ham liver and onions lost and found nip and tuck Jack and Jill

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

black and blue Shake ‘n’ Bake rock and roll hit and run sticks and stones lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

give and take rise and shine Ben and Jerry’s Mutt and Jeff sweet and sour sick and tired song and dance

And You’re Breathless, page 79 I hate the first second or two after I put money in a pop machine when I’m waiting for the pop to drop. I hate waiting for french fries to thaw in the microwave, for the dentist to come back to the chair with the drill, for the VCR to rewind and for commercials to end. I hate waiting for the alarm clock to go off, for Saturday, for my luggage at the airport and for my name to be called in gym class. I hate waiting for the cat to come home after her evening stroll, for the light to turn green, for my hair to grow out after a bad haircut, for spring to come, for the six o’clock news to end, for copies on the photocopy machine and for Christmas. I hate waiting for a clerk in a department store to help me find socks, for my sister to come out of the bathroom, for my other sister to get off the phone, for my brother to give me a turn on the computer, for my dad to finish reading the newspaper so he can give me a ride to my friend’s house and for my mom to finish whatever she’s doing so she can take me to the mall.

A Series of Ands, page 80 1. Jen, Millie, Aaron, Hal and Shawna are all expert spies. 2. I don’t want to go to summer camp because I’m allergic to grass, hot marshmallows, frogs, black-roasted wieners and team sports. 3. If you teach me how to develop photographs, I’ll trade you my walkie-talkies, my two goldfish, my old stereo, my blue jacket and my little brother. 4. To write poetry, you must be sensitive, clever, wise, mysterious and brave. 5. I love cake, meat, apples, Saturday and Beatrice. 6. I hate carrots, Mondays, snakes, algebra and exercise. 7. Someday I hope I can visit Belize, learn to belly dance, get the courage to try raw clams, stay out dancing all night, and sleep all day on Monday.


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Details, Details, page 81 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

It’s Wednesday afternoon, and it’s time to bathe the baboon. Larry ran out of the room carrying the smoking VCR, and Zeb got the fire extinguisher. I want to be rich, and I want to be gorgeous. Okay I saved money for years to buy a trampoline, and now that I have one I’m too depressed to bounce. 6. Okay

The Exclusive Or, page 82 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Smile when you ask Ms. Keetz for a Kleenex, or she will be furious. Okay Okay Did you hear what I said, or do you need to have your hearing checked? Okay Do all of you have money, or should we borrow some?

• You must talk to each other respectfully, or you’ll sit in the chairs and stare at each other with no talking allowed. • All of you must agree on a TV program to watch, or I will choose it. • No biting, screaming, hitting or yelling is allowed. • You can only bounce and jump on the ugly brown couch or on the ratty old mattress in the basement. • You must turn down the volume on the television when I start to yell, or I’ll hide the remote.

But Put in the Comma, page 83 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Keep your eyes open, but close your mouth. Okay Okay I’m going to New Jersey, but I’m going alone. Okay I told her about Eddie, but she wouldn’t believe me. I will go to the play with you, but first I have to floss. Taming a cobra is a chore, but it’s not as dangerous as substitute teaching. He seemed dead, but we noticed his hands were still warm. Okay Okay Evelyn called me a zucchini-face once, but that was before I kissed her.

• •

Never wear plaid pants to the circus, but do put on a clown nose. You could wear your fuzzy bathrobe to the dance, but it wouldn’t be a good idea since you’re running for queen. Try wearing a skirt when you ride your bike, but don’t forget to wear shorts underneath.

•

For the Love of Commas, page 84 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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Okay I’m cancelling your debt, for our friendship means more to me than a measly million dollars. Okay Okay Okay Goldilocks flopped into the little bear’s bed, for she had travelled far and was exhausted. Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

7. 8. 9. 10.

Take your nose drops, for it is sure to rain and turn cold. The chef broke down and cried, for he had lost his silver filling in the noodles. Okay Take care of your tonsils, for they are your friends.

• •

Never clean your room before your parents tell you to, for they will expect more out of you. Never fall asleep first at a slumber party, for cruel shaving cream pranks will be performed on you. • Never order chow mein from Antonio’s, for they make it with pepperoni.

Yet and Nor—Say No More, page 85 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

I don’t like pigeons, nor do I care to eat them. Okay Okay I want to believe in Santa Claus, yet here are all these uneaten cookies. I don’t believe in you and your ideas, nor do I believe in this tonic. Okay Jane hasn’t called, nor has she written in over ten years. Omar knew his father wasn’t coming, yet he sat in the station and waited anyway. Okay Okay I knew you liked rubber cement, yet I didn’t think you would eat it. Okay

•

It is a good idea to insist that your children eat vegetables, yet it is probably a waste of time to give them brussels sprouts. Children usually tell their parents the truth, yet they often leave out important details. Never give a neurotic poodle a squeaky toy, nor let your children try to dress him up in baby clothes.

• •

Either/Or . . . Neither/Nor, page 86 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

either/or neither/nor either/or either/or neither/nor neither/nor either/or neither/nor either/or neither/nor either/or neither/nor

The Ding-A-Ling Brothers Circus promised an evening of laughter and spectacular family entertainment. Unfortunately, my family neither laughed nor felt entertained during the two hour show. Instead we either yawned or nodded off every now and then. Even the performers seemed bored. The clowns strolled into the arena and either did only a few half-hearted gags or just stood there doing nothing at all. The elephants neither followed instructions nor performed any tricks at all. The dogs ran around playing with a frisbee instead of jumping through hoops. It was not a night to remember.


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Use Them or Lose Them, page 87 1. and/but 2. and 3. or

4. for 5. yet (or but) 6. but

7. and 8. but (or for) 9. nor

10. for 11. or 12. nor

13. for 14. or

I hate it when my sister eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and then breathes on me, but I hate it even more when she paws through a can of nuts to get all the cashews.

Make Your Own, page 88 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

I found my accordion in the dumpster, but I don’t know who put it there. My grandma said she’d get me a hamster or a gerbil for my birthday, but not both. Eat a morsel of spinach, or you won’t be going to the Sizzlin’ Squash concert tonight. Neither double-cocoa cheesecake nor peachy-pumpkin pecan tarts will tempt me from my new diet. The vampire frightened the reindeer, but they got out of his way. Herschel was very happy as a ghost, yet he was lonely for Melinda, his true love, who was still roaming the earth. The detective searched every apartment on the east side of Chicago, but he couldn’t find the hostage. Mr. Ronowicz knew Geraldine could give him the correct answer, but she never raised her hand or volunteered to talk in class. I’d like to write a song about an inchworm, but what would I say? Dante longed to play the keyboard or the trombone in a band, but he never wanted to practice.

Write On, page 89 Pop artist Coolie Julie Smite was seen wandering the halls of Wishweewurowtuvhere High School last Thursday afternoon. Coolie Julie is famed for her songs “Smells Like Teen Sweat” and “Writin’ On the Bathroom Walls,” but the song that shot her to the top of the billboard charts was her ballad, “Don’t Let Leonardo Die On the Titanic.” Before she visited, neither the staff nor the students of WHS realized that Coolie Julie is the cousin of Principal Smith Smite. “Coolie Julie is so cool that it’s hard to believe she is related to Principal Smite, yet they do have the same last name,” commented one student. Coolie Julie is in town for the Smite family reunion that is taking place on Saturday in the downtown park. Only family members are invited, and they will have to show identification to be admitted into the party. For those of you wanting to catch a glimpse of Coolie Julie, you can do so either from a distance on Saturday at the park or on Friday at 2:00 PM at the high school, where she will be performing. If you do decide to go to the concert, our advice is to take earplugs, for her music is very loud.

Subordinating Conjunctions, page 90 Cheri loves aardvarks, although she has never owned one. Mikey eats mangoes, although he prefers enchiladas. Evelyn loves winter, although she’s afraid of the snow. (Each of the sentences could also begin with the subordinating conjunction “although.”)

Subordinating Combos, page 91 1. Whenever I see an aquarium, I want to jump into it and blow bubbles against the glass. 2. Edwina keeps showing up at the circus because she hopes the Great Valentino will throw her a kiss from the high wire.

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3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Dawn loves company, although she prefers that her guests sleep in the yard. Since Pat learned to cook last summer, no one feels safe. Because Gabe hates mea tloaf, he stuffed his sandwich into Felicia’s French horn. Until he got the measles, Spot was a decent-looking dog. If you give me the keys to your car, I won’t tell how you rigged the fog machine to belch.

The Making of a Dependent Clause, page 92 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Although Amy buttered the toast, she wouldn’t eat it. Since Mavis lost her sandals, she has to wear sneakers. Until Albert believes in himself, he’ll never be able to ski the steepest peak in the resort. Whenever people sneeze in crowded elevators, Shelly pushes the emergency button so she can get off immediately. Although nobody believed Wilbur could have won, there was his name on the trophy. Jody placed the custard pie in the box and mailed it, although she knew it would never arrive in one piece. It became obvious that Mark was hallucinating when he said he had slammed his locker shut on a “mid-sized purple frog with crooked teeth and a heavy French accent.” Margot ate all the carbohydrates in the house whenever she had to study for a big test.

Subordinatium Gladiloli, page 93 You know, no one respects a fern. If I had been propagated as an orchid, I might get a little more respect. I might have moved to a penthouse on Park Avenue, instead of being plopped down on a cold, hard, white table in the cafeteria of Lancelot Junior High. The students here give me about as much respect as they give the head cook, Frieda, which isn’t much. They hate her. Although the students don’t respect Frieda or me, they respect Frances, the lunchroom monitor. She won’t let students go outside until they have eaten all of their spinach, which is another leafy plant that gets no respect. When Frances isn’t looking, students sometimes shove their hot, slimy spinach into my soil. The spinach burns my roots and smells putrid. Frankly, I hate spinach too. My life is miserable. I hate the buzzing glare of fluorescent lights and the smell of Frieda’s lemony ammonia cleaner. Most of all, I hate smelling the prune bars Frieda whips up every Friday morning after she comes to work.

Smothered Burrito Investigation, page 94 Neither the the detectives from the Santa Rosita police department nor the landlord of the apartment building at 112 S. Bean Boulevard, could believe what they found when they opened the door to the upstairs unit. There in a pool of either salsa or sour cream, lay a smothered burrito named Ralphino. There was no sign of forced entry. Either the criminal was allowed in or he slipped in without leaving a trace of evidence. A note indicating mild depression and concern that things were about to get “hot around here” prompted law enforcement officials to contact the neighbors. Sure enough, they found a Jar-O-Matic jar opener and six bottles of used salsa. Sour cream was found embedded in footprints leading to the back door of the next-door apartment. The investigation continues with interviews planned for the Guacamole Dip-Off this Saturday at noon at the Pepper Pavillion on Broadway. Local police are investigating the disappearance of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head last weekend. They were last seen on Saturday on an outing with the Silver Spuds Club. Both Mr. Potato Head and his wife were positively identified as present on the outing. However, neither the other participants nor the bus driver has seen the Potato Heads since the event. Investigators have speculated that either the Potato Heads are victims of foul play, or they may have been inspired by the Silver Spuds Club outing and taken off on an impromptu second honeymoon. During the pending investigation, the police recommend that citizens not only keep their doors locked but also that they keep their eyes open for anything unusual. Copyright © 2007 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Fruitful Fashion, page 95 1. My woven pasta sweaters will rope you in with their savory meatball buttons and lively, parmesan-encrusted embroidery. These tastefully artistic creations are not only beautiful but also aromatic. They are available in your choice of spaghetti, tortellini, or fettuccine. Get them while they last! 2. Whatever you choose to wear, either high fashion or every day attire, don’t forget to accessorize with the latest in ethical fashion designs because the earth is our friend. So that you’ll really stand out in a crowd, choose a unique coconut shell handbag, cleverly constructed out of carved shell pieces fashionably designed in intricate mosaic patterns. This handbag will give you style wherever you go. 3. Your outfit just wouldn’t be complete without this season’s most progressive footwear, the Hubbard squash sandal. These chunky but comfortable wedges will add style and individuality to your ethical design look. Available in ivory, cappuccino or deep brown, unless we sell out! 4. The cold weather chill won’t bother you a bit when you’re bundled in this cutting edge fashionable winter coat, woven from sturdy, all natural cedar bark fiber and blueberry leaf cellulose. Polished cherry pit sequins accentuate the bold yet stylishly traditional cut of this wardrobe essential. Varnished baby pine cone fasteners keep the overlapping front securely closed so the cold will never reach you.

Ice Hotel, page 96 Dear Jonesy, I just got back from staying in the coolest—or should I say coldest—hotel in the world! The Ice Hotel in Jukkäsjarvi, Sweden, is unique, to say the least. I actually slept in an ice bed, but the thermal sleeping bag kept me very warm. Although it was an expensive stay, it was worth it because it was beautiful and unusual. Not only are there wild adventures you can go on, like a moose safari, but also there are interesting features like a dog-sled run. When you look at the Torne River, the view is breathtaking. Also, the Northern Lights are magical and intense, and the vast forests and silent lakes are peaceful. Furthermore, the modern hotel doesn’t skimp on the conveniences. I had hot lingonberry juice served to me in the morning, and I took a nice, relaxing sauna every day. Finally, the food was delicious and made from natural ingredients. The beautiful art, sculpture, and design of the secluded hotel made me want stay even longer. You would love it! Your friend, Sara

Spaghetti Heaven, page 97 Students should probably not be expected to catch every conjunction. It is important to remember that the point of the quiz is to see if students can generally recognize conjunctions. Before dining out with my three-year-old brother Philly, you have to prepare yourself. Since eating out with Philly is a messy proposition, you need a handful of plastic trash bags and duct tape and a damp wash cloth and a camera. (You will need pictures to prove what happened because people won’t believe you.) It doesn’t matter what restaurant you go to, nor does it matter what food you order; it will end in disaster. Here’s what happened when my family went to Spaghetti Heaven with Philly last week: We all got there and sat down and cut holes in our trash bags for our arms and heads and then put them on. Then the food came. Philly lunged for his massive bowl of spaghetti and promptly shoved Grandma into the salad bowl. She came up up spitting lettuce and parsley greens, but she was not discouraged. Because she had her trash bag on, she was relatively safe. When the meal began, violin players came drifting by our table. One by one they were splattered with spaghetti sauce, though not on purpose, for Philly has a good heart. Meanwhile, Grandma was

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getting overheated, so she pulled off her protective leaf bag. This is not a good idea, as Philly was hungry and in a hurry. Grandma soon resembled a woman fresh from a pizza fight. By the time this particular evening was over, the waiter was covered in spaghetti splatter, the dessert cart was buried, and Grandma had to be duct taped to the front fender and run two times through the car wash. However, we are gaining ground. Last time we ate out, the waiter power-washed the entire family as we left through the side door.

The Case of the Pronoun Prank, page 102 Brian walked into the room with no intention of doing any mischief until he saw his grandmother’s false teeth in a glass on the lamp stand next to her bed. He approached the false teeth with a smile on his face. What a find! He knew exactly what he would do. He sneaked down to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He saw trays full of cheese snacks, and he knew who they were for—his mother’s bridge club friends who came over every Thursday night. Brian (or he) slipped the teeth out of his pocket and stuffed them inside the bacon-onion dip. Then he closed the door and went upstairs. That night, from far below in the dining room, his mother’s guests’ screams drifted up to him in sharp, pleasant waves.

Getting Personal, page 103 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

When I turned on the lie detector, it told me it had a headache. Honest! If the doctor ever shows up, ask her (him) if she (he) will deliver the baby. “I can’t believe you ate 39 kumquats,” said Tom to his brother. Gertrude threw the banana cream pie at the judge, but she later apologized. Alvin asked Tim to loan him his skateboard, but Tim said, “Buy your own!”

Main points to make in speech: • We have a great team, and we deserve to be here. • We were a success in Loose Tooth, and know we can be a success anywhere. • If we can play so successfully wearing mittens, imagine what we can do with our bare hands! • Join me in this cheer: Ring, ring, lift and toss—We’ll show the other team who’s the boss!

“Self” Pronouns, page 104 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

themselves himself yourselves herself herself yourself myself itself oneself ourselves

Dear Mrs. Ajax: You seem to be a woman who prides herself on producing a quality chocolate. I’m here to commend you on a job well done. In fact, I take it upon myself to help you make your chocolate even better; I would like to be your chocolate taster. Don’t feel that you have to pay me for my services. My reward is in knowing that your quality chocolates are gracing the earth’s surface (or my stomach). In fact, I swear to test every little piece of chocolate that comes my way. Your profits may go down, but the quality will remain superior, I assure you. A man should consider himself lucky to get even one precious piece of Ajax chocolate.


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Your chocolates will be in great demand, thanks to me and my mighty tastebuds. Think about it. Impatiently salivating, Tootsie Jones,

Always Single, page 105 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

is has is wants has likes winks is wants likes

Everyone’s Favorite, page 106 1. has 2. does 3. loves 4. listens 5. is 6. happens 7. goes 8. wants 9. loves 10.gags 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

As I look around the gorgeous old room, I wonder if anyone else is as confused as I am. The singing is beautiful, but I can’t understand any of the words. Does anyone else? Everything is so precise and artistic. What are they singing about? Somebody help me; I’m so bored! Oh, I get it! You are supposed to read the program to understand the story and then watch everyone on stage to understand the emotion and ideas.

Pronouns of Your Own, page 107 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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Everyone but me wants to see the depressing movie about the sinking ship. Neither of the elves thinks Santa pays his employees well enough. One of the oranges mysteriously rolls down the hallway by itself whenever marmalade is mentioned. Nobody with a grain of sense goes to the haunted house on Raven Lane at night. Everything in the fish tank has a curious green tint to it. “Either of the boys will do,” said the wicked witch with a mean grin and an oven mitt on her hand. Each of the eggplants is beautiful in its own purply way. Something in the cellar smells like my Great Aunt Tilly’s kitchen. Each of the incidents can be explained by the existence of an alien mother ship hidden in the clouds. Neither of the cows thinks beef jerky jokes are funny.


Find Them and Fix Them, page 108 line #1: line #2: line #3: line #5: line #6: line #9: line #13: line #14: line #21: line #25: line #28:

“Everyone believes . . .” “Each of her brothers is . . .” “everybody was having . . .”, “someone was learning . . .” “No one could believe it.” “No one was . . .” “Everybody was . . .” “Neither of the clerks was . . .” “One of the broccoli bunches was . . .” “when no one was . . .” “Neither of the managers was . . .” “Everyone else believes . . .”

Possessive Pronouns, page 109 We never get to fly on our vacations. We always have to drive. My parents say it is because they want to save their money for other things, rather than spending it all on air fare. But the “other things” they spend it on are pretty stupid—like when we drove 700 miles to go to a Star Trek convention. I begged and begged my mom not to wear her fake Mr. Spock ears, but she did it anyway. “They’re mine and I’ll do what I want with them,” she explained in Klingon. I had to ask my sister for her Klingon dictionary just so I could translate. And of course I always get carsick on these trips. I just can’t handle the way my dad drives. It’s almost like he’s having spasms in his foot or something, the way he presses on the gas and then presses on the brake and then the gas again. I always hope that he’ll press more on the gas than the brake so we can get back to our house sooner.

Non-Sexist Pronouns, page 110 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

All the students kept their cool during the food fight. No one did any homework over the weekend, so everyone failed. People who love their dogs should avoid large, vicious cats. Somebody left a pair of dirty socks on the bus. Everybody filled up at the taco bar.

It’s All Relative, page 111 1. 2. 3. 4.

Nobody came to the beach party that was held in Mary’s dad’s garage. I like mystery stories that don’t have butlers, knives or English castles looming in the fog. My teacher was a tall woman who wore red hats and plastic shoes when she wasn’t in school. My neighbor once owned a cocker spaniel whose pups bit into their mother’s ears and hung on like wood ticks. 5. Joey has a nickname that he hates.

Pronouns Out of Place, page 112 1. The trainer turned to the crowd and said, “We need someone who is absolutely odorless to jump into the tank with Boris the shark.” 2. Julio bought cotton candy that was way too sweet from a girl at the fair. 3. I’d like to hire someone who doesn’t smoke to feed and train our horse. 4. Never trust a lady who walks everywhere in high heels with a dog. 5. At the race track, which was oval shaped and 300 yards wide, I saw a horse. 6. I met two men who wore chrome-plated sunglasses and carried smoked fish.


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Writing With Relatives, page 113 1. This is a new flotation device that instantly inflates to the size and shape of a St. Bernard and dog-paddles you to safety. 2. We are looking for a new photographer’s assistant who must be able to distract children for at least 30 seconds, using distorted facial expressions. 3. Our circus needs a new act, which must have pizazz, pizoom and free balloons. 4. Across the vast distance of the Grand Canyon hung a massive black web, which everyone knew was the work of Spiderman. 5. The police are searching for a distraught woman whose chimpanzee apparently stole the family car and left for St. Louis.

Nobody, page 114 An unknown Detective, Sly Metzenbaum, is baffled in the brand new mystery, Nobody. Chalk outlines of bodies keep showing up on the streets of Moptown, but no bodies are found inside them— until the mayor’s pet squirrel, Adrian, is found in the middle of one. The pressure heightens as the mayor demands answers. Who has killed Adrian? Are there others who have died? How will they know? How will they find out? People are terrified that they will find other chalk outlines with the bodies of people in them this time. Everyone soon becomes afraid to look outside, for fear of finding another outline. No one knows what to do. Out of desperation, the mayor calls in Sly Metzenbaum. Luckily, Sly is a talented detective. He not only solves the mystery of who killed Adrian, he also discovers the tantalizing secret behind all those body-less body outlines. Who did it? Why? Read this exciting mystery to find the answers!

Wild Weekend, page 115 Nouns are in bold, below. Pronouns are underlined. Dear Emma: You’ve just got to come with me this weekend. My dad is taking our family to Avon, Ohio, and you’ll never guess why. We’re going to the Avon Heritage Duct Tape Festival. Can you believe it? There really is a duct tape festival. Avon is the “Duct Tape Capital of the World,” so the town holds a festival to celebrate, yes, duct tape. The festival is held every year on Father’s Day, and that’s why Dad wants to go. He wants to be crowned “Duct Tape Dad of the Year.” How pathetic is that? Anyway, there is supposed to be a duct tape fashion show, and large duct tape sculptures, too. You may be wondering why, why, why a duct tape festival. Well it turns out there is a company in town that makes duct tape. Not surprisingly, the company is a major sponsor of the festival. You’ve got to come with me. This sounds like the weirdest weekend around! Love, Mallory

Messed Up Titles and Bicycle Stew, page 116 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

He and I and a Cat Named Sky I Never Promised You a Stairmaster And Then They Were Tardy I Was a Teenage Pronoun My Heart Can’t Hold Them

Michel Lotito of Grenoble, France, has eaten over a dozen bicycles. That’s right, bicycles for breakfast, bicycles for lunch, and bicycles for supper—a very tough way for a person to put iron in his diet. He is listed in Guinness World Records as holding the record for eating the most bicycles in his life. (Actually, he has no competition.) He is quoted as saying, “I drink a lot of water. I need it.”

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His wife thinks he needs something else—to have his head examined. Now he has invented a way to put both iron and water into his system more quickly. He has created a recipe for a bicycle stew. His wife is not really thrilled about cooking it. She prefers that Michel cook his stew himself and leave her out of the picture entirely.

All Alone in the World, page 120 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Wow! Three large pizzas, and no one is home but me. Whoa! I can’t write as fast as you think. Yikes! It’s hotter in here than the inside of a jalapeño pepper. I’m sure, well, actually I’m pretty sure I did it right. Halt! This is your principal speaking. Say—would you like to win a trip to Disneyland? Great Scott! Your teeth have all turned yellow.

Hank swaggered across the crowded gym to the stunning brunette standing by the punch bowl. “Wow! You look great!” exclaimed Hank, realizing the woman was none other than Nora Finkles. “Well, you sound a little surprised about that,” accused Nora. “You did have a rather large acne problem back in school. Not to mention the bad perm you always had and the hideous clothes you used to wear,” Hank explained. “Obviously, people can change.” Nora smiled, staring at Hank’s large belly and shiny bald head. Hank had no idea she had insulted him. “Hey, baby,” he said. “How about you and I split this lame party and go for a ride?” He put his arm around her. Nora grabbed a bowl of whipped cream from the sundae bar, dumped it on Hank’s bald head and topped him with a maraschino cherry. “This is for all the horrible and mean things you, Hank the handsome high school hunk, did to us so-called nerds,” she said. Then the whole gym erupted in cheers.

Hey! This Is Serious, page 121 Me: Kelly: Me: Kelly: Me: Kelly: Me: Kelly: Me: Kelly: Me: Kelly:

Let’s go to a movie, Kelly. Great! I’d love to! It will be such fun! I’d like to see Halloween, Part 23. Ooh! I’m sure it would be too scary! How about Love in the Springtime? Yes! I love love stories. And we’ll get popcorn. I love popcorn! Okay. But I’ll probably just get Milk Duds. Yes! I love Milk Duds, too! And Raisinettes! Or anything chocolate! Okay, shall we ask Alex to come along? Oh, yes! Alex is so much fun! I just love her! And let’s ask Andrea and Marcia, too! Well, okay, I guess. Great! I can’t wait! I’ll go call the others!

Holy Bat Wings!, page 122 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Gooey goulash! This must have been in the refrigerator for four and a half months! Holy guacamole! This dip is hot! Great bananas! We had better split! Galloping grapes! We get to visit a vineyard! Wacky wontons! We should have made reservations! Leapin’ lasagna! This pasta is fabulous. Suffering salsa! I never knew tamales were this hard to make. Lucky latte! There’s a silver dollar in my coffee! Hoppin’ hamburgers! My meat is so rare it’s still mooing! Blazing bricks! I think there’s a fire in the chimney. Copyright © 2003 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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Pirate Talk, page 123 1. Argh! This is what a pirate says when he realizes he has just accidentally shot his cannon through the bottom of his own ship, leaving a six-foot wide hole in the hull. 2. Aha! This is what a pirate says when she discovers it’s the vice-pirate in charge of entertainment who has been swiping her Cheetos. 3. Uh oh! This is what a pirate says when the clouds clear and he sees his ship is about to plow into a glacier. 4. Oopsies! This is what a pirate says when he “accidentally” knocks his detested first mate overboard. 5. Gazookledorf! This is what a pirate says when he proudly displays a chest of gold doubloons that he has hauled aboard. 6. Flumgumption! This is what the pirate says when he realizes he has left behind his compass.

Super Socket, page 124 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Yikes! Noooooooo! Yipee! Shucks! Yuck! Geez! Eek! Aaah! Yes! What!

A New Search Engine, page 125 1. Hurray! 2. Hey!—Buy a Car. Hurry!—Meet Your Soulmate. Eek!—Politics. Yay!—Shooping. Yo!—Get a Job. Wow!—Weather. Bravo!—Sports. My search engine “Hurray!” will be unique because there won’t be any ads on it. Each department will provide images, videos, and information. There will be a weather department called “Wow!—Weather,” and it will present the weather in cartoon form, with comedians telling jokes. There will be a news section with all good news—no depressing stories. My search engine will be appealing because people hate ads and pop-ups, and my search engine won’t have any.

Schloopy, Schloopy, page 126 Well, we’re driving down the road— my teenage sister, her boyfriend Fred, and me. It’s high noon and hot in the van. The dog is panting and drooling and stomping over the packages from our crazy shopping trip. A Girl Scout bus stops right in front of us. Fred stomps on the brake. “Hey!” my sister yells. Our St. Bernard, Bobo, slams forward into the passenger seat, knocking gobs of grape Schloopy from my sister’s 100 ounce super mug all over her. She screams, “Yikes!” “Wow! You look ridiculous!” Fred exclaims. My sister scrapes off the first layer of Schloopy. “What! How dare you sit there and laugh. You’re the one who caused this!” The Schloopy is starting to run down her neck, and Bobo thinks this is interesting. He leans over and starts licking Mindy’s neck. “Holy cow! He likes it!” I bellow from my perch by the spare tire, laughing. “Ouch!” Mindy yells.

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Fred leans away to avoid the dog drool. “Get me a towel!” Mindy screams as the Schloopy runs down onto her hundred-dollar jeans. “Well, I don’t have a towel,” says Fred. Mindy stares at him and says in a calmer, more dangerous voice, “Get me something, now.” She shoves Bobo back and away from her. “Ick. Get off me!” Fred starts to take off his T-shirt. I really don’t want to see his scrawny chest, so I pull off my flannel shirt. “No, take mine.” I rip off my shirt and hand it to Mindy over the back of the seat. Mindy wipes her face, her neck, the front of her blouse, the new jeans, and the face of the CD player, which used to have buttons that actually worked. She clicks the button of KYAH radio, and they’re playing oldies. Fred starts singing, “Hang on , Schloopy, Schloopy hang on.” I look at Mindy. “You should have hung on.” She hits me with a Schloopy-soaked flannel shirt.

Adverbs? How?, page 130 1. smiled wickedly

6. carefully stashed

2. incredibly lazy

7. reached desperately

3. tore anxiously

8. badly cut

4. quickly inserted

9. slowly nibbled

5. cautiously slipped

10. completely ignores

Elizabeth bravely faced the dangerous enemy. Melanie cautiously examined her haircut and bawled. A tornado abruptly descended upon the town and tore it apart.

Adverbs? Where?, page 131 1. forward 2. around

3. behind 4. back

First, go out of your classroom and turn right. Walk forward to the staircase by locker bay number seven. Then walk down the up ramp to the gym. When you get to the bottom of the ramp, turn left and take 10 giant steps backward. Tiptoe into the boys locker room. Walk up to the showers and look behind the third moldy shower curtain from the right. There you will find your restroom pass.

The Case of the Adverb Clue, page 132 1. nowhere 2. anywhere 3. everywhere

4. somewhere 5. elsewhere

When Mr. Rhodes called in sick on the day of the science field trip, mousy Miss Wolfenbarger was the substitute. After a wild and crazy bus drive to Lake Minirumpus, students got off the bus and ran everywhere. Some students hid under the bridge; others climbed a tree; some jumped in the lake; and a few were nowhere to be found. Miss Wolfenbarger buried her head in her trembling hands and prayed, “Please take me away! I would rather be anywhere but here at Lake Minirumpus.” She tried to round up the students and take them back to school, where they would be someone else’s problem. She searched everywhere and found many of them, but she couldn’t find six of the biggest troublemakers. Finally, she told the bus driver to leave. “I don’t care if those snotty kids have to spend the night here,” she shrieked. Copyright © 2003 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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When they returned to the school, Miss Wolfenbarger jumped into her car and sped out of the parking lot as fast as she could. She decided right then and there to get a new job that would be nowhere near kids or schools.

Adverbs? When?, page 133 1. someday 2. never 3. later

4. Eventually 5. Suddenly

Before I went to my stepmother’s nephew’s wedding, I thought that going to a wedding might be fun. After the seven bridesmaids took 30 minutes to come down the aisle, I changed my mind. However, I sat still because Dad promised that immediately after the wedding, we would go back to our hotel and swim in the pool.

Adverbs? To What Extent?, page 134 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Marty’s gym locker has a rather interesting smell. I am somewhat fond of Jenny’s older brother Alfonse. My report card is largely satisfactory. English is clearly my best subject, even though I have a D average. Yes, Timmy can be quite difficult sometimes, but I still won’t pay you double for babysitting him.

Adverbs . . . Not Just for Verbs Anymore, page 135 1. very ferocious 2. never have seen (modifies have seen) 3. ridiculously tiny 4. thoroughly rusted quickly lost 5. dangerously close 6. completely fake 7. so awkwardly built 8. eventually gave away Elaine Hidalgo stupidly agreed to let Jason Bickerman buckle her into the Bullet. He sometimes worked at the old carnival and didn’t know everything, like how the oddly rusted metal lap bars could get stuck shut. Because he had a sickeningly sweet crush on Elaine, Jason made sure he closed her lap belt extremely hard so she wouldn’t fall out.

Lights! Action! Adverbs!, page 136 1. Always in Your Locker—An incredibly important homework assignment is never found, despite desperate rummaging, because it is hopelessly lost in the locker zone. 2. Tentatively Showering—Chris Carter stars as a boy who fights non-stop to end the dreadfully awful act of communal showering at his junior high school. 3. Sappy Love Letters—Humor abounds as an amazingly sappy love note gets wrongly passed from one student to another.

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4. Never on the Bus—A frighteningly stuffy bus driver’s attempts to create silent and well-behaved students on her bus backfires horribly.

Tagging Along, page 137 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

flatly fittingly quizzically dramatically slowly

6. sheepishly 7. haltingly 8. hollowly 9. aimlessly 10.speedily

“Where are my scarf and hat?” Frosty the Snowman said coldly. “Turn on the Christmas tree,” Father said brightly. “I’ll huff and puff and blow your house down,” said the wolf breathlessly. “Just tell me how many scoops of ice cream you want,” the Baskin-Robbins clerk said icily. “This building will be the biggest in the city,” said the architect constructively.

Adverb Overflow, page 138 Beauty and the Beast is the story of an intelligent, dreamy-headed girl named Belle, who lives in a small village with her aging father, who is a somewhat fumbling inventor. He spends all day creating strange machines that often don’t work. One day he decides to travel to the fair to demonstrate his latest invention, but he gets lost on the way. He walks to the creepy castle of the Beast, who traps the old man in a nasty prison. Belle comes looking for her father and exchanges herself for her father, who is ill. The Beast treats her badly at first, but he eventually falls deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, she learns of the incredible legend surrounding the lonely beast. He must be loved truly and simply by someone in order for the awful spell of ugliness to be broken. Belle eventually learns to love him, but not before the Beast’s castle is stormed and the jealous character Gaston viciously stabs the beast, fatally wounding him. The Beast shoves Gaston to his death, then gasps his last long breath and dies. Belle kisses him, and the Beast comes to life and is transformed into a handsome prince. Belle and the Prince live happily ever after.

Party Time, page 139 I knew this would be a completely awful party from the moment I walked in the door and the heavy scent of warmed buttermilk hit my nostrils. All of my friends stood stupidly near the exits, staring numbly into space while Harry Gainey danced foolishly to the orchestra music. When Harry started to plead urgently for someone to turn up the bass, the chaperones called his parents. I was absolutely sure it was time to leave and went with some friends to the Taco Bell across the street for some unbelievably cheap burritos. I would never go to anther party like that one.

Cat Whisperer, page 140 1. Growing up, Mom was surprisingly social during all of my agility events. I often wondered if she loyally attended because she wanted to visit with the other cats. Anyway, we laughed all the time and she lovingly prepared my favorite dessert, chocolate tuna mousse cake, every Sunday. We have an incredibly close relationship. 2. Yes, my dad was there for me, though he didn’t get a real job until he was well into his ninth life. As a kitten I remember him walking out the door each day dutifully wearing his Royal Robin Ice Cream Parlor visor. Dad enthusiastically attended all of my agility events. He would quietly cheer me on from the ridiculously uncomfortable stands. Dad and I mutually agreed on many things which made us very close. Copyright © 2003 Cottonwood Press, Inc. • Fort Collins, Colorado • 800-864-4297 • www.cottonwoodpress.com

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3. You know, I’m doing amazingly well considering the tremendously painful injuries I’ve sustained. As far as sleep goes, I’m not getting nearly enough. My mind is constantly racing about utterly insignificant things. I worry about whether or not my new zippy sneakers will make me look more agile on my web site. I worry about how my new blonde fur-lights will be received by the public. My comfy cozy quilt pile is probably the best it’s ever been—no worries in that department. The lighting is another issue. When I stretch after a well-deserved lengthy nap, I always hit the floor lamp with my right front paw. I’m patiently waiting for Mom to move it across the room. 4. To set myself free I’m taking a lot of classes on forgiveness and pit bull tolerance. My personal trainer was an amazingly warm cat. She not only pushed me to achieve my personal best on the agility course, she routinely encouraged my academic success. When I earn my criminal justice degree, that lowly pit bull who stole her lives is going to whimper all the way to the big house. Sorry, I’m diligently working on my pit bull tolerance to set myself free, really. 5. Oh, my happy place. I run to it and purr when I wake to the smell of fresh tuna and cheesy biscuits. I’m also happy when I get along swimmingly with the other cats at the agility courses around the world and when my ravishingly gorgeous cat friend cheers wildly for me and throws flowers at my paws when I cross the finish line, first, of course. The Spielberg movie deal is really peanuts compared to the feeling I get when I return home after an exhilaratingly eventful day.

Somewhere, Over the Dumpster, page 141 I had just about lost all hope when my friends picked me up and lovingly cradled me in their arms. They carefully threw me in the backseat, and I happily bounced onto the floor, where I profusely praised my rescuers until I fell soundly asleep. When we arrived home, they placed me gently alongside my twin. I sadly recounted the events I had just experienced. My twin smiled happily, through her tears. I was exhilaratingly happy to be in my warm closet again.

Going Somewhere?, page 142 As I was slowly drifting off to dreamland, a man suddenly came up and dropped his luggage noisily on the tiled floor next to my chair. Then he began talking loudly on his cell phone. When I asked him to finish his call quietly, he yelled rudely, “Mind your own business!” He continued to talk angrily into his phone, so I swiftly gathered my belongings and hastily moved to a very quiet spot. Almost immediately, a couple with four children who were screaming wildly sat down next to me. I wearily picked up my things and eventually found a spot where no one would bother me— next to the restrooms. I cautiously settled in, repeatedly praying that I would get some sleep. I was silently sleeping when, unfortunately, a talkative boy deliberately woke me up to ask me what time it was. I responded tensely, but the boy promptly asked me more questions. I really needed some sleep, but sadly I would not get it that night.

Weird Sports, page 143 Web address used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_ironing Individuals or groups of people gather up a few items of clothing, an iron, and an ironing board, and then they go to a remote location. There they iron the clothes. Some locations where extreme ironers have practiced their sport include the following: on a mountainside, in a canoe, while skiing, and in a war zone. One group won a tropy by ironing across a gorge, and another broke the underwater ironing depth record by ironing under the sea off the Egyptian coast.

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The 2007 Extreme Ironing Olympics took place at Niagara Falls, New York, where eighteen extreme ironers tirelessly competed for gold. Some quietly ironed in boats, while others ironed furiously as they went over the falls. Somehow they managed to keep the shirts dry and nicely pressed. The crowd sat silently, waiting for the results, and then went crazy when Keith “Steam” Johnson was announced the winner. He prevailed over the others in the final competition with pants creases that were clearly superior. “His use of starch was the best we have ever seen,” remarked one of the judges.

Swiss Only, page 144 How conveniently gently quietly carefully cleverly quickly quietly extremely nicely

When suddenly later first then later

Where inside forward


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About the Author Randy Larson grew up in Michigan and now lives in the small town of Gillette, Wyoming, with his wife Judy and their son Gabriel. He has taught English, grades 7-12, for over 25 years.

“Hot Fudge Monday challenges both my slow learners and my fast learners. They love it!” Darby Downing, Lumpkin County Middle School Dahlonega, GA

“I use Hot Fudge Monday and I will never use anything else to teach parts of speech. It is wonderful!” Mary Holloway, Woodbury Middle School Las Vegas, NV

“My kids actually interrupt me in class and ask if they can do Hot Fudge Monday!” —Kirstin Reed, Washington International School Washington, D.C.

“Hot Fudge Monday is too funny. I use it to teach parts of speech and my students crack up over every exercise. They especially like the tragic story of the soda can, which teaches action verbs without the students even knowing it.” Pam Wolf, Golden West Middle School, CA

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