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8/3/2019 11 Grammar Rules
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GRAMMAR RULES
11 RULES TO APERFECT SCORE ON
THE WRITING
SECTION OF THE SAT
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RULE 1: VERB TENSE
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CONSISTENCY OF TENSE
The tense of verbs must remain consistent
within the sentence. If the sentence begins in the present tense, it
should remain in the present. If it begins in
the past tense, it should remain in the past
tense.
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Incorrect: Because she sang so
beautifully, she wins the contest.
Correct: Because she _____ so beautifully,
she _____ the contest.
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PAST PERFECT TENSE
This tense is used to indicate a time that
precedes another time mentioned in thesentence.
The first action to happen requires past perfect
tense, which means the helping verb HAD
comes before the main verb. The last action to happen requires past
tense.
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Until last Friday, we thought we had lost thebook.
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HISTORICAL PRESENT TENSE
Part of the sentence may be in the past
tense, but another part might be in thepresent tense if that second part is
something that is always true.
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Incorrect: His research was based on
the concept that light traveled faster thansound.
Correct: His research was based on the
concept that light _______ faster than sound.
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LITERARY PRESENT TENSE
When discussing literature the accepted
convention is to discuss the actions in fictionin terms of present tense.
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Incorrect: The main character of the
story disregarded his father’s wishes.
Correct: The main character of the story
_____ his father’s wishes.
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2. Subject-Verb Agreement
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Subject followed by a prepositional
phrase
When the subject of the sentence is followed
by a prepositional phrase, be sure you do notmistake the object of the preposition for the
subject of the sentence.
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The squirrel ran _____ the fence.
A few common prepositions: –
of with at on – for to under over
– from by between beneath
– below above along against
– since before after beside – behind around about across
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You need to eliminate prepositional phrases
from a sentence by crossing them out so thatthey don’t get in your way.
The subject is never part of the prepositional
phrase.
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* A quick word about verbs
Singular verbs end in “s.”
TIP: If you label a singular subject with an
“s” it helps you remember that the verb must
have that “s” on the end.
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* A quick word about subjects
Memorize the following words – they are
always singular:
– each, either, neither, one, -body, -thing
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Practice:
One of the boats is sinking.
– Prepositional phrase:
– Subject?
– Singular or plural subject?
– Verb?
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One more practice:
The boys across the street picks a fight withmy little brother every day.
– Prepositional phrase?
– Subject?
– Singular or plural subject?
– Verb?
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Subject following the expletive THERE
The word there can NEVER be the subject of the sentence.
You must eliminate the word “there,” find the
subject and then make sure the subject and
verb agree.
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Practice:
There is always two men on guard at the
post.
– Cross out?
– Who or what is doing the action in the sentence?
What’s the subject? – Singular or plural subject?
– Verb?
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Subject after the verb
This is a difficult sentence construction
because you must find the subject in itsunusual location.
Remember to eliminate prepositional phrases
to help you.
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Tip: I cannot find the subject!
Locate the verb first and then ask yourself
who or what is performing that action.
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Practice:
Far away from the rest of the crowd standsthe three men.
Eliminate what?What’s the verb?
Who or what is performing that action? Singular or plural subject? Verb?
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Compound subjects joined by or or
nor
Look at the subject that sits closest to theverb and let that subject determine thenumber.
If that subject is singular, then the verb must
be singular. If that subject is plural, then the verb must be
plural.
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Practice:
Neither the girl nor the two boys want to go
eat breakfast.
– Compound subject?
– The subject closest to the verb?
– Singular or plural subject? – Verb?
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One more practice:
Neither the two boys nor the girl wants to go
eat breakfast.
– Compound subject?
– The subject closest to the verb?
– Singular or plural subject? – Verb?
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3. PRONOUN USAGE
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Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
When we use pronouns, we must be sure
that they agree with the antecedent.
If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun
must be singular.
If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must
be plural.
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* A quick word about antecedents
Antecedent: the noun that the pronoun
replaces or to which it refers
Mary went home because she was not
feeling well. – Mary is the noun / also the antecedent
– She is the pronoun that refers back to Mary
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Reminder:
The following pronouns are all considered
singular; you must memorize them:
– each, either, neither, one, body, thing
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Practice:
If someone calls, tell ____________ I leftearly.
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Pronoun as a compound element
When pronouns are used as part of a
compound element, students really get
confused. The solution, however, is quite
simple.
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HINT:
If you will break the sentence apart and read
it twice, once for each word in the compound
element, you will quickly recognize the
correct answer.
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Practice:
Tom and (I, me) went to the movies. – Tom went to the movies.
– _____ went to the movies.
Dad gave Tom and (I, me) the gifts. – Dad gave Tom the gifts.
– Dad gave _____ the gifts.
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Ambiguous Reference
When the antecedent is not clear, there is an
ambiguous reference to the antecedent.
For example: They say in that magazine that
scores have dropped rapidly. – They is vaguely referring to someone, but we have
no clear picture of who it is.
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In order for the sentence to be correct, we
must know clearly the antecedent of that
pronoun.
If the antecedent is not clear, you can’t use
the pronoun.
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RED FLAGS:
“It” and “this” are red flags in regards to this
rule.
If you see either of these words in a
sentence, you should immediately check for
pronoun ambiguity.
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Practice:
The manager told her secretary that she must pay the filing fee.
– Who is she? The manager? The secretary?
Someone else?
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One more practice:
It surprised me when you came home.
– Who or what is it?
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Who vs. which
The pronoun who refers to people.
The pronoun which refers to things.
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Practice:
He is the boy _____ is the editor of theschool newspaper.
This is a math problem _____ is extremely
difficult.
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Shift in person
First person uses I
Second person uses you Third person uses he / she / it
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The rule in standard written English is thatyou may not shift from one person to another
within a sentence.
For example: I think I will be okay, but youhave to be prepared for the unexpected.
A person has to study hard if you want to dowell in school.
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Turn to the chart on page 604
Label Nominative as Subject – the two terms
are interchangeable.
Add “who” to the subject column
Add “whose” to the possessive column
Add “whom” to the objective column
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Three important tips:
Tip 1: Subject pronouns follow the verb “to
be” – This is she. It was I.
Tip 2: Object pronouns follow prepositions. – Between you and me.
Tip 3: Comparing two? Use subjectpronouns. – She is better dressed than he.
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4. DOUBLE NEGATIVES
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A double negative is TWO negative
expressions applied to the same idea.
HINT: when you see the contraction “n’t”
used in a sentence, immediately check for
this rule being broken.
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Common negative expressions:
No Hardly
Not ScarcelyNothing Nowhere
None Nobody
No one Neither
Never
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Practice:
I haven’t seen nobody I don’t want no help.
We don’t have hardly any.
I can’t scarcely see.
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5. Idioms
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An idiom is an expression in which the words
have developed a special meaning in relation
to each other. This meaning is destroyed if
some part of the related group of words is
omitted or if some word not commonly a part
of the idiom is introduced.Most idioms consist of a key word and one or
more prepositions.
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For example:
We are angry with a person… not angry at
him.
We comply with a request, not comply to a
request.
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So what do you do?
You will want to take a look at the list of
common idiomatic expressions on page 608
of your binders.
You will need to memorize any of these with
which you are not already familiar.
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Practice:
Her blue dress is different _________ the red
one.
After hearing the story, Jane was concerned
_____ the problem.
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Her blue dress is different FROM the redone.
After hearing the story, Jane was concerned
WITH the problem.
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You all give it a try….
Practice one: Separate the correct forms
from the faulty forms.
Practice two: Match the correct preposition
into the idiomatic expression.
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6. Passive Voice
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Keep in mind that the writing section of the
SAT is evaluating your knowledge of
FORMAL, standard English.
SAT test creators prefer ACTIVE voice over
passive voice.
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Active vs. Passive Voice
Active voice occurs when the subject of the
sentence performs the action.
Passive voice occurs when the subject
receives the action.
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Example:
Active voice: Tom hit the ball
Passive voice: Tom was hit by the ball.
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A comment about passive voice:
Keep in mind that passive voice is not wrong,
it is simply not the preferred sentence
structure of the SAT creators and most
English teachers.
If choice A is in passive voice and choice C isin active voice – the answer in active voice
will always be considered the “right” answer.
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Practice:
Which is the active voice (and therefore the
best) sentence?
– A delicious meal was cooked by Mary.
– Mary cooked a delicious meal.
– What can you notice about each?
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What you should have noticed…
Was = form of the verb “to be” – (is, am, was, were, be, being, been = forms of the
verb “to be”) – It is impossible to create the passive voice unless
the writer uses a “to be” verb.
By Mary = indication of passive voice
– If “by so-and-so” is used or could naturally beadded after the verb, your sentence is in passivevoice
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Passive or Active Voice?
Jeremy stood beside the road.
The man was told not to utter a sound. The pilot flew the plane.
In the moonlight, the couple danced the
tango.
My car has been driven to Dallas.
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7. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
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* Misplaced Modifiers
Modifying phrases should be placed as near
as possible to the words they modify.
If they are not, they often distort intended
meaning of the sentence and add unintended
humor.
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Example:
Incorrect: The boy saw the red car looking
out the window.
– As written, what is the sentence actually saying?
– Correct: Looking out the window, the boy saw thered car.
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Single word modifiers
Remember that the placement of a single
modifying word changes the meaning of the
sentence.
– I only saw Janet.
– Only I saw Janet. – I saw only Janet.
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Practice:
The man saw the car swimming in the lake.
My dad only gave me five dollars for the trip.
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Dangling Modifiers
A dangling modifier is a phrase or clause that
does not clearly modify any word in the
sentence.
This kind of error makes the meaning of a
sentence absurd.
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Example:
Solving the case, one important clue was
overlooked. – (Who solved the case? The clue?)
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Practice:
Climbing the tree, a bird’s nest was found.
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Tip:
When sentences begin with an introductoryphrase followed by a comma, you should first
look at the word following the comma to seeif it is being accurately described by theintroductory phrase.
– While talking to the officer, the dog ran betweenhis legs. (really, the dog was talking to theofficer?)
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8. Parallelism
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Parallelism is about consistency.
If a sentence begins with one construction
and suddenly shifts to another, it is lacking in
parallel structure. These shifts may occur in
the person, number, voice or tense of theverb, or in the kind of verbal phrase, or in the
type of modifier used.
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Example:
He likes hiking, boating, and to run.
– He likes hiking, boating, and running.
– He likes to hike, to boat, and to run.
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Practice:
Tell me his name and where he lives.
I saw how he held the bat, how he hit the
ball, and then he ran to first base.
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Compared and contrasted ideas:
Dancing no longer interests me as much as
to go skiing. – Dancing no longer interests me as much as skiing.
The woman was praised more for her beauty
than for the way she behaved.
– The woman was praised more for her beauty thanfor her behavior.
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9. Sentence Structure
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Fragments
A fragment is a part of a sentence that does
not express a complete thought.
When you see fragments on the SAT, they
will be in the test format for revising
sentences.
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Run-on Sentences
A run-on sentence is actually two separate
sentences that fail to be separated by the
proper punctuation.
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Comma Splice: the fancy run-on
A run-on can be created by putting a comma
between the two sentences.
This is a common error that SAT knows
many people believe a good fix to a run-on.
Don’t fall for their attempt to “get you.” Knowthat comma splices are still run-ons and are
always wrong.
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Correcting run-on sentences:
A period can be added to the end of the first
complete thought, and the first letter of the
second complete thought will need to becapitalized.
A semicolon can be added between the two
thoughts.
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Correcting continued
A comma plus a FANBOYS can be placedbetween the two complete thoughts.
– Note: make sure an appropriate FANBOYS isused as SAT likes to trick you here as well
– and indicates addition
– but indicates contrast – or indicates choice
– therefore indicates result
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Correcting continued
A semicolon – conjunctive adverb – comma
between the two complete thoughts. – For example:
I tried to finish the exam before the bell; however, I
couldn’t do it.
– Some common conjunctive adverbs include:however, consequently, moreover, therefore,
nevertheless, otherwise, for example, that is,
furthermore
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A note about conjunctive adverbs
If you are attempting to separate two
complete thoughts using a conjunctive
adverb remember that using a comma beforethe conjunctive adverb (instead of the
required semicolon) results in a run-on
sentence.
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Practice:
I saw the man in the store he was veryhandsome.
I saw the man in the store, he was veryhandsome.
I saw the man in the store. He was veryhandsome.
I saw the man in the store; he was veryhandsome.
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Practice continued:
I saw the man in the store, and he was veryhandsome.
I saw the man in the store, but he was veryhandsome.
I saw the man in the store; moreover, he wasvery handsome.
I saw the man in the store, therefore, he wasvery handsome.
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10. Coordination and Subordination
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Coordination
Has to do with joining ideas of equal rank in
sentences.
Generally we use the coordinating
conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
The problem we face with coordination is
making sure that the relationship betweenthe two ideas is accurately expressed.
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Practice:
Food is adequate in the summer_________
in the winter a good supply is not available.
– Which of the following would fit in the blank? A. , and
B. , but
C. ; however,
D. ; therefore,
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Unequal Ideas?
If two unequal ideas are joined as though
they should have equal emphasis, we have a
problem with coordination.
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Example:
John Blair is a native of Texas, and he was theguest speaker for the meeting.
– These two ideas are not really related and arecertainly not of equal importance.
– They should not be joined with a conjunction thatsuggests that they are equal.
–
One way to correct this problem is throughsubordination.
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Subordination
We take the sentence of lesser importance
and make it into a subordinate clause.
Subordinate clauses begin with a
subordinate conjunction (after, as, before,
since, until, when, while, because, although,if, unless)
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For example:
With a subordinate clause: – John Blair, who is a native of Texas, was the
guest speaker for the meeting.
Use an appositive
– John Blair, a native of Texas, was the guestspeaker for the meeting.
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Practice:
Sue cannot pay her credit card bill, and she
still charges her merchandise to her account.
– Although Sue cannot pay her credit card bill, she
still charges merchandise to her account.
– ** pages 632 – 633 for more practice
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11. Punctuating with Colons
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Most likely you are familiar with colons being
used to introduce lists; however, there are a
couple of more sophisticated uses with whichyou need to be familiar.
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A colon is appropriate to use for separating
two sentences when the second sentence is
an explanation of the first.
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Tip:
An easy way to recognize whether or not a
colon is appropriate in this kind of
construction is to ask the question WHY? between the two sentences. If the second
sentence answers that question, then it is an
explanation of the first sentence.
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For example:
I was unhappy to hear that you had left town
so early.
Why?
(Because) I was hoping we would be able tospend more time together.
So…..
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I was unhappy to hear that you had left town
early: I was hoping we would be able to
spend more time together.
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Practice:
The young boy was excited about visiting his
grandmother: she had promised to take him
to the amusement park.
The reasons for his success are obvious: he
is intelligent, personable, and responsible.
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Long, formal statement or quotation
Another appropriate time to use a colon is
before a long, formal statement or quotation.
In this situation you should note thatquotation marks are NOT required.
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For example:
The famous words of Patrick Henry are
relevant even today: Is life so dear, or peace
so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!
I know not what course others make take;
but, as for me, give me liberty or give me
death!
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Congratulations!
You have now been introduced to all 11
grammar rules.