Day 1

"Shall I Compare Thee. . . " Skills and Explanations

The Suffix -ableWhen added to a word ending in "e" the suffix -able, keep the -e in the stem.Changeable not changable.

Use of a Dash for SummaryWhen you summarize material that you have just stated in a sentence, put the summary off from the rest of the sentence with a dash.

NumeralsNumerals are numbers written out as numbers and not words

Numbers through One HundredNumbers under one hundred are written out as words and not numerals.

Day 2

Must of, should of, could of, would ofThese are incorrect. They are written the way they sound as contractions, but they should be the following:

must have (must've)should have (should've)could have (could've)would have (would've).

InterjectionAn interjection is a word or phrase used to show emotion. They are usually followed by an exclamation point.

Punctuation inside Quotation MarksWhen a period or comma follows a word, phrase or sentence enclosed in quotation marks, the period or comma is located inside the quotation marks. If the sentence enclosed in quotation marks is a question, the question mark goes inside the quotation marks.

Day 3Pronoun Agreement with AntecedentA pronoun must agree in number with the noun to which it refers. Number means singular or plural. If something is singular and the gender of the antecedent is not known, use he or she.Doctors know that they must play fair with their patients when playing chess.Doctors is plural and they is plural.A student must study a great deal to do well on his or her test.Student is singular with a unknown gender; therefore, use his or her.

Use of a Dash With InterrupterWhen a list that uses commas interrupts a sentence, set it aside with dashes.My sister--a wife, mother and pharmacist--sells drugs.

Direct AddressDirect address is when a person is called to by name in a piece of writing--usually in dialogue. This is set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas.Frank, why did you eat that horse?Who do you think is evil, Mirabella?What, Fidel, is your problem?

Day 4

Use of EllipsisIf you leave words out of a quotation, use an ellipsis mark to indicate the omitted words. If this occurs at the end of the sentence, add a period, creating four periods. If the words omitted occur at the beginning of the quote, place the ellipsis at the beginning and start the quote with lower case letters. Remember that this punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.

Combining SentencesIn order not to seem repetitious, it is a good idea to combine sentences when possible, unless you have a good reason not to do so.

Day 5Run-on Sentence: Comma SpliceRun-on sentences happen when there are two independent clauses not separated by any form of punctuation at all or by an incorrect form such as a comma by itself. Comma splices are a type of run-on sentence that happens when there are two independent clauses separated only by a comma. The error can be corrected by adding a conjunction after the comma, a period, a semicolon, or a colon to separate the two sentences.Run-on Sentence: Corrected with Separate SentencesIf a run-on sentence has clauses that cannot be subordinated or that are not highly related, split the run-on into separate sentences.Possession of Nouns Form the possessive of singular nouns by adding 's. For a plural noun ending in -s, just add an apostrophe after the -s. For nouns ending in s, add an 's. Some grammarians suggest that you should only add an apostrophe (without an s) if a proper noun would sound awkward if pronounced with -iz as in Jesusiz (Jesus's).

Use of Colon after Verb or PrepositionDo not use a colon after a verb or a preposition. Add the words the following to the sentence if you really want to use a colon.

Sally ate: the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. IncorrectSally ate the following: the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. CorrectSally ate the potatoes, the tomatoes and the petunia. CorrectMilo went under: the bridge and the highway. IncorrectMilo went under the following: the bridge and the highway. CorrectMilo went under the bridge and the highway. Correct.