2015-07-20 Writing: capitals and commas

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
---
Homework: p. 91 practice 10 - decide if each one is a fragment or a complete sentence (F or S)
(If you were absent on Thursday, you also need to write a paragraph with instructions to complete a task.)
---
p. 97 : more capitalization rules for English
Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, etc. - “capital” and “lower-case” (or sometimes “big” and “small”) letters

Always capitalize the first word of a sentence, the pronoun “I”, and proper nouns.

North America, but, “Drive north for three miles.”

We live in the Northeast. There’s a university called Northeastern here. Go northeast to get there.
---
p. 98 - with a partner correct the capitalization mistakes in the letter
---
You should go ask, Mom. (You’re talking to your mom, and for you her name is “Mom”. You’re telling her to go ask someone.)
You should go ask Mom. (You’re talking to your brother or sister, and you both call your mother “Mom”.)
You should go ask your mom. (You’re talking to someone who is not your sibling, and you use “mom” to refer to the relationship, not to name the person.)
---
The comma before “and” in a series is called the serial comma (or Oxford comma).
It is optional, but you should be consistent (always use it, or never use it).

I invited my sisters, Joan, and Mary. = my sisters + Joan + Mary

I invited my sisters, Joan and Mary. = my sisters + Joan + Mary, OR: my sisters (Joan and Mary)
---
p. 100 - with a partner add commas where necessary in the paragraphs