Reviewing Basic Grammar uses a step-by-step approach to combine an intense grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing.

Preface xiii CHAPTER 1 Getting Started: Computers, Grammar, Sentences, and Paragraphs 1 Standard English: Who Needs It? 1 Writing with the Computer 3 No Worries 4 Writing Sentences 4 Editing Exercise 4 The Paragraph: An Overview 6 Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs 7 Introductions 7 Conclusions 9 Writing Paragraphs 11 CHAPTER 2 The Parts of Speech: A Review 12 The Noun 13 The Pronoun 13 The Verb 15 The Adjective 18 The Adverb 21 The Preposition 24 The Conjunction 26 The Interjection 28 A Word of Caution 29 Editing Exercises 29 Writing Sentences: The Parts of Speech 30 Review Test 2-A: Parts of Speech 32 Review Test 2-B: Parts of Speech 34 Writing Paragraphs: The Topic Sentence and Unity in the Paragraph 36 CHAPTER 3 Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 44 The Subject and the Verb 44 Finding the Verb 45 Action Verbs 46 Linking Verbs 47 Words Mistaken for the Verb 49 Finding the Subject 52 Subjects and Other Words in the Sentence 52 Simple and Complete Subjects 53 Compound Subjects 53 Subjects in Inverted Sentences 54 Subjects with Verbs in Active and Passive Voice 55 Subjects and Prepositional Phrases 57 Subjects and Verbs in Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Sentences 59 Editing Exercises 62 Writing Sentences: Identifying Subjects and Verbs 64 Review Test 3-A: Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 65 Review Test 3-B: Finding the Subject and the Verb in the Sentence 67 Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Chronological Order 69 CHAPTER 4 Making the Subject and Verb Agree 72 Subject-Verb Agreement 72 Editing Exercises 83 Writing Sentences: Subject and Verb Agreement 84 Review Test 4-A: Making the Subject and Verb Agree 86 Review Test 4-B: Making the Subject and Verb Agree 88 Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Spatial Order 90 CHAPTER 5 Common Errors Involving Verbs 93 Regular Verbs 94 Irregular Verbs 95 Suggestions for Using Irregular Verbs 96 Using the Correct Tense 101 A Few Suggestions for Using the Correct Tense 104 Shifts in Tense 106 Two Pairs of Irregular Verbs: Lie and Lay and Sit and Set 109 Lie and Lay 109 Sit and Set 110 Editing Exercises 113 Writing Sentences: The Correct Form of the Verb 115 Review Test 5-A: Common Errors Involving Verbs 116 Review Test 5-B: Common Errors Involving Verbs 118 Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph Through Order of Importance 120 CHAPTER 6 Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 123 The Classes of Pronouns 124 Personal Pronouns 125 Subject Pronouns 125 Object Pronouns 128 Possessive Pronouns 131 Relative Pronouns 132 Who, Which, and That: Special Uses 133 Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns: Pronouns Ending in - self and - selves 134 Some Problems with Pronouns: Who and Whom 135 Editing Exercise 137 Writing Sentences: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 137 Review Test 6-A: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 139 Review Test 6-B: Using the Correct Form of the Pronoun 141 Writing Paragraphs: Coherence in the Paragraph by Using Transitional Words and Phrases 143 CHAPTER 7 Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 148 Agreement in Number 149 Agreement in Person 154 Pronoun Reference 156 Avoiding Sexism in Pronoun Usage 158 Editing Exercises 159 Writing Sentences: Avoiding Common Errors in Pronoun Usage 161 Review Test 7-A: Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 162 Review Test 7-B: Common Errors in Pronoun Agreement and Reference 164 Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Using Examples 166 CHAPTER 8 Compound and Complex Sentences 170 Compound Sentences 171 Punctuating Compound Sentences 173 Complex Sentences 174 Compound-Complex Sentences 177 Three Kinds of Dependent Clauses 177 Editing Exercises 183 Writing Sentences: Using a Variety of Sentence Types 185 Review Test 8-A: Compound and Complex Sentences 186 Review Test 8-B: Compound and Complex Sentences 188 Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Comparison and Contrast 190 CHAPTER 9 Correcting Sentence Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 193 Sentence Fragments 193 Phrases as Fragments 194 Dependent Clauses as Fragments 197 Run-on Sentences 200 Comma-Splices 201 Comma-Splices and Conjunctive Adverbs 203 Editing Exercise 205 Writing Sentences: Avoiding Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 206 Review Test 9-A: Correcting Sentence Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 207 Review Test 9-B: Correcting Sentence Fragments, Run-on Sentences, and Comma-Splices 209 Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Classification 211 CHAPTER 10 Confused Sentences 214 Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 214 Illogical Comparisons 220 Confusing Adjectives and Adverbs 222 Using Adjectives after Linking Verbs 222 Using Adverbs to Modify Verbs 223 Parallel Structure 224 Editing Exercises 227 Writing Sentences: Avoiding Confused Sentences 229 Review Test 10-A: Confused Sentences 230 Review Test 10-B: Confused Sentences 232 Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Process and Analysis 234 CHAPTER 1 1 Punctuation 237 End Marks 237 The Period 238 The Question Mark 238 The Exclamation Point 239 Internal Punctuation 240 The Comma 240 Additional Uses of the Comma 245 Omitting Commas 249 The Semicolon 250 The Colon 251 Parentheses 253 The Dash 253 Quotation Marks 255 Italics 256 The Hyphen 258 The Apostrophe 259 Numbers 262 Editing Exercises 264 Writing Sentences: Using Correct Punctuation 265 Review Test 11-A: Punctuation 266 Review Test 11-B: Punctuation 268 Writing Paragraphs: Developing a Paragraph by Cause and Effect 271 CHAPTER 1 2 Capitalization 274 Capitalization 274 Editing Exercise 280 Writing Sentences: Using Correct Capitalization 281 Review Test 12-A: Capitalization 282 Review Test 12-B: Capitalization 284 APPENDIX A A Checklist for the ESL Writer 286 Learning to Use Articles and Quantifiers 287 Articles ( a/an and the ) 287 Quantifiers 291 Detailed Contents xi Problems with Verbs 294 The Twelve Verb Tenses 294 Tips for Choosing the Right Tense 298 Learning to Use Verb Phrases 303 Learning to Use Adjectives and Adverbs 304 Common Expressions 306 Using Used To 307 Using When and If 308 Using Since and For 308 Using - s and - es 308 Problems with Word Order and Unnecessary Words 309 Adjectives 309 Adverbs 310 Repetition of the Subject 310 Other Problems with Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation 311 Additional Reference Books for ESL Students 311 APPENDIX B A Brief Guide for Avoiding Errors in Grammar and Usage 312 A Glossary of Usage 316 A Glossary of Grammatical Terms 321 Answers to Selected Exercises 329 Credits 334 Index 335