A S H L E Y H A N DY , B RYC E H A N S O N , N O A H D E N D I N G E R

CHAPTER 8: CHECK FOR CORRECT COPY

5 KEY POINTS

• Use commas correctly.• Make subjects and verbs agree.• Make pronouns and antecedents agree.• Check use of apostrophes.• Check for other common errors.

USE COMMAS CORRECTLY

• When a clause is not needed to understand a sentence, use commas.• Example: The announcement, which was sent out

yesterday, informed employees of a new insurance plan.• The blue part of the sentence was not needed, so you use

commas.• Commas are used to…• Set off introductory word groups• Join two sentences with a coordinating conjunction• Set off all nonessential or explanatory elements• Set apart two or more adjectives that equally modify the

same noun

MAKE SUBJECTS AND VERBS AGREE

• Compound subjects: your verb will depend on the coordinating conjunction between your subjects• Example: If the conjunction is “and,” the verb must be

plural.• The workers and supervisor agree on the new contract.

• Example: If the conjunction is “or” or “nor” the verb must agree with the subject nearest to it.• Either the supervisor or the workers agree on the new

contract.• Neither the workers nor the supervisor agrees on the new

contract.

MAKE SUBJECTS AND VERBS AGREE CONTINUED

• Collective nouns: most often use a singular verb, but can use a plural verb if the collective noun refers to an individual. Some examples of collective nouns are team, committee, and group.• Example: The team makes good decisions.• Example: His team members are mostly accountants and

salespeople.

MAKE PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS AGREE

• When writing, you must remember that your pronouns and antecedents must agree in number and gender.• Example: The participants agreed that they found the

meeting informative.• Example: Bill said that he learned much about the new

routing system.

CHECK USE OF APOSTROPHES

• When should I use apostrophes?• When showing possession.• Person’s ideas (possessive of a singular noun)• Several persons’ thoughts (plural possessive)• Nora, Tim, and Oscar’s idea (possession shared by more than one

noun)• Nora’s, Tim’s, and Oscar’s ideas (possession is individual and not

shared)• When forming contractions.• Cannot = can’t• They have = they’ve

• When forming plurals in special cases.• A’s• #’s

CHECK FOR OTHER COMMON ERRORS

• Don’t shift between point of views.• Don’t shift between tenses.• Difference between good and well.• Good is an adjective used to describe a verb, while well is

an adverb used to describe a verb.• Example: We did a good job.• Example: We did well.

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT?

• They changed the color on one of the pages.• They added in a picture.

SUMMARY

• This chapter was all about checking over your grammar before sending your work.

QUESTIONS

• What is this chapter all about?• Name one reason that commas are used.• What does it mean to make pronouns and

antecedents agree?• When do you use apostrophes?• Name two common errors.

FIN!!