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October 19, 2011  

Basic Parts of a Sentence

These are very basic parts of a sentence.

 

Subject-  Ask yourself “Who or what is this sentence about? Who or what is performing the action?”

verb- action word- ask yourself “What is being done?”

object- Ask yourself “To what or to whom is the action being done?”

 

The easiest way to determine the parts of a sentence are to ask yourself those questions.

 

Example:

Tony read the book.

Who is performing the action? Tony is. So “Tony” is the subject.

What did the subject (Tony) do? Read. So “read” is the verb.

To whom or what was the action applied? So, what did Tony read? The book. So “the book” is the object.

 

 

March 19, 2011  

your vs you’re

You’re going to regret bringing your mother-in-law.

your- belongs to you

Is that your dog?


you’re- you are

You’re not making sense.

March 18, 2011  

here vs hear vs hair

Over here, we hear that you like red hair.

here- where you are

I am here.


hear- the intake of sound

I can hear you singing.


hair- grows on your head

She has brown hair.

Featured  

they’re vs there vs their

They’re there with their friend.

They’re- they are

They’re here.

There- a place

Over there.


Their- belongs to them

Their car.

Featured  

I vs Me

I vs. me- The easiest way to know what to use is to say the sentence in your head without the other person.

 

 

I like it when it’s just me = Lori and I like it when it’s just her and me.

You’re more likely to use “I” at the beginning of the sentence (as the subject) and “me” at the end (as the object)

  • Who like when it’s just her and me?- Lori and I = Subject

  • What do Lori and I do-like it? = verb

  • What do Lori and I like?- when it’s just her and me= Object

Another good example of taking out the other person to figure out what to use:

I don’t know if you’re talking to her or I. (incorrect) take out her and you’ll see
I don’t know if you’re talking to I. Now it doesn’t sound right
I don’t know if you’re talking to me. That sounds right now add in the other person.
I don’t know if you’re talking to her or me. (correct)

March 5, 2011  

aloud vs allowed

I’m not allowed to say that aloud.

 

aloud- to say something out loud so that others can hear you

Will you please read that aloud for the whole class?

 

 

allowed- be permitted to do something

I’m not allowed to stay out past curfew.

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then vs than

Then- used when talking about time or what is next.

Go to the store then go home.


Than-use when expressing a comparison.

I have more than you.

March 3, 2011  

farther vs further

farther- refers to a distance; think of “far” meaning distance

Florida is farther away from Canada than Ohio.


further- refers to time, extending or adding

Let’s not worry about it further.

I need to study this further.

After three hours, we should be further along.

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set vs sit

Set- you set something else down- use set when referring to an inanimate object.

Go ahead and set that on the table.


Sit- you sit yourself down (or order someone else to sit themselves down)

Sit down on the bench next to your brother.

February 28, 2011  

straw that broke the camel’s back/ the final straw

straw that broke the camel’s back- the final thing that pushes someone to become angry or unable to handle any more

Originated from a Arab proverb of a camel being overloaded to the point of breaking its back (not much of a stretch there). While today it is usually used to mean anything that goes one step too far but in it’s origins it was meant to show how the addition of even something seemingly inconsequential can cause a complete failure or overload.

The Final Straw/ The Last Straw- both of these are directly in reference to being the additional straw that caused the breaking of the back (so to speak).

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