1. Grammar for Life Rules and Examples

2. Master your modifiers: Jose explained what the essay he wrote was about in Spanish. In Spanish, Jose explained what the essay he wrote was about.  A modifier is a word or group of words that modifies, or describes, another word or group of words in a sentence. A modifier should always appear next to the word or words it modifies.

3. Vary Your Sentences (Rule 1) At the beginning of the sentence, put an adverb, a word that adds description to a verb. – Incorrect: Dorothy skipped down the yellow brick road. – Correct: Merrily, Dorothy skipped down the yellow brick road.

4. Vary Your Sentences (Rule 2) To add pizzazz to your writing, reconstruct your sentence structure by following this important rule! Move a prepositional phrase to the beginning of the sentence. Incorrect Sentence: David walked to school at 7:00 A.M. so he would not be late for class. Correct Sentence: At 7:00 A.M., David walked to school so he would not be late for class.

5.  Incorrect: I made cookies on Saturday. They were delicious!  Correct: I made cookies on Saturday, and they were delicious! Rule #3: Link two sentences to form a compound sentence.

6. Vary Your Sentences (Rule # 4) Combine two or more sentences by placing a clause in the middle of the sentence. Use commas to separate the clause from the rest of the sentence. Incorrect: Baseball is my favorite sport. It is fun to play. Correct: Baseball, my favorite sport, is fun to play.

7. Redundancy Rule- to keep your writing clear and efficient, it is important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Incorrect: This is the best, greatest burrito I have ever eaten. Correct: This is the best burrito I have ever eaten.

8. Comma Sense Rule #4- Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off words that are not essential elements of the sentence. WRONG: Your gym teacher Mr. C is teaching, us basketball. CORRECT: Your gym teacher, Mr. C, is teaching us basketball.

9. (Rule #3) Use commas to separate items in a series of three or more things O My favorite, movies are, Bed knobs, Broomsticks Slap-shot and, Sandlot.,, O My favorite movies are Bed knobs and Broomsticks, Slap-shot, and Sandlot. Comma Sense

10. Use a comma after an introductory element. RULE: After an introductory phrase, use a comma to separate both sentences that can stand on their own. WRONG! When I was watching Wicked I was thoroughly impressed by the talent that was showcased. RIGHT! While I was watching Wicked, I was thoroughly impressed by the talent that was showcased.,

11. Rule #1- Use a comma before a conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) to join two independent clauses. Incorrect Example: The football game was interrupted with bad weather yet we still had a great time. Correct Example: The football game was interrupted with bad weather, yet we still had a great time.