I’m sitting in Starbucks right now looking at your test for Monday, and I wanted to give you a few more hints about what you can do to be prepared. Although the test will be multiple choice, there will be all different kinds of questions. You will need to be able to…

• match the term for a part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, preposition, interjection, and article) to its definition.
• identify different parts of speech as used in a paragraph (common noun, proper noun, verb, adjective, adverb, personal pronoun, possessive pronoun, coordinating conjunction, subordinating conjunction, preposition, definite article, and indefinite article).
• identify what kind of error is present in a sentence.
• complete sentences by choosing the correct form of a pronoun and a verb.
• understand the difference between “for” as a conjunction and “for” as a preposition.
• understand the difference between “to” when it is used as part of an infinitive (“to run,” “to jump”) and “to” when it is used as a preposition.
• know the differences between coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions.
• understand that all of the forms of “to be” count as verbs.
• identify abstract nouns.
• identify whether a verb is in past, present, or future tense.
• know what a linking verb is.
• know what transitive and intransitive verbs are.
• understand how the emphatic form of a verb changes its meaning.
• know when to add a comma in between a series of two or more adjectives.
• know when to use “farther” and when to use “further.”
• understand how using an adjective instead of an adverb to describe a verb is incorrect.
• know why skillful writers do not use unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.
• revise sentences for errors, including:
  • incorrect capitalization of proper/common nouns.
  • spelling of plural forms of nouns.
  • gender bias.
  • incorrect conjugation of irregular verbs.

Again, I just want to emphasize that I very deliberately did not give you any reading this weekend because I want you to make sure that you are ready to do well on your test! We talked about this in class, but again, here are all of the resources that are at your disposal to help you do your best:

• your parts of speech review

• the notes and exercises in your blue folder

• the lessons on the grammar portion of the website

• Khan Academy

• the website ChompChomp