Grammar - Barak Obama 9A

 LANGUAGE ARTS

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Grammar and Usage

In the following sentences, four parts of each sentence are underlined. If you think any one of the underlined parts is incorrect, choose the letter under that part as your answer. If you think the sentence is correct as written, choose (E) as your answer. Please note: read together, all of the sentences in this section make up a story.

1. Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4 1961.  No Error. 

A: “August 4, 1961” The comma (,) is missing.

2. president Obama is the 44^th and current leader of the United States.   No Error.

A: President must be capitalized. PRESIDENT is capitalized when the word comes immediately before a person’s name (ex: “President Barak Obama” or “President Kennedy”). Also, you always capitalize the first word in a sentence—no matter what!

3.  Obama is the first African-american to hold the office.   No Error.

A: AMERICAN must be capitalized.  It is a proper noun. A noun is a person, place, or thing. A proper noun is a noun that refers to a unique entity. A proper noun is more specific than a noun.

4. Born in Honolulu Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School.   No Error.

A: Comma (,) is missing between Honolulu and Hawaii. Always place a comma between a city and a state (ex: “I live in New York, New York” or “I live in Forest Hills, Queens”)

5. Obama were president of the Harvard Law Review.   No Error.

A: Obama WAS not WERE; one WAS but many WERE, Use WAS for singular but use WERE for plural.

6. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his Law Degree.   No Error.

A: No need to capitalize LAW DEGREE because it is not a proper noun. You capitalize “Bachelor of Science” or “Bachelor of Arts,” but you do not capitalize “law degree.” You do capitalize the name of a law school. For example, “Frances Kweller received her law degree from Hofstra Law School and her Bachelor of Science from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education.” You do not need to capitalize something like this: “Frances Kweller went to college and to law school.” Here, there are no proper nouns and you are neither referring to a specific college nor a specific law school.   

7.  He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago law school from 1992 to 2004.   No Error.

A: “Law School” here must be capitalized. Always capitalize a city or state or specific name of a person, place, or thing. For example, “Columbia Law School” is capitalized because it is the specific name of a law school.  

8. He served three terms, representing the 13^th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, running unsuccessful for the United States House of Representatives in 2000. No Error.

A: UNSUCCESSFULLY. Adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. If an adverb answers how and can have an -ly attached to it, place it there. Ex: She runs quickly, speaks softly, and dances gracefully. Don’t drive safe—drive safely!

9. In 2004, Obama recieved national attention during his campaign to represent Illinois in the United States Senate with his victory in the March Democratic Party Primary. No Error.

A: Received is spelled incorrectly. Remember to always place an “i” before an “e” except after “c”.         

10. Obamas keynote address was held at the Democratic National Convention in July and his election to the Senate took place the following November. No Error.

A: “Obamas” is wrong here. There is only one person here (Obama) so you need to say “Obama’s” to show possession. Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.   

11. He began his presidential campaign in 2007, and in 2008, after a close primary campaign between Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won sufficient delegates in the Democratic Party primaries to receive the presidential nomination. No Error.

A: You run AGAINST someone, not between someone. You campaign AGAINST someone, not between someone. Conversely, you are partners WITH someone, not AGAINST someone.  Here, the primary campaign was against Hillary Clinton, not between her.

12. Than, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain in the general election, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009.  No Error.

A: THAN is wrong here. THAN is used for comparison while THEN is used for time sequence. For example, “First THEN second,”  “greater than”. THAN = COMPARE  but THEN = TIME

Also, you use THEN when you refer to something that happened in the past or WILL happen in the future. Remember, use THEN when referring to time sequence ONLY.

13. Nine months after his election, Obama was named the 2009 nobel peace prize laureate.  No Error.

A: Nobel Peace Prize is a proper noun and it must start with a CAPITAL letter.

14. During his first two years in office Obama signed into law economic stimulus legislation in response to the Great Recession in the form of the American Recovery Act. No Error.                                                                                                                     

A: You need a comma after “office” and before “Obama” because it is separating two clauses. You use the word DURING in this sentence because it is explaining that Obama singed these legislations into laws.  To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more. Use a comma to separate two adjectives when the word and can be inserted between them. Use a comma when an -ly adjective is used with other adjectives (ex: He was a happy, healthy boy).

15. Obama also sign the Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.  No Error.

A: SIGN is wrong here. Obama signed this in the past. Use the past tense of “sign”

 16. Other major domestic initiatives in his first term included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as "Obamacare," the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and the Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. No Error.

A: a colon (:) is missing here. A colon generally is used to indicate that a list of three or more will follow. A colon (:) is used before a list or an explanation that is preceded by a clause that can stand by itself. Think of the colon as a gate, inviting you to go in. Colons are also used to separate titles and subtitles (Barak Obama: The Audacity of Hope)

17.  In foreign policy, Obama ended United States military involvement in the Iraq War, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START Arms Control Treaty with Russia, order U.S. military involvement in Libya, and commanded the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. No Error.

A: Obama ORDERED not ORDER. He did this in the past.

18. In November, 2010, the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives. No Error.

A: You do not need a comma after “November” and before “2010”. You need a comma when you have a specific date (“November 16, 2010”).

19. Then, Obama signed the Budget Control Act Of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.  No Error.

A: You do not need to capitalize “of.”  In a title, always capitalize the first and last word. Capitalize the verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns and adjectives. You do not need to capitalize articles (the, a, an) unless the article is the very first word in the title.

20. Obama was re-elected United States President in November 2012, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney, and was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2013. No Error.

A: No Error.

Grammar- Stuyvesant - 8A

 LANGUAGE ARTS

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Grammar and Usage

In the following sentences, four parts of each sentence are underlined. If you think any one of the underlined parts is incorrect, choose the letter under that part as your answer. If you think the sentence is correct as written, choose (E) as your answer. Please note: read together, all of the sentences in this section make up a story.

1. Stuyvesant High School is common referred to as “Stuy.”  No Error.

A: COMMON should be replaced with COMMONLY.

2. It is one of the nine Specialized High Schools in new york city.  No Error.

A: NEW YORK CITY needs to be capitalized.

3. Operated by the New York City Department of Education, these schools offers tuition-free accelerated academics to New York City residents.  No Error.

A: OFFERS should be replaced with OFFER. These schools OFFER. Remember, one school offers, but many schools offer.

4. The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is the only way to gain expectance into one of the Specialized High Schools.  No Error.

A: Acceptance not expectance!  To accept is to receive, take, admit, or consent. To expect is to anticipate.

5. Stuyvesant traditionally holds the higher cutoff score for the SHSAT.  No Error.

A: HIGHER should be replaced with HIGHEST. Use an ER ending only when you are sure that you have two or more. Use an EST ending when you have three or more. When not definite, stick to EST endings. : (“He is the fastest runner”)

6. In November of 8^th grade, over 30,000 potential incoming freshmen take the 150- minute exam, roughly 800 of who are accepted.  No Error.

A:  WHO should be replaced with WHOM. Whom is never the subject of the verb. Even experienced writers stumble over when to use “who” or “whom” (ex: “To WHOM it may concern”) “Who” and “whom” are both pronouns. Use “Who” when you are referring to the subject of a clause and “whom” when you are referring to the object of a clause.

7. Stuyvesant students undertake a college preparatory curriculum that includes: english, history, biology, chemistry and physics, mathematics, foreign languages.  No Error.

A: English, Spanish, French are always capitalized. There is no need to capitalize English, math, physics, so on and so forth. No Error.

8. In addition Stuyvesant students take a semester of each:  introductory art, music, health, technical drawing, computer science, and two lab-based technology courses. No Error.

A: You always need a comma after a transition. A transition is the process or period of changing from one state to another.

9. Students can select from fifty-five Advanced Placement courses and over fifty electives, such as Wall Street, System Level Programming, molecular biology, or science writing. No Error.

A: A colon (:) means that a list or three or more will follow.

10. Most students complete the New York City regents courses by junior year and took calculus during their senior year. No Error.

A: TOOK should be replaced with TAKE because students “complete” their courses. You need to always match your tenses. No Error,

11. stuyvesant High School offers math courses, including differential equations for the more advanced students.  No Error.

A: always start a sentence with a capital letter!

12. Stuyvesant is noted for it’s strong academic programs, having produced notable alumni including four Nobel laureates. No Error.

A: IT’S should be replaced with ITS. IT’s is a contraction for IT IS. ITS is possession.

13. U.S. News and World Report ranked Stuyvesant as the fifty-eight best high school nationwide in their 2012 list of America's best "Gold-Medal" public high schools.  No Error.

A: Fifty EighTH. Remember: First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth… fifty-eighth

14. Stuyvesant has been ranked as the fifth best in their 2012 list of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) schools. No Error.

A: THEIR IS wrong here. Stuyvesant is a SINGLE school, no matter how many thousands of students attend. Use ITS not THEIR. ITS refers to one school, like Stuyvesant. THEIR refers to many schools, more than one.

15. Stuyvesant students regularly place as semi-finalists and finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. No Error.

A: No Error.

16.  In the most recent competitions, Stuyvesant sent more semi-finalists then any other school in the nation two years in a row, with 13 semi-finalists in 2012, and 10 semi-finalists in 2013. No Error.

A: THEN is wrong here. Use THAN for comparison but THEN for time sequence.  

17. Stuyvesant moved into a new waterfront building in Battery Park City in 1992.  No Error.

A: No Error.

18. The 15^th Street building remains in use as of 2012, as "Old Stuyvesant Campus," and houses the Institute for Collaborative Education, the High School For Health Professions and Human Services.”  No Error.

A: FOR does not need to be capitalized. Everything else with regards to the name of the high school does require capitalization, but FOR does not.  In general, capitalize the first word in the title and capitalize all proper nouns. Lowercase “to” as part of an infinitive. Lowercase all articles (“a” and “the”). Lowercase all prepositions (ex: “to” “at” “in” “but”)  

19.  During the 2003–2004 school year, Stuyvesant celebrated the 100th anniversary of it’s founding with a full year of activities.  No Error.

A: IT’S is WRONG here. Use IT’S when you want to say IT IS. Otherwise use ITS to show possession. Here, Stuyvesant High School is in possession.

20. In recent years keynote graduation speakers have included: future Attorney General Eric Holder (2001), former President Bill Clinton (2002), United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan (2004), and Late Night comedian Conan O'Brien (2006).  No Error.

A: You need a comma after YEARS and before KEYNOTE.                              

grammar- ice cream 7A

LANGUAGE ARTS

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Grammar and Usage

In the following sentences, four parts of each sentence are underlined. If you think any one of the underlined parts is incorrect, choose the letter under that part as your answer. If you think the sentence is correct as written, choose (E) as your answer. Please note: read together, all of the sentences in this section make up a story.

1. An ice cream cake is a cake made off ice cream. No Error.

A: OFF is wrong here. The cake is made WITH or made FROM. The word OFF is the opposite of ON (ie: I turned off the lights)

2. A popular form is a three-layer cake, with a layer of ice cream among two layers of cake. No Error.

A: AMONG is wrong here. Use AMONG whenever you have a set of three or more. Use between when you definitely have two. Here, you see “two” so use between. 

3. The term may also simple refer to ice cream presented in the form of a cake, or a combination of ice cream and cookies. No Error.

A: SIMPLE is wrong here. Use simply instead. (ie: “Drive safely” “speak softly” “simply refer” ) You need an –LY ending for description. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. (ie: red apple, warm sun, silly me) An adverb can modify a verb, another adverb, or a whole sentence. ie: she did very BADLY on her test à Here, “very” modifies the adverb “badly.” Another example is : “Fortunately, she did better on the subsequent exam” à Here, “Fortunately” modifies the whole sentence. Many adverbs are just adjectives with the –LY suffix.

4. In a typical assembly, the cake component is baked in the normal way, cut to shape if necessary, and is than frozen. No Error.

A: THAN is wrong here. Use THAN for comparison, but use THEN for time sequence. “She did better THAN I did on my test” “First THEN second”

5. After, ice cream is shaped in a mold as appropriate, and these components is then assembled while frozen. No Error.

A. IS is wrong here. Use ARE instead. One component IS; many components ARE. Use IS for singular and ARE for plural. The basic rule here is that a singular object takes a singular verb while a plural object takes a plural verb.

6. Whipped cream is often used for frosting.  No Error.

A: No Error

7. The whipped ice cream serve as a complement to the two other textures. No Error.

A: SERVE is wrong here. One ice cream SERVES; many SERVE. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by “and”  (ex: the car and bike ARE my means of transportation). By the way, a “compliment” is a flattering remark. However when something “compliments” something else, that means they go well together.

8. Many typical frostings will not adhere successful to frozen cake. No Error.

A: Successful is wrong here. You should use ”successfully”

9. The whole cake is then kept frozen until shortly before they is served. No Error.

A: THEY is wrong here. “cake” is singular, and is an “it” not a “they.” There IS only one cake here mentioned, not multiple cakes.  More examples when you should use IT are: restaurant, bar, union, center, community, museum, agency, Facebook, museum, FBI, NYPD, church, radio station, city, state, country, and nation)

10. Shortly after the cake begins to thaw it can be easily sliced. No Error.

A: COMMA is necessary between “thaw” and “it.” An introductory clause is a dependent clause that provides background information or “sets” the stage for the main part of the sentence. For example, “If they want to win, athletes must practice every day.”  Introductory clauses start with adverbs like “after,” “although,” “as,” ”because,” “before,” and so forth.  

11.  Ice cream cake is a popular party food, often eaten at birthdays and weddings, particularly in North America and australia. No Error.

A: Australia is the name of a country and must be capitalized. Capitalizaion is the writing of a word with its first letter in an upper case letter.

12. Ice cream cake is not as well known in europe. No Error.

A: Europe is the name of a continent and is capitalized.

13. Ice cream cake were originally made from biscuits and cream. No Error.

A: WERE is wrong here. Ice cream cake WAS made, because it is singular. One cake WAS; many cakes WERE.

14. Victorians made desserts called bombes, who consisted of ice cream and fruit in fancy molds. No Error.

A: WHO is wrong here. Only use WHO for people. Use WHICH to refer t groups or things. A restrictive clause is one that limits or restricts the identity of the subject in some way. Use THAT with restrictive clauses but WHO with non-restrictive clauses. Use WHO when referring to people.

15. Sometimes, these desserts was lined with cake or biscuits. No Error..

A: WAS is wrong here. Use WERE not WAS. One cake WAS; many cakes WERE

16. Ice cream cake recipes dating to the 1870s have also been found. No Error.

A: No Error

17. In 1981  Ilse Silbermann of Silbermann's Ice Cream in San Rafael, California, had the idea of making cakes with ice cream and won California's "Idea of the Year" award which is still displayed in her store today.  No Error.

A: COMMA is missing after 1981. Use a comma to separate the day of the month from the year, and after the year. Also use commas after introductory phrases, causes or phrases that come after the main clause.

18. Ice cream cakes are popular in the united states.  No Error.

A: United States must be capitalized.  Always capitalize the name of a country, city, or state.

19. Carvel has a history of themed cakes advertised on Television, including Fudgie the Whale and Cookie Puss. No Error.

A: Television does not need to be capitalized.

20. Many people enjoy ice cream as a dessert. No Error.

A: No Error.

Grammar- Vietnam 6A

LANGUAGE ARTS

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Grammar and Usage

In the following sentences, four parts of each sentence are underlined. If you think any one of the underlined parts is incorrect, choose the letter under that part as your answer. If you think the sentence is correct as written, choose (E) as your answer. Please note: read together, all of the sentences in this section make up a story.

1. Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, are the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. No Error.

A:  ARE is wrong here. Vietnam is a single country (singular), not plural.  Therefore, IS should be used in place of ARE.

2. With an estimated 90.3 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the eighth-most-populous asian country. No Error.

A:  ASIAN must be capitalized. Asian, not asian.

3. The name Vietnam translate as "Southern Viet" and was first officially adopted in 1802 by Emperor Gia Long and again in 1945 with the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. No Error.

A: The subject of this sentence is the name, which is singular. Therefore, TRANSLATES (a singular verb) should be used.

4. The Country is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east. No Error.

A:  Country is not a proper noun here and should not be capitalized.

5. It’s capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976. No Error.

A: IT’S refers to the contraction of it is, not the possessive form of it. ITS is the possessive from of it and should be used here.

6. The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the resounding vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. No Error.

A:  Vietnamese is a proper noun and must be capitalized. Vietnamese, not vietnamese.

7. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographical and politically into Southeast Asia. No Error.

A: Geographical is wrong here. You need an –LY ending. Sentence should read “Geographically.” An adverb is designed to modify or quantify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb is used primarily to modify a verb.   

8. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the first Indochina War, eventually expelling the french in 1954. No Error.

A: French is a proper noun and must be capitalized. “French”

9: Thereafter Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states. No Error.

A: You need a comma after THEREAFTER. You always need a comma after a transition. A comma indicates a pause in between parts of a sentence.

10:  Conflict among the two sides intensified, with heavy foreign intervention, during the Vietnam War, which ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. No Error.

A: AMONG is wrong here. Use “among” only when dealing with three or more. Use “between” when you are certain that you are dealing with two. Here, the sentence clearly says “two” so you must use “between”

11. Vietnam was then unified under a Communist government, but they was politically isolated and impoverished. No Error.

A: THEY is wrong here. Vietnam is a single country, so you must use IT, not THEY

12.  In 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms, which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. No Error.

A: You need an apostrophe here. “Vietnam’s” path.

13. By the year 2000 the country had established diplomatic relations with most nations. No Error.

A: “By the year 2000, the country” – You need a comma after 2000.  To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups within a series of three or more. Also use a comma to separate two adjectives when the word “and” can be inserted between them. Here, use a comma after phrases of more than three words that begin a sentence. If the phrase has fewer than three words, then the comma is optional.

14. Vietnams economic growth has been among the highest in the world since 2000. No Error.

A: “Vietnam’s” because you need possession here. 

15. Vietnam had the higher Global Growth Generators Index among 11 major economies in 2011. No Error.

A: HIGHER is wrong here. Only use ER endings when you have exactly two. Otherwise use EST endings.

16. It’s successful economic reforms resulted in it joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. No Error.

A: IT’S is wrong here. You must use ITS successful reforms because you need to show a possession (Vietnam’s reforms). You cannot use IT’S because that is a contraction for IT IS.

17.  However, the country still suffer from relatively high levels of income inequality, disparities in healthcare provision, and poor gender equality. No Error.

A: SUFFER is wrong here. The country is ONE country and it is SINGULAR, no matter how many people live in the country. Remember: A family of five IS large! A class of 30 students IS a large class! Focus on the subject. A country with 100,000,000 people IS a large country.

18. As a coastal country Vietnam has many major seaports, including: Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Gai, Qui Nhơn, Vũng Tàu and Nha Trang. No Error.

A: “Country, Vietnam” – the comma is missing here.

19. According to the 2005 National Environmental Present Condition Report, Vietnam is one of twenty-five countries considered to possess a unique high level of biodiversity. No Error.

A: UNIQUE should be replaced with “uniquely.” Remember to use an adjective after the verb, or in this case the infinitive of the verb. “Uniquely” is appropriate here. Remember: “Drive safely,” “Speak softly” 

20: In agricultural genetic diversity, Vietnam is one of the worlds twelve original cultivar centers. No Error.

A:  “WORLD’S”  You need an 3apostrophe here to show possession. “John’s car” “Rachel’s house” “world’s centers”