Grammar Week #1

Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses
Identify each boldfaced group of words by writing IND for independent clause and DEP for dependent clause.

1. The facts that are taught in math classes can be useful in practical problems.
2. Although Gene wants to paint his room, he needs to buy paint first.
3. He must figure the wall area so that he'll buy the right amount of paint.
4. First he measures the length of each wall and the height of the room.
5. Then he measures the windows and doors, which do not need to be painted.
6. Gene calculates the area of the total wall space, and then he subtracts the area of the windows and doors.
7. Most people can do the math easily when they use calculators or computers.
8. Before you multiply or subtract, you must decide which numbers to use.
9. Gene learned the formulas that he applies in his grade school math classes.
10. He won't waste money if he measures the calculates correctly.

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Grammar Week #1: A Deal You Can Refuse

Many people buy cars because they are influenced by adjectives like sleek, new, powerful, sporty, and inexpensive in the advertisements they read and the commercials they see.

Suppose that someone has a car to sell, but he/she can't honestly use the words sleek, powerful, and sporty to describe it, because the car is a real junker. He/she doesn't want to come right out and say so in the ad in the paper, so he/she tries this ad:

Mature auto, 4-door, well-traveled, small. Colorful machine, sturdy interior. Traditional sound system, fog-light system, air conditioned, fully carpeted, needs some body work.

Remember, the car is a bomb. The seller has told the truth, but she has used kind, mild-sounding adjectives and adjective phrases to take the sting out of the truth. Match the seller’s words at the top with the real meaning, listed on the bottom.

1. Mature
2. Well-traveled
3. Air conditioned
4. Colorful
5. Sturdy interior
6. Fully carpeted
7. Traditional sound system
8. Fog lights
9. Small
10. Needs some body work.

a. A bowling ball fell through the floor last spring.
b. Two flashlights are welded to the bumper.
c. The scratchy AM radio is stuck on station KYUK.
d. The car is 48 years old
e. The car has 241,689.9 miles on it.
f. The driver’s window has a rock through it.
g. The car is purple with 4 red doors.
h. No one over 5’ tall can sit in the car comfortably.
i. The seat is covered with burlap sacks.
j. Sample squares from Wally’s Carpet World are glued to the floor.