Present Tense (Simple)

• Expresses an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that exists only now

• Can also represent a widespread truth

Present Tense Examples

The mountains are tall and white. Unchanging

Every year, the school council elects new members. Recurring Action

Geology is the study of the earth. Widespread Truth

Past Tense (Simple)

• Expresses an action or situation that was started and finished in the past

• Most past tense verbs end in –ed• Irregular verbs have special past tense forms

which must be memorized

Past Tense Examples

WW2 ended in 1945. Regular

Ernest Hemingway wrote “The Old Man and the Sea.” Irregular

Future Tense (Simple) + Examples

• Future tense expresses an action or situation that will occur in the future.

• This tense is formed by using will/shall with the simple form of the verb.

The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998.

Future Tense

• The future tense can also be expressed by using am, is, or are with going to.

The surgeon is going to perform the first bypass in Minnesota.

• We can also use the present tense form with an adverb or adverbial phrase to show future time.

The president speaks tomorrow. (Tomorrow is a future time adverb.)

Adjectives

• Descriptive: Describe a noun or pronoun– Examples: OLD car, TALL pole, WIDE door

• Proper: Adjectives that come from proper nouns and add a twist ending– Shakespeare Shakespearian actor

• Comparative Form: Compares two nouns, adding “–er” to the end of descriptive adjective

• Superlative Form: Compares three or more nouns, adding “–est” to the end of descriptive adjective

Grammar: IRREGULAR Comparative & Superlative Adjectives

ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE FORM

SUPERLATIVE FORM

*good*badfarfunboringfamousill

betterworsefarthermore funmore boringmore famousworse

bestworstfarthestmost funmost boringmost famousworst

*See handout

Clauses

• Dependent Clause: Has subject and predicate but can't stand on its own.

While I at my food, I kept my head down.

• Independent Clause: Has subject and predicate and expresses complete thought.

While I at my food, I kept my head down.

SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

• Sentence FRAGMENTS: Missing the SUBJECT, the VERB, both, or it doesn't make sense (dependent clause).

• Stood by the stop sign. (missing SUBJECT)

• Donald Trump, a rich guy. (missing VERB)

• By the stop sign. (missing BOTH)

• While I stood by the stop sign. (contains both but makes no sense – dependent clause)

RUN-ON SENTENCES• Run-On Sentences: When two or more sentences are

joined without a conjunction (FANBOY) or proper punctuation.

Examples:• The girls played basketball, the boys played tennis.

– YOU CAN’T USE A COMMA ALONE TO PUNCTUATE TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES – NEEDS A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION!

• Carmen loves traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot.– YOU CAN’T LEAVE TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES NEXT TWO

EACH OTHER WITHOUT SOMETHING BETWEEN THEM.

Coordinating Conjunctions

• Just remember FANBOY: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet

• To separate two independent clauses, place a comma and a CC.

Main Elements of a News Article

• Headline• Byline• Location• Lead Paragraph• Supporting Paragraph

Primary Use: Organizes

information from MOST important

to LEAST important.

Headline Activity

• Purpose of Headlines… – Attract attention– Gives the MAIN idea in a short phrase

• Online Headline Game

Types of Articles• News Article: A story that uses facts to show the

five W’s, an attention-getting title, and is written to present the most important information first.

• Editorial: An opinion article that comments on an important issue readers would care about; it reflects the opinion of the newspaper and has been approved by the editorial staff.

• Feature: Feature articles are detailed pieces of writing which explore a range of issues, opinions, experiences and ideas. Feature articles should appeal to the particular audience the article is targeting.

Notes: Fact vs. Opinion

• Opinion– Differ depending on perspective and can be

argued– Example: “Rainy days are depressing.”

• Small Note on Bias & Perspective: A person’s perspective creates their bias, which is best witnessed through looking at word choice, omission, etc.

Interviews

• Important because they allow us to gather PRIMARY information

• Can be done in PERSON, over the PHONE, and now even by EMAIL

• Can be EXTENSIVE or just a FEW questions

Listening Skills

• EYE CONTACT: Look at the speaker• SIT forward in your chair (if applicable)• Ask FOLLOW-UP questions• Give a SIGN/INDICATION (nod, verbal

remark) that you are listening CAREFULLY to their answers

• SMILE!

News Writing: Newspaper Index

• A guide for locating specific sections and subsections of a newspaper by listing page numbers or by linking to subpages

• Example: CNN News Website

**Fiction Note on Reversal

• The sudden reversal of fortune in a story, play, or any narrative in which there is an observable change in direction

• Can be similar to an epiphany• Can be for good or bad