ELA GRAMMAR WALKTHROUGH.

Summary

This video breaks down a series of grammar questions from a specialized high school practice test, providing detailed explanations for each answer. It covers topics like verb tense consistency, sentence structure, the use of commas, and how to combine sentences for clarity. The speaker emphasizes strategies for identifying vague pronouns and non-essential modifiers. Throughout, the video encourages viewers to carefully analyze sentence patterns, consider alternatives, and select the most specific and accurate answers. Overall, it provides useful grammar tips for students preparing for standardized tests.

Takeaways

• 📚 Precision is key: The most specific revision for 'talked to some people who did the best in the contest' is 'interviewed the top three contestants.'
• 🕰 Verb tense matters: The shift from past to present tense within a sentence creates inconsistency. Keep verb tenses aligned.
• ✅ Non-essential modifiers: Phrases like 'which is located on Midway Street' are non-essential and should be enclosed in commas.
• 📝 Lists and commas: When listing tasks, ensure items are separated with commas to clarify distinct actions.
• 🔄 Combining sentences: Avoid redundancy by eliminating repeated subjects. Use modifiers for clarity.
• 👧 Clarify pronouns: Vague pronouns like 'she' in a sentence about two people (Eliza and Brianna) should specify which person is being referenced.
• 🏀 Adjective rule: When using two adjectives like 'agile' and 'athletic,' a comma is needed if both adjectives can be reversed or separated by 'and.'
• ❌ Avoid unnecessary commas: Don’t place commas between nouns and verbs or between essential phrases in a sentence.
• 💡 Modifiers and clarity: Essential information, like being the first to achieve something, shouldn’t be separated by commas.
• 📖 Stay updated: Grammar rules and test formats may change, so it’s important to stay informed about updates in test structure.

Q & A

What is the most precise revision for 'talked to some people who did the best in the contest'?

The most precise revision is 'interviewed the top three contestants,' as it is specific and clearly refers to the best performers in the contest.

Why is 'spoke to the three contestants who did well' not a good option for revision?

'Spoke to the three contestants who did well' is still vague and doesn’t specify if they were the top performers, making it less precise.

What is the issue with verb tense in the sentence 'over time a natural gas becomes more common'?

The issue is an inappropriate shift in verb tense. The rest of the paragraph is in past tense, but 'becomes' is in present tense, which disrupts the consistency.

Why is the comma placement correct in 'The animal shelter, which is located on Midway Street, is looking for volunteers'?

The commas correctly surround a non-essential modifier ('which is located on Midway Street') that provides additional information but is not critical to the sentence’s meaning.

What problem occurs in the sentence 'walking dogs cleaning kennels'?

The lack of a comma between 'walking dogs' and 'cleaning kennels' makes it unclear whether the dogs are doing the cleaning, which is incorrect. A comma is needed to separate these list items.

Why is 'Although there have been flyby missions near Jupiter since 1973' not the best way to combine the sentences?

'Although' introduces a contrast that doesn’t exist between the ideas. The sentence isn’t describing opposing concepts, so the connection feels awkward.

What is the error in 'which have been happening since 1973'?

The sentence mistakenly implies that Jupiter’s moons have been 'happening' since 1973, when it’s the flyby missions that have been occurring. The pronoun 'which' should refer to the missions, not the moons.

Why is the pronoun 'she' problematic in the sentence about Eliza and Brianna?

The pronoun 'she' creates ambiguity because it’s unclear whether it refers to Eliza or Brianna. This needs to be revised to specify which girl is being referred to.

What rule justifies the comma between 'agile' and 'athletic' when describing Wilt Chamberlain?

The comma is required because the adjectives 'agile' and 'athletic' are coordinate adjectives, meaning you can flip their order or add 'and' between them without changing the meaning.

Why is it incorrect to insert a comma between 'Wilt Chamberlain' and the verb in the sentence about scoring 100 points?

Inserting a comma between the subject ('Wilt Chamberlain') and the verb disrupts the sentence structure and is grammatically incorrect, as it separates essential elements of the sentence.