ELA GRAMMAR WALKTHROUGH.
Summary
TLDRThis 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.
Outlines
📝 Breaking Down Sentence Revisions for Clarity
This section covers how to choose the most precise revision for a sentence about a cooking contest. The original sentence is vague, and the goal is to find a more specific option. After analyzing the choices, 'interviewed the top three contestants' is determined to be the most precise revision because it clearly identifies the best performers, while other options remain too vague or repetitive.
🔍 Identifying Verb Tense Shifts
In this part, the focus is on identifying inappropriate shifts in verb tense. The example sentence describes a historical event in past tense but includes a suspicious present-tense verb, 'becomes.' The explanation highlights the consistent use of past tense, concluding that the present-tense verb is incorrect and should be revised to match the rest of the passage.
⚡ Correcting Sentence Structure with Commas
This segment explains how to properly use commas in a complex sentence about an animal shelter seeking volunteers. The sentence includes a non-essential modifier ('which is located on Midway Street') and a list of tasks. The analysis emphasizes the importance of correctly placing commas to separate items in a list and avoid confusion.
🚀 Combining Sentences for Clarity and Conciseness
Here, the goal is to combine two sentences about flyby missions near Jupiter in a way that clarifies their relationship without redundancy. The best solution involves a sentence structure using a non-essential modifier, avoiding unnecessary repetition and ensuring clarity. The wrong options include confusing modifiers or improper conjunctions.
👥 Resolving Vague Pronouns
In this section, the focus is on fixing vague pronouns in a paragraph about two girls, Eliza and Brianna, who sing at school events. The issue arises when the pronoun 'she' is used ambiguously, leaving the reader unsure whether it refers to Eliza or Brianna. The explanation emphasizes the need for clearer noun-pronoun references.
🏀 Correcting Adjective Comma Placement
The final section discusses where to place commas between adjectives in a sentence about basketball player Wilt Chamberlain. Two adjectives ('agile' and 'athletic') describe Wilt, and the rule for separating them with a comma is applied. The analysis also addresses why incorrect comma placements would disrupt sentence structure or clarity.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Precise Revision
💡Verb Tense
💡Non-essential Modifier
💡List Structure
💡Vague Pronoun
💡Comma Usage
💡Independent Clause
💡Infinitive Verb
💡Flyby Missions
💡Essential Modifier
Highlights
Revision for the words 'talk to some people who did the best' to 'interviewed the top three contestants' offers more precision.
Analyzing sentence structures helps identify vague pronouns and unclear references, crucial for precise revisions.
Recognizing verb tense shifts within a passage ensures consistency, such as identifying the shift between 'became' and 'struggled.'
Commas are essential in separating items in a list, such as distinguishing 'walking dogs' from 'cleaning kennels.'
Non-essential modifiers, like 'which is located on Midway Street,' should be surrounded by commas for proper sentence flow.
When combining sentences, avoid unnecessary repetition of the subject, like the double mention of 'flyby missions' in a paragraph.
Verb tense consistency must be maintained, such as identifying that 'moons have been happening since 1973' is incorrect.
Correcting vague pronouns is critical, like changing 'she' to the specific name 'Eliza or Brianna' in a paragraph.
Adjective separation with commas depends on whether adjectives can be reversed or 'and' can be added between them.
Correct placement of commas can affect the clarity and flow of the sentence, such as separating 'agile' and 'athletic.'
Essential details, like being the first player to score 100 points, should not be separated with commas to avoid confusion.
Using commas correctly around modifiers ensures clarity, especially when describing specific actions or qualities.
Correct sentence structures rely on recognizing independent and dependent clauses, ensuring commas are placed correctly.
Verifying each answer choice by process of elimination ensures accuracy in selecting the best grammatical revision.
Understanding essential versus non-essential information helps guide proper comma usage in complex sentence structures.
Transcripts
it's updated some take the grammar
questions today from the practice test
in the specialized high school student
handbook check it out read this sentence
during a nightly news segment about a
cooking contest a reporter talked to
some people who did the best in the
contest which of these is the most
precise revision for the words talk to
some people who did the best in the
contest
okay so we have conversed with some of
the people who won the contest spoke to
the three contestants who did well
discuss the contest with some winners
interviewed the top three contestants
okay so we're talking about people you
got to go back to the original sentence
to go what do they really mean right
they're being vague but they're trying
to say something
so it says some people who did the best
so we're talking about the best of the
best of the people who are in the
contest right so this is good won the
contest who did well that's just as
vague if not more vague than the people
who did the best so we know that B isn't
correct with some of the winners that's
very specific top three contestants
that's very specific okay so what else
talk to some people right that's very
vague as well conversed with some of the
people that's actually just a more
lengthy way to say the same thing talk
to some people you know so that's not it
discussed the gist discussed the contest
with some of the winners yeah I guess
you are discussing the contest and then
interviewed the top three contestants
now we're in between these two which one
is more specific discussing the contest
or interviewing them right well
discussing the contest can mean a lot of
things they're specifically interviewing
so that the answer is D okay read this
paragraph I'm not going to read it out
loud so just pause the video and read it
really quick and then I want to get back
to the answer okay which sensin which
sentence should be revised to correct an
inappropriate shift in verb tense so all
we need to be looking for is verb tense
here dudes
so when cole was he was used okay to
heat homes it frequently left they so it
stained the walls brothers blah blah
blah who owned notice how all these are
past past past we're starting to get a
like pattern here of cleaning products
companies created a doughy substance to
help people remove this suit to help
people that's just the infinitive verb
over time a natural gas becomes more
common okay so this one is a little
suspect already because it's not past
tense people had little need for soot
cleaners and the mcvickers family
company struggled okay so these two
verbs this verb in this verb are both in
the same sentence right so this is kind
of like a present tense and this is past
tense and past tense and past tense and
past tense and past tense so obviously
we don't really need to switch up the
verb tense Midway so that's why this one
is incorrect since three bank all right
so the next one read this sentence go
ahead and pause the video to read this
if you need to
which edits should be made in the
sentence notice comma comma comma comma
so are we gonna be looking at verb tense
or you know pronouns no we're just going
to be looking at commas which means that
a sentence structure yeah so the animal
shelter comma which is located on Midway
Street comma is looking for volunteers
to help with a variety of tasks all
right so let's just look at that so the
animal shelter and we have comma comma
surrounding which is located on Midway
Street that's actually good to go
because this is a modifier describing
what the animal shelter is and it is a
non-essential modifier yeah so is
looking for some volunteers notice it's
embedded in the middle of an independent
sentence right so then we have such as
variety of tasks comma such as walking
dogs cleaning kennels comma hand feeding
new board kittens comma and supporting
the pet adoption process so if you
haven't noticed already the sentence is
ending a list right
we have walking dogs cleaning kennels
hand feeding new bored kittens
supporting the pet adoption process this
right now reads that this list item is
walking dogs cleaning kennels and I'm
pretty sure that the walking dogs don't
clean the kennels so you need a comma to
separate these two items of a list just
like the other items of the
are separated with commas so that is our
answer here Bank
three more homies so read these
sentences flyby missions near Jupiter
have been happening since 1973 flyby
missions allow scientists to collect
data about Jupiter and moons notice
they're asking actually really quickly
their their what is the best way to
combine these sentences to clarify the
relationship between the ideas notice
that both main subjects of the sentence
are flyby missions and flyby missions
yeah so we don't really need to say them
twice that's actually kind of
repetitious so let's see the best way to
combine them I would take a second to
read these answer choices cuz I'm just
gonna break them down flyby missions
near Jupiter comma which allows
scientists to collect data about the
planet and its moons comma have been
happening since 1973 this is very
similar to the non-essential modifier we
were talking about in the previous page
this one's pretty good I'm gonna keep my
eye on e although there have been flyby
omissions in your Jupiter since 1973
they have allowed scientists to collect
data about the planet and his moons that
although is kind of a weird connection
because this isn't really opposites
right so that doesn't work
flyby missions near Jupiter allow
scientists to collect data about the
planet and its moons comma which have
been happening since 1973 so here we
also have a modifier that ends the
sentence so it ends with a period
instead of a comma right and notice what
the noun next to it is moons so it makes
it seem like the moons have been
happening since 1973 that is actually
incorrect because of that since 1973
flyby missions have been happening near
Jupiter comma but they allow scientists
to collect data about the planets and
moons is this a but do we really need it
is this part of the sentence opposite
from this part of the sentence no
awesome and notice how even though I
thought I had the right answer I checked
all the other ones just in case read
this paragraph go ahead and read it
pause the video if you need to I'm gonna
go over it
so notice how weird our nouns here too
we're trying to correct a vague pronoun
so that means that we need to look at
the pronouns and the nouns very
specifically here are our nouns ELISA
and Brianna have been singing in their
school here's a pronoun
since they were in the fourth grade the
girls always sing to do it at the school
talent show and they take turns singing
the national anthem before school
sporting events outside of school she
also sings in a choir okay so which one
is it Eliza or Brianna we don't know it
just switched is she all of a sudden
instead of there and they and they so
this is the problem here it needs to
specify which girl it is since three
okay number six in 1962 the agile
athletic Wilt Chamberlain became the
first and only professional basketball
player in the United States to score 100
points in a single game that is
ridiculous okay so let's talk about this
sentence and see where a common needs to
go look at comma comma comma comma so
we're dealing with sentence structure in
1962 the athletic or agile athletic Wilt
Chamberlain became the first and only
professional basketball player in the
United States to score 100 points in a
single game this whole thing is just an
independent clause crazy right so let's
see where the clot would see where this
comma goes if we're not dealing with
dependent independent or you know
non-essential modifiers let's check it
out
in sort of come out to agile so they're
trying to put a comma between agile and
athletic now both of these are
adjectives and do you guys remember the
rules for where the comma goes between
two adjectives there's two rules you
have to be able to flip the adjective
and you have to be able to put the word
and in between so if I've said the
athletic agile Wilt Chamberlain
that sounds pretty decent and the agile
and athletic Wilt Chamberlain that
sounds pretty decent too so this does
require a comma so I'm gonna keep my eye
on e just to make sure in sort of come
after Chamberlain in 1962 the agile
athletic Wilt Chamberlain comma that
that's that's very weird that's not like
what why to put why put a comma between
the noun and the verb of the sentence
that doesn't that doesn't really work so
no insert a comma after only became the
first and only comma professional
basketball player that's not necessarily
I
I actually wouldn't even know why you
would why you would put that that just
seems like a very kind of a wrong answer
choice there's no sentence structure
because this is all one independent
thing there's no real modifiers in here
either insert of comma after states the
only basketball professional basketball
player in the United States comma to
score 100 points in a single game that
would try to make this a non-essential
modifier but it's extremely important to
the sentence because it's talking that
he's the first and only player to do
this so we definitely need it it's
definitely essential so I would not
separate it with a comma
he is our answer okay dudes so that is
how you can go through the grammar
section that's how the test will be
starting keep in mind the chat the test
is changing this year so stay on your
toes and I will of course keep you
updated with the latest information as
soon as we know it good luck guys
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)