Did you know some verb tenses are “perfect”? Everyone knows about the three “simple” tenses: present, past, and future. However, we also have three “perfect tenses” in English: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. So what makes a tense “perfect”? The perfect tenses have a version of “have” as a helping verb and use […]
This book used to be part of the reading curriculum at two of my previous schools. I enjoyed it for a couple reasons. First, it’s science fiction that takes place on Earth. No aliens, no spaceships. Just holophones and mile-high buildings you reach via hovercrafts. Second, it takes place in Africa (Zimbabwe, to be precise) […]
Most people probably don’t even think about the difference between that and which. However, they are used for different purposes, and they affect comma usage. That The word that is used to introduce something called a restrictive clause. This is a fancy term for a group of words that limits (or makes more specific) the […]
I had heard a lot about this book before I read it. Everyone seemed to love it. My reaction to the first few chapters was “Well, this is good, but is it really as great as everyone says?” Then I got to the end of the book, and I understood why everyone had been raving. […]
We all know about the three main verb tenses: present, past, and future. Some of us even know about the three “perfect tenses”: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. However, I’ve seen a lot of talk online about progressive forms of verbs lately. These are verbs that use a form of “to be” as […]
If you keep up with young adult literature at all, you’ve surely heard of Veronica Roth’s dystopian novel Divergent and its sequel Insurgent. Today I’ll give my usual book review, but then I’d like to discuss something that’s been rattling around in my brain since I first read Divergent this past summer; namely, how does […]
This is a common question/problem for my students. Even published authors bicker about the rules for apostrophes in forming possessive nouns. While the rules may vary from publisher to publisher, the classroom grammar books (assuming they are actually used–but don’t get me started on that!) agree on three basic rules for making possessive nouns. Rule […]
I was first introduced to Maniac Magee over ten years ago. A co-worker was reading it with the seventh graders. Since the book deals with prejudice, she decided to conduct a little experiment and asked me and the other teachers to help. One day, about half the seventh grade was called down to the office. […]
As requested by my good friend and fellow blogger Ginny Marie, today I’m discussing the difference between “who” and “whom.” First, the easy answer . . . Use who in place of he. Use whom in place of him. Now the full answer . . . Who is a subject pronoun. That means you can […]
I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Weeks when she visited one of my previous schools for an author visit. One particular part of her talk really made an impression on me. She was discussing rejection when she reached into her bag and pulled out a rolled-up tube of laminated paper. She held it up […]
