Karen S.

Lapniten-Bosaing
Benguet National High School

Adapted from the presentation of:

RUTH A. ALIDO, Philippine Normal University
 * Usage
* Effectiveness of Expression
GRAMMAR * Punctuation and
Capitalization
* Spelling
Usage: Adverbs

Some adverbs fortunately fit in front of

the verbs; others fall behind, luckily.

I severely
talked to talked
him regularly.
to him.
I talked
regularly
to him
talked
severely.
to him.
In formal writing, adverbs are
often placed mid-position

In informal, adverbs often

occur at the beginning or end
of sentences.
• Actually, very little is known about the
invention.
Very little is actually known about the
invention.

• The model was developed by Swales

(1979) originally.
This model was originally developed by
Swales (1979).
Placement of adverbs sometimes
alters meaning.

I only have eyes for you

I have eyes only for you

Only I have eyes for you

Usage: Parallelism

Parallel structure shows a

series of words, phrases,
or sentences that have
similar grammatical
forms.
Check for PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION in
sentences

The film was interesting, exciting, and it was

made well. (well-made)

Do not mix infinitives with

gerunds, adjectives with
participial phrases, or verbs
with nouns
1. He liked swimming and to dive.
(different verb forms: -ing and to)

2. Mila is pleasant and has intelligence.

(different descriptive words)

3. Tennis is both stimulating and

makes me exhausted.
(different descriptions)
IN PARALLEL
STRUCTURE, THE
TRICK IS TO
REPEAT AN
INTRODUCTORY
WORD BEFORE
EACH PHRASE OR
VERB OR NOUN.
1.The Department
Head was asked to
write her report
quickly, accurately,
and detailed.
1. The Department Head was asked
to write her report quickly,
accurately, and detailed.

• The Department Head was asked

to write her report quickly,
accurately, and thoroughly.
2. The teacher said that he was
a poor student because he
waited until the last minute to
study for the exam, completed
his lab reports in a careless
manner, and his motivation
was low.
2. The teacher said that he was a poor student
because he waited until the last minute to
study for the exam, completed his lab
reports in a careless manner, and his
motivation was low.

• The teacher said that he was a poor student

because he waited until the last minute to
study for the exam, completed his lab
reports in a careless manner, and lacked
motivation.
3.The principal expected that he
would present his proposal at
the meeting, that there would
be time for him to show his
slide presentation, and that
questions would be asked by
the education committee.
3. The principal expected that he would present
his proposal at the meeting, that there would
be time for him to show his slide presentation,
and that questions would be asked
by the education committee.

• The principal expected that he would present

his proposal at the meeting, that there would be
time for him to show his slide presentation, and
that the education committee would ask him
questions.
4. The dictionary can be
used for these purposes: to
find word meanings,
pronunciations, correct
spellings, and looking up
irregular verbs.
4. The dictionary can be used for these
purposes: to find word meanings,
pronunciations, correct spellings, and
looking up irregular verbs.

• The dictionary can be used for these

purposes: to find word meanings,
pronunciations, correct spellings, and
irregular verbs.
Usage: Unnecessary Modifiers
He drove in a careful way. (carefully)
The new innovations were startling. (Ø new)
That depends on the state of the general
condition of the situation. (on the situation)

The more simple an idea is stated, the better it is.

An adverb or adjective can often eliminate
extraneous words.
Beware of words with the same meaning in the
same sentence.
Beware of general wordiness.
 Usage: Unnecessary Modifiers
1. The situation of the young teenage
mothers is pitiful.
2. Any particular type of dessert is fine
with me.
3. During that time period, many car
buyers preferred cars that were pink in
color and shiny in appearance.
4. I am looking for a dress that is large in
size.
 Check for MISUSED WORDS

They came despite of the rain.

(in spite of/ despite)
The two expressions are
synonymous; use either one or the
other.
I hardly never see him. (hardly ever)
He has scarcely no money. (scarcely any)

Both mean “almost not at all”; do

not use a negative with them.
fill up, fill out
or fill in?
FILL UP
To fill a container (or anything)
with something

FILL OUT
to complete a form or a survey
by supplying the needed
information
FILL IN
 To supply something that’s missing.
Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.
 To enter something (one field or a few fields
only; not the whole form) on a form.
Kindly fill in your name in this form.
 To substitute for an absent colleague at
work.
Usage: Subject-verb
agreement
SINGULAR PLURAL
is are
was were
has have
Compound subjects
If two subjects are joined by
“and” the verb will be plural
in most situations
If the subjects are joined by
“nor” or “or,” the verb
agrees with the closer subject
Alunsina and
Tungkung Langit
are characters of a
Maranao creation
story.
Neither Edna’s
neighbors nor her
husband agree with
her decision.
Ted and Victoria
(has, have)
DSLR cameras.
Either Mr. Pitt or
his children (walk,
walks) the dog
every afternoon.
Switzerland and
Italy (share,
shares) a
border.
Either chimes
or a buzzer
(signal, signals)
the guard.
Indefinite pronouns
SINGULAR: another, anyone,
anything, each, everybody,
everything, much, no one, nothing,
somebody, something
PLURAL: both, few, several, many
SINGULAR OR PLURAL: most,
any, all, none, some
Each of the
boats (has,
have) a motor.
Both teachers
(was, were)
required to attend
the seminar.
Most of the
farmers (rest,
rests) on
weekends.
Most of the grain
(dry, dries) in a
week.
Some of the
students (earn,
earns) extra money
as fast food crews.
All of the milk
(was, were) gone!
Usage: Prepositions

Prepositions show
relationships among words
in a sentence.
 direction
 place or time
 cause or manner
 amount
 TIME LOCATION
Hours: 10 a.m.; 12 Address (#4 Lower Pinget)
Specific Location
noon; 6 o’ clock Very Specific (The Adivay Hall)

Days (Thursday, July 13) Streets (Palmer St.)

Weekend (Saturday) Avenues (Roxas Blvd.)
More Specific

Centuries
Decades Country (Brazil)
Years (2017) City (Beijing)
Months (July) Neighborhood (Chinatown)
Weeks (five weeks) General
 * Usage
* Effectiveness of Expression
GRAMMAR * Punctuation and
Capitalization
* Spelling
 Avoid clichés.
 Always pick on the
correct idiom.
 ORIGINAL SENTENCE ALTERNATIVE
WORDS/
EXPRESSIONS

In this day and age, websites are nowadays, today

one of the most significant public
faces of any organization.
His first job, in an industrial area of a difficult introduction
the UK, proved to be a baptism of to a new job or activity
fire.
The long-term prospects for the Now
service are looking fairly bleak at this
moment in time.
At the end of the day, it is the finally, ultimately
minister himself who has to make the
decision.
Try this:
1.The authorities announced
that they would not tolerate
drugs within the sport in
any way, shape, or form.
2.In the closing scene, the
film comes full circle.
3. The 1970s were a time
when detention without trial
was par for the course.
4. Children’s services in
the city’s hospitals were
not fit for purpose,
according to the report.
Try this:
5. With a troubled
domestic agenda, the
president took the
path of least
resistance.
 * Usage
* Effectiveness of Expression
GRAMMAR * Punctuation and
Capitalization
* Spelling
Punctuate
sentences
correctly.
 Woman
without her
man is nothing
 Woman
without her
man is
nothing.
 Woman,
without her,
man is
nothing.
 Woman:
without her,
man is
nothing.
 PUNCTUATION USAGE
period (.) To complete a
declarative
statement
question mark (?) to indicate a direct
question
exclamation point to express a sudden
(!) outcry or add
emphasis
comma (,) to separate ideas
PUNCTUATION USAGE
semicolon (;) to connect independent
clauses
I had a great weekend; I visited
with friends, played golf, and
ate at a nice restaurant.
colon (:) to explain, to cite example or a
series
I didn’t have time to get
changed: I was already late.
She was planning to study four
subjects: politics, economics,
biology and humanities.
PUNCTUATION USAGE
apostrophe (‘) to show possession or for
contraction of words

The teacher’s table was filled

with papers.
Don’t use
contractions
in formal
writing.
Proofread
carefully to see
if you any
words out.
 * Usage
* Effectiveness of Expression
GRAMMAR * Punctuation and
Capitalization
* Spelling
receive vs. recieve
receipt vs. reciept
SIDE A, SIDE B
 SIDE A SIDE B
acommodate accommodate
embarrass embarass
millennium millenium
niece neice
preceeding preceding
 SIDE A SIDE B
priviledge privilege
pronunciation pronounciation
seige siege
committee commitee
exaggarate exaggerate
Develop a passion
for learning. if
you do, you will
never cease to
grow.
– Anthony J. D’Angelo
SOURCES:

Powerpoint presentations of Ruth Alido, National Training of Trainers on

Critical Content in English 7, May 2017

Grammar Nanny: grammarnanny.blogspot.com/2012/07/killing-

confusion-fill-up-fill-out-fill.html