QUIZ #2--I Must Hate Myself

ENG 150
Quiz #2–100 Points
06 July 2006

Skill Unit #6: Identifying and Using Adjectives
[2pts.] Adjectives modify ____________ and/or ____________ .

[8pts.] Circle all adjectives you find in the following paragraph.

Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves. The families of weaver ants engage in child labor, holding their larvae like shuttles to spin out the thread that sews the leaves together for their fungus gardens. They exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television. [–Lewis Thomas, “On Societies as Organisms” (excerpt from Hacker 29)]

[10pts.] Write a descriptive paragraph (8-10 sentences) in which you describe a favorite sport or board game. Use at least 6 adjectives answering the questions “What kind?”, “Which one?”, or “How many?’; circle those adjectives. [+2 Bonus points for using and identifying either a comparative or superlative adjective.]

Skill Unit #7: Identifying and Using Adverbs
[3pts.] Adverbs modify ____________ , ____________ and/or ____________ .

[7pts.] Circle all adverbs you find in the following paragraph.

Plots hatched by several servants to run away together occurred mostly in the plantation colonies, and the few recorded servant uprisings were entirely limited to those colonies. Virginia had been forced from its earliest years to take stringent steps against mutinous plots, and severe punishments for such behavior were recorded. Most servant plots occurred in the seventeenth century: a contemplated uprising was nipped in the bud in New York County in 1661 apparently led by some left-wing offshoots of the Great Rebellion, servants plotted an insurrection in Gloucester County in 1663, and four leaders were condemned and executed; some discontented servants apparently joined Bacon’s Rebellion in the 1670's. In the 1680's , the planters became newly apprehensive of discontent among the servants “owing to their great necessities and want of clothes,” and it was feared that they would rise up and plunder the storehouses and ships; in 1682 there were plantcutting riots in which servants and laborers, as well as some planters, took part. [–Richard Hofstader, America at 1750 (excerpt from Hacker 32)]
[8pts.] Use the following adjective/adverb forms correctly in a sentence of your choice.

Really

Real

Well

Good

Bad

Badly

Anyway

Nothing


Skill Unit #8: Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers
[2pts.] Prepositional phrases are modifiers that can function both as ____________ and/or ____________.
[10pts.] Underline all prepositional phrases and circle each preposition you find in the following paragraph.

The fantastic water clarity of the Mount Gambier sinkholes results from several factors. The holes are fed from aquifers holding rainwater that fell decades–even centuries–ago, and that has been filtered through miles of limestone. The high level of calcium that limestones adds causes the silty detritus from dead plants and animals to cling together and settle quickly to the bottom. Abundant bottom vegetation in the shallow sinkholes also helps build the silt. And the rapid turnover of water prohibits stagnation. [–Hillary Hauser, “Exploring a Sunken Realm in Australia” (excerpt from Hacker 29)]

[8pts.] Write a sentence for each of the prepositions listed below; circle the object of the preposition in each phrase you use.

Across

After

By

During

Except

Like

Since

With

Skill Unit #9: Identifying Simple Sentence patterns
[5pts.] Complete the two action verb sentence patterns:
Subject + Action Verb + ____________
Subject + Action Verb + ____________ + ____________
Complete the two linking verb sentence patterns:
Subject + Linking Verb + ____________
Subject + Linking Verb + ____________

[10pts.] Mark the patterns you see in the following sentences (use the abbreviations your text uses to mark above the words). [Excerpts from Hacker 454-7.]

The purity of a revolution usually lasts about two weeks.

Historical books that contain no lies are extremely tedious.

In every country, the sun rises in the morning.

Much industry and little conscience make us rich.

Hitch your wagon to a star.

The is no substitute for victory.

Happy is the nation.

Why is the first step so difficult?

The little snake studies the ways of the big serpent.

I will write you a tragedy.

Skill Unit #10: Identifying and Using Pronouns
[10pts.] Fill in the Personal Pronoun Charts.

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st Person 1st Person
2nd Person 2nd Person
3rd Person 3rd Person
[7pts] Mark “C” for correct or “IC” for incorrect; then correct all sentences that need to be corrected.

___ The doctor finished her rounds.

___ When someone has been drinking, they are more likely to speed.

___ The committee put their signatures on the document.

___ Sylvia and he shared the award.

___ The reporter interviewed only two witnesses, the shopkeeper and I.

___ The prize goes to the runner that collects the most points.

___ The tutor that I was assigned to was very supportive.

[6pts.] Write a sentence using each form of pronoun listed below.

Interrogative:

Relative:

Demonstrative:

Reflexive/Intensive:

Possessive:

Indefinite:


[4pts.] Explain how to make pronouns agree with their antecedents. Give an example.