Gram m ar s e z a M & s P u zz l e ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ By Jim Halverson Grades 4–8 S C H O L A S T I C PROFESSIONALBOOKS New York • Toronto • London • Auckland • Sydney Mexico City • New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Dedication My colleagues at Saint Ann’s School asked for and inspired this book and its two companions, my students (no-nonsense editors!) enthusiastically helped me revise all three, and my family, dear Anita and Leif, supported and encouraged and often suffered through the writing process over several long years Scholastic Inc grants teachers permission to photocopy the designated reproducible pages from this book for classroom use No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012 Cover design by Kelli Thompson Interior design by Grafica, Inc Interior illustrations by Dave Clegg ISBN 0-439-05186-X Copyright © 2001 by Jim Halverson All rights reserved Printed in the U.S.A Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Table of Contents Introduction AGREEMENT UNIT 1: BASIC SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT What Is Wrong Here? Solve the Riddle Maze UNIT 2: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: INDEFINITE PRONOUNS AND COMPOUND SUBJECTS 10 Maze 12 Hidden Message 13 Puzzle 15 UNIT 3: PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT What Are They? Maze Number Puzzle 16 18 20 21 PRONOUNS UNIT 4: PRONOUN CASE 22 Treasure Hunt 24 Maze 25 VERBS UNIT 5: UNNECESSARY TENSE SHIFTS 26 Word Find 28 Maze 29 UNIT 6: THE PERFECT TENSES: PAST AND FUTURE 30 Elephant Joke 32 Maze 33 UNIT 7: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 34 Maze 36 Discover the Author 37 UNIT 8: IRREGULAR VERBS: CHOOSE, COME, TAKE, BEGIN 38 What’s Wrong Here? 40 Maze 42 UNIT 9: IRREGULAR VERBS: DRINK, SIT, SET, LIE, LAY, RISE, RAISE 43 Riddle 45 Maze 46 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS UNIT 10: USING ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS Word Search Maze Do You Know? 47 49 50 51 UNIT 11: MISPLACED AND DANGLING MODIFIERS 52 Maze 54 Palindromes 55 MISCELLANEOUS USAGE PROBLEMS UNIT 12: TOUGH CHOICES: LIKE/AS, AS IF, AS THOUGH; FEWER/LESS, AMOUNT/NUMBER; AMONG/BETWEEN; BESIDE/BESIDES 57 Do You Know? 59 Maze 60 REVIEW UNIT 13: USAGE REVIEW Turkey Maze Diamond Maze Pig Maze Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources 61 62 63 64 Introduction What This Book Is he exercises in this book rest upon two assumptions: that students learn best when they are having fun, and that most students need frequent repetition of grammar concepts in order to retain them These units are designed to help you address both needs Instead of another grammar quiz to test and demonstrate their knowledge, students get to solve a puzzle, complete a maze, or figure out what is wrong with a picture T The exercises are also designed to suit a range of instructional needs They can be used as part of a whole-class lesson or for individual enrichment, and they meet a range of skill levels The units have two or three separate exercises, each a bit harder and more sophisticated than the one before You may find that only one of the exercises in a given unit is appropriate for the age or skill level of the students you teach, or you may wish to work your way up through all of them .And Is Not The introduction to each unit provides helpful definitions, grammar rules, examples, and a mini-lesson However, these introductions are not designed to be complete teaching guides Similarly, the exercises are meant to supplement and enrich your teaching, not to provide a complete or methodical program for each concept For easier grammatical concepts, you may find that the exercises here provide sufficient practice for students, but for stubborn problems, such as agreement errors and the difference between lie and lay, you are surely going to want to build up to these exercises with preliminary work You may want to use these puzzles and mazes as enjoyable rewards for mastering those tough concepts Before You Start Since the exercises require that students have a working knowledge of the grammar concepts involved, it is very important for you to familiarize yourself with a unit before using it Make sure that you have covered all the decisions that your students will have to make when they tackle the activity Within the unit, check the degree of difficulty of the exercises and decide which pages best suit your students Generally, the first page is probably best for fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, and the second and third pages are best for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, but these can be only very rough guidelines since classes vary so greatly Several units that deal with difficult concepts, like dangling participles, are intended for older or more sophisticated students; similarly, the review units at the end require a thorough knowledge of a variety of concepts .And After You Finish I hope that you will connect the grammar activity pages in this book to real-world writing and help students see that an understanding of grammar and usage is really just a small part of a bigger picture—written communication The sooner they can apply a grammatical concept to their own writing, the sooner that concept will be theirs for life For instance, after the students work on exercises from the units on agreement, you might give a writing assignment which asks them to use several constructions involving singular indefinite pronouns, like each, either, neither, and anyone Or after they complete the irregular verb exercises, you might have your younger students proofread their own writing for verb errors by pretending that they are detectives looking for mistakes that a “bad-usage” suspect may have made Finally, don’t forget that knowledge of standard usage is just one of many writing skills and not an end in itself Some of your students—some of us!—are going to continue to use like in nonstandard ways and to make occasional agreement errors, but those lapses should not prevent them from writing well A working knowledge of grammar can help your students become successful writers who communicate freshly, vividly, forcefully, and delightfully —Jim Halverson Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Agreement Unit 1: Basic Subject-Verb Agreement caus e Phrases after the subject often causes agreement errors There are also often problems in sentences beginning with here, there, and where This unit covers the agreement of subject and verb in number, i.e., whether a noun or verb is singular (representing one) or plural (representing more than one) Rule: If the subject of a sentence is singular in number, then the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural Example: This box is empty (singular subject and verb) but these boxes are full (plural subject and verb) Teaching Tips X When a phrase comes between the subject and verb, we can be fooled by the additional nouns or pronouns closer to the verb: This box of roofing nails are missing Of course the verb in this last sentence should be is because the subject of the sentence is box, not nails X Sentences that begin with here, there, and where also can be troublesome because in speech we so often contract these words to here’s, there’s, and where’s: Here’s my mother and father instead of Here are my mother and father X A tricky coincidence is that English verbs in the third person singular of the present tense end in s just like plural nouns: one dog barks; two dogs bark As a result, students who know that the subject is plural sometimes mistakenly use the verb form that ends in s (two dogs barks), thinking that the s must make the words agree Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources B a s i c S u b j e c t - Ve r b A g r e e m e n t Agreement Mini-Lesson Students make frequent agreement errors because they so often hear incorrect usage, even from supposedly educated speakers, like newscasters I recently heard a reporter say, “Now there’s two fires raging on that same block!” A good way to introduce this unit, then, is to a short oral drill to give your students practice hearing standard subject and verb agreement Review the agreement rule above and point out the frequent causes of agreement errors— intervening phrases and sentences that start with here, there, and where Then tell your students that you are going to read some sentences aloud, and they must tell you whether the sentence is correct or contains an agreement error Have a list of about twenty sentences ready to read, making sure that you concentrate on frequent errors like There’s two fires raging and The clothes in the dryer is still not ready Answers Page 7, What Is Wrong Here? Changes needed: Signs: Flowers Are ; Citizens Don’t Book title: Dog Doesn’t Picnickers: bees seem ; Aren’t there slices ?; bag has Kids and dog: Skippy loves ; boy and girl get ! Kids and rose: father and mother raise ; thorns look ! Squirrel: haven’t humans ? Birds: beaches and parks provide e s t n e v a h p e h r a a s i r d o e s n t o r a s n k e l n d o n t g e i r r o l a o i v a a u s s g e f d e s l m k n l o Page 8, Solve the Riddle Does have aren’t are (no error) were are doesn’t hasn’t (no error) sell 10 have 11 want 12 hopes Answer to riddle: an envelope Page 9, Maze The correct path goes through: Here is my car! My pen doesn’t work That shirt with no buttons looks odd Have the dogs in this pen been fed? Your directions to the movie theater were very easy to follow The results of the election are already posted My pants and shirt match well Doesn’t that boy look like my cousin? The price of most of the products in these stores is too high 10 Three of the teachers in my school sing in my church choir 11 The time for fun and games has come! 12 The winner of both games was Tai (Go through the “secret passage.”) 13 Have the people in back gone out yet? 14 Here’s the way! 15 The result of your efforts is real success Bonus: There are 18 correct sentences in all Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources B a s i c S u b j e c t - Ve r b A g r e e m e n t Name Agreement Date _ What Is Wrong Here? Agreeable Park is a favorite spot for wildlife, but if you look carefully you’ll see that some of the people and even the animals don’t make their subjects and verbs agree very well Directions: Find and correct 12 agreement errors in the picture Locate the correct verb forms in the word find in the middle of the picture In July beaches and parks provides good people-watching opportunities Look! There is a rare red-crested, freckle-faced boy! Mom, my bag of potato chips have ants in it Isn’t there any more slices of ham? Why hasn’t these humans brought any nuts? e My father and mother raises roses The thorns on that rose looks dangerous! s i a t e h r n r a l e a s o v i r v a d o e h r a s p n d o r o a i a Why the insects enjoy my picnics more than my kids do? The bees seems to like my soda, too u s s g e f d e s l m k n l o Are you exercising enough? s n t o n k e l n t g e Sometimes he catches it in the air Skippy just love to fetch the ball! That boy and girl of mine just never gets tired of this silly game! Good Citizens Doesn’t Litter Don’t Pick: The Flowers Is for Everyone! A ed in ’t r T a Don g Do Bite Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources B a s i c S u b j e c t - Ve r b A g r e e m e n t Agreement Name Date _ Solve the Riddle I start with the letter e, I end with the letter e I contain only one letter, Yet I am not the letter e! What am I? Directions: To find the answer to the riddle, correct the subject and verb agreement problems in the sentences below If there is a mistake, write the correct form of the verb in the spaces that follow the sentence Write the letter that you have placed over any numbered space in the matching answer space (Leave the spaces blank after correct sentences.) The first one has been done for you Answer: _ _ e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10 Does d o e s Do your shirt need to be washed? 10 The counselors at camp all has their own first aid kits ’ There isn’t enough apples for a pie Your ideas about the school fair are really helpful The members of the union was planning to strike 6 Where is your new shoes? The box of chocolates don’t weigh very much ’ 8 Hasn’t the paint on the banisters dried yet? ’ My aunt and uncle often sells things in yard sales 10 What has all those people done with their luggage? 11 Nan and Lori really wants you on their team 12 The leader of the committee hope the bill will pass Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources B a s i c S u b j e c t - Ve r b A g r e e m e n t Name Agreement Date _ Maze Directions: Find the path to the end by passing only through areas that have sentences in which the subject and verb agree Be careful! There are false paths and one sneaky “secret passage.” The correct path will take you through 15 correct sentences X Bonus: How many correct sentences are in the entire maze? START ne yo u r s to h k li k e m y c o u s i n man is p e n b e e n f e d ? ter w ere very e a s y dog th e a Ha ve th e vie to ns tio u Yo y s ve oli re in c i rd ad ll ? too There s s in th w ti o n a r e a l r th e su re T e ch w mo r e he ll o to fo ted os eady p lts ar of em th e ys me to W ele c li p p wr ers? o n g c is r e al s u re k he re Th e te the f eo a li i s ve r y w e t a n t s a n d s h irt m a t o y lo o o hig rts he res in m t au yc hu rch nt f o e r m f i u t n and ch The gam oir es s d o e o s the b Wh co ook sb elo Have t n he pe op le s the way e r e ! H n my school sing rs i a ch e ss ches s ook tor es i at b t h a t a rti s t a ll l we od d ben h oic e f o s p ath ks u es by My p t th loo d ro es esn ns ep th le f t tto se th n Do th e azing am re i o of s gs ff o t of y o ur e apples ag of ig b pa sn ost at on bu k or we pa e nt ti n yc ab cour ses on t no w ow kn lly s es The r M in END ul e Th Th of m ere rice si Th at s w video games? hi My rt pe w h n it h W th games wa o b f o s e r e T sn inn t ew He h T d ze of the e on The si leph e! t a m nts ? re out yet? to a gone g k c a H b er in e z l z e u s p see se m e s Th s ere Th The p ct car! sy ea so The mai n ery Here is m y picy ce sm u en v is ho ds t an t s hi sa l Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Agreement Unit 2: Subject-Verb Agreement: Indefinite Pronouns and Compound Subjects Each of the singular indefinite pronouns, like each and anyone, cause frequent errors This unit builds on students’ knowledge of basic subject and verb agreement and introduces them to the harder problems caused by indefinite pronouns (like each and nobody) and by singular compound subjects connected with or and nor (like Alex or Alicia) Definition: Indefinite pronouns are common third-person pronouns that don’t refer to particular subjects They are grouped below by number Rule 1: If the subject of a sentence is a singular indefinite pronoun, the verb must be singular; if the subject is a plural indefinite pronoun, the verb must be plural Singular Indefinite Pronouns each everyone nobody somebody one someone anybody either Examples anyone no one everybody neither Plural Indefinite Pronouns both several few Examples many Singular or Plural Indefinite Pronouns (Depending on Context) all some any none Each of the boys is here Does anybody know her? Neither of them likes the book most Both of them like the book Do many of you know her? Examples All of the boys are here All of the money is here Do most of the chapters amuse you? Does most of the book amuse you? 10 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Using Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives and Adverbs Name Ye s Date _ Maze I’d ,I O ’d ur ap co ph m pi ot e l os he w r e ill EN re tu gu D rn l ou tg Th e tr oo ip w d ent p erfectl y ! I ’ll s l e ep g oo d to ni ght! h o oo m h gg uc e d si n z n ’t e m eali r st ar o es r dju he d ’t a He l e s an I ot ag don sa y h re E t I asil lars ca n er o cu v e r y e ts he igg bin rds w a b us My tow m ad wift lt s ! He ng s I fe dow d ivi mea n’t ch He ’ s t h at Do roa est ld dly p s co n te ba ! ap e are st tas k u t o k h l t ac to uic trai me a t m es g w d s a q R y p rtin ery Thi ep H oo M v e y ! ta l g is y l y l v s re l l is st fee t th is fee ea slow rega he h g I e o r n s to ou oo rn a ki v es e he t o ab trip! tu that us Com He m rly re ully a ealo y a c ef r g be j ely and s ur uld wo Directions: Trace a path to the end that goes only through areas with sentences that use adjectives and adverbs correctly Avoid all sentences with mistakes! The correct route goes through 19 areas containing correct sentences X Bonus: How many correct sentences are there in the entire maze? have cides Pesti agle the e hurt ns latio popu d ba very Go dow n this very carefull path y y fa ys st ou nd ss ad ea gl es H an l ui sb ? le ag sily o e es m so re bi rd s d it t i ng y a ll th ei r a nim un pp als be low him had b e tte r m o ve cautiously! in dl Sm ily ba yd w sts cr d ne is Wh his mate I ’ l l b et ly ungri ting h i a w is st e ne at th ar he an too c He o o d et qui g e r ll o ea km r l a s T li e ef H is Th is p tri oing g ll! we y l! el me to y oar eas 50 e rc ie sf ok es s Eagl ac He a ge flo a ts so calmly So m M eb be ov ird su e H by cces s of H qui e pe sful prey l e e o op fli tl le ly tra can es as in e hu w nte d rs START Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Using Adjectives and Adverbs Name Adjectives and Adverbs Date _ Do You Know? Which president of the United States caught pneumonia, probably at his own lengthy inauguration, and died a month after he took office? Answer: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ n _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Directions: To check the answer to the history question above, find and correct misused adjectives and adverbs in the sentences below Use the number-letter pairs in parentheses that follow only mistakes to fill in the answer spaces above The first mistake has been corrected for you well The little girl had been instructed good (16-N) and looked carefully (8-Q) for cars before running quick (6-A) across the street The most kindest (2-I) thing she said was that I smiled so sweet (14-S) Yvonne was the oldest (10-A) of the two, but Danielle seemed more mature (12-N) Even though he only practices infrequent (8-H), Roberto plays the guitar well (9-J) I saw the old Westerns Shane and High Noon recently (12-T), and I liked High Noon best (11-R) Monica got the lifeguard job because she swims powerful (4-L) and her stamina is good (7-N) Even though I don’t sing very good (15-O), I appreciate music immensely (3-A) Apples and pears both taste deliciously (3-L), but I like pears best (12-R) Todd, Alex, and Mira all gave speeches, and although Alex’s was the shortest (9-G), he won the prize because he delivered it so forceful (5-I) 10 The breeze made the branches sway gentle (7-M) and the leaves rustle rhythmically (1-J) 11 Ira seemed more happier (13-I) about the team’s victory than about having played so well (9-G) himself 12 Of the two, Gus had to work hardest (1-W) on the project because Nolan listened to the directions very careful (9-H) 51 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Adjectives and Adverbs Unit 11: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers When writing, my modifiers would never dangle! Misplaced and dangling modifiers are easy to overlook in one’s own writing and often in others’ writing as well Because we know what the writer means, we often overlook imprecise sentence constructions However, precise thinking can be communicated only with precise expression Definition: Misplaced modifiers are phrases or clauses that can confuse the reader because they are separated from the part of the sentence that they modify Rule 1: It is usually best to put modifiers, especially ones that are adjectives, as close as possible to the words they modify Examples: Misplaced: He bought a used car for his son that was very rusty (His son was not rusty.) Corrected: He bought his son a used car that was very rusty Misplaced: The director decided to a new ad campaign at our meeting (The ad campaign did not happen at the meeting.) Corrected: The director decided at our meeting to a new ad campaign 52 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Adjectives and Adverbs Definition: Dangling modifiers are phrases or clauses in sentences where there is no word that they can clearly or appropriately modify Rule 2: There must be a word in the sentence that phrase or clause modifiers can modify appropriately Examples: Dangling: Passing a note surreptitiously, her book fell on the floor (A book cannot pass a note.) Corrected: Passing a note, she let her book fall on the floor (She passed the note.) Dangling: When climbing the tree, her grandmother feared little Winnie would fall (Grandmother did not climb the tree.) Corrected: When little Winnie climbed the tree, her grandmother feared she would fall Mini-Lesson When you teach misplaced and dangling modifiers you’ll enjoy a chance to hear some very appreciative laughter from your students Give them several examples of sentences containing both types of style errors (make your examples amusing!), and then ask students to come up with their own examples After giving them ample time, and perhaps helping those who get stuck, have them read their sentences aloud for correction by their classmates By creating their own amusing mistakes and sharing them, they’ll master the concepts involved Sample sentences: She was wearing a ribbon in her hair that was blue with yellow polka dots (misplaced) Her mother bought a toy for her son called Monster Moog (misplaced) Braying wildly, the handler tried to calm the angry elephant (dangling) Answers Page 54, Maze The correct path goes through: Deciding Thinking The boy Not knowing Devouring The tape Having run Adoring Bonus: Also: The insect… Pages 55–56, Palindromes All need correcting except numbers 3, 5, 9, 11, and 15 Answer: “Was it a rat I saw?” 53 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources D e qu i se co FINISH Date _ d for clothes He aske for the fire victims if they are clean Having just been roped, Bret ful around the pon was care y While still in diapers, her e her a dictionar father gav y He gave a toy to his son that needed batteries Adjectives and Adverbs Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Maze Adoring his cat, he even walks it Name Directions: Find a path through the housefly maze from start to finish You may move only through areas containing sentences in which phrase and clause modifiers have been used clearly The correct path goes through eight areas containing well-phrased sentences X Bonus: How many well-phrased sentences are in the entire maze? The c coo hef k in e e y st na B ein g , my aunt Having run so hard, he was so slippery alk breath avoided t he w er giggling in clas the house with an a out of t s f , g red A e ig porch n t tou ith a b teacher made us stay lat our e De We w he y T he Thinking the play ke, the ed c w i w n s e o o c e smo summon t or arm d that intrig a s i d in n He was over, he clapped b y th mo s as oo d f ues me d h he g r h t i i s o g t r tened h t ol r t ass e nt w s f ke h i too s e o o n h praying m t o n l s f c hi Frigh departm neighbo m ht, I e ti w s sh ad antis d ur g ea y y t se m as ir a The boy who found your pen fire in , h o by m t r i th stai Going through the low door, ur ly ds p t ou t T he t was so nice to go looking for you at ape that sticks bes t vo ck n his hat was knocked off is in the top drawer Clucking loudly, I knew the hen was in trouble Not knowing if she was right, Ariel turned east n START 54 • Scholastic Professional Books Grammar Puzzles & Mazes Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Name Adjectives and Adverbs Date _ Palindromes Palindromes are words, phrases, and sentences that read the same forward and backward, like radar, kayak, Hannah, and Madam, I’m Adam What palindrome might be overheard in a scary house? Palindrome: “ _ _ _ _ _ a _ _ _ _ _ 10 _ _ _ ?” 11 12 13 Directions: Determine which sentences contain misplaced or dangling modifiers and rewrite any sentence that needs to be corrected Write the letter found at the end of each sentence with a mistake into the space in the palindrome with the matching number Do not use letters that follow correct sentences! The first one has been done for you The hat perched jauntily atop his head that was two feet tall and cone-shaped (6-A) The hat, which was two feet tall and cone-shaped, perched jauntily atop his head Squawking and cackling, the cat was attacked by the angry chicken (12-A) Deciding that she’d had enough, Olga stalked out of the gory movie (9-R) Mr Smith bought a computer for his son that didn’t work (2-A) The house on the corner of the street has a cupola that has always intrigued me (5-S) The candidate gave a speech in the new school auditorium that he hoped was not too boring (8-A) Bruised and mushy, the shopper replaced the apples in the bin (10-I) The mayor decided that the city needed more garbage pick-ups during her lunch break (3-S) 55 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Adjectives and Adverbs Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers Name Date _ Palindromes (continued) Having become anxious about the food on the steam table, the chef removed the grilled chicken, which had been sitting out for an hour (8-A) 10 Having eaten a runny, two-scoop ice cream cone, my shirt was covered with stains (4-I) 11 After hiking across ten miles of desert, Carlos, who was beginning to think that he had planned poorly, decided to make camp (1-H) 12 When the pilot became ill, the plane was landed by a passenger without any problems (11-S) 13 Waking up after a bad dream, his room seemed unfamiliar and threatening (9-T) 14 Our store policy is to listen patiently to complaints by our customers, no matter how big or small they are (5-T) 15 Finding a high fence in his path, the deer simply sped up and leapt over it (7-C) 16 After falling steadily for three days, Barbara wondered if the rain would ever cease (13-W) 17 Meghan was reading the owner’s manual for the new car that she had found in the glove compartment (1-W) 18 Soaring gracefully over the lake, Darryl was thrilled at sighting an osprey (7-R) 56 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Miscellaneous Usage Problems Unit 12: Tough Choices: Like/As, As If, As Though; Fewer/Less, Amount/Number; Among/Between; Beside/Besides I feel like I hear the word like so often Yes, it’s as if some people never learned that it’s not a conjunction This unit covers several groups of words that are often confused and misused Like vs As, As If, and As Though Rule 1: Like, in standard usage, should introduce a phrase—a group of words WITH NO subject and verb Use as, as if, or as though to introduce a clause—a group of words WITH a subject and verb Examples: Nonstandard: He speaks like my uncle did Standard: He speaks as my uncle did Standard: He speaks like my uncle Nonstandard: She looks like she is tired Standard: She looks as if (or as though) she is tired Fewer vs Less; Number vs Amount Rule 2: Use fewer and number before plural nouns or things that can be counted (pencils, people) Use less and amount before singular nouns that refer to one quantity (air, trouble) Examples: Nonstandard: I hope we have less problems on this test Standard: I hope we have fewer problems on this test Standard: I wish I had less trouble finding my seat in the stands Nonstandard: A huge amount of people were at the stadium Standard: A huge number of people were at the stadium Standard: That’s a huge amount of work 57 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Miscellaneous Usage Problems To u g h C h o i c e s : L i k e / A s , A s I f , A s T h o u g h ; F e w e r / L e s s , Amount/Number; Among/Between; Beside/Besides Among vs Between Rule 3: Use among with three or more items or when referring to a group Use between for two items or when distinguishing between one item and all the other items in the group Examples: Nonstandard: Divide the money between the three of them Standard: Divide the money among the three of them Standard: Divide the money between Paul and the others Beside vs Besides Rule 4: Beside means next to; besides means in addition to or other than Examples: Nonstandard: Beside my mother, no other family attended Standard: Besides my mother, no other family attended Standard: Sit here beside me Mini-Lesson While all of the words listed above are sometimes misused, the most problematic by far is like In fact, it is so often used as a conjunction that this usage may soon become accepted as standard Students should know, however, that despite the nonstandard use that they see and hear every day, in formal writing like still must be used only as a preposition Time is well spent, then, on oral drills that let students get used to hearing the standard rather than the nonstandard usage At first, the sentence He looks as if he’s tired will sound much worse to most of them than He looks like he’s tired Spend some time familiarizing your students with the standard usage, either by having them write and share their own sentences using as, as if, and as though, or by making up sentences with blanks where those words should appear and having students supply the correct words out loud Answers Page 59, Do You Know? as if fewer beside among like number as though Besides number 10 as if 11 between 12 fewer Number of bones in the hand: 54 Page 60, Maze The correct path passes through: I feel Among the He talked Alissa The rabbit A large Angelo I asked Besides having 10 We divided 11 We had 12 Besides the 13 The number 14 He looked 15 Conchita sat 16 Joanna 17 Among the 58 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources To u g h C h o i c e s : L i k e / A s , A s I f , A s T h o u g h ; F e w e r / L e s s , Amount/Number; Among/Between; Beside/Besides Name Miscellaneous Usage Problems Date _ Do You Know? Most of us take our hands for granted, but they are really quite remarkable— and complex! How many bones are in one human hand? Answer Directions: In each sentence below, choose the answer in the parentheses that will make the sentence correct Write the number of your choice in the space to the left of the sentence When you finish, add up the numbers from all the sentences to find the answer to the question above _ He looked at me (like, as if) he had never seen me before! _ Matthew was disappointed that there were (fewer, less) people at the game this week than at the last one _ Let’s sit down here (beside, besides) the stream _ We had picked ten dozen apples (between, among) the four of us _ My sister looks (like, as) me but she has a very different personality _ I never remember the (amount, number) of players on a soccer team (Hint: If you have identified all the correct answers so far, your subtotal should be 21.) _ The bird acted (like, as though) it had a broken wing _ (Beside, Besides) my parents, there were six others at the party _ The (amount, number) of barrels of oil the world uses in a day is staggering _ 10 If she had acted (like, as if) she were confident, no one would have known how nervous she was _ 11 He divided the candy (among, between) Tony and himself _ 12 Liam has (fewer, less) freckles than his brother 59 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources To u g h C h o i c e s : L i k e / A s , A s I f , A s T h o u g h ; F e w e r / L e s s , Amount/Number; Among/Between; Beside/Besides Miscellaneous Usage Problems Name Date _ Maze Directions: Find your way from start to finish by passing only through areas in which the words in italics have been used correctly Avoid possible mistakes involving the use of like, as, as if, and as though, as well as between and among, number and amount, fewer and less, and beside and besides The correct path to the finish passes through 17 areas START Be Alissa mak es c they hil i n M i just exi as co ng There I feel as s goi a are w t less i h e e n r k o if this maze e i peo o t s tl y l r n e e ple f v b e may be fairly n for H e o i e t difficult Among the Sit here three finalists, on the couch We had to He talked as he finished besides me pay less money, though he knew last The students but we got many nothing about asked a large fewer apples as what happened amount of good a result after class questions I had less We divided problems with the money among Lena looks Beside you the test than I the four people like she may two, I don’t did with the who had helped be getting have any tired homework friends with the sale sid of u s two he es t y c am e b od no Angelo tried to act like a movie star, but he did a number of things wrong bet Beside the view, the room is also beautiful We h w e a d n ’t a en dim e a ll five of u s the violin piece to be played Conchita sat beside me and She didn’t behave like she should have FINISH o ly u loo k just as it was meant ed a s if nde rs to o d He was lying besides the river and dreaming Joanna played Among the things I like best are trout, potatoes, and chocolate The number of visible stars was truly amazing rea l of nt mou asted ge a w A lar een as b time h I asked our math teacher to give us fewer problems to over the break She thinks just like I about his haircut Between all the players, I think John is the tallest He Besides having to cut the grass, I also have to help my mother with the shopping A great amount of tickets to the dance went unsold he The rabbit hopped right between Fiona and Talia talked as if she had always known me t oun d m a un o eat r f g A ere ils w s s o f f 60 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Review Unit 13: Usage Review These mazes review all of the topics covered in this book The Turkey Maze reviews standard agreement between subjects and verbs and between pronouns and antecedents The Diamond Maze reviews usage concepts involving verbs—subject and verb agreement, the past and future perfect tenses, and the standard forms of irregular verbs The Pig Maze reviews agreement of pronouns and antecedents, cases of personal pronouns, adjectives and adverbs, and the frequently misused words amount, number, fewer, less, beside, besides, between, among, like, as if, and as though Answers Page 62, Turkey Maze The easy path goes through: Every class Here’s a pig! Is each Does one of you Every animal Every ram is Has every one of Neither of these Each horse 10 Most of the geese 11 Has the silo 12 There are 13 One of 14 Not one The difficult path goes through: Every class Here’s one Does each Is everyone Everybody is Neither this Each of Every tool Do all 10 Where’s 11 Neither the 12 Has either 13 One of the 14 Do any 15 Here’s a 16 Neither of 17 Each of 18 Has he 19 Where’s 20 Is each 21 There is 22 Does the farm 23 Every teacher 24 Each of 25 The children 26 Either this 27 Neither Ari 28 Has everybody 29 One of 30 Do all 31 This farm 32 One of 33 Was it 34 Not one 35 There’s 36 Neither of 37 Each of 38 One of 39 Not one Page 63, Diamond Maze The correct path passes through: Is one The hen The dough… Anita Not one of the animals… When I Because she’d Both Dara Neither Heather 10 After Tomas 11 Neither of the girls 12 Either Carlos 13 Sarah laid 14 I can’t believe 15 If he… 16 We could 17 Each of them 18 By Wednesday 19 I could 20 Has anybody 21 Neither has chosen Page 64, Pig Maze The correct path goes through: It looks Each dog He and I Besides us Neither Alvin He is Decide Get a I feel 10 We saw 11 Did each 12 Michele 13 Andre 14 No one Bonus: She offered it to Stu and me 61 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Usage Review Review Name Date _ Turkey Maze Directions: There are two paths to the finish, each starting at (S) at the turkey’s feet and ending at (F) in his bill Both paths require you to go only through areas that contain sentences in which subjects and verbs agree and pronouns and antecedents agree The easy path to the finish passes through 14 correct sentences; the difficult path goes through— yes!—39 correct sentences Do all the apple trees bear fruit? ls Each of the anima and the birds on ting this farm is fascina ay in its own special w my nieces live on F a big farm in Ohio s he ft o s er m it h see Ne s k ey art t ur sm y v er ne yo ver ls e s Ha he gir of t her ght brou study ow n ? g u id e w oo n lh u of se as t i s he h so o H b ig r s e s ! av see Bo en or h e this? ll so o co f w sp s ot ere H s ts h o f er cat ’s t ea ch t h e he m ic e la m ? e e re bs? gg Here ’s o n e s ch as eith in d er g its of TV fo th dd es On er e c to ow e o f da s v e th y? es a i n lo e e th t o gg e Ne ir shf cra s o i e ck t u no her t ll s ve s r h th is un ry lef at co shoa de o n e t it lt h t rw s m as ay D oth ? oe er W se h ca ac O n H he H n er e’ s ws co e th vet of d a e ee n m cut he far es t Do ts own hay? i There is one of the swans swimming in the pond Does o n you hav e of e fi lm Nei ? t h I s ea us haver of c ei c h t H ere ’s a of i t h er e’s Ne e kids r e H i t s! th eaned rabb is w e ne in h E v e r y o ily h a s Has ill e m a W f r e h ors o Has everyone ed? ttheir own h f thee v i r r a e o l o os ws n brought their o e co ? n a ve ot h of own picnic yo k? Eac cows H h ens g l the milk n a rin t the orns al i v e lunches and o y o r D g D ad s h s ve snacks for the t ’s ? u E e r n f t e h t i ne A farm tour? wa er o ye e Why lunc u ? ry o h ry f o y m t i i E v ea n t y d g f e w a s n I o N hu w see ll! re ’s th er y to b u is Ea t h e h a s m s an r e a d f th n Ev he e ery r t r sp h d e its clas e re h st c t t s ow i a i a e tod n bu had N is s e w a h y fo s thi r m s r n o e r ti trip specia h l t w o y ork a an e d far ing D o p ne ? m e g e sh earin sh e h l of t bel is t One has a llar e to dy l y s o Each h g c t o o e s d of us is ready of ad bl yb nd Is e o n it er s le sta ver frie h t E so E i p a t h t he g so pi n? a g! le pi Every teacher is having fun too a e s has hurt his ankl ’s re Thecolt! er Sue or she Every an im Eith rse has e extra pens seems so c al ho hav alm ch n saddle Ea ow Every ram is its eese eg in his pen th friendly un h e boy One of t Each of t h a blaze o e cow n it s h s n as Every pe T os h rso ec e n O h ild has the the hav ne o r ir ef f far en to w l m work to o h o av rk day Ei ev th an d n ery or er ig t su h ht p Where’s Is each T v t s the corn- teer sti t she for ll h field? sale ? w the as in ir co ter at s ot it? Has t he anyt silo hin g gi n Ther ea mul re a ea Mo don nd a see st o key m f in that fie ld One of ses? he bus e’s t her W us wants to go home Not one of ody ryb hard? e ev orc as he s farm made H en t ’s all these Thi here e W me think about or ds ys going ri n bir way turke A e r where my food t th n a een he to be a eit has b ow N iving? has its origin anksg find a h n o T S r t ba s le up ab i is gro r th ne o he o t at ed d s l po n o it a Every e r in ne of the n o a O n tudent i s ct s a h T s e s it isa horse a wants their W Lou a goat r d e i o staying parents to on o sa ot dent r wh e is come here in its N u ve sh ing too l l a st s e d t v s ea ep ilke l early? m cow a e shoes of my One ome untied c has S 62 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Usage Review Name Date _ Diamond Maze r ste oa rc lle w ro ho he es rt th fo t ey s a ied on id r m r k wor gh de ol as ou w he en t il? ch ht ith coa nc ug pe ro g w he ea s b ittin g, t av g n es lo es y h g eg ar so re nc e f bi t f e en ther Geo ery rF nc v no Vi lain s or d a er d ri n th ’d Ch as l ea aa he r r s H he en h Da se er u eit h ca Do The Be th Bo d dr He unk rm m o ot he re w rc ate W a he rb n I me efo fo ge re r t h th ho er No m aft e hi to e e ,L ne r h ke, es w of er l ie th fat e co Te w e he ul d il an d re im l ha all l r v ea ve y d als eb d wa on ee y p we n s ’t ick nt e ly th kn er v ed ow ing he en fa in e an ab r s rth ho ou up ur er ti d e t h eit N Directions: This is a review of usage concepts involving verbs— subject and verb agreement, the past and future perfect tenses, and the standard forms of irregular verbs Avoid areas that contain a nonstandard use of a verb! The correct path to the end passes through 21 areas Is one of the ponies quite gentle? He START I could think have laid he choose down longer very poorly The dough had risen, but then it fell Anita has taken a shower and begun to get dressed If we Not one of the five divers have raised a sunken pirate ship before By the time Gregory has begun his homework, I will already be done for an hour After Tomas had set the pot on the stove to boil, he chose several fresh herbs to flavor the sauce in We could have gone to a good movie, but then we chose this one Each of them was unaware of the deer lying nearby ’t w ay l ? l im rs! er ta i ilm ist th ou ff ted n h lef ys e so e l e m e p t oll r en e w om er se ou er c f or ve dy wh er m r ov bo just ee ld ny hr o g f u et o sa in d ec be ett tak Ha d in ss r, h e n an wa on s lai es ce so a tat in Pr egun cy h ent s n r b ui d ffe at Q e di he th fiv If ve to lie go be ill ew an Ic sd ur Th By Ic er ou e w We dn ld lai Ca s d rlo no esd he so ay ve g w r o he rJ j sh ad ust oh e w ne e a ve as il sw w br am l n fa n ou v on p e c ster gh w he ho ts h rd er om se e n e eb o sk at in an nce op oc a d ic bi ul be g ar g l si an ak fy ew ou to s as n ch i oo ffle a se n d to so go b bi rd w at ch By Mary thought that we brought all the wrong things for a day on a crowded beach g Neither of the girls has laid out artwork before, but both of them have done computer graphics I don’t think she brang enough food Neither has Where’s your chosen to mom and go END dad? Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Ei th er Sa h Th He had took a wrong turn 63 Review bad Get a book from Dara or her tween these two Decide be He looks like he is angry My car has less rust spots Date _ S it here besides me and her He is the older of the two has its own bowl dog ch Ea nd me will help ch a Za if o r m Sh e o ff er I rea cte d l ike I e d it to St a u Sp ea k g e can vigorous I shook th taller than h er I am cted as if dre a he An kn ew he everyone s e r ve t Do hei r d me are g ry an oin pen Ga ? gt N od fast icky is the a y e st o No f the tw o o ne Le b e s id ss es m e c ares p ro ble ms arose N e it h e r un Alvin nor Sam had brought his I think Shane played g in s, two more are co m i d es u Bes ood today yg Min thinks like they F tle en ia Work careful! You should give the book to s u p p li e s ? eithe g her own r R e x ls b ri n or he Michele usually paints just a e g ir ats for the play e s s w e l of th l as s e good v s e e u a m n e s m t o h e e o h f T f e r s l ach less choice us h farm anima s now de nd ber of e h r t e , e i s Di m n e o d i o s n e e B rs a w ho is re num d cold a b a y le ady rge etting eT of the boys tried their hardest a la I’m g Every one Th saw s if e el a W I fe M e are less bugs now Ther He and I are sharing Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Usage Review Name Pig Maze Directions: Find your way from the start (S) at the pig’s nose to the finish (F) at its tail by passing only through areas with sentences containing correct agreement of pronouns and antecedents, personal pronouns, adjectives and adverbs, and the words amount, number, fewer, less, beside, besides, between, among, like, as if, and as though The correct path will take you through 14 areas I t l o o k s as i f y ou a n d I d i d n ’t w in X Bonus: There is one other correct sentence in the maze Which is it? S T h in k q uic k ! ’t explain it good I didn t h e r e h t e of u een Betw ad only two dimes h s we an d fee I l ver 64 • Scholastic Professional Books Grammar Puzzles & Mazes ays lw e and m [...]... thought it might be time for you and her to take a rest in the shade of a big tree Mom and I put a box in the car; now if you and she will go and grab it, you’ll find that it’s a little Anna, Rachelle’s dad and I are thinking that you and she are getting warm, but you could get even warmer next to this! If the clues made up by we parents are not too hard, you should go for a swing 24 Grammar Puzzles. .. the girls and us? One of us hikers has to carry the bag for Mr Chang and she The jazz concert was a surprise for we girls in the chorus My father and I signed up for a pottery class given by Lo and her He and I went to the movies with Mona, Jenna, and her After Jorge and we finish, you and they can use our table We students are too young to vote, but Jason and he can Greta and he were so happy to get... we and the others ride with Kira and them? My idea is for Jen and me to go before Ari and her Both Min and he are planning to write to Hal and her Mike and me want to play, but we can wait till later If you and they want to help, take this wrench to Sue and her Give we girls the map and we’ll meet him and Di there Anita and me sent a card to Ernesto and and them Has Leif or he decided about traveling... dad and I are thinking that you and she are getting warm, but you could get even warmer next to this! 5 We puzzle-makers thought it might be time for you and her to take a rest in the shade of a big tree 6 Mom and I put a box in the car; now if you and she will go and grab it, you’ll find that it’s a little _ Treasure: rabbit Page 25, Maze 1 Can we and the others… 2 My idea is 3 Both Min and he 4. .. while after working hard Rachelle, if you and she look where Dad and I grow vegetables, you will find another clue If you and her have come this far, it’s time for you to start over! It’s up to you and her to find the right clue where you and I sometimes eat lunch Go to the place where the neighbors and we share a gate Mom and me hope that you and her are not getting too tired and have to lie down... –body And the words that use neither suffix can be thought of as referring to one thing (neither one or each one) Answers Page 12, Maze The correct path goes through: 1 Is each of the birds this tall? 2 Not one of them is moving! 3 Both Nan and Carol have seen pelicans here 4 Everyone in my group has finished sketching them 5 One of the biggest flamingos is about to fly! 6 Flamingos are such regal birds!... mountain, dug a tunnel through it, and then, like a huge giant, stepped on it First I try the swings, then I climb the bars, and then I swing again Maria climbed to the top of the jungle gym, hung by her knees, and pretended to be asleep Is a w he it When I lost tr I waited fo ac r We t e then sted sa il First Sheila brings us hot dogs, then she goes for chips, and last she gets us drinks , Mom of ere... If you and they 5 Corey and they 6 On Friday the Jacksons 7 My father and I… 8 Has Leif or he… 9 He and I… 10 After Jorge and we 11 Greta and he 23 Grammar Puzzles & Mazes © Jim Halverson, Scholastic Teaching Resources Pronoun Case Pronouns Name Date _ Treasure Hunt Rachelle’s parents have a surprise for her: a new pet! Help Rachelle and her friend Anna through the... him.) By working backwards, students learn how to manipulate personal pronouns in subject and object cases Answers Page 24, Treasure Hunt The correct clues are: 1 Rachelle, if you and she look where Dad and I grow vegetables, you will find another clue 2 Go to the place where the neighbors and we share a gate 3 It’s up to you and her to find the right clue where you and I sometimes eat lunch 4 Anna, Rachelle’s... recognize (or often even to accept) standard agreement An oral drill can help them get used to hearing standard forms First, go over the reasons (outlined above) that we often choose nonstandard plural forms when we talk, and then discuss the appropriateness of using informal English when we talk with friends but standard English when we write Next, let students hear the standard usage in clear and