April 4, 2005 (Monday)

20th class meeting, Spring 2005

 

 

Class activities:  Today Chris covered SOME dependent word fragments (not all—he broke them into more manageable chunks and spread them out).  He displayed short (but correct) sentences first, establishing that they were correct (had a subject and a verb) and then added a subordinator (dependent word) to make it dependent.  Then students were asked to complete the fragment by adding a complete thought.  Chris broke up the subordinators into categories: cause & effect, condition, time, and contrast.  Students spent time identifying which subordinators fit best in the sentences according to the relationship the sentences had to each other.   Chris has students add the subordinator both before the first of two sentences and between the two sentences (for sentence variety).  He then groups four or five “sentences” together (one or two of which are fragments) and has students combine the fragments with the most appropriate sentence (before or after the fragment).

 

I think the distinguishing of subordinators by function is greatly helpful to students, especially since some of them misuse some subordinators.  His further distinction of cause & effect and contrast as being related to unexpected result and expected result is most helpful to students.  When one of the students I work with had trouble on her WebCT work choosing between “although” and “because,” I redirected her thought to the idea of whether the connection between the sentences was expected or not, and she went back to her list and examined the differences again; it seemed to become clear to her. 

 

He also showed, in this lesson, how subordinators within the same category could be interchanged (e.g. since and because, even though and although). 

 

The lesson, I believe, reinforced correct word patterns (even students who never read must read correct sentences over and over).  I thought the choice of a lot of drill with “unless” and “until” was a good one since these are two students frequently have trouble with. 

 

It was also helpful that today’s quizzes matched the activities. The students had a fairly easy time with them.

 

Concern: I was worried about the idea that students may use optional commas when the subordinator falls in the middle of the two subject-verb groups.  In many grammar texts (including Grassroots, a widely used text, and others), it is specified NOT to use a comma if the subordinator falls between the two subject-verb groups (e.g. He left because he was bored.)  In your text, it doesn’t mention it one way or another, but the examples show not to use a comma with the subordinator in the middle (e.g. p. 138: “I checked my money before I invited Pedro to lunch” and on p. 329, in the section on unnecessary commas: “The question, sir, is not whether you committed the crime but when you committed the crime”).  “Whether” is listed as a dependent word and the comma before it is crossed out.  Also, in the handbooks for 101 texts, the same rule is presented (e.g. Hacker, under unnecessary commas: “Don’t visit Paris at the height of the tourist season unless you have booked hotel reservations”—the comma before “unless” is marked out).  I HAVE read in some advanced (handbook) books that the contrast subordinators can get optional commas (although, even though, though, and whereas).  Another handbook has a special section on not using a comma to set off a “because clause” that follows a main clause since it’s a common error.  I ding my students on that.  I simply tell them NOT to use commas if the subordinator comes after a complete thought (they get different rules on “who,” “which,” and “that”).

 

I know this is so tricky that you won’t want to go into something so technical as when to use the comma and when not to when they’re neck deep in other grammar.  However, I’m worried that telling them it’s OK to use a comma when the dependent clause is after the independent clause will start them on a habit that they’ll have to break when they get to the comma chapter or in 191 or 101, etc.