Grammar%20Rules

1
Grammar Rules

• Lay or Lie?
• Too, To, or Two?
• Sit or Set?
• Their, Theyre, or There?

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Lay or Lie? Which is used?

• LIE - To lie down is an act that can be
  attributed to the subject.There is no object of
  this verb, as the subject is doing the action
  without a receiver.
• LAY - Lay must have a direct object. One lays
  something down. (Hint substitute "put." If "put"
  works, then "lay" is also correct.)

3
Conjugation of LIE

• I lie down today. (present tense)
• The money lay there yesterday. (past tense)
• Sarah will lie down there tomorrow. (future
  tense)
• The book has lain here many times before. (use
  perfect tense with have, had, has)

4
Conjugation of LAY

• I lay the book down.
• (present tense)
• I laid it down yesterday.
• (past tense)
• I will lay it down again tomorrow. (future tense)
• I have laid it here many times before. (use
  perfect tense with have, had, has)

5
Choose the lie or lay for each of the blanks
below. Be sure to use the correct tense.

• 1. He _____ on the hard pavement this morning,
  gasping for breath.
• 2. How long did he _____ there?
• 3. I don't know how long he had ______ there.
• 4. He picked up the wounded bird and _____ it
  gently on the table.
• 5. She _____ her sewing aside and went to the
  door.

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• 6. Are you going to _____ there all day?
• 7. The three puppies ______ in the basket.
• 8. Linda _____ her coat on the couch.
• 9. Not feeling well, he _____ in his bed all day.
• 10. He decided to just _____ around the house all
  summer.
• 11. Someone _____ the dictionary on my glasses.
• 12. The money _____ there all day in plain sight.
• 13. She had _____ the book on the ground under
  the tree.
• 14. Ginny _____ down on a beach towel.

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• 15. I saw the hat that you _____ on the hall
  table.
• 16. She had just _____ down for a nap when the
  phone rang.
• 17. The two teenagers _____ in the sun all day.
• 18. Have they _____ the cornerstone of the
  building yet?
• 19. She had _____ the coverlet over the child at
  midnight.
• 20. He should not ____ the blame for the accident
  on the other driver.

8

• Ann _____ the baby on the bed and then ____ his
  stuffed bear beside him. I wondered how long the
  baby would ____ there without crying. Aunt Marge
  said that she remembered one day when he had
  _____ in the same position for an hour. She said
  another time when she was there, the puppy had
  _____ next to the baby on the bed.She remembered
  picking up the puppy while it was still asleep.
  Then she ____ the puppy on the rug. When Aunt
  Marge left, the puppy was still there.

9

• It had _____ there for nearly two hours sound
  asleep! Meanwhile, the babywoke up and _____
  quietly for fully half an hour just watching the
  puppy snore. Finally, neither the puppy nor the
  baby could _____ there any longer, so the baby
  _____ on the old sympathy play and started
  whining pitifully until Ann was forced to _____
  aside the sweater that she had hoped to finish
  knitting while the baby _____ down.

10
Too, To, or Two?

• Two is a number.
• She counted, "One, two, three.
• Too is an adverb that can mean also.
• He wanted to go too.
• Too is an adverb that can also mean more than
  enough.
•    This is too much for me!

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• To a noun or noun phrase is a preposition.
• Take me to the ball game.
• I went to bed early that night.
• To a verb is an infinitive.
• She wanted to go.
• He decided to run away.

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Choose the correct two, too, or to for each of
the blanks below

• 1. Many students read _____ quickly and _____
  carelessly.
• 2. I was _____ scared _____ say a word to her!
• 3. I am going _____ the store now.
• 4. They are building _____ new houses on our
  block.
• 5. May I go _____?
• 6. Do you think it is _____ late _____ do that
  now?

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• 7. I have _____ new shirts that I can't wait
  _____ wear.
• 8. My dental appointment lasted _____ hours and
  that was _____ long!
• 9. This room is _____ cold _____ stay in very
  much longer.
• 10. After I played racquetball for _____ hours, I
  was _____ tired _____ walk home.
• 11. It is not good _____ put _____ much salt on
  your food.
• 12. My next dental appointment is for tomorrow at
  _____ o'clock.
• 13. I am not _____ excited about going _____ the
  dentist again.
• 14. My brother flew _____ Alabama earlier this
  week.
• 15. We have planted _____ rose bushes in pots on
  the patio.

14
Sit or Set?

• SIT - To sit is an act that can be attributed to
  the subject.
• To sit means to take a resting position.There
  is no object of this verb, as the subject is
  doing the action without a receiver of the
  action.
• SET - Set must have a direct object.
• To set means to place something in a special or
  certain position.
• One sets something down.
• One sets something right.(Hint substitute
  "put." If "put" works, then "set" is also
  correct.)

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Conjugation of SIT

• I sit today. (present tense)
• The money sat there yesterday. (past tense)
• Sarah will sit there tomorrow. (future tense)
• The book has sat here many times before.
• (perfect tense)
• (use with have, had, and has)

16
Conjugation of SET

• I set the book down.
• (present tense)
• I set it down yesterday.
• (past tense)
• I will set it down again tomorrow.
• (future tense)
• I have set it here many times before.
• (perfect tense)
• (use with have, had, has)

17
Choose the sit or set for each of the blanks
below. Be sure to use the correct tense.

• 1- Have you _____ the alarm clock for tomorrow?
• 2 - How long did he _____ there?
• 3- I don't know how long he had ______ there.
• 4- He picked up the wounded bird and _____ it
  gently on the table.
• 5- She _____ her sewing aside and went to the
  door.

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• 6- Are you going to _____ there all day?
• 7- Where shall we ______?
• 8- Linda _____ her coat on the couch.
• 9- ______ the packages on the front porch by the
  door.
• 10- He decided to just _____ around the house all
  summer.
• 11- Someone _____ the dictionary on my glasses.
• 12- The money _____ there all day in plain sight.
• 13- She had _____ the book on the ground under
  the tree.
• 14- Ginny _____ down on a beach towel.

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• 15- I always ______ near the door.
• 16- Dr. Javier _____ my brother's arm when he
  broke it.
• 17- The two teenagers _____ in the sun all day.
• 18- Chris may ____ a new record in the race
  today.
• 19- Just _____ right here until they call your
  name.
• 20- Sandy, please _______ the table.

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Their, There, or Theyre?

• Their is a possessive pronoun. It always
  describes a noun.
• Note the spelling of their. It comes from the
  word they, so the e comes before the i.
• Examples Their dog has fleas. (possessive of
  they)

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• There is an adverb meaning "that location." It is
  sometimes used with the verb to be as an idiom.
  It is spelled like here which means "this
  location."
• Examples I put the collar right there. (that
  location)
• There are five prime numbers less than ten.
  (with to be)

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• They're is a contraction of they are. Note the
  spelling The a from are is replaced by an
  apostrophe.
• What are the first few prime numbers? They're 1,
  2, 3, 5, and 7. (contraction of they are)

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Lets try some . . .

• ______ are no excuses this time, Buddy!
• I can't imagine where __________ going after the
  movie.
• It's ________ car, so let them decide where we're
  going.
• Wherever ________ are two or more firefighters in
  the same room, you know what they'll be talking
  about.
• Whatever ________ doing to this highway, it seems
  to be taking forever to finish.
• These students have a poor attendance record. I'm
  worried about ______ being absent during next
  week's exams.

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• Because Tamara and Casey are always smooching in
  their car, __________ friends expect them to
  arrive late to dinners and movies.
• "Don't touch those cookies!" warned Mrs.
  Patterson. "__________ made with termites and
  honey for Freddie, my pet anteater.
• __________ were muddy paw prints on the new white
  sofa.
• The Mitchells cut __________ grass so
  infrequently that early in the morning, you can
  find wild rabbits feasting on the long green
  shoots.
• Dusty and Chris came to the essay exam without
  __________ dictionaries.
• Michael blasts music from his car stereo,
  annoying other but __________ looks of
  disapproval don't register.
• Sheba and Cindy Sue, the family cats, keep Jeanne
  from sleeping past 6 a.m. __________ meows of
  hunger can wake her from the deepest sleep.

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• My dog Oreo loves to chase lizards because
  __________ not as dangerous as the two family
  cats with sharp claws.
• Frank continues to wear his old, dirty, smelly
  sneakers because __________ the most comfortable
  shoes that he owns.
• Dallas and Kelly crammed until 4 a.m. for their
  final exam in accounting __________ hoping for
  As.
• I'm starving! Are __________ any more leftover
  honey-roasted grasshoppers in the fridge?
• Paulette and Judi tried to eat the cafeteria
  hamburgers, but _________ stomachs are queasy.
• Is __________ a possibility that we can abandon
  our plans to rake the yard?
• "Look over _________ !" shouted Lenny
• Kay has a huge collection of DVDs, everything
  from "How To" titles to Mae West movies.
  __________ all lined up in alphabetical order,
  filling five bookcases in the living room.

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• Because my careless roommate Jennifer is always
  dripping grape juice, you will find purple spots
  here and __________ on the carpeting.
• Julias neighbors are driving her crazy. They
  play __________ loud music until 2 a.m., after
  which __________ German shepherd barks for
  another three hours.
• Both of Clarks grandfathers wear toupees because
  they don't want to blind any beautiful women with
  __________ shiny bald heads.
• Derrick's coworkers at Bernies Burger Emporium
  never get hungry because __________ always eating
  the onion rings.
• The students put __________ heads on the desks
  and groaned.