Practice in Using the Past Forms of Verbs

Practice in Using the Past Forms of Verbs In this two-part exercise in using the past forms of regular and irregular verbs, you or your students will first select the correct form of the verb in parentheses, and then combine the sentences in the exercise into a cohesive paragraph. This exercise can be combined with a lesson on sentence combining. Instructions For each of the following sentences, write the correct past or past-perfect form of the verb in parentheses.Combine and arrange the 31 sentences in the exercise into a paragraph of 11 or 12 new sentences. You may add, delete, or alter words in the interest of clarity, coherence, and cohesion. When you have completed both parts of the exercise, compare your work with the sample answers on page two. Exercise Questions Jughead (shut) himself up in his room last night.He (stay) there for seven hours.He (study) for the big test in history.All term he had not (open) his textbook.Often he had (forget) to go to class.Sometimes he (go) to class.He never (take) notes.So he (have) a lot of work to do.He (read) 14 chapters in his history book.He (write) dozens of pages of notes.He (draw) a time chart.The time chart (help) him to remember important dates.Then he (sleep) for one hour.The alarm (ring).Jughead (get) up to review his notes.He had (forget) a few things.But he (feel) confident.He (drink) a mug of coffee.He (eat) a candy bar.He (run) to the classroom.He had (bring) a rabbits foot for good luck.He (arrive) early at the classroom.Nobody else had (show) up yet.He (put) his head down on the desk.He never (mean) to fall asleep.He (fall) into a deep slumber.He (dream).In his dream he (pass) the test.Several hours later he (wake) up.The room had (grow) dark.Jughead had (sleep) through the big test. Correct Verb Forms Jughead shut himself up in his room last night.He stayed there for seven hours.He studied for the big test in history.All term he had not opened his textbook.Often he had forgotten to go to class.Sometimes he went to class.He never took notes.So he had a lot of work to do.He read 14 chapters in his history book.He wrote dozens of pages of notes.He drew a time chart.The time chart helped him to remember important dates.Then he slept for one hour.The alarm rang.Jughead got up to review his notes.He had forgotten a few things.But he felt confident.He drank a mug of coffee.He ate a candy bar.He ran to the classroom.He had brought a rabbits foot for good luck.He arrived early at the classroom.Nobody else had shown up yet.He put his head down on the desk.He never meant to fall asleep.He fell into a deep slumber.He dreamed (or dreamt).In his dream he passed the test.Several hours later he woke up.The room had grown dark.Jughead had slept through the big test. Sample Combinations Here is the original version of the paragraph The Big Test, which served as the model for the sentence-completion exercise on page one. Many variations are possible, of course, and so your paragraph may differ significantly from this version. The Big TestJughead shut himself up in his room last night for seven hours to study for the big test in history. He had not opened his textbook all term, and often he had forgotten to go to class. When he did go, he never took notes, and so he had a lot of work to do. He read 14 chapters in his history book, wrote dozens of pages of notes, and drew a time chart to help him remember important dates. Then he slept for just one hour. When the alarm rang, Jughead got up to review his notes, and although he had forgotten a few things, he felt confident. After drinking a mug of coffee and eating a candy bar, he picked up a rabbits foot for good luck and ran to the classroom. He arrived early; nobody else had shown up yet. And so he put his head down on the desk and, without meaning to, fell into a deep slumber. He dreamt that he had passed the test, but when he woke up several hours later, the room had grown dark. Jughead had slept through the big test.

Definition and Examples of Zeugma

Definition and Examples of Zeugma Zeugma is a  rhetorical term for the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words although its use may be grammatically or logically correct with only one. Adjective: zeugmatic. Rhetorician Edward P.J. Corbett offers this distinction between zeugma and syllepsis: in zeugma, unlike syllepsis, the single word does not fit grammatically or idiomatically with one member of the pair. Thus, in Corbetts view, the first example below would be syllepsis, the second zeugma: You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit.(Star Trek: The Next Generation)Kill the boys and the luggage!​(Fluellen in William Shakespeares Henry V) However, as Bernard Dupriez points out in A Dictionary of Literary Devices (1991), There is little agreement among rhetoricians on the difference between syllepsis and zeugma, and Brian Vickers notes that even the Oxford English Dictionary confuses syllepsis and zeugma (Classical Rhetoric in English Poetry, 1989). In contemporary rhetoric, the two terms are commonly used interchangeably to refer to a figure of speech in which the same word is applied to two others in different senses. Etymology From the Greek, a yoking, a bond Examples and Observations Zeugma is when a word applies to two others in different ways; or to two words when it only semantically suits one. An example of the former quotes Alanis Morissette: You held your breath and the door for me. How chivalrous and zeugmatic. An example of the latter is with wailing mouths and hearts- but dont blame Morissette for this doggerel.(Gary Nunn, Move Over, George Orwell- This Is How to Sound Really Clever. The Guardian, October 11, 2013)He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men.(Tim OBrien, The Things They Carried. McClelland Stewart, 1990)She arrived in a taxi and a flaming rage.(John Lyons, Semantics. Cambridge University  Press, 1977)We were partners, not soul mates, two separate people who happened to be sharing a menu and a life.(Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses. Ivy Books, 1995)[H]e was alternately cudgelling his brains and his donkey when, passing the workhouse, his eyes encountered the bill on the gate.(Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist , 1839) I just blew my nose, a fuse, and three circuit breakers.(The Jim Henson Hour, 1989)I was in no sort of nick for this encounter, I admit, full of fear and afternoon scotch and the homeward tug.(Marin Amis, Money. Jonathan Cape, 1984)Whether the nymph shall break Dianas law,Or some frail China-jar receive a flaw,Or stain her honour, or her new brocade.(Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, 1717)She lowered her standards by raising her glass,Her courage, her eyes and his hopes.(Flanders and Swann, Have Some Madeira, MDear)The theme of the Egg Hunt is learning is delightful and delicious- as, by the way, am I.(Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg in The West Wing) Zeugma as a Writing Fault Like syllepsis, the figure known as zeugma uses a single word to link two thoughts, but in syllepsis the relationship of the linking word to both ideas is correct, whereas in zeugma the relationship is correct for one idea but not for the other. A fabricated example of zeugma might be, He sat munching his sandwich and his beer. An actual example from fiction is, Something odd in the behavior of the pair held his attention and his curiosity. The term zeugma is often used to refer to syllepsis, but as here distinguished it obviously is a writing fault, which syllepsis is not. (Theodore Bernstein, The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. Simon Schuster, 1965)Zeugma is often accidental, as in She wore a rusty black dress, a feather boa, and an alligator handbag; since wore has no legitimate application to handbag, this zeugma is an error. (Edward D. Johnson, The Handbook of Good English. Washington Square, 1991)Confusing and Contradictory Distinctions Between Zeugma and Syll epsisAlthough commentators have historically tried to distinguish between zeugma and syllepsis, the distinctions have been confusing and contradictory: even today agreement on definitions in the rhetorical handbooks is virtually nil (The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, 1993).  Were better off using zeugma in its broadest sense and not confusing matters by introducing syllepsis, a little-known term the meaning of which even the experts cant agree on.  (Bryan A. Garner, The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2016) Pronunciation: ZOOG-muh