AAAWWUBBIS

AAAWWUBBIS is a phrase I had no idea about, UNTIL this grammar class. I would write and not know that I was partaking in AAAWWUBBIS, WHILE going through school. Also, reading through a newspaper, I have noticed that they are used all the time. I find it funny how most people can write and be completely oblivious to what kind of writing they are actually doing, including me. Subordinating clauses have been the easiest for me, and AAAWWUBBIS is easy to remember. There are many different clauses and I seem to get confused on which is which, EVEN AFTER practice. I guess more practice is needed for me!

I have also come to realize that commas have many more use than just a pause in a sentence. Also, I can understand how hard it would be to determine if a comma is to be placed where some are placed. Places that are paused at while reading seems to be natural where the comma is to go. However, I have recently learned that that is not always true. These clauses are also created with using a comma.

Question: While looking at the subordinating words and clauses in our handbook, I noticed that words are used in the phrases list but not the word list. Is the English language trying to confuse everyone on purpose or is there a specific reason why the phrases are different then the words?

I'm Gettin' Ideas!

Last Wednesday was something I very much enjoyed. The “fish bowls” are so much fun! It’s like a friendly debate. I had forgotten about the fish bowls and how helpful they can be. With people who do not speak much, fish bowls allow for them to get a word in. With people who speak a lot, fish bowls allow for them to restrain giving others a chance. I was able to feed off of other people and hear other views on a subject. Although I made not have agreed with what was said, everyone sees things differently and has had different experiences towards their understanding and it was crucial for me to have heard everyone’s point of view. Also, everyone’s mind is getting involved and dissecting the topic at hand. A simple story about Dora was taken to personal experiences, understanding her step by step progress, and coming up with ideas about reasons why things happened with Dora the way they did. I really think fish bowls are a good idea in interacting with peers and using prior knowledge to critically think about the topic of discussion. I am going to remember about fish bowls now and use it in my classroom!

Also, the FANBOYS were a nice insight. I have always stuck myself with “and”. Remembering the meanings behind FANBOYS has given me a better word choice when placing two sentences together. In fact, those posters Barbra put up in the classroom have helped me in remembering certain structures a lot. I forgot how technical sentences can get. However, I have never really practiced putting a comma before “and” when putting two sentences together. I have always thought that the whole point of “and” is what takes the place of a comma; therefore a comma is unnecessary in that situation.

The question I have is I have always been writing where there is no comma before the word “and” regardless of putting two sentences together. In a grammar “test” would I be wrong or marked off for not having a comma before “and” when putting two sentences together?

I have always known about this sentence structure, but I never knew the name “transitive” and “intransitive”. The most important thing I learned through this lesson is the acronyms of the order of a sentence for transitive, intransitive, and linking verbs. For example, S-Vi means subject-verb intransitive, therefore I know which form the verb is when the sentences follows this structure. The transitive verbs still confuse me a bit. The phrase “direct object” throws me off a tad due to the fact that saying noun or pronoun would be easier. Linking verbs, for me are the easiest because an adjective is all that is needed after the verb. Plus I like the example, “this beer smells funny,” it makes me giggle.

Prepositional phrases have been part of my learning since middle school. I can remember sitting in 8^th grade English and being taught prep phrases and not understanding them at all. The airplane example with the cloud helped me a lot. The airplane goes “through” the cloud, “around” the cloud, “at” the cloud, “by” the cloud and although “of” and “will” do not work with the cloud, they are still prepositions.

I am continuing to read newspapers more critically, nit picking each and every sentence. I still tend to stumble when it comes to determining transitive and intransitive, so I believe more practice should be at hand for me.

Pronouns I have not had problems with. Just being able to say the sentence and know which word, “myself,” “himself,” “themselves,” etc. helps me to determine which word is correct. Although spell check on the computer has caught me a few times, I think I have figured it out well for the most part. The chart to help learn what part of speech the words referred to, such as subject case and I, you, he, she, it, objective case and me, you, him, her, it, possessive case and my, mine, your, his, her, hers, its and reflexive case and myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself helped immensely in remember what is what.

One question I do have is, in class we have discussed prepositional phrases, but are there rules and different structures for just prepositions? Or is the understanding basically the same thing?