Grammar Assessment

Parts of a sentence

Before we get too deep into grammar, let’s review the basics.

The subject of a sentence is ________________________________________________________________________________

Directions: In the sentences below, circle the subject of the sentence.

1. Patty had a house in Houston.

2. My head hurts, so stop yelling.

3. People eat brains on “Fear Factor.”

4. Both of Luna’s parents were dead.

5. The car crashed into a telephone pole.

6. The phone rang, but no one answered it.

The predicate of a sentence is __________________________________________

__________________________________________

Directions: In the sentences below, circle the predicate of the sentence.

7. You can call me Ishmael.

8. A girl lies underneath the piano.

9. The door creaked as it opened.

10. The werewolf had a toothache.

11. A UFO landed in the New Mexico desert.

12. The groom brought red velvet cake in the shape of an armadillo.

A verb is __________________________________________

Circle the correct number(s): A verb can be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 words long.

Directions: In all 12 numbered sentences above, underline the verb.

Capitalization

Directions: The following sentences are incorrectly capitalized. Cross out the words that are incorrectly capitalized and write your corrections above them. There are no other errors.

1. t. s. eliot said april is the cruelest month.

2. it is a waste of time to argue with t. s. eliot, i suppose.

3. get a move on. those graves won’t dig themselves, you know.

4. maximillian never could find his father’s grave.

5. samuel discovered claw-marks on the door to the cathedral de notre dame.

Directions: Read the following paragraph. In many of the sentences, words are capitalized that should not be, or not capitalized when they should be. Cross out the words that are incorrectly capitalized and write your corrections above them. There are no other errors in the paragraph.

Mitork had a Toothache. he could not go to the Dentist, because the Dentist would be sure to ask Him why his Teeth were so long and sharp. Certainly the dentist would Wonder how mitork managed to close his moth at all with such Sharp Teeth. It wasn’t as if he could tell a Dentist that he was a Werewolf.

Continue the story, writing 3-5 more sentences. Use correct capitalization. Use a character’s name at least once.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Directions: Complete the following sentences in the present tense, using the verb in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

1. The room _____________ cold. (be)

2. Igor _____________ a pair of ragged pants. (wear)

3. He could _____________ death in the room. (smell)

4. Barbarella never _____________ rotten meat. (eat)

5. Bugs and toads _____________ particularly delicious. (taste)

Directions: Read the following paragraph. In many of the sentences, the subject and verb do not agree. Cross out the disagreeing verbs and write the correct form above them. DO NOT change the verbs to the past tense.

Barbarella awakes in the evening, as is her habit. Tonight is colder than most nights. This do not bother Barbarella. She rise from her coffin and close the lid behind her.

“Greetings, madam,” say Igor, her ogre. “Is you hungry?”

“Of course I am,” Barbarella reply. I hope you caught me someone delicious.”

Igor walk to the kitchen door. “Yes, madam,” he says. “Your dinner waits for you. If you goes to the dining room, I will bring it to you.”

Barbarella looks at Igor and smile. She never smile, and Igor nearly falls over with surprise.

Continue the story, writing 3-5 more sentences in the present tense. Make sure that the verbs agree with their subjects.

End Punctuation

Directions: Add end punctuation to the following sentences.

1. The council will explore the possibility of expanding the cemetery

2. Do I dare to eat a peach

3. Oh no

4. Not another one of your hairy friends

5. Do androids dream of electric sheep

6. Are there any tickets left for the 5 o’clock sail on the River Styx

7. There were never enough bodies around for all the zombies to munch on

8. Don’t you dare steal my hearse

9. You throw a fantastic funeral

10. I believe Igor has eaten all the eyeballs

11. May I have another glass of beetle juice

Review

Directions: The following cheerful tale contains incomplete sentences and errors in punctuation, capitalization, and no-excuses words. Cross out the errors and write your corrections above them. There are no errors in spelling.

Grammar Assessment

Directions: Read the paragraphs below. There are some mistakes in the paragraph. Some sentences may have more than one mistake, and other sentences may contain no mistakes at all. There are no mistakes in spelling. Draw a line through each mistake in the paragraph. Then write the correction above it.

Example:

is

Ms. Wren’s class are the best!

Last weekend, my family and I went to the new aquarium downtown. It is one of the most largest aquariums in the state. When we first arrive at the aquarium, we saw real otters sharks and penguins. Then we went to the aquariums Theater and saw a show called “The amazing Oceans.” I learned about different oceans across the world and about interesting creatures that lives in those oceans. It was so much fun to visit the aquarium. I cant wait to go back!

When you look up at the night sky you see the beautiful stars shining, you see a full moon. The view from space can be quite another matter though. From Earth you cannot see none of the nuts, bolts, paint chips, and other assorted pieces of space debris orbits earth every day. The worst thing about space debris is not it’s ugly appearance; space debris can be extremely dangerously. These bits of metal and other junk travels through the air at speeds greater than 20,000 miles an hour and can create serious damage.