Mrs. Crutchfield was a terrific teacher in many ways...and by the way, she ran the elementary school library. Our 6th grade classroom WAS the library. We sat at library tables. Her desk was a traditional high wooden check out desk. The shelves were along the sides and at the back of the room. I barely remember how other classes came in to get books. I know they did, but it didn't make much of an impression because we were so busy learning in our class.
Anyway, I digress. Grammar AND diagramming sentences were a big part of my school days. I remember diagramming sentences on the board in much the same way math problems were worked on. We had math races and we had diagramming races too! My freshman and senior English teacher Mrs. Briggs often gave us sentences so complicated that by the time we pulled them apart, they looked like chemistry formulas spread out over the board! It - was - F-U-N, and golly gee, we learned...or I guess I should not presume, I learned.
Knowing my grammar and how to take a sentence apart came in handy on many occasions in trying to figure out what I was reading and the gist of that reading. I tried to teach my students for years that if you know what a prepositional phrase is and remove them from the sentence you are trying to decode, there usually isn't much left to determine what the sentence is about. Think about that the next time you practice a TAKS question!
Anyway, to get to point of this post...I took this grammar test and made...
Your Language Arts Grade: 100%
Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).
Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz
Ta-da! And much of the credit goes to those two wonderful ladies...4 out 7 of my English secondary years were under their care and guidance...and believe me, it made the difference!
Take the quiz...it's fun! It will remind you of those pesky apostrophes and those there-their-they're dilemmas.
Now if I could find a way to explain my spelling issues...I think it is because I was not taught to read phonetically...whole word was my downfall...despite all my father's "night-school-at-home" sessions with that book Why Johnny Can't Read!