Question 1

How can I tell whether a prepositional phrase is an adjective or an adverb?

Accepted Answer

In Worksheets 17-24, the vast majority of the questions are about what the prepositional phrase modifies. Bear in mind that most prepositional words are placement words–on, in, by, down, at, etc. They all appear to answer the question “where”. However, often times they answer the question “which one”. For example: The girl is down the street. It answers the question where and is an adverb modifying is. The girl down the street is pretty. The prepositional phrase in this sentence is answering the question which girl–the girl down the street–not where the girl is. Therefore, this phrase is an adjective. The other helpful hint is to determine if the phrase can be moved WITHOUT CHANGING THE MEANING OF THE SENTENCE. In that case, it is an adverb. It’s easy to change the order of the words but still read into the sentence the meaning from the first time it was read. Try to look at the sentence as if it is the first time to see it. Finally, in discussing whether a prepositional phrase is an adverb or an adjective, remember that this is not nearly as clear cut as most other grammar concepts. Ask the student why s/he labeled it a particular way and listen to the explanation carefully. From the meaning that your student inferred from the sentence, s/he may possibly be correct. In the course of the discussion, whether the student understands the concepts inherent in the parts of speech is what is most important.

The following solutions reflect the reasoning of the answer key.
Worksheet 17, sentence 3: Answers which milk isn’t liked.
Worksheet 17, sentence 6: Answers which problems.
Worksheet 17, sentence 7: Answers which letter. If it’s moved, then Mr. Chung may have delivered the letter instead of writing the letter.
Worksheet 17, sentence 8: Answers where hair isn’t cut. If it said hair on children then it would answer which hair, making it an adjective.
Worksheet 17, sentence 12: Answers where, however it could also answer which accidents and be an adjective.
Worksheet 18, sentence 11: Answers where, however it could answer which galleries and be an adjective.
Worksheet 21, sentence 3: Answers which vegetables.
Worksheet 21, sentence 8: Answers which candles. If moved, the boy could be on the cake lighting the candles.
Worksheet 21, sentence 10: Answers where the ball was tossed.
Worksheet 21, sentence 12: Answers where. If moved, the person could be on the paper.
Worksheet 22, sentence 7: Answers where the note is going. However, it could answer which note and be an adjective.
Worksheet 24, sentence 7: Answers when and is an adverb, but could modify early as it is expanding the word early but would still be an adverb.

Worksheet 22, Instructions on page 51, Additional Help: Note that an ellipsis is ANY part of a sentence that is not put into words, but is needed to make the sentence grammatically correct. Frequently, it is a personal pronoun, but may be many other words. The word that is often left out, as in Example #2. The function of the word that isn’t covered until the Advanced Level Winston Grammar, but the student needs to understand now that the word does belong there. With Example #3, it is important to note the unwritten words as the student might be confused and not recognize that he is a subject because there is no written verb.

Question 2

We are looking at home schooling our son for the 4th grade. How you think the Winston Grammar Program will work for him? Also, how much study time is required daily for your course?

Accepted Answer

Most grammar concepts are abstract with the exception of most nouns (things a child can hold in their hand), action verbs (things children do) and adjectives (descriptive words such as colors or numbers). State of being verbs, helping verbs, nouns that are concepts (such as a May 1, or love, happiness, etc), many adverbs, and all the ways nouns and pronouns are used (direct and indirect objects, predicate nominatives, etc) are all quite abstract. Until a child has developed abstract thinking skills, which usually occurs about 5th-6th grade or 10-12 years of age, trying to teach abstract concepts is very difficult and retention is poor. Precious Memories suggests not doing formal grammar until 5th or 6th grade when it can be taught once and learned well. If you feel you need to do grammar before 5th grade, consider covering just the very basic concrete nouns, action verbs, and adjectives. When a child is ready to understand and learn grammar, the Winston Grammar Program can be easily taught in 5-10 minutes a day using the suggested lesson plan outlined in the very beginning page of the Basic Teacher Manual, which is entitled A Note to the Homeschooling Parent.

Question 3

I did the Basic Level Program with my sons last year for 5th and 7th grade. I loved it! I plan to do Word Works with my 6th grader this year. Should I also do Word Works with my 8th grader, or should I skip to the Advanced Level Program?

Accepted Answer

ou could easily do Word Works with both children this year. The Advanced is generally a high school curriculum, although it can be done sooner. Two considerations: 1) You should finish the Advanced Level before your oldest child takes the PSAT, SAT or ACT as there are concepts covered in the Advanced Level on those tests. Advanced Grammar is nearly a two year program, so you may plan accordingly. 2) If you are planning to home school through high school and intend to use any kind of program in order for your student to receive a diploma, a unit of high school grammar will be required. Doing the Advanced Level Program in high school will fulfill that requirement.

Question 4

On average, how long does it take for a child to complete the Basic Level program (with and without the Supplemental Worksheets)? At what point should the Advanced Program be considered?

Accepted Answer

In the front of the Basic Teacher Manual is a suggested lesson plan which, if followed, will take approximately one school year or slightly longer to complete the Basic Level. Using the Supplemental Workbook along with the Basic Level Workbook will add another four to five months to the length of the program. Moving to Word Works in 6th or 7th grade provides good reinforcement and helps with the difficult areas in the English language. The Advanced Level could then be started in 8th or 9th grade. (See Q&A #3) Note that the Advanced Level is nearly twice as long as the Basic Level and should take nearly two years.

Question 5

A friend has offered an older copy of the Winston Grammar Advanced Level to me. It is the 1982 edition. How much has changed between the 1982 edition and the current edition?

Accepted Answer

All the copies of the Advanced Winston Grammar have a 1982 copyright date. Copies printed before 2006 had some errors, most of which are listed under the errata section of #11 below. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the Advanced Level Teacher Manual was printed. While most of the sentences were not changed drastically, there were many additional helps added at the bottom of the key to make it much easier to grade and understand.

Question 6

I am college educated and write quite well. Do I really need to know all the rules? I learned by listening to what sounds correct. Obviously, I had parents who spoke correctly. I understand that a basic knowledge of the different parts of speech is necessary, but as far as clauses, etc., I have not clue. I guess I just need convincing that teaching my children the more intense grammar rules is necessary.

Accepted Answer

While many people may get along just fine in life without knowing what an adverb is, generally speaking, a person can speak and write more correctly and more fluently if s/he has a good knowledge of grammar. It is also invaluable when your student begins to learn a foreign language. Also, if your student is college bound or will attend a regular school before then, the teachers will expect the student to have an understanding of the all the grammar concepts appropriate for his/her grade level. College admission applications require an essay to be included which would require excellent writing and grammar skills

Question 7

What is the difference between The Winston Grammar Program and other grammar programs?

Accepted Answer

The Winston Grammar Program uses an incremental (meaning one concept is built on the previously mastered concept and no part of speech is left behind when a new one is begun), multi-sensory approach. The clue cards, being color coded, provide visual cues to stimulate the memory. New cards get added without discontinuing any others (with the exception of the blank black cards), so the large amount of repetition over the course of the book solidifies the memory. One other benefit from this program is that there is very little writing to do. All the sentences are printed in the workbook and the student only needs to underline, circle, bracket or otherwise mark each part of speech. The cards allow a student to learn without the feelings of anxiety over forgetting or not being able to figure it out. This leads to better mastery which makes the program more fun. We all like to do those things that we do well and seem like fun.
Understanding all the functions of noun clauses is in the Advanced Level Winston Grammar and each teacher will need to decide for him/herself if and when to teach that information. Our recommendation is to do the Advanced Level no earlier than 8th grade. It is generally a two year program and should be completed before a student plans to take the SAT or ACT exam. (See Q & A #3)

Question 8

BASIC GRAMMAR ERRATA AND HELPS:

Accepted Answer

Here is the solution to a couple of difficult sentences in the Basic Level:
Worksheet 8, sentence 5; Worksheet 11, sentence 2; and Worksheet 12, sentence 3: Remember that had can be either a helping verb as in We had gone to the store or an action verb as in We had [meaning ate] eggs for breakfast.

Updates to the 2016 Student Workbook require the following changes to the Answer Key:
Quiz 1 (follows worksheet 7), Sentence 1: An honest charity deserves money from us.
Both charity and money are nouns and should be underlined.
Worksheet 17, Sentence 8: The barber doesn’t cut hair on Saturday.
On Saturday is an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying cut.
Worksheet 17, Sentence 12: Poor safety habits cause accidents in the winter.
In the winter is an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying cause.

In older editions printed 2006 and before, you might encounter these errors:
General errors: The instructions for each worksheet in the student’s workbooks are occasionally not the same as what is in the teacher manual.
There are a number of places where the n’t in a contraction does not have the arrow to the word it is connected to. Every n’t modifies the word to which it is connected.
There are several checks left off of articles as well as several subjects that do not have an S over them.
Pg 39 – In the example sentence, the adverb gently is incorrectly identified as an adj.
Pg 43 – In the third example sentence, the preposition should say prep. over it, not pron.
Pg 49 – Example shows Adv. card where it should show Adj. card for the word ten.
Pg 55 – In the first example sentence, the preposition through is incorrectly identified as a pron.
Worksheet 5, sentence 4: The should have a check over it.
Worksheet 14, sentence 2: Always should have an arrow to popular, not was.
Worksheet 18, sentence 2: The adverbial prepositional phrase should have the arrow to was not cold.
Worksheet 19, sentence 3: The c.c. should be moved to be over the semicolon.
Worksheet 20, sentence 3: The c.c. should be moved to be over the semicolon.
Worksheet 21, sentence 1: The prepositional phrase modifies is not colder.
Worksheet 24, sentence 2: The prepositional phrase is an ADV that modifies is.

Quiz 4, sentence 7: The preposition for is incorrectly identified as a pron. instead of a prep.
Post-test, sentence 3, #18: should say, Name the verb and helping verb.

Question 9

BASIC SUPPLEMENTAL ANSWER KEY:

Accepted Answer

There are no known errors in the 2006 and subsequent printings of the Supplemental Answer Key. Previous editions may have any of the following errors: Worksheet 5, Sentence 10: area should be underlined. Worksheet 17, Sentence 6: In 1804 should have the arrow pointing to was, not Omaha. Worksheet 22, Sentence 5: beneath should be a prep., not a pron. Worksheet 22, Sentence 10: The should have a check over it. Quiz #3, Sentence 8: by should be a prep., not a pron.

Question 10

WINSTON WORD WORKS ERRATA

Accepted Answer

In the 2013 printing:
Worksheet 6, Sentence 2: Candidates should be candidate.

In copies printed prior to 2011:
Program Review B: In both the Teacher Manual and the Student’s Workbook the instructions say that there is one usage error in each sentence. In reality, the first sentence in the Student’s Workbook does not contain a usage error.

Question 11

ADVANCED LEVEL GRAMMAR ERRATA AND HELPS:

Accepted Answer

The 2007 edition has one error:
Worksheet 31, Sentence 10: The word I is ellipsed and should be placed in parentheses as the sentence correctly reads (I) thank you…

Copies printed prior to 2004 may have some of these errors:
Teacher Manual, Page 8: the words apply, are chosen, will be should be double underlined.
Teacher Manual, Page 10: the word gave should be double underlined.
Teacher Manual, Page 11: the word lawn should be circled; it is a direct object.
Teacher Manual, Page 15: the word problem should have an S over it.
Teacher Manual, Page 24: The second sentence should read: Worksheet 69 provides differentiating the independent clause from the dependent clause.
Teacher Manual, Page 25: the last example should read [Bob sulked about it] ; [we ignored…. the bracket should not include the semi-colon which is a coordinating conjunction.
Worksheet 35, sentence 8: here should be underlined.
Worksheet 35, sentence 10 : Hey should have an exclamation mark over it; knew and had should be double underlined; brother should have a single line under it.
Worksheet 41, sentence 10: picture is incorrectly identified as a subject. It should be circled as it is a direct object.
Worksheet 45, sentence 3: taxes should have a S over it for subject.
Worksheet 45, sentence 4: pictures should have an O.P. over it; wall should be underlined and have an O.P. over it; yours should have pron. over it and an S over that; best should have an adj. over it with an arrow to yours.
Worksheet 52, sentence 1: the n’t should have an adv. over it and an arrow to can.
Worksheet 54, sentence 9: dog should have an S over it.
Worksheet 56, sentence 4: Dress should have an S over it.
Worksheet 61, sentence 8: The latest printing has changed this sentence from previous editions as it was much too complex a sentence. If you have an older student workbook, you may want to change the student workbook sentence to match the current edition’s sentence: Before relaxing, the mowing must be finished.
Worksheet 64, the example: Sara should have an S over it.
Worksheet 67, sentence 1: there should be a “]” after arrived.
Worksheet 68, sentence 8: this should not be double-underlined.
Worksheet 76, sentence 4: there should NOT be a bracket around whatever help; this is not a clause. Help is simply a direct object and whatever is an adj. modifying help.
Worksheet 79, sentence 4: the 2 should be circled, not the 3.
Worksheet 81, sentence 6: the 3 should be circled instead of the 2.

Student Workbook:
Worksheet 45: Instructions should include Indicate noun functions.
Worksheet 45, sentence 2: should read …his last name starts….
Worksheet 73, sentence 5: should read A senator whom we respect… If your student puts the whom as an ellipsis, give him/her a pat on the back!
Quiz for Worksheets 41-75, sentence 1: should read …who gave me…

Solutions for difficult sentences:
Worksheet 56, sentence 10: was flattered is a passive verb as in the sentence The tree was trimmed by the man.
Worksheet 66, sentence 3: the subject rest could be singular or plural, so which is the correct verb form for finish? Because the object of the preposition of is plural, it indicates that rest is plural, consequently, finish is correct. If rest had been singular, then finishes would be correct.
Worksheet 67, sentence 6: was truly amazed… is a passive verb as in worksheet 56.

Question 12

. EXTRA HELP WITH WORKSHEETS 67, 68, 70 & 76.

Accepted Answer

Sentences in the Advanced Grammar dealing with constructions such as sentence 7 on worksheet 67, sentence 5 on Worksheet 68, or sentence 5 on worksheet 70 have a dependent clause modifying an adjective which follows a linking verb. What question does the clause answer about the adjective, especially sentence 7 on worksheet 67?

A. Dependent clauses all begin with either a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun. Then the determination needs to be made as to the function of the dependent clause. In the case of Worksheet 67, sentence 7, …so we got up early contains the subordinating conjunction and by definition becomes the dependent clause. The independent clause We were eager can stand alone and describes our state–one of eagerness–in the same way as She is pretty or We are happy. The dependent clause shows the consequence of the state of eagerness–getting up early. It is the same case for the other sentences in question. It is true that the sentence could be turned around to be written We got up early because we were eager. Because we were eager would then be the dependent clause as it contains the subordinating conjunction and We got up early the independent clause. While most of the time using the adverb questions work well, there are occasions where the standard adverb questions don’t work as well for clauses as they did for just finding simple adverbs. Sometimes it is easier to look at the sentence as a whole and ask which word is being expanded by the clause

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Welcome to Winston Grammar!The Easy Way To Learn Grammar