GRAMMAR COP
NEW
YORK
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MEXICO CITY
TORONTO
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LONDON
NEW DELHI
•
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AUCKLAND
HONG KONG
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SYDNEY
BUENOS AIRES
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Contents Introduction
PARTS OF SPEECH The Case of the Strange Playground Equipment
The Case of Rapunzel’s Long Hair
The Case of Jack and Jill
The Case of the Old Woman in the Shoe The Case of a Letter to Old MacDonald The Case of the Bumbling Cupids
The Apology of Goldilocks The Case of Mary Had a Little Rooster The Case of the Dog Who Eats Homework The Case of the Cat Food Casserole The Case of the Saxophone Disaster The Case of the Unexpected Delay
MECHANICS the case of the missing capital letters
The Case of the Fairy Godmother for Hire
The Case of Freddy’s Tarantula
The Case of Frosty’s Rules
The Case of Humpty Dumpty
The Case of the Grumpy Goose
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
The Case of the Sick Bookworm
The Case of the Chicken That Crossed the Road The Case of the Wanna-be Superstar
The Case of the Weary Lunch Lady
The Three Little Pigs’ Day in Court
SPELLING & USAGE The Case of the Frog Prince
The Case of the Careless Typist
The Case of the Terrible Tooth Fairy
The Case of the Missing Rabbit
The Case of Frosty the Snowman
The Case of the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon The Case of Fabulous Fritz
The Case of the Big Bad Wolf
The Case of the Worried Elf
The Case of the Stinky Dragon
The Case of the Itsy Bitsy Spider
The Case of the Surfing Elephant
The Education of Snow White
The Case of the Unemployed Princess
The Case of the Slimy Aliens
The Case of the Sad Spider
The Case of the Dissatisfied Dog
Answers
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Introduction
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Nouns
The Case of the Strange Playground Equipment Build a roller coaster for the school playground? Find out what the SuperRiders Construction Team thinks about this highly unusual request! Directions:
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Nouns
The Case of Rapunzel’s Long Hair Rapunzel desperately needs to get her hair done for the ball. Can she find someone to help her? Directions:
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Pronouns
The Case of Jack and Jill Jill wants to explain what really happened when she and Jack went up the hill. But she doesn’t understand the difference between he and him. Can you help her? Directions:
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Grammar Cop’s Clues He and him are both personal pronouns. You use both of them as a substitute for someone’s name. The key is knowing when to use he and when to use him. Here are some nifty tricks to help you get it right:
• He is the subject of a sentence or a clause. He is used at the beginning of a sentence and right before a verb.
• Him is the object of a sentence or a clause. Him is likely to be at the end of a sentence and after a verb or a preposition.
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Pronouns
The Case of the Old Woman in the Shoe The Old Woman in the Shoe is thinking about moving to a new home, but she doesn’t know the difference between I and me. Can you help? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues I and me are both personal
pronouns. You use them as a substitute for someone’s name. Here are some nifty tricks to help you remember when to use each one: • I is the subject of a sentence or a clause. I is used at the beginning of a sentence and right before a verb.
• Me is the object of a sentence or a clause. Me is likely to be at the end of a sentence and after a verb or a preposition.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Pronouns
The Case of a Letter to Old MacDonald The animals in Old MacDonald’s farm are quite upset. So they wrote a letter to Farmer MacDonald. Understandably, they don’t know the difference between we and us. Can you help them? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(6)
(5)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
Grammar Cop’s Clues We and us are both personal pronouns. Read these clues to help you know when to use each one:
• We is the subject of a sentence or a clause. We is used at the beginning of a sentence and right before a verb.
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• Us is the object of a sentence or a clause. Us is likely to be at the end of a sentence and after a verb or a preposition.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Plural Nouns
The Case of the Bumbling Cupids Big Boss Cupid wrote this memo to America’s Cupids. But he’s confused about plurals. Can you help? Directions:
(2)
(1)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(7)
(6)
(9)
(8)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Possessives and Plurals
The Apology of Goldilocks Goldilocks feels guilty about messing up the home of the three bears. She wants to make it up to them. But she doesn’t understand the laws of possessive words. Can you help her? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of possessives and plurals: • Singular possessive ( ’s): Use ’s when you want to show that
something belongs to
someone or something.
• Plural possessive ( s’ ): Use s’
when something belongs to
more than one person.
• Plural noun ( s): Use a plain s
that there is more than one of something.
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when you simply want to show
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Verbs
The Case of Mary Had a Little Rooster It seems that Mary didn’t just have a little lamb. She had a rooster as well. And he’s mad! He wants to tell us why he’s so angry, but he doesn’t know how to use verbs correctly. Can you help him? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(9)
(8)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Verbs
The Case of the Dog Who Eats Homework Molly the Mutt has something shocking to tell, but she doesn’t know which verbs to use. Can you help? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(4)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14) 14
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Verbs
The Case of the Cat Food Casserole Would you feed your family cat-food casserole? Not on purpose, maybe. Read this confession from a budding chef. Directions:
ate (eat)
(happen)
(slice)
(chop)
(cook)
(ring)
(talk)
(whisper)
(watch)
(say)
(grab)
(dump)
(mix)
(feel)
(love)
(stick)
(am)
(ask)
(open)
(do)
(is)
(see)
(empty)
(eat)
(hurt)
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Adjectives/Adverbs
The Case of the Saxophone Disaster Oops! Marcia’s big mistake got her kicked out of the school band. But was it really her fault? You decide. Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these simple rules about adjectives and adverbs:
• An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. It might tell what kind, which one, or how many.
• An adverb describes a verb,
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
an adjective, or another adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly .
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Adjectives/Adverbs
The Case of the Unexpected Delay Will the Gingerbread Man’s delicious new house ever be completed? Not if the hungry workers can help it! Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these simple rules about adjectives and adverbs:
• An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. It might tell what kind, which one, or how many.
• An adverb describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly .
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: _____________________ Capitalization
the case of the missing capital letters The person who wrote this letter didn’t really understand the laws of capital letters. Can you help find the mistakes? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of capital letters: • Names: Always capitalize someone’s proper name.
• Places: Always capitalize the
name of a town, city, state,
or countr y.
• I: Always capitalize the letter
I when it stands for a person.
• First letter: Always capitalize
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
the first letter of a sentence.
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Capitalization
The Case of the Fairy Godmother for Hire Belinda Cunningham is looking for a job. She wrote this business letter, but she is confused about the use of capital letters. Can you help her? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of capital letters: • Names: Always capitalize someone’s proper name.
• Places: Always capitalize the name of a town, city, state, or countr y.
• I: Always capitalize the letter I when it stands for a person.
• First letter: Always capitalize
the first letter of a sentence.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Capitalization
The Case of Freddy’s Tarantula Freddy may never get his dream pet, but maybe he can teach his mom and dad some rules about capitalizing family titles. Can you? Directions:
(1)
(2)
Grammar Cop’s Clues
How do you know whether to
(3)
(4)
capitalize family titles like mom, grandma, and uncle? Here
are some tricks:
(5)
(6)
• If you’re using the word as part of a person’s name (Aunt Rhoda) or as a substitute for
(7)
a person’s name (“Did
Grandma call?”), capitalize it.
You are using it as a proper
(8)
noun.
(9)
(10)
• Otherwise, do not capitalize
it; you are not using it as a
proper noun. Here’s a hint:
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
When you use a word like my , your , or her before the family
title (“My mom has red hair”), you usually do not capitalize the title.
(15) 20
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Capitalization
The Case of Frosty’s Rules It seems that some of the snowpeople need to be reminded of the rules of the trade. Too bad Frosty can’t seem to remember the rules of capitalization. Can you help him? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of
capital letters: • Names: Always capitalize someone’s proper name.
• Places: Always capitalize the name of a town, city, state, or countr y.
• I: Always capitalize the letter I when it stands for a person.
• First letter: Always capitalize the first letter of a sentence.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Contractions
The Case of Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty has written a letter to all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, but he doesn’t know how to make contractions. Can you help? Directions:
(1)
(3)
(2)
I’m
1. _______________ 2. _______________
(4)
3. _______________
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
4. _______________ 5. _______________
(9)
6. _______________
(10)
7. _______________
(11)
8. _______________
9. _______________
(12)
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10. ______________
11. ______________
12. ______________
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Contractions
The Case of the Grumpy Goose This goose is fed up and confused—confused about the use of contractions. Can you help her? Directions:
(1)
(2)
You’re
1. _______________
2. _______________
(3)
(4)
3. _______________
(5)
(7)
(6)
4. _______________ 5. _______________
6. _______________
7. _______________ 8. _______________
(8)
(9)
(10)
9. _______________ 10. ______________
11. ______________
(11)
(12)
12. ______________
(13)
13. ______________
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Contractions
The Case of the Sick Bookworm Neither Mr. Worm nor Dr. Fish understands the use of contractions. Can you help them? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
you’ll
1. _______________
2. _______________ 3. _______________
(4)
4. _______________
(5)
5. _______________
(6)
6. _______________
(7)
7. _______________
(8)
8. _______________
9. _______________ 10. ______________
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
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11. ______________ 12. ______________
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Contractions
The Case of the Chicken That Crossed the Road This chicken has something to say. Can you give him some help with contractions? Directions:
You’ve 1. _______________
2. _______________
(2)
(1)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(7)
(6)
3. _______________ 4. _______________ 5. _______________
(8)
(9)
(11)
(10)
7. _______________ 8. _______________ 9. _______________
(12)
6. _______________
10. ______________
(13)
11. ______________
12. ______________
13. ______________
14. ______________
(14)
15. ______________
(15)
(16)
(17)
16. ______________ 17. ______________
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Punctuation
The Case of the Wanna-be Superstar This budding superstar is trying to convince his parents to support his ambitions. Too bad he doesn’t know the first thing about punctuation. Can you help him? Directions:
Billy 26
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Punctuation
The Case of the Weary Lunch Lady If this letter from the students at Webster Elementary doesn’t convince the lunch lady to change the lunch menu, then nothing will. Too bad these kids don’t know how to use punctuation marks. Can you help? Directions:
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Quotation Marks
The Three Little Pigs’ Day in Court The Three Little Pigs are trying to prove their case against the Big Bad Wolf. But they don’t know the rules for using quotation marks. Can you help by adding the quotation marks needed in their story? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues
Remember these basic laws for
quotation marks:
• Direct Quotes: Put quotation marks around words that someone is actually saying.
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• Indirect Quotes: Don’t put quotation marks around words that summarize what someone said.
Tip: Phrases such as said that or reported that are often good clues that you don’t need quotation marks.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Spelling
The Case of the Frog Prince Ever since Prince Leonardo was turned into a frog, his spelling skills have really suffered. His letter below is filled with spelling errors. Can you help him? Directions:
1. _______________
2. _______________ 3. _______________ 4. _______________ 5. _______________ 6. _______________ 7. _______________ 8. _______________ 9. _______________
10. ______________
11. ______________
12. ______________
13. ______________
14. ______________ 15. ______________ 16. ______________
17. ______________ 18. ______________ 19. ______________
20. ______________
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Spelling
The Case of the Careless Typist Author Johanna Hurwitz has written a letter to all the Storyworks readers, but whoever typed it made some spelling mistakes. Can you help? Directions:
1. _______________ 2. _______________
3. _______________ 4. _______________ 5. _______________
6. _______________ 7. _______________ 8. _______________
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9. _______________ 10. ______________ 11. ______________ 12. ______________ 13. ______________ 14. ______________
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Spelling
The Case of the Terrible Tooth Fairy There are problems in Tooth Fairy Land. This letter will be sent to the queen, but it’s filled with spelling mistakes! Can you help? Directions:
1. _______________ 2. _______________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________
6. _______________
7. _______________
8. _______________
9. _______________
10. ______________
11. ______________
12. ______________
13. ______________
14. ______________
15. ______________
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Spelling
The Case of the Missing Rabbit The class rabbit has disappeared, and now there’s a wild bunny on the loose. Could they be the same animal? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Homophones
The Case of Frosty the Snowman Frosty the Snowman has a complaint, but he is confused about homophones. Can you help? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(5)
(4)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(11)
(10)
(13)
(12)
(14)
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Homophones
The Case of the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon Hey diddle, diddle, does anyone know what happened to the cow who jumped over the moon? Well, we finally found out. In this exclusive letter to , the cow tells us about her new life. Directions:
(1)
(3)
(2)
(4)
(5)
(7)
(6)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(13)
(12)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Homophones
The Case of Fabulous Fritz Jeremy Jenkins wrote this letter to his favorite author. He needs some help with homophones before he can send it, though. Can you help him? Directions:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(8)
(7)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(18)
(17)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Its/It’s
The Case of the Big Bad Wolf The wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” is trying to tell his side of the story. But he doesn’t really understand the difference between its and it’s. Can you help? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws for its and it’s:
• It’s is a contraction of it is or it has. A contraction is made up of two words that are joined by an apostrophe. The apostrophe shows where one or more letters
have been left out.
it (the fancy name is
“possessive pronoun”).
Its shows that “it” owns
something.
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• Its is the possessive form of
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Their/They’re/There
The Case of the Worried Elf Santa’s head elf is worried. But he doesn’t know the difference between their , they’re, and there. Can you help him? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues
Remember these basic laws of
their , they’re, and there:
• Their is the possessive form of they . You use it when you want
to say that something belongs
to a group of people.
• They’re is a contraction of they are.
• There is a place. It is the
opposite of here.
There is also a pronoun used to introduce a
sentence.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Their/They’re/There
The Case of the Stinky Dragon Whoever wrote this advertisement doesn’t know the difference between their , there, and they’re. Can you help? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of their , they’re, and there:
• Their is the possessive form of
they . You use it when you want
to say that something belongs to a group of people.
• They’re is a contraction of they are.
• There is a place. It is the opposite of here.
There is also a pronoun used to introduce a sentence.
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ To/Too/Two
The Case of the Itsy Bitsy Spider The Itsy Bitsy Spider wants to explain a few things, but he doesn’t know the difference between to, two, and too. Can you help? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of to, too, and two:
• To is a preposition.
Sometimes the word to also
comes before a verb.
• Too means “also” or “too much.”
• Two is a number.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ To/Too/Two
The Case of the Surfing Elephant Mr. Brandon L. Phant is looking for a new job. But he doesn’t know the difference between to, two, and too. Can you help him? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of to, too, and two:
• To is a preposition.
Sometimes the word to also comes before a verb.
• Too means “also” or “too much.”
• Two is a number.
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Your/You’re
The Education of Snow White Snow White has left the seven dwarfs’ cottage. She wants to explain her disappearance, but she doesn’t really understand the difference between your and you’re. Can you help her fill in the blanks? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of
your and you’re:
• Your is the possessive form of you. Use it when you are
talking about something that belongs to the person with
whom you are speaking.
• You’re is a contraction of you are. Here’s a tip: Whenever you
write you’re, read over the sentence again and substitute the words you are for you’re. If the sentence makes sense, you’ve made the right choice.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Your/You’re
The Case of the Unemployed Princess Sleeping Beauty wrote this letter to the Royal Mattress Company. But she doesn’t understand the difference between your and you’re. Can you help? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues
Remember these basic laws of your and you’re:
• Your is the possessive form of you. Use it when you are talking about something that belongs to the person with whom you are speaking.
• You’re is a contraction of you are. Here’s a tip: Whenever you
write you’re, read over the
sentence again and substitute
the words you are for you’re.
If the sentence makes sense,
you’ve made the right choice.
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Your/You’re
The Case of the Slimy Aliens The slimy aliens from the planet Gooeygoopiter need to read this important advertisement. Can you help the writer fill in the blanks? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of your and you’re:
• Your is the possessive form
of you. Use it when you are
talking about something that
belongs to the person with whom you are speaking.
• You’re is a contraction of you are. Here’s a tip: Whenever you
write you’re, read over the
sentence again and substitute
the words you are for you’re.
If the sentence makes sense,
you’ve made the right choice.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Your/You’re
The Case of the Sad Spider This spider needs some help before he can send this note to Miss Muffet. He is confused about how to use your and you’re. Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues Remember these basic laws of your and you’re:
• Your is the possessive form of you. Use it when you are
talking about something that
belongs to the person with
whom you are speaking.
• You’re is a contraction of you
are. Here’s a tip: Whenever you
write you’re, read over the
sentence again and substitute you are for you’re. If the
sentence makes sense, you’ve
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made the right choice.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
Name: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Your/You’re, Its/It’s
The Case of the Dissatisfied Dog Poochie Doodle wants a new doghouse and has written this letter to his family. Problem is, he doesn’t know when to use your or you’re and its or it’s. (Big surprise!) Can you help him? Directions:
Grammar Cop’s Clues
Remember these basic rules: • Your is the possessive form of you. Use it when you are talking about something that belongs to the person with whom you are speaking.
• You’re is a contraction of you are. Whenever you write you’re, read over the sentence again and substitute you are for you’re. If the sentence makes sense, you’ve made the right choice. • It’s is a contraction of it is or it has.
• Its is the possessive form
of it (the fancy name is
“possessive pronoun”).
Its shows that “it” owns
something.
Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
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Answers The Case of the Strange Playground Equipment Nouns:
Proper Nouns: The Case of Rapunzel’s Long Hair Nouns: Proper Nouns: The Case of Jack and Jill The Case of the Old Woman in the Shoe The Case of a Letter to Old MacDonald The Case of the Bumbling Cupids The Apology of Goldilocks The Case of Mary Had a Little Rooster The Case of the Dog Who Eats Homework The Case of the Cat Food Casserole The Case of the Saxophone Disaster Adjectives: Adverbs: The Case of the Unexpected Delay Adjectives: Adverbs: the case of the missing capital letters The Case of the Fairy Godmother for Hire The Case of Freddy’s Tarantula The Case of Frosty’s Rules The Case of Humpty Dumpty The Case of the Grumpy Goose The Case of the Sick Bookworm The Case of the Chicken That Crossed the Road The Case of the Wanna-be Superstar
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Grammar Cop © Scholastic Teaching Resources
