Grammar and

Writing Skills
Practice & Apply:
Grade 6
BY
BOB KERR

COPYRIGHT © 2000 Mark Twain Media, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-58037-804-8

Printing No. 1347-EB

Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers

Distributed by Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc.

The purchase of this book entitles the buyer to reproduce the student pages for
classroom use only. Other permissions may be obtained by writing Mark Twain Media, Inc.,
Publishers.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................1
Unit One: Nouns...............................................................................................2
Common and Proper Nouns.............................................................2
Finding Common and Proper Nouns.................................................3
Singular and Plural Nouns................................................................4
Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns.............................................5
Plural and Possessive Nouns............................................................6
Using Possessive Nouns...................................................................7
Nouns as Subjects............................................................................8
Nouns Used as Predicate Nouns......................................................9
Nouns as Direct Objects.................................................................10
Nouns as Appositives......................................................................11
Unit Tests: Common and Proper Nouns.................................................12
Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns.................................13
Subject, Predicate, and Direct Object Nouns.......................14
Unit Two: Verbs.........................................................................................................15
Action Verbs....................................................................................15
Helping Verbs..................................................................................16
Linking Verbs...................................................................................17
Action and Linking Verbs.................................................................18
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs......................................................19
Transitive or Intransitive?.................................................................20
Principal Parts of Verbs...................................................................21
Irregular Verbs.................................................................................22
Verb Tenses.....................................................................................23
Changing Nouns to Verbs...............................................................24
Forming Verbs.................................................................................25
Subject-Verb Agreement.................................................................26
Making Subjects and Verbs Agree..................................................27
Contractions....................................................................................28
Confusing Verbs: “Sit,” “Set,” Lie,” “Lay,” “Rise,” and “Raise”.............29
Confusing Verbs: “Let” and “Leave”.................................................30
Confusing Verbs: “Teach” and “Learn”.............................................31
Confusing Verbs: “Can” and “May”...................................................32
Unit Tests: Action, Helping, and Linking Verbs.......................................33
Verb Tenses..........................................................................34
Confusing Verbs...................................................................35
Unit Three: Adjectives.................................................................................................36
Adjectives........................................................................................36
Articles and Demonstrative Adjectives............................................37
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives.........................................38
Comparing With “More” and “Most”.................................................39
Irregular Adjectives.........................................................................40

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Proper Adjectives............................................................................41
Unit Tests: Adjectives.............................................................................42
Articles, Demonstrative, Proper, and Predicate Adjectives..43
Unit Four: Adverbs.....................................................................................................44
Adverbs That Modify Verbs.............................................................44
Adverbs That Describe Adjectives and Other Adverbs...................45
Comparing With Adverbs................................................................46
Negatives........................................................................................47
Adjective or Adverb?.......................................................................48
Unit Tests: Adverbs................................................................................49
Adjectives or Adverbs?.........................................................50
Unit Five: Prepositions.............................................................................................51
Prepositions....................................................................................51
Prepositional Phrases as Adjectives...............................................52
Prepositional Phrases as Adverbs..................................................53
Preposition or Adverb?....................................................................54
Expanding Sentences With Prepositional Phrases.........................55
Using Prepositions Correctly...........................................................56
Using Prepositional Phrases...........................................................57
Adjective or Adverb Phrase?...........................................................58
Unit Tests: Prepositional Phrases..........................................................59
Prepositions or Adverbs?.....................................................60
Unit Six: Pronouns..................................................................................................61
Pronouns.........................................................................................61
Pronouns as Subjects.....................................................................62
Pronouns as Objects.......................................................................63
Possessive Pronouns......................................................................64
Pronouns After Linking Verbs..........................................................65
Pronouns in Compound Subjects and Objects...............................66
“Who,” “Whom,” and “Whose”..........................................................67
“We” and “Us” With Nouns...............................................................68
Indefinite Pronouns.........................................................................69
Unit Tests: Subject, Object, and Possessive Pronouns..........................70
Pronouns..............................................................................71
Unit Seven: Capitalization and Punctuation..............................................................72
Capitalization of Proper Nouns and Adjectives...............................72
More Capitalization of Proper Nouns and Adjectives......................73
Interjections and Abbreviations.......................................................74
Commas..........................................................................................75
More Uses for the Comma..............................................................76
Commas in Dates and Addresses...................................................77
Punctuating Dialogue......................................................................78
Direct and Indirect Quotations.........................................................79

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Titles................................................................................................80
Capitalization of Titles.....................................................................81
Capitalization Review......................................................................82
Using Apostrophes..........................................................................83
Unit Test: Capitalization and Punctuation.............................................84
Unit Eight: Sentences.................................................................................................86
Kinds of Sentences.........................................................................86
Complete Subjects and Complete Predicates.................................87
Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates.........................................88
Subjects in Imperative and Interrogative Sentences.......................89
Compound Subjects........................................................................90
Compound Predicates.....................................................................91
Compound Sentences.....................................................................92
Conjunctions...................................................................................93
Combining Sentences.....................................................................94
Fragments and Run-on Sentences.................................................95
Expanding Sentences.....................................................................96
Writing the Four Kinds of Sentences...............................................97
The Paragraph—The Opening Sentence........................................98
The Paragraph Middle.....................................................................99
Unit Test: Sentences..........................................................................100
Creative Writing Applications.....................................................................................102
Nouns.................................................................................................................102
Verbs...................................................................................................................103
Adjectives...........................................................................................................104
Adverbs...............................................................................................................105
Prepositional Phrases.........................................................................................106
Pronouns............................................................................................................107
Capitalization/Punctuation..................................................................................108
Capitalization/Punctuation..................................................................................109
Sentences...........................................................................................................110
Glossary.......................................................................................................................111
Answer Keys................................................................................................................113
Teacher Notes..............................................................................................................124

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Introduction

Introduction
This practice book for grammar and writing covers most content areas. Beginning
with parts of speech and concluding with sentences and creative writing, students rein-
force skills through a variety of exercises and tests. The emphasis of this book is on the
fundamentals of the English language. Students reinforce basic rules, work on exercises,
and apply those skills through writing assignments.
Three features highlight this book. (1) Tests at the end of each unit are designed to
help students practice the standardized testing format seldom used in the normal class-
room situation. (2) All key grammatical terms in bold type appear in a glossary at the end of
the book. (3) A writing application section supplies a writing prompt for each subject area.
Students are challenged to write creatively and yet focus on basic grammatical skills.

© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers 

Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Unit 1: Common and Proper Nouns

Name: Date:

Unit 1: Common and Proper Nouns

Tip

Proper nouns name a particular person, place, idea, or thing.

Common nouns do not name a particular person, place, idea, or thing.

Common Proper
state Ohio
month April
boy Stan
river Mississippi River

Practice

Directions: Write a proper noun for each common noun below.

Common Proper

1. school

2. day

3. town

4. automobile

5. ocean

6. capital

7. holiday

8. girl

9. teacher

10. hospital

Writing Application

Directions: Write a paragraph on your own paper about a favorite place to visit away from
home. Tell what you do there. Who may be there also? Use proper and common nouns.
Circle the proper and underline the common nouns.

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Unit 1: Finding Common and Proper Nouns

Name: Date:

Unit 1: Finding Common and Proper Nouns

Practice

Directions: Read the following article. Underline the common nouns and circle the proper
nouns.

Nothing had more changed the condition of life, both in the East and in the West,

than the wide use of the steam engine. It took the power that was stored in wood, coal, or

oil and put it into a form in which it could be used for factories, mines, transportation, and

farm work.

Steam engines had been used to work pumps in English mines since 1700. The first

practical steam engine, which could drive machinery, was built about 1760 by the English-

man James Watt. Such an engine, however, could transfer its power only a few yards.

The first man to build a steamboat that would pay a profit to its owners was Robert

Fulton of New York. In 1807 he fitted an English engine to a paddle wheel boat called the

Clermont, which ran on the Hudson River against wind and tide and current.

In 1811 Nicholas Roosevelt and others of New York built the steamer New Orleans

at Pittsburgh. After the War of 1812, steamers spread through all the larger western

streams. Boats of a different type were built for the Great Lakes, and after the Erie Canal

was finished in 1825, the traveler could go all the way from New York to the head of Lake

Michigan by Hudson River steamers. This system of travel helped to build up Michigan,

Wisconsin, and Illinois.

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Unit 1: Singular and Plural Nouns

Name: Date:

Unit 1: Singular and Plural Nouns

Tip

Most nouns form their plurals by adding “s” or “es.” Others form their plurals in
special ways. Still others don’t change.

party - parties (change “y” to “i”)
wife - wives (change “f” to “v”)
deer - deer
child - children

Practice

Directions: Write the plural or the singular form as needed to complete the chart.

Singular Plural
1. brush
2. counties
3. man
4. donkeys
5. moose
6. mice
7. valley
8. knives
9. pony
10. glasses
11. table
12. factories
13. piano
14. women
15. calf

Writing Application

Directions: On your own paper, describe your room at home. Tell what is there and where
objects are located. Use singular and plural nouns. Underline each.

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Grammar and Writing Skills: Grade 6 Unit 1: Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns

Name: Date:

Unit 1: Singular and Plural Possessive Nouns

Tip

A possessive noun shows ownership.

girl’s test - test belongs to the girl

Singular nouns form their possessives by adding “’s.”

the girl’s test

Plural nouns that end in “s” add only an apostrophe.

all the girls’ tests

Plural nouns that do not end in “s” add “’s.”

the children’s tests

Practice

Directions: Complete the chart by adding the singular possessive and plural possessive
of each singular noun. The first one is done for you.

Singular Singular Possessive Plural Possessive

baby’s babies’
1. baby

2. horse

3. officer

4. man
5. goose

6. child

7. poem

8. pony

9. teacher

10. bird

11. house

12. woman

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