Page 71 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade8_Flipbook

aCTIvITy 1.8
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Language and Writer’s Craft: revising and editing
Grammar USaGe
Mood
Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.
my Notes
• Editing focuses on conventions of standard English. It involves close proofreading and consulting reference sources to correct errors in grammar and usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.
• After drafting a text, students often either revise or edit rather than doing both. Skipping either step in the writing process greatly affects the quality of your final draft.
Language and Writer’s Craft: Verbs and Mood
Strong writers form and use verbs in the correct mood. The list below shows the moods of English verbs. Most of these should be familiar to you because you use them all the time in your writing. Rank the moods 1–5 for your familiarity with each one, with 1 as the most familiar and 5 the least familiar.
Indicative Mood: Verbs that indicate a fact or opinion. I am too ill to go to school today.
Imperative Mood: Verbs that express a command or request. Go to school. Please get up and get dressed.
Interrogative Mood: Verbs that ask a question. Are you going to school? Do you feel ill?
Conditional Mood: Verbs that express something that hasn’t happened or something that can happen if a certain condition is met.
I would have gone to school yesterday if I had felt well.
You should ask your teacher about the assignments you missed.
Subjunctive Mood: Verbs that describe a state that is uncertain or contrary to fact. When using the verb “to be” in the subjunctive, always use were rather than was.
I wish my cold were better today.
If you were to go to school, what would you learn?
7. Look at this excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time and identify how the author uses mood in each sentence.
(1) Belowthemthetownwaslaidoutinharshangularpatterns.(2)Thehousesinthe outskirts were all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray. (3) Each had a small, rectangular plot of lawn in front, with a straight line of dull-looking flowers edging the path to the door. (4) Meg had a feeling that if she could count the flowers there would be exactly the same number for each house. (5) In front of all the houses children were playing.
44 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 8
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