|Cͻ
|C |5Brainware|C                      ^1 Grammarama |C                      |5Brainware|C 
|Cͼ
^Cby
^CMarie Kalmbach
^Cand
^CGeorge Leritte

    ^1NOTE:^0 If you have a black and white (monochrome) monitor,
          use the ^1GO M^0 command when running BBD to avoid any problems 
          using Grammarama.  When using Grammarama outside BBB 
          type ^1GRAMMAR M^0 if you have a monochrome monitor. 

    Welcome to the world of GRAMMARAMA, a do-it-yourself instructional program
 intended to provide practice in recognizing the major grammatical elements of
 English.

 ^1MAIN MENU

    There are three options on the Main Menu:

      1. About GRAMMARAMA
          - Program information and copyright data are displayed.

      2. Begin Grammar Lesson
          - After a grammar level and a lesson length are selected,
            a series of grammar questions will be presented.

            Some questions are multiple choice.  Other questions ask you
            to highlight a particular grammatical element.

            When the lesson is finished, your final score is shown, and you
            will be given a chance to review your answers.

      3. Exit Program
          - You will be returned to the Big Blue Disk main menu or to DOS.


 ^1GRAMMAR LEVEL

    You may choose from six grammar levels:

      1 = Novice           4 = Expert
      2 = Amateur          5 = Master
      3 = Apprentice       6 = Genius

    As the level number increases, the grammar questions become more difficult.


 ^1LESSON LENGTH

    You may choose from four lesson lengths:

       5 Question QUIZ     20 Question EXAM
      10 Question TEST     50 Question FINAL

    Make the lesson as long or as short as you like.


 ^1GRAMMAR LESSON

    Two different types of questions will be asked during the grammar lesson:

      1. Multiple Choice Questions
          - A question will be asked about the highlighted part of the
            sentence.  Use the ARROW keys to highlight the appropriate choice.
            Press the ENTER key to see if your choice is correct.

      2. Highlight Questions
          - You will be asked to highlight a particular grammatical part in the
            given sentence.  Use the ARROW keys to move to the appropriate
            part.  Use the SPACE bar to highlight your answer.  Press ENTER to
            see if your answer is correct.

    Press F2 to see your score during the lesson.  When the lesson is over, the
 final score will be displayed, and you can review your answers.


 ^1LESSON REVIEW

    A snapshot of each question in the lesson will be displayed showing the
 feedback message that indicates if your answer was correct or incorrect. Use
 the PageUp and PageDown keys to go back and forth in the review.


 ^1ACTIVE KEYS

    F1         - displays helpful information
    F2         - displays the intermediate score during a lesson
    ESC        - returns you to the main menu
    ARROW keys - moves the highlight bar to the desired option
    ENTER key  - activates the highlighted option or submits an answer
    SPACE bar  - toggles the highlighting function ON or OFF
    PgUp, PgDn - pages through each question in the review


^C^1Some Additional Words About GRAMMARAMA
^Cby
^CMichael V. Williams, Ph.D.
^CProfessor of Literature and Language
^CLouisiana State University


    The grammarian Paul Roberts once remarked that while at first glance
 grammar might be thought of as comprising a series of water-tight
 compartments, these compartments would always be found, on closer inspection,
 to leak.  What Roberts was referring to was the fact that a word in context
 may defy a simple or one-dimensional classification.  For example, "driving"
 might justifiably be called a verbal, a participle, an adjective, or any
 combination of these.

    Moreover, there has always been an arbitrary aspect to the study of
 grammar, and grammarians sometimes disagree as to classifications or
 designations of words.  That is in part because a language, like a pie, may be
 divided in different ways.

    The terms used in this program are for the most part the traditional ones
 familiar to generations of teachers and academicians.  Users unfamiliar with
 grammatical terminology may wish to consult a handbook or dictionary.

    While the inclusion of a comprehensive glossary of terms would have been an
 admittedly useful adjunct, limitations of space in the present format
 prohibited such an inclusion.  This omission need not discourage prospective
 users, however, since the meaning of terms should become self-evident with
 continued use of the program.

    No presentation of grammar is without its own idiosyncratic frame of
 reference, its own character and stamp, and this is also true of GRAMMARAMA.
 We therefore suggest that before beginning, users take note of the following
 points concerning our construction of certain terms:


 ^1VERBS

    By verb we mean finite verb, one or more verb-words capable of completing a
 statement, in contrast to verbals, or words derived from verbs but in a given
 context unable to complete a statement.  Verbals may appear as gerunds,
 participles, or infinitives (except where an infinitive follows a modal or
 modal-equivalent, in which case it is considered part of the finite verb).

    Note these examples:

 a) The man ^1WENT^0 to town.  (finite verb)

 b) She ^1SHOULD HAVE COME^0 sooner.  (finite verb)

 c) Gerald ^1HAD TO WORK^0 on Saturday.  (finite verb)

 d) ^1CLAPPING^0 and ^1CHEERING^0 their ^1BELEAGUERED^0 team,
    the fans seemed strangely oblivious to the DISAPPOINTING score.
    (participial verbals)

    Verbs are transitive if they introduce direct objects; otherwise they are
 intransitive.

    Aspect of verbs, when cited at all, is given as part of the tense
 designation, as present tense progressive, past tense emphatic, etc.


 ^1DIRECT OBJECTS

    Direct objects may occur as simple nouns or pronouns, as phrases, or as
 entire dependent clauses (some of which may in turn have direct objects of
 their own).  Direct objects should be distinguished in these exercises from
 verbal objects, as in these examples:

 a) She had never heard such a loud ^1NOISE^0 in her life.
    (noun as direct object)

 b) I like to ^1WALK ALONE IN THE WOODS^0.
    (infinitive phrase as direct object)

 c) James said ^1THAT HE WANTED TO STAY AT HOME TODAY^0.
    (dependent noun clause as direct object)

 d) Having quickly finished ^1LUNCH^0, we returned to the office.
    (simple object of the participial verbal ^1"having finished"^0)

 e) James said that he wanted to read the ^1NEWSPAPER^0.
    (simple object of the infinitive verbal ^1"to read"^0)


 ^1CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS

    Differentiating between these may occasionally prove problematic and open
 to interpretation.  In these exercises, concrete  nouns are those which are
 perceptible to any of the five senses;  other nouns are classed as abstract.


 ^1POSSESSIVE PRONOUN vs. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE

    Some grammarians classify words such as ^1my, mine, your, yours, etc.^0 as 
 ^1POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS^0 only.  In GRAMMARAMA a distinction is made.  If such a
 word is used to modify a noun, it is considered to be a ^1POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE.^0
 If such a word takes the place of a noun, then it is a ^1POSSESSIVE PRONOUN.^0
 For example: 

 a) Please take ^1MY^0 books to the library. 
    (possessive adjective) 

 b) Is this Fred's dog or is it ^1YOURS^0? 
    (possessive pronoun) 


 ^1ADVERBIAL

    This designates an adverbial noun of time and its modifier(s) when these
 are not governed by a preposition, as in "We had a wonderful time at the party
 ^1LAST NIGHT^0."


 ^1VOCATIVE

    This designates a noun of address, as in "^1HARRY^0, please open the door."


 ^1Outside BBD

    To run this program outside the ^1Big Blue Disk^0 menu, type: ^1GRAMMAR^0.

 DISK FILES THIS PROGRAM USES:
^FGRAMMAR.EXE
