William Gragg, T.S. #5

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July 2nd, Tuesday

Session #1 with Ricardo at Black Dog Cafe

Topic/Skill: Grammar in writing. Linking verbs and subject-verb placement (e.g. explained the pressure to him that I faced > explained the pressure that I faced to him.).

Feedback provided to the tutee: Ricardo had difficulty understanding the difference incorrect subject and verb placement can make in a sentence, so I explained it to him using Spanish. I deemed what I was explaining to him as the "me lo haces rule". In the Spanish language, you must place reflexive, indirect, and direct pronouns in a specific order (R, I, D, respectfully). I made a parallel between English and Spanish by stating that the grammar works similarly in both languages. Thus, it is more proper to say "I explained the pressure that I faced to him" rather than "I explained the pressure to him that I faced". When we came across the error again, I reminded him of the rule and he was able to fix it. Additionally, I helped Ricardo with smaller mistakes such as punctuation (specifically his excessive use of commas) and even taught him how to use a semicolon.

Lessons: Direct, indirect, and reflexive (pro)noun placement in English. Semicolon usage. When to use and when not to use commas. 

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