Thanks for the suggestions! I had tried Bill Spruiell's trick, as I was certain that the misunderstanding must surround subordinating so (that). I think I am reaching them, slowly. Somehow, the combined power of the internet backing me up has overcome the Yale education-- hers, not mine. I truly appreciate the different approaches. I am new to the forum and enjoying the discussions. Best, Nathalia On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 12:43 AM, Spruiell, William C <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Nathalia, > > One additional trick for approaching this (although Til's "therefore test" > is the easiest for most students) is to distinguish coordinating "so" from > subordinating "so (that)" -- we don't always say or write the 'that' after > the second one, but we can always add it. Using Til's sentences and adding > 'that': > > (Works) I went to bed early so that I could get a good night's sleep > (Ick.) It is very hot outside today, so that I'm not going to wear a > jacket > > This won't work, however, if you have ESL students (since it relies on > native-speaker instincts) and also becomes less effective if the sentence > is long (since readers get hazy on what the earlier part of the sentence > was). > > Bill Spruiell > Central Michigan University > ________________________________________ > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [ > [log in to unmask]] on behalf of Turner, Tildon L. [ > [log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2015 12:08 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Compound Sentences and Coordinating Conjunctions > > Hi Nathalia, > > There is no mystery. The students were misinformed. It is always > stressful as a teacher to have students who have received inadequate or > erroneous instruction of any kind. The mnemonic is FANBOYS not FANBOY. > The "S" makes all the difference. "So" is the only coordinating > conjunction that indicates material implicature, effectively carrying the > meaning of "therefore". In the college setting in which I teach, I can be > forceful about blaming poor previous instruction for difficulties some > students have and can dissuade them from continuing to use incorrect > grammar. I appreciate the fact that you may not have such a luxury with > younger students. However, they need to be weaned of the misunderstanding > regarding "so". > Perhaps the students only think of "so" in its adverbial usage such as: "I > went to bed early so I could get a good night's sleep", which of course > does not require a comma. They need to become comfortable with a compound > like "It is very hot outside today, so I'm not going to wear a jacket", > which typically does take a comma. > > > All the best, > > Til > > > Til Turner > Languages and Literature > Northern Virginia Community College > www.englishiskillingme.com > Ph: 703.323.3269 > > > ________________________________________ > From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [ > [log in to unmask]] on behalf of Nathalia Hardy [ > [log in to unmask]] > Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 8:17 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Compound Sentences and Coordinating Conjunctions > > I am hoping you could help me solve a bit of a mystery. Some of my > students have been taught that "so" is not a coordinating conjunction and > should not be used to join two independent clauses. Unfortunately, none of > them can explain this other than to say "their teacher said so." These are > seventh and eighth grade students. They have been taught the mnemonic > device FANBOY to remember the coordinating conjunctions and are holding > firm in their "understanding." Am I missing something? > > Best, > > Nathalia Hardy > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > -- Nathalia S. A. Hardy To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/