March Madness

          March Madness is the name for a college basketball tournament that easily captures the attention of so many basketball enthusiasts annually.  Viewers who do not even consider themselves avid basketball fans find themselves near a television keeping up with the games.  Many people root for specific teams based on the predictions they make, and other people cheer on certain teams based on colleges that have been attended by people they know.  Today the top eight teams will move on to the Elite Eight round, where they will fight for positions in the illustrious final four spots.  Soon a national champion will be named.

Vocabulary:

captures: (v.) grabs or holds someone

avid: (adj.) showing excitement or enthusiasm for something

root: (v.) to cheer or support

elite: (adj.) a special part of a group that is better than the rest

illustrious: (adj.) admired and famous

champion: (n.) winner



Vocabulary Exercise:
Please write your own sentence for each of the words above.   Use the definitions and the examples of the use of the words in the paragraph above.

1. captures ________________________________________________________
2. avid ___________________________________________________________
3. root ___________________________________________________________
4. elite ___________________________________________________________
5. illustrious ______________________________________________________
6. champion ______________________________________________________




Grammar Point: Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs and tell us when something happens, how something happens or where something happens.  Adverbs can be classified as adverbs of manner, adverbs of time, adverbs of place, or adverbs of frequency.

Adverbs of manner tell us how the action occurs.  An example from the paragraph above is the word "easily" in "March Madness is the name for a college basketball tournament that easily captures the attention of so many basketball enthusiasts annually."

Adverbs of time tell us about the time that the action takes place.  An example from the paragraph above is the word "today" in "Today the top eight teams will move on to the Elite Eight round, where they will fight for positions in the illustrious final four spots."

Adverbs of place tell us where the action occurs.  An example from the paragraph above is the word "near" in "Viewers who do not even consider themselves avid basketball fans find themselves near a television keeping up with the games."

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often the action occurs.  An example from the paragraph above is the word "annually" in "March Madness is the name for a college basketball tournament that easily captures the attention of so many basketball enthusiasts annually."



Grammar Activity: 
Underline the adverb in each sentence, and state whether it is an adverb of manner, time, place, or frequency.

1.  The office manager is coming here. __________________
2.  I wake up early in the morning to get ready for work. _____________________
3.  She drove slowly with the baby sleeping in the backseat. __________________
4.  He asks the same question daily. _____________________
5.  I never take the train to work. _______________________
6.  They carefully filled in the answers on their test. __________________
7.  The teacher always writes the homework on the board.  ________________
8.  Mom went somewhere to pick up dinner.  ___________________
9.  Tomorrow you need to study for your math test. _________________
10.  You answered correctly.  ____________________