Halloween!

This past weekend, I celebrated Halloween with my friends. We watched scary movies, ate candy, and got dressed up. After handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at my house, we went to a Halloween party that my friend was hosting. We witnessed so many different costumes, both scary and creative. Halloween is a day celebrated on October 31st, where people dress up in costume and children walk around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, and asking for candy; this is called trick-or-treating. The greeting "trick-or-treat" is used as a humorous threat of jokes and tricks if they are not given a small gift or treat. Many people like to celebrate the spirit of Halloween by watching horror films or going to haunted houses. 

Vocabulary

Hosting (noun)- a person who receives or entertains other people as guests.

Witnessed (verb)- see (an event, or thing) take place.

Creative (adjective)- involving imagination or original ideas, production of an artistic work.

Costume (noun)- fashion of dress appropriate to a particular occasion or season.

Neighborhood (noun)- the area surrounding a particular place or person.

Humorous (adjective)- causing lighthearted laughter and amusement

Threat (noun)- a statement of an intention to cause pain, damage, or other aggressive action on someone as punishment for something done or not done.

Celebrate (verb)- acknowledge (a significant or happy day or event) with a social gathering or enjoyable activity.

Spirit (noun)- a specified emotion or mood, especially at a particular time.

Haunted (adjective)- a haunted place is one where ghosts often appear, paranormal activity is present.

Vocabulary Exercise:

Grammar Point:

The passage above often uses commas. While a period ends a sentence, a comma indicates a smaller break. Some writers think of a comma as a soft pause—a punctuation mark that separates words, clauses, or ideas within a sentence.

Examples of the types of commas used in the passage:

1.  Use a comma before any coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) that links two independent clauses.

Ex: I went running, and I saw a duck.

2. Use a comma after a dependent clause that starts a sentence.

Ex: When I went running, I saw a duck.

3. Use a comma after introductory adverbs.

Ex: Finally, I went running.

4.  Use commas to separate items in a series.

Ex: I saw a duck, a frog, and a deer.

Grammar Exercise:

Write a brief passage about a tradition or holiday your family participates in. You may write about Halloween if you celebrate Halloween. Include the use of commas in your writing.

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Additional information about comma use: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/comma/