Category Archives: Independent Practice

Here is a worksheet on differentiating the adjectives forceful, forcible, and forced. This is a full-page worksheet with a good deal of supporting text and ten modified cloze exercises.

I confess that when I began using my first copy of William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style, and read Mr. White’s introduction, in which he notes that Strunk “…disliked the word forceful and advised us to use forcible instead…” I wondered why the fuss. Since then, I have developed an affection for both The Elements of Style and the finer points of usage.

Whatever the fuss about forceful and forcible (and forced), the point of these worksheets is to meet the Common Core Standard–i.e. “Standard (L.11-12.1b): Resolve issues of complex or contested usage, consulting references, (e.g., Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, Garner’s Modern American Usage) as needed”–on usage, and teach students the nuances of using words.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a worksheet on differentiating between the verbs flounder and founder,  informed by Paul Brians’ book Common Errors in English Usage (which he makes available at no charge on the Washington State University website). This worksheet contains a single-paragraph reading from Professor Brians’ book, with ten modified cloze exercises. However, since it is a Microsoft Word document, you can manipulate it to meet the needs of your classroom.

These are two intransitive verbs (founder has a transitive use, “to disable (an animal) especially by excessive feeding,” of which I was unaware, clearly because this word is seldom used in American English to convey this ghastly meaning) which are frequently confused. Once again, Professor Brians summarizes them elegantly: “If you’re sunk, you’ve foundered. If you’re struggling, you’re floundering.”

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.