We have now moved into our new home. It is not far from Route1 3 and is only a short walk from an eighteenth-century2 church in Gramercy Park3. We are living in a complex that has 40 other units and we enjoy our neighbors very much. Across4 the hall from us is a Canadian family that has5 two daughters6 the ages of Ruth and Rita. Below us is a European7 family that has a small daughter who is a few days older than Grace. We also have a swimming pool that the kids love to go in every day8. We now feel9 at home again!!! Since we moved to the city,10 we don’t have Hummers11 anymore and sometimes get stuck when it rains12. There13 are beautiful trees here, but many of them are infested14 with Formosan15 termites, for16 which there is apparently no good method of control. These termites can eat a house in no time at all!

Lately, I have also heard neighbors ask why people were not better prepared for a few days without outside help. I realized that, despite17 the advice18 and regular warnings we have here, we19 have to prepare survival plans for our families and we need to have enough supplies and first aid gear for a minimum of 3 days. We20 were not prepared. Tornados give some warning and, even with warning,21 people have to be able to access supplies, have22 enough money to pay for them, and have23 the ability to transport them home.

1. Route 3 is an official place-name in the same sense as Interstate 90 and should be capitalized.
2. A numerical designation of a time period is lowercased unless it is part of a proper name, such as The Twentieth Century.
3. Park is part of the official name Gramercy Park, similar to Central Park in New York City, and should be capitalized.
4. This “comma splice,” in which a comma with no conjunction joined two independent clauses, has been rewritten as two separate sentences.
5. The term “family,” although denoting a plurality of persons, is a singular term and should use the singular verb form “has” rather than the plural form “have.”
6. There are two; therefore, use the plural “daughters.”
7. Names of specific groupings of people (Asian, Nordic, European) are capitalized.
8. The word “everyday” means “commonplace;” “every day” means “every day” and is the correct choice in this context.
9. The inflected form of the verb “feel” was incorrectly used for this sentence structure. The rewritten sentence “We are now feeling at home again” would also be a solution.
10. When a dependent clause with a subordinate conjunction (since) begins a sentence, it should be separated from the main sentence clause by a comma.
11. The plural form “Hummers” should be used rather than the possessive form “Hummer’s.”
12. The word “raines” should be spelled “rains.”
13. Homophones are words (often confused) that sound alike even if they differ in spelling, meaning, or origin, such as “there,” “they’re,” and “their.” The correct choice in this case is “there.”
14. The word “infestid” should be spelled “infested.”
15. Unless an official list of such terms is readily available, use a down style for common names of plants and animals, capitalizing only proper nouns and adjectives: use “Formosan termites” as in “Canada thistle” and “English setter.”
16. The sentence fragment “For which…control” should be connected to the main sentence with a comma.
17. The parenthetical element “despite the advice and regular warnings we have here” should be separated from the main clause by placing commas at each end of the element.
18. Homophones are words (often confused) that sound alike even if they differ in spelling, meaning, or origin, such as “advise” and “advice.” The primary meaning of the verb “advise” is "inform” or “recommend;" the noun form “advice” means “recommendation.” The correct choice in this case is the noun “advice.”
19. See 17 above.
20. Here is another “comma splice,” in which a comma with no conjunction joined two independent clauses. The clauses have been rewritten as two separate sentences.
21. The parenthetical element “even with warning” should be separated from the main clause by placing commas at both ends of the element.
22. In a compound sentence composed of a series of short independent clauses, only the last two clauses are joined by a conjunction.
23. A sentence consisting of a series of clauses should use a consistent pattern to maintain parallel structure, e.g., “be able to…,” “have enough money…,” and “have the ability…”