What ,Why,and How?
14
GRAMMAR
Adjectives Adjectives and Adverbs Appositives Articles Commas Contractions Coordinators !angling "odiiers
Fragments Possessives Run-Together Run-Together Sentences Subject & Verb Verb Identiication Subject-Verb Agreement Subordinators Verb Verb Tenses Tenses
#rammar chapter overvie$% Adjectives and Adverbs% These are words you can use to modify—to describe or add meaning to—other words. Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. Examples: young, small, loud, short, fat, fat, pretty. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and even whole clauses. Examples: really, uic!ly, especially, especially, early, well. Appositives% A Appositives ppositives modify nouns for the purpose of offering details or being being specific. Appositives begin with a noun or an article "a, an, the#, they don$t have their own subject and verb, and they are usually set off with a comma. Example: The car, car, an antiue %tingray, cost cost ten thousand dollars. Articles% The English language has definite "&the'# and indefinite articles "&a' and &an'#. The use depends on whether you are referring a specific member of a group "definite# or to any member of a group "indefinite#. Commas% (ommas have many uses in the English language. They are responsible for everything everything from setting apart items in a series to ma!ing your writing clearer and preventing misreading. Contractions% Apostrophes can show possession "the girl$s hamster is strange#, strange#, and also can show the omission of one or more letters when words are combined into contractions "do not ) don$t#. Coordinators% (oordinators are words you can use to join simple sentences to eually stress both ideas you are connecting. *ou *ou can easily remember the seven coordinators if you !eep in mind the word +A-*% "+or, And, or, -ut, r, *et, %o#. !angling "odiiers% All modifiers, words that add clarity, clarity, describe, or add detail to other words words in a sentence, must be clearly and logically connected to their implied subjects, the grammatical subject of the clause nearest to the modifier. /hen they are not logically connected, they are called dangling modifiers. Fragments% A sentence sentence must contain a subject0verb unit1 a fragment is a group of words that pretends to be a sentence but doesn$t actually have have a valid subject0verb unit. Example: %ince they bro!e up. Possessives% To show ownership of things, people or concepts, we use possessives. A common way to form the possessive possessive is to add apostrophe 2 s. Example: the boo!s of the student 3 the student$s boo!s. Run-Together Run-Together Sentences% 4un0together sentences are the result of combining two or more complete sentences together without an acceptable joiner. Acceptable Acceptable joiners for connecting independent clauses include: coordinators, subordinators, and semi0colons " #. Subject & Verb Identiication% Two Two of the most important parts of speech are subjects and verbs. 5erbs are words that indicate action or a state of being, words li!e: write, run, tell, have, be, loo!, feel. The subject of a sentence performs the action"s# indicated by the main verb1 that is, the subject is the doer of the action. Subject-Verb Agreement% 6n the present tense verbs must agree with their subjects: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Examples: 6 breathe the air. 7e breathes the air. *ou *ou must add an 8s or 8es at the end of the verb when the subject is a singular third person "he, she, it#. Subordinators% 9i!e coordinators, subordinators can join simple sentences but they de0emphasie one of the ideas. %entences with a subordinator "words such as although, since, when, even though, because) need to be connected connected to an independent sentence. Example: Since she studied , she got an A. Verb Tenses% Tense Tense refers to the form a verb ta!es in a sentence, whether to express the present, past or future.
#rammar chapter overvie$% Adjectives and Adverbs% These are words you can use to modify—to describe or add meaning to—other words. Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. Examples: young, small, loud, short, fat, fat, pretty. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and even whole clauses. Examples: really, uic!ly, especially, especially, early, well. Appositives% A Appositives ppositives modify nouns for the purpose of offering details or being being specific. Appositives begin with a noun or an article "a, an, the#, they don$t have their own subject and verb, and they are usually set off with a comma. Example: The car, car, an antiue %tingray, cost cost ten thousand dollars. Articles% The English language has definite "&the'# and indefinite articles "&a' and &an'#. The use depends on whether you are referring a specific member of a group "definite# or to any member of a group "indefinite#. Commas% (ommas have many uses in the English language. They are responsible for everything everything from setting apart items in a series to ma!ing your writing clearer and preventing misreading. Contractions% Apostrophes can show possession "the girl$s hamster is strange#, strange#, and also can show the omission of one or more letters when words are combined into contractions "do not ) don$t#. Coordinators% (oordinators are words you can use to join simple sentences to eually stress both ideas you are connecting. *ou *ou can easily remember the seven coordinators if you !eep in mind the word +A-*% "+or, And, or, -ut, r, *et, %o#. !angling "odiiers% All modifiers, words that add clarity, clarity, describe, or add detail to other words words in a sentence, must be clearly and logically connected to their implied subjects, the grammatical subject of the clause nearest to the modifier. /hen they are not logically connected, they are called dangling modifiers. Fragments% A sentence sentence must contain a subject0verb unit1 a fragment is a group of words that pretends to be a sentence but doesn$t actually have have a valid subject0verb unit. Example: %ince they bro!e up. Possessives% To show ownership of things, people or concepts, we use possessives. A common way to form the possessive possessive is to add apostrophe 2 s. Example: the boo!s of the student 3 the student$s boo!s. Run-Together Run-Together Sentences% 4un0together sentences are the result of combining two or more complete sentences together without an acceptable joiner. Acceptable Acceptable joiners for connecting independent clauses include: coordinators, subordinators, and semi0colons " #. Subject & Verb Identiication% Two Two of the most important parts of speech are subjects and verbs. 5erbs are words that indicate action or a state of being, words li!e: write, run, tell, have, be, loo!, feel. The subject of a sentence performs the action"s# indicated by the main verb1 that is, the subject is the doer of the action. Subject-Verb Agreement% 6n the present tense verbs must agree with their subjects: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Examples: 6 breathe the air. 7e breathes the air. *ou *ou must add an 8s or 8es at the end of the verb when the subject is a singular third person "he, she, it#. Subordinators% 9i!e coordinators, subordinators can join simple sentences but they de0emphasie one of the ideas. %entences with a subordinator "words such as although, since, when, even though, because) need to be connected connected to an independent sentence. Example: Since she studied , she got an A. Verb Tenses% Tense Tense refers to the form a verb ta!es in a sentence, whether to express the present, past or future.
Adjectives & Adverbs Connections
%ee also &(ommas' and &=angling ;odifiers.'
'hat are the() Adjectives and adverbs are words you can use to modify—to describe or add meaning to—other words.
Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. Examples of some common adjectives are: young, small,
loud, short, fat, pretty. pretty. *ou can also identify many adjectives by the following common endings.
able% honorable, useable - able% -al % parental, economical -ful % forgetful, soulful
-ic % frantic, scientific -ive% ive% festive, disruptive -ish% ish% selfish, boyish
-less% less% ruthless, careless -ous% ous% joyous, rebellious
Adverbs, on the other hand, modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and even whole clauses. Adverbs can tell us how something is done, when it is done, and where it is done. Examples of some
common adverbs are: really, uic!ly, especially, early, well, immediately, yesterday. /hile many adverbs do end with “–ly”, don$t ta!e this for granted: some adverbs, li!e &almost' and &very' do not end this way, and some words that do end in “–ly”, li!e &lively,' &lively,' are actually adjectives.
Comparatives and Superlatives
;any adverbs and most adjectives generally have three forms: the normal form1 the comparative form, which you can use to compare two things1 and the superlative form, which you can use to compare three or more things. The following chart gives you some guidelines for forming the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs.
Rules Short adjectives & adverbs: • •
Add 8er for comparative Add 8est for superlative
*+amples ormal
(omparative
%uperlative
%oon 9ate
%ooner 9ater
%oonest 9atest
*+amples Rules ormal
(omparative
%uperlative
;ore delicious ;ore incredible
;ost delicious ;ost incredible
%lowly Easily -rightly
;ore slowly ;ore easily ;ore brightly
;ost slowly ;ost easily ;ost brightly
-etter /orse 9ess ;ore
-est /orst 9east ;ost
/ell -adly
-etter /orse
-est /orst
Longer adjectives & most longer adverbs ending in =elicious 6ncredible -ly: •
•
Add &more' 2 adjective>adverb for comparative Add &most' 2adjective>adverb for superlative
Irregular adjectives and adverbs have special
forms
/hen using comparative and superlative forms, !eep the following in mind: •
•
;any adverbs indicating time, place, and degree "i.e. tomorrow, here, totally# do not have comparative or superlative forms. Adjectives and adverbs that indicate an absolute or unchangeable uality should not be used with comparative and superlative constructions. %uch absolute modifiers include words li!e final, main, impossible, perfect, unavoidable, uniue.
Placement o Adjectives & Adverbs
;isplaced adjective or adverbs can cause confusion, as in the following example: •
%ha!en not stirred, ?ames -ond dran! his martinis.
The writer is probably referring to the martinis, but the way this sentence is written, it implies that ?ames -ond himself is sha!en and not stirred.
+or more information about misplaced adjectives and adverbs, see &=angling ;odifiers.' Adjectives
6n order to avoid confusion, try to place adjectives as close as possible to the nouns or pronouns they modify. ;ost one0word adjectives come right before the nouns they modify. 6n the examples below, the adjectives are double0underlined and the nouns they modify are in italics. •
•
7e made a delicious dinner . The hungry girls devoured it uic!ly.
•
Their full stomachs pushed against their jeans.
-ut they couldn$t resist the incredible dessert. ne major exception to this rule is when an adjective follows a lin!ing verb "i.e. is>are, was>were, feel, smell, taste, loo!, believe#. +or example: •
•
Dinner was delicious.
•
Their stomachs felt full.
•
The girls were hungry.
•
Dessert loo!ed incredible.
-e careful. %ometimes writers will use adverbs with a lin!ing verb when what they really want is an adjective, or vice0versa. (hoosing the adjective versus the adverb form of the same word has big implications for the meaning of a sentence. +or example: Adjective
6 feel bad. "6 feel ill, depressed, apologetic#
Adverb
6 feel badly "6$m bad at feeling#
;ultiple0word adjective phrases generally follow the noun or pronoun they modify, but occasionally can come before. •
The girl snoring in the next room wo!e up her roommate.
•
The customer annoyed with the slow service complained to the manager.
•
@roud of her youngest son, his mother showed his picture to strangers on the bus.
Adjective clauses—easy to identify because they start with the words &who,' &whom,' &whose,' &which,' &that,' &when,' and 'where'— follow the noun they modify. +or example: •
•
%he had a goat that she loved very much. 7is favorite girlfriend , who he thought was coming over later that evening, had just received an anonymous phone call.
Adverbs
As with adjectives, adverbs need to be placed where the reader can clearly understand the meaning
you intend. Adverbs are a bit more flexible, however. -oth single0word and multiple0word adverb phrases can generally be placed either before or after the words they modify. 6n the examples below, the adverbs and adverb phrases are underlined and the words they modify are in italics. +or example: •
The lion jumped s!illfully through the flaming hoop.
•
The lion s!illfully jumped through the flaming hoop.
•
-efore next /ednesday, she needed to cash her paychec!.
•
She needed to cash her paychec! before next /ednesday.
Punctuating Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives
To help you decide whether or not you should use a comma when separating two or more adjectives, as! yourself the following two uestions: • •
(an the order of the two adjectives be reversed (an the word BandB be put between the adjectives
6f either answer is yes, then the adjectives are coordinate, and you should use a comma. +or example: • • •
?essica is an ambitious, intelligent woman. ?essica is an intelligent, ambitious woman. Corder reversedD ?essica is an intelligent and ambitious woman. Cadded BandBD
6f you cannot reverse the order of the adjectives or add BandB to the adjectives, then they are cumulative, and do not reuire a comma. +or example: • • •
4oger has fourteen silver horns. 4oger has silver fourteen horns. CThe reversed order does not wor!.D 4oger has fourteen and silver horns. CThe added BandB does not wor!.D
Adverbs
@lace a comma at the end of an adverb phrase when it comes at the beginning of the sentence. +or example: •
After some thought, she decided to buy her cousin$s used car.
+or more detailed information on when to use commas with adjectives and adverbs, please see the &(ommas.'
PRACTI CE
A, 6dentify the adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences by underlining the adjectives twice
and the adverbs once. . For e+ample: The one0eyed green aliens stepped cautiously out of their spaceship.
. Their timid leader tentatively put one fat, calloused foot on the grass. F. %he then gingerly placed the other foot down. G. %he paused, thoughtfully scratched her forehead, and then started to waddle uite gracelessly toward a dim light.
H. %oon the braver aliens followed her but the more cowardly aliens hung bac! inside the door of the silver spaceship.
I. %uddenly, they heard a short, high0pitched yelp. J. The youngest alien had stepped accidentally on the tail of a small furry creature, and both of them cried out instinctively.
K. The little alien regained his composure right away and, curious about the strange creature, he carefully reached down to pic! up the frightened mouse.
L. The mouse, still terrified, dashed away. M. 6t ran over the sensitive toes of several aliens who suealed loudly N.The resulting commotion distracted the group, and they didn$t notice the two young children slowly riding up on their crea!y three0speed bicycles.
, (reate more detailed sentences by adding your own adjectives and adverbs to modify the words in
italics. +or example: •
The star punched the photographer .
The reclusive movie star violently punched the pushy photographer.
. The island was populated by birds that soared over the trees.
F. 6t was also populated by tourists who stayed at the resort and sat by the pool .
G. The man in a suit was reading a magaine on his morning commute to wor!.
H. The woman next to him sighed as the train stopped in a tunnel.
I. The neighbors gossiped about the people who lived in the house on the corner.
J. O@% delivered pac!ages to the bac! door and strangers in cars visited.
K. The students in the computer lab tal!ed to each other and wor!ed on their essays.
L. The tutor helped the boy with his homewor! .
M. The children ate the ice cream.
N. A bully grabbed one of the cones and stuffed it in his mouth.
Appositives
'hat are the() 6n your essays, you often want to use long, complex sentences to draw your reader in, to avoid the choppiness that comes from a series of short sentences, and to provide clear and vivid detail. /hile adjectives can modify nouns "the blue car#, sometimes nouns themselves—appositives—also modify nouns for the purpose of offering details or being specific. %ometimes these appositives will be called noun phrase appositives "or @As#.
Connections
+or more help combining sentences, see &Adjectives and Adverbs.'
'hat does an appositive loo. li.e) • • •
6t will begin with a noun or an article "a, an, the#. As a phrase, it will not have its own subject and verb. 6t will be usually set off with a comma, but occasionally is separated with a colon ":# or dash "—#.
*+amples% •
The car, an antiue %tingray, cost ten thousand dollars.
noun • • •
a
ositive
;artha, -eth$s older sister, came to the open0mic night with her guitar. To the baseball game 4oger brought all his goodies: balls, a glove, a hat and a sign. %he too! her medication—pain !illers and cold medicine—and hid them in her suitcase.
Create /our 0$n Appositives -ecause you may be writing a whole new sentence to give just a little piece of information to your reader, try to ma!e your writing less choppy and repetitive by using an appositive to combine the ideas. *ou might have: 6 wanted to give =roopy to the %@(A before she attac!ed. =roopy is my sister$s ferocious pit bull. • •
These sentences could easily be combined: 6 wanted to give =roopy, my sister$s ferocious pit bull, to the %@(A before she attac!ed. •
/hat happened to create the appositive The writer noticed that the second sentence, &=roopy is my sister$s ferocious pit bull' only gave more information about =roopy, who had already been introduced in the previous sentence. That additional information is dropped into the first sentence after the noun it modifies. 4emember to use commas to set off the @A.
A 1ote on Colons and !ashes *ou may be wondering when a colon or dash is appropriate to set off an @A. ;ost of the time a comma will do just fine. %ometimes, though, you will wish to call more attention to the information in apposition—draw the reader$s eyes to it—and in those instances, a dash "which is made with two
PRACTI CE
hyphens &—&# may do the tric!. A colon is usually used when the @A is a series or list of items "&6 brought her favorite fruit: apples, oranges and peaches.'#
*+ercise 2 3 1oun Phrase Appositives 3 Sentence Combining (ombine the following sentences using @As. Example: 6 want to ta!e the painting to the museum for donation. The painting is a 5an
*+ercise 4 3 1PAs 3 Sentence Combining
+or each of the following sentences, add one or more @A to give the reader additional information. ;a!e up whatever you li!eP "7int: find the noun"s# in the sentence to loo! to see what can ta!e an @A.# Example: •
The textboo! fell from my des!.
(44E(T: The textbook, a giant collection of poetry, fell from my desk.
. ;y best friend lost the race. F. -ill (linton too! first prie for his boo!. G. ?oanne told 9arry to go for a ride on his boat. H. apoleon discovered the &trapple.' I. ;y binder contains one hundred papers and two pamphlets. J. The dog bit -ill in the leg before he could run into a house. K. 7er shirt nearly blinded me. L. Abe 9incoln probably didn$t use 9og (abin syrup. M. 6 li!e the school$s newest building. N.(indy too! the money to the ban!.
Articles 'hat are the() The English language has definite "& the'# and indefinite articles "& a' and &an'#. The use depends on whether you are referring to a specific member of a group "definite# or to any member of a group "indefinite#.
Indeinite Articles% 5a6 and 5an6
!einite Article% 5the 6
*ou will use an indefinite article when referring to any member of a group or one your readers are not yet familiar with. The indefinite article & a' is used when the word following it "which may be a noun or an adjective# begins with a consonant or with a consonant sound. o o o
a dog a computer a onetime sale
The indefinite article & an' is used when the word following it begins with a vowel "a, e, i , o, or u#. o o o
*ou will use the definite article when referring to a specific member of a group. The consonant and vowel rules that apply to &a' and &an' do not apply to the use of &the.' o o o o o o
the neighbor$s dog the nice nephew the mooing cows the building the red hairdryer the airplane
an apple an ellipsis an umbrella
6f you were to say, &?uan set his !eys on a table,' it would tell the reader that ?uan chose any table, an unspecific table, one of many.
6f you were to say, &?uan set his !eys on the table,' it would tell the reader that ?uan chose a specific table, one you may have already mentioned.
6f you were to say, &;arcus goes swimming in a la!e on +ridays,' the reader understands that which la!e ;arcus chose really isn$t important, and might even change from wee! to wee!.
6f you were to say, &;arcus goes swimming in the la!e on +ridays,' the reader understands that it is a specific la!e, and that he goes to the same place each wee!.
Plural Indeinite Article - some "ou will use the word “ some” before a plural noun #or its modifying adjective)$ o o
some hairs some boxes
The singular: 6 put all of my clothes in a box 6 found in the basement. The plural: 6 put all of my clothes in some boxes 6 found in the basement. Plural 1ouns
@lural nouns do not reuire an indefinite article: &6 love apples,' instead of &6 love an apples.' "*ou must use the definite article if you have already introduced the idea or are referring to a specific member of a group: &6 love the apples grown across the street.'#
1on-count 1ouns
on0count nouns, which include concepts and ideas that cannot be counted in number, may or may not reuire an article: no one hard and fast rule applies. *ou can write &Qindness spreads li!e wildfire,' instead of &A !indness spreads li!e wildfire,' or &The !indness spreads li!e wildfire' "unless you are referring to a specific !indness mentioned elsewhere in your writing, as in &the !indness you showed me'#. Proper 1ouns
@roper nouns, which name a particular person, place or thing, sometimes ta!e the article & the' and sometimes do not. o o o
%oda is damaging to your teeth, but everyone still drin!s it. %he soda in my cup is flat, so 6 thin! 6 will throw it out. /e are going to meet at the /hite 7ouse.
=o not use &the' before: o
o o o o o o
names of countries "except the etherlands, the Onited Arab Emirates, and the Onited %tates# names of cities, towns or states names of streets names of la!es and bays "except a group of la!es— the
=o use &the' before: o o o o
names of rivers, oceans and seas points on the globe geographical areas deserts, forests, gulfs and peninsulas
&dapted from$ http$''www.owl.english.purdue.edu'handouts'esl'eslart.html ('*'+ – +$++&- %he /rief 0olt 0andboo!, 1ourth 2dition, 3irsner -andell, 4++*
PRACTI CE *+ercise 2 3 !einite and Indeinite Articles +ill in the blan! for each sentence using either a, an, or the, or leave the space blan! if none is needed. Example: 6 was going to
the
beach where my cousin /illie lost his board in the waves.
. 9ast wee! RRRRRRR seagull dropped his fish onto my car. F. ;aria too! out RRRRRRR garbage before reading. G. RRRRRRR surfboard cut through the waves as she sped toward the beach. H. %culpture is RRRRRRR interesting art form, whether in metal, clay or uranium. I. 6 love picnics—especially when 6 remember RRRRRRR food. J. ;y house is falling apart, RRRRRRR shutters are in disrepair, and RRRRRRR windows are bro!en. K. The brothers met to discuss RRRRRRR possible solution. L. 6 went to the lab to wor! on RRRRRRR computer, but they were all ta!en. M. /ell, professor, RRRRRRR alien came and stole my gray matter before 6 could finish my homewor!. N.This semester RRRRRRR same student violated his restraining order. . %he passed him to avoid RRRRRRR confrontation involving RRRRRRR police. F.6 want to go to RRRRRRR part of O!raine where they spea! RRRRRRR 4ussian dialect. G.The assistants found RRRRRRR theme that meant the most to them, and they wove it carefully into RRRRRRR handboo! they could be proud of. H.RRRRRRR airplane$s tires s!idded down RRRRRRR 9os Angeles Airport$s main runway before !noc!ing out RRRRRRR baggage cart and RRRRRRR fuel truc!. I. 6 am studying RRRRRRR American history in school, but only after 6 pass my -iology class and ace RRRRRRR final exam.
Commas
'hat are the() Connections
(ommas have many uses in the English language. They are responsible for everything from setting apart items in a series to ma!ing your writing clearer and preventing misreading. (orrect comma use is a difficult s!ill to master since it reuires a combination of grammar !nowledge and independent stylistic judgment.
+or more help understanding sentence combining, turn to &(oordinators' and &%ubordinators.'
Sentence Combining /hen you are joining ideas, phrases or clauses within a sentence, you often will use a comma for punctuation. An independent clause, also !nown as a simple sentence, is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb A= can stand alone as a sentence. +or example • • •
The child went to the dentist. 7is girlfriend is angry. %he will buy a new pair of shoes.
*ou can join an independent clause with another independent clause using a coordinator "+A-*%# and a comma: *ou can easily remember the seven coordinators by !eeping in mind the word •
•
Angelo rides his bi!e, and ;ary ta!es the bus. ;arguerite grabbed the diamonds, but liver sold them on
5FA10/S6 %
+or -ut
And r
*et
or %o
the blac! mar!et.
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb -OT it cannot stand alone because it starts with a subordinator, words li!e although, while, since, because, if, until, after . +or example: • • •
/hen the child went to the dentist -ecause his girlfriend is angry Although she will buy new shoes
*ou will use a comma after a dependent clause to join it to the independent clause that finishes the thought: •
Even though ;ichael was allowed to go to the concert, his mother made sure he had completed all his homewor!.
7owever, if you reverse the order and put the independent clause first and the dependent clause second, you do not need a comma: •
7is mother made sure he had completed all his homewor! even though ;ichael was allowed to go to the game.
Series *ou will use commas to separate items in a series containing three or more coordinate elements. 4on, ;aria, and ?essica play soccer every day after school. ;y favorite vegetables are -russels sprouts, spinach, and cauliflower. 6 want either fettuccini alfredo, eggplant parmesan, or the linguine with clams in a white sauce.
• • •
*ou will use commas to separate items in a series of two or more coordinate adjectives—adjectives modifying the same idea independent of each other. 6t should be a slow , lay day. %even years passed in a destructive, whirling blur. 7e brought his slee! , shiny bicycle.
• • •
(ommas are not reuired when the adjectives are cumulative, or when they describe different aspects of the same noun. =onnie sold me ten gold bowling balls. ;y favorites are the lay white clouds. 7e ordered a delicious chocolate ca!e for the party.
• • •
Comma-Adjective Rule To help you decide hether or not you should use a comma hen separating to or more adjectives! as" yourself the folloing to #uestions: • •
(an the order of the two adjectives be reversed (an the word &and ' be put between the adjectives
6f either answer is yes, then the adjectives are coordinate, and you should use a comma. •
?essica is an ambitious, intelligent woman. ?essica is an intelligent, ambitious woman. Corder reversedD o o
?essica is an intelligent and ambitious woman. Cadded & and 'D
6f you cannot reverse the order of or add & and ' to the adjectives, then they are cumulative, and do not reuire a comma. •
4oger has fourteen silver horns. o 4oger has silver fourteen horns. CThe reversed order does not wor!.D o 4oger has fourteen and silver horns. CThe added &and' does not wor!.D
Setting o 1onessential *lements %ome modifying elements of a sentence are essential, restricting the meaning of a modified term, while others are nonessential and do not restrict the modified termSs meaning. These nonessential elements, which can be words, phrases, or clauses, are set off with commas.
1onessential
71onrestrictive,
%tudents, who use the majority of the 0ealth 5enter6s services , claim to be especially sic! this year.
*ssential 7Restrictive, %tudents who play any school sport will receive free tic!ets to final game.
nly students who play a school All students claim to be sic! this year. sport receive the tic!ets, not all students. The professor, with a win! , dismissed The professor with no students is her class early. good for very little. 4emoving the phrase &with a win!' doesn$t change the meaning of the sentence.
The prepositional phrase &with no students' tells what !ind of professor is good for very little1 it is essential.
@opular politicians, campaigning in every small town in America, wave the American flag and !iss babies.
The politician campaigning for president has no time for a meaningful personal life.
%he /ig 7ebows!i , a MMK (oen
The great American movie %he /ig 7ebows!i popularied the nic!name &=ude.'
-rothers film, is a modern mystery and a /estern rolled into one.
/hen deciding whether information is nonessential or essential, as! yourself this uestion: •
6s the modifier essential to the meaning of the noun or subject it modifies 10: onrestrictive "use commas# /*S: 4estrictive "no commas#
Transitional 'ords and Phrases Transitional words and phrases ualify, clarify, and ma!e connections between ideas. They are usually set off with commas when they introduce, interrupt, or come at the end of a clause. Transitions
however therefore thus nevertheless furthermore
• • •
for example on the other hand typically spea!ing as a result alternatively
evertheless, she too! the bus !nowing it would be late. n the other hand, money is money and 6 have to pay my rent. 4are horses, however, are something 6 would consider buying.
ote: /hen you use a transitional word to combine two independent clauses, you must use a semicolon or punctuate them as two separate sentences. • • • •
=iamonds are rare1 however, the coal that ma!es them is abundant. The best dogs raced first1 therefore, the spectators all went home before it rained. 9aughter is the best medicine1 of course, penicillin also comes in handy sometimes. 6 wanted to finish uic!ly. Onfortunately, 6 still had three exams afterward.
8uotations 6n most cases, use commas to set off a direct uotation from the identifying tag " he said , she screamed , 8 wrote and so on#. • • • •
Thoreau said, &To be awa!e is to be alive.' &To be awa!e is to be alive,' Thoreau said. &To be awa!e,' Thoreau said, &is to be alive.' &To be awa!e is to be alive,' Thoreau said. &6 have never yet met a man who was uite awa!e.'
6f the uoted text contains an exclamation point or a uestion mar!, do not use a comma in addition: • •
&%hould we bring the casserole tonight' he as!ed. &6 love those childrenP' the father screamed.
&dapted from$ http$''owl.english.purdue.edu'handouts'grammar'g9commaess.html ('4('+ – $++:- %he /rief 0olt 0andboo!, 1ourth 2dition, 3irsner -andell, 4++*
PRACTI CE *+ercise 2 3 Commas 3 !ependent & Independent Clauses Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one. Examples: Although my mother told me not to get her a gift , 6 decided to ma!e her a scrapboo!. 6 want to give more money to her charity , but 6 thin! the 64% already too! too much of my salary.
. 9ately Qatherine has wanted more companionship even though she rather li!es to be alone. F. ?erry vies for her attention but she has so much on her own mind as she suffers through this ordeal. G. -ut whereas Alec acts li!e a friend he also wants Qatherine$s admiration. H. %o that she will be found innocent ;iss %matter will write another$s confession. I. ?erry eats his sandwich as coolly as the others do yet he can$t sha!e the feeling of deception and mistrust. J. %abrina thin!s that the apartment$s rent is trivial while Qelly thin!s it crucial. K. Although 4achel has little say in the matter her friends could use the advice. L. -ecause her dog was hit by a car he wal!s with a substantial limp. M. The doctor set it with pins and even though he didn$t scratch at it he was still forced to wear a giant collar. N. Either the bill is paid within the month or the doctor will send a collection agency for the money.
*+ercise 4 3 Commas 3 Series and Adjectives Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one. Example: 6 want to pic! fragrant , colorful daffodils, roses, and lilies for my sister$s birthday party. . 9ately ;artin has been pic!ing giant swollen mushrooms from his yard. F. %ue won the &5egetable @rie of the =ay' that included carrots turnips and lee!s. G. ;ost people don$t !now that their favorite chips contain preservatives artificial flavors and ;%<. H. The three tall brothers too! the brilliant shining vitamins before playing sports. I. /atching movies reading boo!s sleeping and exercising are my favorite wee!end activities.
*+ercise 9 3 Commas 3 *ssential and 1onessential Items Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one. Example: •
The racing fans, who rarely wave pennants , showed up in full force on %unday.
. %helly my mother$s step0sister gave me thirty dollars last wee!. F. The campus police who rarely arrest any faculty members are responsible for patrolling all night long. G. The man wal!ing his dog down the street loo!s li!e my great0uncle Ted. H. ;y grandmother with a terrible scream alerted me to the fire in her closet. I. =oug gave me three helpings of dessert which was a crme brUlVe. J. %pea!ing as if he was consumed with fury 9ouis yelled to the audience. K. The actor with no siblings starred in the bloc!buster movie ;rammar 5op. L. The helicopter a
*+ercise : 3 Commas 3 Transitions
Add commas and>or semicolons where necessary in the sentences below. Example: •
evertheless, 6 wanted to go to the farm to see the llamas.
. 6 didn$t want to see the whole country however 6 did want to visit the biggest states and prettiest par!s. F. n the other hand ;artin said that !lahoma is worth s!ipping. G. Alternatively 6 dream about the open road even if it is scary sometimes. H. ;y car ta!es five uarts of oil typically spea!ing. I. 6 made the motel reservations already therefore 6 should leave next wee!. J. @harmaceuticals as a result are becoming more and more expensive. K. Thus 6 will need to buy a new car before 6 set off on %unday.
*+ercise ; 3 Commas 3 8uotations Add commas where necessary in the sentences below.
. &6magination is more important than !nowledge' Albert Einstein wisely once asserted. F. /alt =isney offered excellent advice when he said &The way to get started is to uit tal!ing and begin doing.' G. =o you agree with the assertion made by %ocrates &An unexamined life is not worth living' H. &To be or not to be' is one of the most uoted phrases from %ha!espeare$s plays. I. &9ive as if you were to die tomorrow'
Contractions
'hat are the()
Connections
Apostrophes can show possession "the girl6s hamster is strange #, and also can show the omission of one or more letters when words are combined into contractions. *ou would use a contraction to shorten and combine words. This is a list of the most common contractions.
Contraction
6 am 6 had 6 have it is we will they will we are they are do not does not did not let us is not are not should not will not cannot would not could not you would who is
6$m 6$d 6$ve it$s we$ll they$ll we$re they$re don$t doesn$t didn$t let$s isn$t aren$t shouldn$t won$t can$t wouldn$t couldn$t you$d who$s
+or more help with contractions, see &@ossessives.'
6n formal writing, contractions are not used as freuently "if at all#. %ome instructors allow contractions in assignments, and some do not. *ou should chec! with them about their policy if it is not clear from the syllabus. 6f you do use contractions, however, be sure to include the apostrophe in place of the letters you omit.
PRACTI CE
*+ercise 2 3 Contractions 6n each of the sentences below, combine the words in long form into contractions. Example: /hen ?ohn returns, he "will not# RRRRRRRRRRR want to eat dinner. (orrect: /hen ?ohn returns, he won$t want to eat dinner. . The team is busy typing at the des!, but "they are# RRRRRRRRRRRRR not going to stay long. F. 6t "is not# RRRRRRRRR that their parents are mean, but they "do not# RRRRRRR spend any time with them. G. "*ou would# RRRRRRRRRRRRRR have to be cray to eat that fast food. H. @aragraphs "are not# RRRRRRRRRRRRR my favorite thing to study, but they beat spelling. I. 6n two more days "we will# RRRRRRRRRRRR be sailing around the world. J. The second student from the left "would not# RRRRRRRRRRRRturn in his test on time. K. "9et us# RRRRRRRRRR see what "6 am# RRRRRRR doing next wee! so 6 "do not# RRRRRRRRR double0boo!. L. "/ho is# RRRRRRRRRRR coming to the party tomorrow M. This really "is not# RRRRRRRRRRRR what 6 envisioned when 6 agreed to get paid. N.The co0op "does not# RRRRRRRRRRRRRR have any cereal unless "you are# RRRRRRRRRR buying it in bul!. . 6n fact, "it is# RRRRRRRRR cheaper, healthier, and "should not# RRRRRRRRRRRR be any less fresh. F."6 have# RRRRRRRRRRRRRR had a good experience at that store. G.The food 6 brought home "would not# RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ever go to waste. H."They will# RRRRRRRRRRRRRR bag it for you and "will not# RRRRRRRRRRRRR drop anything. I."6 am# RRRRRRRR a fan of going to a co0op li!e this instead of the large chain stores.
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?
Coordinators 'hat are the() Connections
(oordinators are words you can use to join simple sentences
%ee also the &%ubordinators' and &(ommas.'
"a!a independent clauses# clauses# and show the logical connections between ideas. Ose coordinators coordinators when when you want to eually stress both ideas you are connecting1 if instead you want to de0emphasie one of the ideas, use a subordinator . *ou can easily remember the seven coordinators if you !eep in mind the word +A-*%: +A-*%:
(oordinators
9ogical 4elationship
%ample sentences
F
F0R
(ause>Effect
6 expect to see lots of green on +riday, for it it is %t.@atric!$s =ay.
A
A1!
Addition
The 6rish bars will be pac!ed, and the the beer will be flowing.
1
10R
Addition of negatives
6 won$t drin! green beer, nor will will 6 drin! a %hamroc! %ha!e.
=T
(ontrast
6 li!e the color green, but 6 6 don$t thin! it$s an appetiing color for a beverage.
Alternative
0
0R
/
/*T
(ondition
6 have to wa!e up early the next morning, yet 6 6 don$t want to be anti0 social.
S
S0
(ause>Effect
ne of my friends is having a party, so 6 will probably drop by for a while.
Punctuation
Onless the clauses are uite short, put a comma before the conjunction when it joins two independent clauses. •
•
%he brought home a big bag of 7alloween candy that should have lasted wee!s, but by the next day her little brother had eaten it all. 7e$s tall but she$s short.
PRACTI CE ?oin the following sentences with the coordinator that most clearly expresses the logical relationship between the two ideas being connected. 7int: you should use each coordinator only once.
, but he he For *+ample% (alvin had his heart set on being a physics major. 7e was horrible at math.
. 7e could not not understand understand geometry geometry.. 7e could could not understand understand physics. physics. F. 7e too! too! extra extra classes. classes. The The tutor tutor couldn$t couldn$t seem seem to help. help. G. 7e wor!ed wor!ed incredibly incredibly hard. Everyone Everyone in the the math department department was was willing willing to help him. him. H. 7e realied realied he he would would have to to improve. improve. 7e was going going to have to give up his ambiti ambition on to become a great physicist. I. The other students students could could build catapults catapults out of popsicle popsicle stic!s stic!s and rubber bands. bands. (alvin$s (alvin$s catapult couldn$t even launch a pebble. J. (alvin$s (alvin$s experimen experiments ts were always always uniue. uniue. They proved proved that some some basic law law of nature no no longer existed. 7. (alvin finally realied that he did not have it in him to be the next %tephen 7aw!ing. 7e
changed his major to English.
!angling "odiiers
'hat are the() All modiiers, words that add clarity, describe, or add detail de tail to other words in a sentence, must be clearly and logically connected to their implied subjects , the grammatical subject of the clause nearest to the modifier. +or example, in the following sentences we can easily connect the underlined modifiers with their implied subjects, which are underlined twice.
Connections
%ee also the &6dentifying 5erbs W %ubjects' and &Adjectives W Adverbs.'
•
7appy with her new hula hoop, the young girl s!ipped down the street.
•
6nvigorated by the sunny weather, we decided to go on a picnic in
•
-efore buying a hybrid car, my brother used to ride a motorcycle.
-ut sometimes, when writers use modifiers modifiers carelessly, their implied subjects are illogical. +or example: •
6n examining his argument closely, the point at which he went wrong can be seen.
•
To networ! more effectively, %cientology is practiced by many actors. ac tors.
•
@olite and respectful, the visiting teacher was impressed with the children$s manners.
The way the first two sentences are written, they imply that the point somehow examined his argument and that %cientology is trying to networ! more effectively— neither of these ideas ma!e any sense. The third sentence, while not as obviously illogical, suggests that the visiting teacher was polite and respectful, not the children—almost certainly not what the writer intends. ;isleading or illogical constructions li!e these are called dangling modifiers. =angling modifiers most often come at the beginning of a sentence, as in the examples above, but they can also come at the end of a sentence. •
6n my English class, attendance was stressed, ta!ing off points for late arrivals and early departures.
The way this sentence is written, it implies that attendance ta!es points off for late arrivals and early departures—an illogical statement.
Fi+ing !angling "odiiers
6n order to fix a dangling modifier, you need to revise your sentence so that the implied subject ma!es sense. *ou *ou can do this by as!ing yourself “who “who is logically doing the action of the ' +or example: modifier '
0riginal Sentence
6n examining his argument closely, the point at which he went wrong can be seen.
Revised Sentence =ho is e@amining his argumentA we
6n examining his argument closely, we can see the point at which he went wrong.
To networ! more effectively, %cientology =ho is trying to networ! more effectivelyA actors is practiced by many actors. To networ! more effectively, many actors practice %cientology. @olite and respectful, the visiting teacher was impressed with the children$s manners.
6n my English class, attendance was stressed, ta!ing off points for late arrivals and early departures.
=ho is polite and respectfulA the children
@olite and respectful, the children impressed the visiting teacher with their manners. =ho stresses attendanceA the teacher
6n my English class, the teacher stressed attendance, ta!ing off points for late arrivals and early departures.
PRACTI CE 4ead each sentence, underlining the introductory modifier and double0underlining the implied subject. =oes the modifier logically connect with the implied subject 6f the implied subject does not ma!e sense, revise the sentence. +or example: Thought to have originated in the 6ndian %ubcontinent, Eastern Europe is now home to many 4oma, better !nown as gypsies. #8s 2astern 2urope thought to have originated in 8ndiaA o, the 4oma are, so we need to revise this
sentence.# 4evised: Thought to have originated in the 6ndian %ubcontinent, many 4oma, better !nown as gypsies, now live in Eastern Europe. . 4eacting with suspicion and hostility to the 4oma$s distinct culture and nomadic lifestyles, they have historically been discriminated against by some native Europeans.
F. Ta!en to the extreme, persecution included enslavement and executions.
G. Qnown as the :orajmos , or the &devouring,' in /orld /ar 66, the ais carried out an attempted genocide that !illed between FNN,NNN and LNN,NNN 4oma.
H. =erogatory stereotypes are still perpetuated, characteriing the 4oma as tramps and thieves.
I. -oth embodying and transcending the sadness of this history, an important expression of traditional 4om culture is music.
J. =eveloped in %panish 4oma communities, the outside world is probably most familiar with flamenco music.
K. -rought to the Americas, 4oma music has contributed to (uban salsa, mambo, rumba and guajira music: ;exican mariachi music1 and even American country music.
L. A celebration of the range and vitality of gypsy music, the 4oma director Tony
Fragments
'hat are the()
Connections
+or a more detailed discussion of these 6n English, a sentence must contain a subject0verb unit1 a fragment is a group of words that terms, see the pretends to be a sentence but doesn$t actually have a valid subject0verb unit. &%ubjects W 5erbs' and &%ubordinators.' Common Sources o Fragments
. The fragment is a dependent clause, a group of words that contains a subject0verb unit but cannot stand alone because it begins with a subordinator . +or example: • • • •
Since they bro!e up <hough 6 am her cousin Bnless you stop doing that /ecause he was tired
ther common subordinators include: though, even though, while, whereas before, after, if, when, as soon as. F. The fragment is a phrase, a group of words that does not contain a subject0verb unit. ;any times, phrases are easy to identify. +or example: • • • •
A long, strange trip 9ost in the supermar!et ?enny from the bloc! The richest man in -abylon
Two types of phrases can be a bit tric!ier to spot, however, because they contain words that loo! li!e verbs but aren$t acting as part of a valid subject0verb unit: A. -ing clauses: /ithout a form of the verb &to be,' 3ing words cannot be part of main the subject0verb unit. +or example: • •
The man eating a fig The coyote howling at the moon
-. $%ho! hom etc' clauses : 5erbs that are separated from the subject by the words &who,' &whom,' &whose,' &when,' &where,' &that,' and &which' cannot be part of the main subject0verb unit. +or example: • • •
The woman who disobeyed and got a tic!et The apple that she ate The garden which she had to leave
Strategies or Fi+ing Fragments
6n order to turn a fragment into a complete sentence, you have a couple of options. . ften you simply need to combine a fragment with a neighboring sentence to produce a grammatically complete sentence. +or example: Fragment 7in italics,
Complete sentence
4ocio made that mista!e too. /ut only
4ocio made that mista!e too, but only when she wasn$t paying attention.
when she wasn6t paying attention.
Daydreaming about the wee!end . 6 missed
my exit. -y chatty ne@t door neighbor. %he loves to
gossip. 6$ve never been bac! to El %alvador. Since 8 left ten years ago.
=aydreaming about the wee!end, 6 missed my exit. ;y chatty next door neighbor loves to gossip. 6$ve never been bac! to El %alvador since 6 left ten years ago.
F. ther times, you$ll need to complete the sentence by supplying the missing subject or verb, or by attaching an independent clause Fragment 7in italics,
Complete sentence
& laboratory for the study of animal life in the South :acific.
A laboratory for the study of animal life is situated in the %outh @acific.
%he girl who wanted an C&6 in her 2nglish class.
The girl who wanted an XA$ in her English class re0wrote each essay three times.
%he man thoughtfully scratching his beard.
The man was thoughtfully scratching his beard.
Since 8 only had a coo!ie for brea!fast.
%ince 6 only had a coo!ie for brea!fast, 6 was starving by lunchtime.
PRACTI CE
A, 4ead the following groups of words and determine if they are grammatically complete
sentences or if they are fragments. For e+ample%
fragment
. A noticeable mista!e which was on the flyer. F. /henever 6 get tired of doing my math homewor!. G. The building across from the library is condemned. H. ;y roommate who intends to finish college in four years. I. ;y other roommate has been in college seven years. J. -efore the semester began. K. The teacher who li!ed to listen to the sound of his own voice. L. -ecause mid0terms are just about to start. M. 6f 6 could be left alone to do my homewor!. N.Although 6 don$t usually enjoy hard wor!, 6 love studying ?apanese. . 9istening to tapes in the language lab is really time consuming. F.The boy typed on the ;ac in the computer lab. G.The essay that 6 have to write. H./hile 6 was eating my lunch at the campus center.
, 4ead the following sentences and fix any fragments you find. For e+ample% %ometimes, life is li!e a movie. A cheesy romantic comedy to be exact.
%ometimes, life is li!e a movie, a cheesy romance comedy to be exact. . Anxious about his love life. 7e decided to visit a fortune0teller. F. The fortune0teller as!ed for fifty dollars. And the names of his favorite movie stars. G. (onsulted her astrology charts and closely examined his palms. H. %he predicted someone important would soon come into his life. A tall, dar! stranger. I. /hile he was s!eptical that such a clichVd prediction could come true. J. The day that he would meet the stranger was cold and foggy. 7e was sipping hot chocolate at his favorite cafV. K. The stranger who would change his life. %he wal!ed in the door and ordered a hot chai. L. %he as!ed if she could share his table. -ecause the other tables were full of students studying for their midterms. M. 9oo!ing up from his crossword. 7e smiled and said yes. N. As she sat down in the table across from him.
C, ow, read the following paragraph and a# underline any sentence fragments that you find b# fix
these fragments by combining them with adjacent sentences or supplying missing words. 6n &The 9ottery,' author %hirley ?ac!son implies that human beings are mindless, static creatures. /ho cannot or will not free themselves from the domination of tradition. Even when a ritual has lost all purpose or value. This theme is dramatied in her own tale of a town$s annual selection of one of its residents. +or sacrifice at the hands of his or her neighbors. n ?une FK th of every year, the head of each household draws a lot from an old blac! box. To see whether someone in the household is the fated one. n the day of the story$s action, the proceedings are supervised by ?oe %ummers. An old0timer who oversees suare dances, the teenager$s club, and the 7alloween program. The townsfol! are in a festive mood. Approaching the oncoming massacre of a neighbor with no more concern than they give to the mil!ing of a cow. They are not troubled that they no longer !now the reason for the ritual. The purpose that prompted their forebears to initiate the proceedings. They simply consider the drawing a necessity. ne of the town$s vital activities. ld ;an /arner exemplifies the majority of the villagers. %heep0li!e, he follows the dictates of tradition unuestioningly. &There$s always been a lottery,' he says. And, by implication, always will be.
Possessives
'hat are the() Connections
To show ownership of things, people or concepts, we use possessives. The possessive form loo!s li!e this: • •
The dog belonging to the boy shed hair on the floor. The talent of the singer is apparent after seeing her show.
+or additional apostrophe0related material, see &(ontractions.'
-ut a simpler, more common and concise way, is to change the noun that does the possessing: • •
The boy6s dog shed hair on the floor. The singer6s talent is apparent after seeing her show.
/ith a few exceptions, the following two rules cover nearly all you need to !now about forming possessives: . To form the possessive of a noun, add apostrophe 2 s.
the boo!s of the student 3 the student6s boo!s
the toys of the girl 3 the girl6s toys
F. 6f the noun already ends in s, just add an apostrophe at the end of the word.
the boo!s of the students 3 the students$ boo!s
the toys of the girls 3 the girls6 toys
6f a proper noun "a name# ends in 0 s, you may choose to add either apostrophe 2 s, or just the apostrophe alone, depending on whether you would pronounce the extra s. -oses6 followers 4 -oses6s followers
4emember: =o not use 0 6s when you are simply showing the plural form: C0RR*CT:
(harbroiled eggplants are served here.
I1C0RR*CT:
(harbroiled eggplant$s are served here.
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?
PRACTI CE
*+ercise 2 3 Possessives 4ewrite each underlined group of words, using apostrophes to show possession. Examples:
ancy li!ed the shape of the laptop. the laptop’s shape
?o often borrowed the comb belonging to ancy. Nancy’s comb
. ancy was driving along with ?o in the car owned by -eth. F. The tires of the car screeched to a halt after a confession. G. ot even the defroster could fight the fog of the windows. H. The two avoided the snow by wal!ing underneath the leaves of the trees. I. The hands of ?o were cold1 warming them wasn$t entirely out of the uestion. J. &The attitudes of people just aren$t ready for this,' ancy said. K. The two loo!ed to the snowfla!es of the s!y and saw white dusty stars floating by. L. &/e should go home and sit before the heat of the fireplace,' ?o said. M. &The mugs that belong to -eth should hold enough hot chocolate to warm us up.'
0ther Forms o Possessives >oint Possession: The following pairs of nouns show joint ownership1 two or more people own the
same thing.
the string belonging to 4ich and Eddie the children of -ob and Edward
4ich and Eddie$s duc! -ob and Edward$s children
4ule: ouns showing joint ownership have apostrophe 2 s added to the noun nearest the thing possessed. Individual Possession : The following pairs of nouns show individual ownership. "4ich and Eddie
probably do not own the same soc!s, nor do -ob and Edward use the same toothbrush.# the soc!s belonging to 4ich and Eddie the toothbrushes of -ob and Edward
4ich$s and Eddie$s soc!s -ob$s and Edward$s toothbrush
4ule: ouns showing individual ownership have apostrophe 2 s added to each noun. 'hen 10T to use apostrophe ? s%
=o not use $s to form possessive pronouns:
Pronouns
Adjective Possessive Pronoun
Possessive Pronoun
7re@uires a subject to modi(,
he she it we you they 6
his her its our your their my
his hers n>a ours yours theirs mine
/hich possessive pronouns belong in the following examples This is Qimberly$s handboo!. This is
her
handboo!.
The handboo! is
hers
.
Those are ?essie$s records. Those are RRRRRRRR records.
The records are RRRRRRRRR.
That is +ran! and Todd$s car. That is RRRRRRRRR car.
The car is RRRRRRRRR.
The tall vase belongs to you. The tall one is RRRRRR vase.
The vase is RRRRRRRRR.
*+ercise 4 3 Possessives 4ewrite each underlined group of words, using apostrophes to show possession. Examples: •
The flavor of the coffee was unusual.
the coffee$s flavor
•
6 live in the home of my parents.
my parents$ home
•
/e went to the wedding of ?oe and Qay.
?oe and Qay$s wedding
•
7e ironed the clothes of @ete and ;ay.
@ete$s and ;ay$s clothing.
. The combined losses of the orth and %outh were the greatest in any American war.
F. The president too! away some of the responsibilities of the chief0of0staff. G. /e loved the shoes of
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?.
Run-Together Sentences 7RTS, 'hat are the()
(ontrary to popular belief, run0together sentences are not simply sentences that are too long. 6nstead, run0together sentences are the result of combining two or more complete sentences together without an acceptable joiner .
Connections
%ee also the &%ubject W 5erb 6dentification,' &(oordination,' and &%ubordination.'
A complete sentence, also !nown as an independent clause, contains a subject0verb unit and can stand alone. Acceptable joiners for connecting independent clauses include: • • •
(oordinators "+A-*%: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so# %ubordinators "words such as although, since, when, even though, if# %emi0colons " #
/e$ll loo! at these acceptable joiners more closely in a moment, but first let$s ta!e a loo! at what (AT connect complete sentences. 6n the example sentences below, subjects are underlined once and verbs underlined twice so you can see the different independent clauses. (roblem
RTS e+ample%
Commas cannot connect two
complete sentences—this type of 4T% also referred to as a comma
7is older sister hit him, the boy started to cry.
splice
Transition $ords with or without a
7e too! four ibuprofen, then his headache faded away.
comma, cannot connect two complete sentences—this can be another type of comma splice ot using anything to connect complete sentences is also incorrect —this is also !nown as a runon
;y teacher writes 4T% in the margins of my essay 6 do not !now what she means.
sentence
%ince it is easy to confuse transition words with coordinators and subordinators, we$ve included a chart on the next page to help you out.
(oordinators "(A join sentences#
%ubordinators "(A join sentences#
Transition 'ords "(AT join sentences#
and
also, further, additionally, furthermore, moreover, similarly
Contrast
but, yet
although, while, even though, even if, whereas, though
however, still, nevertheless, otherwise, on the other hand, instead, nonetheless, alternatively
Cause
for
because, since
so
so that, in that, in order that
Addition
)ffect
Choice* Alternative
therefore, thus, conseuently, hence, as a result on the other hand, conversely
or, nor
Condition
if, unless, provided that
otherwise
Time
after, before, as soon as, since, when, while, until, as
then, next, previously, subseuently, afterwards
Bo$ to Fi+ Run-Together Sentences +se a coordinator ,also "non as a conjunction
ne way to fix a run0together sentence is to insert a comma and a coordinator to join the two independent clauses. +or example: 0riginal RTS
7er older sister hit him, the boy started to cry.
#rammaticall( Correct Sentence
7is older sister hit him, so the boy started to cry.
/hen you use a coordinator to fix a run0together sentence, ma!e sure that you choose one that indicates the correct logical relationship between the two ideas you are connecting1 the chart on the previous page can help you figure this out. +se a subordinator
Another way to fix a run0together sentence is to use a subordinator to join the two independent clauses. +or example: 0riginal RTS
7e too! four ibuprofen, his headache faded away.
#rammaticall( Correct Sentence
7is headache faded away as soon as he too! four ibuprofen. As soon as he too! four ibuprofen, his
headache faded away.
As you can see from the examples above, subordinators don$t always need to be placed in the middle of sentence1 they can also come at the beginning. /hen you do place the subordinator at the beginning of a sentence, you need to put a comma after the end of the first clause. As with coordinators, when you use a subordinator to fix a run0together sentence, you need to ma!e sure that you choose one that indicates the correct logical relationship between the two ideas you are connecting.
+se a semi-colon
A third way fix run0together sentences is by joining the two independent clauses with a semi0colon. 0riginal RTS
;y teacher writes 4T% in the margins of my essay 6 do not !now what she means.
#rammaticall( Correct Sentence
;y teacher writes 4T% in the margins of my essay. ,hoever 6 don$t !now what she means.
*ou can pair a semi0colon with a transition word, but remember that transition words alone cannot join sentences. 6f you do use a transition word, be sure that it is one that indicates the correct logical relationship between the ideas you are connecting. Split the /TS into to sentences
ne final way to fix a run0together sentence is to spit it up into two independent clauses. +or example: 0riginal RTS
;y teacher writes 4T% in the margins of my essay 6 do not !now what she means.
#rammaticall( Correct Sentence
;y teacher writes 4T% in the margins of my essay I don$t !now what she means.
/hen you fix run0together sentences in this way, just be careful that you don$t end up with a series of short, choppy sentences.
PRACTI CE
A, +ix the following run0together sentences using one of the seven coordinators "+A-*%: for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so#.
yet
+or example: 6 don$t usually watch reality T5,
6 do love a show called :roject Eunway .
. At the beginning of the season there are fourteen aspiring fashion designers, in the end only three people get to show at lympus +ashion /ee! in ew *or!. F. The supermodel 7eidi Qlum hosts, famous designers serve as guest judges. G. The contestants must ta!e the design challenges seriously every wee! the loser goes home. H. %ome of the contestants have huge egos, they are unnecessarily competitive. I. 6 don$t have Ti5o 6 am going to my friend$s house to watch the season finale.
, +ix the following run0together sentences using a subordinator .
since +or example:
;any students have to cover their own living expenses, they wor! full0time.
. %he needed a part0time job, boo!s and tuition were expensive this year. F. %he would have preferred not to have to wor! retail, the only job she could find was at a shoe store in the mall. G. The customers were freuently demanding and rude, she li!ed her co0wor!ers. H. %he had been wor!ing for a month, her employee discount !ic!ed in. I. %he paid off her credit card bill, she was planning to buy a new pair of shoes.
C, +ix the following run0together sentences using a semi0colon1 you can also include an appropriate
transition word. +or example: As people get older they tend to get wiser sometimes they also get fatter. . rville was almost thirty0five his tummy had started to stic! out. F. 7is wife worried that his eating habits were unhealthy, she tried to encourage him to eat more fruits and vegetables. G. rville was not as concerned he would eat six coo!ies a meal without feeling guilty. H. n the radio, rville had heard that drin!ing green tea could help you lose weight he decided to stop drin!ing coffee that very day and put his coffee machine away. I. nly he didn$t really stop drin!ing coffee, he just stopped ma!ing it at home and went to the neighborhood cafV instead.
!, The following sentences are ta!en from actual student essays. +ix the 4T% errors using an
appropriate strategy1 remember to thin! about the logical relationship between ideas when choosing a strategy. . The legaliation of prostitution would actually help reduce crime, the prostitute wouldnSt be a victim of extortion or beatings. F. @olice could sta!e out a street crime area instead of a brothel the effect would be safer streets and more efficient use of the police. G. ot everybody is going to be so ambitious and wor! many will probably do nothing. H. At one time people had responsibilities to their families and communities, now you only have to answer to yourself and no one else. I. To some, divorce provides an easy out to their problems of getting along together, therefore they dissolve the marriage rather than wor! it out.
*, ow that you$ve had a chance to correct isolated sentences, try to find and fix the run0together
sentences in the following paragraph.
%leep is a subject we should all !now a lot about, we spend one third of our lives sleeping. Even though everyone sleeps, scientists have only recently begun to understand what goes on when we sleep. They used to believe that the body repairs itself while asleep, there is some truth to this but the body also does this while awa!e. The brain does not simply shut itself off at night, it goes through a complicated series of chemical changes. %cientists have begun to chart these changes, wor!ing with complex instruments that measure brain0wave patterns. They have found that we do not move smoothly from being awa!e to being asleep, we pass through a cycle of four sleep stages. At each stage blood pressure and pulse rate drop, the body temperature also goes down. 6n the second stage the number and length of brain waves go up, while the sleeper$s eyes begin to move rapidly bac! and forth behind their lids. %cientists call this activity rapid eye movements, or 4E;s, the activity that accompanies most of our dreaming. 6f a person is deprived of 4E; sleep, that person will soon become bad0tempered and irritable. A full night$s sleep is not a single, unbro!en state but consists of four or five of these multi0stage sleep cycles.
1
Altman, Pam and Doreen Deicke, Eds. Fog City Fundamentals, 4th ed. Pearson Custom Publishing: Boston. 1998 p. 19. Sill need to correctly format citation.
F, ne more timeP %ome of the sentences in the following paragraph are run0together1 find these
sentences and fix them using the most appropriate strategy. 6n LJK, a chef at a hotel in %aratoga %prings accidentally dropped some thinly sliced potatoes into hot coo!ing oil, instantly the world found a new delicacy: the potato chip. At the time, %aratoga %prings was America$s most fashionable resort, fads that started there usually found immediate success. Almost overnight, the potato chip became %aratoga$s hottest item. The wide, tree0lined avenues were filled with people eating potato chips, the huge veranda of the Onited %tates 7otel was no different1 it was filled with chip0eaters too. %ome of the richest, most powerful people in the world consumed them regularly, for instance, the 5anderbilts could often be seen daintily pluc!ing chips from paper cups on their stroll bac! to their mansion. The elegant &%aratoga chips' remained the delicacy of the wealthy until MFI, when the first chip factory was constructed in Albany, ew *or!. The potato chip was no longer the snac! of only the rich and famous, it became a common household item. f course potato chips have changed a great deal in the last hundred years, now they come in various textures and flavors, some even stac!ed in paper tubes. %till, the next time you grab a handful of greasy, flavor0dusted chips, you might pause to remember the noble origins of that humble food.
Subject & Verb Identiication 'hat are the() Connections
Two of the most important parts of a sentence are subjects and verbs. -eing able to identify subjects and verbs will allow you to create complete
%ee also the &5erb Tenses.'
and clear sentences1 it will also help you understand other grammatical concepts li!e fragments and run0together sentences.
Identi(ing Verbs Verbs are easy to identify because they are words that indicate action or a state of being, words li!e: write, run, tell, have, be, loo!, feel. 5erbs are the only part of speech that gets conjugated, that is,
that changes tense in order to indicate a particular time frame. This chart contains examples of some of the more common verb tenses:
Present Progressive
Present
Present
Past
Future
"today#
"yesterday#
"tomorrow#
6 learn
6 learned
6 will learn
6 am learning
6 have learned
6 had learned
6 swim.
6 swam.
6 will swim.
6 am swimming.
6 have swum.
6 had swum.
Per Past Perect ec t
+or more a comprehensive description of verb tenses and guidelines for using them correctly, see &5erb Tenses.' %entences can contain several types of verbs and verb0li!e words1 what we$re interested in is finding the main verbs , the words that drive the action of a sentence. /hile all verbs can be conjugated, main verbs are the ones that actually do change when the entire sentence changes tense. To find which words are acting as the main verbs in a sentence, then, try changing the tense. +or example: 0riginal sentence%
1e$ tense%
4unning a marathon is not fun.
4unning a marathon will not be fun.
7oping to build up her portfolio, the supermodel is going to @aris.
7oping to build up her portfolio, the supermodel went to @aris.
To escape their stress, 9i and 4yan have been watching bad reality T5.
To escape their stress, 9i and 4yan will be watching bad reality T5.
The bicycle had been left in the rain.
The bicycle was left in the rain.
Identi(ing Subjects
The subject of a sentence performs the action"s# indicated by the main verb1 that is, the subject is the doer of the action: the diva was singing "the diva is doing the action of &singing'#, the glass bro!e "the glass is doing the action of &brea!ing'#, the audience started to applaud "the audience is doing the action of &applauding#. To identify the subject of the sentence, you can as! yourself &who or what is "verb#' 6n the following examples, the subjects have been underlined once and the verbs underlined twice. Sentence
8uestion
Subject
4unning a marathon is not fun.
%hat is not funA running
The supermodel is going to @aris.
%ho is going to :arisA the supermodel
9i and 4yan have been watching bad reality T5.
The bicycle had been left in the rain.
%ho is watching %FA 9i and 4yan
%hat had been left in the rainA the bicycle
As you might have noticed, words that end in 3ing can are sometimes act li!e subjects: •
4unning a marathon is not fun.
and sometimes they act as verbs: •
9i and 4yan are watching bad reality T5.
As a general guideline, when an -ing word is preceded by a form of &be' "i.e. is, are, was, were#, it is acting as a verb.
PRACTI CE +ind the subjects and main verbs in the following sentences. Onderline the subject"s# once and the main verb"s# twice. 1or e@ample$ To cheer himself up, he watched old detective movies and ate ice cream.
. After a long, rainy winter, the woman and her husband had become tired of their small apartment, so they decided to drive to a seedy part of town in search of excitement. F. The couple had been cruising slowly down a side street, loo!ing for some local nightlife, when they heard music coming from a small bar on the corner. G. They had just left their car when some stray cats started fighting in a side alley. H. /hen the couple wal!ed in and sat down at the bar, nobody bothered to loo! up. I. At one end of the bar, a tired0loo!ing woman was languidly smo!ing her cigarette and expertly blowing out smo!e rings. J. The bartender was wiping down the counter and softly whistling to himself. K. 7unched over a table in the bac! corner, four men were enjoying a friendly game of cards. L. A sad -illie 7oliday tune had been playing softly from an old ju!ebox, but once the song was over, the room went silent. M. %uddenly, a man in the bac! stood and threw his cards down on the table, cursing loudly. N./hen he began to reach into his poc!et, the couple loo!ed at each other anxiously and then hurriedly bac!ed out the door.
Subject-Verb Agreement 'hat are the() Connections
6n the present tense verbs must agree with their subjects: both must be singular, or both must be plural. 6 breathe the air. *ou breathe the air. They breathe the air.
7e %he 6t
breathes the air. breathes the air. breathes the air.
+or more help identifying subjects and verbs see, &%ubject W 5erb 6dentification.'
*ou must add an 3s or 3es at the end of the verb when the subject "or the entity performing the action# is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns could substitute.
Examples Be She It
All others
4oberto eats all of the oranges.
They eat everything but the rind.
%he wonders which constellations are hidden. 6 wonder if 9eo has already passed. 6t lasts for another three hours or until they score.
5eronica and Qevin last as long as they can.
To Create the plural*singular
To ma!e a noun plural, we usually add an 3s or 3es, as in the case of jar to jar s or bo@ to bo@ es. A verb is singular, by contrast, when it is matched with a singular subject. A singular verb, then, usually has an 3s or 3es ending, as in the case of tal! s and fi@ es.
0inding the subject and verb
To successfully determine whether or not your subjects and verbs agree, you need to be able to locate them in your writing. The subject in a sentence is the agent that is doing whatever is done in the sentence. The verb is the action00what is actually done. 9oo! at this example: •
The ebra runs down the street. &The ebra' is the subject of this sentence, and &runs' is the verb.
+se (ronouns to 1elp
/hen the pronouns he, she or it are used as a subject in a sentence, the verb is always singular, and therefore will contain an 8 s or 8es ending. 7e ta!es the money. %he stac!s the papers. 6t chimes hourly. • • •
All other pronouns "6, you, we, they# reuire a plural verb "one without an 8s or 8es ending#. They s!ate until ;arch if the ice holds. /e borrow money to pay our loans. • •
2ou can use these pronoun rules to determine hether your verb should be plural or singular Let3s loo" at a variety of subjects! and see hich pronouns can replace them
%ubject ?ohn, ;arion and 6saac The community forest
@ronoun substitute TheyY
5erb grow.
6tY
The leading investigator
%heY
The 9eaning Tower of @isa
6tY
grows.
%o, if you can substitute he, she or it for the subject, your verb ought to be singular "with an 8s or 8es#.
Practice *+ercises (ircle the correct verb for each sentence. %ip$ write the pronoun above the subject to help you identify whether the verb should be singular or plural.
" He # . ?ordan " hang > hangs # the picture upside down above his futon. "
# F. Starry contains # eleven stars and one swirling moon. " # G. The hammers " pound > pounds # the nails until each corner is flush against the wall. " # H. 5an ta!es # most of the credit for his genius. " # I. The yellows in the painting " swirl > swirls # around the blue s!y rather than the other way around.
Complicated subjects
%ome subjects include phrases that might confuse you into choosing the wrong verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not the noun or pronoun in the phrase. Adjective clause •
The person who loathes cats plays only with their tails. %ubject to match
• •
ne of the brothers is missing. The computer building, including all of the labs, closes its doors promptly at seven.
%ubjects connected by &and ' reuire a plural verb. %ubjects connected by & or ' or &nor ' reuire a singular. • • •
?ohn and ?eff drive downtown. A sandwich or muffin is fine. either rain nor shine helps the soccer field.
6f a compound subject has both plural and singular nouns, follow the pronoun rule for the noun closest to the verb. •
ne walnut or two acorns fill a suirrel for a day.
PRACTI CE +ill in the verb for each sentence.
Subject ;artin and his mother The junior or senior
Verb play
Cto playD bac!gammon every day after wor!. Cto marchD
in the 7omecoming parade.
A plum, and not the carrots,
Cto provideD
valuable nutrients to the body.
;artha or =an$s children
Cto scribbleD
on the wall to create their art.
The banana$s peel
Cto stretchD
%aving of electricity
Cto ta!eD
The group of friends
Cto callD
across the floor to ma!e them trip. strong initiative, but benefits all of us. each card aloud to win the game.
Agreement Practice Paragraph% The Supreme Court Onderline each subject once, each verb twice, and fix any incorrect verbs. The first sentence is done for you. The %upreme (ourt ?ustices rejoices after a particularly difficult decision. Though they usually lean on the chief justice to announce the ruling "unless he is in the minority# each celebrate in his or her own way. A reporter, spea!ing on the condition of anonymity, tells that in each session, the justices bic!ers bac! and forth even when they seem to agree. ne or two bic!er more than the others, but no one !eep silent for long. All this bic!ering produces so much tension that when they finish a case, they all must go their separate ways until at least the following wee! when they repeat the whole process.
Subordinators Connections
'hat are the()
%ee also the &(oordinators' 9i!e coordinators "for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so#, subordinators "see chart below# can join and &+ragments.' independent clauses, a!a simple sentences, and can help you: •
;a!e your writing more fluid by connecting short sentences
•
;a!e your writing more precise by showing your reader the logical relationships between ideas.
9et$s ta!e a loo! at some of the most common subordinators. As you can see from the sample sentences below, subordinators can appear either at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.
%ubordinators %ample %entence although, while, Although the young blond heiress was often in the even though, even news, she had no talent. if, whereas, though
because, since
7e started to worry about finding a job because he was almost finished with his last semester of college.
so that, in that, in order that
%he enrolled in coo!ing school so that she could become a pastry chef.
Condition
if, unless, provided that
If it is sunny this wee!end, they are planning to
Time
after, before, as soon as, since, when, while, until, as
Cause
)ffect* /esult
have a barbeue.
+ntil my brother pays me bac! for last time, 6 am
not lending him any more money.
Subordinators & !ependent Clauses 7a.a Subordinate Clauses,
?oining two independent clauses with a subordinator transforms one of them—the one which begins with the subordinator—into a dependent clause. Even though this clause will still contain a subject0 verb unit, it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Independent Clause
!ependent clause
"a complete sentence#
"no longer a complete sentence#
The young blond heiress was often in the news. 7e was almost finished with his last semester of college.
<hough the young blond heiress was
often in the news /ecause he was almost finished with his
last semester of college
=ependent clauses pretending to be sentences are actually ragments, a grammar error you can read more about the &+ragments' section. Subordinators & *mphasis
Onli!e coordinators, subordinators do not give eual emphasis to the ideas they connect1 instead, the clause that begins with a subordinator—the dependent clause— receives less emphasis. (ompare the following two sentences: •
Although he wanted to see the movie,
•
Although he did not want to spend ten dollars,
6n the first sentence, the subordinator &although' de0emphasies
/hen a subordinator introduces a sentence, put a comma after the first clause. •
&fter she went to bed she started to hear noises downstairs.
-ut if the subordinator comes in the middle of a clause, you don$t need to set it off with a comma. •
%he started to hear noises downstairs after she went to bed.
PRACTI CE A, ?oin the following sentences using an appropriate subordinator. +or the first four sets of sentences,
you$ll see a hint about the logical relationship you should show. For e+ample% %ome rodents and birds prey on coc!roaches.
;an is their biggest foe. C(T4A%TD /hile some rodents and birds prey on coc!roaches, man is their biggest foe. . (oc!roaches are a health menace to humans. They carry viruses and bacteria that result in diseases from hepatitis to salmonella. C(AO%ED
F. 7umans try to defeat coc!roaches. (oc!roaches are very successful at surviving our attac!s. C(AO%ED
G. (oc!roaches are smaller than the humans who chase them. They have extremely fast responses and sensitive receptors. C(T4A%T>((E%%6D
H. There is no food. (oc!roaches subsist on glue, paper, and soap. CT6;ED
I. They can$t find glue, paper or soap. They can draw on their body stores for three months.
J. (oc!roaches are really desperate. They will turn into cannibals.
K. +emale %uriname coc!roaches produce generation after generation of identical females. They are able to clone themselves.
, ?oin the following sentences with subordinators, ma!ing sure the word you choose indicates the
appropriate logical connection between ideas. . They sat down with 4ed (loud to discuss the purchase of the -lac! 7ills. /hatever calmness the government commissioners still possessed must have been sha!en.
F. 4ed (loud calmly proposed that ZJNN million seemed li!e a fair price. The region was so valuable to the ative Americans and appeared even more valuable to the commissioners.
G. The ative Americans had reconsidered their price tag. They suggested that ZJ million would be a reasonable offer.
H. The commissioners were too intimidated to negotiate. They returned to /ashington and angrily recommended teaching the ative Americans a lesson.
I. The government immediately ordered all ative Americans to come onto the reservation at once. The demand was both illegal and impossible to comply with.
J. ;ost of the ative Americans could never !now about the order. They were spread out all over the -lac! 7ills.
K. The deadline came. nly one small band of ative Americans had come in.
L. The other ative Americans were now assumed at war with the government. The 6ndian -ureau turned the matter over to
M. 6t was a totally unprovo!ed war. o %ioux or (heyenne had ever violated a treaty or actually attac!ed a O.%. citien.
Verb Tenses Connections
'hat are the() Tense refers to the form a verb ta!es in a sentence, whether to express the present, past or future.
+or more help identifying subjects and verbs, turn to &%ubject W 5erb 6dentification.'
*+amples Simple Tenses @resent: 6 learn. @ast: 6 learned . +uture: 6 will learn .
Perect Tenses
@resent perfect: 6 have learned . @ast perfect: 6 had learned . +uture perfect: 6 will have learned .
Progressive Tenses
@resent progressive: @ast progressive: +uture progressive: @resent perfect progressive: @ast perfect progressive: +uture perfect progressive:
6 am learning . 6 was learning . 6 will be learning . 6 have been learning . 6 had been learning . 6 will have been learning .
Simple Tenses Present
The present tense indicates that an action is ta!ing place at the time you express it, or an action that occurs regularly. o o
/e wear organic cotton shirts Can action ta!ing place when it is expressedD. 6 watch the documentary on @-% each %unday night Can action that occurs regularlyD.
Past
The past tense indicates that an action is completed and has already ta!en place. o
o
;artin 9uther Qing, ?r. gave his most famous speech in MJG Can action completed in the pastD. As a girl, she wondered how her college degree would help her career Can action that occurred once or many times in the past but did not extend to the presentD .
Future %he future tense indicates that an action will or is li!ely to ta!e place. o
9ater today 6 will rinse the dishes Ca future action that will definitely occurD. The defendant probably will plead innocent Ca future action that is li!ely to occurD. o
Perect Tenses
@erfect tenses designate actions that were or will be completed before other actions. *ou can form the perfect tenses with the appropriate tense form of the helping, or auxiliary, verb have plus the past participle.
Present perect
The present tense indicates that an action is ta!ing place at the time you express it, or an action that occurs regularly. o
o
/e have worn organic cotton shirts Can action that began in the past and is finished at the presentD. %he has donated extensively to O6(E+ Can action that began in the past and extends into the presentD.
Past perect
The past perfect tense indicates an action occurring before a certain time in the past. o
-y MMI, =octor 7arvey had built the first artificial brain.
Future perect %he future perfect tense indicates that an action will be finished by a certain time. o
-y Thursday, the @resident will have apologied for his mista!e.
Progressive Tenses
The progressive tenses express continuing action. *ou can form them with the appropriate tense of the verb be plus the present participle. Present progressive
The present progressive tense indicates that something is happening at the time you express it. o
The wor!er is hammering , and her foreman is watching laily.
Past progressive
The past progressive tense indicates two !inds of past action. o
o
@oe$s writing was becoming increasingly biarre and dar! Ca continuing action in the pastD. The mob tac!led ?ean09uc
Future progressive %he future progressive tense indicates a continuing action in the future. o
The government will be monitoring the phones in the lab.
Present perect progressive
The present perfect progressive tense indicates action continuing from the past into the present and possibly into the future. o
The teacher has been grading since yesterday afternoon.
Past perect progressive
The past perfect progressive tense indicates that a past action went on until another occurred. o
-efore her promotion, ico had been wor!ing on restoring open space on campus.
Future perect progressive %he future perfect progressive tense indicates that an action will continue until a certain future time. o
n Tuesday 6 will have been wor!ing on this paper for six wee!s.
&dapted from %he /rief 0olt 0andboo!, 1ourth 2dition, 3irsner -andell, 4++*.
PRACTI CE *+ercise 2 3 Simple Past Tense +ill in each blan! with the correct past tense form of the verb provided. Example: @9A* /e
played
dodge ball all afternoon.
+4*
. /e RRRRRRRRRRR the fish we caught in the la!e.
%TO=*
F. All of us RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR hard for the physics exam.
(4*
G. ;ary RRRRRRRRRRRRRR on his shoulder all through the movie.
;A44* H. %he RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR him on Tuesday and played slots that night. T4*
I. +red RRRRRRRRRRRR to get in the concert by posing as a security guard.
%7@
J. 6 RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR for all of my birthday presents at the art fair.
A=;6T
K. o one RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR that he was tired.
@9A
L. ;arty and 6sabel RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR their marriage simply and loosely.
TE446+* M. The firewor!s RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR the younger children.
*+ercise 4 3 Simple Past Tense 6n each of the following sentences, underline any verbs that should have 8ed or 8d endings and supply the missing letters. /atch for time expressions "last wee!, yesterday, years ago# that indicate past time. incorrect: The committee vote to adjourn yesterday. correct: The committee voted to adjourn yesterday. . The driver as! for the exact fare last wee!. F. liver use to live in -er!eley when he was a college student. G. Qaterina studied all the time and so she graduate from college last year. H. (ollege students are suppose to attend every class meeting. I. 9ast %unday, 9aura listen to the drummers in the par!. J. Ontil 6 started school, 6 wor! twenty hours per wee! and study the rest of the time. K. +inally
*+ercise 9 3 Perect Tenses Ose the perfect tense to fill in the blan! using the same time period "past, present, future# as the sample. Example: ?oan lic!s the popsicle. "present tense# ?oan has licked the popsicle. "present perfect tense# "4emember: @erfect tenses for the verb to run are: @resent: she has run @ast: she had run +uture: she will have run #
. Eric too! piano lessons. Eric RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR piano lessons since he was ten years old. F. Tara raises as many children as she can. Tara RRRRRRRRRRRRRRR as many children as she can. G. -ill, on the other hand, will join the (oast
*+ercise : 3 Progressive Tenses 6n the following sentences, change the simple tense verbs to progressive tense verbs using the same time period "present, past, future#. Avoid the perfect tense for this exercise. Example: ;artians land on the planet Earth. "present# ;artians are landing on the planet Earth. "present progressive# "4emember: @rogresssive tenses for the verb to run are: @resent: she is running @ast: she was running +uture: she will be running #
. +erdinand scoffed when his friends all left for college. +erdinand RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR when his friends all left for college. F. 7e enjoys his flowers, vegetables and herbs. 7e RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR his flowers, vegetables and herbs. G. The pump!ins ripened too long last year. The pump!ins RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR too long last year. H. 7is friends will call at the next holiday or brea!. 7is friends RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR at the next holiday or brea!. I. +erdinand answers the phone saying &/hat' +erdinand RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR the phone saying &/hat' J. 7e screened his calls last wee! to avoid bill collectors. 7e RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR his calls last wee! to avoid bill collectors. K. 7is money goes under his mattress until he needs it. 7is money RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR under his mattress until he needs it. L. 7e will go fishing next wee! if he gets his license. 7e RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR next wee! if he gets his license.
ANSWER S
The #rammar ans$er .e( is ordered alphabeticall( b( grammar title%
Adjectives & Adverbs Ans$er De( *+ercise A
. Their timid leader tentatively put one fat, calloused foot on the grass. F. %he then gingerly placed the other foot down. G. %he paused, thoughtfully scratched her forehead, and then started to waddle uite gracelessly toward a dim light. H. %oon the braver aliens followed her but the more cowardly aliens hung bac! inside the door of the silver spaceship. I. %uddenly, they heard a short, high0pitched yelp. J. The youngest alien had stepped accidentally on the tail of a small furry creature, and both of them cried out instinctively. K. The little alien regained his composure right away and, curious about the strange creature, he carefully reached down to pic! up the frightened mouse. C&(urious about the strange creature' is an adjective phrase that modifies 'he', and &strange' is an adjective that modifies &creature'D L. The mouse, still terrified, dashed away. M. 6t ran over the sensitive toes of several aliens who suealed loudly C&/ho suealed loudly' is an adjective clause modifying &aliens'1 within that clause, &loudly' is an adverb modifying &suealed'D N.The resulting commotion distracted the group, and they didn$t notice the two young children slowly riding up on their crea!y three0speed bicycles. *+ercise % 6ndividual answers will vary.
ANS WER S
Appositives Ans$er De( *+ercise 2 3 1oun Phrase Appositives 3 Sentence Combining (ombine the following sentences using @As. . The lunch was cheap, served cold, and brought an hour late. The lunch was a bowl of soup. The lunch, a bowl of soup, was cheap, served cold, and brought an hour late. F. ;axwell$s car topped fifty miles per hour—but barely. 7is car was a slee! (orvair. Maxwell’s car, a sleek orvair, topped !fty miles per hour"but barely. G. The student body voted &no' on the resolution even though it would have benefited them explicitly. The student body is a confused group of adults whose only interest in common was the college$s location. The student body, a confused group of adults whose only interest in common was the college’s location, voted #no$ on the resolution even though it would have bene!ted them explicitly. H. The pilot was stranded for twelve hours inside of his jet. The pilot was a former Air +orce mechanic. 7is jet was a (essna %!ylane. The pilot, a former %ir &orce mechanic, was stranded for twelve hours inside of his 'et, a essna (kylane. I. 6 want to spea! on the important subjects. The important subjects are philosophy, linguistics and chemistry. ) want to speak on the important sub'ects : philosophy, linguistics and chemistry. J. After six long years Alec finally achieved his lifelong goal. The goal was a scholarship to a good college. %fter six long years %lec !nally achieved his lifelong goal : a scholarship to a good college. K. Even though you$re willing to forfeit the prie, 6 thin! you should wait a wee! or two—until you !now you won$t need the money. The prie would be my salary for a whole year. *ven though you’re willing to forfeit the pri+e"my salary for a whole year") think you should wait a week or two"until you know you won’t need the money. L. The bear came to our tent, pee!ed in, and went on his merry way. The bear was a sleepy grily. The bear, a sleepy gri++ly, came to our tent, peeked in, and went on his merry way.
ANS WE R S
M. (amped around the fire, each of us stared at the night s!y. The fire was a glowing source of warmth. The night s!y was a bowl full of spar!ling stars.
amped around the !re, a glowing source of warmth, each of us stared at the night sky, a bowl full of sparkling stars.
N.;rs. @eterson warned us that we would have only one more day to hand in the assignment. ;rs. @eterson is my least favorite teacher. Mrs. eterson, my least favorite teacher, warned us that we would have only one more day to hand in the assignment.
*+ercise 4 3 1PAs 3 Sentence Combining +or each of the following sentences, add one or more @As to give the reader additional information. ;a!e up whatever you li!eP "7int: find the noun"s# in the sentence to see what can ta!e an @A.# 10T*% Ans$ers $ill var( but one o the underlined nouns must be modiied in each sentence
. ;y best friend lost the race. F. -ill (linton too! first prie for his boo!. G. ?oanne told 9arry to go for a ride on his boat. H. apoleon discovered the &trapple.' I. ;y binder contains one hundred papers and two pamphlets. J. The dog bit -ill in the leg before he could run into a house. K. 7er shirt nearly blinded me. L. Abe 9incoln probably didn$t use 9og (abin syrup. M. 6 li!e the school$s newest building. N. (indy too! the money to the ban!.
Articles Ans$er De( *+ercise 2 3 !einite and Indeinite Articles
ANS WER S
+ill in the blan! for each sentence using either a, an, or the, or leave the space blan! if none is needed.
. 9ast wee!
F. ;aria too! out G. The
seagull dropped his fish onto my car.
a
the
garbage before reading.
surfboard cut through the waves as she sped toward the beach.
H. %culpture is
an
interesting art form, whether in metal, clay or uranium.
I. 6 love picnics—especially when 6 remember J. ;y house is falling apart,
the
K. The brothers met to discuss
a
L. 6 went to the lab to wor! on M. /ell, professor,
an
N. This semester
the
a
the
G. The assistants found into H.
The
a
I. 6 am studying ace
shutters are in disrepair, and
the
the
.
windows are bro!en.
possible solution. computer, but they were all ta!en.
same student violated his restraining order. a
confrontation involving
part of O!raine where they spea! the
the a
police. 4ussian dialect.
theme that meant the most to them, and they wove it carefully
handboo! they could be proud of.
airplane$s tires s!idded down
!noc!ing out
food.
alien came and stole my gray matter before 6 could finish my homewor!.
. %he passed him to avoid F. 6 want to go to
the
a -
baggage cart and
-
9os Angeles Airport$s main runway before
a
fuel truc!.
American history in school, but only after 6 pass my -iology class and
final exam.
Commas Ans$er De( *+ercise 2 3 Commas 3 !ependent & Independent Clauses Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one.
ANS WER S
. 9ately Qatherine has wanted more companionship even though she rather li!es to be alone. F. ?erry vies for her attention, but she has so much on her own mind as she suffers through this ordeal. G. -ut whereas Alec acts li!e a friend , he also wants Qatherine$s admiration. H. %o that she will be found innocent , ;iss %matter will write another$s confession.
I. ?erry eats his sandwich as coolly as the others do , yet he can$t sha!e the feeling of deception and mistrust. J. %abrina thin!s that the apartment$s rent is trivial while Qelly thin!s it crucial. K. Although 4achel has little say in the matter , her friends could use the advice. L. -ecause her dog was hit by a car , he wal!s with a substantial limp. M. The doctor set it with pins , and even though he didn$t scratch at it , he was still forced to wear a giant collar. N. Either the bill is paid within the month , or the doctor will send a collection agency for the money.
ANS WER S
*+ercise 4 3 Commas 3 Series and Adjectives Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one.
. 9ately ;artin has been pic!ing giant , swollen mushrooms from his yard. F. %ue won the &5egetable @rie of the =ay' that included carrots , turnips, and lee!s. G. ;ost people don$t !now that their favorite chips contain preservatives, artificial flavors , and ;%<. H. The three tall brothers too! the brilliant, shining vitamins before playing sports. I. /atching movies, reading boo!s, sleeping, and exercising are my favorite wee!end activities.
*+ercise 9 3 Commas 3 *ssential and 1onessential Items Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. %ome sentences will not reuire one.
. %helly, my mother$s step0sister , gave me thirty dollars last wee!. F. The campus police, who rarely arrest any faculty members , are responsible for patrolling all night long.
G. The man wal!ing his dog down the street loo!s li!e my great0uncle Ted. H. ;y grandmother , with a terrible scream , alerted me to the fire in her closet. I. =oug gave me three helpings of dessert, which was a crme brUlVe. J. %pea!ing as if he was consumed with fury, 9ouis yelled to the audience. K. The actor with no siblings starred in the bloc!buster movie ;rammar 5op. L. The helicopter , a
*+ercise : 3 Commas 3 Transitions Add commas and>or semicolons where necessary in the sentences below.
ANS WER S
Example: •
evertheless, 6 wanted to go to the farm to see the llamas.
. 6 didn$t want to see the whole country however , 6 did want to visit the biggest states and prettiest par!s. F. n the other hand, ;artin said that !lahoma is worth s!ipping. G. Alternatively, 6 dream about the open road even if it is scary sometimes. H. ;y car ta!es five uarts of oil, typically spea!ing. I. 6 made the motel reservations already therefore 6 should leave next wee!. J. @harmaceuticals, as a result, are becoming more and more expensive. K. Thus, 6 will need to buy a new car before 6 set off on %unday.
*+ercise ; 3 Commas 3 8uotations Add commas where necessary in the sentences below. . &6magination is more important than !nowledge ,' Albert Einstein wisely once asserted. F. /alt =isney offered excellent advice when he said, &The way to get started is to uit tal!ing and begin doing.' G. =o you agree with the assertion made by %ocrates , &An unexamined life is not worth living' H. &To be or not to be' is one of the most uoted phrases from %ha!espeare$s plays. "no added comma# I. &9ive as if you were to die tomorrow ,'
Contractions Ans$er De(
*+ercise 2 3 Contractions . The team is busy typing at the des!, but they$re not going to stay long. F. 6t isn$t that their parents are mean, but they don$t spend any time with them. G. *ou$d have to be cray to eat that fast food. H. @aragraphs aren$t my favorite thing to study, but they beat spelling. I. 6n two more days we$ll be sailing around the world. J. The second student from the left wouldn$t turn in his test on time. K. 9et$s see what 6$m doing next wee! so 6 don$t double0boo!. L. /ho$s coming to the party tomorrow M. This really isn$t what 6 envisioned when 6 agreed to get paid. N. The co0op doesn$t have any cereal unless you$re buying it in bul!. . 6n fact, it$s cheaper, healthier, and shouldn$t be any less fresh.
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F. 6$ve had a good experience at that store. G. The food 6 brought home wouldn$t ever go to waste. H. They$ll bag it for you and won$t drop anything. I. 6$m a fan of going to a co0op li!e this instead of the large chain stores.
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?
Coordinators Ans$er De( ANS WE R
. 7e could not understand geometry, nor could he understand physics.
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F. 7e too! extra classes, but/yet the tutor couldn$t seem to help.
G. 7e wor!ed incredibly hard, and everyone in the math department was willing to help him.
H. 7e realied he would have to improve, or he was going to have to give up his ambition to become a great physicist.
I. The other students could build catapults out of popsicle stic!s and rubber bands, but/yet (alvin$s catapult couldn$t even launch a pebble.
J. (alvin$s experiments were always uniue, for they proved that some basic law of nature no longer existed.
K. (alvin finally realied that he did not have it in him to be the next %tephen 7aw!ing , so he changed his major to English.
!angling "odiiers Ans$er De( ANS WE R S
. 4eacting with suspicion and hostility to the 4oma$s distinct culture and nomadic lifestyles, some native Europeans have historically discriminated against them. F. o corrections needed. G. 6n /orld /ar 66, the ais carried out an attempted genocide !nown as the :orajmos, or the &devouring,' that !illed between FNN,NNN and LNN,NNN 4oma. H. %ome people continue to perpetuate derogatory stereotypes, characteriing the 4oma as tramps and thieves. I. -oth embodying and transcending the sadness of this history, music is an important expression of traditional 4om culture. J. =eveloped in %panish 4oma communities, flamenco is probably the style of 4oma music most familiar to the outside world. K. o corrections needed.
L. A celebration of the range and vitality of gypsy music, 9atcho =rom, is an excellent documentary by the 4oma director Tony
Fragments Ans$er De( *+ercise A
ANS WER S
. A noticeable mista!e which was on the flyer00fragment F. /henever 6 get tired of doing my math homewor!00fragment G. The building across from the library is condemned. 8sentence H. ;y roommate who intends to finish college in four years00fragment I. ;y other roommate has been in college seven years00sentence J. -efore the semester began00fragment K. The teacher who li!ed to listen to the sound of his own voice00 fragment L. -ecause mid0terms are just about to start00fragment M. 6f 6 could be left alone to do my homewor!00 fragment N.Although 6 don$t usually enjoy hard wor!, 6 love studying ?apanese. 00 sentence . 9istening to tapes in the language lab is really time consuming00 sentence
F.The boy typed on the ;ac in the computer lab00 sentence G.The essay that 6 have to write— fragment H./hile 6 was eating my lunch at the campus center— fragment *+ercise ANS WER
. Anxious about his love life, he decided to visit a fortune0teller.
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F. The fortune0teller as!ed for fifty dollars and the names of his favorite movie stars. G. (he consulted her astrology charts and closely examined his palms. GE
onsulting her astrology charts, she closely examined his palms.
H. %he predicted someone important, a tall, dark stranger, would soon come into his life. I. He was s!eptical that such a clichVd prediction could come true. GE
/hile he was s!eptical that such a clichVd prediction could come true, he was secretly hoping it would. CAny independent clause that would complete the sentence is acceptable.D
J. o revisions necessary. K. The stranger who would change his life wal!ed in the door and ordered a hot chai. L. %he as!ed if she could share his table because the other tables were full of students studying for their midterms. M. 9oo!ing up from his crossword pule, he smiled and said yes. N. As she sat down in the table across from him, she helped him !nd the answer to seven across . CAny independent clause that would complete the sentence is acceptable.D
ANS WER S
*+ercise C
6n &The 9ottery,' author %hirley ?ac!son implies that human beings are mindless, static creatures who cannot or will not free themselves from the domination of tradition, even when a ritual has lost all purpose or value. This theme is dramatied in her own tale of a town$s annual selection of one of its residents for sacrifice at the hands of his or her neighbors. n ?une FK th of every year, the head of each household draws a lot from an old blac! box to see whether someone in the household is the fated one. n the day of the story$s action, the proceedings are supervised by ?oe %ummers, an old0timer who oversees suare dances, the teenager$s club, and the 7alloween program. The townsfol! are in a festive mood, approaching the oncoming massacre of a neighbor with no more concern than they give to the mil!ing of a cow. They are not troubled that they no longer !now the reason for the ritual, the purpose that prompted their forebears to initiate the proceedings. They simply consider the drawing a necessity, one of the town$s vital activities. ld ;an /arner exemplifies the majority of the villagers. %heep0li!e, he follows the dictates of tradition unuestioningly. &There$s always been a lottery,' he says. And, by implication, there always will be.
Possessives Ans$er De( ANS WE R
*+ercise 2 3 Possessives
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4ewrite each underlined group of words, using apostrophes to show possession. . ancy was driving along with ?o in the car owned by -eth. /eth’s car F. The tires of the car screeched to a halt after a confession. The car’s tires G. ot even the defroster could fight the fog of the windows. the windows’ fog H. The two avoided the snow by wal!ing underneath the leaves of the trees. the trees’ leaves. I. The hands of ?o were cold1 warming them wasn$t entirely out of the uestion. 0o’s hands J. &The attitudes of people just aren$t ready for this,' ancy said. eople’s attitudes K. The two loo!ed to the snowfla!es of the s!y and saw white dusty stars floating by. the sky’s snow1akes L. &/e should go home and sit before the heat of the fireplace,' ?o said. the !replace’s heat M. &The mugs that belong to -eth should hold enough hot chocolate to warm us up.' /eth’s mugs
/hich possessive pronouns belong in the following examples This is Qimberly$s handboo!. This is
handboo!.
her
The handboo! is
.
hers
Those are ?essie$s records. Those are
her
records. The records are
hers
.
That is +ran! and Todd$s car. That is
his
car.
The car is
his
.
The tall vase belongs to you. The tall one is
your
vase.
The vase is
yours
.
*+ercise 4 3 Possessives 4ewrite each underlined group of words, using apostrophes to show possession.
ANS WER S
Examples: •
The flavor of the coffee was unusual.
the coffee$s flavor
•
6 live in the home of my parents.
my parents$ home
. The combined losses of the orth and %outh were the greatest in any American war. The North’s and (outh’s combined losses F. The president too! away some of the responsibilities of the chief0of0staff. the chief2of2sta3’s responsibilities. G. /e loved the shoes of
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?.
Run-Together Sentences Ans$er De(
ANS WE R S
ote that in correcting 4T% errors, you will often have had a choice between two or more eually logical coordinators or subordinators1 therefore, where appropriate, several possibilities are given for each sentence.
*+ercise A
. At the beginning of the season there are fourteen aspiring fashion designers, but6yet in the end only three people get to show at lympus +ashion /ee! in ew *or!. F. The supermodel 7eidi Qlum hosts, and famous designers serve as guest judges. G. The contestants must ta!e the design challenges seriously every wee!, for the loser goes home. H. %ome of the contestants have huge egos, so they are unnecessarily competitive. I. 6 don$t have Ti5o, so 6 am going to my friend$s house to watch the season finale.
*+ercise
Although the original order of sentences has been retained in this answer !ey, you could also reasonably switch the order of ideas, so that the subordinate clause comes first, or vise0versa. This is demonstrated with the first sentence. . %he needed a part0time job because boo!s and tuition were expensive this year. 4 /ecause boo!s and tuition were expensive this year, she needed a part0time job. F. %lthough6even though6though6while she would have preferred not to have to wor! retail, the only job she could find was at a shoe store in the mall. G. %lthough6even though6though6while the customers were freuently demanding and rude, she li!ed her co0wor!ers. H. 7hen6after6as soon as she had been wor!ing for a month, her employee discount !ic!ed in. I. 7hen6after6as soon as she paid off her credit card bill, she was planning to buy a new pair of shoes.
ANS WE R
*+ercise C
S
6n the following sentences, using a transition word—the words in brac!ets—is optional. . rville was almost thirty0five his tummy had started to stic! out. F. 7is wife worried that his eating habits were unhealthy 8therefore9 she tried to encourage him to eat more fruits and vegetables. G. rville was not as concerned he would eat six coo!ies a meal without feeling guilty. H. n the radio, rville had heard that drin!ing green tea could help you lose weight he decided to stop drin!ing coffee that very day and put his coffee machine away. I. nly he didn$t really stop drin!ing coffee 8instead9 he just stopped ma!ing it at home and went to the neighborhood cafV instead. *+ercise !
. The legaliation of prostitution would actually help reduce crime because the prostitute wouldnSt be a victim of extortion or beatings. 4 The legaliation of prostitution would actually help reduce crime, for the prostitute wouldnSt be a victim of extortion or beatings. could sta!e out a street crime area instead of a brothel, the effect would be safer :. )f police streets and more efficient use of the police. ;. ot everybody is going to be so ambitious and wor! many will probably do nothing. <. %lthough6even though6though6while at one time people had responsibilities to their families and communities, now you only have to answer to yourself and no one else. 4 At one time people had responsibilities to their families and communities, but6yet now you only have to answer to yourself and no one else. =. To some, divorce provides an easy out to their problems of getting along together therefore they dissolve the marriage rather than wor! it out.
ANS WER
*+ercise *
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nly the run0together sentences from the original paragraph have been reproduced below. . %leep is a subject we should all !now a lot about, for we spend one third of our lives sleeping. 4 %leep is a subject we should all !now a lot about because we spend one third of our lives sleeping. F. They used to believe that the body repairs itself while asleep1 there is some truth to this, but the body also does this while awa!e. G. The brain does not simply shut itself off at night, but it goes through a complicated series of chemical changes. 4 The brain does not simply shut itself off at night1 it goes through a complicated series of chemical changes. H. They have found that we do not move smoothly from being awa!e to being asleep, but we pass through a cycle of four sleep stages. 4 They have found that we do not move smoothly from being awa!e to being asleep1 Cinstead,D we pass through a cycle of four sleep stages. I. At each stage blood pressure and pulse rate drop, and the body temperature also goes down. 4 At each stage blood pressure and pulse rate drop1 the body temperature also goes down.F
2
Altman, Pam and Doreen Deicke, Eds. Fog City Fundamentals, 4th ed. Pearson Custom Publishing: Boston, 1998.
*+ercise F
ANS WER S
. 6n LJK, when a chef at a hotel in %aratoga %prings accidentally dropped some thinly sliced potatoes into hot coo!ing oil, instantly the world found a new delicacy: the potato chip. 4 6n LJK, a chef at a hotel in %aratoga %prings accidentally dropped some thinly sliced potatoes into hot coo!ing oil1 instantly the world found a new delicacy: the potato chip. F. At the time, %aratoga %prings was America$s most fashionable resort, and fads that started there usually found immediate success. 4 At the time, %aratoga %prings was America$s most fashionable resort, so fads that started there usually found immediate success. G. The wide, tree0lined avenues were filled with people eating potato chips, and the huge veranda of the Onited %tates 7otel was no different1 it was filled with chip0eaters too. 4 The wide, tree0lined avenues were filled with people eating potato chips. The huge veranda of the Onited %tates 7otel was no different1 it was filled with chip0eaters too. H. %ome of the richest, most powerful people in the world consumed them regularly1 for instance, the 5anderbilts could often be seen daintily pluc!ing chips from paper cups on their stroll bac! to their mansion. I. The potato chip was no longer the snac! of only the rich and famous, for it became a common household item. J. f course potato chips have changed a great deal in the last hundred years1 now they come in various textures and flavors, some even stac!ed in paper tubes. G
ANS WE R 3
Ibid.
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Subject & Verb Identiication Ans$er De( . After a long, rainy winter, the woman and her husband had become tired of their small apartment, so they decided to drive to a seedy part of town in search of excitement. F. The couple had been cruising slowly down a side street, loo!ing for some local nightlife, when they heard music coming from a small bar on the corner. G. They had just left their car when some stray cats started fighting in a side alley. H. /hen the couple wal!ed in and sat down at the bar, nobody bothered to loo! up. I. At one end of the bar, a tired0loo!ing woman was languidly smo!ing her cigarette and expertly blowing out smo!e rings. J. The bartender was wiping down the counter and softly whistling to himself. K. 7unched over a table in the bac! corner, four men were enjoying a friendly game of cards. L. A sad -illie 7oliday tune had been playing softly from an old ju!ebox, but once the song was over, the room went silent. M. %uddenly, a man in the bac! stood and threw his cards down on the table, cursing loudly. N./hen he began to reach into his poc!et, the couple loo!ed at each other anxiously and then hurriedly bac!ed out the door.
Subject-Verb Agreement Ans$er De(
ANS WER S
Practice *+ercises (ircle the correct verb for each sentence. %ip$ write the pronoun above the subject to help you identify whether the verb should be singular or plural.
" He # . ?ordan " hang > hangs # the picture upside down above his futon. "
# )t 4. Starry contains # eleven stars and one swirling moon. "
# They (. The hammers " pound > pounds # the nails until each corner is flush against the wall. "
# (he *. 5an ta!es # most of the credit for his genius. "
# They H. The yellows in the painting " swirl > swirls # around the blue s!y rather than the other way around.
Agreement )4ercise +ill in the verb for each sentence.
%ubject ;artin and his mother
Verb play
Cto playD bac!gammon every day after wor!.
The junior or senior
marches
Cto marchD in the 7omecoming parade.
A plum, and not the carrots,
provides
Cto provideD
;artha or =an$s children
scribble
Cto scribbleD on the wall to create their art.
The banana$s peel
stretches
%aving of electricity
takes
The group of friends
calls
valuable nutrients to the body.
Cto stretchD across the floor to ma!e them trip. Cto ta!eD strong initiative, but benefits all of us. Cto callD each card aloud to win the game.
ANS WER
Agreement Practice Paragraph% The Supreme Court
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Onderline each subject once, each verb twice, and fix any incorrect verbs. The first sentence is done for you.
The %upreme (ourt ?ustices rejoices after a particularly difficult decision. Though they usually lean on the chief justice to announce the ruling "unless he is in the minority#, each celebrates in his or her own way. A reporter, spea!ing on the condition of anonymity, tells that in each session, the justices bic!ers bac! and forth even when they seem to agree. ne or two bic!er more than the others, but no one !eeps silent for long. All this bic!ering produces so much tension that when they finish a case, they all must go their separate ways until at least the following wee! when they repeat the whole process.
Subordinators Ans$er De(
ANS WER S
ote that in joining the two sentences, you will often have had a choice between two or more eually logical subordinators1 therefore, several possibilities are given for each sentence. ote too that
although the original order of sentences has been retained in this answer !ey, you could also reasonably switch the order of ideas, so that the subordinate clause comes first, or vise0versa. This is demonstrated with the first example in exercise A. *+ercise A%
. (oc!roaches are a health menace to humans because6since they carry viruses and bacteria that cause diseases from hepatitis to salmonella. 4 /ecause6since they carry viruses and bacteria that cause diseases from hepatitis to salmonella, coc!roaches are a health menace to humans. :. *ven though6although6though humans try to defeat coc!roaches, they are very successful at surviving our attac!s. ;. %lthough6even though6though coc!roaches are smaller than the humans who chase them, they have extremely fast responses and sensitive receptors. <. )f6when there is no food, coc!roaches subsist on glue, paper, and soap. =. )f6when they can$t find glue, paper or soap, they can draw on their body stores for three months. >. )f 6when coc!roaches are really desperate, they will turn into cannibals. ?. +emale %uriname coc!roaches can produce generation after generation of identical females because6since they are able to clone themselves.
ANS WER S *+ercise % . 7hen they sat down with 4ed (loud to discuss the purchase of the -lac! 7ills, whatever
calmness the government commissioners still possessed must have been sha!en.
F. /ecause6since the region was so valuable to the ative Americans, 4ed (loud calmly proposed that ZJNN million seemed li!e a fair price. G. %fter the ative Americans had reconsidered their price tag, they suggested that ZJ million would be a reasonable offer. H. /ecause6since commissioners were too intimidated to negotiate, they returned to /ashington and angrily recommended teaching the ative Americans a lesson. I. The government immediately ordered all ative Americans to come onto the reservation at once even though6although6though the demand was both illegal and impossible to comply with. J. ;ost of the ative Americans could never !now about the order because6since they were spread out all over the -lac! 7ills. K. 7hen the deadline came, only one small band of ative Americans had come in. L. /ecause6since the other ative Americans were now assumed at war with the government, the 6ndian -ureau turned the matter over to
Verb Tenses Ans$er De( ANS WER
*+ercise 2 3 Simple Past Tense +ill in each blan! with the correct past tense form of the verb provided. Example: @9A*
/e
played
dodge ball all afternoon.
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+4*
. /e
%TO=*
F. All of us
(4*
G. ;ary
fried
;A44* H. %he
studied hard for the physics exam.
on his shoulder all through the movie.
cried married
T4*
I. +red
%7@
J. 6
A=;6T
K. o one
@9A
L. ;arty and 6sabel
tried
shopped
him on Tuesday and played slots that night. to get in the concert by posing as a security guard. for all of my birthday presents at the art fair.
admitted
TE446+* M. The firewor!s (;@69E
the fish we caught in the la!e.
that he was tired. their marriage simply and loosely.
planned terri!ed
N. The assistants
the younger children.
compiled
the materials into a great handboo!.
ANS WE R
*+ercise 4 3 Simple Past Tense
S
6n each of the following sentences, underline any verbs that should have 8ed or 8d endings and supply the missing letters. /atch for time expressions "last wee!, yesterday, years ago# that indicate past time. incorrect: The committee vote to adjourn yesterday. correct: The committee voted to adjourn yesterday.
. The driver as!ed for the exact fare last wee!. F. liver used to live in -er!eley when he was a college student. G. Qaterina studied all the time and so she graduated from college last year. H. (ollege students are supposed to attend every class meeting. I. 9ast %unday, 9aura listened to the drummers in the par!. J. Ontil 6 started school, 6 wor!ed twenty hours per wee! and study the rest of the time. K. +inally
&dapted from 1og 5ity 1undamentals, 1ourth 2dition, <man Deic!e, >>?.
ANS WE R S
*+ercise 9 3 Perect Tenses Ose the perfect tense to fill in the blan! using the same time period "past, present, future# as the sample. Example: ?oan lic!s the popsicle. "present tense# ?oan has licked the popsicle. "present perfect tense# "4emember: @erfect tenses for the verb to run are: @resent: she has run @ast: she had run
+uture: she will have run # . Eric too! piano lessons. Eric
had taken
piano lessons since he was ten years old.
F. Tara raises as many children as she can. Tara
has raised
as many children as she can.
G. -ill, on the other hand, will join the (oast
will have 'oined
the (oast
H. Alyssa gives a drawing to each of her friends. Alyssa
has given
a drawing to each of her friends.
I. (hic!ens pec!ed at bugs and fruit in the garden. (hic!ens
at bugs and fruit in the garden.
had pecked
J. Each egg will travel a thousand miles before it lands on her lap. Each egg
a thousand miles before it lands on her lap.
will have traveled
K. The wings had plenty of room to spread. The wings
had had
plenty of room to spread.
L. ;adison collects the hay in the morning after brea!fast. ;adison
has collected
the hay in the morning after brea!fast.
ANS WE R
*+ercise : 3 Progressive Tenses
S
6n the following sentences, change the simple tense verbs to progressive tense verbs using the same time period "present, past, future#. Avoid the perfect tense for this exercise.
. +erdinand scoffed when his friends all left for college. +erdinand
was sco@ng
when his friends all left for college.
F. 7e enjoys his flowers, vegetables and herbs.
