Grammar Study Program Part 1 - The Basic Concepts of Grammar

Introduction

rammar is an essential part of our language. We use it everyday, and we rarely think about it. Most of us use it properly most of the time. So why should we actively study grammar, if it is so fully ingrained in our understanding of language?

Studying grammar wont make you a better writer. And it wont make you rich and famous. But it will help you to understand how writers actively use grammar as a device in literature. Most of us dont think about it, but the way language is assembled (syntax) is one of the tools of the author. If were going to read, appreciate, and understand literature, were going to need to understand grammar. Also, much of the standardized testing students undertake in high school has a strong emphasis on grammar. Both the SAT and the Advanced Placement English exams presuppose a solid understanding of the concepts of grammar in the student. There is one other important reason for studying grammar. The more you study the way people think, the more you will need a way to describe that thinking. Youll discover that once you get to college, and even when you are still in high school, the classes in which you must think deeply about ideas - - literature, history, mathematics, science, philosophy, art - - will require that you have grammar to help you describe that thinking. Clarity will become more and more important the deeper your ideas become. Grammar will help you refine and present your ideas clearly. The self-study course is designed to give you the basics of grammar so that you can use your understanding of it to help you on these tests and in the evaluation of literature. An interesting side benefit may be that you will begin to evaluate your own writing as you create it, and that will help you correct grammar and usage mistakes. While the course is self-paced, you should check with your teacher to see if you need to complete certain sections by certain dates. When you have completed all five parts you will have been exposed to and practiced all of the major concepts of grammar. The course is divided into five parts, although this first part is substantially longer than the other four. In part 1 you are exposed to all of the concepts of grammar. In the other four parts you apply these concepts to sentence evaluations. Keep part 1 handy; youll want to refer back to it as you complete the other four parts of the course. What is Grammar?

rammar is a way of talking about language. It is an essential part of language. Indeed, linguists do not consider development or vocabulary to be the defining element of language. They always look to the grammar to understand the language. Without it, a language cannot work. Grammar consists of a group of agreed-upon rules that permit two speakers of a given language to communicate with each other. Without those rules we could not communicate at all. For example, consider these two groups of words: James went to the baseball game Game went baseball the James to Both groups of words are the same - - at least they contain the same words. But the first one makes sense and the second one doesnt. In other words, 1

the first one conveys a meaning and the second one does not. Why? Because the first group of words follows some agreed-upon rules of syntax and grammar: the subject comes before the verb and the object of a preposition follows the preposition. Also, the adjective (baseball) precedes the noun it modifies (game). Thus, the first group of words conveys meaning and we can refer to it as a sentence. The second group of words does not, and we cant call it a sentence. The basic unit of grammar is the sentence, and we will take it as the basic level for approaching an understanding of grammar. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. It contains a subject and a verb. If you think about it, those two things are essential for a complete thought. We need to know who or what were talking about (subject)

and what we have to say about that subject (verb or predicate). It is really that easy. We will divide our evaluation of the sentence into four levels: 1. The Parts of Speech (there are 8) 2. The Parts of the Sentence 3. Phrases 4. Clauses When you analyze a sentence is Parts 2-5 of this course you will always do a four-level analysis of this kind. In Part 1 of this course we will describe the various elements of each of the four levels.

collective nouns: collective nouns are the names we give to groups of things (Ex. committee, team, staff) compound nouns: a noun is compound if it is made up of more than one word (Ex. housekeeper, high school) Nouns are singular if they name one thing and plural if they name more than one. car/cars, democracy/democracies, committee/committees Exercise 1: Identify the kind of each noun in the sentences below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 2. Marie left her homework in the car. The practice of revision has become popular with the class. The committee proved its conclusion. Near the state park I saw three deer run across the road. Charlotte Bront wrote a famous novel. Pronouns

Level 1: Parts of Speech

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

here are eight parts of speech, or different kinds of words that perform different functions in a sentence:

Nouns Pronouns Adjectives Verbs Adverbs Conjunctions Prepositions Interjections

Some are vitally more important than others. For example, pronouns and verbs perform many more functions in sentences than the other parts of speech, so well spend considerably more time on them than on the rest. 1. Nouns

ronouns are an essential part of the language because they help streamline the language and make it more interesting. Pronouns are words that we use as a substitute for an antecedent noun. (antecedent means something that comes before something else - - thus the noun comes before the pronoun we substitute for it). If we simply went on repeating nouns the language would get incredibly boring: Charlie went to the store to get a refill of Charlies soda, and then went to Charlies dentist to have Charlies cavity filled. You can easily see from this example that pronouns have a certain value in making the language more interesting. But there is a danger in using pronouns. Once we start substituting pronouns for nouns and other nouns appear in the sentence, sometimes it is difficult to know to which nouns a pronoun refers. For example: James and Charlie went to the theater where he lost his wallet. Who lost his wallet, James or Charlie? We need to very careful in how we go about using pronouns to avoid this kind of confusion. Pronoun traits: Pronouns have gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and they have person (1st person, 2nd, or third). They also have number (singular or plural. Consider this table of subject pronouns: 2

ouns name everything. Nouns are the words we assign to all things that exist, whether they are people, things, places, or even concepts. Nouns are often the first words we learn. There are a number of kinds of nouns: common nouns: most nouns are common and name everyday things. Common nouns are not capitalized. (Ex. car, hamburger) proper nouns: proper nouns are the names of people and are capitalized. (Ex. Bob, Mr. Johnson, President Lincoln) concrete nouns: concrete nouns name objects (Ex. bridge, tree) and are the opposite of abstract nouns: abstract nouns name ideas or concepts (Ex. democracy, love) nouns of direct address: these nouns appear in sentences when we address someone by name. (Ex. Shirley, I can see you.)

1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person

Singular I you he, she, it

Plural we you they

Although we say that pronouns refer to antecedent nouns, there isnt always an antecedent. Sometimes indefinite pronouns may appear and the reference is obvious: Everyone who comes may eat. Subjects and Objects: To begin our discussion of pronouns we can conveniently divide pronouns into two kinds: subjects and objects. Subject Pronouns: The subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, you and they. These pronouns are used as subjects - of clauses, even of sentences. They cannot be used as objects!! Subject pronouns have case (subject or nominative case). Examples: It is I. He and I went for a walk with her and him. Object Pronouns: follows: The object pronouns are as

the s), our, theirs. (Ex. James brought his car for us to see. The bird return to its nest.) interrogative pronouns: Interrogative pronouns interrogate... they ask questions. They are: who, whose, whom, which, what. (Ex. Who went to the play?) demonstrative pronouns: these pronouns demonstrate...they point to things. They are: this, that, these, those. (Ex. This is the book you should return to the library.) relative pronouns: relative pronouns relate an adjective clause to a main clause. Look for relative pronouns at the start of short adjective clauses that interrupt main clauses: (Ex. The spaceship that you bought is parked on the left.) The relative pronouns are: who, whose, whom, which, that. reflexive pronouns: reflexive pronouns are self or -selves pronouns which reflect back to a word previously used in the sentence. The reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, etc. (Ex. We found ourselves plucked from the ocean.)

Pronoun Issues: pronoun/antecedent agreement in number: (This may be the single most common grammatical mistake among high school students!) A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. A singular antecedent takes a singular pronoun. This is fairly simple until we start using indefinite pronouns like somebody or everybody. -one and -body indefinite pronouns are singular in number. (Ex. Everybody should bring his textbook.) solving the gender problem: In the example above the problem of whether we should use his or her is solved by using the assumed male solution. Until a few years ago this was accepted as the standard solution, but this is no longer the case. Recognizing that language is powerful and that such solutions reinforce maledominant stereotypes, the assumed-female solution is now preferred: Everyone should bring her textbook. Yet this seems no better than the assumed-male solution. Other ways of handling the problem are: compound gender solution: Everyone should bring his or her textbook. article escape: Everyone should bring a textbook. pronoun reference problems: This was described at the start of the section on pronouns. This occurs when there is more than one noun to which a pronoun may refer. For example, remember James and Charlie:

1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person

Singular me you him, her, it

Plural us you them

These pronouns are used as objects in sentences - -as direct objects, as indirect objects, and as objects of prepositions. Object pronouns are said to be in the object case. Youll need to memorize the subject and object pronouns. This is vital, because you will need that information at the tips of your fingers in order to evaluate sentences and to properly use pronouns. You cannot mix the use of subject and object pronouns. The first rule of pronouns is simple: A subject is a subject and an object is an object. Use subject pronouns for subjects of clauses and sentences and use object pronouns as direct objects, indirect objects and as objects of prepositions. Types of Pronouns: In addition to a simple division of pronouns between subject and object, there are several types of pronouns: possessive pronouns: these pronouns show possession and is used as both a pronoun and as an adjective to show ownership or possession. The possessive pronouns are: my, your, his, her, its (notice NO apostrophe between the t and 3

3. James and Charlie went to the theater where he lost his wallet. Here it is unclear who lost the wallet, James or Charlie, because his could refer to either person. There are a number of ways this kind of problem can occur: missing antecedent error: here there is no previous noun to which the pronoun refers. If you opened a paper with the sentence, She wrote a number of fine novels, we would be at a loss to know who She is. ambiguous reference: Here there are two or more possible nouns to which a pronoun might refer. (This is the problem in the sentence about James and Charlie.) vague reference: Here the reader is unsure whether the antecedent noun is present or not. (Ex. Susan sat on the park bench; it got hot.) mixed number error: Lots of younger writers and speakers make this error. Here a plural pronoun is used with a singular antecedent noun. (Ex. If anyone wants to going skiing they will have to find a ride.) ghost demonstration error: Here we start a clause with a demonstrative pronoun, sure that the reader will know to what we refer: This soon resulted in... (But what is This?)

Adjectives.

djectives are words that modify nouns. Simply, they tell us more about the noun than the noun is capable of telling us. Adjectives are important because they allow writers to convey subtle differences between similar things. There are three degrees of adjectives: positive degree. The first level of degree. For example, we can say that a play can be good. Good is in the positive degree. comparative degree. The second level of degree, and this implies a comparison with the first level. In the comparative degree we would say that a play is better. Superlative degree. In the final level of degree we describe the highest level. Here we would say that the play is best.

Parallel construction in lists and compounds. When you use parallel construction you use uniform parts of speech for items in lists and compounds. For example, Barry was adjective and adjective (Barry was fast and athletic.) is better than Barry was adjective and a noun (Barry was fast and an athlete.). When you construct a list, again, you should remain in parallel construction: I want noun, noun, and noun (I want shelter, clothes, and food.) rather than I want noun, noun, and infinitive (I want shelter, clothes, and to eat.). Articles: All articles are adjectives - - that is their part of speech. Dont make the mistake of identifying an articles part of speech as article. There are only three articles - - the, a, and an. There are two kinds of articles: definite article. The only definite article in English is the. It points to a specific item: the car. indefinite article. a and an are indefinite articles. They point to non-specific items: a car, an elephant

Solutions: The best solution to these problems is usually to replace the pronoun with the antecedent noun. Exercise 2: Pronouns. There are 25 pronouns in the following paragraph. List them and then identify them as subject, object, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, or indefinite.
The Sphinx is a mythical monster that has the body of a lion but the head of a woman. The people of Thebes were under her control, and anyone who met her had to answer a riddle correctly or die. This is the riddle: What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs at night? Many tried, but none could solve the riddle. Then Oedipus, himself a Greek hero, confronted her. When he correctly answered the riddle, the Sphinx threw herself from a cliff. The people of Thebes, whose deliverance Oedipus had won, were so grateful that they made him king. In our time everyone knows the answer to the riddle. It is you and I and all of humankind. We crawl on all fours as babies, travel on two legs in our youth, and use a cane to support ourselves in old age.

good or well: The word good is an adjective which may be used to modify nouns or pronouns, whereas the word well is usually an adverb which may modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Ex. The good athlete runs well. Exercise 3: Adjectives. Identify the twenty-three adjectives that appear in this paragraph.
Hawaii consists of a chain of 132 islands. These islands extend for 1,523 miles. Main islands of Hawaii include Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Molokai,

Oahu, Kauai, Niihau, and Hawaii, an island that is quite large and famous for active volcanoes. Although there are a number of islands, Hawaiian people live only on major ones. Kahoolawe, for example, had no inhabitants and is used only for naval purposes. Minor islands, only as big as great rocks, are too small and infertile to support human life.

action of the verb to another thing - - a direct object. But dont be fooled by the big term. Transitive verbs take a direct object. Intransitive verbs do not. (ex. Transitive: The rocks hit Sue. Intransitive: Rocks flew.) Active and Passive Voice: Verbs have voice. In other words, they speak about who is doing the action. active voice. Active voice verbs are action verbs that show the subject doing the action The pancake struck the car. passive voice. Passive voice verbs are action verbs that shows the subject being acted upon. The car was struck by the pancake. If you use passive voice verbs too often your writing can seem weak and without energy, since the subject of the sentence is only passively involved. There is a reason for passive voice existing: there are times when you may not wish to reveal who is acting. For example, a politician may often speak in passive voice to avoid taking responsibility for a problem. A mystery writer may use passive voice to protect the identity of the murderer. But in general, you should write in active voice. Exercise 4: Verb Voice. Rewrite each of the following sentences to change from active to passive voice, or vice versa. 1. Some of todays drive-in movie theaters have been changed by new technology. 2. In the earliest drive-ins the sounds was transmitted by loudspeakers above the screens. 3. Those speakers were replaced by smaller window receivers. 4. Now radio sound replaces the window receivers. 5. In this new system the car radio transmits the sound. Verb Tense. Because time changes things the way we describe things changes when time changes. We identify when things are happening in every sentence we create through verb tense. There are six verb tenses - three plain tenses and three perfect tenses: Present Past Future Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

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Verbs.

erbs are essential to the language; without verbs no one could ever be described as doing anything. Verbs are words that show action or state of being, or that link a subject to a subject complement. There are two kinds of verbs: action verbs. Action verbs do just that - - they show action. Ex. fall, drive, walk, think, plan linking verbs. Linking verbs link subjects to subject complements. The verb to be, in all its forms (am, is, are, was, were, will be, has been, was being) is the most commonly used linking verb. (Please note though that sometimes to be is not used as a linking verb. For example, in the sentence Ice is on the lake is is considered to be an intransitive verb.) Other linking verbs are look, grow, feel, remain, appear, seem, sound, become, taste, stay, smell.

Four Principal Parts: Verbs in English have four principal parts: infinitive. to soar, to do present participle. soaring, doing past. soared, did past participle. soared, done

All verb forms in English can be constructed out of these four principal parts. In regard to the way in which the principal parts are formed, verbs can be divided into two categories: regular (or weak) verbs. These verbs form the four principal parts in the same way, all the time. They add -ing to form the present participle and they add -d or -ed to form the past and past participles. (Ex. soar above.) irregular (or strong) verbs. These verbs do not follow this regular pattern. Instead they have principal parts which are unique and have to be memorized in order for the speaker to use them properly. (Ex. shrink, shrank, shrunk, ring, rang, rung, write, writing, wrote, written)

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: Transitive is a forty-dollar words that means takes a direct object. In a sense we can say that the verb transfers the 5

When we conjugate a verb (determine the verb form in each instance of person and number) we adjust for

the tense. Here is one verb conjugated in all six tenses: Singular Plural

subjunctive. Subjunctive mood is the IF mood: (Ex. If I were a student.)

Present Tense I protest We protest You protest You protest He, she, it protests They protest Past Tense I protested We protested You protested You protested He, she, it protested They protested Future Tense I will (shall) protest We will (shall) protest You will protest You will protest He, she, it will protest They will protest Present Perfect Tense I have protested We have protested You have protested You have protested He, she, it has protested They have protested Past Perfect Tense I had protested We had protested You had protested You had protested He, she, it had protested They had protested Future Perfect Tense
I will (shall) have protested You will have protested He, she, it will have protested We will (shall) have protested You will have protested They will have protested

Verb Tense Parallelism: As with adjectives, be sure to maintain the same tense you are already using through your writing, unless there is a very good reason for changing it. Particularly, be sure not to shift tense within a sentence. For example, the following sentence contains verbs in parallel structure: I went home, picked up the apple, threw it through the window, and laughed. This appears to be easy, but in fact it takes a conscious effort to avoid parallelism problems. Below are two passages that illustrate the problem. The first passage is not parallel; the second one is. When Dickens went to America, he gives many speeches, and feels that his trip was successful. After he returned to England, he begins to lose the buoyant spirit he finds in America, and he will descend into melancholy. When Dickens went to America, he gave many speeches, and felt that his trip was successful. After he returned to England, he began to lose the buoyant spirit he found in America, and he descended into melancholy. Exercise 5: Verbs. Complete the following sentences by filling the blank with the verb form indicated in parentheses. 1. 2. Soon scientists _______________ robots with a sense of vision and touch. (future tense of equip) Robots ________________________ machines programmed to perform tasks that previously only humans could perform. (present tense of be) Some scientists already ______________ robots for industry. (present perfect tense of build) Other scientists _____________ to work on allpurpose housekeeping robots. (present progressive tense of plan) These robots ______________ your apartment by the time you get home from work. (future perfect tense of clean) A robot inventor _____________ to complete his watchdog robot by the end of this decade. (past tense of promise) By the year 2000 you ____________ more household robots than you can now imagine. (future perfect tense of see) In the past some new inventions sometimes _____________ hazardous and unsafe. (past tense of prove)

Youll also be happy to know that there is a progressive form of each of the six tenses. Progressive means that the action being described is still in progress. Here is the first person singular form of each of the progressive tenses: Present Progressive: I am protesting. Past Progressive: I was protesting. Future Progressive: I shall be protesting. Present Perfect Progressive: I have been protesting. Past Perfect Progressive: I had been protesting. Future Perfect Progressive: I shall have been protesting. Verb Mood: There are three verb moods: indicative. This is the regular mood - - the one we speak in most of the time. (Ex. I am a student.) imperative. This is the mood used when giving a command. (Ex. Find the student.) 6

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People ______________ such products before they learned of their dangers. (past perfect tense of buy) 10. The government and industry _____________ a joint responsibility to ensure the safety of new products for all consumers. (present tense of have)

modifying an adjective. The train is very late. modifying an adverb. Only rarely does the train arrive on time.

Exercise 6: Adverbs. Identify the adverb in each of the following sentences. The identify the word or group of words the adverb modifies. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Diamonds are very valuable stones. They have always been prized as gems. Diamonds are used for practical purposes here. One spacecraft was handsomely equipped with a diamond window. Diamond is the one material that could easily withstand the extremes of temperatures and pressure. Prepositions

5.

Adverbs

n adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. They answer the questions when, where, how, and to what degree? One of the major issues with adverbs in your writing is the question of whether you are using to many of them! Some adverbs (and adjectives for that matter) can add description and life to writing. Others are old, tired, and add very little. The classic example of this is the adjective/adverb very. Adding very to a sentence doesnt add much. So try as often as possible to add strong adverbs to your writing. Recognizing adverbs. While it is true that -ly words are often adverbs this is not always the case. And there are plenty of non-ly words that are adverbs. Here are some examples: logically totally skyward upward clockwise likewise

6.

repositions is a word that shows a relationship between its object (the object of the preposition) and another word in the sentence. These relationships can be of two kinds: time and direction. Prepositions are vital to the language because they orient the language. They let us know where we are in the sentence. There are many prepositions. Here are some of the more common ones: aboard beneath about beside above besides across between after beyond against but* along by among concerning around down at during before except behind for below from *meaning except in inside into like near of off on onto outside over past regarding since through throughout to toward under underneath until up upon with within without

Notice that some of these words could easily be used as adjectives. It is the way the word is used in the sentence that determines what part of speech it is. Like adjectives, some adverbs have different forms to indicate degree of comparison.
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

arrived late speaks properly works well

arrived later speaks more properly works better

arrived latest speaks most properly works best

Position of adverbs: When an adverb modifies a verb, it may be placed in various positions in relation to the verb. When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it immediately precedes the modified word. modifying a verb. Eventually the train will arrive at the station. The train will eventually arrive at the station. The train will arrive at the station eventually. 7

Ending a sentence with a preposition. Youve heard for years that you should never end a sentence with a preposition. That is a noble goal, and you should strive for it. However, it is not always possible, or desirable. Sometimes, when we rewrite a sentence to avoid placing the preposition at the end we end up with a clumsy construction. You may have heard Winston Churchill on the subject: Ending a sentence with a preposition is an impertinence up with which I will not put!

Still, there are many instances in which ending with a preposition leads to truly bad English. For example, the construction Where are you at? is improper English. Better just to omit the preposition: Where are you?

We cheered the tall ships when they arrived. There are many subordinating conjunctions; here are some of the most common: after, although, as, as far as, as if, as long as, as soon as, as though, because, before, considering (that), if, inasmuch as, in order that, since, so long as, so that, than, unless, until, when, whenever, where, while correlative conjunctions. Correlative conjunctions are multiple-word conjunctions that function together: either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, both/and, just/so, though/yet, whether/or conjunctive adverbs. Conjunctive adverbs are conjunctions that act both as adverbs and as conjunctions. These include words which are commonly used to begin clauses, such as however, furthermore, moreover, nevertheless, accordingly, and therefore. Interjections.

Exercise 7: Prepositions. Identify the prepositions in each of the following sentences. (Sometimes, prepositions can consist of more than one word.) The number in parentheses following the sentence indicates the number of prepositions in the sentence. 1. Wills OBrien, a creator of special effects for the early film industry, pioneered the use of rubber and clay models in movies. (4) Shooting the film frame by frame and changing the position of the model slightly between shots, he created illusionary movement. (3) By means of this method, OBrien shot an experimental film with a clay dinosaur that roamed through a miniature set. (3) Since the dinosaurs movements looked too choppy in this first attempt, OBrien shot a second version, using dinosaurs made from rubber and metal instead of clay and wood. (3) Six years after this film, which was distributed throughout the United States, OBrien worked on a full-length movie concerning dinosaurs in a South American jungle. (5) Conjunctions. conjunction is a word that joins (junct) two words or groups of words (such as two phrases or clauses) together (con). There are four types of conjunctions:

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nterjections are the easiest of all. They are words that have no grammatical value at all. They are simply there for emphasis. An interjection shows emotion but has no grammatical effect on the sentence. They dont join, modify, relate, or replace. Ugh, wow, yes, no, oops, ow Thats it! This concludes our study of all the parts of speech. If you understand everything in the section on parts of speech, you are of the way through grammar. (And actually, youre more than the way through, because the last two sections, phrases and clauses, contain a small amount of information, comparatively.)

coordinating conjunctions. These conjunctions join equals. They coordinate - - join two groups of words or two words of similar importance. She serves and volleys. He writes in French but not in English. There are only 7 coordinating conjunctions, and you must memorize them: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

Level 2: Parts of the Sentence

A sentence is a two-part thought. It contains a subject and a predicate, and together they make a complete idea. Keep this in mind, and you will have no problem with grammar. You cannot have a sentence if you simply state a subject and say nothing about what happens with that subject. Nor can you have a sentence if you simply state what occurred and do not explain to what it occurred. For example, the following are not sentences: 8

subordinating conjunctions. These They are conjunctions join unequals. conjunctions that subordinate - - join something of lesser importance to something of greater importance.

 The tall man in the black hat soar gracefully in the sky Notice that neither group of words is followed by a period. Only sentences are ended by a period, and neither of these are sentences. In learning to evaluate the parts of the sentence, we will cover the following topics: 1. 2. Subject Predicate a. Direct Object b. Indirect Object c. Subject Complement d. Object Complement Subject. he subject of the sentence is that which the sentence is about. There are two ways of referring to a subject:

complete predicate. The complete predicate consists of the verb and all the words that modify it.

Again, using the sample sentence from above, the simple predicate would be soar and the complete predicate would be soar gracefully in the sky. Subjects and their Subject/verb agreement. associated verbs must agree in number - - singular or plural. This sounds easy, and it is, until we add extra words between the subject and the verb that might be confusing. Consider these two sentences: The headlight is broken. The headlight of the cars is broken. In the case of the second sentence, there is an intervening prepositional phrase (covered in the next level) and the object of the preposition in that phrase (cars) is plural. When sentences become complicated sometimes we tend to forget which noun is the subject and to make the verb agree with that noun.

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simple subject. The simple subject is noun or pronoun that the sentence is about. It usually consist of a single word. complete subject. The complete subject includes the simple subject and all of its modifiers.

ACTION VERBS
3. Direct Object.

Consider the following sentence: The condors of California soar gracefully in the sky. In this sentence, condors is the simple subject and The condors of California is the complete subject. Some other notes on subjects: Only the subject pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they) can be subjects. compound subjects. A compound subject is a multiple subject. In this case more than one noun or pronoun is used as the subject of a clause. (Ex. Hamburgers and french fires are my favorite foods.) Predicates. ont be fooled by a big word here. The predicate refers to the verb in the sentence and the associated words. Again, there are two ways of describing predicates:

direct object is the noun or object pronoun (me, us, you, him, her, it, them) which receives the action of the action verb. An easy way to find the direct object is to assemble the subject and the verb and then ask who? or what? If you can answer either question with a noun or pronoun, you have a direct object. Heres an example: Charlie shot Sue. The sentences subject is Charlie, and the action verb is shot. This pair, of simple subject and simple predicate is called a subject/predicate set. Now, ask the question: Charlie/shot - - > who? what?

2.

The answer is Sue, and Sue is a singular proper noun, so sue is the direct object. Remember, in order to have a direct object, the sentence must have an action verb! If it has a linking verb, you do not have a direct object! Action verbs that take direct objects, you will recall, are called transitive.

simple predicate. The verb. 9

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Indirect Object. Please note that everything we have described so far, including direct objects and indirect objects, applies only to clauses that contain action verbs. If we encounter linking verbs, we evaluate the parts of the sentence as follows: 5. Subject Complements.

n indirect object is a noun or object pronoun located between the action verb and the direct object. It is indirectly affected by the action. Notice that if there is an indirect object there must be a direct object, so the action verb is still transitive. An easy way to locate the indirect object is to assemble the subject-verb-direct object and then as to whom? for whom? to what? for what? If there is a noun or pronoun in the sentence that answers this question, it is the indirect object. For example: Charlie showed Sue the pistol.

A
6.

subject complement is a noun, subject pronoun, or adjective which complements the subject; it is linked to the subject by a linking verb. The subject complement renames (noun or subject pronoun) or describes (adjective) the subject. There are two kinds of subject complements: Predicate Nominatives. predicate nominative is a subject complement made out of a noun or subject pronoun. It renames the subject.

Here the subject/predicate set is Charlie/showed. Now find the direct object: Charlie/showed - - > who? what? The answer is pistol, and that is the direct object. Now find the indirect object: Charlie/showed pistol - - > to whom? for whom? to what? for what? The answer is sue, and that is the indirect object. Exercise 8: Direct and Indirect Objects. Identify the direct objects in sentences 1-5 and the indirect objects in sentences 6-10. 1. In 1885 English immigrants founded a little town in North Dakota. 2. The settlers named it after their home town in England - - Rugby. 3. The English town previously had given its name to Rugby football, a sport similar to soccer. 4. The American town never attracted a large industry or population. 5. Even today fewer than three thousand people make their home there. 6. The Winchester Mystery House guarantees San Jose, California, a mention in any guidebook. 7. In 1881, Sarah Winchesters husband left her a bequest of twenty million dollars. 8. Sarah bought herself an eight-room farmhouse. 9. The Winchester House offers its many visitors some strange sights. 10. In 1973 California granted this house the status of a landmark.

A
7.

It is I, Hamlet. It is he who wrote the book. In each example above, the italicized word renames the subject and follows a linking verb (is). Predicate Adjective. redicate adjectives work just like predicate nominatives but they are adjectives and describe rather than rename the subject.

P
8.

I am hungry. Here hungry is an adjective describing the subject (I) and following a linking verb (am). Object Complements. - Action Verbs Only!! n object complement is a noun, object pronoun, or adjective which completes the meaning of the direct object.

They elected him president. The subject of the sentence is They, and the action verb is elected. They/elected who? what? - - > him (direct object). president completes the meaning of the direct object and is a noun, so it is an object complement. Exercise 9: Identifying Subject Complements. Identify all the subject complements in the following

LINKING VERBS
10

paragraph. Identify each as a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective. A farmers market is a place where local farmers sell their produce. 2In many communities these markets have become quite popular. 3With the eager crowds, colorful stands, and shouting vendors, a farmers market seems festive. 4Locally grown fruits and vegetables, artfully arranged on open stands, look crisp and fresh. 5Breads and rolls, often still warm from the oven, smell delicious. 6To get their stands ready, the farmers must be early risers. 7Many of them sell preserves or craft items as well as produce. 8 Their shouted sales pitches always sound persuasive. 9 Spend a morning at a farmers market. 10You will be a regular customer before you know it. The logical path of sentence structure. When you analyze the parts of a clause, begin by looking for the subject/predicate set. Find the subject and its verb. Then determine if the verb is action or linking. If it is an action verb, look for a direct and then an indirect object. If it is linking, look for subject complements.
1

1.

Appositive Phrases. n appositive is an interrupting definition. An appositive may consist of a single word or it may be a phrase, a group of words acting as an appositive. We usually enclose appositives and appositive phrases in commas, unless they are exceptionally short and clear by themselves:

Charlie, the star center, is exceptionally tall. The star center Charlie is exceptionally tall. Although you may not realize it, we use appositives nearly every day....in dates and in locations: Marion, North Carolina, is at the foot of the mountains. June 20, 1997, is the date of the liftoff. Notice that years and states are always set off in commas. 2. Prepositional Phrases.

Verb action linking

prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition. The preposition relates its object to another word in the sentence. For example, the book on the table

direct object

subject complement

indirect object

Here the preposition is on and table is the object of the preposition. Although this is not a sentence (there is no verb), the group of words does demonstrate how a preposition relates its object to the word book. on shows a spatial relationship between book and table. Prepositional phrases behave as modifiers; in other words, they act like big adjectives or adverbs. In the sentence, The book on the table burned, the prepositional phrase on the table acts as an adjective to modify the noun book. The object of a preposition must be either a noun or an object pronoun (me, us, you, him, her, it, them). A subject is a subject and an object is an object. It is correct to say, This is a present for you and me, but it is not correct to say The is a present for you and I. An easy way to allow your ear to tell you the right answer is to distribute the preposition through the phrase. In other words, try the sentence like this, in order to choose the correct second pronoun: This is a present for you and for me. Your ear would tell you that you would never say, This is a present for you and for I, so dont say it 11

Level 3: Phrases
A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single part of speech. A phrase is not a clause. A clause has a subject and a verb; phrases do not. A phrase is not a complete idea. Phrases add something to the sentence, but they are not complete thoughts in themselves. There are basically three kinds of phrases: appositive phrases prepositional phrases verbal phrases

Well take each one in sequence.

that way when the sentence is in its original form: This is a present for you and me. Prepositional Adjective Prepositional Phrases. phrases which modify nouns or pronouns should be placed immediately after the noun or pronoun they modify. Otherwise, the phrase will be understood to modify the verb. Think through the logic of the following sentence: On the beach, the dog barked at the dog in the boat. Notice how much clarity is gained when we place the prepositional phrase immediately after the noun it modifies: The dog on the beach barked at the dog in the boat. Exercise 10: Prepositional Phrases. Identify the prepositional phrases in each of the following sentences. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Omaha business leaders formed a civic group in 1895. Ak-Sar-Ben, the name of Omahas civic group, is Nebraska spelled backward. Omahas Ak-Sar-Ben has encouraged the citizens sense of pride and accomplishment. Omaha has benefited greatly from Ak-Sar-Bens many civic projects. Omaha now prospers because of many new industries. Verbal Phrases.

sentence we have a gerund phrase- - the gerund and its associated words make up a phrase. The entire phrase makes up the complete subject. The simple subject is just the gerund (hiking). participles. A participle is an adjective made out of an -ing, -ed, or -en form of a verb. Participles always act as adjectives to modify nouns or pronouns. A participle might be by itself or it may be in a participial phrase. cracked, shaken, working The cracked cup is still usable. Notice that in the sentence the adjective cracked started as a verb (to crack). Here it modifies cup, so it is used as an adjective. infinitives. An infinitive is a general form of the verb made into a noun, adjective, or adverb. This general form is usually expressed by beginning with the word to: to think, to dream, to snorkel. To think is a pleasure. (noun) The man to see is Mortimer Snoot. (adjective) He lives to fish. (adverb) Exercise 11: Verbal Phrases. Identify the verbal phrase in each of the following sentences are label it as either a gerund, participial, or infinitive phrase. 1. Searching for gold has always been a favorite activity of avid treasure seekers. 2. The story behind the Lost Dutchman Mine in Arizonas Superstition Mountains has succeeded in fascinating many listeners. 3. The story began in 1887 when Jacob Walz used gold nuggets to pay a bill in Phoenix, Arizona. 4. Jacob Walz claimed he had found a gold mine and intended to keep the location a secret. 5. Most people, assuming the theft of gold nuggets, did not believe the man. 6. Miners began to follow him everywhere but without success. 7. Jacob Walz, predicting that no one would ever find his mine, died in 1891. 8. Proved right so far, Walz must have covered his tracks well. 9. Each summer, however, treasure hunters, looking for Walzs mine, search the Superstition Mountains. 10. Finding the lost gold would be quite an achievement.

3.

erbals are words that started as verbs but are no longer verbs. In other words, they started as verbs but are used in the sentence as another part of speech. Verbals are nouns, adjectives, or adverbs made out of verbs. There are three kinds of verbals: gerunds. Gerunds are nouns made out of -ing verbs. All kinds of subjects and objects may be made out of gerunds or gerund phrases. hiking, eating, sleeping Hiking is my favorite activity. Hiking up a mountain is my favorite activity. In the first sentence a single gerund (Hiking) is used as a subject. It started as a verb (to hike) but in its -ing form it is used here as a subject, a noun. Hiking is a thing. In the second 12

Level Four: Clauses.

ery simply, a clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate. The complete clause includes not only the subject and the verb, but also all of the modifiers and phrases that go with them. A sentence can consist of only one clause or of many combinations of clauses. For example, the following sentence consists of three clauses. The subject/predicate sets of each clause are in bold: 1 If the moon rises tonight, 2 I will get the telescope, and 3 you look through it. There are two kinds of clauses: independent clause. (abbreviated I) An independent clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate that can stand by itself. It makes sense independently. (Ex. Charlie is here.) dependent clause. (abbreviated D) (also known as a subordinate clause) A dependent clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate which cannot stand by itself. It does not make sense independently. Dependent clauses often begin with subordinating conjunctions. (Ex. If you reply...)

The relative pronoun which often indicates a nonessential adjective clause: The book, which I enjoyed too, is on the shelf. Adverb Dependent Clause. Adverb clauses are dependent clauses that act as big adverbs. Adverb clauses usually begin with subordinating conjunctions. I jumped when the fish expanded. Noun clauses are Noun Dependent Clause. dependent clauses which act as nouns. In the following sentence, the noun clause acts as a noun direct object to the action verb wish: I wish that I liked music. Dependent clauses cannot be used as sentences by themselves; they depend on an independent clause for meaning. The dependent clause may go before, after, or even in the middle of, the independent clause. If you find the crater, the expedition will be a success. The empire will collapse when the thought-beam is destroyed. The poet who wrote the anthem was exiled to Europa. I found what I was looking for. Four Sentence Structures: Key: I = independent clause D = dependent clause cc = coordinating conjunction Simple sentence: (Structure = I) A simple sentence is a single independent clause. I have the sniffles. Compound sentence: (Structure = I + I, or I + I + I, etc.) A compound sentence is a sentence made of two or more independent clauses. There are two ways to punctuate a compound sentence: I; I or I, cc I 13

Adjective dependent clauses. A particular kind of dependent clause is the adjective dependent clause (or relative clause). This is a dependent clause that is used as an adjective. The adjective clause often interrupts the main clause, dividing the subject from the verb. Adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns (which is why they are also called relative clauses). (Ex. The man who followed you turned left.) Essential and Non-essential Clauses. Adjective clauses which are important to the meaning of the sentence need no commas around them, but adjective clauses which are unnecessary interruptions should be enclosed in commas. If you need the clause, you dont need the commas; if you dont need the clause, you need the commas. The man who followed you turned left. The man, who happened to know Humphrey, coughed. which versus that. The relative pronoun that often indicates an essential adjective clause: The book that you lost is on the shelf.

Use proper punctuation - - either a coordinating conjunction and a comma, or a semi-colon: The mutt went to Phoenix, but we went home. George is a neurosurgeon; he specializes in brain surgery. Complex sentence: (Structure = I + D or D + I or D + I + D, etc.) A complex sentence is a sentence consisting of an independent clause joined to one or more dependent clauses. Punctuation: D, I or ID When the sun rises, we will depart. We will depart when the sun rises. Compound-complex sentence: (Structure = I+I+D or D+I+I, etc.) A compound-complex sentence is a sentence that contains both compound clause structure and complex clause structure. Punctuation: Punctuate two clauses at a time, according to the rules for compound and complex sentences. We marched to Boston, and the legion slogged dejectedly when the surrender was signed. Clause problems: Comma splice. A comma splice is the error of joining two independent clauses with just a comma. The mutt went to Phoenix, we went home. The mutt went to Phoenix, but we went home. The mutt went to Phoenix; we went home. Run-on Sentence. A run-on sentence is the error of joining two independent clauses with only a coordinating conjunction or with nothing. The mutt went to Phoenix we went home. The mutt went to Phoenix but we went home. Correct with proper punctuation: The mutt went to Phoenix, but we went home. The mutt went to Phoenix; we went home. Four Sentence Purposes: 1. 2. 3. 4. declarative. A declarative sentence is a statement. It declares something. (Ex. I will.) interrogative. An interrogative sentence interrogates - - it asks a question. (Ex. Will you?) imperative. An imperative sentence gives a command. (Ex. Go away.) exclamatory. An exclamatory sentence exclaims something. (Look for the exclamation mark!) (Ex. I will!)

That concludes all of the major concepts of grammar. Thats it. Thats all there is. Before you make an attempt at the first mastery test, go carefully over the information in Part 1. If you are weak in any area, ask your instructor for help. Take the practice mastery test to see how you will do.

PUNCTUATION RULES A Concise Summary

This section is offered as a helpful summary and reference section for anyone who would like to have a concise review of common punctuation rules. A note of caution: even though it is important for the student writer to learn and apply standard and sensible rules of punctuation, it is also important to realize that any strict set of rules is partly subjective and arbitrary; great writers you read will frequently violate-usually for artistic reasons-any set of rules of punctuation or grammar which we might formulate. Hemingway, for example, made an art form out of the run-on sentence. But notice that if you did not know what the standard punctuation was, you would be completely blind to the creative artistic maneuvering of the great writer. In addition, punctuation preferences and standards vary. For example, some (especially trendy) style manuals would have you omit the final comma from a list, whereas others, such as Strunk and White's Elements of Style, would ask you to retain it. You will also see differing preferences about the proper construction of dashes, which 14

can be made several different ways depending partly on whether you are using a typewriter or computer. In the end, you try to pick sensible principles for punctuating-principles which bring order to your ideas. comma: (,) after introductory participial phrases: Falling quickly, he sang. after introductory interjections: Yes, I do. after informal salutations: Dear Binky, after long introductory prepositional phrases: in the chill early morning, we moved forward after multiple introductory prepositional phrases: At the beginning of the competition, she learned anxiety. after introductory dependent clauses (D,I): If you go, I go. after the day and year: January 3, 1987, was cold. after the city and state: Chicago, Illinois, is windy. around nonessential (nonrestrictive) clauses: The dog, which had a nice smile, turned back around nonessential participial phrases: My friend, laughing with delight, produced the chicken. around most appositives: Bob, my good friend, is visiting. around nouns of direct address: Yes, Bob, I will. around parenthetical expressions: I always, bless me, sneeze. before coordinating conjunctions in l,ccl compound sentences: I have some mutton, and he has some jerky. between all items in a list: tall, dark, handsome, and smart between adjectives preceding a noun: A smart, friendly man between contrasts introduced by not: It's here, not there. between name and degree or title: John Smith, Ph.D. inside closing quotation marks: "Shut up," he explained. NOT after a short prepositional phrase: In May we departed. NOT between compound subjects/predicates: Bob and Jane do. NOT between subject and verb: Wrong: My good friend, is here. semicolon: (;) between independent clauses if no coordinating conjunction: I;I I am an expert; he is a neophyte. between items in a list if the items themselves contain commas: We ordered bacon; fried, scrambled, and poached eggs; and grits. between independent clauses joined by however, etc. We all wanted to go; however, only Mort departed. between independent clauses which contain confusing internal commas: We all, as it happened, wanted hot dogs; but Bill, blcss his heart, wanted cheeseburgers. colon: (:) before a list that is not a compound direct object or subject complement: There are three categories: wishes, lies, and dreams. before a long formal statement: To whom it may concern: before a long quotation, as in a research paper. between hours and minutes in time: 6:15 between Bible chapter and verse: Luke 4:16 after formal salutations: Dear Sir: between titles and subtitles: Walt Whitman: Poet of America italics: title of a book: A Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island title of a magazine: Life, National Geographic title of a work of art or musical composition: Mona Lisa, David Eroica title of a ship, train, or airplane: Spirit of St. Louis, The Hindenburg, The Titanic words, letters, and numbers as such: the word blubber foreign language words: deja vu quotation marks: (" ") 15

around a direct quotation: He said, "I am not a crook." commas and periods go inside quotes: "Chocolate," he said. colons and semicolons go outside quotes: He said, "Hi"; I left. title of short story, poem, song: "The Road Not Taken" title of article, chapter, or part of publication: The fourth chapter of My False Demise is entitled "Rumors." NOT to indicate cute, trite, or ungrammatical terms: Hi, "Buddies," how about a "pep talk!" apostrophe: (') noun made into a possessive adjective: John's boat missing letter in a contraction: don't missing number in a year contraction: '47 plurals of letters, numbers, signs, and words as such: a's 5's with an s to show possession after a singular noun: Dickens's alone to show possession after a plural noun ending in s: dogs' for quotations within quotations: John said, "Bob cried, 'Oops!' when he fell." NOT necessary for plural centuries or decades: 1900s the 50s hyphen: (-) word divided at end of a line compound written numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine compound words: under-inflated fractions used as adjectives: a three-fourths majority prefixes before proper noun or proper adjective: Pre-Raphaelite compound nouns which include prepositional phrases: father-in-law compound adjective when it precedes its noun: a well-meant lie NOT in compound some adjectives after nouns: It was well meant. do NOT use a hyphen (-) when you intend a dash (- -) NOT in fractions as objects of preposition: increased by two thirds dash: (- -) Note: On a typewriter or word processor, the dash line appears the same length as a hyphen. In printing, the dash is a longer line. In typing or word processing, use two hyphens to indicate a dash. abrupt break in thought: So I --wait a minute!--ate the fish. to show omitted words in dialogue: He said, "Come here, you young..." NOT to replace proper punctuation. ellipsis: (...) to indicate words omitted from quotations. Use three periods if the omission is within a sentence. Use four periods if the omission includes sentence ending. Type blank spaces between the periods of an ellipsis . . . see? parenthesis:(( )) around parenthetical remarks added to a sentence: He said I would be (I wish!) six feet tall. brackets: ( [ ] ) around words inserted into quoted material: Johnson notes, "At this time [Dickens] began to weaken." question mark: (?) at the end of an interrogative sentence: Do you have dogs? inside closing quotes if part of quote: He asked, "Is there time?" outside quotes if not part of quote: Did he say, "Chickenlegs"? period: (.) at the end of a declarative sentence: 16

I have three dogs. at the end of a mild imperative sentence: Please go away. after most abbreviations: Dr. Muffin inside closing quotation marks: He said, "Go away." exclamation point: (!) after an exclamatory sentence: The sky is falling! after a strong imperative sentence: Get out! NOT to express chronic cuteness: Hi! Guess what!! space: ( ) Type two spaces after the closing punctuation in each sentence: Do it like this. Not like this. See? Indent five spaces for a new paragraph. Indent ten spaces for a long quotation. Leave a space between periods in an ellipsis:. . . not: ... Leave NO spaces on either side of a dash or hyphen: pro-McGovern Do NOT use only one single space between sentences.

USAGE Common English Grammar and Usage Problems

Grammar Problems to Avoid: appositive phrase fragment: I met Raphael. A famous painter. dependent clause fragment: Give me rubles. If you want to. double negative: I don't have no bananas today. misplaced modifier: While pondering antitheses, a fly flew past him. the "adolescent they" error: Someone forgot their grammar. pronoun case error: It was a lesson for he and 1. subject-verb disagreement: The first of many mistakes are easy to make. A Usage Glossary: To accept is to take: I can accept no money for this poodle. To except is to omit: I can except no one from the rule except you. To affect is to influence: Your idea will affect many people., The verb effect means cause: Your idea will effect a new procedure. The noun effect means result: Your idea will produce a good effect. Use afraid of and frightened by, rather than frightened of. He had been frightened by a gerbil, and was afraid of them ever since. To aggravate is to make worse, not to irritate: It irritated me that she went out in the rain and aggravated her cold. Use all right, not alright: We will be all right if the cavalry arrives. An allusion is a reference: His comment was an allusion to the Iliad. An illusion is a deception: The trick gave the illusion of depth. In ordinary sentences, do not substitute the ampersand (&) or the mathematical plus symbol (+) for the coordinating conjunction and. Alumni is plural and alumnus is singular: The best of the alumni was the alumnus, Jane Goodall. Bad is an adjective: The bad decision ruined the project. Badly is an adverb: The bad swimmer did not swim badly. 17

The reason is not because; the reason is that: The reason we think carefully is that we regret our errors. Something is between two; This secret is between you and me. Something is among three or more. Divide the fish among the five dogs. We bring toward, but we take away. If you take someone's lunch by mistake, you must bring it back to him or her. Not could of or should of, but could have or should have: I could have read classics, and I should have read classics. (We sometimes see could've as the contraction of could have and should've as the contraction of should have.) Disinterested means without prejudice because of having no personal interest in something: We need a disinterested judge to try this case fairly. Uninterested means without interest in the sense of being bored: The boy was uninterested in the story, and began to daydream. A disinterested judge could find a case very interesting. Use done only with a helping verb: I have done nothing to you. Don't is the contraction of "do not": We don't like eggplant. Doesn't is the contraction of "does not": He doesn't like eggplant. Don't use don't for singular subjects: He don't like eggplant. To emigrate is to migrate out: The family emigrated from Russia. To immigrate is to migrate in: The family immigrated to America. Use farther for distance: Her javelin went farther than his did. Use further for time: We will consider this matter further. Use feel bad rather than feel badly. I feel bad that you had to wait. Use fewer for countable things: There are fewer players. Use less for uncountable amount: There is less sugar. Fortuitous means by chance: A fortuitous circumstance occurred. Fortunate means lucky: A fortunate condition resulted. Good is an adjective: The good swimmer swam her fastest time. Well is usually an adverb: The good swimmer swam well. Well can sometimes be an adjective: He is not a well man. Hopefully is an adverb meaning "full of hope"; it should not be used as a substitute for I hope: I hope that you will strive hopefully for knowledge. To imply is to suggest: He implied that we were to blame. To infer is to deduce: We inferred that we were being blamed. It's fun to understand things. It's is the contraction of "it is": Its is a possessive pronoun: The alien chomped its jaws. Use kind of rather than kind of a: It seemed to be some kind of nose. Use lend as a verb: Lend me money for a car. Use loan as a noun: Give me a loan for a car. 18

To lie (v.i.) is to rest: I will lie here in the shade. To lay (v.t.) is to put: I will lay the book here on the rock. Use like as a preposition: Use as as a conjunction: We have good books like these. We have good books, as you have.

Literally means actually, not figuratively. You could correctly say, "We literally left within two minutes," but you could not say, "We literally vanished." Myself and yourself should be used as reflexive or intensive pronouns rather than as direct objects. "I, myself, believed it" is correct usage, but "She asked John and myself if we had the loot" is not. It would be correct to say, "She asked John and me if we had the loot." Nauseous means sickening: it was a nauseous sight. Nauseated means sick at the stomach: I was nauseated by the sight. Number is for countables: There were a number of soldiers there. Amount is for uncountables: There was an enormous amount of tension. Use off rather than off of: The ball bounced off the backboard.

Phenomenon is singular and phenomena is plural: The most interesting phenomenon of all the meteorological phenomena was the tornado. Save plus for mathematics and use in addition to in most other situations: They wanted burgers. In addition to that, they wanted shakes. Precipitate means hasty, and precipitous means steep: He made a precipitate decision to descend the precipitous path. Use raise transitively: They will attempt to raise the Titanic. Use rise intransitively: She began to rise slowly through the air. Use regardless rather than it-regardless: Time will pass, regardless of our wishes. Respectfully is with respect: He spoke respectfully of his father. Respectively is in sequence: He spoke of his father, his brother, and his sister, respectively. Use since rather than seeing as how: Since you feel that way, I will do the work myself. You sit (v.i.) down in a chair: She was sitting there on the porch. You set (v.t.) down a book: She was setting the book on the step. Someone is not they. Rather than saying, "Someone dropped their headphones," say, "Someone dropped a pair of headphones." Use they or their only when you intend to refer to a group of people. You teach people things, and you learn subjects: you do not learn people things: If you would like to learn algebra, I can teach you. Than is a conjunction: We have more perplexities than you have. Then is an adverb: We will go now; you go then. Them should be used as an object pronoun, not as an adjective: And so, my friends, ask not when you can have them cookies, ask when you can have those cookies. They're is the contraction of "they are": They're reading now. 19

Their is a possessive pronoun: They're reading their books. There is an adverb indicating place: They're reading their books there. Use this rather than this here: This dog bit me on this foot. To is a preposition or an infinitive: She went to Boston to think. Too is an adverb meaning "also" or "too much": I sleep too much, too. Two is a number: Two twins twisted twine in the twilight. Tortuous means full of twists: a tortuous highway. Torturous means full of torture: a torturous ordeal. Use try to rather than try and: Please try to help today. Something is either unique, one of a kind, or it is not. There are no degrees of uniqueness, and so nothing can be very unique. Use way off rather than ways off. He was a long way off. Who is a subject pronoun: Who is here? Whom is an object pronoun: To whom do you wish to speak? Who refers to people: It was they who followed the truck. That and which refer to objects: Which rock is that? Who's is the contraction of who and is. Who's going to think? Whose is a pronoun or adjective: Whose woods these are, I think I know.

Answers to Exercises
Exercise 1: Nouns 1. Marie (proper, singular), homework (common, singular), car (common, concrete, singular) 2. practice (common, singular), revision (common, singular), class (common, collective, singular) 3. committee (common, collective, singular), conclusion (common, singular) 4. state park (common, compound, singular), deer (common, plural), road (common, concrete, singular) 5. Charlotte Bront (proper, compound, singular)novel (common, concrete, singular) Exercise 2: Pronouns 1. that - relative 2. her - possessive 3. anyone - indefinite 4. who - relative 5. her - object 6. This - demonstrative 7. What - interrogative 8. Many - indefinite 9. none - indefinite 10. himself - reflexive 11. her - object 12. he - subject 20 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. herself - reflexive whose - relative they - subject him - object our - possessive everyone - indefinite It - subject you - subject I - subject all - indefinite We - subject our - possessive ourselves - reflexive

Exercise 3: Adjectives. 1. a 2. 132 3. These 4. 1,523 5. Main 6. an 7. large, 8. famous 9. active 10. a

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Hawaiian major no naval Minor big great small infertile human

8. herself 9. visitors 10. house Exercise 9: Identifying Subject Complements. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. place - -PN popular - -PA festive - -PA crisp, fresh - - PA delicious - - PA risers - -PN NONE persuasive - - PA NONE customer - - PN

Exercise 4: Verb Voice 1. New technology has changed some of todays drive-in movie theaters. 2. In the earliest drive-ins loudspeakers above the screen transmitted the sound. 3. Smaller window receivers replaced those speakers. 4. Now the window receivers are replaced by radio sound. 5. In this new system the sound is transmitted by the car radio. Exercise 5: Verbs. 1. will equip 2. are 3. have built 4. are planning 5. will have cleaned 6. promised 7. will have seen 8. proved 9. had bought 10. have Exercise 6: Adverbs. 1. very, valuable 2. always, have been prized 3. here, are used 4. handsomely, was equipped 5. easily, could withstand Exercise 7: Prepositions. 1. of, for, of, in 2. by, of, between 3. By means of, with, through 4. in, from, instead of 5. after, throughout, on, concerning, in Exercise 8: Direct and Indirect Objects. 1. town 2. it 3. name 4. industry, population 5. home 6. San Jose 7. her 21

Exercise 10: Prepositional Phrases. 1. in 1895 2. of Omahas civic group 3. of pride and accomplishment 4. from Ak-Sar-Bens many civic projects 5. because of many new industries Exercise 11: Verbal Phrases. 1. Searching for gold, gerund 2. fascinating many listeners, gerund 3. to pay a bill in Phoenix, Arizona, infinitive 4. to keep the location a secret, infinitive 5. assuming the theft of the gold nuggets, participial 6. to follow him everywhere but without success, infinitive 7. predicting that no one would ever find his mine, participial 8. Proved right so far, participial 9. looking for Walzs mine, participial 10. Finding the lost gold, gerund