Like Peas in a Pod
Romeo and Juliet
Spaghetti and meatballs
Peanut butter and jelly
The birds and the bees
Some things just seem to go together well. We carry this concept over into grammar by
matching all sentence parts. This matching of sentence elements is called agreement. It helps
you create smooth and logical sentences.
The basic rule of sentence agreement is simple: A subject must agree with its verb in num-
ber. Numbermeans singular or plural.
A singular subject names oneperson, place, thing, or idea.
A pluralsubject names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Here are some examples:
SingularPlural
SubjectsSubjects
Person:Ithey
Place:beachbeaches
Thing:deskdesks
Idea:freedomfreedoms
1.Singular and plural nouns
In English, the plurals of most nouns are formed by adding -s or -es to the singular form.
For example: bike ? bikes; race ? races; inch ? inches. Some nouns have irregular plu-
rals, such as mouse ? mice; woman ? women, goose ? geese. You can find the plural
forms of irregular nouns in a dictionary.
2.Singular and plural pronouns
Pronouns have singular and plural forms, too. Study the following chart.
SingularPluralSingular or
Plural
I we, they you
she, he
it
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3.Singular and plural verbs
As with nouns and pronouns, verbs show singular and plural forms. There are two areas
in which you may have difficulty identifying singular and plural forms of nouns: the basic
present tense and tenses using the helping verb to be.
As you study the following chart, notice that the form of the verb changes only in the
third-person singular column, the middle column. Find the -s or -es added to the verb.
That’s the tricky part:
Singular verbs end in -s or -es.
Plural nouns end in -sor -es.
Here are some examples:
First and SecondSingular ThirdPlural First,
PersonPersonSecond, Third
Person
(I, you) begin(he, she, it) begins(we, you, they) begin
(I, you) do(he, she, it) does(we, you, they) do
As you can see from this chart, subject-verb agreement is most difficult to determine in the
present tense.
4.Singular and plural forms of be
The form of the helping verb bemay also help you determine whether a verb is singular or
plural. The following chart shows the forms of bethat are different from singular to plural.
BeUsed as a Helping Verb
SingularPlural
am(we) are
(he, she, it) is(they) are
(I, he, she, it) was(we, they) were
(he, she, it) has been(they) have been
A Singular Subject Must Have a Singular Verb
Now that you can recognize singular and plural nouns, pronouns, and verbs, you will be able
to make all sentence parts agree in number. Remember the rule introduced in the beginning
of this chapter: A subject must agree with its verb in number.
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All the other rules follow from this one. The easiest rules are these two:
A singular subject must have a singular verb.
A plural subject must have a plural verb.
Let’s examine the first rule.
5.A singular subject must have a singular verb.
She hesitates at all intersections, making the other drivers angry.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject she agrees with the singular verb hesitates.
Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject procrastination agrees with the singular verb is.
I am ready for dinner now.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject Irequires the singular verb am.
6.Two or more singular subjects joined by oror normust have a singular verb.
This makes perfect sense: You are making a choice between two singular subjects. The or
shows that you are only choosing one.
Either the dog orthe cat has to go.
sing. subject. or sing. subjectsing. verb
Only one pet will go—the dog or the cat. Therefore, you will only have one pet left. Two
singular subjects—dog and cat—joined by ortake the singular verb has.
Neither Elvis Costello norElvis Presley is in the room.
sing. subjectnorsing. subjectsing. verb
Each subject is being treated individually. Therefore, two singular subjects—Elvis
Costelloand Elvis Presley—joined by nortake the singular verb is.
7.Subjects that are singular in meaning but plural in form require a singular verb.
These subjects include words such as measles, civics, social studies, mumps, molasses,
news, economics, and mathematics.
P.M.
The news is on very night at 11:00
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject newstakes the singular verb is.
8.Plural subjects that function as a single unit take a singular verb.
Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite dish.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject spaghetti and meatballs requires the singular verb is.
Bacon and eggs makes a great late night snack.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular subject bacon and eggs agrees with the singular verb makes.
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9.Titles are always singular.
It doesn’t matter how long the title is, what it names, or whether or not it sounds plural—
a title always takes a singular verb.
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a story about the Spanish Civil War.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular title For Whom the Bell Tolls requires the singular verb is.
Stranger in a Strange Land was written by Robert Heinlein.
sing. subjectsing. verb
The singular title Stranger in a Strange Land requires the singular verb was.
Most measurements are singular—even though they look plural. For example: “Half a dol-
lar is more than enough” (not “are more than enough”).
A Plural Subject Must Have a Plural Verb
Just as a singular subject requires a singular verb, so a plural subject requires a plural verb.
Here are some examples:
1.A plural subject must have a plural verb.
Men are from Earth. Women arefrom Earth. Deal with it.
pluralpluralpluralplural
subjectverbsubjectverb
The plural subject menrequires the plural verb are.The plural subject womenrequires the
plural verb are.
On average, people fearspiders more than they dodeath.
pluralpluralpluralplural
subjectverbsubjectverb
The plural subject people requires the plural verb fear (not the singular verb fears). The
plural subject theyrequires the plural verb do(not the singular verb does).
Studentsat U.S. colleges read about 60,000 pages in four years.
pluralplural
subjectverb
The plural subject studentsrequires the plural verb read (not the singular verb reads).
Facetious and abstemiouscontain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious,
pluralplural
subjectverb
meaning “containing arsenic.”
The plural subject facetiousandabstemious requires the plural verb contain (not the sin-
gular verb contains.) Think of the conjunction andas a plus sign. Whether the parts of the
subject joined by and are singular or plural (or both), they all add up to a plural subject
and so require a plural verb.
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2.Two or more plural subjects joined by oror normust have a plural verb.
This is the logical extension of the rule you learned earlier about two or more singular sub-
jects joined by or or nor taking a singular verb. Here, since both subjects are plural, the
verb must be plural as well.
Either the children orthe adults areclearing the table.
pluralpluralplural
subjectsubjectverb
Since both subjects are plural, one of them alone is still plural. Therefore, two plural
subjects—childrenand adults—joined by ortake the plural verb are.
Neither my relatives nor my friends are leaving any time soon.
pluralpluralplural
subjectsubjectverb
Since both subjects are plural, one of them alone is still plural. Therefore, two plural
subjects—relativesand friends—joined by nortake the plural verb are.
3.A compound subject joined by and is plural and must have a plural verb.
The conjunction andacts like a plus (+) sign, showing that 1 +1 =2 (or 1 +1 +1 =3, etc.).
Brownies and ice cream are a spectacular dessert.
sing.sing.plural
subjectsubjectverb
Brownies and ice cream =two desserts. 1 +1 =2. Therefore, the verb must be plural: are.
Nina and Christopher have donated money to charity.
sing.sing.plural
subjectsubjectverb
Nina and Christopher =two people. 1 +1 =2. Therefore, the verb must be plural: have.
4.If two or more singular and plural subjects are joined by or or nor, the subject closest to
the verb determines agreement.
This is basically an exception made for the sake of sound: It sounds better to match the
verb to the closer subject.
Margery or the twins arecoming on the trip to Seattle.
sing.pluralplural
subjectsubjectverb
Since the plural subject twinsis closest to the verb, the verb is plural: are.
The twins or Margery is coming on the trip to Seattle.
pluralsing.sing.
subjectsubjectverb
Since the singular subject Margery is closest to the verb, the verb is singular: is.
Collective Nouns and Indefinite Pronouns
A collective nounnames a group of people or things. Collective nouns include the words class,
committee, flock, herd, team, audience, assembly, team, and club. Collective nouns can be sin-
gular or plural, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Here are the basic guidelines:
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67
A collective noun is considered singularwhen it functions as a single unit. Collective nouns
used as one unit take a singular verb.
A collective noun is considered pluralwhen the group it identifies is considered to be indi-
viduals. Collective nouns that indicate many units take a plural verb.
Here are some examples:
The team has practiced for tonight’s big game for months.
sing.sing.
subjectverb
The singular subject team agrees with the singular verb has practiced because in this
instance, the team functions as one (singular) group.
The team have practiced for tonight’s big game for months.
pluralplural
subjectverb
The subject team becomes plural because each member of the group is now being consid-
ered as an individual.
Indefinite pronouns, like collective nouns, can be singular or plural, depending on how
they are used in a sentence. Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things
without pointing to a specific one. Indefinite pronouns include words such as everyone, some-
one, all, and more.
Singular indefinite pronouns take a singular verb.
Plural indefinite pronouns take a plural verb.
The following chart shows singular and plural indefinite pronouns. The chart also shows
pronouns that can be either singular or plural, depending on how they are used in a sentence.
SingularPluralSingular or
Plural
anotherbothall
anybodyfewany
anyonemanymore
anythingothersmost
eachseveralnone
eithersome
everyone
everybody
everything
little
many a
Continues
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SingularPluralSingular or
Plural
much
neither
nobody
no one
nothing
one
other
somebody
someone
something
Look back at the chart. You will see that the following patterns emerge:
1.Indefinite pronouns that end in -body are always singular. These words include anybody,
somebody, nobody.
2.Indefinite pronouns that end in -one are always singular. These words include anyone,
everyone, someone, and one.
3.The indefinite pronouns both, few, many, others, and several are always plural.
4.The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some can be singular or plural,
depending on how they are used.
Here are some examples:
Oneof the gerbils is missing.
sing.sing.
subjectverb
The singular subject onerequires the singular verb is.
Bothof the gerbils are missing.
pluralplural
subjectverb
The plural subject bothrequires the plural verb are.
All of the beef stew was devoured.
sing.sing.
subjectverb
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69
In this instance, all is being used to indicate one unit. As a result, it requires the singular
verb was.
Many of the guests are sick of Tedious Ted’s endless chatter.
pluralplural
subjectverb
The plural subject many requires the plural verb are.
Special Problems in Agreement
The rules for agreement are straightforward, but some thorny problems do arise. Here are
the two most challenging issues: hard-to-find subjects and intervening phrases.
1.Identify hard-to-find subjects.
Some subjects can be harder to find than others. Subjects that come before the verb are
especially tricky. However, a subject must still agree in
number with its verb, as the following examples show:
In the bottom of the lake are two old cars.
pluralplural
verbsubject
The plural subject cars agrees with the plural verb are.
Quick Tip
There were still half a dozen tires in the lake, too.
The words thereor
pluralplural
hereat the beginning of
verbsubject
a sentence often signal
The plural subject tires requires the plural verb were.
inverted word order.
2.Ignore intervening phrases.
Disregard words or phrases that come between the sub-
ject and the verb. A phrase or clause that comes between a subject and its verb does not
affect subject-verb agreement.
The strongest muscle in the bodyisthe tongue.
sing.prep.sing.
subjectphraseverb
The singular subject muscle agrees with the singular verb is. Ignore the intervening
prepositional phrase “in the body.”
The captain of the guards stands at the door of Buckingham Palace.
sing.prep.sing.
subjectphraseverb
The singular subject captainagrees with the singular verb stands. Ignore the intervening
prepositional phrase “of the guards.”
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees
Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees
of Comparison
Adjectives and adverbs not only describe things; they also compare them. Adjectives and
adverbs have different forms to show degrees of comparison. There are three degrees of com-
parison: positive, comparative, and superlative. The following list summarizes the three
degrees of comparison:
Positive:The base form of the adjective or adverb notbeing used in a comparison.
Comparative: The form of the adjective or adverb being used to compare two things.
Superlative: The form of the adjective or adverb being used to compare three or more
things.
Here’s a cheat sheet:
Degree of ComparisonNumber of Things ComparedExample
Positive degreeNoneDonald is rich.
Comparative degreeTwoRoss is richerthan Donald.
Superlative degreeThree or moreBill is the richestof all.
The following guidelines show how to form the comparative and superlative degrees of
adjectives and adverbs.
1.In most cases, use -er/-est with one- and two-syllable adjectives or adverbs.
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
poorpoorerpoorest
richricherrichest
lowlowerlowest
highhigherhighest
largelargerlargest
2.When an adjective or adverb has three or more syllables, use more and most or less and
leastto form the comparative and superlative degrees.
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PositiveComparativeSuperlative
uncommonmore uncommonmost uncommon
unusualmore unusualmost unusual
adorablemore adorablemost adorable
delightfulmore delightfulmost delightful
attractiveless attractiveleast attractive
popularless popularleast popular
3.If the word sounds awkward, break the rule.
For example, since just has one syllable, the comparative form should be juster and the
superlative form should be justest. However, since this sounds odd, we use more just and
most just. Listen to the word to identify the most natural-sounding form of the compara-
tive or superlative degree. When in doubt, consult your dictionary.
4.Never use both -erand more,or -est and most,with the same modifier.
Never use double comparisons. For example, never say “the most furthest.” Instead, say
“furthest.” Never say the “leasthappiest.” Instead, say “least happy.”
5.All adverbs that end in -lyform their comparative and superlative degrees with moreand
most.
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
smoothlymore smoothlymost smoothly
easilymore easilymost easily
calmlymore calmlymost calmly
gracefullymore gracefullymost gracefully
gentlymore gentlymost gently
6.Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms.
A few adjectives and adverbs don’t follow these rules when they form the comparative
and superlative degrees. Unfortunately, they are among the most commonly used modi-
fiers in English, so you’re apt to need them virtually every day. Since they don’t follow a
pattern, you just have to bite the bullet and memorize them.
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51
Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
badworseworst
badlyworseworst
far (distance)fartherfarthest
farfurtherfurthest
goodbetterbest
illworseworst
latelaterlater or latest
little (amount)lessleast
manymoremost
muchmoremost
somemoremost
wellbetterbest
Goodand well are especially tricky. Follow these guidelines:
Goodis always an adjective.
You should read this novel: It has a good plot.
adj.noun
Rory traded in her old car for a good one.
adj.noun
Well is an adjective used to describe good health.
You look wellin that gorilla suit.
verbadj.
You sound well—for someone who has laryngitis.
verbadj.
Well is an adverb when used to describe anything but health.
Chef Big Hat cooks well.
verbadv.
As a result, everyone in his house no doubt eats well!
verbadv.
Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs
Now that you know how to form the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and
adverbs, follow these guidelines to make the comparisons correct.
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1.Use the comparative degree (-eror moreform) to compare two things.
Your house is bigger than mine.
Your house has morerooms than mine.
2.Use the superlative form (-est or mostto compare three or more things.
The kitchen is the largestroom in the house.
It is the mostimpressive room of all.
Quick Tip
Fewerand lesshave different meanings and cannot be used interchangeably. Fewer
refers to items that canbe counted (fewer sandwiches, fewer cookies). Lessrefers
to amounts that can’tbe counted (less sugar, less sand, less anger, less filling).
3.Use otherand else correctly in comparisons.
When you compare one item in a group with the rest of the group, be sure to include the
word otheror else.Then your comparison will make sense.
Confusing comparison: Truman was greater than any American president.
Logical comparison: Truman was greater than any otherAmerican president.
Confusing comparison: The sinkhole in our front yard is deeper than any in the neigh-
borhood.
Logical comparison: The sinkhole in our front yard is deeper than any other in the
neighborhood.
Confusing comparison: Tina scored more points than anyone on the badminton team.
Logical comparison: Tina scored more points than anyone elseon the badminton team.
Confusing comparison: The sumo wrestler is heavier than anyone in the competition.
Logical comparison: The sumo wrestler is heavier than anyone elsein the competition.
4.Create complete comparisons.
Sentences that finish a comparison make sense. Comparisons that are incomplete or that
compare illogical items become muddled. This confuses readers and obscures your point.
Confusing comparison: Jack spends more time playing video games than homework.
Logical comparison: Jack spends more time playing video games than doinghomework.
Confusing comparison: My suit is more stylish than Nick.
Logical comparison: My suit is more stylish than Nick’s suit.
Using Predicate Adjectives after Linking Verbs
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of a
sentence. Remember that linking verbsdescribe a state of being or a condition. They include
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of Comparison
Adjectives and adverbs not only describe things; they also compare them. Adjectives and
adverbs have different forms to show degrees of comparison. There are three degrees of com-
parison: positive, comparative, and superlative. The following list summarizes the three
degrees of comparison:
Positive:The base form of the adjective or adverb notbeing used in a comparison.
Comparative: The form of the adjective or adverb being used to compare two things.
Superlative: The form of the adjective or adverb being used to compare three or more
things.
Here’s a cheat sheet:
Degree of ComparisonNumber of Things ComparedExample
Positive degreeNoneDonald is rich.
Comparative degreeTwoRoss is richerthan Donald.
Superlative degreeThree or moreBill is the richestof all.
The following guidelines show how to form the comparative and superlative degrees of
adjectives and adverbs.
1.In most cases, use -er/-est with one- and two-syllable adjectives or adverbs.
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
poorpoorerpoorest
richricherrichest
lowlowerlowest
highhigherhighest
largelargerlargest
2.When an adjective or adverb has three or more syllables, use more and most or less and
leastto form the comparative and superlative degrees.
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50
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
uncommonmore uncommonmost uncommon
unusualmore unusualmost unusual
adorablemore adorablemost adorable
delightfulmore delightfulmost delightful
attractiveless attractiveleast attractive
popularless popularleast popular
3.If the word sounds awkward, break the rule.
For example, since just has one syllable, the comparative form should be juster and the
superlative form should be justest. However, since this sounds odd, we use more just and
most just. Listen to the word to identify the most natural-sounding form of the compara-
tive or superlative degree. When in doubt, consult your dictionary.
4.Never use both -erand more,or -est and most,with the same modifier.
Never use double comparisons. For example, never say “the most furthest.” Instead, say
“furthest.” Never say the “leasthappiest.” Instead, say “least happy.”
5.All adverbs that end in -lyform their comparative and superlative degrees with moreand
most.
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
smoothlymore smoothlymost smoothly
easilymore easilymost easily
calmlymore calmlymost calmly
gracefullymore gracefullymost gracefully
gentlymore gentlymost gently
6.Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms.
A few adjectives and adverbs don’t follow these rules when they form the comparative
and superlative degrees. Unfortunately, they are among the most commonly used modi-
fiers in English, so you’re apt to need them virtually every day. Since they don’t follow a
pattern, you just have to bite the bullet and memorize them.
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51
Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs
PositiveComparativeSuperlative
badworseworst
badlyworseworst
far (distance)fartherfarthest
farfurtherfurthest
goodbetterbest
illworseworst
latelaterlater or latest
little (amount)lessleast
manymoremost
muchmoremost
somemoremost
wellbetterbest
Goodand well are especially tricky. Follow these guidelines:
Goodis always an adjective.
You should read this novel: It has a good plot.
adj.noun
Rory traded in her old car for a good one.
adj.noun
Well is an adjective used to describe good health.
You look wellin that gorilla suit.
verbadj.
You sound well—for someone who has laryngitis.
verbadj.
Well is an adverb when used to describe anything but health.
Chef Big Hat cooks well.
verbadv.
As a result, everyone in his house no doubt eats well!
verbadv.
Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs
Now that you know how to form the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and
adverbs, follow these guidelines to make the comparisons correct.
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ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED
52
1.Use the comparative degree (-eror moreform) to compare two things.
Your house is bigger than mine.
Your house has morerooms than mine.
2.Use the superlative form (-est or mostto compare three or more things.
The kitchen is the largestroom in the house.
It is the mostimpressive room of all.
Quick Tip
Fewerand lesshave different meanings and cannot be used interchangeably. Fewer
refers to items that canbe counted (fewer sandwiches, fewer cookies). Lessrefers
to amounts that can’tbe counted (less sugar, less sand, less anger, less filling).
3.Use otherand else correctly in comparisons.
When you compare one item in a group with the rest of the group, be sure to include the
word otheror else.Then your comparison will make sense.
Confusing comparison: Truman was greater than any American president.
Logical comparison: Truman was greater than any otherAmerican president.
Confusing comparison: The sinkhole in our front yard is deeper than any in the neigh-
borhood.
Logical comparison: The sinkhole in our front yard is deeper than any other in the
neighborhood.
Confusing comparison: Tina scored more points than anyone on the badminton team.
Logical comparison: Tina scored more points than anyone elseon the badminton team.
Confusing comparison: The sumo wrestler is heavier than anyone in the competition.
Logical comparison: The sumo wrestler is heavier than anyone elsein the competition.
4.Create complete comparisons.
Sentences that finish a comparison make sense. Comparisons that are incomplete or that
compare illogical items become muddled. This confuses readers and obscures your point.
Confusing comparison: Jack spends more time playing video games than homework.
Logical comparison: Jack spends more time playing video games than doinghomework.
Confusing comparison: My suit is more stylish than Nick.
Logical comparison: My suit is more stylish than Nick’s suit.
Using Predicate Adjectives after Linking Verbs
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of a
sentence. Remember that linking verbsdescribe a state of being or a condition. They include
9682 Rozakis_04_f.qxd 5/9/03 3:15 PM Page 53
Active and Passive Voice
Active and Passive Voice
In addition to showing time through tense, action verbs also show whether the subject per-
forms the action or receives the action. This is called a verb’s voice. English verbs have two
voices: activeand passive. (Linking verbs do not show voice.)
1.A verb is activewhen the subject performs the action.
We took the package home. (“We” are doing the action.)
I served a delicious meal. (“I” am doing the serving.)
Notice that in the active voice, the sentence starts with the subject. The first sentence
starts with We. The second sentence starts with I.
2.A verb is passive when its action is performed upon the subject.
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ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED
40
A package was taken home. (The speaker is not indicated.)
A delicious meal was served by me.
Notice that in the passive voice, the sentence does notstart with the subject. The first sen-
tence starts with the object, “a package.” The second sentence starts with the object, “a
delicious meal.”
In general, use the active voice whenever possible because it is more direct and forceful.
Using the active voice makes your writing crisp and powerful. The active verb is one word
rather than two. Further, there is no need for a prepositional phrase beginning with “by” if
you use the active voice.
Using the passive voice is preferable over the active voice under two conditions:
You don’t want to assign blame.
A mistake occurred with the filing system.
Not surprisingly, the passive voice is very often found in business writing and speech. This
helps the writer or speaker avoid “finger pointing.”
You don’t know who did the action.
A.M.
A prank phone call was made at 2:00
W
a
r
a
s
’
p
A verb’s tense shows when the action takes place. Use the right order of
t
I
?
tenses to show the correct order of events.
English verbs are divided into two classes: regular and irregular. These
?
classifications come from the way the verb forms its past tense and past
participles.
Voice shows whether the subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive
?
voice). In general, use the active voice instead of the passive voice.
QUESTIONS
True-False Questions
Test
Yourself
1.English has six verb tenses. Each of the six tenses has two forms: basic and progres-
sive (also known as “perfect”).
2.The progressive form shows action, occurrence, or state of being that is taking place
right here and now.
3.The tense of English verbs is formed from helping verbs and principal parts.
4.There are eight different past tenses. Each one indicates a subtle shift in time.
5.The past tense and past participle forms of irregular verbs are created by adding -d,
-ed, or -tto the present form but the vowel doesn’t change.
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Using Verbs Correctly
41
6. Lie means “to be in a reclining position.” Lie conjugates to lie, lay, lain.
7. Laymeans “to put down.” Layconjugates to lay, laid, laid.
8.Use the two past verb forms to show events that take place now.
9.Use the six past forms (simple past, present perfect, past perfect, past progressive,
present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive) to show events that took place
before the present.
10.Use the four future forms (simple future, future perfect, future progressive, future
perfect progressive) to show events that take place in the future.
Completion Questions
Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1.Croatia (is, was) the first country to recognize the United States in 1776.
2.Ross Perot (resign, resigned, resigning) from the General Motors board of directors
because of its decision to purchase Hughes Aircraft Company.
3.John Wilkes Booth (shotted, shot, shooted) Lincoln in a theater and was found in a
warehouse.
4.Theodore Roosevelt (won, winned, wonned) the Nobel Prize for his arbitration of
treaty discussions at the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
5.The Dominican Republic was called Santo Domingo when it first (gained, gain)
independence.
6.The national anthem of the Netherlands is the oldest national anthem in the world:
The music (appeart, appeared) in 1572, the lyrics in 1590.
7.James Garfield could (wrote, write) Latin with one hand and Greek with the
other—simultaneously.
8.Before Bill Clinton, no left-handed American president had ever (serve, served)
two terms.
9.Only three Presidents (have graduated, graduate) from the military academies:
Grant and Eisenhower from West Point, and Carter from Annapolis.
10.The U.S. Constitution stipulates that, to be eligible for the Presidency, a candidate
must be a natural-born citizen, must (have lived, live) in the United States for a min-
imum of 14 years, and must be at least 35 years old.
11.Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to have a presidential aircraft, but
he only (flewed, flew) on the airplane once, to travel to the Yalta conference during
World War II.
12.Of all U.S. presidents, none (live, lived) to be older than John Adams, who died at
the age of 91.
13.John Quincy Adams (taked, took) his last skinny-dip in the Potomac on his seventy-
ninth birthday.
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42
14.All U.S. presidents (have worn, weared, have weared) glasses, but some of these
men didn’t like to be seen wearing eyeglasses in public.
15.When Harry Truman left office in 1952, he (get, got) in his own car and (drived,
drove) himself back to Missouri.
Multiple-Choice Questions
Select the best answer for each question.
1.There are four basic types of verbs:
(a)Action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, verb phrases
(b)Helping verbs, action verbs, gerunds, participles
(c)Helping verbs, verb phrases, active verbs, passive verbs
(d)Action verbs, normal verbs, regular verbs, irregular verbs
2.When applied to verbs, the word tense indicates
(a)How many subjects act or receive the action
(b)Who or what experiences the action
(c)When the action takes place: past, present, or future
(d)The attitude expressed toward the action
3.To show the future tense, English uses the helping verb
(a)Has
(b)Have
(c)Are
(d)Will
4.The past participleforms all the following tenses except
(a)Future perfect
(b)The past perfect
(c)Present perfect
(d)The active voice
5.The past tense of the verb to give is
(a)Gived
(b)Gave
(c)Have given
(d)Gaved
6.The present participle of to lie(to be in a horizontal position) is
(a)Lying
(b)Lay
(c)Have lain
(d)Lie
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Using Verbs Correctly
43
7.The past tense of the verb to freezeis
(a)Freezed
(b)Have froze
(c)Froze
(d)Frozed
8.The past participle of the verb to writeis
(a)Writing
(b)Have written
(c)Wrote
(d)Writed
9.The verb to beincludes all the following principal parts except
(a)Being, was
(b)Has, have
(c)Been, am
(d)Are, is
10.Which of the following sentences is in the active voice?
(a)Plans for an assisted-living center were revealed by the city council at yester-
day’s meeting.
(b)The package was opened by my cousin Louie.
(c)At noon, the gates to the stadium were finally opened.
(d)A snail can sleep for three years.
11.Which of the following sentences is in the passive voice?
(a)The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
(b)A dentist invented the electric chair.
(c)You share your birthday with at least nine million other people in the world.
(d)You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous
spider.
12.You should use the active voice whenever possible for all the following reasons except
(a)It creates a sentence that is direct and to the point.
(b)It creates a shorter sentence and is thus easier to read.
(c)It emphasizes the receiver of the action rather than the doer of the action.
(d)It emphasizes the doer of the action rather than the receiver of the action.
ANSWER KEY
True-False
1. T2. F3. T4. F5. F6. T7. T8. F9. T10. T
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44
Completion Questions
1. was2. resigned3. shot4. won5. gained6. appeared7. write
8. served9. have graduated10. have lived11. flew12. lived13. took
14. have worn15. got, drove
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. a2. c3. d4. d5. b6. a7. c8. b9. b10. d11. a12. c
In addition to showing time through tense, action verbs also show whether the subject per-
forms the action or receives the action. This is called a verb’s voice. English verbs have two
voices: activeand passive. (Linking verbs do not show voice.)
1.A verb is activewhen the subject performs the action.
We took the package home. (“We” are doing the action.)
I served a delicious meal. (“I” am doing the serving.)
Notice that in the active voice, the sentence starts with the subject. The first sentence
starts with We. The second sentence starts with I.
2.A verb is passive when its action is performed upon the subject.
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40
A package was taken home. (The speaker is not indicated.)
A delicious meal was served by me.
Notice that in the passive voice, the sentence does notstart with the subject. The first sen-
tence starts with the object, “a package.” The second sentence starts with the object, “a
delicious meal.”
In general, use the active voice whenever possible because it is more direct and forceful.
Using the active voice makes your writing crisp and powerful. The active verb is one word
rather than two. Further, there is no need for a prepositional phrase beginning with “by” if
you use the active voice.
Using the passive voice is preferable over the active voice under two conditions:
You don’t want to assign blame.
A mistake occurred with the filing system.
Not surprisingly, the passive voice is very often found in business writing and speech. This
helps the writer or speaker avoid “finger pointing.”
You don’t know who did the action.
A.M.
A prank phone call was made at 2:00
W
a
r
a
s
’
p
A verb’s tense shows when the action takes place. Use the right order of
t
I
?
tenses to show the correct order of events.
English verbs are divided into two classes: regular and irregular. These
?
classifications come from the way the verb forms its past tense and past
participles.
Voice shows whether the subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive
?
voice). In general, use the active voice instead of the passive voice.
QUESTIONS
True-False Questions
Test
Yourself
1.English has six verb tenses. Each of the six tenses has two forms: basic and progres-
sive (also known as “perfect”).
2.The progressive form shows action, occurrence, or state of being that is taking place
right here and now.
3.The tense of English verbs is formed from helping verbs and principal parts.
4.There are eight different past tenses. Each one indicates a subtle shift in time.
5.The past tense and past participle forms of irregular verbs are created by adding -d,
-ed, or -tto the present form but the vowel doesn’t change.
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Using Verbs Correctly
41
6. Lie means “to be in a reclining position.” Lie conjugates to lie, lay, lain.
7. Laymeans “to put down.” Layconjugates to lay, laid, laid.
8.Use the two past verb forms to show events that take place now.
9.Use the six past forms (simple past, present perfect, past perfect, past progressive,
present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive) to show events that took place
before the present.
10.Use the four future forms (simple future, future perfect, future progressive, future
perfect progressive) to show events that take place in the future.
Completion Questions
Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1.Croatia (is, was) the first country to recognize the United States in 1776.
2.Ross Perot (resign, resigned, resigning) from the General Motors board of directors
because of its decision to purchase Hughes Aircraft Company.
3.John Wilkes Booth (shotted, shot, shooted) Lincoln in a theater and was found in a
warehouse.
4.Theodore Roosevelt (won, winned, wonned) the Nobel Prize for his arbitration of
treaty discussions at the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
5.The Dominican Republic was called Santo Domingo when it first (gained, gain)
independence.
6.The national anthem of the Netherlands is the oldest national anthem in the world:
The music (appeart, appeared) in 1572, the lyrics in 1590.
7.James Garfield could (wrote, write) Latin with one hand and Greek with the
other—simultaneously.
8.Before Bill Clinton, no left-handed American president had ever (serve, served)
two terms.
9.Only three Presidents (have graduated, graduate) from the military academies:
Grant and Eisenhower from West Point, and Carter from Annapolis.
10.The U.S. Constitution stipulates that, to be eligible for the Presidency, a candidate
must be a natural-born citizen, must (have lived, live) in the United States for a min-
imum of 14 years, and must be at least 35 years old.
11.Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first U.S. president to have a presidential aircraft, but
he only (flewed, flew) on the airplane once, to travel to the Yalta conference during
World War II.
12.Of all U.S. presidents, none (live, lived) to be older than John Adams, who died at
the age of 91.
13.John Quincy Adams (taked, took) his last skinny-dip in the Potomac on his seventy-
ninth birthday.
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14.All U.S. presidents (have worn, weared, have weared) glasses, but some of these
men didn’t like to be seen wearing eyeglasses in public.
15.When Harry Truman left office in 1952, he (get, got) in his own car and (drived,
drove) himself back to Missouri.
Multiple-Choice Questions
Select the best answer for each question.
1.There are four basic types of verbs:
(a)Action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, verb phrases
(b)Helping verbs, action verbs, gerunds, participles
(c)Helping verbs, verb phrases, active verbs, passive verbs
(d)Action verbs, normal verbs, regular verbs, irregular verbs
2.When applied to verbs, the word tense indicates
(a)How many subjects act or receive the action
(b)Who or what experiences the action
(c)When the action takes place: past, present, or future
(d)The attitude expressed toward the action
3.To show the future tense, English uses the helping verb
(a)Has
(b)Have
(c)Are
(d)Will
4.The past participleforms all the following tenses except
(a)Future perfect
(b)The past perfect
(c)Present perfect
(d)The active voice
5.The past tense of the verb to give is
(a)Gived
(b)Gave
(c)Have given
(d)Gaved
6.The present participle of to lie(to be in a horizontal position) is
(a)Lying
(b)Lay
(c)Have lain
(d)Lie
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Using Verbs Correctly
43
7.The past tense of the verb to freezeis
(a)Freezed
(b)Have froze
(c)Froze
(d)Frozed
8.The past participle of the verb to writeis
(a)Writing
(b)Have written
(c)Wrote
(d)Writed
9.The verb to beincludes all the following principal parts except
(a)Being, was
(b)Has, have
(c)Been, am
(d)Are, is
10.Which of the following sentences is in the active voice?
(a)Plans for an assisted-living center were revealed by the city council at yester-
day’s meeting.
(b)The package was opened by my cousin Louie.
(c)At noon, the gates to the stadium were finally opened.
(d)A snail can sleep for three years.
11.Which of the following sentences is in the passive voice?
(a)The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
(b)A dentist invented the electric chair.
(c)You share your birthday with at least nine million other people in the world.
(d)You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous
spider.
12.You should use the active voice whenever possible for all the following reasons except
(a)It creates a sentence that is direct and to the point.
(b)It creates a shorter sentence and is thus easier to read.
(c)It emphasizes the receiver of the action rather than the doer of the action.
(d)It emphasizes the doer of the action rather than the receiver of the action.
ANSWER KEY
True-False
1. T2. F3. T4. F5. F6. T7. T8. F9. T10. T
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44
Completion Questions
1. was2. resigned3. shot4. won5. gained6. appeared7. write
8. served9. have graduated10. have lived11. flew12. lived13. took
14. have worn15. got, drove
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. a2. c3. d4. d5. b6. a7. c8. b9. b10. d11. a12. c
Using Verbs Correctly
Using Verbs Correctly
ou should read this chapter if you need to review or learn about
Y
N
I
e
e
o
d
D
e
R
a
d
Verb tense
o
t
?
h
a
p
C
t
s
e
i
r
h
?
Regular and irregular verbs
T
?
Active and passive voice
?
Using verbs correctly
?
Get Started
In English, tenseis used to show when something happens. Here, you will
discover how verbs are formed and how they are used to show time. Note:
This chapter is especially important for speakers of English as a second
language.
31
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.
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32
Overview of Verb Functions
Recall from Chapter 1 that verbs are words that name an action or describe a state of being.
There are four basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb
phrases. Verbs also convey information through changes in their form. Here are the five dif-
ferent things we find out from a verb:
Tense(when the action takes place: past, present, or future)
Person(who or what experiences the action)
Number(how many subjects act or receive the action)
Mood(the attitude expressed toward the action)
Voice (whether the subject acts or is acted upon: the active or passive voice)
The Six Verb Tenses
The tense of a verb shows its time. English has six verb tenses. Each of the six tenses has two
forms: basic and progressive (also known as “perfect”). The basic form shows action, occur-
rence, or state of being that is taking place right here and now. The basic form also is the base
for the future form (i.e., I will sleep; they will sleep).
The following chart shows the six forms for the verb to walk:
TenseBasic FormProgressive Form
Presentwalkam walking
Pastwalkedwas walking
Futurewill walkwill be walking
Present perfecthave walkedhave been walking
Past perfecthad walkedhad been walking
Future perfectwill have walkedwill have been walking
The tense of English verbs is formed from helping verbs and principal parts. Each English
verb has four main parts, as shown in the chart on the next page.
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Using Verbs Correctly
33
Principal Verb Parts
PresentPresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
looklookinglookedlooked
dancedancingdanceddanced
1.The present tense
The present is used to form the present tense (“I look”) and the future (“I will look”).
English uses the helping verb will to show the future tense.
2.The present participle
The present participle forms all six of the progressive forms (“I am looking,” “I was look-
ing,” and so on).
3.The past tense
The past forms only one tense, the past. As with the present tense, the principal part
stands alone.
4.The past participle
The past participle forms the last three tenses: the present perfect (“I have looked”), the
past perfect (“I had looked”), and the future perfect (“I will have looked”). To form the
past participle, start with a helping verb such as is, are, was, has been. Then add the prin-
cipal part of the verb.
Quick Tip
When you conjugatea verb, you list the singular and plural forms of the verb in a
specific tense.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
English verbs are divided into two classes: regular and irregular. These classifications come
from the way the verb forms its past tense and past participles.
Regular verbs: The past tense and past participle forms are created by adding -d, -ed, or -t
to the present form, but the vowel doesn’t change; for example, walk, walked, walked.
Irregular verbs: No pattern is followed when the past and past participle are formed.
Instead, there are many different forms. For example, with some irregular verbs the vowel
changes and an -n or -e is added, as in begin, began, begun. With other verbs, the vowel
changes and a -d or -tis added, as in lose, lost, lost.
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34
Of all the verbs in English, lie and lay are likely the most often confused. Lay is a regular
verb; lieis an irregular verb.
Lie means “to repose.” Lie conjugates as lie, lay, lain.
Laymeans “to put.” Layconjugates as lay, laid, laid.
Because lay is both the present tense of to lay and the past tense of to lie, many speakers
and writers use lay when they mean lie.
Lie is an intransitive verb. That means that it never takes a direct object.
When people are exhausted, they should liedown for a rest.
Layis a transitive verb. That means that lay always takes a direct object.
Laythe papers down.
The following chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that have the same
present participle, past, and past participle forms.
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
bidbiddingbidhave bid
burstburstingbursthave burst
costcostingcosthave cost
hithittinghithave hit
hurthurtinghurthave hurt
kneelkneltknelthave knelt
letlettinglethave let
putputtingputhave put
setsettingsethave set
The next chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that have the same past and
past participle forms.
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
beatbeatbeatenhave beaten
becomebecamebecomehave become
bendbentbenthave bent
bindbindingboundhave bound
bitebitbittenhave bitten
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Using Verbs Correctly
35
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
bringbringingbroughthave brought
buildbuildingbuilthave built
buybuyingboughthave bought
catchcaughtcaughthave caught
creepcreptcrepthave crept
digdugdughave dug
divedived or dovedivedhave dived
findfindingfoundhave found
fightfightingfoughthave fought
forgetforgotforgottenhave forgotten
forgiveforgaveforgivenhave forgiven
getgettinggothave gotten,
have got
growgrewgrownhave grown
hanghunghunghave hung
hang (execute)hangedhangedhave hanged
hidehidhiddenhave hidden
holdholdingheldhave held
keepkeepingkepthave kept
laylayinglaidhave laid
leadleadingledhave led
loselosinglosthave lost
paypayingpaidhave paid
proveprovedproved, provenhave proved,
have proven
ringrangrunghave rung
saysayingsaidhave said
sendsendingsenthave sent
showshowingshowedhave showed,
have shown
sitsittingsathave sat
sleepsleepingslepthave slept
spendspendingspenthave spent
spinspinningspunhave spun
standstandingstoodhave stood
stickstickingstuckhave stuck
teachteachingtaughthave taught
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Quick Tip
The most irregular verb in English is to be.Its principal parts are be, being, was,
were, been, am, are, is.
The following chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that change in unpre-
dictable ways:
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
arisearisingarosehave arisen
beginbeginningbeganhave begun
blowblowingblewhave blown
breakbreakingbrokehave broken
choosechoosingchosehave chosen
comecomingcamehave come
divedived, dovedivedhave dived
dodoingdidhave done
drawdrawingdrewhave drawn
drinkdrinkingdrankhave drunk
eateatingatehave eaten
fallfallingfellhave fallen
flyflyingflewhave flown
freezefreezingfrozehave frozen
givegivinggavehave given
gogoingwenthave gone
knowknowingknewhave known
lie (horizontal)lyinglayhave lain
rideridingrodehave ridden
riserisingrosehave risen
runrunningranhave run
seeseeingsawhave seen
shakeshakingshookhave shaken
shrinkshrinkingshrankhave shrunk
singsingingsanghave sung
sinksinkingsankhave sunk
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Using Verbs Correctly
37
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
speakspeakingspokehave spoken
springspringingspranghave sprung
stealstealingstolehave stolen
strivestrivingstrovehave striven
swearswearingsworehave sworn
swimswimmingswamhave swum
taketakingtookhave taken
teartearingtorehave torn
throwthrowingthrewhave thrown
wakewakingwoke, wakedhave woken, waked
wearwearingworehave worn
writewritingwrotehave written
How to Use Tenses
The six tenses express time within three main categories: past, present, and future. You want
to use the tenses correctly so that you can show how one event is related to another. The fol-
lowing chart shows how the tenses are related.
Verb Tense and Time
PastPresentFuture
Simple pastSimple presentSimple future
Present perfectFuture perfect
Past perfect
Past progressivePresentFuture progressive
Present perfect progressiveFuture perfect progressive
Past perfect progressive
Use the two present forms (simple present, present progressive) to show events that take
place now.
Use the six past forms (simple past, present perfect, past perfect, past progressive, present
perfect progressive, past perfect progressive) to show events that took place before the
present.
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Use the four future forms (simple future, future perfect, future progressive, future perfect
progressive) to show events that take place in the future.
1.Use past tenses accurately.
The six past tenses all indicate the past in a different way. The following chart provides
examples of how to use these tenses.
TenseUseExample
Simple pastCompleted action (indefinite We washed the car.
time)
Completed condition (indefinite We were happy the
time)party was over.
Completed action (definite time)We washed the car yesterday.
Completed condition (definiteI was delighted yesterday to
time)receive the news.
Present perfectCompleted action (indefinite We have bought the gifts.
time)
Completed condition (indefinite I have been very relieved.
time)
Action continuing into theSarah has called for two
presenthours.
Condition continuing into theShe has been in New York
presentfor a week.
Past perfectAction completed beforeGreg had called all his friends
anotherbefore the party started.
Condition completedGreg had been a butcher
before he became a guru.
Past progressiveContinuous completed actionI was attending a spa
that month.
Present perfect progressiveAction continuing into presentRalph has been exercising all
week.
Past perfect progressiveContinuing action interruptedKatie had been repairing the
by anotherfence that was damaged in the
storm.
ou should read this chapter if you need to review or learn about
Y
N
I
e
e
o
d
D
e
R
a
d
Verb tense
o
t
?
h
a
p
C
t
s
e
i
r
h
?
Regular and irregular verbs
T
?
Active and passive voice
?
Using verbs correctly
?
Get Started
In English, tenseis used to show when something happens. Here, you will
discover how verbs are formed and how they are used to show time. Note:
This chapter is especially important for speakers of English as a second
language.
31
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.
9682 Rozakis_03_f.qxd 5/9/03 3:14 PM Page 32
ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED
32
Overview of Verb Functions
Recall from Chapter 1 that verbs are words that name an action or describe a state of being.
There are four basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, and verb
phrases. Verbs also convey information through changes in their form. Here are the five dif-
ferent things we find out from a verb:
Tense(when the action takes place: past, present, or future)
Person(who or what experiences the action)
Number(how many subjects act or receive the action)
Mood(the attitude expressed toward the action)
Voice (whether the subject acts or is acted upon: the active or passive voice)
The Six Verb Tenses
The tense of a verb shows its time. English has six verb tenses. Each of the six tenses has two
forms: basic and progressive (also known as “perfect”). The basic form shows action, occur-
rence, or state of being that is taking place right here and now. The basic form also is the base
for the future form (i.e., I will sleep; they will sleep).
The following chart shows the six forms for the verb to walk:
TenseBasic FormProgressive Form
Presentwalkam walking
Pastwalkedwas walking
Futurewill walkwill be walking
Present perfecthave walkedhave been walking
Past perfecthad walkedhad been walking
Future perfectwill have walkedwill have been walking
The tense of English verbs is formed from helping verbs and principal parts. Each English
verb has four main parts, as shown in the chart on the next page.
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Using Verbs Correctly
33
Principal Verb Parts
PresentPresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
looklookinglookedlooked
dancedancingdanceddanced
1.The present tense
The present is used to form the present tense (“I look”) and the future (“I will look”).
English uses the helping verb will to show the future tense.
2.The present participle
The present participle forms all six of the progressive forms (“I am looking,” “I was look-
ing,” and so on).
3.The past tense
The past forms only one tense, the past. As with the present tense, the principal part
stands alone.
4.The past participle
The past participle forms the last three tenses: the present perfect (“I have looked”), the
past perfect (“I had looked”), and the future perfect (“I will have looked”). To form the
past participle, start with a helping verb such as is, are, was, has been. Then add the prin-
cipal part of the verb.
Quick Tip
When you conjugatea verb, you list the singular and plural forms of the verb in a
specific tense.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
English verbs are divided into two classes: regular and irregular. These classifications come
from the way the verb forms its past tense and past participles.
Regular verbs: The past tense and past participle forms are created by adding -d, -ed, or -t
to the present form, but the vowel doesn’t change; for example, walk, walked, walked.
Irregular verbs: No pattern is followed when the past and past participle are formed.
Instead, there are many different forms. For example, with some irregular verbs the vowel
changes and an -n or -e is added, as in begin, began, begun. With other verbs, the vowel
changes and a -d or -tis added, as in lose, lost, lost.
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Of all the verbs in English, lie and lay are likely the most often confused. Lay is a regular
verb; lieis an irregular verb.
Lie means “to repose.” Lie conjugates as lie, lay, lain.
Laymeans “to put.” Layconjugates as lay, laid, laid.
Because lay is both the present tense of to lay and the past tense of to lie, many speakers
and writers use lay when they mean lie.
Lie is an intransitive verb. That means that it never takes a direct object.
When people are exhausted, they should liedown for a rest.
Layis a transitive verb. That means that lay always takes a direct object.
Laythe papers down.
The following chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that have the same
present participle, past, and past participle forms.
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
bidbiddingbidhave bid
burstburstingbursthave burst
costcostingcosthave cost
hithittinghithave hit
hurthurtinghurthave hurt
kneelkneltknelthave knelt
letlettinglethave let
putputtingputhave put
setsettingsethave set
The next chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that have the same past and
past participle forms.
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
beatbeatbeatenhave beaten
becomebecamebecomehave become
bendbentbenthave bent
bindbindingboundhave bound
bitebitbittenhave bitten
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35
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
bringbringingbroughthave brought
buildbuildingbuilthave built
buybuyingboughthave bought
catchcaughtcaughthave caught
creepcreptcrepthave crept
digdugdughave dug
divedived or dovedivedhave dived
findfindingfoundhave found
fightfightingfoughthave fought
forgetforgotforgottenhave forgotten
forgiveforgaveforgivenhave forgiven
getgettinggothave gotten,
have got
growgrewgrownhave grown
hanghunghunghave hung
hang (execute)hangedhangedhave hanged
hidehidhiddenhave hidden
holdholdingheldhave held
keepkeepingkepthave kept
laylayinglaidhave laid
leadleadingledhave led
loselosinglosthave lost
paypayingpaidhave paid
proveprovedproved, provenhave proved,
have proven
ringrangrunghave rung
saysayingsaidhave said
sendsendingsenthave sent
showshowingshowedhave showed,
have shown
sitsittingsathave sat
sleepsleepingslepthave slept
spendspendingspenthave spent
spinspinningspunhave spun
standstandingstoodhave stood
stickstickingstuckhave stuck
teachteachingtaughthave taught
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Quick Tip
The most irregular verb in English is to be.Its principal parts are be, being, was,
were, been, am, are, is.
The following chart lists some of the most common irregular verbs that change in unpre-
dictable ways:
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
arisearisingarosehave arisen
beginbeginningbeganhave begun
blowblowingblewhave blown
breakbreakingbrokehave broken
choosechoosingchosehave chosen
comecomingcamehave come
divedived, dovedivedhave dived
dodoingdidhave done
drawdrawingdrewhave drawn
drinkdrinkingdrankhave drunk
eateatingatehave eaten
fallfallingfellhave fallen
flyflyingflewhave flown
freezefreezingfrozehave frozen
givegivinggavehave given
gogoingwenthave gone
knowknowingknewhave known
lie (horizontal)lyinglayhave lain
rideridingrodehave ridden
riserisingrosehave risen
runrunningranhave run
seeseeingsawhave seen
shakeshakingshookhave shaken
shrinkshrinkingshrankhave shrunk
singsingingsanghave sung
sinksinkingsankhave sunk
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Using Verbs Correctly
37
Present TensePresent ParticiplePastPast Participle
speakspeakingspokehave spoken
springspringingspranghave sprung
stealstealingstolehave stolen
strivestrivingstrovehave striven
swearswearingsworehave sworn
swimswimmingswamhave swum
taketakingtookhave taken
teartearingtorehave torn
throwthrowingthrewhave thrown
wakewakingwoke, wakedhave woken, waked
wearwearingworehave worn
writewritingwrotehave written
How to Use Tenses
The six tenses express time within three main categories: past, present, and future. You want
to use the tenses correctly so that you can show how one event is related to another. The fol-
lowing chart shows how the tenses are related.
Verb Tense and Time
PastPresentFuture
Simple pastSimple presentSimple future
Present perfectFuture perfect
Past perfect
Past progressivePresentFuture progressive
Present perfect progressiveFuture perfect progressive
Past perfect progressive
Use the two present forms (simple present, present progressive) to show events that take
place now.
Use the six past forms (simple past, present perfect, past perfect, past progressive, present
perfect progressive, past perfect progressive) to show events that took place before the
present.
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38
Use the four future forms (simple future, future perfect, future progressive, future perfect
progressive) to show events that take place in the future.
1.Use past tenses accurately.
The six past tenses all indicate the past in a different way. The following chart provides
examples of how to use these tenses.
TenseUseExample
Simple pastCompleted action (indefinite We washed the car.
time)
Completed condition (indefinite We were happy the
time)party was over.
Completed action (definite time)We washed the car yesterday.
Completed condition (definiteI was delighted yesterday to
time)receive the news.
Present perfectCompleted action (indefinite We have bought the gifts.
time)
Completed condition (indefinite I have been very relieved.
time)
Action continuing into theSarah has called for two
presenthours.
Condition continuing into theShe has been in New York
presentfor a week.
Past perfectAction completed beforeGreg had called all his friends
anotherbefore the party started.
Condition completedGreg had been a butcher
before he became a guru.
Past progressiveContinuous completed actionI was attending a spa
that month.
Present perfect progressiveAction continuing into presentRalph has been exercising all
week.
Past perfect progressiveContinuing action interruptedKatie had been repairing the
by anotherfence that was damaged in the
storm.
Using Pronouns Correctly
Using Pronouns Correctly
ou should read this chapter if you need to review or learn about
Y
N
I
e
e
o
d
D
e
R
a
d
Understanding case, the form of a pronoun that shows how it is used in
o
t
?
h
a
p
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t
a sentence
s
e
i
r
h
?
T
Using personal pronouns correctly
?
Correcting pronoun reference
?
Revising sexist pronoun reference
?
Using who, which, that
?
Get Started
You’ll recall from Chapter 1 that a pronounis a word used in place of a noun
or another pronoun. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it replaces,
called the antecedent.
Caserefers to the form of a noun or pronoun that shows how it is used in
a sentence.
19
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.
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Overview of Pronoun Case
Only two parts of speech, nouns and pronouns, have case. This means that they change form
depending on how they are used in a sentence. English has three cases: nominative, objective,
and possessive.
In the nominativecase, the pronoun is used as a subject.
Ithrew the ball.
In the objective case, the pronoun is used as an object.
Give the ball to me.
In the possessive case, the pronoun is used to show ownership.
The ball is mine.
The following chart shows the three cases of personal pronouns:
NominativeObjectivePossessive
(Pronoun as subject)(Pronoun as object)(Ownership)
I me my, mine
youyouyour, yours
hehimhis
sheherher, hers
ititits
weusour, ours
theythemtheir, theirs
whowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhoever
To avoid errors in personal pronoun use, you must understand how to use each case. The
rules are explained below. Relax: They’re actually not difficult at all!
Using the Nominative Case
1.Use the nominative case to show the subject of a verb.
Father and (I, me) like to shop at flea markets.
Answer: Iis the subject of the sentence. Therefore, the pronoun is in the nominative case:
“Father and Ilike to shop at flea markets.”
To help determine the correct pronoun, take away the first subject and try each choice.
See which one sounds better. For example:
9682 Rozakis_02_f.qxd 5/9/03 3:14 PM Page 21
Using Pronouns Correctly
21
Ilike to shop at flea markets.
Melike to shop at flea markets.
The first one definitely sounds better.
Quick Tip
When you list two or more subjects, always put yourself last. Therefore, the
sentence would read “Father and I,” never “I and Father.”
(Who, Whom) do you believe is the better shopper?
Answer: Whois the subject of the verb is.Therefore, the sentence would read, “Whodo
you believe is the better shopper?”
Ignore interrupting expressions such as do you believe, you think, do you suppose(and so
on). They do not affect pronoun case.
2.Use the nominative case for a predicate nominative.
A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and identifies or
renames the subject. Remember that a linking verb connects a subject to a word that
renames it. Linking verbs indicate a state of being (am, is, are, etc.), relate to the senses
(look, smell, taste, etc.), or indicate a condition (appear, seem, become, etc.).
The salesman of the month was (I, me).
Answer:Use I,since the pronoun renames the subject, the salesman of the month. “The
salesman of the month was I.”
Which is correct: “It is I” or “It is me”? Technically, the correct form is “It is I,” since
we’re dealing with a predicate nominative. However, “It is me” (and “It is us”) has
become increasingly acceptable as standard usage.
Using the Objective Case
1.Use the objective case to show a direct object.
A direct objectis a noun or pronoun that receives the action.
John’s suit no longer fits (he, him).
Answer:John’s suit no longer fits him.
(Who, Whom) did she finally invite to the dinner party?
Answer: Sheis the subject, the person doing the action. Therefore, the sentence should
read: “Whomdid she finally invite to the dinner party?”
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22
Of course, she can invite (whoever, whomever) she wants.
Answer:Of course, she can invite whomevershe wants.
Quick Tip
When you have a pronoun combined with a noun (such as we guests, us guests),
try the sentence without the noun. You can usually “hear” which pronoun sounds
right.
It is always a pleasure for weto attend their party.
It is always a pleasure for usto attend their party.
The second sentence is correct.
2.Use the objective case to show an indirect object.
An indirect object tells to or for whom something is done. You can tell a word is an indi-
rect object if you can insert toor forbefore it without changing the meaning. For example:
“The book gave (to) my boss and (to) me some new strategies.”
The bill gave (we, us) a shock.
Answer:The bill gave usa shock.
3.Use the objective case for the object of a preposition.
Remember that a preposition is a small word that links a noun or a pronoun following it
to another word in the sentence.
Sit by (I, me).
Answer: The pronoun is the object of the preposition me, so the sentence reads: “Sit
by me.”
Using the Possessive Case
1.Use the possessive case to show ownership.
The child refused to admit that the sweater was (her’s, hers).
Answer: Hers is the correct spelling of the possessive case, which is needed here to
express ownership (belonging to her). Therefore, the sentence should read: “The child
refused to admit that the sweater was hers.”
2.Use the possessive case before gerunds.
A gerund is a form of a verb that acts as a noun. Gerunds always end in -ing, and they
always function as nouns.
(You, Your) walking in the rain didn’t cause your cold.
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Using Pronouns Correctly
23
Answer:The gerund walkingrequires the possessive pronoun your.Therefore, the sen-
tence should read: “Your walking in the rain didn’t cause your cold.”
Do you mind (my, me) borrowing your cell phone?
Answer:Do you mind myborrowing your cell phone?
3.Use some possessive pronouns alone to show ownership.
This cell phone is mine, not yours.
Three Other Rules for Using Pronouns
Here are three more rules that apply to pronouns and case.
1.A pronoun used in apposition with a noun is in the same case as the noun.
An appositive phraseis a noun or pronoun that adds information and details. Appositives
can often be removed from the sentence, so they are set off with commas. The appositive
in the following sentence is underlined.
Two police officers, Alice and (she, her),
were commended for bravery.
Answer: The pronoun must be in the nominative case (she) because it is in apposition
with the noun police officers, which is in the nominative case. Therefore, the sentence
should read: Two police officers, Alice and
she,were commended for bravery.
Exception: A pronoun used as the subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.For exam-
ple: “Juan expects Luz and (I, me) to host the reception.” The correct pronoun here is me,
since it is the subject of the infinitive to host.
Quick Tip
Pronouns that express ownership never get an apostrophe. Watch for these
possessive pronouns: yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
2.Use -selfforms correctly with reflexive and intensive situations.
As you learned in Chapter 1, reflexive pronouns reflect back to the subject or object.
The child embarrassed himself.
Don’t use reflexive pronouns in place of subjects and objects.
The boss and (myself, I) had a meeting.
Answer:Use the pronoun I,not the reflexive form. Therefore, the sentence reads: “The
boss and Ihad a meeting.”
3. Whois the nominative case; whomis the objective case.
No one will argue that who and whom are the most troublesome pronouns in English.
Even though whoand whomwere discussed earlier in this chapter, these little words cause
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ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED
24
such distress that they deserve their own subsection. Let’s start by looking back at our
pronoun-use chart.
NominativeObjectivePossessive
(Subject case)(Object case)(Ownership)
Singularwhowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhosoever
Pluralwhowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhosoever
Now, some guidelines:
Use whoor whoeverwhen the pronoun is the subject of a verb.
Whowon the Nobel Prize this year?
Use whoor whoeverwhen the pronoun is the predicate nominative.
The winner was who?
Use whom or whomever when the pronoun is the direct object of a verb or the object of a
preposition.
Whomdid he fire this week?
Use Correct Pronoun Reference
The meaning of a pronoun comes from its antecedent, the noun or pronoun to which it refers.
Your speech and writing will be confusing if your pronoun reference is unclear.
Carelessly placed pronouns can create unintentionally funny sentences as well as confus-
ing ones. Consider the difference between what the writer thinks he or she said and what is
reallybeing said in the following sentences:
Last week, a wart appeared on my right thumb, and I want it removed.
(Are you removing the wart or the thumb?)
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You must
get rid of them.
(Are you getting rid of the guilt or your friends?)
There are three ways to prevent pronoun confusion.
1.A pronoun must clearly refer to a single antecedent.
2.Place pronouns close to their antecedents.
3.Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent.
Let’s look at each guideline in detail.
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Using Pronouns Correctly
25
1.A pronoun must clearly refer to a single antecedent. A common writing and speech prob-
lem occurs when the same pronoun refers to more than one antecedent. For instance, in the
last example in the previous section, themcan refer to guilt, unkindness,or your friends.
Remember that a pronoun replaces a noun. To make sure that your writing and speech
are clear, always use the noun first before you use the pronoun. Clarify the sentence by
replacing the unclear pronouns with nouns. That way, all the remaining pronouns will
clearly refer to a single antecedent.
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of them.
Here are two ways you could rewrite this sentence:
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of these issues.
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of these destructive emotions.
2.Place pronouns close to their antecedents. If too many phrases come between a pronoun
and its antecedent, the sentence can be difficult to read and understand. This can happen
even if the intervening material is logically related to the rest of the sentence. Consider the
following sentence:
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. At that point, Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials began to pose for pictures. Even so, he did
not join them.
In this sentence he is too far away from its antecedent, the President. One solution is to
replace he with the President. The other solution is to rewrite the sentences to move the
pronoun closer.
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. At that point, Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials began to pose for pictures. Even so, the
President did not join them.
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. He did not join Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials, even though they began to pose for pictures.
Quick Tip
When you start a new paragraph, repeat the noun from the previous paragraph
rather than using a pronoun in its place. Repeating the noun (usually a name) can
help your reader more easily follow your logic.
3.Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent. Be sure all pronouns refer to only one
antecedent. The pronouns it, this, that,and whichare especially prone to unclear pronoun
reference. Consider the following sentence:
I told my friends that I was going to be a rock star, which annoyed my mother.
The following form is better because it is less ambiguous:
My mother was annoyed because I told my friends that I was going to be a rock star.
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26
The Generic Masculine Pronoun
Pronouns have number, person, and gender.
DefinitionExample
Number shows amount.Lenny has changed his plans.
(singular or plural)Lenny and Sam have changed their plans.
Person indicates whether the pronoun refers Ilike to read mysteries.
to the first person (I: the person speaking), Youcan get them in the library.
second person (you: the person spoken to), Jillis studying math, which she
or third person (she: person, place, or thingneeds.
spoken about).
Gender may be masculine, feminine, He is a butcher; she is a baker.
or neuter. It is a fine car.
Traditionally, a masculine pronoun was used to refer to a single antecedent whose gender is
not specified.
A student should turn in his assignments on time.
This usage is no longer considered correct, since it is sexist language. You can use both the
masculine and feminine pronouns or recast the sentence to make the pronoun plural:
A student should turn in his or her assignments on time.
Students should turn in their assignments on time.
Which choice is best? Consider rewriting these sentences to make the pronoun plural because
this results in smoother sentences.
Using Who, Which, That
Special rules govern the use of the relative pronouns who, which, and that.
1. Whorefers to people or animals (only animals with names or special talents, like Lassie).
She is not the actress whowas originally cast in the role.
ou should read this chapter if you need to review or learn about
Y
N
I
e
e
o
d
D
e
R
a
d
Understanding case, the form of a pronoun that shows how it is used in
o
t
?
h
a
p
C
t
a sentence
s
e
i
r
h
?
T
Using personal pronouns correctly
?
Correcting pronoun reference
?
Revising sexist pronoun reference
?
Using who, which, that
?
Get Started
You’ll recall from Chapter 1 that a pronounis a word used in place of a noun
or another pronoun. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it replaces,
called the antecedent.
Caserefers to the form of a noun or pronoun that shows how it is used in
a sentence.
19
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.
9682 Rozakis_02_f.qxd 5/9/03 3:14 PM Page 20
ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED
20
Overview of Pronoun Case
Only two parts of speech, nouns and pronouns, have case. This means that they change form
depending on how they are used in a sentence. English has three cases: nominative, objective,
and possessive.
In the nominativecase, the pronoun is used as a subject.
Ithrew the ball.
In the objective case, the pronoun is used as an object.
Give the ball to me.
In the possessive case, the pronoun is used to show ownership.
The ball is mine.
The following chart shows the three cases of personal pronouns:
NominativeObjectivePossessive
(Pronoun as subject)(Pronoun as object)(Ownership)
I me my, mine
youyouyour, yours
hehimhis
sheherher, hers
ititits
weusour, ours
theythemtheir, theirs
whowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhoever
To avoid errors in personal pronoun use, you must understand how to use each case. The
rules are explained below. Relax: They’re actually not difficult at all!
Using the Nominative Case
1.Use the nominative case to show the subject of a verb.
Father and (I, me) like to shop at flea markets.
Answer: Iis the subject of the sentence. Therefore, the pronoun is in the nominative case:
“Father and Ilike to shop at flea markets.”
To help determine the correct pronoun, take away the first subject and try each choice.
See which one sounds better. For example:
9682 Rozakis_02_f.qxd 5/9/03 3:14 PM Page 21
Using Pronouns Correctly
21
Ilike to shop at flea markets.
Melike to shop at flea markets.
The first one definitely sounds better.
Quick Tip
When you list two or more subjects, always put yourself last. Therefore, the
sentence would read “Father and I,” never “I and Father.”
(Who, Whom) do you believe is the better shopper?
Answer: Whois the subject of the verb is.Therefore, the sentence would read, “Whodo
you believe is the better shopper?”
Ignore interrupting expressions such as do you believe, you think, do you suppose(and so
on). They do not affect pronoun case.
2.Use the nominative case for a predicate nominative.
A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and identifies or
renames the subject. Remember that a linking verb connects a subject to a word that
renames it. Linking verbs indicate a state of being (am, is, are, etc.), relate to the senses
(look, smell, taste, etc.), or indicate a condition (appear, seem, become, etc.).
The salesman of the month was (I, me).
Answer:Use I,since the pronoun renames the subject, the salesman of the month. “The
salesman of the month was I.”
Which is correct: “It is I” or “It is me”? Technically, the correct form is “It is I,” since
we’re dealing with a predicate nominative. However, “It is me” (and “It is us”) has
become increasingly acceptable as standard usage.
Using the Objective Case
1.Use the objective case to show a direct object.
A direct objectis a noun or pronoun that receives the action.
John’s suit no longer fits (he, him).
Answer:John’s suit no longer fits him.
(Who, Whom) did she finally invite to the dinner party?
Answer: Sheis the subject, the person doing the action. Therefore, the sentence should
read: “Whomdid she finally invite to the dinner party?”
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22
Of course, she can invite (whoever, whomever) she wants.
Answer:Of course, she can invite whomevershe wants.
Quick Tip
When you have a pronoun combined with a noun (such as we guests, us guests),
try the sentence without the noun. You can usually “hear” which pronoun sounds
right.
It is always a pleasure for weto attend their party.
It is always a pleasure for usto attend their party.
The second sentence is correct.
2.Use the objective case to show an indirect object.
An indirect object tells to or for whom something is done. You can tell a word is an indi-
rect object if you can insert toor forbefore it without changing the meaning. For example:
“The book gave (to) my boss and (to) me some new strategies.”
The bill gave (we, us) a shock.
Answer:The bill gave usa shock.
3.Use the objective case for the object of a preposition.
Remember that a preposition is a small word that links a noun or a pronoun following it
to another word in the sentence.
Sit by (I, me).
Answer: The pronoun is the object of the preposition me, so the sentence reads: “Sit
by me.”
Using the Possessive Case
1.Use the possessive case to show ownership.
The child refused to admit that the sweater was (her’s, hers).
Answer: Hers is the correct spelling of the possessive case, which is needed here to
express ownership (belonging to her). Therefore, the sentence should read: “The child
refused to admit that the sweater was hers.”
2.Use the possessive case before gerunds.
A gerund is a form of a verb that acts as a noun. Gerunds always end in -ing, and they
always function as nouns.
(You, Your) walking in the rain didn’t cause your cold.
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Using Pronouns Correctly
23
Answer:The gerund walkingrequires the possessive pronoun your.Therefore, the sen-
tence should read: “Your walking in the rain didn’t cause your cold.”
Do you mind (my, me) borrowing your cell phone?
Answer:Do you mind myborrowing your cell phone?
3.Use some possessive pronouns alone to show ownership.
This cell phone is mine, not yours.
Three Other Rules for Using Pronouns
Here are three more rules that apply to pronouns and case.
1.A pronoun used in apposition with a noun is in the same case as the noun.
An appositive phraseis a noun or pronoun that adds information and details. Appositives
can often be removed from the sentence, so they are set off with commas. The appositive
in the following sentence is underlined.
Two police officers, Alice and (she, her),
were commended for bravery.
Answer: The pronoun must be in the nominative case (she) because it is in apposition
with the noun police officers, which is in the nominative case. Therefore, the sentence
should read: Two police officers, Alice and
she,were commended for bravery.
Exception: A pronoun used as the subject of an infinitive is in the objective case.For exam-
ple: “Juan expects Luz and (I, me) to host the reception.” The correct pronoun here is me,
since it is the subject of the infinitive to host.
Quick Tip
Pronouns that express ownership never get an apostrophe. Watch for these
possessive pronouns: yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
2.Use -selfforms correctly with reflexive and intensive situations.
As you learned in Chapter 1, reflexive pronouns reflect back to the subject or object.
The child embarrassed himself.
Don’t use reflexive pronouns in place of subjects and objects.
The boss and (myself, I) had a meeting.
Answer:Use the pronoun I,not the reflexive form. Therefore, the sentence reads: “The
boss and Ihad a meeting.”
3. Whois the nominative case; whomis the objective case.
No one will argue that who and whom are the most troublesome pronouns in English.
Even though whoand whomwere discussed earlier in this chapter, these little words cause
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24
such distress that they deserve their own subsection. Let’s start by looking back at our
pronoun-use chart.
NominativeObjectivePossessive
(Subject case)(Object case)(Ownership)
Singularwhowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhosoever
Pluralwhowhomwhose
whoeverwhomeverwhosoever
Now, some guidelines:
Use whoor whoeverwhen the pronoun is the subject of a verb.
Whowon the Nobel Prize this year?
Use whoor whoeverwhen the pronoun is the predicate nominative.
The winner was who?
Use whom or whomever when the pronoun is the direct object of a verb or the object of a
preposition.
Whomdid he fire this week?
Use Correct Pronoun Reference
The meaning of a pronoun comes from its antecedent, the noun or pronoun to which it refers.
Your speech and writing will be confusing if your pronoun reference is unclear.
Carelessly placed pronouns can create unintentionally funny sentences as well as confus-
ing ones. Consider the difference between what the writer thinks he or she said and what is
reallybeing said in the following sentences:
Last week, a wart appeared on my right thumb, and I want it removed.
(Are you removing the wart or the thumb?)
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You must
get rid of them.
(Are you getting rid of the guilt or your friends?)
There are three ways to prevent pronoun confusion.
1.A pronoun must clearly refer to a single antecedent.
2.Place pronouns close to their antecedents.
3.Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent.
Let’s look at each guideline in detail.
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Using Pronouns Correctly
25
1.A pronoun must clearly refer to a single antecedent. A common writing and speech prob-
lem occurs when the same pronoun refers to more than one antecedent. For instance, in the
last example in the previous section, themcan refer to guilt, unkindness,or your friends.
Remember that a pronoun replaces a noun. To make sure that your writing and speech
are clear, always use the noun first before you use the pronoun. Clarify the sentence by
replacing the unclear pronouns with nouns. That way, all the remaining pronouns will
clearly refer to a single antecedent.
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of them.
Here are two ways you could rewrite this sentence:
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of these issues.
Guilt and unkindness can be emotionally destructive to you and your friends. You
must get rid of these destructive emotions.
2.Place pronouns close to their antecedents. If too many phrases come between a pronoun
and its antecedent, the sentence can be difficult to read and understand. This can happen
even if the intervening material is logically related to the rest of the sentence. Consider the
following sentence:
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. At that point, Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials began to pose for pictures. Even so, he did
not join them.
In this sentence he is too far away from its antecedent, the President. One solution is to
replace he with the President. The other solution is to rewrite the sentences to move the
pronoun closer.
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. At that point, Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials began to pose for pictures. Even so, the
President did not join them.
After meeting a few guests, the President entered the reception. He did not join Sen-
ator Chin and the other elected officials, even though they began to pose for pictures.
Quick Tip
When you start a new paragraph, repeat the noun from the previous paragraph
rather than using a pronoun in its place. Repeating the noun (usually a name) can
help your reader more easily follow your logic.
3.Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent. Be sure all pronouns refer to only one
antecedent. The pronouns it, this, that,and whichare especially prone to unclear pronoun
reference. Consider the following sentence:
I told my friends that I was going to be a rock star, which annoyed my mother.
The following form is better because it is less ambiguous:
My mother was annoyed because I told my friends that I was going to be a rock star.
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26
The Generic Masculine Pronoun
Pronouns have number, person, and gender.
DefinitionExample
Number shows amount.Lenny has changed his plans.
(singular or plural)Lenny and Sam have changed their plans.
Person indicates whether the pronoun refers Ilike to read mysteries.
to the first person (I: the person speaking), Youcan get them in the library.
second person (you: the person spoken to), Jillis studying math, which she
or third person (she: person, place, or thingneeds.
spoken about).
Gender may be masculine, feminine, He is a butcher; she is a baker.
or neuter. It is a fine car.
Traditionally, a masculine pronoun was used to refer to a single antecedent whose gender is
not specified.
A student should turn in his assignments on time.
This usage is no longer considered correct, since it is sexist language. You can use both the
masculine and feminine pronouns or recast the sentence to make the pronoun plural:
A student should turn in his or her assignments on time.
Students should turn in their assignments on time.
Which choice is best? Consider rewriting these sentences to make the pronoun plural because
this results in smoother sentences.
Using Who, Which, That
Special rules govern the use of the relative pronouns who, which, and that.
1. Whorefers to people or animals (only animals with names or special talents, like Lassie).
She is not the actress whowas originally cast in the role.
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help you avoid
unnecessary repetition in your writing and speech. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun
it stands for. The noun is called the antecedent.
Although Seattle is damp, it is my favorite city.
antecedentpronoun
There are different kinds of pronouns. Most of them have antecedents, but a few do not.
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Quick Tip
The word antecedentcomes from a Latin word meaning “to go before.” However,
the noun does not have to appear before the pronoun in a sentence. It often does,
though, to keep sentences clear and avoid misreadings.
1. Personal pronouns refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing.
SingularPlural
First personI, me, mine, mywe, us, our, ours
Second personyou, your, yoursyou, your, yours
Third personhe, him, his, she, her, hers, itthey, them, their, theirs, its
2. Possessive pronounsshow ownership. The possessive pronouns are: your, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, their, theirs, whose.
Is this beautiful plant yours?
Yes, it’s ours.
Quick Tip
Don’t confuse personal pronouns with contractions. Personal pronouns never
have an apostrophe, while contractions always have an apostrophe. Use this
chart:
PronounContraction
yoursyou’re (you are)
itsit’s (it is)
theirthey’re (they are)
whosewho’s (who is)
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Parts of Speech
11
3. Reflexive pronounsadd information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun
near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -selfor -selves.
Tricia bought herself a new car.
All her friends enjoyed themselvesriding in the beautiful car.
4. Intensive pronouns also end in -self or -selves but just add emphasis to the noun or pro-
noun.
Tricia herself picked out the car.
5. Demonstrative pronouns direct attention to a specific person, place, or thing. There are
only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those.
Thisis my favorite movie.
That was a fierce rain storm.
6. Relative pronouns begin a subordinate clause. There are five relative pronouns: that,
which, who, whom, those.
Jasper claimed thathe could run the washing machine.
Louise was the repair person whofixed the machine after Jasper washed his sneakers.
SingularPluralSingular or Plural
anotherbothall
anyonefewany
eachmanymore
everyoneothersmost
everybodyseveralnone
everythingsome
much
nobody
nothing
other
someone
anybody
anything
either
little
neither
no one
one
somebody
something
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7. Interrogative pronouns ask a question. They are: what, which, who, whom, whose.
Whowould like to cook dinner?
Which side does the fork go on?
8. Indefinite pronounsrefer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific
one. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed in the chart on the previous page.
Verbs
Verbs name an action or describe a state of being. Every sentence must have a verb. There
are three basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs.
Action Verbs
Action verbs tell what the subject does. The action can be visible (jump, kiss, laugh) or men-
tal (think, learn, study).
The cat brokeLouise’s china.
Louise consideredbuying a new china cabinet.
An action verb can be transitiveor intransitive. Transitive verbs need a direct object.
The boss droppedthe ball.
The workers pickedit up.
Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object.
Who called?
The temperature fellover night.
Quick Tip
To determine if a verb is transitive, ask yourself “Who?” or “What?” after the verb.
If you can find an answer in the sentence, the verb is transitive.
Linking Verbs
Linking verbsjoin the subject and the predicate. They do not show action. Instead, they help
the words at the end of the sentence name or describe the subject. As you read earlier in this
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Parts of Speech
13
chapter, the most common linking verbs include: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear,
sound, stay, look, taste, turn, become. Look for forms of to be, such as am, are, is, was, were,
am being, can be, have been, and so on.
The manager was happy about the job change.
He is a good worker.
Many linking verbs can also be used as action verbs.
Linking: The kids lookedsad.
Action: I lookedfor the dog in the pouring rain.
Quick Tip
To determine whether a verb is being used as a linking verb or an action verb,
substitute am, are,or isfor the verb. If it makes sense, the original verb is a
linking verb.
Helping Verbs
Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping verbs
include any form of to be, do, does, did, have, has, had, shall, should, will, would, can, could,
may, might, must. Verb phrases are made up of one main verb and one or more helping
verbs.
They will runbefore dawn.
They still have not yet found a smooth track.
W
a
r
English has eight parts of speech:
a
s
’
p
t
I
Adjectives
?
Adverbs
?
Conjunctions
?
Interjections
?
Nouns
?
Prepositions
?
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Pronouns
?
Verbs
?
The way a word is used in a sentence determines what part of speech it is.
QUESTIONS
True-False Questions
Test
Yourself
1.A noun names a person, place, or thing.
2.Common nouns name any one of a class of person, place, or thing.
3.Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are never capi-
talized.
4.Plural nouns show ownership.
5.Verbs express action, condition, or state of being.
6.There are six basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, transi-
tive verbs, intransitive verbs, and plural verbs.
7.Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping
verbs include any form of to be.
8.Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns.
9.Never use an adjective after a linking verb.
10.Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
11.All adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.
12.Prepositions link a verb to another word.
13.A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it stands for. The noun is called the
antecedent.
14.Conjunctions connect words or groups of words.
15.Interjections express strong emotions and are usually set off with an exclamation
mark (!).
Completion Questions
Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1.Proper adjectives are formed from (common nouns, proper nouns).
2.The three articles are a, an,and (the, then).
3. Theis called the (indefinite article, definite article).
4.(Predicate adjectives, Proper adjectives), which describe the subject of the sentence,
are adjectives separated from the noun or pronoun by a linking verb.
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Parts of Speech
15
5.(Interjections, Conjunctive adverbs) are used to connect other words and to link
ideas and paragraphs.
6.There are (three, seven) different coordinating conjunctions.
7.Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always
used (in pairs, one at a time).
8.Collective nouns (name groups, show ownership).
9.(I, Which) is a personal pronoun.
10.(Yours, Herself) is a possessive pronoun.
11.Intensive pronouns, unlike reflexive pronouns, (begin a subordinate clause, add
emphasis).
12.(Interrogative pronouns, Indefinite pronouns) ask a question. They are: what, which,
who, whom, whose.
13.Every sentence must have a noun and a (preposition, verb).
14.Action verbs can be visible and (mental, linking).
15.In the sentence “Luis dropped his hat,” the verb dropped is (transitive, intransi-
tive).
16.In the sentence “Nita awoke early,” the verb awoke is (transitive, intransitive).
17.To determine if a verb is transitive, ask yourself (“Who?”/“What?”, “How many?”)
after the verb.
18.(Helping verbs, Linking verbs) join the subject and the predicate and do not show
action.
19.Helping verbs, which are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer, can
include any form of (to be, to see).
20.In the sentence “I traded my sandwich for three oatmeal cookies,” the word oatmeal
is a/n (noun, adjective).
Multiple-Choice Questions
Identify the part of speech for the underlined word in each sentence.
1.The outside
of the boat needs scraping.
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
help.
2.You should scrape the boat without outside
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
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16
3.Let’s sit outsideand laugh at you as you work in the blazing sun.
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
the yard, next to the beehive.
4.The ambulance is parked right outside
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
mistakes.
5.The politician repented of his past
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
the store with the neon sign in the window.
6.Turn right past
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
7.Did you hear that song before?
(a)Conjunction
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
what you start.
8.Always follow through with
(a)Interjection
(b)Conjunction
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
one ear and out the other.
9.The remark went right through
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Conjunction
(d)Preposition
he reread Lady Chatterly’s Lover.
10.The gardener mowed the lawn after
(a)Conjunction
(b)Adjective
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Parts of Speech
17
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
ANSWER KEY
True-False Questions
1. T2. T3. F4. F5. T6. F7. T8. T9. F10. T11. F12. F
13. T14. T15. T
Completion Questions
1. proper nouns2. the3. definite article4. Predicate adjectives5. Conjunc-
tive adverbs6. seven7. in pairs8. name groups9. I10. Yours11. add
emphasis12. Interrogative pronouns13. verb14. mental15. transitive
16. intransitive17. “Who?”/“What?”18. Linking verbs19. to be20. adjective
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. a2. b3. c4. d5. b6. d7. c8. c9. d10. a
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help you avoid
unnecessary repetition in your writing and speech. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun
it stands for. The noun is called the antecedent.
Although Seattle is damp, it is my favorite city.
antecedentpronoun
There are different kinds of pronouns. Most of them have antecedents, but a few do not.
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Quick Tip
The word antecedentcomes from a Latin word meaning “to go before.” However,
the noun does not have to appear before the pronoun in a sentence. It often does,
though, to keep sentences clear and avoid misreadings.
1. Personal pronouns refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing.
SingularPlural
First personI, me, mine, mywe, us, our, ours
Second personyou, your, yoursyou, your, yours
Third personhe, him, his, she, her, hers, itthey, them, their, theirs, its
2. Possessive pronounsshow ownership. The possessive pronouns are: your, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, their, theirs, whose.
Is this beautiful plant yours?
Yes, it’s ours.
Quick Tip
Don’t confuse personal pronouns with contractions. Personal pronouns never
have an apostrophe, while contractions always have an apostrophe. Use this
chart:
PronounContraction
yoursyou’re (you are)
itsit’s (it is)
theirthey’re (they are)
whosewho’s (who is)
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Parts of Speech
11
3. Reflexive pronounsadd information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun
near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -selfor -selves.
Tricia bought herself a new car.
All her friends enjoyed themselvesriding in the beautiful car.
4. Intensive pronouns also end in -self or -selves but just add emphasis to the noun or pro-
noun.
Tricia herself picked out the car.
5. Demonstrative pronouns direct attention to a specific person, place, or thing. There are
only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those.
Thisis my favorite movie.
That was a fierce rain storm.
6. Relative pronouns begin a subordinate clause. There are five relative pronouns: that,
which, who, whom, those.
Jasper claimed thathe could run the washing machine.
Louise was the repair person whofixed the machine after Jasper washed his sneakers.
SingularPluralSingular or Plural
anotherbothall
anyonefewany
eachmanymore
everyoneothersmost
everybodyseveralnone
everythingsome
much
nobody
nothing
other
someone
anybody
anything
either
little
neither
no one
one
somebody
something
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12
7. Interrogative pronouns ask a question. They are: what, which, who, whom, whose.
Whowould like to cook dinner?
Which side does the fork go on?
8. Indefinite pronounsrefer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific
one. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed in the chart on the previous page.
Verbs
Verbs name an action or describe a state of being. Every sentence must have a verb. There
are three basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs.
Action Verbs
Action verbs tell what the subject does. The action can be visible (jump, kiss, laugh) or men-
tal (think, learn, study).
The cat brokeLouise’s china.
Louise consideredbuying a new china cabinet.
An action verb can be transitiveor intransitive. Transitive verbs need a direct object.
The boss droppedthe ball.
The workers pickedit up.
Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object.
Who called?
The temperature fellover night.
Quick Tip
To determine if a verb is transitive, ask yourself “Who?” or “What?” after the verb.
If you can find an answer in the sentence, the verb is transitive.
Linking Verbs
Linking verbsjoin the subject and the predicate. They do not show action. Instead, they help
the words at the end of the sentence name or describe the subject. As you read earlier in this
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Parts of Speech
13
chapter, the most common linking verbs include: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear,
sound, stay, look, taste, turn, become. Look for forms of to be, such as am, are, is, was, were,
am being, can be, have been, and so on.
The manager was happy about the job change.
He is a good worker.
Many linking verbs can also be used as action verbs.
Linking: The kids lookedsad.
Action: I lookedfor the dog in the pouring rain.
Quick Tip
To determine whether a verb is being used as a linking verb or an action verb,
substitute am, are,or isfor the verb. If it makes sense, the original verb is a
linking verb.
Helping Verbs
Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping verbs
include any form of to be, do, does, did, have, has, had, shall, should, will, would, can, could,
may, might, must. Verb phrases are made up of one main verb and one or more helping
verbs.
They will runbefore dawn.
They still have not yet found a smooth track.
W
a
r
English has eight parts of speech:
a
s
’
p
t
I
Adjectives
?
Adverbs
?
Conjunctions
?
Interjections
?
Nouns
?
Prepositions
?
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14
Pronouns
?
Verbs
?
The way a word is used in a sentence determines what part of speech it is.
QUESTIONS
True-False Questions
Test
Yourself
1.A noun names a person, place, or thing.
2.Common nouns name any one of a class of person, place, or thing.
3.Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are never capi-
talized.
4.Plural nouns show ownership.
5.Verbs express action, condition, or state of being.
6.There are six basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, transi-
tive verbs, intransitive verbs, and plural verbs.
7.Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping
verbs include any form of to be.
8.Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns.
9.Never use an adjective after a linking verb.
10.Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
11.All adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.
12.Prepositions link a verb to another word.
13.A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it stands for. The noun is called the
antecedent.
14.Conjunctions connect words or groups of words.
15.Interjections express strong emotions and are usually set off with an exclamation
mark (!).
Completion Questions
Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1.Proper adjectives are formed from (common nouns, proper nouns).
2.The three articles are a, an,and (the, then).
3. Theis called the (indefinite article, definite article).
4.(Predicate adjectives, Proper adjectives), which describe the subject of the sentence,
are adjectives separated from the noun or pronoun by a linking verb.
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Parts of Speech
15
5.(Interjections, Conjunctive adverbs) are used to connect other words and to link
ideas and paragraphs.
6.There are (three, seven) different coordinating conjunctions.
7.Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always
used (in pairs, one at a time).
8.Collective nouns (name groups, show ownership).
9.(I, Which) is a personal pronoun.
10.(Yours, Herself) is a possessive pronoun.
11.Intensive pronouns, unlike reflexive pronouns, (begin a subordinate clause, add
emphasis).
12.(Interrogative pronouns, Indefinite pronouns) ask a question. They are: what, which,
who, whom, whose.
13.Every sentence must have a noun and a (preposition, verb).
14.Action verbs can be visible and (mental, linking).
15.In the sentence “Luis dropped his hat,” the verb dropped is (transitive, intransi-
tive).
16.In the sentence “Nita awoke early,” the verb awoke is (transitive, intransitive).
17.To determine if a verb is transitive, ask yourself (“Who?”/“What?”, “How many?”)
after the verb.
18.(Helping verbs, Linking verbs) join the subject and the predicate and do not show
action.
19.Helping verbs, which are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer, can
include any form of (to be, to see).
20.In the sentence “I traded my sandwich for three oatmeal cookies,” the word oatmeal
is a/n (noun, adjective).
Multiple-Choice Questions
Identify the part of speech for the underlined word in each sentence.
1.The outside
of the boat needs scraping.
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
help.
2.You should scrape the boat without outside
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
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16
3.Let’s sit outsideand laugh at you as you work in the blazing sun.
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
the yard, next to the beehive.
4.The ambulance is parked right outside
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
mistakes.
5.The politician repented of his past
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
the store with the neon sign in the window.
6.Turn right past
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
7.Did you hear that song before?
(a)Conjunction
(b)Adjective
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
what you start.
8.Always follow through with
(a)Interjection
(b)Conjunction
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
one ear and out the other.
9.The remark went right through
(a)Noun
(b)Adjective
(c)Conjunction
(d)Preposition
he reread Lady Chatterly’s Lover.
10.The gardener mowed the lawn after
(a)Conjunction
(b)Adjective
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Parts of Speech
17
(c)Adverb
(d)Preposition
ANSWER KEY
True-False Questions
1. T2. T3. F4. F5. T6. F7. T8. T9. F10. T11. F12. F
13. T14. T15. T
Completion Questions
1. proper nouns2. the3. definite article4. Predicate adjectives5. Conjunc-
tive adverbs6. seven7. in pairs8. name groups9. I10. Yours11. add
emphasis12. Interrogative pronouns13. verb14. mental15. transitive
16. intransitive17. “Who?”/“What?”18. Linking verbs19. to be20. adjective
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. a2. b3. c4. d5. b6. d7. c8. c9. d10. a
Nouns
Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns come in these varieties: com-
mon nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, and collective nouns.
1. Common nounsname any one of a class of person, place, or thing.
girlcityfood
2. Proper nounsname a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized.
BarbaraNew York CityRice-a-Roni
3. Compound nounsare two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound noun
can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two words combined.
Individual words:time capsule
Hyphenated words:great-uncle
Combined words:basketball
4. Collective nounsname groups of people or things.
audiencefamilyherdcrowd
Possessive Nouns
In grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to create possessive nouns.
1.With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s.
dog ?dog’s bone
singer ?singer’s voice
2.With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s.
dogs ?dogs’ bones
singers ?singers’ voices
3.With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and an s.
men ?men’s books
mice ?mice’s tails
Plural Nouns
Here are the guidelines for creating plural nouns.
1.Add sto form the plural of most nouns.
cat ?catscomputer ?computers
2.Add esif the noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x.
wish ?wishesinch ?inchesbox ?boxes
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Parts of Speech
9
3.If a noun ends in consonant -y, change the y to iand add es.
city ?citieslady ?ladies
4.If a noun ends in vowel -y,add s.Words ending in -quydon’t follow this rule (as in solilo-
quies).
essay ?essaysmonkey ?monkeys
Prepositions
Prepositions link a noun or a pronoun following it to another word in the sentence. Use this
chart to help you recognize some of the most common prepositions:
aboutaboveacrossafteragainstalong
amidaroundasatbeforebehind
belowbeneathbesidebetweenbeyondbut
bydespitedownduringexceptfor
fromininsideintolikenear
onontoofoffoppositeout
outsideoverpastsincethroughto
towardunderunderneathuntiluponwith
A noun or pronoun always follows a preposition. A prepositional phraseis a preposition and
its object. A prepositional phrase can be two or three words long.
on the wingin the door
However, prepositional phrases also can be much longer, depending on the length of the
preposition and the number of words that describe the object of the preposition.
near the violently swaying oak trees
on account of his nearly depleted bank account
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns come in these varieties: com-
mon nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, and collective nouns.
1. Common nounsname any one of a class of person, place, or thing.
girlcityfood
2. Proper nounsname a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized.
BarbaraNew York CityRice-a-Roni
3. Compound nounsare two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound noun
can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two words combined.
Individual words:time capsule
Hyphenated words:great-uncle
Combined words:basketball
4. Collective nounsname groups of people or things.
audiencefamilyherdcrowd
Possessive Nouns
In grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to create possessive nouns.
1.With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s.
dog ?dog’s bone
singer ?singer’s voice
2.With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s.
dogs ?dogs’ bones
singers ?singers’ voices
3.With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and an s.
men ?men’s books
mice ?mice’s tails
Plural Nouns
Here are the guidelines for creating plural nouns.
1.Add sto form the plural of most nouns.
cat ?catscomputer ?computers
2.Add esif the noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x.
wish ?wishesinch ?inchesbox ?boxes
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Parts of Speech
9
3.If a noun ends in consonant -y, change the y to iand add es.
city ?citieslady ?ladies
4.If a noun ends in vowel -y,add s.Words ending in -quydon’t follow this rule (as in solilo-
quies).
essay ?essaysmonkey ?monkeys
Prepositions
Prepositions link a noun or a pronoun following it to another word in the sentence. Use this
chart to help you recognize some of the most common prepositions:
aboutaboveacrossafteragainstalong
amidaroundasatbeforebehind
belowbeneathbesidebetweenbeyondbut
bydespitedownduringexceptfor
fromininsideintolikenear
onontoofoffoppositeout
outsideoverpastsincethroughto
towardunderunderneathuntiluponwith
A noun or pronoun always follows a preposition. A prepositional phraseis a preposition and
its object. A prepositional phrase can be two or three words long.
on the wingin the door
However, prepositional phrases also can be much longer, depending on the length of the
preposition and the number of words that describe the object of the preposition.
near the violently swaying oak trees
on account of his nearly depleted bank account
Interjections show strong emotion
Interjections
Interjections show strong emotion. Since interjections are not linked grammatically to othe
words in the sentence, they are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or an excla
mation mark. For example:
Oh! What a shock you gave me with that gorilla suit.
Wow!That’s not a gorilla suit!
Interjections show strong emotion. Since interjections are not linked grammatically to othe
words in the sentence, they are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or an excla
mation mark. For example:
Oh! What a shock you gave me with that gorilla suit.
Wow!That’s not a gorilla suit!
2. Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always used
in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:
both...andeither...or
neither...nor not only...but alsowhether...or
3. Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause (complete sentence) to a depen-
dent clause (fragment). Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:
afteralthoughasas if
as long asas soon asas thoughbecause
beforeeven thoughifin order that
sinceso thatthoughtill
unlessuntilwhenwhenever
wherewherever
in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:
both...andeither...or
neither...nor not only...but alsowhether...or
3. Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause (complete sentence) to a depen-
dent clause (fragment). Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:
afteralthoughasas if
as long asas soon asas thoughbecause
beforeeven thoughifin order that
sinceso thatthoughtill
unlessuntilwhenwhenever
wherewherever
2. Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always used
in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:
both...andeither...or
neither...nor not only...but alsowhether...or
3. Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause (complete sentence) to a depen-
dent clause (fragment). Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:
afteralthoughasas if
as long asas soon asas thoughbecause
beforeeven thoughifin order that
sinceso thatthoughtill
unlessuntilwhenwhenever
wherewherever
in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:
both...andeither...or
neither...nor not only...but alsowhether...or
3. Subordinating conjunctions link an independent clause (complete sentence) to a depen-
dent clause (fragment). Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:
afteralthoughasas if
as long asas soon asas thoughbecause
beforeeven thoughifin order that
sinceso thatthoughtill
unlessuntilwhenwhenever
wherewherever
Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how the words are related.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how the words are related. There
are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions,and sub-
ordinating conjunctions.
1. Coordinating conjunctions link similar words or word groups. There are seven coordinat-
ing conjunctions:
forandnorbutoryetso
Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how the words are related. There
are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions,and sub-
ordinating conjunctions.
1. Coordinating conjunctions link similar words or word groups. There are seven coordinat-
ing conjunctions:
forandnorbutoryetso
Here are some of the most common non-lyadverbs:
Here are some of the most common non-lyadverbs:
afterwardalmostalreadyalsobackeven
farfasthardherehowlate
longlowmorenearnevernext
nowoftenquickratherslowsoon
stillthentodaytomorrowtoowhen
whereyesterday
Follow these guidelines when you use adverbs:
Use an adverb to describe a verb.
Experiments using dynamite must be done carefully.
verbadv.
Use an adverb to describe an adjective.
Sam had an unbelievably huge appetite for chips.
adv.adj.
Use an adverb to describe another adverb.
They sang so clearly.
adv.adv.
Tip
Conjunctive adverbsare used to connect other words and to link ideas and
paragraphs.
accordinglyagainalsobesides
afterwardalmostalreadyalsobackeven
farfasthardherehowlate
longlowmorenearnevernext
nowoftenquickratherslowsoon
stillthentodaytomorrowtoowhen
whereyesterday
Follow these guidelines when you use adverbs:
Use an adverb to describe a verb.
Experiments using dynamite must be done carefully.
verbadv.
Use an adverb to describe an adjective.
Sam had an unbelievably huge appetite for chips.
adv.adj.
Use an adverb to describe another adverb.
They sang so clearly.
adv.adv.
Tip
Conjunctive adverbsare used to connect other words and to link ideas and
paragraphs.
accordinglyagainalsobesides
Adverbs are words that describe verbs
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer the
questions: When? Where? How? or To what extent?
When?left yesterdaybegin now
Where?fell belowmove up
How?happily sangdanced badly
To what extent?partly finishedeat completely
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer the
questions: When? Where? How? or To what extent?
When?left yesterdaybegin now
Where?fell belowmove up
How?happily sangdanced badly
To what extent?partly finishedeat completely
Indefinite adjectivesdon’t specify the specific amount of something.
5. Indefinite adjectivesdon’t specify the specific amount of something.
allanotheranyboth
eacheitherfewmany
moremostneitherother
severalsome
Follow these guidelines when you use adjectives:
1.Use an adjective to describe a noun or a pronoun.
Jesse was unwillingto leave the circus.
nounadj.adj.noun
2.Use vivid adjectives to make your writing more specific and descriptive.
Take a larger slice of the lusciouscake.
adj.nounadj.noun
3.Use an adjective after a linking verb. A linking verb connects a subject with a descriptive
word. The most common linking verbs are be (is, am, are, was, were, and so on), seem,
appear, look, feel, smell, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, stay, and turn.
Chicken made this way tastesmore delicious(not deliciously).
allanotheranyboth
eacheitherfewmany
moremostneitherother
severalsome
Follow these guidelines when you use adjectives:
1.Use an adjective to describe a noun or a pronoun.
Jesse was unwillingto leave the circus.
nounadj.adj.noun
2.Use vivid adjectives to make your writing more specific and descriptive.
Take a larger slice of the lusciouscake.
adj.nounadj.noun
3.Use an adjective after a linking verb. A linking verb connects a subject with a descriptive
word. The most common linking verbs are be (is, am, are, was, were, and so on), seem,
appear, look, feel, smell, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, stay, and turn.
Chicken made this way tastesmore delicious(not deliciously).
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the questions:
What kind? How much? Which one? How many? For example:
What kind? red nose goldring
How much? moresugar littleeffort
Which one? secondchance thosechocolates
How many? several chances sixbooks
There are five kinds of adjectives: common adjectives, proper adjectives, compound adjec-
tives, articles, and indefinite adjectives.
1. Common adjectivesdescribe nouns or pronouns.
strong man
greenplant
beautifulview
2. Proper adjectivesare formed from proper nouns.
Californiavegetables (from the noun “California”)
Mexicanfood (from the noun “Mexico”)
3. Compound adjectivesare made up of more than one word.
far-off country
teenageperson
4. Articles are a special type of adjective. There are three articles: a, an, the.
Theis called a “definite article” because it refers to a specific thing.
A and an are called “indefinite articles” because they refer to general things. Use a with
consonant sounds; use an before vowel sounds.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the questions:
What kind? How much? Which one? How many? For example:
What kind? red nose goldring
How much? moresugar littleeffort
Which one? secondchance thosechocolates
How many? several chances sixbooks
There are five kinds of adjectives: common adjectives, proper adjectives, compound adjec-
tives, articles, and indefinite adjectives.
1. Common adjectivesdescribe nouns or pronouns.
strong man
greenplant
beautifulview
2. Proper adjectivesare formed from proper nouns.
Californiavegetables (from the noun “California”)
Mexicanfood (from the noun “Mexico”)
3. Compound adjectivesare made up of more than one word.
far-off country
teenageperson
4. Articles are a special type of adjective. There are three articles: a, an, the.
Theis called a “definite article” because it refers to a specific thing.
A and an are called “indefinite articles” because they refer to general things. Use a with
consonant sounds; use an before vowel sounds.
Choosing the Appropriate Level of Diction
Choosing the Appropriate Level of Diction
Less Is More: Be Concise
Three Ways to Write Concise Sentences
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Words and Expressions to Avoid
Use Nonbiased Language
Replace Clichés with Fresh Expressions
Avoid Empty Language
George Orwell on Style
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Less Is More: Be Concise
Three Ways to Write Concise Sentences
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Words and Expressions to Avoid
Use Nonbiased Language
Replace Clichés with Fresh Expressions
Avoid Empty Language
George Orwell on Style
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Commas
Commas
Dashes
Ellipsis
Exclamation Marks
Hyphens
Parentheses
Periods
Question Marks
Quotation Marks
Semicolons
Slashes
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Capitalization and Abbreviations
Avoiding Capital Offenses: The Rules of Capitalization
Capitalize Names and Titles
Capitalize Names of Places and Events
Capitalize Names of Languages and Religions
Capitalize Proper Adjectives and Product Names
Capitalize Names of Organizations, Institutions, Courses, and
Capitalize Names of Days, Months, and Holidays
Capitalize Time and Other Proper Nouns
Capitalize the First Word of . . .
Good Things Come in Small Packages: The Rules of Abbrevia
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
STRUTTIN’ YOUR STUFF WITH STYLE
Developing Your Own Writing Style
What is Stylein Writing?
The Elements of Style
Audience and Style
Purpose and Style
Developing Your Style
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Diction and Conciseness
What is Diction?
Levels of Diction
Dashes
Ellipsis
Exclamation Marks
Hyphens
Parentheses
Periods
Question Marks
Quotation Marks
Semicolons
Slashes
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Capitalization and Abbreviations
Avoiding Capital Offenses: The Rules of Capitalization
Capitalize Names and Titles
Capitalize Names of Places and Events
Capitalize Names of Languages and Religions
Capitalize Proper Adjectives and Product Names
Capitalize Names of Organizations, Institutions, Courses, and
Capitalize Names of Days, Months, and Holidays
Capitalize Time and Other Proper Nouns
Capitalize the First Word of . . .
Good Things Come in Small Packages: The Rules of Abbrevia
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
STRUTTIN’ YOUR STUFF WITH STYLE
Developing Your Own Writing Style
What is Stylein Writing?
The Elements of Style
Audience and Style
Purpose and Style
Developing Your Style
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Diction and Conciseness
What is Diction?
Levels of Diction
Improve Your Writing, One Step at a Time
Improve Your Writing, One Step at a Time
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
SENTENCE SENSE
Phrases and Clauses
Overview of Phrases
Prepositional Phrases
Appositives and Appositive Phrases
Verbal Phrases
Infinitive Phrases
Overview of Clauses
Dependent Clauses
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Writing Correct and Complete Sentences
What Is a Sentence?
The Four Different Sentence Functions
The Four Different Sentence Types
Choosing Sentence Types
Sentence Errors: Run-on Sentences and Comma Splic
Sentence Errors: Fragments
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Sentence Coordination and Subordination
Coordinating Sentence Parts
Subordinating Sentence Parts
Coordination versus Subordination
Parallel Structure
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
A WRITER’S TOOLS
Punctuation
Apostrophes
Brackets
Colons
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
SENTENCE SENSE
Phrases and Clauses
Overview of Phrases
Prepositional Phrases
Appositives and Appositive Phrases
Verbal Phrases
Infinitive Phrases
Overview of Clauses
Dependent Clauses
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Writing Correct and Complete Sentences
What Is a Sentence?
The Four Different Sentence Functions
The Four Different Sentence Types
Choosing Sentence Types
Sentence Errors: Run-on Sentences and Comma Splic
Sentence Errors: Fragments
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Sentence Coordination and Subordination
Coordinating Sentence Parts
Subordinating Sentence Parts
Coordination versus Subordination
Parallel Structure
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
A WRITER’S TOOLS
Punctuation
Apostrophes
Brackets
Colons
Using Who, Which, That
Using Who, Which, That 26
It’s a Wrap27
Test Yourself27
Using Verbs Correctly31
Overview of Verb Functions32
The Six Verb Tenses32
Regular and Irregular Verbs33
How to Use Tenses37
Active and Passive Voice39
It’s a Wrap40
Test Yourself40
USAGE AND ABUSAGE45
Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly47
Is It an Adjective or an Adverb?48
Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees of Comparisons49
Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs51
Using Predicate Adjectives after Linking Verbs52
Double Negatives54
It’s a Wrap55
Test Yourself55
Agreement: Matching Sentence Parts61
Like Peas in a Pod62
A Singular Subject Must Have a Singular Verb63
A Plural Subject Must Have a Plural Verb65
Collective Nouns and Indefinite Pronouns66
Special Problems in Agreement69
Agreement of Pronouns and Antecedents70
It’s a Wrap71
Test Yourself71
The 25 Most Common Usage Problems77
Top Trouble Spots in Writing78
Most Common Grammar and Usage Errors79
Most Common Sentence Errors83
Most Common Spelling Errors83
Most Common Punctuation Errors92
Most Common Capitalization Errors93
Most Common Proofreading Errors93
It’s a Wrap27
Test Yourself27
Using Verbs Correctly31
Overview of Verb Functions32
The Six Verb Tenses32
Regular and Irregular Verbs33
How to Use Tenses37
Active and Passive Voice39
It’s a Wrap40
Test Yourself40
USAGE AND ABUSAGE45
Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly47
Is It an Adjective or an Adverb?48
Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees of Comparisons49
Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs51
Using Predicate Adjectives after Linking Verbs52
Double Negatives54
It’s a Wrap55
Test Yourself55
Agreement: Matching Sentence Parts61
Like Peas in a Pod62
A Singular Subject Must Have a Singular Verb63
A Plural Subject Must Have a Plural Verb65
Collective Nouns and Indefinite Pronouns66
Special Problems in Agreement69
Agreement of Pronouns and Antecedents70
It’s a Wrap71
Test Yourself71
The 25 Most Common Usage Problems77
Top Trouble Spots in Writing78
Most Common Grammar and Usage Errors79
Most Common Sentence Errors83
Most Common Spelling Errors83
Most Common Punctuation Errors92
Most Common Capitalization Errors93
Most Common Proofreading Errors93
WELCOME TO GRAMMARLAND
PART 1WELCOME TO GRAMMARLAND
Chapter 1Parts of Speech
Adjectives
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Interjections
Nouns
Prepositions
Pronouns
Verbs
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Chapter 2Using Pronouns Correctly
Overview of Pronoun Case
Using the Nominative Case
Using the Objective Case
Using the Possessive Case
Three Other Rules for Using Pronouns
Use Correct Pronoun Reference
The Generic Masculine Pronoun
Chapter 1Parts of Speech
Adjectives
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Interjections
Nouns
Prepositions
Pronouns
Verbs
It’s a Wrap
Test Yourself
Chapter 2Using Pronouns Correctly
Overview of Pronoun Case
Using the Nominative Case
Using the Objective Case
Using the Possessive Case
Three Other Rules for Using Pronouns
Use Correct Pronoun Reference
The Generic Masculine Pronoun
TOEFL SPEAKING Section 2
TOEFL SPEAKING Section 2
1. Some students prefer to attend universities in big cities, while others choose small towns for their higher education. Which do you prefer and why?
2. Some people make decisions instantly. Others only decide after thinking about their choice for a long time. Which approach do you think is better and why?
3. Some people try to perform several tasks at once while others prefer to concentrate on one specific task at a time. Which approach do you think is more effective and why?
4. Some schools offer field trips to zoos and other schools offer field trips to natural history museums. Which do you think is better for students and why?
5. Some companies require their employees to wear formal business attire. Others allow casual dress. Which do you prefer and why?
6. Some people like to eat out while others like to cook at home. Which do you think is better and why? Include details and examples in your explanation.
7. Some people enjoy traveling around their own countries while others prefer traveling abroad. Which do you prefer and why?
8. Some people like to communicate face-to-face while others like to communicate through e-mail. Which method do you prefer and why?
9. Some university students are supported financially by their parents, while others support themselves with part-time jobs. Which do you think is more beneficial for students and why?
10. Some people prefer to take public transportation to work or school. Others like to drive their own cars. Which do you prefer? Include details and examples in your explanation.
TOEFL SPEAKING Section 7
101. What do you consider your most important achievement? Explain why you are proud of it. Use details and examples in your explanation.
102. Choose a place in your home country that you would recommend that a foreign friend visit. Why is that place a must-see? Include details and examples to support your explanation.
103. Describe your favorite food from your native country, and explain why it’s favorite. Include details and examples to support your explanation.
104. Describe an important friend in your life. Why is this person significant to you? Include details and examples to support your explanation.
105. What is the most meaningful gift you have ever received? Why is that gift special to you? Please include specific details and examples in your explanation.
106. Describe one historical figure you would like to meet and explain why. Include specific details and examples in your explanation.
TOEFL SPEAKING Section 4
68. Describe about the transportation in your country.
69. Which is the most favored sport in your country?
70. What is the most effective transportation in you country?
71. Describe the book that you found most interesting. Why?
72. What is the book that you want to recommend to others?
73. Describe the memorable class in your life. Why is it memorable?
74. Describe the memorable event from the school you had attended. Why?
75. What could be the most important quality of a good teacher/leader/friend/neighbor?
76. Describe the city attractions you live in. Explain with details and examples.
77. Describe an important holiday in your country. Why do you think it is memorable?
78. Describe the festival you had experienced. Why is it memorable?
79. Describe the season you like the most.
80. What is the most memorable social event in your country?
81. Which could be the best invention of the mankind? Why?
82. What is your favorite sport?/pastime?
83. What is the best way to stay healthy?
84. Describe the type of food that you think is most representative of your country.
85. What is the best way for you to relax after studying hard?
86. Among the latest piece of artworks such as music, poems, or paintings, choose one that was the most impressive.
87. What is favorite room in your house? / Choose the most important room in your house and explain why it’s important to you. Include specific details and examples in your explanation.
88. What is your favorite movie genre?
89. What do you think is the most influential invention in our lives?
90. Choose one your writings such as poetry, letters, or essays and explain why it is important to you.
91. Describe a famous person that you admire and explain why.
92. Choose one natural environment such as mountain or river that you want to live.
93. Describe the moment you asked for help.
94. What is the job of career you admire most, but not want yourself to be.
95. What is a good quality for school and why? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice.
96. Which form of transportation such as bicycle, train, or car is the most enjoyable?
97. Among many skills or fields of studies that you haven’t learned, choose one that you want to learn. Explain why?
98. Among computer, TV, telephone, choose the best invention.
99. Describe a special person who you are talking with.
100. What is the most popular sport and game in your country?
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