Transcript Document 386693

Daily Language Workouts
Days 41-55
Day 41
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Edit:
My grandmother, from who I’ve learned alot, says
that frowning is harder then smiling because it uses
three times as many muscles.
Notes:
A verb must agree with its subject in number.
(i.e. The child takes a nap. Singular)
(i.e. The children take a nap. Plural)
Corrected Sentence
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My grandmother, from whom I’ve learned a
lot, says that frowning is harder than smiling
because frowning uses three times as many
muscles.
Day 42
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Edit:
On our tour of the movie studio, dad and myself
learned that in the original King Kong movie, the
figure of the giant gorilla was achually an 18 inch
model.
Notes:
The number of the subject is NOT changed by a
phrase or clause following the subject.
(i.e. The short stories in the anthology are by
various contemporary American writers.)
Corrected Sentence
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On our tour of the movie studio, Dad and I
learned that in the original King Kong movie,
the figure of the giant gorilla was actually an
18-inch model.
Day 43
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Ms. Murati loaned Ngoni and myself a book on the
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, was the fire
an accident or a criminal act.
Notes:
A compound subject that is joined by and or
both…and is plural unless its parts belong to one
unit.
(i.e. The Tigris and the Euphrates flow through
southwestern Asia.)
Corrected Sentence
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Ms. Murati loaned Ngoni and me a book on
the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.
Was the fire an accident or a criminal act?
Day 44
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If you try swimming in the dead sea, located
between Israel and Jordan, you’ll find you cannot
remain submerged for long because it is 25% salt.
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Notes:
With compound subjects joined by or or nor (or by
either…or or neither…nor), the verb agrees with the
subject closer to it.
(i.e. Either the tortoise or the hare wins the race.)
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Corrected Sentence
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If you try swimming in the Dead Sea, located
between Israel and Jordan, you’ll find you
cannot remain submerged for long because
the Dead Sea is 25 percent salt.
Day 45
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Whomever wants good service should not go to big
impersonal stores where it’s hard to find indavidual
attention.
Notes:
A collective noun names a group of persons, things,
or animals.
Use a singular verb when referring to a group as a
whole. (i.e. The chorus sings beautifully.)
Use a plural verb when referring to each member of
a group doing something individually. (i.e. The
chorus have separate parts to learn.)
Corrected Sentence
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Whoever wants good service should not go to
big, impersonal stores where it’s hard to find
individual attention.
Day 46
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Edit:
Breatheing and swallowing is impossible to do simultanyously, set down
and try it sometime.
Notes:
Certain nouns that end in s, such as mathematics, molasses, and news,
require singular verbs. (i.e. The news arrives later here.)
Certain others nouns that end in s, such as scissors, pants, binoculars, and
eyeglasses, require plural verbs. (Binoculars are handy for birdwatching.)
Many other nouns that end in s, such as mumps, measles, ethics, statistics,
and politics, depending on the meaning, may require a singular or plural
verb. (i.e. Mumps is contagious.)
Corrected Sentence
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Breathing and swallowing are impossible to
do simultaneously. Sit down and try it
sometime.
Day 47
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Edit:
Niether soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev nor the
countrys most powerful generals are able to prevent
the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 1990.
Notes:
These are considered singular: another, anyone,
anybody, anything, each, either, everybody,
everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one,
nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something
Corrected Sentence
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Neither Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev nor
the country’s most powerful generals were
able to prevent the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1989-1990.
Day 48
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Edit:
3 layers of paint lies under the surface of the Mona
Lisa, the famus painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
Notes:
When a plural noun of amount refers to one unit, it
acts as a singular subject. (i.e. Eight dollars is the
cost of the ticket.)
When it refers to individual units, it acts as a plural
subject. (i.e. Eight dollars lie on the table.)
Corrected Sentence
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Three layers of paint lie under the surface of
the Mona Lisa, the famous painting by
Leonardo da Vinci.
Day 49
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Edit:
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Everybody fighting the battle of the bulge know that
celery is on the side of thin people everywhere and
that chewing a stalk of celery took more energy then
the celery itself contains, but don’t pass the salt or
the peanut butter!
Notes:
These are always plural: both, few, many, others,
several. (Few are coming to the party.)
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Corrected Sentence
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Everybody fighting the battle of the bulge
knows that celery is on the side of thin people
everywhere. Chewing a stalk of celery takes
more energy than the celery itself contains,
but don’t pass the salt or peanut butter!
Day 50
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Edit:
In business its good to remember the following
words attributed to Dale Carnegie: “A persons name
are to that person the sweetest and most important
sound in any language.
Notes:
These words could be either singular or plural
depending on the phrase that follows them: all, any,
enough, most, much, none, some. (None of the
candy was left. None of the sweets were left.)
Corrected Sentence
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In business it’s good to remember the
following words attributed to Dale Carnegie:
“A person’s name is to that person the
sweetest and most important sound in any
language.”
Day 51
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Edit:
Can I remind all of you whom are ready to risk your
savings on high-risk, high-return stocks that
economics have sometimes been called the “gloomy
science?” 
Notes: Both “who” and “whom” are pronouns.
Substitute “he/she” for who and “him/her” for
whom.
“Whom” often follows prepositions such as “to, for,
with, or from.”
Corrected Sentence
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May I remind all of you who are ready to risk
your savings on high-risk, high-return stocks
that economics has sometimes been called the
“gloomy science”?
Day 52
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Edit:
Diseases like mumps and measles and the flu
is sometimes deadly, influenza in fact kills
20,000,000 people in the United States and
Europe between 1918 and 1919.
Notes: Be careful with the tenses (past and
present) of your verbs.
Corrected Sentence
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Diseases like mumps and measles and the flu
are sometimes deadly; influenza, in fact,
killed 20 million people in the United States
and Europe between 1918 and 1919.
Day 53
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Edit:
Duke Ellington is one of the musitions whom
is associated with a time in history known as
the harlem renaissance.
Notes: Avoid ending sentences in
prepositions. (i.e. What are you going to the
store for?)
(correct-For what are you going to the store?)
Corrected Sentence
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Duke Ellington is one of the musicians who
are associated with a time in history known as
the Harlem Renaissance.
Day 54
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Edit:
This is another one of the books that was written by
the author of Equal opportunities: everybodys’
Right.
Notes:
To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add
‘s. (i.e. The mayor’s desk, a dollar’s worth)
To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending
in s, add an ‘. (i.e. Birds’ feathers, watches’ prices)
Corrected Sentence
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This is another one of the books that were
written by the author of Equal Opportunities:
Everybody’s Right.
Day 55
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Edit:
The comittee are meeting to discuss how too
cut costs and increase productivity.
Notes: Edit all of your writing by reading it
out loud to yourself.
Corrected Sentence
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The committee is meeting to discuss how to
cut costs and increase productivity.