Transcript Grammar Unit 2 - WordPress.com

Grammar Unit 2
Agreement
A little review before we
begin…
Find the basic patterns of the following
sentences:
 The coach took his football team to the
USC game.
 My mother’s pie crusts are always light
and flakey.
 The students entered the auditorium and
sat down quietly.
Subject-Verb Agreement
 A verb is singular if it is acted by one subject.
 The coach watches the players.
 A verb is plural if it is acted by more than one
subject
 The coaches watch the players.
Ironically, a singular often ends in ‘s’ and a plural does
not.
Things that don’t count…
 Propositional phrases:
 The keys on the counter are mine.
 Extra phrases adding on nouns:
 Honesty, as well as courage, is a virtue.
Compound Subjects
 Subjects joined by and are plural.
 The radio and tv are both on.
 Subjects joined by or or nor are singular,
and the verb agrees with the noun closer
to it.
 Neither Jan nor Steve has a cell phone.
 Either cake or cookies are fine for the party.
 Either cookies or cake is fine for the party.
Indefinite Pronouns-Singular
Another
Each
Either
No one
Any-body/one/thing
Every-body/one/thing
No-body/one/thing
Some-body/one/thing
Each of their rooms has a tv.
Nobody in the halls knows if the fire alarm was real.
Neither of the dresses fits very well.
Indefinite Pronouns—
Plural
Both
Few
Many
Several
 Both of the students have their
permission slip.
 Many in the class are happy with their
papers.
Indefinite Pronouns—
Depend on Context
All






Any
Most None
Some
All of the equipment is clean and new.
All of the representatives are in Washington.
Most of the lake is shallow.
Most of the beaches are open for swimming.
Some of the money is Bill’s.
Some of the boats are at the Pier.
Pronouns
 Pronouns are used to replace a noun
 They can be:
 Subjective – used as the subject of a clause
 Objective – direct or indirect objects of
objects of prepositions
 Possessive – to show ownership
We will deal with these only in terms of usage
problems.
Subjective Pronouns
These include: I, we, you, he, she, it, they
 The SUBJECT of a sentence
 She and they passed the test.
 After a “to be” verb (such as is, am, was, were,
be, etc.)
 The winner should have been he. (He should have
been the winner.)
 (On the phone): “Is Jessica there?”
“This is she.” (She is speaking.)
Objective Pronouns
These include: me, us, you, him, her, it,
them and are used as:
 Direct objects: The visitors surprised her.
He helped us boys with our homework.
 Indirect objects: My kids baked me a
cake.
 Objects of prepositions: We’ll practice
with you and them.
Possessives
 As with subject-verb agreement, watch
out for compounds and pronouns linked
to indefinites.
 Each of the stores has its own hours.
 Somebody forgot his ski cap. (Just pick a
gender if unknown.)
 Steve or Tricia forgot her backpack.
Who and Whom
 Who is nominative.
Use it when you
would use he or she.
 Mr. Smith is a man
who likes young
people. (He likes
young people.)
 Can you tell me who
that player is? (He is
that player.)
 Whom is objective.
Use it when you
would use him or
her.
 Mr. Smith is a man
whom young people
like. (Young people
like him.)
 She is an student
whom I rarely see. (I
rarely see her.)
Incomplete Constructions
If the idea in the sentence is not complete,
finish it in your head to select a pronoun.
This generally occurs with than or as.
Note how the pronoun changes the meaning of
the sentence!
 Jim likes Sue better than I (like Sue).
 Jim likes Sue better than (he likes) me.
 Did you practice as much as she (did)?