Download Daily Edit-Parts of Speech and Agreement

The Daily Edit
Parts of Speech and Agreement
The Parts of Speech
• A noun is a word used to name a person, place,
thing or idea.
• Persons: Maya Angelou, Dr. Strauss, children,
team, baby sitter
• Places: desert, neighborhood, outer space, New
York City
• Things: money, wind, animals, Statue of Liberty
• Ideas: courage, love, freedom, equality, selfcontrol
Nouns
• A compound noun is two or more words used
together as a single noun.
• A compound noun may be written as one word,
separate words, or as a hyphenated word.
• One word: seafood, footsteps, daydream, Iceland
• Separate words: police officer, John. F. Kennedy,
“Flowers for Algernon”
• Hyphenated word: self-esteem, greatgrandparents, fourteen-year-old, sister-in-law
Nouns
• A collective noun is a word that names a
group.
• Examples: faculty, family, herd, team, crew
Nouns
• A common noun is a general name for a
person, place, a thing, or an idea. A proper
noun names a particular person, place, thing,
or idea. Proper nouns always begin with a
capital letter. Common nouns begin with a
capital letter in titles and when they begin
sentences.
Nouns
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Common nouns:
Poem
Nation
Athlete
River
Proper Nouns:
“Paul Revere’s Ride”
Mexico
Serena Williams
Congo River
Your Turn
• Identify each noun in the following sentences.
Classify each noun as common or proper.
• Example:
• Roald Dahl is the author of “The Landlady.”
• Road Dahl-proper, author-common, “The
Landlady”-proper
Your Turn
• 1. Billy Weaver was going to The Bell and
Dragon, an inn that was in Bath.
• 2. Was Billy wearing his brown suit and a
navy-blue overcoat?
• 3. In his mind briskness was a characteristic of
businessmen.
• 4. “Big shots” in the company always seemed
brisk to Billy.
• 5. How was the landlady like a jack-in-thebox?
Your Turn
• 1. Billy Weaver-proper; The Bell and Dragonproper; inn-common; Bath-proper.
• 2. Billy-proper; suit- common; overcoat-common
• 3. mind-common; briskness-common;
characteristic-common; businessman-common
• 4. “Big shots”-common; company-common; Billyproper.
• 5. landlady-common; jack-in-the-box-common
Using Specific Nouns
• Whenever possible, use specific, exact nouns.
Using specific nouns will make your writing more
accurate and precise, as well as more interesting.
• VAUGE: people crowded into the building.
PRECISE: Men, women, and children crowded
into the theater.
• VAUGE: Following the young person was a small
dog.
PRECISE: Following the child was a dachshund.
Pronouns
• A pronoun is a word used in place of one or
more nouns or pronouns.
• Examples:
After Bill fed the dog and cat, Bill let the dog
and cat go outside.
After Bill fed the dog and cat, he let them go
outside.
Pronouns
• The word that a pronoun stands for is called
its antecedent. Sometimes the antecedent is
not stated.
• Stated antecedent: Mrs. Flowers opened the
book and began reading it.
• Unstated antecedent: Who wrote the book?
Personal Pronouns
• A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking (first
person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one
spoken about (third person).
• First Person: Singular (I, me, my, mine)
Plural (we, us, our, ours)
• Second Person: Singular (you, your, yours)
Plural (you, your, yours)
• Third Person: Singular (he, him, his, she, her, hers, its)
Plural (they, them, their, theirs)
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
• A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and
directs the action of the verb back to the subject.
• An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or
another pronoun.
• Reflective and intensive pronouns
First Person-myself, ourselves
Second Person-yourself, yourselves
Third Person-himself, herself, itself, themselves
Demonstrative Pronouns
• A demonstrative pronoun (this, that, these,
those) points out a person, place, a thing, or
an idea.
• Example: This is Ernie’s bike.
Interrogative Pronouns
• An interrogative pronoun (what, which, who,
whom, whose) introduces a question.
• Example:
Who is the author of “Flowers for Aragon?”
Relative Pronouns
• A relative pronoun (that, what, which, who,
whom, whose) introduces a subordinate
clause
• Example: Mr. White received the two hundred
pounds that he had wished for.
Indefinite Pronouns
• An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a
place, or a thing that is not specifically named.
• Common Indefinite Pronouns:
• All, any, anyone, both, each, either, everybody,
few, many, none, no one, one, several, some,
something
Indefinite Pronouns
• Example:
• All of them wanted to hear the story of
Urashima Taro.
• The travelers saw someone.
Your Turn
• Identify each of the pronouns in the following
sentences as personal, reflexive, intensive,
demonstrative, interrogative, relative or
indefinite.
• Example:
• That was a very strange person!
• That-demonstrative
Your Turn
• 1. Who were her previous tenants, and what
happened to them?
• 2. That is the guest book that they signed.
• 3. Had they themselves or anyone else been
suspicious of her?
• 4. The house, which was brightly lit, had a sign
in its window.
• 5. She brought a pot of tea for him and
herself.
Answers
• 1. Who-interrogative; her-personal; whatinterrogative; them-personal
• 2. that-demonstrative; that-relative; theypersonal
• 3. they-personal; themselves-intensive;
anyone-indefinite
• 4. which-relative; its-personal
• 5. She-personal ;him-personal; himselfreflexive
Adjectives
• An adjective is a word used to modify a noun
or a pronoun.
• To modify a word means to describe the word
or to make its meaning more definite. An
adjective modifies a word by telling what kind,
which one, how much or how many.
Adjectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
What Kind?
Tall woman, steep mountain, exciting story
Which one?
This year, last answer, middle row
How much or how many?
Less time, many mistakes, few marbles
Adjectives
• An adjective may come before or after a word
it modifies.
• Examples:
The old soldier told the curious couple that
they could have three wishes.
• The map, although old and worn, was useful
to him.
Articles
• The most frequently used adjectives are a, an,
and the The adjective a and an are called
indefinite articles. They indicate that the noun
refers to someone or something in general. A
is used before a word beginning with a
consonant sound. An is used before a word
beginning with a vowel sound.
• Example: He gave the salesclerk a nickel and
an orange.
Definite article
• The adjective the is a definite article. It
indicates that the noun refers to someone or
something in particular.
• Example: Smiley went to the swamp to find
the stranger a frog.
Proper Adjectives
• A proper adjective is formed from a proper
noun and begins with a capital letter.
• Proper Noun
Africa
Shakespeare
Rio Grande
Proper Adjective
African nations
Shakespearean drama
Rio Grande
Demonstrative Adjectives
• This, that, these and those can be used both as
adjectives and as pronouns. When they modify a
noun or a pronoun, these words are called
demonstrative adjectives. When they are used
alone, they are called demonstrative pronouns.
• Demonstrative adjective: This poem was written
by Amy Ling.
• Demonstrative Pronoun: This is an example of
personification.
Your Turn
• In the following sentences, identify each
adjective and the word that it modifies. Also,
identify any articles, proper adjectives, or
demonstrative adjectives.
• Example:
Wasn’t Christopher Mullholland a Cambridge
undergraduate?
A (article)-undergraduates, Cambridge
(proper)-undergraduate
Your Turn
• 1. The houses were old and run-down but had
once been grand.
• 2. This house looks like a nice, friendly place.
• 3. The room seems comfortable, with a large
sofa and two pets.
• 4. The London train had been slow, and the
weather was chilly.
• 5. What had happened to that Bristol man?
Answers
• 1. The (article)-houses; old-houses; run-downhouses; grand-houses
• 2. This (demonstrative)-house; a (article)-place;
nice-place; friendly-place
• 3. The (article)-room; comfortable-room; a
(article)-sofa; large-sofa; two-pets
• 4. The (article)-train; London (proper)-train; slowtrain; the (article)-weather; chilly-weather
• 5. that (demonstrative) man; Bristol (proper)-man
The Verb
Number
• Number is the form of a word that indicates
whether the word is singular or plural.
• When a word refers to one person, place,
thing or idea, it is singular.
• When a word refers to more than one it’s
plural.
Agreement of Subject and Verbs
• A verb agrees with its subject in number.
• Singular subjects take singular verbs.
• Example:
• The stranger shoots the frog.
• Johnny calls himself Red Chief.
Agreement of Subject and Verbs
• Plural subjects take plural verbs.
• Examples:
Six girls compete in the race.
Many people laught at Charlie.
Subject and Verb Agreement
• The first auxiliary (helping) verb in a verb
phrase must agree with its subject.
• Examples:
She is helping Charlie.
They are helping Charlie.
Problems in Agreement
• The number of a subject is not changed by a
prepositional phrase in the following subject.
• Nonstandard: The spare furnishings on the
stage creates a somber atmosphere.
• Standard: The spare furnishings on the stage
create a somber atmosphere.
Problems in Agreement
• The following indefinite pronouns are singular:
anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody,
everyone, neither, nobody, no one, one,
somebody someone.
• Example: Each of them was sent a bouquet.
Problems in Agreement
• The following indefinite pronouns are plural:
Both, few, many, several.
Example: Both of the stories were written by
Shirley Jackson.
Problems in Agreement
• The number of a subject is not changed by a
prepositional phrase following the subject.
• Example:
Incorrect: The sparse furnishings on the stage
creates a somber atmosphere.
• Correct: The spare furnishings on the stage
create a somber atmosphere.
Singular Pronouns
• The following indefinite pronouns are singular:
• Anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody,
everyone, neither, nobody, no one, one,
somebody, someone.
• Example:
Each of them was sent a bouquet.
Plural Pronouns
• The following indefinite pronouns are plural:
• Both, few, many, several
• Example:
Both of the stories were written by Shirley
Jackson.
Either or…
• The following indefinite pronouns can be
either singular or plural:
• Any, all, most, none, some.
• Examples:
All of the action occurs on the top floor of a
warehouse.
• All of the events occur on the top floor of a
warehouse.
Subjects joined by and usually take a
plural verb
• Example:
• Sam and Bill kidnap Johnny.
• Except…
• A compound subject that names a single
person or thing takes a singular verb. A
compound noun used as a subject also takes a
singular verb in most cases.
Examples
• The captain and quarterback of the team was
Lyle.
• One person, Lyle, was both the captain and
the quarterback.
• Rock and roll is my favorite kind of music.
• Rock and roll is a compound noun naming a
kind of music.
Subjects joined by or or nor
• When subjects are joined by or or nor, the
verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb.
• Examples:
Neither the director nor the players were on
time for the rehearsal.
• Neither the players nor the director was on
time for the rehearsal.
Your Turn
• For each of the following sentences, choose
the correct form of the verb in parentheses.
• Example: Both of the girls (love, loves)
running.
• Correct answer: love
• Why: The subject girls is plural, and plural
subjects take plural verbs. A verb agrees with
its subject in number.
Your Turn
• My favorite story (has, have) always been
“Raymond Run.”
• Some of the story (concern, concerns) Squeaky’s
rival.
• Neither Gretchen nor Mary Louise really (smile,
smiles).
• Squeaky’s rival and schoolmate (was, were)
Gretchen.
• Insults and taunts directed at Raymond (anger,
angers) his sister.
Answers
•
•
•
•
•
1. Has
2. Concerns
3. Smiles
4. Was
5. Anger
Collective Nouns
• Collective nouns (such as family and team)
may be either singular or plural.
• A collective noun takes a singular verb when
the noun refers to the group as a unit.
• A collective noun takes a plural verb when the
noun refers to the individual parts or
members of the group.
Examples
• The Frank family (collective noun) goes
(singular verb) into hiding.
(The family as a unit goes into hiding).
The Frank family (collective noun) pack(plural
verb) their bags.
(The individual members of the family pack
bags).
Collective Nouns
• When the subjects follows all or part of the
verb (comes after the verb), find the subject
and make sure the verb agrees with it. The
subject usually follows the verb in sentences
beginning with here or there and in questions.
• Example:
There is (verb) a frog (subject) on that lily pad.
• Have any other frogs jumped on?
Collective Nouns
• The contractions here’s, there’s and where’s
contain the verb is and should be used only
with singular subjects.
• There’s the books. (There are the books).
Collective Nouns
• Use the contraction don’t with plural subjects
and with the pronouns I and you. Use the
contraction doesn’t with other singular subjects.
• The police officers (plural subject) don’t hear the
noise.
• I (pronoun I) don’t like that song.
• You (pronoun you) don’t have enough money to
buy that.
• The frog (singular subject) doesn’t jump.
Words stating amounts
• Words stating amounts are usually singular.
• A word or phrase stating a weight,
measurement, or an amount of money or
time is usually considered one item.
• Words like these take a singular verb.
Words Stating Amounts
• Example:
Twenty-five months is the amount of time
Anne kept the diary.
• Twenty-five months is an amount of time, and
is considered one item so it takes a singular
verb, months.
Titles
• The title of a creative work or the name of an
organization or country, even when plural in
form, usually takes a singular verb.
• Example:
“Flowers for Algernon” (title of a creative
work) was (singular verb) made into a movie.
Exceptions
• A few nouns, though plural in form, are
singular and take singular verbs.
• Example:
Mathematics (looks plural in form), but is
(singular verb) is my best subject.
Your Turn
• In the following sentences, choose the form of
the verb in parentheses that agrees with the
subject.
• Example:
The people in her family (work, works) hard.
Correct Answer: work
Why? Family is a collective noun and in this
sentence it is referring to the individual members
of the family. So Family takes a plural verb.
Your Turn
• 1. Hansel and Gretel (was, were) the pageant
that Squeaky was in.
Why: Titles of creative works take singular
verbs.
• 2. Athletics (has, have) always interested
squeaky.
• Why: Athletics though plural in form, is
singular and takes a singular verb.
Your Turn
• 3. (Don’t, Doesn’t) she run well?
• Why: When the subject follows the verb, find
the subject and make sure the verb agrees
with it. The subject is she, and she is singular,
so the verb must be singular as well.
• 4. Fifty yards (was, were) the length of the
run.
• Why: A word stating a measurement is
considered one item. Such a word takes a
singular verb.
Your Turn
• 5. (There’s, There are) not much dialogue in
the story.
• Why: The contraction there’s contain the verb
is and should be used with singular subjects.
Dialogue is a singular subject.
Pronouns
• A pronoun refers to a noun or another pronoun
called the antecedent.
• A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number
and gender.
• Some singular personal pronouns have forms that
indicate gender. Masculine pronouns (he, him his)
refer to males. Feminine pronouns (she, her, hers)
refer to females.
Pronouns
• Neuter pronouns (its, its) refer to things that
are neither male nor female and sometimes to
animals.
• Examples:
Ernie lent his bike to Alfonso.
Squeaky protects her brother.
• The sergeant major took the dog’s bone and
threw it into the fire.
Pronouns
• Some antecedents may be either masculine or
feminine. When referring to such antecedents,
use both the masculine and feminine forms.
• Example:
No one on the committee gave his or her
approval.
Pronouns
• Sometimes using both the masculine and the
feminine forms to refer to an indefinite pronoun
is awkward or confusing. To avoid such use,
rephrase the sentence by using both a plural
pronoun and a plural antecedent.
• Awkward:
Everyone except Fanny signed the petition
because he or she did not like working with the
“new” Charlie.
Pronouns
• Clear:
All of the workers except Fanny signed the
petition because they did not like working
with the “new” Charlie.
Your Turn
• Revise the following sentences to eliminate the
awkward use of his or her.
• 1. Each of the characters had his or her own
motives.
• 2. One of the stagehands had forgotten his or her
tools.
• 3. Everyone in the play knew his or her lines.
• 4. Either Anna or Fred will drive his or her van.
• 5. Nobody forgot his or her costume.
Problems in Agreement
• A singular pronoun is used to refer to
anybody, anyone, each either, everybody,
everyone, neither, nobody, no one, one,
someone or somebody.
• Example:
Everybody will have an opportunity to express
his or her opinion.