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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.