Part 1 ( Ch 1- 6) Grammar workbook
comparison phrases
begin with a
what words do you use when comparing ONLY two things?
between more -er ending words
Fix? There was no animosity between Joe, Chris and Patrick
between= wrong among= right
tricky plurals
both, few, data, phenomenon, media and criteria
Fix? By Anna's estimate, there is at least a hundred birds in the tropical rain forest exhibit
sub. = birds correct verb: are
Fix? There is a public park, a swimming pool,and a miniature golf course just down the road from the house where I grew up
sub= public park, swimming pool, miniature golf correct verb: are
plural verb examples
talk, were, are
singular verb examples
talks, was, is
plural pronouns
they them their
what is the modifier and what is the subject: Regularly lifting heavy packages, John hurt his back
this is correct modifier: Regularly lifting heavy packages subject: john
When refers to
time
what is an interrupter?
unnecessary details in b/w two commas just cross it out
singular verb
usually ends in "s"
Difficult to spot subject verb disagreement error
when a singular verb come before its plural subject
countable?
words: fewer, number, many examples: hot dogs, dollars, kisses
not countable?
words: less, amount, much examples: food, money, love
Correct? the data are on my disc
yes
what happens when a sentences begins with there
you need to flip it ex) There is a cat in the house cat is - correct
Fix? If you are interested in learning about Italian cinema, one should watch the film La strada
you- one = wrong you - you= right
parallelism used with?
1. lists 2. before/after conjunctions
Formula for Neither/nor and Either/or
Either/Neither A or/nor B - B determines the verb
Formular for a modifier with a comma
Modifier, then the Subject
Correct? known to be poisonous, the unsuspecting tourist was bitten by the rattlesnake
NO Known to be poisonous, the rattlesnake
Correct? Walking down the street, Jane's head was almost cut off by a shooting star
NO Why? Jane's head was not walking down the street
Correct? To celebrate my graduation, I scheduled a party for me and the other graduates
NO me= wrong myself= right
Correct? Everyone should brush their teeth three times a day
NO - Everyone- he or she
Correct? More students attend Lindsay's lectures than John because she had flair and a knack for colorful locutions
NO - John should be John's students
Correct? Art and music are some of life's greatest pleasures but I feel that music is the most accessible.
NO - most should be more
Correct? Either John or the Parkers is right
NO - parkers are
Correct? During the day, there is ten cats in the garage
NO - ten cats is should be ten cats are
Correct?Although the university's reputation has suffered due to the negative attention it has received from the media, they are taking strides towards rebuilding trust within the community
NO- reputation -they are= wrong reputation- its= right
Correct? After watching the romantic comedy that took place in Irelands, I wanted to visit the city in which the couple fell in love
NO- in Ireland- in which= wrong in Ireland- where = right
Correct? Neither of the twins are sick
NO- Neither ... is
Correct? Celebrated by the fans was the rock star's new album and tour after a ten year hiatus
No was should be were -b/c were - new album + tour
Where refers to
ONLY a place
When you see a sentence beginning with a modifier ask yourself
Who or What does this descriptive phrase apply to?
Correct? Pounding like a hammer, Jane's headache would not stop
Yes - no dangling modifier
Who refers to
a person
What refers to
a thing
Fix? No one could guess the number of candy in the jar
number- candy= wrong amount- candy= right
Neither/nor and either/ or phrases
although neither and either are Singular, when grouped with NOR/OR, the word that ends the phrase determines the verb
watch out for ambiguous pronouns
ambiguous pronoun: refers to more than one thing ex) Austin told Joe that he had some spinach in his teeth he -who is he? = this is wrong
what words do you use when comparing more THAN 2 things
among most -est ending words
comparison words
as, than, like, to, between and among
when you see between and among you must use ____pronoun
objective: me, him, her, us
When reading a sentence what is the first thing you do
read it first quickly then bracket the prepositional phrases
when you see comparison words, comparison phrases and quantity words you should
check for problems in comparison
when you see a pronoun combined with ANOTHER pronoun, person or group by a conduction -
cross out the other fluff to get the right pronoun ex) Every Sunday at the playground, the other children and her pretended to be valiant knights cross out = the other children and reread sentence her = wrong she= right
prepositional phrase?
starts with a preposition and ends with a verb
Apostrophe trap
do not pick a subject that is a possessive noun or subj. with an apostrophe ( Carlo's legs) - apostrophe = ownership
plural verb
does not end in "s"
words that describe quantity
fewer, less, number, amount, many,much
singular pronouns
he she it her him it his her its
Preposition examples
in/at/of/for/to/over/among/between/under...
In Which is used
instead of where- if you are referring to people ex) This is a story in where there hero dies where should be which
Dangling modifier
is a descriptive phrase followed by the wrong subject
Correct? Every day after lunch, a few of my coworkers and me go for a walk around our campus to keep fit
me= wrong I = right
Fix? There are much more architectural decorations on this skyscraper than I had expected
much - decorations = wrong many - decorations= right
reflexive pronouns
myself, herself, himself, themselves, yourself most common: myself
tricky singulars
neither, either, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody,anybody, anything,each, anyone, no one, everything, little, and much