SUBJECTS MODIFIERS WHO OR WHAT A CLAUSE, PHRASE, OR SENTENCE IS ABOUT DEFINITIVE ELEMENTS NOUNS - PROPER NOUNS NaillI' a ~pecitic persoll, place, or object They begill with till IIpper case letter John Mercury California -COMMON NOUNS NaillI' a lIoll-~pecitic perSOIl, place, 01' object; tltey IIOt begill with all IIpper case letter l boy pland state PRONOUNS A singular verb requires a singular subject A plural verb requires a plural subject a When two singular subjects are joined by alld, the verb is plural Exception - when two singular sub jects are connected by and present a single idea, the verb may be singular b When two singular subjects are connected by or, either or, or IIeither llor, the verb is singular c When two plural subjects are connected by or, either or, or lIeither //or, the verb is plural d The verb agrees with the nearer subjecl of a com pound sentence which has both a singular and a plu ral word joined by or or IIor e When the subject and the subjective complement (predicate adjectives, predicate nominatives that fol low linking verbs and refer to the subject) are differ ent in number, the verb agrees with the subject Take the positioll tllldfilllctioll (ll/WIIIIS, bllt IIOt specifically lIallle I He fed the cat She fed the ~ at - The books Ihal I received were the most appreciated Every or mallY beforc a word or series of words is fol It got extremcly fat They wish they had fed it less When the subject comes after the verb, as in sentences NOMINATIVE ELEMENTS lowed by a singular verb - Every lIIan, WO/lwn, and child was asked to donate beginning with here is, there is, and where is, make sure that the verb agrees with the subject - There tire three cour.,es olactioll we call lake -VERBAL GERUNDS (-ing ti.mll ofthc verb) a Reat/illg travel books is my hobby b Travelillg by train is part of my daily routine INFINITIVES (to, plus the verb) a To read a travel book brings me pleasure b To trtll'el by traill can be fun -NOUN CLAUSES That 0111' lIeetls a clear goal is strcssed in college preparatory classes -VOICE I ACTIVE VOICE: Subjcct is acting GENERAL RULES 2.lmperative: expresses a command request, suggestion, entreaty, etc where subject (usually the pronoun you) is understood I All inflected forms must be in subjective case Gender is important with subject pronouns • Johll is proud of the school he attended Number is important for agreement of subject and verb a The wOlI/all was tall b The WOlllell were tall c The IIIUlI IIlId the WOlllall were tall SPECIFIC RULES I Some pronouns always take singular vcrbs - each, someone, either, neither, somebody, nobody, everybody, anyone, nothing Some pronollns always take plural verbs • both, few, several, many Collective nouns thought of as a single unit are sin gular Collective nouns with idcntified parts require a plural verb a The grall/l is going to the show b Th e lIIell are going to the show Generally, subjects appear before the verb and may be separated by modifiers or prepositional phrases To determine a subject, answer who or what about the construction being analyzed a Johll walks b The traill runs c Johll , who is late for the train, runs VERBS (PREDICATES) WHAT A SUBJECT IS DOING; WHAT IS BEING DONE TO IT; A STATE OF BEING THE FIVE PROPERTIES OF VERBS -PERSON A verb is in the same person as its subject I First person: aln hopillgj!,r rain Sccond person: You are /wpillg/!}/' rain Third person: He is /wpillgji,,' rain - Liffhtnill!: struck the bam PASSIVE VOICE: Subject is acted upon a The barn wus struck by lightning b.The passive form always consists of some form of the vcrb be plus the past participle -MOOD I Indicative: makes a statement or asks a question • It is 40 miles to Gaillesville, but we'll get there ill time - Stop! Please sigll the jimll before retllmillg it Subjunctive: equals the past tense in structure and is used after if' and wi.5h when the statement is contrary to reality a I wish I were a rich H'oman h III kllew her nllIllIJeI; I would call hel: -TENSE Made from the principal parts of verbs Three forms are: a Present tense or present infinitive: do, give, ring, ADJECTIVES & ADJECTIVAL ELEMENTS USED TO MODIFY NOUNS OR PRONOUNS Prepositional phrases verbal phrases, and adjec tive dependent clauses changc the image made by the noun or nominative element by itself Proper adjectives arc formed from a proper noun - Frellch, Democrat, etc Demonstrative adjectives answcr the question which one? - thi.~, tlrat, tlre.,e, those (also called pr(}/wlI/ls) Descriptive adjectives answer the qucstion what kind'! - big, small, red, etc Quantitative adjectives answer the question how many? -Oll/!, three, ,ome,jew, several (also called pronouns) Qualitative adjectives answ",r the question how much" - little, much, cOllsiderable In comparing the quality of nouns, adjectives change by degrees a The positive degree covers one itcm: big, good b Comparative degree cowrs two items: bigger, better c Superlative degree covers three or more: bigge.~t, hest A predicate adjective follows any linking or state of being verb: The 111('11 were sick FUIII elltillg the ral-\' (~vsfers ADVERBS OR ADVERBIAL ELEMENTS USED TO MODIFY VERBS, ADJECTIVES, OR OTHER ADVERBS I Prepositional phrases, verbal phrases, or adver bial dependent clauses add descriptive elements to a sentence Adverbs answer one or more of these qucstions: a How'! (by what manner'!) quickly, SIOH'(I',j'ast b When? (at what time?) IIOW, theil, lIever c Where" (at what location'!) here, there, dOH'II, lip d To what extent docs a thing havc some qualit~'" e To what extent docs the adverb express quantity') Adverbs follow the verb a John walked slowly b John walked jaster thall Peter Adverbs modifying adjectives and adverbs precede the word being modified - John ",alk"d surprisingly slm\'~\'.Ii!/' SOIllI'On/! so loll One-syllabic adverbs arc compared by adding -er or -est a John wlIlkeel slower Ihall I did b John wlllkeel slowest o(al/ Adverbs of two or more syllables add more or most a John walks more slowly th