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Active vs Passive voice (both grammatically correct):
A: Hernando caught the fly ball. (subject does the action; simpler and more direct)
P: The fly ball was caught by Hernando (subject receives the action)
A: A surge of power destroyed the pumps
P: The pumps were destroyed by a surge of power.
Antecedants: nouns or pronouns which refer to pronouns (antecedent must agree with noun or pronoun in gender and number)
-Dr. Ava Berto finished her rounds. (singular)
-The hospital interns finished their rounds. (plural)
Appositives: noun phrases that rename nouns or pronouns; a pronoun used as an appositive has same function as word it renames.
-The top strategists, Dr. Bell and I, could not agree on a plan.
· The appositive Dr. Bell and I renames subject, strategists
Articles: identified as a noun marker or determiner; helps identify nouns
-Indefinite: A/An; used with nouns that are not specific; a tree, an animal (only singular)
-Definite: The; used with specific nouns; the book, the dog
1. Use “the” if:
a. A noun has been previously mentioned:
· A truck cut in front of our van. When the truck skidded a few seconds later, we almost crashed into it.
b. A phrase of clause following the noun restricts its identity:
· Bryce warned me that the computer on his desk had just crashed.
c. A superlative adjective such as best or most intelligent makes the noun’s identity specific:
· Our petite daughter dated the tallest boy in her class
d. The noun describes a unique person, place, or thing.
· During an eclipse, one should not look directly at the sun.
e. The context or situation makes the noun’s identity clear.
· Please don’t slam the door when you leave.
f. The noun is singular and refers to a scientific class or category of items (most often animals, musical instruments, and inventions).
· The assembly line transformed manufacturing in America
2. Use “a” or “an” with common singular count nouns that refer to “one” or “any”
· Count noun: refer to persons, places, things , or ideas that can be counted (girl, city, geese, philosophy)
· Non-count noun: cannot be counted or made plural: (silver, water, air)
a. If a count noun refers to one specific item (not a whole category), use the indefinite article a (or an):
· My English professor asked me to bring a dictionary to class.
b. Use a quantifier such as some or more, not a (or an), with a non-count noun to express an approximate amount
· Claudia’s mother told her that she had some news that would surprise her.
3. Do not use articles with nouns that refer to all of something or something in general.
· Kindness is a virtue
4. Do not use articles with most singular proper nouns. Use the with most plural proper nouns. (exceptions exist)
Comma Use
-Before coordinating conjunction that joins two or more independent clauses (word group that can stand alone as separate sentence); Seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet; tells reader that one independent clause has ended and that another is beginning
· Nearly everyone has heard of love at first sight, but I fell in love at first dance.
-After an introductory clause or phrase; tells reader that the introductory clause or phrase has ended the main part of the sentence is about to begin
· When Irwin was ready to iron, his cat tripped on the cord.
· Near a small stream at the bottom of the canyon, the park rangers discovered an abandoned mine.
-After introductory participial phrases describing the noun or noun immediately following them
· Buried under layers of younger rocks, the earth’s oldest rocks contain no fossils.
-Between all items in a series (final comma not optional but recommended)
· Bubbles of air, leaves, ferns, bits of wood, and insects are often found trapped in amber.
-Between coordinate adjectives not joined with and (adjectives are coordinate if they can be joined with and). Do not use comma between cumulative adjectives (those that do not modify the noun separately)
· Roberto is a warm, gentle, affectionate father. (coordinate)
· Three large gray shapes moved slowly toward us. (cumulative)
-To set off nonrestrictive elements. Do not use commas to set off restrictive elements. (restrictive elements define or limit the meaning of the word it modifies and is essential to the meaning of the sentence)
· Restrictive: For camp the children need clothes that are washable.
· Nonrestrictive: For camp the children need sturdy shoes, which are expensive.
-Same with adjective clauses; they are restrictive or nonrestrictive
· Restrictive: Ramona’s cat that just had kittens became defensive around the other cats in the house
· Nonrestrictive: Ed’s house, which is located on thirteen acres, was completely furnished with bats in the rafters and mice in the kitchen.
-Phrases functioning as adjectives
· Restrictive: One corner of the attic was filled with newspapers dating from the turn of the century.
· Nonrestrictive: The helicopter, with its million-candlepower spotlight illuminating the area, circled above.
-Appositives:
· Restrictive: The song “Vertigo” was blasted out of huge amplifiers at the concert.
· Nonrestrictive: Darwin’s most important book, On the Origin of Species, was the result of many years of research.
-To set off transitional and parenthetical expressions, absolute phrases, and elements expressing contrast
-Transitional Expressions (include conjunctive adverbs: therefore, moreover, however…)
· Minh did not understand our language; moreover, he was unfamiliar with our customs. ----(transitional expression appears between independent clauses in a compound sentence, it is preceded by a semicolon and is usually followed by a comma)
· As a matter of fact, American football was established by fans who wanted to play a more organized game of rugby. ----(transitional expression appears at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of an independent clause, it is usually set off with commas)
-Exception: transitional expression blends smoothly with the rest of the sentence, calling for little or no pause in reading, it does not need to be set off with a comma. Expressions such as also, at least, consequently, of course, moreover, no doubt, perhaps, therefore do not always call for a pause.
· Alice’s bike is broken; therefore you will need to borrow Sue’s.
-Parenthetical Expressions: are distinctly parenthetical should be set off with commas.
· Evolution, as far as we know, doesn’t work this way.
· The bass weighed about twelve pounds, give or take a few ounces.
-Absolute Phrases: modify the whole sentence, usually consist of a noun followed by a participle or participial phrase
· The sun appearing for the first time in a week, we were at last able to begin the archaeological dig.
· Elvis Presley made music industry history in the 1950s, his records having sold more than ten million copies.
-Do not insert a comma between the noun and the participle in an absolute construction
· The next contestant being five years old, the emcee adjusted the height of the microphone.
-Contrasted Elements:
· The Epicurean philosophers sought mental, not bodily, pleasures.
· Unlike Uncle Jim, Aunt Sue loved entering swing dance contests.
-To set off nouns of direct address, the words yes and no, interrogative tags, and mild interjections.
· Forgive us, Dr. J, for having rolls with dinner tonight.
· Yes, the loan for the renovations will probably be approved by tomorrow.
· The film was faithful to the book, wasn’t it?
· Well, cases like these are difficult to decide.
-With expression such a he said to set off direct quotations
· Naturalist Arthur Cleveland Bent remarked, “In part the peregrine declined unnoticed because it is not adorable.”
· “Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
-To prevent confusion
· To err is human: to forgive, divine.(To signal the omission of is)
· All of the catastrophes that we had feared might happen, happened. (two words in sequence that echo each other)
· Patients who can, walk up and down the halls several times a day. (prevents readers from grouping words that are not intended)
Comparatives, Positives, and Superlatives:
P: soft, fast, careful
C: softer, faster, more careful
S: softest, fastest, most careful
-watch for absolute concepts; there is no degree of uniqueness or pricelessness
· That is the most unique wedding gown I have ever seen.
· The painting would have been even more priceless had it been signed.
Complements: parts of a sentence required by the verb to make the sentence complete
-Ex: The chair of the committee presented his plans for the new year.
-Four types of complements:
1. Direct Object: receives the action or shows the result of the action
a. Ex: Steve McQueen invented the bucket seat in 1960.
b. Compound direct object: Thomas Edison patented the phonograph and the microphone.
c. Direct Object as a clause: Researchers found that patients responded favorably to the new medication.
2. Indirect Objects: names the recipient of the direct object
a. The supervisor gave the new employees computers.
b. She offered Elena and Octavio a generous benefits package.
3. Subject Complements: identifies, classifies, or describes the subject; follows a linking verb
a. The game is a test of endurance. (noun phrase)
b. The winner is you. (pronoun)
c. The game rules sound quite complicated. (adjectival phrase)
4. Object Complements: identifies or describes the direct object
a. Sport reporters called the rookie the best player of the year.
b. News of the strike left the fans somewhat disappointed.
Double Negatives:
-Management is not doing nothing to see that the trash is picked up.
Forms:
-Base form: Usually I walk.
-Past Tense: Yesterday I walked.
-Past Participle: I have walked many times before. (helping verb + past tense)
-Present Participle: I am walking right now. (helping verb + gerund)
-S form: He/she/it walks regularly.
Infinitive: word to followed by the base form of a verb; subjects of infinitives are an exception to the rule that subjects must be in the subjective case. Whenever an infinitive has a subject, it must be in the objective case. Objects of infinitives also are in the objective case.
-Ms. Wilson asked John and me to drive the senator and her to the airport.
· John and me is the subject of the infinitive to drive; senator and her is the direct object of the infinitive.
-Unmarked infinitive: infinitive without to
Indefinite Pronouns: do not refer to specific persons or things; must be treated as singular!
-anybody, each, anyone, neither, either, everybody, nothing, no one, something, somebody, someone, nobody…
Be careful about the appearance of plurality: mathematics, physics, statistics, politics…
Modal Verb
-used with the base form of a verb to show certainty, necessity, or possibility
-can, would, should, could, may, might, will…
Moods
-Indicative: used for facts, opinions, and questions
· She is not content with the outcome.
· Is that a whelk?
-Imperative: used for orders or advice
· Go ahead, make my day. -Clint Eastwood
-Subjunctive: used in certain contexts to express wishes, requests, or conditions contrary to fact
· It is important that you be prepared for the interview.
· We asked that she drive more slowly.
· If I were you, I’d proceed more cautiously.
Noun Markers:
-Possessive Nouns: Jordan’s bike
-Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their…
-Demonstrative Pronoun/Adjectives: this, that, those, these
-Quantifiers: all, any, each, either, every, few, many, more, most, much, either, several, neither, several, some
-Numbers: one, seven…
Participle
-a form of a verb that is used in a sentence to modify a noun or noun phrase
-Participial Phrase
· The subject (interesting him at the moment) is Greek history.
· (Thinking his motorcade drive through Dallas was routine), President Kennedy smiled and waved at the crowds.
Perfect Tense and Perfect Progressive
-Present Perfect
· Jordan has not spoken Chinese since she was a child.
-Present Perfect Progressive
· My sister has been living in Oregon since 1999.
-Past Perfect
· My parents have traveled to South Africa twice.
-Past Perfect Progressive
· By the time I moved to Georgia, I had been supporting myself for five years.
-Future Perfect
· By the time I graduate, I will have taken five linguistic classes.
-Future Perfect Progressive
· By the time we reach the register, we will have been waiting in line for two full hours.
Person
First Person: I
Second Person: You
Third Person: He/she/it
Progressive Form
-Present: Carlos is building his house on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
-Past: Roy was driving a brand-ne red Corvette yesterday.
-Future: Naomi will be flying tomorrow.
Semicolon: connects major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank
-Between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction
· Injustice is relatively easy to bear; what stings is justice.
-Between independent clauses linked with a transitional expression
· Many corals grow very gradually; in fact, the creation of a coral reef can take centuries.
· Most singers gain fame through hard work and dedication; Evita, however, found other means.
Sentence Types
Declarative: state facts or report information; The runners from Kenya won the race.
Exclamatory: express emotion; What a tough race that was!
Imperative: give instructions; Compare their times with the record.
Interrogative: questions; introduce topics and elicit information; Who holds the record?
Simple Present, Past, and Future
Present: We donate to a different charity every year.
Past: She drove to Montana three years ago.
Future: I will call you next week.
Who, whom, whose, which, that
-use who, whom, whose for humans
-use which or that for animals or things
-who, whoever are subject-case pronouns; are used for subjects and subject complements; who and whoever function as the subjects of the clauses they introduce.
· First prize goes to the runner who collects the most points.
· He tells the story of his narrow escape to whoever will listen.
-whom and whomever are objective-case pronouns and are used when it functions as the object of a preposition; exception: pronoun functions as the subject of an infinitive
· The tutor whom I was assigned to was very attractive.
· On the subject of health care, I don’t know whom to believe.