Chapter 29

Past Tense

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Regular verbs in the past tense take an -ed or -d ending:

The captain hoisted the flag. They purchased a flat screen TV yesterday. We deposited a quarter in the meter.

Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

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Irregular verbs do not take an -ed or -d ending in the past but change internally:

1. I wrote that letter in ten minutes.2. Although the orange cat fell from a high branch, she escaped unharmed.3. The play began on time but ended fairly late.

NOTE:Wrote is the past tense of write.Fell is the past tense of fall.Began is the past tense of begin.

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

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To be is the only verb that in the past tense has different forms for different persons.

A Troublesome Verb in the Past Tense: To Be

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Use could as the past tense of can.

1. Maria is extraordinary because she can remember what happened to her when she was three years old.2. When I was in high school, I could do two sit-ups in an hour.

(In sentence 1, can shows the action is in the present. In sentence 2, could shows the action occurred in the past.)

Troublesome Pairs in the Past Tense: Can/Could

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Use would as the past tense of will.

1. Roberta says that she will arrive with her camera in ten minutes.2. Roberta said that she would arrive with her camera in ten minutes.

(In sentence 3, will points to the future from the present. In sentence 4, would points to the future from the past.)

Troublesome Pairs in the Past Tense: Will/Would

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/pasted.htm

Review and quizzes: regular verbs

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Chapter 30

The Past Participle

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The past participle is the form of the verb that can be combined with helping verbs like have and has to make verbs of more than one word:

Present Tense Past Tense Helping Verb plus Past Participle1. They skate. 1. They skated. 1. They have skated.2. Beth dances. 2. Beth danced. 2. Beth has danced.3. Frank worries. 3. Frank worried. 3. Frank has worried.

Past Participles of Regular Verbs

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Most verbs that are irregular in the past tense are also irregular in the past participle, as shown in the following chart.Present Tense Past Tense Helping Verb plus Past Participle1. We sing. 1. We sang. 1. We have sung.2. Bill writes. 2. Bill wrote. 2. Bill has written.3. I think. 3. I thought. 3. I have thought.

Past Participles of Irregular Verbs

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The present perfect tense is composed of the present tense of to have plus the past participle.

The present perfect tense shows that an action has begun in the past and is continuing into the present.

1. Past tense: Beatrice taught English for ten years.2. Present perfect tense: Beatrice has taught English for ten years.

(In sentence 1, Beatrice taught English in the past, but she no longer teaches it.In sentence 2, Beatrice has taught for ten years and is still teaching English now.)

Using the Present Perfect Tense

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The past perfect tense is composed of the past tense of to have plus the past participle.

The past perfect tense shows that an action occurred further back in the past than other past action.

1. Past tense: Rhonda left for the movies.2. Past perfect tense: Rhonda had already left for the movies by the time we arrived.

(In sentence 1, left is the simple past. In sentence 2, the past perfect had left shows that this action occurred even before another action in the past, arrived.)

Using the Past Perfect Tense

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The passive voice is composed of the past participle with some form of to be (am, is, are, was, were, has been, have been, or had been). In the passive voice, the subject does not act but is acted upon.

Using the Passive Voice (To Be and the Past Participle)

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Compare the passive voice with the active voice in the following pairs of sentences.

1. Passive voice: This newspaper is written by journalism students.2. Active voice: Journalism students write this newspaper.3. Passive voice: My garden was devoured by rabbits.4. Active voice: Rabbits devoured my garden.

In sentence 1, the subject, this newspaper, is passive; it is acted upon. In sentence 2, the subject, students, is active; it performs the action. However, both verbs (is written and write) are in the present tense.

The verbs in sentences 3 and 4 are both in the past tense: was devoured (passive) and devoured (active).

Using the Passive Voice

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The past participle form of the verb can be used as an adjective after a linking verb:

The window is broken.

(The adjective broken describes the subject window.)

The past participle form of the verb can sometimes be used as an adjective before a noun or a pronoun.

This fried chicken tastes wonderful.

(The adjective fried describes the noun chicken.)

Using the Past Participle as an Adjective

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/fi nal-ed_option.htm

To add or not to add -ed? This one is tricky; test yourself.

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Chapter 31

Nouns

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Nouns are words that refer to people, places, or things.

Nouns can be either singular or plural. Singular means one. Plural means more than one.

Singular Pluralthe glass glassesa lamp lampsa lesson lessons

(As you can see, nouns usually add -s or -es to form the plural.)

Defining Singular and Plural

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Some nouns form their plurals in other ways. Here are a few examples:

Singular Plural Singular Pluralchild children medium mediacrisis crises memorandum memoranda

(memorandums)criterion criteria phenomenon phenomenafoot feet syllabus syllabigoose geese tooth teethman men woman women

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These nouns ending in -f or -fe change endings to -ves in the plural:

Singular Pluralhalf halvesknife kniveslife livesscarf scarvesshelf shelveswife wiveswolf wolves

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Hyphenated nouns form plurals by adding -s or -es to the main word:

Singular Pluralbrother-in-law brothers-in-lawmaid-of-honor maids-of-honormaster-at-arms masters-at-arms

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Other nouns do not change at all to form the plural; here are a few:

Singular Pluraldeer deerequipment equipmentfish fishmerchandise merchandise

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A signal word tells you whether a singular or a plural noun usually follows. These signal words tell you that a singular noun usually follows:

Signal Wordsa(n)a singleanother houseeachevery

Signal Words: Singular and Plural

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These signal words tell you that a plural noun usually follows:

Signal Wordsallbothfewmanymostseveralsometwo (or more)various

Signal Words: Singular and Plural

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Many signal words are followed by of . . . or of the. . . . Usually, these signal words are followed by a plural noun (or a collective noun) because they really refer to one or more from a larger group:

Signal Words with ofone of theeach of themany of thea few of thelots of the

Signal Words with of

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Be careful:

The signal words one of the and each of the are followed by a plural noun, but the verb is singular because only the signal word (one or each) is the real subject:

One of the coats is on sale.Each of the flowers smells sweet.

Signal Words with of

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/plurals_gap.htm

Interactive noun plurals quiz: test yourself!

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Chapter 32

Pronouns

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Pronouns take the place of or refer to nouns, other pronouns, or phrases.

The word that the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun:

Eric ordered baked chicken because it is his favorite dish.

(In sentence 1, it refers to the antecedent baked chicken, and his refers to the antecedent Eric.)

Simone and Lee painted their room.

(In sentence 2, their refers to the plural antecedent Simone and Lee.)

I like camping in the woods because it gives me a chance to be alone with my thoughts.

(In sentence 3, it refers to the antecedent camping in the woods. This antecedent is a whole phrase. Me and my refer to the pronoun antecedent I.)

Defining Pronouns and Antecedents

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A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and person.

1. When Tom couldn’t find his pen, he asked to borrow mine.

2. The three sisters wanted to start their own business.

(In sentence 1, Tom is the antecedent of his and he. Since Tom is singular and masculine, the pronouns referring to Tom are also singular and masculine. In sentence 2, sisters is the antecedent of their. Since sisters is plural, the pronoun referring to sisters must also be plural.)

Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree

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Making pronouns agree with their antecedents is usually easy. However, three special cases can be tricky.

1. Indefinite Pronouns2. Special Singular Antecedents3. Collective Nouns

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Each of these words is singular. Any pronoun that refers to one of them must also be singular: he, him, his, she, or her.

anybodyanyoneeverybodyeveryonenobodyno oneonesomebodysomeone

Indefinite Pronouns

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Each of these constructions is singular. Any pronoun that refers to one of them must also be singular.

each (of) . . .either (of) . . .neither (of) . . . every one (of) . . . one (of) . . .

Special Singular Antecedents

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Collective nouns represent a group of people but are usually considered singular. They usually take singular pronouns.

Common Collective Nounsclass family panelcollege flock schoolcommittee government societycompany group teamfaculty jury tribe

Collective Nouns

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A pronoun must refer clearly to its antecedent. Avoid vague, repetitious, or ambiguous pronoun reference.

Vague pronoun: At the box office, they said that tickets were no longer available.

Repetitious pronoun: In the article, it says that Tyrone was a boxer.

Ambiguous pronoun: Mr. Tedesco told his son that his car had a flat tire.

Referring to Antecedents Clearly

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Personal pronouns take different forms depending on how they are used in a sentence.

Pronouns can be subjects, objects, or possessives.

Pronouns used as subjects are in the subjective case:

He and I go snowboarding together.The peaches were so ripe that they fell from the trees.

(He, I, and they are in the subjective case.)

Special Problems of Case

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Pronouns that are objects of verbs or prepositions are in the objective case.

Pronouns that are subjects of infinitives are also in the objective case:

A sudden downpour soaked her. (object of verb)Please give this card to him. (object of preposition)We want them to leave right now. (subject of infinitive)

(Her, him, and them are in the objective case.)

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Pronouns that show ownership are in the possessive case:

The carpenters left their tools on the windowsill.This flower has lost its brilliant color.

(Their and its are in the possessive case.)

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Using the correct case is usually fairly simple, but three problems require special care.

1. Case in Compound ConstructionsA compound construction consists of two nouns, two pronouns, or a noun and a pronoun joined by and.

2. Case in ComparisonsPronouns that complete comparisons may be in the subjective, objective, or possessive case.

3. Use of Who (or Whoever) and Whom (or Whomever)Who and whoever are in the subjective case. Whom and whomever are in the objective case.

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Pronouns with -self or -selves can be used in two ways—as reflexives or as intensives.

A reflexive pronoun indicates that someone did something to himself or herself:

My daughter felt very grown up when she learned to dress herself.

An intensive pronoun emphasizes the noun or pronoun it refers to:

Anthony himself was surprised at how relaxed he felt during the interview.

Using Pronouns with –self and –selves

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The following chart will help you choose the correct reflexive or intensive pronoun.

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EXPLORING ONLINE

http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/pronouns.html

Pronoun quiz: especially helpful for ESL writers.