How English Works: Parts of Speech, Sentences, Punctuation

Dr. O’Connor’s English 001 Fall 2014

Eng. 001JC (CRN: 10147) M/W 12:30-1:45 pm, S220 Eng. 001KB (CRN: 10151) T/TH 1-2:15 pm, S105

Eng. 001MC (CRN: 10159 M/W 2:00-3:15 pm, S101

How English Works: Parts of Speech, Sentences, Punctuation, and Usage

Table of Contents

Introduction 2 Parts of Speech:

1. Verbs 3-7 2. Nouns 8-10 3. Adjectives 10-13 4. Adverbs 13-14 5. Pronouns 15-17

Sentence Construction

6. Simple Sentence 18-19 7. Compound Sentences 1: Coordination 19-20 8. Compound Sentences 2: Semi-Colon 20-22 9. Complex Sentences : Subordination 23-26 10. Sentence Boundary Issues 27

Punctuation:

11. Apostrophes 28-30 12. Commas 31-33

Coherence and Logic:

13. Transitions 34-36 Pointers for ESL Students

14. Count Nouns VS Non-Count Nouns 37-39 15. Idiomatic Use of English 40 16. Indirect Speech Phrasing 40-41 17. Common Verbs and Their Prepositions 42-43

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Hi. I hope you will find this packet useful. It does not contain everything you need in order to understand English grammar. No textbook could, and certainly no 40-plus-page packet could. What this packet can do for you is to serve as a reminder of some of the basics of grammar and sentence structure. Some of you who read through this packet and do the exercises may want to learn more about grammar, sentence structure, English syntax, essay composition, and usage. There are many ways to pursue your interest: If you like, visit the NCC Writing Center at either Y building or the Library – you can call 572-7195 for more information. An excellent website for grammar instruction is at Perdue University: the link is here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ Click on Grammar and Mechanics. While you’re at it, think about visiting all of Perdue’s writing links eventually: they will help you with everything from constructing sentences to composing research papers.

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Verbs

Time and Form

Verbs are the heart and soul of a sentence. Without a verb, you don’t have a sentence. Most of us recognize verbs and have been taught that a verb is an action or a state of being – not quite accurate, but we’ll build on this simplistic definition. One thing to add right away is that a verb can be inflected to indicate time, as in the following sentence:

Yesterday, Michelle went to the post office. Most of us would recognize that the verb is went even if there weren’t a time word in the sentence (yesterday). Went is the past tense of go and is the correct tense to use in that sentence. Went is also used instead of go in that sentence because of the word yesterday, which prompts us to use the past tense. If the sentence read Michelle ______to the post office, you’d have no time marker to help you choose a verb, but today, yesterday, tomorrow, later, soon are all time markers to help you recognize the tense of the verb. A second point to firmly keep in mind is that verbs can be multi-word items; in fact, we tend to use complicated tenses when we write and speak. Take a look at this sentence:

Michelle should have gone to the post office today. If you are looking at this sentence expecting the verb to be phrased in one word, you’d lose the sense not only of the time (tense) but also the expression of expectation inside the word should. Let me explain: there is a huge difference between Michelle went to the post office (action that has already been completed) and Michelle should have gone to the post office today. One sentence expresses the idea that the actor, Michelle – also called the subject -- more on this later – completed a task (went to post office). The other demonstrates that not only did the actor (subject) not complete the action, but it was not a good idea to skip this errand. What words indicate disapproval? Should have. So, if we take a closer look at the sentence, we have a complicated verb phrase (a verb composed of more than one word) on our hands here, one that indicates that the subject didn’t complete an action and did not follow a recommendation or piece of advice, and it’s all in three little words: should have gone. Also, the subject of the sentence can be found by asking “who or what” and then inserting the verb like this:

Amethyst took the Amtrak sleeper car all the way to Ft. Lauderdale.

If we recognize took as the verb, we then can ask “who or what” took, which will give us the answer, Amethyst. For now, see if you can recognize the verb in the following sentences. Remember that verbs can be more than one word. Label the verbs V.

1. The morning of October 10th had been clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer

day.

2. With her hand, Destiny will trace the path through the woods on the map.

3. Nicole has brought her boyfriend’s Chihuahua to class every time.

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4. Caroline and her new husband are going to name their Siamese cat Peanut.

5. James, Khaneil, and I bought tickets for the new opera season at the Metropolitan Opera House.

6. Christian has been at work all day long.

7. How long has Melissa’s daughter been a dancer?

8. The second-grade teacher has given her pupils a more sophisticated way of looking at their small

world.

9. Past the river, to the right of the old silo lies the grave of my true love.

10. Nadia has grown weary of the children’s complaints.

11. Marcia will send her nephew a package for his birthday next week.

12. The Harry Potter series has been read by both children and adults.

13. Willecks has been studying for a math test for the entire week.

14. Next week will mark my thirtieth anniversary at this job.

15. It has been raining for days now.

16. Why should I buy a new computer?

17. Carly has decided to attend Nassau Community College instead of working at The Gap full time.

18. Sahibvir’s favorite television show used to be Restaurant Impossible.

19. Andy should have taken his collie to the vet yesterday.

20. Jennifer knows so much about military subjects.

It couldn’t hurt also to look at a typical conjugation of a familiar verb just so we all understand what each tense looks like and when and how it’s used. We’ll take the most often used verb just about any language, the to be verb and run it through its paces. We’ll be using simple pronouns (words that replace nouns – more on them later). Base form or infinitive: To Be Pronoun Present Present

Continuous Past Past

Continuous Future Future

Using Going to

Future Continuous

I Am am being was was being will be going to be

will be being

He, she, it, who,

Is is being was was being will be going to be

will be being

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everybody They, we, you, who, none

Are are being were were being will be going to be

will be being

Pronoun Present

Perfect Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect

Future Perfect Continuous

Modals

I have been

have been being

had been had been being

will have been

will have been being

could have been

he, she, it, who, everybody

has been

has been being


will have been


would have been; ought to have been

They, we, you, who, none

have been

have been being


will have been


Should have been; must have been

So, even if some of the above tenses look wacky, consider some of the following sentences: Pamela, your little brother is being a pain! “Have you been being a good boy?” my sister asked her cat, Sinbad. Next, let’s take what is called a regular verb (because its forms are predictable) and chart it. Notice typical endings for most verbs (s, ed, ing.) Pronoun Present Present



Using Going to

Future Continuous

I work am working worked was working

will work

am going to work

will be working

He, she, it, who, everybody

works is working worked was working

will work

is going to work

will be working


work are working worked were working

will work

are going to work

will be working

Pronoun Present


Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect


I have worked

have been working

had worked had been working

will have worked

will have been working


has worked has been working


will have worked



have worked

have been working


will have worked


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Lastly, let’s chart an irregular verb (so called because of its shift in forms from one tense to another). Pronoun Present Present



Using Going to

Future Continuous

I do am doing did was doing will do going to do

will be doing

He, she, it, who, everybody

does is doing did was doing will do going to do

will be doing


do are doing did were doing will do going to do

will be doing

Pronoun Present


Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect


I have done have been doing

had done had been doing

will have done

will have been doing


has done has been doing


will have done



have done have been doing


will have done


Other irregular verbs we use everyday are the following: Arise, awake, beat, become, begin, bite, blow, break, come, draw, drink, drive, eat, fall, fly, freeze, give, go, grow, hide, overtake, (take), ride, ring, run, see, shake, show, sing, speak, steal, stink, swear, swim, swing, tear, wear, write. The following verbs don’t change form: broadcast, set, bet, burst, cost, cut, hit, hurt, put, shut -- At all: amazing!

Watch: I cut my finger today.

Last year, the county cut taxes. And last: I have cut all of the tulips in the garden.

Look at the verb forms for the following sentences. Correct them as needed.

1. Tyler Clementi’s privacy has being violated by Dharun Ravi.

2. The MySpace Mom was never sentence by a judge.

3. Latoya wondered if she should have decide to be a physical therapy assistant.

4. My sister told me that my older niece is getting marry.

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5. My brother Joey had went to the emergency room on Tuesday night.

Verbs

Agreement and Form Both subjects and verbs are singular (one thing only) or plural (more than one thing). Especially in writing, it’s a good idea to make sure singular subjects match singular verbs – the same for plural. It’s the present tense usually that causes difficulties. To use a really simple example of proper subject/verb use, look at the following:

Today, Jake, Richard, and José try out for NCC’s lacrosse team.

Because there are three men here, “try” is used, not “tries,” which is reserved for a single person or thing. As you look at the examples below, think about whether or not the singular subject matches the singular verb and the plural subject matches the plural verb.

There is a few things that I want to run past you for your approval.

Remember that verbs connote time: it’s important to make sure that your time frame is accurate and matches up. So, it’s confusing to say, for instance:

I woke up this morning and have breakfast now.

Look at tense (time) and number (singular or plural subjects) in the following sentences. Correct them as needed. 1. There was days where I despaired of ever having a musical career.

2. There are many different reason why I decide on the path of elementary education.

3. I am very grateful to my parents for the way I grow up.

4. Adrianna want to shop for her Christmas party early, but she has to put in overtime at her job.

5. Over a million dollars were paid for that one painting – imagine that!

6. The definition of cyber bullying have to do with the use of technology and Internet to harass

someone else.

7. When I discover this app, I was happy.

8. This stranger come out of nowhere and ask me for a lift to the mall.

9. Stephanie have quite a few reasons that she had chosen to major in accounting.

10. A few of us was going to stage a protest against the college administration.

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Nouns Form You all probably learned that a noun is the name of a person, place or thing, and while that definition is a place to start, it has many limitations, chief of which is how to recognize a noun when you don’t know what a word means. So, take the following sentence:

Bridget and Stephanie discussed penury, tautology and nomenclature.

Chances are that nouns that you have to have explained to you or have to look up are what are called abstract nouns (difficult to pin down their meaning, as in love, atmosphere, freedom, hermeneutics). Ones that you usually recognize instantly or can be precisely defined are usually concrete nouns (Facebook, lawnmower, college, police officer) So, what do penury, tautology and nomenclature in the above sample sentence mean? (Even I’m not sure of the exact meaning of only one of the words above, but I do know they’re nouns because of their endings). And suffixes are going to help you recognize nouns. Another way to recognize a noun is to see if it responds to a noun marker, any one of the three articles (a, an or the) as well as a host of pronouns. I’ll show you:

Cathy asked Joshua to hand her a yellow number 2 pencil.

Pencil is a noun. I know so for a couple of reasons. Number one, it’s a thing (I can clearly see a yellow number 2 pencil) and it also responds to the word “a” right in front of it: a pencil, the pencil. And a third reason: nouns can be modified or described. So it’s not just an ordinary pencil; it’s a yellow number 2 pencil. And if Joshua handed Cathy an extra pencil, it would be pencils, with an “s” ending, which is the way plural (more than one) nouns are inflected to show number (more than one thing).

There are two main classifications for nouns: common nouns (almost every noun) and proper nouns (names of people, titles, cities, countries, which are capitalized.) So in the above italicized examples, Bridget, Stephanie, Cathy, and Joshua are names of people and therefore are proper nouns; penury, tautology, nomenclature, and pencil are common nouns. The word aunt isn’t capitalized because it can refer to any aunt; my Aunt Anna is capitalized because it now names a person and uses a title (Aunt) as well. So, before we go any further, let’s take a look at suffixes that will help you not only recognize nouns but also show you the right word form for them. Come up with your own examples here. It is perfectly ok to look up examples.

Suffix Meaning Example Your Example

ade result of action blockade

age act of, state of, result of shortage

algia pain neuralgia

ance, ancy action, process, state variance

ary, ery, ory relating to, quality, place where archery

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cian possessing a specific skill or art mortician

dom quality, realm freedom

ee one who receives the action employee

ence, ency action, state of, quality emergency

er, or one who, that which painter

esis, osis action, process, condition mitosis

ess female actress

hood order, condition, quality brotherhood

ion, sion, tion act, result, or state of tension

ism system, manner, condition, characteristic idealism

ist one who, that which idealist

ity, ty state of, quality parity

logy study, science, theory theology

ment act of, state or, result embankment

ness state of shyness

ship state of, office, quality brinkmanship

tude state of, condition of fortitude

ure state of, act, process, rank stature

In the exercise below, see what you can do to identify nouns: circle, underline or highlight the nouns in the following sentences. There are 29 nouns altogether. Notice noun endings. 1. Some scientists are completely mystified by the topic of nuclear physics.

2. The artisan bread you bought has gotten quite stale over the last few days.

3. Her supervisor and coworkers gave Aliha a birthday party last Tuesday.

4. ABC Realty Co. considered its new real estate agent hopelessly incompetent.

5. The ASPCA has fought for the rights of all animals.

6. Tony surveyed the wreckage that once was his car.

7. “My constituents demand better service from the government” urged the senator.

8. Chris’ in-laws are hosting an expensive anniversary party for him and his wife.

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9. Wendi waited breathlessly for the delivery of her Viking range.

10. The college administration protested the county’s reduced budget.

Adjectives

Function

Adjectives are fabulous, wonderful, adorable words. Look at the sentence I just wrote: which words modify the word words? Fabulous, wonderful, adorable. Adjectives have one and only ONE job to do: describe, modify, and/or limit nouns. Some adjectives are colorful, meaningful words: you can see that they are descriptors the second you look at them. Others, however, like numbers and certain kinds of pronouns, are not so colorful nor so easily identified as adjectives. Let me give you a couple of examples.

Anabel dove into the dark blue waters. What words describe the waters? Correct: dark blue. BUT, watch this: Erik’s backpack was stolen yesterday. There doesn’t seem to be any descriptive word in the sentence until you think about it: whose backpack? Erik’s. This kind of adjective is what’s called a possessive adjective. Here’s another example: Her daughter came down with the flu. Whose daughter? Her daughter. A few more examples of adjectives follow that don’t look like ordinary adjectives, but they do modify or limit the nouns they are attached to.

Two friends will take Kevin out to dinner this week. Segun made several decisions about buying a new car.

Sean is thinking of going to Florida next month.

The adjectives that don’t look like adjectives are two; several; and next. Why are they adjectives? Just remember that in English, we tend to want to place the adjectives before the noun, and we tend to like adjectives in a certain order. Let me give you two examples of “natural” order of adjectives in English:

Amanda looked sensational in her new silver dress.

Notice silver comes before dress. Rarely, if ever, do we say in English: Amanda looked sensational in her new dress of silver. Or even more rarely do we say Amanda looked sensational in her new dress that was silver. The order English speakers prefer is adjective/noun, even when we are using many adjectives to modify or describe one noun. When English speakers use a bunch of adjectives before a noun, we use punctuation when necessary:

Martin and Nicholas were apprehensive about stepping onto the ancient, dilapidated, mildewed, moss-encrusted, sagging porch.

What separates the first four adjectives from each other? Yep: commas. (More on them later in the packet.) Form

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Like nouns, adjectives use suffixes -- notice the endings chart that follows, which will be helpful to you in recognizing, using, and even spelling, adjectives. Come up with your own examples here. It is perfectly ok to look up examples. Suffix Meaning Example Your Example

able, ible capable reasonable

al relating to topical

an, ian native of, relating to Rastafarian

en made of, to make wooden

ese a native of, the language of Chinese

fic making, causing horrific

ful full of frightful

ic nature of, like stoic

ile relating to, suited for, capable of mobile

ish origin, nature, resembling selfish

ive causing, making palliative

ous full of, having generous

some like, apt, tending to wearisome

ward in the direction of backward

Form: Adjective Formed from Past Perfect Verb Tense There is one more way that we form adjectives, and that is from the past perfect verb tense. Look at the following sentence:

Paul asked the store manager where the frozen food aisle was. Take a look at some of these adjective/noun combinations and you’ll see how often we use the past perfect tense to form adjectives ending in “ed” or “en.” dyed hair wooden bench missed call bitten nails drunk driver

half-eaten sandwich shaken baby syndrome grown man the spoken word stolen car

torn sleeve worn jeans the written word

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Find the adjectives in the following exercises. Remember what you’ve learned about possessive adjectives, number and pronouns acting as adjectives. There are 20 adjectives here, 5 of which are possessive adjectives, which are pronouns (my, her) or words ending in ‘s (Matthew’s) or s’ (several friends’ Facebook pages).

1. Michael’s custom-made cufflinks glinted in the sunlight.

2. Cesar wondered when his friend would clean up her messy Facebook page.

3. Remedial students are more capable and responsible than most people think.

4. My little niece worked on a very hard puzzle.

5. The little old woman shuffled across the busy intersection.

6. The class piled into Matthew’s beat-up, rusty old Hummer.

7. Vassileva thought the test was very easy.

8. Rocco found the movie too gruesome for words.

9. Sara found Alberta’s cooking inedible.

10. Sergio has been a vegetarian for years.

Form: Comparative, Superlative A few last thoughts about adjectives: when you compare things, you use the comparative form of an adjective. The following example is very easy to see:

Vivian’s cat is smaller than mine. One cat is small (mine) but by comparison, Vivian’s is even teenier. How do we express this? By using the “er” form or the “more” form, in the case of words of more than two syllables. So, which here makes sense?

My dolly is beautifuler than yours.

My dolly is more beautiful than yours.

And, when comparing three or more, “est” or “most” (the superlative form) comes into play.

Angelina is the prettiest girl I have ever seen.

Notice, we need only one of these forms, not both, so no need for “most prettiest.” The absolute comparison is already attached to “pretty,” as in “prettiest.” Some comparatives and superlatives are irregular:

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good/better/best bad/worse/worst little/less/least

much/ many some/more/most far/further

farther/furthest, farthest

Here is the uncompared form of the adjective. Please supply the correct comparative or superlative form. 1. Clarissa thought it was the (bad) movie she had ever seen.

2. These pipes are (rusty) than they were last year.

3. Christian Bale is the (good) Batman yet.

4. Marc lives (far) from NCC than Fernando does.

5. Nia’s math teacher’s test instructions are (clear) than the ones her biology teacher gives.

Adverbs

Form (descriptors ending in “ly”) and Function

One group of adverbs can be used alone or with adjectives to form descriptors. These are adverbs that end in “ly” and many of them are formed from the adjective form. They are used to modify the verb or sometimes the entire thought in a sentence. Here are a couple of examples:

Deforest said she felt perfectly fine today. Andrew said that Jocelyn dances beautifully.

Hopefully, we’ll get to the restaurant before the last seating.

Notice in the example, Deforest didn’t simply describe herself as feeling fine (an adjective). She went further to modify “fine” by adding perfectly, which tells us that she wishes to assure the reader that she’s in great condition. Jocelyn doesn’t just dance: beautifully suggests the intensity of the speaker’s comment. And in the last sentence, hopefully really doesn’t comment on any word directly – it just expresses a desire. Function (degree) Adverbs help us specify the degree of something.

Ryan Gosling is so hot! In the above sentence, Ryan Gosling is the subject. What completes the sentence is the adjective hot. What, then, is the word so for? It simply shows intensity. The speaker not only thinks Gosling is handsome and sexy, she (presumably) wants to emphasize his “hotness.”

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Intensifiers really have no meaning of their own if you think about it. What does so mean, anyway? Here’s a small list of intensifiers:

fairly, quite, rather, so, too, very, still

They are pretty much used in front of adjectives to either increase or decrease the intensity of what someone is saying. A small chart below will give you an idea of how adverbs are formed. Noun Verb Adjective Adverb slowness Slow slow Slowly Perfect perfect Perfectly nastiness to be

nasty nasty Nastily

beauty beautify beautiful Beautifully badness to be bad bad Badly loyalty to be loyal loyal Loyally heat Heat heated Heatedly Look at the adverb forms for the following sentences. Correct them as needed.

1. Kevin hopes to get a (good, well) –paying job after graduation.

2. I believe in the motto “live (simple, simply).”

3. “Drive more (slow, slowly) down this road from now on, ok?” said the State Trooper after she

gave me a speeding ticket.

4. Reba said the amusement park was (so fun, so much fun).

5. Some celebrities dance so (nice, nicely) that they could be professionals.

6. Carmine spoke to me so (nasty, nastily) that I unfriended him on Facebook.

7. The philosophy instructor tried to get his students to think (deeper, more deeply) about the

allegory of Plato’s cave.

8. Nicky is (too, to, two) smart for her own good.

9. Extreme weather activists ask all of us to think (different, differently) about global warming.

10. Dakota said to her daughter, Montana, “Good job! You did that (perfect, perfectly).

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Pronouns

Function: Takes the Place of a Noun

Personal: Referring to you, me, him, her, and they Pronouns take the place of nouns when it is better to not repeat a noun over and over again. Take the following:

Paul graduated high school last year. Paul applied to a variety of schools, but Paul, because of Paul’s low grades, didn’t get into any of the schools Paul wanted to. So, Paul wound up coming to NCC, but

Paul found out that Paul really likes NCC. Obviously, you can see the need for the pronouns “he,” “his,” ‘him.” The chart below details the sentence position of personal pronouns. Subject Object Possessive: these are used for ownership, belonging to Reflexive I me my, mine (my purse) Myself He him his (his good name) Himself She her her, hers (her brother) Herself It its its (its fur, paw) Itself You you your, yours (your cheating heart) Yourself You you your, yours (your flower gardens) Yourselves We us our, ours (our livelihoods) Ourselves they them their, theirs (their bad credit) Themselves who whom whose (whose broad stripes and bright stars) Xxxxxxxxx

Pronouns Referring to everyone else

The “bodies.” These pronouns are called indefinite pronouns because they don’t signify a person or thing specifically. Here’s an example of an indefinite (or, we don’t know exactly whom we are talking about) pronoun.

Everyone has a past.

No problem here: everyone is one, the verb, has, is also one. We run into trouble when we use a plural pronoun with one of the singular “bodies.” Let me show you.

Everybody has something they are ashamed of.

The first part, the subject and verb, everybody has, is fine – both singular. It’s the last part, their, that is a problem because they (their) is more than one. What to do, then? You could do your best to remember he or she, him or her, his or her, to make sure that you have agreement. Or, you could avoid using the singular “body” in writing.

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Singular “bodies:” All take singular verbs anybody anyone anything everybody

everyone everything no one nobody

nothing somebody someone something

Plural “bodies”: All take plural verbs

both a few few

fewer many others

several they

Here are some sentences that, I hope, will clearly show you the problem with the “bodies.”

1. Everybody (ONE person) needs to have their (more than ONE person) lungs X-rayed at least once.

2. Excuse me? Someone (ONE person) has left their (more than ONE person) umbrella behind. If you fix the above statements so that the “their,” “their,” “they” are eliminated to conform with the ONE person pronoun, here’s what we get:

1. Everybody needs to have his lungs X-rayed at least once. 2. Excuse me? Someone has left her umbrella behind.

Being “grammatically correct” sometimes forces us to make sexist, stilted, and strange-sounding choices. Here’s what I would do:

1. People need to have their lungs X-rayed at least once. 2. Excuse me? Someone has left an umbrella behind.

Last, demonstrative pronouns such as this, these, that, those, have very specific jobs to do. If you’re going to use them in writing, and you intend to write clearly, you need to make sure you use them clearly. Let me give you an example:

Barack Obama stated that we needed to support this current health care proposal, not that of the Republican party.

In the sentence, the writer is being specific about the health care proposal – it is the most current one – as opposed to an earlier version. Another example of specific use:

Marc asked Malachi to hand him, Marc, those heavy chamois towels. Again, the writer is being very specific about who is handling the towels. How about an example where this, that, these, those, are not as specific as could be. It has come to our attention that reams of Xerox paper have been disappearing from the Supply Cabinet

and a few HP ink cartridges have as well. This will not be tolerated. If you look at the above sentence, what exactly will not be tolerated?

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In the following sentences, see if you can find the pronoun problem.

1. The senator toured the hurricane-damaged town with the county executive, and she commiserated

with the devastated homeowners.

2. Allen hurt hisself when he jumped off the embankment.

3. Drinking and texting while driving have been on the rise in our county. That is a major problem

in that it has caused some traffic fatalities.

4. We are protesting because we believe that the hospital has been unfair to we nurses.

5. I really don’t like that part of having Skype because you don’t know who they are.

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Sentences

Definition: A sentence is defined as a collection of related words that have a subject (S), a complete verb (V), and sometimes a completer, depending on what is being said. For instance, “I love” is a pretty empty statement because it’s missing a completer. “I love pizza” is a perfectly acceptable sentence because the word “pizza” completes the sentence. So is “Edna sits.” Why? It simply states what the subject is doing and doesn’t need a completer. Simple Sentences (structures requiring no punctuation) Essential parts of a sentence (subjects, verbs, completers, for example) need to be together, so notice that there are no commas used in the following examples. Here is the very basic simple sentence: one subject, one verb. (S+V)

1. Jessica works late at the office on Tuesdays. 2. The local municipality has approved further spending. 3. The Walking Dead is my favorite show.

Next, there are variations on the simple sentence. Notice the following: Two or more subjects, one verb. (S+S+ V)

1. Jessica and Ryan are walking to class together. 2. Making butternut squash soup and baking muffins are Linda’s cooking specialties. 3. Two hydrogen molecules mixed with one molecule of oxygen makes water.

One subject, two or more verbs. (S+V+V)

1. Jessica drove her truck to the convenience store and bought some beef jerky. 2. The pandas at the zoo have finally mated and produced a cub. 3. Christian Bale gained 43 pounds and shaved his head for his role as Irving Rosenfeld in American

Hustle. Two or more subjects, two or more verbs. (S+S+V+V)

1. Ryan and Jessica worked together on the project and received A’s from their instructor. 2. Both the first-grade class and the second-grade class went on a field trip and examined butterflies. 3. Parents and teachers discussed the Common Core and planned ways to implement it at Commack

Road Elementary. Interrupters Normally, the simple sentence doesn’t need any punctuation unless the sentence is interrupted as in “I, however, love pizza.” Notice two commas surround the word that interrupts the subject and verb combination. Notice the following examples:

1. The Walking Dead, by the way, is my favorite show. 2. Making butternut squash soup and baking muffins, furthermore, are Linda’s cooking specialties. 3. The pandas at the zoo have finally mated and, happily for all involved, produced a cub.

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Compound 1: Using Coordinating Conjunctions Obviously, we don’t speak and write in simple sentences only, which is why using coordinating conjunctions with a comma helps us to write more sophsticated sentences. These coordinators are nicknames fanboys, and there are only seven of them to remember. So, let’s take the last three examples from the simple sentence explanation and “tweak” them so that they now become compound sentences.

1. Ryan and Jessica worked together on the project and received A’s from their instructor.

With just an addition of a subject, we can make the above simple sentence a compound one:

1. Ryan and Jessica worked together on the project, and they received A’s from their instructor.

2. Both the first- and second-grade class went on a field trip and examined butterflies.

2. Both the first- and second-grade class went on a field trip, and they examined butterflies. 3. Parents and teachers discussed the Common Core and planned ways to implement it at Commack

Road Elementary.

3. Parents and teachers discussed the Common Core, and they planned ways to implement it at Commack Road Elementary.

Just three simple additions can change a simple sentence into a compound one: a comma and a fanboys and a subject after the comma fanboys.

Here is the list of the fanboys as well as their functions: , for (reason)

, and (addition)

, nor (Negative choice)

, but (Contrast or Contradiction)

, or (Positive choice)

, yet (Can be the same as but; regardless of,

despite)

, so (Result)

Some of these you will tend to use more than others – it isn’t necessary to use all of these in your writing.

Select the fanboys you think best creates the relationship between the two sentences.

1. I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod _________he wanted it back.

2. We could order in some Thai food ________we could go out for pizza.

3. Brandon could have registered for Bio 101 _______he could have registered for

Oceanography.

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4. The evening supervisor called in sick _____ the shop closed early

5. Robert was late leaving for school _____he managed to get to his first class on time.

6. Owen decided to forgo the long walk down to check the mail _______it was bitterly cold out

that night.

7. Dani and Michelle did not want to meet the two guys they met in the mall ________did they

want to return any text messages from them.

8. Katie said that she would eat the mushroom stroganoff _______she wasn’t going to like it.

9. Johnny never requested a Withdrawal from his Biology class ______his instructor failed him

for the semester.

10. Ellie swore that she would never leave Alexander ______she loved him.

Compound 2: Using a Semi-Colon and a Sentence Adverb As you’ve just seen, there are only seven fanboys, and they have pretty clear-cut meanings. With sentence adverbs, you sometimes have to make a judgment call about their meaning. Go ahead: experiment: sometimes you’ll be right; sometimes you won’t be. In this type of compound sentence, semi-colons are used to join two sentences closely related in meaning. You can use a sentence adverb or not, depending on how you want the sentence to read. For example: “I love pasta; I don’t like pizza” is an example of a compound sentence without a sentence adverb. Here is the same sentence with a logically chosen sentence adverb: “I love pasta; however, I don’t like pizza.” Notice the punctuation: ;however, There are at least four places you can use the sentence adverb:

1. “I love pasta; however, I don’t like pizza.” 2. “I love pasta; I, however, don’t like pizza. 3. “I love pasta; I don’t, however, like pizza. 4. “I love pasta; I don’t like pizza, however.

The most important part to remember, however, is the semi-colon to join the two closely related sentences. Which sentences below would you join? Which would you keep separate?

1. Joan visits her father in the assisted living facility once a week. She brings him Mars Bars.

Join? Separate?

2. I saw The Conjuring last night. It scared the hell out of me.

Join? Separate?

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3. Abigail got Joseph a glass of water. He went back to bed.

Join? Separate?

Here is a chart of the most commonly used sentence adverbs: above all also as a result at any rate comparatively consequently conversely finally for example for instance fortunately

furthermore hence however in addition in contrast indeed instead likewise moreover naturally nevertheless

on the contrary on the other hand rather similarly specifically subsequently therefore ultimately unfortunately

You can use these between two complete sentences or at the end of the second sentence. These work within sentences that use semi-colons. Here are some examples:

1. Sheila’s mother died suddenly; naturally, Sheila closed her shop for a week in mourning. 2. Many people expected that Dharun Ravi would get a multi-year sentence for his crimes; however,

he received only 30 days in jail. 3. Carol hastened to file her financial aid form before the deadline; unfortunately, she missed it by an

hour. You might recognize that some of the sentences below are the same ones you worked on from pg. , only now, instead of using a comma and fanboys, you will be using a semi-colon and a sentence adverb. Here is the first one done for you:

Using a comma and fanboys: I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod, but he wanted it back.

Here is the same sentence using a semi-colon and sentence adverb:

I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod; however, he wanted it back.

Use the semi-colon and an appropriate sentence adverb to join the following sentences.

1. The evening supervisor called in sick ____________the shop closed early.

2. Robert was late leaving for school _________he managed to get to his first class on time.

3. Katie said that she would eat the mushroom stroganoff ___________she wasn’t going to like

it.

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4. Johnny never requested a Withdrawal from his Biology class __________his instructor failed

him for the semester.

The next exercise asks you to choose the most appropriate sentence adverb to help make the relationship between the two parts here. Your answer may differ from your classmates.’

1. Eddie never turned in a revisions portfolio; _________________, his fate rested on the

handwritten final exam.

2. Alison faints at the sight of blood; she loves gory horror movies,_____________.

3. Javier loves court shows on television; ____________, The People’s Court is his favorite.

4. Billy and Justin downloaded the new Call of Duty; __________, they wound up playing it all

night long.

5. Alma is taking lots of science courses in her junior year; ____________, she expects to study

almost all of the time.

6. Siobhan wanted to become a veterinarian; ______________, she wanted to specialize in animal

cardiology.

7. Ellen was going to rent a film from Netflix; __________, she went out to the movies.

8. Allen doesn’t like risotto all that much; he ate some of it, ____________.

9. Jerry requested some changes in his job description; ______________, he asked to be called a co-

manager instead of assistant manager.

10. Liz and Lisa had planned to go to the movies Friday evening; _______________, they found

themselves working double shifts at Starbucks.

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Complex Sentence

Function: Embedding One Sentence Inside Another Unlike compound sentences, the complex sentence actually breaks a sentence into two uneven halves: one piece is still a sentence (the independent clause or complete sentence) the other is a piece of a sentence (the dependent clause or incomplete sentence.) The incomplete piece depends on the other for its existence: it becomes embedded. Notice: I was involved in a horrific car accident. Which changed my life. The first statement is a full sentence (“I” is subject, “was involved” is verb.) The second is a piece (fragment) because it starts with a word that can only be used in the middle of a sentence.** A sentence is complex not because it’s brilliant and complicated, but because it’s composed of one independent and one dependent clause. **Which, however, can be used to start a question along with why, who, whom, whose, where, when. Whenever you are tempted to use any of these words to start a sentence, ask yourself if you intend to ask a question. If not, don’t use the word. Notice: “I adore Lenny. Who let the dogs out.” (The last piece is a fragment. To correct it: I adore Lenny, who let the dogs out.) BUT: “Who let the dogs out?” is a question looking for an answer. (Everybody knows the answer: it’s the Baha Men.) And look at what you can do once you begin to learn these combinations: Assistant District Attorney Corbin Reilly, whose hot temper was well known in the courthouse, cross-examined the witness, who broke down in tears as the paparazzi snapped picture after picture of the court proceedings. If these were separate sentences, look at how boring they would be:

1. Assistant District Attorney Corbin Reilly has a hot temper. 2. His hot temper is well known in the courthouse. 3. Assistant District Attorney Corbin Reilly cross-examined the witness. 4. The witness broke down in tears. 5. At the same time, the paparazzi snapped picture after picture of the court proceedings.

Pretty amazing: five sentences compressed into one: magic! And you can do it, too! Here is a fairly complete chart of dependent words, also called subordinators. After Although As As if As soon as As though Because

Before Even if Even though How If In order that

On condition that Provided that Since So that Such that Than

Though Unless Until What Whatever When Whenever

Whereas Wherever Whether Whichever Whoever Whomever Whosever

Why

Let’s go back to the sentences you worked on before on pgs. and . Now, instead of a comma and fanboys; instead of a semi-colon and sentence adverb, we’re going to use the dependent word to create a complex sentence. Here is the first one done for you:

Using a comma and fanboys: I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod, but he wanted it back.

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Here is the same sentence using a semi-colon and sentence adverb:

I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod; however, he wanted it back.

Here is the same sentence using a dependent word:

Although I thought I could keep Eric’s iPod, he wanted it back. OR

Eric wanted his iPod back although I thought I could keep it.

Notice the punctuation: if the dependent word is used first, you need a comma at the juncture.

1. ___________the evening supervisor called in sick, the shop closed early.

2. Robert was late leaving for school _________he managed to get to his first class on time.

3. Owen decided to forgo the long walk down to check the mail _________it was bitterly cold

out that night.

4. Katie said that she would eat the mushroom stroganoff __________she wasn’t going to like

it.

5. Johnny never requested a Withdrawal from his Biology class _________his instructor failed

him for the semester.

6. Ellie swore that she would never leave Alexander _________she loved him.

7. ___________I love my step-brother Angelo, I fight with him.

8. ___________ you finish your homework, you won’t be able to go on Facebook.

9. I used to root for the Mets _________they became one of the worst teams in MLB this past

season.

10. My little brother, Sammy, is a great soccer player_____________my older brother, Solomon, is

very good at hockey.

11. Some of us will vote for the Republican candidate__________we don’t really know what the

Democratic one has done for his district.

12. David is much smarter_________his cousin.

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13. Alvin skated on the pond__________Katherine sledded down the hill.

14. Jason will go skiing only________his best friend goes as well.

15. We can get started on painting the house________Meshaal opens the paint cans.

Each of the examples below can be combined by using an appropriate dependent word. Do make sure that you use a comma if you begin your complex sentence with the dependent word. Although Because Unless If

Until While Before Since

After As

1. Robbie is my favorite nephew. He is so much fun to be around.

1.

2. I love cats. I don’t love dogs.

2.

3. Jeanne pulled out of the driveway. She heard the screech of tires behind her.

3.

4. Jonathan and Silvia had a sumptuous meal. They had espresso.

4.

5. You behave yourself today. I’ll go to the park with you.

5.

6. You give me back my purse. I will call the cops.

6.

7. Zachary was seven years old. He loved trains of all kinds.

7.

8. I return the rental car. I have to fill it with gas.

8.

9. She goes to the doctor. She won’t know why she has so many headaches.

9.

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10. Fresia will do the dishes. Jacob puts the leftovers in the fridge.

10.

Complex Sentences

Eliminating repetition using relative words Another good way to combine sentences is to use relative words. The five words in the chart below help you connect short sentences related to the same subject. So, instead of a series of short, choppy sentences such as these: Kate is my best friend. I have known Kate since high school. We hang out every weekend. We hang out

at a bar called The Oasis. The Oasis is on New Hyde Park Road in New Hyde Park. With relative words, I can reduce the repetition here and create one elegant sentence:

I have known Kate, who is my best friend, since high school. Every weekend, we hang out at a bar, The Oasis, which is on New Hyde Park Road in New Hyde Park.

Try connecting some sentences yourself here. These words will replace other, repetitive words and the sentence will now need a comma as well. Where Which

Who Whom

Whose

1. Michelle has six cats. All of them need to be medicated at night.

2. Tasha just happens to have a classic car. It is the 1964 ½ Mustang.

3. Aisha wants to live in a beautiful home. All will be serene and tastefully appointed in

this home.

4. I’d like to introduce you all to Heather. Heather is an award-winning playwright and

singer-songwriter.

5. Amanda, please hand me the harmonica. The harmonica is in the cabinet near the kitchen.

6. My brother works with many medical professionals. Most of them are doctors.

7. The federal government has yet to reimburse my neighbor. My neighbor’s house was

damaged by hurricane Sandy.

8. Maylin is a student. Maylin is also a National Guard Reservist.

9. Justine consults her lawyer often. She has total trust in him.

10. I live near Central Park. I go for walks in Central Park.

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Sentence Boundary Issues

Revise the following to fix the run on or the sentence fragments.

1. My handymen, Paul and Eddie, have insulated my screened-in porch, put up drywall,

and painted I can’t wait until they’ve put in all of the electrical outlets.

2. Joshua having the worst peanut allergy I have ever seen. He has to carry an epi pen.

3. Getting sick and having to go to the doctor is scary imagine what it’s like for little

children.

4. AARP, an organization serving the needs of those fifty and over. Offering a discount

on life insurance.

5. Making a good case. I don’t agree with your argument.

6. A few of us have decided to take up archery we loved it when we were kids.

7. I listened to the customer patiently, obviously, she was unhappy with the service my

company gave her.

8. My 90-year-old great grandmother still goes out partying. Which is amazing.

9. Please call my administrative assistant tell him that I will be late for the meeting.

10. Intending not to wait too much longer for him to call me. I am waiting for a call from

the superintendant.

11. On Hallowe’en I held a scary movie party only one of my friends was truly frightened

by the feature film.

12. Our newest instructor has a degree from Yale, she has done extensive student

teaching.

13. My brother being a construction worker. His business has been slow.

14. The graduation ceremony was cut short by the sudden downpour. All of us dashing

for shelter.

15. Steve’s car was stuck deeply in the snow drift the blizzard was making matters worse.

16. One long strand of steel-gray hair in the middle of Miss Emily Grierson’s pillow.

17. Rahail shouted "tag" all of the kids went running.

18. The bartender gave us all free drinks. On the house.

19. The Board of Education threatened to close the school the PTA was alarmed and

galvanized itself into action.

20. Stacy really wanted to have a child soon she felt her biological clock ticking away.

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Apostrophes Function: to show possession or ownership Form: ‘s or s’ We use ‘s or s’ to show the reader that someone or something owns or possesses someone or something else. Whether or not we use ‘s or s’ depends on whether or not the possessor is singular or plural. So, let’s try it. The first thing to realize s that in English, we usually don’t do the following:

The bracelets of Karen-Rose The jacket of Dakeem

The earrings of Gee-Zele The bikes of the boys

The policies of the colleges The tiaras of the princesses

We tend to collapse the “of the” phrase and move the thing possessed closer to the possessor. Notice the following:

Karen-Rose’s bracelets Dakeem’s jacket

Gee-Zele’s earrings The boys’ bikes

The colleges’ policies The princesses’ tiaras

Many people find using apostrophes difficult, but it need not be. With a few exceptions, the use of the apostrophe to indicate possession is logical. The trick is to spell the word out completely first and then decide where the apostrophe goes. Take a look at the following chart. Notice where the apostrophes go. Singular Singular Possessive Plural Plural Possessive boy boy’s Boys boys’ girl girl’s Girls girls’ lady lady’s Ladies ladies’ princess princess’ Princesses princesses’ The five sentences here either have missing or misused apostrophes.

1. The governmental agencies top-secret proposals were immediately leaked to the

media.

2. The Xray techs shoes were untied.

3. Denny could never recall if his second cousins name was spelled Sara or Sarah.

4. The shelters' policy stipulate's that all dogs and cats will be vaccinated.

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5. The women in the prison cells checked the bunk’s before they assembled for

morning roll call.

But, there are some strange exceptions. Most nouns form a plural by using s, but some don’t – these are some of the oldest words in our language. Let me show you some nouns that change form when they go plural.

Child/children Brother/brethren

Man/men Woman/women

Foot/feet Mouse/mice Tooth/teeth

Person/people

Singular Singular Possessive Plural Plural Possessive child child’s Children children’s person person’s People people’s woman woman’s Women women’s man man’s Men men’s

The interesting thing here is that the above nouns will not follow the rules of possession. They all take ‘s. Take a look at these:

There is nothing more elastic than a child’s mind. The customers picked over the children’s clothing in the thrift store.

Where might the women’s department be located? I’m not interested in most people’s opinions.

Another potential problem with using apostrophes happens with singular nouns ending in y. Take lady, for example. Like city, fly, puppy, kitty, pony, lady ends in y, so the plural is ies. (Remember that some words ending in y don’t change their ending – monkey, journey, donkey). Just remember to spell out the word first before you add either a ‘s or s’ or even in some cases just an ‘. Also, words that already end in s (Frances, princess, Charles, Ludacris) might look silly with the extra s, as in ‘s. Take a look and see what you think of them:

Andres’s dvd player The princess’s iPod

Charles’s BMW Ludacris’s recording contract

OR Andres’ dvd player The princess’ iPod

Charles’ BMW Ludacris’ recording contract

Function: to show omission by contraction

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Contractions are wonderful. We use them all the time in conversation, and more and more, they are creeping into college writing, which, generally is ok (but check with your individual instructor if he or she prefers the more formal use.) So it’s ( it is) ok to use I’m instead of I am, she won’t instead of she will not, etc. It’s (it is) totally NOT ok to use gonna for going to, wanna for want to, Imo for I’m going to, should of, would of, could of for should, would, could’ve. You know these, so fill in the missing pieces of the chart.

Pronouns as subjects and their verbs Singular Two Words Contraction of Them Plural Two Words Contraction of The

two words I am we are he is they are they’re she is it is you you’re who The five sentences here either have missing or misused apostrophes.

1. Im sure no one knew why the murder's were committed.

2. Henrys aunt asked Helen "Howve you been?"

3. Ive thought in the past that hes the most boring person on the planet, but I've

changed my mind.

4. Its a mystery to me why my two cats cant get along.

5. Kristina looks absolutely smashing in turquoise, doesnt she?

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Commas There are only 5 basic comma rules, two or three of which you know already.

1. Use a comma or commas to separate elements: dates, names, addresses; two or more items in a series; two or more adjectives within the main sentence.

So, I bet you can fill in the needed commas here and figure out where ones aren’t needed.

I was born on September 10, 1995.

Ilan, would you please grab me a soda?

The vases were filled with roses, dahlias, lilies, and marigolds.

2. Use a comma or commas to separate introductory phrases.

By the way, have you gone to the new Mets Stadium yet?

Unfortunately for both of them, Andrea and Merle were very late for their fortune-telling

appointment.

After bringing in the mail, Juan started his homework.

3. Next, use commas to enclose certain structures that interrupt the main sentence.

Joanne, who is a busy student, is also a mother.

Do you remember, Oyenike, where I put my glasses?

Zachary’s main point, however, was that parole should be granted to incarcerated minors

who have committed serious crimes.

4. Use one comma when creating a “fanboys” compound sentence>

Mario loves chocolate ice cream but Brett loves strawberry.

I kept my dog indoors the entire summer but she still got fleas.

There was very little work left for Gee-zele to do so she left early.

5. Use one comma when creating a complex sentence when the dependent word starts the

sentence.

Because the power lines were down, Solomon had to be very careful walking around his car.

I’ll let you drive my car if you promise to be home by ten.

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When you get on an escalator with a child, you must hold her hand.

You decide, based on the rules above, where commas are needed in the fifteen sentences below.

1. Shenna a very serious student loves being in college.

2. Stephen’s birthday is on March 23rd 1991.

3. Because Jonathan and Russell know their grammar they can easily navigate through

difficult grammatical problems.

4. Walking through the parking lot texting on her cell phone and not looking where she was

going the clueless student narrowly missed being hit by a Ford F150 flatbed truck.

5. Cleveland please close the door.

6. Nassau Community College is located at 1 Education Drive Garden City New York.

7. The semester started on September 3rd 2013.

8. My official academic title is Fran O’Connor Ph.D.

9. Mitashi’s favorite colors are purple blue red and yellow.

10. Jeanette told her friend not to be sad angry or upset anymore.

11. After ten thirty employees punched out and went home.

12. At the close of the day Joanne headed back to her home.

13. Before eating the child unfolded her napkin neatly.

14. All things being equal I wouldn’t want a bounty hunter coming after me.

15. Not for nothing but I really can’t take the way Alfredo talks to the other workers.

Where Not To Use Commas

Once you start to recognize certain kinds of sentences (the simple, the compound, the complex) you’ll notice that each uses commas in particular ways. However, one thing is absolutely certain: in English, we don’t use one comma between subject and verb, or one comma between verb and completer. I’ll show you – hopefully, the sentences below will look wrong – because they are punctuated wrong.

Artie, was wondering when the next call was coming in to the firehouse.

Jennifer and Carmela made plans, to go to the movies tonight.

Anthony’s friends, threw him a birthday bash.

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Dr. O’Connor, will assign, all of her English 001 classes, lots of homework throughout

November.

You decide if any commas are needed in the ten sentences below.

1. The weird kid, who sits in the back of my math class, sniffs all through class.

2. How would I have even known twenty years ago, I would be standing here, getting this

award?

3. I asked you that question, because I figured you knew the answer.

4. The oil burner started leaking, so, I had to get it fixed immediately.

5. Ruben wondered aloud, how his favorite team was going to come from behind.

6. Kristina’s favorite television show, is Project,Runway.

7. President, Barak Obama, has commented recently, on the crisis in the Middle East.

8. The Leftovers is about a strange event that happened on Oct., 14.

9. Chief Kevin Garvey, Jr., is the lead character on, The Leftovers.

10. His girlfriend, asked Brady, a question, he didn’t want to answer.

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Transitions

Definition

Transitions make bridges between sentences, and between sections of a discussion. They certainly help the reader follow the discussion; amazingly, they also help the writer think more clearly. Transitions suggest and clarify relationships, presenting a satisfying and logical connection within a written piece. You may or may not already know when and how to use the words below. My advice? Take note of the category the words are in and try them out in your writing. I, and any other thoughtful, honest reader of your writing, will tell you whether or not the transition works. Ok? Here are the most common. At the very end of this section, try your hand at inserting transitions into the sample short paragraph.

Signal words

These words signal to both reader and writer that what follows them is especially important. above all and at any rate central chief despite especially -est forms of adjectives, e.g., (safest, greatest, best, worst)

even though finally indeed instinctive just as key main major moreover most (important, noteworthy, obvious)

naturally not only ...but also of course primary principal should be (remembered, noted, observed) significant still this, that, these, those, one vital

Illustration Words

Illustration words are used to introduce examples or illustrations to clarify, define, explain, or

develop an idea or a generalization.

as, as when for example for instance

specifically such as that is (to say)

the following to illustrate

Order or Time Sequence Words

Sequence words are used to help you arrange things according to their order of importance or the order in which they happened.

before, after finally first, second from...to, until here, there

most important next presently soon, as soon as subsequently

then ultimately when, whenever

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Addition Words

Addition words will help you to steer an idea in the same direction, with more points or details added.

in addition also and another

furthermore next (reason, quality, example, event) moreover

again other (reasons, qualities, etc.)

Comparison Words

Comparison words signal that two or more things are the same or similar.

alike also and both

can be compared (to, with) comparatively each

just as...so likewise same similarly

Contrast Words

Contrast words are used to signal that you will show an opposite view or change the direction of a previously stated idea. If a writer wishes to alter slightly or modify an earlier statement, he or

she can do so by using contrast words.

although, though but conversely despite different from, different than each either...or -er (forms of adjectives) than as in

“bigger than, smarter than,” etc. even though however in contrast instead more, less than (something else) neither...nor nevertheless on the contrary

on the other hand one...the other (one is lighter than the other) some...others (some are more friendly than others) still then...now whereas while yet

Cause/Effect Words

Cause/Effect words signal that one thing caused another to happen. Sometimes a cause-effect relationship is shown within a sentence that contains this kind of signal.

after as a result because consequently from...to, until

hence if...then since then therefore

thus when, whenever

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Summary Words

Summary words signal the conclusion of a topic. Keep in mind that summary words can be used to indicate the most important point within a paragraph or at the end of a longer discussion.

above all again finally hence in brief

in conclusion, to conclude last, last of all most importantly therefore to reiterate

to repeat to summarize, to sum up ultimately

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Count Noun vs. Non-count Noun Concrete Noun vs. Abstract Noun

Explanation

In English, we have categories of nouns that either form a collection (such as the word collection or furniture, homework, media, stuff, etiquette) or are considered uncountable (such as sugar, salt, flour, sand, integrity, consciousness, intelligence, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine). Typically, these nouns don’t act like countable nouns (such as iPad, smartphone, wall, car, college), which use “s” to form the plural. So we can talk aboutiPads, smartphones, walls,cars, and colleges, but not “salts, flours, sands, integrities, consciousnesses, intelligences, Facebooks, Twitters, Instagrams, Vines) ; we can talk about assignments, projects, but not “homeworks.”

Very often countable nouns are concrete ones and non-count ones are abstract. A concrete noun responds to our senses: it has physical existence – as in dog, eyelash, school, iPod, Belinda, sidewalk. Abstract nouns have no physical existence: they are often ideas, concepts, feelings, and states. – as in democracy, freedom, sadness, insanity.

Take a look at the following examples of count vs. non-count and concrete vs. abstract nouns:

After two months of rainstorms, Fred carries his umbrella everywhere in anticipation of more bad weather.

Rainstorms = count noun; weather = non-count noun.

Because Buddy, my cat, has ripped all four chairs with his claws, I want to buy new furniture and find the cat another home.

Chairs = count noun; furniture = non-count noun.

When Mrs. Russell postponed the date of the research paper, smiles lit up the faces of her students, filling the room with happiness.

Smiles = count noun; happiness = non-count noun.

Since Claudette will help Nadir with his calculus assignments, Nadir will help Claudette’s daughter with her music homework.

Assignments = count noun; homework = non-count noun.

The chart below illustrates the different types of non-count nouns. Remember that these categories include other nouns that are count. For example, lightning, a natural event [one of the categories], is non-count, but hurricane, a different natural event, is a count noun. When you don't know what type of noun you have, consult a dictionary that provides such information.

Category Examples

Abstractions advice, courage, etiquette, enjoyment, fun, help, honesty, information, intelligence, knowledge, patience, etc.

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Activities chess, homework, housework, music, reading, singing, sleeping, soccer, tennis, work, etc.

Food beef, bread, butter, fish, macaroni, meat, popcorn, pork, poultry, toast, etc.

Gases air, exhaust, helium, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, pollution, smog, smoke, steam, etc.

Groups of Similar Items

baggage, clothing, furniture, hardware, luggage, equipment, mail, money, software, vocabulary, etc.

Liquids blood, coffee, gasoline, milk, oil, soup, syrup, tea, water, wine, etc.

Natural Events electricity, gravity, heat, humidity, moonlight, rain, snow, sunshine, thunder, weather, etc.

Materials aluminum, asphalt, chalk, cloth, concrete, cotton, glue, lumber, wood, wool, etc. Particles or Grains corn, dirt, dust, flour, hair, pepper, rice, salt, sugar, wheat, etc.

Thunder, a non-count noun, cannot have an s added at the end. You can, however, lie awake in bed counting the number of times you hear thunder claps during a storm. You can’t wear clothings; you can though, choose pieces of clothing to wear.

When you want to indicate number with a non-count word, you have two options. First, you can put of in front of the non-count word and then attach the resulting prepositional phrase to an appropriate count word. For example, you can write that you heard seven claps of thunder.

A second option is to make the non-count noun an adjective that you place before a count noun. Then you could write a sentence like this:

Thunderheads filled the sky.

Here are some more examples:

Non-count Noun Countable Version advice pieces of advice homework homework assignments bread loaves of bread, slices of bread smoke puffs of smoke, plumes of smoke software software applications wine bottles of wine, glasses of wine snow snow storms, snow flakes, snow drifts cloth bolts of cloth, yards of cloth dirt piles of dirt, truckloads of dirt

Sometimes a word that means one thing as a non-count noun has a slightly different meaning if it also has a countable version. Remember, then, that the classifications count and non-count are not absolute.

Time is a good example. When you use this word to mean the unceasing flow of experience that includes past, present, and future, with no distinct beginning or end, then time is a non-count noun. See this example:

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Time dragged as Stephanie sat through yet another boring action flick with a friend.

Time = non-count because it has no specific beginning and, for poor Stephanie, no foreseeable end.

When time refers to a specific experience that starts at a certain moment and ends after a number of countable units [minutes, hours, days, etc.], then the noun is count. Here is an example:

On his last trip to Disney World, Joe rode Space Mountain twenty-seven times.

Times = count because a ride on Space Mountain is a measurable unit of experience, one that you can clock with a stopwatch.

Choose the appropriate noun based on what you have learned from the above explanation.

1. Let me give you some (advice, advices) about how to get through freshman year successfully.

2. Allyson got (many enjoyments, much enjoyment) from her rebuilt 1973 Pontiac LeMans

Sport Coupe.

3. My brother has too much (stuff, stuffs) in his room.

4. Charles cried over the (damage, damages) done to his car.

5. Samantha had to work hard because she had (a lot of homeworks, a lot of homework) in her

Anatomy course.

6. My Communication course taught me (many etiquettes, the etiquette) of emailing corporate

personnel.

7. Erick needed (much help, many helps) with picking out a tie for his new suit.

8. “Can you help me with (my luggages, my luggage)?” asked Saskya.

9. Linda asked her tutor to help her with her (punctuation, punctuations).

10. Allen wanted to get more (fishes, fish) for his aquarium.

Idiomatic Use of English

Idiomatic expressions are those that cannot be easily explained to people nor translated into another language. Why we say “enjoy singing” instead of “enjoy to sing” in English cannot be explained: it’s just plain wrong to say “enjoy to sing.” Below you will find other expressions that are idiomatic. The usual way to phrase it is on the left; the usual way in the middle; discuss and emphasize get their own chart as they have become major problems. Usual preposition: These are correct in all situations

Not the usual preposition: Use at your own risk

No Preposition Needed

Explanation or Example

The price of The price on To discuss (something) We discuss something directly: no “discuss about” I’d like to discuss this problem with you. BUT, We can have a discussion about the problem if you

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have time. Be impressed by Be impressed on To impress (someone) He impressed me as a

serious student Arrive at Arrive to Be embarrassed by Be embarrassed of To emphasize

(something) We emphasize something directly: no “emphasize about or on.” The teacher emphasized that the grades would be based on the midterm and final. BUT, the politician put the emphasis on climate change in his talk.

Be anxious about Be anxious of, on Be excited about Be excited for Be excited by Be excited for Do a better job of Do a better job on Be sad about, for Be sad on Talk about, to -------------- Communicate about, with Communicate on Bored by Bored of Depend on Depend of

Indirect Speech Phrasing

Though people embed questions inside statements (“He asked me can I borrow your car”), in writing, you need to convert it for your reader. There is a real difference between stating something directly in dialogue (‘Can you please hand me that sheet of paper?”) and recording it in prose. Depending on your intent, there are two ways to represent someone’s dialog. The first way is to record it as dialogue as in

“How may I help you?” However, especially in essays, we would need to record this as indirect speech, so “How may I help you?” now becomes

He asked me how he could help me.

What’s changed? Well, what’s spoken has now become what’s read. Convert the following five sentences into correct indirect speech.

1. My sister asked me how can I make dinner for a dozen people tonight.

1.

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2. Benny asked Rahmin could he drive his car.

2.

3. “How much time do I have to spend watching the kids tonight?” asked Laurita.

3.

4. Lemuel wanted to know could he get his paycheck in cash this week.

4.

5. “How well did I do on my math test?” asked Rey.

5.

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Common Verbs and Their Prepositions

about at in

agree argue boast brag care complain cry do dream fight forget gripe hear joke know laugh lie read talk think wonder worry write

aim bark excel frown glare grin growl jump at (the chance) laugh look nod scream shoot shout smile stare throw s.t. at s.o./s.t. wave whistle wink yell

aid assist believe compete confide consist deal delight end engage excel help indulge invest major meddle participate persevere persist reside result share specialize star succeed

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Common Verbs and Their Prepositions 2

On to with

act agree bank bet build choke comment concentrate count depend differ disagree dwell elaborate enlarge expand experiment fall focus harp impose improve insist lean lecture operate rely remark report speak speculate spy stumble talk trip vote wager work write

adapt adjust admit apologize appeal attend belong complain confess connect contribute decline decrease drop fall get go happen increase jump listen move object point react read refer relate reply resort respond return rise sink slip speak stick submit subscribe surrender talk wave write

agree argue assist collide compare compete comply continue cooperate cope deal disagree fight help identify plead proceed quibble reason struggle sympathize tamper

Documents

How English Works: Parts of Speech, Sentences, Punctuation