3.1_rule of grammar

7/25/2019 3.1_Rule of Grammar

1/8

REVIEW

OT

GRAMMAR

RULES

Topic

SENTI,NCE vS.

Sf,NTENCE

FRAGMENT

The

common

ty?es of

sentence

ftagrnents

and thoir solutions

are:

1-

ftagmont that

lacks a subject

Exanple:

Laura

ruined

her

new

dress.

Put

it

in

the washing

machine.

Solution:

Add

a subject to

the fragment to make

it

a complete

sentence.

Laura

ruined her new

dress. She

put

it in

the washing rnachine.

2.

ftagment that lacks

a

complete verb

Exarnple: From

the darkened room came

a flickering light.

The

television

set.

Solution: Add

either a complete verb or helping

verb

to make the

sente ce complele.

From

the

darkened

room

came a flickering

light.

The

television sef was

still

on.

3. fragment

that is

a

subordinate

clause

Example:

Keyna wants to

visit Kidapawan.

Because

her

ancestors

came

fiom

there.

Solution A: Combine

the

fragment

with anolher

sentence.

Keyna

]r/arrts

to

visit

Kidapawan

becauso

her

anogstors

came from thore.

Solution B: Rewrite

the

fragmetrt

as a complete

sentence,

eliminating the

subordinating

coqiunction

or

the

relative

pronoun

and

adding

a subject

or other words

necessary

to make

a

complete thought.

Keyna wants

to

yisit

Kidapawan.

Her

ancestors

came

from

therc.

4. fragmeflt

that

lacks

both a subject and a verb

Example: The

new deparhnent

store

will open.

Independence

Day.

Solution:

Combine

the

fragmenl with

another sentence.

The

new

department store w.ill

open

on Independonce

Day.

TOPIC:

AGREEMENT

OF SUBJECT AIID VERB

A verb

must

agree

with

its

subject

in

person

and

number.

Rule L A

singular

subject requires

a sirgular verb.

A

plural

subject

requires

a

plural

verb

**o'"i

,ooo

,.,* is happy.

Good men

are

happy.

Rule

2,

Some

nours

(mass

and abstract) have no

plural

fonn

and

demand

a

singular

verb.

'

ChaU(,

milk,

coffee,

patience,

advice, information,

uusic,

jewelry,

baggage, firmiture,

gravel, generosity

Rule

3.

Compomd

subjects connected

by

"and

'

demand

a

plural

verb.

Laughter and tears are never

apart.

Exception: When subjects refer to the

same

person

or thing

or express the

same

ide4

the

verb is

singular.

The Pope

and Bishop of Rome

is Pope IV.

Rule 4. Whor subjects

are connected

by "or"'

or

"nor"

the

verb

agrees

with thc nearest

subject.

Either

the

boys or

the coach

is

right.

Either

the

ooach

or

the

boys

are

right.

Rule 5.

A collective

noun

takes a singular verb

if it names

a

group

acting

as a trnit and

a

plural

verb

if

it

names a group

acting

as

individuals.

The committee has submitted its report.

The

committee have disagreed on

the

kind

ofreport needed.

Rule 6. "None"

and

*Alf'

take

a

plural

verb when

they indicale

how mann

and a singular

verb

when they indicate how muoh.

Nnne ofrrs

are

nerfer:f rrre all maLe mict Lec


2/8


3/8

TOPIC.

TENSES

OB

VERBS

Simple

Present Tense

Forms

Third Person singular

-s

:

sees

Plural simple

form = see

Uses

1.

Expresses

general

truth

AII children

love to

play

2.

Expresses

present

fact

I

am

your

teacher

3. Expresses

permanent oondition

Taal volcano

lies

in the

middle

ofTaal

lake.

4. Expresses

habitual or

frequent

action

He frequently

stammers.

Present Perfect

Tense

Forms

Singular:

has

+

past participle

fonn

of

the

verb.

has

eaten

Plural:

have

+

past participle

form ofthe verb.

have

eaten

{lses

1. expresses action

in the

past

and is still

going

on in a

period

of time not

yet

ended.

I have conducted

a

review

for two weeks now.

2. expresses an

indefinite action

He has

gone

to Japan

3.

expresses

action

just

accomplished

He hasjust arrived.

Simple

Past Tense

Fom:

d/ed

for regulal

verbs.

Use:

expresses time

past

and

gone

He

perfomred

the expeliment

last week.

Past

Peltect Tense

Form:

had

+ past participle

form of the verb

(had

eaten)

Use:

expresses time

prior

to

some other

past

action

in the same sentence or

paragraph.

She

had lain in bed for

two

days before I came.

Simple

Future Tense

Foffr:

will

+

simple

form

of the

verb

(will

visit)

Use

:

expresses

time

yet

to come

We

will

go

to

the

park

lomonow.

Future

Perfect Tense

Form: will have or

shall have

+

past

participle

form of the verb

(will

have

visited

or shall have

visited)

Uses;

1.

expresses

the first of

two future

actions

Before I start,

my

brother

will

have retumed.

2. expresses

an action that

will

be complete.d beforc

a

definite tirne

in

the future.

We shall

have

reached the

top of

the

mountain by

sunrise

tomorrow.

TOPIC.

CO}IPARISON

OF ADJECTT 'ES AND

ADVERBS

\[-hen

compaing

tr*'o

persons

or things, use the

comparative degree.

Example: Which

hat do

you like better, the blue or the

brown

hat?

E-hen corrryaring

fuee or more,

use

the

superlative degree.

Ex-mple: It was the shangest

sight

I have

ever

seen.


4/8

In

forming

the

supedative

degree,

vse

most

ot

est'

d*ample:

P;

is the

tailest

glrl

I li;now

(not

the

most

tallest)

Do

not

use two

negatives

(not,

never,

hardly,

only

but

.

meaning

only)

in the

sarne

clause.

Example:

We could

hardly

drag

one

foot

after

the

other"

(not couldn't)

You

dor't

ever

need

to

worry

about

me'

(not never')

Do

not

give

comparative

or superlative

forms

of adjectives

or adverbs'

which

because

of

theii

meuring

cannot

be

compared'

Example'

It's

a

unique

exhibit

(not

most

unique'

since

unique

means

single

in excellence)

The

aecisloi

of ttre

-iudges

was

unanimous

(not

most

unarrimous)

Do

not omit

than

when

it

is needed

to

complete

a

comparison'

ExamPle:

Wrong

*

Your

explanation

is more

convincing

but

altogether

different

from

his'

Right

-

Your

explanalion

is more

convincing

than'

but

altogether

different

from

his'

When

comparing

a thirg

to

members

of

its own

class' exclude

from

the

group

the

thing

"ompa."a

ti

aading

other

or

an

equivalent

word'

ExamPle:

Wrong

-

Lead

is

heavier

than

any

metal

fught--

Lead

is

heavier

than

any

other

metal'

Lead

is

heavier

than

iron.

TOPIC

-

PARALLELISM

-

express

paratlet

ideas

in

the

same

grammstical

form'

To

express

parallel

ideas

in

the

same

grammatical

fonr .paira

noun

with

a

noun'

an

'-

-iJn"i

iJ"

t. -

verb)

with

an

infiritivo,

a

pluase with

a

pbrase' a

clause

with

a

clause'

ExamPle:

Wrong

-

The prisoners

were

accused

ofrobbery'

assaulq and

forging

checks

night--

Ttre

prisoners

were accused

ofrobbery'

assault

and

forgery.

l. Coordinate

ideas

are

pardiJl.'-

io-o.dit

ate

idoas are

equal

in

rank.

They

are

joined

by

co-

ordinate

connectivos.

Ttre coo.dinate

connectives

most

o{ien

used

in

parallel structures

ale

a/r4

but

oh

not.

ExamPle:

Wrong-Thesupervisorreconrmendedanincreaseinsalariesaldtlatother

expenses

be

decreased.

.Right_Th;6;;sotrecomrrrendedthatsalariesbeincreasedandihatother

expenses

be

decreased.

2-

Compared and contrasted

ideas

are

parallel

ExamPle:

--

--.

:- .L

Wrong

-

He

found

acting

in the

theater

more

inspiring

than

to

act

in

the

movies

nignt-_

rte

rountl

actingt

the theater

more

inspiring

than

acting

in the

movies,

3.Correlativeconstructionsareparallel.Correlativeconshuctionsarefonnwiththerelative

c-oniunctions

D

oth

-

and

-,

either

-

or

-'

neither

-

nor-'

not only*

but

also

-'

ExamPle:

r

--

.^-^^,L^:

Wrong

-

To

gain

enrance,

they

tried

both

persuasion and

to force

their

way

tn'

nightl

to

giin entrance'

they tned

both

persuasion

and

force'

4.

Place

correlative

conjunctions

in:mediately

before

the

parallel

items

ExamPle:

Wrong

-

The

team

both

felt

the

satisfaction

ofvictoly

and

the

disappoiltrnent

of

defeat.

Right_Th;;feltboththesatisfactionofvictoryarrdthedisappointmentof

defeat

s I narallel

constructiorl

rc eal

an

article'

a

prepositiorq

or

a

pronoun

whendver

necessary

to

make


5/8

A

Before the meeting, I talked with

the secretary

and treasurer'.

(The

setrtence may mean I

talked

with

one

person.

He holds

dre

double

o{fice of the secretary

and treasurer.)

Before the meeting, I talked with the secretary and the treasurer.

(the

sentence

means I

talked with two

persons.)

B

The

weatler

was

a

greater

handicap

to

the

invading afiny

than

tleir enemy.

(This

sentence means

that the

invaders

would

rather

fight

the enerny

than

the

weather.)

The woather was a

greater

handicap to

the invading army

than to their enemy.

(This

m6ans

that

the

invaders had the barder

job.)

TOPIC

.

CONSTRUCTION OF'QUESTIONS

I

.

Tte

first tlpe of

question

is the

simpie

question

thal

asks

for

a

yes

or no answer.

When

your

main

verb

is be

put

the verb befole

the

subject.

Example:

Disciplined

people

are

happy.

-

Are

disciplined

people

happy?

When

your

verb is

a

verb

phrasg

put

the helping verb first, followed

by the subjec then

the

rnain

verb.

Exarnple:

The students are studying.

:

Are the students studying?

When

your

verb is other than

be, change the original velb into

a

phrase

cornposed of do,

does, or did

and

the simple form of the verb and then

put

do, does or did

before the subject.

Exarnple:

His speecL sounds witty and spontaneous.

:

Does his speeeh

sound witty

and

spontaneous?

2. The tag

question

or conversation

question

is

a short

question

added

to the statement.

Observe

the fact

about

conversation

quesfi

ons:

a. When the statement is alErmative, the

questiot

is

negative. When

the statement is negative,

the

question

is

a{Iirmative.

b- When the

verb in the stateme-nt

is

a single

form

of be, the verb in

that

question

is the

sarne

form.

Example:

Jim

is

ftom

General

Santos

City,

isn't

he?

You're

not

a

politician,

are

you?

c.

When the verb

in

the statement

is

a

single form of

any

velb

except

be, the

verb in

the

question

is

the same form

(simple,

s,

or

past)

of do.

Exarnple: Mr.

l,opez

gos

to his

office

early,

doesn't he?

Mr.

and

Mrs.

Lopez

go

to

the

ofEce

eady,

don't

they?

Mr. Lopez wsnt to the office early,

didn't

he?

d.

In most other cases, the verb

in

the

question

is

the frst

fimction

(auxiliary)

verb

of

the verb

phrase.

Example: Jimmy's

parents

are visiting

hinq

aren't they?

They'll

come another time,

won't

they?

e.

When

the

verb

phrase

in the statement

is constructed

vtith

used to or have ra, the verb in the

question

is do.


6/8

f.

The second word

ofa

conversatiol

question is

always

a subject

form

of t]e

personal

pronoun

or

the expletive

there; it is never a noul or any

other noun

substitute.

Exarnple: This is hard lesson, isn't

it?

Two

boys

worked

outside,

didn't

they?

3. Information

question

asks

for

specific

information

aad begins

with

one

of the following

question

words:

who, whom,

whose, what,

whiclq

where,

why and

how.

\Vho, whom, whose adk

for

persons.

Which for things, whose

for

ownetshipl

Where

for

place, when for time;

Why for reason, and

how for manner or

condition.

TOPIC.

AGREEMDNT

OF PRONOUN

AN[D

ITS ANTECEDENT

The

word

phrasg

or clause to

which a

pronoun

refers is called its

antecedent.

She

is

one

person

whom

I trust.

(The

antecedent ofwhom is the

word,

person)

He

gave

me a batch

of

papers,

which

he asked

me

to correct.

(The

antecedent of which is the

phrase,

a

batch ofpapers)

He is a

good

coolq

whioh nobody

can

deny.

(The

antecedent

of which

is

the clause,

He

is a

good

cook)

A

pronoun

must

agree

with

its

antecedent

in number,

gender,

and

person.

Singular

The

girl

came

witlr her

parents.

(feminine

gender,

third

person)

Plural

The

girls

came with

their

parents.

(Third

person)

Singular

The man

bought his

samera.

(Masculine gender',

third

person)

Plural

The men bought their

camera.

(Third

person)

First

Person

I wish

you had

told

me earlier.

Secood

Person

You

should

have brought

it

yourself.

Third Person

The

wornan revealed

that she was

over

forty.

l. Singular

Pronouns

refer

to

singular antecedents.

Anyone may be

absent ifhe

has

a

good

excuse.

Everyone finished

his work before

the end ofthe

hour.

Every

book

is in its

place

2.

A

pronoun

agrees

with

the nearer

ofthe

two antecedents.

He

likes anything or

anybody

who

can

help him.

He

likes

anybody

or anything

which can help

him.

Neither Ricky

nor

his

companions

would admit that they cared to come.

3, When the

antecedent

of

a

pronoun

is

a

collective noun,

the

pronoun

is

either" singular or

plural

depending on the

sense of the

sentence.

The council

postponed

the date

ofits

meeting.

(as

a unit)

The

counoil

welcomed

thoir

guests. (as

individual)

4.

Two

or

more nouns

preceded

by a singls article

takes

a

singular verb.

The barber and surgeon

was

the

same

person

in

the

Middle

ages.

The barber

and

the surgeon are

different

individuals today

The

President and

Armed Forces commander-in

chiefwas busy during

the

flood.


7/8

Example:

If

I went to the

Udted

States today,

I would

visit

Washington.

Contrary+o-fact conditional sentence in the

past

tcnse:

If

Clause

Result

Clause

If+

past perfecl

tense

would have

)

could have

)

+

past

participle

form

ofthe

should have

)

verb

might

have

)

Example: IfI had

gone

to the United States

last

year,

I would have

visited

Washington.

Contrary-to-fact in mixed condifion:

If

Clause

Result Clause

If

+

past perfect

would

)

could

)

+

simple form.

of

the verb

should

)

miSht

)

Example: IfI had obeyed my

parents'

advice,

I

would

not be in trouble now.

TOPIC. AVOIDING

MISPLACED

MODITIORS,

DANGLING

MODIX'IERS AND

REDUNDANCY

A.

Misplaced

lVlodifiers.

Rule:

Place

phrase

and clause modifiers

as

near as

possible

to the words they modifr.

Confusing:

She

was wearing a

scarf around

her neck

which

she bought

irr

Italy

Clarified: She was wearing

around

her neck a

scarfwhich

she

bought

in Italy.

Confusing :

The milkmaid milked

the

cow

sitting on a stool.

Clarified

:

Sitting

on a

stool,

the millanaid milked

the cow.

: The milkrnaid, sitting on a stool, rnilked the

cow.

B.

Dangling

Modifiers

Rule: A riodifying

phrase

or clause must clearly and sensibly

modify

a

word in

the

sentence.

When there is no

word

that

the

phrase

or

clause

can modify

sensibly, the

modifier

is

said

to

dangle.

W.rong :

Wtile in

the

bowling

alley, the car was

stolen.

Right : While we were in the

bowling

alley" the

car

was

stolen.

Wrong : Reading

in

the

library, the siren of

a

passing

amtrulance distracted me.

Right

: While I was reading

in

the

library,

the siren of

a

passing

ambulance distracted

me.

C.

Redundancy

Rule: Avoid

wordiness

by eliminating superfluous

words

and the unnecessary repetition

ofideas.

Wordy:

After

descending

down to the

odge

of

the

river,

we boarded a small raft

which

was floating there on the surface

ofthe

water.

Better;

After

descending to the edge

ofthe

river,

we

boardod a small

raft.

Wordy:

The

game

is

played

with

tiny,

litde rouad

balls" whioh in my

opinion,

I

think

are

made of steel.


8/8

-..-.

TOPIC

- VOICE OF

VERBS

The Passive Voice

Although

in the usual

order of

the

English

language,

the subject

is the doer of

the action,

t}ere are

some

ssntencis

in which

the subject

is tle

person

or

thiflg that

receives

the action.

The

part

of

the sentence

which

indicated

to the

reader

that

the subject

receives

the action

is the verb construction.

Sentences

ia the

passive voice always

contain

some

form ofthe

verb

De

which would

not be

present

if the subject

were the

actor.

The rnain

verb

follows

De and

is in the

past

participle

form of the

verb.

When

to

use

the passive

voice:

l.

When

we

don't

kno$/

tle

perfoflner ofthe action.

His book

was stolen.

2. When

it

is

preferable not to mention

the

performer.

Miss

Santos

was

given

some

bad advice

3.

When

we wish

to emphasize

the

receiver

rather

than

the

performer.

Ben

was assigned

a

Project

4.

In

a situation

of social

and

historical

significance, when

the work,

resulting

fiom

action

is

as

well

or

better

known

tlan

the

perfonner,

as

in

the case

of

famous

music, writing,

paintings

and

inventions.

The electric

light bulb

was

invented by

Edison.

TOPIC.

MOOD

OF

\/ERBS

Verbs

express

mood

as

well

as

tense

and voice.

A verb

expresses

one of

the three

moods: the

indicative

mood, the

imperative

or the

subjunctive

mood.

you

use

the

indicative

mood

to make

a statement

or ask a

question.

You

use

the imperative

mood to

express

a

cornmand

or make a

request.

Indicative

mood:

He leal'es the

house

at

7:00

a.m.

Lnperative

mood:

Leave

the house

at

7:00

a

m.

The

subiunctive

mood

io English

has two

important

frmctions

in

conternporary

fornal English namely;

1.

To

express,

iudirectly,

a

dernand,

a

recomrnendation, suggestion,

or

statement

ofnecessity.

ExartPlo:

o

We demand

(ot

recommsnd

or

suggest)

that

he

leave

the

house at

7:00 a.m.

(The

subjunctive

mood

&ops

the

-s

ftom the third

person

sin 'ular.)

o

It

is necessary

that

he bo here

on time.

(The

subjunctive

mood

uses

be instead

of

am,

is,

or

are.)

2.

To state

a condition

or a

wish that

is

contrary

to fact.

This use of tlre

subjunctive always

requires

the

Past

tense.

ExamPles:

r

[f

he

were

smart,

he would

leave

t}e house by

7:00 a.m.

(The

subjunctive

mood uses

were, not was

)

o

They spoke

to

me

as

if

I

were

a

child.

r

I wish

I

were

the Secretary

ofEducation.

Pattoms

for contrary-to-fact

conditional

sentences:

Contrary-to-fact

conditional

sentencs

in

the

present

tense:

If Clause

Result

Clause

3.1_rule of grammar

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