Grammar English 9B

GRAMMARENGLISH 9BUpdated 2010

Questions on the English portion of the ACT test fall into two categories:

Usage/Mechanics (punctuation, grammar and usage, sentence structure)

Rhetorical Skills (writing strategy, organization, style)

Rhetorical skills questions focus on writing strategy, organization, and style: In the early day the O’odham became acquainted with

marching bands and woodwind instruments (which explains the presence of saxophones in waila).

Given that all of the choices are true, which one is most relevant to the focus of this paragraph:A. NO CHANGEB. (although fiddles were once widely used in waila bands)C. (even though they’re now often constructed of metal).D. (which are frequently found in jazz bands also).

Usage/Mechanics questions focus on punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence structure.

Punctuation questions involve identifying and correcting the following misplaced, missing, or unnecessary punctuation marks:

-commas-apostrophes-colons, semi-colons, and dashes-periods, question marks, and

exclamation points

Grammar and usage questions involve choosing the best word or words in a sentence:

Subject/verb agreement Pronoun and antecedent Proper use of adverbs and adjectives Verb forms Pronoun forms and cases Comparative and superlative modifiers Idiomatic English

Sentence structure questions involve the effective formation of sentences: Subordinate or dependent clauses Run-on sentences Comma splices Sentence fragments Misplaced modifiers Shifts in verb tense or voice Shifts in pronoun person or number

The First Step

The first step in any understanding of grammar and usage, punctuation, etc. (basically anything in the English section) is being able to figure out the main subject of the sentence and the main verb. From this, all else will follow.

SubjectThe subject is a noun. It is the main “actor” in the sentence.

To find the subjectAsk yourself: “Who or what is doing something in the sentence?”

Main VerbThe main verb is the action being

performed (or a “state of being”/linking verb).

Note:It’s easy when a sentence follows the

normal pattern:“Sally ran around the track.”

Main Verb (cont.)It gets more complicated when sentences

become more complex:

ExampleIndeed, the thought that the drastic public-spending cuts a Tory government might make were motivated by doctrinaire conviction, rather than necessity, would diminish the party’s appeal rather than enhance it.

Remember… The subject and verb occur in the main clause of the sentence. They will also occur in a dependent (subordinate clause).

Dependent ClausesA dependent clause is dependent—it cannot stand alone as its own sentence even though it has a subject and a verb:

Example: “Even though my mom didn’t want me to go.”

What’s the subject? What’s the verb? But is it a sentence? What do we call this type of mistake?

(see next slide)

Sentence FragmentsAnswer to previous slide: sentence fragment

Even though it has a subject and a verb, a dependent clause is not a sentence—it’s a sentence fragment when used alone.

Note:The subject and the verb are not the main subject and verb of the sentence because they are not the subject and verb of the main clause.

Speaking of main clauses, what is the main clause of the sentence at the top of this page.

Subject/Verb SeparationIt also gets tricky when the subject and verb are separated (in this case by a parenthetical element).

Example:“My dad and mom, feeling hungry,

stopped for supper on the way home.”

RulesGrammar and Usage

Subject/Verb Agreement #1

Rule: Subjects must agree in number with

the verb.

Subject/Verb Agreement #1 (cont.)It’s straightforward when the

subject precedes the verb:

Example:Samuel sleep/sleeps too much on

weekends.

Subject/Verb Agreement #1 (cont.)

But it can be confusing if the subject comes after the verb:

Example:Despite the nice weather outside, there is/are many children who choose to exercise outside for recess.

Subject/Verb Agreement #1 (cont.)Correct this sentence:

Inside the fire pit burns the many marshmallows on

sticks.


Rule: Make the verb agree with its subject

without being confused by words that come

between.

Subject/Verb Agreement #2 (cont.)Note: Intervening phrases, like the prepositional phrase below, sometimes fool writers.

Example:The cars on the street next to the house need/needs to be moved.

Subject/Verb Agreement #2 (cont.)Correct these sentences:1. The housing agreement, a document

derived of both buyer demands and seller requests, are among the most important documents signed at the closing of a sale.

2. The temperature used to cook the vegetables and the sides is/are not as important as the temperature used to cook many types of meat.

Subject/Verb Agreement #3Rule: Treat most compound subjects connected by “and” as plural.

Example:Remember that your lunch and notebook is/are in your own hands.

Note: “your lunch and notebook” is a compound subject and therefore requires the verb “are”

Subject/Verb Agreement #3 (cont.)Write these sentences correctly:

1. Dan and Susie often read/reads together.

2. Both the words “racecar” and “pop” is a palindrome.


Exception: When the parts of the subject form a single unit, treat the subject as singular.

Example:Strawberries and cream is my new favorite flavor of oatmeal.


Note:With the compound subjects connected by “or” or “nor,” make the verb agree with the part of the subject nearer to the verb.

Examples: Neither the instructor nor the skiers was/were able

to see the top of the run.

Neither the skiers nor the instructor was/were able to see the top of the run


Rule: Treat collective nouns as singular unless the

meaning is clearly plural.Note: Collective nouns include words like jury, committee, audience, crowd, class. In American English, we usually treat

these words as singular. (see next slide for examples)

Subject/Verb Agreement #4 (cont.)Examples with explanations:1. The audience appreciate/appreciates the pleasant music.

(In this example, the audience, as a unit, collectively appreciates the music.)

2. The audience is/are listening among themselves.(In this example, however, the audience, as a whole, cannot listen among themselves – it doesn’t make sense; the meaning is plural.)

Note: Adding a word like ”members” after audience, will help to clear up confusion.

Subject/Verb Agreement #4 (cont.)Write these sentences correctly:

1. The social committee meet in the small office on Mondays.

2. The group are a very well educated bunch of students.


Rule: Keep verb tense

consistent. Note:

When writing about literature, always keep events in the present tense.

Subject/Verb Agreement #5 (cont.)Rewrite the following sentences correctly in

your notebook. Make sure to choose the correct tense of the underlined word:

1. Over the last year, the use of computers has/had grown more than any other year.

2. The story Night by Elie Wiesel is/was a book about a Holocaust survivor, and it is/was read by English 9 students.


Rule:Nouns in a sentence must have a logical

number relation.

Subject/Verb Agreement #6 (cont.)Rewrite the following sentences correctly:

1. The paper on the floor and the writing on the desks are a reminder of how disrespectful the students are toward the janitors.

2. The rules state that only children wearing a shirt can play in the play area.


Rule:Make pronouns and antecedents agree in number.

Subject/Verb Agreement #7 (cont.)Rewrite the following sentences

correctly:

1. Every student must study if they want to do well on the upcoming test.

2. The amount of money a student can earn during a summer depends on their job.


Rule:Use personal

pronouns and nouns in the proper case.

(see chart on next slide)


See chart: subject object possessive

Singular 1st person I me my 2nd person you you your 3rd person he/she/it him/her/it his/hers/its

Plural 1st person we us our 2nd person you you your 3rd person they them their


correctly:

1. Him and Margo will enter the health and science fair.

2. Astronomy interests him and I.

3. Jackie and me plan to chart the constellations.


Rule:Do not shift pronouns in

number or person.


correctly:

1. If anybody wants to succeed in playing football, they have to know the rules of the game.

2. One cannot understand the complexity of the math problem until you try to solve it.


Rule:Pronoun references must be clear (rather

than ambiguous).


Rewrite the following sentences correctly:

1. After putting the disk in the cabinet, Clarence sold it.

2. Take the radio out of the car and fix it.


Rule:Avoid faulty comparisons.



1. I like Michael Jackson's songs more than Madonna.

2. The weather in Canada is colder than Mexico.


Rule:Adjectives only modify nouns (or pronouns).

Adverbs may modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.



1. When she gave her speech, Grace spoke quicker than Sam did.

2. The train is slowly.

3. The cake tastes well.

Extra RulesGrammar and Usage

Affect/EffectAffect/Effect- you use affect in cases of

influence and usually as a verb; you use effect usually as a noun.

Affect/Effect SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting affect or effect where appropriate:

1. "Environmentalists are investigating the ways in which the oceans ____ the environment.

2. They discussed the _____ of the law on children.

Accept/ExceptAccept/except—Accept is used in verb

tense “To Take in” and except is used as a preposition “other than”

Accept/Except SentencesRewrite and complete these


1. Come over anytime __________ during dinner.

2. He was __________(ed) into the club in a secret ceremony.

Allusion/IllusionAllusion/Illusion--- Allusion is an indirect

reference, Illusion is used talking about imaginary visions

Allusion/Illusion SentencesIndicate in your notebook whether

each sentence is an allusion or an illusion:

1. Harriet Tubman was called the Moses of her time.

2. Kevin's dream of creating a perfect world is only an _____ because there is no such thing as a perfect world.

All Right/AlrightAll Right/Alright- "All right" is describing

something or things, or their entirety, “alright” is more a confirmation.

All Right/Alright SentencesRewrite and complete these


1. I got my test back, the answers were ____.

2. When asked to go to the movies Lisa responded ____.

Among/BetweenAmong/Between- Between is more

commonly used in ways that represent only two whereas among is used in more than 3.

Among/Between SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting among or between where appropriate:

1. A treaty has been negotiated ______ England, France, and Germany.

2. I cannot choose ______ the two ice-cream flavors.

Capital/CapitolCapital/Capitol- The word capitol is used to

refer to the building where a legislature meets, referring to an uppercase letter and economic stature whereas the word capital refers to the city which serves as the seat of government.

Capital/Capitol SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting capital/capitol where appropriate:

1. The ________ of France is Paris.

2. Washington DC is the home of the ______ building.

Complement/ComplimentComplement/Compliment- Compliments

are used describing a good remark whereas complement means to go good with or alongside.

Complement/Compliment SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting complement/compliment where appropriate:

1. The white sauce _________ the chicken.

2. She paid me the compliment of admiring the way I shined my shoes.

Continuous/ContinualContinuous/continual: Continuous refers to

actions which are uninterrupted whereas continual actions, however, need not be uninterrupted, only repeated once.

Continuous/Continual SentencesRewrite and complete these sentences

correctly by inserting continuous/continual where appropriate:

1. It rained _________ly for forty-eight hours.

2. My father _________ly urges me to get a job.

Counsel/CouncilCounsel/Council- "an official appointed by

a foreign government to reside in a foreign country to represent the commercial interests of citizens of the appointed country whereas counsel is legislative body.

Counsel/Council SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting counsel/council where appropriate:

1. The president of France appointed him to the high ________.

2. Sam ran for student _______.

Farther/FurtherFarther/further- Farther denotes physical

advancement in distance whereas further denotes advancement to greater degree, as in time.

Farther/Further SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting farther/further where appropriate:

1. You read ________ in the book.

2. It is ________ down the road.

Fewer/LessFewer/Less- Fewer is used with countable

nouns whereas less is used for uncountable, usually abstract nouns

Fewer/Less SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting fewer/less where appropriate:

1. You know ______ people than I do.

2. We need more money and _____ debt.

Flair/FlareFlair/Flare: Flair is conspicuous talent

whereas Flare is either a noun meaning “flame” or a verb meaning to blaze with light or to burst into anger.

Flair/Flare SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting flair/flare where appropriate:

1. He sent up a _____ when he was lost in the woods.

2. His _____ for running is improved upon by working out.

Good/WellGood/Well- It may be used with descriptive

linking verbs like look, feel, sound, taste, or be to describe the whereas well is normally an adverb. It describes verbs (sometimes adjectives) and is used with most other verbs

Good/Well SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting good/well where appropriate:

1. The coffee tasted ______ this morning.

2. I do not feel very ______.

Infer/ImplyInfer/Imply - Infer is used as a verb to what

the reader or the listener does with the information they are given whereas imply is what the information itself does.

Infer/Imply SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting infer/imply where appropriate:

1. The look on his face _____ he does not like the plan.

2. We can ______ that her judgment was as perfect as it could have been.

Inter-Intra-Inter-/Intra- Intra is a prefix that means

inside whereas inter is a prefix meaning in between.

Inter-Intra- SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting inter/intra where appropriate:

1. Make sure that you get on the _____state (or highway).

2. _____venous Drugs are also known as an IV.

Lie/LayLie/lay- Lie is to deceit or relax in a current

state, whereas lay is in the past tense

Lie/Lay SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting lie/lay where appropriate:

1. We need to _____ the baby down for a nap.

2. I am dizzy; I think I should go _____ down.

Borrow/LendBorrow/ Lend- use borrow when you are

taking an object that can answer “what?” and use lend when you have an object that can answer “who?” and “what?”

Borrow/Lend SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting borrow/lend where appropriate:

1. Can you ______ me some time?

2. Can I ______ a watch from you?

Who/WhomWho / Whom- who is an interrogative

pronoun and is used in place of the subject of a question whereas, whom is also an interrogative pronoun, but it is used in place of the object of a question.

Who/Whom SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting who/whom where appropriate:

1. ______ is your closest friend?

2. ______ are you going to vote for?

Past/PassedPast/Passed- Past is a noun referring to a

previous time, whereas Passed is a verb

Past/Passed SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting past/passed where appropriate:

1. These are the shadows of the ______.

2. In years ______ the old caretaker was much pickier with the rent.

Principal/PrinciplePrincipal/Principle- adjective or noun)

conveys the meaning of "primary" or "chief", Principle (noun [only!]) is a rule, law or general truth

Principal/Principle SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting principal/principle where appropriate:

1. Those are the ________ of mathematics.

2. Mr. Carlson is the _______ of our school.

Saw/SeenSaw/Seen- Use saw for the simple past

tense, use seen for the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

Saw/Seen SentencesRewrite and complete these

sentences correctly by inserting saw/seen where appropriate:

1. She _____ the movie last night.

2. You were so pale; I thought you'd _____ a ghost.

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Grammar English 9B

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