Grammar Flashcards
Appositive
An appositive is a noun or pronoun — often with modifiers — set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it.
There are two types of appositives i.e
Restrictive and non restrictive.
Examples:
Your friend Bill is in trouble.
My brother’s car, a sporty red convertible with bucket seats, is the envy of my friends.
Appositive identification
An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it. eg
A bold innovator, Wassily Kandinsky is known for his colorful abstract paintings.
Genders of noun
Masculine nouns refer to words for a male figure or male member of a species (i.e. man, boy, actor, horse, etc.)
Feminine nouns refer to female figures or female members of a species (i.e. woman, girl, actress, mare, etc.)
Common nouns refer to members of a species and don’t specify the gender (i.e. parent, friend, client, student, etc.)
Neuter nouns refer to things that have no gender, non living ,lifeless things(i.e. rock, table, pencil, etc.)
Nouns having
Singular/Plural (no change)
sheep, fish, moose, swine, buffalo, shrimp, deer, trout, cattle, offspring, species, goldfish.
E.g
I have seen several deer when walking in the woods near here.
How many shrimp did you catch?
Aircraft, watercraft, hovercraft, and spacecraft are all the same whether singular or plural.
NASA has made several different types of spacecraft in its fifty-nine-year history.
Remember
The uses for adjectives and pronouns often overlap.
For example, possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns have the same function: they both show ownership. However, an adjective’s primary function is to describe a noun or pronoun, and a pronoun’s primary function is to limit repetitiveness.
Similarly “Can I take this bag to put in all my clothes?” Is a demonstrative adjective.
While “ You can take this to put in all your clothes. Is demonstrative pronoun.
Dative case
That shows the indirect object of a verb. The indirect object of a verb is the recipient of the direct object. For example:
Give her a present.
We gave a bone to our dog
We gave our dog a bone.
Oblique case
OBLIQUE CASE is a grammatical case other than the nominative or vocative.
Observe how the first person pronoun me serves a variety of grammatical functions:
- as an accusative case for a direct object:
She bit me! - as a dative case for an indirect object:
Give me the rubber hose! - as the instrumental object of a preposition:
That dirt wasn’t wiped with me. . . - as a disjunctive topic marker:
Me, I like French. . .
Vocative case
The noun or pronoun which is used to address a person directly.
In the sentence “I don’t know, John,” John is a vocative expression that indicates the party being addressed, as opposed to the sentence “I don’t know John” in which “John” is the direct object of the verb
Which vs that
The difference between them is “which” introduces a non-essential clause and “that” introduces an essential one. I.e
The school that burned down last week is still smoking.
The school, which burned down last week, is next to Mila’s restaurant.
Which vs that: extended example
In some sentences, both “which” and “that” are grammatically correct but provide slightly different meanings,
- Our home, which has four bedrooms, is located in the Caribbean.
- Our home that has four bedrooms is located in the Caribbean.
The first sentence discusses the location of your only home and it just so happens to have four bedrooms. Lucky you, it’s in the Caribbean.
The second sentence points out that the home you own with four bedrooms is located in the Caribbean, which means you have more than one home. “That has four bedrooms” is how you distinguish between your many homes.
Clause
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate(verb).
Examples of clauses are:
- When I was running (dependent)
- That went missing yesterday (dependent/adjective)
- I ate pasta and apple crumble (independent)
Dependent clauses can be split further into noun and adjective clauses.
Plural of fruit
In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be fruit. However, in more specific contexts, the plural form can also be fruits e.g. in reference to various types of fruits or a collection of fruits.
Subject-verb agreement
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When a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, remember that the verb still agrees with the subject, not the noun or pronoun in the phrase following the subject of the sentence.
Example: The student, as well as the committee members, is excited.
Example: The student with all the master’s degrees is very motivated.
Example: Strategies that the teacher uses to encourage classroom participation include using small groups and clarifying expectations.
Example: The focus of the interviews was nine purposively selected participants.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by “or” or “nor,” use a singular verb.
Example: The chairperson or the CEO approves the proposal before proceeding.
3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by “or” or “nor,” the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is closest to the verb. This is also called the rule of proximity.
Example: The student or the committee members write every day.
Example: The committee members or the student writes every day.
4. The words and phrases “each,” “each one,” “either,” “neither,” “everyone,” “everybody,” “anyone,” “anybody,” “nobody,” “somebody,” “someone,” and “no one” are singular and require a singular verb.
Example: Each of the participants was willing to be recorded.
Example: Neither alternative hypothesis was accepted.
Example: I will offer a $5 gift card to everybody who participates in the study.
Subject-verb agreement for non-count nouns
Take a singular verb.
Example: Education is the key to success.
Example: Diabetes affects many people around the world.
Example: The information obtained from the business owners was relevant to include in the study.
Example: The research I found on the topic was limited.
Some nouns that always agree with plural verbs
Some countable nouns in English such as earnings, goods, odds, surroundings, proceeds, contents, and valuables only have a plural form and take a plural verb.
Example: The earnings for this quarter exceed expectations.
Example: The proceeds from the sale go to support the homeless population in the city.
Example: Locally produced goods have the advantage of shorter supply chains.
Similarly
Odds, riches, crossings, savings, thanks, congratulations, outskirts, damages, wages etc agree with plural verbs.
