Reasoning Through Language Arts Flashcards
James and I
To choose the option with the correct pronoun in a compound like “They went to the party with James and I,” take out “James and” and ask yourself if the sentence still sounds correct.
Linda and me went to the movies.
Linda and I went to the movies.
We saw Kareem and he at the theater.
We saw Kareem and him at the theater.
Collective Nouns
For collective nouns (such as company, jury, family, team, committee, union). you generally use the singular pronoun it.
Incorrect: The committee announced that they will hold weekly meetings.
Correct: The committee announced that it will hold weekly meetings.
Agreement with a Compound Subject
If a compound subject is joined by “or,” “either … or,” or “neither … nor,” the verb should agree with the subject closer to it.
Neither the sisters nor their brother has medical training.
Appositives
An appositive is a word or group of words that gives more info about a noun by renaming it.
Marisol, an experienced writer, feels confident about the essay.
Doug’s only sister, Gina, was the first in the family to receive a high school equivalency degree.
To decide if to set off an appositive with commas, mentally cross out the appositive. Then ask, “Can I still identify the noun in the sentence?” If you can, use commas.
Each appositive adds more info, but it is not essential to your understanding. Usually when an appositive is renaming a proper noun, it is not essential.
If you cannot identify the person, place, or thing without the appositive, do not use commas.
Keith and his friend Antoine plan to work in construction.
Students who study faithfully usually do well on the test.
Capitalization
Capitalize titles if they come before a person’s name or are used to address a person.
affect / effect
affect - to have an impact
effect - a result
Did the medicine affect you?
The effects will wear off soon.
“unless” clauses
do not need to be set off with commas
