Verbal - Sentence Correction Flashcards
When can a possessive adjective (eg. His/Hers) precede a verb ending in -ing?
When that V+ing acts as a noun.
For example:
“He now dismisses all thoughts of his ever acting again.”
Sentence Correction Stop Signs
1) A long, complex subject or a great distance between subject and verb.
2) A plural subject made up of singular nouns that are connected by and
3) A pseudo-plural singular subject
4) An unconjugated verb used as a subject noun (considered singular).
5) An X of Y subject
6) The verb precedes the subject
7) non- count articles (much, less, the amount of, etc)
8) Reported speech with a reporting verb in past tense.
9) Every pronoun in the underlined portion of the sentence.
10) not only, but also
11) either or, neither nor
12) a is/means b
13) a rather than b
14) a and/or/but b
15) like, unlike, than, as - comparisons
16) if/unless
17) dangling modifier
18) relative clause - that, which, whose, whom etc
19) singular noun + “one of” + plural noun + that/which/who + plural verb
20) X or even more than X
21) amount to a sum
22) opposition words - though/although/even though / despite/ in spite of … Later followed by but/yet/still/nevertheless
23) annual + year
24) one, two, three, four times
25) reason and conclusion words - because / since/ due to /as… Followed by so/therefore/thus/consequently
26) double negative
27) the reason + because
28) as well as
29) propose/recommend/require/request/insist/suggest/mandate/ask/demand THAT
30) a split construction: verb a + and/or + verb b + object
Sentence Correction Work Order
Read and eliminate Original mistake Grammatical ERrors Illogical Stylistic MEANing change doesn't FIT
ROGER IS MEAN and FIT
What word(s) joining two singular nouns (subject) automatically make the subject plural?
Only “and”
If other words, such as “as well as” or “along with” connect singular nouns that make up the subject, the subject is the FIRST NOUN ONLY.
What are two reasons a singular subject appears to be plural (a pseudo-plural singular subject)?
1) Ends in “S”
eg - news, thesis, hypothesis, analysis, politics, physics, mathematics, economics, athletics, crisis.
2) Collective Nouns
eg - audience, committee, group, team, flock, congregation.
Both are considered singular subjects.
Exception: “police” is a plural subject. Eg- The police are searching for the suspect.
What is an unconjugated verb and when used as subject noun, is it plural or singular?
An unconjugated verb takes the form “Verb+ing” or “to Verb” and is considered singular.
What is an “X of Y subject” and is it plural or singular?
Examples include
“Three members of an organization”
“A set of 20 plates”
It could be singular or plural. In these cases the verb should agree with the X part of the subject - the part that comes before “of.”
Four members of the jury are women.
Past simple tense
Examples
John ate
Past progressive
John was eating
Past perfect
John had eaten
Past perfect progressive
John had been eating
Present simple
John eats
Present progressive
John is eating
Present perfect
John has eaten
Present Perfect progressive
John has been eating
Future simple
John will eat
Future Progressive
John will be eating
Future perfect
John will have eaten
Future perfect progressive
John will have been eating
Future-past simple
John would eat
Future-past progressive
John would be eating
Future-past perfect
John would have eaten
Future-past perfect progressive
John would have been eating.
Missing Article Mistake
A singular count noun must be preceded by an article:
Incorrect: John is sitting on chair.
Correct: John is sitting on a chair.
What are examples of count and non-count articles?
Non-count: much, a little, little, less, the amount of
Count: many, fewer, few, a few, the number of, several
Count and non-count articles must be matched to count and non-count nouns respectively.
Example: less milk, fewer chairs
How do you test when a Verb+ing as a noun or adjective replacement is incorrect?
1) First check the the Verb+ing is actually attempting to replace a noun/adjective.
2) Then check that a suitable noun or adjective actually exists.
POE the answer choice only when both tests are positive.
Eg - The presenting went well.
Correction: The presentation went well.
What are the two ways to express possession and when do you use them?
End with “ ‘s “ or use “of”
Abstract nouns should always use “of”
Describe when is the present simple tense is used and give an example.
1: Actions that occur at a frequency.
2: Facts and generalizations
It rains here often
I am frequently chilly.
These expressions indicate present simple tense:
Always, all the time, usually, generally, regularly, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, never, every(second, week, winter, etc.), one (a day, a century, in a while).
How is present progressive usually structured?
Usually first verb is “is, am, are” and the second verb is in V+ing form. This indicates a current action happening and continuing to happen.
They are running the race now.
The surgeon is operating at the moment.
How do you choose between past simple and present perfect?c
Use present perfect when Te time in the past is unknown or unspecified. Past simple only refers to specific times in the past (yesterday, last year, etc.)
Past Perfect
Used to describe actions that had been completed before a certain point or another action in the past.
Form is: had + verb in third form (V3)
“Bob and Francis had met only 1 week before they eloped.”
Indicators: before, after, by the time, until
