English Grammar Workbook For Dummies with Online Practice E-Book

Geraldine Woods

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 552

Beschreibung

Improve your English grammar You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by using proper English language and grammar. The ability to articulate and communicate effectively is a valuable asset in all aspects of life. From writing a research paper to giving a presentation at work or just holding a casual conversation with friends or family, strong verbal and written skills are necessities in everyday communication. English Grammar Workbook For Dummies is the perfect solution for sharpening the tools in your grammar kit, with lessons and plenty of practice opportunities to help reinforce learning. Whether you need to brush up on the finer points of punctuation, need help making sense of those pesky parts of speech--or anything in between--this approachable guide makes it fast and easy. * Find FREE quizzes for every chapter online * Handle pronouns with grace * Master plurals and possessives * Improve your proofreading skills Everyone benefits from using proper grammar and speech, and now you can too!

Leseprobe

English Grammar Workbook For Dummies®, 3rd Edition with Online Practice

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018932103

ISBN 978-1-119-45539-4 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-45543-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-45541-7 (ebk)

English Grammar Workbook For Dummies®

To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “English Grammar Workbook For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

Table of Contents

Cover

Introduction

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part 1: Building a Firm Foundation: Grammar Basics

Chapter 1: Tailoring Language to Suit Your Audience and Purpose

Climbing the Ladder of Language Formality

Matching Message to Situation

Answers to “Tailoring Language to Suit Your Audience and Purpose”

Chapter 2: Identifying the Major Elements of a Sentence

Going to the Heart of the Matter: The Verb

Zeroing in on the Subject

Adding Meaning: Objects and Complements

Answers to Questions about Major Elements of a Sentence

Chapter 3: Having It All: Writing Complete Sentences

Finding Subjects and Verbs that Match

Checking for Complete Thoughts

Improving Flow with Properly Joined Sentences

Setting the Tone with Endmarks

Proper Sentence or Not? That Is the Question

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Complete Sentences

Answers to Complete Sentence Problems

Part 2: Clearing Up Confusing Grammar Points

Chapter 4: Finding the Right Verb at the Right Time

Using Past, Present, and Future Tense at the Right Times

Putting Perfect Tenses in the Spotlight

Speaking of the Past and Things That Never Change

Romeo Lives! Writing about Literature and Art in Present Tense

Hitting Curveballs: Irregular Forms

Getting a Handle on Common Irregulars: Be and Have

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Verbs

Answers to Problems on Verbs and Verb Tenses

Chapter 5: Agreement: Choosing Singular or Plural Verbs and Pronouns

Meeting Their Match: Pairing Subjects and Verbs

Matching Pronouns and Antecedents

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Hitching Subjects and Verbs

Answers to Subject, Verb, and Pronoun Pairing Problems

Chapter 6: Solving Pronoun Case

Meeting the Subject at Hand and the Object of My Affection

To “Who” or To “Whom”? That Is the Question

You Talkin’ to Me, or I? Pronouns as Objects of Prepositions

Matching Possessive Pronouns to “-ing” Nouns

Missing in Action: Choosing Pronouns for Implied Comparisons

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Pronoun Case

Answers to Advanced Pronoun Problems

Chapter 7: Little Words Packing a Lot of Power: Prepositions and Interjections

Pinning Down Prepositions

Interjections Are Simple!

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Prepositions and Interjections

Answers to Questions About Prepositions and Interjections

Chapter 8: Writing Good or Well: Adjectives and Adverbs

Identifying Adjectives and Adverbs

The Right Place at the Right Time: Placing Adjectives and Adverbs

How’s It Going? Choosing Between Good/ Well and Bad/Badly

Mastering the Art of Articles

For Better or Worse: Forming Comparisons

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Descriptors

Answers to Adjective and Adverb Problems

Part 3: Mastering Mechanics

Chapter 9: A Hook That Can Catch You: Apostrophes

Showing Who Owns What: Possessives

Tightening Up Text: Contractions

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Apostrophes

Answers to Apostrophe Problems

Chapter 10: “Can I Quote You on That?” Quotation Marks

Quoting and Paraphrasing: What’s the Difference?

Giving Voice to Direct Quotations

Punctuating Titles

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Quotation Marks

Answers to Quotation Problems

Chapter 11: Pausing to Consider the Comma

Keeping Lists in Order with Commas and Semicolons

Directly Addressing the Listener or Reader

Punctuating Dates and Addresses

Placing Commas in Combined Sentences

Inserting Extras with Commas: Introductions and Interruptions

Setting Descriptions Apart

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Commas

Answers to Comma Problems

Chapter 12: Handling Dashes, Hyphens, and Colons

Dashing Off

Helping Yourself to Hyphens

Coming to a Stop: Colons

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Dashes, Hyphens, and Colons

Answers to Problems on Dashes, Hyphens, and Colons

Chapter 13: Hitting the Big Time: Capital Letters

Paying Respect to People’s Names and Titles

Capitalizing the Right Time and Place

Working with Business and School Terms

Capitalizing Titles of Literary and Media Works

Managing Capital Letters in Abbreviations

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Capital Letters

Answers to Capitalization Problems

Chapter 14: Writing for Electronic Media

Knowing Your Audience: The Right Writing for the Right Situation

Shortening Your Message

Powering Up Your Presentation Slides

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Electronic Media

Answers to Electronic Media Problems

Part 4: Going Above and Beyond: The Finer Points of Grammar and Style

Chapter 15: Going for the Gold: The Finer Points of Verb Usage

Voicing an Opinion: Active and Passive Verbs

In the Mood: Selecting the Right Verb for All Sorts of Sentences

Spicing Up Sentences by Adding Interesting Verbs

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Voice and Mood

Answers to Voice and Mood Problems

Chapter 16: Identifying Clauses and Their Effects

Locating Clauses

Sorting Independent and Subordinate Clauses

Making Clauses Work Together

Answers to Clause Problems

Chapter 17: Adding Style to Sentences

Speaking Verbally

Playing with Sentence Patterns

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice Honing Your Sentences

Answers to Sentence Improvement Problems

Chapter 18: Staying on Track: Parallel Writing

Geometry Meets English: Making Sentences Parallel

Staying in Gear: Avoiding Unnecessary Shifts

Following Special Rules for VIPs: Very Important Pairs

Drawing Parallel Comparisons

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Parallels

Answers to Parallelism Problems

Chapter 19: Steering Clear of Confusion: Clarity

Putting Descriptive Words in Their Proper Place

Avoiding Illogical Comparisons

Making Sure Your Pronouns Are Meaningful

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice in Writing Clear Sentences

Answers to Clarity Problems

Chapter 20: Dealing with Grammar Demons

Dropping Double Negatives

Telling Word-Twins Apart

Distinguishing Between Commonly Confused Words

Counting and Measuring Grammatically

Taming Tricky Verbs

Banishing Bogus Expressions

Calling All Overachievers: Extra Practice with Tricky Words

Answers to Grammar Demon Problems

Appendix: Grabbing Grammar Goofs

Exercise One

Exercise Two

Exercise Three

Exercise Four

Exercise Five

Exercise Six

Answers to Exercise One

Answers to Exercise Two

Answers to Exercise Three

Answers to Exercise Four

Answers to Exercise Five

Answers to Exercise Six

About the Author

Connect with Dummies

Index

End User License Agreement

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

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Introduction

Does this resemble the inside of your head when you’re preparing to talk with an Authority Figure (teacher, boss, mother-in-law, parole officer, whatever)?

Glad to have met … to be meeting … to … Uh oh. Maybe just Hi! How’s it going? Nope. Too friendly. New direction: You asked to see whoever… um … whomever wrote … had written … the report.

If you answered yes, you’re in the right place. English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, helps you navigate the sea of grammar without wrecking your grades, your career, or your mind. I mention grades and career because the ability to speak and write according to the rules of Standard English gives you an advantage in school and in the working world. Even if you feel relatively comfortable in everyday situations, you still may benefit from practicing some of the trickier grammar points, especially if you’re facing high-stakes exams such as the SAT, ACT, or AP. Some of these tortures (sorry, I mean tests) focus entirely on English skills, and some require you to use those skills to answer questions on other subjects. English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, helps you prepare for both situations.

This book presents the latest guidelines for Standard English. Yes, latest. When an English teacher is pounding them into your head, the rules of Standard English usage seem set in stone. But language isn’t static. It moves along just as people do — sometimes quickly and sometimes at the speed of a tired snail. To keep you sharp in every 21st-century situation, English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, presents information and then practice with the current, commonly accepted language of texts, tweets, emails, and presentation slides, as well as what’s proper in more traditional forms of writing.

English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, doesn’t concentrate on the sort of grammar exercise in which you circle all the nouns and draw little triangles around prepositions. You’ll find identification problems in this book, but only a few. A closely guarded English-teacher secret is that you don’t need to know too much terminology to master grammar. Instead, most of the practice problems concentrate on how to express meaning in real-life speech and writing.

Each chapter begins with a quick explanation of what’s acceptable — and what’s not — in Standard English. Next, I provide an example and then hit you with a bunch of questions. After completing the exercises, you can check your answers at the end of the chapter. I also tell you why a particular choice is correct to help you make the right decision the next time a similar issue pops up. Sprinkled liberally throughout the book and online are comprehensive exercises, so you can apply your knowledge to the material in an entire chapter. In the appendix, you find editing exercises that rely on skills you’ve honed throughout the entire book. The callout numbers pointing to the corrections in the answer key for these exercises correspond with the numbered explanations in the text.

Foolish Assumptions

In writing the English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, I assume that you …

know some English but want to improve your skills

aspire to at least one of these: a better job, higher grades, and improved scores on standardized tests

hope to become more comfortable if you’re an English-language learner

wish to communicate clearly and effectively

prefer to follow the conventions of Standard English or to ignore them with a specific purpose in mind

want to write within tight word limits (in tweets or texts, for example) while still expressing exactly what you mean

seek information on how to adjust the level of formality so that you are confident and appropriate in every context

The most important assumption I’ve made is that you have a busy life. Who doesn’t? With this fact in mind, I’ve tried to keep the explanations in this book clear, simple, and short. For more complete explanations, pick up a copy of the companion book, English Grammar For Dummies, 3rd Edition, or, if you need to review the fundamentals, Basic English Grammar For Dummies, written by yours truly and published by Wiley. In those books, I go into much more detail and provide more examples, accompanied by step-by-step explanations.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons are the cute little drawings that attract your gaze and alert you to key points, pitfalls, and other helpful things. In English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, you find these four:

I live in New York City, and I often see tourists staggering around, desperate for a resident to show them the ropes. The Tip icon is the equivalent of a resident whispering in your ear. Psst! Want the inside story that will make your life easier? Here it is!

When you’re about to walk through a field riddled with land mines, it’s nice to have a map. The Warning icon tells you where the traps are so you can avoid them.

The Example icon alerts you to (surprise!) an example and a set of exercises so you can practice what I just finished preaching.

If you’re getting ready to sweat through a standardized test, pay extra attention to this icon, which identifies frequent fliers on those exams. Not a student? No worries. You can still pick up valuable information when you see this icon.

Beyond the Book

As they say on late-night television commercials, “Wait! There’s more!” Look online at www.dummies.com to find a cheat sheet for English Grammar Workbook For Dummies, 3rd Edition, where you can zero in quickly on crucial information. Competitive? You can also test yourself with online quizzes oriented to a single chapter or to a heftier amount of information.

To gain access to the online practice, all you have to do is register. Just follow these simple steps:

Find your PIN access code:

Print-book users:

If you purchased a print copy of this book, turn to the inside front cover of the book to find your access code.

E-book users:

If you purchased this book as an e-book, you can get your access code by registering your e-book at

www.dummies.com/go/getaccess

. Go to this website, find your book and click it, and answer the security questions to verify your purchase. You’ll receive an email with your access code.

Go to

Dummies.com

and click

Activate Now.

Find your product (

English Grammar Workbook For Dummies,

3rd Edition) and then follow the on-screen prompts to activate your PIN.

Now you’re ready to go! You can come back to the program as often as you want. Simply log in with the username and password you created during your initial login. No need to enter the access code a second time.

Where to Go from Here

To the refrigerator for a snack. Nope. Just kidding. Now that you know what’s where, turn to the section that best meets your needs. If you’re not sure what would benefit you most, take a moment to think about the aspects of writing or speaking that make you pause for a lengthy head scratch. Do you have trouble picking the appropriate verb tense? Is finding the right word a snap but placing a comma cause for concern?

After you’ve done a little grammatical reconnaissance, select the sections of this book that meet your needs. Use the table of contents and the index to find more detail about what’s where. If you aren’t sure whether a particular topic is a problem, no problem! Try a couple of sentences and check your answers, or whip through an online quiz. If everything comes out okay and you understand the answers, move on. If you stub your toe, go back and do a few more questions in the book or from the online quiz until the grammar rule becomes clear. Or, if you like to start with an overview, hit the exercises in the appendix first. Then zero in on the sections that address the errors you made in those exercises.

Part 1

Building a Firm Foundation: Grammar Basics

IN THIS PART …

Adapt language to suit your situation, audience, and purpose.

Identify the basic elements of a sentence: the subject, verb, and complement.

Sort verbs into “action” and “linking” categories.

Examine the proper format for statements, commands, questions, and negative remarks.

Form noun plurals properly.

Ensure that your sentences are complete.

Chapter 1

Tailoring Language to Suit Your Audience and Purpose

IN THIS CHAPTER

Distinguishing between formal and informal language

Choosing the correct level of formality in speaking and writing

When it comes to language, one size does not fit all. The way you tell an Authority Figure (teacher, boss, emperor, whatever) about an app you invented differs from the way you explain your brainchild to a friend. If you’re like most people, you probably switch levels of formality automatically, dozens of times a day. But sometimes you may find yourself wondering how to express yourself, especially in emails, texts, and tweets. If you hit the wrong note, your message may not receive the reaction you’d hoped for. Very few investors react positively to someone who writes, “Yo, want in on this?” Nor will you find it easy to get a date if you ask, “Would you consider dining with me at an informal Italian restaurant that offers relatively good pizza?” In this chapter you practice identifying levels of formality and examine situations in which each is appropriate.

Climbing the Ladder of Language Formality

Proper English is important. The only problem with that statement is the definition of “proper.” Language has many levels of formality, all of which are “proper” at times and completely unsuitable at others. Many gradations of formality exist, but to make things easier, I divide English into three large categories: what I call “friendspeak” (the most casual), “conversational” (one step up), and “formal” (the equivalent of wearing your best business attire). Take a look at these examples:

c u in 10 (friendspeak)

There in ten minutes. (conversational)

I will arrive in ten minutes. (formal)

All three statements say the same thing in very different ways. Here’s the deal:

Friendspeak

breaks some rules of formal English on purpose, to show that people are comfortable with each other. Friendspeak shortens or drops words and often includes slang and references that only close friends understand. (That’s why I call it “

friend

speak.”) No one has to teach you this level of English. You learn it from your pals, or you create it yourself and teach it to your buddies.

Conversational English

sounds relaxed, but not too relaxed. It’s the language equivalent of jeans and a T-shirt. Conversational English is filled with contractions (

I’m

instead of

I am, would’ve

instead of

would have,

and so forth). Not many abbreviations appear in conversational English, but you may confidently include those that are well established and widely understood (

etc., a.m., p.m.,

and the like). You may also see acronyms, which pluck the first letter from each word of a name (

NATO

for the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

or

AIDS

for

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,

for example). Conversational English may drop some words and break a few rules. The example sentence for conversational English at the beginning of this section, for instance, has no subject or verb, a giant no-no in formal writing but perfectly acceptable at this level of language.

Formal

English

is the pickiest location in Grammarland. When you speak or write in formal English, you follow every rule (including some you never heard of), avoid slang and abbreviations, and trot out your best vocabulary.

Think about your audience when you’re selecting friendspeak, conversational English, or formal English. What impression are you trying to give? Let your goals guide you. Also consider the situation. At work you may rely on conversational English when you run into your boss at the coffee machine, but not when you’re submitting a quarterly report. At school, choosing conversational English is okay for a teacher-student chat in the cafeteria, but not for homework. More on situation and language appears in the next section, “Matching Message to Situation.”

Can you identify levels of formality? Before you hit the questions, check out this example:

Q. Place these expressions in order of formality, from the most formal to the least. Note: Two expressions may tie. For example, your answer may be A, B and C — in which case expression A is the most formal and expressions B and C are on the same, more casual level.

sketchy block

That is a dangerous neighborhood.

Where gangs rule.

A. B, C, A. Expression B is the most formal because it follows all the conventions of English. Every word is in the dictionary, and the sentence is complete. (See Chapter 3 for more practice with complete sentences.) Expression C, on the other hand, is an incomplete sentence and is therefore less formal. Also, in Expression C the verb rule has an unusual meaning. Your readers or listeners probably understand that gangs aren’t official authorities but instead wield a lot of unofficial power. The statement is more conversational than formal. Expression A employs slang (sketchy means “slightly dangerous”), so it’s closer to friendspeak than to formal English.

Matching Message to Situation

When you’re listening or reading, you probably note the difference between formal and informal language constantly — maybe unconsciously. Knowing levels of language, however, isn’t enough. You also need to decide what level of formality to employ when you’re speaking and writing. Before you choose, consider these factors:

Your audience.

If your message is going to a person with more power or higher status than you (an employee writing to a boss or a student to a teacher, for example), you should probably be more formal. If you’re speaking or writing to someone with less power or lower status than you, conversational English is fine. In a higher-to-lower situation, however, the person with more authority may wish to employ formal English in order to serve as a role model or to establish a professional atmosphere. When you’re dealing with peers, conversational English is a good bet. Only your closest friends rate — and understand — friendspeak.

The situation.

At the company picnic or in the cafeteria, most people opt for less formal speech. Similarly, at get-togethers with family and friends, formal language may sound stiff and unfriendly. When you’re in an official meeting with a client or teacher, however, formal English is safer.

The format.

When you’re speaking you have more leeway than when you’re writing. Why? Unless you’re reading prepared remarks, you probably can’t produce perfect sentences. Not many people can! The writing in texts, tweets, and instant messages tends to be in conversational English or, with your buddies, in friendspeak. Exceptions occur, though. A text to a client should be more formal than one to a friend, and journalists or officials often tweet in formal English. Email can go either way. Because it’s fast, the dropped or shortened forms of conversational English are generally acceptable, but if you think the reader expects you to honor tradition (the written equivalent of a curtsy or a hat-tip), go for formal English. Always employ formal English for business letters, school reports, and similar paper-based communication.

Listen to those around you or read others’ work that appears in the same context you’re navigating. Unless you want to stand out, aim for the same level of formality you hear or see.

Think about the audience, situation, and format. In the following example, decide whether the writing or speech is appropriate or inappropriate.

Q. Text from a department head to the CEO requesting a salary increase:

greenlight $20K or I walk

A. Inappropriate. Think about the power ladder here. The CEO is on the top rung, and the department head somewhere farther down. Even though texts tend to be informal, this one is about money. When you ask for money, be polite! To be polite in Grammarland is to use formal, correct language. The department head should have written something like “If you cannot raise my salary by $20,000, I will seek employment elsewhere.”

11 Email from student to professor about the assigned reading of Shakespeare's Hamlet:

Best. Play. Ever.

12 Chat between friends:

There’s this prince, he’s named Hamlet. He’s freaking out about his mother’s marriage to his uncle only a couple of months after Hamlet’s father died.

13 Portion of an essay about the play, written as a homework assignment:

The Queen’s new husband is not a sympathetic character. Dude, he’s a murderer!

14 Cover letter from a job applicant to a potential employer, a tech start-up:

Attached please find my resume, pursuant to your advertisement of July 15th.

15 Instant messages between classmates, discussing their grades:

A+!!!

sick

ttyl

ok bfn

16 Portion of a letter to the editor of the town paper from a citizen:

The lack of a stoplight on that corner has led to several car crashes. The city council is right to think about the expense of installing one, but what about the cost of human life and suffering?

17 Comment on social media post about a tax to finance improved traffic flow:

You morons should stop stealing our money. We coulda bought five stoplights made outta gold for the amount of money you spent on office furniture. To conclude, shut up!

18 Email to the mother of a potential tutoring client:

I have an advanced degree in mathematics and many years of experience teaching algebra. My rates are on a par with those of other tutors in the area. Also, I get along well with kids!

19 Tweet from the president to the members of the local garden association:

Meeting tonight at 8 p.m. #springplanting

20 Speech by the class president to fellow students at graduation:

We made it! We’re out of this place! But Roger and May are gonna totally ship anyway!

Chapter 2

Identifying the Major Elements of a Sentence

IN THIS CHAPTER

Finding verbs in statements and questions

Distinguishing between action and linking verbs

Adding meaning with helping verbs

Locating the subject in every type of sentence

Forming noun plurals

Identifying complements and objects

Cops trying to crack a case often create a line-up. A possible suspect appears with several other people who could not have committed the crime. Behind one-way glass, a witness stares at the group and then chooses — That’s him! When you crack a sentence, you face a line-up too — the words in the sentence. In this chapter, you practice identifying the major criminals … er, I mean elements of a sentence: the verb, the subject, and the complement or object. Because subjects are often nouns and you frequently need to determine whether you have a singular or plural subject, I throw in a little practice with noun plurals as well.

Going to the Heart of the Matter: The Verb

Before you do anything to a sentence — write, analyze, or edit — you have to locate its heart, also known as the verb. The words that express action or state of being are verbs; they pump meaning into a sentence, just as a real heart pumps blood into veins and arteries. In this section, you practice identifying verbs, sorting out types of verbs, and examining the role of helping verbs. For information on another important verb characteristic, tense, read Chapter 4.

Treasure hunt: Finding the verb

To find the verb, think about the meaning of the sentence. Ask two questions: What’s happening? What is, was, or will be? The first question gives you an action verb, and the second question yields a linking verb. An action verb expresses action. (How shocking!) Action verbs aren’t always energetic, however. Sleep, dream, realize, and meditate are all action verbs. Think of a linking verb as a giant equal sign. This sort of verb links a person, place, or thing to a description or an identity. In the sentence “Mary is tired,” is links Mary and tired. Most linking verbs are forms of the verb be or one of its close cousins (seem or remain, for example). Verbs that express sensation — taste, feel, sound, and smell, for instance — are also linking verbs if they can be replaced by a form of be without completely changing the meaning of the sentence.

You may find more than one verb in a sentence. For example, this morning I showered and washed my hair. In that last sentence, showered and washed are both verbs. Sometimes a single verb is formed with two or more words. Keep your eye out for forms of the verb do and have, as well as the word will. They may show up next to the verb or a couple of words away. You have to locate all the parts of a verb in order to understand how the sentence functions. (More on other types of multi-word verbs appears in “Aiding and abetting: Helping verbs” later in this section.)

Q. Find the verb(s) in this sentence and indentify each as linking (LV) or action (AV):

Gloria was a tennis fanatic, so she rushed out to buy tickets to the championship match.

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A. was (LV), rushed (AV). This sentence makes two statements, one about Gloria herself and one about her actions. To locate the verbs, ask your questions:

What’s happening? rushed This is an action verb because it explains what Gloria did.

What is, was, or will be? was This is a linking verb because it explains Gloria’s personality, “linking” Gloria to tennis fanatic.

Did you stumble over to buy? A verb with to in front is called an infinitive, the head of a verb family. Oddly, infinitives don't function as verbs in a sentence. If you reread the statement about Gloria, you see that the sentence doesn't say that she bought tickets. She rushed. Maybe she was successful, and maybe she wasn't. Either way, to buy is an infinitive, not a verb.

Q. Identify the verbs in the sentence and label them linking (LV) or action (AV):

My cat sleeps all day because he has always been lazy.

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A. sleeps (AV), has been (LV). When you ask What's happening? the answer is sleeps, so you know that sleeps is a verb. Even though it doesn't require much energy, sleep is something you do, so it's an action verb. When you ask What is, was, or will be? the answer is has been. That verb, like all forms of be, is a linking verb. Did you include always? The word gives a time range, not a state of being or an action. It's an adverb, not a verb, even though it's tucked inside the verb has been.

1 The fire engine raced down the street.

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2 Around the curve, just ahead of the railroad tracks, stood seven donkeys.

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3 One of the donkeys, frightened by the noise of the siren, ran away.

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4 Another looked worried but did not move.

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5 Was he brave or was he determined to defend his herd?

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6 Most likely, the animal did not notice the noise or did not care.

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7 Did you know that the donkey was eating George's lawn?

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8 George's house was not on fire, but several others on his street were burning.

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9 George left the donkey alone and went inside for an extra-long lunch.

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10 Because of the donkey, George did not mow his lawn.

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Choosing the correct verb for negative expressions

Three little letters — not — turn a positive comment (“I like your boots”) to a negative one (“I do not like your boots”). Apart from the fashion critique, what do you notice about the negative statement? The verb changes from like to do like. You need that extra part because “I not like” isn’t proper English. Negative verbs don’t always rely on a form of the verb do. Sometimes have, has, or had does the job. Sentences with a be verb can turn negative without any help at all. In this section you can try your hand at not creating the wrong negative verb.

Q. Rewrite the sentence as a negative expression.

Mark's acting received an Academy Award.

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A. Mark's acting did not receive an Academy Award. Two things change when the positive verb (received) becomes negative (did not receive). Received, a past-tense form, turns into the basic, no-frills, bare infinitive (receive). The helping verb did pairs with it. As you probably noticed, not is tucked between the two parts of this verb, its usual spot.

11 My phone buzzes like a bee.

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12 Sheila is in love with bees.

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13 She wanted to be a beekeeper.

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14 Looking at bee hives gives her hives.

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15 The bee flying near our picnic table left Sheila alone all afternoon.

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16 Sheila will ask me to change my ringtone.

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Questioning with verbs

In many languages, you say the equivalent of “Ate the cookie?” to find out whether your friend gobbled up a treat. In English, you nearly always need a helping verb and a subject (the person or thing you’re talking about) to create a question: “Did you eat the cookie?” (The verbs to be and to have are the only exceptions.) Notice that the combo form (did eat) is different from the straight past tense (ate). Other question-creators, italicized in these examples, change the tense: “Will you eat my cookie?” or “Do you eat cookies?” (This last one suggests an ongoing action.) In nearly all questions, the subject follows the first (or only) verb.

Rewrite the statement so that it becomes a question. Add words or rearrange the sentence as needed.

Q. You found a wallet on the ground.

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A. Did you find a wallet on the ground? The helping verb did comes before you in this question. The past-tense form, found, changes to find, the basic, bare infinitive.

17 You took the wallet to the police station.

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18 The cops always accept lost items.

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19 The wallet was stolen.

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20 The detectives seemed interested.

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21 They noticed seven credit cards, each with a different name.

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22 The photo on the license matches a mug shot.

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23 The police will act swiftly.

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24 You want the reward for recovering stolen property.

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Aiding and abetting: Helping verbs

In addition to has, have, had, and the be verbs (am, is, are, was, were, and so on) you can attach a few other helpers to a main verb, and in doing so, change the meaning of the sentence slightly. Consider hiring the following helpers:

Should

and

must

add a sense of duty.

Notice the sense of obligation in these two sentences: “David

should

put the ice cream away before he eats the whole thing.” “David

must

reduce his cholesterol, according to his doctor.”

Can

and

could

imply ability.

Could

is the past tense of

can.

Choose the tense that matches the tense of the main verb or the time period expressed in the sentence, as in these examples, “If Hanna

can

help, she will.” or “Courtney

could

stray from the beaten path, depending on the weather.”

May

and

might

add possibility to the sentence.

Strictly speaking,

might

is for past events, and

may

for present, but these days people interchange the two forms: “I

may

go to the picnic if I can find a bottle of ant-killer.” “I told Courtney that she

might

want to bring some insect repellent.”

Would

usually expresses a condition or willingness.

This helper explains under what circumstances something may happen. (“I

would

have brought the cat had I known about the mouse problem.”)

Would

may also express willingness. (“He

would

bait the trap.”)

Would

sometimes communicates repeated past actions. (“Every Saturday he

would

go to the pet store for more mouse food.”) The present tense of

would,

the helping verb

will,

may also indicate a condition in the present or future. (“I

will

go if I

can

find a free ticket.”)

Add a helper to the main verb. The information in parentheses after the fill-in-the-blank sentence explains what meaning the sentence should have.

Q. Lisa said that she __________________ consider running for Parks Commissioner, but she hasn’t made up her mind yet. (possibility)

A. might or may. The might or may shows that Lisa hasn’t ruled out a run.

25 The mayor, shy as ever, said that she __________________ go to the tree-planting ceremony only if the press agreed to stay outside the forest. (condition)

26 Kirk, a reporter for the local radio station, __________________ not agree to any conditions, because the station manager insisted on eyewitness coverage. (ability)

27 Whenever he met with her, Kirk __________________ always urge the mayor to invite the press to special events, without success. (repeated action)

28 The mayor __________________ make an effort to be more open to the press. (duty)

29 Lisa, who writes the popular “Trees-a-Crowd” blog, explained that she __________________ rely on her imagination to supply details. (possibility)

30 Lisa knows that Kirk __________________ leap to fame based on his tree-planting report, and she doesn’t want to miss an important scoop. (ability)

31 All good reporters __________________ know that if a tree falls or is planted in the forest, the sound is heard by a wide audience only if a radio reporter is there. (duty)

32 Sound engineers, on the other hand, __________________ skip all outdoor events if they __________________ do so. (condition, ability)

Zeroing in on the Subject

Every sentence needs a subject — the who or what performing the action or existing in the state of being expressed in the sentence. Subjects are usually nouns (words that name people, places, things, or ideas) or pronouns (words such as he, it, who, and so forth that substitute for nouns). Before you search for the subject, find the verb. Then place “Who?” or “What?” before the verb. For example, suppose the verb is had parked. Your subject questions are Who had parked? What had parked? The answer is the subject.

The subject often, but not always, appears before the verb. Don’t scout location. Use logic and the questions and you’ll find what you’re looking for — the subject. Also, not every subject appears in the sentence. In commands (Take out the garbage now, for example), the subject is you, because the listener or reader is the one who is supposed to take out the garbage. Lucky you!

Locate the subject(s) of each verb in the sentence.

Q. Angelo raided his piggy bank because his car needed a new muffler.

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A. Angelo, needed. In this sentence you find two verbs, raided and needed. When you ask who raided?, the answer is Angelo raided. Angelo is the subject of the verb raided. (You can ask what raided? also, but that question has no answer.) When you ask who needed?, you get no answer. The question what needed? gives you car needed, so car is the subject of the verb needed.

33 Ana and Max spend all their free time in the library.

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34 Max has grown quite tall, but he has not adjusted to his new size.

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35 Once he reached under a library table to pick up a book Ana had dropped.

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36 Max stood up too quickly and smashed his head on the bottom of the table.

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37 There is a dent in the table now.

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38 Did you see a dent in Max's head?

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39 Max's thick hair and equally thick skull protect him from most head injuries.

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40 When Max hit it, the table fell over and broke Ana's toe.

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When one isn’t enough: Forming noun plurals

When I was in elementary school, the only spell check was the teacher’s ruler. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to change the y to i and add es?” Miss Hammerhead would inquire just before the ruler landed (Bam!) on a pupil’s head. Hammerhead (not her real name) was teaching spelling, but she also was explaining how to form the plural of some nouns, the grammatical term for words that name people, places, things, or ideas. Here are Miss Hammerhead’s lessons, minus the weaponry:

Regular plurals pick up an

s.

For instance,

one snob/two snobs

and

a dollar/two billion dollars.

For nouns ending in

s, sh, ch,

and

x,

tack on

es

to form the plural unless the noun has an irregular plural.

For example,

kindness/kindnesses, splash/splashes, catch/catches,

and

hex/hexes.

I tell you more about irregular plurals in a minute.

For nouns ending in

ay, ey, oy,

simply add an

s.

Monkey becomes

monkeys

and

boy

changes to

boys.

For nouns ending in

y

preceded by a consonant, change the

y

to

i

and add

es.

Butterfly/butterflies

and

mystery/mysteries

are two such examples

.

Hyphenated nouns become plural by changing the most important word.

You can have two

mothers-in-law,

but no

mother-in-laws,

because

mother

is the defining characteristic.

When making the plural of a proper name, add

s

or

es.

Don’t change any letters even if the name ends with a consonant

-y

combo (

Smithy,

perhaps). Just add

s

for the

Smiths

and the

Smithys

. If the name already ends in

s, sh, ch, or x

(

Woods,

for example), you can add

es (Woodses).

Irregular nouns cancel all bets: Anything goes!

Sometimes the noun doesn’t change at all, so the plural and singular forms are exactly the same

(fish/fish deer/deer);

other times the noun does change

(leaf/leaves

and

child/children).

When you’re unsure about an irregular plural, you can check the dictionary. The definition lists the plural form for each noun.

At the end of each sentence is a noun in parentheses. Write the plural in the blank, as in this example:

Q. When she was angry, Jennifer often sent dinner __________________ flying across the room. (plate)

A. plates. Love those regular plurals! Just add s.

41 Jennifer works at one of the local mental-health __________________. (clinic)

42 Jennifer refers to these establishments as “brain __________________.” (house)

43 The town eccentric, Jennifer has dyed several __________________ of her hair light green. (thatch)

44 Jennifer sees her unusual hair color as appropriate for all __________________. (woman)

45 Few people know that Jennifer, an accomplished historian and mathematician, has created a series of __________________ on the Hundred Years’ War. (graph)

46 Jennifer also knows a great deal about the role of __________________ in colonial America. (turkey)

47 The __________________ of envy at Jennifer’s scholarship were quite loud. (sigh)

48 However, her paper did not impress her __________________. (brother-in-law)

49 Some __________________ in the Sullivan family opt for veterinary school. (child)

50 Danny went to dental school so he could work with __________________ instead of dogs. (tooth)

Adding Meaning: Objects and Complements

Three important elements — direct objects, indirect objects, and subject complements — don’t always show up in a sentence, but when they do, they add information to the idea begun by the subject and the verb. To locate objects and subject complements, keep these points in mind:

After an action verb, you may find a word — or several words — answering the question

whom?

or

what?

begun by the verb. That’s the direct object. For example, in the sentence

Lulu hates sports, hates

is the action verb and

Lulu

is the subject of

hates.

Ask

Lulu hates whom?

and you get no answer. Ask

Lulu hates what?

and the answer is

sports. Sports

is the direct object of the verb

hates.

Action verbs also occasionally appear with a direct object and an indirect object. In the sentence

Lulu gave me an annoyed glance,

the subject-verb combination is

Lulu gave.

The direct object of the verb

gave

is

glance,

which answers the question

Lulu gave what?

The indirect object questions are

to whom? to what?

So now you have

Lulu gave an annoyed glance to whom?

The answer is to

me,

and

me

is the indirect object. (You don’t get an answer when you ask

to what.)

After a linking verb, simply ask

who?

or

what?

to find the subject complement. In the sentence

Lulu is a terrible basketball player,

the subject-verb combo is

Lulu is.

Now ask

Lulu is who? Lulu is what?

The answer is

a terrible basketball player.

The most important word in that answer is

player,

and

player

is the subject complement.

Most of the time the distinction between objects and complements doesn’t matter. When a pronoun completes the thought begun by the subject and verb, however, you have to be alert. In formal English, the same type of pronoun that acts as a subject also acts as a subject complement. Subject pronouns and object pronouns don’t always match. For more about subject and object pronouns, check out Chapter 6.

Locate the objects and subject complements in each sentence. Underline each one and label it as a direct object (DO), an indirect object (IO), or a subject complement (SC).

Q. Lulu hates baseball too even though she is very athletic.

A. baseball (DO), athletic (SC).Hates is a linking verb. Ask Lulu hates whom or what? and baseball pops up as the answer. Baseball is the direct object. Is is a linking verb, so when you ask she is who or what? the answer, athletic, is a subject complement.

51 Lola, during the annual softball game between two branch offices of our company, swung the bat with all her strength.

52 She is extremely strong because she exercises for 2 hours every day.

53 The bat hit the ball and lifted it over the outfield fence.

54 There was wild joy in our cheering section!

55 The applause always sounds louder when Lola plays.

56 Compared to Lola, the next batter seemed small and weak.

57 He is the president of the company, and he alternates between branch-office teams every year.

58 The pitcher tossed the president a slow ball.

59 Who would challenge him?

60 The president smacked the ball a few feet, but he reached third base anyway.

Answers to Questions about Major Elements of a Sentence

Now that you’ve identified the major players in the sentence game, it’s time to tally up your score. Check your answers to see how you did.

1raced (AV). Ask what’s happening? The answer is raced. Raced is an action verb.

2stood (AV). Even though stood sounds like inaction, it’s still expressing what happens, so it’s an action verb answering the question What’s happening?

3ran (AV). What’s happening? The frightened animal ran, that’s what’s happening! Ran is an action verb.

4looked (LV), did move (AV). The sensory verb looked