04 Verbs
- 1. . . . . . Verbs . . . . . Verbs are " doing " words. A verb usually expresses a physical action. E.g. The doctor wrote the prescription. Alison bought a ticket. Verbs can also express mental actions. E.g. Peter guessed the right number. A small group of verbs do not express any action at all. The most important verb in this group is the verb to be - forms like: is, are, were, was, will be, etc. E.g. Edwina is the largest elephant in this area.
- 2. The verb “to be” Person I You He/She/It We You They Present am are is are are are Past was were was were were were Future Will be Will be Will be Will be Will be Will be Progressive am being are being is being are being are being are being Perfect have been have been has been have been have been have been
- 3. Unnecessary Uses of “To Be” “ to be” verbs used in dependent clauses (particularly those using a passive construction) and expletive constructions (“There is,” “There were,” “It is,” etc.) can be removed. Note that the relative pronoun frequently disappears as well when these sentences are revised. Examples:
- 4. He wanted a medication that was prescribed by a physician. She recognized the officer who was chasing the crook. Anyone who is willing to work hard will succeed in this program. It was Alberto who told the principal about the students' prank. A customer who is pleased is sure to return. Revised: A pleased customer is sure to return. (When “to be” and the relative pronoun are eliminated, reposition the predicate adjective to a pre-noun position.)
- 5. Unnecessary Uses of “To Be” An expletive construction, along with its attendant “to be” verb, can often be eliminated. Simply omit the construction, find the real subject of the sentence, and allow it to work with a real verb. Examples:
- 6. There were some excellent results to this experiment in social work. Change to: This experiment in social work resulted in . . . . There is one explanation for this story's ending in Faulkner's diary. Change to: Faulkner's diary gives us one explanation for this story's ending.
- 7. Unnecessary Uses of “To Be” Expletive constructions used for organizing or enumerating ideas can be simply stated in heading phrases. Example:
- 8. There were four underlying causes of World War I.
- 9. First, .. Change to: Four Underlying Causes of World War I: - the ….. - the ….
- 10. Active and Passive Voice Active Voice In an active sentence, the subject of the verb performs the action. Most answers will be constructed in this form. The dog damaged the carpet. ("Dog" is the subject and the doer of the action.) Jamie read a story. ("Jamie" is the subject and the doer of the action.) In a passive sentence, the subject is not doing anything but being acted upon by the verb or receiver of the action. This is used when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant. Carl was arrested . ("Carl" is not doing anything, but he is the subject of the sentence. Carl, in this case, is acted upon or he is the receiver of the action.) 100 votes are required to pass the bill. Passive Voice
- 11. Verb Tenses Simple Present - Active: The company ships the computers to many foreign countries. Passive: Computers are shipped to many foreign countries. Simple Past - Active: The delivery man delivered the package yesterday. Passive: The package was delivered yesterday. Simple Future - Active: Our representative will pick up the computer. Passive: The computer will be picked up .
- 12. Verb Tenses Present Progressive - Active: The chef is preparing the food. Passive: The food is being prepared . Past Progressive - Active: The producer was making an announcement. Passive: An announcement was being made . Future Progressive - Active: Joe will be studying English when you arrive tonight. Passive: Not Used
- 13. Verb Tenses Present Perfect - Active: Someone has made the arrangements for us. Passive: The arrangements have been made for us. Past Perfect - Active: They had given us visas for three months. Passive: We had been given visas for three months. Future Perfect - Active: By next month we will have finished this job. Passive: By next month this job will have been finished .
- 14. Subject-Verb Agreement A singular subject requires a singular verb. Rain makes arthritis flare up. A plural subject requires a plural verb. The singers are collaborating to stage a free concert. A phrase or clause between a subject and its verb does not affect subject-verb agreement. The leader of the terrorists was killed in the encounter. When a compound subject is joined by OR or NOR, the verb should agree with the nearest subject. The agents or the supervisor was at the Town Hall meeting. Neither Tom nor the boys are going to the movies.
- 15. Subject-Verb Agreement A compound subject joined by AND is generally plural and requires a plural verb. Baseball and tennis are my favorite sports. If the parts of the compound subject joined by AND are thought of as one item or unit, a singular verb is required. Track and field is a sports event that involves running. If the word EVERY or EACH comes before a compound subject, a singular verb is needed. Every father, mother, and child was given the vaccine. Mortar and pestle is used to crush, grind, and mix substances. Each agent and supervisor is required to fill up the survey form.
- 16. Subject-Verb Agreement If the parts of the compound subject refer to the same person, place, thing, or event, a singular verb is required. The student and athlete has a very hectic schedule. (The student and athlete is the same person.) A noun denoting an amount or measurement is usually singular and needs a singular verb. One thousand euros is the minimum salary. Up on the tree are three birds singing. BUT: The owner and the manager are meeting at lunch today. (The owner is a different person from the manager. An article – a, an, the – is used to determine different referents.) If the subject is preceded by its verb, the verb should still agree with the subject, not with the word, phrase, or clause that comes before it. There is an ongoing job fair at the school gym.
- 17. Subject-Verb Agreement If a collective noun is thought of as a single unit, a singular verb is required. The team is vigorously preparing for the championship. The committee has decided to extend his contract. If a collective noun is thought of as composed of many individuals, a plural verb is needed. The jury have been deliberating on the verdict for hours now. Singular indefinite pronouns like anyone, everyone, anybody, everybody, nobody, and somebody require singular verbs. Everyone in the class is expected to come up with his own original presentation. Plural indefinite pronouns like both, few, many, others, and several require plural verbs. Several of the contract workers were sent home.
- 18. Subject-Verb Agreement Fractional expressions like half of, a part of, a percentage of, or a majority of and the pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some require singular verbs if the noun they refer to is singular, and plural verbs if the noun is plural. Some of the pizza has mushroom toppings. Some of the pizzas have chili sauce in them. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning require singular verbs. Mathematics is a very important subject. Some nouns are always plural and should have plural verbs. The tweezers are on top of my dresser. Grandma's eyeglasses were lost. Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. Three-fourths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire. Three-fourths of the vineyards were destroyed by fire.
- 19. Subject-Verb Agreement A linking verb should agree with its subject, not with its predicate nominative or subjective complement. One reason (subject) of drug addiction among teenagers is broken families (predicate nominative) . Broken families (subject) are one reason (predicate nominative) for drug addiction among teenagers. Titles of poems, articles, essays, stories or novels are singular and require singular verbs. “ Little Women” is a touching novel by Louisa May Alcott. “ Trees” is a famous poem written by Joyce Kilmer. When either and neither are subjects, they always take singular verbs. A linking verb should agree with its subject, not with its predicate nominative or subjective complement. Neither of Michael's siblings is available to speak right now. Either of the teachers is capable of facilitating the activity.
- 20. Subject-Verb Agreement The verb inside a relative clause introduced by who, which, or that should agree with the number of the antecedent . Stephen Hawking is the scientist who writes about black holes. Edmon is one of the men who do the work. If a compound subject has positive and negative elements wherein one is plural and the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive element. The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Saint Patrick's Day. It is not the committee members but the chairman who decides on this issue. It was the speaker , not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.