HUM102_Slides_Lecture28.pptxgdbddgnttdtetdb

HUM 102
REPORT WRITING SKILLS
Lecture 28
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Previous Lecture
 Punctuation Marks
 Run-On Sentences
 Determiners

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 Verb Tenses
• Verb: Indicates action, occurrence, and state of being
• Tense: Placement of a verb in time
• Three major types of verb tenses categorized according to
time frame each extended further into sub-categories:
o Present Tense
o Past Tense
o Future Tense
Tenses

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 Present: Simple/Indefinite Tense [1/2]
• To describe action, event, or condition occurring in
present/at the moment
o Sadan waits patiently while Talal books the tickets
• To express general truths such as scientific facts
o Rectangles have four sides.
• To indicate a habitual action, event, or condition
o Shahkar goes to The Mall every Thursday evening
Tenses

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 Present: Simple/Indefinite Tense [2/2]
• Used when writing about works of art
o Lear rages against the silence of Cordelia and only
belatedly realizes that she, not her more vocal sisters,
loves him.
• To refer to a future event when used in conjunction with an
adverb/ adverbial phrase
o The doors open in 10 minutes.
o Classes end next week.
o The lunar eclipse begins in exactly 43 minutes.
Tenses

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 Present: Progressive/Continuous Tense
• To emphasize the continuing nature of act, event, or
condition
o Ahmad is looking for his keys.
o Uzma is working on an assignment.
• Occasionally used to refer to a future event when used in
conjunction with an adverb/ adverbial phrase
o The doors are opening in 10 minutes.
o Classes are ending next week.
Tenses

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 Present: Perfect Tense
• To describe an action that began in past and continues or
has just completed at the moment of utterance
• Used to suggest that past action still has an effect on
something happening in present
o They have not delivered the documents we need.
o The health department has decided that all high school
students should be immunized against meningitis.
o Bilawal has dreamt about frogs sitting in trees every
night this week.
Tenses

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 Present: Perfect Progressive/Continuous Tense
• To describe an action, event or condition that began in past
and continues into the present
• Stress is on the on-going nature of action, event, condition
o They have been publishing this comic book for ten
years.
o That dog has been barking for three hours.
Tenses

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 Past: Simple/Indefinite Tense
• To describe an action, event or condition that occurred in
past
• Before the moment of speaking or writing
o I ate an apple.
o He worked in a factory.
o They met a friend in the market.
Tenses

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 Past: Progressive/Continuous Tense
• To describe actions ongoing in past
• Actions take place in a specific time frame
• No immediate or obvious connection to the present
• Continuous event or action completed before the time of
speaking/ writing
o The cat was walking along the tree branch.
o The archivists were eagerly waiting for the delivery of
the former prime minister's private papers.
Tenses

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 Past: Perfect Tense
• Actions that took place and were completed in past
• Used to emphasize that one action, event or condition
ended before another action, event, condition began
o Miriam arrived at 5:00 p.m. but Mr. Whitaker had closed
the store.
o We ate supper after we located the restaurant that
Mehmood had recommended.
o The elephant had eaten all the hay so we fed it oats for
a week.
o The heat wave had lasted three weeks.
Tenses

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 Past: Perfect Progressive/Continuous Tense
• To indicate that a continuing action in the past began before
another past action began or interrupted the first action
o The toddlers had been running around the school yard for ten
minutes before the teachers shooed them back inside.
o We had been talking about repainting the front room for
three years and last night we finally bought the paint.
o A construction crew had been digging one pit after another in
the middle of my street for three days before they found the
water main.
o The chef's assistant had been chopping vegetables for several
minutes before he realized that he had minced his apron
Tenses

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 Future: Simple/Indefinite Tense
• Used to refer to actions, events, or conditions which would
occur after the act of speaking/ writing
o They will meet us at the newest café in the market.
o Babar will call you tomorrow with details about the
agenda.
o At the feast, we will eat heartily.
Tenses

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 Future: Progressive/Continuous Tense
• To describe actions ongoing in the future.
• To refer to continuing action that will occur in the future.
o Zeeshan will be working on the computer system for
the next two weeks.
o The selection committee will be meeting every
Wednesday morning.
Tenses

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 Future: Perfect Tense
• To refer to an action that will be completed sometime in the
future before another action takes place
o The surgeon will have operated on 6 patients before
she attends a luncheon meeting.
o By the time you get back from the corner store, we will
have finished writing the thank you letters.
Tenses

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 Future: Perfect Progressive/Continuous Tense
• Used rarely
• To indicate a continuing action that will be completed at
some specified time in the future
o I will have been studying Greek for three years by the
end of this term.
o By the time the meeting is over, the committee will
have been arguing about which candidate to interview
for three hours.
Tenses

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 Rules and Guidelines
• Basic Rule
o Singular subject takes a singular verb
o Plural subject takes a plural verb
• Rule 1
o Two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a
singular verb
o My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
• Rule 2
o Two singular subjects connected by either/or or
neither/nor require a singular verb as in Rule 1
o Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
o Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage
Subject Verb Agreement

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• Rule 3
o When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/or or
neither/nor, put it second and follow it with the singular
verb am
o Neither she nor I am going to the festival.
• Rule 4
o When a singular subject is connected by or or nor to a
plural subject, put the plural subject last and use a plural
verb
o The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.

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• Rule 5
o When a singular and plural subject are connected by
either/or or neither/nor, put the plural subject last and
use a plural verb
o Neither Jenny nor the others are available.
• Rule 6
o Use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are
connected by and
o A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

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• Rule 7
o Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by
words such as along with, as well as, besides, or not
o Ignore these expressions
o Focus on the subject which precedes these expressions
o The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected
shortly.
o Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her
shaking.

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• Rule 8
o Pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody,
anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are
singular and require singular verbs.
o Every one of the cakes is gone.
o Each of the girls sings well.
• Note: Everyone is one word when it means everybody. Every
one is two words when the meaning is each one.

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• Rule 9
o In case of words indicating portions (percent, fraction, part,
majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth), use the
verb in accordance with the noun being used in the of phrase
o Focus on the object of preposition ‘of’
o Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.
o Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.
o One-third of the city is unemployed.
o One-third of the people are unemployed.
o None of the garbage was picked up.
o None of the sentences were punctuated correctly.

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• Rule 10
o The expression, The number, is followed by a singular
verb
o The expression, A number, is followed by a plural verb
o The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
o A number of people have written in about this subject.
• Rule 11
o Either and Neither as subjects take a singular verb
o Neither of them is available to speak right now.
o Either of us is capable of doing the job.

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• Rule 12
o In sentences beginning with here or there, the subject
follows the verb
o There are four hurdles to jump.
o There is a high hurdle to jump.
• Rule 13
o Singular verb with sums of money or periods of time
o Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
o Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

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• Rule 14
o With pronouns such as who, that or which, use the verb
according to the noun directly in front of these pronouns
o Salma is the scientist who writes the reports.
o He is one of the men who do the work.
• Rule 15
o Collective nouns such as team and staff may be either
singular or plural depending on their use in a sentence
o The staff is in a meeting.
o The staff are in disagreement about the findings (staff

Conclusions
• Tenses
• Subject Verb Agreement
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