Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez

Escuela de Estudios Profesionales-Programa Ahora

Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo

Workshop 3

Amy C Marty Santos

S00985560

Prof. Cynthia Garcia

English Grammar

ENGL 245

1. Define the following topics:

a. Subject – Verb Agreement = The subject and verb must agree in number: both must

be singular, or both must be plural. Problems occur in the present tense because one

must add an -s or -es at the end of the verb when the subjects or the entity performing

the action is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns

could substitute. In order to find out if your subject and verb agree, you need to be

able to identify the subject of your sentence. Here are some helpful hints that will

help you to decipher where your subject is and where it is not.

Where is my subject?

Most likely, your verb will agree with the first noun to the left of the verb:

Occasionally, a sentence has the subject after the verb instead of before it. This strategy is

often used for poetic effect.

You will not find the subject in a modifying phrase (MP), a phrase that starts with a

preposition, a gerund, or a relative pronoun and that modifies the meaning of the noun or

subject under discussion.

If subjects are joined by and, they are considered plural.

If subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the closer subject.

The relative pronouns (who, whom, which, and that) are either singular or plural,

depending on the words they refer to.

Indefinite pronouns (someone, somebody, each, either one, everyone, or anyone) are

considered singular and need singular verbs although they convey plural meaning.

A few nouns can be either plural or singular, depending on whether they mean a group or

separate individuals. These words are rarely used as plurals in modern writing.

A few subjects look plural but are really singular or vice versa.

b. Active / Passive Voice = Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also

have "active forms" and "passive forms."

Active Form - In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the

sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Passive Form - In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of

the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the

sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action

is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you

do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing

the action.

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing

action]

c. Gerunds, Participles and Infinitives =

Gerunds

Gerunds are verbals that function as nouns and have an –ing ending. Since gerunds are

derived from verbs and have an –ing ending, they do express action. However, because

gerunds function as nouns, they occupy slots traditionally held by nouns in sentences

such as subjects, direct objects and objects of prepositions. Gerunds may occur as one

word, or they may be part of a gerund phrase

Participles

Participles are verbals that usually function as adjectives and occasionally function as

adverbs. Participles generally end with an –ed or –ing ending. Since participles are

derived from verbs, they do express actions or states of being. When participles function

as adjectives, they are usually found preceding the nouns and pronouns in a sentence.

When participles function as adverbs, they are typically found following the verb in a

sentence. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles.

Present participles have an –ing ending. Past participles may have one of several past

tense endings, including –ed, -en, and -d. As with gerunds, participles may occur as one

word, or they may be part of a participial phrase.

Infinitives

Infinitives are verbals that are made up of the word to and a verb. Infinitives may

function as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Since infinitives are derived from verbs, they do

express actions or states of being. When infinitives function as adjectives and adverbs,

they are usually found preceding nouns and pronouns in sentences, and when they

function as nouns, they are used as subjects, direct objects and objects of prepositions.

Infinitives (to + verb) should not be confused with prepositional phrases (to + noun or

pronoun). Infinitives may occur as to + one verb, or they may be part of an infinitive

phrase.

d. Adjectives = are words that modify (i.e., describes) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives

may come before or after the word they modify.

e. Adverbs = words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

An adverb answers how, when, where, or to what extent—how often or how much

(e.g., daily, completely).

Rule 1. Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not. Generally, if a word can have

 –ly added to its adjective form, place it there to form an adverb.

Rule 2. Adverbs that answer the question how sometimes cause grammatical problems. It

can be a challenge to determine if -ly should be attached. Avoid the trap of -ly with

linking verbs, such as taste, smell, look, feel, etc., that pertain to the senses. Adverbs are

often misplaced in such sentences, which require adjectives instead.

Rule 3. The word good is an adjective, whose adverb equivalent is well.

Rule 4. The word well can be an adjective, too. When referring to health, we often

use well rather than good.

Rule 5. Adjectives come in three forms, also called degrees. An adjective in its normal or

usual form is called a positive degree adjective. There are also the comparative and

superlative degrees, which are used for comparison, as in the following examples:

Positive Comparative Superlative

sweet sweeter sweetest

bad worse worst

efficient more efficient most efficient

A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form of

comparison. To compare two things, always use a comparative adjective:

Rule 6. There are also three degrees of adverbs. In formal usage, do not drop the -ly from

an adverb when using the comparative form.

Rule 7. When this, that, these, and those are followed by a noun, they are adjectives.

When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns.

2. Quizzes

Active Voice to Passive Voice Transformations

Put the following sentences into the passive voice or form. The passive voice expresses what is / was / will be done to something rather than what someone does / did / will do.

Once you have decided on your answer, click on the arrow to see if you have answered correctly. Remember that the agent should not be used unless important. For more information about how to use the passive voice, refer to this passive voice usage chart.1. They make shoes in that factory.

Shoes                        in that factory.

2. People must not leave bicycles in the driveway.

Bicycles                        in the driveway.

3. They built that skyscraper in 1934.

That skyscraper                        in 1934.

4. The students will finish the course by July.

The course                        by July.

5. They are repairing the streets this month.

The streets                        this month.

6. They make these tools of plastic.

These tools                        of plastic.

7. They have finished the new product design.

The new product design                       .

8. They were cooking dinner when I arrived.

Dinner                        when I arrived.

9. Smithers painted 'Red Sunset' in 1986.

'Red Sunset'                        in 1986 by Smithers.

10. Did the plan interest you?

                       in the plan?

11. They had finished the preparations by the time the guests arrived.

The preparations                        by the time the guests arrived.

12. You should take care when working on electrical equipment.

Care                        when working on electrical equipment.

13. They are going to perform Beethoven's Fifth Symphony next weekend.

Beethoven's Fifth Symphony                        next weekend.

14. Someone will speak Japanese at the meeting.

Japanese                        at the meeting.

15. Karen is going to prepare the refreshments.

The refreshments                        by Karen.

1. His new car was stolen.

Your answers were:

 a. It has a typical adjective ending.

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD NOT BE CHECKED 

 b. It is gradable.

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 c. It can undergo comparison

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

2. Something smells good.

Your answers were:

 a. It has a typical adjective ending.

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD NOT BE CHECKED 

 b. It is gradable.

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 c. It can undergo comparison

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

3. Their restaurant is very successful.

Your answers were:

 a. It has a typical adjective ending.

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 b. It is gradable.

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 c. It can undergo comparison

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

4. What an unbelievable story!

Your answers were:

 a. It has a typical adjective ending.

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 b. It is gradable.

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 c. It can undergo comparison

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

5. My uncle is an atomic scientist.

Your answers were:

 a. It has a typical adjective ending.

 NO, THAT'S WRONG! THIS BOX SHOULD BE CHECKED 

 b. It is gradable.

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD NOT BE CHECKED 

 c. It can undergo comparison

 YES, WELL DONE! THIS BOX SHOULD NOT BE CHECKED 

3. Essay

Language can be defined as words, pronunciation and methods of combining

them that are used and understood by a community. The study and set of rules that

explain how words are used in language is called grammar. We can divide the rules of

grammar into two types: Prescriptive Grammar and Descriptive Grammar. In this essay,

we will delve into the former.

Prescriptive grammar can be defined as a set of norms or rules governing how

a language should or should not be used rather than describing the ways in which a

language is actually used. When there is more than one way of saying something,

Prescriptive grammar declares one of the variants to be the only correct way. The

selection of the term is justified do to it being more logical, more euphonious or simply

just more desirable than the other.

A person or scholar who follows Prescriptive grammar is usually called a

prescriptivist or a prescriptive grammarian. Prescriptivists follow the tradition of the

classical grammars of Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, which aimed to preserve earlier forms

of those languages so that readers in subsequent generations could understand sacred

texts and historical documents. In other words, they tend to ask “How should the

language -English in this case- be like?

Prescriptive rules are taught at school, and because they are taught, people tend to

be conscious of them, even if they don't actually follow them. An example of a rule

prescriptivists argue is that despite educated usage, pronouns should have objective forms

after prepositions. Another known rule taught is that who is appropriate in certain

contexts and whom in others.

Whether Prescriptive Grammar should be the only way is controversial. The

debate is whether language should evolve according to use or not. Descriptive Grammar

users state that a language that does not change, ends up dying. Only time will tell if the

rules of grammar change and evolve with use or if they stay the same as they have always

been.

References

Finegan, D. E. (2005). What is 'Correct' Language? University of Southern California. Recuperado el

11 de March de 2015, de http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/correct/prescriptivism/

Flynn, R. (s.f.). Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar. A look at the prescriptive and descriptive

approaches to English grammar. UsingEnglish.com. Recuperado el 11 de March de 2015, de

http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/descriptive-prescriptive-grammar.html

Santorini, B., & Kroch, A. (2007). Ch 1 Foundational Issues - Prescriptive vs Descriptive Grammar.

The syntax of natural language: An online introduction using the Trees program. Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. Recuperado el 11 de March de 2015, de

http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/syntax-textbook/ch1.html