Chapter 13: The Subject and the Verb

Copyright © 2013

Then again, maybe I will …Grammarly.com

When you read that this chapter covers the Subject and Verb, perhaps you’re thinking: “I’ve studied Subjects and Verbs since sixth grade. Why do I have to study them again now?”

Here’s the reason: Without knowing the Subject and the Verb, you’ll fail to know what’s important in the sentence; and without knowing what’s important in the sentence, you’ll fail to write clear sentences, clear paragraphs, and clear essays. And, of course, you’ll make lots of errors!

It’s unfortunate that the “grammar experts” got to name the terms that make up sentences, because actually writing sentences is no different than writing paragraphs or essays; they all have the same organization and could benefit from using the same terms. For example, the Subject and Verb of the sentence are the same as the Topic and Main Idea of the paragraph and essay.

Building Blocks of the Sentence1. Subjects Pronouns as Subjects

Action Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

The Subject

Let’s start with the Subject or Topic of the sentence:

The Subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about.

To find the Subject, ask the question: Who or what is the sentence about? For example:

“Marcia runs.” [Who] is this sentence about? “Marcia,” so Marcia is the Subject.*

“The restaurant is open.” [What] is this sentence about? “Restaurant,” so “restaurant” is the Subject.

*(To help identify the Subjects and Verbs in our examples, we’ll be underlining the Subjects and putting the Verbs in bold type.)

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects 2. Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Pronouns as Subjects

To keep from repeating the same Subject over and over, people invented Pronouns. The Pronouns that can be Subjects are:

I

You

He

She

It

They

We

Here are some example sentences where Pronouns are used in place of Nouns for the Subject:

Subject Noun Subject Pronoun

The athlete ran. He ran.

Michelle discovered the buried treasure.

She discovered the buried treasure.

The outcome was prearranged.

It was prearranged.

Pronouns can also have other roles in the sentence. (Click Here) to review other kinds of Pronouns.

“So, then … Would that be ‘us the people’ or ‘we the people?’”

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GFRC_en__205US205&q=gary+larson+cartoons&um=1&ie=UTF-

8&ei=1IWISozODZPgtgOe8bXiAg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as Subjects

3. Action Verbs Finding the Subject with Action Verbs Multiple Subjects — Multiple Verbs Linking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Finding the Subject is not hard as long as the sentence is not complicated. However, finding the Subject can be tricky when the sentences become more complex as no doubt you’ve discovered in reading some of the sentences in your college textbooks! With more complicated sentences, it is often better to find the Verb first, and then use the Verb to find the Subject. So let’s learn how to find the Verb. There are two kinds of Verbs; we’ll tackle the easier kind first.

Action Verbs

As the name suggests, Action Verbs tell the action that’s going on in the sentence. For example:

“The athlete ran the 100 meters in world record time.”

To find the Action Verb, look for a word that expresses action. A trick you can use to find the action going on in the sentence is by asking a question about each word in the Sentence: “Can you do [it] all day?” Here’s how it works with our example sentence:

“The athlete ran the 100 meters in world record time.”

Can you “the” all day? No.Can you “athlete” all day? Not really.Can you “run” all day? Yes, you can “run” all day, so “run” is the Action Verb.

Usain Bolt runs for Olympic Goldhttp://observers.france24.com/files/images/usain-bolt-m.jpg

YouTube Video: Usain Bolt smashes the world record in 100 meters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By1JQFxfLMM

Here are some other examples:

“Miguel likes his coffee in the morning.”

Can you “Miguel” all day? No.Can you “like” all day? Yes, you can “like” all day, so “like” is the Action Verb.

Miguel’s Morning Cup of Java!http://themasterstable.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/business-men-drinking-coffee.jpg

“Around suppertime, I finished my essay.”

Can you “around” all day? No.Can you “suppertime” all day? No, again.Can you “I” all day? No, no, and no!Can you “finish” all day? Yes, you can “finish” all day, so “finish” is the Action Verb.

You may be thinking, “I can find the Verb without going through all those steps!” and that’s true of simple sentences, but as the sentences become more complicated – and the sentences will become more complex – you’ll need to use the (Can you do [it] all day?) test, or you’ll end up making a host of errors.

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs 4. Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Finding the Subject by using the Action Verb

Once you have the Action Verb, finding the Subject is not too difficult. Because the Subject almost always comes before the Verb, you can do a little fill-in-the-blank test, using the words in the sentence, starting right after the Verb. Here’s what we mean:

“The athlete ran the 100 meters in world record time.”

Knowing the Verb is “ran,” we’ll do a (fill-in-the-blank test) to find the Subject:

“The (click here to fill-in-the-blank) ran the 100 meters in world record time.” No problem finding the Subject now!

“The (athlete) ran the 100 meters in world record time,” so (“athlete”) is the Subject.

“Miguel likes his coffee in the morning.”

Knowing the Verb is “likes,” the (fill-in-the-blank) test helps us find the Subject:

“(Click here to fill-in-the-blank) likes his coffee in the morning.” It’s not hard to see that

“(Miguel) likes his coffee in the morning,” so (“Miguel”) is the Subject.

“Rafael Nadal’s coach taught him how to play tennis.”

This sentence is a bit tricky: Is the Subject (“Rafael Nadal”) or (“coach”)? Once we know that the Verb is “taught,” it’s not so difficult to find the Subject. A (fill-in-the-blank) test tells us that it was the: the “(coach)” who taught him how to play tennis. Now we can tell that (“coach”) is the Subject and not “Rafael Nadal”!

Rafael Nadal’s “Rafa’s” two handed backhand

http://digitalheadbutt.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/rafael-nadal.jpg

YouTube Video of “Rafa” playing tennis: (Click Here)

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action Verbs

5. Multiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Multiple Subjects – Multiple Verbs

Of course, Sentences can have more than one Subject and more than one Verb! For example:

Two Subjects: Sabin and Jared studied for the exam.

Three Subjects: Corey, Angelica, and Senaida ran in the Bolder-Boulder.

Two Verbs: I went back and retraced my steps.

Two Subjects and Evan thought about the answer, but he

Two Verbs: missed a key point.

The lesson here is that you cannot be satisfied when you find a Subject and Verb in a sentence. You must test further to see if there are additional Subjects and Verbs to found.

Helping Verbs

Helping Verbs are added to the Main Verb to express how things happen over time. Helping Verbs are forms of three common Verbs (be, have, and do). For example:

Be: I am borrowing the car.

Have: I have borrowed the car.

Do: I did borrow the car.

Because expressing how things happen over time is complicated, the English language uses Helping Verbs to “help” out. Here are some examples:

Simple Present

Complex Present

I study the assignment.

I am studying the assignment.

Simple Past

Complex Past

I studied the assignment.

I have studied the assignment.

I have been studying the assignment.

Simple Future I will study the assignment.

Complex Future I will be studying the assignment.

You can also use Helping Verbs to show Condition – what you “should” or “might” do. For example:

You should go to the store. You could go to the store.

You might go to the store.

You may go to the store.

You must go to the store.

Practice 1. Subject-Verb – Green (Beginning) Ski Run

http://superfunsnowboardlessons.com/wp-content/uploads/Beginner_snowboarders_2-e1290555110701.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verb(s).) Make sure to use the (Can you do [it] all day?) test outlined above to find the Verbs, and the (fill-in-the-blank) test to find the Subject, even if it takes a bit longer!

1. I have kept the butter in the fridge.

2. Alex and David returned the painting without delay.

3. In the morning, they will be repairing the road.

4. My friend wrote a best-selling novel.

5. John's mother lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotlandhttp://kollinz.ironcube.info/kollin/amazingplaces/places/Edinburgh%20Castle,%20Edinburgh,%20Scotland.jpg

Edinburgh Castle is a castle fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock at the center of the city. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century with the city building up around it.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Castle

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects – Multiple Verbs

6. Linking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Linking Verbs

While Action Verbs and Helping Verbs are straightforward, Linking Verbs can at first seem tricky. That’s because Linking Verbs do not show action; they have a totally different purpose in the sentence. Linking Verbs connect or “link” the Subject to a word that describes or names the Subject.

Here’s how Linking Verbs work in the sentence:

SubjectLinking Verb

[Word that describes or names the Subject]

The cat is curious.

Shari is a police captain.

Linking Verbs are like looking in a mirror. What you see is what you link the Subject of the sentence to. We could say:

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hdRsrtpiSoY/0.jpg

The cat is [curious]. The cat is [adorable]. The cat is [speckled gray].

Most Linking Verbs are forms of only one Verb, a very important verb, called the to be verb. The to be verb is important because it’s used more than any other verb, and because when you identify a to be verb in the sentence, you know you have the verb and not an imposter!

Here are the basic forms of the to be verb:

Present Past Future2I am It was It will beYou are They wereShe is

2(We’ve added Subject Pronouns to better show how the (to be) verbs are used in a sentence.)

“I am what I am and that’s all that I am” Popeye the Sailor Man

http://engleza-deplacere.blogspot.com/2012/03/teach-english-through-animated-cartoons.html

Popeye the Sailor Man is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar who has appeared in comic strips and theatrical and television animated cartoons. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip on January 17, 1929; Popeye became the strip's title in later years.

Over the years, Popeye has appeared in comic books, television cartoons, arcade and video games, and a 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman that starred comedian Robin Williams as Popeye.

In 2002, TV Guide ranked Popeye #20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye

Make sure to memorize the six basic forms of the to be verb. They are the most important verbs in English, and it’s difficult to succeed without them!

There are some Linking Verbs that are not a form of the to be Verb. Consider the following examples:

Linking Verb

Linking Verb used in a Sentence

Seems It all seems so right.

Become He became angry at the news.

Looks The team looks ready.

Appears The dog appears to be healthy.

Smells The stew smelled delicious.

Feels I feel great!

Linking Verbs that are not a form of the to be verb can be difficult to spot. One trick you can use is to substitute a form of the to be verb, and if the sentence still makes sense, the unidentified Verb is a Linking Verb. For example:

After the loss, the team felt depressed.

After the loss, the team was depressed.

Since you can substitute a form of was (a form of the to be verb) for the Verb in the sentence felt, and the sentence still makes sense, felt in this sentence is used as a Linking Verb.

However:

Juanita felt the coarse material.Juanita was the coarse material.

Hmmm…When you try substituting a form of the to be verb was for the Verb in the sentence felt, the sentence does not make sense, so in this case felt is used as an Action Verb and not a Linking Verb!

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs 7. Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb

2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Finding the Subject by using the Linking Verb

As we learned with Action Verbs, once you’ve identified the Linking Verb, finding the Subject is not too difficult. Because the Subject almost always comes before the Verb, you just do a fill-in-the-blank, using the words in the sentence starting right after the Verb. Here are three examples:

1. “The project was a success.”

Knowing the Linking Verb “was,” we’ll do a fill-in-the-blank to find the Subject:

“The (click here to fill-in-the-blank) was a success.”

“The (project) was a success,” so project is the Subject.

2. “In the morning, Katrina will be at work.”

Knowing the Linking Verb “will be,” a fill-in-the-blank will help us find the Subject:

“(click here to fill-in-the-blank) will be at work.”

“(Katrina) will be at work,” so Katrina is the Subject.

3. “In the deep woods, Mark quickly became lost.”

This one is a bit trickier. Is the Subject “woods” or “Mark”? Once we know that the Verb is “became”, the (fill-in-the-blank) test leads us right to the Subject:

“(click here to fill-in-the-blank) quickly became lost?”

“(Mark) quickly became lost,” so Mark is the Subject because “woods” did not quickly become lost!

Grammar Challenge 1

The to be verb is the most irregular, difficult to learn, and at the same time is the most widely used of all verbs. How did that happen? Where our ancestors playing an incredible April Fools’ joke on us? How did the to be verb come to be? (Click Here) to solve the mystery.

Grammar Challenge 2

The strange case of how the popular Verb (go) stole the past tense form from the unpopular Verb (wend), and the amazing invention of the regular verb. (Click Here) for the lowdown.

Practice 2. Subject-Verb – Green (Beginning) Ski Run

http://www.chillfactore.com/DbImages/ImageLib_34_1095.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Linking Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.) Make sure to use the steps outlined above, even if it takes longer! (Use the six forms of the to be Verb to guide your identification of the Verb.)

Present Past FutureI am2 It was It will beYou are They wereShe is

1. Attractive fruits and vegetables are not always delicious.

2. The rind of a ripe honeydew melon is waxy.

3. The story will be around for many years.

4. These creatures are human movie stars.

5. The Saturn V rocket carried the first men to the moon.

The Saturn V rocket that carried the first men to the moon.

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/jscfeatures/images/hires/jsc2003e46903.jpg http://0.tqn.com/d/goflorida/1/0/C/4/SaturnV.jpg

The Saturn V was a multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. In total, NASA launched thirteen Saturn V rockets with no loss of payload. It remains the largest and most powerful rocket ever built.

Saturn V Rocket Dimensions

Height 363.0 feet (110.6 m) – over the length of a football field in height.

Circumference 100 feet (31.4 m)

Weight 6,699,000 pounds

Thrust at lift-off

(3,039,000 kg) – heavier than 83 fully loaded big rig trucks

7.5 million pounds

Stages 3

YouTube Video of Saturn V rocket takeoff with Apollo 11 crew on board (Click Here) For the best video, visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. It’s awesome!

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs

8. Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives Adverbs

Objects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Three Important Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

It’s true that just when you think English Grammar is not so hard after all, it throws you a curve. And remember, Michael Jordan never made it to the big leagues in baseball because he could not hit a curve ball. There are three “curves” that stand in your way in finding the Verb. By learning to identify these “Three Verb Imposters,” you can avoid a lot of mistakes.

Michael Jordan, air time.http://adamsalamon.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/jordan.jpg

YouTube: Michael Jordan’s Top 10 Dunks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8M2NgjvicA

Imposter #1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb

While you often have Verbs ending in “ing,” you have to be careful because Verbs that end in “ing” can only be the Verb of the sentence if they also have a Helping Verb! Here are some examples of Verbs ending in “ing” with their Helping Verbs:

Audiences in the 50s [were] watching I Love Lucy every Monday evening from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957.

At the beginning of 1957, audiences [had been] watching I Love Lucy every Monday evening for six years.

Audiences today [will be] watching I Love Lucy on the classic television channel.

The key point is that any “ing” Verb like “watching,” for example, in the above sentences can only be the Verb of the Sentence if you also have a Helping Verb. Here’s how the above sentences would read without the Helping Verb:

“I watching I Love Lucy on the classic television channel.”

This may be okay for your four year-old little brother, but you can see it’s a big problem in making sense in your writing.

I Love Lucy: the most popular TV show of the 50shttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Lucy#Opening

YouTube Video of an episode from the I Love Lucy show: (Click Here)

The “ing” rule is especially helpful when you get a sentence like the following:

“Moving with the wind, the clouds made wonderful patterns in the sky.”

In using the (Can you do [it] all day?) test to find the Verb, you discover that you can both “move” all day and “make” all day, so which of the two words is the Verb? Since “moving” is a verb ending in “ing,” there must also be a Helping Verb, and since there is not a Helping Verb, “moving” cannot be the Verb of the Sentence!

You can also prove this by putting “moving” in a sentence without a Helping Verb and see how it sounds

“She moving to Utah.” – Doesn’t sound so good!

Notice how you can correct the problem by adding a Helping Verb:

“She is moving to Utah.”

Now that you know “moving” is not the Verb, you feel confident that “made” is the Verb:

“Moving with the wind, the clouds made wonderful patterns in the sky.”

Practice 3. Subject-Verb – Blue (Intermediate) Ski Run

http://culturemob.com/wp-content/uploads/COLO_steamboat_ski.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs. Remember that any verb ending in “ing” must have a Helping Verb to be identified as the Verb in the sentence!

1. Developing the plan, he was especially careful.

2. Jayden thought about doing a Google search.

3. They listened, while running, to the music playing on their iPods.

Running with iPods

http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/galleryfiles/10588/Start_small.jpg

Imposter #2. When “to” comes before a Verb

At times, when you’re searching for the Verb in a sentence, you’ll find an Action or a Linking word, and you’ll think, “I’ve found the Verb!” But be careful: if the Action or Linking word has the word “to” in front, it cannot be the Verb of the Sentence. Here’s how it works:

“I swim.”

You can certainly “swim” all day, so “swim” is the Verb.

“I like to swim.”

Now you have a problem. You can both “like” all day and “swim” all day, so which word is the Verb in the sentence? Knowing the (“to” before the Verb) rule solves the problem. Since “to” comes before “swim,” “swim” cannot be the Verb in this sentence.

“I like to swim.”

Here’s another example:

Jerry invited the Brooklyn All in the Family Fan Club over to watch the show.

This sentence is also tricky. You can both (“invite”) all day and (“watch”) all day, so which word is the Verb? Again, knowing the (“to” before the Verb) rule solves the problem. Since (“to”) comes before (“watch”), (“watch”) cannot be the Verb in the sentence.

Jerry invited the Brooklyn All in the Family Fan Club over to watch the show.

The All in the Family cast: Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers Popular TV show in the 70s

http://sharetv.org/shows/all_in_the_family

YouTube Link to All in the Family episode: (Click Here)

All in the Family was an American television situation comedy created and produced by Norman Lear. It aired for eight seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979 and ranked as most watched in the U.S. for a record five consecutive seasons. Television reviewer, Steven Shives, put it well: “All in the Family was as good as television gets. Expertly written and acted, able to be hilarious and sharply perceptive almost simultaneously, it retains its ability to amuse, move and shock us nearly thirty years since it aired its final episode.” The show also broke new ground in raising social issues, including racial and income inequality, stereotypes, and prejudice. All in the Family revolves around the loud opinions of know-it-all Archie Bunker, a working-class family man who held bigoted, conservative views of the world. His viewpoints clash with nearly everyone he comes into contact with especially his liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (or, as Archie delights in calling him, "Meathead"). Archie was the master of the malapropism (unintentional use of the wrong word) and backward logic:

“I resemble that remark.”

"I got nothin' against mankind. It's people I can't stand."

"God don't make no mistakes. That's how He got to be God."

"He made us all one true religion, Edith, which he named after his son, Christian -- or Christ, for short."

"All kids are trouble, Edith. And I don't wanna spend my reclining years trying to raise another one."

Archie arguing with the “Meathead.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan%27s_Islandhttp://voices.yahoo.com/archie-bunker-will-teach-socratic-method-263985.html?cat=9

The third example offers proof that when “to” comes before an Action or Linking word, it cannot be the Verb of the Sentence. Consider the following example:

“To run is my favorite activity.”

As with the two previous examples, since you can (“run”) all day and since (“is”) is a Linking Verb, which word is the Verb in the sentence? Of course, now we know that (“is”) is the Verb because (“run”) has (“to”) in front!

Now for the proof that (“to run”) cannot be the Verb of the Sentence. Let’s determine the Subject of the sentence by completing our (fill-in-the-blank) test:

“(_____) is my favorite activity?” It isn’t quite accurate to say (“Run”) is my favorite activity; you must say:

“(To run) is my favorite activity.” There you have it – the same word cannot be both the Subject and the Verb! (“To run”) is the Subject and not the Verb!

Practice 4. Subject-Verb – Blue (Intermediate) Ski Run

http://boardsportsunlimited.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/snowboard-1073.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.)

1. Michelle wanted to go to the 7:00 show.

2. Her plan to make her car payments was delayed by her illness.

3. To receive the document, enter the correct code.

Imposter #3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

The third imposter is nouns that pretend they are verbs. Sometimes, one word can be used in two different ways. A word is sometimes used as a noun, and at other times the same word can be used as a verb! Here’s an example:

“His paintings were on display.”

Since you can (“display”) something all day and since (“were”) is a Linking Verb, you may wonder which word is the Verb of the

Sentence? There is confusion because (“display”) can be either a Noun or a Verb, depending on how it’s used:

Display used as Noun The art display was impressive.

Display used as Verb We display our science project.

There are three clues to help you determine whether a word is used as a Noun or a Verb:

1. If the word has an Adjective in front, it’s being used as a Noun. Examples: (the display); (a farm); (a run); (a big fire)

2. If the word has a Preposition in front, it’s being used as a Noun. Examples: (on display); (at work); (for the show)

3. Check for the Subject. The word you’ve identified cannot be both the Subject and the Verb. Example: (“Work is very difficult.”) While you can (“work”) all day, if (“work”) is the Verb in the sentence, then what is the Subject? If you suspect that (“work”) is the Verb, and do a (fill-in-the-blank) test to find the Subject, the sentence doesn’t make sense: “(_____) work has been very difficult.” There’s no word before (“work”)!

The farm is impressive.

You can (“farm”) all day, and (“is”) is a form of the “to be” Verb, so which word is the Verb in the sentence? Even if we think that (“farm”) is the Verb, we’re going to have trouble finding the Subject with our fill-in-the blank method:

(….) is impressive.

“Farm” as an action taken by “impressive” does not make sense. That’s because “farm” is being used as a Noun and not a Verb. “The farm is impressive” does make sense, using the Linking Verb “was” and the Subject “the farm.”

The people who enjoy changing Verbs into Nouns and Nouns into Verbs should have asked Calvin and Hobbes first!

Appeared in: Grammarly.com

Grammar Challenge 3

How did we manage learn a first language? Can you imagine how difficult it would be to learn all the words we use and the grammar that puts the words together into sentences that we can so quickly communicate to others. Yet, when we were only about three years old, we picked most of the grammar (you’re learning the rest now!) and thousands of vocabulary words (without even being aware of it, three-year olds learn about ten new words every day!) How does it all happen?

Amazingly, there’s an App that! An App for learning words, an App for grammar, and there’s another App that

seamlessly connects the words to the grammar, so we can communicate quickly and incredibly efficiently, hardly having to even think about it. Each App downloads for free in our brains when we’re about three years old.

(Click Here) for the lowdown.

Practice 5.1. Subject-Verb – Green (Beginning) Ski Run

http://www.tremblant360.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jan-9th-09-nansen2.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.)

1. Most people are in need of friendship.

2. The cost of college tuition is on the rise.

3. It was of no use.

4. Praise is a big motivator.

5. “Tulo” completes the double play at shortstop.

“Tulo” completes a double playhttp://product.images.prosportsmemorabilia.com/76-02/76-02187-F.jpg

Practice 5.2 Subject-Verb – Blue (Intermediate) Ski Run

http://www.ultimate-ski.com/vnoffice/data/0/0/13/2/117.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.)

1. My math professor, Dr. Bostwick, ran a 2:28 in the Boston Marathon.

2. Who scored the best time in the 1500 meter run?

3. When is it going to happen?

4. Sometimes, the correct answer is likely to be hidden among the incorrect answers.

5. These questions matter according to a telemarketing study.

http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/20/want-to-be-heard-try-changing-the-way-you-talk/

https://www.facebook.com/grammarly

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb

3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

9. Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Some thoughts about Subject-Verb Agreement, (or) Can a sentence disagree without being disagreeable?

On the whole, Subject-Verb Agreement is not difficult, and people get it without a second thought. That’s because all regular verbs, and almost all irregular verbs (except to be and to have) fit the same basic pattern. Using the pronouns I, you, we, and they as Subjects, the Verb fits or “agrees” with those subjects without change. Take the Verb walk as an example:

I walkYou walkWe walkThey walk

It’s the same with irregular Verbs. Take the irregular Verb run, for example:

I runYou runWe run They run

The only change is with the third person pronoun he, she, and it. You just add an (s) at the end of the Verb:

She walks He runs

It’s just a bit different with the irregular Verbs to be and to have:

To Be To HaveI amYou areIt isWe areThey are

I haveYou haveIt hasWe haveThey have

In most cases, your ear will guide you to an agreeable fit with Subject and Verb, but as with everything in English, there are exceptions.

Exception 1: When the Subject comes after the Verb

The Subject almost always comes before the Verb, but there are times when the Verb comes first, and that can cause problems with Subject-Verb agreement. Subject-Verb reversal almost always happens in a small number of cases with the to be Linking Verb. Here are some examples:

There is/are three insurance plans to choose from.

Attached is/are my resume and application.

On my list of favorite songs is/are “Somebody That I Used To Know” and “Lonely Boy.”

In both the above sentences, the to be Linking Verb allows the writer to put the Subject after the Verb, and since there happens to be two Subjects, she needs to use the plural form of the Verb: are.

Exception 2: When there is a Phrase between the Subject and Verb.

Phrases mean that there are several words that work as a team to give extra information in a sentence. Phrases do not have a Subject or a Verb. Here are some examples:

“ing” Verb Phrase Several accidents have been reported involving drunk drivers.

“ed” Verb Phrase The time had come to stop the train.

“To + a Verb” Phrase Encouraged by his father, Carlos took the job.

Prepositional Phrases The college is located (at the corner) (of Miller and Pike).

The only time Phrases complicate Subject-Verb Agreement come when they are inserted between the Subject and Verb. Here are some examples:

My goal in taking 18 credits is/are to finish college on time.

Since the Subject, my goal, is singular, use the singular Verb is. The Phrase, in taking 18 credits, gives more information about the Subject and does not change the Verb.

The box of bats and balls is/are in storage until spring.

Since the Subject, the box, is singular, use the singular Verb is. The Phrase, of bats and balls, gives more information about the Subject and does not change the Verb.

Exception 3: Tricky Pronouns

Some pronouns seem to be plural, but are actually singular. These pronouns include everybody, everyone, everything, nobody, no one, anybody, neither, either, and each. As strange as it sounds, all these Pronouns must be paired with a singular Verb. Here are some examples:

Everybody likes ice cream. Everyone in the class also takes the history section. Nobody on the team feels good about the score. Each of you needs to complete the assignments. Either is okay with me.

A trick you can use is to substitute the word one as part of the Pronoun, then since one is singular, you use the singular Verb:

Everybody [one] likes ice cream. Everyone [one] in the class also takes the history section. Nobody [one]on the team feels good about the score. Each [one] of you needs to complete the assignments. Either [one] is okay with me.

The exception is the Pronoun none, which, years ago, was singular, meaning not one, but is used today as if it were plural.

None of the students dislike the class. None dislike the class.

Exception 4: Tricky Subjects

Some Subjects seem to be plural, but are actually singular. These Subjects include group, team, jury, class, and audience. They use a singular Verb because the entire group is acting as one.

The team practices twice a week.

The team is acting as one, so you need a singular Verb.

The Avalanche has the number one selection in the draft.

The Avalanche is acting as one hockey team, so you need a singular Verb.

The jury sides with the defendant.

The jury is acting as one, so you need a singular Verb.

If you want to use these words as plural, try adding a plural word to the Subject, like members, to emphasize that you’re not writing about the group as a whole but individual members in the group. Here’s an example:

The team members start their workouts this week. The Avalanche players like their new uniforms.

Now we are talking about members or players, so you can use a plural Verb.

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb Agreement

10. Two Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule

Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Two Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule

Exception 1: When a sentence begins with There or Here

In sentences that begin with there or here, the Subject comes after the Verb. Consider the following examples:

• Here is the answer.• There is the computer.

Also in sentences that begin with there or here, the Verb is always one of the forms of the (to be) Verb:

Am Are Is Was Were Will be

Finally, the Subject is never the words there or here.

Sentences that start with there or here can be tricky if the Noun coming after the Verb is plural. You might be tempted to use a singular Verb, but you would be wrong. In sentences that start with there or here, if the Subject (that follows the Verb) is plural, the Verb must be plural too. Here are some examples:

Correct: There are a bat, a ball, and a glove in the closet.

Correct: A bat, a ball, and a glove are in the closet.

Incorrect: There is a bat, a ball, and a glove in the closet.

(Told you it was tricky!)

People who study language believe that the order of the Subject and Verb is reversed because our ancestors used there and here just as if they were pointing their finger at something. It’s as if the words there or here are taking the place of a pointing finger:

http://www.satrakshita.com/images/Oregon71.jpg

There is the Moon.

As the famous Karate expert and actor Bruce Lee pointed out, it’s not the finger that is important, but what the finger is pointing at: the Subject.

http://humanbeingsfirst.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bruce-lee-dont-concentrate-on-the-finger-or-you-will-miss-all-that-heavenly-glory.jpg?w=419&h=315

YouTube Video of “Finger Pointing to the Moon” karate instruction by Bruce Lee (Click Here).

The Website, Grammar Girl, has a good discussion of using there or here at the beginning of a sentence (Click Here).

Exception 2: When the sentence is in the form of a question, the Subject and Verb are switched.

Sentences that ask questions end in a question mark (?) and switch the order of the Subject and Verb. There are two types of questions that switch the Subject and Verb.

1. When the sentence asks a question using only the (to be) Verb—without a Helping Verb—the Subject comes after the (to be) Verb.

Example: Are small airplanes safe? Example: Is this your book?

2. When the sentence asks a question using a Helping Verb and a Main Verb, the Subject is sandwiched between the Helping Verb and the Main Verb.

Example: Is Roger going to Chicago? Example: Has the weather changed?• Example: Did you finish the assignment?

Practice 6. Subject-Verb – Green (Intermediate) Ski Run

http://www.mymorningjoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/16630-banner-Deuce-Snowboard-2.jpg

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.)

Example: There is the exit.Example: Here are the sentences.

Remember in sentences that begin with there or here, the Subject comes after the Verb.

1. There are three support paragraphs in her essay.

2. Here are the table and chairs.

3. There is only one correct answer.

Practice 7. Subject-Verb – Green (Intermediate) Ski Run

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s) and put the Verb(s) in bold. (If you’re not using a computer, double underline the Verbs.)

1. Did he quit the team?

2. Has he returned the favor?

3. Was the defendant innocent?

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule

11. Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Adjectives, Adverbs, and Objects: Words that support the Subject and the Verb

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. Here are some examples:

The big car The green car The new car The used car

Adjectives must come before the Noun they describe. You can’t place them anywhere in the sentence.

You can also string Adjectives together in front of a noun:

The big car The big, green car The big, green, used car

Notice that when you string Adjectives together, you put a comma between each Adjective, but not after the last Adjective in the list.

There are lots and lots of adjectives. Here’s a short list of some common adjectives:

Large small long short NearFast slow bright cold NoisyHard weak full (any

color)Sweet

Good easy brave famous Safe

(Click Here) for a longer list.

Adjectives that Compare

You can also use Adjectives to compare one Noun with another. For example:

Dalia is taller than Maria.

Roger is faster than Martin. Alicia is more generous than Debbie.

Or you can use Adjectives to compare three or more Nouns. For example:

Dalia is the tallest player on the team. Roger is the fastest runner on the team. Alicia is most generous person I know.

Notice that some of these comparison adjectives just add an er or est while others begin with more or most. Often, your ear will guide you to the right spelling. For example, saying “Roger is the fastest runner on the team,” sounds fine, but saying, “Roger is the most fast runner on the team,” doesn’t sound right at all—and it isn’t. There’s also a simple rule you can use with most comparison adjectives:

If the comparison adjective has only one syllable, add an er or est.

Dalia is taller than Maria.

Dalia is the tallest player on the team.

If the comparison adjective has three or more syllables, put more or most before the adjective.

Alicia is more generous than Debbie.

Alicia is most generous person I know.

The problem comes with two syllable Adjectives, which can go either way. For some, your ear will tell you the correct answer.

Correct: Jade’s essay was more complete than her first draft. Incorrect: Jade’s essay was completer than her first draft.

Correct: She is more careful than she was before the accident. Incorrect: She is carefuller than she was before the accident.

Other comparison adjectives are just plain tricky, and you often have to memorize, or look up, the correct form. Here are some tricky examples:

Correct: Jake is happier now that he has his degree. Incorrect?: Jake is more happy now that he has his degree.

Correct: That ring is shinier than the other. Incorrect?: That ring is more shiny than the other.

See what we mean?

The good news is that most two syllable comparison adjectives add er or est. Here’s a list:

bumpy bumpier bumpiestheavy heavier heaviest

icy icier iciestshiny shinier shiniesttiny tinier tiniestable abler ablest

gentle gentler gentlesthollow hollower hollowestnarrow narrower narrowestshallow shallower shallowestsimple simpler simplestfunny funnier funniestlovely lovelier loveliest

Here’s a list of comparison adjectives that use more or most:

peaceful more peaceful most peacefulpleasant more pleasant most pleasantcareful more careful most carefulfamous more famous most famousworried more worried most worried

boring more boring most boringuseless more useless most useless

Some Comparison Adjective are right both ways—The good news is you get to choose! Here’s a list:

clever cleverer cleverestclever more clever most clever

gentle gentler gentlestgentle more gentle most gentle

friendly friendlier friendliestfriendly more friendly most friendly

quiet quieter quietestquiet more quiet most quiet

simple simpler simplestsimple more simple most simple

Adjectives that compare: The Exceptions

Of course, in English there are almost always exceptions, and comparison adjectives are no exception. Here are some comparison adjectives that don’t fit any pattern:

good better bestbad worse worstfar farther or

further farthest or furthestGood better bestlittle less least

many/much/some more most

Here’s the take-away for comparison adjectives: If you’re not sure, consult the list.

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule

Adjectives 12. AdverbsObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Adverbs

Adverbs are like adjectives, but they don’t describe nouns. Adverbs describes verbs and lots of other things, including adjectives, phrases, clauses, and even entire sentences. Adverbs usually answer the question how? For example:

Adverbs describing verbs:

He walked slowly How did he walk? Kiersten studied quietly. How did Keirsten study? Brian read the assignment carefully. How did Brian read?

Adverbs describing adjectives:

Adverb Adjective Noun Jannik bought a very expensive car. It’s been an extremely hot summer.

Adverbs describing other adverbs:

The wedding couple moved very slowly down the line of well-wishers.

Adverbs describing full sentences

Lately, he has been working the late shift. Finally, I got the work done.

Have you noticed how most adverbs end in ly? It’s true, and most times you can recognize an Adverb when it ends in ly, Here’s a list:

happilythankfully quickly angrily beautifully

gladly perfectly slowly quietly gracefullysadly highly suddenly loudly generouslyhappily lowly promptly softly generally

Of course, in English there are exceptions. Here’s a list of adverbs that don’t end in ly:

fast very quiteoften so well

( Click Here ) for a list of 100 common adverbs.

Unlike adjectives, adverbs can appear in different places in the sentence:

Thoughtfully, the speaker addressed the crowd. The speaker addressed the crowd thoughtfully. The speaker thoughtfully addressed the crowd.

However, sometimes if you don’t place the adverb close to the word you’re describing you can cause confusion. For example:

She looked at the man studying carefully.

Is she looking carefully at the man, or is the man studying carefully? Since there are two verbs, looked and studying, the adverb will attach itself to the closed verb, so the sentence means the man is studying carefully.

If you meant to describe how she looked at the man, you’ll need to rewrite the sentence, putting the adverb near the verb looked:

She carefully looked at the man studying. [or]

She looked carefully at the man studying. [or]

Carefully she looked at the man studying.

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects — Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking Verbs Exceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives Adverbs

13. Objects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Objects

You not only find Adjectives and Adverbs in sentences, you also have something called Objects. Most times, Subject don’t just do something; they act on something or someone. When the Subject acts on something or someone, that’s the Object of the sentence. For example:

Subject Verb ObjectCarlos Gonzales hit a ground rule double.Eric bought the computer.Sandy took a vacation.Grace Park won the Tournament.We ate pizza.

Notice that without an Object, the above sentences are not complete. The Subject and Action Verb are not enough; they need an Object to make a full sentence.

Subject Verb + Object

Carlos Gonzales

hit a ground rule double.

Eric bought the computer.

Sandy took a vacation.

Grace Park won the Tournament.

We ate pizza.

Object Pronouns

In English, the pronoun changes, depending on whether the pronoun is the Subject of the sentence or the Object in the sentence. Earlier, we listed the Subject Pronouns:

I You He/She/It We You They

Here’s how pronouns change form when they are the object of the sentence:

me you him/her/it us you them

For example:

Subject Verb Object Connor bought her a ticket to the ballgame. Andrea enrolled him in first grade.

Most of the time, your ear will guide you to the correct pronoun, so no worries.Some sentences are fine without an Object; All they need is a Subject and a Verb. Here are some examples:

Birds fly. Susan drives. I read.

The Subject controls half the sentence and the Verb controls the other half. The words we studied in this section (adjectives, adverbs, and objects), depending on where they are in the sentence, support either the Subject or the Verb. For example:

Adjectives (yellow highlight)

Adverbs (green highlight)

Objects (blue highlight)

Using the above color code, look at the following examples, taken from the earlier sentences. Notice that all we are doing is adding

supporting detail to the sentences.

Subject Verb + Object

Carlos Gonzales of the Colorado Rockies

sharply hit the ball off the center field wall.

Eric, my cousin from Chicago, bought the laptop computer yesterday.

Thinking she had worked long and hard, Sandy

took a wonderful vacation in scenic Crested Butte.

Grace Park of South Korea won the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.

My good friends and I ate deep dish pizza for dinner.

Here’s the take-away from section on adjectives, adverbs, and objects: Know the Subject and the Verb. The rest will work itself out.

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects – Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as Objects

14. Websites with Additional Information Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?

Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Here are some websites with additional information on the basic grammar terms:

Websites where you can explore grammar at the sentence level further:

1. English Grammar Guide: https://sites.google.com/site/englishgrammarguide/Home.

2. Guide to Grammar and Writing: Subjects Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Pronouns Objects

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects – Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

15. Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?

Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Grammar Challenge — Understanding our Language

When you’re reading about grammar, there’s need to know and nice to know. In chapter 13, there are only two things you need to know: the Subject and the Verb. That’s because knowing the Subject and the Verb allows you to put what’s important in the sentence first. Without knowing what’s important in the sentence, you’ll fail to write clear sentences, and without clear sentences, you’ll not be able to write clear paragraphs and clear essays. There’s no way around it—you need to know the Subject and the Verb.

On the other hand, the grammar challenge sections in this chapter have information that is nice to know. These sections will help your grammar and your writing, but it’s up to you whether you want to read them. If you’re interested, by all means do, and if your professor is interested, the grammar challenge sections become essential. And, of course, the author of this textbook would like you to read them, but it’s not his call. If you choose not to read the grammar challenge sections, you’re still okay. No worries.

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?

“To be or not to be, that is the question.”William Shakespeare

Video of Jude Law acting in Hamlet (Click Here)

The strange case of the to be verb came to be:

People who study language, called Linguists, don’t know everything about the to be verb, but they have these words of comfort: The to be verb may be bad now, but it used to be much worse. Here’s the inside scoop.

There have been four stages in the English language — Old English, spoken from about 400 to 1100 C.E., Middle English from 1100-1450, Early Modern from 1450-1700, and Modern English from 1700 on — people used the to be Verb differently in each stage.

Old English (400-1100 C.E.) had three verbs for be: beon, esan, and wesan. Beon referred to things that lasted a long time, and esan and wesan to things that lasted a short time. (The difference is similar to the one in modern Spanish between ser and estar: Yo soy Americana [I am American], a long-term state, contrasts with Yo estoy contento [I am happy], a temporary state.)

In the Middle English period (1100-1450), the three different to

be Verbs came together into one verb. No one knows why people did this, but they did. It’s sort of like how the iPhone and Android have partially come together to be called a Smart Phone. It’s like a game of musical chairs, when players scramble to fill a smaller number of positions, so too the slots for each of the three to be Verbs were reduced. As it turned out, each of the ancient to be Verbs (beon, esan, and wesan) grabbed some of the slots:

Esan supplied am, is, and are for the present tense. Wesan supplied was and were for the past tense. Beon supplied the foundation form be, the future tense will be,

and the participle forms – being and been, as in:

He is being stubborn.

I have been there before.

Of course, everybody but a few linguists has forgotten this history, and people must memorize all the forms of the to be verb, which besides being the most irregular verb, is also the most common Verb in the English language, used as both a Linking Verb (I am certain.) and as a Helping Verb (She is trying to understand.). Go figure!

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects – Multiple VerbsLinking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb Agreement

Two Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?16. Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)

Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Grammar challenge 2: The strange case of how the popular Verb “go” stole the past tense form from the unpopular Verb “wend, and invention of the regular verb.”

A case study in how our language changes over time.

To Catch a Thief — One of the great suspense-romance-comedy movies of all time, starring the incomparable Gary Grant and Grace Kelly, and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, released 1955

How the famous cat burglar, Go, stole the past tense from wealthy socialite, Wend:

In the Middle English period (1100-1450 C.E) there were two popular verbs for what we now call go: Go and Wend. Go meant the same a thousand years ago as we know it today: to proceed on a course. Wend also meant to proceed on a course, but coming from the word “wind” had a longer term and less direct meaning. For example, you go to class, but you wend your way through college. For mysterious reasons, sometime during the Middle English period, the verb go became more popular and then “stole” the past-tense form of the less popular verb wend—namely, went. Today the verb wend, without its popularity and its old past-tense form, uses the regular past wended, but its original past tense form went followed a pattern that can be seen today in other irregular verbs that come from the Middle English period, such as bend-bent, send-sent, and spend-spent. Meanwhile, students must deal with go-went!

YouTube Video of Madeleine Peyroux singing “Getting Some Fun Out of Life” (Click Here) with the Verb wend in the lyrics:

Maybe we do the right thingsMaybe we do the wrongSpending each dayWending our way along

The English language is a living language. Words change over time. That’s why the past tense of wend (went) was taken over by the more popular verb go. In some cases what was once an irregular verb became over time more regular. English was long ago a German language, because it was German tribes (the Angles and the Saxons) who migrated to England about 1500 years ago. The German language has far more irregular verbs than we have in English.

At some point, one of these Angle-Saxon people came up with an incredible innovation. It was the equivalent of the person who first discovered that you could use initials instead of words in text messaging. Why type “Laughed out loud” when you can just type “LOL”? Our unknown ancestor discovered that instead of just accepting all the irregular forms of verbs, all of which people had to memorize, he or she most likely took the past tense form of

the helping verb, did, changed it a bit for ease of sound to ed, and attached the ed to whatever verb needed to be converted into the past tense. Presto, no more endless irregular verb forms to memorize! Here’s how it might have worked:

Present tense of the verb work

Original irregular past tense of the verb work — How people spoke 1,000 years ago

Another way people use the Past Tense of any verb, then and now.

Innovative past tense based on the helping verb did, creating the Regular Verb

I work. I wrought. I did work. I worked.

He or she probably invented the regular verb in response to a host of new verbs coming into the language from other tribes, a result of growing trade throughout Europe. People needed a better way make these verbs communicate than coming up with five or more new irregular forms for each new verb (what a nightmare!), and somebody devised it. Regular verbs were both good for business and good for kids learning the language.

Even though regular verbs were much easier on people, some verbs—those used most often used—stayed irregular. That’s because when words are used a lot, people easily remember the irregular spellings, and they are not so tempted to try different spellings, even if those spelling are based on just one simple rule. As Grammar Girl puts it: “Think about how often you hear the verbs am and have in everyday conversation. I have to go now. I am hungry, and I have a headache. If you’re learning English just by listening, these are going to be the easiest verbs to learn properly because you hear them over and over again.”

All the less commonly used verbs made the switch from irregular to regular. Here are just a few examples of verbs that in earlier times were irregular:

Present The irregular past tense —Tense how people spoke At some point the verb 1,000 years ago became regular

Help Holp HelpedMelt Molt MeltedReach Raught ReachedWork Wrought WorkedShave Shove Shaved

Sometimes, the process of making irregular verbs regular has started but is not complete so that both the regular or irregular spellings are correct. Here are some examples:

Present Option 1 (regular) Option 2 (irregular)Burn Burned BurntDream Dreamed DreamtDive Dived DoveSlay Slayed SlewWed Wedded Wed

It’s so much easier to use a regular verb that slowly these verbs will move into the regular camp.

In a few cases, verbs have moved from being regular to being irregular. Why? Because our ancestors liked it that way!

At some point, a regular But then the verb moved backPresent ending was devised into the irregular campSneak Sneaked SnuckLight Lighted Lit

Adapted from Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language Steven PinkerHarper Perennial Press 2011

Building Blocks of the SentenceSubjects Pronouns as SubjectsAction Verbs Finding the Subject with Action VerbsMultiple Subjects – Multiple Verbs

Linking Verbs Finding the Subject with Linking VerbsExceptions in Finding the Verb – The Three Imposters!

1. Verbs ending in “ing” without a Helping Verb2. When “to” comes before a Verb3. Nouns that pretend they’re Verbs

Subject-Verb AgreementTwo Exceptions to the Subject-comes-before-the-Verb Rule Adjectives AdverbsObjects Pronouns as ObjectsWebsites with Additional Information

Grammar Challenge 1: How did the (to be) verb come to be?Grammar Challenge 2: The strange case of (go) and (wend)

17. Grammar Challenge 3: How we manage to learn a language.

Grammar Challenge 3: The Incredible Language Apps

There’s an App for learning words, there’s an App for grammar, and there’s another App that seamlessly connects the words to the grammar. Each App downloads for free in our brains when we’re about three years old. Here’s how linguists think the language Apps work.

People who study language, Linguists, have found that in learning your first, you memorized about 10.000 words, effortlessly, when you were only three years old, or younger. Impossible, you say, and you would be right, except that we have the equivalent of an App for learning a language, which makes it all pretty simple. The Language App is imbedded in our brains and ready to go at a very young age—in fact, only at a very young age. That’s why your first language—be it English, Spanish, Swahili, or Chinese—including thousands of words and how to pronounce them, and the grammar that puts all the words together in meaningful patterns, was learned easily, almost seamlessly, when you were very young. On the other hand, trying to learn a language later in life is anything but easy. As William O’Grady of the University of Hawai’i writes:

Most of the time we adults take language for granted—unless of course we have to learn a new one. Then, things change pretty quickly. We can’t get the pronunciation right, and we can’t hear the difference between sounds. There are too many new words, and we forget ones that we learned just the day before. We can’t say what we want to say, and we can’t understand anything either, because everyone speaks too fast.

Things work differently for three year olds. They can’t tie a knot, jump rope, draw a decent-looking circle, or eat without making a mess. But they have figured out

what several thousand words mean, how they are pronounced, and how they can be put together to make sentences.

It’s all because of our very own Language App. There are five important features in this incredible bit of neural programming:

1. It starts early

Children seem to be especially designed to listen to language. In fact, they don’t even wait until they are born to start. Speech can be heard in the womb—not precisely enough to make out individual sounds, but clearly enough to identify the basic rhythm and certain features of the speaker’s voice.

In one study, mothers-to-be read aloud a story every day during the last six weeks of pregnancy. Some read The Cat in the Hat and others read The King, the Mice and the Cheese. Two days after birth, the infants were tested to see whether they found the story that they’d heard in the womb more soothing than the other story. They did.Adapted fromWilliam O’Grady2007http://linguistlist.org/pubs/cupmag/pdf/O'grady%20article.pdf

2. It happens fast

Children learn language very quickly. Between age two and six, they average learning ten new words a day—almost one for every waking hour and often after hearing it just once or twice! By age six, they have a vocabulary of about 14,000 words, but they’re far from finished. Over the next several years, they move even faster, learning as many as twenty new words per day, including the grammar for processing those words. (Try to do that if you’re learning a second language as an adult!)Adapted from William O’Grady2007http://linguistlist.org/pubs/cupmag/pdf/O'grady%20article.pdf

We probably have one Language App that allows thousands of vocabulary words to be stored in our brains and quickly accessed, and a different Language App that creates the grammar that allows us to use the vocabulary words to communicate. No wonder children are able to learn so many irregular verbs!

3. The sounds that make up words are also hard wired in.

For a child, having the opportunity to listen to and talk with parents is very important for expanding vocabulary and learning about the surrounding world, but it is not the only factor needed to learn a first language. In fact, infants know the sounds of words without having to listen to their parents at all. For example, Spanish and Kikuyu (a language spoken by the people of Kenya) infants can tell the difference in the English sounds of ba’s and pa’s. However, these sounds are not used in Spanish or Kikuyu, and their parents cannot tell the sounds apart. Moreover, English-learning infants under the age of six months can tell the difference in sounds used in Czech, Hindi, and Inslekampx (a Native American language). But English speaking adults cannot tell the difference in these sounds of other languages, even with five hundred trials of training or a year of university coursework.

Even more amazing, by the time infants are ten months old, they can no longer hear these sounds, only the sounds of their family’s language. In fact, without social interaction, children cannot learn a language; no child has learned a first language from watching television or listening to the radio. Social interaction, then, makes the Language App go.Adapted fromSteven PinkerThe Language Instinct1994

4. It is not only about words but also chunks of words

Although most people don’t realize it, we usually don’t leave pauses between words when we speak—most sentences are a continuous

stream of sounds. Children can almost instantly make meaning from the sounds without having to translate each word. And they can communicate by speaking in a stream of sounds without having to pronounce one word after another. Even more amazing, most of the stream of sounds comes out grammatically correct!

Mistakes do happen, and they don’t disappear overnight. It may, for example, take several hundred exposures to the right past tense form of an irregular verb before the errors are eliminated. Mistakes may pop up for months or even years before they are finally laid to rest (For example, a child may say, Mama “goed” to the store). But as O’Grady advises us, there’s no reason for concern. “Mistakes happen as a normal part of the language acquisition process. Still, they are rare, and they’ll disappear as a normal part of that same process.”Adapted from William O’Grady2007http://linguistlist.org/pubs/cupmag/pdf/O'grady%20article.pdf

YouTube video of what understanding a language would be like without the Language App! (Click Here)