ESSENTIALS OF

ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY
 RATIONALE

Educators know that all teachers must daily model an excellent command of English
Language skills in their own classrooms. This is essential if classroom language and
teaching are to be successful for pupils. This course provides the teacher trainees with an
opportunity to review and strengthen their English Language skills. It explores a range
of English topics, which provides the teacher trainees with a basic knowledge of English
grammar development. It is hoped that this course will prepare teacher trainees to plan
effectively for their classrooms and the many written assignments the teacher
certification programme demands.
 COURSE OBJECTIVES

• 1) know some specifics about verbs and their functions.

• 2) know specifics about nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions and conjunctions.
• 3) know specifics about phrases, clauses, and sentences.
• 4) be able to identify the functions of the words and the parts that comprise the sentence and to
manipulate these to produce effective sentences.
• 5) be able to identify sentence structures and produce them correctly in their writing and teaching.
• 6) be able to apply basic rules of concord and correct sentence structure.
• 7) derive meaning from the sentence.
• 8) acquire skills to enable them to function as teachers and as students.
 COURSE OUTLINE

1. Word Functions 9. Noun clause

2. The verb 10. Complex sentence
3. Verb Tense
11.Sentence Errors
4. Words that modify
12.Misplaced and Dangling Modifier
5. Classification of sentences (structure)
13. Assessment
6. The compound sentence
14. Revisions
7. Subordinate clause
8. Noun clause
WORD FUNCTIONS
WEEK 1
 FUNCTIONS OF WORDS

Words serve 4 main functions in sentences. There are:

 Words that name
 words that assert
 words that modify
 words that connect.
 WORDS THAT NAME-
NOUNS
• Nouns function to name a person (man, John), or people (men, boys, Indians), or an
animal (horse, dog) or a thing (house, town) or an idea (peace, size). Basically then, a
noun is a word that names anything.
• There are different types of nouns: common, proper, collective, abstract
• Nouns conform to number: Singular or Plural
• Nouns conform to gender: Masculine, Feminine, Neutral, Dual
• Nouns conform to case: Possessive case
 WORDS THAT NAME-
PRONOUNS
• Words that stand instead of nouns are Pronouns.
• Pronouns conform to case:
 Nominative/Subjective case- I, You, He, She, It, They, We, You
 Objective /Accusative case-me, you, him, her, them, us, you
 Possessive Case-mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.
• Pronouns conform to Person- 1st, 2nd, 3rd person
• Pronouns conform to number- singular, plural
 YOUR TURN-SUBJECT VS OBJECT?

• He helped us with this exercise.

• It will cost a lot of money to mend it.
• I asked her to come and see me.
• She will see them tomorrow.
• They played us at football and we beat them
 KINDS OF PRONOUNS

• Personal- 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person- I, you, he, she, her, him,/ they, them, you, us, them, it
(impersonal)
• Possessive-yours, ours, his, hers
• Demonstrative- this, that, these, those
• Interrogative- who, what, which,
• Reflexive/Emphatic- myself, herself, etc
• Indefinite- another, any, each, few, many, some, nothing, one, anyone, everyone,
everybody, everything, someone, something, either, and neither
THE VERB
WEEK 2
 VERBS-WORDS THAT ASSERTS

• Verbs are one of the most important components of language and it is impossible to
write a complete sentence without a verb. The other essential element of a sentence is
the subject: the verb gives information about the subject.
• Verbs express action or state of being. Stative or state of being verbs refer to the way
things 'are' - their appearance, state of being, smell, etc.:
 The boy runs daily- action
 The boy is here- state of being
 VERBS CAN BE:

a) Simple (made up of one word)

I eat, we run, he plays, she talked
b) Compound (made up of more than one words – eg. An auxiliary or ‘helping’ verb, and
another verb)
He was talking, they Would have been reading, I am laughing, he would have gone.
 VERBS

• Conjugate: to change a verb from its infinitive form so that it agrees with relevant subject(s) and /or tense

To Dance- infinitive
I dance
You dance
He/she/it dances
They dance
We dance
You dance
To eat
I would have eaten the food if I had found it last night./ I want to eat the food.
 TYPES OF VERBS

• Transitive: verbs that require direct objects

I(subject) burnt the toast(object).
The dog bit me
• Intransitive: verbs that are unable to take direct objects.
NB. Some verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively e.g. burn
The candle burns brightly. (intransitive)
The children sing
 TYPES OF VERBS

• Finite Verbs-Finite verbs change their forms when there is a change in the number or
person of the subject. Finite verbs also have different forms in different tenses.
I am listening.
They listened
She listens
• The finite verb is expressed in 3 moods-indicative, imperative and the subjunctive.
 TYPES OF VERBS
• Non-finite verbs do not change their form when the number or person of the subject changes. There are mainly three types of
non-finite verbs: infinitives, gerunds and participles. Non finite verbs:
• Doesn’t have a subject.
• No tense/number.
• Form doesn’t change.

• I am waiting to hear from the class. Imperative/Declarative. (indicative mood).

• Non-finite verbs- infinitive, gerund, participle
• I am waiting to hear- infinitive
• I believe hearing is a sense. Gerund
• I will be hearing the song all day. Present Participle
• The cooked meat went bad. Past Participle
 MOOD OF VERBS

1. Declarative- He sings. Indicative

2. Interrogative- Can you sing? Who are you?- Indicative mood.
3. Imperative- You will sing now. Sing now. Please sing louder. Imperative
4. Exclamatory- He sings!
5. I could sing the song tomorrow.- Subjunctive
 PRINCIPAL PARTS OF THE VERB
Principal Parts Present Past Past Participle Present
Participle
Form I + Base I +Past Tense (ed) Base+ing
I had/have
Regular Verbs I dance I danced danced dancing
Irregular Verbs I eat I ate eaten eating
 YOUR TURN- FIND THE VERBALS

• He likes to read a good book.

• Richard hates getting up early in the morning.
• Jumping to conclusions is most often dangerous.
• I was kept awake by a barking dog.
• To drive carefully is better than to drive quickly.
THE VERB-TENSES
WEEK 3
 VERB TENSES

• The tense of the verb and what form it takes and how it is used (in the present, past and future) forms
of the Simple, Continuous and Perfect Tenses
Simple: Present, Past, Future-The simple tenses are used for actions that occurred at a specific time
either in the present, past or future, but they do not state whether or not the action is finished. I ate, I eat,
I will eat
Progressive/Continuous: Present, Past, Future -The progressive tenses are used to indicate an unfinished
action -I was eating, I am eating, I will be eating
Perfect: Present, Past, Future.-The perfect tenses describe a finished action- I had eaten, I have eaten, I
will have eaten
 FORMATION OF VERB TENSE

SIMPLE TENSE – Present and Past tense using auxiliary ‘do’ and the base or root
word/verb.
• Simple Present Tense: I do teach; you do teach; s/he does teach; we do teach; you do
teach; they do teach.
• Simple Past Tense: I did teach; you did teach; s/he did teach; we did teach; you did
teach; they did teach.

This form of the Simple Present or past tense is used for Emphasis or for Interrogation.
In most cases however, the do is omitted, and the verb is used at its base level:

Simple Present: I teach

Simple Past: I taught

 FORMATION OF VERB TENSES

CONTINUOUS OR PROGRESSIVE TENSE

This tense is formed by using the verb ‘be’ as the auxiliary and the present participle of the main verb.
• Present Continuous Tense: I am teaching; you are teaching; s/he is teaching; - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person
(singular); we are teaching; you are teaching; they are teaching; (1st, 2nd, and 3rd person [plural])
• Past Continuous Tense: I was teaching; you were teaching; s/he was teaching; we were teaching; you were
teaching; they were teaching.
• Future Continuous Tense: I will be teaching; you will be teaching; s/he will be teaching; we will be teaching; you
will be teaching; they will be teaching.
N.B. The auxiliary verbs are in bold, the main verb is underlined.
 FORMATION OF VERB TENSES

PERFECT TENSE
The Perfect tense is formed with the verb ‘have’ as the auxiliary and the past participle of the main verb.
• Present Perfect Tense: I have taught; you have taught; s/he has taught; (in the singular) and we have taught;
you have taught; they have taught. (in the plural)
• Past Perfect Tense: I had taught; you had taught; s/he had taught; we had taught; you had taught; they had
taught.
• Future Perfect Tense: I will have taught; you will have taught; s/he will have taught; we will have taught; you
will have taught; they will have taught.
N.B. The auxiliary verbs are in bold, the main verb is underlined.
 AUXILIARIES

An Auxiliary Verb is called a ‘Helping Verb’. It helps the main verb in different aspects
of tenses, voices, and moods by being placed before them.
Kinds of Auxiliaries Verbs
The Auxiliaries are two kinds:
• Primary Auxiliaries
• Modal Auxiliaries
 PRIMARY AUXILIARIES AND MODALS
• Primary Auxiliaries are used as main verbs to denote time (present, past and future). They are also used as main
verbs or linking verbs in sentences. They change their forms according to the numbers of the persons in the subject
of a sentence.
• It is a good day today. It was a good day yesterday. (Here, is/was, are used as main verbs but they are auxiliary in
nature (to be)
The primary auxiliaries are: be, do and have.
Modal Auxiliaries denote certain feelings, moods and possibilities. Modal Auxiliaries denote certain feelings, moods
and possibilities.
Would, could, should, shall, might, may, can, will, must
I may come to the party.
I must come to the party.
I should come to the party.
WORDS THAT
MODIFY
WEEK 4
 ADJECTIVES

An ADJECTIVE is used with a noun to limit the meaning of the noun. The adjective
qualifies the noun.
The adjective is usually placed before the noun it qualifies. However, it is placed after a
linking verb, and links the subject word with a word or words in the predicate of the
sentence.
• John is a tall and handsome man.
• John is tall and handsome.
 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES

• Adjectives of Quality/Qualitative adjectives tell ‘what kind’. E.g. A heavy box. A strong man.
An interesting book
• Adjectives of Quantity/Quantitative adjectives tell ‘how much’ or ‘how many’. E.g. Twenty
books are on the desk. I have no money.
Note: Much and many are also adjectives of quantity. Much is used with singular nouns and
many is used with plural nouns. Further, much is used with uncountable nouns while many I used
with countable nouns.
I have many friends on the Campus.
We did not have much rain this morning
 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES

• Demonstrative Adjectives ‘point out’ people and things. E.g. I like this car. Those cars are
new. This, that, these, those, are demonstrative adjectives when they are used in front of a
noun.
• Interrogative Adjectives are used with nouns to ask questions. E.g. What book are you
reading now? Which boy can answer this question? Whose house is that? Because these
words are used in front of nouns, they qualify nouns, hence they are adjectives.
• Distributive Adjectives these show that the things named are taken separately or in separate
lots:- e.g. Every man was punctually in his place. Take either side, whichever you like best.
•
 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES

• Possessive Adjectives show possession of the noun they qualify. E.g. my book; their
bicycles. These adjectives are also called determiners and include my; your; his, her
and its in the singular and our; your; and their in the plural.
• Proper Adjectives are formed from the proper noun of the country, continent, region,
state or city something comes from. They begin with a capital letter. E.g. John enjoys
Australian movies.
• Adjectives that signal the presence of a noun are called articles. The articles are: a,
an, the. These words are also Demonstrative adjectives.
 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
• The adjective in its base form (not being compared to anything) is said to be in its .
• We can compare people and things by changing the form of the adjective. We can compare two
things by adding r, er, ier, more, to an adjective or by using a special word. E.g. wide – wider; young
– younger; heavy – heavier; thin – thinner; good - better; comfortable - more comfortable. This is
also referred to as the Comparative form.
• We can compare three or more things by adding st, est, iest, most to an adjective or by using a special
word to form the Superlative form. E.g. widest, youngest, heaviest, thinnest, best, most comfortable.
• Some adjectives cannot be compared and hence they are termed ABSOLUTES. E.g. a dead snake.
The square box. Others include: perfect; unique; excellent; impossible; round; eternal
• N.B. The Present Participle and the Past Participle also function as adjectives when they are used to
qualify/modify nouns.
 ADVERBS

An ADVERB is a word that qualifies/modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Adverbs usually follow the verb they go with.
John works hard.
The little boy behaved badly.
You must come early tomorrow.
 TYPES OF ADVERBS

Adverbs of manner tell us how, or in what manner, something was carried out. They mostly
modify verbs and can often be found at the end of a clause or right before the word they
modify. This category comprises the most common adverbs — the ones that end in -ly.
 She wept quietly.

Adverbs of degree tell us more about the intensity of the verb in the sentence. They describe
how much, or to what degree, something happened. Adverbs of degree are often placed before
the word they modify, although in some cases, they follow the word (such as the adverb
"enough").
 I almost lost my way
 TYPES OF ADVERBS

Adverbs of frequency let us know how often something occurs. These adverbs tend to appear
right before the main verb in the sentence or at the end of the clause.
 The power goes off every day.

Adverbs of place tell us more about where the verb took place. Many writers confuse them
with prepositions, which describe the location of nouns. While some of these words can
function as prepositions, they are considered adverbs when they modify verbs. Also,
prepositions are followed by objects, while adverbs of place are not.
 Let us go inside.
 TYPES OF ADVERBS

Adverbs of time detail when the verb took place. We usually see these kinds of adverbs
placed at the beginning or end of a sentence. Although many prepositions can also
indicate when something happened, they are always followed by objects, so you can
easily tell when a word is an adverb.
 They recently joined the class.
Interrogative Adverbs are used to ask questions.
Why did you do that? When will he come here?
 COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

• Like adjectives, adverbs also have degrees of comparison, but only the adverbs of
manner. E.g. fast – faster – fastest; well – better – best; quickly – more quickly –
most quickly.
 SENTENCE
CLASSIFICATION
WEEK 5
 CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES

Generally speaking, sentences can be classified two ways:

• According to structure
• According to purpose

THE CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES ACCORDING TO STRUCTURE

A Sentence is an independent grammatical unit that contains a subject and a predicate and expresses a
complete thought.
• The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. (Subject – The quick brown fox.
Predicate – jumped over the lazy dog.)
• It came from outer space. (Subject – It; Predicate – came from outer space.)
 SUBJECT VS PREDICATE

• A simple subject is a noun or noun substitute (pronoun) (fox, it) that tells who or what the
sentence is about.
• A simple predicate is a verb or verb phrase (jumped, came) that tells or asks something
about the subject.
• The complete subject of a sentence includes the simple subject plus all its modifiers (the
quick brown fox).
• The complete predicate includes the verb or verb phrase as well as all the words associated
with it – such as modifiers, objects, and complements (jumped over the lazy dog; came
from outer space).
 YOUR TURN

Say which of the following is a sentence and which is not.

1. Many hands make work light.
2. In glass houses.
3. Lost time is never found again.
4. In the bush.
5. Poor Joseph was injured.
6. Come here.
 CONSTRUCTING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence is a single independent clause. Simple sentences may conform to one
of five basic patterns.
Subject + Intransitive Verb (s + v) - The most basic simple sentence consists of just
a subject and a verb or verb phrase (the main verb plus all its auxiliary verbs).
• E.g.1. The price of gold rose. (The price of gold – Subject; rose – Verb.)
• E.g.2. Stock prices may fall. (Subject – Stock prices; Verb phrase – may fall.)
The verbs rose and may fall are intransitive – that is, they do not need an object to
complete their meaning.
 CONSTRUCTING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object (s + v + d. o) – Another kind of simple

sentence consists of the subject, a transitive verb, and a direct object.
• E. g. 1. The artist created a beautiful painting. (Subject – The artist; transitive verb
– created; direct object – a beautiful painting.)
• E.g.2. Caroline saved Jake. (Subject – Caroline; Verb – saved; direct object – Jake).
• The verbs created and saved are transitive – each requires an object to complete its
meaning in the sentence. In each sentence, the direct object indicates where the verb’s
action is directed and who or what is affected by it.
 CONSTRUCTING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement (s + v + d.o + o.c)

• This pattern includes an object complement which renames or qualifies the direct object.
• E.g.1. The class elected Bridget treasurer. (Subject – The class; Verb – elected; Direct
object – Bridget; Object complement – treasurer.) The object complement – treasurer -
renames the direct object - Bridget.
• E.g.2. I found the examination easy. (Subject – I; Verb – found; Direct object – the
examination; Object complement – easy). The object complement – easy – qualifies the
direct object – examination.
 CONSTRUCTING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Subject + Linking verb + Subject complement (s + v + s.c)

• Another kind of simple sentence consists of a subject, a linking verb (a verb that connects a subject to its
complement), and the subject complement (the word or phrase that qualifies or renames the subject).
• E.g. 1. The injection was painless. (Subject – The injection; Verb – was; Subject complement – painless.)
• E.g. 2. Mark Phillips became prime minister. (Subject – Mark Phillips; Verb – became; Subject
complement – prime minister.)
• Note that the linking verbs equate or link the subject with its complement, injection – painless; Mark
Phillips – prime minister).
• The class was boring.
 CONSTRUCTING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect object + Direct object (s + v + i.o + d.o )

In this sentence pattern the indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the verb’s
action was done.
• E.g. 1. Cyril wrote Roxanne a poem. (Subject – Cyril; Verb – wrote; Indirect object
– Roxanne; Direct object – a poem). Cyril wrote a poem for Roxanne.
• E.g. 2. The officer handed Frank a ticket. (Subject – the officer; Verb – handed;
Indirect object – Frank; direct object – a ticket). The officer handed a ticket to
Frank.
 CLASSIFYING SENTENCE ACCORDING TO
PURPOSE
FOUR KINDS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES
• The Declarative or Statement Sentence – Declares or States something. E.g. Tommy
has a bicycle. I am hungry.
• The Interrogative Sentence – Asks a question. E. g. Where are you going?
• The Imperative Sentence – Makes a request or issues a command. E.g. Come here,
please. Look at this sentence.
• The Exclamatory Sentence - Expresses strong feeling, shows surprise, anger. E.g.
What a catch that was! Isn’t that wonderful! That’s unbelievable!
 EXPANDING THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

A Simple sentence can consist of just a subject and a verb e.g. Jessica fell. A brief
simple sentence like this one gives only basic information, but simple sentences can be
quite elaborate, expanded and enriched with additional words and phrases.
• One of the key ways of expanding the simple sentence is by using phrases.
 TYPES OF PHRASES
A PHRASE is a group of related words without a subject and a verb. This group of words may make sense, but not
complete sense. PHRASES may be classified according to their introductory words as prepositional, participial,
infinitive or gerund, and verb.
• The prepositional phrase begins with a preposition e.g. in the morning; into the house. The beautiful bird
returned in the morning. He quickly ran into the house
• The participial phrase begins with a participle – the present participle (watching) or the past participle
(watched). e.g. walking the dog; watching the movies; encouraging remarks; Encouraged by the voter
turnout, the candidate predicted a victory.
• The woman stumbled home drunk on champagne
• The infinitive phrase begins with an infinitive e.g. to buy candy; to evaluate the evidence; They gave us
permission to buy candy. The jury recessed to evaluate the evidence.
• The gerund phrase begins with a gerund e.g. swimming the river; taking it easy; Swimming the river was a
difficult task. Taking it easy always makes sense.
• A verb phrase consists of a main verb and all its auxiliary verbs: Time is flying. You could have had a V8. I
will be travelling to New York soon.
THE COMPOUND
SENTENCE
WEEK 6
 RECAP ACTIVITY- WHAT IS THE PHRASE?
1. Joseph is wading in the pool.- verb phrase, prepositional-adverbial
2. They told us to speak quietly.- infinitive
3. Students prefer seats in the corner.- prepositional-adverbial
4. A flock of birds came the next day.- noun
5. Our cousin from Lethem has arrived.- prepositional-noun
6. Cats and dogs fight in the alley every night.-prepositional-adverbial
7. Books in black and red were the clerk’s delight.-prepositional
8. To read books means to enlarge your horizons.-infinitive
9. Having seen three birds in the bush, he let the one in his hand fly away.-prepositional-adverbial
10. The time for conversation is not before breakfast.-prepositional
11. Reading novels is an enjoyable exercise- Noun- Gerunds
12. Coming round the corner, Susan collided with another cyclist.- verb-participial
13. He commanded me to open the door.- verb-infinitive
14. Having joined the Foundation Society, Ms. Best renewed ties with her former classmates. Participial
15. To smoke so many cigarettes must be dangerous.- infinitive
 THE COMPOUND SENTENCE

• A sentence that is made up of two or more simple sentences joined by a coordinating

conjunction, or correlative conjunctions, or transitional words and phrases, or semi-
colons or colons, is called a compound sentence.
• A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses/main clauses
connected with coordinating conjunctions, transitional words or phrases
(transitional markers), correlative conjunctions, semi-colons, or colons. These can
be referred to as connectives.
 COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

The coordinating conjunctions/ connectives used to join two independent clauses are:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so.
For Example:
• The boy opened the door and walked into the room.
• John works hard but Richard is lazy.
• Shall I write to him or will you telephone?
• The man broke his leg so he could not walk yet he was charged for being careless.
 COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

• These conjunctions that are used to join or connect the above simple sentences to
make compound sentences are called coordinating conjunctions. Examples of
coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (FANBOYS)
 YOUR TURN

Combine the following pairs of sentences to form compound sentences.

1. The children finished their lessons so, and they went home.
2. I like learning grammar but, yet I don’t like doing the exercises.
3. It is now late so, and we should go to bed or, so we would not wake up early.
 TRANSITIONAL MARKERS

• Transitional Markers are words or phrases placed at or near the beginning of a sentence or clause.
They signal the relationship between the new sentence and the one before it.
• When transitional words and phrases are used, they are preceded by a semicolon and followed by a
comma. For example,
1. Aerobic exercise can help lower blood pressure; however, those with high blood pressure should
still limit salt intake.
2. Aerobic exercise can help lower blood pressure. However, those with high blood pressure
should still limit salt intake.
3. The saxophone does not belong to the brass family; in fact, it is a member of the woodwind
family.
 EXAMPLES OF TRANSITIONAL MARKERS
Commonly used transitional words and phrases include conjunctive adverbs like:
however, therefore, nevertheless, consequently, finally, still, and thus and expressions like:
for example, in fact, on the other hand and for instance, which are prepositional phrases.
• Correlative conjunctions may also be used to join two independent clauses into a
compound sentence. E.g. (1) Sharon not only passed the exam, but she also received the
highest grade in the class. (2) Either he left his coat in his locker, or he left it on the bus.
• Examples of correlative conjunctions are: either …… or; neither …… nor;
both……..and; not only ………… but also.
• Correlative conjunctions correspond to each other and are regularly used together.
 COMPOUND SENTENCES USING THE SEMI-
COLON
A semicolon can link two closely related independent clauses.
1. Georgetown is the largest town; Rose Hall is the smallest.
2. Some things are never taught; they are simply known.
A colon can also link two independent clauses.
3. He got his orders: he was to leave for Trinidad on Sunday.
TYPES OF CLAUSES
WEEK 7
 RECAP

• 2 main clause
• A main clause is a part of a sentence (sentence) that can stand on its own.
• The thunder rolled and the lightening flashed.
 WHAT IS A CLAUSE

•A CLAUSE is a group of words that has a subject and a finite

verb. For example: ‘The deer swam in the river.’ is a clause
because it contains a subject and a verb: deer – subject, swam
– verb.
•Another clause is ‘who travels in the river’ because it contains
a subject – verb combination: who travels.
 NOTE:
However, there are some clauses in which the subject is understood as in the case of commands: Dance.
Close the door.
 The understood subject is the second person pronoun ‘you’. The clauses would then read: You dance.
You close the door.
• Inserting the subject somewhat takes away from the effectiveness of the commands.
 Here are some other examples of clauses. The subjects are underlined and the verbs are bolded.
 We partied all night.
 Leave the house!
 They leave from home today.
 Because school re-opens tomorrow.
 TYPES OF CLAUSES
There are two main types of clauses.
THE MAIN/INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
•A MAIN or INDEPENDENT clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a sentence. In order to qualify as a
sentence, a group of words must have at least one independent clause.
•Here are some of the ways that subjects and verbs can be combined to form an independent clause:
1. Mr. Martin wants to read everything in the newspaper.
2. She only shops at Guyana Stores.
3. Mary and Jane swim twelve laps every day
4. Stan pounded on the door.
5. Viola heard, jumped, ran and vanished.
6. John eats.
7. Run.
•The above sentence examples reveal that independent clauses can be long or short, they can have one subject or more, they
can have one verb or more, and they can even be a one-word command.
•The important thing to remember is that independent clauses can stand alone. They express a complete thought.
 TYPES OF CLAUSES

SUBORDINATE/DEPENDENT CLAUSES
•A subordinate or dependent clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand
alone. This type of clause leaves you wondering.
For example, in the following group of words, you can identify a subject and a verb: “After he
called”; – Subject – he; Verb – called.
•However, the thought of the sentence is incomplete. We wonder ‘what happened next?’
•Adding an independent clause makes the thought complete: “The police arrived after he called.”
OR “After he called the police arrived.”
 NOTE
•A dependent clause/subordinate clause cannot stand alone; it must be combined with
an independent clause to form a sentence. A subordinating conjunction or relative
pronoun links the independent and dependent clauses and indicates the relationship
between them.
•For example: After the town was evacuated, the hurricane began. The independent
clause is “The hurricane began” and the dependent clause is “after the town was
evacuated”.
• Officials watched the storm, which threatened to destroy the town. The
independent clause is “officials watched the storm” and the dependent clause is
“(the storm)which threatened to destroy the town”.
 NOTE
Sometimes a dependent clause may be embedded within an independent clause. E.g. Town
officials, who were very concerned, watched the storm.
• Dependent clauses may function in a sentence either as adverb clauses or as adjective
clauses. Adverb clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions, and adjective
clauses are introduced by relative pronouns.
• Frequently used Subordinating conjunctions:
• After; although; as; as if; as though; because; before; even though; if; in order
that; now that; once; rather than; since; so that; though; unless; until; when;
whenever; where; whereas; wherever; while; - these are used to introduce adverb
clauses.
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS
That; what; whatever; which; who; whose; whom; whoever; whomever.
The relative pronouns who, whose, whom, which and that introduce adjective clauses which may qualify either
the noun subject or the noun object of the main clause.
For example: Velma went to Spain with a friend who spoke Spanish. “Who spoke Spanish” is an adjective clause
qualifying the noun (object) friend in the main clause.
The boy whose father came to see you has gone to New York. “Whose father came to see you” is an adjective
clause qualifying the noun (subject) boy in the main clause.

The relative pronouns ‘that’ and ‘what’, ‘whatever’,’ whoever’, introduce noun clauses (before or after the verb
in the main or independent clause.)
• E.g. He screamed that he was cheating. ‘That he was cheating’ is a noun clause, object of the verb
‘screamed’ in the main clause.
• Whatever he asks of me, I will give to him. ‘Whatever he asks of me’ is a noun clause, subject of the
verb ‘will give’ in the main clause.
FUNCTIONS OF THE SUBORDINATE
CLAUSES
Week 8
 LESSON OBJECTIVES

 Discover the functions of a noun clause as subject, direct object, object of a preposition or as
a complement.
 Identify adjective clauses and the nouns and pronouns that they modify.
 Use subordinators appropriately.
 Use adjective clauses to modify nouns and pronouns and to construct elegant sentences.
 Identify adverbial clauses in sentences and state the type of adverbial clauses.
 Construct sentences using adverbial clauses
 GRAMMATICAL NAMES

• A Grammatical name is the name given to a word, phrase or clause depending on its
function in a given clause or sentence. There are different grammatical names such as
noun phrase, adverbial phrase, adjectival phrase, prepositional phrase, noun clause,
adverbial clause and adjectival/relative clause.
• On the other hand, grammatical function is the syntactic role played by a word,
phrase or clause in the context of a given clause or sentence. In English, the
grammatical function of a word, phrase or clause is determined by the position of that
word, phrase or clause in a particular clause or sentence.
 EXAMPLE

• Tammy slapped the man.

• The man slapped Tammy.

Whereas in example 1 Tammy (which is a noun) functions as the subject of the verb,
"slapped", in example 2, Tammy functions as the object of the verb, "slapped".
Therefore, in determining the grammatical function of a word , phrase or clause, one
must take into cognizance the position of that word, phrase or clause in a given clause or
sentence.
 NOUN CLAUSE

• A noun clause or nominal clause is a dependent or subordinate clause that does the
work of a noun in a sentence. It generally functions as an appositive, the subject or the
object of a transitive verb, complement of subject, object and preposition.
 RECOGNIZING THE NC

Like the adjectival clause, the noun clause is also introduced by WHO, THAT. It is also introduced by
WHAT. So, the markers of the noun clause are: WHO, THAT,WHAT.
• Step 1: Check out for any of the markers of the noun clause: WHO, THAT, WHAT
• Step 2: Check if there is a verb in the underlined expression.
• Step 3: Check the word before or after the underlined expression.
• (a) If the word/group of words before or after the markers listed above is a VERB, then the underlined
expression is a noun clause.
• (b) If the underlined expression is before the verb, the function will be subject. However, if the
underlined expression comes after the verb, the function will be object. Let's consider some examples.
 EXAMPLES
.

1. Then, I realized that she was drunk.

• Grammatical name: Noun clause
• Grammatical function: Object of the verb 'realized’.
2. He knew that such a threat letter would expose him.
• Grammatical name: Noun clause
• Grammatical function: Object of the verb 'knew’.
3. What we experience daily are the vicious consequences of unemployment.
• Grammatical name: Noun clause
• Grammatical function: Subject of the verb 'are'.
 THE ADJECTIVAL CLAUSE

• The adjectival clause performs the same function as an adjective in a

sentence. It qualifies a noun, pronoun and noun phrase.
• There are markers one can use to identify it. For example: WHO, WHOM,
THAT, WHICH, WHERE, WHOSE.
 RECOGNIZING THE ADJECTIVAL CLAUSE

• If the underlined expression begins with any of the markers—WHO, WHOM, THAT, WHICH, WHERE,
WHOSE—and it comes after a noun, pronoun or noun phrase, it is an adjectival clause.
 The man who wrote the letter is my teacher.

From the example above, did you notice the maker WHO? That's the first thing to do. Look out for the
marker(s). Then what comes before the maker? Isn't it a noun? It is! So, what is the grammatical name? It is
adjectival clause! That is it! So in your answer script, you write it out thus:

• Grammatical name: Adjectival clause

Grammatical function: It qualifies the noun 'man'.
 EXAMPLES

• The new student that you showed me is unhappy.

Grammatical name: Adjectival clause
Grammatical function: It qualifies the noun 'student’.
• An hangar is a place where aircrafts are kept.
Grammatical name: Adjectival clause
Grammatical function: It qualifies the noun 'place'.
ADVERBIAL CLAUSE
 QUIZ

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpBT74f33mo&t=465s
SEMESTER BREAK
ENJOY
THE COMPLEX
SENTENCE
WEEK 9
• John ran to school and (John)fell into a puddle.-compound sentence
 THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

• A complex sentence is a sentence with one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause.
• Complex sentences are easy to spot as they often use subordinating conjunctions
like because, since, or until to connect clauses.
 THE SENTENCES
Simple sentence Compound sentence Complex sentence
One main clause Two main clauses One main clause
Coordinating conjunctions Subordinating conjunctions
No subordinate clause At least one subordinate clause
 CLAUSES
Main clause/Independent clause Dependent Clause/Subordinate clause
-subject and finite verb, -subject, verb, subordinate conjunction
-expresses complete thought -thought/idea is not completed
 EXAMPLE

• No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.

• Unless GWI turns the water on, only then the pipe will run / I will get to take a bath.
• Unless its citizens are educated, no country can really develop.
• Your brain never stops working until you stand to speak in public.
• Until you stand to speak in public, you brain never stops working.
• After the show, we had dinner while the music played.
• Mom gave me a snack when I finished my homework because I was hungry.
• You will succeed if you work hard while you are young.
• If we don’t change, we don’t grow because we are lazy since we see life as
challenging when obstacles come our way.
 YOU TURN

1. That's the woman to whom I spoke about the job.

2. The house located at the 4th corner in which they live is opposite a big park.
3. All of the exam papers are collected and given to the examiners, whose job it is to mark them.
4. This is the title of the book…………which ………….I need for my course.
5. Next to the hotel there's a great gym…………where…….you can work out.
6. My mother, who is travelling to China , has decided to learn Chinese.
7. My car, without which I can't get to work, has broken down.
8. I can’t get to work because my car has broken down.
9. We waited for nearly an hour to be served, but our meal, ,…… was awful
10. We waited for nearly an hour to be served our meal at the restaurant which was awful
 ANSWERS

• That's the woman to whom I spoke about the job.

• The house in which they live is opposite a big park.
• All of the exam papers are collected and given to the examiners, whose job it is to mark them.
• This is the title of the book —I need for my course.
• Next to the hotel there's a great gym where you can work out.
• My mother, who is retired , has decided to learn Chinese.
• My car, without which I can't get to work, has broken down.
• We waited for nearly an hour to be served, but our meal, when it arrived, was awful.
QUESTIONS
CONCORD

WEEK 10
 LESSON OBJECTIVES

Appreciate Appreciate that correct subject/verb agreement can be learned.

Recognize Recognize Standard English forms of concord.

Define Define a compound subject.

Discover Discover the rules for agreement between compound subjects and verbs and collective nouns and verbs.

Recognize Recognize Indefinite pronouns.

Apply Apply rules for indefinite pronouns and verbs.

 •The rule defining the agreement between a main verb and its
subject is called concord. Grammatically correct statements must
reflect the agreement of the subject and verb in tense, person
and number.
•For example: Mark waits for his sister. The subject of the sentence
is Mark; (third person, singular); the verb is waits (third person
CONCORD singular form of ‘wait’).

DEFINED •Examine these examples:

•Mark and John wait for Jane.
•James has some money.
•James and George have some money.
•Every leaf and every twig seems to be full of life.
 CONCORD

•The most frequently used verbs in English grammar are the verbs ‘do’, ‘be’, and ‘have’. The verb
‘be’ expresses a state of being. A state of being describes the location, existence and state of a
person, place or thing.
 Do, does – simple present tense form of ‘do’
 Am, is, are – simple present tense form of ‘be’
 Has, have – simple present tense form of ‘have’
 NOTE:
•I do/ I am/ I have;
•You do/ you are/ you have;
•We/ You/ They/ do/ are/ have
•He/ She/ Elsie/ It/ The boat/ does / is / has /
•The simple past tense of ‘do’ is did.
•The simple past tense of ‘be’ is was, or were.
•The simple past tense of ‘have’ is had.
•These forms do not change.
•N.B. A verb with the word “to” before it is called the ‘present infinitive’ or ‘base verb’. E.g. to do, to be, to have.
•To convert a statement into a question, you can reverse the subject and verb. E.g. “I am swimming” will become “Am I
swimming?”
 AUXILIARIES
• Whenever we use the verb “do” as an auxiliary verb, and it is used to form the Simple Present Tense,
we have to be careful about concord. For example:
“The duck lands in the water” becomes “The duck does land in the water”.
“Does” is the auxiliary verb. The interrogative statement would therefore read: “Does the duck land in
the water?”

• The ducks land in the water. (to do)

• The ducks do/does land in the water. Do the ducks land in the water?
• The ducks do land in the water.
• She does sings in the choir. Does she sing in the choir?
• She do sings in the choir. She does sing in the choir.
 COMPOUND SUBJECTS
A compound subject may contain two or more nouns or pronouns joined by a conjunction or a phrase that does the
work of a conjunction.
•Rules relating to the agreement of compound subjects and verbs.
1. When two or more singular subjects are connected by and, the verb is plural. A plural verb is usually the base
verb or the present infinitive without “to”. Some singular verb forms are: does; is; has; walks; teaches; cries.
Some plural verb forms are: have; do; walk; teach; cry. (These are also base verbs). Examples:
 He does exercises in the morning.
 She is a beautiful girl
 Betty has a big kite for Easter.
 John teaches in Georgetown.
 The girl likes to walk on the beach.
 The man tries to ride the bicycle.
 The man and his wife are in the room.
 Susan and George like to walk on the beach. Susan likes to walk on the beach. George likes to walk on the beach.
 Time and tide waits for no man.
 Bread and butter makes a lovely snack.
 COMPOUND SUBJECT
2. When two or more parts of a compound subject are connected by and, both …. and, not only …….. but
also, we use a plural verb form.
• Examples:
 John and Mary walk in the park.
 Both Mohammed and Jana teach in the school.
 Not only the soccer team but also the football team travel by bus.
 The soldier and the sailor wear uniforms.
 Both the bungalow and the cottage contain new gadgets.

• Not only the captain but also the lieutenant pay fees for training
 COMPOUND SUBJECT

3. When two parts of a compound subject are connected by or, either …… or, neither …… nor, we
use a singular verb if the separate parts of the subject are singular. We use a plural verb if the
separate parts are plural.
Examples:
 Either John or Heather swims in the morning.
 Neither the dogs nor the cats like the food.
 Either the car or vans travel along the road every day.

• Neither the fast bowlers in the President’s XI nor the spin bowlers from South Africa like the
pitch
 COMPOUND SUBJECT
4. When the two separate parts of the subject refer to the same thing or person, we use a singular verb. For
example:
 Truth and honesty is the best policy.
 The poet and statesman is dead.
 His teacher and friend was with him.
 The gardener and the handyman were my friends.
5. When the separate parts of the subject are of different number or person, the verb agrees with the
nearer part of the subject.
• Number means Singular and Plural.
• Person means: first person: I, We; second person: You; third person:
• He, She, It, They.
Examples:
 Neither the orange nor the genips are ripe.
 Either Frank or you are guilty.
 Either you or Frank is present.
 Mother or I am guilty.
 COMPOUND SUBJECT
6. When two or more singular subjects are connected by “as well as”, we use a singular verb.
• Examples:
 A tree as well as a shrub gives good shade. A tree as well as shrubs gives good shade. A tree as well as some
shrubs gives good shade.
 Gas as well as oil is needed to operate a car.
 Helen as well as her children watches the Float Parade.
 The film star as well as the producer and director resides in Hollywood.

7. A “with” phrase does not make a subject plural.

Examples:
 Bread with jam is a good snack.

• Beer with snacks is popular on the weekend

 COMPOUND SUBJECT

8. When two nouns connected by “and” are intended to express a single idea, they form a
singular subject and take a singular verb.
Examples:
 Bread and butter (is) (was) (makes) a delicious meal.
 Macaroni and cheese seems to be his favourite dish.

The collective noun as a Subject:

9. We use a singular verb when the collective noun is singular in meaning. This means that the
group is acting as a unit, or as one person.
• The herd is missing. The group decides today.
 COMPOUND SUBJECT

10. We use a plural verb when the collective noun is plural in meaning. The members of the
group are acting as individuals.
•
• Examples:
 The students’ council disagree on how many officers they need this year. (Plural verb)
 The company has agreed to pay the damages. (Singular verb)
 The jury were divided in their opinions. (Plural verb)
 Mother’s family are scattered all over Guyana. (Plural verb)
 The faculty has a meeting this afternoon. (Singular verb)
 AGREEMENT OF PRONOUNS AND
ANTECEDENTS
Rule 12
•A pronoun should agree in gender with its antecedent
•Example: Rosa said she lost her glasses.
• John took his journal to the beach with him.
• Manny chose that bike because of its colour and style.
•One must always ensure that one has one’s vex money when one goes out.
•Rule 12a. The antecedent of a personal pronoun can be another kind of pronoun.
•Example: One of those ladies left her scarf in the car.
• Each of the boys brought his own bat and ball.
•Rule 12b. Some singular antecedents may be either masculine or feminine, so both forms of the pronoun
is used.
• Example: Nobody in the class finished his or her paper early.
•
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT
Rule 12.2
•A pronoun should agree with its antecedent in number
•Example: Please put the lawn mower away after you have finished using it.
• These tools will last longer if you take good care of them.
•Rule 2a Use a singular pronoun to refer to the indefinite pronouns anybody anyone, anything,
each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody,
someone, and something .
•Example: Has one of the dogs hurt its leg?
• Someone left his or her jacket on the table.
• Everyone on the girls’ team has her own locker.
•Either of them is welcome to come.
•Either of the boys can bring his bat.
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT
Rule12. 2b
Use a plural pronoun to refer to the indefinite pronouns both, few, many, several.
•Example: Both of the birds had hidden their nests well.
• Several of the spiders continue to live under that log; it is where they hatched.
• On a night like this, few of the travellers will reach their destination on schedule.
Rule 12.2c
The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none and some may be singular or plural, depending on
their meaning in a sentence.
•Example: None of the cereal has lost its crunch. (none is singular because it refers to the singular
noun cereal)
• None of the cereal flakes have lost their crunch. (None is plural because it refers to the
plural noun flakes)
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT
Rule 12.2d
Use a singular pronoun to refer to two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor .
•Example: Either Peter or Ronald has his paintings on display.
Rule 12.2e
When the separate parts of the subject are of different number or person, the verb
agrees with the nearer part of the subject.
• Number means Singular and Plural.
• Person means: first person: I, We; second person: You; third person:
• He, She, It, They.
• Examples:
 Neither the orange nor the genips are ripe. Either the genips or the orange is ripe.
 Either Frank or you are guilty.
 Either you or Frank is present.
 Mother or I am guilty.
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT

Rule13
One of those who / which / that
After one of those who, one of those which, one of those that, the verb is
plural. This is because the relative pronouns who, which, that, come after
plural nouns or their antecedents. Antecedents are nouns to which pronouns
refer. (These nouns come before the relative pronouns.)
Examples:
 The prisoner is one of those people who set the fires.
 The elephant is one of those animals which come in the truck.
 He is one of those men who need to be seen doing good actions.
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT
Rule 14
Subjects that appear to be plural
• The following subject words are singular and take a singular verb form.
• Furniture news luggage knowledge lightning traffic
• Garbage shouting thunder behavior equipment clothing
scenery laughter machinery
Examples:
 The furniture is painted green.
 The news from the hospital is bad.
 Traffic is heavy in the downtown area.

• The scenery in the mountains is beautiful

 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT
Rule 15
Nouns that end in –ics. These take a plural verb. e.g. comics mechanics cosmetics
tactics
 Comics are the most popular part of newspapers.
 Mechanics are needed by the bus company.
 Cosmetics are found in aisle seven.
 Military tactics are taught at the Staff College.
•Rule 15
•a The following nouns take a plural verb when they are plural in meaning, and they take a singular
verb when they are singular in meaning.
• Politics mathematics economics dynamics acoustics physics
•
• Examples:
 Economics is a vital subject. (singular in meaning) The economics of the
project are still being considered. (plural in meaning)
 The mathematics of the position are still obscure.
 PRONOUN AND ANTECEDENT

• Rule 16
A subject followed by a prepositional phrase. Agreement of a subject and its
verb is not changed by a prepositional
• Phrase. Here are some examples:
 The potholes (in the highway) cause many accidents.
 A film (about encounters with Martian space travelers) has opened at the new
cinema.
 The workers (at the nearby plant) belong to the Trade Union.

• Your shadow (against the wall and in the dark) plays tricks on you
Rule 17 Agreement with measurements, percentages, etc.
• a. With a phrase referring to a measurement, amount or quantity we usually prefer a single verb.
•Example: Only three meters separates the runners in first and second place.
• b. A singular verb must be used when the complement is a singular noun phrase.
•Example: Three hours seems a long time to take in the homework.
• c. When the first noun in a complex subject is a percentage or a fraction the verb agrees with the noun
closest to the verb.
•Example: An inflation rate of only 2% makes a difference to exports. (verb agrees with main noun)
• About 50% or half of the houses need major repairs. (verb agrees with closest noun)
• d. Where we use a singular noun that can be thought of as either whole unit or a collection of
individuals, use either a singular of plural verb.
•Example: Some 80% of the electorate is expected to vote. (whole unit)
• Some 80% of the electorate are expected to vote. (collection of individuals)
 LET’S TRY THESE
1. An exhibition of students’ drawings and photographs ……………. in the hall. (stand; stands)
2. If everyone ……………….. to the Christmas party, it will be impossible to accommodate them.
(come; comes)
3. He is one of those men who …………… nervous in front of a crowd. (get; gets)
4. Athletics ………… to be popular this year. (appear; appears)
5. One of the men …………….. a traitor. (is; are)
6. His politics …………. rather liberal. (is; are)
7. Each student ……………… one lesson taught by a member of his team. (criticize; criticizes)
8. The equipment ………………… ruined in the fire, (was; were)
9. Everybody ………………… mistakes. (make; makes)
10.Our furniture …………….. forty thousand dollars. (cost; costs)
11.On average, 25 liters of water …………is….. (be) used each day per household and as the
population ………expects……… (expect) higher living standards, this figure will rise.
12.I’d be surprise if any of my children …………… (remembers) my birthday.
13.What worries us ……….. (is) the poor selection process.
SENTENCE ERRORS
WEEK 11
 SENTENCE ERRORS

These are grammatical mistakes that we often see and make in our writing. They
include:

Sentence Fragments

Run-on sentences

Misplaced Modifiers

Dangling modifiers
 SENTENCE FRAGMENTS

A sentence is a group of words

that expresses a complete
A Sentence must have two 1. It must have a subject and a
thought; it is an independent
characteristics: verb
clause that contains a subject
and a verb.

If either of these characteristics

are missing from a group of
2. It must have independence
words written as a sentence,
or completeness
the result is an error called a
sentence fragment.
 TYPES OF FRAGMENTS

There are 7 types

1. Subordinate 2. Infinitive Phrase 3. Afterthought
of Sentence
Clause Fragments Fragments Fragments
fragments.

6. Participle
4. Lonely Verb 5. Appositive 7. Intentional
Phrase
Fragments Fragments Fragments
Fragments
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE FRAGMENT

•This type of sentence

fragment contains a
subordinate conjunction, a
subject and a verb.
 EXAMPLE
Flooring the accelerator, Juan drove through the
heavy traffic. As his ex-girlfriend Joan chased
him down the interstate.
Flooring the accelerator, Juan wove through the
heavy traffic;/as/ and /because/while his ex-
girlfriend Joan chased him down the interstate.
 INFINITIVE PHRASE
FRAGMENTS
An infinitive phrase will
begin with an infinitive [to +
base verb].
Example
To explain why he had brought Squeeze,
his seven-foot pet python, to Mr. Parker’s
English class, Ronald sat in the provost’s
office, jiggling his foot nervously.
 AFTERTHOUGHT FRAGMENTS

These fragments begin with

these transitions: especially, for
example, for instance, like, such
as, including and except.
 AFTERTHOUGHT FRAGMENTS

These transitions frequently

introduce good details that the
writer is providing as an
afterthought for previous
information.
 EXAMPLE

• I will not be coming today. It is raining.

• She did not like fruits. Especially pineapples.
• She did not like fruits, especially pineapples.
Classes of Sentence Fragments
 EXAMPLE OF NOUN
CLUSTER
•The best movie of the year.
-The -article; best-adjective; of
the year-prepositional phrase.
•The best movie of the year is
Venom 2.
 EXAMPLE OF NOUN
CLUSTER
•An interesting article to read
is found on page 31.
An –article; interesting-present
participle; to read-infinitive
 EXAMPLE OF NOUN
CLUSTER
•Our Parish priest, Fr. Michael,
is very old.
Our –pronominal modifier;
parish-noun adjunct; Fr.
Michael- appositive
Examples of Infinitive Phrase as an Adjective
1. Armand hired Olivia to be his
assistant.
-to be his assistant-describes
Olivia
2. The best man to teach you
calculus is your own teacher.
-to teach you calculus-describes
man.
3. The principal has chosen Betty to
represent the school in an oratorical
contest.
-to represent the school-describes Betty
1. The inhabitants of the village left
their homes because of the flash flood.
-because of the flash flood-answers the
question “why?”-functions as an
adverb of reason.
 LONELY VERB FRAGMENT

• Lonely verb fragments occur when the subject, a necessary component of a main clause, is missing.

Consider this example:

• After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio. And let the raccoons, opossums, and
armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.
• After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio and let the raccoons, opossums, and armadillos
that visit the yard eat the leftovers.
• After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio. They let the raccoons, opossums, and
armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.
• After dinner, Mike and Pat leave their dirty dishes on the back patio and they let the raccoons, opossums, and
armadillos that visit the yard eat the leftovers.
 APPOSITIVE FRAGMENTS

• The teacher, Miss Batson, asked the class a question.

• The teacher and Miss Batson, asked the class a question.

• Appositives are groups of words that name something. They are used in sentences to further
describe a noun, usually the subject of the sentence. They are incidental and not necessary to the
main meaning of the sentence and, therefore, are separated by commas from the rest of the
sentence.
• The class is very quiet today.
• Miss Batson is the teacher who teaches English.
2. Alain pointed the stranger to the
right direction.
-to the right direction-answers the
question “where?”-functions as an
adverb of place.
Incorrect: Even though hiring
attractive people is not illegal,
discrimination is.
Correct: Even though hiring attractive
people is not illegal, discrimination is.
Punctuation note: if the subordinate
clause comes at the beginning of the
sentence, use a comma before the main
part of the sentence. You do not usually
need to use a comma if the subordinate
clause comes after the main clause
 HOW TO FIX FRAGMENTS
1. Attach- Attach the fragment to a nearby complete sentence
1. Incorrect: I forgot to eat breakfast. On the morning of my driver’s test.
1. Correct: I forgot to eat breakfast on the morning of my driver’s test.
2. Incorrect: If the front door is locked. Use the back entrance.
3. Correct: If the front door is locked, use the back entrance.

2. Revise- Revise the fragment by adding whatever is missing – subject, verb, complete thought.
• Incorrect: Loves to lie around in the sun all day. (A subject is missing. Who loves to lie around?)
• Correct: She loves to lie around in the sun all day.
• Incorrect: Joe to train every day. (A verb is missing. Also, “to train” is the wrong verb form. Joe does what every day?)
• Correct: Joe trains every day for the marathon next month.
• Correct: Joe is training every day for the marathon next month.
 FIXING FRAGMENTS

1. Rewrite- Rewrite the fragment or the entire passage that contains the fragment.
1. Incorrect: Our new landlord was expected to make changes. Such as fixing the plumbing, installing a
new washer, and replacing the security gate. Has not done any of it yet and weeks have passed.
2. Correct: Our new landlord was expected to make changes, such as fixing the plumbing, installing a new
washer, and replacing the security gate lock. Weeks have passed, and he still has not done any of it yet..