9th Grade Grammar Review

Editing Your Work

What can go wrong in a sentence?

Subject – Verb Agreement Pronoun – Antecedent Agreement Incorrect Pronoun Case Dangling modifier Lack of parallelism Unclear Pronoun Reference (ambiguous,

general and weak) Run-ons – Comma splice/Fragments Active Passive Voice

Subject Verb Agreement

The subject must agree with the verb in number.

He is / are

Tricks for more difficult cases:• “Trim the fat,” eliminate the “interrupters”• Know when it’s singular or plural

“Trim the Fat”

When you write a long sentence go over it and cross out “interrupters” that make you miss problems with subject – verb agreement.

Try it!

After all, Elizabeth is the strongest candidate

A

for the job because her looks, experience,

B

and natural intelligence invites voters to cast

C D

their ballots for her. No Error.

E

When is it Singular? When is it Plural?

Either, Neither, None, Each

The “ones” and the “bodies” – Anyone, No one, Everyone, Anybody, Nobody, Everybody

All take singular verbs

Is there an error?

Everyone going on the spirit bus to Giants’

A

Stadium on Saturday for the State Playoff

B

Game are advised to wear warm clothes.

C D

No Error.

E

Subjects Joined by “and”

Subjects joined by “and” are plural

Britney Spears and Angelina Jolie,

each of whom is a famous celebrity,

A B C

is still well-known today. No Error.

D E

Subjects joined by “or”

Subjects joined by “or” can be singular or plural. The subject closest to the verb decides whether it is singular or plural.

The kids or my husband is/are driving me crazy.

My husband or the kids is/are driving me crazy.

A B

Special Cases:

• Collective nouns (family, jury, group, audience) – take a singular verb

My family [is/are] thoroughly excited to go to Florida over Winter Break.

Review

To the disappointment of the crowd, neither

A B

the president nor any of his aides were able

C D

to attend the ceremony. No error.

E

Interest and applications to Stanford AUniversity, an elite school in California, Bhas risen since Chelsea Clinton enrolled there. C D

No error. E

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns must agree with the nouns that they replace.

Watch for pronouns that appear late in the sentence.

Tricky cases – indefinite pronouns

Singular: each, either, neither, no one, one,

Nobody, anybody, somebody, everybody

Nothing, anything, something, everything,

Anyone, someone, everyone

Each of the clerks does a good deal of work around his/her office.

Plural

Several, few, both and many are plurals.

Both do a good job in their office.

Few will realize their dreams of Olympic gold medals.

Some indefinite pronouns that are modified by a prepositional phrase may be either singular or plural. These are:

Some, any, none, all and most

How will you know what to do????

If the object of the preposition is uncountable, then it is singular:

Some of the sugar fell out of its bag.

All of the jewelry has lost its glow.

When the object of the preposition is countable, then it is plural:

Some of the marbles fell out of their bag.

All of the jewels have lost their glow.

A number vs. The number

A number = plural

The number = singular

A number of volunteers are offering their help.

The number of volunteers increases its ranks daily.

Try some

Each person who reads this book marvels

A B

at the impact it has on their lives. No error.

C D E

I fully agree with Bertram’s idea that each

person is in themselves a complex puzzle A

and that all of us need to set aside time in B

our hectic lives for trying to solve the puzzle. C D

No Error. E

Although a teenager may think that their

A B

parents are often overprotective, parents

think that by shielding their offspring from

C

harm, they are merely demonstrating how

much they love their child. No error.

D E

In some cultures a woman is assigned a role

in life, is constantly reminded of their duties

A B C

to men, but is also treated with respect.

D

No error.

E