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ENGLISH GRAMMAR & CORRECT USAGE

I.

Tenses of the Verbs

A. Simple Forms

1. Present Tense- expresses an unchanging, repeated, or reoccurring action or situation that

exists only now. It can
also represent a widespread truth.
Ex. The mountains are tall and white. (Unchanging action)
Every year, the school council elects new members. (Recurring action)
Pb is the chemical symbol for lead. (Widespread truth)
2. Past Tense - expresses an action or situation that was started and finished in the past. Most
past tense verbs end
in -ed. The irregular verbs have special past tense forms which must be memorized.
Ex. W.W.II ended in 1945.(Regular ed past)
Ernest Hemmingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea."(Irregular form)
3. Future Tense - expresses an action or situation that will occur in the future. This tense is formed
by using
will/shall with the simple form of the verb.
Ex. The speaker of the House will finish her term in May of 1998.

B. Perfect Forms
1. Present Perfect Tense - describes an action that happened at an indefinite time in the
past or that began in
the past and continues in the present. This tense is
formed by using has/have with
the past participle of the verb.
Ex. The researchers have traveled a lot to collect more significant
data. (At an indefinite time)

Women have voted in presidential elections since 1921.

(Continues in the present)
2. Past Perfect Tense - describes an action that took place in the past before another past action.
This tense is formed
by using had with the past participle of the verb.
Ex. By the time the troops arrived, the war had ended.
3. Future Perfect Tense - describes an action that will occur in the future before some other action.
This tense is
formed by using will have with the past participle of the verb.
Ex. By the time the troops arrive, the combat group will have
spent several weeks waiting.

C. Progressive Forms
1.
Present progressive tense - describes an ongoing action that is happening at the same time the
statement is
written. This tense is formed by using am/is/are with the verb
form ending in -ing.
Ex. The sociologist is examining the effects that racial
discrimination has on society.
2.
Past Progressive Tense - describes a past action which was happening when another action
occurred. This tense is
formed by using was/were with the verb form ending in -ing.
Ex. The explorer was explaining the latest discovery in Egypt when
protests began on the streets.

3.
Future Progressive Tense - describes an ongoing or continuous action that will take place in the
future. This
tense is formed by using will be or shall be with the verb form
ending in -ing.
Ex. Dr. Jones will be presenting ongoing research on sexist
language next week.

D. Perfect Progressive Forms

1.
Perfect Progressive Forms - describes an action that began in the past, continues in the
present, and
may continue into the future. This tense is formed by
using has/have been
and the present participle of the verb (the verb form
ending in -ing).

EX. The CEO has been considering a transfer to the state of Texas
where profits would be larger.
2.
Past Perfect Progressive - describes a past, ongoing action that was completed before some other
past action. This
tense is formed by using had been and the present perfect of the
verb (the verb form ending in -ing).
Ex. Before the budget cuts, the students had been participating in many
extracurricular activities.
3.
Future Perfect Progressive - describes a future, ongoing action that will occur before some
specified future time.
This tense is formed by using will have been and the present
participle of the verb
(the verb form ending in -ing).
EX. By the year 2020, linguists will have been studying and defining the Indo-European language
family for more than 200 years.

II. Rules in Subject- Verb Agreement

1. Use verbs that agree with a subject, not with a noun that is part of a modifying phrase or clause
between verb and subject:
The pot of eggs is boiling on the stove.
2. Use singular or plural verbs that agree with the subject, not with the complement of the subject:
My favorite type of movie is comedies, but Comedies are my favorite type of movie.
3. Use singular verbs with singular indefinite pronouns each, the -bodies, -ones, and -things
(anybody, everyone, nothing), and the like:
Neither is correct. (And, just as in rule number 1, the presence of a modifier is irrelevant: Neither of
them is correct.)

4. Use plural verbs with plural indefinite pronouns:

Many outcomes are possible.
5. Use singular verbs with uncountable nouns; use plural verbs with countable nouns that follow an indefinite
pronoun
All the paint is dried up.
All the nails are spilled on the floor.
6. Use plural verbs with compound subjects that include and:
The dog and the cat are outside.
7. Use plural verbs or singular verbs, depending on the form of the noun nearest the verb, with
compound subjects that include nor or or:
Either the dog or the cats are responsible for the mess. (Either the cats or the dog is responsible for the mess
is also technically correct but is awkward.)
8. Use singular verbs with inverted subjects that include singular nouns:
Why is my hat outside in the rain?
9. Use plural verbs with inverted subjects (those beginning with the expletive there rather than the
actual subject) that include plural nouns:

There are several hats outside in the rain.

10. Use singular or plural verbs with collective nouns depending on meaning:
His staf is assembled, but Staf are asked to go to the conference room immediately. (In the first sentence, the
emphasis is on the body of employees; in the second sentence, the focus is on compliance by each
individual in the body of employees.)
11. Use singular verbs for subjects plural in form but singular in meaning:
Physics is my favorite subject.
12. Use singular or plural verbs for subjects plural in form but plural or singular in meaning depending
on the context:
The economics of the situation are complicated, but Economics is a complicated topic.
13. Use plural verbs for subjects plural in form and meaning:
The tweezers are in the cupboard.
14. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form one of those ____________ who . . .:
I am one of those eccentrics who do not tweet.
15. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form the number of ____________ . . .; a number of ______________ . . .:
The number of people here boggles the mind.
A number of people here disagree.
16. Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase
introduced by as well
as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it does not compound the
subjects (as the word and would do).
The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.
The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.
17. The words there and here are never subjects.
There are two reasons [plural subject] for this.
There is no reason for this.
Here are two apples.
18. Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a majority of are sometimes
singular and sometimes plural,
depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when all,
any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed
as singular and require singular verbs. The expression "more than one" takes a singular verb:
"More than one student has tried this."
Some of the voters are still angry.
A large percentage of the older population is voting against her.
Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle. //
Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy. // Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.
Two and two is four. // Four times four divided by two is eight.

Simplified
Singular and Plural Indefinite Pronouns

List of singular indefinite pronouns:

Another
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Each
Either
Everybody
Everyone
Nothing
One
Somebody
Something
No one
Nobody
Everything
Examples:
There are three groups of participants, and each has its own requirements.
Someone special is about to arrive.
List of plural indefinite pronouns:
Both
Few
Many
Several
Examples:

Neither

Few of the projects were good enough to go to the science fair.

Several of the documents were filled with errors.
Some indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural
All
any
either
none some more
most.
*The rule states that when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase, the pronoun must agree in number with the object of
the preposition.

Examples:
Most of the work is finished.
Most of the books are out of date.
First, the rule:
Who and whoever are for subjects.
Who and whoever also follows and completes the meaning of linking verbs. In grammar speak who and whoever serves
as linking verb complements.
Whom and whomever are for objects all kinds of objects (direct, indirect, of prepositions, of infinitives, and so on).
****Change the order of the words to determine which is correct.

Tentative Schedule:
8:30-9:00-Spelling Power
9:00-10:00-Synonyms
10:00-11:00-Antonyms
11:00-12:00-correct usage
LUNCH
1:00-2:00- identifying errors
2:00-3:00-analogy (single word)
3:00-4:00-analogy (double-word)
4:00-5:00-reading comprehension
*30 mins. for post test

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