Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Subject-Verb Agreement
• the subject and verb must agree in number
• if a subject is singular, the verb must be singular
• if a subject is plural, the verb must be plural
Examples
Example
Examples
Examples
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
Subject-Verb Agreement
• Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as
along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are
not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the
subject is singular.
Examples
Examples
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-Complex
Simple Sentence
• A simple sentence is simple because it contains only one independent
clause. An independent clause is a group of words that has both a
subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
1) With a semicolon
2)With a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
Homer has Basic Plant Science on Mondays and Wednesdays, but Environmental
Horticulture conflicted with his schedule.
Complex Sentence
• A complex sentence consists of an independent clause plus a dependent
clause.
• A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction or a relative
pronoun, and contains a subject and verb, but does not express a complete
thought.
after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though,
till, until, when, where, whether, while
Compound-Complex Sentence
• A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent clauses
and one or more dependent clauses.
• The punctuation rules remain the same:
1) the two simple sentences are joined by one of the two methods described
above
2) the dependent clause is punctuated (or not) depending on whether it
precedes or follows an independent clause.
Homer was already in class, and Eva was in the lab while Justin was sleeping off
his headache.
Parallelism
• Parallelism in grammar is the balance between two or more similar
words, phrases or clauses.
• Parallelism is also called parallel structure or parallel construction.
• Parallel construction prevents awkwardness, promotes clarity and
improves writing style and readability.
The teacher wants his students not only to keep quiet but also to do the task.
Sequence of Tenses
The verb in the subordinate clause changes its tense
in accordance with the tense of the verb in the main clause.
Note!
• When the verb in the main clause is in the future tense, we often use
a present tense in the subordinate clause to refer to future time.
I will call you when he comes. (NOT I will call you when he will come.)
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
• To agree in number, a pronoun and its antecedent should both be singular or plural (which now
includes the gender neutral/non-binary singular use of ”they”).
Masculine Singular: The principal attended the conference where he learned ways to
improve his approach to discipline.
Feminine Singular: The principal attended the conference where she learned ways to
improve her approach to discipline.
Gender Neutral or Non-Binary Singular: The principal attended the conference where they learned
ways to improve their approaches to discipline.
Plural: The principals attended the conference where they learned ways to improve their approaches
to discipline.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
• To agree regarding gender, the pronoun should match the antecedent’s
gender or gender identity, meaning male, female, or gender neutral/non-
binary.
Male: Jack found himself without a sled after the biggest snowfall in years.
Female: Rita found herself without a sled after the biggest snowfall in years.
Gender Neutral or Non-Binary: Jack found themselves without a sled after the
biggest snowfall in years.