
Relative pronouns offer people struggling with grammar a special little brand of torture.
Perhaps no piece of punctuation gives us more trouble than the hyphen, in particular when we are trying to decide whether to hyphenate a compound modifier. In that realm, the average writer is as consistent as the stock market these days. So, let’s review: When a noun has more than one modifier, the modifiers are hyphenated when [...]
Posted on 30 August 2010
The dependent clause includes a subject and a verb. The dependent clause is the subordinate idea of the sentence. It is dependent on another clause for meaning and context. Many dependent clauses, when removed from the context of the sentence, make sense on their own. Nonetheless, they are dependent on the rest of the sentence for meaning [...] Continue Reading
Posted on 30 August 2010
Using the objective case indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object. Objective Pronouns Singular me, her, him, it Plural us, them Singular and Plural you. whom A pronoun as a direct object My dog likes me. DOG is the subject of the sentence. ME is the direct object of the verb LIKES. If you don’t mind, Would you please take him to class. YOU is [...] Continue Reading
Posted on 30 August 2010
Using the nominative case indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of a given clause or as a predicate nominative following a linking verb. Subjective Pronouns Singular I, she, he, it Plural we, they Singular and Plural you, wh0 Pronouns as the subject of a clause He will never leave basketball completely. HE is the subject of the sentence. While I was playing,” he [...] Continue Reading
Posted on 26 June 2009
The first and most important rule in subject verb agreement is that the verb must agree with the intended number of the subject. To accomplish that task, follow two occasionally not so simple tasks. 1. Identify the real subject 2. Determine whether subject is singular or plural Continue Reading
Posted on 26 June 2009
The case of a pronoun indicates whether the pronoun initiates the action (e.g., subjective case), receives the action (e.g., objective case) or conveys ownership (e.g., possessive case). Continue Reading
Posted on 03 June 2009
Collective nouns and certain plural words may take singular or plural verbs depending on the meaning in the sentence. Continue Reading