Daily Language Workouts

1. Daily Language Workouts Days 41-55

2. Day 41 • Edit: • My grandmother, from who I’ve learned alot, says that frowning is harder then smiling because it uses three times as many muscles. • Notes: • A verb must agree with its subject in number. • (i.e. The childtakes a nap. Singular) • (i.e. The childrentake a nap. Plural)

3. Corrected Sentence • My grandmother, from whom I’ve learned a lot, says that frowning is harder than smiling because frowning uses three times as many muscles.

4. Day 42 • Edit: • On our tour of the movie studio, dad and myself learned that in the original King Kong movie, the figure of the giant gorilla was achually an 18 inch model. • Notes: • The number of the subject is NOT changed by a phrase or clause following the subject. • (i.e. The short storiesin the anthologyare by various contemporary American writers.)

5. Corrected Sentence • On our tour of the movie studio, Dad and I learned that in the original King Kong movie, the figure of the giant gorilla was actually an 18-inch model.

6. Day 43 • Ms. Murati loaned Ngoni and myself a book on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, was the fire an accident or a criminal act. • Notes: • A compound subject that is joined by and or both…and is plural unless its parts belong to one unit. • (i.e. The Tigris and the Euphratesflow through southwestern Asia.)

7. Corrected Sentence • Ms. Murati loaned Ngoni and me a book on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911. Was the fire an accident or a criminal act?

8. Day 44 • If you try swimming in the dead sea, located between Israel and Jordan, you’ll find you cannot remain submerged for long because it is 25% salt. • Notes: • With compound subjects joined by or or nor (or by either…or or neither…nor), the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. • (i.e. Either the tortoise or the harewins the race.)

9. Corrected Sentence • If you try swimming in the Dead Sea, located between Israel and Jordan, you’ll find you cannot remain submerged for long because the Dead Sea is 25 percent salt.

10. Day 45 • Whomever wants good service should not go to big impersonal stores where it’s hard to find indavidual attention. • Notes: • A collective noun names a group of persons, things, or animals. • Use a singular verb when referring to a group as a whole. (i.e. The chorussings beautifully.) • Use a plural verb when referring to each member of a group doing something individually. (i.e. The chorushave separate parts to learn.)

11. Corrected Sentence • Whoever wants good service should not go to big, impersonal stores where it’s hard to find individual attention.

12. Day 46 • Edit: • Breatheing and swallowing is impossible to do simultanyously, set down and try it sometime. • Notes: • Certain nouns that end in s, such as mathematics, molasses, and news, require singular verbs. (i.e. The news arrives later here.) • Certain others nouns that end in s, such as scissors, pants, binoculars, and eyeglasses, require plural verbs. (Binoculars are handy for bird-watching.) • Many other nouns that end in s, such as mumps, measles, ethics, statistics, and politics, depending on the meaning, may require a singular or plural verb. (i.e. Mumps is contagious.)

13. Corrected Sentence • Breathing and swallowing are impossible to do simultaneously. Sit down and try it sometime.

14. Day 47 • Edit: • Niether soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev nor the countrys most powerful generals are able to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 1990. • Notes: • These are considered singular: another, anyone, anybody, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something

15. Corrected Sentence • NeitherSoviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev nor the country’s most powerful generals were able to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-1990.

16. Day 48 • Edit: • 3 layers of paint lies under the surface of the Mona Lisa, the famus painting by Leonardo da Vinci. • Notes: • When a plural noun of amount refers to one unit, it acts as a singular subject. (i.e. Eight dollars is the cost of the ticket.) • When it refers to individual units, it acts as a plural subject. (i.e. Eight dollars lie on the table.)

17. Corrected Sentence • Three layers of paint lie under the surface of the Mona Lisa, the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

18. Day 49 • Edit: • Everybody fighting the battle of the bulge know that celery is on the side of thin people everywhere and that chewing a stalk of celery took more energy then the celery itself contains, but don’t pass the salt or the peanut butter! • Notes: • These are always plural: both, few, many, others, several. (Feware coming to the party.)

19. Corrected Sentence • Everybody fighting the battle of the bulge knows that celery is on the side of thin people everywhere.Chewing a stalk of celery takes more energy than the celery itself contains, but don’t pass the salt or peanut butter!

20. Day 50 • Edit: • In business its good to remember the following words attributed to Dale Carnegie: “A persons name are to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. • Notes: • These words could be either singular or plural depending on the phrase that follows them: all, any, enough, most, much, none, some. (None of the candywas left. Noneof the sweets were left.)

21. Corrected Sentence • In business it’s good to remember the following words attributed to Dale Carnegie: “A person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

22. Day 51 • Edit: • Can I remind all of you whom are ready to risk your savings on high-risk, high-return stocks that economics have sometimes been called the “gloomy science?”  • Notes: Both “who” and “whom” are pronouns. Substitute “he/she” for who and “him/her” for whom. • “Whom” often follows prepositions such as “to, for, with, or from.”

23. Corrected Sentence • May I remind all of you who are ready to risk your savings on high-risk, high-return stocks that economics has sometimes been called the “gloomy science”?

24. Day 52 • Edit: • Diseases like mumps and measles and the flu is sometimes deadly, influenza in fact kills 20,000,000 people in the United States and Europe between 1918 and 1919. • Notes: Be careful with the tenses (past and present) of your verbs.

25. Corrected Sentence • Diseases like mumps and measles and the flu are sometimes deadly; influenza, in fact,killed 20 million people in the United States and Europe between 1918 and 1919.

26. Day 53 • Edit: • Duke Ellington is one of the musitions whom is associated with a time in history known as the harlem renaissance. • Notes: Avoid ending sentences in prepositions. (i.e. What are you going to the store for?) • (correct-For what are you going to the store?)

27. Corrected Sentence • Duke Ellington is one of the musicianswhoare associated with a time in history known as the Harlem Renaissance.

28. Day 54 • Edit: • This is another one of the books that was written by the author of Equal opportunities: everybodys’ Right. • Notes: • To form the possessive case of a singular noun, add ‘s. (i.e. The mayor’s desk, a dollar’s worth) • To form the possessive case of a plural noun ending in s, add an ‘. (i.e. Birds’ feathers, watches’ prices)

29. Corrected Sentence • This is another one of the books that were written by the author of Equal Opportunities: Everybody’s Right.

30. Day 55 • Edit: • The comittee are meeting to discuss how too cut costs and increase productivity. • Notes: Edit all of your writing by reading it out loud to yourself.

31. Corrected Sentence • The committeeis meeting to discuss how to cut costs and increase productivity.