The Daily Edit

1. The Daily Edit Parts of Speech and Agreement

2. The Parts of Speech • A noun is a word used to name a person, place, thing or idea. • Persons: Maya Angelou, Dr. Strauss, children, team, baby sitter • Places: desert, neighborhood, outer space, New York City • Things: money, wind, animals, Statue of Liberty • Ideas: courage, love, freedom, equality, self-control

3. Nouns • A compound noun is two or more words used together as a single noun. • A compound noun may be written as one word, separate words, or as a hyphenated word. • One word: seafood, footsteps, daydream, Iceland • Separate words: police officer, John. F. Kennedy, “Flowers for Algernon” • Hyphenated word: self-esteem, great-grandparents, fourteen-year-old, sister-in-law

4. Nouns • A collective noun is a word that names a group. • Examples: faculty, family, herd, team, crew

5. Nouns • A common noun is a general name for a person, place, a thing, or an idea. A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. Common nouns begin with a capital letter in titles and when they begin sentences.

6. Nouns • Common nouns: • Poem • Nation • Athlete • River • Proper Nouns: • “Paul Revere’s Ride” • Mexico • Serena Williams • Congo River

7. Your Turn • Identify each noun in the following sentences. Classify each noun as common or proper. • Example: • Roald Dahl is the author of “The Landlady.” • Road Dahl-proper, author-common, “The Landlady”-proper

8. Your Turn • 1. Billy Weaver was going to The Bell and Dragon, an inn that was in Bath. • 2. Was Billy wearing his brown suit and a navy-blue overcoat? • 3. In his mind briskness was a characteristic of businessmen. • 4. “Big shots” in the company always seemed brisk to Billy. • 5. How was the landlady like a jack-in-the-box?

9. Your Turn • 1. Billy Weaver-proper; The Bell and Dragon-proper; inn-common; Bath-proper. • 2. Billy-proper; suit- common; overcoat-common • 3. mind-common; briskness-common; characteristic-common; businessman-common • 4. “Big shots”-common; company-common; Billy-proper. • 5. landlady-common; jack-in-the-box-common

10. Using Specific Nouns • Whenever possible, use specific, exact nouns. Using specific nouns will make your writing more accurate and precise, as well as more interesting. • VAUGE: people crowded into the building. PRECISE: Men, women, and children crowded into the theater. • VAUGE: Following the young person was a small dog. PRECISE: Following the child was a dachshund.

11. Pronouns • A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns. • Examples: After Bill fed the dog and cat, Bill let the dog and cat go outside. After Bill fed the dog and cat, he let them go outside.

12. Pronouns • The word that a pronoun stands for is called its antecedent. Sometimes the antecedent is not stated. • Stated antecedent: Mrs. Flowers opened the book and began reading it. • Unstated antecedent: Who wrote the book?

13. Personal Pronouns • A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking (first person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about (third person). • First Person: Singular (I, me, my, mine) Plural (we, us, our, ours) • Second Person: Singular (you, your, yours) Plural (you, your, yours) • Third Person: Singular (he, him, his, she, her, hers, its) Plural (they, them, their, theirs)

14. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and directs the action of the verb back to the subject. • An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or another pronoun. • Reflective and intensive pronounsFirst Person-myself, ourselves Second Person-yourself, yourselvesThird Person-himself, herself, itself, themselves

15. Demonstrative Pronouns • A demonstrative pronoun (this, that, these, those) points out a person, place, a thing, or an idea. • Example: This is Ernie’s bike.

16. Interrogative Pronouns • An interrogative pronoun (what, which, who, whom, whose) introduces a question. • Example:Who is the author of “Flowers for Aragon?”

17. Relative Pronouns • A relative pronoun (that, what, which, who, whom, whose) introduces a subordinate clause • Example: Mr. White received the two hundred pounds that he had wished for.

18. Indefinite Pronouns • An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a place, or a thing that is not specifically named. • Common Indefinite Pronouns: • All, any, anyone, both, each, either, everybody, few, many, none, no one, one, several, some, something

19. Indefinite Pronouns • Example: • All of them wanted to hear the story of Urashima Taro. • The travelers saw someone.

20. Your Turn • Identify each of the pronouns in the following sentences as personal, reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative or indefinite. • Example: • That was a very strange person! • That-demonstrative

21. Your Turn • 1. Who were her previous tenants, and what happened to them? • 2. That is the guest book that they signed. • 3. Had they themselves or anyone else been suspicious of her? • 4. The house, which was brightly lit, had a sign in its window. • 5. She brought a pot of tea for him and herself.

22. Answers • 1. Who-interrogative; her-personal; what-interrogative; them-personal • 2. that-demonstrative; that-relative; they-personal • 3. they-personal; themselves-intensive; anyone-indefinite • 4. which-relative; its-personal • 5. She-personal ;him-personal; himself-reflexive

23. Adjectives • An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or a pronoun. • To modify a word means to describe the word or to make its meaning more definite. An adjective modifies a word by telling what kind, which one, how much or how many.

24. Adjectives • What Kind? • Tall woman, steep mountain, exciting story • Which one? • This year, last answer, middle row • How much or how many? • Less time, many mistakes, few marbles

25. Adjectives • An adjective may come before or after a word it modifies. • Examples:The old soldier told the curious couple that they could have three wishes. • The map, although old and worn, was useful to him.

26. Articles • The most frequently used adjectives are a, an, and the The adjective a and an are called indefinite articles. They indicate that the noun refers to someone or something in general. A is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. An is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound. • Example: He gave the salesclerk a nickel and an orange.

27. Definite article • The adjective the is a definite article. It indicates that the noun refers to someone or something in particular. • Example: Smiley went to the swamp to find the stranger a frog.

28. Proper Adjectives • A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and begins with a capital letter. • Proper Noun Proper Adjective Africa African nationsShakespeare Shakespearean dramaRio Grande Rio Grande

29. Demonstrative Adjectives • This, that, these and those can be used both as adjectives and as pronouns. When they modify a noun or a pronoun, these words are called demonstrative adjectives. When they are used alone, they are called demonstrative pronouns. • Demonstrative adjective: This poem was written by Amy Ling. • Demonstrative Pronoun: This is an example of personification.

30. Your Turn • In the following sentences, identify each adjective and the word that it modifies. Also, identify any articles, proper adjectives, or demonstrative adjectives. • Example: Wasn’t Christopher Mullholland a Cambridge undergraduate?A (article)-undergraduates, Cambridge (proper)-undergraduate

31. Your Turn • 1. The houses were old and run-down but had once been grand. • 2. This house looks like a nice, friendly place. • 3. The room seems comfortable, with a large sofa and two pets. • 4. The London train had been slow, and the weather was chilly. • 5. What had happened to that Bristol man?

32. Answers • 1. The (article)-houses; old-houses; run-down-houses; grand-houses • 2. This (demonstrative)-house; a (article)-place; nice-place; friendly-place • 3. The (article)-room; comfortable-room; a (article)-sofa; large-sofa; two-pets • 4. The (article)-train; London (proper)-train; slow-train; the (article)-weather; chilly-weather • 5. that (demonstrative) man; Bristol (proper)-man

33. The Verb

34. Number • Number is the form of a word that indicates whether the word is singular or plural. • When a word refers to one person, place, thing or idea, it is singular. • When a word refers to more than one it’s plural.

35. Agreement of Subject and Verbs • A verb agrees with its subject in number. • Singular subjects take singular verbs. • Example: • The stranger shoots the frog. • Johnny calls himself Red Chief.

36. Agreement of Subject and Verbs • Plural subjects take plural verbs. • Examples:Six girls compete in the race.Many people laught at Charlie.

37. Subject and Verb Agreement • The first auxiliary (helping) verb in a verb phrase must agree with its subject. • Examples:She is helping Charlie. They are helping Charlie.

38. Problems in Agreement • The number of a subject is not changed by a prepositional phrase in the following subject. • Nonstandard: The spare furnishings on the stage creates a somber atmosphere. • Standard: The spare furnishings on the stage create a somber atmosphere.

39. Problems in Agreement • The following indefinite pronouns are singular: anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, no one, one, somebody someone. • Example: Each of them was sent a bouquet.

40. Problems in Agreement • The following indefinite pronouns are plural: Both, few, many, several. Example: Both of the stories were written by Shirley Jackson.

41. Problems in Agreement • The number of a subject is not changed by a prepositional phrase following the subject. • Example: Incorrect: The sparse furnishings on the stage creates a somber atmosphere. • Correct: The spare furnishings on the stage create a somber atmosphere.

42. Singular Pronouns • The following indefinite pronouns are singular: • Anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, no one, one, somebody, someone. • Example: Each of them was sent a bouquet.

43. Plural Pronouns • The following indefinite pronouns are plural: • Both, few, many, several • Example:Both of the stories were written by Shirley Jackson.

44. Either or… • The following indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural: • Any, all, most, none, some. • Examples:All of the action occurs on the top floor of a warehouse. • All of the events occur on the top floor of a warehouse.

45. Subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb • Example: • Sam and Billkidnap Johnny. • Except… • A compound subject that names a single person or thing takes a singular verb. A compound noun used as a subject also takes a singular verb in most cases.

46. Examples • The captain and quarterback of the team was Lyle. • One person, Lyle, was both the captain and the quarterback. • Rock and roll is my favorite kind of music. • Rock and roll is a compound noun naming a kind of music.

47. Subjects joined by or or nor • When subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb. • Examples:Neither the director nor the players were on time for the rehearsal. • Neither the players nor the director was on time for the rehearsal.

48. Your Turn • For each of the following sentences, choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses. • Example: Both of the girls (love, loves) running. • Correct answer: love • Why: The subject girls is plural, and plural subjects take plural verbs. A verb agrees with its subject in number.

49. Your Turn • My favorite story (has, have) always been “Raymond Run.” • Some of the story (concern, concerns) Squeaky’s rival. • Neither Gretchen nor Mary Louise really (smile, smiles). • Squeaky’s rival and schoolmate (was, were) Gretchen. • Insults and taunts directed at Raymond (anger, angers) his sister.

50. Answers • 1. Has • 2. Concerns • 3. Smiles • 4. Was • 5. Anger