When participles describe emotions or moods:
The past participle (VERB + ED) describes the person's mental state or inner
feelings.
The present participle (VERB + ING) describes the cause of the mental state
or feeling. (See page 37)
NO: Carlo is very tempting
to buy a new car this year.
YES:Carlo
is very tempted to buy a new car this year.
YES: The new
cars are very tempting.
NO: The students are frustrating
by all the false fire alarms.
YES: The students
are frustrated by all the false fire alarms.
YES: The false
fire alarms are frustrating.
NO: Miller is interesting
in exploring caves.
YES:Miller
is interested in exploring caves.
YES:Exploring
caves is interesting.
ACTION VERBS
When participles describe actions, the past participle (VERB + ED) is
used to emphasize a completed action. (See page 37)
NO: The football player is playing
with a breaking leg.
YES: The
football player is playing with a brokenleg.
When participles describe actions, the present participle (VERB + ING)
is used to emphasize an ongoing process.
NO: We watched the firemen pour
water on the burned house.
YES: We
watched the firemen pour water on the burninghouse.
When using a non-count noun:
Never add s to a non-count noun.
Always use a singular verb.
Never introduce a non-count noun with a/an.
Never use many with a non-count noun.
NO: Rosita did many researches
for her paper.
YES: Rosita
did much research for her paper.
NO: My classmate and I gave each other
good feedbacks.
YES: My classmate
and I gave each other good feedback.
Yes/No questions are formed by inserting the subject between
the helping verb and the main verb. Person, number and tense
are indicated by the helping verb. For example: She has gone.??Has
she gone?
NO:Has Janine money for
the trip?
YES:Does
Janine have money for the trip?
NO:Did they sold
their car?
YES:Did
they sell their car?
WH - QUESTIONS
Wh- questions (who, what, where, what kind of, how many, how much,
how often) usually follow Yes-No question orderÜthe subject is between
the helping verb and the main verb.
NO: How much the programwill cost?
YES: How
much willthe programcost?
NO: Where the fish are biting?
YES: Where
are the fish biting?
When who, what or which is the subject of the question,
use regular subject-verb order.
A comma splice occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined
by a comma.
NO: The storm blew down a tree on
my house, I had to call the insurance company.
YES: The storm
blew down a tree on my house. I had to call the insurance company.
YES:After
the storm blew down a tree on my house, I had to call the insurance
company.
FRAGMENTS FRAG
Dependent clauses cannot stand alone. They must be connected to an independent
clause.
NO:Although it is expensive
to enter this program.
YES: Although
it is expensive to enter this program, many people sign up.
NO:Because we players had some
trouble with tackling and gave our coaches a hard time.
YES: Because
we players had some trouble with tackling and gave our coaches a hard
time, our coaches quit.
FUSED FUSED
A fused sentence has grammatical parts which are missing or used incorrectly.
NO: This movie was about aliens
bombed the earth.
YES: This
movie was about aliens who bombed the earth.
YES: This
movie was about aliens bombing the earth.
NO: Linda doesn't know how to
sign language.
YES: Linda
doesn't know how to sign.
YES: Linda
doesn't know how to use sign language.
NO: Mary's senior year tended
to get good grades.
YES:Marytended
to get good grades in her senior year.
NO: How old did you start playing
video games?
YES:Whendid
you start playing video games?
YES:How
oldwereyou when you started playing video games?
NO: Some students feel attendance
isn't important and can just learn from reading the text book.
YES: Some
students feel attendance isn't important. They think they can learn
from reading the text book.
YES: Some
students feel attendance isn't important, because they can just
learn from reading the text book.
RUN-ONS RUN-ON
A run-on sentence is a sentence whose clauses are incorrectly joined.
NO: If I were in the teacher's shoes,
I would say it's up to the students if they miss the homework assignment
and why did they come to college anyway?
YES: If I
were in the teacher's shoes, I would say it's up to the students if they
miss the homework assignment. Why did they come to college anyway?
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that can't be followed by a direct
object.
Intransitive verbs are followed by an adverb, prepositional phrase,
verbal, or nothing at all.
NO: He suffered his body
after the accident.
YES: He
sufferedhorribly after the accident.
YES: He
sufferedafter the accident.
NO: Marika never replied his
letter.
YES: Marika
never repliedto his letter.
Intransitive verbs can never be passive.
NO: They were arrived in
Italy on June 10th.
YES:Theyarrived
in Italy on June 10th.
NO: The accident was happened
yesterday while I was dancing.
YES: The
accidenthappened yesterday while I was dancing.
LINKING VERBS LV
The linking verbs are :
be -- am, is, are, were, being, been
five sense verbs -- feel, see, smell, sound, taste
and a few others -- appear, become, grow, look, seem.
Use a noun after a linking verb only when it renames the subject.
NO: Washington is humidity.
YES:Washingtonis
a humid city.
NO: My roommate is a nice personality.
YES: My
roommateis a nice person.
NO: Florida is a good vacation.
YES:Floridais
a good vacation location.
YES:Floridais
a good place for a vacation.
Use an adjective after a linking verb to describe the subject.
NO: Washington is humidity.
YES:Washington
is humid.
NO: The beach is relaxation.
YES: The
beach is relaxing.
If there introduces a clause, there must be followed by
a linking verb. IT/THERE
NO: There has a delicious
Vietnamese deli in my neighborhood.
YES:Thereis
a delicious Vietnamese deli in my neighborhood.
NO: There have crowds and
too many tourists there.
YES:Thereare
crowds and too many tourists there.
TRANSITIVE VERBS TRV
Transitive verbs are action verbs that need a direct object, a nominalÜnoun,
pronoun, gerund, noun phrase or clause.
Transitive verbs must be followed by a nominal.
NO: Washington has humid.
YES: Washington
hashumidity.
NO: Ivan and Josef really enjoyed
there.
YES: Ivan
and Josef really enjoyedParis in the spring.
YES: Ivan
and Josef really enjoyedthemselves last year.
NO: Kids learn responsible.
YES: Kids
learnresponsibility.
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT S/V
Subject and verb must always agree.
NO: Congress always find
a way to get money.
YES:Congress
always finds a way to get money.
NO: Coffee cost more today.
YES:Coffeecosts
more today.
NO: At camp, there is snakes
and bugs everywhere.
YES: At camp,
there aresnakes and bugs everywhere.
NO: Either our team or the Iowa
State team are going to the finals.
YES:Either
our team or the Iowa State team is going to the finals.
VERB FORM VF
Verb tense and voice must always follow regular patterns. See VERB TENSE TABLES
on pp. 51-53
NO:Does she bought
the supplies for the office?
YES:Does
she buy the supplies for the office?
NO:Did Janice bought
the equipment for the office?
YES:Did
Janice buy the equipment for the office?
NO: She has been sunbathed
at the beach every day.
YES: She has
been sunbathing at the beach every day.
NO: She have not enough money.
It is sad.
YES: She doesn't
have enough money. It is sad.
VERB FORM-MODALS AUX
Modals are in the USAGE DICTIONARY.
NO: He wears no clothes which may
shocks the viewer.
YES: He wears
no clothes which may shock the viewer.
NO: We would agreed with
Ricardo who was very angry.
YES: We would
agree with Ricardo who was very angry.
NO:Can you imagined
life without TV?
YES:Can
you imagine life without TV?
YES:Could
you imagine life without TV?
VERB PATTERNS VP
Some verbs are often followed by verbals. There are five basic verb-verbal
patterns. See pp. 38-39 and the USAGE DICTIONARY.
NO: Napoleon chose marrying
Josephine.
YES: Napoleon
chose to marry Josephine. verb + infinitive
NO: He is enjoying to study
all about Mars.
YES: He is
enjoying studying all about Mars. verb + gerund
NO: He began learn French
in the sixth grade.
YES: He began
to learn French in the sixth grade. verb + infinitive
YES: He began
learning French in the sixth grade. verb + gerund
NO: Their parents let them to
help with the chores.
YES: Their
parents letthemhelp with the chores. verb
+ object + simple form of verb
NO: The audience saw the magician
pulled the rabbit out of the hat.
YES: The audience
sawthe magicianpull the rabbit out of the hat.verb
+ object + simple form of the verb
NO: He allowed his gangster friends
borrow his car.
YES: He allowed
his gangster friends to borrow his car. verb + object
+ infinitive
VERB TENSE VT
Sequence of tenses
Use the present tense to express a current opinion, belief,
or state of mind about a past event.
NO: I remembered the
best time I ever had in Ghana.
YES: I
remember the best time I ever had in Ghana.
If the verb in the independent clause is in the future tense, don't
use the future tense in the dependent clause.
NO: I will pay you when I will
get my pay check.
YES: I
will pay you when I get my pay check.
NO: I will pay you when I am
getting my pay check.
YES: I
will pay you when I get my pay check.
Use the present perfect to express actions that begin in the
past and continue to the present.
NO: The new freshman was
lonely since he arrived in September.
YES: The
new freshman has been lonely since he arrived
in September.
NO: For years scientists wanted
to know if Mars is like the earth.
YES: For
years scientists have wanted to know if Mars is like
the earth.
Use past continuous to describe an action in progress at the
time of another action.
NO: He was standing outside
the court house.
YES: He
was standing outside the court house while the trial
was going on.
NO: The Chinese were using gun
powder.
YES: The
Chinese were using gun powder when Marco Polo arrived
there.
Use of present tense
Use the simple present tense to express general truths, repeated or habitual
actions, and states or qualities of being.
NO: Libraries had books.
YES: Libraries
have books.
NO: The earth was round.
YES: The
earth is round.
NO: The traffic is giving
people a headache every day.
YES: The
traffic gives people a headache every day.
NO: The soup is tasting
sour.
YES: The
soup tastes sour.
Conflicts with adverbs of time ADV T
Adverbs of time are commonly associated with only one verb tense.
