emiliop

Subject verb agreement by Emilio Pacheco period 5

Questions ???????? **Wat is a plural?** **Why are there difrent group of plural's?**
 * ???????? why do they have difrent types verbs and agreements? **

Information (notes) **Subject-Verb** **Agreement** //Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs.// My **brother** __**is**__ a nutritionist. My **sisters** __**are**__ mathematicians. See the section on plurals for additional help with subject-verb agreement. The indefinite pronouns //anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody// are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs. Some indefinite pronouns — such as //all, some// — are singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns. On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, //none//, that can be either singular or plural; it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a plural verb — unless something else in the sentence determines its number. (Writers generally think of //none// as meaning //not any// and will choose a plural verb, as in "None of the engines are working," but when something else makes us regard //none// as meaning //not one//, we want a singular verb, as in "None of the food is fresh.") Some indefinite pronouns are particularly troublesome **Everyone** and **everybody** (listed above, also) certainly //feel// like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes tempted to use a plural verb with them. They are always singular, though. **Each** is often followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word (Each of the cars), thus confusing the verb choice. //Each,// too, is always singular and requires a singular verb. Everyone **has** finished his or her homework. You would always say, "Everybody //is// here." This means that the word is singular and nothing will change that. __Each__ of the students **is** responsible for doing his or her work in the library. Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject is //each// and //each// is always singular — __Each is__ responsible. Phrases such as //together with, as well as//, and //along with// are not the same as //and//. The phrase introduced by //as well as// or //along with// will modify the earlier word (//mayor// in this case), but it does not __compound__ the subjects (as the word //and// would do). The pronouns //neither// and //either// are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two things. >> Either **is** fine with me. In informal writing, //neither// and //either// sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with //of.// This is particularly true of interrogative constructions: "__Have__ either of you two clowns read the assignment?" "__Are__ either of you taking this seriously?" Burchfield calls this "a clash between notional and actual agreement."* The conjunction //or// does not conjoin (as //and// does): when //nor// or //or// is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number. Because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father __is__ going to sell the house" sounds peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject closer to the verb whenever that is possible. The words //there// and //here// are never subjects.
 *  Everyone **has** done his or her homework.
 *  Somebody **has left** her purse.
 *  Some of the beads **are** missing.
 *  Some of the water **is** gone.
 *  None of you **claims** responsibility for this incident?
 *  None of you **claim** responsibility for this incident?
 *  None of the students **have done** their homework. (In this last example, the word __their__ precludes the use of the singular verb.
 *  The __mayor__ as well as his brothers **is** going to prison.
 *  The __mayor and his brothers__ **are** going to jail.
 *  Neither of the two traffic lights **is** working.
 *  Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
 *  Either my father or my brothers **are** going to sell the house.
 *  Neither my brothers nor my father **is** going to sell the house.
 *  **Are** either my brothers or my father responsible?
 * <span style="color: fuchsia; direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.375in; margin-top: 0pt; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: middle;"> **Is** either my father or my brothers responsible?

TOPIC: Run on sentence NAME: Jennifer Blanco Date: 10/29/10 Period: 5 QUESTIONS: 1. Will a run on sentence always have only 2 sentences, all the time? 2. Are run-on sentences always so detailed? 3. Would you likely always use a coma instead of a period in a run on sentence?

NOTES:[|**Things That Can Happen Between Two Independent Clauses**]. It is important to realize that the length of a sentence really has nothing to do with whether a sentence is a run-on or not; being a run-on is a structural flaw that can plague even a very short sentence: The sun is high, put on some sunblock. An extremely long sentence, on the other hand, might be a "run-off-at-the-mouth" sentence, but it can be otherwise sound, structurally. Click [|**here**] to see a 239-word sentence that is a perfectly fine sentence (structurally)  The sun is high, so put on some sunscreen. Run-on sentences happen typically under the following circumstances*: This next chapter has a lot of difficult information in it, you should start studying right away. (We could put a period where that comma is and start a new sentence. A semicolon might also work there.) Mr. Nguyen has sent his four children to ivy-league colleges, however, he has sacrificed his health working day and night in that dusty bakery. (Again, where that first comma appears, we could have used either a period — and started a new sentence — or a semicolon.) This computer doesn't make sense to me, it came without a manual. (Although these two clauses are quite brief, and the ideas are closely related, this is a run-on sentence. We need a period where that comma now stands.) Most of those computers in the Learning Assistance Center are broken already, this proves my point about American computer manufacturers. Again, two nicely related clauses, incorrectly connected — a run-on. Use a period to cure this sentence. Using periods (and other forms of punctuation) and knowing when to end a sentence are very important. If you don't end a sentence appropriately, the intended meaning can be changed, or it can be misunderstood. Sometimes the meaning is simply incomprehensible. When a person learns to write English sentences and compositions, one common problem is writing sentences that are too long. When a sentence ends too quickly, it is called a [|sentence fragment]. When a sentence has too many ideas and runs on too long, it is called a **run-on sentence**. If you have this problem, don't worry. It is quite easy to fix. The first thing you need to do is identify when a sentence is a run-on. A run-on (or run-on sentence) is a sentence that really has TWO sentences (or complete ideas) INCORRECTLY combined into one. It is okay to combine two sentences into one, but you must follow some rules. You might be wondering: "What is a sentence?" A sentence consists of 3 things: Take a look at this sentence:
 * 1) **When an independent clause gives an order or directive based on what was said in the prior independent clause:**
 * 1) **When two independent clauses are connected by a transitional expression (conjunctive adverb) such as //however, moreover, nevertheless.//**
 * 1) **When the second of two independent clauses contains a pronoun that connects it to the first independent clause.**
 * ** 1 ** || ** subject ** || ** the person, place, or thing performing or doing the action ** ||
 * ** 2 ** || ** verb ** || ** the action ** ||
 * ** 3 ** || ** complete idea ** || ** the reader isn't left waiting for another word ** ||
 * || I hit the ball. ||

Subject=I Verb=hit Is it a complete idea? Yes. Therefore, this is a good sentence. The ball is a __direct object__. Not all sentences require a direct object. For example
 * || Birds fly. ||

Subject=birds Verb=fly Is it a complete idea? Yes. There is no direct object here; however, it is still a complete idea and a good sentence. Here's another example.
 * || I take. ||

Subject=I Verb=take Is it a complete idea? No. This sentence requires a direct object. (This sentence is called a [|sentence fragment] .) It is actually the verb which determines whether the sentence requires a direct object or not. If the sentence requires a direct object, it is called a __transitive verb__. If the verb does not need a direct object, it is called an __intransitive verb__. If you are unsure about some verbs, use a dictionary. Dictionaries often denote transitive and intransitive verbs with the initials t.v. and i.v., respectively. Here's one more example.
 * || Murray takes the train to school Mom rides the bus. ||

Subject=Murray AND Mom Verb=takes AND rides Is it a complete idea? It is TWO complete ideas. This last example is a **run-on sentence**: Two complete sentences (ideas) incorrectly combined. This sentence lacks signal words which tell the reader when to stop or pause. A part of a sentence that can be a sentence by itself is called an **independent clause**. This last example has __TWO__ **independent clauses**. Summary- If you put two sentences (or independent clauses) together without a sufficient amount of signals (commas, semicolons, or connecting words), you have created a run-on. ** How do you fix run-ons? ** There are four common ways to fix a run-on. Each method is explained below. **__ Method #1 __** Write the two independent clauses as separate sentences using periods. **__ Method #2 __** Use a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses. If you would like to learn more about semicolons, click here. **__ Method #3 __** Use a comma and any one of the following connecting words: *when //for// **means** //because// when **//so//** means **//as a result//**
 * ** INCORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * ** CORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy**.** She felt Rome was too hot**.** ||
 * ** INCORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * ** CORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy**;** she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * ** for* and nor but ** ||
 * ** or yet so ** ||

**__ Method #4 __** Use a semicolon and one of the following words: NOTE: If you use any of these connecting words with method #4, a comma must follow it.
 * ** INCORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * ** CORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy, but she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * therefore, thus, however, consequently, ||
 * furthermore, also, nevertheless, ||
 * ** INCORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy she felt Rome was too hot. ||
 * ** CORRECT ** || Carmen loved traveling in Italy**;** however, she felt Rome was too hot. ||

SUMMARY by: A run- on sentence is a only two sentences. It can’t be more that two or else its not a run on sentence anymore. Run-on sentences are more detailed than normal sentences, but get right to the point in a really simple way and explain it to much. I think you would be using a coma most likely than a period for a run-on sentence. You can also use semicolons. You can use a period, coma, or semicolon, but I think a coma would be most likely to be used. A run-on sentence is called the way it is because it gives out to much detail and explains a lot more than a normal sentence.