English Composition/Sentence Writing (Part 4)
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English Composition ＞ Sentence Writing (Part 4)
Sentence Writing (Part 4)
Part 4 shows how to use basic conjunctions and prepositions in sentences.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The fact that the subject of the sentence matches the verb is the basis of writing. Let's check it out.
① When the subject is singular, the verb form is also singular
- □ Somebody cleans the room every day.
- □ The library is closed on Sundays.
② When there are multiple subjects, multiple verb forms
- □ My parents live in a small village by the lake.
- □ Several articles in the journal are very interesting for me.
- There are multiple pants, trousers, pajamas, shoe socks, scissors, etc. Verb forms are also plural. However, when pair of is attached to these nouns, the verb is also singular because pair is singular.
→ My brother's new pair of sneakers looks great.
③ When starting with There is / There are, the subject is located after the verb
- □ There is a lot of information on the internet about clean energy.
- □ There are only eight students in my ESL class.
④ The singular noun (news, mathematics, politics, gymnastics, etc.) ending in -s is the singular form of the verb when the subject is
- □ No news is good news. (= Proverb)
- □ Politics of healthcare is imperative in our country.
⑤ Multiple verb forms when multiple nouns (police, people, children, etc.) that do not end with -s is the subject
- □ The police are investigating the accident now.
- □ Children learn manners and morals from their parents.
⑥ Collective nouns (family, class, team, committee, herd, pack, etc.) are treated as singular
- □ I had to stop, because a herd of cattle was crossing the road
- □ My family gathers at every Christmas.
⑦ The subject is somebody, anybody, everybody, nobody, someone, anyone, everyone, no one, either, neither, each, each one is treated as singular. So the verb form is also singular
- □ Either Kay or Chack is in the backyard.
- □ Everybody is going to be the graduation party tonight.
- □ No one tells me anything about it.
- □ At the beginning of this card game, each player has five cards.
⑧ Multiple indefinite pronouns (both, few, several, many, others) are plural. Therefore, the verb form is also plural
- □ I have two brothers and a sister. My sister is already working, but both my brothers are still in school.
- □ Several companies were joined on the eco-friendly project.
⑨ Indefinite pronouns (some, all, any, more, most) that are both singular and plural in usage
- □ All the neighbors are invited to the district festival next Sunday. :: □ All the furniture in the store is beautiful but expensive.
⑩ About numbers
The plural form is usually used, but the singular form is used when thinking as a structural unit.
- □ Three beer bottles are in the refrigerator.
- □ 42.195 kilometers is official distance for a full marathon.
Total, number, majority, etc. can be singular or plural depending on the sentence that follows.
- □ A number of students are absent from school.
- □ The number of incorrect answers was surprising.
Punctuation
Used to make the sentences and phrases easier to understand for the reader. The main ones are period (.), Comma (,), apostrophe ('), colon (:), semicolon (;), question mark (?), an Exclamation mark (!), Quotation mark (“ ”) there is.
① Period (.)
The period at the end of the sentence
- □ My maternal grandmother has Altzheimer's disease .
Period after abbreviation / abbreviation
- □ I have an appointment with Prof. Shimizu this afternoon.
- □ I would like to visit Washington D.C. next spring.
- □ Mr. Jennings is a famous educational sociologist.
- After Mr./Mrs./Ms., Put a period, but not after Miss.
Also, do not put periods in acronyms such as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and WHO (World Health Organization).
② Comma (,)
The comma that separates words, phrases, and clauses in the same line in a sentence
- □ The colors of our company logo are blue, green, and yellow.
- □ Sue and I looked for the key in the drawer, under the bookshelf, behind the sideboard, but we couldn't find it.
- □ After Kelly listened to some of their CDs, she decided to go to the concert.
Comma into multiple dates, addresses / locations
- □ My mailing address is xxx Glove Ave., Taipei, Taiwan.
- □ On July 4, 1976, the American Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Commas that connect independent clauses with clauses (and, but, or/nor, for, yet, so).
- □ Everybody knows that he is a famous singer, and his sister is a violinist.
- □ I was working on my report all day today, yet I never finished.
- □ It was raining very hard, so I held up my umbrella as I rode my bicycle.
- Always accompanied by and, but, or/nor, for, yet, so. The only exception is that, apart from short sentences (eg, He walked in and she waked out.), Separate clauses are not connected by commas alone.
A comma connecting an independent clause after a dependent clause
- □ If the reference book is too expensive, I'm not going to buy it.
- □ While I was hospitalized, I read a lot of books and magazines.
- When connecting subordinate clauses with subordinate conjunctions such as `` 'when, if, while, through , do not use commas.
→ I'm not going to buy the reference book if it is too expensive.
→ I read a lot of books and magazines while I was hospitalized.
- Comma precedes so (Independent clause follows `` so ).
→ Jake didn't study hard, so he failed the final.
- There is no comma before so that ("so that" is followed by a subordinate clause).
→ Please be careful so that this product doesn't get into your eyes.
- Comma is inserted when the section beginning with So that comes at the beginning of a sentence.
→ So that it doesn't get into your eyes, please be careful when you use this product.
A comma that rephrases the last noun or pulls out supplementary information (Place a comma before and after the noun or noun clause you want to pull out.)
- □ My best friend, Steven Ota, is working as a certified accountant in the U.K.
- □ Ludwig van Beethoven, who wrote much outstanding music including the Ninth Symphony, was hearing-impaired in his last years.
A comma placed after a phrase guided by a preposition:
- □ At the beginning of the winter season, drivers should change their tires for snow.
Comma before or after a word or phrase that interrupts a sentence
- □ As the proverb goes, Reality, however, is not that simple.
③ Apostrophe (’)
Apostrophe representing ownership and ownership
- □ My boss never likes anyone else's ideas.
- □ He was able to come to the doctor's conference in Singapore.
- Plural nouns ending with -s
→ They announced that some students' paper was missing.
④ Colon (:)
A colon when listing related items after an independent section
- □ She told me to get these ingredients to make pumpkin pie: pumpkin, flour, baking powder, butter, sugar, salt, and cinnamon powder.
Colon used for writing official / official letters
- □ Dear Sirs:
- □ To whom it may concern:
⑤ Semicolon (;)
The main usage is to link independent clauses and clauses before the connective adverb
- □ Eric graduated from college this spring; however, he was unable to get any job.
⑥ Exclamation mark (!)
Common usage is imperative. It may also be used to express strong emotions.
- □ Be careful!
- □ I love sweets so much!
⑦ Quotation mark (“ ”)
Quotation marks for proper nouns such as titles
- □ “The Ultimate Fighter” is a popular TV show in America.
Quotation marks for speaking words
- □ The most famous phrase of Martin Luther King's speech is, “I have a dream.”
- □ “Hurry up or we'll be late!”, He shouted.
- A comma or period (or a question mark or exclamation mark) is always included in the quotation mark. Also, use a comma or period before and after.
