Kas 204 Module 4 Ppts

I. T.
S ENGINEERING COLLEGE
GREATER NOIDA
DEPARTMENT OF
APPLIED SCIENCE & HUMANITIES
(Professional English)
Module 4- Common Grammatical Errors & Technical Style
Subject-Verb Agreement Rules
Correct Usage: Nouns; Pronouns; Modifiers; Articles;
Prepositions
Clichés
Redundancies
Paragraphs Types : Descriptive; Narrative; Expository;
Persuasive
Length of paragraph - writing of Introduction & Conclusion
2 04/05/2023
Subject – Verb Agreement
Rules
1. Subject and Verb must agree in
Number
Singular subject = singular verb
Plural subject = plural verb
Cow= singular, eats= singular
Ducks= plural, quack= plural
*Hint*= SVS- singular verbs have an S
Singular yes?- the verb has an “S”!
Singular no? The “S” has to go!
2. Don’t get confused by the
words/phrases that come between the
subject and verb
The detective who was called to the case is
usually very good.
3. Prepositional phrases between
the subject and verb usually do not
affect the agreement
The biker in this race is very competitive.
The bikers in this race are very competitive.

4. If a sentence starts with “there” or
“here”, the subject will always be placed
after the verb.
There is a meeting today.
Here are the results from this past month.

5. Subjects can come after the verb
in questions.
Does Betty always play with dolls?
How are the Bosco sticks today?

6. (a) If two subjects are joined by “and”, they
typically require a plural verb
The puppy and the lady are friends.
6. (b) If two subjects are joined by “or”, they

typically require a singular verb
The puppy or the lady is my friend.
If two subjects are joined by “and”, they contain the article,
then we have to use a plural verb – are/were/have
The actor and the singer are very good.
If two subjects are joined by “and”, the first subject only

contains the article, then we have to use a singular verb –
is/was/has.
The actor and singer is very good.
10 04/05/2023
7. If two subjects are separated by
“and” refer to the same thing, the
verb is singular.
Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite pasta dish.
Bread and Butter is my favourite breakfast menu.
8. If both the subjects are singular and connected
by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or and not only/but
also, the verb is singular.
Sally or Bubba has stolen the scarecrow.

Sally nor Bubba has stolen the scarecrow.
Neither Sally nor Bubba has stolen the scarecrow.
Either Sally or Bubba has stolen the scarecrow.
Not only the guitar player but also the drummer was
soaked with sweat.
9. If both the subjects are plural and connected by
or, nor, neither/nor, either/or and not only/but also,
the verb is plural.
The boys or the girls have stolen the scarecrow.

The boys nor the girls have stolen the scarecrow.
Neither the boys nor the girls have stolen the scarecrow.
Either the boys or the girls have stolen the scarecrow.
Not only the guitar players but also the drummers were
soaked with sweat.
10. If first subject is singular and the second subject is plural and
are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also, the verb will change according to the second subject.
Either my sisters (S1) or my mom (S2) has sent me a
present.
Neither my mom (S1) nor my sisters(S2) have sent me
a present.
Not only my mom (S1) but also my sisters (S2) want
some hamburgers for dinner.
Not only my sisters (S1) but also my mom (S2) wants
some hamburgers for dinner.
11. Units of measurement usually use a
singular verb.
Six gallons of paint was used on the house.
Five dollars is too much for a cup of coffee.

12. Collective nouns usually take a singular
verb.
The herd is stampeding.
The class was ready for the test.
13. Names of books, movies, novels, etc.
are treated as singular.
Holes is my favorite book.
3 Idiots is my favourite movie.
14. Two infinitives separated by and take a
plural verb.
To run and to read are my two favorite “Free-time”
activities.
15. Gerunds (words that are half noun
and half verb) will take a singular verb.
Gerunds linked by and take a plural verb.
Singular Verbs – Is/ Was/Has
Plural Verbs – Are/ Were/Have
Dancing is not something everyone can do as well as
I can!
Dancing and Singing are my favourite hobbies.
16. If the words each, every or no
come before the subject, the verb is
singular.
Each boy and girl has to take the test.

Every frog and toad turns into a prince.
No paper and pen is required.
17. Most indefinite pronouns take singular
verbs.
one body thing

someone somebody something
anyone anybody anything
no one nobody nothing
everyone everybody everything
Everybody is happy.
No one has a dime.
Nothing was going to help.
18. Both, few, many, others, and several
take a plural verb.
Several need to finish the race.
 A few have the right answer.
Many are absent today.
19. When the subject is all, any, more, most,
none, or some, this is the ONLY time you must
look at the object of the prepositional phrase
to determine whether it is singular or plural.
All of the chickens have laid eggs.

All the money has been spent.
Some of the milk has spilled.
Some of the boys have got the prize.
20. Final rule- Remember, only the
SUBJECT affects the verb!
What is a noun?
A noun is a person, place,
thing, or idea.
Person: Place: Thing: Idea:

cowboy church beachball justice
Find the nouns.
Our teacher
handed out the papers.
1
Every student should have a
computer for school.
2
The bus
went down the wrong road.
3
The plane is going to crash.
4
That dog chased the boys
up a tree.
5
The boy is very, very fat.
6
My mom and dad
helped me with my
homework.
7
My teacher likes to read
books and talk.
8
The doctor visited the patient
at the hospital.
9
The girl did not like the boy.
10
Our team won the big game!
11
The cat has bad hair.
12
What & Why of Pronouns
 A pronoun is a word that replaces or refers to a noun

 Used to avoid repetition
 Antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces or refers
to (ante, before; cedo, go)
EXAMPLE: Juan is my cousin. He (Juan) is in your English
class.
 Juan = antecedent. He = pronoun.
7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS
1. PERSONAL = refers to persons, (he, she, us)

2. REFLEXIVE = refers back to the subject (himself) e.g. I did it
myself.
3. INTENSIVE = emphasizes the subject (himself) e.g. I myself did it.
4. DEMONSTRATIVE = points to with gesture (this, that, such, these)
5. INDEFINITE = has no definite antecedent (someone, all, some,
many)
6. INTERROGATIVE = question words (who, what)
7. RELATIVE = relates two sentences (which)
Personal Pronouns have Persons and
Number
SINGULAR PLURAL
1st person 1st person
 I, me, my  we, us, our
2nd person 2nd person
 you, you, your  you, you, your
3rd person 3rd person
 he, him, his
she, her, her  they, them, their
it, it, its
Personal Pronouns have Gender
MASCULIN
E FEMININE NEUTRAL
He She It, its

Him, his Her, hers
himself herself
Personal Pronouns also have Case
SUBJECTIVE CASE: OBJECTIVE CASE

Are used in place of Are used in place of
subjects and predicate words in the objective
nominatives in case in sentences
sentences
1st person 1st person
 I or we us
2nd person 2nd person
 you  you
3rd person 3rd person
 he, she, it, them  them
PRONOUNS MUST AGREE IN
NUMBER, GENDER, AND CASE
WRONG RIGHT
 She (Molly) could not  She (Molly) could not
get (Molly’s) HIS car get (Molly’s) HER car
to start. (Disagreement to start.
in gender)  John and I went to the
 John and ME went to store.
the store. (error in  One of the girls left
case) her sweater there.
 One of the girls left
their sweater there.
(disagreement in
number)
Reflexive Pronouns reflect back to the Subject
of a Sentence
 I saw myself in the mirror.
 Kim wrote a note to herself.
 Dick shot himself on the foot.
 They served themselves last.
04/05/2023
Intensive Pronouns emphasize their Antecedent
I myself saw him.

She herself organized the concert.
The president himself has denied the rumor.
Demonstrative Pronouns point out specific persons / things
 I hate this.
 Did Megan give you that?
 She wants these.
 Will you be using those?
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Some like it hot. But here, these are
None wants it used as
cold. Indefinite
All are happy. adjectives:
All are equal, Some people like
but some are it cold.
more equal than All animals are
others. equal, but some
animals are more
equal.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
PRONOUNS USED TO INTRODUCE
QUESTIONS:
 What is the answer to the last question?
 Whose book is this?
 Who are you?
 Whom did you send to the store?
Who, Whom, Whose, What, When, Where,
RELATIVE PRONOUNS ARE
 RELATIVE She is a woman.

PRONOUN She runs for mayor.
RELATES TO A
 She is the woman, who
PRECEDING WORD
(ANTECEDENT) runs for mayor.
AND JOINS TO IT A You saw the house.
DEPENDENT It is historical landmark.
CLAUSE  The house that you
 2 JOBS: A PRONOUN
saw is a historical
+ A CONNECTOR landmark.
Summary
7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS
 PERSONAL = REFERS TO PERSONS

 REFLEXIVE = ACTION BACK TO SUBJECT
 INTENSIVE = EMPHASIZES ACTION
 DEMONSTRATIVE = POINTS WITH A GESTURE
 INDEFINITE = UNSURE SOME OR FEW
 INTERROGATIVE = QUESTION WORDS
 RELATIVE = JOINS SENTENCES
Modifiers are adjectives, adverbs and
modifying phrases.
The red car. (Red colour is a modifier)
The happy puppy.
The quick fox.
The feasible report.
The rapidly bouncing ball.
Modifiers “modify” the meaning of the subject, verb,

or complement by describing and limiting.
Modifiers may be phrases:
Prepositional phrase:
The package arrived from Amazon.com.
Noun phrase:
We obtained the required papers.
Infinitive phrase:
We will try to complete the diagnostic today.
Participle Phrase:
The technician taking readings discovered a fault.
Appositive Phrase:
H20, pure water, is good to drink.
A “phrase” never contains both subject and verb. A group with both is a “clause.”
Prepositions of Place
ON – Horizontal/ Vertical/ Diagonal/Spherical /Oval

Surface
IN – Inside Surface/ Big Cities/States/ Countries
AT – Specific Places/Smaller Places
61
Prepositions of Time
ON – Days of the Week/ Holidays/ Anniversaries/

Dates
IN – Months/Years/Centuries/ Duration of Day

Time/Seasons/Festivals
AT – Specific Time, Noon, Night, Mid-night
62
Topic – Clichés and Redundancies
04/05/2023
A cliché is a word or phrase that has been overused
in writing.
Clichés such as “leave no stone unturned” have been

used so much in writing that they have lost all their
effectiveness. These phrases have become weak and
meaningless. They usually contribute nothing to the
message you are trying to convey and will be viewed,
by the reader, simply as padding.
04/05/2023
Text full of clichés makes the writer appear lazy and
uncreative and will, for many readers, kill the significance
of the writing.
If you want your writing to be fresh and interesting, you

should avoid using clichés.
Try rephrasing your text to make it more concise and

original.
04/05/2023
The following list highlights some common clichés:
•In a nutshell
•Last, but not the least
•First and foremost
•At the outset
•At the end of the day
•I'm giving it 110%
•Uphill task
•Sleeping like the dead
•Never say never
04/05/2023
In English usage, redundancy is usually defined as the
use of two or more words that say the same thing, but we
also use the term to refer to any expression in which a
modifier’s meaning is contained in the word it modifies
(e.g., early beginnings, merge together—many more are
listed below).
Think of redundancies as word overflows. Let’s look at

some common examples of redundancies in the next
slide.
04/05/2023
Actual fact
Adequate enough
Close proximity
Collaborate together
Critically important
Each and every
Early beginnings
End result
Final outcome
Final result
Merge together
Mix together
Past history
04/05/2023

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I. T.

The biker in this race is very competitive.

The bikers in this race are very competitive.

There is a meeting today.

Here are the results from this past month.

How are the Bosco sticks today?

6. (b) If two subjects are joined by “or”, they

If two subjects are joined by “and”, the first subject only

Sally or Bubba has stolen the scarecrow.

The boys or the girls have stolen the scarecrow.

Six gallons of paint was used on the house.

Five dollars is too much for a cup of coffee.

Each boy and girl has to take the test.

one body thing

All of the chickens have laid eggs.

Person: Place: Thing: Idea:

 A pronoun is a word that replaces or refers to a noun

1. PERSONAL = refers to persons, (he, she, us)

He She It, its

SUBJECTIVE CASE: OBJECTIVE CASE

I myself saw him.

 RELATIVE She is a woman.

 PERSONAL = REFERS TO PERSONS

Modifiers “modify” the meaning of the subject, verb,

ON – Horizontal/ Vertical/ Diagonal/Spherical /Oval

IN – Inside Surface/ Big Cities/States/ Countries

AT – Specific Places/Smaller Places

ON – Days of the Week/ Holidays/ Anniversaries/

IN – Months/Years/Centuries/ Duration of Day

AT – Specific Time, Noon, Night, Mid-night

Clichés such as “leave no stone unturned” have been

If you want your writing to be fresh and interesting, you

Try rephrasing your text to make it more concise and

Think of redundancies as word overflows. Let’s look at

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