grammar rules Flashcards
collective nouns
a number of = plural the number = singular each = singular every one = singular gerunds used as subjects = singular
would v will
sentences w/ verbs in past tense should not contain will
sentence w/ verbs in present tense should not contain would
would should not appear in a clause beginning with if
gerund v infinitives
when switching a gerund with an infinitive, you must place preposition before gerund for a sentence to make sense
simple past
used for actions that began and ended in the past
past participle never used to replace simple past
past perfect
used to indicate that one of the actions occurred before the other
pronouns
singular of they will always be given as the phrase he or she when gender is not specified
missing antecedent
any pronoun in a sentence must have a clear antecedent that is a noun, pronoun, or gerund
if no gerund phrase, do it is incorrect (do so)
adjective as trick antecedent
noun has to appear in sentence!!
pronoun case
what goes for singular goes for plural (see if pronoun can stand on its own)
any pronoun that follows a preposition must be an object pronoun
parallelism
each itme should appear in the exact same format (v, v, v; n,n,n; gerund, gerund gerund)
idioms
a fixed phrase such as familiarity with is an idiom; not correct for any reason
(accept questions [from] and respond to…)
faulty comparisons
compare things to things and people to people
plural faulty comparisons
plural faulty comparisons should be correct with the phrase “those of”
the inclusion of an author or artist’s name in a sentence usually includes faulty comparison
exception to person v. thing rule
make sure the two things being compared are truly equivalent (train =! length)
word pairs
either…or
neither…nor
not only…but also
both…and
as…as
between…and
so/such…that
more/less…than
just as…so
from…to
at once…and
no sooner…than
noun agreement
nouns must agree in number when connected by a linking verb (to be, to become)
usually includes phrase “as a + profession”; any time a profession is mentioned, check noun agreement
noun agreement + faulty comparison errors are the two frequent errors involving underlined nouns
comparative v superlative
comparative= -er form of adj. or MORE + ADJ
(smaller, larger, etc.); only used to compare 2 things
superlatives= -EST form of adj. or MOST + ADJ
(smallest, largest, etc.) used to compare 3+ things
when comparative underlined, replace w/ superlative & vice versa
who v which
use who, not which when referring to people
which = comma, that = no comma
preposition + which is almost always correct
which by itself = usually wrong
which v that
“which” is preceded by comma and used to set off non-essential clause
“this” is never preceded by a comma and is used to set off an essential clause
where
places only = where
events = in which
when
when is for times/time periods
conjunctions
continuers: and, in addition, furthermore, and, etc
- indicates sentence is continuing in direction it began
contradictors: but, yet, however
- shifting direction
cause and effect: so, for, therefore, b/c, etc.
-indicate action/occurrence is causing particular result or vice versa
consider clauses joined by conjunction to see whether to contain same idea or opposing idea
only one conjunction necessary to connect 2 clauses
redundancy
annual…per year
means the same thing, only necessary to include one
diction
created by switching 2 similar or identical sounding but differently spelled words
insists…consists
a means of
nothing wrong with this phrase
means = singular, not plural
