Mechanics+and+semantics+of+sentenceclass+notes Cs Pg +iii+sem 4h6717

Class notes: Communication Skills(PG III Sem) Parts of Speech Overview I. Nouns: A noun is a word that denotes a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns answer the questions who and what. Example1: The dog ran after the ball. Example 2: She possesses integrity. Example 3: He was searching for love. Example 4: She visited Chicago every year. Example 5: Thanksgiving is in November. Example 6: We don't have much time to get this done. Example 7: Many Americans travel to Europe. II. Pronouns: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence. Example1: She decided to go to a movie. Example2: She planned to ask him for an interview. Example 3: Everybody ought to do his or her best. (NOT: their best) Example 4: Neither of the girls brought her umbrella. (NOT: their umbrellas) III. Articles: Articles include a, an, and the. They precede a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence. Example 1: They wanted a house with a big porch. Example 2: He bought the blue sweater on sale.

IV. Adjectives: An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may precede nouns, or they may appear after a form of the reflexive verb to be (am, are, is, was, etc.). Example 1: We live in the red brick house. Example 2: She is tall for her age. V. Verbs: A verb is a word that denotes action, or a state of being, in a sentence. Example 1: Beth rides the bus every day. Example 2: Paul was an avid reader. Example 3: She turned the key and opened the door. Example 4: Jackson was studying when I saw him last. VI. Adverbs: Just as adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify, or further describe, verbs. Adverbs may also modify adjectives. Example 1: He waved wildly to get her attention. Example 2: The shirt he wore to the party was extremely bright. Example 3: The grapes looked ripe but tasted sour. VII. Conjunctions: A conjunction is a word that s two independent clauses, or sentences, together. Example 1: Ellen wanted to take drive into the city, but the cost of gasoline was too high. Example 2: Richard planned to study abroad in Japan, so he decided to learn the language. VIII. Prepositions: Prepositions work in combination with a noun or pronoun to create phrases that modify verbs, nouns/pronouns, or adjectives. Prepositional phrases convey a spatial, temporal, or directional meaning.

Example 1: Ivy climbed up the brick wall of the house. Example 2: I will see you on Monday.

Rules on sentence Construction I. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree 1. She and her friends are at the fair. 2. The book or the pen is in the drawer. 3. The boy or his friends run every day. 4.His friends or the boy runs every day. 5. He doesn't like it. 6. They don't like it. 7. One of the boxes is open 8. The people who listen to that music are few. 9. The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious. 10. The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring. 11. The woman with all the dogs walks down my street. 12. Each of these hot dogs is juicy. 13. Everybody knows Mr. Jones. 14. Either is correct. 15. The news is on at six. 16. Five dollars is a lot of money. 17. Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia. 18. These scissors are dull. 19. Those tros are made of wool. 20. The team runs during practice. 21. The committee decides how to proceed. 22. The family has a long history. 23. My family has never been able to agree. 24. The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India. 25. All of the books, including yours, are in that box.

II. Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them Dangling Modifiers: A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept. Incorrect: Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on. Correct: Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.

Strategies for revising dangling modifiers: 1. Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as the subject of the main clause: Incorrect: Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed. Correct: Having arrived late for practice, the team captain needed a written excuse.

2. Change the phrase that dangles into a complete introductory clause by naming the doer of the action in that clause: Incorrect: Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him. Correct: Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him.

3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one: Incorrect: To improve his results, the experiment was done again. Correct: He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

More examples of dangling modifiers and their revisions: 1. Incorrect: After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing. 2. Incorrect: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place to relax.

3. Incorrect: The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

Solution: Dangling Modifiers 1. Revised: After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing. 2. Revised: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at home. 3. Revised: They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

III. Parallel Structure Parallel structure: Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

Examples of parallel construction: Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling. Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle. OR Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.

Do not mix forms: Example 1: Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner. Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly. Example 2: Not Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his motivation was low. Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked motivation.

More examples of unparallel structures and their revisions: 1. Not parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game. 2. Not parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that question would be asked by prospective buyers. 3. Not parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs. Solution: Parallel Structure 1. Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game. 2. Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions. 3. Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.

IV:Sentence Fragments Fragments: Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence. 

Fragment: Amity offers many majors in engineering. Such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Possible Revision: Amity offers many majors in

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engineering, such as electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering. Fragment: Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game. Leaving her team at a time when we needed her. Possible Revision: Coach Dietz exemplified this behavior by walking off the field in the middle of a game, leaving her team at a time when we needed her. Fragment: I need to find a new roommate. Because the one I have now isn't working out too well. Possible Revision: I need to find a new roommate because the one I have now isn't working out too well. Fragment: The current city policy on housing is incomplete as it stands. Which is why we believe the proposed amendments should be ed. Possible Revision: Because the current city policy on housing is incomplete as it stands, we believe the proposed amendments should be ed.

More examples of Sentence Fragments and their revisions: 1. Fragment: With the ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product. 2. Fragment: By paying too much attention to polls can make a political leader unwilling to propose innovative policies. 3. Fragment: For doing freelance work for a competitor got Phil fired. Solution: Sentence Fragments 1. The ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product. Possible Revisions: 2. Paying too much attention to polls can make a political leader unwilling to propose innovative policies. 3. Doing freelance work for a competitor got Phil fired.