An ELA CRCT Review

Pronoun Agreement

Basic Principle

A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number — singular/plural — with the thing to which it refers. Example: Bryan lost his book. (His is

pronoun that refers to Bryan. Example: The book had Dawn’s name

written inside its cover. (Its agrees in number with book, which is the antecedent.)

Singular and Plural Pronouns Singular

Pronouns:1. anyone, anybody,

everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, and nobody

Also always singular:

1. Either2. Neither

Plural Pronouns: Both, few, many,

several Special Case:

All, any, more most, none, some

These may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.

Pronoun Agreement Rules3. The need for pronoun-antecedent

agreement can create gender problems. One can pluralize to avoid the problem. Each student must see his counselor

before the end of the semester. Students must see their counselor

before the end of the semester.

Pronoun Agreement Rules5. Use a singular pronoun to refer to

two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor. Juan or Michael will bring his soccer

ball. Neither the mother nor the daughter

had forgotten her running shoes.

Parts of a Sentence

Subjects

Who or what a clause, phrase, or sentence is about.

Verbs (Predicates)

What a subject is doing; what is being done to it; state of being Verbs and subjects must agree in

number▪ 2 singular subjects joined by and: verb is

plural▪ 2 singular subjects connected by either… or,

or neither… nor, the verb is singular▪ 2 plural subjects connected by either… or, or

neither… nor, the verb is plural

Modifiers

Adjectives Modify nouns and pronouns Answer questions which one, what kind,

how many, how much Adverbs

Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs

Answer questions how, when, where, to what extent

Objects

Direct object – noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. I have read the book.

Indirect object – noun or pronoun for whom or to whom something was done. I read the class the entire book.

Object of a preposition – answers the question whom or what after the preposition.

Phrases

Prepositional phrases – made up of preposition plus object. Generally show location. Common prepositions: about, above,

according to, along, at, by, down, except, for, in, into, inside, outside, since, within, without.

Infinitive phrase – the word “to” plus a verb

Gerund phrase – the “-ing” form of the verb

Clauses

Group of related words which contain a subject and verb. Independent clause: contains subject,

verb, makes sense by itself. Dependent clause: may contain subject

and verb, but does not make sense by itself - fragment

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words that link parts of sentences

FANBOYS For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Sentences

Kinds: Declarative (statement), Imperative

(command), Interrogative (question), Exclamatory (strong feeling)

Patterns: S+V, S+V+O, S+V+IO+O

Forms Simple, compound, complex, compound-

complex

Punctuation

Commas 1

Use with coordinate conjunctions: FANBOYS

Use to separate main clauses within a sentence or items in a series

Use with introductory elements Use with dates (December 7, 1941) Use with addresses (3301 Shoals

School Rd, Douglasville, GA) Use with numbers (1,345,000)

Commas 2

Use with parenthetical expressions (John’s car, in my opinion, is a clunker.)

With adjectives (We felt the salty, humid air near the beach.)

Semicolons

Join related main clauses when a coordinating conjunction is not used (Sally built a tree house; she painted it blue.).

Work with conjunctive adverbs to join main clauses (I would like to go with you; however, I must visit my grandmother.)

Separate clauses when joined by words such as accordingly, besides, however, afterwards, consequently, furthermore, therefore.

Colons End main clauses and introduce

modifications Frank introduced four kinds of fish into his new

aquarium: three angels, six tetras, a pair of Bala sharks, and a spotted catfish.

Other uses Business letter salutation – Dear Mr. Brown: Title with subtitle – Dudes, My Story Biblical citation – Genesis 1:1 Bibliographic entries – Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Co.

Apostrophes

Possession Add ‘s to form the possessive of singular

and plural nouns Add ‘s to form the possessive of singular

nouns ending in s Add only an apostrophe to form the

possessive of plural nouns ending in s Omission

Cannot (can’t), will not (won’t)

Quotation Marks

Examples of direct quotations Martha whispered, “I’m scared of the

dark.” “When,” she breathed, “do we get out of

here?” Use quotation marks around article

titles, essay titles, short stories, chapter titles, song titles, poems, TV programs, movie titles.

Put periods and commas inside quotation marks.

Verb Usage

Principal Parts of a Verb

Base Form (work) Present Participle (is working) Past (worked) Past Participle (have worked)

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs form their past and past participle by adding –d or –ed to the base form. Use – used Attack – attacked Drown – drowned

Irregular Verbs

An irregular verb forms its past and past participle in some other way than by adding –d or –ed to the base form. Ring – rang Bring – brought

Verb Tense

The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or state of being expressed by the verb.

The 6 tenses are: Past perfect Past Present perfect Present Future perfect Future

Keep Tense Consistent

Inconsistent: When we were comfortable, we begin to do our homework.

Consistent: When we are comfortable, we begin to do our homework.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement 1 When the subject of a sentence is

made up of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb. She and her friends are at the fair.

When two or more singular nouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb. The book or the pen is in the drawer.

(One, but not both.)

Subject-Verb Agreement 2 When subject contains both a

singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb. The boy or his friends run every day. His friends or the boy runs every day.

Subject-Verb Agreement 3 The verb agrees with the subject, not

with a noun or pronoun in the phrase. One of the boxes is open. The people who listen to that music are

few. The team captain, as well as the

players, is anxious.

Subject-Verb Agreement 4 The words each, each one, either,

neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb. Each of these apples is rotten. No one is listening.

Fragments

Fragments 1

Fragments are incomplete sentences. Some fragments are obviously related to the sentences before or after them.

Therefore, one of the easiest ways to correct a fragment is to connect it to a nearby whole sentence.

Fragments 2

Fragment: I need to find a new friend. Because the one I have now is mean.

Revised: I need to find a new friend because the one I have now is mean.

Research & Writing

Terms to Know

WRITING TERMS

Thesis Paragraph Supporting detail Persuasive Expository Narrative Editing Proofreading Paraphrase Summary

RESEARCH TERMS

Thesaurus Dictionary Encyclopedia Table of Contents Index Primary source Secondary source Footnote Bibliography Plagiarism

The Writing Process

Prewriting Brainstorm Outline

Drafting – 1st draft Editing & Revision – examining each

part and asking if it’s really necessary or if it can be improved

Final Draft Proofreading – spelling, punctuation;

nothing major.

Sample R&W Questions

Mark is doing a presentation on the Earth’s layers. Which resource would give him information on the Earth’s core? A dictionary An encyclopedia A world atlas The Reader’s Guide to Periodical

Literature

Sample R&W Questions

Rewrite the following: The woman is our new principal standing

in the hallway.▪ Standing in the hallway, our new principal is

the woman.▪ The woman standing in the hallway is our

new principal.▪ In the hallway standing the woman is our new

principal.▪ Our new principal the woman is standing in

the hallway.