LANGUAGE ARTS 1103 A WRITING WORKSHOP

Transcription

1 Grade 11 Unit 3

2 LANGUAGE ARTS 1103 CLEAR CONNECTIONS: A WRITING WORKSHOP CONTENTS I. UNDERSTANDING PRONOUNS Nouns and Pronouns Jobs Nouns Do Jobs Personal Pronouns Do Other Types of Pronouns II. USING PRONOUNS Pronoun Case Pronoun Reference Pronoun Agreement III. WRITING STRONG SENTENCES Using Modifiers Correctly Using Parallel Structure GLOSSARY Author: Editor: Illustrator: R. Clay Conner, M.A. Alan Christopherson, M.S. Alpha Omega Graphics 804 N. 2nd Ave. E., Rock Rapids, IA MMVII by Alpha Omega Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. LIFEPAC is a registered trademark of Alpha Omega Publications, Inc. All trademarks and/or service marks referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners. Alpha Omega Publications, Inc. makes no claim of ownership to any trademarks and/or service marks other than their own and their affiliates, and makes no claim of affiliation to any companies whose trademarks may be listed in this material, other than their own.

3 CLEAR CONNECTIONS: A WRITING WORKSHOP Have you ever turned in a paper only to get it back full of red marks and strange abbreviations like REF, AGR, MM, DM, PAR? What was your teacher doing other than making your paper bleed? She was doing you an important service by showing you areas in your writing where you needed to improve. She was also getting you ready for the day when you will need to do this on your own. Just like that teacher, this unit is intended to help you increase your knowledge of English grammar so that you can become a stronger editor of your own writing. The focus is on areas where errors find their way even in to the works of accomplished writers. Take a quick test to see what you know. Which of the following sentences are incorrect? Mr. Smith, our principal, wants Jim and I to fold the flags after assembly. Coach wants we soccer players to work harder during practice. The class president plans to give Sally and she the fund-raising project. John explained that though he might not finish the test, him doing his best was what really mattered. Senator Franks is the man whom I think should run for president. Late and damp from the heavy rain, the meeting was off to a poor start. The general s plan was to move his troops into the protective cover of the forest and setting up camp before nightfall. If you don t know the answer now, look the sentences over again after you have completed this unit. OBJECTIVES Read these objectives. The objectives tell you what you will be able to do when you have successfully completed this LIFEPAC. Each section will list according to the numbers below what objectives will be met in that section. When you have finished this LIFEPAC, you should be able to: 1. Connect pronouns to the noun functions they perform. 2. List the pronoun classes, describe the function of each, and identify examples in sentences. 3. Use methods of problem solving to determine if a sentence is grammatically correct. 4. Differentiate between person, number, gender, and case. 5. Identify and correct errors in pronoun usage (case, reference, and agreement). 6. Identify and correct dangling, squinting, and misplaced modifiers. 7. Identify and correct faulty parallelism. 8. Write sentences correctly using pronouns, modifiers, and parallel sentence structures. Survey the LIFEPAC. Ask yourself some questions about this study. Write your questions here. 1

4 I. UNDERSTANDING PRONOUNS Between you and I, pronouns can be kind of tricky. Figuring out the differences between who and whom, which and that, and each other versus one another can make your head spin and your tongue tied. Pronouns remain one of the aspects of language most resistant to mastery, even by native speakers. This is why they also represent one of the major sources of language change as well as of error in student writing. In this section, you will review noun functions in sentences in order to set up discussion concerning the role of pronouns in sentences. You will survey the types of personal pronouns; the pronoun chart; the basic distinctions between case, gender, number, and person; and the other seven pronoun classes. A solid working knowledge of the pronoun system is the first step toward ridding your writing of pronoun errors like the one in the first sentence of this introduction. Did you catch it? SECTION OBJECTIVES Review these objectives. When you have completed this section, you should be able to: 1. Connect pronouns to the noun functions they perform. 2. List the pronoun classes, describe the function of each, and identify examples in sentences. 3. Use methods of problem solving to determine if a sentence is grammatically correct. 4. Differentiate between person, number, gender, and case. SECTION VOCABULARY Study these words to enhance your learning success in this section. case number demonstrative pronoun person gender personal pronoun indefinite pronoun reciprocal pronoun independent possessive reflexive pronoun intensive pronoun relative pronoun interrogative pronoun Note: All vocabulary words in this LIFEPAC appear in boldface print the first time they are used. If you are unsure of the meaning when you are reading, study the definitions given. NOUNS AND PRONOUNS Long ago and far away, you learned that the words of English fall into eight categories known as the parts of speech. These include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. You may have memorized some definitions: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A verb is a word that shows action or state of being. An adjective An adverb It s the definition of pronoun that we want to review for this lesson. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. 2

5 One logical question to ask is, Why would we need a pronoun to do this? Consider this line from John Wesley s hymn And Can It Be. And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Savior s blood? Died he for me who caused his pain For me who him to death pursued? Look at what happens if we replace the pronouns with the nouns they represent. And can the circumstance be that John should gain An interest in the Savior s blood? Died the Savior for John? John caused the Savior s pain. For John? John pursued the Savior to death. Not only have we wrecked Wesley s poetry, but we have also used John and Savior four times each in four lines. Quite clearly, pronouns give us a way to avoid endless repetition of nouns. We don t seem to mind using lots of pronouns, since as words go, they re not as noticeable as nouns. If we compare the two examples above, we notice that the words I, me, and who are pronouns referring to John. He and him refer to Savior. The variety of pronouns in the passage reminds us that pronouns not only replace nouns, they do the same job as the nouns replaced. In line 1, John is the subject of a noun clause; so is I. In line 3, Savior is the subject of a sentence; so is He. In line 3, John is the object of a preposition; so is me. In line 3, Savior s is a possessive noun; so is his. In line 4, John an object of a preposition; so is him. In line 4, the second John is a subject; so is who. In line 4, Savior is a direct object; so is him. JOBS NOUNS DO The relationship between nouns and pronouns is clear. Whatever a noun does in a sentence, the pronoun replacing it does too. This relationship is the key to understanding and using pronouns correctly, but it requires an understanding of noun functions and the ability to recognize which function a noun is serving at a given time. In the sentences below, the noun phrase the President does all of the jobs typical of nouns. Study the chart carefully. Especially note the questions you can ask in order to identify noun functions. subject the main idea or topic of the sentence; found by asking Who or what is this sentence about? or Who or what is doing or being something in the sentence? direct object the direct receiver of the verb s action; found by first locating the subject and verb and then asking who or what indirect object the indirect receiver of the verb s action; found by first locating the subject, verb, and direct object and then asking To whom? or For whom? The President addressed both houses in explaining the decision to go to war. Who or what is the sentence about? Who or what is doing or being something? The President. The Prime Minister invited the President to address Parliament. The Prime Minister invited who or what? The President. Congress sent the President a bill to sign into law. Congress sent a bill to whom? The President. 3

6 predicate nominative the word or phrase in the predicate that renames the subject; follows intransitive linking verbs; found by first locating the subject and verb and then replacing the verb with an equals (=) sign. object of the preposition the noun or noun phrase following a preposition; found by first locating a preposition and then finding the noun or noun phrase immediately following it. NOTE: successfully identifying prepositions requires memorization of the list of common prepositions. appositive the word or phrase immediately following and renaming another word or phrase; often set apart by commas; found by locating two noun phrases, one of which renames the other. If the two phrases are separated by a verb, the second phrase is not an appositive. possessive noun a word or phrase that shows ownership of something or someone; possessive nouns are marked with apostrophe and s ( s); subject of gerund a possessive word or phrase immediately preceding a gerund subject; gerunds are verbs acting as nouns; gerunds always end in ing. The man of the hour is the President. man =? man = the President Every bill requires the signature of the President in order to become law. Any prepositions? of What noun or noun phrase immediately follows the preposition? the President Therefore, the President is the object of the preposition. The key political figure at the U.N. summit, the President himself, will speak at noon. What word or phrase renames another word or phrase in this sentence? Is any word or phrase set off by commas? The President himself is set apart with commas and renames the key political figure Are these phrases separated by a verb? No. Therefore the President himself is an appositive. The network news broadcast the President s speech internationally. Who or what owns something in this sentence? The President owns the speech. President is marked with s. Therefore the President s is a possessive noun phrase. The President s negotiating helped to restore peace between the feuding countries. Is there a possessive word or phrase in this sentence? The President. Is it immediately preceding a verb form ending in ing? Yes negotiating. Is negotiating acting like a noun? Yes. It s acting as the subject of the sentence. Therefore, the President s is the subject of a gerund. This survey of noun functions is an important beginning to understanding how the pronoun system works. Spend as much time as you need to in order to master the process of identifying noun functions. The exercises below should help. 4

7 Match the type of noun to its definition and location clues. 1.1 direct object 1.2 possessive noun 1.3 subject 1.4 indirect object 1.5 appositive 1.6 object of the preposition 1.7 predicate nominative 1.8 subject of gerund a. the main idea or topic of the sentence; found by asking Who or what is this sentence about? or Who or what is doing or being something in the sentence? b. the direct receiver of the verb s action; found by first locating the subject and verb and then asking who or what c. the indirect receiver of the verb s action; found by first locating the subject, verb, and direct object and then asking To whom? or For whom? d. the word or phrase in the predicate that renames the subject; follows intransitive linking verbs; found by first locating the subject and verb and then replacing the verb with an equals (=) sign e. the noun or noun phrase following a preposition; found by first locating a preposition and then finding the noun or noun phrase immediately following it f. the word or phrase immediately following and renaming another word or phrase; often set apart by commas; found by locating two noun phrases one of which renames the other g. a word or phrase that shows ownership of something or someone; marked with apostrophe and s ( s); a possessive word or phrase immediately preceding an -ing verb acting as a noun h. a possessive word or phrase immediately preceding a gerund subject; gerunds are verbs acting as nouns; gerunds always end in -ing Identify the function of the italicized nouns, using the abbreviations in the table below. Noun Function subject direct object indirect object predicate nominative object of preposition appositive subject of gerund possessive noun S DO IO PN OP AP SG POS 1.9 The ancient Egyptians established a civilization along the Nile River The fertile soil along the river gave the Egyptians the 1.11 ability to establish a thriving culture The Egyptians religious beliefs played an important part in their culture The most powerful person among the Egyptians was their 1.14 Pharaoh, 1.15 the king of Egypt The Egyptians desiring of immortality made them spend much of their lives preparing for death. 5

8 JOBS PERSONAL PRONOUNS DO Look in any dictionary and you ll find thousands of nouns hundreds of thousands, actually. Nouns make up close to half of the words in our language. You can t memorize them all; you simply learn to recognize them based on what they look like and what they do. Linguists describe nouns as an open class because new nouns appear in the language all the time. Ipod, blog, and gamer are just a few that have popped up during your lifetime. Pronouns, on the other hand, are a closed class. It s the job of 100 or so pronouns to represent all those nouns. This means that certain pronouns get used in several situations. Knowing one type from another can get confusing, especially when forms are identical. What s the difference between you and you, for example? What about his and his? See? The chart below repeats the sentences examined earlier. This time, the pronouns that can replace the noun phrase the President appear. subject direct object He addressed both houses in explaining the decision to go to war. The Prime Minister invited him to address Parliament. indirect object Congress sent him a bill to sign into law. predicate nominative object of the preposition appositive possessive noun subject of gerund The man of the hour is he. Every bill requires the signature of him in order to become law. The key political figure at the U.N. summit, he himself, will speak at noon. The network news broadcast his speech internationally. His negotiating helped to restore peace between the feuding countries. Of that hundred-or-so pronouns, we selected only three to replace the President he, him, and his. These three belong to a class known as the personal pronouns. Their job is clear from their name: personal pronouns take the place of nouns naming people. In the sentences above, he, him, and his are communicating four important things that all personal pronouns tell us: 1. Gender. Whoever the President is, we know that the person is a male. He, him and his are masculine pronouns. 2. Number. Whoever the President is, we know that there s only one. He, him, and his are singular pronouns. 3. Person. Whoever the President is, we know that we re talking about him, not to him. He, him, and his are third-person pronouns. 4. Case. Whoever the President is, we know that we ve used three pronouns to handle eight different jobs of nouns. a. We used he to handle the jobs of subject and predicate nominative. He is a nominative case pronoun. 6

9 b. We used him to handle the jobs of direct object, indirect object, and object of the preposition. Him is an objective case pronoun. c. We used his to handle the job of showing ownership. His is a possessive case pronoun. You now know enough to make sense of the entire class of personal pronouns, which appears below: NOMINATIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL first I we second you you third he, she, it they OBJECTIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL first me us second you you third him, her, it them POSSESSIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL first my, mine our, ours second your, yours your, yours third his, her, hers, its their, theirs 7

10 Notice that the possessive case is a set of pronoun pairs. Consider how these work in the following sentences. I left my jacket in the car. Now, I m wishing I hadn t. That jacket is mine! I ve been looking for it for two weeks! The difference between my and mine in these sentences relates to each word s function. My acts as an adjective pointing out which jacket is being discussed. Mine acts as an independent possessive. That is, it stands on its own, replacing the noun phrase my jacket to eliminate repetition. That jacket is my jacket. That jacket is mine. In replacing my jacket, mine serves as possessor (the person owning the jacket) and possessed (the jacket itself). It also takes over the sentence function, in this case, predicate nominative. Note: Don t confusing certain possessives with other words. Its and it s are not the same word. Their is not the same as they re or there. Use the pronoun charts on the previous page to identify the correct pronouns is the first person-singular, nominative case personal pronoun is the second person-plural, objective case personal pronoun is the third person-singular, masculine, objective case personal pronoun is the third person-plural, independent possessive personal pronoun Name the masculine pronoun that uses the same form for possessive adjective and independent possessive. 8

11 Identify the pronoun in the sentence. Indicate its person, number, gender, case, and noun function served. If the pronoun has no specific gender, enter NONE. Although Jennifer was tired, she still had enough energy to run one more lap pronoun 1.25 gender 1.23 person 1.26 case 1.24 number The team poured a bucket of ice water over their coach to celebrate the victory pronoun 1.30 gender 1.28 person 1.31 case 1.29 number While teammates sprinted toward midfield, Jones punted the ball over them pronoun 1.35 gender 1.33 person 1.36 case 1.34 number The Wildcats claimed that the ball was theirs after going went out of bounds pronoun 1.40 gender 1.38 person 1.41 case 1.39 number Gentlemen, the coach barked, you need to play hard to win pronoun 1.45 gender 1.43 person 1.46 case 1.44 number OTHER TYPES OF PRONOUNS The remaining words in the pronoun system fall into seven types, based on their function in the sentence. These types do more than just replace nouns. They allow for situations in which a noun is not known or needed. Interrogative Pronouns. These are words used to ask questions. Here s a typical situation. A father calls to his son from the garage: Dad: Jason: Dad: Jason, I need you to call to find out when the ball game starts. Dad, who do I call? John, our neighbor. 9

12 Jason may not be aware of it, but he s just used an interrogative pronoun who. He did this in order to ask a question regarding a noun (the name of the neighbor). For the time being, who takes the place of the missing noun John until the question is answered. The set of interrogative pronouns includes who, whose, whom, which, what. The first three are actually just one pronoun who with three forms to represent the three cases discussed earlier. Who is nominative, whom is objective, and whose is possessive. Study their use in the following sentences. Who knows how to get to the mall? (Who is the subject) Whom should I call if I need help? (Whom is the direct object) Whose is this pen? (Whose is an independent possessive) All three sentences are asking the same question Who? All three appear at the front of the sentence, the typical position for interrogatives. Demonstrative Pronouns. This, that, these, those the job of these four pronouns is to point things out. Study the table below to see how they work: nearby farther away singular this that plural these those Like the personal pronouns, demonstratives can act as adjectives when pointing out nouns, or they can appear independently, as the example sentences show. The nouns (in parentheses) are optional as long as both speaker and listener know what the pronouns are referring to. This (book) is much better than those (magazines). These (apple slices) taste better than that (mango). Sometimes demonstrative pronouns appear with the word kind as in I like this kind of fruit best. When used with these or those, kind picks up the plural marker. Examples of proper use with kind appear below: Singular: I like this kind better than that kind. Plural: Those kinds of animals make better pets than these kinds. Relative Pronouns. Who, whose, whom, which, that these important words help eliminate repetition of noun phrases through a process called sentence embedding. If you ever heard the poem This is the House that Jack Built as a child, then you know how relative pronouns work. This is the cat that ate the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built. The underlying structure of this sentence is actually five sentences. This is the cat. The cat ate the rat. The rat ate the malt. The malt lay in the house. Jack built the house. Note that four of the noun phrases appear twice. Relative pronouns help to eliminate this needless repetition. 10

13 that (S) that (S) that (S) This is the cat. The cat ate the rat. The rat ate the malt. The malt lay in the that (D.O.) house ˆ Jack built the house. The result is a single sentence in which four of the original sentences have been embedded as adjective clauses. Notice a few things about adjective clauses: 1. Clauses of this type are a lot like sentences, except they cannot stand alone without the noun phrases they lost. 2. The relative pronoun always introduces the adjective clause. 3. The relative pronoun takes on the function of the noun phrase it replaces. In the example above, the first three that s act as the subjects of their clauses. The last that is the direct object of the action verb built. The relative pronouns who, whom, and whose, like the interrogative forms discussed above, are actually three forms of who. Who is nominative, whom is objective, and whose is possessive. The sentences below show how the form changes depending on the noun function served. My teacher, who is a fine musician, will give a recital next week. (subject) The conductor, with whom I met after the concert, is brilliant. (object of prep.) The composer whose music I studied writes prolifically. (possessive adjective) Additionally, the forms of who, that, and which are further distinguished in formal English. Who is used to refer to people, which to things, and that to both people and things. Indefinite Pronouns. These words serve noun functions when specific persons or things are unknown. A large group of pronouns are included in this class, including words like all, any, anyone, anybody, anything, some, someone, somebody, everyone, everybody, none, nothing, one, no one, both, few, several, and many. Has anyone seen my watch? Some of the players haven t yet arrived at the practice field. We can t do anything about the leaky faucet, so somebody call the plumber! Reflexive Pronouns. Closely related to personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns serve as direct or indirect objects to show that that action of the verb falls back on the subject. Like predicate nominatives, reflexive pronouns rename their subjects. The athlete hurt himself badly when he turned his ankle on a stone. The wise always give themselves time for silence, prayer, and reflection. Delight thyself also in the Lord. (Psalm 37: 4a) Intensive Pronouns. Identical in form to reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns also refer back to a noun or noun phrase. The difference is that intensive pronouns do not serve a noun function in the sentence. Instead, they intensify meaning by deliberately renaming the preceding noun. I met the President himself during his campaign tour. Shakespeare couldn t have said it better himself. The chart below includes the major reflexive and intensive pronouns. These words are sometimes called compound personal pronouns. REFLEXIVE / INTENSIVE PRONOUNS person singular plural first myself ourselves second yourself yourselves third himself, herself, itself themselves 11

14 Reciprocal Pronouns. The seventh class of pronouns includes just two compounds: one another and each other. These pronouns are very closely related, to the point that many people use them interchangeably. Both emphasize the mutual responsibility of two or more people in a relationship. The sentences below represent typical use: Love one another. (1 John 3:11) They love each other very much. Good friends treat each other with respect. Good friends care for one another. Traditionally, some grammarians have restricted each other to refer to two people and one another to three or more. However, good writers past and present have not always made this distinction. Identify the class of the italicized pronoun in each sentence A good scientist equips himself with the right tools and the right questions Einstein himself would be amazed at the growth in technology based on his theories Scientists test one another s hypotheses to make sure 1.50 they are sound Scientific discoveries have led to an improved standard of living for many Who invented the telescope? 1.53 Galileo challenged the geocentric model of the solar system, and this led to his persecution by the medieval church Is Percival Lowell the astronomer whom we credit for discovering Pluto? 1.55 Whom do we credit for discovering Mars? 1.56 These are truly amazing discoveries! Review the material in this section in preparation for the Self Test. The Self Test will check your mastery of this particular section. The items missed on this Self Test will indicate specific areas where restudy is needed for mastery. 12

15 SELF TEST 1 Match the vocabulary word to its definition (each answer, 1 point) intensive pronoun 1.02 reflexive pronoun 1.03 personal pronoun 1.04 interrogative pronoun 1.05 demonstrative pronoun 1.06 reciprocal pronoun 1.07 person 1.08 gender 1.09 case indefinite pronoun number relative pronoun a. a pronoun that points out a particular person or thing b. a pronoun whose antecedent is nonspecific c. categories such as masculine, feminine, and neuter into which words are divided d. one of a class of pronouns used to stand for nouns representing first, second, and third person e. the form of a word marking singular or plural f. a self-pronoun which serves to emphasize a preceding noun g. the form of a pronoun indicating the person speaking, person spoken to, or person or thing spoken about h. the grammatical relationships between words in a sentence and the forms of words used to communicate those relationships i. a self-pronoun that acts as an indirect or direct object and moves the action of the verb back on the subject j. a pronoun used in asking a question k. a pronoun communicating mutual relationship or responsibility l. a pronoun that introduces a relative clause and references the element modified Fill out the pronoun chart (each answer, 1 point) NOMINATIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL OBJECTIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL POSSESSIVE CASE PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL 13

16 Underline the pronoun in each sentence. Identify the noun function and class of each pronoun in the blanks provided. Use the abbreviations below in your answers. For intensive pronouns, put NONE for noun function (each answer, 3 points). Noun Function Pronoun Class subject S personal P direct object DO interrogative INT indirect object IO relative REL predicate nominative PN demonstrative DEM object of preposition OP reflexive REF appositive AP intensive INN subject of gerund SG indefinite IND possessive noun POS reciprocal REC Example 1.xxxx S P You need to choose the right pronoun Everybody needs a friend The coach himself decided to play during practice Jessie injured the same ankle that was hurt before Whom should Sally call in an emergency? Jessie hurt herself again Robert was successful because his planning paid off Learning to get along with each other requires unselfishness That was a very long phone call Tim said he needed more time to make the decision Mr. Smith gave it one more try before giving up on the mower The student chosen to raise the flag was he Due to the large storm approaching, three students, Jamie, Lisa, and I, were allowed to leave early Score Adult Check Initial Date 14