problems

Common problemsBy Bradley Wilson, Ph.D.With thanks to Martin “Red” Gibson

• Don’t teach grammar just for the sake of grammar. Those educators were right that diagramming for the thrill of getting the little words on all the right lines isn’t very useful. But do focus on the important problems students have and give them the necessary feedback.

Teaching grammar

The biggies? Pronoun-antecedent agreement, subject-verb agreement, parallelism – or lack of it, that and which, who and whom, possessives and contractions, dangling and misplaced modifiers, passive voice and commas, commas, commas.

Candace Perkins BowenKent State University

Subject/verb agreement

• One of the cheerleaders who went with the team is/are planning to take pictures.



• Is. One is singular. It takes a singular verb.




• Getting ready for the holidays is/are a lot of work.




• Getting ready for the holidays is/are a lot of work.

• Is. Take out the prepositional phrase. Substitute a pronoun. “It is a lot of work.”


• The president of the University Programming Board, along with all the board members, is/are having a party.



• Is. The president is having a party. He is singular.



• Is. The president is having a party. He is singular.

• Each of the girls has/have to prepare a paper for the class.


• The Society of Professional Journalists is/are having a meeting this week.



• Is. Again, substitute a pronoun for the proper noun. “It is having a meeting.”




• The Midwestern Singers choir has/have a concert next week.




• The Midwestern Singers choir has/have a concert next week.

• Has. “It has a concert next week.” Not “they.”


• The choir members is/are voting to sing a religious hymn.



• Are. Again, substitute a pronoun for the proper noun. “They are voting…”




• Each of the two dozen choir members is/are casting a vote.




• Each of the two dozen choir members is/are casting a vote.

• Is. Each takes a singular verb. Period.


• My luggage has/have been stolen.



• Has. Some collective nouns are considered singular, including luggage, baggage, equipment, etc.




• The congregation is/are deep in prayer.




• The congregation is/are deep in prayer.

• Is. Even though it refers to a group of people, it is singular.


• The committee was/were shuffling their feet and scratching its/their heads.



• Were. Their. Collective nouns take plural verbs when the group is meant to be thought of as individuals.



• Were. Their. Collective nouns take plural verbs when the group is meant to be thought of as individuals.

• The bacteria, she said, was/were quite interesting.


• There exist/exists many beasts in the wilderness.



• Exist. Substitute the subject following the verb to determine agreement.




• Here is/are the horseshoes.




• Here is/are the horseshoes.

• Are. Again, the real subject is after the verb.


• None of the cards was/were in its right place.



• Was. When it means “no single one,” it takes a singular verb.




• None of the consultants agree/agrees on whether or not to destroy records.




• None of the consultants agree/agrees on whether or not to destroy records.

• Agree. Use a plural verb with none when the sense is no two or no amount.


Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement


• The soccer team won its/their first game.



• Its. The collective group is one unit. Singular.




• Neither of the students had his/their paper completed.




• Neither of the students had his/their paper completed.

• His. Singular. To avoid his/her, try using plural subjects and verbs.

• Everyone scratched his/their own back.



• His. Or her. But in either case, it’s singular.




• Everyone’s coloring her/their hair these days.




• Everyone’s coloring her/their hair these days.

• His. Singular. Sorry, not to be sexist, but style rules say that indefinite antecedents take “his.” But the language is evolving.


• Flores and Hofmann licked his/their chops.



• Their. Two or more antecedents joined by and take a plural pronoun.




• The football team play/plays well together.




• The football team play/plays well together.

• Plays. Just remember that those groups are “its” and not “theys.”


Passive voice

• The bum was bullied by the gang members.

Passive voice


• The gang members bullied the bum. Active voice is almost always preferable.

Passive voice



• Her tutu was tugged on by him.

Passive voice



• Her tutu was tugged on by him.

• He tugged on her tutu. Notice that the pronoun in the objective cases moves to the nominative case.

Passive voice

Passive voice

• The faux pas was ignored for several days.

Passive voice


• Sometimes who did the acting is unknown. Then passive voice works.

Passive voice



• The president was assassinated.

Passive voice



• The president was assassinated.

• Until we know who was the killer, passive voice works. Even once you know, emphasizing the president and the action may

Passive voice

Passive voice

• The source was being interviewed by the reporter when the phone rang.

Passive voice

• The source was being interviewed by the reporter when the phone rang.

• The reporter was interviewing the source when the phone rang.

Passive voice

That and which

That and which• Everyone likes a ship that/which doesn’t sink.


• That. That is the preferred pronoun to introduce essential clauses that refer to inanimate objects or animals without names.



• There isn’t a single item in my closet that/which would conform to the dress code.



• There isn’t a single item in my closet that/which would conform to the dress code.

• That. Again, this essential clause modifies

That and which

• The crawdads that/which remain on their plates will be cat food.

That and which


• That. Once again, essential. No commas.

That and which



• The daffodils that/which were left at her doorstep were a sign of love.

That and which



• The daffodils that/which were left at her doorstep were a sign of love.

• That. Again, this essential clause modifies daffodils.

That and which

That and which

• The crawdads, that/which were once pets living in an aquarium, made a fine meal.

That and which


• Which. Nonessential. Nonrestrictive. Can be cut.

That and which



• The message, that/which may have been written in Russian, fell into the wrong hands.

That and which



• The message, that/which may have been written in Russian, fell into the wrong hands.

• Which. Nonrestrictive. Nonessential. Commas.

That and which

That and which

• Note that “that” is ordinarily found leading into a restrictive clause, while “which” announces the arrival of nonrestrictive clauses.

That and which


• Essential = restrictive. Cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence.

That and which


• Essential = restrictive. Cannot be eliminated without changing the meaning of the sentence.

• Nonessential = nonrestrictive. Can be eliminated without altering the basic meaning of the sentence. Set off with commas.

That and which

Who and whom

• The woman who/whom rented the room left the window open.

Who and whom


• Who is functioning as the subject of that clause.

Who and whom



• The woman from who/whom I rented the room left the window open.

Who and whom




• In this case, whom. It’s the object of the preposition from and is, therefore, the objective case.

Who and whom




• In this case, whom. It’s the object of the preposition from and is, therefore, the objective case.

• Who/Whom do you wish to see?

Who and whom

Who and whom

• The seamstress who/whom is stroking the cement gargoyle has green hair.

Who and whom


• Who. Again, it’s functioning as the subject of that clause. Furthermore, it’s essential and therefore not set off by commas.

Who and whom



• Deborah Luminary, who/whom keeps cats, works for the city of Wichita Falls.

Who and whom



• Deborah Luminary, who/whom keeps cats, works for the city of Wichita Falls.

• Who. Nominative. Nonessential. Commas.

Who and whom

Contractions

• Jack Fuller, the maestro, who’s/whose playing tuba in a recital next week, is a famous conductor.

Contractions


• Who’s. It’s the contraction of who is. And this nonessential clause needs a verb. Whose is a possessive pronoun.

Contractions



• It’s/Its snowing outside.

Contractions



• It’s/Its snowing outside.

• Every sentences must have a verb. In this case, the verb is part of the contraction: “it is.”

Contractions

Possessives

• Remember, possessive pronouns, by their very nature, are possessive. They NEVER require an apostrophe.

Possessives

Possessives

• Those clarinets are yours/yours’.

Possessives


• Yours. Remember, possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe.

Possessives



• Thank you for your/you’re honesty.

Possessives




• Your. Possessive pronoun, not a contraction.

Possessives




• Your. Possessive pronoun, not a contraction.

• Its/It’s grenades were better than ours.

Possessives

Possessives

• That slab of pork is Allisons/Allison’s.

Possessives

• That slab of pork is Allisons/Allison’s.• Add the apostrophe to form a possessive.

Possessives


• That slab of marble is ours/ours’.

Possessives


• That slab of marble is ours/ours’.• For personal pronouns, remember, there is no apostrophe in the

possessive case.

Possessives

Possessives

• The maestro, who’s/whose playing tuba in a recital next week, is a famous conductor.

Possessives

• The maestro, who’s/whose playing tuba in a recital next week, is a famous conductor.


Possessives

BY BRADLEY WILSON, PH.D.

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BRADLEYWILSONONLINE.NET

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PHOTO BY KEVIN NIBUR

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