English Language & Grammar

Thu Nov 5 2009 2:30-4:30PM
F 223

Fri Nov 6 2009 2:30-5:30PM
J 201

Mon Nov 9 2009 2:30-5:30PM
F 121

Tue Nov 10 2009 2:30-5:30PM
J 201

Wed Nov 11 2009 2:30-5:30PM
J 201

Thu Nov 12 2009 2:30-5:30PM
F 223

Select the link below to find answers to the last test.

2F2009Ans

Folks, I’ll be in J-201 for extra grammar work starting at 2:30.

My boiler issue has been resolved.

Wednesday, Oct 21 2009 2:30-5:30PM
in J 201

Thursday Oct 22 2009 2:30-5:30PM *(if the furnace repairman arrives early enough — keep your eye on this blog)
in J-201

I’ve read your life with language essays and will return them Monday.

I’ve been thinking about Kayla and Gabe’s questions about linking verbs and participles and want to expand, and somewhat deepen, my answer.

As I suggested in class, every verb can be conjugated into several forms, two of which are participial forms.

To eat (infinitive form)
eat (present tense form)
ate (past tense form)
eating (present participial form)
eaten (past participial form)

In order for the present or past participial form to function as main verbs, they need helpers, thus “is eating,” “was eating,” “has eaten,” or “will have eaten,” etc.

But as we have noted, some constructions look a lot like linking constructions. Are they? My best advice is to consider all of these constructions as main verbs with auxiliaries, yet distinctions can and should be made. Consider the following sentences.

Zoey’s manner is engaging.

After dinner, she was tired

The man was running for his life.

Each sentence can be described as having a verb phrase comprised of an auxiliary followed by a participle. Yet in the first two sentences, the participles may reasonably be seen to have modification power over the subjects. In other words you can usefully describe them as predicate adjectives. In the third sentence, this is more difficult to argue because the participle “running” pretty forcefully describes an action in itself, not the subject of the sentence.

Here is a simple guideline to make such distinctions.

Any participle that follows a linking verb and that clearly describes the subject may be identified as a subject complement. A participle that follows a linking verb but denotes action should be described as the main verb following its auxiliary.

All of this is lovely — we can begin to discriminate between the quality of verb phrases that make use of participles, but the subject still remains tricky and open to interpretation. How would you classify the verbs below?

Zoey’s favorite activity is sleeping.

Zoey is sleeping.

(I’ve seen the first described as a linking verb with participle; we wouldn’t say that about the second would we?)

Take a look here to see what the Grammar Girl says about using “good” vs. “well” in the sentences “I am good” or “I am well.”

Monday, Oct 19 2009 2:30-5:30PM
in J 201

Tuesday Oct 20 2009 2:30-5:30PM
in J-201

Okay folks, if you can make it Grammar Practice Class will be on tomorrow and Friday at the following locations:

Thursday Oct 15, 2009 2:30-5:30PM in F 223 (that’s our standard classroom)

Friday Oct 16, 2009 2:30-4:30PM in F 122.

Show up any time for as short or long as you care to do. If you can make it great, if not, keep working.

Here are the answer sheets for the first test.

1st Test Answers

Currently the syllabus reads for Wednesday:

W 9/16 Outline of first essay due in class with draft of opening paragraph.

I’m postponing that outline and draft one class period until Friday.

See also the homework assignment below. It’s due Wednesday.

Folks,

I meant to ask you to do the assignment below today in class, but did not get to it. I will ask you to do this on Monday (for Wednesday), but you can get a jump on it over the weekend if you want to do so.

In addition to continuing to read Daniels & Daniels and completing the appropriate handouts, please do the following for next Monday (September 14).

Homework
• Simple sentence = independent clause
• compound sentence = two or more independent clauses
• complex sentence = independent clause and dependent clause
• compound-complex sentence = at least two independent clauses and
at least one dependent clause

Please compose and bring to class the two sentences (so ten in all) that fit each
of the following requirements.

1) A compound sentence that uses PA in one clause and a PN in the other
clause
2) A complex sentence that makes use of DO and OC in both clauses
3) A compound-complex sentence that uses IO and DO in one clause and
DO and OC in another clause
4) A sentence that makes use of at least 5 prepositional phrases
5) A sentence that has at least one adjectival prepositional phrase and one
adverbial prepositional phrase

See the following screen cast for a description of the grammar in the sentence “Find out whom else!”

 Find out whom else!: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hi folks. The syllabus has been updated. Find it here.