Correct the following errors: 2/7/12

1. Correct the following errors:2/7/12 • Neither of the two young girls with whom I watched the first moon landing expressed their feelings out loud, but I knew that all three of us wanted to be astronauts. • Before the moon landing, the TV announcer gave some additional background on the astronauts, about who we were all quite interested. • The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. • Each of these moments have played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June.

2. ACT Preparation: March 6, 2012 • Sentence Structure • Combining Sentences • Fused, Fragments, and Comma Splices • Parallel Structure and Dangling Modifiers • Grammar and Usage • Pronouns & Pronoun/Verb Agreement • Subject/Verb Agreement • Verb Tense • Adjectives and Adverbs • Idiomatic Expressions • Punctuation • Rhetorical Skills • Reading • Writing

3. Pronouns • Words such as he, she, it, and they- used to replace nouns. • ACT- 2 ways to test your knowledge • The First Pronoun Rule: Agreement • The Second Pronoun Rule: Case

4. The First Pronoun Rule: Agreement • A pronoun must always agree with the noun it refers to. • EX: Any young boy who watched the first moon landing probably spent the next few years wishing that they could become an astronaut. • Which noun is being referred to by the word “they”?

5. The First Pronoun Rule: Agreement • A pronoun must always agree with the noun it refers to. • EX: Any young boy who watched the first moon landing probably spent the next few years wishing that they could become an astronaut. • Which noun is being referred to by the word “they”? • “they” is referring to “boy”, which is singular, so “they” should be “he”.

6. Singular Pronouns

7. Plural Pronouns

8. Example #2: • Neither of the two young girls with whom I watched the first moon landing expressed their feelings out loud, but I knew that all three of us wanted to be astronauts. • Hint: neither and either are considered singular.

9. Example #2: Explained • Neither of the two young girls with whom I watched the first moon landing expressed her feelings out loud, but I knew that all three of us wanted to be astronauts. • Hint: neither and either are considered singular, so “their”, which is a plural pronoun, should be “her”, which is a singular pronoun in order to correctly refer back to the noun “girls”.

10. Special Cases • The following pronouns are always considered singular: • Anybody • Anyone • Each • Everybody • Everyone • Somebody • Someone

11. Pronoun Agreement in ACT Format Although the American bad eagle has been on the endangered species list for years, (3) they have been sighted in wildlife preserves much more frequently during the past two years. • A. No change B. they are C. it can be D. it has been

12. Pronoun Agreement in ACT Format Although the American bad eagle has been on the endangered species list for years, (3) they have been sighted in wildlife preserves much more frequently during the past two years. • A. No change B. they are C. it can be D. it has been

13. The Second Pronoun Rule: Case • If a pronoun is the subject of a sentence, it must be expressed as a subject. • I, we, you, he, she, it, they, andwho. • If a pronoun is the object of a sentence, or the object of a preposition, it must be expressed as an object. • Me, us, you, him, her, it, them, and whom.

14. Example • Which choices best fits the sentences below? • (She/her) bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt. • Jane bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt for (he/him).

15. Examples Explained • Which choice best fits the sentence below? • (She/her) bought a souvenir NASA sweatshirt. • Jane bough a souvenir NASA sweatshirt for (he/him). • Since the person who buys the shirt is the subject of the sentence, the correct pronoun is “she” in the first example. • Since the person who receives the shirt is the object of the preposition “for”, the correct pronoun is “him” in the second example.

16. ACT Helpful Hint: Who and Whom • Correct Example: • The TV announcer, who was quite an expert, told us many interesting facts about the lunar mission. • “who was quite an expert” is functioning here as the adjective describing the TV announcer. • Is this group of words a phrase or a clause?

17. Phrases v. Clauses • The TV announcer, who was quite an expert, told us many interesting facts about the lunar mission. • Phrases = cannot contain a subject • Clauses = must contain a subject and a verb • In our example, the relative pronoun “who” serves as the subject, which means this is a clause. • You should always use “who” when the relative pronoun is functioning as the subject of a clause, or as the subject of an entire sentence. • “…whom was quite an expert” would be completely wrong here.

18. Let’s Try an Incorrect Example Before the moon landing, the TV announcer gave some additional background on the astronauts, about who we were all quite interested.

19. Incorrect Example…explained • If you spot who following a preposition (in this case, “who” follows the word “about”) on the ACT, it will almost certainly turn out to be incorrect. • In most cases, a pronoun following a preposition is supposed to be the object of the preposition. The sentence should read: • Before the moon landing, the TV announcer gave some additional background on the astronauts, about whom we were all quite interested.

20. Example in ACT Format The students, (2) who had been studying the space program, were thrilled to witness the lunar landing. 2. • NO CHANGE • about whom had been studying the space program, • whom had been studying the space program, D. who had been studying the space program

21. Example in ACT Format The students, (2) who had been studying the space program, were thrilled to witness the lunar landing. 2. • NO CHANGE • about whom had been studying the space program, • whom had been studying the space program, D. who had been studying the space program

22. Partner Practice Answers • Its • Their • His • Its • His or her • Their • His or her • His or her • His or her • Her • Her • His or her • Me • We • Correct • She • Him • Her • Correct • Him • Correct • I

23. Partner Practice Answers • When a woman has to walk from the subway to her office, she needs to wear one pair of shoes and carry another. • C • Because the man in front of me had a heap of groceries in his cart, my work was delayed. • When we read Will and Ariel Durant were both historians, we became interested not only in them, but also in history (or the study of history) • If a man decides to order a monogrammed shirt, he should be absolutely sure that it will fit. • Coach Mike told John, “You have to spend more time on the track if you expect to stay in shape.”

24. Subject/Verb Agreement • The verb of a sentence must always agree with its subject. • If a sentence contains a singular subject, the verb that goes with it must also be singular. • If a sentence contains a plural subject, then the verb that goes with it must be plural. • EX: The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon.

25. Subject/Verb Agreement • EX: The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. • Subject = “moment” which is singular • Verb = “were” which is plural, so the subject should be “was” • EX: The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments WAS when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon.

26. ACT Tip: Confusing S/V Placement • If the sentence had been written like this… • The best moment were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. • …the error would have been much easier to detect. • ACT writers like to stick in lots of modifying phrases/clauses between the subject and verb in hopes that you will forget what the subject is by the time you get to the verb. • The best way to get them right is to put mental parentheses around all the words between the subject and the verb so that you can see if they really agree.

27. Pronoun/VerbAgreement • Sometimes, the subject of a sentence turns out to be a pronoun; don’t let that throw you. • The verb must still agree with the subject, even if it is just a pronoun. • Ex: Each of these moments have played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June. • How do we fix this sentence?

28. Pronoun/VerbAgreement • Ex: Each of these moments have played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June. • Ex: Each of these moments has played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June.

29. Correct the following errors:2/6/12 • Neither of the two young girls with whom I watched the first moon landing expressed their feelings out loud, but I knew that all three of us wanted to be astronauts. • Before the moon landing, the TV announcer gave some additional background on the astronauts, about who we were all quite interested. • The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. • Each of these moments have played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June.

30. Answers: • Neither of the two young girls with whom I watched the first moon landing expressed her feelings out loud, but I knew that all three of us wanted to be astronauts. (Pronoun Agreement) • Before the moon landing, the TV announcer gave some additional background on the astronauts, about whom we were all quite interested. (Pronoun Case) • The best moment during a broadcast filled with many great moments were when the astronaut stepped out of the lunar lander and bounced on the moon. (Subject/Verb Agreement) • Each of these moments has played in my mind again and again as I try to recapture the excitement of that momentous day in June. (Pronoun/Verb Agreement)