book

Grammar Essentials For Dummies

by Geraldine Woods

May 2019

Beginner

192 pages

3h 44m

English

For Dummies

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About This BookConventions Used in This BookFoolish AssumptionsIcons Used in This BookWhere to Go from Here
Grammar: What It Is!The Big Ideas of GrammarPutting Grammar to Work in the Real World
Getting Reacquainted with VerbsIdentifying SubjectsGive Peace a Chance: Making Subjects and Verbs AgreeComing to an Agreement with Difficult Subjects
Playing Matchmaker with Pronouns and NounsSelecting Singular or Plural PronounsGetting Possessive with Your PronounsKeeping Your Pronouns and Antecedents ClosePairing Pronouns with Pronoun AntecedentsAvoiding Sexist Pronouns
Creating Complete Sentences from Complete ThoughtsBanning Fragments from Formal WritingEnough Is Enough: Avoiding Run-onsAttaching Sentences LegallyConnecting Unequal IdeasCombining Sentences with PronounsDon’t Keep Your Audience Hanging: Removing Danglers
Seeking BalanceStriving for ConsistencyUsing Conjunction Pairs CorrectlyConstructing Proper Comparisons
Spotting AdjectivesHunting for AdverbsSorting through Some Sticky ChoicesGetting Picky about Word PlacementCreating Comparisons
More Rules Than the IRS: Using ApostrophesQuoting CorrectlyMaking Comma SenseMastering DashesWielding Hyphens with EaseCreating a Stopping Point: Colons
Covering the Basic RulesCapitalizing (Or Not) References to PeopleGetting a Geography Lesson: Places, Directions, and MoreLooking at Seasons and Times of DayGetting Schooled in Education TermsWrestling with Capitals in TitlesWriting about Events and ErasCapitalizing Abbreviations

One Word or Two?Separating Possessive Pronouns from ContractionsUsing Words That Seem Interchangeable but Aren’tA Word and a Phrase to Avoid
Creating Noun PluralsPerfecting PrepositionsDeleting Double Negatives
Identifying Your AudienceCutting Ties with Your Computer Grammar CheckerGiving Your Writing Punch with Great VerbsDeleting All That’s ExtraSpicing Up Boring SentencesWriting for Electronic Media
Pick Up a Good BookRead the NewspaperSample Some MagazinesDelve into Strunk and WhiteSurf the WebReview Style ManualsWatch High-Quality TV ShowsPeruse the NewsDownload PodcastsListen to Authorities

Content preview from Grammar Essentials For Dummies

Chapter 2

Making Peace between Subjects and Verbs

IN THIS CHAPTER

Sorting out the different kinds of verbs

Finding the subject of a sentence

Getting subjects and verbs to agree

Considering some tricky subject-verb scenarios

In every sentence, you find two key pieces of information: an action or a state of being, and the someone or something that is doing that action or experiencing that state of being. The acting or being part is expressed by a verb. The someone or something part is represented by a subject.

You probably have lots of experience finding subjects and verbs; that task begins in early elementary school and doesn’t let up until you’re holding a diploma. That’s why I don’t go into great depth explaining what subjects and verbs are in this chapter; I just offer some rapid reminders.

I then move on to making subjects and verbs agree with each other. That task is a bit more difficult, and the presence of certain subjects and verbs makes it even more challenging. I cover the trickiest types of subject/verb pairings here because I assume they’re likely the reason you’re cozying ...