CSE AUG. 2017 REVIEWERS
The Language Rank and File
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Level of Usage
/C
1. Formal
IV
Uses- Business letters, resumes, cover letters, serious speeches, newspaper articles,
scholarship
IL
Characteristics- Standard verbs, adverbs with -ly endings, standard vocabulary,
standard punctuation
-S
2. Informal
Uses- Most books, magazines newspapers, business letters, many textbooks, political
er
speeches
vi
Characteristics- Standard verbs, adverbs with -ly endings, standard vocabulary,
standard punctuation, contractions, some slang.
ce
3. Nonstandard
-E
Uses- Conversation, movies, television, radio, comic strips, regional expressions
Characteristics- Nonstandard verbs, adverbs without –ly, slang words, nonstandard
xa
punctuation, “creative” spelling
m
The correct level of usage is the one that is appropriate for the occasion. For example, you would use
-R
formal usage in a job application letter, resume, and business letter. Informal usage is more fitting for
a personal letter, greeting card message, and conversation. Even in these days when everything
goes, nonstandard usage is as tacky as rhinestones on tweed.
ev
Nouns: Prime-Time Players
ie
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns, like house guests, come in different
w
varieties. House guests include those you want, those you hate, and those you're stuck with
er
regardless. Nouns come in these varieties: common nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, and
collective nouns.
s-
1. Common nouns name any one of a class of person,
20
place, or thing.
• boy
17
• city
• food
-1
2. Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or
thing.
36
• Bob
• New York City
76
• Rice-a-Roni
3. Compound nouns are two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound
3
noun can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two
29
words combined.
• individual words: time capsule
• hyphenated words: great-uncle
• combined words: basketball
, 4. Collective nouns name groups of people or things.
• audience
• family
• herd
• crowd
om
Possessive Nouns
/C
In life, possession shows success; in grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to
create possessive nouns.
IV
1. With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and s.
• girl: girl's manuscript
• student: student's ideas
IL
2. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s.
• girls: girls' manuscript
-S
• students: students' ideas
er
3. With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.
• women: women's books
vi
• mice: mice's tails
Plural Nouns: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd
ce
Here are the guidelines for creating plural nouns.
-E
1. Add s to form the plural of most nouns.
• boy: boys
• girl: girls
xa
• computer: computers
m
2. Add es if the noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x.
• class: classes
-R
• wish: wishes
• inch: inches
ev
• box: boxes
3. If a noun ends in consonant -y, change the y to / and add es.
ie
• city: cities
• lady: ladies
w
4. If a noun ends in vowel -y, add s. Words ending in -quy don't follow this rule
er
(as in soliloquies).
• essay: essays
s-
• monkey: monkeys
20
5. Add s to most nouns ending inf. However, the/endings are so irregular as to be
17
nearly random. If you have any doubts at all, consult a dictionary.
Singular Plural
• brief
-1
briefs
• chief chiefs
36
• proof proofs
76
Exceptions: In some cases, change the / t o fe or v and add es:
Singular Plural
• self selves
3
• wolf wolves
29
• leaf leaves
Exception: This rule doesn't hold for names. When you're dealing with names,
just add s. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf becomes the Wolfs.
, 6. In compound words, make the main word plural.
Singular Plural
om
• mother-in-law mothers-in-law
• Passerby passersby
• sister-in-law
/C
sisters-in-law
IV
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match
Forget everything you learned about nouns when you start dealing with verbs. That's because
we add s or -es to the third-person singular form of most verbs. This is opposite to the way we
IL
form singular nouns. For example:
-S
Singular Verbs Plural Verbs
er
1st and 2nd Person 3rd Person 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person
I start he starts we start
vi
I do he does we do
ce
The helping verbs are even nastier because they aren't regular. The following chart shows the forms
of to be.
-E
Singular Be Verbs Plural Be Verbs
xa
(I) am (we) are
(he, she, it) is (they) are
m
(I, he, she, it) was (we, they) were
-R
(he, she, it) has been (they) have been
ev
As a result, subject-verb agreement is most tricky in the present tense.
ie
Exercises
w
er
Ex#1
s-
Take a few seconds to catch your breath. Then underline the nouns in each of
the following sentences.
20
1. A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat.
2. He came across two men.
17
3. One man was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other man was typing away on his
typewriter.
-1
4. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him.
5. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writer’s cramp.
36
76
Answers
1. lion, jungle, something
3
2. men
29
3. man, tree, book, man, typewriter
4. lion, man, book
5. king, jungle, readers, writers
, Ex#2
Possess It!
Reduce each of the following sentences to fewer words by using the possessive form. Doing
so will improve your writing style. Here's an example:
Original: The comedy routines of the Three Stooges aren't funny to me.
om
Revised: The Three Stooges' comedy routines aren't funny to me.
/C
1. The original name of Mel Brooks was Melvin Kaminsky.
IV
______________________________________________
2. The quack of a duck doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.
IL
_______________________________________________
-S
er
3. The placement of the eyes of a donkey in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times.
________________________________________________
vi
4. The original name of Mickey Mouse was Mortimer Mouse.
__________________________________________
ce
-E
5. The real name of Hulk Hogan is Terry Bollea.
____________________________________
xa
6. The milk of a camel does not curdle.
_______________________________
m
7. In Fantasia by Disney, the name of the Sorcerer is Yensid, which is Disney backward.
-R
______________________________________________________
8. The urine of a cat glows under a black light.
ev
___________________________________
9. The favorite hobby of my mother-in-law is playing cards with her computer.
ie
______________________________________
w
10. Keep the boss of your boss off the back of your boss.
er
________________________________________
s-
Answers
20
1. Mel Brooks' original name was Melvin Kaminsky.
2. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
17
3. The placement of a donkey's eyes in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times.
4. Mickey Mouse's original name was Mortimer Mouse.
-1
5. Hulk Hogan's real name is Terry Bollea.
6. Camel's milk does not curdle.
36
7. In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is Yensid, which is Disney backward.
8. A cat's urine glows under a black light.
76
9. My mother-in-law's favorite hobby is playing cards with her computer.
10. Keep your boss's boss off your boss's back.
329
The Language Rank and File
om
Level of Usage
/C
1. Formal
IV
Uses- Business letters, resumes, cover letters, serious speeches, newspaper articles,
scholarship
IL
Characteristics- Standard verbs, adverbs with -ly endings, standard vocabulary,
standard punctuation
-S
2. Informal
Uses- Most books, magazines newspapers, business letters, many textbooks, political
er
speeches
vi
Characteristics- Standard verbs, adverbs with -ly endings, standard vocabulary,
standard punctuation, contractions, some slang.
ce
3. Nonstandard
-E
Uses- Conversation, movies, television, radio, comic strips, regional expressions
Characteristics- Nonstandard verbs, adverbs without –ly, slang words, nonstandard
xa
punctuation, “creative” spelling
m
The correct level of usage is the one that is appropriate for the occasion. For example, you would use
-R
formal usage in a job application letter, resume, and business letter. Informal usage is more fitting for
a personal letter, greeting card message, and conversation. Even in these days when everything
goes, nonstandard usage is as tacky as rhinestones on tweed.
ev
Nouns: Prime-Time Players
ie
A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns, like house guests, come in different
w
varieties. House guests include those you want, those you hate, and those you're stuck with
er
regardless. Nouns come in these varieties: common nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, and
collective nouns.
s-
1. Common nouns name any one of a class of person,
20
place, or thing.
• boy
17
• city
• food
-1
2. Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or
thing.
36
• Bob
• New York City
76
• Rice-a-Roni
3. Compound nouns are two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound
3
noun can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two
29
words combined.
• individual words: time capsule
• hyphenated words: great-uncle
• combined words: basketball
, 4. Collective nouns name groups of people or things.
• audience
• family
• herd
• crowd
om
Possessive Nouns
/C
In life, possession shows success; in grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to
create possessive nouns.
IV
1. With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and s.
• girl: girl's manuscript
• student: student's ideas
IL
2. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s.
• girls: girls' manuscript
-S
• students: students' ideas
er
3. With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s.
• women: women's books
vi
• mice: mice's tails
Plural Nouns: Two's Company, Three's a Crowd
ce
Here are the guidelines for creating plural nouns.
-E
1. Add s to form the plural of most nouns.
• boy: boys
• girl: girls
xa
• computer: computers
m
2. Add es if the noun ends in s, sh, ch, or x.
• class: classes
-R
• wish: wishes
• inch: inches
ev
• box: boxes
3. If a noun ends in consonant -y, change the y to / and add es.
ie
• city: cities
• lady: ladies
w
4. If a noun ends in vowel -y, add s. Words ending in -quy don't follow this rule
er
(as in soliloquies).
• essay: essays
s-
• monkey: monkeys
20
5. Add s to most nouns ending inf. However, the/endings are so irregular as to be
17
nearly random. If you have any doubts at all, consult a dictionary.
Singular Plural
• brief
-1
briefs
• chief chiefs
36
• proof proofs
76
Exceptions: In some cases, change the / t o fe or v and add es:
Singular Plural
• self selves
3
• wolf wolves
29
• leaf leaves
Exception: This rule doesn't hold for names. When you're dealing with names,
just add s. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf becomes the Wolfs.
, 6. In compound words, make the main word plural.
Singular Plural
om
• mother-in-law mothers-in-law
• Passerby passersby
• sister-in-law
/C
sisters-in-law
IV
Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match
Forget everything you learned about nouns when you start dealing with verbs. That's because
we add s or -es to the third-person singular form of most verbs. This is opposite to the way we
IL
form singular nouns. For example:
-S
Singular Verbs Plural Verbs
er
1st and 2nd Person 3rd Person 1st, 2nd, 3rd Person
I start he starts we start
vi
I do he does we do
ce
The helping verbs are even nastier because they aren't regular. The following chart shows the forms
of to be.
-E
Singular Be Verbs Plural Be Verbs
xa
(I) am (we) are
(he, she, it) is (they) are
m
(I, he, she, it) was (we, they) were
-R
(he, she, it) has been (they) have been
ev
As a result, subject-verb agreement is most tricky in the present tense.
ie
Exercises
w
er
Ex#1
s-
Take a few seconds to catch your breath. Then underline the nouns in each of
the following sentences.
20
1. A hungry lion was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat.
2. He came across two men.
17
3. One man was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other man was typing away on his
typewriter.
-1
4. The lion quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him.
5. Even the king of the jungle knows that readers digest and writer’s cramp.
36
76
Answers
1. lion, jungle, something
3
2. men
29
3. man, tree, book, man, typewriter
4. lion, man, book
5. king, jungle, readers, writers
, Ex#2
Possess It!
Reduce each of the following sentences to fewer words by using the possessive form. Doing
so will improve your writing style. Here's an example:
Original: The comedy routines of the Three Stooges aren't funny to me.
om
Revised: The Three Stooges' comedy routines aren't funny to me.
/C
1. The original name of Mel Brooks was Melvin Kaminsky.
IV
______________________________________________
2. The quack of a duck doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.
IL
_______________________________________________
-S
er
3. The placement of the eyes of a donkey in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times.
________________________________________________
vi
4. The original name of Mickey Mouse was Mortimer Mouse.
__________________________________________
ce
-E
5. The real name of Hulk Hogan is Terry Bollea.
____________________________________
xa
6. The milk of a camel does not curdle.
_______________________________
m
7. In Fantasia by Disney, the name of the Sorcerer is Yensid, which is Disney backward.
-R
______________________________________________________
8. The urine of a cat glows under a black light.
ev
___________________________________
9. The favorite hobby of my mother-in-law is playing cards with her computer.
ie
______________________________________
w
10. Keep the boss of your boss off the back of your boss.
er
________________________________________
s-
Answers
20
1. Mel Brooks' original name was Melvin Kaminsky.
2. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
17
3. The placement of a donkey's eyes in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times.
4. Mickey Mouse's original name was Mortimer Mouse.
-1
5. Hulk Hogan's real name is Terry Bollea.
6. Camel's milk does not curdle.
36
7. In Disney's Fantasia, the Sorcerer's name is Yensid, which is Disney backward.
8. A cat's urine glows under a black light.
76
9. My mother-in-law's favorite hobby is playing cards with her computer.
10. Keep your boss's boss off your boss's back.
329
