Grammar Checking: Verb and Noun Usage

By Joan Whetzel

 

Words are the foundation of every writer.s tool box. And the most imprtant words are the nouns and verbs. Nouns and verbs, more than any of the other offerings of language, set the scene and the action and the pace of any writing.. It fitting foa writers to understand these two writing tools, and how to use them to their advantage.

Subject-Verb Number Agreement

Subject-verb agreement means that singular subjects are combined with singular verbs and plural subjects are combined with plural verbs. Example: A single remote is necessary to operate the television, but sevearl remotes are necessary to run an entire entertainment system.

Singular and Collective Nouns

Sinular and collective nouns work the same way; both require singular verbs. For example,  when talking about a sports team both the team player and the team as a whole use the singular verb is. However, when the collective noun refers to all the members of the collective, in this case the team, then the plural verb is used. Example: the team members are.

Subject-Verb Person Agreement

Subject –verb person agreement  requires that the verb agrees with the person who is the subject of the sentence when writing in first person and third person. Examples in present tense:

·                     3^rd person – He walks to the mailbox

·                     1^st person – I walk to the mailbox.

The Verb “To Be”

“To be” is an auxilliary verb, meaning it is used in conjunction with other verbs. “To be” is conjugated into eight forms – 3 present tense, 2 past tense, infinitive, past participle and present participle.

·                     Present Tense Forms: am, is, and are.

·                     Past Tense Forms: was, were

·                     Infinitive, Past Participle, and Present Participle Forms: be, been, being

Problems with Subject-Verb Agreement

Problems with subject-verb agreement sometimes occur when the verb precedes the noun (the subject) in the sentence.

·                     Incorrect: There was several toucans at the nature center.

·                     Correct: There were several toucans at the nature center.

Here, the modifier “several” confuses the issue. By removing the adverb, it becomes clerare that the subject (the toucans) is a plural subject and, therefore, requires a plural verb,

Noun Classifications

There are seven classifications, or categories, of nouns: common nouns, poper nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns, concrete nouns, count nouns, and mass nouns.

1. Common Nouns: Common nouns include persons, places or things in the general sense, which means they can be applied to all manner of similar objects. Examples: boy, man, medical personnel, forest, house, buildings, bridge, water, rock, metal. Common nouns are not precise terms such as those used for naming specific people (Doctor Spock, President Obama), places (Methodist Hospital, the White House), or things (granite, pine tree).

2. Proper Nouns:  Proper nouns are capitalized and are used to name specific people, places and things. Examples: President Obama, Dr. Spock, the White House, Lake Erie, Xerox, Rolex.

3. Collective Nouns: Collective nouns represent a group or collection of people, places or things. Example: a team of players, an orchestra, the Great Lakes, or a range of numbers,

4. Abstract Nouns: Abstract nouns stand for intangibles like freedom or redemption. Abstract nouns can be defined, but they aren’t a solid object that can be touched, held, seen, tasted, or smelled.

5. Concrete Nouns: Concrete nouns are the opposite of abstract nouns. These tangible objects can be felt (tree bark), seen (Picasso paintings), heard (clanging church bells), smelled (cinnamon rolls baking in the oven), and tasted (pumpkin pie with whipped cream).

6. Count Nouns:  Count nouns are any nouns that include a number as part of their identifications. Examples include: the 7 deadly sins, a dozen eggs, or the 7 wonders of the world.

7. Mass Nouns:  Mass nouns are plural nouns; they have more than one unit. The units, however are not usually counted or numbered. Examples: eggs, sins, rays of sulight, team players, or games.

Verb Tense

There are, of course only three verb tenses: past, present, and future.

·                     Past Tense: Past tense articulates actions that have already occurred and, thus, are finished. Most of these verbs – the regular verbs - end with the “–ed” suffix. Irregular verbs change form. Examples: The verb “to act” changes to “acted.” The verb “to be” changes to “were” or “was”, “to write” changes to “wrote”,  and “to run” changes to “ran.”

·                     Present Tense: Present tense verbs illustrate actions that recur, repeat, never change, or are occuring as we speak.

·                     Future Tense:  Future tense verbs describe actions or events that have yet to occur. Other verbs are used with the future tense of  “to be” -  will, will be, or is going to be.  For Example: He will be playng with the orchestra; she will sing with the choir; and he is going to be watching the world cub soccer match that day.