1、College English Grammar: Grammar and Writing,By Zhu Xiangjun,Unit 1,Basic parts of a sentence (I) Grammar: 1. Subject and predicate 2Hard-to-find subjects Writing: Correcting: Sentence fragmentsRewriting: Sentence combining strategies,Subject and predicate,A sentence is a group of words that express
2、es a complete thought. Every sentence has two basic parts, a subject and a predicate. The subject is the naming part of the sentence, representing the person, place, or thing that performs the action of the verb or expressing the condition or state of the verb.,Subjects are nouns and other forms tha
3、t can function as nouns, such as pronouns, clauses, infinitives and gerunds. A subject usually comes first in a sentence. It is the topic about which the speaker or writer is speaking or writing. For example, 1) My grandfather bought the car many years ago. 2) The car was bought many years ago by my
4、 grandfather.,Fill in the blanks: 1) My grandfather bought the car many years ago. 2) The car was bought many years ago by my grandfather.,In my garage, there is an old car. _. It is a Cadillac, a very classical luxury car, manufactured in 1966. The car has 65.000 original miles on it, but sitting i
5、n a damp garage for most of its life didnt do many favors for it.,Fill in the blanks: 1) My grandfather bought the car many years ago. 2) The car was bought many years ago by my grandfather.,In my garage, there is an old car. It is my grandfathers gift for my grandmother. _. In order to buy this car
6、, my grandfather had been saving his money for quite a few years. He worked as a truck driver for a local grocery chain, and supported a big family on his salary. Needless to say, money was pretty hard to come by that time. According to my grandmother, at the end of the day he would come home and em
7、pty his space change into a jar beside the bed. When the jar was full, he would take it to the band.,Predicates are verbs. A predicate is the doing or being part of the sentence, expressing the action or state of being of the subject. The predicate, often coming after the subject, is the semantic an
8、d grammatical center of a sentence. I bought a house for my parents.Some of the buried workers are still alive.The babies grew nervous from the loud noise.,A verb is often made up of more than one word. The verb that expresses the action or state of being of the subject is called main verb. The word
9、 that accompany the main verb is called an auxiliary/ helping verb, which helps the main verb express mood or time by forming various tenses.George must be playing basketball with them now.The thief has been caught in a deserted building.,Auxiliary /helping verbs can not be used alone in a sentence.
10、 It must go together with main verbs. Correct the following sentences： Tomorrow will surely better. Our campus will more and more beautiful. When you opened the window, the room would immediately bright.,Verb can be classified into two: action verbs and linking verbs. An action verb expresses an act
11、ion, such as do, act, make, walk, take, break, react, write, see, say, buy, build and so on. A linking verb links/joins the subject of a sentence (often a noun or a pronoun) with a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective that identifies or describes the subject. It does not show action, but express the exi
12、stence or state of being of the subject.,A noun, a pronoun or an adjective that follows a linking verb is called a predictive, which points back to the subject to rename it, to identify it or to describe it further.There are eleven linking verbs which are most frequently used. We can briefly put the
13、m into three groups. expressing judgment or change: be, get, turn, prove indicating five senses of humans: look, feel, smell, taste, sound some others, “GRABS”: grow, remain, appear, become, seem,Examples： For years her grandfather was one of the town leaders. My coat seemed too large. Pineapple som
14、etimes tastes better with salt. Most students feel disappointed with the result. The time of his birth remains a mystery to us.,Locating the Subject and Verb,Forest fires are often caused by broken glass. By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root. A woman you know well will r
15、ush towards you. Each of the students requested more homework. The leader of the party was examining the soil near the entrance to the cave. It suddenly occurred to one of the workers to open up the box. Then he sits and barks until someone lets him out. To their surprise, the precious parcel was fu
16、ll of stones and sand! Tony saw me and came and sat at the same table. If you park your car in the wrong place, a traffic policeman will soon find it.,2. Hard-to-find subjects,1. There/Here be Most frequently, a subject comes first in a sentence and usually goes before a predicate. However, sentence
17、s can be built so that the predicate comes before the subject. One way to make such a sentence is to begin a sentence with there or here. Notice the placement of subjects in the following examples. The subjects are underlined once and the predicates twice. Here is your ticket. Here are the children.
18、 There are lots of pine trees in the park. There will be an international exhibition next year.,In the sentence patterns “There/Here be ”, the predicate “be” can also be replaced by an action verb such as come, live, remain, stand, lie, appear, exist, seem, remain and so on. Here comes the bus. Ther
19、e goes the little boy. There lived six bland men in a small Indian village. There existed a great tribe centuries ago.,2. Imperative sentencesAn imperative sentence gives an order/ command, or makes a request: The subject you is understood. It doesnt need to be stated. Obviously, the word you means
20、the person (subject) being ordered or commanded. Shut up! (You) shut up! Show me your passport. (You) show me your passport. Close the door behind you. (You) close the door behind you.,3. Interrogative sentencesAn interrogative sentence asks a question, usually ending with a question mark. When you
21、build questions, you place a helping/ auxiliary verb before the subject and leave a main verb behind. Have you applied for the job? Did Jim finish his project and hand it in early? When did the witness report the accident?,4. Inverted Sentences An inverted Sentence is a sentence built in the way tha
22、t the predicate comes before the subject. It serves to add emphasis to the subject. An inverted sentence usually begins with a prepositional phrase. Along country roads grow many flowers. On the floor is your homework assignment. Down the steps of the palace walks journalist.,Locating the Subject an
23、d Verb,Do not come in unless asked. In front of the tower flews a stream. Many years ago there lived an old man in the wooden house. Be careful when crossing the street. Is this your cell phone number? Away went the crowed one by one. Never be late again next time. To each of the neighbors came a re
24、ward. At the top of the lemon tree there is a sparrows nest. Right from the start there was trouble with the Hubble telescope. “Did you have a good meal?” he asked. What did she want to repair?,3. Sentence Fragment,Every sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete thought. A
25、word group that lacks a subject or a verb and that does not express a complete thought is a sentence fragment.,1. Lack of a subjectA subject is like a head for a human that you cannot go without it. Lack of a subject is one of the most common errors in writing. Two solutions are available:1) adding
26、a subject to the fragment to make it a complete sentence;2) combining the fragment with another sentence if the two share a subject. I looked for a place to turn around. But only found a narrow road. I looked for a place to turn around. But I only found a narrow road. I looked for a place to turn ar
27、ound but only found a narrow road. I looked for a place to turn around but only to find a narrow road.,2. Lack of a complete verbA predicate verb is most necessary for a sentence. The error of lacking a complete verb can be corrected by:1) adding a complete verb or a helping verb to make the sentenc
28、e complete;2) combining the fragment with another sentence. I was fully awake now. I wondering what had happened to me. I was fully awake now. I was wondering what had happened to me. I was fully awake now, wondering what had happened to me. Fully awake now, I was wondering what had happened to me.,
29、3. Lack of both a subject and a verb.A group of words without a subject and a verb is only a fragment. The error can be corrected by combining it with another sentence. The Titanic was completed in 1912. The most luxurious ship of its day. The Titanic, the most luxurious ship of its day, was complet
30、ed in 1912. Completed in 1912, the Titanic was the most luxurious ship of its day.,4. Lack of a main clauseA main clausesometimes called an independent clauseis a clause that can stand by itself and still make sense. You must have at least one main clause in every sentence. A main clause is the esse
31、ntial component. Without a main clause, a group of words is a fragment. Two solutions are available:1) combining the fragment that is a subordinate clause with a main clause;2) rewriting the fragment as a complete sentence, eliminating the subordinating conjunction or the relative pronoun and adding
32、 words necessary to make a complete thought. Grandparents always held a special place in caring for the little ones. Because they had more time to devote to them. Grandparents always held a special place in caring for the little ones, because they had more time to devote to them. Grandparents always
33、 held a special place in caring for the little ones. They had more time to devote to them.,Exercises: Find the missing word and correct the following sentence fragments.,1. The play will soon over. 2. A strange flying object seemingly in the backyard. 3. The cat maybe on the roof or in the bushes. 4
34、. I always nervous in the first day of classes. 5. Stanley always ready for a fight. 6. Lighting the dark sky for a few seconds. 7. Pumas are found in America. Large, cat-like animals. 8. The searching went on for several weeks, but the murder not caught. 9. Well say goodbye to him, because hell awa
35、y for two months. 10. The team plans to stay here for five days. During this time, will give five performances. 11. The beggar may ask you for money. But never ask you to feel sorry for him. 12. “Oh, that,”he said with a smile as if he talking about an old friend.,Correcting:,1. be over. 2. can not
36、trust can not be trusted 3. seemingly landed/fell 4. maybe may be 5. maybe may be 6. After I had had lunch at a village pub. After I had had lunch at a village pub, 7. am always nervous 8. is always ready 9. Lighting It lighted 10. They are large, cat-like animals. 11. the murder was not caught. 12.
37、 hell be away,Assignment：,The exercise in this section is to create effective passages by combining the short sentences which you think is related into longer, more complex ones. If there are some mistakes, correct them. Passage 1 (Adapted from Lesson 12, New Concept English by L.G.Alexander) Our ne
38、ighbor is Captain Charles Alison. He will sail from Portsmouth. The time is tomorrow. Well meet him. The place is at the harbour. We will do that early in the morning. He will be in his boat. It is small. It is called Topsail. Topsail is a famous little boat. It has sailed across the Atlantic many t
39、imes. Captain Alison will set out. He will do that at eight oclock. Well have plenty of time. Well see his boat, then well say goodbye to him. He will be away for two months. We are very proud of him. He will take part in an race. The race is important. It is across the Atlantic.,Passage 2 (Adapted
40、from Lesson 20, New Concept English by L.G.Alexander)Fishing is my favorite sport. I often fish for hours. I dont catch anything. I dont worry about this. Some fishermen are unlucky. They dont catching fish, they catch old boots. They catch rubbish. I am even less lucky. I never catch anything. I do
41、 not even catch old boots. I have spent whole mornings on the river, I always go home. I always have an empty bag. My friends say you must give up fishing! Its a waste of time. They dont realize one important thing. Im not really interested in fishing. I am interested in sitting in a boat, I am interested in doing nothing at all!,
