English notes by edx

Using the passive voice too often, for example, can make your writing dull, and too dependent on
the word "be," which is a weak, boring verb. (Yes, verbs can be weak and boring!)

Look at the difference between these two statements:

 The ball was kicked by Leila. (passive)

 Leila kicked the ball. (active)

In the second example, we have an actor--Leila--doing something. In the first example, we have an

object--the ball--and something done to it. There are reasons for choosing one over the other, but
the second example emphasizes the action. 

Another way to look at actives and passives is to see them as an answer to a question. 

 What happened to the ball? The ball was kicked by Leila.

 What did Leila do? Leila kicked the ball.

You can see how the passive and active emphasizes different parts of a sentence. When you want
to emphasize the object of the action in a sentence, use the passive. When you want to emphasize
the agent, or the person or thing performing an action, use an active sentence.

What about errors in gerunds and infinitives? A gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing."
Infinitives are the "to" form of the verb (although sometimes 'to' isn't used.) Here are some
examples:

 I enjoy reading. (gerund)

 I want to read. (infinitive)

"Enjoy" requires a gerund: He enjoys swimming, eating, and sleeping. "Want" requires an

infinitive: She wants to work, play, and watch movies. Some verbs require only a gerund; others
take only an infinitive. There are some that can use both.

These are just two instances of how grammar influences writing. When you read, notice how words
are used--especially if something looks new or different to you. It helps to keep a journal or file in
which you write these things down.

PARTS OF SPEECH

Just as parts of a car have specific names, so do parts of the English language. Of course, some parts
belong to other parts: an irregular verb can be in present tense, or a noun can be possessive. Think about
how these parts of speech fit together. Practice identifying the parts of speech in your everyday English
reading.
 Although the names for grammar terminology are called "parts of speech," they are also parts of
writing. Usually, there are eight parts of speech that are commonly discussed in grammar
books: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and article.

However, there are many other grammatical terms to know as they relate to writing. Here's a list of
40 terms  (there are, of course, many more). How many do you already know? You may want to
write this list down, or make flashcards for yourself to help you remember them. Don't just memorize
the definition, also think of examples of each idea.

You will remember things better if you write them out, rather than just print them out or read them on
the screen.

1. adjective (Example: "a yellow flower"; yellow is the adjective)

2. adverb (Example: "eat slowly"; slowly is the adverb)

3. agreement (Example: "dogs bark vs. a dog barks"; the subject and verb agree in these
examples)

4. article (Example: "a yellow flower"; a is the article)

5. auxiliary verb (Example: "I was running"; was is the auxiliary verb)

6. comparative (Example: "the red building is taller than the other"; taller is the comparative)

7. compound noun (Example: "toothpaste and bus stop" are compound nouns)

8. conditional (Example: "If it's sunny, I'll go swimming"; this phrase expresses a conditional)

9. conjunction (Example: "paper and pencils"; and is the conjunction)

10. continuous (Example: "He is running"; is running is the continuous verb)

11. contraction (Example: "I can't"; can't is the contraction)

12. count noun (Example: "three pencils"; pencil is a count noun)

13. demonstrative pronoun (Example: "this yellow flower"; this is the demonstrative)

14. determiner (Example: "the yellow flower"; the is the determiner)

15. direct object (Example: "I dropped the cup"; cup is the direct object)

16. future tense/aspect (Example: "He will go"; will expresses the future)

17. gerund (Example: "Swimming is fun"; swimming is the gerund)

18. infinitive (Example: "I want to eat"; to eat is the infinitive)

19. intransitive verb (Example: "I swim in the morning"; swim is an intransitive verb)

20. irregular noun (Example: "child vs. children"; children is an irregular plural noun)

21. irregular verb (Example: "go vs went"; went is an irregular verb)

22. mass noun (Example: "furniture"; furniture is a mass noun)

23. modal (Example: "I should go"; should is the modal)

24. noun (Example: "a yellow flower"; flower is the noun)

25. participle (Example: "I picked a yellow flower"; picked a yellow flower is the participle)

26. past tense (Example: "He ate an apple"; ate is in the past tense)

27. perfect tense (Example: "I have jumped"; have jumped is in the (past) perfect tense)

28. phrasal verb (Example: "look up that word"; look up is the phrasal verb)

29. plural (Example: "pencil vs. pencils"; pencils is the plural)

30. possessive (Example: "Mario's book"; Mario's is the possessive)

31. preposition (Example: "the book on the table"; on is the preposition)

32. present tense (Example: "I am at school"; am is the present tense)

33. pronoun (Example: "You are nice"; you is a pronoun)

34. proper noun (Example: "France"; France is a proper noun)

35. reflexive pronoun (Example: "he shaved himself"; himself is the reflexive pronoun)

36. relative pronoun (Example: "I want the book that you wrote"; that is the relative pronoun)

37. subjunctive (Example: "I request you stay here"; This phrase is expressed in the
subjunctive)

38. superlative (Example: "the tallest building"; tallest is the superlative form)

39. transitive verb (Example: "I ate cereal"; ate is a transitive verb)

40. verb (Example: "He hopped"; hopped is the verb)

Read the following fable, written by the ancient writer Aesop. Then, answer the questions that
follow.

This is a self-access check to see how well you understand the parts of speech. 

A wolf chased a lamb, which then ran to find safety in a nearby temple.

The wolf called out to him and said, "The priest will kill you as a sacrifice if he catches you."

The lamb replied, "It would be better for me to be sacrificed in the temple than to be eaten by you."
"It would be better for me to be sacrificed in the temple than to be eaten by you", which words are pronouns?
Check all that apply.

IT ME AND YOU ONLY

Question 1
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the first sentence, "chased" is an example of:
a gerund
an infinitive verb without 'to'
a passive verb
an active past tense verb
correct
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.
ResetReset Your Answer
Correct
Revie

Question 2
0 points possible (ungraded)
In sentence 1, the word "nearby" is an example of:
a preposition
an adverb
a conjunction
an adjective correct
incorrect
Explanation
"Nearby" is an adjective; it describes the noun 'temple.'
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.
Show Answer
Answers are displayed within the problem
Review

Question 3
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the first sentence "to find" is an example of:
an infinitive verb
a gerund
 a noun phrase
a prepositional phrase
correct
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.
Show Answer
Correct
Review

Question 4
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the second sentence "to him" is made up of:
an adverb and a noun
an adjective and a noun
a preposition and a pronoun
an infinitive and a pronoun
correct
Explanation
"To" is a preposition and "him" is an (object) pronoun.
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.
Show Answer
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Review

Question 5
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the second sentence, the phrase "will kill you as a sacrifice if he catches you" is an example of:
an adjective
a conditional
a subjunctive
present tense
correct
Submit
You have used 1 of 2 attemptsSome problems have options such as save, reset, hints, or show answer.
These options follow the Submit button.
ResetReset Your Answer
Correct
Review

Question 6
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the sentence, "It would be better for me to be sacrificed in the temple than to be eaten by you",
which words are pronouns?
Check all that apply.

it correct
for
me correct
to
the
be
you correct
incorrect
Explanation
It, me, and you are all pronouns.
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.
Show Answer
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Review

Question 7
0 points possible (ungraded)
In the phrases "for me" and "by you", the words "for" and "by" are ____.
Type in the correct answer. Spelling counts!

PREPOSITIONS
  correct 
Submit
In the third sentence, the phrase "to be eaten by you" is an example of:
the subjunctive
the past tense
the passive voice
the active voice
Q.10

In the phrase "if he catches you", 'if' is _____.

a conjunction correct
a preposition
a pronoun
an article
incorrect
Explanation
 "If" is a conjunction--a word that joins two words or phrases.
Submit
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These options follow the Submit button.

Parts of a Sentence
 https://www.thesaurus.com

powerthesaurus.org to see the synonyms and antonyms of any world. I use this site regularly. It's helping me to be excel in English
Words.

The parts of the sentence refers to the terminology for different pieces of sentences. The parts of
sentences are not the same as parts of speech. For example, one sentence part is the subject. The
subject of a sentence could be a noun, a pronoun, or even another sentence.

Examples:
[simple subject] Tom ate his dinner at nine last night. (Simple subject="Tom")

[clause as subject] That Tom ate his dinner at nine was surprising. (Clause as subject="That Tom
ate his dinner at nine")

The parts of sentences are important to learn, as they help you in understanding how the pieces fit
together in your writing to create effective, even powerful sentences.

The two key parts to a sentence are the subject and predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the
sentence is about, and the predicate says something about the subject.

Other important parts of a sentence are clauses and phrases.

A phrase is a group of words that may have nouns or verbs, but there is no subject doing anything.

A clause is a group of words that has a subject that is doing something. If the clause can stand by
itself, and form a complete sentence, it is an independent clause.

Dependent clauses have a subject that does something, but they have a subordinate conjunction at
the beginning of the clause. That subordinate conjunction means that the clause can't stand by itself
as a complete sentence. In other words, the dependent clause is dependent upon another clause--it
can't make a complete sentence by itself.

Some examples will make this clearer:

Phrases

 leaving the grocery store

 walking into a building

 before the first of the month

 after class

 between a rock and a hard place

 broken in two

 because of her bravery

Clauses

 since he laughs at bad jokes [dependent; begins with subordinate conjunction 'since']

 I like generous people [independent]

 His mother is a successful writer [independent]

 because she finished her assignment [dependent; begins with subordinate conjunction 'because']

 when the bills are due [dependent; begins with subordinate conjunction 'when']

Go to the discussion area and ask any questions you have about this unit on grammar review. Also,
write three or four sentences that show you understand how to create complex sentences. Try
writing a sentence with a clause as the subject, or that uses a dependent clause. Be creative and
have fun. Be sure to comment on others' sentences.

The students are learning about sentence structures. (independent) As the students learn, (dependent) their
writing improves. Knowledge about the parts of speech (clause as a subject) , will increase your writing habilities.

Exercise questions

Question 1
0 points possible (ungraded)

Look at the same sentence: "The three women had their first meeting on Monday." The phrase "had their first
meeting on Monday" is what part of this sentence?
Remember that the predicate is the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and which says something
about the subject.

Question 2
0 points possible (ungraded)

Look at this sentence: "The three women had their first meeting on Monday." The phrase "The three women"
is what part of this sentence?
Type in the correct answer. Spelling counts!

Answer: subject

Question 3
0 points possible (ungraded)
Look at this sentence: "Having finished his assignment, Marco decided to go for a swim at the beach." What
sentence part is "having finished his assignment"?

Clause

Phrase correct
incorrect

Explanation
A clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a predicate. An independent clause can
stand on its own as a sentence. A dependent clause cannot. A phrase is a group of words that lacks
either a subject, a predicate, or both.
Question 4
0 points possible (ungraded)

Look at this sentence again: "Having finished his assignment, Marco decided to go for a swim at the beach."
What sentence part is "at the beach"?

Clause

Phrase

Question 5
0 points possible (ungraded)

Look at this sentence one more time: "Having finished his assignment, Marco decided to go for a swim at the
beach." What sentence part is "Marco decided to go for a swim"?

Clause

Phrase
correct

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zwwp8mn/articles/zqk37p3 here´s an article by the bbc that explains what

subordinate conjunctions are. I don´t really know if we can take it as an universal rule, but since no exceptions are
named in the course, I suppose we can

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/subordinate-clause/

Effective sentence

Writing beautiful sentences is not an exact science. Although there are basic rules of grammar,
good writers find ways to express themselves through writing in different ways: using different
vocabulary, varying the length of sentences, using different sentence types, and more! 
 As we've discussed, grammatically, a sentence needs a subject and a predicate. However,
stylistically, it needs much more:

 clarity:  a sentence should be clear to the reader

 well-chosen vocabulary: choose words whose meaning you are sure of, and use them
correctly

 strong verbs: when possible, use verbs that show the action of the sentence. The verb 'be' (in
all its forms -- is, are, was, were, etc.) is a weaker choice of verb in many cases. Try to find a verb
that shows the action.

 proper length: if your sentence expresses a simple idea, it probably needs to be a short
sentence. More complex ideas may need longer sentences. Vary your sentence lengths as well. If
all your sentences are short, your writing sounds "choppy." If all your sentences are long, your
writing can be overly complicated and hard to understand.

 limited number of clauses and prepositions: the more clauses and prepositions you have in a
sentence, the harder it can be to understand. Think about how many clauses you have included in a
single sentence.

 subject-verb agreement: be sure you can identify the subject of your sentence, then make
sure the verb agrees with it in number. For example:

The cup is full of coffee.

The cups are full of coffee.

 correct verb tense: if you are speaking of things in the past, use past tense verbs. This may
seem obvious, but if your native language does not make this distinction with verbs, this can be a
difficult aspect of English. 

The sentences below are some of the most famous in English language literature (although some
are translated from their original languages).

As you read each sentence, ask yourself what the writer was trying to accomplish. Also think about
the choice of vocabulary, the message, and any other thing that appeals to you. 

After you've read them all, choose your favorite and discuss what makes it a good sentence, in your
opinion. Post your response in the forum; respond to at least two of your classmates' choices.

Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. — Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora
Neale Hurston

"Call me Ishmael."  — Moby Dick, by Herman Melville  

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." — 1984, by George Orwell
"Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu." —Waiting, by Ha Jin

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." — Anna Karenina,
by Leo Tolstoy

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it
was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all
going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its
noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of
comparison only."  — A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

"All this happened, more or less." —Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that
distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." —100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel
García Márquez

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a
wife." —Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

"Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure." —The Stranger, by Albert Camus

"A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to
look back or from which to look ahead." —The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene

"124 was spiteful." --Beloved, by Toni Morrison

"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed." —The Gunslinger, by
Stephen King

"It was a pleasure to burn." —Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

"I am an invisible man." —Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison 

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his
bed into an enormous insect." —The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was
the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it
was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we
were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the
present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the
superlative degree of comparison only." — A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

The irony of this piece of art inspired a lot of questions. How could one period be two opposite things? Maybe a
change of perspective is all it takes, as one gains, another loses. as the sun shines, the sun sets. as one gains
 knowledge, another becomes foolish. as one believes, the other seems to brim with incredulity. But all in
comparison.

But even so, human behavior longs for the extreme (the superlative), never the mediocre. It doesn't matter if the
superalitivity is for good or for bad, the sense of individuality always triumphs. The truth of that statement inspired
many answers.

SIX STEPS TO CONCISE WRITING

Concise writing uses no more words than are necessary to create meaning. Here are six ways to
achieve conciseness in your writing.

Step 1.
Avoid redundancy. Look at this list--the words in parentheses aren't necessary. They say the same
thing as the main phrase.

 ten p.m. (at night)

 tall (in height)

 our (final) conclusion

 (the month of) June

 square (in shape)

 to combine (together)

 to ask (a question)

 a consensus (of opinion)

Step 2.
Watch out for wordy phrases. Wordiness happens when you use more words than you need to say
something. For example, "in view of the fact that" means simply, "because."

WORDS CONSISE

based on the fact that because

despite the fact that although

in the event that if

at the present time now

until such a time as until

on a weekly basis weekly

it is often the case that often

have the ability to can

during the course of during

take under consider

consideration

to be of the opinion to think

to make reference to to refer to

in the final analysis finally