College Composition (Abridged)

College Composition Abridged Study Guide Passive versus active voice: Active voice means that the object of the sentence receives the action. Passive voice means that the subject of the sentence receives the action. • Active: Michael hit the baseball. • Passive: The baseball was hit by Michael. Technically, both voices are correct. However, Standard Written English prefers the active voice to the passive voice. Active voice is more clear and concise. Passive voice is wordier and harder for the reader to understand. Writing that uses an active voice is generally considered stronger than awriting that uses passive voice. Subject/predicate agreement: The noun and verb should agree in number. Pronouns Who versus whom: When to use the pronoun who versus whom can be confusing to writers. Who is used as the subject of the verb. Whom is used as the object of the verb. • Whom did you call last night? • Who called you? If you are having trouble deciding which word is the object of the verb, try changing the word order. Putting the sentence in this order can help: subject, verb, and then object. • You called whom last night? You can also try replacing who or whom with either he or him . He replaces who and him replaces whom (both words have the letter m). • You called him last night? • He called you? Possessive forms: The word it causes confusion for many writers. Normally the possessive form of a noun is formed by adding –‘s. However, the possessive form of it is its . The only time it’s is used is as a contraction for it is . • The store closed its doors for the last time. • It’s closed permanently. To check if you’ve got this right, try replacing it’s with it is . If the sentence still makes sense, use it’s . This same rule applies to your and you’re . Your is possessive. You’re is the contraction you are . Also, there is a place. Their is possessive . They’re is the contraction form of they are .

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