College Composition

College Composition Study Guide

• The monkeys have escaped their cage • The monkey has escaped his cage. Be particularly alert to number agreement when proofreading sentences where the subject and verb are separated by other words or phrases. • The monkeys , who are always causing trouble, have escaped their cage again. Some nouns cause confusion because they are singular but refer to a group (committee, family, or team). These nouns take the singular form of the verb. • The family of monkeys has escaped. Noun/pronoun agreement: A pronoun needs to agree in number with the noun it replaces. • The Smiths live next door to me. I have known them all my life. Be careful with singular nouns that refer to groups. • The Committe e made a decision. It took a break immediately afterward. Possessive versus plural form: Writers are often confused about when to use -‘s. The plural form of a noun is formed by adding –s. The possessive form is formed by adding –‘s. • The boys ran down the street. • The boy’s mother yelled at him for running. Verbs Verb tense agreement: Within a sentence or paragraph, all verbs must agree in tense. Consistency in verb tense can prevent confusion. The following chart clarifies the different verb tenses. Tense Simple Progressive Perfect Perfect Progressive Present I dance I am dancing I have danced I have been dancing Past I danced I was dancing I had danced I had been dancing Future I will dance I will be dancing I will have danced I will have been dancing 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.

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