English I Honors—February 4, 2015 Bell work: What are some advantages of attending college? Homework: – MyAccess! Interview Narrative due tomorrow at midnight. – Subject-Verb agreement worksheets due tomorrow. – Study Island homework (Subject-Verb Agreement) due Friday at midnight.

English I Honors—Lesson 3 Vocabulary The vocabulary words in this lesson belong to the Latin word families –claudere, meaning “to close”, and strictus, meaning “to bind”. constricting—v. becoming narrower restrict—v. put a limit on; keep under control stricture—n. a restriction on a person or activity strain—v. force (a part of one’s body or oneself) to make a strenuous or unusually great effort. preclude—v. prevent from happening; make impossible

English I Honors—Lesson 3 Vocabulary close— transitive v. to block against entry or passage cloister—n. a covered walkway in a convent or monastery enclosure—n. an area that is sealed off with an artificial or natural barrier exclude—v. deny access to (someone) or bar (someone) from a place, group, or privilege exclusion—n. the process or state of excluding or being excluded

EVERY VERB MUST AGREE WITH ITS SUBJECT Singular Subject Plural Verb Plural Subject Singular Verb

The Stupidity of English Grammar To make a noun plural, we add –s – Singular: girl – Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take away the –s. – Singular: he talks – Plural: they talk

Watch the Verb Endings! Singular I walk You walk He/She/It walk s – Joe walk s – The girl walk s Plural We walk You walk They walk – Joe and Maria walk – The girls walk

Remember the 3 irregular verbs: DO SingularPlural – He doesThey do HAVE – She has They have BE – He is They are – She wasThey were

Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in –S, the verb will. If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.

The girl dances. No –S on subject -S on verb

The girls dance. -S on subject No –S on verb

Compound subjects joined by “and” If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an “s”. Example The boy and the girl dance. (= They dance.) No –S on verb

Compound subjects joined by “or” If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agrees with the part of the subject closest to it. Examples: The professor or the students walk the halls. The students or the professor walks the halls.

Watch out for “Everybody” Everybody loves grammar! Everybody understands subject/verb agreement.

Possible Pitfalls Sometimes, several words come between the subject and the verb. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy. The student finds her new class easy.

Prepositional phrases The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase. Example The students in my class study / studies hard. X

Possible Pitfalls Sometimes, the subject will come after the verb, in questions or when sentence begins with there. Examples – Why is he falling asleep? – Why are they falling asleep? – There is no excuse for such behavior. – There are no excuses for such behavior.

Possible Pitfalls Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be either singular or plural, depending on the word they refer to. – The student who works hard will succeed. – The students who work hard will succeed.

How do I get this right? – Identify the verb. Ask who or what is doing it. – This will identify the subject. – Say them together and make sure that they match in terms of number.

The subject and verb are the skeleton of every sentence. Make sure you fit those two important parts together correctly!

EA2: Writing an Argumentative Essay p. 84 Scoring Guide Include a well- developed introduction and background, a clear explanation of the issue, a claim, and a thesis statement. Present body paragraphs that strongly support the central claim with relevant details. Summarize counterclaims and clearly refute them with relevant reasoning and evidence. Conclude by summarizing the main points and provide logical suggestions for change. Follow a clear structure with a logical progression of ideas. Showcase central points and use effective transitions. Use a formal writing style, smoothly integrate credible source material into the text (with accurate citations). Demonstrate correct spelling and excellent command of standard English conventions.