Grammar: Start Here

Part 1 · Kaplan Chapter 8, Lesson 3

Subject and verb agree

In Sentences: Start Here, Part 1, you learned to find the subject of a sentence (who or what it is about) and the verb (what the subject does or is). This part is about making the two of them match.

A word that means one is singular. A word that means more than one is plural. Bus is singular; buses is plural.

In the present tense, a verb changes its form to match its subject. That matching is called agreement.

Look closely at the table. It shows something that surprises many people. On a noun, an -s usually means more than one: buses, cousins. On a verb, an -s means one: runs, works, lives. So a singular subject and its verb usually have one -s between them, on the verb; a plural subject and its verb usually have one -s, on the noun.

A few verbs change more than that. Learn these pairs:

Four places the test hides the subject

1. Words between the subject and the verb. The box of tools sits by the door. What sits? The box, which is one. Of tools only tells what kind of box. The word right before the verb (tools) is a trap. Cover the words that come between, read the sentence again, and listen: The box sits.

• ✓The list of rules is on the wall.The list is. (Not: the rules are.)
• ✓The workers on the night shift want a raise.The workers want.
• ✗The price of these repairs are too high.The price is too high.

2. Two subjects joined. Two subjects joined by and make a plural: Rosa and Ana work together. But when two subjects are joined by or or nor (or either…or, neither…nor), the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it:

• ✓Either the manager or the cooks open the store.The cooks are nearer the verb: open.
• ✓Neither the cooks nor the manager opens the store on Sunday.The manager is nearer the verb: opens.

3. Words that sound like many but mean one. Each, every, everyone, everybody, everything, someone, somebody, anyone, nobody, no one, either, neither are all singular. Each one means one at a time.

• ✓Each of the tenants has a key.Each one has.
• ✓Everyone in the building is invited.Everyone is.
• ✗Everybody on the crew were tired.Everybody was tired.

A word that names a group, such as union, crew, family, class, company, is also usually singular in American English: The crew starts at six.

4. The verb comes first. In sentences that begin with there or here, and in many questions, the subject comes after the verb. Turn the sentence around to find it.

• ✓There are three boxes on the cart.Turned around: three boxes are on the cart.
• ✓Where is the form I signed?Turned around: the form is where?
• ✗There is two buses that stop here.Turned around: two buses are here. Fix: There are two buses.

In your Kaplan book: Unit 1, Chapter 8, Lesson 3, “Subject-Verb Agreement.”

Drills for this part, after the practice questions below: VII.01 Choose the verb that agrees · VII.02 Words between the subject and verb · VII.03 Two subjects, and words like each · VII.04 When the verb comes first. All the drills are on the Language Arts Drills page.

Part 2 · Kaplan Chapter 8, Lesson 2

Verb forms and tenses

A verb tells when something happens. The time a verb shows is called its tense. The three main tenses are past, present and future:

• Yesterday I worked a double shift.Past: it happened and is over.
• I work at the warehouse.Present: it is true now, or it happens regularly.
• Tomorrow I will work the early shift.Future: it has not happened yet.

Three forms of every verb

Most verbs make the past by adding -ed: work, worked; call, called. These are called regular verbs.

Some of the most common verbs do not follow that pattern. They are called irregular verbs, and their forms have to be learned. Each has three forms. The first is the present. The second is the past, used alone. The third is used only after a helping verb: has, have, had, or a form of be (The form was signed). The third form is called the past participle.

Two mistakes come up again and again, in speech and on the test: using the third form alone, and using the second form after have.

• ✗I seen him at the bus stop.The third form cannot stand alone. Fix: I saw him.
• ✗She has went home.After has, the third form. Fix: She has gone home.
• ✓We took the test in June. We have taken it once.Took alone; taken after have.

Let the time words choose the tense

Sentences on the test usually hold a clue to the time: a word or phrase like yesterday or since 2019. Find it, and it will tell you the tense.

Keep the tense steady

Once a piece of writing is telling about the past, it stays in the past, unless the time really changes. A switch with no reason confuses the reader about when things happened.

• ✗I got to work early, and my boss tells me to wait outside.Past, then present, for two things that happened the same morning.
• ✓I got to work early, and my boss told me to wait outside.Past and past.
• ✓I moved here in 2015, and now I live in Queens.The tense changes because the time changes: in 2015, then now.

In your Kaplan book: Unit 1, Chapter 8, Lesson 2, “Verb Forms and Tenses.”

Drills for this part, after the practice questions below: VII.05 Verb forms: went or gone, saw or seen · VII.06 Choose the tense that fits the time words · VII.07 Keep the tense steady. All the drills are on the Language Arts Drills page.

Part 3 · Kaplan Chapter 8, Lesson 1

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun, so that we do not have to repeat the noun: he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, its, their, who, whom, and others.

The noun a pronoun stands for is the word it points back to. That word is called its antecedent, which means “the one that goes before.” In Keisha lost her keys, the pronoun her points back to Keisha.

There are three things to get right with a pronoun: it must match the word it points back to, it must be the right form for its job in the sentence, and it must point to one clear word.

1. Match the word it points back to

One person or thing takes he, she, it, his, her, its. More than one takes they, them, their.

• ✓The workers put their boots by the door.More than one: their.
• ✓The company changed its rules.One company, a thing: its.
• ✗The union held their vote on Tuesday.One union. Fix: its vote.

2. Use the right form for the job

A pronoun changes form depending on whether it does the action or receives it.

Mistakes happen when there are two people. Cover the other person and listen to what is left:

• ✓Rosa and I went to the meeting.Cover Rosa and: I went. (Not: me went.)
• ✓The manager called Rosa and me.Cover Rosa and: called me. (Not: called I.)
• ✓This is between you and me.After between, the object form.

For who and whom, answer the question with he or him. If the answer is he, use who. If it is him, use whom. Both him and whom end in m. Who called? He called. To whom did you send it? To him.

3. Point to one clear word

A reader should never have to guess who she or they means.

• ✗Rosa told Ana that she got the job.Who got the job?
• ✓Rosa told Ana, “You got the job.”Clear.
• ✗At the clinic, they said to come back Monday.Who said it? They points back to no one.
• ✓At the clinic, the nurse said to come back Monday.Clear.

In your Kaplan book: Unit 1, Chapter 8, Lesson 1, “Noun and Pronoun Agreement.”

Drills for this part, after the practice questions below: VII.08 Pronoun agreement · VII.09 I or me, who or whom · VII.10 Unclear pronouns. All the drills are on the Language Arts Drills page.

Part 4 · Kaplan Chapter 9, Lesson 4

Words that are often confused

Some words sound alike, or almost alike, but have different meanings and different spellings. They are called homonyms. A spell checker will not catch them, because each one is a real word. The test checks them for that reason.

The apostrophe test

Many of these pairs are one word with an apostrophe and one without. The apostrophe marks letters that were left out when two words were pushed together: it’s is it is. That gives you a test you can use every time.

• ✓It’s raining.It is raining. Makes sense.
• ✗The dog wagged it’s tail.Wagged it is tail? No. Fix: its tail.
• ✓Whose coat is this?Who is coat? No, so: whose.

The pairs to know

A way to remember affect and effect: affect is the action; effect is the end result.

In your Kaplan book: Unit 1, Chapter 9, Lesson 4, “Homonyms.”

Drills for this part, after the practice questions below: VII.11 its or it’s, their or there or they’re · VII.12 then or than, affect or effect, and more. All the drills are on the Language Arts Drills page.

Part 5 · Kaplan Chapter 7, Lessons 1 and 3

Choosing words

The last kind of language question is not about right and wrong grammar. It asks which way of saying something works best. Two things decide it: saying it in as few words as needed, and choosing words that fit the reader.

1. Cut the extra words

Writing that uses more words than it needs is called wordy. Each extra word is one more thing for the reader to get through. Some phrases have a short form that says exactly the same thing:

Other phrases say the same thing twice: each and every, past history, return back, free gift, end result, repeat again. Keep one half.

• ✗In order to apply, you will need to bring each and every one of your pay stubs.
• ✓To apply, bring all your pay stubs.The same meaning in half the words.

One caution: shorter is better only when it says the same thing. If cutting words loses part of the meaning, keep them.

2. Fit the words to the reader

Everyone speaks more than one kind of English. With friends we use casual English: gonna, wanna, kinda, a bunch of, stuff, you guys, super nice. In a letter to a landlord, a job application, a notice, or the GED test, the reader expects formal English. Neither kind is better. Each fits its place, and the test asks you to choose the one that fits.

Formal does not mean fancy. Long, important-sounding words (utilize for use, commence for start) do not make writing better. They make it harder to read. The best choice is usually the plain formal word.

In your Kaplan book: Unit 1, Chapter 7, Lesson 1, “Strengthen Sentences,” and Lesson 3, “Word Choice.”

Drills for this part, after the practice questions below: VII.13 Cut the extra words · VII.14 Formal or casual: the word that fits. All the drills are on the Language Arts Drills page.