“Hudson River School: Group of American realist landscape painters active between about 1820 to 1880 whose favorite subjects were scenes of the Hudson River Valley and the Catskill Mountains. Famous members were Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and Frederic Church.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
Ok, folks, here is a set of five worksheets on the homophones eminent, imminent, and immanent. They’re all adjectives; the first two are in quite common use in English. The third, immanent, I’ve really only encountered as a term of art in philosophy and theology. Perhaps it’s not a word high schoolers need to know, but it certainly won’t harm them–other than possibly to arouse an interest in being a philosophy or theology major.
If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.
[If you want this as a learning support in Microsoft Word, it’s under that hyperlink.]
The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.
Words that intervene between subject and verb do not affect the number of the verb. (Addendum: The second sentence is the correct one.)
The bittersweet flavor of youth—its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges—are not soon forgotten.
The bittersweet flavor of youth—its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges—is not soon forgotten.
A common blunder is the use of a singular verb form in a relative clause following “one of…” or similar expression when the relative is the subject. (Addendum: The second sentence is the correct one.)
One of the ablest scientists who has attacked this problem.
One of the ablest scientists who have attacked this problem.
One of those people who is never ready on time.
One of those people who are never ready on time.
Use a singular verb after each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, someone.
Everybody thinks he has a unique sense of humor.
Although both clocks strike cheerfully, neither keeps good time.
With none, use the singular verb when the word means “no one” or “not one.”
None of us are perfect (Wrong)
None of us is perfect.
A plural verb is commonly used when none suggests more than one thing or person.
None are so fallible as those who are sure they’re right.
A compound subject formed of two or more nouns joined by and almost always requires a plural verb.
The walrus and the carpenter were walking close at hand.
But certain compounds, often clichés, are so inseparable they are considered a unit and so take a singular verb, as do compound subjects qualified by each or every.
The long and short of it is…
Bread and butter was all she served.
Give and take is essential to a happy household.
Every window, picture and mirror was smashed.
A singular subject remains singular even if other nouns are connected to it by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, and no less than.
His speech as well as his manner is objectionable.
A linking verb agrees with the number of its subject.
What is wanted is few more pairs of hands.
The trouble with truth is its many varieties.
Some nouns that appear to be plural are usually construed as singular and given a singular verb.
Politics is an art, not a science.
The Republican Headquarters is on this side of the tracks.
But
The general’s quarters are across the river.
In these cases the writer must simply learn the idioms. The contents of a book is singular. The contents of a jar may be either singular or plural, depending on what’s in the jar—jam or marbles.
Excerpted from: Strunk, William Jr., and E.B. White. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition. New York: Longman, 2000.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference
OK, now to round out a set of three context clues worksheets I posted today, here is another one on the noun coup de grace. It means a decisive finishing blow, act, or event. This is a relatively common expression in educated discourse.
If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.
“A Man for All Seasons: A play (1960), later a film (1967), by Robert Bolt (1924-95) about the Tudor statesmen Sir Thomas More and his opposition to Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The title was derived by Bolt from a description of More by his contemporary Robert Whittington (c. 1480 – c. 1530), who wrote:
‘More is a man of angel’s wit and singular learning; I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes; and sometimes of as sad a gravity: as how say: a man for all seasons.’
Vulgaria (1521)
Whittington in turn borrowed the tag from Erasmus, a friend of More’s, who had described More in his preface to In Praise of Folly (1509) with the words omnium horarum hominem (‘a man for all hours’).”
Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.
Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Henry VIII, which seems timely. Can your students think of any other selfish, gluttonous, tyrannical rulers with multiple divorces to their, uh, credit?
If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.
“blockade: Action to prevent supplies reaching an enemy, either by placing ships outside its ports, troops outside a city or cutting off traffic across a country’s borders. Under international law a neutral merchant vessel attempting to breach a blockade may be confiscated by the blockading country. The tactic was first attempted in the Napoleonic wars when Britain’s navy blockaded France, Portugal, and Spain. A recent naval blockade was imposed on 12 April 1982 by Britain on the Falkland Islands to cut off supplies to Argentine troops occupying them; it was lifted following the retaking of the islands by British forces in May and June 1982.”
Excerpted from: Cook, Chris. Dictionary of Historical Terms. New York: Gramercy, 1998.
It’s a term that students really ought to know in an age where there are a number of true authoritarians running nation-states, so here is a context clues worksheet on the noun coup d’etat. It means “a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics; especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.”
If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.
[N.B.: As he was almost constantly wont to do, Ambrose Bierce ironizes heavily here, using part of the United States Declaration of Independence to pun on the fact that Cromwell signed the death warrant that separated King Charles I from his head.]
“Abridge, vt. To shorten. When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to abridge their king, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. –Oliver Cromwell“
Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences
Tagged humor, literary oddities, readings/research
Here is a worksheet on the Latin word root nat, which means both birth and born. You will recognize it instantly as the basis of the word native, among many others. It is an extremely productive root in English.
If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.
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