1. Pronoun Use And Verb Tense Review

2. Agreement: Noun-Pronoun. Subject Form SingularPlural FirstIwe Secondyou Thirdhe, she, or it they Pronouns take the place of nouns and they must agree with nouns in person, gender, and number. Pronouns also must be used in the proper form for the sentence (subjective, objective, possessive).

3. Agreement: Noun-Pronoun John sings well, so he joined the choir. “He” is singular third-person, masculine, and a subject of the sentence. John sings well, and his voice teacher is pleased with him. “Him” is masculine third-person singular and in the objective case.

4. Agreement: Noun-Pronoun The sopranos sang well, and they won first prize. The subject is third-person plural, and so is the pronoun “they,” which is the subject of the second independent clause. The sopranos sang well. So first prize was awarded to them. “Them” is third-person plural and the object of a preposition.

5. Problem Pronouns Some words like “everybody,” “each”, “anyone,” and so on, should be matched with singular forms of verbs and pronouns. These indefinite pronouns (or adjective-noun combinations) mean “each individual one.” Correct but awkward: Daily, everyone brings his or her book to class. Each student does his or her lesson. Is anyone riding to the park on his or her bike?

6. Pronoun Problems English lacks a gender neutral, singular pronoun. Thus, it is often better to use plurals. The student should study hard so he/she can succeed. (awkward) Students should study hard so they can succeed. They should always bring their books to class. Questions about pronouns?

7. Review: Verb Tenses Present tense is used most often for habits, facts, and recurring events, but also sometimes for present events. The little boy likes ice cream, and he gets to eat it on Saturdays. Present progressive is used for events occurring right now. The little boy is eating his ice cream now.

8. Review: Verb Tenses Simple past tense is used often. Last Saturday, the little boy ate vanilla ice cream. Present perfect is used for events occurring in the past and continuing into the present. We have been here at the restaurant for over an hour. (We are still here).

9. Review: Verb Tenses Past perfect has particular uses, and we do not see it as often as the other tenses. It is used for a point in time earlier than another moment. We had been at the restaurant for over an hour when James finally arrived at 8:15. (We were there at 7:00; James showed up at 8:15).

10. Review: Verb Tenses Past participles are used to form other tenses of regular verbs, such as present perfect and past perfect. She walked to the store yesterday. She has walked to the store many times (and presumably will again). She had walked all the way to the store before she remembered her wallet.

11. Review: Verb Tenses Future tense (and variations on that tense) also requires a helping verb. James will be here in an hour. They will take a cab to the train station later this evening.

12. Agreement: Subject-Verb Verbs have to agree with their subjects in number. For example, John sings well. The sopranos sing well. John is singular and the verb needs an “– s” on the end. “Sopranos” is a plural noun and the verb agrees with the subject (no “– s” on the end).

13. No Questions? Ready for a quiz? Fill in the blanks with the right verb forms (also pronouns).

14. Exercise 1)I (to teach)___________________English for many years. 2)I (to be)____________________ a C.I.A. agent for ten years, before I (to start) ____________teaching, 3)When I (to be)_______________a C.I.A. agent, I also (to spy) ______________ for the Soviet Union. 4)But the U.S.S.R. (to pay, negative)_________________me well.

15. Exercise 5)Now I (to teach)________________at Oakton. 6)My teacher (to teach) ____________________English for many years. 7)Before she (to start)________teaching, she (to be)________________a C.I.A. agent for ten years.

16. Exercise 8)At the buffet, a customer can (to choose) ________________ whatever (pronoun) __________(to want)______________to eat. 9)Yesterday, James (to choose)__________________grilled fish because the restaurant no longer (to offer)________________________sushi.

17. Exercise 10). The restaurant (use to serve/used to serve)______________________ sushi. 11) But it (to serve, negative)___________________sushi now. 12) The owner (to realize) ___________that it was too difficult and expensive to serve (pronoun) _______fresh. 13)(to like)___________you___________sushi? Questions?