Introducing Essay 2: Illustration Writing Subject-Verb Agreement, More Verb Tenses

Quickwrite - Eng 21 Tell me about a group of people or a place that has changed significantly over the years.

Chapter 10 – Using Verbs Correctly Past, Present, and Future Tense Explained Page : Irregular Verbs and ESL Tips! Try it out! Do the Exercise on Page 272. How many verb errors did you catch?

Subject-Verb Agreement This is a problem area that occurs mostly with present tense verbs and third person nouns. – Singular subjects = add an "s" or an "es" onto the end of the verb base – Plural subjects = no "s" Example: The student likes the teacher. The students like the teacher.

Tricky Subject-Verb Agreement P lists three situations where subject-verb agreement can be tricky: 1. Verbs that come before their subjects. – Ex: There are three spiders on the floor. 2. Words are placed between the subject and the verb. – Ex: The group of football players practices every afternoon. 3. Compound subjects (treat like a plural – no “s” on the verb) – Rachel and Tina study before each test.

More Verb Tenses: Perfect Tenses and Participles Most of you know about simple past, simple present, and simple future tenses. Two of the most basic forms verbs take in English are the base (present tense) verb and the past tense form. (Add –ed to the base for regular verbs.) Example: work (present) and worked (past)

New Verb Forms Now, we're going to add two more verb forms: (There is a complete list of the different tenses on p. 559) These forms are called – The Present Participle – The Past Participle

The Present Participle The PRESENT PARTICIPLE of a verb is formed by adding –ing to the base of the verb. – Simple present tense: drive – Present Participle: is driving Remember, -ing verbs (present participles) MUST have helping verbs accompanying them. Wrong: The mayor running for reelection. – This sentence is missing a helping verb. Right: The mayor is running for reelection. – Added the helping verb "is."

The Past Participle The PAST PARTICIPLE of a verb is the form of the verb used with the helping verbs have, has, or had. For most verbs in English, the past participle of a verb is spelled the same way as the simple past form of the verb. – Example: I have copied the chapter from the book so I can read it later. However, many verbs in English have irregular past participles. (List on p ) – Example: I have spoken to the landlord about the problem. – “spoken” is the past participle of “speak”

The Perfect Tenses Verb tenses using the Past Participle are called PERFECT TENSES. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE talks about an action that, at the present time, has already been completed. (Highlights the fact that the action is already done.) – How to use it: Have/has + past participle – I have finished my courses and I will receive my degree next week.

Perfect Tense Continued PAST PERFECT TENSE talks about an action that was completed in the past by the time that some other action happened. – How to use it: Had + past participle – By the time that I noticed the door was open, the three dogs had escaped. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE talks about an action that WILL BE completed in the future by some specific time in the future.. – How to use it: Will +have + past participle – In October, I will have owned my car for three years. (October is in the future…) – When she comes back from her vacation, she will have spent three weeks in Hawaii. (She isn't back yet.)

A Warning about MySkillsLab… In the "recall" section, there's a part where you have to click on the incorrect verb. This might give you problems because they don't explain what they want very clearly. For example, if the sentence MySkillsLab gives you is: “She be living with her sister,” your first impulse will probably be to change “be” to “is.” However, if you click on "be" you have to type in "is living" in order to get credit. In other words, even if you click on the one wrong word, you have to retype the entire verb phrase.

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Reading "Los Chinos Discover El Barrio” What is the CHANGE the author is discussing? What EVIDENCE of that change does he give? What is the author's TONE towards that change? (Note difference between Author's attitude and the attitude of his subjects.) Why do you think there is a difference between what the people the author interviews will tell him when he's got his notebook open and what they'll say when he's not writing? What is the "hopeful sign" he mentions at the end?

Illustration Writing – Essay 2 The essay we just discussed is an excellent example of Illustration Writing. Illustration writing uses concrete, specific examples to prove a point. (Your thesis.) Illustrations can be short descriptions or short narratives (stories) that help to prove your main point (thesis). As with our last essay, the more detail you use the better your illustration essay will be.

A Word on Examples: All examples should prove your central point. You wouldn't have an essay about why all of the superhero movies that have come out lately are horrible, and then talk about how much you LIKED The Avengers. Your examples should be backing up, proving, and making a case for whatever your main point is in your thesis.

Choose Specific Examples for an Illustration Essay Examples should be specific. Vague examples do not help you to prove your point. Examples should not be abnormal events or things that happened just once. Examples should be about things that that happened more than once or are typical of the situation. Each example should be clearly connected to your thesis.

More Tips on Essay 2 For your essay about change in a community, you should… – Think about why these changes took place, and ask yourself if this change is part of a larger pattern you might discuss. – Have at least three examples. Why do you think we have three? Three seems to be a good number for proof. Just one might be a coincidence, two is getting better, and three shows a pattern that proves that your statement isn't just something you noticed once. – You can have more than three, of course. I just want you to have a least three.

Brainstorming for Essay #2 Choose a community you are familiar with that has changed over time. Perhaps use the one your wrote about for your freewrite earlier? Brainstorm for five minutes about what the community used to be like. Don’t censor yourself. Write down everything you can think of. Now, brainstorm for five minutes about what it's like now. What differences do you notice? Is there a theme to these differences?

Due Next Week: In Class: Discussing Essay 2, Discuss Pronouns and Pronoun Agreement. DUE: Summary and Reading Response for “The Homecoming and then the Hard Part” p Answer questions 1, 3, and 6 and bring to class. Begin brainstorming on Essay 2. Fill out the outline I gave you in class last week. We will use it in class. Achieve Mastery in “Subjects and Verbs”, “Regular and Irregular Verbs”, and “Tense” under the “Basic Grammar” module in MySkillsLab