Prepositional Phrases and Indefinite Pronouns How do prepositions

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Prepositional Phrases and Indefinite Pronouns

Prepositional Phrases and Indefinite Pronouns

How do prepositions help us understand the world around us? • They tell us

How do prepositions help us understand the world around us? • They tell us how one thing is related to another. They indicate location.

What do writers need to know about using prepositional phrases? 1. They add details

What do writers need to know about using prepositional phrases? 1. They add details to sentences 2. They can be used to change the rhythm of a sentence. We have already used prepositions to add details to our sentences in the last activity. 3. They can cause confusion with subject/verb agreement when a prepositional phrase is part of the subject.

Preposition Notes 1 -9 -18 • The kids in my neighborhood play baseball. –

Preposition Notes 1 -9 -18 • The kids in my neighborhood play baseball. – Underline subject once – Underline verb twice – Draw parenthesis (around prepositional phrase) • The kids (in my neighborhood) play baseball.

“The kids in my neighborhood play baseball. ” • Who is the sentence about?

“The kids in my neighborhood play baseball. ” • Who is the sentence about? • kids • What do they do? • play • Is there a prepositional phrase in this sentence? • Yes—the preposition is ‘in’ and the object of the preposition is ‘neighborhood. • One way to make sure there is correct subject/verb agreement is to cross out the prepositional phrase in the subject. This strategy makes it easier to check if the subject and verb agree. • When writers use indefinite pronouns and prepositional phrases, they can get very confused and make mistakes.

Each of the cats (has/have) black spots. Which is correct, has or have? has

Each of the cats (has/have) black spots. Which is correct, has or have? has Why? Each refers to only one individual cat. Since each is singular, it is treated like the word he or she for determining subject/verb agreement.

1. All of the pizza is/are gone. 2. All of the pizza slices is/are

1. All of the pizza is/are gone. 2. All of the pizza slices is/are gone. • Which are the correct verbs? • 1. All of the pizza is gone. • 2. All of the pizza slices are gone. • Where are the prepositional phrases? • of the pizza, of the pizza slices • What is the subject of sentence 1? • all • Of sentence 2? • all • Why does sentence 1 have a verb (is) that matches a singular subject and sentence 2 has a verb (are) that matches a plural one? • • • Does crossing out the prepositional phrases help us with subject/verb agreement in these sentences with ‘all’ as their subject? • No, the prepositional phrase is needed to figure out what the verb should be. • all is an indefinite pronoun that may be singular or plural. With pronouns like all followed by a prepositional phrase, the verb agreement is determined by the object of the preposition.

What is the rule for indefinite pronouns followed by a prepositional phrase in the

What is the rule for indefinite pronouns followed by a prepositional phrase in the subject? • If the pronoun is always singular, use the verb you would use when ‘he’ or ‘she’ is the subject • If the pronoun is plural, use the verb you would use when “they” is the subject • If the pronoun is either singular or plural, use the object of the preposition to determine if the pronoun is singular or plural.

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are pronouns (words that stand in for nouns) that do

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are pronouns (words that stand in for nouns) that do not refer to a specific noun. They are very common words, and the most common grammar mistake using indefinite pronouns is in subject/verb agreement.

Always Singular = he or she Always Singular (use the verb you would use

Always Singular = he or she Always Singular (use the verb you would use after “he” or “she”): another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something Write in the word “every”

Always Plural = they both, few, many, others, several

Always Plural = they both, few, many, others, several

Either Singular or Plural = OP all, any, more, most none, some

Either Singular or Plural = OP all, any, more, most none, some

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 1. Each of the bakers in the competition (

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 1. Each of the bakers in the competition ( is / are ) talented. ü What is the subject of the sentence? ü Is “each” always singular, always plural, or singular or plural? ü What do we replace “each” with? ü He ( is / are ) talented. Each of the bakers in the competition ( is / are ) talented.

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 1. Each of the bakers in the competition (

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 1. Each of the bakers in the competition ( is / are ) talented. 2. Everyone in the group ( needs / need ) to do (his or her / their ) share. 3. All of the sugar ( is / are ) gone. 4. Some of the flour ( is / are ) still in the bag. 5. None of the cooks ( is / are ) better than Julie.

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 6. Each cake ( is / are ) decorated.

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 6. Each cake ( is / are ) decorated. 7. Most of the eggs ( is / are ) still in the refrigerator. 8. None of the food ( is / are ) left. 9. All of the cakes ( is / are ) beautiful. 10. Some of the desserts ( are / is ) in the refrigerator.

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 11. One of the plates ( is / are

Underline prep phrase; circle verb 11. One of the plates ( is / are ) missing. 12. Anyone with a blue shirt ( is / are ) on my team. 13. Every team member ( is / are ) prepared to turn in ( his or her / their ) recipes. 14. The hardest part of the competition ( is / are ) complete. 15. Some of the judges ( is / are ) planning to leave ( his or her / their ) comments beside the cake stands.