Block Day, October 26&27 ~ More SVA!

Warm Up: 

Prefix

• olig - few
• pater - father

Root

• arch - chief, first, rule
• cide, cise - cut down, kill

 

Journal 12 (14 for West) - Doc often speaks words of inspiration into Peekay's young life. In Chapter 8 he mentions that "The smile, madame, is used by humans to hide the truth....." (167). Then on page 171 Doc uses an analogy from nature when talking about the originality of an idea, comparing the process to saplings and vines.
Please take a few meditative moments to write about Doc's meaningful words. Explain meaning. How can they apply to you and your life? 

Grammar - Bedford 21 - Subject Verb Agreement (SVA)

Journal 13 - Bedford 21 d-g
  Take notes and complete all of the "On Your Owns" in your journal.

• Bedford 21d - Subjects joined with or or nor (either....or or neither....nor), make the verb agree with the part of the subject closest to the verb.

Example:  Neither the teacher nor the students (was, were) able to stand the freezing cold room.
Example:  A birth certificate or driver's license (is, are) required.

• Which part of the subject is closest to the verb?
• Which verb choice is correct? 

On Your Own:
1.  Neither the teachers nor Dr. Salerno (buy, buys) soup at the hospital cafeteria.
2.  Either a sense of humor or a boat-load of patience (is, are) what gets me through the day.

• Bedford 21e - Treat most indefinite pronouns as singular.

Hint: Indefinite pronouns appear to be plural, but are in fact singular. (anybody, each, either, everything, neither, no one, nothing, someone) There are more listed on page 264 in Bedford.
Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person or thing.

Example:  Neither of my two children (know, knows) how to save money.

• Get rid of prepositional phrase.
• Indefinite pronoun? Singular or plural?

On Your Own:
1.  Everyone on the cheer squad (admire, admires) the coach.
2.  Each of the chairs (have, has) been painted.
3.  Everybody who signed up for the SAT on Saturday (was, were) planning an after-party.

• Bedford 21f - Treat collective nouns as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural.

Hint: Collective nouns name a class or a group. (jury, committee, audience, crowd, class, couple, family) They refer to the group as a unit.

Example: The audience (like, likes) the performance.

On Your Own:
1. The board of trustees (meet, meets) in the board room at the end of the month.
2. The class members (is, are) sleeping on the floor.
3. The number of high school drop-outs (is, are) declining.
4. A number of his classmates (is, are) attending his wedding.

• Bedford 21g - The verb agrees with its subject even when the subject follows the verb.

Example:  There (was, were) a fireman and a paramedic at the scene of the car accident.

• Do we have a singular of plural subject?

On Your Own:
1. At the back of the classroom (is, are) a poster and a bulletin board.
2. There (was, were) a plate of spaghetti and a loaf of bread on the counter.

The Power of One - Read on!

HOMEWORK: Finish Chapter 9

• West's class: In your journal, record at least two discussion questions and two key quotes from Ch.9.

FYI: Roots and Grammar Quiz on Block next week.