en191f12s28mostafaA: Presentation

Sound the same :

Do adjacent sentences contain the same subject and/or the same verb?

If so, you can combine two or more short, simple sentences in a single, concise sentence.

Join the sentences by omitting a repeated subject.

Original	Radio advertisements are broadcast daily or weekly. Radio advertisements reach a wide audience.
Revision	Radio advertisements are broadcast daily or weekly and reach a wide audience.

Join the sentences by omitting repeated subjects and verbs and by using adjectives. </CAPTION

Original	The city council conducted a study of public transportation. The study was lengthy. The study was detailed.
Revision	The city council conducted a lengthy, detailed study of public transportation.

Join the sentences by omitting repeated subjects and verbs and by using adverbs.

Original	The negotiators worked to gain approval for the contract. The negotiators worked at a steady pace. However, they worked slowly.
Revision	The negotiators worked steadily but slowly to gain approval for the contract.

Do adjacent sentences contain ideas of equal importance?

If so, use coordination.

Join the sentences with a coordinating conjunction preceded by a comma. The seven coordinating conjunctions create different relationships between two ideas.

and shows addition; it has the same meaning as in addition, along with

The strike divided the town, and it strained labor-management relations.

but shows contrast; it has the same meaning as however, except, on the other hand

Negotiators resolved the strike, but the town remained divided.

for shows logical consequence; it has the same meaning as because, the reason why

Coping with environmental issues is a necessary part of industrial studies, for industries affect the environment.

so shows logical consequence; it has the same meaning as as a result, therefore

Industries affect the environment, so coping with environmental issues is a necessary part of industrial studies.

nor shows addition of a negative point

The environment cannot sustain constant resource depletion, nor can it recover quickly from wide-scale resource extraction.

or shows choice

Businesses can design their own programs for recording statistical data, or they can use purchased, pre-designed programs.

yet shows contrast

More secondary schools are implementing programs designed to increase teenagers' awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, yet alcohol-related traffic accidents continue to be one of the leading causes of death for people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-two.

Join the sentences with a semicolon. A semicolon needs complete sentences on either side of it that have complete meaning and can stand by themselves. Use a semicolon when you want to keep two closely related ideas in one sentence.

Original	Ethnobotanists study plants and plant products that contribute to human culture. They study past, present, and potential uses of such plants.
Revision	Ethnobotanists study plants and plant products that contribute to human culture; they study past, present, and potential uses of such plants

2- Subject and verb agreement :

The subject and verb must agree in number: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Problems occur in the present tense because one must add an -s or -es at the end of the verb when the subjects or the entity performing the action is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns could substitute.

Notice the difference between singular and plural forms in the following examples:

Singular	Plural
The student sings. (He or she sings)	Your children sing. (They sing)
The bird does migrate. (It does)	Those birds do migrate. (They do)

In order to find out if your subject and verb agree, you need to be able to identify the subject of your sentence. Here are some helpful hints that will help you to decipher where your subject is and where it is not.

Where is my subject?

Most likely, your verb will agree with the first noun to the left of the verb:

The Supreme Court judge decides the appropriate penalty.
Subject: judge	Verb: decides

The committee members were satisfied with the resolution.
Subject: members	Verb: were

Occasionally, a sentence has the subject after the verb instead of before it. This strategy is often used for poetic effect.

Over the ripples glides a small canoe.
Subject: a small canoe	Verb: glides

There was a well-known writer at the meeting.
Subject: a well-known writer	Verb: was

You will not find the subject in a modifying phrase (MP), a phrase that starts with a preposition, a gerund, or a relative pronoun and that modifies the meaning of the noun or subject under discussion.

The group of students is going on a field trip.
Subject: the group	MP: of students	Verb: is

The survey covering seven colleges reveals a growth in enrollment.
Subject: the survey	MP: covering seven colleges	Verb: reveals

The speaker whom you saw at the lecture is one of the state senators from Minnesota.
Subject: the speaker	MP: whom you saw at the lecture	Verb: is