How to Locate: The Subject of the Verb



How to Locate: The Subject of the Verb

Simple Declarative Sentences

1. Start by locating the finite verb phrase.

Example: Habitat destruction, pollution and overconsumption are reducing the number of species of turtles alarmingly.

2. Completely FLUSH from your mind the idea that “subject of the verb” = “topic of the sentence” – these are not the same thing!

3. In a simple declarative sentence, the subject of the verb is generally to the left of the verb.

Example: Habitat destruction, pollution and overconsumption are reducing the number of species of turtles alarmingly.

4. Make a yes-no question with the verb phrase. The part of the sentence that comes after the operator is the subject of the verb.

Are habitat destruction, pollution, and overconsumption reducing the number of species of turtles alarmingly?

Practice Exercise. Locate the finite verb phrase in each sentence. Then locate the subject of the verb.

African Greys are rescued

By MANDEEP SINGH

WILDLIFE authorities in Cameroon have rescued more than 1,200 African Grey parrots. The animals were being trafficked to Bahrain and Mexico for the exotic pet trade.

Two shipments were intercepted at Douala International Airport and the birds were seized after the Kenya-based organisation Wildlife Direct received a tip-off.

It alerted Cameroon's Forests and Wildlife Ministry. The Ministry came into action.

The birds are now being cared for at Limbe Wildlife Centre, in the fishing town of Limbe, at the foot of Mount Cameroon.

Wildlife Direct said it was the third such reported haul in the last seven weeks. All these hauls had been bound for Bahrain.

Two earlier seizures were made at the behest of the Cameroon-based Last Great Ape Organisation - a conservation group.

Tense and Aspect: Different forces that work to shape the verb to show time and time relationships.

Pedagogical Tense: (If you’ve ever taken a foreign language class you’ll recognize this). A term used by foreign language teachers to refer to the combined changes of tense and aspect upon a verb.

The Present (Tense) Simple (Aspect) = Pedagogical: Simple Present Tense

FORM:

BASE FORM: walk

I walk we walk

You walk you (all) walk

He/she/it walks They walk

USAGE:

It does not generally describe actual present tense activities. Instead it describes (notice the overlap in these categories):

1. Habitual and/or repetitive actions.

I go to church (every week/on Sundays).

2. Generalizations/descriptions of facts.

The feet of parrots are distinctive. They contain three “toes” – two twos extend from the front of the foot. One protrudes from the back.

3. The present or ongoing conditions with certain verbs called “statives”

Mary knows French. That woman has a lot of children. You don’t understand the law.

The Present (Tense) Progressive (Aspect) = Pedagogical: Present Progressive Tense

FORM: Present tense of BE + ing participle

I am walking we are walking

You are walking you (all) are walking

He/she/it is walking They are walking

USAGE:

It generally describes actual current activities. The focus of this aspect is now. –

1. Actions that are happening at the time of speaking.

I am teaching now. You are listening to me now.

2. Actions that are in the future.

His plane is arriving on Monday.

3. The present progressive aspect cannot generally be used with statives.

BAD EXAMPLES: Mary is knowing French. That woman is having a lot of children. You are not understanding the law.

We use the present simple aspect for these!

November 12, 1997

Exercise taken from:

Today(be) __________ the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I (be) _____exhausted and my legs (shake) _______ ; I just (hope) ______ I (can) (complete) the trek. My feet (kill) _______ me and my toes _______(bleed) , but I still (want) ________to continue.

Nepal (be) ______ a fascinating country, but I (have) ______ a great deal to learn. Everything (be) ______ so different, and I (try)_____ to adapt to the new way of life here. I (learn)________ a little bit of the language to make communication easier; unfortunately, I ______(learn, not) foreign languages quickly. Although I (understand, not) _______much yet, I (believe) _________ that I ___________(improve) gradually .

Currently, I (travel)_____________ with Liam, a student from Leeds University in England. He _________(be) a nice guy, but impatient. He always (walk) _________ahead of me and (complain) _________that I (be) _________ too slow. I (do) ________my best to keep up with him, but he (be) _______ younger and stronger than I (be)_______. Maybe, I (feel) ________sorry for myself because I (get) __________ old.

Right now, Liam (sit)__________ with the owner of the inn. They ____________(discuss) the differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not) ___________ the real name of the owner, but everybody just (call) _______him Tam. Tam (speak) ________ English very well and he (try) ________to teach Liam some words in Nepali. Every time Tam (say) ________a new word, Liam (try) ________ to repeat it. Unfortunately, Liam also (seem) _______ to have difficulty learning foreign languages

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