Verbs and Pronoun Review for Police Officer Exam Study Guide (page 3)

Verbs

Verbs are the action words of sentences. They tell the reader what the subject of the sentence (generally a noun) is doing, did, or will do. For instance, in the simple sentence Suzzane likes Tom, "Suzanne" is the subject (the doer of the action), "likes" is the verb (the action), and "Tom" is the object (the recipient of the action). As sentences get longer and the ideas they express become more complex, so do issues surrounding how the verb is used and which formed a verb you need to use. The following sections on verbs provide a refresher in basic verb usage.

Subject-Verb Agreement

In written language, a subject must agree with its verb in number. In other words, if a subject is singular, the erb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. If you are unsure whether a verb is singular or plural, apply this simple test. Fill in the blanks in the two sentences below with the matching form of the verb. The verb form that best completes the first sentence is singular. The verb form that best completes the second sentence is plural.

One person _____. [Singular]

Two people _____. [Plural]

Look at these examples using the verbs speak and do. Try it yourself with any verb that confuses you.

One person speaks.	One person does.
Two people speak.	Two people do.

Pronoun Subjects

Few people have trouble matching noun subjects and verbs, but pronouns are sometimes difficult for even the most sophisticated writers. Some pronouns are always singular, others are always plural, and still others can be either singular or plural, depending on the usage.

These pronouns are always singular:

each
either
neither
anybody
anyone
everybody
everyone
no one
nobody
one
somebody
someone

The indefinite pronouns each, either, and neither are most often misused. You can avoid a mismatch by mentally adding the word one after the pronoun and removing the other words between the pronoun and the verb. Look at the following examples.

Each of the officers wants his own squad car.

Each one wants his own squad car.

Either of the suspects knows where the stolen merchandise is located.

Either one knows where the stolen merchandise is located.

These sentences may sound awkward because many speakers misuse these pronouns, and you are probably used to hearing them used incorrectly. Despite that, the substitution trick (inserting one for the words following the pronoun) will help you avoid this mistake.

Some pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb:

both	many
few	several

Other pronouns can be either singular or plural:

all	none
any	some
most

The words or prepositional phrases following these pronouns determine whether they are singular or plural. If what follows the pronoun is plural, the verb must be plural. If what follows is singular, the verb must be singular.

All of the work is finished.
All of the jobs are finished.
Is any of the pizza left?
Are any of the pieces of pizza left?

None of the time was wasted.
None of the minutes were wasted.

Subjects Joined by and

If two nouns or pronouns are joined by and, they require a plural verb.

He and she want to buy a new house.
Jack and Jill want to buy a new house.

Subjects Joined by or or nor

If two nouns or pronouns are joined by or or nor, they require a singular verb. Think of them as two separate sentences and you'll never make a mistake in agreement.

He or she wants to buy a new house.
He wants to buy a new house.
She wants to buy a new house.

Neither Jack nor Jill is good at basketball.
Jack is not good at basketball.
Jill is not good at basketball.

Practice

Circle the correct verb in each of the following sentences.

1. Every other day either Bert or Ed (takes, take) out the trash.
2. The woman in question (works, work) at the Civic Center box office.
3. A good knowledge of the rules (helps, help) you understand the game.
4. Each of these factors (causes, cause) the crime rate to increase.
5. (Have, Has) either of them ever arrived on time?

Answers

1. takes
2. works
3. helps
4. causes
5. Has

Verb Tense

The tense of a verb tells a reader when the action occurs. Present tense verbs tell the reader to imagine the action happening as it is being read, while past tense verbs tell the reader that the action has already happened. Read the following two paragraphs. The first one is written in the present tense, the second in the past tense. Notice the difference in the verbs. They are highlighted to make them easier to locate.

As Officer Horace opens the door, he glances around cautiously. He sees signs of danger everywhere. The centerpiece and placemats from the dining room table are scattered on the floor next to the table. An end table in the living room is lying on its side. He sees the curtains flapping and notices glass on the carpet in front of the window.

As Officer Horace opened the door, he glanced around cautiously. He saw signs of danger everywhere. The centerpiece and placemats from the dining room table were scattered on the floor next to the table. An end table in the living room was lying on its side. He saw the curtains flapping and noticed glass on the carpet in front of the window.

You can distinguish present tense from past tense by simply fitting the verb into a sentence.

The important thing to remember about verb tense is to keep it consistent. If a passage begins in the present tense, keep it in the present tense unless there is a specific reason to change—to indicate that some action occurred in the past, for instance. If a passage begins in the past tense, it should remain in the past tense. Verb tense should never shift as it does in the following sentence.

However, sometimes it is necessary to use a different verb tense in order to clarify when an action occurred. Read the following sentences and the explanations following them.

The sergeant sees the criminal that you caught. [The verb sees is in the present tense, indicating that the action is occurring in the present. However, the verb caught is in the past tense, indicating that the criminal was caught at some earlier time.]

The prison that was built over a century ago sits on top of the hill. [The verb phrase was built is in the past tense, indicating that the prison was built in the past. However, the verb sits is in the present tense, indicating that the action is still occurring.]

Pronoun Agreement

Another common error in using pronouns involves singular and plural pronouns. Like subjects and verbs, pronouns must match the number of the nouns they represent. If the noun a pronoun represents is singular, the pronoun must be singular. On the other hand, if the noun a pronoun represents is plural, the pronoun must be plural. Sometimes a pronoun represents another pronoun. If so, either both pronouns must be singular or both pronouns must be plural. Consult the list of singular and plural pronouns you saw earlier in this chapter.

The officer must take a break when she (or he) is tired. [singular]
Officers must take breaks when they are tired. [plural]

One of the rookies misplaced her file. [singular]
All of the rookies misplaced their files. [Plural]

If two or more singular nouns or pronouns are joined by and, use a plural pronoun to represent them.

Buddha and Muhammad built religions around their philosophies.
If he and the sergeant want to know where I was, they should ask me.

If two or more singular nouns or pronouns are joined by or, use a singular pronoun. If a singular and a plural noun or pronoun are joined by or, the pronoun should agree with the closest noun or pronoun it represents.

Matthew or Jacob will loan you his extra radio.
The elephant or the moose will furiously protect its young.
Neither the officers nor the sergeant was sure of his location.
Neither the sergeant nor the officers was sure of their location.

Practice

Circle the correct pronoun in the following sentences.

10. Andy or Arvin will bring (his, their) camera so (he, they) can take pictures of the party.
11. One of the file folders isn't in (its, their) drawer.
12. The uniform store sent Bob and Ray the shirts (he, they) had ordered.
13. Benny and (he, him) went to the courthouse with Bonnie and (I, me).
14. Neither my cousins nor my uncle knows what (he, they) will do tomorrow.

Answers

10. his, he
11. its
12. they
13. he, me
14. he

Easily Confused Words Pairs

The following word pairs are often misused in written language. By reading the following explanations and looking at the examples, you can learn to use these words correctly every time.

Answering Multiple-Choice Questions about Grammar

As you take the portion of the test that assesses your writing skills, apply what you know about the rules of grammar:

• Look for complete sentences.
• Check for periods, commas, and apostrophes.
• Look for subject-verb agreement and consistency in verb tense.
• Check the pronouns to make sure the correct form is used and that the number (singular or plural) is correct.
• Check those easily confused pairs of words.
• When determining which answer is correct to any one question, don't go back and review answer choices that you have already eliminated as being wrong.
• Always read all of the answer choices before selecting one. You may find an even better answer if you keep looking.

Its/It's

Its is a possessive pronoun that means "belonging to it." It's is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time you will ever use it's is when you can also substitute the words it is or it has.

Who/That

Who refers to people. That refers to things.

There is the officer who helped me recover my car. The woman who invented the copper-bottomed kettle died in 1995.

This is the house that was burglarized.

The bullets that I needed were no longer in stock.

There/Their/They're

Their is a possessive pronoun that shows ownership. There is an adverb that tells where an action or item is located. They're is a contraction for the words they are. Here is an easy way to remember these words.

• Their means belonging to them. Of the three words, their can be most easily transformed into the word them. Extend the r on the right side and connect the i and the r to turn their into them. This clue will help you remember that their means "belonging to them."
• If you examine the word there, you can see that it contains the word here. Whenever you use there, you should be able to substitute here. The sentence should still make sense.
• Imagine that the apostrophe in they're is actually a very small letter a. Use they're in a sentence only when you can substitute they are.

Your/You're

Your is a possessive pronoun that means "belonging to you." You're is a contraction for the words you are. The only time you should use you're is when you can substitute the words you are.

To/Too/Two

To is a preposition or an infinitive.

• As a preposition: to the jail, to the bottom, to my church, to our garage, to his school, to his hideout, to our disadvantage, to an open room, to a ballad, to the precinct
• As an infinitive (to followed by a verb, sometimes separated by adverbs): to walk, to leap, to see badly, to find, to advance, to read, to build, to sorely want, to badly misinterpret, to carefully peruse

Too means also. Whenever you use the word too, substitute the word also. The sentence should still make sense.

Two is a number, as in one, two. If you memorize this, you will never misuse this form.

Practice

The key is to think consciously about these words when you see them in written language. Circle the correct form of these easily confused words in the following sentences.

1. (Its, It's) (to, too, two) late (to, too, two) remedy the problem now.
2. This is the officer (who, that) gave me the directions I needed.
3. (There, Their, They're) going (to, too, two) begin construction as soon as the plans are finished.
4. We left (there, their, they're) house after the storm subsided.
5. I think (your, you're) going (to, too, two) get at least (to, too, two) extra shifts.
6. The crime syndicate moved (its, it's) home base of operations.

Answers

1. It's, too, to
2. who
3. They're, to
4. their
5. you're, to, two
6. its