Consistency in Person,Number, and Gender.
Every pronoun refers to an earlier noun, which is called an antecedent. The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces. A pronoun agrees with the antecedent in person, number and gender.
Examples:
1 Shara could tell that the wedding did not go well when she entered. Her friends were looking at her perplexed. Her mother was almost on the verge of tears.
Exercise 1
1 Gustavo is a player who wants to improve (his, her, their) performance.
2 Will anyone who has seen the tv show please raise (his or her, their) hand?
3 All students have a right to vote for these candidates, but will (he or she, they) exercise that right?
4 It is often difficult for someone in that position to justify (himself or herself, themselves).
5 He is the only one of the seven candidates who says that (he, they) will support a tax increase.
6 The instructor was determined that both of the boys be punished for (his, her, their) offences.
7 Juan is the only one of the group who keeps (himself, herself, themselves) in good condition.
8 A politician must be responsive to (his or her, their) constituents.
9 She is the only one of the administrators who speaks (her, their, his) mind.
10 Every immigrant must deal with the problem of cultural adjustment, as well as (his or her, their) own personal problems.
11 Everyone should mind (his or her, their) own business.
12 Each of the students brought (his or her, their) registration.
13 The secretary and the treasurer must do (his or her, their) work well.
14 Everybody should wait until (his or her, their) work is finished.
15 He is one of the staff who will not do (his, her, their) work well.
16 Christine was among the passengers (who, which) were lost at sea.
17 Chin was afraid of anybody and anything (who, that) might interfere with her research.
18 My girlfriend and her mother gave me (her, their) advice.
19 The people with (which, whom) I work are loud.
20 Everyone should work until (he or she, they) drop.
RESEARCH
Once you have collected your sources, you are ready to take down notes about your topic. Choose only those paragraphs that pertain to your topic. There are two ways of taking down notes. One is paraphrasing and the other is summarizing. Paraphrasing means writing down the ideas of the author in your own words. While summarizing means shortening the paragraphs presented in the material.
Exercises in Paraphrasing
1 Botanical garden is a public place in which plants are grown both for display and for scientific study. An arboretum is a botanical garden devoted chiefly to the growing of woody plants. The plants in botanical gardens are labeled, usually with both the common and the scientific names, and they are often arranged in cultural or habitat groups, such as rock gardens, aquatic gardens, desert gardens, and tropical gardens. Botanical gardens perform diversified functions, e.g., the collection and cultivation of plants from all parts of the world, experimentation in plant breeding and hybridization, the maintenance of botanical libraries and herbariums, and the administration of educational programs for adults and children.
| Landscape and Ornamental Gardening |
| 2 In landscape gardening an overall aesthetic effect is sought, usually to enhance dwellings, public buildings, and monuments and to integrate and beautify parks, playgrounds, and fairgrounds. Formal landscaping involves artificial modifications of the terrain and emphasizes balanced plantings and geometrical design; the naturalistic style incorporates plantings with the natural scenery. |
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3 Ornamental gardening and landscape gardening are ancient arts. The Egyptians built formal walled gardens, and the Mesopotamians constructed private parks and terraced gardensusually on artificial mounds or supported by columns, as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Persians were especially skilled in using water for decorative effects; the Moors carried Middle Eastern styles to Spain. In the East the planting of sacred groves was spread by the Buddhists from India to China and set a style there for naturalistic gardens, in which the beauty of the natural scenery was accentuated by distributing plants so as to allow them free growth and set off their colors and fragrances to best advantage. The Japanese adopted this principle and elaborated it into a distinct style of highly disciplined arrangements of plants and their settings with the object of achieving subtle beauty based on economy and simplicity. The Japanese art of bonsai gave rise to the unique miniature gardens and dish gardens.
SUMMARIZING. Summarize the following in 4 sentences only.
1 Of all the carnivores, cats are the most exclusive flesh-eaters and are the most highly adapted for hunting and devouring their prey. All cats have rounded heads, short muzzles, large eyes, sensitive whiskers about the mouth, and erect pointed ears. They have short, wide jaws equipped with long canine teeth and strong molars with sharp cutting edges. Their tongues are coated with sharp recurved projections called papillae that aid in drinking and grooming.
2 Cats are extremely agile; they can run faster than any other mammal for short distances and are remarkable jumpers. They are also good swimmers and members of many species appear to enjoy bathing. All are able to climb trees, but they vary in their behavior from almost exclusively terrestrial (e.g., the lion) to largely arboreal (e.g., the clouded leopard). Most cats stalk their victims with great stealth and silence; even the lion, which lives in open country, usually lies in concealment until it can pounce on its victim. Only the cheetah, the swiftest of all mammals, runs down its prey.
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| Domestic Cats |
| Cats have been domesticated since prehistoric times, perhaps for as long as 5,000 years. (Dogs are believed to have been domesticated for about 50,000 years.) They have been greatly valued as destroyers of vermin, as well as for their ornamental qualities. The ancient Egyptian domestic cat, which spread to Europe in historic times, was used as a retriever in hunting as well as for catching rats and mice. It was probably derived from Felis lybica or one of the other North African wildcats. The modern domestic cat, F. catus, is probably descended from this animal, perhaps with an admixture of other wildcat species, or of species domesticated at various times in other parts of the world. Cats were venerated in the ancient Egyptian and Norse religions; they have also been the object of superstitious fear, especially in the Middle Ages, when they were tortured and burned as witches. |
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