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"Flangia," he remonstrated. "What's the matter with you?" "Your puerile progeny has
again embarked on sculpting in the yard, this time it is not just grotesque,
it is highly redolent." Upon rising, Papa Bear could not but sense
the fetid miasma of something superbly putrescent
wafting in the window, the which he shut with inspired alacrity. Still struggling with vestigial somnolence,
he uttered a sardonic "Isn't the air fragrant this morning?" Flangia retorted "Not a time for banter! It's wilting my geraniums."
Though doubtless hyperbole, Papa Bear
did not attempt to refute the claim, preferring to respond with
a sagacious "In adversity there is ever a salutary gem
of redemption if one can find it." "Oh, spare me the platitudinous persiflage. Requisite measures must be taken!" Though by habit highly indulgent,
when faced with the sight of the festering edifice, Papa Bear
rubbed his nose in that special way which any who knew him would
recognize as a portent of drastic action. They
were joined by Mama Bear, an electric elk named Simon, and sundry
squamulose distant relations, all cognizant of the poignant
gesticulation and its significance.
Constructed from owl castings, all manner of ordure,
coprolite, and desiccated scatological residue, the giant
object of universal repudiation had already taken on an
unmistakable likeness of Papa Bear himself. He couched the reproof as an aversion
to statuary in general, disregarding both subject matter and material
used as irrelevant, though he did decry the transient nature
of nontraditional media and the choice of medium for the subject. |
sonorous adj.
resounding pugnacious adj.
Quarrelsome remonstrate v.
protest puerile adj.
childish progeny n.
offspring grotesque adj.
ugly redolent adj.
smelly fetid
adj. unpleasant smelling miasma n. evil
vapor putrescent adj.
rotten alacrity n. speed vestigial adj.
lingering somnolence n.
sleepiness sardonic adj.
bitingly sarcastic banter n. teasing hyperbole n.
exaggeration refute v.
disprove sagacious adj.
wise salutary adj.
healthy redemption n.
recovery platitudinous
adj. airy, overused persiflage n.
chatter requisite adj.
necessary
indulgent adj.
tolerant festering adj.
rotting edifice n.
structure portent n. omen sundry adj.
various squamulose adj.
scaly cognizant adj.
aware poignant adj.
moving gesticulation n.
gesture ordure n.
excrement coprolite n.
fossilized ordure desiccated adj.
dried up scatological
adj. relating to excrement residue n.
remainder repudiation n.
intense dislike couch v.
formulate aversion n.
dislike decry v. condemn transient adj.
temporary |
alacrity adj.
Speed; enthusiasm, readiness, promptness, rapidity.
aversion [to] n.
Dislike for; loathing [of],
distaste [for], hatred [of]. Averse
adj.
banter n./v.
Repartee, wit, chitchat, mockery, teasing, persiflage.
coprolite n.
Fossilized excrement.
couch [as] v.
Formulate an utterance; express, phrase, imply.
decry v.
Condemn, criticize, disparage, belittle, deprecate, vilipend.
desiccate v. Dry, dehydrate, parch.
Desiccated
adj.
edifice n.
Structure, construction.
fetid adj.
Unpleasant smelling; foul,
putrid, rank, fusty.
harbinger [of] n. One who or that which
foreruns and
announces the coming of any person or thing; portent, omen,
foretokening,
augury, herald.
hyperbole n. Extreme exaggeration. Overstatement.
indulgent adj.
Tolerant, non-judgmental, understanding, lenient.
Indulgence n. Indulge v.
ordure n.
Excrement, dung.
owl castings n.
Indigestible remnants of an animal devoured whole by an owl and
later
regurgitated.
persiflage n. Light or frivolous chatter. Banter.
platitude n. A written or spoken statement
that is
flat, dull, or commonplace; cliché, banality, insipidity. Platitudinous adj.
poignant adj. Severely painful or acute to
the spirit;
moving, emotional, touching, affecting.
Poignancy n.
portent [of] n. Anything that indicates what
is to
happen; augury, foretokening, omen.
Portend v.
progeny n. Children, offspring, descendents.
puerile adj. Childish, juvenile, immature,
callow.
pugnacious adj. Quarrelsome, confrontational,
belligerent, truculent, contentious.
Pugnacity n.
putrescent adj. Undergoing decomposition of
animal or
vegetable matter accompanied by fetid odors; rotting, decomposing. Putrescence n. Putrefy
v.
redolent adj.
having a strong odor; aromatic, fragrant, malodorous, stinking. Redolence n.
refute v. To prove to be wrong.
Disprove, controvert, contest, deny,
counter. Refutation n.
remonstrate v. protest, object, reprove,
complain. Remonstrance n. Remonstration
n. Remonstrative adj.
repudiate v. To refuse to have anything to do
with;
reject, disclaim, renounce. Repudiation
n.
requisite adj. Necessary, obligatory,
mandatory,
essential.
residue n.
Remains, dregs, remainder.
Residual adj.
sagacious adj. Able to discern and
distinguish with
wise perception; wise, sage, perceptive, erudite. Sagacity
n.
salutary adj. Health inducing; beneficial,
helpful,
salubrious, constructive.
sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly
sarcastic;
scornful, mocking, derisive, satirical.
scatology n.
The scientific study of feces.
The chemical analysis of excrement (for medical diagnosis or for
paleontological purposes). Scatological
adj. Of or relating to excrement or its
study.
somnolence n.
Sleep, sleepiness, drowsiness.
Somnolent adj.
sonorous adj. Resounding, resonant, booming,
echoing,
reverberating.
transient adj.
Of limited duration; fleeting, brief, temporary, momentary,
ephemeral.
vestigial adj.
Of or relating to a remaining or lingering trace of something
previously
present. Residual, lingering, enduring,
remaining. Vestige n.
1. Flangia
is
A. An elk.
B. an owl C.
scaly D. an
artist.
2. Papa
Bear
A. slept quietly B. flew into a
rage C.
shut the window D. grew geraniums
3. Papa Bear
was
A. wide awake
B. bored with sculpture C.
angry with Baby Bear. D. awakened by an owl.
4. Baby Bear's
sculpture
A. smelled like
geraniums B.
was in the front yard C. bothered an owl D. was sculpted in
granite.
5.
____________ was normally indulgent.
A. Papa Bear
B. Baby Bear. C.
Flangia D. Simon
6.
The festering edifice
A. looked like
papa bear B.
wilted geraniums C.
was a portent of drastic action D.
was highly appreciated.
7. Papa bear's
rubbing his nose
A. portended
drastic action B.
indicated a powerful odor
C. could not be seen.
D.
irritated Flangia
8. Some
relations
A. were redolent B. were scaly C.
were colorful D.
wore gaudy socks
9. Baby
bear
A. opened the
window B. grew
geraniums C.
used non-traditional media
D. Smelled bad
10. The
wilting of the geraniums
A. portended
drastic action B.
was hyperbole C.
was redolent D.
made Papa Bear close
the window.
Answers:
1.
B
2.
C
3.
D
4.
B
5.
A
6.
A
7.
A
8.
B
9.
C
10.
B
A subject and its
verb must
agree in number.
|
Singular
subject |
he/she/it |
The Munchkin |
Rowland |
|
Plural
subject |
they |
the Munchkins |
Rowland and
Boadicea |
|
Singular
verb |
is |
was |
has |
walks |
|
Plural verb |
are |
were |
have |
walk |
Correct:
he is, she is, the
Munchkin
was, Rowland has
they are, the
Munchkins were,
Rowland and Boadicea have
Incorrect:
he are, the
Munchkins was,
they was, Rowland and Boadicea has
Your ear can
usually tell
whether they agree: He is (not
he are), they were (not they was).
Most native speakers of English have a fairly good feel for
subject/verb
matching under normal circumstances and simply need to learn how to
recognize
unusual sentence constructs in order to apply their intuitive language
sense. As usual, English has some
unexpected singular/plural traps for the unwary though.
Either/neither
Normally either (or
neither)
is considered singular
Neither of them
was aware
of the impending flood of mayonnaise.
or
Neither the ox
nor the
wildebeest was found to look particularly decorative in the store
window.
However, when one
of the
elements connected together with either is plural, the
construct becomes
plural IF it is the element closest to the verb.
singular:
Neither the
purple bottles
nor the turnip was quite the right shade of mauvy puce.
("turnip" is
singular)
However:
plural:
Neither the
turnip nor the
purple bottles were quite the right shade of mauvy puce.
("purple bottles"
is plural)
The Number/ A
number
"The number" is
singular
The number of
amateur
astronauts is fairly small.
"A number" is
plural
A number of
amateur
astronauts were milling about and waving spoons.
Subject/verb
agreement can also become tricky in more complex sentences and when the
subject
and verb are separated by extraneous material.
Wrong:
Rowland
and Boadicea, when applying to the Clockwork Submarine Fanciers'
Amateur
Operatic Society, was invisible behind the giant mushroom.
Always
start by
identifying the subject and verb. Then
bring them together and use your ear to determine if they sound right.
In
this case,
the subject is Rowland and Boadicea and the verb is was. It
should be Rowland and Boadicea were because "Rowland and
Boadicea" is a plural subject and must take the plural verb form were.
In
the
following examples, practice identifying subject and verb.
Use them together to see if they match, and
check your answers.
1.
The brown
leaches, the
only really appetizing item on the menu, was hardly a substitute for
bungee
jumping in renaissance costume outside the embassy.
2.
Rowland and
Boadicea, of
the gypsy violinists' existential reading circle, was visibly
distressed at the
state of the herring tarts.
3.
Neither
Rowland nor
Boadicea, when applying to the Clockwork Submarine Fanciers' Amateur
Operatic
Society, were visible behind the giant mushroom.
4.
Quilp
Springle, author
of the monograph, Romance Languages as a Primary Cause of Dental
Deformities,
were unavailable for comment.
5.
Neither the
dwarf on his
tricycle nor the accountants with their wheelbarrow was able to
overtake the
heavily laden swallow.
6.
Neither of
the
flamingoes show any sign of plotting sedition.
7.
The number
of mistakes
he made were limited only by his typing speed.
8.
A number of variations on the painting, The
Muses Contemplating an Egg Whisk, was up for auction as was a
wealth of
marginally bizarre and somewhat dangerous looking kitchen utensils.
1.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
The brown
leaches |
was |
|
correct: |
The brown
leaches |
were |
2.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
Rowland and
Boadicea |
was |
|
correct: |
Rowland and
Boadicea |
were |
3. Note
that when either or neither links multiple subjects, the one closest to
the
verb is the one that determines how the verb is conjugated. In this case, Boadicea is singular and thus
the verb should match a singular subject.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
Neither Rowland nor Boadicea |
were |
|
correct: |
Neither Rowland nor Boadicea |
was |
4.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
Quilp Springle |
were |
|
correct: |
Quilp springle |
was |
5.
Again, when multiple subjects are linked with neither
the one
closest to the verb is the one that counts.
In this case, accountants is plural and the verb must
match: the
accountants were.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
Neither the dwarf nor the accountants |
was |
|
correct: |
Neither the dwarf nor the accountants |
were |
6. In
this case, neither itself is the subject. of
the flamingoes is simply a modifier. The
word neither on its own is
singular.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
Neither |
show |
|
correct: |
Neither |
shows |
7. The
word number is an interesting case.
The number is singular, yet a number is plural.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
The number |
were |
|
correct: |
The number |
was |
8.
Again, the word number is an interesting case. The number is singular, yet a
number is plural.
|
|
Subject |
verb |
|
wrong: |
A number |
was |
|
correct: |
A number |
were |
Upon rising,
Papa Bear
could not but sense the fetid miasma of something superbly putrescent
wafting
in the window, the which he shut with inspired alacrity.
The definite
article
"the" is normally used to modify a noun, "the window" for
example. However, in the English of
earlier periods it could be used to modify the relative pronoun "which"
as in "the which he shut with inspired alacrity." By
modern standards, this is a very peculiar
usage and it can certainly be expected to elicit comment,
consternation, or
criticism from many English teachers if submitted in modern composition. Nonetheless, one should be able to expect
and recognize it in literature:
... I put you to
The use of your
own
virtues, for the which
I shall continue
thankful. -- Shakespeare, All's Well that Ends Well
Rewrite Baby
Bear and the
Yard Sculpture in other words using the synonyms in the glossary
for ideas.
Using words from
the
glossary:
1.
Explain why
Flangia was upset and what she did.
2.
Describe
Papa Bear's reaction to the festering
edifice.
3.
Explain what
Baby Bear was trying to do.
4.
Describe a
parental prohibition that upset you.
5.
Describe a
project you might consider that would put
your house in an uproar
Advanced Writing text for the student with little time and a low boredom threshold