More about whether WHO is SINGULAR or PLURAL

Dear all,

Thank you for your interesting comments. Don't be misguided: according to grammatical rules, WHO is in fact to be followed by a verb in SINGULAR! Even if Sylvia Chalker FEELS there would be some justification for using it with PLURAL verbs, because LOGIC seems to dictate it, this has not changed the existing rule (yet)!

She has good reasons, as you have seen, but she did not create a new grammar rule.

Here is the original article by Geoffrey Leech (just one page) that Sylvia Chalker was so upset about.

Blog Summary 1: Is WHO really singular?

Chalker's article examines the role of "who" in certain grammatical situations. She argues that Professor Leech's view that a probing "who" as a subject is a singular verb even when a plural answer can be given. He suggests that in this instance the "who" is singular and if used as a plural, it is grammatically incorrect. The author of "Is WHO really singular", disagrees. She states that both singular and plural verbs are acceptable and okay to use if necessary to indicate a plural answer. She argues that the interrogative "who" isn't just grammatically singular or plural but the actual link to the meaning of it in a sentence. "Who" as a subject can convey various meanings in a sentence whether singular or plural.

Using Adverbs Abundantly: Tom Swifties

USING ADVERBS ABUNDANTLY: TOM SWIFTIES...

Today, we are going to talk about "adverbs." Instead of a mini lesson, we will start with a little grammar exercise, and then become creative ;-)


Here are some GUIDELINES about the order of adverbs in a sentence:

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS
Verb	Manner	Place	Frequency	Time	Purpose
Beth swims	enthusiastically	in the pool	every morning	before dawn	to keep in shape.
Dad walks	impatiently	into town	every afternoon	before supper	to get a newspaper.
Tashonda naps		in her room	every morning	before lunch.

First task:
Take a quick overview of what ADVERBS are.

Second task: take this short online quiz about adverbs.

Third task (everyone on his/her own):
This is what happens if one uses adverbs abundantly... ;-)
Go to the following website and learn what "Tom Swifties" are.


Task 2:

Get together in groups of 3-4. Go to the following webpage. Your group's task is to create a 5-item test for another group that this group has to solve. Get the emails of the one member of the other group (your partner group), and email this person your quiz. The group that solves most of the 5 items it gets from another group wins!! You need to retype the Tom Swifties that you find on the webpage, but you leave out the last word, i.e., the pun, for the other group to fill in the blank. Don't invent them yourself yet!!!

Examples:

1. How do you start a model-T Ford without a battery?" asked Tom _____________ .

(answer: CRANKILY)

2. "I have to wear this cast for another six weeks," said Tom _________________ .

(answer: DISJOINTEDLY)

3. "I'm shocked," said Tom _____________________ .

(answer: ELECTRICALLY)


You should select sentences that people are able to guess when they think hard.

EMAIL me your 5-item quiz (with solutions). Only one per group, please! Indicate your group members names in this email (because you'll all get participation points for the quiz).


Task 3:

Now, invent 1 Tom Swifty on your own!!! Publish it as a comment to this blog. If you work in groups, indicate all your names on your blog entry. You can also work by yourself. If you can't finish in class, do it as homework for Wednesday, March 17th.

If you missed class today, invent a Tom Swifty on your own, and post it on the blog by Wednesday, March 17th, for homework!

Welcome and First Assignment

Dear all,

Welcome to ENGL300-2, your advanced grammar class!!!

The first thing we'll do is to introduce ourselves to our class mates. Please post a short COMMENT to this blog entry, telling your peers about your major, interests, expectations of this course, problems with grammar (if you have any!!!), your personal websites or Facebook (if you want!), etc.

Homework for next class, Wednesday, August 25th:
1. Find a grammar cartoon on the Internet to replace the one on the right (it's a bit sexist ;-)), and email it to me, together with the link where you found it! The funniest one will be posted on our website first; the others will be put on later in the semester.

Remember that we only use our grammar300.com email addresses!!!

2. Try to find the grammar mistake on the copy of the "jury duty" info sheet. If you find one, circle it on the copy, and write the correct sentence on the back side. If you can't find a mistake, or think there is none, write this on the back side. Put the sheet in your folder and submit your folder on Wednesday, August 25th, in the first 10 minutes of class.