Does a collective noun describe a group of people or things as a single unit or more than one/plural? Give an example of a collective noun.
How do you tell the difference between a gerund and a present participle?
Is this sentence written in the passive or active voice?
“The girl was given a medal by the mayor for her bravery.”
“Philip yelled loudly when the rain made the creek too high to cross.”
A collective noun describes a group of people or things as a single unit. For example, "team" is a collective noun. It refers to a group of individuals working together.
To differentiate between a gerund and a present participle, you need to examine their functions. A gerund functions as a noun and can be the subject or object of a sentence. A present participle, on the other hand, functions as an adjective or adverb and is used to form progressive verb tenses.
The first sentence is written in the passive voice.
The second sentence is written in the active voice.
A collective noun can describe both a group of people or things as a single unit or more than one/plural, depending on the context. An example of a collective noun is "family." It can refer to a single family unit ("The family went on a vacation") or multiple family units ("The families gathered for a reunion").
To differentiate between a gerund and a present participle, look at the function of the word in the sentence.
A gerund is a verb form that acts as a noun. It ends in -ing and is used to describe an action or state. Example: "Running is good for your health." Here, "running" is a gerund.
A present participle is a verb form that acts as an adjective or part of a continuous tense. It also ends in -ing but is used to describe a verb or a noun. Example: "The running water sounds soothing." Here, "running" is a present participle modifying "water."
In the sentence "The girl was given a medal by the mayor for her bravery," the verb phrase "was given" indicates that the sentence is written in the passive voice. The subject ("the girl") is receiving the action ("given a medal").
To determine if a collective noun describes a group of people or things as a single unit or plural, you can consider the context in which it is used. If the collective noun is used with a singular verb and pronouns like "it" or "its," then it describes the group as a single unit. If it is used with plural verbs and pronouns like "they" or "their," then it describes the group as multiple individuals.
Example of a collective noun: "Family" - When used with a singular verb and pronouns, such as "The family is going on vacation. It will be a great time." The word "family" is describing the group as a single unit.
To differentiate between a gerund and a present participle, pay attention to their functions in a sentence:
A gerund is a verb form that acts as a noun and typically ends in "-ing." It represents an action or state and can function as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence.
Example: "Running is my favorite form of exercise." The word "running" acts as the subject of the sentence and functions as a noun.
A present participle is a verb form that also ends in "-ing," but it functions as an adjective or part of a verb phrase. It generally describes an ongoing action or a state.
Example: "I saw the boy running in the park." Here, the word "running" describes the boy and acts as an adjective modifying the noun "boy."
To determine if a sentence is written in the passive or active voice, look for the subject, verb, and object of the sentence:
In the sentence "The girl was given a medal by the mayor for her bravery," the subject performing the action is "the girl," the verb is "was given," and the object receiving the action is "a medal." In this case, the sentence is written in the passive voice because the focus is on the girl receiving the medal, rather than the mayor giving it.
In the sentence "Philip yelled loudly when the rain made the creek too high to cross," the subject performing the action is "Philip," the verb is "yelled," and there is no clear object receiving the action. Therefore, the sentence is in the active voice.