Chapter 7 Verbal and Written Communications 157
by adding an apostrophe after the “s”.
Example: The brothers’ names all began with an M.
Plural nouns that do not end in “s” are usually made possessive by
adding an apostrophe “s”.
Examples: toys of children would read: children’s toys
The nurse’s smile made me feel welcome.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. Common pronouns include I,
me, she, hers, he, him, it, you, they, and them. Pronouns allow writing to fl ow
smoothly without repeating nouns over and over.
Example: Jason didn’t get the job, and he was very upset.
Verbs
A verb is a type of word that describes an action or a state of being,
such as waddle, walk, run, jump, have, or think.
Example: Doctor Martin diagnosed his patient with strep throat.
Verbs such as be, is, are, was, were, and am can also show a state of being.
Example: I am hungry.
Helping Verbs. There are verbs that work with the main verb to show
action. These are called helping verbs. These verbs have little meaning on
their own, but they help make the main verb clearer. Helping verbs include
be, been, am, is, are, was, were, has, had, have, do, does, did, can, could, may,
might, will, would, should, shall, and must.
Examples: I have interviewed for that position.
I should study for the science examination.
Voice. Verbs also have different properties, including voice, mood, tense,
person, and number. Voice can be either active or passive. Sentences using
an active voice verb are considered to be more direct and easier to under-
stand than those using passive voice. Passive voice is appropriate in some
cases, such as in scientifi c papers to make conclusions sound more objective.
Example (passive voice): The lecture was given by Dr. Brown.
Example (active voice): Dr. Brown gave the lecture.
pronoun
a substitute word for a
noun
verb
any word describing an
action or a state of being
Passive Voice
To become more aware of the use of passive voice, scan a newspaper
article and underline every example you can fi nd of passive voice verbs.
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