Chapter 16: Coordinating Conjunctions English Grammar Worksheet (Page 4 of 8) in pdf

EXERCISE 6, p. 352.

Error analysis: Parallel structure.

(Chart 16-1)

: The mischievous misprint gremlins misspelled “analysis” in the title of this

ERRATUM

exercise. This is corrected in later printings.

ANSWERS:

What do people in your country think of bats? Are they mean and scary creatures, or

are they symbols of happiness and luck?

In Western countries, many people have an unreasoned fear of bats. According to

scientist Dr. Sharon Horowitz, bats are beneficial and harmless mammals. “When I was a

child, I believed that a bat would attack me and tangle itself in my hair. Now I know

better,” said Dr. Horowitz.

Contrary to popular Western myths, bats do not attack humans and are not blind.

Although a few bats may be infected, they are not major carriers of rabies or carry other

dread diseases. Bats help natural plant life by pollinating plants, spreading seeds, and they

eating insects. If you get rid of bats that eat overripe fruit, then fruit flies can flourish and

destroy the fruit industry.

According to Dr. Horowitz, bats make loving, pets, and they are trainable, and are

gentle pets. Not many people, however, are known to have bats as pets, and bats themselves

prefer to avoid people.

CHART 16-2: PAIRED CONJUNCTIONS: BOTH . . . AND;

NOT ONLY . . . BUT ALSO; EITHER . . . OR;

NEITHER . . . NOR

•

There are two important grammar points here: (1) subject–verb agreement and (2) parallel

structure. Both are practiced in the following exercises.

•

Some native speakers of English have trouble using these structures correctly (according to

formal English preferences); learners can expect to be confused sometimes, too. In actual

usage of neither . . . nor, native speakers often use a plural verb with two singular subjects (e.g.,

Neither my mother nor my sister are here. Neither my brother nor I were interested). This usage is

not presented in the text because it seems unnecessarily confusing for the learners. You may

wish to mention it, though, perhaps with the caveat “When in doubt, use formal English.”

•

Another point not mentioned in the text is that when there are two independent clauses

connected by not only . . . but also, the first independent clause usually (but not always) has

inverted subject–verb word order. (When a sentence begins with a negative, the subject and

verb are often inverted. See Appendix Chart D-3, p.

20.) Example: Not only does John go

to school full time, but he also has a full-time job. You may or may not wish to introduce this point

to your students.

EXERCISE 7, p. 353.

Paired conjunctions.

(Chart 16 - 2)

Ask the students to explain how they chose is or are.

2. is

3. is

4. are

5. is

6. are

7. are

8. are

ANSWERS:

176

CHAPTER 16, Coordinating Conjunctions

Chapter 16: Coordinating Conjunctions English Grammar Worksheet Page 4

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