English Competencies & Subject-Verb Agreement

• English Competencies: 20% of overall grade

English 1 – Study and Thinking Skills (6%)

• Use English language correctly and appropriately (3%).
• Comprehend written text (3%).

English 2 – Writing in the Discipline (5%)

• Use accurate, meaningful, and appropriate language in written discourse (5%).

English 3 – Speech and Oral Communication (5%)

• Use accurate, meaningful, and appropriate language in oral discourse (3%).

Literature 1 – Philippine Literature (4%)

• Apply knowledge gained from local literary pieces (1%).
• Manifest comprehension to extract elements in major literary genres (2%).
• Relate insights to a given situation (2%).

Literature 2 – Master Works of the World (2%)

• Interpret passages from master works of the world (2%).

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Subject-verb agreement rules determine whether to use singular or plural forms in a sentence.
• An intervening phrase or clause doesn't change the subject's number.
• Example: "Margarita, together with her brothers, likes to party."
• Singular indefinite pronouns use singular verbs.
• Plural indefinite pronouns use plural verbs.
• Example: "Each student in this school does not pay for his tuition," "Many students perform well in surprise quizzes."
• Compound subjects joined by "and" are always plural.
• Example: "Miguel and Monica spend their free time at the gym."
• With compound subjects joined by "or/nor," the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it.
• Example: "Either Alice or her badminton buddies are bringing the deserts," "Neither the students nor the teacher recognizes the strange markings."
• Inverted subjects must agree with the verb.
• Example: "There are 15 students in my class."
• Collective nouns (group, jury, crowd, team) are usually singular.
• Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries) are singular.
• Example: "The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck takes quite some time to read."
• Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb (news, measles, mumps, physics).
• Plural form subjects with a plural meaning take a plural verb (scissors, trousers).
• With subject and subjective verb complement of different number, the verb agrees with the subject.
• With "one of those who," use a plural verb.
• With "the only one of those who," use a singular verb.
• Example: "Pocholo is one of those people who like to watch DVDs."
• With "the number of," use a singular verb.
• With "a number of," use a plural verb.
• With "every" and "many a," use a singular verb.

Literary Devices

• Literary devices enhance literature and storytelling.

• Aphorism: Concise statement of a cleverly stated subjective truth or observation.

• Chekhov’s Gun: An apparently irrelevant object introduced early in a narrative for a purpose revealed later.

• Cliffhanger: An unresolved narrative ending meant to draw the audience back for a resolution.

• Defamiliarization: Presenting familiar things in an unfamiliar way to enhance perception.

• Dramatic: Representing an object or character with abundant descriptions.

• Visualization: Using detailed descriptions and dialogue to make a scene visually present.

• Epiphany: A sudden revelation or insight with a symbolic role.

• Flashback: Altering time sequences to take characters back to an earlier point in the story.

• Flashforward: Interjecting a scene that temporarily jumps the narrative forward.

• Foreshadowing: Hinting at events that will occur later.

• Juxtaposition: Placing two themes, characters, phrases, words, or situations together for comparison, contrast, or rhetoric.

• Paradox: A phrase of conflicting concepts.

• Parody: Ridicule through overstated imitation, usually humorous.

• Poetic License: Distortion of facts or language conventions to improve a piece of art.

• Stream of consciousness: Writing down thoughts as they come to create an interior monologue with syntax and punctuation leaps.

• Symbolism: Use of symbols to convey particular conventional meanings.

• Ticking Clock: A threat of impending disaster, often used in thrillers, where salvation and escape are essential.

Idioms

• Idioms are expressions with figurative meanings.

• Lend a hand: To help

• In hot water: In trouble

• Put a lid on it: Be quiet

• Lose your shirt: To lose all or most of your money

• Lose touch: To fail to keep in contact/communication

• Get the ball rolling: To start

• Once in a blue moon: Once in a while, occasionally

• Blow one’s own horn: Boasting about oneself

• Hit the books: To study, prepare for class

• Poker face: A face with no expression

• A dime a dozen: Very common, easy to find

• Curiosity killed the cat: It’s not good to be too curious

• The cat’s out of the bag: The secret is not a secret anymore

• It’s raining cats and dogs: It’s raining hard

• A penny for your thoughts: Friendly way to ask "What are you thinking about?"

• Money talks: Money has power/influence

• Born with a silver spoon: Born rich

Figures of Speech

• Figures of speech enhance expression by using words outside their literal or ordinary meaning.

• Alliteration: Repetition of an initial consonant sound.

• Apostrophe: Addressing an absent person, abstract quality, or inanimate object.

• Assonance: Identity or similarity of sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

• Euphemism: Replacing an offensive term with an inoffensive one.

• Hyperbole: An extravagant statement used for emphasis.

• Irony: Using words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.

• Metaphor: An implied comparison between unlike things that have something in common.

• Metonymy: Substituting a word or phrase for something closely associated with it.

• Onomatopoeia: Using words that imitate sounds.

• Oxymoron: Placing incongruous or contradictory terms side by side.

• Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or abstractions.

• Rhetorical question: A question posed for persuasive effect, not expecting an answer.

• Simile: Comparing dissimilar things using "like" or "as."

• Synecdoche: Using a part to represent the whole or the whole for a part.