Kimmy Schemy

Archive for December, 2011

(continuation of Subject and Verb Agreement III)

• Expressions of time, money and distance are singular and take the form of the verb without s*.

Example

Twenty four hours is all it takes for tetanus to spread.

Three thousand pesos is not enough to buy new lap top.

Three miles a day seems like a short distance to walk to get fit.

*Unless if preceded by ‘the’

Example

The four hundred pesos were found inside her purse.

• The expression ‘The number of’ refers to a specific number, therefore singular and must take the form of the verb with s. (The same applies to ‘the variety of..’)

Example

The number of churchgoers is decreasing.

• The expression ‘A number of’ refers to a group of unspecified number of people, animals, or objects, therefore plural and must take the form of the verb without s. (The same applies to ‘a variety of..’)

Example

A number of hikers camp to this spot every year.

• If the subject is member of a group described by a clause, the verb in the clause must agree with a plural subject.

Example

Joy is one of those nurses who stay at the hospital during the New Years Eve.

• If the subject is the only member of group described by a clause, the verb in the clause must agree with a singular subject.

Example

Jay is the only one of the tricycle drivers who gives exact change.

We just held our Christmas Party in our branch last Saturday, December 17 and I received my Christmas wish, another book by Mitch Albom entitled, For One More Day. It is a great feeling to get what you really want on Christmas regardless of the price. The book is better than a prized gadget that I don’t know how to operate.

Ms. Mary Ann, thanks for the wonderful gift. Merry Christmas to you and to your family! GOD BLESS!

(..continuation of Subject and Verb Agreement II)

• Collective nouns which function as a single unit takes the form of verb with s.

Ex. The group eats lunch at the cafeteria every day.

• Collective nouns which function as individual units take the form of verb without s

Ex. The faculty argue among themselves about the missing questionnaire.

• If the object of the verb is plural, however, it just makes sense to use the form of verb without s.

Ex. The class submit their projects on time.

• Subjects joined by conjunctions either-or, neither-nor, or , the verb to use must agree with the subject nearer to it.

Ex. Either the mayor or the councilors preside over the monthly meeting.

My sisters or my mother washes the dishes before going to bed every night.

• Title of a song, movie, poetry etc. take the form of verb without s, except for compound subjects.

Ex. A Tale of Two Cities was written by Charles Dickens.

Parent Trap and Freaky Friday are popular movies by Lindsay Lohan.

(more rules on Subject and Verb Agreement next week)

I would like to apologize to my cousins Maria Lourdes, Janet, Ruth Sandra and Grace and to my aunt Nita, widow of my uncle, Dr. Artemio Agustin for offending them with my blog post “A Doctor’s Love’ (which was already removed from the archive).

I sincerely apologize for posting the story of my uncle without obtaining the family’s permission first. Moreover, I apologize for citing things that were based on what I heard from other people. Below is an email from my cousin, Maria Lourdes, to correct all the wrong information with the actual facts.

I want to take this opportunity to let them know that I did not intend to invade their privacy or dishonor my uncle, and I apologize for how my blog post made them feel.

Kim,

Hi! I just read the blog that you posted yesterday featuring my dad. I think that you did not do us any justice in posting this blog for the world to see. For ethics’ sake, you could have asked our consent before publishing anything regarding my dad.

Firstly, there is no truth to the specific incident that you related about my dad’s chance of going to the US before he met my mom. As you mentioned, you just based it on “tall tales” that you heard from different unreliable sources. Yes, they are just “tall tales” and not founded on the TRUTH. I believe that there is nobody in this world who knows my dad better than us. In our family, we always spend our free time lounging in our family room, talking about each other’s challenges and sharing each other’s accomplishments. My dad so vividly shared every part of his life to us from the time he could recall his growing up years to all his achievements. His lifetime was part of the legacy that he left us. The fallacy that you mentioned in your deceptive article would not have been overlooked by my dad. If there was any TRUTH to it, he would have told us, for the simple reason that it was a symbol of his undying love for my mom. Do you get my point, Kim? Don’t bloggers follow a standard policy of posting only proven facts unless otherwise classified as fiction?

Secondly, my dad never drove an “old battered jeep”. We never had a jeep in all of my life, plainly and simply because, its way out of our interest. We were raised up by my dad who never liked jeeps because he thought they were not classy. I beg your pardon, miss, the only time you will see my dad ride a jeep is when it is the only available military service vehicle in his area of assignment. But, mind you, our personal vehicle has always been a car, the current year model at that.

Thirdly, my dad never had a private clinic just like the “doctors” you know, because my dad is not a conventional ordinary doctor. He is not just a five cents doctor that paid a large sum of money in order to be admitted to medicine proper by a diploma mill college of medicine. It was you who mentioned that my dad topped his board exams. You heard right this time, lady. But, just because you know one fact about my dad does not qualify you to judge him and his motives. He did not end up as a “colonel in the Philippine Army”, like you’re trying to imply that he did not have any choice but to grab the only opportunity he had after passing up your “tall tale US opportunity”. My dad was a Brigadier General in the Medical Corp of the Philippine Constabulary. My dad hated the Philippine Army and he had nothing good to say about it. He belonged to the finest arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and that is the Philippine Constabulary. He was one of the well-decorated finest officer during the reign of President Ferdinand Marcos, of which my dad was a part of the core that was loyal to the greatest president. Just one book will not be enough, if I were to enumerate the achievements that he has garnered in his military service. Now, these are the achievements that money cannot buy. The legacy that we (his children) got from my dad is priceless : INTEGRITY, HONESTY, MORAL PURITY and LOVE FOR THE UNLOVABLE. We, his children will never trade these for all the money the world has to offer. He did not have a private practice or his own doctor’s clinic because his love for God and country comes first in his life, and all the remaining love is for us, his family. He loved God so much that he shared in God’s interest, PEOPLE. He did not have a private clinic to make money but wherever he is, that is his clinic. People came from all over the country, friends, relatives, referrals to ask for medical consultation and assistance. He was just very glad to be of service to them. He did not have any specific clinic hours so most of them came in what the world know as “unholy hours”. And, I think the big difference, between the doctors that you know, and my dad, lies in the fact that he never charged anything at all, including medicines. And if the patient needed further medical attention, my dad would even refer them to his close comrades and give them a special recommendation for FREE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE.

My dad loved the Philippines and he is willing to give his life for it. This is the very reason why he gave his Medical profession to the military service. Several times, not just once but multiple times, my dad was offered to serve in the US Army with a promise of making our whole family American citizens enjoying all the benefits and he will be given the best position and will be promoted one rank higher…he declined it all for the love of his country. Anybody ordinarily will grab this once in a lifetime offer, but my dad did not want to belong to the ORDINARY. These offers came when US generals saw how my dad served excellently in the Vietnam War. Facing an irresistible offer at the time when he was sacrificing everything in the war zone was too difficult to ignore, but he refused it for the love of the Philippines. Now, is my dad like the doctors that you know?

Kim, what do you mean by “why does he live the way he does”? What do you mean? And this question brings me to another fact about my dad. After giving his love for God and his country, all of his remaining love was smothered on us, his family. He was a military surgeon because if he was a private practitioner, how will we live since he will never charged anyone any professional fee. And, I can shout it to the whole world that my dad served in the military with all HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. He did not get, not even a penny, unscrupulously. However, he gave us the best way of life his paycheck can offer. He sent us to the best schools and he gave us the best luxuries in life. So, for a fact, he did not let an “old battered jeep” bring us to school, but he made sure that we had the latest decent chauffer driven car. We grew up not knowing that there were other jeans beside Levi’s…there were shirts other than Esprit, Benetton and Lacoste…things like that. My dad never denied us the pleasures in life that his paycheck can afford. And this was the very reason that when we got the chance to see the world, we also did not hesitate to give him the best that we can give: a Mercedes car, Florsheim and Bally shoes, Rolex and Omega watches…My dad deserved the best because He has given us the best. Therefore, I don’t know what you are talking about, Kim.

I want to ask you why do you have to write what you wrote about my dad? Why did you suddenly think of him? THE BLOG THAT YOU WROTE ABOUT HIM IS POINTLESS. Kim, my dad is also different from the doctors that you know because my dad is a very private person and that’s how we were raised up. We grew up to be a closely knitted family trained to take care of each other because we did not really get close to any of our kinsfolk. If my dad were alive, he would not also give you any consent to make our family’s life public. WE PREFER TO REMAIN PRIVATE.

By the way, my dad does not measure success or happiness by material wealth or MONEY. For him, money is only temporary and no matter how much you have, it will only last for a lifetime. He believes in focusing on the things that have eternal value, things that you will possess even beyond this life. When he looks at a man, he sees him as a soul who needs God. If he can do anything for this man that will show him the love of God then he has accomplished a great deal. Therefore, for my dad, the more people you touched with the love of God, the more successful a person is. And this principle is the greatest inheritance that he left us. Now, after giving you a brief insight about the REAL Dr. Artemio B. Agustin, do you think he was happy with the way his life turned out?

About 4 days ago while our receptionist was busy with another client, I answered the phone and felt somehow uneasy when the caller specifically asked for the English teacher which, obviously, happened to be me. Did I do something wrong? I thought.

I identified myself and asked the caller what it was about. She told me how grateful she is for all the things she learned from me during the review. She took the civil service exam last October and passed. I congratulated her sincerely and told her I am so happy for her.

Other people may think that it is our job to teach, but for us, it is more than that. We don’t just prepare lessons and stand and talk. We find ways to make learning easier and more enjoyable. We don’t simply give out the correct answers, we teach the students how to find the answers. We don’t simply want them to pass, we want them to LEARN.

Teaching is not just a JOB. Teaching is a way of life and only those with the gift can do it properly and enjoy it. So, if anyone is teaching just for the salary, she’s lucky to last for 3 years. If she does, then there’s a chance she’ll do it for as long as she can..

(..continuation of Subject and Verb Agreement)

• Subject with phrases follow the basic rule. So, if the subject is singular, the verb form to use is with s regardless of the phrase.

Ex. The girl with painted fingernails giggles a lot.

The men in the car look scary.

• Subject followed by intervening phrases like along with, as well as, in addition to, including, together with follow the basic rule.

Ex. My mother, together with my daughters, watches soap opera every night.

The children, along with the teacher, pay due respect to the principal.

• If the subject is two different nouns connected with ‘and’ the verb form to use is without s.

Ex. Ana and Liza help their mother in the kitchen.

Burgers and fries are my favorite snacks.

• If the subject is two nouns with only one determiner, it means the two nouns refer to the same subject and is singular, therefore must take the verb with s.

Ex. My cousin and neighbor comes to our house every afternoon afternoon.

(There is only one My for both cousin and neighbor, meaning the two words refer to the same person)

My colleague and mentor is a great man.

• If each noun has its own determiner, it means they are different people, therefore plural and must take the verb without s.

Ex. My cousin and my friend were classmates in high school.

(There is a determiner for cousin and another determiner for friend, meaning the nouns are two different people.)

The editor and the publisher meet at the office every Friday.

(more Subject and Verb Agreement next week)

It’s nearly Christmas and this is our 9th Christmas without my mother with us. Nine years ago, my mother and my father went to the US to live with my sister and her family. I can still remember how excited my parents had been when they received a letter instructing them to procure the necessary requirements. They were so excited to see my sister and her family. They were so excited to see their trailer truck my sister told them so much about. I wonder whether they had a 5th wheel insurance for that.

Anyway, when they were finally there, they sent us a lot of pictures to show us how happy they were. Now, it’s Christmas time again, and though I already got used to not having my mother at Christmas, with my father gone, I still wish we celebrate it with her around.

Paul* is 4 years old. His mother is from the southern part of the Philippines and his father is Chinese. Mommy can’t speak Chinese, so she talks to Paul in heavily accented Pilipino. Daddy can’t speak Pilipino or English, so he talks to Paul in Chinese. At 4 years old, Paul can speak but I don’t understand a single word that he says nor do any of my co-teachers.

Mommy said Paul’s speech is delayed, but upon assessment, I found out that Paul’s English vocabulary is even better than those of other kids his age. When presented with pictures, Paul can identify objects and animals, but he can’t talk with us. He can’t tell us what he wants nor can he tell us how he feels. He simply can’t communicate with other people.

Moreover, Paul’s pen grip is so light. He can’t hold a pencil by himself. He can’t rub a crayon against paper, so, he can’t color the pictures that I give him. One time, during one of our sessions, Paul suddenly had an attack of separation anxiety. He wanted mommy, but mommy went somewhere else. So, I explained to him that we have to wait for mommy to come back. Paul mumbled words that nobody could comprehend. Frustrated, he pointed outside and kept on mumbling. I assumed that he wanted us to follow his mommy but I said that wouldn’t be good because we didn’t know where mommy went. Paul wept in between mumbling. I felt that he was trying so hard to tell me what he wanted to happen. I felt that he was pleading and begging. I felt that he needed help but I didn’t know how to help him. I tried to comfort him and told him everything’s going to be ok, I was with him and we will both wait for mommy to come back. Paul kept shaking his head. He wanted to say something but I couldn’t figure out what it was. So, he just sat on his chair and wept silently. I nearly wept with him.

When mommy came back, I told her what happened. Mommy said that was her problem with Paul and told me that she didn’t know what to do about it. Honestly, I didn’t know either. So, I just told her to consult Paul’s pediatrician and ask her to recommend a speech therapist for the boy.

I may have an idea what happened to Paul, but I didn’t know what is supposed to be done except consult  the specialists about it.  We stopped Paul’s program and we wouldn’t resume until something has been done about his speech. I sincerely hope that mommy didn’t wait until now to do something about it

• The first and basic rule in the subject and verb agreement is that, if the subject is singular the verb is with s but if the subject is plural the verb is without s.

Example:

The girl goes to school every day.

The girls go to school every day.

• Pronouns ‘I’ and ‘you’ always take the form of the verb without s.

Example:

I study my lessons every night.

You have the highest number of votes.

• Singular indefinite pronouns like everybody, somebody, nobody, anybody, everyone, someone, no one, not one, anyone always take the form of the verb without s.

Example:

Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion.

Anybody has the right to voice out his or her own opinion.

• Plural indefinite pronouns like several, few, both always take the form of the verb with s.

Example:

Few students bring their books to school.

Both teachers have classes until 5:00pm.

• Indefinite pronouns like some, all, none and fraction followed by ‘of the’ phrase must consider the object of the preposition of.

Example:

Some of the children are late

Half of the farm was planted.

(More rules on SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT next week)

Kyle* is a little boy of four. He is one cheerful lad with smiling face. He is also quite smart and one of the best students in class.

He is usually brought to school by his aunt and fetched by his grandfather at the end of class. We never met his mother. But whoever raises Kyle is surely doing a good job at it, because though the little boy can be mischievous and stubborn, he is one sweet, smart and well-adjusted kid.

One day during their play time, Kyle started to say something about his mom. Out of curiosity, we asked Kyle what his mom’s name is and he said..

“Mommy Laptop”

It was how we learned that Kyle’s mom is an overseas contract worker and that he only sees her and talks to her via the internet.

I found it a little sad that a child like Kyle grows up knowing his mother only on the screen. He has no memory of how she held him in her arms, nor how she kissed him and tucked him to bed.

I can understand the sacrifice Kyle’s mom has to make for her child and I know that someday Kyle will understand, too. If only all children of overseas contract workers are raised with so much love and affection, then, surely , no child will feel neglected and abandoned even if he only sees his mother on the laptop. Kyle’s program will end this December and I sincerely wish him and his entire family good luck..

*name not real