Reflecting on the Results of the Grammar Exercise on Connect – Three Challenging Areas and Grammar/Punctuation Rules to Remember

Connect is a perfect online platform that people can randomly use to test their grammar
skills, from the simple use of pronouns and verbs in writing and speaking to punctuation marks
like colon and semi-colon. Speaking and writing properly in the workplace are integral in
promoting effective and clear communication, two aspects that can reduce conflicts and
misunderstandings and promote collaboration and cohesion. Students, workers, or others can use
Connect to test their grammar and punctuation skills. A summary of the outcomes can help
people identify their weaknesses and gaps in language use and what they need to do to get better.
In the recent Connect test I took, I found three critical areas most challenging during the
test and in real life. The first one is ‘choosing plural pronouns for collective nouns that refer to
the individual members in a group.’ I encountered a huge challenge selecting plural nouns for
collective nouns (army, squad, team, committee, or class) that refer to individual group members.
The general rule is that when a group is working or acting as a unit, the noun and pronouns
referring to it take a singular form (Woods). For example, the army is progressing quickly; it will
be here at any time. The collective noun is the army, and because the squad is traveling as a unit,
the squad must be paired with a singular pronoun (it).
The second area I struggled with is selecting ‘plural verbs for collective subjects that
stand for individuals in a group.’ The general rule is that plural collective nouns take plural verbs

Surname 2
(Verma 122). For example, in the sentence “families enjoy Pizza Inn,” the plural collective noun
families must be accompanied with a plural verb, enjoy, instead of enjoys. At the same time, a
singular collective noun must be accompanied by a singular verb, as in the case of “John’s family
enjoys Pizza Inn.”
The third area I struggled with is ‘identifying compound subjects in which both parts of
the subject name the same place, person, or thing, as in “The first African American US
president and the first president to be born in Hawaii is Barack Obama.” The rule is that when a
subject has two parts that name the same place, person, or thing or form a collective idea, they
are taken as a single compound subject, meaning they take a singular verb (Mills). In the
example provided, the first African American US president and the first president to be born in
Hawaii refer to the same person, Barrack Obama. Therefore, they take a singular verb (is).
Table 1. shows grammar/punctuation rules to remember for effective writing
Punctuation/Grammar Rule Example

1. Plural pronouns for
   collective nouns that refer
   to the individual members
   of a group

When a group is working or
acting as a unit, the nouns
and pronouns take a
singular form.

The army is progressing
quickly; it will be here
any time

2. Plural verbs for collective
   subjects that stand for
   individuals in a group

Plural collective nouns take
plural verbs.

Families enjoy Pizza Inn.

3. Compound subjects in
   which both parts of the
   subject name the same

When a subject has two
parts that name the same
place, person, or thing or

The first African
American US president
and the first president

Surname 3

place, person, or thing form a collective idea, they
are taken as a single
compound subject, meaning
they take a singular verb.

born in Hawaii is Barack
Obama.

Surname 4

Works Cited

Mills, Bonnie. Compound subjects. Quick and Dirty Tips, 3 Jan. 2022,
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/compound-subjects. Accessed 6
April 2022.
Verma, Shalini. Easy English Grammar-TB-O8-R. New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd.
Woods, Geraldine. How to Select Pronouns for Collective Nouns. Dummies, 26 Mar. 2016,
https://www.dummies.com/article/academics-the-arts/language-language-arts/grammar-
vocabulary/how-to-select-pronouns-for-collective-nouns-190280/. Accessed 6 April
2022.