Recent Articles
In English, a verb may take three forms as shown below:
Speak (bare infinitive) to speak (full infinitive)
speaking (gerund).
So what are those forms and when to be used?
Let's first with Gerund.
▪A gerund is a noun formed by adding ing to a verb. It is verb + ing= running, working, playing, speaking.
Usage:
it can be used as:
The subject of a sentence: Dancing bored him.
As a complement of a verb: His hobby is painting.
After prepositions: He was accused of smoking.
Verbs followed by a gerund:
Keep, admit, mind, suggest, remember, acknowledge, admit, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, attempt, begin, carry on, can’t help, look forward to, cease, celebrate, complete, confess, consider, delay, deny, detest, discuss, dislike, endure, enjoy, imagine, mind, miss, quit, resent, risk, spend, start, stop, tolerate, understand, waste time.
Expressions with a gerund:
▪It’s no use trying again.
▪It’s no good…..
▪There’s no point in …..
▪What’s the use of….?
▪To be busy….
▪Don’t mind…..
▪It’s worth……
▪Have difficulty in …..
▪The Infinitive:
It has two forms:
▪Full infinitive: To+ verb= to go, to play, to work, to study, to dream
▪Bare infinitive: verb (without “to” = play, work, study, dream
Usage:
it can be used as the subject or the object in a sentence. For example:
▪The glasses will enable you to see in the dark.
▪She encouraged me to try again.
▪They are training the dogs to sniff out drugs.
▪They can play with each other.
▪To err is humane.
Verbs followed by an infinitive:
▪Advise to, forbid to, make, show how to, force to, oblige to, teach how to, order to, tell him to, permit to, induce, invite, request, warn, persuade, instruct, remind, urge, encourage, believe, assume, consider, feel, know, suppose, understand,
▪Bare infinitive: had better, do, dare, make, help, would rather,
Expressions with the infinitive:
▪Had better hurry up.
▪I do speak English
▪I would like to meet you.
▪You are allowed to go out.
▪Don’t feel annoyed to stay alone.
▪I feel ashamed not to greet him.
▪I can/could/must/would stay home.
▪I would prefer to go to the cinema.
▪Let’s play football.
▪Gerund= infinitive
Some verbs can be used with gerund and infinitive without changing the meaning:
▪I hate waiting= I hate to wait.
▪I prefer to play tennis= I prefer playing tennis.
▪Gerund # infinitive
▪In some other cases, using the same verb in gerund or infinitive form may have different meanings. Please consider the two sentences below:
He stopped to smoke.
(he stopped to light the cigarette and start smoking)
He stopped smoking.
(he is no longer smoking).
ExamplesRulesExplanationsVerb + gerund1. I enjoy playing
2. I denied stealingOften we use the gerund for an action that happens before or at the same time as the action of the main verb.1. I enjoy myself at the time of playing.
2. I deny having stolen anything before.Verb + infinitive1. I decided to visit my uncle
2. I want to go outOften we use the infinitive for actions that follow the action of the main verb.1. Visiting my uncle was an action of my decision. It comes after.
2. What I want (now) is to go out (after/later)
| Verbs | Examples |
|---|---|
| admit | He admitted stealing the wallet. |
| advise | I wouldn't advise buying a used car. |
| allow | They don't allow smoking here. (Note that when an object is introduced an infinitive is used instead of a gerund: they allowed us to leave early.) |
| anticipate | He anticipated passing the exam. |
| avoid | She avoided meeting him. |
| appreciate | I appreciate working with you. |
| complete | They completed building their house. |
| consider | She considered starting a new business. |
| delay | She delayed doing her homework. |
| deny | He denied stealing the money. |
| fancy | Fancy meeting you here! |
| finish | She finished writing the letter. |
| go | go swimming. |
| imagine | He imagines meeting her. |
| involve | the job involves working in teams. |
| keep | He keeps complaining about his girlfriend. |
| mention | He mentioned working in that company. |
| mind | Would you mind helping me? |
| miss | He misses talking to her. |
| permit | The don't permit smoking here. (Note that, like allow, when an object is introduced an infinitive is used instead of a gerund: they permitted us to leave early.) |
| postpone | They postponed traveling to Japan. |
| practice | She practiced painting. |
| reject | He rejected working with them. |
| resist | He couldn't resist eating the cake. |
| risk | She risks losing her job. |
| suggest | I suggest leaving early. |
| waste time/money | Don't waste my time complaining. |
| Verbs | Examples |
|---|---|
| afford | We can't afford to buy a new car. |
| agree | She agreed to help him. |
| aim | The government aims to reduce illiteracy rates |
| arrange | He arranged to stay at a hotel. |
| attempt | He attempted to join them. |
| choose | He chose to stay at home. |
| consent | She consented to marry him. |
| decide | They decided to go to the movies. |
| deserve | He deserves to be punished. |
| demand | He demanded to speak to Mrs. Lynch |
| endeavor | They endeavor to provide the best possible service |
| expect | They expected to arrive early. |
| fail | He failed to convince him. |
| happen | They happened to be at the theatre when we met them. |
| help | She helped me to do the exercise. (Note, help is also followed by a bare infinitive: She helped me do the exercise.) |
| hope | I hope to join you as soon as possible. |
| intend | She intends to write an autobiography. |
| learn | He learned to play the guitar when he was young. |
| manage | He managed to do his homework without his mother's help. |
| need | I need to find a job. |
| offer | He offers to help us. |
| plan | He plans to follow a career as an engineer. |
| pretend | The child pretended to be asleep. |
| proceed | He proceeded to show us how to use the machine. |
| promise | She promised to come on time. |
| refuse | She refused to forgive him. |
| seem | He seemed to be unhappy. |
| swear | I swear to tell the truth. |
| threaten | He threatened to reveal her secret. |
| volunteer | He always volunteers to help the needy. |
| want | I want to finish my work early. |
| would hate | He would hate to lose. |
| would like | He would like to drink a cup of tea. |
| would love | I would love to meet you. |
Exercises:
Choose the correct form of the verbs (infinitive or gerund)
- I am keen on in the computer industry.
- Amy decided a doctor.
- Leila enjoys love stories.
- Do you intend Italian or English?
- Do you mind me wash the dishes?
- Alan asked to the boss.
- I can't help when I watch Mr Been.
- If Sara keeps to work late, she'll have problems with the boss.
- Liza hates Maths.
- Are you interested in in Africa ?
The subsequent lessons with the kinds and functions of each part of speech. And for this lesson, we will see the first part of speech called NOUN, its kinds, and functions, its plural forms, its gender, and also the exceptions related to each kind and function.
Nouns
1-Kinds and function
There are four kinds of noun in English:
Common nouns: dog. man, table
Proper nouns: France, Madrid, Mrs Smith, Tom
Abstract nouns: beauty, chanty, courage, fear. joy
Collective nouns: crowd, flock, group, swarm, team
A noun can function as:
The subject of a verb: Tom arrived.
The complement of the verbs be, become, seem: Tom is an actor.
The object of a verb: I saw Tom.
The object of a preposition: / spoke to Tom.
A noun can also be in the possessive case: Tom's books.
Those functions will be detailed in Grammar II later soon.
2-Gender
Masculine: men, boys, and male animals (pronoun he/they).
Feminine: women, girls, and female animals (pronoun she/they).
Neuter: inanimate things, animals whose sex we don't know and sometimes babies whose sex we don't know (pronoun it/they).
Exceptions: ships and sometimes cars and other vehicles when regarded with affection or respect are considered feminine. Countries, when referred to by name, are also normally considered feminine.
The ship struck an iceberg, which tore a huge hole in her side.
3-Plurals
The plural of a noun is usually made by adding s to the singular: day, days dog, dogs house, houses. The letter s is pronounced /s/ after a p, k or f sound. Otherwise, it is pronounced /z/. And when s is placed after ce, ge, se or ze an extra syllable (/iz/) is added to the spoken word.
Other plural forms to be considered are:
-Nouns ending in o or ch, sh. ss or x form their plural by adding es:
tomato, tomatoes brush, brushes box, boxes
-But words of foreign origin or abbreviated words ending in o add s only:
dynamo, dynamos kimono, kimonos piano, pianos
-When es is placed after ch, sh, ss or x an extra syllable (/iz/) is added to the spoken word.
-Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y and adding ies:
baby, babies country, countries fly, flies lady, ladies
-Nouns ending in y following a vowel form their plural by adding s:
boy, boys day. days donkey, donkeys guy, guys
-Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add ves. These nouns are calf. half, knife, leaf. life, loaf, self. sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf:
loaf, loaves wife, wives wolf. wolves etc.
-The nouns hoof, scar/and wharf take either s or ves in the plural:
hoofs or hooves scarfs or scarves wharfs or wharves
-Other words ending in f or fe add s in the ordinary way:
cliff, cliffs handkerchief, handkerchiefs safe, safes
-A few nouns form their plural by a vowel change:
foot. feet louse, lice mouse, mice woman, women
-The plurals of child and ox are children, oxen.
-Names of certain creatures do not change in the plural.
fish is normally unchanged, fishes exists but is uncommon. Some types of fish do not normally change in the plural:
carp pike salmon trout
-The word game. used by sportsmen to mean an animal/animals hunted, is always in the singular, and takes a singular verb.
-A few other words don't change: aircraft, craft (boat/boats) quid (slang for £1}, counsel (barristers working in court)
-Collective nouns, crew, family, team etc.. can take a singular or plural verb; singular if we consider the word to mean a single group or unit:
Our team is the best
or plural if we take it to mean a number of individuals:
Our team are wearing their new jerseys.
When a possessive adjective is necessary, a plural verb with their is more usual than a singular verb with its, though sometimes both are possible:
The Jury is considering its verdict.
The jury are considering their verdict.
-Certain words are always plural and take a plural verb:
Clothes police
garments consisting of two parts:
breeches pants pyjama trousers etc.
and tools and instruments consisting of two parts:
binoculars pliers scissors spectacles
glasses scales shears etc.
Also certain other words including:
arms (weapons) particulars, damages (compensation) premises/quarters, earnings riches, goods/wares savings, greens (vegetables) spirits (alcohol)
-Words plural in form but singular in meaning include news:
The news is good
certain diseases:
mumps rickets shingles
and certain games:
billiards darts draughts bowls dominoes
-Some words which retain their original Greek or Latin forms make their plurals according to the rules of Greek and Latin:
crisis, crises phenomenon, phenomena
But some follow the English rules:
dogma, dogmas gymnasium, gymnasiums
formula, formulas (though formulae is used by scientists)
Sometimes there are two plural forms with different meanings:
appendix, appendixes or appendices (medical terms)
appendix, appendices (addition/s to a book)
index, indexes (in books), indices (in mathematics)
Musicians usually prefer Italian plural forms for Italian musical terms:
libretto, libretti tempo, tempi
But s is also possible: librettos, tempos.
-Compound nouns, normally the last word is made plural:
boy-friends break-ins travel agents
But where man and woman is prefixed both parts are made plural:
men drivers women drivers
-The first word is made plural with compounds formed of verb + er nouns + adverbs:
hangers-on lookers-on runners-up
and with compounds composed of noun + preposition + noun:
ladies-in-waiting sisters-in-law wards of court
-Initials can be made plural:
MPs (Members of Parliament), VIPs (very important persons), OAPs (old age pensioners), UFOs (unidentified flying objects)
-Uncountable nouns (also known as non-count nouns or mass nouns)
Names of substances considered generally:
bread cream gold paper tea, beer dust ice sand wafer, cloth gin jam soap wine, coffee glass oil stone wood
-Abstract nouns:
advice experience horror pity beauty fear information relief courage help knowledge suspicion death hope mercy work
-Uncountable nouns are always singular and are not used with a/an:
I don't want (any) advice or help. I want (some) information.
He has had no experience in this sort of work.
-Many of the nouns in the above groups can be used in a particular sense and are then countable and can take a/an in the singular. Some examples are given below.
hair (all the hair on one's head) is considered uncountable, but if we consider each hair separately we say one hair, two hairs etc.:
Her hair is black. Whenever she finds a grey hair she pulls it out.
We drink beer, coffee, gin, but we can ask for a (cup of) coffee, a gin, two gins etc. We drink out of glasses. We can walk in woods.
experience meaning 'something which happened to someone' is countable:
He had an exciting experience/some exciting experiences
(= adventure/s) last week.
work meaning 'occupation/employment/a job/jobs' is singular:
He is looking/or work/for a job. I do homework.
She does housework.
But roadworks means 'repair of roads'.
works (plural only) can mean 'factory' or 'moving parts of a machine'.
works (usually plural) can be used of literary or musical compositions:
Shakespeare's complete works.
-Some abstract nouns can be used in a particular sense with a/an, but in the singular only:
a help:
My children are a great help to me. A good map would be a help.
a relief:
It was a relief to sit down.
a knowledge + of:
He had a good knowledge of mathematics.
a dislike/dread/hatred/horror/love + of is also possible:
a love of music a hatred of violence
a mercy/pity/shame/wonder can be used with that-clauses introduced by it:
It's a pity you weren't here. It's a shame he wasn't paid.
a fear/fears, a hope/hopes, a suspicion/suspicions
These can be used with that-clauses introduced by there:
There is a fear/There are fears that he has been murdered.
We can also have a suspicion that. . .
Something can arouse a fear/fears, a hope/hopes, a suspicion/suspicions.
4-The form of the possessive/genitive case
's is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:
a man's job the people's choice
men's work the crew's quarters
A simple apostrophe (') is used with plural nouns ending in s:
a girls' school the students' hostel
Classical names ending in s usually add only the apostrophe:
Pythagoras' Theorem Archimedes' Law Sophocles' plays
Other names ending in s can take 's or the apostrophe alone;
Mr Jones's (w Mr Jones' house) Yeats's (or Yeats') poems
With compounds, the last word takes the 's:
my brother-in-law's guitar
Names consisting of several words are treated similarly:
Henry the Eighth's wives the Prince of Wales's helicopter
's can also be used after initials:
the PM's secretary the MP's briefcase the VIP's escort
Note that when the possessive case is used, the article before the person or thing 'possessed' disappears:
the daughter of the politician = the politician's daughter
the intervention of America = America's intervention
the plays of Shakespeare = Shakespeare's plays
5-Use of the possessive/genitive case and of + noun
The possessive case is chiefly used of people, countries or animals as shown above- It can also be used:
1 Of ships and boats: the ship's bell. the yacht's mast
2 Of planes, trains, cars and other vehicles, though here the of construction is safer:
a glider's wings or the wings of a glider the train's heating system or the heating system of the train
3 In time expressions:
a week's holiday today's paper tomorrow's weather
in two years' time ten minutes' break two hours' delay
a ten-minute break, a two-hour delay are also possible:
We have ten minutes' break/a ten-minute break.
4 In expressions of money + worth:
£1 's worth of stamps ten dollars' worth of ice-cream
5 With for + noun + sake: for heaven's sake, for goodness' sake
6 In a few expressions such as:
a stone's throw Journey's end the water's edge
7 We can say either a winter's day or a winter day and a summer's day or a summer day, but we cannot make spring or autumn possessive, except when they are personified: Autumn's return.
8 Sometimes certain nouns can be used in the possessive case without the second noun. a/the baker's/butcher's/chemist's/florist's etc. can mean 'a/the baker's/butcher's etc. shop'. Similarly, a/the house agent's/travel agent's etc. (office) and the dentist 's/doctor 's/vet 's (surgery):
You can buy it at the chemist's. He's going to the dentist's.
Names of the owners of some businesses can be used similarly:
Sotheby's, Claridge's
Some very well-known shops etc. call themselves by the possessive form and some drop the apostrophe: Foyles, Harrods.
Names of people can sometimes be used similarly to mean ‘.. . 's house':
We had lunch at Bill's. We met at Ann's.
of + noun is used for possession:
1 When the possessor noun is followed by a phrase or clause:
The boys ran about, obeying the directions of a man with a whistle.
I took the advice of a couple I met (in the train and hired a car.
2 With inanimate 'possessors', except those listed in A above:
the walls of the town the roof of the church the keys of the car
However, it is often possible to replace noun X + of + noun Y by
noun Y + noun X in that order:
the town walls the church roof the car keys
The first noun becomes a sort of adjective and is not made plural:
the roofs of the churches = the church roofs (see 16)
Unfortunately noun + of + noun combinations cannot always be replaced in this way and the student is advised to use of when in doubt.
6-Compound nouns
Examples of these:
1 Noun + noun:
London Transport Fleet Street Tower bridge
hall door traffic warden petrol tank
hitch-hiker sky-jacker river bank
kitchen table winter clothes
2 Noun + gerund:
fruit picking lorry driving coal-mining
weight-lifting bird-watching surf-riding
3 Gerund + noun:
waiting list diving-board driving licence
landing card dining-room swimming pool
Some ways in which these combinations can be used:
1 When the second noun belongs to or is part of the first:
shop window picture frame college library
church bell garden gate gear lever
But words denoting quantity: lump, part, piece, slice etc. cannot be used in this way:
a piece of cake a slice of bread
2 The first noun can indicate the place of the second:
city street comer shop country lane street market
3 The first noun can indicate the time of the second:
summer holiday Sunday paper November fogs
spring flowers dawn chorus
4 The first noun can state the material of which the second is made:
steel door rope ladder gold medal
stone wall silk shirt
wool and wood are not used here as they have adjective forms: woollen and wooden, gold has an adjective form golden, but this is used only figuratively;
a golden handshake a golden opportunity golden hair
The first noun can also state the power/fuel used to operate the second:
Gas fire petrol engine oil stow
5 The first word can indicate the purpose of the second:
coffee cup escape hatch chess board
reading lamp skating rink tin opener
golf club notice board football ground
6 Work areas, such as factory, farm, mine etc., can be preceded by the name of the article produced:
fish-farm gold-mine oil-rig
or the type of work done:
inspection pit assembly plant decompression chamber
7 These combinations are often used of occupations, sports, hobbies and the people who practise them:
sheep farming sheep farmer pop singer
wind surfing water skier disc jockey
and for competitions:
football match tennis tournament beauty contest car rally
8 The first noun can show what the second is about or concerned with.
A work of fiction may be a 'detective/murder/mystery/ghost/terror/spy story. We buy bus/train/plane tickets. We pay fuel/laundry/ milk/telephone bills, entry fees, income tax, car insurance, water rates, parking fines.
Similarly with committees, departments, talks, conferences etc.:
housing committee, education department, peace talks
9 These categories all overlap to some extent. They are not meant to be mutually exclusive, but aim to give the student some general idea of the uses of these combinations and help with the stress.
In general, those are the most important points to be considered about Noun. Should there be any question or comment, please let me know in the comment section.
The coming lesson will cover the part of speech (Pronoun).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
