Countable Nouns
A countable noun is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything or anyone that you can count. Countable noun can be made plural and we can attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns are the opposite of uncountable nouns and collective nouns.
Look at the following sentences.
We painted the table red and the chairs blue.
The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane.
Over the course of twenty-seven years, Martha Ballad delivered just over eight hundred babies.
Uncountable Nouns
An uncountable noun or mass noun is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could or would not usually count. An uncountable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Uncountable nouns are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns.
Look at the following sentences. Can you identify the uncountable nouns? The explanations are given below the sentences.
Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.
The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.
Oxygen is essential to human life.
Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than the plural verb "are."
We decided to sell the furniture rather than take it with use when we moved.
You cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.
The furniture is heaped in the middle of the room.
Since "furniture" is an uncountable noun, it takes a singular verb, "is heaped."
Plural Noun
Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding "-s" or "-es", as illustrated in the following pairs of sentences:
When Matthew was small, he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going to be punished.
Since we are moving, we will need many boxes.
There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding "s". Some words ending in "f" form the plural by deleting "f" and adding "ves," and words ending in "y" form the plural by deleting the "y" and adding "ies," as in the following pairs of sentences:
The harbour at Marble Mountain has one wharf.
There are several wharves in Halifax Harbour.
Warsaw is their favourite city because it reminds them of their courtship.
The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities.
Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably know most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary.
Possessive Nouns
In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or is closely related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a combination of an apostrophe and the letter "s."
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following sentences:
The red suitcase is Cassandra's.
The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister's.
The miner's face was covered in coal dust.
You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in "s" by adding an apostrophe alone or by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following examples:
The bus's seats are very uncomfortable.
The bus' seats are very uncomfortable.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus' eggs.
You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and a "s," as in the following examples:
The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch.
Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final.
You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in "s" by adding an apostrophe:
The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling.
My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. You could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group as a whole is generally as one unit. You need to be able to recognise collective nouns in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. A collective noun is similar to a non-countable noun, and is roughly the opposite of a countable noun.
Look at the examples below.
The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.
The collective noun "geese" takes the singular verb "spends."
The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon.
Here the collective noun "committee" takes a singular verb, "meets."
About Me
- carrol
- I am a happy go lucky person. Life is beautiful as there is more to discover in life.I cherish every moment in life especially with family and friends.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE
FORM:
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
You called Daphne.
Did you call Daphne?
You did not call Daphne.
Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
I saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I travelled to Australia.
Last year, I didn't travel to Canada.
Did you have dinner last night?
A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
Duration in the Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
I lived in Bintulu for two years.
Sarah studied Japanese for five years.
They sat at the beach all day.
They did not stay at the party the entire time.
Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
I studied French when I was a child.
He played the violin.
He didn't play the piano.
IMPORTANT!
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence.
However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:
I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.
Source : http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
You called Daphne.
Did you call Daphne?
You did not call Daphne.
Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
I saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I travelled to Australia.
Last year, I didn't travel to Canada.
Did you have dinner last night?
A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
Duration in the Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
I lived in Bintulu for two years.
Sarah studied Japanese for five years.
They sat at the beach all day.
They did not stay at the party the entire time.
Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
I studied French when I was a child.
He played the violin.
He didn't play the piano.
IMPORTANT!
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence.
However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:
I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.
Source : http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepast.html
Monday, November 24, 2008
THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
The PRESENT TENSE uses the verb's base form (write, work), or, for third-person singular subjects, the base form plus an -s ending (he writes, she works).
The PRESENT TENSE indicates that an action is present, now, relative to the speaker or writer. Generally, it is used to describe actions that are factual or habitual -- things that occur in the present but that are not necessarily happening right now: "It rains a lot in Miri" is a kind of timeless statement. Compare that to the present progressive -- "It is raining in Miri" , which means that something is, in fact, going on right now.
The present tense can also suggest a past action: "Daphne tells me that she took her brother to the dentist." Most oddly, the present tense can convey a sense of the future, especially with verbs such as arrive, come, and leave that suggest a kind of plan or schedule: "The train from London arrives this afternoon at two o'clock."
Present tense habitual activities are frequently signaled by time expressions such as the following:
all the time,always,every day,every hour
most of the time,never
often,rarely,sometimes,usually
The PRESENT TENSE indicates that an action is present, now, relative to the speaker or writer. Generally, it is used to describe actions that are factual or habitual -- things that occur in the present but that are not necessarily happening right now: "It rains a lot in Miri" is a kind of timeless statement. Compare that to the present progressive -- "It is raining in Miri" , which means that something is, in fact, going on right now.
The present tense can also suggest a past action: "Daphne tells me that she took her brother to the dentist." Most oddly, the present tense can convey a sense of the future, especially with verbs such as arrive, come, and leave that suggest a kind of plan or schedule: "The train from London arrives this afternoon at two o'clock."
Present tense habitual activities are frequently signaled by time expressions such as the following:
all the time,always,every day,every hour
most of the time,never
often,rarely,sometimes,usually
Saturday, November 22, 2008
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that describe or modify a person or thing in the sentence.
e.g. the tall professor
a six-year-old child
the richest man
It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say "little brown house" and not "brown little house" or why we say "red Italian sports car" and not "Italian red sports car." There is, however, a pattern. You will find many exceptions to the pattern in the table below, but it is definitely important to learn the pattern of adjective order if it is not part of what you naturally bring to the language.
The categories in the following table can be described as follows:
Determiners — articles and other limiters.
Observation — postdeterminers and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real hero, a perfect man) and adjectives subject to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting)
Size and Shape — adjectives subject to objective measure (e.g., wealthy, large, round)
Age — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient)
Color — adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale)
Origin — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun (e.g., French, American, Canadian)
Material — denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of (e.g., woolen, metallic, wooden)
Qualifier — final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun (e.g., rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover). Refer to the table belo
w.
Source : http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm
e.g. the tall professor
a six-year-old child
the richest man
It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say "little brown house" and not "brown little house" or why we say "red Italian sports car" and not "Italian red sports car." There is, however, a pattern. You will find many exceptions to the pattern in the table below, but it is definitely important to learn the pattern of adjective order if it is not part of what you naturally bring to the language.
The categories in the following table can be described as follows:
Determiners — articles and other limiters.
Observation — postdeterminers and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real hero, a perfect man) and adjectives subject to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting)
Size and Shape — adjectives subject to objective measure (e.g., wealthy, large, round)
Age — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient)
Color — adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale)
Origin — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun (e.g., French, American, Canadian)
Material — denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of (e.g., woolen, metallic, wooden)
Qualifier — final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun (e.g., rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover). Refer to the table belo
w.Source : http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm
Friday, November 21, 2008
VERBS
The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word.
Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.
But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.
A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "Joe speaks English", Joe is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:
action (Ramasamy plays football.)
state (Andy seems kind.)
There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:
to work, work, works, worked, working
Source:http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs.htm
Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey action.
But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.
A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "Joe speaks English", Joe is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:
action (Ramasamy plays football.)
state (Andy seems kind.)
There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:
to work, work, works, worked, working
Source:http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs.htm
Thursday, November 20, 2008
NOUNS - 1
What is a Noun?
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn.
Look at the examples below.
Late last year our neighbours bought a goat.
Portia White was an opera singer.
A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or an adverb
Types Of Nouns
There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalise some nouns, such as "Canada" or "Louise," and do not capitalise others, such as "badger" or "tree" (unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence). In fact, grammarians have developed a whole series of noun types, including the proper noun, the common noun, the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun (also called the count noun), the uncountable noun (also called the mass noun), and the collective noun. You should note that a noun will belong to more than one type: it will be proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable or uncountable or collective.
If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them in the following sections.
Proper Nouns
You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun
Examples:
The Marroons were transported from Jamaica and forced to build the fortifications in Halifax.
Many people dread Monday mornings.
Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.
Common Nouns
A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.
In each of the following sentences, can you find the common nouns?
According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.
All the gardens in the neighbourhood were invaded by beetles this summer.
Many child-care workers are underpaid.
Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples:
The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.
Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.
The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history of the Holocaust.
Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun is a noun which names anything or anyone that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun.
Look at the sentences below. Can you find the concrete nouns?
The judge handed the files to the clerk.
Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.
The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board.
Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you can not perceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun.
Examples:
Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought.
Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.
Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.
Source : http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/nouns.html
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn.
Look at the examples below.
Late last year our neighbours bought a goat.
Portia White was an opera singer.
A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or an adverb
Types Of Nouns
There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalise some nouns, such as "Canada" or "Louise," and do not capitalise others, such as "badger" or "tree" (unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence). In fact, grammarians have developed a whole series of noun types, including the proper noun, the common noun, the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun (also called the count noun), the uncountable noun (also called the mass noun), and the collective noun. You should note that a noun will belong to more than one type: it will be proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable or uncountable or collective.
If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them in the following sections.
Proper Nouns
You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun
Examples:
The Marroons were transported from Jamaica and forced to build the fortifications in Halifax.
Many people dread Monday mornings.
Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.
Common Nouns
A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.
In each of the following sentences, can you find the common nouns?
According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.
All the gardens in the neighbourhood were invaded by beetles this summer.
Many child-care workers are underpaid.
Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples:
The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.
Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.
The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history of the Holocaust.
Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun is a noun which names anything or anyone that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun.
Look at the sentences below. Can you find the concrete nouns?
The judge handed the files to the clerk.
Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.
The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board.
Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you can not perceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun.
Examples:
Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought.
Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.
Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.
Source : http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/nouns.html
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
MY OWN EXPERIENCE!
I have learnt the language since young. I have the love for it, the subject.I sometimes wonder why other people do not like to learn English? Do you think I have fun learning the subject in the past ? Not really ! Being a language teacher myself, I envy students nowadays as there are so many great and wonderful activities that the teachers do with them. Lucky them! I believe intrinsic motivation is very important too. It does play a role where I can see in my daughter who watches a lot of cartoons in the PHDC Channel.She enjoys all the cartoons especially The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My friends Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins,etc. That is where she picks up the language from. However, I am quite worried about the influence of American English on her as I do encourage my students to practise British English. She won first place in the Rhyme competition at her school with her 'Twinkle twinkle little star.I am happy for her. Now, I am trying to encourage her to do story telling in English. One day, she came back telling me, 'Mummy, my teacher said it is 'water' not 'wa-ter'. Now, I try to watch her favourite channel with her and I try to correct some pronunciations heard on TV which are not pronounced as British English.
MANY WAYS TO LEARN!
There are many ways that can help us to learn a language. We can learn through songs, reading books, newspapers, magazines or just anything. We can write a simple poem, a message and talking to a friend over the phone or just chatting with them at the park, may it be in Manglish, Singlish, American English or better still, British English.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
DIFFICULT?
Do you find English difficult? Why? Is it because you do not understand the words used? If you understand some words, that means it is NOT difficult. You just need to improve your command of the language by taking some actions. You can start by talking to your friends in English.
ENGLISH
Not sure of what to write, maybe I should start by talking about English. Why do we write English, translated from Bahasa Malaysia? Any comment?
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