COMPETENCIA 2da
COMPETENCIA 2da. UNIDAD
Distinguir los distintos tipos de enunciados, con el fin de utilizarlos apropiadamente en los differentes párrafos. Describir las partes del enunciado en sus diversas modalidades. Especificar la importancia del orden sintático de cada tipo de enunciados.
Contenido
2.1 Partes del enunciado
2.2 Tipos de enunciado
2.3 Orden
1. THE PARTS OF A SENTENCE
Subjects and Verbs
The basic building blocks of English sentences are subjects and verbs. Understanding them is an important first step toward mastering a number of sentence skills.
Every sentence has a subject and a verb. Who or what the sentence speaks about is called the: subject; what the sentence says about the subject is called the verb. In the following sentences, the subject is underlined once and the verb twice:
The boy cried.
That fish smells.
Many people applied for the job.
The show is a documentary.
A Simple Way to Find a Subject
To find a subject, ask who or what the sentence is about. As shown below, your answer is the subject.
Who is the first sentence about? The boy
What is the second sentence about? That fish
Who is the third sentence about? Many people
What is the fourth sentence about? The show
A Simple Way to Find a Verb
To find a verb, ask what the sentence says about the subject. As shown below, your answer is the verb.
What does the first sentence say about the boy? He cried
What does the second sentence say about the fish? It smells
What does the third sentence say about the people? They applied
What does the fourth sentence say about the show? It is a documentary
A second way to find the verb is to put I, you, he, she, it, or they in front of the word you think is the verb. If the result makes sense, you have a verb.
For example, you could put he in front of cried in the first sentence above, with the result, he cried, making sense. Therefore you know that cried is a verb. You could use the same test with the other three verbs as well.
Finally, it helps to remember that most verbs show action. In the sentences already considered, the three action verbs are cried, smells and applied. Certain other verbs, known as linking verbs, do not show action. They do, however, give information about the subject. In “The show is a documentary,” the linking verb is tells us that the show is a documentary. Other common linking verbs include am, are, was, were, feel, appear, look, become, and seem.
Activity 2.1.1
In each of the following sentences, type subject red and the verb blue.
1-. The ripening tomatoes glistened on the sunny windowsill.
2-. Biofeedback reduces the pain of my headaches.
3-. Elena nervously twisted a strand of hair around her fingers.
4-. My brother made our stereo cabinet from inexpensive particle board.
5-. A jackrabbit bounds up to fifteen feet in one leap.
More About Subjects and Verbs
1-. A sentence may have more than one verb, more than one subject, or several subjects and verbs.
The engine coughed and sputtered.
Broken glass and empty cans littered the parking lot.
Joyce, Brenda, and Robert met after class and headed downtown.
2-. The subject of a sentence never apppears within a prepositional phase. A prepositional phrase is simply a group of words that begins with a preposition. Following is a list of common prepositions:
about before by inside over
above behind during into through
across below except of to
among beneath for off toward
around beside from on under
at between in onto with
Cross out prepositional phrases when looking for the subject of a sentence.
The weathered old house perched unsteadily on its rotted foundation.
The label on that mayonnaise jar can be easliy removed with hot water.
The color picture on our TV set turns black and white during a storm.
The murky waters of the polluted lake spilled over the dam.
The amber lights on its sides outlined the tractor-trailer in the hazy dust.
College Writing Skills with Readings. (1989). John Langan. Second Edition. McGraw Hill.
3-. Many verbs consist of more than one word. Here, for example, are some of the many forms of the verb work:
work worked should work
works were working will be working
does work have worked can work
is working had worked could be working
are working had been working must have worked
Notes:
a- Words like not, just, never, only, and always are part of the verb although they may appear within the verb.
Rebecca has just finished filling out her tax form.
The intersection has not always been this dangerous.
b- No verb preceded by to is ever the verb of a sentence.
At night, my son likes to read under the covers.
Evelyn decided to separate from her husband.
c- No –ing word by otself is ever the verb of a sentence. (It may be part of the verb, but it must have a helping verb in front of it.)
They going on a trip this weekend. (not a sentence, because the verb is not complete)
They are going on a trip this weekend. (a sentence)
Activity 2.1.2
In each of the following sentences, type subject red and the verb blue. Typing prepostional phrases in green might help you to find the subjects.
Ex: The top of our refrigerator is covered with dusty pots and pans.
1-. A new muffler and tail pipe were just installed in my car.
2-. The people in the all-night coffee shop seemed weary and lost.
3-. Every plant in the dim room bent toward the small window.
4-. A glaring headline about the conviction of a local congressman attracted my attention.
College Writing Skills with Readings. (1989). John Langan. Second Edition. McGraw Hill.
Final Activity 2.1.3
In each of the following sentences, type subject red and the verb blue. Typing prepostional phrases in green might help you to find the subjects
Ex: The top of our refrigerator is covered with dusty pots and pans.
1- With one graceful motion, the shortstop fielded the grounder and threw to first base.
2- Forty-seven czars are buried within the walls of Moscow’s Kremlins.
3- Before class, Barbara and Aaron rushed to the coffee machine in the hall.
4- I punched and proded my feather pillow before settling down to sleep.
5- Matt has been exercising twice a day to keep his weight down.
6- Cattle branding was practiced by ancient Egyptians over four thousand years ago.
7- Lilacs and honeysuckle perfume our yard in summer nights.
8- The mail carrier abruptly halted her jeep and backed up toward the mailbox.
9- During the American Revolution, some brides rejected white wedding gowns and wore red as a symbol of rebellion.
10- The little girls frantic family called a psychic to help locate the child.
College Writing Skills with Readings. (1989). John Langan. Second Edition. McGraw Hill.
Sentence Fragments
Every sentence must have a subject and a verb and must express a complete thought. A word group that lacks a subject or a verb that does not express a complete thought is a fragment. The four most common types of fragments that people write are explained on the following pages.
Dependent-Word Fragments
Some word groups that begin with a dependent word are fragments. Here is a list of common dependent words:
after if, even if when
although in order that where
as since whether
because that, so that which
before unless while
until who whose
Whenever you start a sentence with one of these words, you must be careful that a fragment does not result. The word group beginning with the dependent word After in the example below is a fragment.
After I cashed my paycheck. I treated myself to dinner.
A dependent statement—one starting with a dependent word like After—cannot stand alone. It depends on another statement to complete the thought. After I cashed my paycheck is a dependent statement. It leaves us hanging. We expect in the same sentence to find out what happened after the writer cashed the check. When a writer does not follow through and complete a thought, a fragment results.
In most cases you can correct a dependent-word fragment by attaching it to the sentence that comes after it or the sentence that comes before it:
After I cashed my paycheck, I treated myself to dinner.
Remember, then, that a dependent statement by itself is a fragment. It must be attached to a statement that makes sense syanding alone.
Activity 2.1.4
Underline the dependent-word fragment in each selection. Then correct the fragment by attaching it to the sentence that comes before or the sentence that comes after it. Put a comma after the dependent-word group if it starts the sentence.
Example:
1- Whenever I spray deodorant. My cat arches her back. She thinks she is hearing a hissing enemy.
Whenever I spray deodorant, my cat arches her back. She thinks she is hearing a hissing enemy.
2- I bought a calendar watch. Which is running fast. Last week had eight days.
3- If Kim takes too long saying good-bye to her boyfriend. Her father will start flicking the porch light.
-ing or to fragments
When and –ing word appears at or near the start of a group, a fragment may result. A fragment may also result when to appears at or near the start of a word group.
The word group beginning with trying in the example below is a fragment.
Ellen walked all over the neighborhood yesterday. Trying to find her dog
Bo. Several people claimed they had seen him only hours before.
The word group beginning with to in the example below is also fragment:
At the Chinese restaurant, Tim used chopsticks. To impress his date. He spent one hour eating a small bowl of rice.
An –ing fragment or to fragment can often be corrected by attaching the fragment to the sentence that comes before or after it:
Ellen walked all over the neughborhood yesterday, trying to find her dog Bo.
At the Chinese restaurant, Tim used chopsticks to impress his date.
In some cases, you may want to add a subject to the fragment and change the –ing verb part, as in the following example. (The fragment begins with Not.)
We sat back to watch the movie. Not expecting anything special. The movie
Then kept us on the edge of our seats for the next two hours.
We sat back to watch the movie. We did not expect anything special. (The
subject we has been added and the verb changed to did not expect.)
Activity 2.1.5
Underline the –ing or to fragment in each selection. Then correct the fragment by using one of the two methods of correction described on the preceding page.
Example:
1-Flora scratched her mosquito bites. Trying to stop the itching. Instead, they began to bleed.
Flora scratched her mosquito bites, trying to stop the itching. Instead, they began to bleed.
2- I put a box of baking soda in the freezer. To get rid of the musty smell. However, my ice cubes still taste like old socks.
3- Staring at the clock on the far wall. I nervously began my speech. I was afraid to look at any of the people in the room.
Added Detail Fragments
Added detail fragments lack a subject and verb; they often begin with also, especially, except, for example, including or such as.
The word group beginning with Such as in the following example is a fragment:
Before a race, I eat starchy food. Such as bread and spaghetti. The carbohydrates provide quick energy.
An added-detail fragment can often be corrected by attaching it to the preceding sentence:
Before a race, I eat starchy food such as bread and spaghetti.
Adding a subject and verb is sometimes necessary to correct and added-detail fragment. In the following example, the word beginning with Also is a fragment:
Bob is taking a night course in auto mechanics. Also, one in plumbing. He wants to save money on household repairs.
In order to correct the fragment, you must add a subject and verb:
Bob is taking a night course in auto mechanics. Also, he is taking one in plumbing.
[pic] Activity 2.1.6 Identifying and Correcting Sentence Fragments
In the space to the right state whether each of the following expressions is a sentence or a sentence fragment. Change the sentence fragments to sentences by removing the subordinating word with parentheses and by capitalizing the first word wherever necessary.
Example: We filled many evenings by playing charades and cards. Sentence
T
(While) the orchestra was playing the overture. Fragment
1-. That we should be allowed to travel freely abroad. __________
2-. Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was elected president for four terms. __________
3-. When the Bowery was a shady lane extending from the Battery
to Peter Smith’s farm. __________
4-. The understudy was standing in the wings, ready to go on at a
moment’s notice. __________
5-. Because management has obstinately refused to negotiate with the
union. __________
6-. We have examined thoroughly the qualifications of the surgeons
on the panel. __________
7-. Since the Volstead Act was repealed. __________
8-. Although many influential Americans supported the Spanish Loyalists. __________
9-. Because Prime Minister Chamberlain desired peace in our time. __________
10-. A large Elm that was shattered by lighting. __________
11-. Provided that the Bar Association endorses his candidacy. __________
12-. When the Iraquis attacked Kuwait. __________
13-. The ground is blanketed with snow from November to April. __________
14-. Several mechanical defects of the heart can now be corrected
by surgery. __________
15-. In this area where the land is too rocky for cultivation. __________
16-. And the tomato was then called a love apple and was considered
poisonous. __________
17-. When the Soviet Union launched the first earth satellite. __________
18-. The problem of illegal immigration in California has not been solved. __________
19-. Where is my watch? __________
20-. Where my cat sleeps every night on her blanket. __________
This activity qualifies for re-write, which means that if you get a low score you can try again. This way you have a chance to increase your points.
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
← the tall professor
← the lugubrious lieutenant
← a solid commitment
← a month's pay
← a six-year-old child
One general note about the use — or over-use — of adjectives: Adjectives are frail; don't ask them to do more work than they should. Let your broad-shouldered verbs and nouns do the hard work of description. Be particularly cautious in your use of adjectives that don't have much to say in the first place: interesting, beautiful, lovely, exciting. It is your job as a writer to create beauty and excitement and interest, and when you simply insist on its presence without showing it to your reader — well, you're convincing no one.
Consider the uses of modifiers in this adjectivally rich paragraph from Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel. (Charles Scribner's, 1929, p. 69.) Adjectives are highlighted in this color; participles, verb forms acting as adjectives, are highlighted in this blue. Some people would argue that words that are part of a name — like "East India Tea House — are not really adjectival and that possessive nouns — father's, farmer's — are not technically adjectives, but we've included them in our analysis of Wolfe's text.
He remembered yet the East India Tea House at the Fair, the sandalwood, the turbans, and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and he had felt now the nostalgic thrill of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the wet loaminess of the garden, the pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of blossoms. He knew the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer's covered wagon; of cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father's sitting-room; of the smooth worn leather sofa, with the gaping horse-hair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-skin bindings; of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of wood-smoke and burnt leaves in October; of the brown tired autumn earth; of honey-suckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes weekly with printed butter, eggs, and milk; of fat limp underdone bacon and of coffee; of a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-hued stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned well with salt and butter; of a room of old pine boards in which books and carpets have been stored, long closed; of Concord grapes in their long white baskets.
Position of Adjectives
Unlike Adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set order according to category. (See Below.) When indefinite pronouns — such as something, someone, and anybody — are modified by an adjective, the adjective comes after the pronoun:
Anyone capable of doing something horrible to someone nice should be punished.
Something wicked this way comes.
THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
Determiner Observation Physical Description Origin Material Qualifier Noun
Size Shape Age Color
A beautiful old italian touring car
An expensive antique silver mirror
Four gorgeous long- red silk roses
stemmed
Our round Spanish dancing skirts
It would be folly, of course, to run more than two or three (at the most) adjectives together. Furthermore, when adjectives belong to the same class, they become what we call coordinated adjectives, and you will want to put a comma between them: the inexpensive, comfortable shoes. The rule for inserting the comma works this way: if you could have inserted a conjunction — and or but — between the two adjectives, use a comma. We could say these are "inexpensive but comfortable shoes," so we would use a comma between them (when the "but" isn't there). When you have three coordinated adjectives, separate them all with commas, but don't insert a comma between the last adjective and the noun (in spite of the temptation to do so because you often pause there):
a popular, respected, and good looking student
Activity 2.1.7 Learning about Order of Adjectives
1-. Andrea had a _______ in her hair yesterday.
a) nice yellow bow
b) yellow nice bow
c) bow nice yellow
2-. She lost a.
a) small white cat
b) cat small white
c) white small cat
3-. I bought _______ oranges.
a) great some big
b) big great some
c) some great big
4-. We met ___________ people at the conference
a) very smart two
b) two very smart
c) very two smart
5-. The clown was wearing a __________ hat.
a) big green-yellow
b) big green and yellow
c) yellow and green big
6-. The cookies that you _____________.
a) smell delicious baked
b) baked smell delicious
c) delicious smell baked
7-. Is it_____________ ?
a) cold getting outside
b) getting cold outside
c) getting outside cold
8-. The course you are_______________ .
a) taking sounds interesting
b) sounds interesting taking
c) interesting sounds taking
9-. My uncle wore a ____________ to the wedding.
a) silk blue tie
b) tie blue silk
c) blue silk tie
10-. Have you met that ___________ next door?
a) cute boy new
b) cute new boy
c) new boy cute
Adverbs
Adverbs are words that modify
← a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
← an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
← another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she move?)
As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:
← That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:
← When this class is over, we're going to the movies.
When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time, modifying the verb):
← He went to the movies.
← She works on holidays.
They lived in Canada during the war.
Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed a wonderfully casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."
Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something. Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone. Here are some examples:
← Emphasizers:
1. I really don't believe him.
2. He literally wrecked his mother's car.
3. She simply ignored me.
4. They're going to be late, for sure.
← Amplifiers:
1. The teacher completely rejected her proposal.
2. I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.
3. They heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
4. I so wanted to go with them.
5. We know this city well.
← Downtoners:
1. I kind of like this college.
2. Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister.
3. His mother mildly disapproved his actions.
4. We can improve on this to some extent.
5. The boss almost quit after that.
The school was all but ruined by the storm.
Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner are particularly flexible in this regard.
← Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation.
← The minister solemnly addressed her congregation.
← The minister addressed her congregation solemnly.
The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:
← Before the main verb: I never get up before nine o'clock.
← Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb: I have rarely written to my brother without a good reason.
← Before the verb used to: I always used to see him at his summer home.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb:
← He finally showed up for batting practice.
She has recently retired.
[pic] Activity 2.1.8 Learning about Adverbs
An adverb is colored in each of the following sentences. Write the word that the adverb modifies in the first space to the right of the sentence. In the second space, indicate whether the word modified is a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Examples: Word modified Part of Speech
He ran rapidly to the window ran verb
It was an extremely dull day. dull adjective
He ate very quickly. quickly adverb
1-. I shall be most happy to come. ___________ ____________
2-. The mother hummed quietly to her baby. ___________ _____________
3-. The girls walked home in the rain. ___________ _____________
4-. He never studied before examinations. ___________ _____________
5-. He hardly ever did anything constructive. ___________ _____________
6-. It was an unusually cold winter. ___________ _____________
7-. Quietly they tiptoed into the room. ____________ ______________
8-. The father waited anxiously for news
of his son. _____________ ______________
9-. They weren’t quite ready to make
the decision. _____________ _______________
10-. Time goes very fast when one is busy. _____________ _______________
11-. His wife is really pretty. _____________ _______________
This activity qualifies for re-write, which means that if you get a low score you can try again. This way you have a chance to increase your points.
Articles, Determiners, and Quantifiers
Articles, determiners, and quantifiers are those little words that precede and modify nouns:
the teacher, a college, a bit of honey, that person, those people, whatever purpose, either way, your choice
Sometimes these words will tell the reader or listener whether we're referring to a specific or general thing (the garage out back; A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!); sometimes they tell how much or how many (lots of trees, several books, a great deal of confusion). The choice of the proper article or determiner to precede a noun or noun phrase is usually not a problem for writers who have grown up speaking English, nor is it a serious problem for non-native writers whose first language is a romance language such as Spanish. For other writers, though, this can be a considerable obstacle on the way to their mastery of English. In fact, some students from eastern European countries — where their native language has either no articles or an altogether different system of choosing articles and determiners — find that these "little words" can create problems long after every other aspect of English has been mastered.
Determiners and Articles are said to "mark" nouns. That is to say, you know a noun will follow a determiner. Some categories of determiners are limited (there are only three articles, a handful of possessive pronouns, etc.), but the possessive nouns are as limitless as nouns themselves. This limited nature of most determiner categories, however, explains why determiners are grouped apart from adjectives even though both serve a modifying function. We can imagine that the language will never tire of inventing new adjectives; the determiners (except for those possessive nouns), on the other hand, are well established, and this class of words is not going to grow in number.
This categorization of determiners is based on Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth Edition. MacMillan Publishing Company: New York. 1994.
When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:
|Articles |
|Definite |Indefinite |
|the |a, an |
We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.
We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say:
← I saw the moon last night.
← I saw a star last night.
Look at these examples:
|the |a, an |
|The capital of France is Paris. |I was born in a town. |
|I have found the book that I lost. |John had an omelette for lunch. |
|Have you cleaned the car? |James Bond ordered a drink. |
|There are six eggs in the fridge. |We want to buy an umbrella. |
|Please switch off the TV when you finish. |Have you got a pen? |
Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:
← We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)
Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each = every one separately / Every = each, all
Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
← Prices go up each year.
← Prices go up every year.
But often they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general.
Consider the following:
← Every artist is sensitive.
← Each artist sees things differently.
← Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
← The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in front of the verb: The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be followed by 'of':
• The President spoke to each of the soldiers.
• He gave a medal to each of them.
Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
← He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how often something happens:
← There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
← The bus leaves every hour.
Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.
Some, Any
Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount Any = one, some or all
Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.
| |some |any |example situation |
|+ |I have some money. | |I have $10. |
|- | |I don't have any money. |I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have $1,000,000. I |
| | | |have $0. |
|? | |Do you have any money? |Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000? |
In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.
Look at these examples:
← He needs some stamps.
← I must go. I have some homework to do.
← I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
← I can see somebody coming.
← He doesn't need any stamps.
← I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
← I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
← I can't see anybody coming.
← Does he need any stamps?
← Do you have any homework to do?
← Do you want anything to drink?
← Can you see anybody coming?
We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.
← I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
← She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)
Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)
← Would you like some more tea?
Could I have some sugar, please?
Activity 2.1.9 - Learning about Determiners and Articles
Complete the space, choose from the options in parentheses.
1- Lisa saw ____ shooting star yesterday. (a/an/the)
2- Don’t look directly at _______ sun. (a/an/the)
3- Is there any milk left in _____ fridge? (a/an/the)
4- I need to pack _____ apple for my lunch. (a/an/the)
5- The dogs were ______ given a bone. (any/each/every)
6- The police spoke separately to ______ suspect. (every/some/each)
7- She was wearing a bracelet on _______ wrist. (every/any/each)
8- She got her license without ________ problem. (every/each/any)
9- I don’t think ________ is coming to the party, except Judy and Stan. (everybody/any/somebody)
10- I always keep ______ money in my wallet for emergencies. (any/every/some)
Quantifiers are words that precede and modify nouns. They tell us how many or how much. Selecting the correct quantifier depends on your understanding the distinction between Count and Non-Count Nouns. For our purposes, we will choose the count noun trees and the non-count noun dancing:
The following quantifiers will work with count nouns:
many trees
a few trees
few trees
several trees
a couple of trees
none of the trees
The following quantifiers will work with non-count nouns:
not much dancing
a little dancing
little dancing
a bit of dancing
a good deal of dancing
a great deal of dancing
no dancing
The following quantifiers will work with both count and non-count nouns:
all of the trees/dancing
some trees/dancing
most of the trees/dancing
enough trees/dancing
a lot of trees/dancing
lots of trees/dancing
plenty of trees/dancing
a lack of trees/dancing
In formal academic writing, it is usually better to use many and much rather than phrases such as a lot of, lots of and plenty of.
There is an important difference between "a little" and "little" (used with non-count words) and between "a few" and "few" (used with count words). If I say that Tashonda has a little experience in management that means that although Tashonda is no great expert she does have some experience and that experience might well be enough for our purposes. If I say that Tashonda has little experience in management that means that she doesn't have enough experience. If I say that Charlie owns a few books on Latin American literature that means that he has some some books — not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes. If I say that Charlie owns few books on Latin American literature, that means he doesn't have enough for our purposes and we'd better go to the library.
Unless it is combined with of, the quantifier "much" is reserved for questions and negative statements:
← Much of the snow has already melted.
← How much snow fell yesterday?
← Not much.
Note that the quantifier "most of the" must include the definite article the when it modifies a specific noun, whether it's a count or a non-count noun: "most of the instructors at this college have a doctorate"; "most of the water has evaporated." With a general plural noun, however (when you are not referring to a specific entity), the "of the" is dropped:
← Most colleges have their own admissions policy.
← Most students apply to several colleges.
Authority for this last paragraph: The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers by Maxine Hairston and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 4th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1996. Examples our own.
An indefinite article is sometimes used in conjunction with the quantifier many, thus joining a plural quantifier with a singular noun (which then takes a singular verb):
← Many a young man has fallen in love with her golden hair.
← Many an apple has fallen by October.
Activity 2.1.10 Learning about Quantifiers:
I. In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
much, many
a. It seems to me that we've had assignments in English this term.
b. How _________material can we be expected to read in one week?
c. _________ books are not in the library.
d. I've had _________headaches already because of stress.
e. _________ depression can be attributed to being overworked.
f. _________ of what bothers her has to do with not sleeping well.
g. What can we do? __________ of her clients have complained about her ethics.
II. In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
much, many, few, little, most.
(HINT: Three of the last four sentences could have two different answers.)
a. Our yard looks awful this summer. There are too _________ weeds.
b. I didn't use___________ fertilizer last spring, and that has made a difference.
c. Also, I've paid __________ attention to how ___________ rain we've had.
d. I'm afraid it's rained __________ times this summer, and the grass is turning brown and dying.
e. _________ experts say you should fertilize your lawn in the fall.
f. It didn't seem to do my lawn ____________ good.
g. ___________ advice you get from experts doesn't seem to help.
h. _________ of my neighbors ignore their grass, and they have better lawns this year.
III. In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
a little, little, a few, few.
(HINT: Three of the four can have more than one correct response.)
a. They say __________ knowledge is a bad thing.
b. I know ___________ instances where that proves true.
c. ____________ people know as much about computers as Tomas does.
d. But it does him ________ good when the whole system goes down.
e. __________ love can do great miracles.
f. __________ good men are needed to join the reserves.
g. ________ things are worse than not getting enough sleep!
Complements
Every sentence has a base. This base may be compared to the backbone of an animal or to the main framework of a building. It is that part of a sentence on which are suspended all other parts. A sentence base may consist of only the subject and the verb; for many sentences nothing else is needed.
Examples: Flowers died.
One girl from Oklahoma was yodeling.
Frequently the sentence base will have not only a subject and a verb but also a completer, or complemet.
A complement completes the meaning begun by the subject and the verb.
It is possible for a group of words to have a subject and a verb and not express a complete thought. Notice how the following word groups need other words to complete their meaning.
Examples: Those clothes look
She may become
I said
If you add words to complete the meaning, the sentences will make sense.
Examples: Those clothes look clean.
She may become an engineer.
I said that.
The words clean, an enginner and that are complements; they complete the thought of a sentence. The complement may be a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective.
Study the structure of these sentences. The base of each sentence—subject, verb, complement—is labeled.
Examples: A stranger approached me.
s v c
The man in the moon looks friendly.
s v c
A recording provided background music.
s v c
Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition. (19770 Third Course. Hartcourt, Brace and Jovanovich.
The complement is never in a prepositional phrase. Look at these sentences:
Examples: Later she consulted the other students.
Later she consuted with the other students.
In the first sentence, students is the complement. In the second sentence, students is the object of the preposition with; the prepositional phrase with the other students modifies the verb consulted.
Activity 2.1.11 - Learning About Complements
I-. Add a complement to each of the following items.
1- Sheila unraveled
2- I usually look
3- Tomorrow we will see
4- Your father seems
5- A girl in the back row raised
6- Yesterday in history class I answered
7- Shall we punish
8- A bird in hand is worth
9- At the end of the act, Deborah lowered
10- The word integrity means
II-. Write five sentences using the following sentence bases. Do not be satisfied with adding only one or two words. Make interesting sentences.
Subject Verb Complement
1- underdogs upset champions
2- impact shattered glass
3- girls feel responsible
4- people desire peace
5- recreation can become work
Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition. (19770 Third Course. Hartcourt, Brace and Jovanovich.
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She has long hair.
The cat is white.
This is a light-blue denim skirt.
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