ENGLISH GRAMMAR – WORKSHEET #1: Nouns



ENGLISH GRAMMAR—WORKSHEET #1 KEY

A. ARTICLES

1) Explain what is wrong in these sentences.

a) Dear Abby, please give me a good advice. → some good advice / a piece of good advice

‘Advice’ is an uncountable noun, so it cannot take the indefinite article. Only countable nouns in the singular can take the indefinite article. However, it is possible for uncountable nouns to be preceded by a pronoun—like ‘some’, for example.

b) Why do I always have such a bad luck with men? → such bad luck

‘Luck’ is an uncountable noun, so it cannot take the indefinite article (same reason as above).

2) In which sentences do you need the definite article?

Remember the following rules:

- The definite article is used about something specific.

- The definite article is never used with uncountable nouns unless they are specific.

- In the sentence ‘Love is blind’, love is an uncountable noun used in the generic sense (i.e., I’m referring to love in general), so there’s no definite article.

- In the sentence ‘The love that she felt for him never died’, love has been made specific by the addition of a that-clause. You’re not talking about love in general anymore; you’re talking about a specific love that a specific person felt at a specific time—so, the definite article must be used.

The correct choice has been underlined:

a) The/- Swedish furniture design is famous.

Uncountable nouns do not take the definite article when used in the generic sense, even when there is a pre-modifier.

b) They say the/- love is blind.

Uncountable nouns do not take the definite article when used in the generic sense.

c) The/- queen of Sweden is loved by all.

The definite article is used when the noun is made specific by an of-phrase. Also, the definite article is used when the noun is specific and refers to a position that only one person at a time can have.

d) Much is written in the/- media about the/- dangers of cell phones.

‘The media’, ‘the press’… Tricky! The word ‘media’ is originally a plural but is nowadays often used as a singular. It’s really an exception to the rule in that it takes the definite article even when you refer to media in general. The definite article is also used when the noun is post-modified by an of-phrase (the dangers of cell phones).

e) Do you have access to the/- Internet?

Special case, always takes the definite article.

f) The/- Body language is easy to understand, even without knowing a language.

The noun is used in the generic sense.

g) In Karlstad the/- ice hockey is very popular.

Again, an uncountable noun which is used in the generic sense: ice hockey in general. (We’re not talking about a specific team here.)

B. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT (CONCORD): singular or plural?

1) There was/were plenty of fish in the river.

‘Fish’ takes the zero plural unless you are talking about types of fish.

2) Physics is/are my favorite subject.

Scientific and theoretical subjects take the singular form of the verb unless what is referred to is the application of the subject.

3) The contents of the suitcase was/were scattered all over the floor.

It’s not the suitcase (singular) that has been scattered all over the floor, but the contents (plural). The verb always has to agree with the Head of the noun phrase, in this case ‘contents’. Since the Swedish word for ‘contents’ is singular (innehållet), it’s easy to assume that the English word is also a singular word. It’s not.

4) I have found a pair of scissors. Is it/Are they yours?

The word ‘scissors’ belongs to a group of words ending in -s, which are always plural.

5) The police has/have not caught the runaway convict yet.

The words people, police, cattle are collective nouns. They take the plural. ‘The police’ = plural. ‘The police officer’ = singular.

6) Has/Have the United Stated changed its/their laws concerning political asylum?

The United States always takes the singular. Although there are several states, they are seen as a unit, and therefore take the singular. This is called the ‘logical singular’ and happens when you have a plural form which is constructed as a singular.

7) In winter everyone need/needs to sleep more.

All words and phrases starting with ‘every’ take the singular.

8) Measles is/are infectious and so is/are mumps. Look it up in a dictionary!

Diseases ending in an -s take the singular.

9) The moral/morals of the story was/were that his moral/morals was/were non-existent.

The Swedish word ‘sensmoral’ = ‘moral’ (singular)

The Swedish word ‘moral’ = ‘morals’ (plural)

10) People say/says it is good for children to have pets.

The words people, police, cattle are collective nouns. They take the plural. The only time ‘people’ can take the singular is when it means ‘folkslag, nation’.

11) A police officer often has/have to work on weekends.

‘Police’ = plural. ‘Police officer’ = singular.

12) Something must be done! This crisis is/are getting out of hand.

This is a loan word. The singular form is crisis and the plural form is crises.

C. MOST OF THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES CONTAIN ERRORS THAT ARE OFTEN MADE. CORRECT THEM!

1) It took me a hour to get there. → an hour

The indefinite article is an, not a, when directly followed by a vowel sound. Note that spelling has got nothing to do with it, only sound!

2) Many people are dissatisfied with their lot in the life. → their lot in life

‘Life’ is used in the generic sense (life in general). For this reason, no definite article is used. If however, we were to add a post-modifier that makes the noun specific, then we must also use the definite article: ‘Many people are dissatisfied with their lot in the life that they lead.’

3) What a dreadful weather! → What dreadful weather

Uncountable nouns never take the indefinite article.

4) She has very limited knowledges of Spanish. → She has a very limited knowledge of Spanish.

‘Knowledge’ is an uncountable noun and therefore only exists in the singular. Uncountable nouns do not normally take the indefinite article—but this one can, provided that it is preceded by an adjective and followed by an of-phrase.

5) Here are the money I owe you. Take them! → Here is… Take it!

‘Money’ is singular.

6) My brother-in-law has more than 200 sheep. Correct!

‘Sheep’ takes the zero plural.

7) It is a hard work to write a book. → It is hard work…

‘Work’ is an uncountable noun when it means ‘arbete’, and uncountable nouns never take the indefinite article. However, ‘work’ can also be countable: ‘I’ve seen some of Picasso’s works (= ‘verk’), but this is a work I’ve never seen before.’

8) Bill wants to be chef when he grows up. → B wants to be a chef…

Nouns which have a classifying function—that is, nouns which identify or define the subject—normally take the indefinite article. The exception is when the noun refers to a position that only one person at a time can have:

-‘She’s chairperson of the board.’

9) This is my sister’s-in-law best recipe. → sister-in-law’s

The genitive-s is added to the last word in a compound. The plural-s, by contrast, is added to the first word. Note the difference:

-‘My sister-in-law’s cat is missing.’

-‘My sisters-in-law all have cats.’

10) Have you ever seen the river of Ganges? → the Ganges / the Ganges river

Note the position of the word ‘river’: ‘the River Thames’ (a river in Europe) but ‘the Ganges River’ (a river outside Europe). Also, please remember that rivers always take the definite article. In fact, all bodies of water except lakes take the definite article.

11) We have just come back from the island Crete. → the island of Crete OR Crete

The preposition ‘of’ is used between a geographical word and a place-name.

12) Mark and Mike, change places, please! Correct!

People often get this one wrong. A plural noun is required when there are two of something: ‘change places’, ‘change buses’, shake hands, and so on. The singular should not be used in English. Compare the Swedish usage: ‘skaka hand’, ‘byta plats’, etc.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download