Positive Sentences Subject + present conjugation of verb + objects
I / You drive to work every day.
She / He / It drives to work every day.
You / We / They drive to work every day.
Negative Sentences
Subject + do not + base form of verb + objects
I / You don't (do not) use a computer every day.
She / He / It doesn't ( does not) use a computer at work. It
You / We / They don't (do not) use a typewriter at work.
Question Form
Wh? + do + subject + base form of verb ?
When do I / you arrive at work?
What does he / she / it use at work?
Where do we / you / they keep the paper?
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Notes on Nouns
Characteristics of Nouns
Many nouns can be recognised by their endings. Typical noun endings include:
-er/-or actor, painter, plumber, writer
-ism criticism, egotism, magnetism, vandalism
-ist artist, capitalist, journalist, scientist
-ment arrangement, development, establishment, government
-tion foundation, organisation, recognition, supposition
Most nouns have distinctive SINGULAR and PLURAL forms. The plural of regular nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular:
Singular Plural
car cars
dog dogs
house houses
However, there are many irregular nouns which do not form the plural in this way:
Singular Plural
man men
child children
sheep sheep
The distinction between singular and plural is known as NUMBER CONTRAST.
We can recognise many nouns because they often have the, a, or an in front of them:
the car
an artist
a surprise
the egg
a review
These words are called determiners, which is the next word class we will look at.
Nouns may take an -'s ("apostrophe s") or GENITIVE MARKER to indicate possession:
the boy's pen
a spider's web
my girlfriend's brother
John's house
If the noun already has an -s ending to mark the plural, then the genitive marker appears only as an apostrophe after the plural form:
the boys' pens
the spiders' webs
the Browns' house
The genitive marker should not be confused with the 's form of contracted verbs, as in John's a good boy (= John is a good boy).
Nouns often co-occur without a genitive marker between them:
rally car
table top
cheese grater
University entrance examination
We will look at these in more detail later, when we discuss noun phrases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns which name specific people or places are known as PROPER NOUNS.
John
Mary
London
France
Many names consist of more than one word:
John Wesley
Queen Mary
South Africa
Atlantic Ocean
Buckingham Palace
Proper nouns may also refer to times or to dates in the calendar:
January, February, Monday, Tuesday, Christmas, Thanksgiving
All other nouns are COMMON NOUNS.
Since proper nouns usually refer to something or someone unique, they do not normally take plurals. However, they may do so, especially when number is being specifically referred to:
there are three Davids in my class
we met two Christmases ago
For the same reason, names of people and places are not normally preceded by determiners the or a/an, though they can be in certain circumstances:
it's nothing like the America I remember
my brother is an Einstein at maths
Many nouns can be recognised by their endings. Typical noun endings include:
-er/-or actor, painter, plumber, writer
-ism criticism, egotism, magnetism, vandalism
-ist artist, capitalist, journalist, scientist
-ment arrangement, development, establishment, government
-tion foundation, organisation, recognition, supposition
Most nouns have distinctive SINGULAR and PLURAL forms. The plural of regular nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular:
Singular Plural
car cars
dog dogs
house houses
However, there are many irregular nouns which do not form the plural in this way:
Singular Plural
man men
child children
sheep sheep
The distinction between singular and plural is known as NUMBER CONTRAST.
We can recognise many nouns because they often have the, a, or an in front of them:
the car
an artist
a surprise
the egg
a review
These words are called determiners, which is the next word class we will look at.
Nouns may take an -'s ("apostrophe s") or GENITIVE MARKER to indicate possession:
the boy's pen
a spider's web
my girlfriend's brother
John's house
If the noun already has an -s ending to mark the plural, then the genitive marker appears only as an apostrophe after the plural form:
the boys' pens
the spiders' webs
the Browns' house
The genitive marker should not be confused with the 's form of contracted verbs, as in John's a good boy (= John is a good boy).
Nouns often co-occur without a genitive marker between them:
rally car
table top
cheese grater
University entrance examination
We will look at these in more detail later, when we discuss noun phrases.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns which name specific people or places are known as PROPER NOUNS.
John
Mary
London
France
Many names consist of more than one word:
John Wesley
Queen Mary
South Africa
Atlantic Ocean
Buckingham Palace
Proper nouns may also refer to times or to dates in the calendar:
January, February, Monday, Tuesday, Christmas, Thanksgiving
All other nouns are COMMON NOUNS.
Since proper nouns usually refer to something or someone unique, they do not normally take plurals. However, they may do so, especially when number is being specifically referred to:
there are three Davids in my class
we met two Christmases ago
For the same reason, names of people and places are not normally preceded by determiners the or a/an, though they can be in certain circumstances:
it's nothing like the America I remember
my brother is an Einstein at maths
Practice 1
Do the exercises and send the answers to my e-mail.
Grammatical Misfits
Three of the four words in each set have something in common (grammatically). Underline the word that doesn’t belong with them and tell what the three words have in common.
Example: car, house, trucks, fence They are singular nouns.
1. make, shake, bake, take
2. Monday, Canada, February, Winter
3. recite, renew, say, speak
4. their, she, her, its
5. quickly, never, before, good
6. deer, pig, ox, mouse
7. I’ll, aisle, isle, ill
8. Who’s, Jim’s, Mary’s, Dogs’
Grammatical Misfits
Three of the four words in each set have something in common (grammatically). Underline the word that doesn’t belong with them and tell what the three words have in common.
Example: car, house, trucks, fence They are singular nouns.
1. make, shake, bake, take
2. Monday, Canada, February, Winter
3. recite, renew, say, speak
4. their, she, her, its
5. quickly, never, before, good
6. deer, pig, ox, mouse
7. I’ll, aisle, isle, ill
8. Who’s, Jim’s, Mary’s, Dogs’
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