31 MARCH 2011

For today lesson..our class was presented about ARTICLE..

Today, we have a presentation about part of speech that is article.

ARTICLE
~ a, an and the
~ 2 types of articles ::
   *indefinite ( a, an )
---> refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
---> used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before.
---> example : I saw an elephant this morning.
---> used when talking about your profession.
---> example : I am an English teacher.

   *definite ( the )
---> Use when you know that listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
 * example :: The apple that you ate was rotten.
---> Use when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
 * example :: She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen.
---> Use to talk about geographical points on the globe.
 * example :: the north pole, the equator
---> Use to talk about rivers, oceans and seas.
 * example :: the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel
Use before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
 * example :: the rain, the sun, the wind, the world
 * however, if you want to describe a particular instance of these, you should use a/an
    - I could hear the wind. / There's a cold wind blowing.

NOTE !
for example ::

• The books are expensive. = ( not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about )
• Books are expensive = ( all books are expensive )
• 
  

NO ARTICLE

~ use no article to talk about things in general :-

~ for example ::

>> Inflation is rising

>> People are worried about rising crime. ( People generally, so no article )

~do not use an article when talking about sports :-

~for example ::

>> My son plays football.

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Some English sentences require that the subjects ‘agree’ with the verb and vice versa. This simply means that ::

~a singular subject must have a singular verb.

~a plural subject must be followed by a plural verb.

Example ::

Sentences	Subject	Verb
His mother leads a healthy lifestyle.	His mother – singular	Leads - singular
The triplets speak quietly almost all the time.	The triplets – plural	Speak – plural
We are here.	We – plural	Are – plural
She was with me all the time.	She – singular	Was – singular
The children were waiting.	The children – plural	Were – plural
Amina has talked to the Dean.	Amina – singular	Has - singular

However, in certain cases, to determine whether the subject or the verb is singular or plural is not as straightforward. For these cases, there are rules to be adhered to.

Verbs ‘go’, ‘do’, and ‘have’

‘go’, ‘do’ and ‘have’ (plural verb)

~must followed by plural subject

‘goes’, ‘does’ and ‘has’ (singular verb)

~must followed by singular subject

Example ::

1.       Go – plural	During the Pesta Keamatan, mostSabahans go back to their home state to celebrate it.
2.       Goes – singular	Monica Sillu, of Kadazandusun descent, always goes back to Kota Kinabalu to be with her family for the celebration.
3.       Do – plural	Kadazandusuns do this since it is their belief that rice, in whatever form, embodies Bambaaazon that must be protected from harm.
4.       Does – singular	Her family usually does every ritual related to the festival, which is to honour the Rice-spirit, the Bambaazon or Bambarayon.
5.       Have - plural	These people also believe thatinanimate items have life and that they are all living things.
6.       Has - singular	The selected pageant festival queen has the honour as symbolizing Huminodun, the daughter of the Creator, Kinoingan.

Singular subject – singular verb rule

1.       Indefinite pronouns – everybody, everyone, each, every, someone, somebody, either one, anyone	Everybody follows a unique lifestyle. Each culture is distinct.
2.       The use of ‘neither of’, ‘either of’	Neither of the girls believes in Halloween. Either of the students has travelledextensively.
3.       Nouns that end in ‘s’ but are singular in nature – Physics, Economics, Civics, Mathematics, dollars, news, measles, mumps, aerobics, athletics, gymnastics, notes, comics	Physics was a subject I dreaded in Halloween. Mumps is contagious. News travels very fast.
4.       Sums and products of mathematical processes.	Four and four is eight. Four times four divided by twois eight
5.       Nouns that refer to language – French, Italian, German	German is the one foreign language offered at the Academy of Language Studies. French has been her favourite language.
6.       Nouns preceded by ‘a pair of’	A pair of green pants goes well with that shirt.
7.       Collective nouns	A group of activists is fighting for a greener earth. A pack of wolves has been seen in the nearby woods.
8.       Nouns preceded by ‘one of the’	One of the paintings belongs to me. One of the children has gonejogging.

Plural subject – plural verb rule

1.      Nouns joined by ‘and’	Arts and culture are two different fields.
2.       Nouns preceded by ‘a number of’	A number of students considervisiting the museum a treat.
3.       Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, glasses/spectacles, pants, shorts, shears	These tweezers are too small. The glasses were missing. Your creased pants need ironing.
4.       Nouns that refer to nationally – the English, the French	The French enjoy eating escargot. The Japanese are known for their tea ceremony.
5.       The use of ‘both……and’, ‘several’, ‘many’, few’, ‘others’	Both Airini and Airina areSuraya’s daughters. Many people like swimming for recreation while others enjoybrisk walks.

Other subject – verb agreement rules

1.      Nouns which refer to a group (eg : family, government, jury, committee, team ) can take on either singular or plural verbs.	The family is visiting the Museum of Modern Arts. The committee have agreed to use a culturally-suitable theme for the festival.
2.      Nouns preceded by ‘none of the’ (take the nearest subject)	None of the fish is edible. They have all gone bad. None of the girls know about the Louvre, so it is time we went to Paris.
3.      Nouns used with ‘together with’, ‘along with’, ‘including’, ‘accompanied by’, ‘in addition to’, ‘as well as’, etc (the verb agrees with the earlier noun)	Nasharudin together with his brother Ariff, has been to London. The boys, including their motherenjoy cooking and travelling.
4.      The use of ‘either……or’, Neither……nor’ (The verb agrees with the noun closer to it)	Either the boys or Jenna has taken the key. Neither the guard nor the studentsknow the new ruling for outings.
5.      Subjects that come after verbs.	Here is the book that you need. There was a time when a lot of people were into aerobics. Here come the bride and groom. There are many diverse culturesin Malaysia.
6.      Nouns and verbs separated by a relative clause (The verb agrees with the noun referred to)	My mother, whom I love dearly, isa great seamstress. The towers, which are occupied by city dwellers, seem in need of extra security guards.
7.      Nouns preceded by fractions and percentages (The verb agrees with the noun, not the fraction)	Forty per cent of the cake waseaten by him. Half of the sand costs RM40. Forty per cent of the studentsthink the rule was impartial. Three fifths of the children wereabsent.
8.      Units of money, distance, and time take on singular verbs if they precede the verbs and take on plural verbs if they come after the verbs. (*come first-singular) (*come later-plural)	RM1000  a lot of money to lose. Five kilometers is a long way to jog. There are 1000 metres in a kilometer. There are 100 000 sen in RM1000.

Confusion with true subjects

Sometimes, the true subject is separated from the verb by other nouns. Thus, it is imperative that we are not misled by the other nouns.

Eg ::

1)      1) The monkeys from a nearby jungle have attacked the visitors several times.

2)      2) The lecturers of the university have different opinion on the matter.

3)      3) The lakes in the country are large and deep.

4)      4) The book purchased by the boy is a bestseller.