Transcript Document

Lesson 3:
Nouns & Articles
Errors in using nouns - 1
1. Countability and uncountability of English nouns
Countable nouns - could be used with indefinite articles, such as,
a, an, or one, two, many, a large number of, plenty of. They
show the number.
Uncountable nouns - cannot be used with indefinite articles, but
with « much », « a little », « a large amount of », « plenty of »,
etc. They show the quantity.
Something that is countable, but rarely counted, such as « hair »
and « rice », is considered as uncountable. Remember:
uncountable nouns always go with singular verbs. Ex.,
1. The CNN news is always very informative.
2. This ink is not suitable for my pen.
3. The rice from Thailand tastes very good.
Errors in using nouns - 2
2. Common errors - determining the real subject
A box of eggs (is, are) on the table.
The memoranda (is, are) not important.
Fifty years (is, are) not a long time.
The United States (is, are) in North America.
3. Parenthetical elements between subject and verb
If a subject is followed by a parenthetical element like, as well as, besides,
like, together with, in addition to, as much as, no less than, etc., the verb
is often mistaken as plural. Ex.,
a.
b.
c.
My sister, together with Bob and John, (is, are) gone.
The boy, like his father, (sit, sits) still.
Your father, rather than your brother, is responsible for the act.
4. Colletive nouns
family
board
enemy
crew
committee
audience
crowd
party
reader
– This group of nouns can both be singular and plural, depending
on the situations.
• This class has only 20 students.
• The class are all gone out to play.
– Other nouns have singular forms but plural contents, so the verbs
to be used must be plural.
people, cattle, police, etc.
•
•
•
•
•
Chinese are a hard-working people.
The cattle are in the shed.
Fish are cold-blooded.
Why Iraq’s police are a menace?
The youth of Taiwan have lofty ideals. (loft = ? lofty = dignified,
elevated, high, great, aloof, etc.)
Errors in using nouns - 3
5. Plural nouns commonly misused as singular
The following nouns are always plural:
annals
ashes
billiards
dregs (= sediment, grounds, residue)
goods
obsequies
pants
pincers
remains
scissors
thanks
trousers
tweezers
clothes
leavings
pliers
shears
wages
6. Singular nouns with plural forms
acoustics
comics
ethics
mathematics
phonetics
United States
aeronautics
dynamics
hydraulics
means
physics
whereabouts
athletics
economics
linguistics
news
politics
civics
esthetics
magnetics
optics
statistics
7. Incorrect use of uncountable nouns
- There are many evidences; He gave me several informations.
- Several deformations are observed in this mountain belt.
- I have many good news to tell you; This is a good news.
- He gave me many good advices; Do you have other softwares?
- What progresses have you made? He has plenty of knowledges.
Errors in using articles - 1
English articles, in comparison with nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc.,
appear to be unimportant; they are often overlooked by the
learner of English. However, article is used the most frequently
among the 10 categories of words. The presence or absence of an
article may significantly change the meaning of a sentence.
Correct use of article is indeed very important, but it is not an
easy thing to do.
Indefinite article exists in two forms: a, an
Test: which one is correct?
1. Do you have father? Do you have a father?
2. I need a secretary and treasurer. I need a secretary and a tresurer.
(two different meanings)
3. Happy New Year to you. A Happy New Year to you.
4. Heineken is a good beer. Heineken is good beer.
(Material noun in normally uncountable. However, if it represents
a kind, a part, or a brand, then it becomes a countable noun.)
Errors in using articles - 2
Definite article - « the »
The most important concept of « definite article » is to distinguish a
particular object from a group of similar objects. In general, the use
of a definite article is more flexible and complicated than that of an
indefinite article. Consequently, the chance of misuse is also
greater.
Ex.,
1. Do you play piano? Do you play the piano?
2. Do you play tennis? Do you play the tennis?
3. He is very good at baseball. He is very good at the baseball.
4. Sun usually sets before moon rises. The sun usually sets before
the moon rises. (unique subject needs it; other examples: the earth,
the world, the universe, the Pacific)
5. The pen is mightier than the sword (abstract concept needs it).
6. Proper nouns do not need articles unless they are rivers, oceans,
bays, ranges, islands, or country names (The Yangtse River, the
Thames, the Japan Sea, the Rockies, the Philippines, the U.S.A.)
7. Abstract nouns do not need articles:
Honesty is the best policy; Diligence is the father of success.
Exercise 1: find the errors
•
•
•
•
•
I have many good news [U] to tell you.
I saw a flock of sheeps [U] in the meadow.
The tailor cut the cloth with a scissors.
I received many e-mails [U] yesterday.
This cattle (coll., pl] is from Australia, not from
Holland.
• He has plenty of knowledges [U].
• Her family is all waiting for her.
• Politics are much more difficult than physics.
Uncountable or Noncount Nouns
– Food & Drink:
beef, bread, cheese, milk, water, rice, ice cream
– Nonfood:
air, coal, plastic, wood, dirt, petroleum, soap, steel
– Abstract:
advice, anger, beauty, fun, information, knowledge, truth
– Other:
research, clothing, furniture, weather, work, equipment
– Language:
English, Mandarin, French
• Uncountable nouns are not plural
– We need some information[s] about rainforests.
– He asked me for some advice[s].
– Wood and steel are used in construction.
• Uncountable nouns always go with singular
verbs
– The CNN news is always very informative.
– This ink is not suitable for my pen.
– The rice from Thailand tastes very good.
• Uncountable nouns do not usually need an
article (a, an), because those articles imply
specific individuals
– Furniture makes our houses more comfortable.
– We had some delicious beef for dinner.
– Knowledge is power.
– Time is money.
– Geology is an interesting field of study.
• But Uncountable nouns do take the
referring to the group or concept as a whole
– The air in this room is cool.
– The pork in this restaurant is very good.
– The dirt on the wall is very messy
– The knowledge we have gained will be useful to
us.
• Some adjectives for uncountable nouns
– analysis

– paper

– calculation 
– a little rain
– less violence
– more coffee
– enough money
– any homework
a statistical analysis
a scientific paper
a computer calculation
• More examples
– a bottle of water
– a cup of coffee
– a carton of milk
– a loaf of bread
– a piece of advice
– a cubic meter of wood
– a tube of toothpaste
– an item of information
– an article/piece of furniture
中文萬歲！中文真的很有意思
老外很難懂
「一『首』歌、二『隻』駱駝、三『張』桌子、四『門』炮、五『把』扇子、六『
輛』汽車、七『架』飛機、八『根』柱子、九『條』絲瓜、十『面』鏡子、十
一『尾』魚、十二『道』菜…。」
「一『匹』馬、二『頭』牛、三『隻』猴子、四『條』狗、五『口』羊、六『盞』
燈、七『畝』田、八『扇』窗、九『枚』火箭，十『只』戒指！」
史密士屏了一「口」氣說：「我現在是一『顆』頭，兩『粒』大，更糊塗了，還有
嗎？」
我說：「你只能說一『輪』明月，但不能說一『輪』月亮；兩『匹』馬可以，但兩
『匹』駱駝就感覺怪怪的。
一『葉』扁舟是形容其小而飄浮不定，一『座』山則是碩大而穩重。
一『支』舞曲，會令人感到腳底輕盈；而一『道』彩虹，則令人覺得前程似錦，充
滿希望。
對會喝酒的人來說，一『缸』好酒是大量，一『罈』好酒是有量，一『瓶』好酒是
小量，而像我只能喝一『盅』好酒，是雅量！
還有，說你打得一『手』好球，是褒你；讚你打得一『口』好球，是損你！
一『則』新聞表示繽紛世事中的一個小故事，而一『條』法律則表示條裡分明，白
紙黑字。但『條』不像『根』那麼硬梆梆的，軟軟的就有協商的餘地。
一『支』部隊，讓人有非常機動的感覺，而一『股』力量，則讓人感到一股作氣的
氣勢。
但我實在喜歡一『片』花海、一『片』真情、一『片』痴心、一『片』歡騰，還有，
一『片』混亂?
一美女興致勃勃地問醫生：
「我想豐胸，但是豐胸後會有什麼效果？」
醫生淡定地答道：
「豐胸後，一般會有四種結果：
1. 大不一樣；
2. 不大一樣；
3. 一樣不大；
4. 不一樣大！」
世界上沒有其他的文 字能夠有這樣的功能，
中文萬歲！！！
Exercise 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
Some deformation (is/are) observed in this mountain belt.
A box of eggs (is/are) on the table.
Fifty years (is/are) not a long time.
These windows are made of (glass/glasses).
(Many/Much) clothing is needed in cold weather.
I ate six (loaves/slices) of bread for breakfast this
morning.
• In the number 198,700,504,000, there are six (0s/0’s)
Pronoun: who, which, that
• Who, which, and that take verbs that agree with their
antecedents
– Dr. Chen is the scientist who is studying vacuum drying of wood.
– Dr. Chen, who is studying vacuum drying of wood, is a scientist
at Virginia Tech.
– Pick a specimen that is clear and straight.
– These specimens, which are clear and straight, will be
satisfactory for our tests.
– We are reading a book that was written many years ago.
– We are reading this book, which was written many years ago.
• Use which with a nonrestrictive clause.
– These apples, which were picked yesterday, are not
yet ripe.
– This university, which is near Taipei city, has a very
large campus.
• Use that with a restrictive clause.
– The apples that were picked yesterday are not ripe.
– The university that is near Pingtung City has a very
large campus.
Exercise 3
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I like the baby (who/which) is in the cradle.
I like the cat and the man (which/that) are coming
this way.
Mary is the most diligent student (who/that) I have
ever seen.
I like my sister, (who/which) lives in Taipei.
I like my sister, (who/which) is an absolutely true
fact.
My sister, together with Bob and John, (is/are) gone.
The boy, like his father, (sit/sits) still.
Use of articles: a, an, the
• a is used before a consonant sound
–
–
–
–
a teacher
a student
a happy person (h is pronounced)
a useful car (u is pronounced)
• an is used before a vowel sound
–
–
–
–
an egg
an airplane
an hour (h is NOT pronounced)
an uncle
• When to use a/an?
– We will make our field trip on a sunny day next week.
(we do not say which day)
– She wants to study at a university in America.
(she does not say which university)
• When to use the?
– He is not the boy who cheated in an exam yesterday.
(boy is identified)
– I am going to the train station.
(train station is identified by implication)
• Do not use a or an with uncountable nouns
– We went to the library to look for information.
– Cleaning the house takes a lot of time.
• Do not add articles before abstract nouns
– We cannot live without love.
– I am losing my patience.
• Do not add articles before material nouns
– Drinking water is important.
– Father brings bread and butter home every day.
• In general, proper nouns do not require articles
– Mary is from Canada.
– Mt. Everest is in Asia; Mount Blanc is in Europe.
– Spring is the best season.
– Taiwan is an island.
– June is often very hot in Taipei.
– Queen Elizabeth visited Australia recently.
– Park Street is the main street in this city.
– This road leas to CKS Airport.
• Do not use articles with names of:
– subjects
• Mrs. Lin teaches us history.
• He hates geometry.
– meals
• Did you have lunch?
• Missing breakfast is bad for your health.
– languages
• English is easy to learn.
• Can you speak French?
– sports
• Do you play tennis?
• I really love soccer.
• Use the with names of:
– oceans, seas, gulfs, rivers, deserts
•
•
•
•
the Pacific Ocean
the Mediterranean Sea
the Yellow River
the Gobi Desert
– united countries
• the United States of America
• the United Kingdom
• the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russian:
Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, translation:
Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated
СССР, SSSR)
– empires, dynasties, ages
• the British Empire
• the Chin Dynasty
• the Dark Ages
Exercise 4: add or delete the articles
• The dogs always chase the cats.
• Being honest is virtue.
• We Chinese eat the rice everyday.
• Heineken is good beer.
• I practice the baseball every week.
• Sam does not like to go to the school.
• Can you swim across English Channel?
• Renaissance is a very important era for mankind.
• The President Lincoln is a great person.
• I like the walking in the woods.
Bon Courage!
Quiz #1 (Oct. 26, 2010)
Add or delete the articles:
1. Decay and mold resistance of wood-based building panels can affect an
indoor air quality and extent of structural damage after the flooding or
failure of exterior building envelope.
2. The trees were harvested from two separate plantation sites, an “coastal” site
in the western Washington and a “inland” site in the northeastern
Oregon. The each grower identified promising clones from their
respective plantations.
3. Specific objectives of this research were as follows:
a. To explore engineering properties of composites that govern
structural behavior of an proposed joint.
b. To develop database of engineering properties of materials for future
use.
4. Only few paper fragments bearing writing have been found in Han tombs. For
all we know, Han used paper mostly to wrap fish. Yet they were writing
like mad: poetry, complex mathematical problems, history, huge
dictionary, government reports, and world’s earliest surviving large
scale census (57,671,400 people in A.D. 2).
Add articles as necessary:
1. Ryokan, who was Zen master, lived simple life in little but at foot of
mountain. Thief came to hut when Ryokan was away, but found
nothing to steal. Ryokan returned and caught him. “You may have
come long way to visit me”, he told prowler. “You should not return
empty handed. Please take my clothes as gift”. Thief took
Ryokan’s clothes and slunk away. Ryokan was naked, watching
moon. “Poor fellow”, he mused, I wish I could give him this
beautiful moon”.
2. When we speak of glass, ordinarily we mean transparent, shiny
substance that breaks rather easily. We may think of glass in our
windows and glass used in our laboratories as being same
material. Actually they are not. There are many kinds of glass. One
company has developed more than 65,000 kinds of glass.