English grammar drills part 2 pps

vii
Preface
This book focuses on the grammatical problems that prevent speakers at your level from achiev-
ing a native-like command of English grammar. While the book covers most areas of English
grammar, it has a heavy concentration on those aspects of grammar that have proven to be the
greatest obstacles for intermediate and advanced nonnative speakers.
The book has an unusual format. Most topics are broken into small mini-units, most of
them no more than a page or two. Each of these mini-units is supported by an exercise cover-
ing just the material in that mini-unit. The explanations help you understand the material, but
it is the exercises that enable you to gain active control over it. All of the exercises have complete
answers in the back of the book. It is very important for you to work through these exercises.
There is a world of difference between the passive knowledge gained by reading the explanations
and the active command gained by writing out the exercises.
English Grammar Drills is organized into three parts: Part 1 covers noun phrases, the fi rst of
the two fundamental building blocks of English grammar. Noun phrases function as the subjects
of sentences, the objects or complements of verbs, and the objects of prepositions.
Part 2 explores verb phrases, the second of the two fundamental building blocks of English
grammar. Verb phrases contain three components: the verb, the complement, and the optional
adverbs.
Part 3 examines sentences. The main topics are how to form and use active and passive
sentences, how to form questions and negatives, and how to change direct quotations to indirect
quotations.
Each chapter is self-contained. Unlike a conventional textbook, you do not need to start on
page 1. You may begin with whatever topic you would like to gain more active control over.
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Noun Phrases
PART 1
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3

1
Nouns
Proper and common nouns
There are two basic types of nouns in English: proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns
are the names of specifi c individuals, places, and things; common nouns are the names of classes
of persons, places, and things.
For example, Ruth Ginsburg, Te xa s, and Microsoft Corporation are proper nouns. Woman,
state, and company are common nouns. The most obvious distinction between proper nouns and
common nouns is that proper nouns are capitalized. Compare the proper nouns and correspond-
ing common nouns in the following list:
Proper noun Common noun
Gregory House doctor
Florence Nightingale nurse
Mayo Clinic hospital
Mississippi river
Atlanta city
Washington Post newspaper
The Tempest play
Exercise 1.1
The following pairs of nouns contain one uncapitalized proper noun and a related common
noun. Put the two nouns in the correct columns as in the list above and capitalize the proper
noun.
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4 Noun Phrases
Proper noun Common noun
movie, star wars Star Wars movie
1. hamlet, play
2. neighborhood, soho
3. car, ford
4. ocean, atlantic

5. everest, mountain
6. actor, harrison ford
7. dixie, song
8. ship, titanic
9. hotel, the ritz
10. planet, mercury
From this point on, we will focus only on common nouns.
Count and noncount nouns
Common nouns are divided into two groups: count and noncount. Count means that we can
make the noun plural and use number words with the noun. Using the noun dog, for example, we
can make the noun plural:
The dogs are in the park.
We can also use number words with dogs: one dog, two dogs, three dogs, and so on. Most nouns
that refer to concrete objects are count nouns.
However, nouns that refer to abstractions and nouns that are used to label things that occur
in undifferentiated masses (as opposed to individual persons, places, or things) are often non-
count nouns. The term noncount means that we cannot count these nouns with number words
or make them plural. For example, the abstract noun luck cannot be counted: we cannot say
X one luck, X two lucks, X three lucks. Also we cannot use the noun as a plural. For example:
*X They have had really bad lucks over the last few years.
* roughout the book, X signi es an incorrect choice or answer.
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Nouns 5
Count nouns
Most count nouns in English form their plural by adding a sibilant sound written as -s or -es.
Plurals formed this way are called regular plurals. Some nouns form their plural in other ways.
They are called irregular plurals.
The spelling of a regular plural is determined by its pronunciation. If the plural is pro-
nounced as a single sibilant sound pronounced either as /s/ or /z/, then the plural is spelled -s.
However, if the plural is pronounced as a separate unstressed syllable /

әz/ rhyming with “buzz,”
then the plural is spelled -es. Here are some examples of each type:
Spelling of plural
-s (pronounced /s/): hats, cops, tricks, paths
-s (pronounced /z/): rugs, cabs, rings, keys, shoes
-es (pronounced /
әz/): wishes, glasses, catches, buzzes
Sometimes the spelling of regular plurals is disguised by the spelling rule that governs the
use of a fi nal silent e. The basic rule is that we add a fi nal silent e to show that the preceding vowel
is long. For example, compare the following words:
Short vowel: cap (a is a short vowel /æ/ as in ask)
Long vowel: cape (a is a long vowel /ey/ as in grape)
We make both of these words plural by adding a single sibilant sound:
Singular Plural
cap caps /-ps/
cape capes /-ps
The fi nal silent e in the word cape makes the plural look like the -es is pronounced as a separate
syllable /
әz/, but it is not. We have merely added a single sibilant sound, /s/, to the end of the
singular form. Caps and capes have the same plural /s/ sound because although the silent e makes
the a long, it plays no role in the pronunciation of the plural ending. Just pretend that fi nal silent
e is not there when you pronounce the /s/.
The pronunciation of the plural in regular nouns is determined by the fi nal sound of the
singular form of the noun according to the following three rules:
1. If the noun ends in a voiceless consonant sound (except a sibilant), then the plural is
formed with the voiceless sibilant /s/, which is spelled -s. Here are examples of all the consonant
sounds that this rule applies to:
/p/ cap-caps; cop-cops; snap-snaps; shape-shapes; hope-hopes
/t/ hat-hats; boat-boats; beast-beasts; fate-fates; rebate-rebates
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