NOUN part 2

Common Nouns

A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.

In each of the following sentences, the common nouns are highlighted:

According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.
All the gardens in the neighbourhood were invaded by beetles this summer.
I don't understand why some people insist on having six different kinds of mustard in their cupboards.
The road crew was startled by the sight of three large moose crossing the road.
Many child-care workers are underpaid.

Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples:

The tenants in the Garnet Apartments are appealing the large and sudden increase in their rent.
The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.
Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.
The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history of the Holocaust.

Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun is a noun which names anything (or anyone) that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are all concrete nouns:

The judge handed the files to the clerk.
Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.
The real estate agent urged the couple to buy the second house because it had new shingles.
As the car drove past the park, the thump of a disco tune overwhelmed the string quartet's rendition of a minuet.
The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board.

Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you can not perceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all abstract nouns:

Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought.
Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic about childhood.
Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.
Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.

Countable Nouns

A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count. You can make a countable noun can be made plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns are the opposite of non-countable nouns and collective nouns.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted words are countable nouns:

We painted the table red and the chairs blue.
Since he inherited his aunt's library, Jerome spends every weekend indexing his books.
Miriam found six silver dollars in the toe of a sock.
The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane.
Over the course of twenty-seven years, Martha Ballad delivered just over eight hundred babies.

Non-Countable Nouns

A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Non-countable nouns are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are non-countable nouns:

Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.

The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.

Oxygen is essential to human life.

Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than the plural verb "are."

We decided to sell the furniture rather than take it with use when we moved.

You cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.

The furniture is heaped in the middle of the room.

Since "furniture" is a non-countable noun, it takes a singular verb, "is heaped."

The crew spread the gravel over the roadbed.

You cannot make the non-countable noun "gravel" plural.

Gravel is more expensive than I thought.

Since "gravel" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb form "is."
Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. You could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group as a whole is generally as one unit. You need to be able to recognise collective nouns in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. A collective noun is similar to a non-countable noun, and is roughly the opposite of a countable noun.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a collective noun:

The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.

The collective noun "geese" takes the singular verb "spends."

The jury is dining on take-out chicken tonight.

In this example the collective noun "jury" is the subject of the singular compound verb "is dining."

The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon.

Here the collective noun "committee" takes a singular verb, "meets."

The class was startled by the bursting light bulb.

In this sentence the word "class" is a collective noun and takes the singular compound verb "was startled".

This material was taken from http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/nouns.html

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NOUN part 1

What is a Noun?

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all nouns:

Late last year our neighbours bought a goat.
Portia White was an opera singer.
The bus inspector looked at all the passengers' passes.
According to Plutarch, the library at Alexandria was destroyed in 48 B.C.
Philosophy is of little comfort to the starving.

A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or an adverb.
Noun Gender

Many common nouns, like "engineer" or "teacher," can refer to men or women. Once, many English nouns would change form depending on their gender -- for example, a man was called an "author" while a woman was called an "authoress" -- but this use of gender-specific nouns is very rare today. Those that are still used occasionally tend to refer to occupational categories, as in the following sentences.

David Garrick was a very prominent eighteenth-century actor.
Sarah Siddons was at the height of her career as an actress in the 1780s.
The manager was trying to write a want ad, but he couldn't decide whether he was advertising for a "waiter" or a "waitress"

Noun Plurals

Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding "-s" or "-es", as illustrated in the following pairs of sentences:

When Matthew was small he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going to be punished.
Many people do not believe that truths are self-evident.

As they walked through the silent house. they were startled by an unexpected echo.
I like to shout into the quarry and listen to the echoes that returned.

He tripped over a box left carelessly in the hallway.
Since we are moving, we will need many boxes.

There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding "s". Some words ending in "f" form the plural by deleting "f" and adding "ves," and words ending in "y" form the plural by deleting the "y" and adding "ies," as in the following pairs of sentences:

The harbour at Marble Mountain has one wharf.
There are several wharves in Halifax Harbour.

Warsaw is their favourite city because it reminds them of their courtship.
The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities.

The children circled around the headmaster and shouted, "Are you a mouse or a man?"
The audience was shocked when all five men admitted that they were afraid of mice.

Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably know most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary.
Possessive Nouns

In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or is closely related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a combination of an apostrophe and the letter "s."

You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following sentences:

The red suitcase is Cassandra's.
The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister's.
The exhausted recruits were woken before dawn by the drill sergeant's screams.
The miner's face was covered in coal dust.

You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in "s" by adding an apostrophe alone or by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following examples:

The bus's seats are very uncomfortable.
The bus' seats are very uncomfortable.

The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.
The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus' eggs.

Felicia Hemans's poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.
Felicia Hemans' poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's.

You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and a "s," as in the following examples:

The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch.
The sheep's pen was mucked out every day.
Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final.
The men's hockey team will be play as soon as the women's team is finished.
The hunter followed the moose's trail all morning but lost it in the afternoon.

You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in "s" by adding an apostrophe:

The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling.
The janitors' room is downstairs and to the left.
My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.
The archivist quickly finished repairing the diaries' bindings.
Religion is usually the subject of the roommates' many late night debates.

Using Possessive Nouns

When you read the following sentences, you will notice that a noun in the possessive case frequently functions as an adjective modifying another noun:

The miner's face was covered in coal dust.

Here the possessive noun "miner's" is used to modify the noun "face" and together with the article "the," they make up the noun phrase that is the sentence's subject.

The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling.

In this sentence, each possessive noun modifies a gerund. The possessive noun "dogs"' modifies "barking", "ducks"' modifies "quacking," and "babies"' modifies "squalling."

The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs.

In this example the possessive noun "platypus's" modifies the noun "eggs" and the noun phrase "the platypus's eggs" is the direct object of the verb "crushed."

My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest.

In this sentence the possessive noun "squirrels"' is used to modify the noun "nest" and the noun phrase "the squirrels' nest" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to locate."
Types Of Nouns

There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalise some nouns, such as "Canada" or "Louise," and do not capitalise others, such as "badger" or "tree" (unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence). In fact, grammarians have developed a whole series of noun types, including the proper noun, the common noun, the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun (also called the count noun), the non-countable noun (also called the mass noun), and the collective noun. You should note that a noun will belong to more than one type: it will be proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable or non-countable or collective.

If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them in the following sections.
Proper Nouns

You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun

In each of the following sentences, the proper nouns are highlighted:

The Marroons were transported from Jamaica and forced to build the fortifications in Halifax.
Many people dread Monday mornings.
Beltane is celebrated on the first of May.
Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.
Last year, I had a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Gardnerian Witch as roommates.

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BARE INFINITIVES

Bare infinitive




Wolfgang Drescher from Germany writes:

What is the difference between:

President Bush has announced a plan to help prevent the spread of the AIDS virus.
President Bush has announced a plan to help to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus.

Roger Woodham replies:

The difference is one of form only. There is no difference in meaning.

to-infinitive or bare infinitive

Help is a verb that can be used with or without to and with or without an object before the infinitive. When we use it without an infinitive it sometimes sounds more informal. Compare the following:

* Could you help me to look for my car keys? I can't find them anywhere.

* Could you help me look for my car keys? I can't find them anywhere.

* Would you like to help to cook dinner tonight? It's late and I'm feeling tired.

* Would you like to help cook dinner tonight? It's late and I'm feeling tired.

There are one or two other structures where to-infinitive and the bare infinitive are both possible. Expressions with do or did, such as what I've done or all I did can follow either pattern.

* I hate shopping so what I've done is (to) order a new computer over the Internet.

* All I did was (to) suggest that she should lend him no more money. I didn't insist on it.

When two infinitive structures are connected by and, or or, except or but and than or as, it is normal practice to omit to in the second clause. Compare the following:

* I would like you to tidy the house and (to) wash the dishes before I get home.

* Would you prefer to have a snack now or (to) wait until later before we eat?

* I could find nothing to do this afternoon, except read my book.
My son does nothing but watch TV when he gets home from school.

* It's quicker to bike to the station rather than take the car.

* I have to fix breakfast for everybody as well as take the children to school before I can leave for work.





Bare infinitive only

Generally speaking, bare infinitive structures are much less common than to-infinitive structures, but after certain verbs they are necessary.

We use the infinitive without to after modal auxiliary verbs will, shall, would, could, can (but not be able to), may, might, must (but not have to), should (but not ought to), and needn't, (but not need to, which behaves like a normal verb). Compare the following:

* I can't agree with you on this, though I would like to be able to help you.

* You must finish your own work before you go out, but you don't have to help your sister.

* It will be hot and sunny today so you should put on plenty of sunscreen and you ought to wear a hat.

* He needn't take time off work, but he needs to rest in the evenings and get a good night's sleep before he sets off on the new expedition.

After the object after certain verbs, such as hear, see, make, let, there is no to:

* I saw him pour the medicine down the loo and I heard him laugh to himself.

* I cannot make you take this medication, I can only ask you to take it.

* I can't let you go to bed hungry. You must let me prepare you some supper.

After verbal idioms would rather and had better there is no to:

* I'd rather swim in the pool than go down to the beach.
Geoffrey has just driven up in his car. You'd better see what he wants.

All of these, however, represent exceptions to the general rule. Most infinitive structures begin with to:

* I decided to leave work early. I intended to be home before six. And I had arranged to play tennis with Joan in the evening.

This material was taken from http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/
learnitv226.shtml

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PARTICIPLES

1. Participles are formed from verbs. English has two types participles: the Present Participle and the Past Participle. The Present Participle of the verb is formed by adding the suffix '-ing' to the base form of the verb: base form + '-ing'. We use the Present Participle along with a form of the verb 'to be' to create continuous (progressive) tenses.

2. Spelling rules for the formation of the Present Participle.

The general rule is: base form of the verb + '-ing':
work - working read - reading
go - going listen - listening
meet - meeting sleep - sleeping
enjoy - enjoying ski - skiing
grow - growing fix - fixing

If a one syllable verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant double the final consonant and add '-ing':
run - running beg - begging
sit - sitting jog - jogging

If a verb has more than one syllable and ends in consonant + vowel + consonant, we double the final consonant only if the final syllable is stressed and add '-ing':
occur - occurring begin - beginning
admit - admitting refer - referring

When a verb ends in '-ic' we add '-k' and then '-ing':
picnic - picnicking panic - panicking

When a verb ends in '-l' the '-l' is doubled and '-ing' is added (in British English):
travel - travelling cancel - cancelling

When a verb ends in silent '-e', the silent '-e' is dropped and '-ing' is added:
close - closing move - moving
live - living have - having

When a verb ends in an '-e' which is not silent, the final '-e' is not dropped before the ending '-ing' is added:
be - being see - seeing

When a verb ends in '-ie', the '-ie' is changed to '-y' before the ending '-ing' is added:
die - dying lie - lying


3. The Present Participal can be also used as an ajective in front of a noun: a running boy, a crying baby, a dancing lady, etc.

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THE INFINITIVE

THE INFINITIVE

1. Form
The infinitive is the base form of a verb. It may be preceded by 'to' (the to-infinitive) or stand alone (the base or zero infinitive).

2. Infinitive with or without 'to'

The to-infinitive is used:

a. after certain verbs. e.g. want, wish, agree, fail, mean, decide, learn
b. after the auxiliaries to be to, to have to, and ought to
c. in the pattern 'it is + adjective + to-infinitive'

Examples:

with 'to'

· The elephant decided to marry the mouse

· The mouse agreed to marry the elephant

· You will have to ask her

· You are to leave immediately

· He ought to relax

· She has to go to Berlin next week

· It's easy to speak English

· It is hard to change jobs after twenty years

· It's stupid to believe everything you hear

without 'to'

· I would rather visit Rome.

· She would rather live in Italy.

· Would you rather eat steak or fish?

· He would rather work in a bank.

· I'd rather be a forest than a tree.

THE INFINITIVE

FUNCTION

The most common uses of the infinitive are:

To indicate the purpose or intention of an action (where the 'to' has the same meaning as 'in order to' or 'so as to'):

· She's gone to collect her pay cheque.

· The three bears went into the forest to find firewood.

As the subject of the sentence:

· To be or not to be, that is the question.

· To know her is to love her.
(Note: this is more common in written English than spoken)

With nouns or pronouns, to indicate what something can be used for, or what is to be done with it:

· Would you like something to drink?

· I haven't anything to wear.

· The children need a garden to play in.

After adjectives in these patterns:

· It is + adjective +to-infinitive
It is good to talk

· It is + adjective + infinitive + for someone + to-infinitive.
It is hard for elephants to see mice

· It is + adjective + infintive + of someone + to-infinitive.
It is unkind of her to say that.

After an adjective + noun when a comment or judgement is being made:

· It was a stupid place to park the car.

· This is the right thing to do.

· It was an astonishing way to behave.

With too and enough in these patterns:

too much/many (+ noun) + to-infinitive
There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.
I had too many books to carry.

too + adjective + to-infinitive
This soup is too hot to eat.
She was too tired to work.

too + adverb + to-infinitive
He arrived too late to see the actors.

enough (+ noun) + to-infinitive
I've had enough (food) to eat.

adjective + enough + to-infinitive
She's old enough to make up her own mind.

not enough (+noun) + to-infinitive
There isn't enough snow to ski on.

not + adjective + enough + to-infinitive
You're not old enough to have grand-children!

THE INFINITIVE

INFINITIVE AFTER QUESTION WORDS

These verbs: ask, decide, explain, forget, know, show, tell, understand, can be followed by a question word such as where, how, what, who, when or 'whether' + the 'to-infinitive'.

Examples:

· She asked me how to use the washing machine.

· Do you understand what to do?

· Tell me when to press the button.

· I've forgotten where to put this little screw.

· I can't decide whether to wear the red dress or the black one.

The question word Why is followed by the zero infinitive in suggestions:

Examples:

· Why wait until tomorrow?

· Why not ask him now?

· Why walk when we can go in the car?

· Why not buy a new bed for your bedroom?

· Why leave before the end of the game?

· Why not spend a week in Beirut and a week in Baghdad?

THE INFINITIVE

NEGATIVE INFINITIVE

To form the negative infinitive, place not before the to- or zero infinitive:
e.g. not to worry:

It's hard not to worry about exams.

Examples:

· I decided not to go to London.

· He asked me not to be late.

· Elephants ought not to marry mice.

· You'd better not smile at the crocodile.

· I'd rather not eat meat.

THE INFINITIVE

OTHER FORMS

The infinitive can have the following forms:

· The perfect infinitive

· The continuous infinitive

· The perfect continuous infinitive

· The passive infinitive

NOTE: as with the present infinitive, there are situations where the to is omitted, e.g. after most modal auxiliaries.

The perfect infinitive:

to have + past participle, e.g. to have broken, to have seen, to have saved.

This form is most commonly found in Type 3 conditional sentences, using the conditional perfect, e.g. If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake.

Examples:

*

Someone must have broken the window and climbed in.
*

I would like to have seen the Taj Mahal when I was in India.
*

He pretended to have seen the film.
*

If I'd seen the ball I would have caught it.

The continuous infinitive:

to be + present participle, e.g.to be swimming, to be joking, to be waiting

Examples:

*

I'd really like to be swimming in a nice cool pool right now.
*

You must be joking!
*

I happened to be waiting for the bus when the accident happened.

The perfect continuous infinitive:

to have been + present participle

Examples:

to have been crying
to have been waiting
to have been painting

*

The woman seemed to have been crying.
*

You must have been waiting for hours!
*

He pretended to have been painting all day.

The passive infinitive:

to be + past participle, e.g. to be given, to be shut, to be opened

Examples:

*

I am expecting to be given a pay-rise next month.
*

These doors should be shut.
*

This window ought to be opened.





THE INFINITIVE

VERBS NORMALLY FOLLOWED BY THE INFINITIVE

C. These are the most common of the verbs followed by a to-infinitive, with or without a noun.

Example:

· I asked him to show me the book.

· I asked to see the book.

ask*
beg*
choose
dare
desire*
elect


expect*
help
mean* (=intend)
request*
want
wish*

The verbs marked * can also be followed by a that-clause

Note:

dare: In negative and interrogative sentences the infinitive with or without 'to' is possible, though it is more common to omit the 'to':

· I never dared tell him what happened.

· Dare you tell him the news?

· Would you dare (to) jump out of a plane?

Examples:

· We've chosen John to represent the company at the conference.

· The elephant didn't mean to tread on the mouse.

· We expect you to do your best in the exam.

· Do you want to go to the beach?

· Do you want me to go with you to the beach?

· You are requested to be quiet in this library.

THE INFINITIVE

VERBS NORMALLY FOLLOWED BY THE INFINITIVE

A. The to-infinitive is used after the verbs in this group, without a preceding noun. The verbs marked * can also be followed by a 'that-clause'

Example:

VERB


TO-INFINITIVE

I hope...


to see you next week.




THAT- CLAUSE

I hope...


that I'll see you next week

afford
agree*
aim
appear �
arrange*
bother
care
claim*
condescend
consent
decide*
demand*
determine*
endeavour


fail
guarantee*
happen �
hasten
have (= be obliged)
hesitate
hope*
learn
long
manage
offer
prepare
pretend*
proceed


promise*
propose
prove (= turn out)
refuse resolve*
seek
seem �
strive
swear*
tend
threaten*
trouble
undertake
volunteer
vow*


� These verbs can only be followed by a 'that-clause' when they have the subject 'it'. e.g. It appeared that no-one had locked the door.

Examples:

· He claimed to be an expert.

· I managed to reach the top of the hill.

· I know you're only pretending to love me!

· Don't pretend that you know the answer.

· She failed to explain the problem clearly.

· The customs man demanded to search our luggage.

· I can't afford to go out tonight.

THE INFINITIVE

VERBS NORMALLY FOLLOWED BY THE INFINITIVE

B. These are the most common of the verbs that are normally followed by a noun + infinitive. The verbs marked * may also be followed by a 'that-clause'.

Example:

VERB


NOUN


INFINITIVE

He reminded


me


to buy some eggs.







THAT-CLAUSE

He reminded


me


that I had to buy some eggs.



accustom
aid
appoint
assist
cause
challenge
command*
defy
direct*
drive
empower
enable
encourage
entice


entitle
entreat
force
get
implore*
incite
induce
inspire
instruct*
invite
lead
leave (make someone responsible)
oblige


order*
persuade*
press
prompt
provoke
remind*
require*
stimulate
summon
teach
tell
tempt
trust*
warn*

Notes:

command, direct, entreat, implore, order, require, trust:
there is no noun between these verbs and a 'that-clause':

· The general commanded his men to surrender.

· The general commanded that his men should surrender.

persuade and remind:
there is always a noun between these verbs and a 'that-clause':

· You can't persuade people to buy small cars.

· You can't persuade people that small cars are better.

instruct, teach, warn:
the noun is optional between these verbs and a 'that-clause':

· She taught her students to appreciate poetry.

· She taught her students that poetry was valuable.

· She taught that poetry was valuable.

Examples:

· The professor challenged his students to argue with his theory.

· This law empowers the government to charge more taxes.

· You can't force me to do something I don't agree with.

· You are obliged to drive on the left in England.

· I invited the new student to have dinner with me.

· What inspired you to write this poem?

· The elephant told the mouse to climb up his tail.

THE INFINITIVE

The zero infinitive is used:

a. after most auxiliaries (e.g. must, can, should, may, might)

b. after verbs of perception, (e.g. see, hear, feel) with the pattern verb + object + zero infinitive

c. after the verbs 'make' and 'let', with the pattern make/let + object + zero infinitive

d. after the expression 'had better'

e. after the expression 'would rather'
when referring to the speaker's own actions



Examples:

After auxiliaries:

· She can't speak to you.

· He should give her some money.

· Shall I talk to him?

· Would you like a cup of coffee?

· I might stay another night in the hotel.

· They must leave before 10.00 a.m.

After verbs of perception:

· He saw her fall from the cliff.

· We heard them close the door.

· They saw us walk toward the lake.

· She felt the spider crawl up her leg.

After the verbs 'make' and 'let':

· Her parents let her stay out late.

· Let's go to the cinema tonight.

· You made me love you.

· Don't make me study that boring grammar book!

NOTICE that the 'to-infinitive' is used when 'make' is in the passive voice:

· I am made to sweep the floor every day.

· She was made to eat fish even though she hated it.

After 'had better':

We had better take some warm clothing.
She had better ask him not to come.
You'd better not smile at a crocodile!
We had better reserve a room in the hotel.
You'd better give me your address.
They had better work harder on their grammar!

After 'would rather':

Note: this is ONLY when referring to the speaker's own actions - see 'would rather' in section on Unreal past.

TO GET

TO GET + direct object = to obtain, to receive, to buy:

To obtain

· She got her driving license last week.

· They got permission to live in Switzerland.

To receive

· I got a letter from my friend in Nigeria.

· He gets £1,000 a year from his father.

To buy

· She got a new coat from Zappaloni in Rome.

· We got a new television for the sitting room.



TO GET + place expression = reach, arrive at a place:

· We got to London around 6 p.m.

· What time will we get there?

· When did you get back from New York?



TO GET + adjective = to become, show a change of state:

· It's getting hotter.

· By the time they reached the house they were getting hungry.

· I'm getting tired of all this nonsense.

· My mother's getting old and needs looking after.

· It gets dark very early in the winter.

· Don't touch the stove until is gets cool.



TO GET + preposition / adverb is used in many phrasal verbs. Here are some of the most common ones:

Phrasal Verb


Meaning

get at


try to express

get away with


escape punishment for a crime or bad action

get by


manage (financially)

get down


descend; depress

get off


leave a form of transport
(train, bus, bicycle, plane)

get on


enter/sit on a form of transport
(train, bus, bicycle, plane);
have a relationship with someone;
manage

get out of


avoid doing something, especially a duty

get over


recover (from an illness, a surprise)

get through


use or finish the supply of something

get up


leave your bed

get up to


do - usually something bad

Examples:


a. He got on his bicycle and rode down the street.
b. He gets up at 6.00 a.m. every morning.
c. She got out of the washing-up every day, even when it was her turn.
d. We got off the train just before the bomb exploded.
e. We've got through all the sugar - can you buy some more?
f. The children are very quiet - I wonder what they're getting up to.



TO GET

'To get' can be used in a number of patterns and has a number of meanings.

TO GET + direct object = obtain, receive, buy.
Example: I got my passport last week.
More Examples

TO GET + place expression = reach, arrive at a place.
Example: How are you getting home tonight?
More Examples

TO GET + adjective = become, show a change of state.
Example: I am getting old.
More Examples

TO GET + preposition/adverb is used in many phrasal verbs.
Example: This rain is really getting me down.
More Examples

TO GET has a number of other meanings:
a. Do you get it? (= understand)
b. He's getting dinner tonight. (= prepare a meal)
c. I'll get the bill. (= pay)
d. That really gets me! (= irritate, annoy)

Other expressions with GET:

· To get rid of something means to throw it away.
Example: I'm going to get rid of all these old newspapers.

· To get out of be on the wrong side means to be in a bad mood.
Example: He got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning and he's been horrible all day.

· To get your own back means to have your revenge or punish someone.
Example: She's getting her own back for all those rude things you said at the party last night

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LINKING VERB

Linking Verbs

A linking verb connects a subject and its complement. Sometimes called copulas,
linking verbs are often forms of the verb to be, but are sometimes verbs related to the five senses (look, sound, smell, feel, taste) and sometimes verbs that somehow reflect a state of being (appear, seem, become, grow, turn, prove, remain). What follows the linking verb will be either a noun complement or an adjective complement:

* Those people are all professors.
* Those professors are brilliant.
* This room smells bad.
* I feel great.
* A victory today seems unlikely.

A handful of verbs that reflect a change in state of being are sometimes called resulting copulas. They, too, link a subject to a predicate adjective:

* His face turned purple.
* She became older.
* The dogs ran wild.
* The milk has gone sour.
* The crowd grew ugly.

This material was taken from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm

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GERUND

A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition.
Gerund as subject:

* Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (Traveling is the gerund.)
* The study abroad program might satisfy your desire for new experiences. (The gerund has been removed.)

Gerund as direct object:

* They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)
* They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)

Gerund as subject complement:

* My cat's favorite activity is sleeping. (The gerund is sleeping.)
* My cat's favorite food is salmon. (The gerund has been removed.)

Gerund as object of preposition:

* The police arrested him for speeding. (The gerund is speeding.)
* The police arrested him for criminal activity. (The gerund has been removed.)

A Gerund Phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund, such as:

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.

Finding (gerund)
a needle (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
in a haystack (prepositional phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb appreciate.
I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.

my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)
offering (gerund)
you (indirect object of action expressed in gerund)
this opportunity (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement.
Newt's favorite tactic has been lying to his constituents.

lying to (gerund)
his constituents (direct object of action expressed in gerund)

The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for.
You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.

faking (gerund)
an illness (direct object of action expressed in gerund)
to avoid work (infinitive phrase as adverb)

The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.
Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.

Being (gerund)
the boss (subject complement for Jeff, via state of being expressed in gerund)
Punctuation

A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it.
Points to remember:

1. A gerund is a verbal ending in -ing that is used as a noun.
2. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund plus modifier(s), object(s), and/or complement(s).
3. Gerunds and gerund phrases virtually never require punctuation.


This matterial was taken from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/01/

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PREPOSITION

A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence. The relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount. In the sentence She went to the store, to is a preposition which shows direction. In the sentence He came by bus, by is a preposition which shows manner. In the sentence They will be here at three o'clock, at is a preposition which shows time and in the sentence It is under the table, under is a preposition which shows place.

A preposition always goes with a noun or pronoun which is called the object of the preposition. The preposition is almost always before the noun or pronoun and that is why it is called a preposition. The preposition and the object of the preposition together are called a prepositional phrase. The following chart shows the prepositions, objects of the preposition, and prepositional phrases of the sentences above.

Preposition	Object of the Preposition	Prepositional Phrase
to	the store	to the store
by	bus	by bus
at	three o'clock	at three o'clock
under	the table	under the table

Prepositional phrases are like idioms and are best learned through listening to and reading as much as possible. Below are some common prepositions of time and place and examples of their use.

Prepositions of time:
at two o'clock
on Wednesday
in an hour, in January; in 1992
for a day

Prepositions of place:
at my house
in New York, in my hand
on the table
near the library
across the street
under the bed
between the books

this material was taken from http://eslus.com/LESSONS/GRAMMAR/POS/pos7.htm

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TO BE

" T o be " is common to be used in English sentences. Some examples of " to be" are is, am, are, was, were and been. Here the examples of usages of " to be" in some English tenses.

Present Tense
I am	We are
You are	You are
He/She/It is	They are

Past Tense
I was	We were
You were	You were
He/She/It was	They were

Perfect Form (past participle) I have been, etc.

Progressive Form (present participle) I am being, etc.

We must choose carefully among these various forms when selecting the proper verb to go with our subject. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs. That's usually an easy matter. We wouldn't write “The troops was moving to the border.” But some sentences require closer attention. Do we write “The majority of students is (or are) voting against the referendum"?

Simple Questions

We create simple yes/no questions by inverting the order of subject and the “To be” verb.

• Is your brother taller than you?
• Am I bothering you?
• Were they embarrassed by the comedian?

The same inversion takes place when “To be” is combined with verbs in the progressive:

• Am I working with you today?
• Is it snowing in the mountains?
• Were your children driving home this weekend?

The Linking and Existential 'To Be'

The verb “To be” most frequently works in conjunction with another verb: “He is playing the piano,” “She will be arriving this afternoon.” Occasionally, though, the verb will stand by itself, alone, in a sentence. This is especially true in simple, brief answers to questions.

“Who's going to the movies with me?”
“I am”

“Who's responsible for this mess in the bathroom?”
“She is.”

In sentences such as these, the subject usually receives the intonation stress and the voice falls off on the verb.

An auxiliary can be combined with the base form of “To be” to provide simple answers to questions that use forms of “to be.”

“Is Heitor in class this morning?”
“Well, he might be.”

“Is anyone helping Heitor with his homework?”
“I'm not sure. Suzanne could be.”

The verb “To be” also acts as a linking verb, joining the sentence subject with a subject complement or adjective complement. A linking verb provides no action to a sentence: the subject complement re-identifies the subject; the adjective complement modifies it. (For further information and additional vocabulary in dealing with linking verbs, visit the hyperlinks in this paragraph.)

• Professor Moriber is the Director of Online Learning.
• Our trip to Yellowstone was fantastic!

In Passive Constructions

A form of the verb “To be” is combined with a past participle to form the passive. Passive verb constructions are useful when the subject of an action is not as important as what the subject did (the action of the sentence) or when the subject is unknown. For instance, the police might report that “The professor was assaulted in the hallways” because they do not know the perpetrator of this heinous crime. In technical writing, where the process is more important than who is doing the activity, we might report that “Three liters of fluid is filtered through porous glass beads.” Regardless of the verb's purpose, only the auxiliary form of “To be” changes; the participle stays the same. The “To be” will change form to indicate whether the subject is singular or plural:

• The foundation is supported by enormous floating caissons that keep it from sinking into the swamp.
• They were constructed by workers half submerged in the murky waters.

Notice how the information about who did the action is frequently found in a prepositional phrase beginning with “by.” Passive constructions do not always include this information:

• Wooden caissons were used until fiberglass structures were developed in the 1950s.
• Caissons were also designed to function under water in the construction of bridges.

The “To be” will also change to indicate the time of the action and the aspect of the verb (simple, progressive, perfect).

• Water is pumped out of the caisson to create an underwater work chamber. (simple present)
• Some caissons were moved to other construction sites. (simple past)
• While the water was being pumped out, workers would enter the top of the waterproof chamber. (past progressive)
• Many other uses of caisson construction have been explored. (present perfect)
• Caissons had been used by the ancient Romans. (past perfect)
• Other uses will be found. (future)

The “To be” verb can be combined with other modal forms (along with the past participle of the main verb) to convey other kinds of information. See the section on modals for the various kinds of information conveyed by modals (advisability, predictability, guessing, necessity, possibility, etc.).

• The wall joints may be weakened if the caissons can't be rebuilt.
• Perhaps the caissons should be replaced; I think they ought to be.
• These ancient, sturdy structures might have been rotted by constant exposure to water.

Visit our section on the passive for advice on when to use the passive and when to substitute more active verb forms.

When “To be” verbs are combined with modal forms in this manner, the construction is called a phrasal modal. Here are some more examples:

• Rosario was able to finish her degree by taking online courses.
• She wasn't supposed to graduate until next year.
• She will be allowed to participate in commencement, though.
• She is about to apply to several graduate programs.
• She is going to attend the state university next fall.

Sometimes it is difficult to say whether a “To be” verb is linking a subject to a participle or if the verb and participle are part of a passive construction. In “Certain behaviors are allowed,” is "are” linking “behaviors” to "allowed" (a participle acting as a predicate adjective) or is “are allowed” a passive verb? In the final analysis, it probably doesn't matter, but the distinction leads to some interesting variations. Consider the difference between

• The jurists were welcomed.
  and
  
• The jurists were welcome.

In the first sentence, the participle “welcomed” (in this passive construction) emphasizes the action of welcoming: the smiles, the hearty greetings, the slaps on the back. In the second sentence, the predicate adjective “welcome” describes the feeling that the jurists must have had upon being so welcomed.

Progressive Forms

Click HERE for a thorough discussion of the progressive verb forms. Progressive forms include a form of “To be” plus a present participle (an -ing ending). Frodesen and Eyring** categorize progressive verbs according to the following functions:

• to describe actions already in progress at the moment "in focus" within the sentence, as in “I was doing my homework when my brother broke into my room, crying.” or “I will be graduating from college about the same time that you enter high school.”
• to describe actions at the moment of focus in contrast to habitual actions, as in “We usually buy the most inexpensive car we can find, but this time we're buying a luxury sedan.”
• to express repeated actions, as in “My grandfather is forever retelling the same story about his adventures in Rangoon.”
• to describe temporary situations in contrast to permanent states, as in “Jeffrey goes to the University of Connecticut, but this summer he is taking courses at the community college.”
• to express uncompleted actions, as in “Harvey and Mark are working on their deck.”

Tag Questions with “To Be”

Click HERE for a description of tag questions, a device by which a statement is turned into a question. When we use “To be” verbs in a tag question, the basic formula follows: the verb is combined with a pronoun and sometimes with not (usually in a contracted form). Positive statements are followed by negative tags; negative statements by positive tags.

• Robert Frost was America's favorite poet, wasn't he?
• He wasn't widely accepted in this country at first, was he?
• You were going to skip this poem, weren't you?
• There were several typographical errors in this anthology, weren't there? (Be careful here. It's not “weren't they.”)
• I am not a very good reader, am I?
• I'm a better reader than you, aren't I?

(Don't try to make sense of this last construction. It is acceptable. In very formal text, you might write “am I not” instead. “Ain't” is not regarded as acceptable except in text attempting to duplicate substandard speech.)

Order with Adverbs

Notice that adverbs of frequency normally appear after forms of the verb “To be”:

• As a student, he was seldom happy.
• Arturo is always first in line.
• They were never on time.

Notice that the adverb still appears after “To be” verbs but before other main verbs:

• My brother-in-law still works for the bank.
• He is still a teller after twenty years.

An adverb can be interposed between the infinitive “To be” and a participle, as in the following sentences. The fear of splitting an infinitive is without grounds in this construction.

• This medicine has to be carefully administered.
• She turned out to be secretly married to her childhood sweetheart.

Unnecessary Uses of “To Be”

Even a casual review of your writing can reveal uses of the verb “To be” that are unnecessary and that can be removed to good effect. In a way, the “To be” verb doesn't do much for you — it just sits there — and text that is too heavily sprinkled with “To be” verbs can feel sodden, static. This is especially true of “To be” verbs tucked into dependent clauses (particularly dependent clauses using a passive construction) and expletive constructions (“There is,” “There were,” “it is,” etc.). Note that the relative pronoun frequently disappears as well when we revise these sentences.

• He wanted a medication that was prescribed by a physician.
• She recognized the officer who was chasing the crook.
• Anyone who is willing to work hard will succeed in this program.
• It was Alberto who told the principal about the students' prank. (Notice that the “it was” brought special emphasis to “Alberto,” an emphasis that is somewhat lost by this change.)
• A customer who is pleased is sure to return. A pleased customer is sure to return. (When we eliminate the “To be” and the relative pronoun, we will also have to reposition the predicate adjective to a pre-noun position.)

An expletive construction, along with its attendant “To be” verb, can often be eliminated to good effect. Simply omit the construction, find the real subject of the sentence, and allow it to do some real work with a real verb.

• There were some excellent results to this experiment in social work. (Change to . . . .) This experiment in social work resulted in . . . .
• There is one explanation for this story's ending in Faulkner's diary. (Change to . . . .) Faulkner's diary gives us one explanation for this story's ending.

On the other hand, expletive constructions do give us an interesting means of setting out or organizing the work of a subsequent paragraph:

• There were four underlying causes of World War I. First, . . . .

Fuzzy Verb Phrases with "Be"

The following information is taken, with permission, from Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan Garner. Copyright 2003. Published by Oxford University Press.

Verb phrases containing "be" verbs are often merely roundabout ways of saying something better said with a simple verb. Thus "be supportive of" for "support" is verbose.

The following circumlocutory uses of "be" verbs are common in stuffy writing. The simple verb (in parentheses) is usually better:

be abusive of (abuse) be applicable to (apply to) be benefited by (benefit from) be derived from (derive from) be desirous of (desire or want) be determinative of (determine) be in agreement (agree) be in attendance (attend) be indicative of (indicate) be in error (err)

be in existence (exist) be influential on (influence) be in possession of (possess) be in receipt of (have received) be in violation of (violate) be operative (operate) be productive of (produce) be promotive of (promote) be supportive of (support)

Many such wordy constructions are more naturally phrased in the present-tense singular: "is able to" ("can"), "is authorized to" ("may"), "is binding upon" ("binds"), "is empowered to" ("may"), "is unable to" ("cannot").

this material was taken from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/to_be.htm

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