Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
CEPA
Course one
THE ARTICLE
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by
the noun. The three main articles in the English language are the, an and a. An article is sometimes
called a noun marker, although this is generally considered to be an archaic term.
It is sometimes wondered which part of speech articles belong to. Despite much speculation,
articles are not adjectives because they don't describe nouns; they just agree with them. Linguists place
them in a different category, that of determiners.
Articles can have various functions:
A definite article (English the) is used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular
member of a group.
The cat is on the black mat.
An indefinite article (English a, an) is used before singular nouns that refer to any member of
a group. A cat is a mammal.
A partitive article indicates an indefinite quantity of a mass noun; there is no partitive article in
English, though the words some or any often have that function.
French: Voulez-vous du caf ? ("Do you want some coffee?" or "Do you want coffee?")
A zero article is the absence of an article (e.g. English indefinite plural), used in some
languages in contrast with the presence of one. Linguists hypothesize the absence as a zero article based
on the X-bar theory.
Cats are mammals.
LOGIC OF DEFINITE ARTICLES
In English, a definite article is mostly used to refer to an object or person who has been
previously introduced. For example:
At last they came to a piece of rising ground, from which they plainly distinguished, sleeping on
a distant mountain, a mammoth bear. . . . Then they requested the eldest to try and slip the belt over the
bear's head. . . .
Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi.
In this example, a bear becomes the bear because a "mammoth bear" had been previously
introduced into the narrative, and no other bear was involved in the story. Only previously introduced
subjects like "the bear" or unique subjects, where the speaker can assume that the audience is aware of
the identity of the referent (The heart has its reasons. . . ) typically take definite articles in English.
By contrast, the indefinite article is used in situations where a new subject is being introduced,
and the speaker assumes that the hearer is not yet familiar with the subject:
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. . .
A traditional nursery rhyme
Reflecting its historical derivation from the number word one, the English indefinite article can
only be used with singular count nouns. For mass nouns, or for plurals, adjectives or adjective phrases
like some or a few substitute for it. In English, pronouns, nouns already having another non-number
determiner, and proper nouns usually do not use articles. Otherwise in English, unlike many other
languages, singular count nouns take an article; either a, an, or the. Also in English word order, articles
precede any adjectives which modify the applicable noun.
In various languages other than English, masculine and feminine forms of articles differ. Singular
and plural forms of articles can also differ in other languages. Many languages do not use articles at all,
and may use other ways of indicating old vs. new information, such as topic-comment constructions.
THE
The word the is the only definite article of the English language. The is the most common word
in the English language.
The article the is used in English as the very first part of a noun phrase. For example:
The end of time begins now.
Here "the end of time" is a noun phrase. The use of the signals that the reference is to a specific
and unique instance of the concept (such as person, object, or idea) expressed in the noun phrase. Here,
the implication is that there is one end of time, and that it has arrived.
The time is 3:29 PM.
There are many times, but the meaning here is the time now, of which (at the moment the
sentence was produced) there is only one.
ETYMOLOGY
Linguists believe that the common ancestor of the Indo-European languages (i.e., the Proto-IndoEuropean language) did not have a definite article. Most of the languages in this family do not have
definite or indefinite articles; there is no article in Latin, Sanskrit, Persian or in some modern IndoEuropean languages, especially in Slavic languages Polish, Russian, Slovak and Czech, etc (the only
Slavic languages that have articles are Bulgarian and Macedonian) and in the Baltic languages
Latvian, Lithuanian and Latgalian. Errors with the use of the and other determiners are common in
people learning English (e.g., native Czech-speaker Ivana Trump, first wife of Donald Trump, referring
to him as "the Donald"). Classical Greek has a definite article (which happens to be very similar to the
definite article in German, but with t instead of German d), but Homeric Greek did not. In the
etymologies of these and many other languages, the definite article arose by a demonstrative pronoun or
adjective changing its usage; compare the fate of the Latin demonstrative "ille" (meaning "that") in the
Romance languages, becoming French le, la, l, and les, Spanish el, la, lo, los, and las, Italian il, la, lo,
l, i, gli, and le, and Portuguese o, os, a, and as.
The and that are common developments from the same Old English system. Old English had a
definite article se, in the masculine gender, seo (feminine), and t (neuter). In Middle English these
had all merged into e, the ancestor of the Modern English word the.
In Middle English the (e) was frequently abbreviated as a with a small e above it, similar to
the abbreviation for that, which was a with a small t above it. During the latter Middle English and
Early Modern English periods, the letter Thorn () in its common script, or cursive, form came to
resemble a y shape. As such the use of a y with an e above it as an abbreviation became common. This
can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the King James Version of the Bible in places such as
Romans 15:29, or in the Mayflower Compact. Note that the article was never pronounced with a y
sound, even when so written.
REDUCTION AND OMISSION
The article is not used in prepositional phrases that refer to travelling to certain places in order to
participate in an activity related to the place. You may, for example, "go to school". Here, we assume
this refers a teacher or pupil who will be giving or attending classes. A parent visiting a teacher or
collecting a child would go "to the school" as he or she will not be engaged in the normal activity of
schooling. Furthermore, while the child would presumably receive equivalent education at most other
schools, the parent must go to the particular school in which his child is enrolled: the child can only be
collected from the school that he attends. Similarly, you will need to "go to hospital" after sustaining an
injury, while anyone subsequently visiting you would be going "to the hospital", as they must go to the
particular hospital where you are. In American English (as opposed to the latter usage of British
English), the article is never omitted as either case would be referred to as going to "a hospital" or "the
hospital." However, one would not talk about "going to cinema" even if your purpose is to participate in
the typical activity related to the place (that is, to watch a film).
In news headlines and informal writing, such as notes or diaries, the definite article and some
other particles are often omitted, for example, "Must pick up prescription at pharmacy today."
In some Northern England dialects of English, the is pronounced as [t] (with a dental t) or as a
glottal stop, usually written in eye dialect as <t>; in some dialects it reduces to nothing. This is known
as definite article reduction.
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The is not used with noncountable nouns referring to something in a general sense:
[no article/zero article] Coffee is a popular drink.
[no article/zero article] Japanese was his native language.
[no article/zero article] Intelligence is difficult to quantify.
The is used with noncountable nouns that are made more specific by a limiting modifying
phrase or clause:
The coffee in my cup is too hot to drink.
The Japanese he speaks is often heard in the countryside.
The intelligence of animals is variable but undeniable.
The is also used when a noun refers to something unique:
the White House
the theory of relativity
the 1999 federal budget
GEOGRAPHICAL USES OF THE
In English most countries never take the definite article, but there are many that do. It is
commonly used with many country names which derive from names of island groups (the Philippines),
mountain ranges (the Lebanon), deserts (the Sudan), and other geographic expressions (the
Netherlands). Such use is declining, but for some countries it remains common. Since the independence
of Ukraine, most style guides have advised dropping the article, in part because the Ukrainian
government was concerned about a similar issue involving prepositions.
The U.S. Department of State and CIA World Factbook show the definite article with only two
countries: The Bahamas and The Gambia.
Do not use the before:
names of countries (Italy, Mexico, Bolivia) except the Netherlands and the US
names of cities, towns, or states (Seoul, Manitoba, Miami)
names of streets (Washington Blvd., Main St.)
names of lakes and bays (Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie) except with a group of lakes like the Great
Lakes
names of mountains (Mount Everest, Mount Fuji) except with ranges of mountains like the
Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
names of continents (Asia, Europe)
names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians,
the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands
Do use the before:
names of rivers, oceans and seas (the Nile, the Pacific)
points on the globe (the Equator, the North Pole)
geographical areas (the Middle East, the West)
deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas (the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the
Iberian Peninsula).
Chinese
English
Spanish
Russian
2. Names of sports
volleyball
hockey
baseball
3. Names of academic subjects
mathematics
biology
history
computer science
CEPA
Course two
THE NOUN
In linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how
its members combine with other kinds of expressions. Since different languages have different
inventories of kinds of expressions, the definition of noun will differ from language to language.
In English, nouns may be defined as those words which can co-occur with definite articles and
attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. The noun can be replaced by a
pronoun of 1st person, 2nd person, or even 3rd person. Also the noun is known for being one of the
eight parts of speech.
THE DISCOVERY OF NOUNS
The word comes from the Latin nomen meaning "name". Word classes like nouns were first
described by the Sanskrit grammarian Pini and ancient Greeks like Dionysios Thrax; and were
defined in terms of their morphological properties. For example, in Ancient Greek, nouns inflect for
grammatical case, such as dative or accusative. Verbs, on the other hand, inflect for tenses, such as past,
present or future, while nouns do not. Aristotle also had a notion of onomata (nouns) and rhemata
(verbs) which, however, does not exactly correspond with modern notions of nouns and verbs. Nouns
are words that describe person, place, thing, animal or abstract idea.
NAMES FOR THINGS
In traditional school grammars, one often encounters the definition of nouns that they are all and
only those expressions that refer to a person, place, thing, event, substance, quality, or idea, etc. This is
a semantic definition. It has been criticized by contemporary linguists as being uninformative.
Contemporary linguists generally agree that one cannot successfully define nouns (or other
grammatical categories) in terms of what sort of object in the world they refer to or signify. Part of the
conundrum is that the definition makes use of relatively general nouns ("thing," "phenomenon,"
"event") to define what nouns are. The existence of such general nouns demonstrates that nouns refer to
entities that are organized in taxonomic hierarchies. But other kinds of expressions are also organized
into such structured taxonomic relationships. For example the verbs "stroll," "saunter," "stride," and
"tread" are more specific words than the more general "walk". Moreover, "walk" is more specific than
the verb "move," which, in turn, is less general than "change." But it is unlikely that such taxonomic
relationships can be used to define nouns and verbs. We cannot define verbs as those words that refer to
"changes" or "states", for example, because the nouns change and state probably refer to such things,
but, of course, aren't verbs. Similarly, nouns like "invasion," "meeting, or "collapse" refer to things that
are "done" or "happen."
In fact, an influential theory has it that verbs like "kill" or "die" refer to events, which is among
the sort of thing that nouns are supposed to refer to. The point being made here is not that this view of
verbs is wrong, but rather that this property of verbs is a poor basis for a definition of this category, just
like the property of having wheels is a poor basis for a definition of cars (some things that have wheels,
such as my suitcase or a jumbo jet, aren't cars). Similarly, adjectives like "yellow" or "difficult" might
be thought to refer to qualities, and adverbs like "outside" or "upstairs" seem to refer to places, which
are also among the sorts of things nouns can refer to. But verbs, adjectives and adverbs are not nouns,
and nouns aren't verbs, adjectives or adverbs. One might argue that "definitions" of this sort really rely
on speakers' prior intuitive knowledge of what nouns, verbs and adjectives are, and, so don't really add
anything over and beyond this. Speakers' intuitive knowledge of such things might plausibly be based
on formal criteria, such as the traditional grammatical definition of English nouns aforementioned.
PROTOTYPICALLY REFERENTIAL EXPRESSIONS
Another semantic definition of nouns is that they are prototypically referential. That definition is
also not very helpful in distinguishing actual nouns from verbs. But it may still correctly identify a core
property of nounhood. For example, we will tend to use nouns like "fool" and "car" when we wish to
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refer to fools and cars, respectively. The notion that this is prototypical reflects the fact that such nouns
can be used, even though nothing with the corresponding property is referred to:
John is no fool.
If I had a car, I'd go to Marrakech.
The first sentence above doesn't refer to any fools, nor does the second one refer to any particular
car.
PREDICATES WITH IDENTITY CRITERIA
The British logician Peter Thomas Geach proposed a very subtle semantic definition of nouns. He
noticed that adjectives like "same" can modify nouns, but no other kinds of parts of speech, like verbs
or adjectives. Not only that, but there also doesn't seem to be any other expressions with similar
meaning that can modify verbs and adjectives. Consider the following examples:
Good: John and Bill participated in the same fight.
Bad: *John and Bill samely fought.
There is no English adverb "samely." In some other languages, like Czech, however there are
adverbs corresponding to "samely." Hence, in Czech, the translation of the last sentence would be fine;
however, it would mean that John and Bill fought in the same way: not that they participated in the
same fight. Geach proposed that we could explain this, if nouns denote logical predicates with identity
criteria. An identity criterion would allow us to conclude, for example, that "person x at time 1 is the
same person as person y at time 2." Different nouns can have different identity criteria. A well known
example of this is due to Gupta:
National Airlines transported 2 million passengers in 1979.
National Airlines transported (at least) 2 million persons in 1979.
Given that, in general, all passengers are persons, the last sentence above ought to follow
logically from the first one. But it doesn't. It is easy to imagine, for example, that on average, every
person who travelled with National Airlines in 1979, travelled with them twice. In that case, one would
say that the airline transported 2 million passengers but only 1 million persons. Thus, the way that we
count passengers isn't necessarily the same as the way that we count persons. Put somewhat differently:
At two different times, you may correspond to two distinct passengers, even though you are one and the
same person. For a precise definition of identity criteria, see Gupta.
Recently, Baker has proposed that Geach's definition of nouns in terms of identity criteria allows
us to explain the characteristic properties of nouns. He argues that nouns can co-occur with (in-)definite
articles and numerals, and are "prototypically referential" because they are all and only those parts of
speech that provide identity criteria. Baker's proposals are quite new, and linguists are still evaluating
them.
CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS IN ENGLISH
PROPER NOUNS AND COMMON NOUNS
Proper nouns (also called proper names) are nouns representing unique entities (such as London,
Universe or John), as distinguished from common nouns which describe a class of entities (such as city,
well or person).
In English and most other languages that use the Latin alphabet, proper nouns are usually
capitalised. Languages differ in whether most elements of multiword proper nouns are capitalised (e.g.,
American English House of Representatives) or only the initial element (e.g., Slovenian Dravni zbor
'National Assembly'). In German, nouns of all types are capitalised. The convention of capitalizing all
nouns was previously used in English, but ended circa 1800. In America, the shift in capitalisation is
recorded in several noteworthy documents. The end (but not the beginning) of the Declaration of
Independence (1776) and all of the Constitution (1787) show nearly all nouns capitalised, the Bill of
Rights (1789) capitalises a few common nouns but not most of them, and the Thirteenth Constitutional
Amendment (1865) only capitalises proper nouns.
Sometimes the same word can function as both a common noun and a proper noun, where one
such entity is special. For example the word God is capitalised as a proper noun when used in a
monotheistic context, because it refers to a single god. Another example is the word "Internet." In the
vast majority of usage, it is a proper noun, and thus capitalized. However, it can be used as a common
noun when talking about "internet technologies" (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP) that are not necessarily in use
on "the Internet," which is a specific global information network.
Owing to the essentially arbitrary nature of orthographic classification and the existence of
variant authorities and adopted house styles, questionable capitalization of words is not uncommon,
even in respected newspapers and magazines. Most publishers, however, properly require consistency,
at least within the same document, in applying their specified standard.
The common meaning of the word or words constituting a proper noun may be unrelated to the
object to which the proper noun refers. For example, someone might be named "Tiger Smith" despite
being neither a tiger nor a smith. For this reason, proper nouns are usually not translated between
languages, although they may be transliterated. For example, the German surname Kndel becomes
Knodel or Knoedel in English (not the literal Dumpling). However, the transcription of place names and
the names of monarchs, popes, and non-contemporary authors is common and sometimes universal. For
instance, the Portuguese word Lisboa becomes Lisbon in English; the English London becomes
Londres in French; and the Greek Aristotels becomes Aristotle in English.
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Count nouns are common nouns that can take a plural, can combine with numerals or quantifiers
(e.g. "one", "two", "several", "every", "most"), and can take an indefinite article ("a" or "an"). Examples
of count nouns are "chair", "nose", and "occasion".
Mass nouns (or non-count nouns) differ from count nouns in precisely that respect: they can't take
plural or combine with number words or quantifiers. Examples from English include "laughter",
"cutlery", "helium", and "furniture". For example, it is not possible to refer to "a furniture" or "three
furnitures". This is true, even though the furniture referred to could, in principle, be counted. Thus the
distinction between mass and count nouns shouldn't be made in terms of what sorts of things the nouns
refer to, but rather in terms of how the nouns present these entities.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Collective nouns are nouns that refer to groups consisting of more than one individual or entity,
even when they are inflected for the singular. Examples include "committee," "herd" and "school" (of
herring). These nouns have slightly different grammatical properties than other nouns. For example, the
noun phrases that they head can serve as the subject of a collective predicate, even when they are
inflected for the singular. A collective predicate is a predicate that normally can't take a singular subject.
An example of the latter is "talked to each other."
Good: The boys talked to each other.
Bad: *The boy talked to each other.
Good: The committee talked to each other.
CONCRETE NOUNS AND ABSTRACT NOUNS
Concrete nouns refer to definite objects which you use at least one of your senses to observe. For
instance, "chair", "apple", or "Janet". Abstract nouns on the other hand refer to ideas or concepts, such
as "justice" or "hate". While this distinction is sometimes useful, the boundary between the two of them
is not always clear; consider, for example, the noun "art". In English, many abstract nouns are formed
by adding noun-forming suffixes ("-ness", "-ity", "-tion") to adjectives or verbs. Examples are
"happiness", "circulation" and "serenity".
NOUNS AND PRONOUNS
Noun phrases can typically be replaced by pronouns, such as "he", "it", "which", and "those", in
order to avoid repetition or explicit identification, or for other reasons. For example, in the sentence
"Janet thought that he was weird", the word "he" is a pronoun standing in place of the name of the
person in question. The English word one can replace parts of noun phrases, and it sometimes stands in
for a noun. An example is given below:
John's car is newer than the one that Bill has.
But one can also stand in for bigger subparts of a noun phrase. For example, in the following
example, one can stand in for new car.
This new car is cheaper than that one.
Singular ends in ex or ix
Plural ends in ices
appendix/appendices, index/indices
Singular ends in us
Plural ends in I
focus/foci, stimulus/stimuli
Singular ends in us
Plural ends in a
corpus/corpora, genus/genera
Singular ends in eau
Plural ends in eaux
bureau/bureaux, beau/beaux
Nouns that have only a plural form and so take a plural verb
Things that come in pairs
Tools: glasses, scissors, binoculars, forceps, tongs, tweezers
Clothes: jeans, pants, pyjamas, shorts, trousers
Some nouns in English are used only in the singular form and so the verb remains in singular:
accommodation, advice, furniture, information, knowledge, news, progress.
Nouns that end in s but have no singular (aggregate nouns)
accommodations, amends, archives, arms (weapons), bowels, intestines, brains (intellect),
clothes, communications, congratulations, contents, stairs, thanks, goods, contents
Nouns that are plural but do not end in s
people, police, cattle, people
Some nouns have the same form for both plural and singular:
deer, fish, series, sheep, species, homework.
The names of many sciences ending in "ics" are singular. The verb remains in the singular form:
Ethics, Mathematics, Statistics, Phonetics, Genetics.
IMPORTANT REMARKS:
The plural forms "hundreds", "dozens", "thousands", etc. are used if some indefinite number is
implied, as: Hundreds of miles, Dozens of eggs, Thousands of buildings.
But they remain uninflected after numerals, as: Five hundred miles, Three dozen eggs, Four
thousand buildings
Note also that is this case the preposition of is placed after "hundreds", "dozens", "thousands",
etc. A definite number is never followed by of.
Nouns denoting value, weight, time, measure, etc., when used as adjectives are singular in
form, as: two shillings but a two shilling piece, twelve pounds but a twelve pound book, thirty days
but a thirty day month, eleven inches but an eleven inch ruler, eight miles but an eight mile walk.
Compound Nouns
1. Normally, the last word is made plural in compound nouns:
armchair-armchairs, bookcase-bookcases, mailman-mailmen.
2. Where man or woman come first, both parts are made plural.
manservant-menservants, woman-teacher/women-teachers.
3. Compound nouns formed with prepositions or adverbs make only the first word plural.
looker-on/lookers-on, sister-in-law/sisters-in-law.
4. Compounds finishing in "ful" take "S".
handful-handfuls, spoonful-spoonfuls.
CEPA
Course three
THE ADJECTIVE
Adjectives can be identified using a number of formal criteria. However, we may begin by saying
that they typically describe an attribute of a noun.
Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many
are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause.
An adjective, in grammar, is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun
(called the adjective's subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to.
Collectively, adjectives form one of the traditional eight parts of speech, though linguists today
distinguish adjectives from words such as determiners that used to be considered adjectives but that are
now recognized to be different.
Not all languages have adjectives, but most, including English, do. (English adjectives include
big, old, and tired, among many others.) Those that do not typically use words of another part of
speech, often verbs, to serve the same semantic function; for example, such a language might have a
verb that means "to be big", and would use a construction analogous to "big-being house" to express
what English expresses as "big house". Even in languages that do have adjectives, one language's
adjective might not be another's; for example, where English has "to be hungry" (hungry being an
adjective), French has "avoir faim" (literally "to have hunger").
In most languages with adjectives, they form an open class of words; that is, it is relatively
common for new adjectives to be formed via such processes as derivation.
old" means, "that which is old" or "all that is old", and similarly with "the new". In such cases, the
adjective functions either as a mass noun (as in the preceding example) or as a plural count noun, as in
"The meek shall inherit the Earth", where "the meek" means "those who are meek" or "all who are
meek".
Adjectival phrases
An adjective acts as the head of an adjectival phrase. In the simplest case, an adjectival phrase
consists solely of the adjective; more complex adjectival phrases may contain one or more adverbs
modifying the adjective ("very strong"), or one or more complements ("worth several dollars", "full of
toys", "eager to please). In English, attributive adjectival phrases that include complements typically
follow their subjects ("an evildoer devoid of redeeming qualities").
Adjective order
In many languages, attributive adjectives usually occur in a specific order; for example, in
English, adjectives pertaining to size generally precede adjectives pertaining to age ("little old", not "old
little"), which in turn generally precede adjectives pertaining to color ("old green", not "green old").
This order may be more rigid in some languages than others may; in some, it may only be a default
(unmarked) word order, with other orders being permissible to shift the emphasis.
Comparison of adjectives
In many languages, adjectives can be compared. In English, for example, we can say that a car is
big, that it is bigger than another is, or that it is the biggest car of all. Not all adjectives lend themselves
to comparison, however; for example, the English adjective even, in the sense of "being a multiple of
two", is not considered comparable, in that it does not make sense to describe one integer as "more
even" than another.
Among languages that allow adjectives to be compared in this way, different approaches are used.
Indeed, even within English, two different approaches are used: the suffixes -er and -est, and the words
more and most. (In English, the general tendency is for shorter adjectives and adjectives from AngloSaxon to use -er and -est, and for longer adjectives and adjectives from French, Latin, Greek, and other
languages to use more and most.) By either approach, English adjectives therefore have positive forms
(big), comparative forms (bigger), and superlative forms (biggest); many languages do not distinguish
comparative from superlative forms, however.
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Notice that the word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the word the precedes the
superlative. The inflected suffixes -er and -est suffice to form most comparatives and superlatives,
although we need -ier and -iest when a two-syllable adjective ends in -y (happier and happiest);
otherwise we use more and most when an adjective has more than one syllable.
Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms
good better the best
bad
worse the worst
little
less
the least
much
many more most
some
far
further furthest
Be careful not to form comparatives or superlatives of adjectives which already express an
extreme of comparison unique, for instance although it probably is possible to form comparative
forms of most adjectives: something can be more perfect, and someone can have a fuller figure. People
who argue that one woman cannot be more pregnant than another have never been nine-months
pregnant with twins.
According to Bryan Garner, "complete" is one of those adjectives that does not admit of
comparative degrees. We could say, however, "more nearly complete." I am sure that I have not been
consistent in my application of this principle in the Guide (I can hear myself, now, saying something
like "less adequate" or "more preferable" or "less fatal"). Other adjectives that Garner would include in
this list are as follows:
absolute, adequate, chief, complete, devoid, entire, fatal, final, ideal, impossible, irrevocable,
main, manifest, minor, paramount, perpetual, preferable, principal, stationary, sufficient,
unanimous, unavoidable, unbroken, unique, universal, whole.
Be careful, also, not to use more along with a comparative adjective formed with -er nor to use
most along with a superlative adjective formed with -est (e.g., do not write that something is more
heavier or most heaviest).
The as as construction is used to create a comparison expressing equality:
He is as foolish as he is large.
She is as bright as her mother.
Taller than I / me ??
When making a comparison with "than" do we end with a subject form or object form, "taller
than I/she" or "taller than me/her"? The correct response is "taller than I/she." We are looking for the
subject form: "He is taller than I am/she is tall." (Except we leave out the verb in the second clause,
"am" or "is.") Some good writers, however, will argue that the word "than" should be allowed to
function as a preposition. If we can say "He is tall like me/her," then (if "than" could be prepositional
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like like) we should be able to say, "He is taller than me/her." It's an interesting argument, but for
now, anyway in formal, academic prose, use the subject form in such comparisons.
We also want to be careful in a sentence such as "I like him better than she/her." The "she" would
mean that you like this person better than she likes him; the "her" would mean that you like this male
person better than you like that female person. (To avoid ambiguity and the slippery use of than, we
could write "I like him better than she does" or "I like him better than I like her.")
We took the northwest route during the spring thaw. We stayed there until the town's annual Fall
Festival of Small Appliances.
Collective Adjectives
When the definite article, the, is combined with an adjective describing a class or group of
people, the resulting phrase can act as a noun: the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, the lonely,
the unlettered, the unwashed, the gathered, the dear departed. The difference between a Collective Noun
(which is usually regarded as singular but which can be plural in certain contexts) and a collective
adjective is that the latter is always plural and requires a plural verb:
The rural poor have been ignored by the media.
The rich of Connecticut are responsible.
The elderly are beginning to demand their rights.
The young at heart are always a joy to be around.
Adjectival Opposites
The opposite or the negative aspect of an adjective can be formed in a number of ways. One way,
of course, is to find an adjective to mean the opposite an antonym. The opposite of beautiful is ugly,
the opposite of tall is short. A thesaurus can help you find an appropriate opposite. Another way to form
the opposite of an adjective is with a number of prefixes. The opposite of fortunate is unfortunate, the
opposite of prudent is imprudent, the opposite of considerate is inconsiderate, the opposite of
honorable is dishonorable, the opposite of alcoholic is nonalcoholic, the opposite of being properly
filed is misfiled. If you are not sure of the spelling of adjectives modified in this way by prefixes (or
which is the appropriate prefix), you will have to consult a dictionary, as the rules for the selection of a
prefix are complex and too shifty to be trusted. The meaning itself can be tricky; for instance,
flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.
A third means for creating the opposite of an adjective is to combine it with less or least to create
a comparison which points in the opposite direction. Interesting shades of meaning and tone become
available with this usage. It is kinder to say that "This is the least beautiful city in the state." than it is to
say that "This is the ugliest city in the state." (It also has a slightly different meaning.) A candidate for a
job can still be worthy and yet be "less worthy of consideration" than another candidate. It's probably
not a good idea to use this construction with an adjective that is already a negative: "He is less unlucky
than his brother," although that is not the same thing as saying he is luckier than his brother. Use the
comparative less when the comparison is between two things or people; use the superlative least when
the comparison is among many things or people.
My mother is less patient than my father.
Of all the new sitcoms, this is my least favorite show.
A- Adjectives
The most common of the so-called a- adjectives are ablaze, afloat, afraid, aghast, alert, alike,
alive, alone, aloof, ashamed, asleep, averse, awake, aware. These adjectives will primarily show up as
predicate adjectives (i.e., they come after a linking verb).
The children were ashamed.
The professor remained aloof.
The trees were ablaze.
Occasionally, however, you will find a- adjectives before the word they modify: the alert patient,
the aloof physician. Most of them, when found before the word they modify, are themselves modified:
the nearly awake student, the terribly alone scholar. And a- adjectives are sometimes modified by "very
much": very much afraid, very much alone, very much ashamed, etc.
15
CEPA
Course four
THE ADVERB
An adverb is a part of speech. It is any word that modifies any other part of language: verbs,
adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs, except for nouns; modifiers of
nouns are primarily determiners and adjectives.
Adverbs typically answer questions such as how?, when?, where?, why? and to what extent?
This function is called the adverbial function, and is realized not just by single words (i.e.,
adverbs) but by adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses.
An adverb as an adverbial may be a sentence element in its own right.
They treated her well. (SUBJECT)
Alternatively, an adverb may be contained within a sentence element.
An extremely small child entered the room. (SUBJECT + ADVERBIAL + OBJECT)
Adverbs are words that modify :
a verb (He drove slowly. How did he drive?)
an adjective (He drove a very fast car. How fast was his car?)
another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. How slowly did she move?)
As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something
happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in
-ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words
lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:
That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.
If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a
sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:
When this class is over, we're going to the movies.
When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called an
adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place and time,
modifying the verb):
He went to the movies.
She works on holidays.
They lived in Canada during the war.
And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):
She hurried to the mainland to see her brother.
The senator ran to catch the bus.
But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:
He calls his mother as often as possible.
Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would
say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed a wonderfully
casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."
Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree:
Walk faster if you want to keep up with me.
The student who reads fastest will finish first.
We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:
With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients.
The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen.
She worked less confidently after her accident.
That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.
The as as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality: "He
can't run as fast as his sister."
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A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain cases,
the two forms have different meanings:
He arrived late.
Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.
In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual
situations:
She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers.
He did wrong by her.
He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.
Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something.
Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone.
Here are some examples:
Emphasizers:
I really don't believe him.
He literally wrecked his mother's car.
She simply ignored me.
They're going to be late, for sure.
Amplifiers:
The teacher completely rejected her proposal.
I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.
They heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
I so wanted to go with them.
We know this city well.
Downtoners:
I kind of like this college.
Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister.
His mother mildly disapproved his actions.
We can improve on this to some extent.
The boss almost quit after that.
The school was all but ruined by the storm.
Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by premodifiers:
She runs very fast.
We're going to run out of material all the faster
Kinds of Adverbs
Adverbs of Manner
She moved slowly and spoke quietly.
Adverbs of Place
She has lived on the island all her life.
She still lives there now.
Adverbs of Frequency
She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
She often goes by herself.
Adverbs of Time
She tries to get back before dark.
It's starting to get dark now.
She finished her tea first.
She left early.
Adverbs of Purpose
She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.
She shops in several stores to get the best buys.
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Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of manner
are particularly flexible in this regard.
Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation.
The minister solemnly addressed her congregation.
The minister addressed her congregation solemnly.
The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:
Before the main verb: I never get up before nine o'clock.
Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb: I have rarely written to my brother without a good
reason.
Before the verb used to: I always used to see him at his summer home.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the main
verb:
He finally showed up for batting practice.
She has recently retired.
As a general principle, shorter adverbial phrases precede longer adverbial phrases,
regardless of content. In the following sentence, an adverb of time precedes an adverb of frequency
because it is shorter (and simpler):
Dad takes a brisk walk before breakfast every day of his life.
A second principle: among similar adverbial phrases of kind (manner, place, frequency, time,
purpose etc.), the more specific adverbial phrase comes first:
My grandmother was born in a sod house on the plains of northern Nebraska.
She promised to meet him for lunch next Tuesday.
Bringing an adverbial modifier to the beginning of the sentence can place special emphasis on
that modifier. This is particularly useful with adverbs of manner:
Slowly, ever so carefully, Jesse filled the coffee cup up to the brim, even above the brim.
Occasionally, but only occasionally, one of these lemons will get by the inspectors.
Relative Adverbs
Adjectival clauses are sometimes introduced by what are called the relative adverbs: where,
when, and why. Although the entire clause is adjectival and will modify a noun, the relative word itself
fulfills an adverbial function (modifying a verb within its own clause).
The relative adverb where will begin a clause that modifies a noun of place:
My entire family now worships in the church where my great grandfather used to be minister.
The relative pronoun "where" modifies the verb "used to be" (which makes it adverbial), but the
entire clause ("where my great grandfather used to be minister") modifies the word "church."
A when clause will modify nouns of time:
My favorite month is always February, when we celebrate Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day.
And a why clause will modify the noun reason:
Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today?
We sometimes leave out the relative adverb in such clauses, and many writers prefer "that" to
"why" in a clause referring to "reason":
Do you know the reason why Isabel isn't in class today?
I always look forward to the day when we begin our summer vacation.
I know the reason that men like motorcycles.
See: Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln, 4th Edition. MacMillan Publishing
Company: New York, 1994.
Synthesis
Adverbs in English
In English, adverbs of manner (answering the question how?) are often derived from verbs. Many
other adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding -ly to the adjectives. For example, great yields
greatly. Note that some words that end in -ly are actually not adverbs, but adjectives, in which case the
root word would usually be nouns, such as friendly, lovely. There are also underived adjectives that end
in -ly, such as holy and ugly. In some cases, the suffix -wise may be used to derive adverbs from typical
nouns. Historically, -wise competed with a related form -ways and won out against it. In a few words,
like sideways, -ways survives; words like clockwise show the transition. Again, it is not a foolproof
indicator of a word being an adverb. There are a number of other suffixes in English that derive adverbs
from other word classes, and there are also many adverbs that are not morphologically indicated at all.
Comparative Adverbs include more, most, least, and less.
Formally, adverbs in English are inflected in terms of comparison, just like adjectives. The
comparative and superlative forms of adverbs are generated by adding -er and -est. Many adverbs are
also periphrastically indicated by the use of more or most. Adverbs also take comparisons with as ... as,
less, and least. The usual form pertaining to adjectives or adverbs is called the positive.
20
CEPA
Course five
THE PREPOSITION
In the dictionary a preposition is defined as, 'an indeclinable word serving to mark a relation
between the noun or pronoun it governs and another word'. Its etymology defines it as arising from the
Latin 'prae' meaning 'before' and 'posito' meaning 'a putting or placing'. Therefore the preposition stands
before the noun to tell you its position in time and space.
In grammar, a preposition is a part of speech that introduces a prepositional phrase. In English,
the most used prepositions are "of", "to", "in", "for", and "on". Simply put, a preposition indicates a
relation between things mentioned in a sentence.
A preposition is a word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence. The
relationships include direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount.
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.
Linguists sometimes distinguish between a preposition, which precedes its phrase, a
postposition, which follows its phrase, and as a rare case a circumposition, which surrounds its phrase.
Taken together, these three parts of speech are called adpositions. In more technical language, an
adposition is an element that, prototypically, combines syntactically with a phrase and indicates how
that phrase should be interpreted in the surrounding context. Some linguists use the word "preposition"
instead of "adposition" for all three cases.
Some uses of English prepositional phrases:
as a modifier to a verb
sleep throughout the winter
danced atop the tables for hours
as a modifier to a noun
the weather in April
cheeses from France with live bacteria
as the complement of a verb
insist on staying home
dispose of unwanted items
as the complement of a noun
a thirst for revenge
as the complement of an adjective or adverb
attentive to their needs
separately from its neighbors
as the complement of another preposition
until after supper
from beneath the bed
Adpositions perform many of the same functions as case markings, but adpositions are syntactic
elements, while case markings are morphological elements.
Definition
Adpositions form a heterogeneous class, with fuzzy boundaries that tend to overlap with other
categories (like verbs, nouns, and adjectives). It is thus impossible to provide an absolute definition that
picks out all and only the adpositions in every language. The following properties are, however,
characteristic of the most frequently used, "core" members of most adpositional systems:
Adpositions are among the most frequently occurring words in languages that have them. For
example, one frequency ranking for English word forms begins as follows (adpositions in bold):
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the, of, and, to, a, in, that, it, is, was, I, for, on, you,
The most common adpositions are single, monomorphemic words. According to the ranking cited
above, for example, the most common English prepositions are:
of, to, in, for, on, with, as, by, at, from,
An adposition combines syntactically with exactly one complement phrase, most often a noun
phrase (or, in a different analysis, a determiner phrase). (In some analyses, an adposition need have no
complement. See below.) In English, this is generally a noun (or something functioning as a noun, e.g.,
a gerund), called the object of the preposition, together with its attendant modifiers.
An adposition establishes the grammatical relationship that links its complement phrase to
another word or phrase in the context. In English, it also establishes a semantic relationship, which may
be spatial (in, on, under, ...), temporal (after, during, ...), or logical (via, ...) in nature.
An adposition determines certain grammatical properties of its complement (e.g. its case). In
English, the objects of prepositions are always in the objective case. In Koine Greek, certain
prepositions always take their objects in a certain case (e.g., always takes its object in the dative),
and other prepositions may take their object in one of several cases, depending on the meaning of the
preposition (e.g., takes its object in the genetive or in the accusative, depending on the meaning).
Adpositions are non-inflecting (or "invariant"); i.e., they do not have paradigms of forms (for
different tenses, cases, genders, etc.) in the same way as verbs, adjectives, and nouns in the same
language.
Adpositions form a closed class of lexical items and cannot be productively derived from words
of other categories.
Simple vs complex
Simple adpositions consist of a single word, while complex adpositions consist of a group of
words that act as one unit. Some examples of complex prepositions in English are:
in spite of, with respect to, except for, by dint of, next to
The boundary between simple and complex adpositions is not clear-cut. Many simple adpositions
are derived from complex forms (e.g. with + in within, by + side beside) through
grammaticalization. This change takes time, and during the transitional stages the adposition acts in
some ways like a single word, and in other ways like a multi-word unit.
Semantic classification
Adpositions can be used to express a wide range of semantic relations between their complement
and the rest of the context. The following list is not an exhaustive classification:
spatial relations: location (inclusion, exclusion, proximity), direction (origin, path, endpoint)
temporal relations
comparison: equality, opposition, price, rate
content: source, material, subject matter
instrument, manner
cause, purpose, agent
Most common adpositions are highly polysemous, and much research is devoted to the
description and explanation of the various interconnected meanings of particular adpositions. In many
cases a primary, spatial meaning can be identified, which is then extended to non-spatial uses by
metaphorical or other processes.
In some contexts, adpositions appear in contexts where their semantic contribution is minimal,
perhaps altogether absent. Such adpositions are sometimes referred to as functional or case-marking
adpositions, and they are lexically selected by another element in the construction, or fixed by the
construction as a whole.
A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or
adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Note that many of
the words may also function as other parts of speech. Also note that some prepositions are compound,
made up of more than one word. The most common prepositions (simple and compound)
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are:aboard "about," "above," according to, "across," across from, "after," "against,"
ahead of, "along," along side, along with, amid, "among," apart from, "around,"
aside from, as of, "at," atop, baring, because of, "before," "behind," "below,"
"beneath," "beside," besides, "between," "beyond," "but," "by," by means of,
concerning, considering,"despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," in
addition to, in back of, in front of, in lieu of, in place of, in regard to, "inside," in
spite of, instead of, "into," in view of, "like," "near," nearby, next to, "of," "off,"
"on," on account of, "onto," on top of, opposite, "out," out of, "outside," awing to,
"over," "past," per, prior to, regarding, round, "since," "through," "throughout,"
"till," "to," together with, "toward (s)," "under," "underneath," "until," unto, "up,"
"upon," "with," "within," and "without."
23
CEPA
Course six
THE CONJUNCTION
A conjunction is a word that connects other words or groups of words. In the sentence: Bob and
Dan are friends the conjunction and connects two nouns and in the sentence: He will drive or fly, the
conjunction or connects two verbs. In the sentence: It is early but we can go, the conjunction but
connects two groups of words.
Conjunctions are words that join clauses into sentences.
e.g. I went to bed early because I was extremely tired. (We have clause + conjunction + clause).
Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions which connect two equal parts of a sentence. The
most common ones are and, or, but, and so which are used in the following ways:
and is used to join or add words together in the sentence: They ate and drank.
or is used to show choice or possibilities as in the sentence: He will be here on Monday or
Tuesday.
but is used to show opposite or conflicting ideas as in the sentence: She is small but strong.
so is used to show result as in the sentence: I was tired so I went to sleep.
Subordinating conjunctions connect two parts of a sentence that are not equal and will be
discussed more in another class. For now, you should know some of the more common subordinating
conjunctions such as:
after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, unless, until,
when, where, whether, while.
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. In the sentence: Both Jan
and Meg are good swimmers, both . . .and are correlative conjunctions. The most common correlative
conjunctions are: both.. and, either . . . or, neither . . . nor, not only . . . but also.
Some conjunctions are made up of two or more words:
e. g. I stayed an extra night so that I could see Ann.
Let me know the moment that you arrive.
Punctuation
Commas are often used to separate longer or more complicated clauses. Shorter pairs of clauses
are often connected without commas. Compare:
I came home and the others went dancing.
I decided to come home earlier than I had planned, and the others spent the evening at the local
disco.
When a subordinate clause begins a sentence, it is more often separated by a comma, even it is
short. Compare:
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2. To suggest in an affirmative sense what the first part of the sentence implied in a negative way
(sometimes replaced by on the contrary): "The club never invested foolishly, but used the services of a
sage investment counselor."
3. To connect two ideas with the meaning of "with the exception of" (and then the second word
takes over as subject): "Everybody but Goldenbreath is trying out for the team."
OR
1. To suggest that only one possibility can be realized, excluding one or the other: "You can study
hard for this exam or you can fail."
2. To suggest the inclusive combination of alternatives: "We can broil chicken on the grill tonight,
or we can just eat leftovers.
3. To suggest a refinement of the first clause: "Smith College is the premier all-women's college
in the country, or so it seems to most Smith College alumnae."
4. To suggest a restatement or "correction" of the first part of the sentence: "There are no
rattlesnakes in this canyon, or so our guide tells us."
5. To suggest a negative condition: "The New Hampshire state motto is the rather grim "Live free
or die."
6. To suggest a negative alternative without the use of an imperative (see use of and above):
"They must approve his political style or they wouldn't keep electing him mayor."
The Others . . .
The conjunction NOR is not extinct, but it is not used nearly as often as the other conjunctions,
so it might feel a bit odd when nor does come up in conversation or writing. Its most common use is as
the little brother in the correlative pair, neither-nor (see below):
He is neither sane nor brilliant.
That is neither what I said nor what I meant.
It can be used with other negative expressions:
That is not what I meant to say, nor should you interpret my statement as an admission of guilt.
It is possible to use nor without a preceding negative element, but it is unusual and, to an extent,
rather stuffy:
George's handshake is as good as any written contract, nor has he ever proven untrustworthy.
The word YET functions sometimes as an adverb and has several meanings: in addition ("yet
another cause of trouble" or "a simple yet noble woman"), even ("yet more expensive"), still ("he is yet
a novice"), eventually ("they may yet win"), and so soon as now ("he's not here yet"). It also functions
as a coordinating conjunction meaning something like "nevertheless" or "but." The word yet seems to
carry an element of distinctiveness that but can seldom register.
John plays basketball well, yet his favorite sport is badminton.
The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they continued to play golf every day.
In sentences such as the second one, above, the pronoun subject of the second clause ("they," in
this case) is often left out. When that happens, the comma preceding the conjunction might also
disappear: "The visitors complained loudly yet continued to play golf every day."
Yet is sometimes combined with other conjunctions, but or and. It would not be unusual to see
and yet in sentences like the ones above. This usage is acceptable.
The word FOR is most often used as a preposition, of course, but it does serve, on rare
occasions, as a coordinating conjunction. Some people regard the conjunction for as rather highfalutin
and literary, and it does tend to add a bit of weightiness to the text. Beginning a sentence with the
conjunction "for" is probably not a good idea, except when you're singing "For he's a jolly good fellow.
"For" has serious sequential implications and in its use the order of thoughts is more important than it
is, say, with because or since. Its function is to introduce the reason for the preceding clause:
John thought he had a good chance to get the job, for his father was on the company's board of
trustees.
Most of the visitors were happy just sitting around in the shade, for it had been a long, dusty
journey on the train.
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Be careful of the conjunction SO. Sometimes it can connect two independent clauses along with a
comma, but sometimes it can't. For instance, in this sentence,
Soto is not the only Olympic athlete in his family, so are his brother, sister, and his Uncle Chet.
Where the word so means "as well" or "in addition," most careful writers would use a semicolon
between the two independent clauses. In the following sentence, where so is acting like a minor-league
"therefore," the conjunction and the comma are adequate to the task:
Soto has always been nervous in large gatherings, so it is no surprise that he avoids crowds of his
adoring fans.
Sometimes, at the beginning of a sentence, so will act as a kind of summing up device or
transition, and when it does, it is often set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma:
So, the sheriff peremptorily removed the child from the custody of his parents.
introduce a clause ("My brother can't play the piano like as he did before the accident" or "It looks like
as if basketball is quickly overtaking baseball as America's national sport."). To introduce a clause, it's a
good idea to use as, as though, or as if, instead.
Like As I told you earlier, the lecture has been postponed.
It looks like as if it's going to snow this afternoon.
Johnson kept looking out the window like as though he had someone waiting for him.
In formal, academic text, it's a good idea to reserve the use of like for situations in which
similarities are being pointed out:
This community college is like a two-year liberal arts college.
However, when you are listing things that have similarities, such as is probably more suitable:
The college has several highly regarded neighbors, like such as the Mark Twain House, St.
Francis Hospital, the Connecticut Historical Society, and the UConn Law School.
Omitting That
The word that is used as a conjunction to connect a subordinate clause to a preceding verb. In this
construction that is sometimes called the "expletive that." Indeed, the word is often omitted to good
effect, but the very fact of easy omission causes some editors to take out the red pen and strike out the
conjunction that wherever it appears. In the following sentences, we can happily omit the that (or keep
it, depending on how the sentence sounds to us):
Isabel knew [that] she was about to be fired.
She definitely felt [that] her fellow employees hadn't supported her.
I hope [that] she doesn't blame me.
Sometimes omitting the that creates a break in the flow of a sentence, a break that can be
adequately bridged with the use of a comma:
The problem is, that production in her department has dropped.
Remember, that we didn't have these problems before she started working here.
As a general rule, if the sentence feels just as good without the that, if no ambiguity results from
its omission, if the sentence is more efficient or elegant without it, then we can safely omit the that.
Theodore Bernstein lists three conditions in which we should maintain the conjunction that:
When a time element intervenes between the verb and the clause: "The boss said yesterday that
production in this department was down fifty percent." (Notice the position of "yesterday.")
When the verb of the clause is long delayed: "Our annual report revealed that some losses
sustained by this department in the third quarter of last year were worse than previously thought."
(Notice the distance between the subject "losses" and its verb, "were.")
When a second that can clear up who said or did what: "The CEO said that Isabel's department
was slacking off and that production dropped precipitously in the fourth quarter." (Did the CEO say that
production dropped or was the drop a result of what he said about Isabel's department? The second that
makes the sentence clear.)
29
CEPA
Course seven
THE INTERJECTION
The interjection is the eighth of the eight parts of speech (noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb,
preposition, conjunction, and interjection).
An interjection is a part of speech that usually has no grammatical connection with the rest of
the sentence and simply expresses emotion on the part of the speaker, although most interjections have
clear definitions. Filled pauses such as uh, er, um, are also considered interjections. Interjections are
intergections were invented in 1947 that cause these emotions unexpectedly, painfully, surprisingly,
or in many other sudden ways. However, several languages have interjections that cannot be related to
emotions.
The word "interjection" literally means "thrown in between" from the Latin inter ("between") and
iacere ("throw").
Interjections are words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are included in a
sentence.Usually at the start to express a sentiment such as suprise, disgust, joy, excitement or
enthusiasm.
Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or
Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in
writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the
sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.
Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common
in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking
about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have
no real meaning.
Examples:
Hey! Get off that floor!
Oh, that is a surprise.
Good! Now we can move on.
Jeepers, that was close.
Introductory expressions such as "yes", "no", "indeed" and "well" are also classed as
interjections.
Examples:
Indeed, this is not the first time the stand has collapsed.
Yes, I do intend to honour the bet.
Some interjections are sounds:
Examples:
Phew! I am not trying that again.
Humph! I knew that last week.
Mmmm, my compliments to the chef.
Another common use of interjections is to signal the resumption of discourse, or as filler, to make
a more comfortable transition to the speaker's (or writer's) next point.
President Reagan was famous for beginning his debate responses with the interjection "Well."
"Well" is also often used in today's notably ironic discourse to signal that something is or at
least it should be self-evident. For example, "Young people resent being bossed around by anyone,
even if that person happens to be their well, their boss."
30
Another interjection often used ironically to signal that something should be obvious is "Duh!"
"Um" is sometimes used this way, too, although its effect is gentler, "Um, did you happen to bring a
check for the money you promised to pay back today?"
The following list includes some of the most commonly used interjections in English, though
many of them are decidedly archaic and therefore seldom used these days except in jest:
ah,aha,ahoy,alas,amen,ay,bah,behold,boo,bravo,duh,encore,fie,good,goodness,gosh,great,hah,hell
o,here,hey,ho,hmm,huh,humph,hurrah,hush,indeed,lo,now,O,oh,oops,ouch,pshaw,so,there,tush,tu
t,ugh,well,what,whoa,whoopee,whoops,why,um,yay, yes, yo.
Several English interjections contain sounds that do not, or very rarely, exist in regular English
phonological inventory.
Ahem ("attention!") contains a glottal stop that is common in German.
Shh ("quiet!") is an entirely consonantal syllable.
Ps [ps] ("here!"), also spelled psst, is another entirely consonantal syllable-word, and its
consonant cluster does not occur initially in regular English words.
Tut-tut ("shame..."), also spelled tsk-tsk, is made up entirely of clicks, which are an active part of
regular speech in several African languages. This particular click is dental.
There is also a less popular pronunciation [tt tt].
Ugh [x] ("disgusting!") ends with a Spanish and Gaelic consonant, a velar fricative.
Whew/Phew ("what a relief!") starts with a bilabial fricative, a sound pronounced with a strong
puff of air through the lips. This sound is a common phoneme in such languages as Suki (a language of
New Guinea) and Ewe and Logba (both spoken in Ghana).
Gah ("Gah, there's nothing to do!"), pronounced how it is spelled, ends with [h], which does not
occur with regular English words.
Yeah [j] ("yes") ends with the short vowel [], which is not permitted in regular English words.
Punctuation
An interjection can be followed by either a comma or an exclamation mark. A comma is used for
a mild interjection; whereas, an exclamation mark is used for a more abrupt display of surprise, emotion
or deep feeling.
Hurry! The bus is about to leave!
Jeepers! That is the largest beetle I have ever seen.
No, I'm not going tomorrow night.
Well, the larva moves more quickly than you would expect.
Absolutely, a fifth of them do not count.
Very often (as in the first example above), an interjection with an exclamation mark is followed
by a sentence with an exclamation mark.
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CEPA
Course eight
Whose is the only possessive relative pronoun is in English. It can be used with both people and
things:
The family whose house burnt in the fire was immediately given a suite in a hotel.
The book whose author is now being shown in the news has become a bestseller.
Good to Know!!!!!
One of the most frequently asked questions about grammar is about choosing between the various
forms of the pronoun who: who, whose, whom, whoever, whomever. The number (singular or plural) of
the pronoun (and its accompanying verbs) is determined by what the pronoun refers to; it can refer to a
singular person or a group of people:
The person who hit my car should have to pay to fix the damages.
The people who have been standing in line the longest should get in first.
It might be useful to compare the forms of who to the forms of the pronouns he and they. Their
forms are similar:
Subject Form
Singular
Plural
He who
They who
Possessive
Form
His whose
Their whose
Object Form
Him whom
Them whom
To choose correctly among the forms of who, re-phrase the sentence so you choose between he
and him. If you want him, write whom; if you want he, write who.
Who do you think is responsible? (Do you think he is responsible?)
Whom shall we ask to the party? (Shall we ask him to the party?)
Give the box to whomever you please. (Give the box to him.)
Give the box to whoever seems to want it most. (He seems to want it most. [And then the clause
"whoever seems to want it most" is the object of the preposition "to."])
Whoever shows up first will win the prize. (He shows up first.)
The number of people who use "whom" and "who" wrongly is appalling. The problem is a
difficult one and it is complicated by the importance of tone, or taste. Take the common expression,
"Whom are you, anyways?" That is of course, strictly speaking, correct and yet how formal, how
stilted! The usage to be preferred in ordinary speech and writing is "Who are you, anyways?" "Whom"
should be used in the nominative case only when a note of dignity or austerity is desired. For example,
if a writer is dealing with a meeting of, say, the British Cabinet, it would be better to have the Premier
greet a new arrival, such as an under-secretary, with a "Whom are you, anyways?" rather than a "Who
are you, anyways?" always granted that the Premier is sincerely unaware of the man's identity. To
address a person one knows by a "Whom are you?" is a mark either of incredible lapse of memory or
inexcusable arrogance. "How are you?" is a much kindlier salutation.
James Thurber
Ladies' and Gentlemen's Guide to Modern English Usage, Oxford University Press, 2007
The only problem most writers have with whose is confusing it with who's, which looks like a
possessive but is really the contraction for who is. In the same way that we should not confuse his with
he's (the contraction for he is or he has), we should not confuse whose with who's.
Who's that walking down the street?
Whose coat is this?
I don't care whose paper this is. It's brilliant!
Whose can be used to refer to inanimate objects as well as to people (although there is a kind of
folk belief that it should refer only to humans and other mammals): "I remember reading a book
whose title I can't recall right now about a boy and a basenji."
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34
CEPA
Course nine
Unlike English nouns, which usually do not change form except for the addition of an -s ending
to create the plural or the apostrophe + s to create the possessive, personal pronouns (which stand for
persons or things) change form according to their various uses within a sentence. Thus I is used as the
subject of a sentence (I am happy.), me is used as an object in various ways (He hit me. He gave me a
book. Do this for me.), and my is used as the possessive form (That's my car.) The same is true of the
other personal pronouns: the singular you and he/she/it and the plural we, you, and they. These forms
are called cases.
Personal pronouns can also be characterized or distinguished by person. First person refers to the
speaker(s) or writer(s) ("I" for singular, "we" for plural). Second person refers to the person or people
being spoken or written to ("you" for both singular and plural). Third person refers to the person or
people being spoken or written about ("he," "she," and "it" for singular, "they" for plural). Each person
can change form, reflecting its use within a sentence. Thus, "I" becomes "me" when used as an object
("She left me") and "my" when used in its possessive role (That's my car"); "they" becomes "them" in
object form ("I like them") and "their" in possessive ("That's just their way").
When a personal pronoun is connected by a conjunction to another noun or pronoun, its case does
not change. We would write "I am taking a course in Asian history"; if Talitha is also taking that course,
we would write "Talitha and I are taking a course in Asian history." (Notice that Talitha gets listed
before "I" does. This is one of the few ways in which English is a "polite" language.) The same is true
when the object form is called for: "Professor Vendetti gave all her books to me"; if Talitha also
received some books, we'd write "Professor Vendetti gave all her books to Talitha and me."
Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun is a special kind of pronoun. It is usually used when the object of a sentence
is the same as the subject, as you will see below. Each personal pronoun (I, you, she, etc.) has its own
reflexive form.
An reflexive pronoun "reflects" a noun or pronoun by taking the place of its antecedent when the
noun or pronoun is doing something to itself.
The reflexive pronouns (which have the same forms as the intensive pronouns) indicate that the
sentence subject also receives the action of the verb. (Students who cheat on this quiz are only hurting
themselves. You paid yourself a million dollars? She encouraged herself to do well.) What this means is
that whenever there is a reflexive pronoun in a sentence there must be a person to whom that pronoun
can "reflect." In other words, the sentence "Please hand that book to myself" would be incorrect
because there is no "I" in that sentence for the "myself" to reflect to (and we would use "me" instead of
"myself"). A sentence such as "I gave that book to myself for Christmas" might be silly, but it would be
correct.
Be alert to a tendency to use reflexive pronoun forms (ending in -self) where they are neither
appropriate nor necessary. The inappropriate reflexive form has a wonderful name: the untriggered
reflexive. "Myself" tends to sound weightier, more formal, than little ol' me or I, so it has a way of
sneaking into sentences where it doesn't belong.
Bob and myself I are responsible for this decision.
These decisions will be made by myself me.
If you have any questions, please contact myself me or Bob Jones.
When pronouns are combined, the reflexive will take either the first person:
Juanita, Carlos, and I have deceived ourselves into believing in my uncle.
or, when there is no first person, the second person:
You and Carlos have deceived yourselves.
The indefinite pronoun one has its own reflexive form ("One must have faith in oneself."), but the
other indefinite pronouns use either himself or themselves as reflexives. (It is probably better to
pluralize and avoid the clumsy himself or herself construction.
No one here can blame himself or herself.
The people here cannot blame themselves.
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CEPA
Course ten
harder."
One's Reflexive and Possessive Forms
In the United States, the possessive and reflexive forms of one one's and oneself are often
replaced by other pronoun forms. In British English, they are commonplace:
One must be conscientious about one's dental hygiene.
In the U.S. that one's is apt to be replaced by a third-person "his" or (more informally) a secondperson "your":
One must learn from one's [or his] mistakes.
One must be conscientious about one's [or his] dental hygiene.
One must be conscientious about your dental hygiene.
In formal writing, the use of your in that last sentence in either American or British English
would be regarded as too casual or even sub-standard. On the other hand, the problem with using "his"
is obvious: it runs counter to the tendency to remove gender bias from one's language as much as
possible. Thus, even in Am. English, this mixture of "one" with "he/his/him" is slowly disappearing.
Oneself is used in formal writing and speech as the proper reflexive form of one:
If one slipped on this icy walk, one could hurt oneself badly.
Notice there is usually no apostrophe used in the spelling of oneself. The construction one's self is
used to refer to the concept of self (in psychology, for instance): "One's self, according to Freud, is
defined by the interactions of the id, the ego, and the super-ego."
The Plural of One
As a singular numerical pronoun, we don't have trouble with one: "Those donuts look delicious; I
think I'll pick this one." But what if I want two donuts? It is possible, sometimes, to pluralize one:
I really like the chocolate ones.
The ones with chocolate frosting have cream fillings.
Are these the ones you want?
Do you want these ones?
When the word ones is preceded by a plural determiner (like these), we usually drop the ones and
the determiner turns into a demonstrative pronoun: "Do you want these?"
The phrases "one in [plural number]" and "more than one" always take a singular verb:
One in four dentists recommends this toothpaste.
One out of every five instructors gets this question wrong.
There is more than one reason for this.
More than one lad has lost his heart to this lass.
The "one" in the phrase "more than one" apparently controls the number of the verb. It is
probably wise not to attempt to divine some of the mysteries of the English language.
One of those [plural noun] that is/are
"One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so," goes the old Christmas song, but the fact
that the singular one needs a singular verb can lead to confusion. In Burchfield's New Fowlers, (The
New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford, England.
1996) we find this example:
"Don't you think," he said, "that Hawaii is one of those places that was always better in the past."
Burchfield adds, "A plural verb in the subordinate clause is recommended unless particular
attention is being drawn to the uniqueness, individuality, etc., of the one in the opening clause." In an
earlier note, Burchfield writes: "Exceptions [to the rule that we use the plural verb] occur when the
writer or speaker presumably regards one as governing the verb in the subordinate clause," and he gives
another two or three examples, including "I am one of those people who wants others to do what I think
they should."
The indefinite "one" is another source of trouble and is frequently the cause of disagreeable
scenes. Such a sentence as "One loves one's friends" is considered by some persons to be stilted and
over-formalized, and such persons insist that "One loves his friends" is permissible. It is not
permissible, however, because "one" is indefinite and "his" is definite and the combination is
rhetorically impossible. This is known as hendiadys and was a common thing in Latin. Rare examples
38
of it still exist and are extremely valuable as antiques, although it is usually unsafe to sit or lie down on
one. (James Thurber, Ladies and Gentlemens Guide to Modern English Usage)
Negative Pronouns
A pronoun usually refers to something already mentioned in a sentence or piece of text. A
pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun or noun phrase used to prevent repetition of the noun to which
they refer. One of the most common pronouns is it.
A pronoun that indicates the absence of people or other entities is called negative pronoun. In
English, the negative pronouns are "neither," "nobody," "none," "no one" and "nothing." English
example: Nobody thinks that.
In English there are expressions which have a double form according to whether they are used
alone or with a negative conjunction. For instance, the two sentences there was nothing and there
wasn't anything have the same meaning, although two different adverbs, nothing and anything, have to
be used. The same pattern occurs for nobody ~ anybody, never ~ ever, nowhere ~ anywhere and so on.
Instead in Italian the equivalent adverbs have only one form, which is the negative one (i.e. they match
nothing, nobody, nowhere, etc.).
Negative indefinite pronouns like 'nobody', 'nothing', 'nowhere' may or may not co-occur with the
ordinary marker of predicate negation. Some linguists feel that English nobody is "inherently negative",
while anybody, which co-occurs with predicate negation (as in I did not see anybody), is not "inherently
negative".
When we speak about negation or ways of expressing a negative discourse we discover some
problems and see that even the linguists that studied Englishs different ways of expressing negation
have some doubts concerning this issue.
Although the logical, grammatical, and semantic features of negation have been the object of
discussion for decades, little attention has been paid to the pragmatic functions of negation in fictional
discourse. Thus, few studies have been carried out on negation as a feature of variation, and virtually
none on negation as a stylistic feature in fictional discourse. However, the enormous influence of
quantitative studies in discourse analysis and pragmatics as fields of research has also had its effects on
studies in stylistics. Thus, studies on variation in English text types standardly include references to
fictional discourse and some monographs have been devoted to the quantification of linguistic
information in literary texts. Unfortunately, quantitative studies on negation in English are not
numerous, and among the few that can be pointed to.
All grammarians interested in negative polarity are fully aware that there are still unresolved
issues to be explored, such as the pragmatics of negation in both speech and writing, the constrast
between no and not negation (as in they didnt see anybody vs. they saw nobody), the opposition
between affixal and non affixal negation (as in He is not happy vs. he is unhappy), the nature and
syntactic features of negative polarity items (npis), negative raising, negative transfer or nottransportation (as in Peter does not think Paul is coming to the party), problems related to the scope of
negation with quantifiers (All the boys did not come is either paraphrased Not all the boys camebut
some did or None of the boys came), negation and idiomaticity (as in Dontt put the cart before the
horse; no gain without pain), the acquisition of negation in both native and second/foreign language,
double and multiple negation (as in I didnt do nothing no more; It is not an insignificant issue), the
features of negation associated with a particular genre and register, and so this list could go on and on.
The expression of negation in present-day English has been found to vary with lexical
syntagmatic and contextual features. While not negation (in full or contracted form) dominates in both
spoken and written registers, the use of no negation is proportionally greater in writing, in keeping with
its being the older form.
Affixal negation (negation indicated by affixation) and no-negation (synthetic negation) are more
frequent in written texts, while non-affixal negation and not-negation (analytic negation) are more
frequent in spoken varieties. Negation is the marked term in the polarity system not only for
morphological, structural, and diachronic reasons, but also for cognitive-pragmatic reasons.
39
Negation is used in discourse when an expectation is defeated and is thus more informative than
the affirmative. Negation makes non-events and non-states more salient than events and states and is
thus a natural foregrounding device.
THE NUMERAL
The term numeral can refer to:
In mathematics, a mathematical notation for writing numbers.
In linguistics, the words or symbols used to represent numbers.
Numeral" is the sentence element used to express an abstract numerical value, a numerical
determination. Perhaps the most common way to express quantity is to use a numeral.
In most grammar books the numeral is not considered a morphologic sentence element per se.
Various categories of numerals are labeled "adjectives", "adverbs", and even "pronouns".
Because they are not explained as they should, a lot of people have troubles using and
understanding numerals. One of the most frequent mistake is, TV anchors using the value of billion
instead of million and vice versa. People with little or no education use the letter "O" to name the
numeric symbol of "0" (zero). They are 2 different symbols! Excepting a vague similarity in form, a
letter is a letter while a number (numeral) is a number.
The level of development a Civilization has is perfectly reflected by its knowledge in using
numerals. Even more, the numeral was one of the most important factors which have determined the
apparition of any language, anywhere. Not only the numeral is a perfectly defined morphologic
category, but using it appropriately is of capital importance in any language, in any Civilization,
forever!
Few major categories of numerals are:
1. cardinal numerals 2. ordinal numerals 3. fractional numerals 4. collective numerals 5.
distributive numerals 6. multiplicative numerals 7. adverbial numerals 8. indefinite numerals 9.
technical numerals 10. roman numerals
Cardinal numerals express integer (whole) abstract numbers or the number/amount of the
determined nouns in literal form.
CARDINAL NUMERALS
Mathematical form
0
1
2
3
10
11
12
13
24
67
589
310 533
Literal form
zero; naught; null
one
two
three
ten
eleven
twelve
thirteen
twenty-four
sixty-seven
five hundred eighty-nine
three hundred ten thousand five hundred thirtythree
40
1 000 000
one/a million
1 000 000 000
one/a billion
1 000 000 000 000
one/a trillion
Cardinal numerals may also be:
1. adjectives
2. nouns
3. numeral "one" can also be a pronoun
Ordinal Numerals
Ordinal numeral is used to express the order in a series.
ORDINAL NUMERALS
Mathematical form/position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
11th
12th
13th
20th
21st
32nd
73rd
89th
137th
Ordinal numerals may also work as:
1. adjectives
2. nouns
3. adverbs
Literal expression
first
second
third
fourth
fifth
eleventh
twelfth
thirteenth
twentieth
twenty-first
thirty-second
seventy-third
eighty-ninth
one hundred thirty-seventh
FRACTIONAL NUMERALS
Fractional numeral is used to express parts of a whole. Commonly, it takes two forms:
1. Common Fraction:
Form: Wholes + Numerator/Denominator
1 2/3 = one (whole) and/plus two thirds
Note the "s" added to the denominator "thirds".
2. Decimal Numbers:
12.15 = twelve fifteen, or twelve point fifteen
TECHNICAL NUMERALS
Technical numeral is a new addition due to technological development. few of the most
common forms are presented in the following table:
SCIENTIFIC
NUMERALS
41
Number
10-12 = 0.000 000 000 001
10-9 = 0.000 000 001
10-6 = 0.000 001
10-3 = 0.001
103 = 1000
106 = 1 000 000
109 = 1 000 000 000
1012 = 1 000 000 000 000
Notation (symbol)
p
n
or u
m
K
M
G
T
Name
pico
mano
micro
milli
kilo
mega
giga
terra
Dont FORGET!!!!!
How do you express numbers in your writing? When do you use figures (digits) and when
do you write out the number in words (letters)? That is, when do you write 9 and when do you
write nine?
1. Number versus numeral. First things first, what is the difference between a number
and a numeral? A number is an abstract concept while a numeral is a symbol used to express that
number. Three, 3 and III are all symbols used to express the same number (or the concept
of threeness). One could say that the difference between a number and its numerals is like the
difference between a person and her name.
2. Spell small numbers out. The small numbers, such as whole numbers smaller than ten,
should be spelled out. Thats one rule you can count on. If you dont spell numbers out it will
look like youre sending an instant message, and you want to be more formal than that in your
writing.
3. No other standard rule: Experts dont always agree on other rules. Some experts say
that any one-word number should be written out. Two-word numbers should be expressed in
figures. That is, they say you should write out twelve or twenty. But not 24.
4. Using the comma. In English, the comma is used as a thousands separator (and the
period as a decimal separator), to make large numbers easier to read. So write the size of Alaska
as 571,951 square miles instead of 571951 square miles. In Continental Europe the opposite is
true, periods are used to separate large numbers and the comma is used for decimals. Finally, the
International Systems of Units (SI) recommends that a space should be used to separate groups
of three digits, and both the comma and the period should be used only to denote decimals, like
$13 200,50 (the comma part is a mess I know).
5. Dont start a sentence with a numeral. Make it Fourscore and seven years ago, not
4 score and 7 years ago. That means you might have to rewrite some sentences: Fans bought
400,000 copies the first day instead of 400,000 copies were sold the first day.
6. Centuries and decades should be spelled out. Use the Eighties or nineteenth century.
7. Percentages and recipes. With everyday writing and recipes you can use digits, like
4% of the children or Add 2 cups of brown rice. In formal writing, however, you should
spell the percentage out like 12 percent of the players (or twelve percent of the players,
depending on your preference as explained in point three).
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8. If the number is rounded or estimated, spell it out. Rounded numbers over a million
are written as a numeral plus a word. Use About 400 million people speak Spanish natively,
instead of About 400,000,000 people speak Spanish natively. If youre using the exact
number, youd write it out, of course.
9. Two numbers next to each other. It can be confusing if you write 7 13-year-olds, so
write one of them as a numeral, like seven 13-year-olds. Pick the number that has the fewest
letters.
10. Ordinal numbers and consistency. Dont say He was my 1st true love, but rather
He was my first true love. Be consistent within the same sentence. If my teacher has 23
beginning students, she also has 18 advanced students, not eighteen advanced students.
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