Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Lesson 1
Nouns and Adjectives
der
ReminPlease don't get deceived by the simple appearance of Lesson One.
In fact, it lays the sound foundations of all upcoming lessons
and is often referred to later on when your studying gets stuck.
Nouns
A NOUN is the NAME of anything.
1. John kicked the football through the goal. (goal - a wooden frame)
n. v.
a. before a verb. - John kicked
v. n.
b. after a verb. - kicked the football
We put a noun prep. n.
c. after a preposition. - through the goal
v. n.
d. after a 'be'. - was one goal
1
Lesson 1
2 When we READ, a verb or preposition should catch our eyes first. Then a noun comes next.
Kinds of Nouns:
1. 2.
2
Lesson 1
b. Collective Noun
(countable) A number or collection that we
treat as a whole, such as family,
mob, flock, army, fleet, etc.
:
Note
A common noun is the name used for any one of a class, such as ‘book’ (concrete),
‘family’ (collective), ‘happiness’ (abstract) and ‘copper’ (mass). It is contrasted with a
proper noun, which is used for a special person or place.
3
Lesson 1
A. Please put the underlined nouns of the following passage in the boxes
below.
d H i s S h a d o w
The Dog a n
f
a b r id g e w ith a piece o
ing
dog, is cross ee his shado
w
Lucky, a little eh a p p e n s t o s
outh when h shadow to be
meat in his m ta k e s h is o w n
below. He mis . Now he wan
ts
in the water pie c e o f m e a t
with a bigger atch it. Whil
e he
another dog t r ie s t o s n
g’s meat and th drops into
the
the other do t in h is m o u
piece of mea ever. Sadly, L
ucky
does so, the a r k n e s s f o r
appears in d ands.
water and dis h is f a m il y with empty h
join dy.)
goes back to r y t h in g if you are gree
e ev e
(You may los
4
Lesson 1
Why do we classify a noun?
From the kind of noun we can get: (1) its exact meaning, (2) its countable or
uncountable nature. This nature will guide us to the correct uses of: (3) articles
(a, an, the), (4) verb forms (singular / plural) and (5) adjectives of quantity.
(4) Some nouns in singular number take a singular verb under one meaning, and
in plural number take a plural verb for another meaning.
Singular Plural
FORCE - strength FORCES - army
MANNER - method of doing things MANNERS - politeness
PAPER - sheet PAPERS - documents
RETURN - coming back RETURNS - profits
WATER - liquid WATERS - an area of water
The return of the company’s former CEO was good news to the staff.
The returns on the new investment of the company were encouraging.
(5) Some adjectives of quantity such as ‘many’ and ‘few’ are used to qualify
countable nouns, while ‘much’ and ‘little’ to describe uncountable nouns.
mass n.
Much beer has been sold during holidays.
concrete n.
At the close of business hours, only a few beers were left unsold.
5
Lesson 1
m e !
r n a
w y o u r n ame!
y ou Kneo ! me!
o w y o u r n a m a
Kn ow
Knowyour n
First name
Christian name Middle name Last
Middle name Lastname
name
Ronald
GEORGE Wilson
WALKER Reagan
BUSH
Surname
Surname
First name
Christian name
Familyname
Family name
Forename
Forename
(Given Name)
(Given Name)
We usually write:
Ronald W. Reagan or Ronald Reagan
6
Lesson 1
Nouns: singular and plural
Nouns that refer to “only one” are singular.
Nouns that refer to “more than one” are plural.
Singular Plural Exceptions
book books
Regular horse horses
cat cats
dish dishes
bench benches
Nouns that end in box boxes stomachs
a “hissing” sound buzz buzzes monarchs
(-sh,-ch,-s,-x,-z) ass asses (‘ch’ pronounced as ‘k’)
glass glasses
inch inches
photos
potato potatoes
Nouns that end in pianos
tomato tomatoes
-o casinos
echo echoes
hippos
life lives
knife knives
loaf loaves proofs
Nouns that end in shelf shelves beliefs
-f or -fe thief thieves chiefs
dwarf dwarfs/ dwarves
scarf scarfs/ scarves
wharf wharfs/ wharves
duty duties
army armies keys
Nouns that end in lady ladies days
-y city cities valleys
fly flies monkeys
body bodies (A vowel before ‘y’)
man men
tooth teeth
Nouns that don’t goose geese
follow any of these child children
rules mouse mice
sheep sheep
ox oxen
German Germans
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Lesson 1
The following nouns are used ONLY in the singular:
News / Information (No news is good news.)
Aerobics (Aerobics is a form of exercise.)
Physics (Physics is a science subject.)
Garbage / Trash (Garbage is collected on Wednesdays in this town.)
Equipment (Our office equipment is said to be up-to-date.)
Baggage / Luggage (Too much baggage / luggage is not allowed on the plane.)
Furniture (The furniture of the home suits the style of the house.)
The following nouns are used ONLY in the plural:
Sweets (My sister bought a packet of sweets to suck on her way to school.)
Thanks (It was thanks to my uncle that I got the job.)
Riches (Some people wanted fame, while others were crazy about riches.)
Goods (Our company supplies honest goods at honest prices.)
Fireworks (Last night the whole city was entertained with fireworks.)
Wages (The little shop pays very low wages per week.)
Remains (The remains of yesterday’s lunch were still seen lying on the table.)
Some nouns in certain expressions must be in plural number:
exchange seats; shake hands; make friends with; take turns; be friends with
E.g. We may change trains at the next station. (NOT ‘train’)
1. In winter people wear heavy clothing like hats, scarves, boots, and overcoats.
2. Many cloths of high quality are used for making fashionable and expensive clothes.
adjective noun
The adjective qualifies the noun.
9
Lesson 1
1. The Possessive of a noun whether singular or plural is formed by adding ’s to the noun:
10
Lesson 1
3. Adjectives of Quantity
some money much patience
enough food all his wealth some money
no sense whole amount
many days each boy
Note:
‘Many’ goes with countable nouns. (concrete and collective nouns)
‘Much’ goes with uncountable nouns. (abstract and mass nouns)
i iv i ii iii iv
a nice man an old car a beautiful big round old table
ii v v vi
a large city a blue shirt a black Japanese car
iii vi
a square table the English language
thin man
Note:
Adjectives of opinion include beautiful, ugly, nice, bad, dirty, good ... .
11
Lesson 1
N OU N QUALIFIES ANOTH
A NOEURN NOUN
A noun can be used as an adjective to qualify another noun in order to show the
Function or Element of the second noun.
Function:
n. n.
A beauty salon (A salon that provides beauty services)
adj. n.
A beautiful salon (A salon that looks beautiful)
n. n.
An information center (A center that provides information)
adj. n.
An informative talk (A talk that gives people helpful ideas)
Element:
n. n.
A gold chain (A chain that has the element of gold)
adj. n.
Golden hair (Hair that has bright yellow color)
n. n.
A silk suit (A suit that is made of silk)
adj. n.
A silky voice (A gentle voice that is like soft silk)
12
Lesson 1
Collocation (matching of different parts of speech)
A noun and an adjective are close partners.
An adjective can qualify a few nouns, and, likewise, a noun can be qualified by a
few adjectives.
Adjectives Nouns
{
charm
female
intuition (= feeling)
a ... dog
a ... officer
a ... fig-tree
{
a ... role
a ... person
vital
(= chief)
a ... game
clues
importance
Adjectives Nouns
{
all-round
education
secondary
full-time
adult
consumer
13
Lesson 1
{
a new
a rare
the human species
an extinct (singular and plural)
an endangered
The secret of writing good English lies in a good match between nouns and adjectives.
ONLY through extensive reading can a learner acquire such a kind of valuable knowledge.
A black and white dog came into the kitchen after her
10 and ran across to her. She sat down, put her hands on
its head and said to Janet, “I usually did the same to you
when you as a kid were having a sad and depressed look.”
14
Lesson 1
Comparison of Adjectives
Most adjectives have the positive degree, the comparative degree followed by ‘than’ to
compare 2 things, and the superlative degree preceded by ‘the’ to compare more than 2 things.
Most two-syllable adjectives, especially those ending in -able, -ful, -ing, -ish, -ive, -less
and -ous, take MORE / (LESS) in the comparative and MOST / (LEAST) in the superlative.
Other two-syllable adjectives follow the -er / -est pattern as the one-syllable adjectives do.
clever cleverer cleverest
simple simpler simplest
happy happier happiest
friendly friendlier friendliest
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Lesson 1
However, some two-syllable adjectives can take EITHER -er / -est OR more / most:
common; stupid; pleasant; handsome; polite; gentle
e.g. Your servant was stupider than I thought.
Your servant was more stupid than I thought.
Irregular Comparison
The following Adjectives are exceptions:
:
sENTENCE WRITING Note
‘MOST’
can be used
We use ‘as...as’ with the positive degree. without ‘the’
John is as fat as Jack. to mean ‘very’.
Mary is not as fat as John.
E.g.
We use ‘than’ with the comparative degree. -The movie
John is fatter than Mary. was most
This dress is more beautiful than that dress. interesting.
16
Lesson 1
However, to achieve good English, people need some basic tools for the long,
steep climb to the goal. These are determination, patience and effort.
To begin with, the meaning of a word varies according to what part of speech it
is. Often, a different part of speech of a word carries a different meaning:
Examples:
1) The dog was taken ill. (adjective - sick)
Poverty is an ill. (noun - problem)
3) To understand a clause, we first find out its verb and next its subject/object.
Tokyo office costs cost a lot of money.
(‘Cost’ is a transitive verb, meaning ‘need’)
(‘Costs’ is a plural noun, meaning ‘expenses’, subject of the transitive verb ‘cost’.)
Bush ducks shoe throw in Iraq.
(‘Ducks’ is a transitive verb, meaning ‘avoids’.)
(‘Throw’ is a noun, object of ‘ducks’.)
(‘Shoe’ is a noun, used as an adjective to qualify ‘throw’.)
So English is a language of definition (to read according to rules).
Remarks:
Was taken ill (idiomatic expression) = fell ill
‘Bush ducks shoe throw in Iraq’ is newspaper English, which usually omits the
articles (a,an,the). Traditional English is ‘Bush ducks a shoe throw in Iraq.’
(‘Throw’ is a countable noun, which requires an article.)
17
Lesson 2
Lesson 2
Verbs
A VERB tells us something about a person or thing and is
the most important word in a sentence.
When we write, we first have some nouns in our mind, such as ‘key’
and ‘door’. (Please refer back to page 1.) Then we look for a suitable
verb ‘opens’ to match the nouns like this:
* ‘Key’ and ‘door’ are countable concrete nouns, which need an article ‘a’.
Here the noun ‘key’ governs the verb ‘opens’. It is subject (the action doer) of the verb.
The second noun ‘door’ (the action receiver) is the object governed by the verb ‘opens’.
Transitive verb
The verb ‘opens’ is a transitive verb because it passes the action from the action doer ‘key’
(subject) to the action receiver ‘door’ (object). A transitive verb must take an object.
18
Lesson 2
Intransitive verb
Subject Verb
The world laughs.
The action verb ‘laughs’ stops with the action doer ‘world’ (subject).
There is no action receiver (object).
xa mples:
More E
intr. v.
She turned, and dropped the ball. (= She went round and dropped the ball.)
tran. v.
She turned and dropped the ball. (= She turned the ball and dropped it.)
Subject Complement
John is a doctor.
(noun) (linking v.) (noun)
Subject Complement
John is happy.
(noun) (linking v.) (adjective)
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Lesson 2
Complements
Both the noun ‘doctor’ and the adjective ‘happy’ are complements of ‘is’. There are
many other linking verbs, such as seem, appear, become, grow, turn, prove, look,
come, go, feel, get, etc. They take a noun or an adjective as their complements, NOT
as objects.
ample:
For Ex The weather looks fine.
n. link. v. adj.
The weather looks fine.
Noun or adjective?
If we put a noun instead of an adjective after a linking verb, we say the two nouns
refer to the same person or thing.
John becomes a teacher. (John = a teacher )
‘John’ is a man, and ‘happiness’ is an abstract noun. They are different things. Here
we must use the adjective form ‘happy’ instead.
20
Lesson 2
Tips
A verb in different types suggests different meanings:
Play
The children are playing. (intransitive – are having fun)
n. (obj)
The wife played the violin badly. (transitive – performed)
n. adj.
The husband played deaf. (linking – pretended)
(2) SVO
(subject + transitive verb + object)
The dog killed the rat. (concrete noun)
The rat stole some food. (mass noun)
(3) SVC
(subject + linking verb + complement)
The food was cheese. (mass noun)
The cheese smelt good. (adjective)
(4) SVOC (Please see page 105.)
(subject + transitive verb + object + complement)
I called the dog a good boy. (concrete noun)
The dog made me happy. (adjective)
(5) SVOO
(subject + transitive verb + object + object)
I gave the dog some cookies.
Tom handed Susan a present.
21
Lesson 2
A. Please find out the sentence pattern of each of the following sentences.
In paragraph 1, please write ‘I’ for ‘intransitive verb’, ‘T’ for ‘transitive verb’ and
‘L’ for ‘linking verb’. The first one has been done for you.
PARAGRAPH 1
(I)
The night fell. A farmer came to his goose’s nest. He found a heavy, yellow egg
there. He felt strange, ‘Someone has played a trick on me.’ Still, he took it home but
was very happy because the egg was a lump of gold.
22
Lesson 2
PARAGRAPH 2
(1) (2) (4) (4)
The farmer sold the egg for a handsome sum of money. Every evening the goose
laid an egg of gold, and very soon he became a rich man.
In paragraph 3, try to write ‘subject’ for the noun/pronoun before a verb, ‘object’
after a transitive verb OR a preposition, and ‘complement’ after a linking verb.
PARAGRAPH 3
subj. subj. compl. subj.
As the farmer grew rich, he turned greedy man. But he didn’t want to get only one
egg everyday. He said, “ I’d better cut the goose open to take all the eggs out of her at
one time.” So he cut open the goose but found nothing. Now he became an unhappy
man. (N.B. There is no ‘a’ before ‘greedy man’. Please see ‘turn’ on page 104.)
For ONLY, please point out which is a noun and which is a verb in the
following sentence.
23
Lesson 2
Note:
Both historic buildings and food can be governed by either preserve or conserve.
Here we can see how an object noun can be governed by several transitive verbs and
qualified by several adjectives. If the noun is uncountable, no article is needed.
24
Lesson 2
Likewise, a transitive verb can also govern a few different nouns, and each noun can be
qualified by a few adjectives, too. If the noun is countable, an article is needed.
sincere
deepest
express a humble apology
public
profound (countable)
Verbs, adjectives and nouns are 3 in 1. And we should not study an English word singly.
Verb + (a/ an/ the/ no article) + adjective + noun is a core pattern of sentence-writing.
To read more and to consult dictionaries often will help (to) pave the way to success.
C. Please say what part of speech each word in italics is in the following sentences.
int. v. adj.
Example: I spring over the garden gate to pick some spring flowers.
1. Bath the little dog in this bath, and wrap it up with a bath towel.
2. Iron this shirt with an electric iron on this iron table made of iron from the USA.
(See P.107.)
Of Nouns
(1) Denoting mainly the agent or doer of a thing.
n) -ar (-er, -eer, -ier, -ary)
-ain (-an, -en, -o
-ice (-ise)
-ion -th
-cy
ser vice, pra cti ce,
fan cy , acc ura cy , act ion , uni on , he alt h, gr ow th ,
exe rcis e.
ba nk ru ptc y opi nio n. st re ng th .
-ness -ment
-ship
dar kne ss, goo dne ss, fr ien ds hip , pa rt ne rs hip , punis hme nt, judgm ent,
swe etn ess , bol dne ss. ha rds hip . impr ovem ent.
dif ficu lty , ple asu re, pict ure , duck ling, darli ng, victo ry, stor y,
bea uty , cru elt y. tre asu re. nest ling. mise ry.
27
Lesson 2
Suffixes
Of Adjective
-y -ary
-al with the quality of;
ne ces sa ry , ordin ar y,
na tio na l, us ua l, we alt hy , hea lth y,
contr ar y.
fin a l, gr ad ua l, leg a l. gre edy nee dy, dirt y.
-lent
ble) -ive
-ed -ble (-ible, -a
having;
act ive , att ent ive , excelle nt , vio len t,
ab le , po ss ib le ,
gif ted , lea rne d, . tur bul en t.
lau gh ab le , se ns ib le att rac tiv e.
tale nte d.
-ish
-ful -less
somewhat like;
full of; free from, without;
hope ful, joyf ul, fea rle ss, sha me les s, girlis h, fooli sh,
beau tifu l, fruit ful. ho pel ess , sen sel ess . wom anis h.
-en -ous
-ate made of;
-ar
dan ger ou s,
fam ilia r, sim ila r, for tun at e, obs tin at e, woo den, golde n,
cop iou s, ted iou s.
re gu lar . tem per at e. woo len, eart hen .
Of Verb
-se (transitive)
-ish (transitive) to make; -en (transitive)
-fy (transitive)
causative, forming;
publi sh, puni sh, cleanse, rinse,
sim pli fy , pu rif y, weak en, sweeten, hard en,
bani sh. realise.
te rri fy , ve rif y. wide n, stre ngth en.
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Lesson 2
:Adjective :Adverb
AA very
veryreasonably
reasonably large
large company
company have recently bought
has recently bought 50,000
50,000 shares
shares wholly
wholly through
through aa leading
leading stockbroker.
stockbroker.
subject tran. v. object prep. object
Tips to learn
collocations:
1. Through all kinds of
Adverb Adverb Adverb reading materials.
2. With dictionaries.
very reasonably recently
quite reasonably very cheaply buy
large
utterly (adverb) rather quickly (verb)
(adjective)
fairly quite
50,000 wholly a
large shares partly through leading stockbroker
20% (noun) completely (prep.) large (noun)
29
Lesson 3
Lesson 3
Sentences and
Phrases
Sentences
A group of words is a sentence when it contains a VERB and
makes COMPLETE sense.
Phrases
A phrase is formed with TWO or MORE words. It doesn’t have a VERB
and cannot make complete sense.
30
Lesson 3
To sum up:
A VERB forms a sentence; i.e. a sentence must have a VERB.
Two or more words form a phrase, and a phrase does NOT have a VERB.
p les :
Ex a m
n. prep. n. (obj.)
1. I paid a visit to a friend (from Canada).
adj. prep. n. (obj.)
2. Many people are fond (of tea).
v. prep. n. (obj.)
3. The dog jumped (upon the table).
31
Lesson 3
In 3 Upon the table modifies the verb ‘jumped’. (Please see page 57.)
32
Lesson 3
Some frequently used prepositions:
On
December 24 December 31
on Christmas Eve on New Year’s Eve
December 25 January 1
on Christmas Day on New Year’s Day
Or with a prepositional phrase: (of June 12) (Please see Adjective Phrases on page 56.)
on the morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night of June 12
(NOT in the morning of June 12)
33
Lesson 3
1. Joe was a naughty boy who always did something wrong with intention ( ).
2. Mary hurried to Paris to handle some business ( ).
3. The shop opened yesterday and had lots of goods to sell ( ).
4. Your essay had some grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, but
generally speaking ( ) it still deserved a passing mark.
In
in a minute, in a moment
in a few minutes ( in a few moments/ hours/ days/ months/ years)
in this week (month, year)
David got married in June. (in July, August, September … )
in this century, in 1999, in recent years
in future (in the future)
in the past
in the end
He had a long vacation in summer. (in autumn, spring, winter)
in the hot season, in the rainy season
34
Lesson 3
1. John and Mary were no longer to like each other ( ). They were separated.
2. The boy broke the window again and was not knowing ( ) to explain
what to do.
3. As John freely spent his money, he now found himself owing money ( ).
4. Joe was lazy, stupid, and never listened to other’s advice or accepted other’s help;
to express briefly ( ), he was quite useless.
5. The doctor got an emergent call and went to the caller’s home quickly ( ).
At
Note:
Lily works in this restaurant. (a long stay).
She dined at another restaurant yesterday. (a short stay)
Dr. Reagan’s patient is in the hospital.
His visitors are at the hospital now waiting to see him.
Many students at the zoo enjoyed seeing animals in the zoo.
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Lesson 3
We send parcels at the post office.
I am going to have a meeting at her office.
I am waiting for him at the station.
1. The son was unable ( ) to tell where the money had gone.
2. After you have paid a sum of money, you can eat what you want ( ).
3. The two countries are still fighting ( ) now.
4. The couple had an argument while they were eating ( ).
5. We were happy when we saw the children were playing ( ).
36
Lesson 3
With, By
‘With’ is used with the tools, and ‘by’ the agents.
The hunter killed the tiger with a shot.
The merchant was stabbed by a robber.
In, within
‘In’ means ‘at the end of’; ‘within’ means ‘before the end of’.
It is two o’clock now, and I will return in an hour.
(= will return after 3 o’clock)
It is two o’clock now, and I will return within an hour.
(= will return before 3 o’clock)
Between, among
‘Between’ is used with two persons/things; ‘among’ with more than two.
I sit between my brother and my sister.
John is the tallest boy among the class.
Beside, besides
‘Beside’ means ‘at the side of’, while ‘besides’ means ‘in addition to’.
David slept beside a big tree.
Besides John, Mary and Nancy were present too, so there were three people in all.
Over / under
Over
The spider is vertically over the head.
The bridge is vertically over the river.
Under
The mouse is vertically under the chair.
The travelers are walking vertically under the sun.
Above/below
Above
The bees are above the head.
Below
The cockroaches are below the chair.
o t e:
N
Over is the opposite of under.
Above is the opposite of below.
literary / old-fashioned
38
Lesson 3
Very often nouns, adjectives and verbs are paired
with prepositions.
Noun
• The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
• Macau has a reputation for Portuguese food.
• Diligence is a key to success.
Adjective
• Man is different from animals.
• France is famous for her perfumes.
• Children are fond of sweets.
Verb
• Every man wishes for distinction.
• Lazy people generally do not succeed in life.
• When things go wrong, people should hope for the
best.
39
Lesson 3
Adjective:
• The boy is now free from danger.
• He is free with his money.
• The goods were passed free of duty.
Verb:
• He agreed to my proposal. (‘to’ something)
• He agreed with me on that question. (‘with’ a person)
• They could not agree among themselves. (‘Among’ is used for more than two people.)
Sentence Writing
ii) In this lesson, we have learned the use of a prepositional phrase after a noun,
and now we may add such a phrase after each noun of the following sentence:
adj. n. adj. n.
A golden key from a person opens every door to fame and power.
(Money can bring a person reputation and authority.)
40
Lesson 3
To be on my own
My graduation day happens to fall on my birthday, the
day that I have to give a serious thought to my future. The
word ‘independence’ comes to my mind first. My family’s
responsibilities to me have come to an end, and I should not
5 come up with any excuse to go on enjoying their resources
that they come by in no easy way. Now that I have come of
age, my ambition will be wearing thin if I don’t learn to take
care of myself.
Remarks:
Please put the underlined collocations into your memory bank.
n.
concern for = a feeling of caring about someone (line 11)
adj.
be concerned about / for = be worried about (line 12)
n.
concern about / over / at = a feeling of worry about something (line 17)
adj.
be concerned with = be involved in (line 21)
41
Lesson 4
Lesson 4
Adverbs
• Adverbs do NOT modify Nouns / Pronouns. This is the work of adjectives.
• Adverbs modify ALL OTHER parts of speech, even an adverb itself.
2. To modify an adjective:
• Today is unusually hot for Spring.
• I am so glad to meet you.
3. To modify a preposition:
• He was sitting almost outside the door.
• He arrived long before the time.
6. To modify a verb:
• We once met her.
• The people criticize the government strongly.
42
Lesson 4
Adverb's best friend is VERB. Here we focus on their close relation.
An adverb tells us how, where or when an action happens. We say the adverb modifies
the verb. Adverbs are often formed by adding + ly to an adjective (adjective + ly).
v. N. (complement)
The boy is a quick runner.
subj. adj.
V
The boy runs quickly .
subj. adv.
44
Lesson 4
1. Adverbs of Manner
Some adverbs tell us HOW an action is done.
v. adv.
The old gentleman walked slowly. (How did he walk?)
v. adv.
The little boy ran quickly. (How did he run?)
v. adv.
The woodcutter sat sadly beside the river. (How did he sit?)
2. Adverbs of Place .
v. adv.
I sat there. (Where did I sit?)
v. adv.
He sleeps here. (Where does he sleep?)
3. Adverbs of Time
The following adverbs tell us WHEN an action is done.
v. adv. .
The woodcutter lost his axe yesterday.
(When did he lose it?)
v. adv.
We must come to school tomorrow.
(When must we come to school?)
:
Note
An adverb phrase acts exactly the same as an adverb to modify a verb. An adverb
phrase is formed with two or more words, or a preposition + noun. (Please see P.31.)
E.g. The best fish swim very relaxedly near the bottom all the time.
manner place time
45
Lesson 4
:
Note
We have learned that a noun or an adjective acts as a complement of BE.
However, adverbs of PLACE or TIME can also be the complements of BE because
these adverbs do not have corresponding adjectives.
s:
Example
46
Lesson 4
B. Fill in each of the following blanks with a suitable adverb in the box and say
whether the adverb shows the manner, or place, or time of the action.
1. You are arriving too_______________( ).You are the first one turning up.
2. I will do the work _______________( ).
3. Open the door _________________( ). Your mother is sleeping.
4. Come ____________( ). I want to speak to you.
5. I talked to Jane____________( ).
6. Carmen drove the car ___________( ) along the wide road but
_____________( ) in the crowded streets.
7. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining _________________( ), the
birds were singing ___________( ) and children were playing in the field.
8. Mary is an amateur singer; I didn’t know she sang so ______________( ).
9. Learning English is hard work, but I want to learn it, so I will work ___________
( ) on it.
When these three kinds of adverbs come together, their order runs like this:
47
Lesson 4
Example 2: You are working without a break on this job at the moment. (adv. phrases)
manner place time
1. John drove his new car. (this morning, on the freeway, with care)
3 2 1
2. Please pay this bill. (quickly, now)
8. The only way to learn a language is to practice it. (all the time, with patience,
at any place)
9. High positions go. (in every profession, with good English, at all times)
10. Very few sentences come out. (on a piece of paper, right, during the first writing)
48
Lesson 4
When a sentence is long, an adverb / adverb phrase of time is often put at the
beginning of the sentence:
Last time we had a long discussion on clean air in our city.
At five in the evening I received an urgent call from my son.
.
When a sentence has a verb of movement, the adverb / adverb phrase of place is often
put right after it:
I drove my friend home in a hurry last night.
My sister flew to Tokyo by JAL last week.
D. Please arrange the adverbs / adverb phrases in the ways shown above.
49
Lesson 4
USAGE
adv.
A second interview will be arranged pretty soon. (very)
Adverb v.
The Christmas tree was prettily decorated. (beautifully)
Adjective n.
Considering her old age, Mary is still a pretty woman. (beautiful)
v. v.
Easy come, easy go. (without difficulty)
Adverb v.
Our breakfast was easily prepared. (without difficulty)
Adjective n.
The teacher asked me an easy question. (without difficulty)
adj.
At peak hours the traffic is dead slow. (very)
Adverb adj.
The speaker is deadly serious. (very)
Adjective n.
My telephone went dead. (not working)
v.
She came late. (not on time)
Adverb v.
I have been feeling ill lately. (recently)
Adjective n.
The harvest was rather late this year. (behind time)
Some common adverbs form their Comparative and Superlative Degrees IRREGULARLY:
:
Note
Some adverbs such as ‘now’, ‘then’, ‘there’, ‘once’, ‘away’, etc do NOT
have comparison.
51
Lesson 4
Sentence Writing
Lessons Review:
In lesson one we study NOUNS and ADJECTIVES:
a golden key ( a and golden – adjectives. key – noun.)
every door ( every – adjective. door – noun.)
In lesson two we learn how to use a VERB to form a sentence with nouns:
A golden key opens every door.
Comprehension
Now we should have the basic knowledge to tell what part of speech each
word is in a sentence.
52
Lesson 4
A Poor Husband
‘Sure, the loss of the dearest hurts most, but time will gradually ease the
pains,’ a passing watchman gently consoled John.
‘The dearest?’ John wept more loudly, ‘I didn’t know the guy.’
‘Then why a lot of tears?’
15 ‘He was my wife’s ex-husband!’
A week after, John’s request produced an effect. His wife died in a traffic accident.
A funeral service took place in a small church. When the pallbearers carried the coffin out,
they accidentally ran into a tree, rocking the coffin violently. Then a faint moan came
out from the coffin, and they found the
20 woman was still alive. She lived on for
another year until one day heart failure
suddenly took away her life. A service
was again held in the same church,
after which the pallbearers were again
25 carrying the coffin out clumsily. As they
were walking, the husband broke out
sharply, ‘Watch out for that damn tree!’
53
Lesson 4
Remarks:
Please try to get familiar with the underlined collocations.
The writer has made the best use of adverbs in this passage:
‘always bullied’, ‘crying loudly’, ‘pounding his fists forcefully’, ‘complaining bitterly’,
‘died so early’, ‘hurts most’, ‘gradually ease’, ‘gently consoled’, ‘wept loudly’,
‘accidentally ran’, ‘rocking the coffin violently’, ‘still alive’, ‘suddenly took away’,
‘again held’, ‘carrying the coffin out clumsily’, ‘broke out sharply’.
If all the adverbs are taken away, the passage will look dull and lifeless.
A henpecked (adj) husband (line 1)
= a husband who is afraid to disagree with his wife
Harsh-spoken (adj) (line 2)
= speaking in a cruel or strict way
Bullied (T) (line 2)
= threatened
To assert himself (a fixed expression) (line 3)
= to have his own way
Cemetery (n) (line 5)
[C] = a piece of land for burying dead people
Pounding (I/T) (line 7)
= hitting
Bitterly (adv) (line 8)
= unhappily: bitterly disappointed/ regretted
Consoled (T) (line 12)
= made someone feel better, comforted
I console myself with the thought that no one was injured in the
accident.
Ran into (phrasal verb) (T) (line 18)
= hit someone or something
Faint (adj) (line 18)
= difficult to hear, see, smell, etc.
Moan (n) (line 18)
[C] = a long low sound expressing pain: faint/ soft/ deep/ low/
moan; let out/ give/ make/ hear/ have a moan
Pallbearer (n) (line 24)
[C] = someone who walks beside a coffin or carries it
Clumsily (adv) (line 25)
= moving in an awkward way and tending to break things
Broke out sharply (line 26)
= called out loudly and suddenly
54
Lesson 5
Lesson 5
Prepositional Phrases
:
Note
After a preposition, the pronoun is always the object pronoun.
55
Lesson 5
He came with them.
He will sit between you and me.
This letter was written by him.
He bought the house from us.
1. Adjective Phrases
These phrases do the work of an adjective: they describe (qualify) a noun.
e examples:
Here are som
Any word/words that add more information to a noun will be an adjective/adjective phrase.
Adjective phrases are placed after a noun/pronoun or a linking verb:
56
Lesson 5
2. Adverb Phrases
A. These phrases often do the work of an adverb: they tell how, where or when
an ACTION was done. We call them adverb phrases.
subj. v.
The soldiers fought bravely (adverb of manner).
subj. v.
The soldiers fought with great bravery (adverb phrase of manner).
i.e. When a prepositional phrase is placed at the head of a sentence, it usually functions as
an adverb phrase to modify the finite verb.
B. The following phrases are also adverb phrases because they add more information to an
adjective as an adverb does. They go only after the adjective that they modify.
subj. v.
The view through the open window is very pretty.
This is an adjective phrase because it qualifies the noun ‘view’.
subj. v.
The bird flew through the open window.
This is an adverb phrase because it modifies the verb ‘flew’. It tells where it flew.
subj.
The class in the room is learning English.
The phrase qualifies the noun ‘class’, so it is an adjective phrase.
v.
We dance in the room.
The phrase modifies the verb ‘dance’, so it is an adverb phrase.
subj.
The bell at eleven o’clock tells us that the lesson is finished.
This is an adjective phrase. It qualifies the noun ‘bell’.
v.
The bell rings at eleven o’clock to tell us that the lesson is finished.
This is an adverb phrase. It modifies the verb ‘rings’.
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Lesson 5
A. In the following sentences, please tell which are adjective phrases and
which are adverb phrases.
Put round brackets ( ) to enclose each adjective phrase and show with an arrow the
noun it qualifies.
Underline each adverb phrase and show with an arrow the verb it modifies.
n.
Examples: The teacher (of the class) explained the lesson. (adjective phrase)
v.
The boys stood round the room. (adverb phrase)
In sentence 1, ‘with a wooden knob’ is an adjective phrase, qualifying the noun ‘door’ in a
good sense. But the sentence will carry an absurd sense, if the same phrase goes to modify
the verb ‘opens’, or to qualify the noun ‘key’.
In sentence 2, ‘with little effort’ is an adverb phrase, modifying the transitive verb ‘opens’
in a logical way. If ‘with little effort’ qualifies the noun ‘door’ or ‘key’, the construction will
not make sense either.
59
Lesson 5
To combine the two sentences into one, we can shift the adverb phrase ‘with little effort’
from the last place to the head of the sentence. And this will avoid confusing the phrase
with the adjective phrase ‘with a wooden knob’:
With little effort the key opens the door with a wooden knob.
adv. phr. tran. v. n. adj. phr.
Now try to understand the differences among the next three sentences:
n.
1. I saw a naughty boy with a dirty hand. (adj. phr.)
tran. v.
2. I touched the vase with a dirty hand. (adv. phr.)
3. The beggar touched the naughty boy with a dirty hand.
tran. v. n.
In sentence 1, it makes sense for ‘with a dirty hand’ to qualify the noun ‘boy’.
In sentence 2, it also makes sense for ‘with a dirty hand’ to modify the verb ‘touched’.
In sentence 3, ‘with a dirty hand’ can be taken to qualify ‘boy’ or to modify ‘touched’.
It can mean either the boy had a dirty hand, or (the beggar) touched (the naughty boy)
with a dirty hand. This is a bad sentence because its meaning is confusing.
ched
g g a r tou with
e oy
The b ughty b
e n a . .
th nd
ty ha
a dir
60
Lesson 5
B. Please underline the prepositional phrase and say which word it qualifies.
Please point out which one is a bad sentence.
Examples:
The car overtakes the bus with many passengers.
Answer: With many passengers qualifies the noun bus. It is an adjective phrase.
61
Lesson 5
A further Understanding of Prepositions (Please see pp.39-40.)
Some verbs, adjectives and nouns are paired with a specific preposition to deliver a
special meaning.
1. Nouns
noun phrase (object of ‘have’)
adj. phr.
- have faith in God (The noun faith is paired with in.)
- lose faith in the government’s promises.
- keep faith with the children (a fixed expression = keep a promise to)
2. Adjectives
adjective phrase (qualifying ‘man’)
adv. phr.
- Man is sick of housework. (sick is paired with of.) (= bored with)
- The new sailor felt sick on the ship. (The noun ship is paired with on.)
- When Joe had to leave his grilfriend behind, he was sick at heart.
(This fixed expression means upset or unhappy.)
- The boy is good at mathematics. (good is paired with at.) (= skilful at)
- The meat is still good in the fridge. (The noun fridge is paired with in.)
- Though he is not smart, he is good at heart.
(This fixed expression means kind.)
3. Verbs
adv. phr. (modifying ‘die’)
- die of a disease (die of cancer, die of AIDS …)
- die in his sleep (The noun sleep is paired with in.)
- die for the country (a fixed expression)
62
Lesson 5
SUMMARY
The Two Uses of the Prepositional Phrases (Preposition + Noun):
(1) as an adjective phrase to qualify a noun:
(After a noun)
n.
The man from the North Pole is my friend.
(After a linking verb)
n.
My friend is from the North Pole.
sENTENCE WRITING
A phrase should come close to the word it qualifies. The following ambiguous
sentence can be rewritten to show what the writer really means.
1 2 3
Mary called John with a throaty voice.
Taste
In ‘The room is designed tastefully’, the ‘taste’ here refers to decoration, clothing,
furnishings and so on that win people’s admiration. It doesn’t mean the feeling we get
when we put something in our mouth. However, we usually say that a person has good
taste if the style of his clothing, furniture and so on is elegant, having matching colors and
5 designs that attract people in general. If we say he doesn’t have taste, we mean the opposite.
‘Tasty’ refers to the sensation we get when we put something in our mouth.
A tasty meal tasted delicious.
On the other hand we say things being in good taste or being in bad taste, and this
means the same as ‘designed tastefully or not tastefully’. Yet the phrase ‘in bad taste’ is
more frequently used to describe rude words and bad manners in an awkward situation. For
instance, when a man says in front of a girl, ‘I don’t like girls who are not pretty’, this man
15 shows no respect for others. Such pointed remarks are in bad taste.
But if a girl cannot choose between what is attractive and unattractive in the
matters of clothes, designs and so on, we say she lacks taste, and her poor inborn ability
should not be blamed. However, if a man speaks or acts in bad taste, he should be accused
of that because a man should have the ability to speak politely or act properly toward others.
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Lesson 5
v.
Her dress is designed tastefully. (adverb)
v.
Her dress is designed in good taste. (adverb phrase)
obj.
Her dress lacks taste. (noun)
n.
She lacks taste in her dress. (adjective phrase)
Remarks:
Clothing (n) (line 1)
[U] = a group of clothes including hats and gloves: wear
a piece/an item/article of light/heavy/outdoor/sports/protective
clothing; clothing business/company/shop
65