THE
NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase is a phrase which includes:
1.
a noun (also called head)
2.
and optionally modifiers.
Examples:
·
Love is a beautiful feeling. (Love is a noun
phrase without modifiers. However, a beautiful feeling is a noun phrase
that includes a noun, feeling, and the determiner a and the
adjective beautiful)
·
My house is over there. (My house is a noun phrase which
consists of the noun house and a modifier - the possessive adjective my)
Possible noun modifiers
A noun phrase may optionally contain noun
modifiers. If these modifiers are placed before the noun they are called pre-modifiers. However, if they are
placed after the noun, they are called post-modifiers.
Possible noun modifiers include the following:
1.
Determiners:
·
articles (the, a),
·
demonstratives (this, that)
·
numerals (two, five,
etc.)
·
possessives (my, their,
etc.)
·
quantifiers (some, many,
etc.).
In
English, determiners are usually placed before the noun;
2.
Adjectives (the delicious food)
3.
Complements, in the form of
a prepositional phrase (such as: the student of physics), or
a That-clause (the idea that the world is a small village )
Functions of a noun phrase
1.
That
sophisticated woman is beautiful. (That sophisticated
woman is a noun phrase that functions as a subject.)
2.
I like the book that you bought.
(the book that you bought is a noun phrase that functions as an object.)
COUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count.
For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or
more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
- dog, cat, animal, man, person
- bottle, box, litre
- coin, note, dollar
- cup, plate, fork
- table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
- My dog is playing.
- My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an
with countable nouns:
- A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
- I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
- Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
- I like oranges.
- Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
- I've got some dollars.
- Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
- I've got a few dollars.
- I haven't got many pens.
"People"
is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can
count people:
- There is one person here.
- There are three people here.
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into
separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot
count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or
"litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are
some more uncountable nouns:
- music, art, love, happiness
- advice, information, news
- furniture, luggage
- rice, sugar, butter, water
- electricity, gas, power
- money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb.
For example:
- This news is very important.
- Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
- a piece of news
- a bottle of water
- a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
- I've got some money.
- Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
- I've got a little money.
- I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable
nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable
|
Uncountable
|
dollar
|
money
|
song
|
music
|
suitcase
|
luggage
|
table
|
furniture
|
battery
|
electricity
|
bottle
|
wine
|
report
|
information
|
tip
|
advice
|
journey
|
travel
|
job
|
work
|
view
|
scenery
|
When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's
countable or uncountable.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often
with a change of meaning.
Countable
|
Uncountable
|
|
There are two hairs in my coffee!
|
hair
|
I don't have much hair.
|
There are two lights in our bedroom.
|
light
|
Close the curtain. There's too much
light!
|
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
There are so many different noises in the city. |
noise
|
It's difficult to work when there is
so much noise.
|
Have you got a paper to read?
(newspaper)
Hand me those student papers. |
paper
|
I want to draw a picture. Have you got
some paper?
|
Our house has seven rooms.
|
room
|
Is there room for me to sit here?
|
We had a great time at the party.
How many times have I told you no? |
time
|
Have you got time for a cup of coffee?
|
Macbeth
is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
|
work
|
I have no money. I need work!
|
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually
uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a
restaurant, for example):
- Two teas and one coffee please.
A, AN, THE
When do we say "the
dog" and when do we say "a
dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles".
We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:
Articles
|
|
Definite
|
Indefinite
|
the
|
a,
an
|
We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is
particular.
We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain.
"Indefinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one
thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars.
So normally we would say:
- I saw the moon last night.
- I saw a star last night.
Look at these examples:
the
|
a, an
|
|
|
Of course, often we can use the
or a/an for the same word. It
depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:
- We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
- Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)
This little story should help you understand the
difference between the and a, an:
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
POSSESIVE ADJECTIVES
Warning!
These are adjectives. Don't confuse them with pronouns!
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses"
something. The possessive adjectives are:
- my, your, his, her, its, our, their
- whose (interrogative)
number
|
person
|
gender
|
possessive
adjective |
example sentence
|
singular
|
1st
|
male/female
|
my
|
This is my book.
|
2nd
|
male/female
|
your
|
I like your hair.
|
|
3rd
|
male
|
his
|
His
name is "John".
|
|
female
|
her
|
Her
name is "Mary".
|
||
neuter
|
its
|
The dog is licking its paw.
|
||
plural
|
1st
|
male/female
|
our
|
We have sold our house.
|
2nd
|
male/female
|
your
|
Your
children are lovely.
|
|
3rd
|
male/female/neuter
|
their
|
The students thanked their teacher.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
singular/plural
|
1st/2nd/3rd
|
male/female (not neuter)
|
whose
|
Whose
phone did you use?
|
Compare:
your = possessive adjective
you're = you are
you're = you are
its = possessive adjective
it's = it is OR it has
it's = it is OR it has
their = possessive
adjective
they're = they are
there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
they're = they are
there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
whose = possessive
adjective
who's = who is OR who has
who's = who is OR who has
Be careful! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to
write the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example:
it's raining = it is raining
it's finished = it has finished
it's raining = it is raining
it's finished = it has finished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.
EACH, EVERY
Each and every have similar but not always
identical meanings.
Each = every one separately
Every = each, all
Every = each, all
Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
- Prices go up each year.
- Prices go up every year.
But often they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea of
'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between
each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in
general.
Consider the following:
- Every artist is sensitive.
- Each artist sees things differently.
- Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
- The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in front
of the verb:
- The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be followed by
'of':
- The President spoke to each of the soldiers.
- He gave a medal to each of them.
Every cannot be used for 2
things. For 2 things, each can
be used:
- He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how
often something happens:
- There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
- The bus leaves every hour.
Verbs with each
and every are always conjugated
in the singular.
SOME, ANY
Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount
Any = one, some or all
Usually, we use some in
positive (+) sentences and any
in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.
some
|
any
|
example situation
|
|
+
|
I have some money.
|
|
I have $10.
|
-
|
|
I don't have any money.
|
I don't have $1 and I don't have $10
and I don't have $1,000,000. I have $0.
|
?
|
|
Do you have any money?
|
Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?
|
In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody
in the same way as some/any.
Look at these examples:
- He needs some stamps.
- I must go. I have some homework to do.
- I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
- I can see somebody coming.
- He doesn't need any stamps.
- I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
- I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
- I can't see anybody coming.
- Does he need any stamps?
- Do you have any homework to do?
- Do you want anything to drink?
- Can you see anybody coming?
We use any in a positive
sentence when the real sense is negative.
- I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
- She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)
Sometimes we use some in a
question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is not a
real question, because we think we know the answer already.)
- Would you like some more tea?
- Could I have some sugar, please?
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