Easy english grammer learner first step

NOMINAL GROUPS is a first step to learn English grammer ...

Nouns: gender

1) General rule
English nouns rarely change form, even to indicate gender. As a general rule, only nouns referring to people and some animals reflect gender in their form. By the same token, unlike many other languages, the adjectives modifying nouns will remain unchanged.
Example: My poor little dog died.

2) However, certain nouns -- especially those referring to people -- may have different forms to indicate masculin or feminine usage:
man -- woman
gentleman -- lady
actor -- actress
uncle -- aunt
father -- mother


The same can be said of certain male and female animals:
a buck, a doe
a ram, a ewe
a bull, a cow
a stallion, a mare


3) In other cases, the word "male" or "female" is added, if it is considered necessary to be specific:
a female cat
a male giraffe

4) Pronouns
Note: If the gender of the person or animal is known, one will generally use the pronoun "he" or "she" to refer to it, as appropriate. When the gender is left unstated, the pronoun "he" is generally used when speaking of people, or "it" when speaking of animals. Some objects are also considered to be gendered in certain usages: some people may refer to a boat or a car as "she."

5) Man/Woman
Certain nouns (especially the names of professions) are traditionally associated with men or women, in which case one signals exceptions to the tradition by adding "woman" (or "lady") or "man" to the term:
They are in a group of male dancers.
My wife prefers to see a woman doctor.

TEST - Find the feminine forms: bull, cat, man, doctor, buck, uncle, actor, father ANSWERS cow, female cat, woman, woman doctor, doe, actress, mother

Plurals

> As a general rule, the plural is formed by adding "-s" to the singular form of nouns.
shoe --> shoes | book --> books | river --> rivers

> Nouns ending in "s" or "s" will generally take the ending "-es" :
bus --> buses | kiss --> kisses

> Words ending in "y" will generally take the ending "-ies" in place of the "y":
party --> parties | supply --> supplies

> A few words have very irregular forms in the plural:
one man --> two men
one woman --> two women
one person --> two people
one foot --> two feet
one mouse --> two mice
one goose --> two geese
one tooth --> two teeth
one wife --> two wives
one child --> two children
one knife --> two knives
one thief --> two thieves
one dwarf --> two dwarves (or: dwarfs)
one potato --> two potatoes
one leaf --> two leaves
one life --> two lives
one loaf --> two loaves
one half --> two halves

> A small set of words do not change form in the plural:
one moose --> two moose
one sheep --> two sheep
one aircraft --> two aircraft

> Words of Greek or Latin origin which have retained their original endings will generally take the plural form associated with the language they are drawn from:
one alumnus --> two alumni
one syllabus --> two syllabi
one alumna --> two alumnae
one alga --> many algae
one criterion --> many criteria
one forum --> many fora (or : forums)
one thesis --> two theses
one hypothesis --> two hypotheses
one phenomenon --> two phenomena
one cactus --> two cacti (or : cactuses)
one diagnosis --> two diagnoses
one oasis --> two oases
one analysis --> two analyses


> A few nouns are invariable or collective, always indicating a plural meaning:
She gave me some information.
Michelle has a lot of clothes.

TEST - >> Find the plural table, child, thief, mouse, thief, potato, tooth, alga, goose, wife, sheep, life ANSWERS >tables, children, thieves, mice, women, potatoes, teeth, algae, geese, wives, sheep, lives

Possessive

It is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses :

John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)
It is John's car.
America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)
They are America's gold reserves.

Form
To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add: ' (an apostrophe).
For names ending in -s:
In speaking- we add the sound /iz/ to the name, but -in writing- the 's form is common. e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.
Examples:
The car of John = John's car.
The room of the girls = The girls' room.
Clothes for men = Men's jobs.
The sister of Charles = Charles's sister.
The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner. Examples:

the grocer's	the doctor's	the vet's
the newsagent's	the chemist's	Smith's
the dentist's	Tommy Tucker's	Saint Mary's

I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.

TEST Say if these sentences are correct or wrong. 1. Peter's boat is really beautiful. 2. I like dog's John. It is so cute! 3. I had a walk with Thomas's girlfriend. 4. Women's jobs are very hard! 5. I went to the dentist. ANSWERS 1. Peter's boat is really beautiful. OK | 2. I like dog's John. It is so cute! WRONG> John's dog | 3. I had a walk with Thomas's girlfriend. OK | 4. Women's jobs are very hard! OK | 5. I went to the dentist. WRONG> to the dentist's.

Adjectives: forms & usage

> Forms:
Adjectives are generally invariable in English and do not agree with nouns in number and gender.

a blue car
the great outdoors
a group of young women

However, a few adjectives have a connotation which is slightly masculine or feminine. Thus, one says that a woman is beautiful while a man would be called handsome.
Adjectives indicating religion or nationality (or a region, state or province) generally begin with a capital letter, whether they refer to people or objects:
She is an American student.
They go to a Catholic school.
They enjoy Breton music.


> Usage:
The adjective will be placed, with very few exceptions, in front of the noun it modifies. When two adjectives precede a noun, they can be connected by a comma (,) or by the conjunction"and." In a series of three or more adjectives, one usually uses "and" before the last adjective in the list.
Examples: I like short novels.
That fellow will be a competent worker.
She writes long and flowery letters.
He works long, hard hours.
She had a mean, old and overbearing step-mother.

An adjective may follow the noun when it is in a predicate (after the verb) or in a relative clause. (In relative clauses the relative pronoun may be implicit.)
Examples: He was a man (who was) always happy to help others.
She is a woman (who is) true to herself.
They were entirely satisfied.

TEST
Complete this sentence with an article, a noun and an adjective: Peter has ...
- adjectives: elegant / short / brown / long / little / blue / warm / curly
- articles: a / an / (nothing)
- nouns: coat / gloves / beard / eyes

ANSWERS > examples (there are more correct answers): an elegant / warm coat - brown / short gloves - curly / little beard - blue eyes - an elegant, warm, blue coat

Adjective placement

Where should I put my adjectives? When you use several adjectives, please use he following order to build your sentence. Please note that sentences containg 4 (or more!) adjectives are very awkward and should be split into several sentences.

Opinion
>> an interesting movie, an exciting journey

Dimension
>> a large house, a big car

Age
>> an old boat, a young boy

Shape
>> an oval carpet, a round table

Colour
>> a grey raincoat, a green door

Origin
>> French bread, a Japanese town

Material
>> a plastic bottle, a wooden treasure

EXAMPLES:
>A wonderful old Italian clock. (opinion - age - origin)
>A big square blue box. (dimension - shape - colour)
>A disgusting pink plastic ornament. (opinion - colour - material)
>Some slim new French trousers. (dimension - age - origin)

 TEST

Build a phrase with this noun and these adjectives
1. book >> interesting - small - Spanish
2. house >> beautiful - modern - small
3. cap >> cotton - funny - green
4. picture >> modern - ugly - rectangular

ANSWERS 1. An interesting small Spanish book. 2. A beautiful small modern house 3. A funny green cotton cap 4. An ugly modern rectangular picture

Reflexive pronouns

> Reflexive pronouns are used to show that the actions described by a verb act upon the subject of the verb: the subject and the object are thus the same. The forms of reflexive pronouns correspond to the forms of the subject pronouns:

Subject pronouns I you he she it we you they

Reflexive pronouns myself yourself himself herself itself ourselves yourselves themselves

> To use a verb reflexively, the reflexive pronoun must follow the verb (and, in the case of an intransitive verb, it will follow any preposition used with the verb). If there are multiple verbs in the sentence, the reflexive pronoun follows the verb to which it applies:
I told myself it would never happen.
She talks to herself all the time.
Look at yourself in that mirror!
I would like to give myself a raise.

> At the end of a sentence, one can add reflexive pronouns as a way of accentuating the subject in the sentence. In this case, the verb does not have reflexive power:
I would rather do that myself.
Can you talk to him yourself?

TEST Fill in the gaps with the correct pronouns: 1) The door opens ________________ when someone comes near it. 2) Look at your umbrella! You should buy ________________ a new one. 3) There was so much noise, I couldn't make ________________ heard. 4) "- Who taught you Latin?" || "- I taught ________________ ." 5) They lost the match and were ashamed of ________________ . ANSWERS: 1) itself | 2) yourself | 3) myself | 4) myself | 5) themselves

Adverbs
I) Building adverbs
A. Most adverbs are formed from the adjective. One adds the ending "-ly" to the adjectival form: intelligent --> intelligently, slow --> slowly , precise --> precisely

B. If the adjective ends with "-le," simply replace the "e" with "y": simple --> simply , subtle --> subtly ,
C. The adverb corresponding to the adjective "good" is irregular: good --> well

D. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective: high , low , hard , better , fast

E. In general, adverbs of time and space have no corresponding adjective; the same can be said of adverbs of quantity: yesterday , today , tomorrow , early , soon , late , here , there , less , more , as , very , much , a lot of , little of

II) Where?
A. When an adverb modifies a verb, it generally comes at the end of the clause (but before any prepositional phrases or subordinated clauses):
He writes poorly. She pronounced that word well.. Joseph worked diligently. They worked hard before coming home.

Exceptions: a few adverbs telling the speaker's opinion, such as "probably," "undoubtedly," "surely," "certainly," etc., come at the beginning of the sentence, or between the modal verb (or auxiliary) and the principal verb:
We are probably going to spend the summer in Corsica. Certainly we would never do that! We will undoubtedly see a dirty political campaign this year.


B. Adverbs of time and space generally come at the end of the sentence; however, they may be placed at the beginning of the sentence if the predicate clause is long and complicated:
I saw her yesterday. We're going to the beach today. She went to bed very early. Tomorrow we will try to get up early to prepare for our trip.


C. Adverbs modifying adjectives or an other adverb are placed before the adjective or the adverb they modify:
She was really very happy to see you. It was a brilliantly staged performance.

TEST
A) Find the corresponding adverbs: bad, clear, different, sad, simple, calm
B) Insert these adverbs into these sentences:
1. I like this wine. (very much) 2. We will go to the cinema tonight. (probably) 3. I lost my temper. (nearly)

ANSWERS A . badly, clearly, differently, sadly, simply, calmly
B. 1. I like this wine very much. 2. We will probably go to the cinema tonight. 3. I nearly lost my temper.

Nationalities

COUNTRY	ADJECTIVE	NOUN
Africa	African	an African
America	American	an American
Argentina	Argentinian	an Argentinian
Austria	Austrian	an Austrian
Autralia	Australian	an Australian
Bangladesh	Bangladesh(i)	a Bangladeshi
Belgium	Belgian	a Belgian
Brazil	Brazilian	a Brazilian
Britain	British	a Briton/Britisher
Cambodia	Cambodian	a Cambodian
Chile	Chilean	a Chilean
China	Chinese	a Chinese
Colombia	Colombian	a Colombian
Croatia	Croatian	a Croat
the Czech Republic	Czech	a Czech
Denmark	Danish	a Dane
England	English	an Englishman/Englishwoman
Finland	Finnish	a Finn
France	French	a Frenchman/Frenchwoman
Germany	German	a German
Greece	Greek	a Greek
Holland	Dutch	a Dutchman/Dutchwoman
Hungary	Hungarian	a Hungarian
Iceland	Icelandic	an Icelander
India	Indian	an Indian
Indonesia	Indonesian	an Indonesian
Iran	Iranian	an Iranian
Iraq	Iraqi	an Iraqi
Ireland	Irish	an Irishman/Irishwoman
Israel	Israeli	an Israeli
Jamaica	Jamaican	a Jamaican
Japan	Japanese	a Japanese
Mexico	Mexican	a Mexican
Morocco	Moroccan	a Moroccan
Norway	Norwegian	a Norwegian
Peru	Peruvian	a Peruvian
the Philippines	Philippine	a Filipino
Poland	Polish	a Pole
Portugal	Portuguese	a Portuguese
Rumania	Rumanian	a Rumanian
Russia	Russian	a Russian
Saudi Arabia	Saudi, Saudi Arabian	a Saudi, a Saudi Arabian
Scotland	Scottish	a Scot
Serbia	Serbian	a Serb
the Slovak Republic	Slovak	a Slovak
Sweden	Swedish	a Swede
Switzerland	Swiss	a Swiss
Thailand	Thai	a Thai
The USA	American	an American
Tunisia	Tunisian	a Tunisian
Turkey	Turkish	a Turk
Vietnam	Vietnamese	a Vietnamese
Wales	Welsh	a Welshman/Welshwoman
Yugoslavia	Yugoslav	a Yugoslav

TEST - Build full sentences:
Example: He lives in Edinburgh. He's from Scotland. He is Scottish. He is a Scot.
1. He lives in Paris. 2. He lives in Washington. 3. She lives in Cardiff. 4. He lives in Amsterdam. 5. He lives in Brussels.

ANSWERS 1. He lives in Paris. He is from France. He is French. He is a Frenchman. 2. He lives in Washington. He is from America. He is American. He is an American. 3. She lives in Cardiff. She is from Wales. She is Welsh. She is a Welshwoman. 4. He lives in Amsterdam. He is from Holland. He is Dutch. He is a Dutchman. 5. He lives in Brussels. He is from Belgium. He is Belgian. He is a Belgian.

SOME, ANY, NO

SOME: used in positive sentences for countable and uncountable nouns.
Example: I have some friends.

ANY: used in negative sentences or questions for countable and uncountable nouns.
Example: Do you have any cheese? - He doesn't have any friends in Chicago.

EXCEPTION! "some" is used in questions when offering or requesting something that is there.
Examples: Would you like some bread? (offer) - Could I have some water? (request)

SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE, SOMETHING: Used in positive sentences.
Example: He lives somewhere near here.

ANYBODY, ANYWHERE, ANYTHING: Used in negative sentences or questions.
Examples: Do you know anything about that boy? - She doesn't have anywhere to go.

NOTHING: Used in positive sentences (with a negative meaning).
Example: This show is very boring! There's nothing interesting!

 TEST

1) A / AN, SOME or ANY?
1. I've got ………………. cookbook. / 2. There is ……………….water in the fridge. / 3. There isn't ……………….whisky left in the bottle. / 4. There was……………….bottle of whisky on the shelf. / 5. She wants to eat ……………….apple. / 6. Have we got ……………….chips?

2) SOMETHING, ANYTHING OR NOTHING ?
1. He's hungry, but there's …………………… to eat in the fridge!
2. I don't want to eat……………………
3. I can see …………………… under the table. What is it?
4. "Pardon? What did you say?" - "……………………"
5. Is there …………………… interesting to watch on TV tonight?

ANSWERS:
Exercise 1) 1: a | 2: some | 3: any | 4: a | 5: an | 6. any - Exercise 2) 1: nothing | 2: anything | 3: something | 4: Nothing! | 5: anything

QUANTITIES

a) 1st match: SOME vs. ANY

SOME	ANY
1) In positive sentences: I need some butter. 2) In questions when offering or requesting something that is there: Could I have some water, please?	1) In questions: Is there any cheese left? 2) In negative sentences: There isn't any milk left.

b) 2nd match: MUCH vs. MANY

MUCH	MANY
MUCH + singular There is much traffic.	MANY + plural There are many cars.

TEST Choose the correct answer. a) I have (some/any) homework to do for tomorrow. b) I don't see (some/any) ducks there! c) Can I have (some/any) wine, please? d) Are there (some/any) vegetables left? e) There are (much/many) people in the cinema. f) Don't eat (much/many) sugar.

ANSWERS a) I have some homework to do for tomorrow. b) I don't see any ducks there! c) Can I have some wine, please. d) Are there any vegetables left? e) There are many people in the cinema. f) Don't eat much sugar.

The lesson of the newsletter

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

I) What is a countable noun?

a) It is a noun which is for things we can count.
Examples of countable nouns: table, bag, school
We can say: one table, two tables... one bag, two bags...


b) It usually has a plural form:
Examples: table > tables | bag > bags | school > schools



II) What is an uncountable noun?
a) It is a noun which is for things we cannot count.
Examples of uncountable nouns: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.


b) Uncountable nouns are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.
Examples: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.

c) They usually do not have a plural form. They are used with a singular verb.
Examples: we cannot say "sugars, angers, knowledges".


d) We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, we use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...
Examples:
He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
They've got a lot of furniture.


III) TEST
What have you understood?
Write the letter "C" in front of Countable nouns and the letter "U" in front of Uncountable nouns.

The first one has been done for you:

___U_____ water
_________ boat
_________ record
_________ money

_________ tree
_________ furniture
_________ evidence

_________ TV set
_________ happiness
_________ bottle
_________ wall
_________ garden
_________ advice

_________ baggage

_________ information

_________ window
_________ news




IV) CORRECTION

Here are the Uncountable nouns: water, money, furniture, evidence, happiness, advice, baggage, information, news
"THE" or nothing?

1. Main rule:
The definite article "the" (invariable in form) designates a person, place, or event which has been specified or defined by the speaker:

Here's the book I bought.
The cat is on the roof.
He said he would bring the money.

2. Omission of the definite article
No article is necessary in the following cases:

2.1 Before abstract nouns or nouns representing general categories. It is often omitted after verbs expressing opinions or preferences:
Truth is the highest good.
I don't like animals.
Cats are nicer than dogs.
Time flies.
She likes coffee, but she hates tea.

2.2 Before days of the week and dates:
On Tuesdays museums are closed.
On Saturdays I sleep in.
I was born on June 16, 1980.

2.3 Before names of countries, states, cities, and regions:
France is seventeen times smaller than the United States.
California is larger than Brittany.

Exception: Some names actually include the definite article, such as The Hague, the United States (of America)

2.4. Before titles or nouns indicating professions:
President Mitterrand completed two terms.
We saw Professor Miller at the restaurant.
She met with Doctor Schmidt.

TEST: Add the definite article "THE" when it is required. 1) I've just seen ________ latest movie by Spielberg. 2) ________ freedom is the best thing on Earth. 3) ________ Prince Charles will be a good King. 4) ________ boy sitting there is called John. 5) I really like ________ Queen Elizabeth III. 6) I don't like ________ vegetables. 7) On ________ Sundays, I sleep all day long. 8) ________ house we've just visited is the most expensive. 9) ________ life is so boring! 10) ________ Spain is a very nice country! ANSWERS 1. the | 2. X | 3. X | 4. The | 5. X | 6. X | 7. X | 8. The | 9. X | 10. X

THIS / THAT / THESE / THOSE

> "this" is used for an object (singular) which is near the interlocutor. Example: This book is the best book on Earth. > Plural : "these" (several objects). Example: These books are the best books on Earth.

> "that" is used for one object (singular) which is far from the interlocutor.. Example: That is his car over there. > Plural : those (several objects) Example: Those are his toys over there.

> "there" is used for one object (singular) which exists - or "is" (near to us). Example: There is (There's) a table next to the window. > Plural: "there are" Example: There are many of my friends at the party tonight.

TEST: John: Could you please give me ________ (1) record on the table over there? Mike: Do you want ____________ (2) record here? John: Yes, ________ (3) record. Mike: Here you are. Oh, could you give me ________ (4) pens on the table over there? John: _________ (5) ? Sure, here you are. ANSWERS 1. that 2. this 3. that 4. those 5. These