Search results for 'tag:Articles tag:English grammar' matching tags 'Articles' and 'English grammar'

Grammar point, please help clarify this

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:17:42 GMT

Hi, I need help with this grammar point.

I was preparing myself for an English Grammar test, the material I'm studying to prepare for the test says that there are 7 words, namely 3 articles (a, an, the) and 4 possessive pronouns (my, our, your, their), are always "adjectives". What?! Could someone be kind enough to explain the logic or reason for that? I just simply can't wrap my head around that concept. Thanks.

Raen

Re: gerund or verbal noun with an article?

Crokey — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:44:28 GMT

Hi CB,
thanks so much for your reply(i was the one who asked about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds). i agree that there seems to be discrepancies between one grammarians usage and another's. I certainly like your definition of gerunds, in so far as they are unable to take the definite article, however: "the gerund expresses action [and] it is often preceded by the definite article" e.g.(given) "Our culture therefore must not omit the arming of the man." from An English Grammar by W. M. Baskervill & J. W. Sewell.
Perhaps your example might be used to illustrate the conundrum further: "The speech of the english language is beautiful". speech is surely a verbal noun, derived from the verb speak but there is no action being performed, i am merely naming an action. When i say "The speaking of the english language is easy", am I naming an action or am I implying that an action may be performed that is difficult. If I had never read the section in An English Grammar(reproduced in a variety of other articles i have ventured across during this travail) and a spectacular panoply of inconcise readings of the matter, then i would be quiet content to adopt your comfortable definition.
thanks again cb for taking the time to look at this and all the other posts...especially the ones that are pure academic tomfoolery!

Re: gerund or verbal noun with an article?

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:36:08 GMT

hi,
i've been struggling with coming to grips with the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds.
e.g. John's singing the national anthem bothered me. or John's singing of the national anthem bothered me.
which is correct, and in the second case is 'singing' a gerund or verbal noun?

The beginning of the book is better than the middle or end sections.
The beginning of a new book is always the most rewarding part. (beginning here meaning starting to read)
the first case is rather clear, i am not speaking of an action and it must be a verbal noun, but you can see where the problem lies.

The writing of a book is always an ambitious undertaking. (writing is the verbal noun)

from an article on verbal nouns on wikipedia,

The gerund is like the participle ..frequently modified by a possessive noun or pronoun.

taken from An English Grammar by W. M. Baskervill & J. W. Sewell

i am really confused as to what makes a gerund a gerund, and when a verbal noun is a verbal noun. any help in this matter would be really appreciated.

Re: Why no article here?

Ant_222 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:49:53 GMT

Jackson6612
I believe this is the feature of English grammar. What do you say?

I told you I don't know. Can you find some relevant examples in Google?

CB
We could also say that this is in a way a matter of "opposites" in that people are human, dogs are not. It is normal in English to drop articles with opposites

Am I right that the articles may as well be kept: Â«From the East to the West \ I love you the bestÂ»

Re: Why no article here?

Jackson6612 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:38:00 GMT

Ant_222
Jackson6612
uppose he wrote between the dog and man, then would it mean that the is associated with both dog and man, i.e ...the covenant between (the) dog and (the) man.
No, I was referring to the placement of "the" before both "dog" and "man"... I am not sure it would be correct to use "the" only before "dog".

Example Sentence: I want a mango, pineapple, and strawberry.

I believe in the above sentence article a is associated with all the nouns, mango, pineapple, and strawberry. And same is the case with your sentence where article the only comes before dog but it is associated with both dog and man''. I believe this is the feature of English grammar. What do you say?

Re: Is it compulsory to use articles, a, an, and the, with only countable nouns?

Ant_222 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:40:31 GMT

Jackson6612
This is a apple. You mean a apple means one apple. So that means I cannot write: This is a one apple. Because such sentence will be redundant.
Question 1: Am I correct?

Yes. And it should be "an apple".

Jackson6612
I have eaten only a single apple. Here single also means one but I think it's a correct sentence.
Question 2: Why is so?

"Single" is just an adjective and does not posess the power of replacing articles. Such is English grammar: adjecives, whatever they mean, do not interfere with articles. In your example "single" serves as an amphasis (the sentence would still be OK without it), which explains the redundancy. The adjectives "great big" and "tiny little" also use redundancy to emphasize their effect. It is the only explanation I can think of.

Jackson6612
I couldn't come up with any example sentences right now. Please it will be very kind of you if you can provide some sentences yourself.

Well, I don't know what you don't know. So show me what it is.

Re: follow-up to 'article'

CalifJim — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:44:46 GMT

Anonymous
Can anyone please tell me why Mr. M said what he said

I don't think anyone around here reads minds. Only Mr. M. can answer as to the reasons for his answer, and it seems to me that he already has given reasons.

As for your sentences, I don't see anything problematic with them except as corrected below:

1.They reached agreement, and the agreement was for the payment of 400 dollars.
2.They signed an agreement, and the agreement was for the payment of 400 dollars.

The only difference is the difference between the verb reach and the verb sign, and you can easily find those in any dictionary.

reach agreement is a fixed idiom where an article is not needed.

_____

Just for future reference, I think it would be more polite to ask your questions without challenging others specifically by name. Such challenges diminish your chances of receiving an answer, because no one wishes to get into an unpleasant discussion where it's more important to prove someone right or wrong than it is to understand the principles of English grammar.

Re: Please give me your comments about my ideal.

Cool Breeze — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:44:07 GMT

You have a highly original way to deal with the dilemma, Vincent. It probably even works in some cases. Hasn't it ever occurred to you that you could actually try counting: one car, two cars, three cars. You don't normally count water: one water, two waters etc.

That is a good start but it won't be enough. There are cases where you can say waters. Suppose you are in a bar and want three glasses of water. You could say: Three waters, please. However, English is extremely inconsistent in this respect. I have heard the singular used countless times in similar contexts. Usage varies from region to region and from country to country. Even the speaker's age and educational background may be a factor.Some natives have very strong opinions about "correct" usage with regard to the articles and will sometimes say no one says this or that. Reality is often different.

Just pay attention to what you hear and see and try to learn and remember the use of the articles. If it seems difficult - and I'm sure it will - don't lose heart. In my opinion the articles are the most difficult aspect of English grammar.

Re: plz help to correct this with PURE English

Jing — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:24:59 GMT

Both the 2 replies are very helpful for me. Thank you very much!

Mr. Wordy may be confused by the sentence "...which with share from our company...". I don't know if Feebs11 was also confused or not. The melamine paper factory is legally an independent joint venture. Fordeck Ltd shares the factory with other 2 companies. It provies melamine paper to the 3 main users. If the sentence makes readers confused. How shall I write to express clearly, please?
__

To Mr. Wordy. "capacity" - I want to say that we still supply the original main products, melamine MDF, particle board and Slatwall with stable volume (or output).
__

;-) Seems the standard Brithish English grammar which we studied in school is quite useful. But I usually confused by some free American English.

CASE?

Anonymous — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:55:05 GMT

Hi,

In the book named "Longman English Grammar" by L. G. Alexander in the section 8 named "Prepositions, Adverb particles, and Phrasal verbs," I saw this sentence. What does 'case' mean to you?

English uses more prepositions than most other European languages, partly because 'case' [>1.1] is no longer expressed by noun endings.

Also, what does 'adverb particle' mean?