Practical English Usage

[mushroom_kick]

what are we learning about next? >> represent what happen next
if we remove that "next" which become :
what are we learning about ?,that sentence become present continous tense..
or am i wrong? my habit, if discuss one thing too long i'll become lost in no where

[Rina Hong]

ok, please look at "aposthrophe" , if you have understood the topic please do the exercise in quizzes thread

[mushroom_kick]

ok, please look at "aposthrophe" , if you have understood the topic please do the exercise in quizzes thread

that bold one, means? 
i've already fill the quizzes << am i right? 

i have to "bongkar-bongkar" my memory , feuh

[Rina Hong]

What are double negatives?
A double negative happens when you put two negative words together in the same sentence.
If the two negative words are talking about the same thing, they cancel each other out - so the message becomes positive. This is confusing and it is a major mistake if you are in a formal situation (for example, writing a letter or at a job interview).

Examples of negatives:

Negative words Negative verbs
no, not, none
no-one, nothing, nowhere
neither, nobody, never
 doesn't, isn't, wasn't
wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't
won't, can't, don't
 


If you combine any two of the above words in the same idea, your sentence will be positive (the opposite to what you intended).

Negative + negative = positive. So only use one negative word in a sentence when you want to say that something is negative.

[Rina Hong]

How to make verbs agree with their subjects
1. What are verbs and subjects?
Verbs are action words -
e.g. eat, sleep, talk, walk, do, buy are all verbs
Subjects are the person or thing who are doing the action of the verb -
e.g.I eat; The dog sleeps; George talks a lot; They walk to work.

The subject of a sentence can be singular (one) or plural (many).
e.g. The computer is old. (singular)
The computers are old. (plural)

2. What is verb-subject agreement?
The verb form can change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural.
e.g. The car park (singular subject) was (verb) full.
The car parks (plural subject) were (verb) full.
In these sentences each of the verbs agrees with its subject. The correct verb form has been used.

The verb must always agree with its subject. Single subject = single verb, plural subject = plural verb.

3. How does this work?
In regular verbs:

 singular plural
First person I like bananas. We like bananas.
Second person you like bananas. you like bananas.
Third person he / she / it likes bananas. they like bananas.


She likes to cycle to work.(correct) / She like to cycle to work.(incorrect)
We like swimming. (correct) / We likes swimming. (incorrect)

Helpful hint: 's' is added to the third person singular. This is the way most regular verbs in the present tense work.

[Rina Hong]

Problems with verb-subject agreement
Irregular verbs

Not all verbs work in a regular way (see factsheet 1). Some of the most common verbs are irregular.
e.g. be, go, do, have
Verbs and subjects must still agree, but you have to learn and remember the way the irregular ones work.

Note the correct verb form for the third person singular for these irregular verbs:
'to do' = I do - he / she / it does (NOT do)
'to have' = I have - he / she / it has (NOT have)
'to go' = I go - he / she / it goes (NOT go)

e.g. She does karate on Thursdays. They do lots of sparring.
It has soft fur. They have soft hands.
She goes sailing every month. I go every week.


Too many words

Sometimes it's difficult to work out the subject, because there are lots of words between the subject and the verb

e.g.Steve, who has just returned from Australia, does not intend to go back.
(Singular subject, 'Steve' = singular verb)

The children, excited about Father Christmas, went to bed early without complaining.
(Plural subject, 'children' = plural verb)

The best thing on television last night was EastEnders.
(Singular subject, 'thing' = singular verb)

[Rina Hong]

Problems with plurals in verb-subject agreement

Sometimes the subject (the person or thing doing the action of the verb) may seem to be plural, because it is a 'collective noun' - a singular (one) noun that groups together many things or people.
e.g. A swarm of bees = 1 swarm, containing many bees
A pack of cards = 1 pack, containing many cards

This is an area of some debate, but as they are treated as a singular unit, collective nouns usually take the singular verb form.
e.g. A herd of elephants was charging towards us.
The class is very noisy today.
My football team is doing really well.


e.g. My colleague and manager were both promoted today.
(Two people = plural subject)
Rupert and Jane are football fans but Colin prefers shopping.
(Two people = plural subject, takes the plural verb 'are'; one person = singular subject, takes the singular verb 'prefers')


e.g. The bag of shopping was too heavy to carry.
(Bag of shopping = singular subject. Lots of shopping, but there's only one bag.)

Remember: if you are unsure which verb form to use, look at the subject carefully. Is the subject singular (one), or plural (many)? A singular subject requires the singular verb form. A plural subject requires the plural verb form.

[oddiezz]

i've already fill the quizzes << am i right? 

wrong...I've already filled the quiz.

[mushroom_kick]

i've already fill the quizzes << am i right? 

wrong...I've already filled the quiz.

[Rina Hong]

Please do the next one..

[Rina Hong]

Following and writing instructions (grammar)
When you see instructions on signs, or in recipes or DIY manuals they are usually written using the imperative.
The imperative is formed by using the verb [the action word] without 'to' or any noun or pronoun in front of it.
E.G: 'You need to turn left at the Post office' becomes 'Turn left at the post office.'

This type of instruction doesn't say WHO has to follow it.

Here are some examples of instructions written using the imperative:

Sentence
You should not smoke here

Imperative = Don't smoke here

 
You must fix this with glue

I = Fix this with glue

 
You must not run

I = Don't run

 
You will need 300g of flour

I = Take 300g of flour

This type of instruction isn't written as a full sentence. Imperative instructions are often written as a list, you start at the top and you work down. The list may be numbered, or may have bullet points.

Imperative instructions should never be used when you are writing formally, for example in a letter to the bank.

If you see the imperative (E.G: 'Cook for 5 minutes') then you know you are looking at a set of instructions. You can find imperative instructions all over the place, they may be on a microwave meal, on a jar of medicine, or on a tin of paint. Look out for them especially on signs and notices.

[Rina Hong]

Rules and examples to help you make simple sentences.
To make a sentence you need three things:
1. A sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own.

Cheese, car, house, table on Tuesday.
This isn't a sentence - it doesn't make sense.

I parked my car next to my house.
This is a sentence. You can understand what it means. It makes sense on its own.

2. When you are writing you need to use the right sentence punctuation.
Using punctuation will show the person who is reading your writing where the sentences begin and end.

A sentence must begin with a capital letter.
A sentence must end with a full-stop (.), a question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!).
BEWARE! Sometimes people confuse the punctuation to use at the end of a sentence. You can use commas (,), colons ( or semicolons ( in your writing, but they should never be used instead of a full-stop.

3. A sentence also needs two kinds of words in it:

A sentence must have a VERB (a doing word).
e.g. like, is, cooking, walked, need.
A sentence must also have a SUBJECT. This is the person, or the thing, that is doing the verb.
e.g. I, Beppe, Tuesday, dog, you, table, the weather,.
Here are some examples of sentences that show you the verbs and the subjects:
Last week Peggy redecorated the pub.
Are you hungry yet?
Martin, be quiet.
Tuesday was very rainy and cold.

Other things to know about sentences:
Sentences can be very short, or very long. There is no correct number of words that should be in a sentence. The length of the sentence depends on what you want to say and the effect you want to get.
BEWARE! If your sentences go on for many lines, make sure that you haven't really put several sentences together as one sentence.

It's important to remember that you don't always need to write in sentences. For example, a shopping list doesn't need sentences, but a job application does.

[Subzer0]

Wow, very helpful lessons!

Anyway, I would like to add a bit on 'collective noun.'  Some of you might have become confused at some point on why you might have it on good authority that many people may use both singular and plural verb forms after a collective noun.

Whereas in American English, collective nouns mostly take the singular verb form, in British English, collective nouns can take either, depending on whether the context is referring to the collection as a whole or as individual members.

For instance:
- American English -
Pussycat Dolls is on tv.
- British English -
Spice Girls are on telly.
The girlsband has won numerous awards.

[defact0r]

i'm unable to open your heart
it's all only about time.

[Rina Hong]

Gerund

-ing forms

When -ing forms are used like nouns, they are often called gerunds.

Smoking is injurious to health.
I like shooting.

Grammar notes
Note that a gerund is used like a noun. But when there is a noun which has a similar meaning to an -ing form, the noun is preferred.

We are waiting for his arrival. (NOT We are waiting for his arriving.)

Forms of the gerund
Note the structure of present, perfect, passive and negative –ing forms.

I like shooting. (present)
He does not like being seen in her company. (passive)
She loves being looked at. (passive)
He was charged with having committed arson. (perfect)
He complained of having been tortured by the police. (perfect passive)
Not knowing what to do, she went home. (negative)
A gerund can be the subject, object, object of a preposition or complement of a verb.

Flying makes me sick. (subject)

Trespassing is prohibited. (subject)

We don't allow smoking in our house. (object)

My favourite activity is reading. (complement)
Our mistake was trusting him. (complement)

I don’t believe in buying wine as an investment. (object of a preposition)
Gerund with its own object
A gerund can have its own object.

Compare:

Smoking is injurious to health.

Smoking cigarettes is injurious to health. (The noun cigarette is the object of the gerund smoking.)

I love reading.

I love reading novels. (Novels is the object of reading)

Killing foxes is a horrible pastime.
I love driving a fast car.
But note that when an –ing form is used with an article, it cannot usually have a direct object. Instead, we can use an of-structure.

The killing of foxes is a horrible pastime. (NOT The killing foxes …)
The smoking of cigarettes is injurious to health. (NOT The smoking cigarettes …)
The climbing of mountains is a good sport. (NOT The climbing mountains …)

Object pronouns before –ing forms
Determiners and possessives are often used with –ing forms.

They insisted on my resigning the post.

Does my smoking annoy you?

I don't mind your coming late.

I hate all this useless arguing.

There is no hope of his arriving on time.

She was angry at John’s trying to lie to her.
In an informal style, it is more common to use object pronouns (like John, me, him, you) instead of possessives (your, his, my, John’s) with –ing forms.

They insisted on me resigning the post.
She was angry at John trying to lie to her.
Object forms are also preferred when the gerund is in the passive form or when the noun denotes a lifeless thing.

We were shocked at President Kennedy being assassinated. (NOT Kennedy’s …)
There is no danger of the roof crashing. (NOT roof’s)
There is no hope of the fog lifting for another hour. (NOT fog’s)
Some verbs (e.g. see, hear, watch, feel) are normally followed by object + -ing form.

I saw him running out of the room. (NOT I saw his …)
It as a preparatory subject
When the subject is a phrase that includes a gerund, 'it' is often used as a preparatory subject to begin the sentence.

It is nice talking to you. (= Talking to you is nice.)

The structure is particularly common with any/no good, any/no use, worth etc.

It is no good your trying to deceive us. (=Your trying to deceive us is no good.)
Is it any good my talking to him?

It is no use trying to convince them.

It is no fun being shot.

Is it worth complaining about his conduct?

It is no use waiting.

Is it worth talking to him?