Jumat, 24 April 2015

Countable and Uncountable nouns



It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs.

Countable nouns
Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an". If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask "How many?" combined with the plural countable noun.
Singular          Plural
one dog           two dogs
one horse         two horses
one man           two men
one idea           two ideas
one shop          two shops
Examples

  •     She has three dogs.
  •     I own a house.
  •     I would like two books please.
  •     How many friends do you have?

Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form.
Examples

  •     tea
  •     sugar
  •     water
  •     air
  •     rice
  •     knowledge
  •     beauty
  •     anger
  •     fear
  •     love
  •     money
  •     research
  •     safety
  •     evidence

We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of. If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask "How much?"
Examples

  •     There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
  •     He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
  •     Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
  •     He did not have much sugar left.
  •     Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
  •     How much rice do you want?

Tricky spots
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are:
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work
Examples

  •     I would like to give you some advice.
  •     How much bread should I bring?
  •     I didn't make much progress today.
  •     This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
  •     We did an hour of work yesterday.

Be careful with the noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.
Examples :


  •     She has long blond hair.
  •     The child's hair was curly.
  •     I washed my hair yesterday.
  •     My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
  •     I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)
Sumber : http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/countable-and-uncountable-nouns/

Kamis, 16 April 2015

Sentence Pattern : Subject, Verb, Complement, and Modifier

1.        SUBJECT
The subject is the agent of the sentence in the active voice; it is the person or thing that does the action of the sentence, and it normally precedes the verb. NOTE: Every sentence in English must have a subject. (In the case of commands, the subject is understood.)
The subject may be a single noun. The subject may be a noun phrase. A noun phrase is a group of words ending with a noun. ( It CANNOT begin with a preposition).
In some sentences there is not a true subject. However, it and there can often, act as pseudo-subjects and should be considered as subjects when rules call for moving the subject of a sentence.
Examples of subjects:
·      We girls are not going to that movie.
·      George likes boats.
·      Mary, John, George, and I went to a restaurant last night.
·      The weather was very bad yesterday.
·      The chemistry professor cancelled class today.
·      The bank closed at two o’clock.
·      It is a nice day today.
·      There was a fire in that building last month.
·      There were many students in the room.
·      It is raining right now.

2.        VERB
The verb follows the subject: it generally shows the action of the sentence. NOTE: Every sentence must have a verb.
 Verb may be a single word. The verb may be a verb phrase. A verb phrase consists of one or more auxiliaries and one main verb. The auxiliaries always precede the main verb.
Examples of verbs and verb phrases:
·      She will go to Boston next week.
·      Jane is very tall.
·      She must have gone to the bank.
·      Joe has gone home.
·      Mary is watching television.
·      It was raining at six o’clock last night.

3.        COMPLEMENTS
A complement completes the verb. It is similar to the subject because it is usually a noun or noun phrase; however, it generally follows the verb when the sentence is in the active voice. NOTE: Every sentence does not require a complement. The complement CANNOT begin with a preposition. A complement answers the question what? Or whom?
Examples of complements:
·      John bought a cake yesterday. (What did John buy?)
·      Jill was driving a new car. (What was Jill driving?)
·      He wants to drink some water. (What does he want to drink?)
·      She saw John at the movies last night. (Whom did she see at the movies?)
·      They called Mary yesterday. (Whom did they call?)
·      He was smoking a cigarette. (What was he smoking?)

4.        MODIFIER
A modifier tells the time, place, or manner of the action. Very often it is a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun.
Examples of modifiers:
·      John bought a book at the bookstore. (Where did John buy a book?) (at the bookstore: Modifier of place)
·      Jill was swimming in the pool , yesterday. (Where was Jill swimming?)(When was Jill swimming?) (in the pool: Modifier of place ) (yesterday: Modifier of time)
·      He was driving very fast. (How was he driving?) (very fast: Modifier of manner)
·      The milk is in the refrigerator. (Where is the milk?) (in the refrigerator: Modifier of place)
·      She drove the car on Main Street. (Where did she drive?) (on Main Street: Modifier of place )
·      We ate dinner at seven o’clock. (When did we eat dinner?) (at seven o’clock: Modifier of time)


Referensi :
https://hidayatullahahmad.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/normal-sentence-pattern-in-english/