OXFORD LEARNER''''S GRAMMAR 5 doc

A We can use an active or passive participle before a noun.. It is often neater to use a participle + noun than to lise a clause such as crowds who were cheering.. a r ewritten version u

123 Participle + noun

NOTE

Try \() aVOid wming sente n ces like this one

(N OT Wt'tlking-ctkmg · the: strt!et;-u [tre-c:rrgine ; dced past )

ThIs 'hanging participle' mnke s it sOllnd ~s If the fire engine wa s walking , wh I ch doesn ' t make sense Thf' huhjec t of t he main cla u se sho uld be the people who we re wal kmg

Walking along lhe stree t, we saw a fire engine race past

Here the subject of the main cla use is the same a s the underslOod subject of the participle But this doe sn ' t always have to be so The mam (hing is that there s hould be a clear connection betwe en the twO clauses

Knowing huw little lime she had, this new delay infuriated her

(= Because she knew how little lime she hud , she was mfuriated by thi s new dela y )

When adjusling lilt? machine, lhe eie( ' triclly should be swllchcd of!

(= When you adjust the machine, you s hould switch off the e l ectricity )

123 Participle + noun

,

A We can use an active or passive participle before a noun

The leam was w elcomed by cheering crowds

(= crowds who were cheering)

Boiling water turns to steam

(= water which is boiling)

The experiment must be done under controlled conditions

(= conditions which are controlled)

The terrorists used a stolen car

(= a car which hact been stolen)

In these examples the participle functions rather like an adjective Compare

clieering crowdsl noisy crowds, boiling waleri hot water See also Nute a

It is often neater to use a participle + noun than to lise a clause such as

crowds who were cheering But we cannot always usc a participle before a noun For example, we can talk about a barking dog but NOT -tttt-eati1tg-tiftg

Sometimes we use a participle with a prefix

a r ewritten version underfed children an overflowing drain

a misspent youth an unsmiling face a disconnected teLephone

TIP

Use only those partkiple + noun combinations that you have already heard or seen like cheering crowds or conrroLled conditions, There are no rules about which verbs can be used in this way and which cannot

NOTE

a Some words w ith the form of a particip l e a rc r egarded a s adwctives, c.g 1Illereslmg , confused :> 1 87

b For be + pa ssive participle expressing a s tate or an acti G n ~ > 87E

TI,e terrorists · car was stolen ~ il didn ' t b e long to them The c.ar was stolen tU){} days before the incident

16 3

B There are a few past participles that we can use before a noun

The road is blocked by a fallen tree

(::: a tree which has fallen)

The leaders of the failed uprising attempted to flee the coun ll y

(::: the uprising which had failed)

Compare the past and passive participles

Past: The esca p ed prisoner was soon re ca ptur ed

(:::the prisoner who had escaped)

Passive: The injured prisoner was treated in ho spi tal

(:::the prisoner who had been injured)

C Sometimes we put an adverb before the participle

fanatically cheering crowds (::: crowds who are cheering fanatically)

properly trained slaff (::: staff who have been properly trained)

We can also form a compound by combining another element with the participle

a fast-growing economy

(::: an economy which is growing fast - verb + adverbial)

earth-moving equipment

(::: equipment which moves earth - verb + object)

a nice - looking.ja cket

(::: a jacket which looks nice - verb + complement)

an oil - fired cen t ral heating system

(= a central heating system which is fired by oil - verb + by-agent)

a newly-m a rried couple

(= a couple who have recently married - yerb + adverbial)

We do not lise longer phrases hefore the participle

(NOT ttlfitfen-in peneiHttfies)

(NOT (ft - £he-tfJ~ti btJiees ehu iltg amvds)

But we can say notes written in pencil > 274

D We can add -ed to some nouns

a walled c ity (= a city with a wall)

This happens mostly with compounds

a dark-haired mall (= a man with dark hair)

a short-s l eeved shirt (= a shirt with short sleeves)

125 Verb + object + participle

Everyone stood watching the aircraft

The girl lay trapped under the wreckage [vr three days

People rail scream ing for help

We can put an adverbial between the verb and participle

Evel}'one stood there watching the aircraJi

Karen sat at th e table reading a newspaper

B Go swimming, do the washing, etc

We use go + active participle to talk about activities that we go out to do, especia y leisure activities

I'd love to go swimming

We went riding yesterday

Simon has gone fishing

We use do the + gerund for some types of work, especially routine housework

I usually do the washing at the weekend

Someone comes in lO do the cleaning for us

We can use do some , do a bit ofta lot of , etc for both leisure and work activities

I once did some surfing in California

James does a lot of cooking, doesn 't he?

Luckily J hav en't got much ironing to do

We can also use do + gerund

T can't do sewing I always make a mess of il

We did trampolining evelY day on holiday

NOTE

a Wl1h verbs of moveme nt we can also usc the pattern go for a sw mliride , etc

I'd loue 10 go for a swim

b The ex pression go clubbing is formed from the noun club

Ti , ey spend all Ille i r spare lime goillg cl ubbing

A The pattern I saw you doing it

We can use an object + active participle after certain verbs

J saw two men cutting down a tr ee

We heard you arguing with your brother

Can you smell something burning?

We can use verbs of perceptJOn, including: feel, hear, list e n to, notice, observe , see, sme ll, walc h

J 65

B I saw you doing it or I saw you do it?

After a verb of perception there is also a pattern with an object + infinitive

without to

I saw two men c ut dOWIl a tree

We didn ' t notice anyone l eave the building

An infinitive without to means the complete action

I saw lhem cu I th e tree down 1 1 didn't take l ong

(l saw them They cut it dovlm.)

The participle means that the action goes on over a period of time

I saw them c Ulling the (ree dow" as J wenl past

{l saw them They were (utling it down.)

When we talk about a short action, we can lise either form

They watched 'h e horse jump lj ll"'ping the fence

We didn ' t notice anyone l eavelleauing the building

C I saw it being done and I saw it done

The patterns in B can be used with a participle clause in the passive

CnmplelC action

Active: I saw them c ut down the tree

We heard someone fire a shot

Passive: I saw the tree cut down

We heard a shoe fir ed

Action over a period

J saw them cutting dowtl the cree

We heard people firillg s hOl s

I saw the tree bei n g cu t down

We heard shots being fired

o The pattern I kept you waiting

1 66

We l:an use an object + participle after certain verbs The participle means

action over a period of time

Tlte docIOr is very slow He ofJen keeps his patients waili"g

They c aught a stude nt c h e at ing in tile exa m

We soon got the ma ch in e working again

The verbs we can use include: cat c h, jiud, get , have, keep leave, need, sla rt

In the following pattern have can mean 'cause someone to be doing

something'

The trainer had th e players runn ing ro und the fie l d

Not ha/le can also mean 'refuse to accept'

I won't h ave peo/lle treating this house like a hotel

(;: I won't allow people to treat this house like a hOlel.)

N O TE

For o lh cr pallern s w uh luwe and ge t , e g He /lad tile players nm roulld tile fietd and We soo, t

gOI til e nUlchlflc to work again > 94A

126 Conjunct i on + participle

E The pattern I spent some time waiting

We can use an active participle after spend, waste, or lose and an expression

of time or money

I've spent half an hour looking Jar that letter

The company wasted millions of pounds investing in

out-oJ-date technology

F The pattern You were seen doing it

·We can sometimes use the passive before an active participle

The m en were seen cutti"g down a tree

A student was caugh t cheating in the exam

We can usc some of the verbs in pattern A ( hear , obs e rve , s e e) and some of the verbs in pattern C (catch, find, kee p leave)

G The pattern I want it done

We can use an object + passive participle (or passive to-infinitive) after certain v rbs

Polly wanted the carpet (to be) cleaned

I'd like this map (to be) photocopied, please

We prefer the lights (to be) turned down

We can use these verbs: (would) hale, (would) like, (would) love, need , (would) pref er, want

In informal English we can also use an ing-form

Polly wanted the carpet cleaning

I'd like this map photocopying, please

We can also use an object + passive participle with find, gee, have, and leave The police found a body buried in the garden

We decided to have the tree cut down

For have/get something dane, > 94B

We can use an active or passive participle after some conjunctions

You should wear gloves when usin.g an electric saw

(:::: when you use an electric saw.)

Once opened, lhe c onlents should be c on s umed within three days

A lthough expecting the news, J wa s greatly shocked by il

If not cla im ed within one month, the prize will beM,b nated to charity

The pattern is used mainly in writing and is common in instructions

We can use these conjunctions: although, if, once , unless, Ulllil , when,

wh enever, while

]67

,

Conjunction + paniciplc is a similar pilucrn ,to prcposilinn + gerum! > 114A

Despite expecting {he news, J was Krearly s ho cked by i t

I always haVl ~ a shower after working ow in th e gym

127 Participle clauses of time

A We c::Jn use a clause of time with an active participle

Mike hurt hi s hand playing voll ey b(,Il

We we re rush ing about serving lea to eve ryone

The two actions take place at the same time

Sometimes the paniciple clause can come first

Coming up the steps, I (ell over

This is used more in writing than in speech It is more m ~ lItrill to sn.y 1 fell over

( when J was ) coming up lhe s tep s

B Vtle can also usc a participle clause to !<Ilk about t\vo short, connected actions which happen one after Ihe other

Taking a note from her purse , s Ite slammed il down on the CO llnt er Opening the file the detective lOok nut a newspaper cll ttin g

This panern is rmher literary It is morc neutral to lise and

S e cook a nOIC from h er purse and slarnmed it down on the l "ou,11ler

With two short actions, we mention rhe actions in the order they happen The participle lIsually comes in the first clause, hut it can sometimes come in the

second

S he took a note from her purs e slamming it down on the counter

C When a short action comes before another connected one, we can use Cl perfect participle for the first il<:lion,

Having sea led th e envelope/Sea ling the eJ weiopc the lawy er locked il

in the safe

But when the first action is not short, we mOst use lhe perfect

Having r e ad fhe documen/ lhe fawy er locked il in the safe

Having dug a hole in the road the m e n jusl drol Je away

(NO r fJigg-ing-(;t-hole-i-H the-roau, -t.ht: ml Ii jt¥.f f dffit le ·aUtfty )

The clause with the perfect paniciple can come after the main clause

They Ie/i the re.Hell/rrw! having spent rw~ hour s oper lunch

D A p,lssive participle can be ~imp l e comilluo.us or perfect

168

The old woman walked s lowl) ' to lhe flfl , assi r;;ted hy the porter

I don'l want CO SUly (Jill here' being bitten hy ins ec ts

A hol e '''wing bee" dug , tile men just tiisuppeareti

128 Participle clauses of reason

E Compare these ways of saying that one thing happened after another

1 The mall left {h e b uild i n g alld (/hen ) hailed a taxi

2 After he IWlll eft t h e building , the man hail e d a l ax i

3 After leaving the buildi n g, the man hail ed a laxi

4 After having l eft the building, th e man hail ed a taxi

5 Huving left th e building, th e man h iled a la :d

6 Leavi ng the building , the man hailed a taxi

Senrence {l} is the simplest way of expressing the idea (2l makes more

explicit the order in which the two things happened (3) is shorter and neater

and a lillie formal (4) is Jess usual because there is no Ileed to usc both after

and ha v ing to express the same idea (5) and (6) are both rather formal (6)

means that the two actions happened dose together

128 Participle clauses of reason

A A participle clause can express rcason

Crow d s were waiting at Ih e airport , hoping to se e Madonna arrive

(;: because they hoped/they were hoping to see Madonna ar ive.)

Being rather busy , I co mpl e t ely forg ot th e lim e

(;: Because I was rather b sy, )

Not feeling very well , Emma d eci d ed to lie d own

Having lost my passport , I ha ue lO appl y for a fl ew one

Th e restaurant having closed , there was nOl v lr ere 10 e at

This type of participle clause r:an he rather formal

NOTE

Fo r other way s of expr essi ng rea so n :> 239

B We can use with before a participle clause wi(h a subject

With the r es tauraut having closed , the r e was nowhere to eat

(= Because the restaurant had closed, )

With prices going up so fast , there's no poim i l1 trying co S (l.ve m o n ey

I can' t concent r ate with you talking alltJre lim e

This pattern is neutral in style Wilh th e restau.rant hailing closed, is less

fomlaJ than Th e r es taurant ha v in g closed ,

C A passive participle in n clause of rca son can be simple, continuous,

or perfect

He di e d at thirty, s tru c k down b y a rare dis ease

I n summer t he ducks ha/le it easy , always being f e d by tourists

Having been renovat e d at great expense, lI,e bu ilding l ooks magnificent

16 9

129 Other participle clauses

A Result

An active participle after the main clause can exprcss rcsult, whether this happcns by accident or deliberately

They pumped waste into the ri ve r killing all tI fish

(= and killed all the fish.)

rile film s tar made a dramali c entrance, attracting everyone's attelltio,

(= and attracted everyone's attcmioll.)

B Conditions

A participle clause can express a condition

We p lan to ea t outside, weather permitting

(= if the weather permits it.)

Tak e n daily , vitami n pills c an impro ve yo ur h ea lth

(= If they are taken daily )

C With in a participle clause

These examples have with and a subject at the beginning of the clause

There we r e sce n es of ce lebrat io n with people dancing in the str ee ts

It was a larg e room , with bookshelves covering most of the wa lls

A typical use of this pattern is to add details to a description Compare th use of wi th to express reason > 128B

o Following, considering etc

There are some participle forms which function rather like <I preposition

Following the reception, ther e will be a talk by th e prof esso r

(= After the reception )

Conside ring / Given ch e awful weath er, our Open Day was a great succes

(:;: In view of the awful weather, )

No action has been tak e n regarding you r comp la i nt

(= about your complaint.)

Judging by all t h e nois e it must hal '" been a pr e tty good part y

(= All the noise makes me think that )

130 Introduction

Nouns

A This news report contains a number of nouns

lO Y RIDERS TREAT E D T O SCARE T ACT ICS

Ten t ee nagers on a yo uth project owing stum bled from their minibus lU be

confronted by the sigh t of a horrific car accident Dehris from the head-on crash was strewn across the road In jured people, covered in blood and trapped inside the wrecked vehicles, were pleading for help fTom the polic e,

fire-fighters, and ambulance crews struggling to free them

But t he 'cras h ' was an elaborate stunt set up by the S outh Wales Police and YOlllh workers to give potential joyr id ers an idea of the co nsequenc es of fheir act i ons The 'c rash ' was s o realistic that several of che yo ung s t ers, aged

betwe en 14 and 1 , broke down in tears Yesterday th e shock tactic was being

hailed an unqualified success after several of the youngs t ers swore never to travel in stolen vehicles again

( from Tile 'f'lnles )

Nouns have many differenL kinds of meaning There are concrete nouns like

minibu s and blood and abstract nouns like consequences and success Nouns

can also refer to events like accident and to roles like worker A noun can also

be a name like WaLe s

Some nouns can have a plural ending, e.g youngsters, tears :> 1 1

The only other ending that we put on a noun is the possessive form with's or s',

e.g the ambulance c rew's task > 132

NOTE

We can SO metime s add -e d to a nou n e.g a left- handed go/fell/b "> 1 230

B A noun phrase is sometimes a noun on its own

Debris was s tr ewn acro ss the road

Th e injured people were c overed in blood

But more often a noun combines with other words to form a noun phrase

an idea the road their actions several of th e ynungsl ers

A noun phrase can be the subject, ohject, or complement of a selllence, or it can come after a preposition

Th e st unt wa s a great success

It gave lhem an idea of the consequences of their actions

1 71

C These kinds ur word can l:umb i ll l! with ct HUlin ( 0 rorm a noun phrase

those shock laclics > J 65

sel1eral 0/ the y oungsters> 166-J 73

a clever, v ry e laborat e stunt > 181

a youth project o uting > 141

1\ phrase or clause can come after the noun and modify il

It was a plan to shock tile teenagers > 107 A

It was a stunt set up by th e police > 274

The people who were pleading/or h e lp weren't reall) injured > 266

131 The plural of nouns

A Form

A countahle noun has hoth a singular and a plural form To form the plural

we usualy add - 5 or -es

Singular Plural

lIU1 road tlie roads

(j minibus (wo minibuses

There are some spelling rules for the pluraJ with -sl- es

We add es after a sibilant sound, e.g dish -+ dishes > 276A

Y changes to ie, e.g baby bab ies > 280A

for the pronunciation of the sl es ending, > 2 6B

But some n ullS have an irregular plural, e.g rna", melt > 2 1-284

B The plural of compound nouns

1 72

To form the plural of a compollnd noun or of lWO nouns together, we add -s l e ~ to the enu

u l l' k nds mOlOrways fire -fighters car crashes sh ock tactics

We do the same with a nOlln formed from a verb + adverb

When a prepositional phrase comes after the noun, \\le ~dd -s / - es io the first noun

Docto rs oJ Philosophy mothers-in -law

132 The possessive form

And vvhen an adverb comes after a noun in ·er, we add ·s /·es to the nOUll

pas ser s-by runners-up

In expressions Wilh man / woman + noun, both parts change to the plural

women j ockeys (women who are jockeys)

C The use of plural nouns

We use the singular to talk about one thing

The door was closed We waited for a rl hour

There was on l y one passenger l'I Je lo st my job

We use the plural to talk about more than one

The doors we r e a ll closed We waited for one and a quarter hours TIJere were hundreds Of passengers I'v e got one or two jobs to do

For a negative or unknown quantity, we normally use the plural

There were no passengers on th e bus

H ave you read any good books l ately?

We can use the singular after n o meaning 'not a single

No passeng e r(s) came to the driver's h e lp when he was attacked

(= Not a single passenger )

NOTE

We can a l so u se an uncounlable noun wuh 110 or (illy:> 172

l1zere's no milk m the frtdge Halle yull got any money?

k

~ 132 The possessive form

~t; I"

A Form

This is how we form the possessive

Singular noun + 's my friend's name

S-plural + ' my friends' name s

Other plurals + 's the children 's names

We add an apostrophe + s to a singular noun ifriend's); we add an apostrophe

to a plural noun ending in -s (jriends1; and we add an apostrophe + s to a

plural NOT ending in -s (children's)

Pronouns ending in -one/-body and the pronouns Olle , eac h other, and one another can be possessive

I found someo n e's coat h ere

111ey looked into eac h other's eyes

For pronunciation of the possessive ending > 276B

NOTE

a After a surname cnding in s, e can add' s or we ca n ju s t a dd a n apo s trophe

Mr Perkins's ronm l Mr Perkins' room Yeats's poetryfYeats' poelry

\o\ ( hcn we ju s l ,Idd an <lposlrophe we do not n eed 10 pronounce an eX Ira sy llable We eRn pronounce Yeats 'f jclIsf or l'jellSlzl

173

b Jf there I S a s hort phrase before the nOun , th e n the p osse ssiv e e ndin g comcs after til! phrase

the people next door 's CDt

You !lIay hear Ihl S in inro rmal s p eech, but it is ralher awkward Mort: n eutral i s the ca belongb'g to tlte people next door

c We can add an apostrophe + S to a phrase Wil h alUi

nid )1011 go to Tom arul/ulie 's party7 {= the pany given b} ' Tom and Julie } Thi s is much morc us ual than Tum 's and lulie ' s party

B Use

We use the possessive form to express a conneCtion, often the fact that

The possessive usually has a definite meaning Sam's coat means 'the coat

that belongs to Sam' So we do not put the before a singular name

(NOT the S -tlll 'S coat)

I s this your umbrella? No, I think it 's Peter's

We can sometimes use two possessive forms together

133 Possessive form or of?

Sometimes we can use either rorm But often only one form is possiblc

your father's car (Nor ,th~j o{)8Ur father)

the beginning of the term (NOT {he felOn ' s h~j""int)

B We normally use the possessive with people and animals

my u/lcl e's address the dog's bed the Atkillsons' car

the young man '5 mother / the mother of the young man

When there is a long phrase or clause describing the person, we lise the of·structurc

It 's t he house of a wealthy businessman from Saudi Arabia

[ was looking after the co alS of all the people attending the r ecep tion

C We generally use the of-structure with things

174

134 Some other uses of the possessive

places, companies or newspapers

Sco t land's rivers tlt e rivers oJ Scotla n d

t lt e co mp a n y's Itead office tlte head office of th e co mp a ll y

But Ihere are no absolute rules about when to use which pattern We can

sometimes use the possessive form with things even when there is no human

Use the possessive form with people and the of·structure with things Say

~ my friend's address but the address of the website

to someone > 1328 Here are some olher uses of the possessive form

A Who so meth i ng i s intend e d for

You can lise th e custo m e r s' ca r park (0::: (he car park for customers)

There's a ch ildr e 's p l ayg r o un d in th e park (;: a playground for children)

B Cla ssi fy i ng

We found a b i rd's n est in the hedge (= the kind of nest made by a bird)

It was a man 's vo i ce lhat I h eard (;: a male voice)

C Th e p e r s on d o ing the a c ti o n

T h e man's r ep l y surp rised u.s

n'he man replied.)

The teac h er's actions I T lt e ac ti ons of I h e t eacher were criticIZe

D The pe r s on who the a ction i s dire c ted a t

E m ma ' s p ro m o ti o n is certainly well deserved

T h e p riso n e r 's re l ease I T il e re l ease of til e p r isoner has been welcom e

(They have rele sed the prisoner.)

175

N Ull::

WlIh things we !;enerally usc lhe of-stnJ( ; lllr{'

The relt'asc of tI,(' in/ormation ',as (;W(),lld a wll.la/ion

[ :'\0 1 the-irrjrwmrIliOJ(j Jt:IerNr- )

EQualities

The mall's stupidity I The stupidity of tire man is unbeliev£l/;lt ~

(The man is stupid.)

There an! douhts about the player's fit1less

(Is the player fit?)

:-:01"1::

For more cx mplp ~ like lhose in C-E, wlwl!;! a n 1.l11 phrase has a similar lTlt!anlng to il

clause, :> 257

135 Today's weather, an hour's journey, etc

A The posses~iv e form can express lime

Have we slill got yesterday's newspaper?

Next mOllth '5 ligures are expecwd to show an improvement

Next month's figures means 'the figures for next month', 'the ligures relating

to next month'

We cannOI usc a time of day

tIle three o'clock race {NUT three {j 'el tJe/t ' s .ll£e)

NOTE

SUI/day's newspaper IS tI llCWSP<1JlDr on one speci fi c SUlidil Y, s uch as IdSI Sunday"

Sw/t/(ty lWl/J),paper (V 'IthOlll UI1 npo!>lrophe) IS a n ' pe ur ncw~pilper one th ai appear s Oil Sunctay~

B The possessive form can also express length of timl~

1 76

The coast is half an hour's drive away

There ' s a whole year's work on this disk

W~ sometimes use a plural nOlln in the posse:,sive form

1' uouZ d like a few minUles' rest

We get just three weeks' holiday a year

NO II:

.l PI ~uplc whose first langua~c I~ English sometimes leilvt' (lut the aposlro phc espeual1y wuh plural nouns , e.g a [CUllIIllIutes rest, three lVet'}.;~ 1101/(Jay Bill SOllie people regard [Ill s olS a mi s take , so II is ~ rcr 10 w nte the apos~rophl"

h We c an also ~y a [our · hour JOllmey

136 At Soph ie's to the doctor's, etc

We can lise the possessive form without a following nOun when we talk about

someonc's home or about a particular kind of shop or office

We ' r e all meeting at Dave 's ( house /fl at)

Ther e's a police c ar outside rhe Hardil1gs' ( house l/la L )

1s th e re a baker's (sh op) ne a r h ere ?

I wa s sitti ng in the waiting -roo m at the dentist's

We can also use company names

I'm just going into resea's to buy same milk

But many companies leave out the apostrophe from Iheir names

Ther e ' s a Barclays Bank on th e un i versity ca mpus

' 137 Countable and uncountable nouns

A Countable nouns can be singular or plural: boat!s), book !s) , bus !es) , day!s ),

friend(s ) , man / men , photo es), probl e m (s) , l e am ( s) , tDwn (s) We use countable nouns for separate, individual things that we can count a boat, so m e books ,

three bu ses, etc Many countable nouns are concrete, e.g car(s), cha ir (s), shop ( s) But some art~ abstracl, e.g idea (s), s ilUation( s)

Uncountable nouns are neither Singular nor plural: air , butler , e lectricity , health , money, music, pea ce , water We usc uncounrable nouns for things thai

do not naturally divide into separate units Many uncountable nouns are

abstract, e.g violence, happiness , sec u r ity BUI some are concrete e.g sa nd , glue

An uncountable noun takes a singular verb, and we use thisl t/wt and il not

thes e/ those or they

This milk is off I'll pOllr it down the s ink

Many nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on how they are used, e.g I s i ce- dancing a sport? /I Uke sporl > 140

B There are grammatical differences between countable and uncountable

nouns For example, we can use an uncountable noun on its own, but a singular noun has to have a word like a or the

Uncountable: Water i s esse ntial for life

Countable: The boat l e v s al len o'clock

( NOT IlO" t- letwes-aH~ )

Some words go with both countable and uncountable nouns: t h e boal or th e wal er But some words go with only one kind 01 nOlln: a boa! but NOT- a - waler,

h ow many boar s, but how ml~ c h wa te r

177

These are the possible combinations

Singular PIUJal

Possessives our boat our boats our water

eac h /every each/every boat

Plural numbers twolthree boats

NOTE

a We can usc a plural or un coun tabl e noun on its own wllhout a determiner

Boals are su ppo se d to float on water

Rut we do not use a singular noun on its 0\\11 except in s pecial cases suc h as

news headlines

Boat sinks m storm

For other cOnlexts where we u se a sing u lar noun on u s own, > 1 59

b We orlCn us e all with another determiner suc h as tile , g (iii tile boats, > 169

138 The of-structure expressing quantity

A Here are some examples of the of-structure

178

We use lhis pattern to say how much flour or wood or how many matches or tomatoes We cannUl leave au( of (NOT t4 packe t jlvt4J)

We use the of-structure with uncountable nouns (j1our wood) because we cannot say a-jlotff or~ We use it with plural nouns (matches, tomatoes) because it is more convenient (0 express the quantity in boxes

or kilos

NOTE

A hoI ofmatc lles means so m e llung different frorn a matcllbox > 142B

139 Information, news, etc

B Before of + um.:ountable/plural nuun we can use these rypes of noun

Containers: a cup of coffee, a carlon of milk, a bottle of wine,

a jar of honey , a tin of bi scuits, a bag of pOlatoes

Measurements: three metres of mat er ial, thousands of lUres of waler,

a pint of beer , two kilos of apples

C Before of + uncountable noun we can also use piece and nouns of similar

meaning

a piece of land a slzeetJpiece/bit of pap er a lump/piece of earth/coal

a drop of water/milk/oil no trace of blood

For more examples wirh piece, bit, and item, > 139

For a bit 0[ > 167C , and for all 1I111OWIl 0[ > 166

D There are a number of nouns we can use with of + plural noun but not with oJ

A It is nO[ always clear from the meaning whether a noun is countable or

uncountable For example, information, news, and furniture are

uncountable

I've found oUl som e information for you (!';lOT ftt'i: infMtnalitm )

There was no news of the missing child (NO T TI1t!If u.ele /U' - ne~)

They had very little furn i tu.re ( NOT uery-/etrr{ttf'nfttxfa)

179

B

IHO

But we can often use pleces(s) of, iJil(s) oJ; and item( s) U/Wilh sUl:h lIouns

til e found OUl a piece of information for YOIi

Tiley had ve T }' few items of funriture

Here are some uncountable nouns whose equivalents may be countable in other languages Sometimes there is an alternative countable expression

cou ntry / through lov e ly cor.tntry / through a lov ely bit of

countrysidel countryside/scenery cau n t rylco II n tl) ' s ide /scenery scenery > Note b

damage/harm it did some damagellwrm

furniture we bought sortie fumilure we bough! some piecesl

items of furniture

health I enjoy good healtl!

homework students will! homework to students with a task!

l eisure J hU!Je hule leisure

'39 Information , news, etc

I had some good luck

ins calling some machinery

I heard some news

they left without permission increasing pollution I've made some progress

receiving lots of publicity

we've had some rain

we had nice weather

do some work> Note e

lightning

I had a piecelbitlstroke of luck

installing a machinela piece of machinery

I heard one piece!bit/item of news

seei ng lots of adverts we've had a shower (of rain)

doing a piece of research

my things are in the car

th ere was a cfap o/thunder

a queue of co.rslvehicles

work imJO/fJing journeys!

trips around the country

do a job

a We cannot use clothes in the singular or With a number We can say some clothes but

NOT -[ottr-dtJthes We say four it ems of clothing or four gnrmcnts

b Coumry is countable when It means 'nation', e.g all th e countries o/the world

c Damages m th e plural means 'money paid in compensation'

He received damages of £500,000 fur his injunes

d Land can be used as a countab l e nOun meaning a country or region

For the lmmigranrs, Ameri c a was (J lanel of 0PlJOrtunity

ThiS usc is rather literary

e Work can be countable in cenain meanings, e.g a work of art, the uJorks of

Shakespeare W o rks can also mean ·fa lory', ega s lt.>elllJOrks > 147C

181

140 Nouns that can be either countable or

uncountable

A Some nouns arc countable when they mean something separate and

The c hur c h was r eb uilt in slOne

B Animals, vegetables, and fruit are uncountable when we cut or divide them

Countable

buy a (w hol e) c hicken

Uncountable

put so me ch i c ken in th e sandwiches

a pizza with tomato

C The following nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on the

uncounlable noun has a more general meanjng

182

Countable

a sma ll busin ess ( = a company)

ha ving an interesting conversation

The US is a d e mocracy

a draw ing / painting (= a picture)

a gir l in a red dr ess

an intere s ting expe ri e nce

(= something that happens to you)

g las ses for r eadi ng > 148

a hair /s ome hair s 0 11 your swea t er

an iron (for pressing c1olhes)

He led a good life

a bedsi d e light (= a lamp)

wearing evening dr ess

(= having done the job for a time)

co mb your hair

tablet s co ntaining iron (a metal)

Life j u s t isn't jair, is it?

at ti le speed of light

140 Nouns that can be either countable or uncountable

Countable

a daily paper (= a newspaper)

my pape r s (:;;;- documents)

a property (= a building)

Chess is a game, not a sport

The meeting was a success

a tin of beans

Uncountable

some writ ing pap er

some property (:;;;- what you Dvm ) There's always sport on t elevision

I'm longing for fame and success where tin was mined (a metal)

rve been here lots of times befo re

It was a long and bloody war

I'm busy I haven't gOl much time

rue always been against war

NUrE

We can use alan with knuwledge and educatwn when (he meaning i s s p ecific

Ge neral : Knowledge is power The government should spend mure on education

Bur knowledge and educalion cannot be plural

D Nouns for feelings are usually uncountable

The animal was trembling with fear ,

Mlere there's life, there's hope

But some can be countable especially when the feeling is about something specific

a fear of dogs our hopes for the future having doubts about the decision all incense dislike of qf,tiz shows a longing to get away

Some nouns for feelings are singular as complement

Thanks very much , /t" ' s a pleasure

It seemed a pity to break up the party

These nouns are delight, pity, pleasure, relief, shame, and wonder

E Some abstract nouns can be used after alan or in the plural, but they can also

be used as uncountable nouns after some, any, a lot of, much, or little

We should have a choice / some choice in the matter

I haven't noticed any changes / any change in lhe sit uation

There haue been some criticisms / There's been some criticism of

the behaviour of the officials

The story failed to make an impact I made little impact on public opinion

Such nouns include: advantage, benefic, dlance, choice, change, commenc, crit ici sm, detail, difference, difficulty, effect, effort, idea impa c t, paim, reason, response

18 3

F When we order food or drink or talk about portions, we can use phrases like a juice and three coffees

I'll have an orange juice (:::: a glass of orange juice)

Three coffees, please (= three cups of coffee)

Two sugars for me (;: two spoonfuls of sugar)

This is a cheese I r eally like (= a kind of cheese)

There are lots of different grasses (= kinds of grass)

141 Two nouns together

A We often use one noun before another

a tennis club money problems a microwave oven

The first noun modifies the second It tells us something about it - what kind

For combinations with the possessive form, e.g the train's speed, > 133-134

B When two nouns come together, there are three different ways of writing them

With a hyphen: waste-bin, water-batik

As one word: armchair, website

There are no exact rules about whether we join the words or not or whether

we put a hyphen

C The stress is usually on the first noun -+ Audio

the ' tennis club a ma'ch ; ne gun the 'car park the 'fire alarm

But there are also combinations where the stress is on the second noun

a cardboa r d 'box the lOwn 'hall

There are no exact rules about stress, but for more details, > 142

D The first nOun is usuaJly singular, even if it refers to more than one

a vegetab l e garden a pictu r e gallery an eye test a bookcase

A vegetable garden is a garden where vegetables are grown

But there are exceptions

careers illformation the sales office a spo r ts shop

184