ESL Pointers

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ESL Pointers
Chapter Forty-five

• College Writing Skills, 6E and College Writing
  Skills with Readings, 6EJohn Langan

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Articles with Count and Noncount Nouns

• Articles are noun markers they signal that a
  noun will follow.
• There are indefinite articles and a definite
  article.

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Indefinite Articles

• The indefinite articles are A and AN.
• Use a before a word that begins with a
  consonant sound.
• EX. A car a piano a uniform
• Use an before a word that begins with a vowel
  sound.
• EX. An effort an office an honor

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The Definite Article
The definite article is
THE
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Articles

• An article may immediately precede a noun
• a smile
• the reason
• Or it may be separated from the noun by
  modifiers
• a slight smile
• the very best reason

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Count Nouns

• Count nouns name people, places, things, or ideas
  that can be counted and made into plurals.
• EXS.
• teacher-- teachers
• restroom-- restrooms
• joke-- jokes

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Noncount Nouns
Noncount nouns are things or ideas that cannot be
counted. Common noncount nouns include
Abstractions and Emotions anger, bravery
Activities baseball, jogging Foods
bread,cheese Gases and vapors air, smoke,
steam Liquids blood, tea, water Materials that
come in bulk form cloth, dust, sand Natural
occurrences rain, snow
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Qualifiers

• The quantity of a noncount noun can be expressed
  with a word or words called a qualifier
• Some, a lot of, a unit of, etc.

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Using a or an with Nonspecific Singular Count
Nouns

• Use a or an with
• singular nouns that
• are nonspecific.
• A noun is nonspecific
• when the reader
• doesnt know its
• specific identity.

Ex A left-hander faces special challenges with
right-handed tools.
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Using the with Specific Nouns
When its identity is suggested by the general
context At Willys dinner last night, the
service was terrible and the food was worse.

• A noun is specific in the following cases

When it has already been mentioned once Today,
our cat proudly brought a baby bird into the
house. Luckily the bird was still alive.
When it is identified by a word or phrase in
the sentence The pockets in the boys pants are
often filled with sand and dirt.
When it is unique There will be an eclipse of
the moon tonight.
When it is preceded by a superlative
adjective (best, biggest, wisest) The biggest
wish I have ever made just came true.
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Omitting Articles
Omit

• articles with nonspecific plurals and no
  count nouns, that is, when they refer to
  something in general
• Pockets didnt exist until the end of the
  1700s.
• Iris serves her children homemade lemonade.

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Using The with Proper Nouns

• Do Not use the for most singular proper nouns,
  including names of the following
• People and animals
• Continents, states, cities, streets, and parks
• Most countries
• Individual bodies of water, islands, and
  mountains.

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Using The with Proper Nouns

• Use the for the following types of proper nouns
• Plural proper nouns (The Turners The United
  States)
• Names of large geographic areas, deserts, oceans,
  seas, and rivers (The Black Sea)
• Names with the format the__ of___ (The Fourth of
  July)

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Subjects and verbs

• A particular subject can be used only once in
• a clause. Dont repeat a subject in the same
  clause
• by following a noun with a pronoun.

Incorrect The manager he asked Dmitri to
lock up tonight. Correct The manager asked
Dmitri to lock up tonight. Correct He asked
Dmitri to lock up tonight
Incorrect The girl who danced with you she is
my cousin. Correct The girl who danced with you
is my cousin.
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Including Pronoun Subjects and Linking Verbs

• Every clause, other than a command, must have a
  subject and a verb.

Incorrect The Grand Canyon is in Arizona. Is
217 miles long. Correct The Grand Canyon is in
Arizona. It is 217 miles long.
Incorrect Angelitas piano teacher very
patient. Correct Angelitas piano teacher is
very patient.
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Including There and Here at the Beginning of
clauses

• A linking verb, usually in the form of to be,
  follows the words there and here when they begin
  a clause. In these cases, the verb comes before
  the subject.

Remember not to omit there or
here! Incorrect Are several chickens
in the Bensons yard.
Ex. There are masks in every culture on Earth.
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Not Using the Progressive Tense of Certain Verbs

• Progressive tenses express actions or conditions
  still in progress at a particular time. They are
  made up of forms of be plus the -ing form of the
  main verb.
• Ex. George will be taking classes this summer.

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Not Using the Progressive Tenses of Certain Verbs

• Verbs for mental states, the senses, possession,
  an inclusion are normally not used in the
  progressive tenses.
• Incorrect All during the movie they were
  hearing whispers behind them.
• Correct All during the movie they heard
  whispers behind them.

Exs.
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Not Using the Progressive Tense of Certain Verbs
Common Verbs Not Generally Used In The Progressive
Thoughts, attitudes and desires agree, believe,
imagine, know, like, love, prefer, think,
understand, want, wish Sense perceptions hear,
see, smell, taste Appearances appear, seem
Possession belong, have, own,
possess Inclusion contain, include
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Using Only Transitive Verbs for the Passive Voice

• Only transitive verbs can have a passive form.
  Intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive
  voice.
• Incorrect If you dont fix those brakes, an
  accident may be happened.
• Correct If you dont fix those brakes, an
  accident may happen.

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Using Gerunds and Infinitives After Verbs

• A Gerund is the -ing form of a verb that is used
  as a noun, e.g., For Walter, eating is a daylong
  activity.
• An infinitive is to plus the basic form of the
  verb, e.g., to eat. It can function as an adverb
  , adjective, or noun.

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Following The Order of Adjectives
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. An
adjective usually comes directly before the word
it describes or after a linking verb. That is an
angry man. The man is angry.
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Typical Order of Adjectives in A Series

• If there is more than one adjective for the same
  noun, they follow this order

1. Article or other noun marker (a, an, the,
Lees, this. . .) 2. Opinion adjective (dull,
handsome, unfair. . .) 3. Size (big, huge,
little. . .) 4. Shape (long, short, round. .
.) 5. Age (ancient, medieval, old. . .) 6. Color
(blue, green, red. . .) 7. Nationality (Italian,
Korean, Mexican. . .) 8. Religion (Buddhist,
Catholic, Jewish) 9. Material (cardboard, gold,
marble) 10. Noun used as an adjective (house
call, tea bag. . .)
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Using the Present and Past Participles as
Adjectives

• A participle used as an adjective may precede the
  word it describes
• It may also follow the linking verb and describe
  the subject of the sentence
• Use the present participle to describe whoever or
  whatever causes a feeling
• Use the past participle to describe whoever or
  whatever experiences the feeling

That was an exciting ballgame.
The ballgame was exciting.
An embarrassing incident
The embarrassed parents
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Prepositions Used for Time and Place

• Use on, in, and at to refer to time and place.

Time On a specific day on Monday, on January
1 In a part of a day in the morning, in the
daytime In a month or a year in December, in
1776 In a period of time in an hour, in a few
days At a specific time at 1000 A.M., at
midnight
Place On a surface on the desk, on the
counter In a place that is enclosed in my room,
in the office At a specific location at the
mall, at his house