CHAPTER I 

BASIC SENTENCE CONSTITUENTS(GRAMMAR REVIEW)

 

PART 1   Parts of Speech 

Words are the basic elements of any language. Thanks to them we can express our thoughts and feelings and communicate them to others. Words in English can be classified into eight basic types or classes. These word classes are called parts of speech.

 

1.  Nouns     They may name persons, places, things, animals, ideas, and qualities.      They may be divided into four categories:

a.  Common nouns: bird, car, girl, university, etc.b.  Proper nouns: John, Mostaganem, Renault, Oxford, etc.c.  Abstract nouns: love, fear, beauty, sorrow, etc.d.  Collective nouns: group, team, herd, crowd, etc.

      They are also under three genders: 

Masculine Feminine Neuter

man woman table

uncle aunt cup

king queen box

actor actress photo

hero heroine train

manager... manageress... house...

male animal: he female animal: she unknown gender: it NoteA baby whose gender is unknown is referred to by the pronoun ‘it’.     This baby is crying. Perhaps it is hungry. Countries, ships, cars and other vehicles when regarded with respect or affection are considered feminine.     Algeria is beautiful and her people are nice.     The Titanic sank although she was considered unsinkable. Nouns that indicate occupation have the same form.     teacher, doctor, student, etc. However, we can make the distinction by using either ‘female / male or woman’.    There are twenty-three female students in my class.    I was examined by a woman doctor.

         They can be singular or plural: 

a. Most nouns form their plurals by adding the letter s:         cars, doors, markets,...b. Nouns that end with s, x, ch require an es for the plural: buses, boxes, matches,...c. Some words ending in f or fe form their plurals with      ves: wolf / wolves, knife / knives,...d. Some words ending in y form their plurals with ies:   city / cities, baby / babies, ...e. Many nouns have irregular plural forms:   child / children, mouse / mice, man / men,...f.  Latin and Greek words: phenomenon / phenomena,    crisis / crises, thesis / theses,...

 

      They can be countable or uncountable: 

a.       Countable nouns name anything (or anyone) that you          can count. When they are singular, they take the          singular form of the verb; when they are plural, they        take the plural form.                                                                   The table is broken, but the chairs are not. 

b.       Non-countable nouns do not have plural forms and        cannot be counted; they always take singular verbs.           Water is essential to life and oxygen is too. 

     They can function as subjects, complements, direct /         indirect objects, objects of preposition, appositives,…         Teachers offered the students some books.                     S                                      IO                      DO                                                                              Sample Exercises EXERCISE 1. List the nouns in the following sentences. The number in parentheses indicates how many nouns are in the sentence.  1.     The audience gave the young ice skater a standing ovation for his performance. (4)2.     Socrates, the philosopher, often argued with his followers about the nature of truth and beauty. (6)3.     Algeria exports a large quantity of oil. (3) EXERCISE 2. Fill in the gaps with nouns. More than one alternative is possible. 1.     Everybody admires his good………………2.     ……………….are dangerous.3.     .................... sold her old……………..to her..................