Advanced English Grammar

Exercise 10. (Chapter 3)

First decide which of the following pairs of nouns can best complete the following sentences. Then decide which of the two quantifiers combines with each noun, using plural forms whenever logical. In some cases, you will also have to decide which form of the verb to use.

word – vocabulary                                   cutlery – plate               slang – common expression

hotel – accommodation                         car – traffic                                   grammar – rule

1.         Learning (a little / a few) _______ goes a long way in increasing your understanding of how people actually use a foreign language.

2.         Careful, there {is / are } (very few / very little) _______ in that area of town, and most places will be fully booked by now.

3.         This language method – designed for total beginners – has been criticized for containing (far too much / far too many) _______ and not enough vocabulary.

4.         Students in beginning conversational German class are asked to learn (these / this) _______ for next week’s mid-term evaluation. Use your dictionary if necessary.

5.         There shouldn’t be (much / many) _______ on the motorway at this time of day. I’m sure I’ll be on time.

6.         There {has been / have been} (five / a lot of) dirty _______ lying in the kitchen sink for the past several days.

Exercise 11 (Chapter 3)

Read the excerpt below from L. Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland and answer the questions that follow.

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on ____ bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into ____ book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is ____ use of ____ book,’ thought Alice ‘without ____ pictures or ____ conversations?’

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for ____ hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether ____ pleasure of making ____ daisy-chain would be worth ____ trouble of getting up and picking ____ daisies, when suddenly ____ White Rabbit with ____ pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of ____ way to hear ____ Rabbit say to itself, ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at ____ time it all seemed quite natural); but when ____ Rabbit actually took ____ watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen ____ rabbit with either ____ waistcoat-pocket, or ____ watch to take out of it, and burning with ____ curiosity, she ran across ____ field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down ____ large rabbit-hole under ____ hedge.

(a)      Complete the blanks in the following excerpt with a(n), the or ø.

(b)      What can you say about this and that (in bold in the text)? Are they determiners are pronouns? What can you say about how they participate in nominal reference?

(c)      What is the function of the PrepPs with ____ pink eyes, with either ____ waistcoat-pocket, or ____ watch to take out of it and under ____ hedge (underlined in the text)?

Exercise 12. (Chapter 3)

Determine whether the indefinite NP underlined in each of the following sentences is generic or non-generic. If it is non-generic, further specify whether it is specific or non-specific.

1.         The meeting was interrupted by students.

2.         This study area is for students.

3.         Insurance for students is less expensive.

4.         Water has badly damaged this wall.

5.         Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen.

6.         This plant needs water.

7.         I wish I had a sports car.

8.         She drives a sports car.

9.         A sports car can reach 60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

10.    This game is designed for children.

11.    They want children.

12.    They have children.

13.    A doctor studies for years before opening a practice.

14.    There is a doctor on the plane.

15.    Is there a doctor on the plane?

Exercise 13. (Chapter 3)

First decide which of the following nouns best completes the first blank in the following pairs of sentences. The same noun will be used for each sentence in the pair. Then decide if both that and which can be used in the second blank, or if only that is possible. What does this tell us about the difference between a relative clause and an appositive clause? (See also)

suggestion        impression       discovery          knowledge       fear

1.     (a) The _______    _______ fire could be harnessed and tamed was a turning point in the history of our species.

(b)   The _______    _______ these scientists have made far exceeds the initial goals of the investigation.

2.     (a) A phobia is an irrational _______    _______ causes the person suffering from it to avoid the feared object or situation.

(b)   The _______    _______ others might be having positive experiences from which one is absent has been accentuated by the use of social media.

3.     (a) I’d like to discuss the _______    _______ I made at last month’s meeting, since it seemed at that time to generate some interest.

(b) The _______    _______ I might somehow be involved in the scandal is nothing less than preposterous.

4.     (a) The _______    _______ we are mortal is something that some people find terrifying, whereas others feel it helps to relativize.

(b)   The _______    _______ we are currently gaining in this area will have long-term ramifications on how the disease is treated.

5.     (a) Do you ever get the _______    _______ you’re falling when you slip into the state of sleep?

(b)   The _______    _______ you make on someone the first time you meet them is likely to stay with them for a very long time.

Exercise 14. (Chapter 3)

Although in reality there is variation concerning the absence or presence of commas in defining or non-defining relative clauses, careful English requires specific punctuation conventions to be respected. Decide in each of the following pairs which sentence is more likely to have a non-restrictive reading, and add the necessary punctuation.

1.     (a) Armand Williams whose career as an actor spanned more than 50 years died yesterday.

(b)   The customer whose luggage was lost in Milan would like to lodge a formal complaint.

2.     (a) The annual budget which the committee initially proposed has been significantly altered.

(b) The proposed budget which is untenable in the long term will surely be voted down.

3.     (a) Delegates who have not yet reserved a hotel room are urged to do so as soon as possible.

(b)   Ms. Crims who has not been to a single meeting has been asked to resign by the end of the year.