User talk:Anthony15h

Punctuation Here are three common structures:

SVO, fanboys SVO.

SVO, and SVO; SVO.

SVO, SVO, and SVO.

FANBOYS here stands for For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

He is a good student; he always finishes his assignments on time, and he always gets good grades in all the exams. He is a good student; he always finishes his assignments on time and always gets good grades in all the exams. She is beautiful; her eyes can speak, and her smile is the sweetest. She is beautiful, her eyes can speak, and her smile is the sweetest.

In fact, punctuation is easy to master if you understand these simple rules:

Use FANBOYS as frequently as possible. The highest level of separation is period (stop, full stop), exclamation mark, and guestion mark. Semicolon is second to stop ( full stop). And the most commonly used punctuation is comma. Remember what I said about comma-splices and fused sentences? One way to correct them is to join two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction. You're thinking, "Fine, but what are they?" Just think "FANBOYS" and you have every single one of them:

Sure it's silly, but it's easy to remember. Look at the following examples and pay attention to where the commas go:

He threw the Frisbee, and I caught it. I ran after the cat, but I couldn't catch it. He filled up her food bowl, yet she wouldn't eat. They wanted to go walking without me, so I gave them my saddest look. I scratched my ear, for there was a bug in it. The second kind of joiner is a little different. Like the "FANBOYS," it joins two main clauses, but it also works as a transition (that is, it shows a logical relation between them).

Probably the most common transitional joiners are: therefore and however.

SVO. However,/therefore, SVO. SVO; however, /therefore, SVO. SVO; (therefore,/however,) SVO. = SVO, fanboys SVO.

Others are: also, thus, in addition, otherwise, instead, as a result, meanwhile, on the other hand, and consequently.

With these, you have to watch your punctuation. You need a semicolon to separate the two main clauses and a comma after the joiner. (If you only use a comma between the two main clauses, you've created a comma-splice.)

I wanted to play in the backyard ; therefore, I went to the door. I scratched and barked ; however, I couldn't get his attention. Maybe he was working at the computer; on the other hand, he could have been asleep. These should give you the idea; however, remember that we're talking about joining two main clauses. Sometimes you'll find one of these transitional joiners used differently. For instance:

He wanted to play. I, however, wanted to sleep. Peggy always tries to eat my food. Doc, therefore, always puts it on the kitchen table when I'm not eating. Here, however and therefore do not join anything--they simply interrupt the flow of thought in the sentence. That's why they're only set off with commas.

Basic sentence structure Sentence structure presents several specific problems to ESL students. We have included some of the most difficult here:

Subject + Transitive Verb + Object + Object Complement (S+V+O+Co) Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (S+V+IO+DO) Subject + linking Verb + Subject Complement (S+link V+SCo) Subject + Verb (S+V) Subject + Verb + Object (S+V+O)

1. S + V + O + Co

This structure is very frequent in English and is problematic for ESL students because of the Complement that follows the Object. That Complement can be expressed by anything from an adjective, to a noun, to a dependent clause. It would most probably answer to questions such as “How?”, “What?”, “Do what?”.

We have selected some special verbs that will require particular attention and practice:

The verb 'make' followed by an adjective The verbs 'make, have, and let' followed by the short infinitive The verb 'find' The verb 'consider' Special verbs: elect, make, designate, appoint, name, nominate, announce

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1. Make

Make is one of the most used verbs in the English language and, with so many meanings, can lead to mistakes. In the Object followed by Complement structure, make sure that the Object is in the proper form when it is a pronoun (correct forms being: me, you, him, her, it, us and them). When it is a noun, do not be tempted to put prepositions or “that” in front of it. The Complement comes directly after the Object, so do not add conjunctions or “like”; if it is a full clause, pay attention to use the normal word order inside it. We have provided examples for some of the most common occurrences below, with typical mistakes in the brackets.

Make + Object (Noun, Pronoun) + Adjective/Noun

You make me crazy. (Wrong: You make me like crazy.) The delicious food made us hungry. The delicious food makes my mouth watering. (Wrong: The food makes watering my mouth.) A month of severe cold has made the old man weak. (Wrong: The cold has made for the old man weak.) Her decision made me disappointed. (Wrong: It made me disappointing.) The whole experience made me a man. (Wrong: It made me like a man.) Preparing for the TOEFL test had made us all tired. (Wrong: …made us tiring.) The test result makes the student sleepless at night. (Wrong: …makes that the student is sleepless…) The beautiful poems by Xu Zhimo always make me romantic about life. My dad always makes me feel angry.

The same kind of structure can be found with the verb “keep”:

Finishing that painting will keep her busy for the time being. Consistent good grades keep the parents happy. You shouldn’t keep the engine running. Make sth possible / make possible sth (Please note that when the Object is very complex, the second structure is correct)

Winning the lottery has made all this possible. Winning the lottery has made possible the most fabulous journey anyone could ever wish for. My father’s success in his business makes possible my dream of coming to Canada for my higher education. Passing the TOEFL test will make possible my dream of studying at UBC. Make it possible for sb to do sth / make it possible that (note that the first structure is an elegant equivalent to a “that” clause). Remember that the structure is: for whom to do what, and use the correct forms.

Good English makes it possible that I realize my dream. Good English makes it possible for me to realize my dream. My teacher’s help makes it possible for me to pass the test within a short time. Passing LPI early will make it possible for the students to go back to China. The rapid economic development will make it possible for China to be an economic power in the world. His father’s success in business made it possible for him to come to Canada for his higher education. (Wrong: …for he to come…) Always helping others will make it possible for me to go to heaven instead of going down to hell. up

2. Make, have and let

We need to make a distinction between the long infinitive and the short infinitive. The long infinitive is “to+verb” and the short infinitive is just the verb itself (without “to”). It is the form that you find in the dictionary when you look up a verb. In most complex sentence structures, when one verb is followed by another verb in the infinitive, the long infinitive is used.

He came to see me yesterday. I told her to come home immediately. We wanted you to have a better life. I would have liked very much to explain this to you in more detail. However, a certain number of verbs, when followed by an Object and a second verb, require the short infinitive. Pay attention to these verbs, as there is a common tendency to add ‘to” to the second verb, which is a mistake.

These verbs are: make, have and let. Note that the first two verbs have a causative meaning (similar to: get/ask sb to do sth or cause sth to be), while the last one is used for suggestion, permission or imperative. Study the examples below:

Your love makes me feel on top of the world. (Wrong: Your love makes me to feel on top of the world.) My first love four years ago made me feel like a silly boy. This song always makes me cry. The trust my parents have in me makes me go on with my English study. The policeman made him move his car from the sidewalk. (With a different verb: he asked him to move…) Please do not have me go around all day. Please do not make me go around all day. You can have Tom do it for you. (With a different verb: you can ask Tom to do it…) You may let him buy the car for you. (With a different verb: you may allow him to buy…) My father will not let me drive his brand new Porsche. (With a different verb: he will not allow me to drive…) Can you let them know that we are waiting in the lobby? Let’s go out and find something to eat. (no subject because in the imperative) The following verbs take either the short infinitive or the present participle after the Object: feel, hear, see and watch. The infinitive will emphasize that the action is complete. Study the pair of examples below:

They felt the earth move under them. I felt the car skidding. I heard him lock the door. She heard them shouting. He saw her enter the room, take out a document and leave quietly. I see him passing my house every day. We watched her drive off. I watched them rehearsing the play. Note that in the same kind of structure, help may be followed by a short or long infinitive:

My brother helped me (to) finish my homework. He helped us (to) push the car. up

3. Find

This is a verb that will follow the general pattern in sentences where the meaning is very close to consider:

I find grammar extremely easy, but listening extremely hard. I found her very talkative and extravagant. By using a variety of modern technologies, we find our life much more enjoyable than before. Do you find LPI more difficult than TOEFL? Note that the pattern above can be replaced by a that clause with the verb be: find that + Object +be (is, are) +Adj, as in:

Do you find that LPI is more difficult than TOEFL? Find can also appear in a structure that is more difficult for ESL students: find + it + Adj + verb (long infinitive). The Object is it and the starting structure was similar to the one above: a that clause with it and be. Compare these two sentences that have the same meaning:

We find it difficult to get visas. We find that it is difficult to get visas. (Also possible, but only when the complement is short, as in this case: We find getting visas difficult.) Obviously, the first sentence is more elegant and shows that you have mastered the more complicated structures of the English language. Note that it refers to the dependent clause starting with the long infinitive.

I find it necessary to improve my writing within a short time. (What is necessary for you? To improve…) International students find it hard to change their student status to that of immigrants.(What is hard for them? To change…) You may find it dangerous to walk in the eastern part of the downtown area at night. Do you find it difficult to live in Canada? Do you find that it is difficult to live in Canada? Does she find it hard to live here alone? Does she find that it is hard to live here alone? He found it easy to earn extra money by delivering newspapers. A similar structure can be found with the verb think:

He thought that it would be better to say nothing. He thought it better to say nothing.

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4. Consider

With the verb consider, the Complement can be either a noun or an infinitive (to be). The structure can always be replaced by a that clause (comparable to what we discussed above concerning find).

I always consider you as my best friends rather than as students. I always consider that you are my best friends. (regard/view you as my friends; think of you as my friends; look on/upon you as my friends) I always consider all my students my best friends. (Please pay attention to the word order.) I always consider my students to be my best friends. He considered her to be his guardian angel, while she believed him to be the most honest person in the world. As you can see, other verbs of knowing and thinking can be followed by Object + to be: assume, believe, feel, know, suppose, and understand. However, a that clause would be much more common:

She believed that he was the most honest person in the world.

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5. Elect, make, designate, appoint, name, nominate, announce, select, call

With these verbs that are very close in meaning, most of the mistakes students make consist in using the wrong form of the pronoun when it expresses the Object. Remember that the correct Object forms for the pronouns are: me, you, him, her, it, us and them. Do not use the Subject forms! Also, do not put extra prepositions in front of the verb.

I will make him the monitor of this class. (Wrong: I will make he like the monitor of the class.) The president appointed Mr. Johnson prime minister. The romantic proposal made her the happiest girl in the world. (Wrong: …made her in the happiest girl....) I now pronounce/announce you husband and wife. Her dream finally became true when they elected her mayor. The party congress nominated him their candidate for the Senate. Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband named their newborn baby Apple. (Wrong: …named to their newborn baby Apple.) At the trial, the lawyer called them the innocent victims. If you need to use the passive voice, make sure that you change the pronoun from the Object form into the Subject form:

In 1996, they elected Bill Clinton president of the US. Bill Clinton was elected president of the US in 1996. In 1996, they elected him president of the US. He was elected president of the US in 1996. The principal designated her monitor of the class. She was designated monitor of the class.

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2. S + V + IO + DO

There is always a lot of confusion among ESL students about the proper place of the Indirect Object (IO) in the sentence and the use of prepositions. This is due to the fact that two different structures are correct in most cases, one with and one without prepositions, and it is very easy to overlap the two. Here they are:

I gave the book to Tom. I gave the book to him. I bought the book for Tom. S + V + DO + to/for + IO  I gave Tom the book. I gave him the book. I bought Tom the book. S + V + IO + DO The most common mistakes are:

Wrong: I gave to Tom the book. I bought for Tom the book. Wrong: I gave the book Tom. I bought the book Tom. Wrong: I gave he the book. (Always remember to use the proper pronoun forms; not the Subject ones!) Another common problem appears when the Direct Object is a personal pronoun. In this case, the first structure (DO + to/for + IO) is the only one correct (there are a few exceptions to the rule, but just to play it safe, always put the pronoun as DO first).

I gave the book to Tom. I gave it to Tom. I bought it for Tom. S + V + DO + to/for + IO  Wrong: I gave Tom it. I bought Tom it. She sent the boys to the principal. She sent them to the principal. She sent them to him. Wrong: She sent to the principal them. She sent him them. Another rule of thumb is that when one of the Objects is a phrase or clause, it is best to have that Object last; and therefore you would be using the structure where that respective Object (Direct or Indirect) comes second. The reason is simple to remember: you wouldn’t put a long/complex Object in the middle of a sentence, would you? Let’s see some examples:

We kept seats for everyone on our list. (Not recommended: We kept everyone on our list seats.) I had to show my passport to the guard at the airport. (Not recommended: I had to show the guard at the airport my passport.) She told him the whole story. (Not recommended: She told the whole story to him.) Show me what you keep in that box. (Not recommended: Show what you keep in that box to me.) So what are the most common verbs that require your particular attention when using these two structures? We have two categories:

A.     V + DO + to + IO or V + IO + DO: award, bring, give, hand, leave (sth in a will), lend, offer, pass (= hand), pay, promise, read, write, sell, send, show, sing, take, tell, wish:

Please offer some cookies to the students. That university offered me a job. (Remember when you turn this into passive to use the Subject form of the pronoun: I was offered a job.) She gave a present to everyone in the room. Give me some advice, please! He would promise anything to his fiancée. My father promised me a Z4 for my birthday. He wished all the best to the people that had helped him. I wish you a very happy future. Wish me good luck! He wished her good night. Wish you good health and a prosperous 2007. They awarded the Nobel Prize to the famous Chinese team of researchers. The mayor awarded her a medal. He left his fortune to charity. My father left me his antique desk and typewriter. B.       V + DO + for + IO or V + IO + DO: book/reserve, build, buy, cook (bake, boil, fry etc.), fetch, find, get, keep, leave, make, order:

I booked tickets for the Dire Straits concert. He reserved me a room with a view. Don’t buy anything expensive for my birthday. He bought me the latest Audi. He built a Lego house for his little brother. He built the stallion a huge heated stable. She baked a cake for her daughter. He cooked her dinner. He forgot to leave a note for his mother. She left me the tickets on the kitchen table. The construction without preposition is preferred with a few verbs. Study the examples below:

She will make you a good wife. The book won him the Nobel Prize. His charitable work earned him a lot of praise. (Note that we can not turn these into passive.) He asked me a question. They asked me if I wanted to apply for the job.

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3. S + link V + SCo

The verbs that may be followed immediately by an adjective are called “linking verbs”, because they effectively link the subject of the sentence to the adjective. The adjective will describe the subject (whereas an adverb will describe the action of the verb). Compare the two examples below:

Adjective: His father looked angry. (=seemed, appeared; linking verb) Adverb: His father looked at him angrily. (= watched, regarded) You will notice that the adjective refers to how the person appears, not to what the person is doing. An easy way to check if we have a linking verb is to try and replace it by the verb be. If that is possible (the meaning will not be exactly the same, but close enough), then we have a linking verb and an adjective. If the replacement is not possible because most of the meaning would be lost, then we have an adverb.

The soup tastes good. The soup is good. I tasted the soup carefully because it was still hot. Why is this distinction important? Because a typical mistake is using an adverb for an adjective, or an adjective for an adverb. Here are the most common linking verbs (note that some of them are not always linking verbs; remember to try and replace the specific verb with be) that can be followed by the so-called Subject Complement:

feel, smell, sound, taste, appear, seem, look, become, get, turn, grow, go  be, remain, keep, lie, prove wrong/to be wrong/a mistake The Subject Complement is usually expressed by an adjective; sometimes it can be a gerund or a participle used as adjective, or a noun. Let’s see some examples with adjectives (Subject Complements) and adverbs and common mistakes:

You are very happy today. She is singing happily. (Wrong: You are very happily. She is singing happy.) The little girl seemed cheerful. She smiled cheerfully. (Wrong: She seemed cheerfully. She smiled cheerful.) I feel good today. She speaks English so well. (Wrong: She speaks English so good.) “I feel well today.” – is only correct if it means “not sick”; it is not correct if it means “happy”. Your lunch smells good but does not taste good. The theatre got quiet when the conductor entered. Please remain quiet. The students sat quietly in their seats. The weather is getting warmer and warmer every day. They welcomed him warmly. The room grew dark as the night approached. (Wrong: The room grew darkly…) Canada lies north of the US. He lies comfortably in his bed. The chair looks comfortable. He was proven wrong. They accused him wrongly. And a few other examples with the Subject Complement:

You are right. You seem right. You seem to be right in that. I became more and more bored as the time passed. What (=the thing that) I missed was priceless. He kept complaining. He has proven a big liar. He has proven to be a big liar. To survive such harsh conditions was not easy.

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4. S + V

Even a simple structure such as Subject + Verb can create problems for the ESL student, especially when the verb is intransitive. There is a tendency to try and put them in a passive form. Some especially difficult sentences are the ones that contain the verbs occur, happen, take place, belong to:

Something occurred. (Wrong: Something was occurred. There is something happened.) A strange thing happened last month. (Wrong: A strange thing was happened last month. There was a strange thing was happened last month.) The wedding took place last fall. (Wrong: The wedding was taken place last fall.) There was something happening in the village last week. (Wrong: There was something happened…) These books belong to me. (Wrong: These books are belonged to me.) We all agreed to do it. (Wrong: We were all agreed to do it.) They arrived at their destination on time. (Wrong: They were arrived at their destination…)

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5. S + V + O

The simple structure would be represented by: Noun/Pronoun + Verb (transitive) + Noun/Pronoun, as in:

I love you. They found the treasure. The kids liked the movie. My mother needs them. He wants a Ferrari. This structure seems easy enough. But people make lots of mistakes because they are tempted to add prepositions to the Object:

I resemble my dad. (Wrong: I resemble with /like my dad.) They luckily survived the car accident. (Wrong: They luckily survived in the car accident.) The teacher repeated the question. (Wrong: The teacher repeated with the question.) The college canceled the test. (Wrong: The college canceled of the test.) The boxes contained old photographs. (Wrong: The boxes contained of old photographs.) Our team won the soccer game. (Wrong: Out team won in the soccer game.) The structure becomes more complex when the Subject and the Object are expressed by something else than a noun or pronoun (such as: to do, doing, or a noun clause):

In English, we can find that both the subject and the object of a sentence can be classified into the same five types.

Noun/Pronoun/Infinitive/Gerund/N-clause + Verb (transitive) + Noun/Pronoun/Infinitive/Gerund/N-clause

Look at the following sentences paying attention to how the Subject and/or the Object are expressed. Try to think of more examples.

What I am is not what I was. What I lost (= the thing that I lost) was a diamond ring given to me by my fiancé. That I love her is already known to my parents. It is already known to my parents that I love her. My parents already know that I love her. To get out of there involved digging. To get out of there involved that we had to dig ourselves out. He asked to be left alone. She wanted to eat. I enjoy seeing you. I look forward to meeting you. To keep healthy means to eat/eating a lot of fruit and vegetables every day. To recover the treasure was their dream. To recover his honor was what he had been trying to do all these years. Seeing is believing. Crying is the baby’s response to hunger and thirst. Writing everything down means that you will not forget about it. They continued to study hard even after the test. That he came all this way proves that he still respects his father. A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement Subject-Verb agreement

The following are key rules of Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular subjects

When the following words are used as subjects, they are always singular. Some of these words are plural in meaning, but they always require singular verbs.

Everyone         someone       anyone       no one       each

Everybody       somebody     anybody      nobody      either

Everything      something     anything     nothing      neither

Everyone is here.

Neither of these books is very new.

When each or every comes before singular subjects joined by and, a singular verb is required.

Every man and woman is eligible to vote.

Each student and teacher has a locker.

Introductory it is singular and always followed by a singular verb.

It was the dogs that awakened me.

It is his grades that worry him.

Words that come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject. Prepositional phrases often have this position.

The man in addition to/ together with/along with/ as well as/ his ten children> is leaving soon. Everyone except him has a book. The teacher along with his students is viewing a film. One of the most enjoyable parties was given by Helen. There, here and where are never subjects (except in a sentence like this one!). When a sentence begins with one of these words, the subject comes after the verb. There are no dogs in this neighborhood. Here is the news. Where are the results of the experiments? Plural subjects

Subjects joined by and or both…and…take a plural verb.

A red Honda and a blue Ford are parked outside. Both Xiao Wand and Xiao Zhang are coming. Several, many, both, few are plural words and always take a plural verb.

Both are going to attend the University of Edinburgh. Only a few have passed the exam. Some nouns are always plural in form and always take a plural verb.

Clothes: trousers, pants, jeans Tools: scissors, pliers, tweezers Abstract: riches, thanks, means However, some of them are followed by a singular verb when used in expressions such as “a pair of …”, “a word of…” etc. His pants are still at the cleaner’s. But: That pair of pants is dirty. Your thanks are enough for me. But: A word of thanks is enough. Alternatives

When subjects are joined by the following structures, the verb must agree with the closer subject.

Neither the students nor the teacher is allowed to smoke. Either the teacher or the students have your books. Not only the nurses but also the doctor is coming soon. Many words may be singular or plural depending on what they refer to : none, all, some, any, majority, most, half, etc. when these words are followed by a prepositional phrase, the number of the object of the preposition will determine whether the words are singular or plural. All of the book has been destroyed. (=the whole book) All of the books have been thrown away. All of the money is in bank. The expression “a number of” is plural, and the expression “the number of” is singular. A number of students were missing from class. The number of Mexican students in class is small. Unusual singular subjects

Expressions stating one amount of time, money, weight, volume, etc. are plural in form but take a singular verb.

Two weeks is enough for a nice vacation. Five hundred dollars is required as a down payment. Ten extra pounds is a lot to lose in a week. Twenty gallons of gasoline costs a lot of money. Some words are always plural in form but singular in meaning. These words require singular verbs. Academic subjects: mathematics, physics, economics, statistics, civics… Mathematics is a difficult subject. The news was very good. Titles of books and movies, even if plural in form, takes singular verbs. The New York Times is a good newspaper. Star Wars was a good movie. The word "news" The news you are bringing is excellent. Certain diseases: mumps, shingles... Shingles is a disease showing in adults that never had chickenpox. Certain games: billiards, darts, dominoes... Billiards is a fun game. Singular and plural subjects with the same form

Collective nouns are usually singular but may be plural if the members are functioning independently. Watch the pronouns for clues to the singular or plural nature of the subject, some of these words are class, team, police, committee, audience, family, faculty, etc.

That class has its final test on Friday.

The class are working on their individual projects today.

Some nouns use the same form for both singular and plural meanings. The pronouns and modifiers with these words will indicate whether they are singular or plural in meaning. Always with “s”: species, series, etc. Never with "s": sheep, deer, etc.

That species is rare.

Those species are common.

That deer is young.

Those deer are old.

Nouns for nationality that end with-ese, -ch, or –sh may be singular or plural depending on their meaning. Some of these words are Chinese, French, English, etc. When the word refers to a language, it takes a singular verb. When the word refers to the people of the country, it takes a plural verb and is preceded by the article “the”.

French is a Romance language. The French are romantic. English is spoken in the US. The English love tea. Special plural forms; countable and uncountable (non-count) nouns

English has borrowed words from other languages. Some of these words have unusual singular and plural forms.

Origin  Singular   Plural   Examples

Greek    -is        -es       basis (bases); crisis (crises)

Greek    -on       -a         criterion (criteria); phenomenon (phenomena)

Latin (m)  -us     -i         radius (radii); alumnus (alumni)

Latin (f)   -a       -ae       alga (algae); vita (vitae)

Latin (n)   -um    -a        datum (data); medium (media)

Latin     -ix/-ex   -ices     index (indices - in math; indexes - in books); appendix (appendices)

The algae in the pool are hard to move.

The radius of the circle is two inches.

The plural of compound nouns:

the last word is made plural: boyfriends, break-ins, travel agents

words made of initials take -s directly (wrong: 's): VIPs, MPs, UFOs

with man and woman, both parts are made plural: men drivers, women drivers

the first word is made plural when there is an adverb or preposition following: lookers-on, runners-up, brothers-in-law, ladies-in-waiting

Uncountable nouns: cannot be counted and have only a singular form (can not be preceded by a/an/one, and do not take -s at the end!). There are some expressions of quantity which we can only use with uncountable nouns: a little, much, a great deal of. To show a certain quantity, we can also use: some, a lot of, plenty of, most, a piece of, etc. Here are the most common categories of uncountable nouns:

whole groups of things made up of similar items: equipment, food, luggage, furniture, garbage, jewelry, mail, makeup, money, cash, change, etc.

names of substances: fluids (water, coffee, tea, milk, blood), solids (ice, bread, butter, gold, cheese, wood), gases (steam, air, smoke), particles (rice, corn, dust, salt, sugar)

abstract nouns (lots of them ending in -ity, -ness, -ship, -ment): beauty, fun, happiness, honesty, friendship, enjoyment, knowledge, intelligence, justice, progress, advice, time, space, work, grammar, vocabulary, etc.

languages: Chinese, Arabic, English, Italian, etc.

fields of study: chemistry, literature, psychology, engineering, etc.

recreation: baseball, soccer, chess, bridge, etc.

gerunds: driving, studying, walking, drawing, etc.

natural phenomena: weather, rain, snow, wind, sunshine, darkness, electricity, gravity, etc.

He eats five/many apples every day.

He eats a lot of food every day.

Did you bring your luggage? Yes, but a piece of luggage was lost.

I earn very little money. Did you count the money in the drawer? (Wrong: ... count the moneys...)

She didn't use much sugar in the pie, but she used a great deal of salt.

I need three pots of jam for this recipe. (Wrong: I need three jams...)

We played two games of soccer. I like soccer. I don't like old movies.

Some of the uncountable nouns above can be used in a particular sense and are then countable:

The victim's hair was a striking dark red color, and the police found three hairs on the chair upholstery that matched her color. (= three strands of hair)

I love beer. I always drink one or two beers during the hockey game. (= one or two cans of beer)

Let's go for a coffee. (= a cup of coffee)

We usually drink red wine, but we sometimes enjoy a good white wine. (= a bottle of/a certain white wine)

Determiners
Determiners Let's start our discussion about determiners by a simple word group that creates lots of problems for ESL students: the "no" word group. Here, please remeber this general rule:

NONE, NOBODY, NO ONE, and NOTHING are nouns,

NO is an adjective, and

NOT and Never are an adverb,

Here are two examples:

I do not have (any) Canadian currency.

I have no Canadian currency.

Remember that in English a negative sentence can only have one negative expression in it. So with negative words such as: no (adj.), never, none, nobody, no one, nothing, the verb is in the affirmative.

Not can be a determiner only when in parallel with but, in the following type of structure:

We need not one, but two. I enjoyed not only the movie, but also the dinner afterwards.

None is a pronoun, not an adjective:

Do you have any money? I have no money. I have none.

Nor is used instead of neither or in parallel wit it.

I didn't cram enough for the exam. Nor / Neither did I. (When a negative word begins a sentence, the subject and verb are usually inverted.)

Neither English nor French is easy.

Now that you are experts with the negative modifiers/determiners, let's move on to other determiners.

A noun phrase is made up of a noun preceded by one or more modifiers (words that describe nouns, giving them a little different meaning: a bright student / the two lazy students).

All the girls were crazy about the handsome, clever, athletic, smiling Kevin.

Among modifiers, we distinguish two groups: the so-called adjectives of quality (beautiful, fat, heavy, round, etc.) and the determiners.

The adjectives of quality can come either just before the noun, or after a link verb (see under Basic sentence Structure - 3.Subject+Link Verb).

The determiners are only attributive, which means they can only come in front of a noun. Also, if there are any adjectives of quality in the noun phrase, the determiners will come first.

Therefore, the word order in an extended noun phrase will be the following:

Determiner + Determiner + Modifier (quality) + Modifier (quality)... + Noun

The determiners include several groups:

articles: the, a, an

demonstrative adjectives: this, that, these, those

possessive adjectives: my, your, his, etc; other possessives: John's, the writer's, the baker's, etc.

quantitative adjectives: some, any, no, little, many, a lot of, one, two, three, etc.

interrogative adjectives: which, what, whose

distributive adjectives: each, every, either, neither, nor, etc.

Let's see some examples and special problems:

1. Articles

I want to go to a university close to home / to a European university. (Wrong: ...to an university... / to an European university.)

I waited for an hour / one hour / for a whole hour.

I have a brother. I have one brother (and two sisters).

He did a grammar exercise; you can see how he solved the exercise in his book.

2. Demonstrative adjectives

The only adjectives that agree with their nouns in number.

This / That classroom is for computer use. The classroom is equipped with five computers.

These / Those classrooms are for reading practice. The classrooms are rather big.

3. Possessive adjectives

Remember that they refer to the possessor and not to the thing possessed.

Jim's mother = his mother   Jane's mother = her mother    The girls' mother = their mother the dog's tail = its tail (Wrong: it's tail) Do not forget that when there is no possessive, we do not use 's after a noun! It is just a plural noun, so add -s directly. You would be surprised how often even native speakers make this mistake!

It's the student's book.(= his book) The student's here. (student's = student is) The students are here. Please tell the students to come in with their books. (Wrong: ...tell the student's to...their book's.) 4. Quantitative adjectives

Have a cookie. Have some cookies. You can have one cookie before dinner. He had a lot of cookies. He didn't have many cookies. Would you like some wine? We don't have any beer. We have no beer. We don't have much wine. A / one hundred years ago people were still trading furs here. It was discovered hundreds of years ago. I have one thousand, one hundred and forty dollars left. I have two tall pretty clever sisters. He is my one old friend./ He is an old friend of mine. 5. Interrogative adjectives

Which students are you talking about? (Wrong: Who / What students are you talking about? Note: try to avoid using what adjective for people.) What / Which country do you come from? Whose book is that? (Wrong: Whom book is that?) 6. Distributive adjectives

The HQ sent three cops. Each cop had his instructions. (= They all have their instructions, but each cop is considered individually.) The teacher told his students, "Every student has to answer each question". (Every student = all students, as a group; each question = all questions, but considered individually) I tried to talk to both of them, but neither boy spoke English. (= not one and not the other. Note: the verb is affirmative singular.) Neither the French nor the German boy speaks English. I'm giving her either a necklace or a bracelet for her birthday. (= any one of two) Either gift is good. Either of these jewelry items is good. I haven't bought either of them yet.

Clause Reduction
Clause Reduction Adjective clause Reduction

Adjective clauses are dependent clauses that are used like adjectives to describe a noun or indefinite pronoun (someone, everything). They have a subject and a verb but do not form complete sentences. The adjective clauses are introduced by so-called clause markers (they refer to the noun/pronoun they follow). The most common markers are: who, whom (only for people), that, which, whose.

The test that you will be writing has three parts. The test that is in front of you has three parts. Anybody who finishes this test can go to the next one. The paintings that/which we saw were not valuable. The student whose girlfriend is in the hallway has just passed the test. In adjective clauses, the subject and the verb of the clause may sometimes be omitted, resulting in a phrase (an adjective, infinitive or participial phrase). It is often difficult for the ESL student to decide if the omission is possible and if the resulting sentence is correct. Try to reduce the five examples above. Was it easy? Did you find out that the only ones you could reduce by omitting the subject and the verb were the second and the third?

The test in front of you has three parts. (the S and V were omitted) Anybody finishing this test can go to the next one. (the S and V - who finishes - were omitted and replaced with a present participle) Maybe you thought that the fifth example could also be reduced to:

The student in the hallway has just passed the test. Even if this is a grammatically correct sentence, it has a different meaning; in our example, the girlfriend is in the hallway; in the reduced sentence, the student is in the hallway.

Sounds complicated? It shouldn't be if you remember this very simple rule:

When the clause marker (who, which, or that) is the subject of the adjective clause, omission is possible. (Not possible with whom or whose, because the subjects are different.)

How do you know if the clause marker is the subject of the adjective clause? A simple check: is it immediately followed by the verb? Then it's a subject! Is it followed by a noun/pronoun and then the verb? Then it's not a subject!

The test that you will be writing has three parts. (that + pronoun = that is not the subject; no reduction possible) The test (that is) in front of you has three parts. (that + verb = that is the subject; you can do the reduction) (Of course you have noticed that in the first sentence the marker that can be omitted, that's a different thing: you can sometimes omit just the marker when it is not the subject.)

As you may have noticed, there are two ways of doing the reduction. We have tried to simplify the rules again for you:

1. When the marker (subject) is followed by the verb be, both the marker and be (in whatever form) are omitted, and the rest stays exactly the same. It makes no difference if be is a main verb or an auxiliary or if the clause also contains an adjective, a noun, a preposition or another verb.

The little girl, who was as beautiful as an angel, was Xun Zhou. The little girl, beautiful as an angel, was Xun Zhou. (Keep the commas just like in the adjective clause.) I read a short story by Alice Munro, who is a famous Canadian writer. I read a short story by Alice Munro, a famous Canadian writer. The notebooks which are on the table belong to Josh. The notebooks on the table belong to Josh. The student who is talking to Frank is from China. The student talking to Frank is from China. The adjective clauses that had been introduced by the teacher were very difficult. The adjective clauses introduced by the teacher were very difficult. (The full form of be was omitted.) The pilot that will be flying tomorrow will be the same as last week. The pilot flying tomorrow will be the same as last week. Vegetables that are fresh taste better than old, soft ones. Fresh vegetables taste better than old, soft ones. (The single adjective takes its normal position in front of the noun. Wrong: Vegetables fresh taste better than old ones.) 2. When the marker (subject) is followed by a different verb than be, the marker is omitted and the verb changed to its -ing form (present participle).

He is the man who takes charge of the department. He is the man taking charge of the department. That grammar book which contains a lot of examples is very useful. That grammar book containing a lot of examples is very useful. The house that overlooked the lake was designed by a great architect. The house overlooking the lake was designed by a great architect. (note: even if the verb was in the past tense, we still use the present participle, as per our rule) Any student who does not want to take the test should inform the teacher in a couple of days. Any student not wanting to take the test should inform the teacher in a couple of days. (note: not will be used to express the negative) There are a few exceptions to the rules above (of course!) and typical mistakes that require particular attention. When the verb be is in the future tense, sometimes it is not omitted, but replaced with the long infinitive, to be, when the future meaning and intention would be otherwise lost:

The person who will be elected the next president of the United States will not be George W. Bush. The person to be elected the next president of the United States will not be George W. Bush. The person who will be my future Mr. Right is studying at U of T right now. The person to be my future Mr. Right is studying at U of T right now. Here are some frequent mistakes:

I can help anyone who wants to learn English. (Wrong: I can help anyone who he wants to learn English.) I can help anyone wanting to learn English. (Wrong: I can help anyone who wanting to learn English.) A myth is a story that expresses traditional beliefs. (Wrong: A myth is a story expresses traditional beliefs.) A myth is a story expressing traditional beliefs. (Wrong: A myth is a story that expressing traditional beliefs.) There is an old legend that is told among the natives about an eagle and a bear. There is an old legend told among the natives about an eagle and a bear. (Wrong: There is an old legend telling among...) The exercise which consists of drills is very boring. (Wrong: The exercise which it consists of drills is very boring.) The exercise consisting of drills is very boring. (Wrong: The exercise consisted of drills is boring.)

Adverb Clause Reduction

Similar to the adjective clauses discussed above, adverb clauses are dependent clauses that function like adverbs to define a verb. They may appear at the beginning of a sentence (and usually separated by a comma) or at the end. The most common clause markers (also called subordinating conjunctions) that introduce the adverb clauses are:

indicating time: after, before, as, when, while indicating concession: although, even though, despite, in spite of indicating cause and effect (reason): because, as, so, since indicating purpose and result: so that, such that, in order that, so that indicating manner: as, as though, just as, like indicating place: where, wherever, everywhere indicating condition: if, even if, provided, unless Here are some examples:

After they solved the grammar exercise, the students wrote an essay. Despite the fact that he didn't know the answer, he kept smiling. Because he lacks practice, he will not succeed. I like to live on campus so that I don't have to buy a car. She was angry today just as she had been all week long. Everywhere he showed up, people cheered. They cannot come to the party unless they find a limo. Most of the things discussed for adjective clauses will have an equivalent with the adverb clauses. The subject and the verb of the clause may sometimes be omitted, resulting in a phrase (clause marker/conjunction + adjective/participle/preposition). Try the same exercise: to reduce the seven examples above.

Only the first three could be reduced:

After solving the grammar exercise, the students wrote an essay. Despite not knowing the answer, he kept smiling. Lacking practice, he will not succeed. As you probably noticed, only the clauses expressing time, concession, and reason could be reduced (So do not try it for purpose, manner, place, condition). The main rule from above still applies:

When the subject of the adverb clause is the same as the subject of the main clause, omission (of subject+verb of the clause) is possible. However, the clause marker (conjunction) stays in place.

Ever since he finished school, Sam has been working for a computer company. (same subject) Ever since finishing school, Sam has been working for a computer company. (same meaning) After Sam finished school, his father moved to Canada. (different subject: Sam finished school, then his father moved to Canada.) After finishing school, his father moved to Canada. (different meaning: His father finished school, then his father moved to Canada.) The two ways of reducing the clause apply again:

1. When the subject is followed by the verb be, both the subject and be (in whatever form) are omitted, and the rest stays exactly the same.

Once he had been challenged to take the TOEFL test, James wouldn't stop learning. Once challenged to take the TOEFL test, James wouldn't stop learning. While I was watching the movie, I fell asleep. While watching the movie, I fell asleep. He visited many scenic spots while he was in France. He visited many scenic spots while (being) in France. (Both reductions are correct when be is not followed by another verb.) He only slept 5 hours a day when he was happy. He only slept 5 hours a day when (being) happy. While she was away in Vancouver, she e-mailed home every day. While (being) away in Vancouver, she e-mailed home every day. He never cries when he is bullied. He never cries when (being) bullied. Though/although/even though he was an idiot, he worked hard and passed the TOEFL test. Though/although/even though (being) an idiot, he worked hard and passed the TOEFL test. (The structure "conjunction + noun" is generally not acceptable, but "though/although/ even though + noun" is ok.) 2. When the subject is followed by a different verb than be, the subject is omitted and the verb changed to its -ing form (present participle).

He only slept 5 hours a day when he visited France. He only slept 5 hours a day when visiting France. Before I left for Canada, I visited my grandparents. Before leaving for Canada, I visited my grandparents. After he had called her, he started having second thoughts. After calling her/After having called her, he started having second thoughts. (Both reductions have exactly the same meaning.) Here are some examples of special cases where the clause marker is omitted:

Some clause markers can also be omitted in special cases. The conjunction while can be omitted in the reduced clause if it is at the beginning of the sentence, before an -ing verb.

While we were hiking on Grouse Mountain, we saw a cougar. While hiking/Hiking on Grouse Mountain, we saw a cougar. (The meaning is exactly the same.) The conjunction because is always omitted in the reduced clause:

She wrote home because she needed more money. Needing more money, she wrote home. Because she was unable to understand the letter, she asked her teacher to translate it. Unable/Being unable to understand the letter, she asked her teacher to translate it.

Killer Words 80
Killer Words 80 Essay writing golden rule:

Use Action verbs instead of State verbs. Eliminate words that are most frequently used in spoken English such as, get, have, there be, a lot of, many, and much. Therefore, we strongly recommend our students to use the following sets of words.

Accelerate/speed up/shorten

The car has been accelerated to 120 km an hour. Attending this intensive TOEFL prep program has greatly accelerated my language learning process.

The economic reform has immensely sped up China’s modernization. The Internet/ modern technology has immensely accelerated/ sped up our pace of life. The arrogance of that country has accelerated its way downhill. Using the car has accelerated our pace of life. Facilitate/convenience/enable/allow/permit

The computer has greatly facilitated language teaching. The Internet has greatly facilitated the gathering /collection /transmission of information. Fluent/Good English/ good essay writing skills will definitely facilitate my future higher education. Networking has enabled/made possible the sharing of information among several computers. You are permitted to study/to stay in Canada. Sky train is convenient, and it enables me to go to school quicker. I like to buy bread at the convenience store. I love modern conveniences: computers, microwave ovens, etc. His timely help has facilitated my preparation for the dinner party.

His timely help has facilitated my getting the job. His timely help has facilitated my escape from the embarrassing situation. Seven Eleven convenience stores, scattered everywhere in the city, have greatly facilitated people’s daily life. The airplane has greatly facilitated trans-continental travel. Achieve/reach/accomplish/realize

Good reading comprehension and writing skills help us easily achieve/reach our goal for higher education. If I do not work hard now, I will achieve nothing during my stay in Canada. Thinking back, I have achieved a lot here in FELC. You can achieve great success by following our golden rules. I hope to realize/accomplish my dream of going to the top Canadian university. I will carry out my plan of beating ETS no matter what. He reached the top ten. Acquire knowledge = accumulate knowledge = learn a great deal = Develop the ability of doing sth.

obtain gain earn win achieve

Adapt oneself to

You must adapt yourself to the rules that we have here. It is hard to become adapted to a new country. He is adapting himself to learning English in a new way.

Allow

We are not allowed to talk loudly at night. Amaze interest surprise intrigue charm bore

I am amazed by his speech.

We are amazed at his eyes/impudence/progress in English.

fgffg is boring/bored

Announce

The minister announced Tom and Alice husband and wife.

Appear

The rainbow appeared/showed up in the sky after the rainstorm.

You appear tired.

You appear/seem/look puzzled by what I said.

He appeared in front of the judge/in court.

I don’t like your appearance/the way you look.

Appoint Elect, make, designate, name, nominate, announce, select, call

The government appointed him the president.

We name our lovely dog Winter.

Now I announce you husband and wife.

We all call him living Einstein.

Award

The president awarded the winner a gold medal.

Afraid of

Be/become aware of/that

Be/become unaware of/that

Beware of /that

Everyone need to be aware of our weak points.

Be composed of=comprise =consist of=be made up of

The country is composed of 30 provinces.

Become/be

He has become famous after he published his first novel.

Belong to

That book belongs to me.

Buy

They tried to buy me.

They tried to buy me something expensive.

Capable

He is a capable teacher because all of his students love his class.

He is capable of anything.

Consider/regard/view/think of/ look upon/treat

The elders consider waste as a crime.

Constitute

Seven days constitute a week.

Contribute to

The government contributed food and clothing for the relief of the poor

Frequent absence from classes contributed to his failure in the exam.

Be dedicated to/be devoted to

A dedicated musician spent all his life in music.

He dedicated his entire life to the cause of crime prevention.

Despite/in spite of/even/however/even though/ though/ although/even if/but

Everyone has to obey class etiquette, even the teachers. Despite the bad weather, we decided to continue our plan.

Disappointed/interested/bored

He is disappointed that he did not pass the exam.

Earn/

He earned twenty dollars from one hour work.

Earn respect/ I did not use my dad’s money, and I earn every penny with my own hands.

Effort

He works very hard, so he has a great effort in his work.

Make an effort to arrive promptly.

without effort

put more effort into

Enable/allow/give

A bird's wings enable it to fly.

Endangeró be in danger

The pollution endangers the existence of wildlife.

The giant panda is in danger of extinction.

Noun: with the endeavor to = with attempt to=with the effort to= in struggle for

Verb: endeavor to do= attempt to do= try to do =strive for a better life

The government endeavored to improve the quality of life in the inner city.

Expose oneself to

The parents exposed their children to classical music.

You should expose yourself to Canadian culture instead of hiding yourself in the Chinese circle.

Familiarize/be familiar to/be familiar with/ be foreign to

He familiarizes the technology of the computer.

I am familiar with his ways of doing things.

His ways of doing things are familiar/foreign to me.

Find

I found this situation very annoying.

I found the situation very embarrassing.

I find it hard to improve my vocab.

Frustrating/interesting/boring

The bad weather frustrated our plan.

Getèobtain, acquire, gain, earn, win, achieve

He is using a new medicine, so he is gaining his health.

Give

He gave his mother a present.

Happen/occur/take place

Have: with, own, possess, undergo/experience/go through

Help Can you help me with that problem.

They reached out and helped me out of the trouble.

Identity

We all should keep our Chinese identity.

Everyone needs an identity card.

Keep/maintain/remain

The seller must keep their smile.

Maintain a high grade

Superintendents maintain buildings

Leave

Leave me a note

Get out and leave me alone.

Let/have/make

Please let me go.

Please make me free

Lets have a party

Lie

He told a lie to the parents.

Locate

I want to have a house which is located in the top of mountain.

Look

You look like a movie-star.

It looks rotten

You look sad

Make

It makes me crazy.

Name

His name is Michael who is successful in his business.

Nominate

He was nominated a school’s president.

Offer

He offers a point which is the best one in the team.

Pass

I hope I can pass the exam.

Permit

If you create a company in china, you need have a permit from business union.

Promise

My parents promised me that they will come to Canada.

Promote

My friend has promoted a company’s manager.

Prove

He has proved his point.

Regardless of

We will persevere regardless of past failures.

He skipped class regardless of the school rule

Taste

Italian food in that restaurant tasted wonderful.

The food tastes good.

Remain

He will remain in Rome many weeks.

The remaining food was thrown

Resemble

He strongly resembles his father.

The dog resembles the owner

Seem

He seems angry.

he seems happy

Smell

I smelled a strange odor in that room.

I can smell the food from a distance

Sound

It sounds great.

This movie sounds interesting

Be subjected to

You should be subject to the law of Canada.

The prisoner was subjected to 5 more years of prison

Survive

He survived a heavy accident.

We can survive the thunderstorm if we try hard

Urge

We urge him to consider our advances.

I was urged to dive into water

Win

The book won him a Nobel prize.

His excellent presentation wins him a good prize

Wish

I wish you good luck.

I wish you could win the game without my assistance

Without

He is successful in his business without his father’s help.

Without an instructor our essay writing cannot improve.

Hold/argue/believe/assume

It is estimated that 80% of the international students from China fail to finish their university study here in Canada.

Prefixes
Prefixes Prefixes change the meaning of a word without changing the parts of speech; suffixes change the parts of speech rather than the meaning.

a-

an- Without, lacking, not anarchy archenemy atypical pneumonia asymmetrical anonymous letter / phone call / author abiotic apathy  synonym amoral atonal; achromatic. Anemia achrony a- forming predicative adj. Predicative adjective: He is alone in Canada.

Modifying adjective: a beautiful girl

He is still alive. live report, lively;

The twins are alike. like unlike;

Seats for June are not available.

the position available, the available position ;

I am alone in Canada now, but I am not lonely.

They are akin to each other. Kin kinship

be aware of

be aware that

be afraid of

be afraid to

be afraid that

go astray = stray

ad-

acc-

agg-

all-

att-

aff-

app-

to in addition to; adapt oneself to; adatom; pay attention to; attack; attachment to; affix to; append to; appendices; accent; allocate to; adhere to; accustom oneself to; aggregate to; attend to

We will adhere to our plan.

assimilation prefix + suffix ==>affix

adapt adept adopt be- forming a transitive verb

behave behead befog befool beflag

con-

coll-

co-

corr

com-b,m,p together, with Concentrate collect coeditor copilot co-worker coed cooperation correlation commander-in-chief combine combination complete deplete collaboration conspire conspiracy respiratory system spirit syn-

sym- bmp

syl-l together, with synthetic fiber, synthetic smile, synchronism symbiotic symbiosis symbolic sympathy syllable syndrome AIDS: acquired immunity deficiency syndrome. de- down from away delete degrade degrading decode deplete increase decrease devalue dehydrate compose decompose ascendant the descendant of the dragon decapitate=behead attach detached house semidetached

dehumidifier humid humidity humidify humidifier ex-

e- time: previous,

space: out ex-girlfriend, ex-wife, ex-president, extinguisher,

immigrant emigrant emerge=appear

emit=send off=give off

–mit -mission exhaust – outgoing extrovert

introvert

in-

im-b m p in into on Investigate= inspect insight insightful love at the first sight

out of sight, out of mind.

in sight

immigrate emigrate in-

im-b m p

il-l

ir-r not incorrect inactive inadequate inadaptable inadmissible imcompatible immobile imperfect illegal irregular illiterate literature Un- Not Unbutton undo unfit unclear uncork corkscrew screwdriver unzip Dis- not Dislike disbelieve disappear disable disaccord disobey discard disobedient

sub-

suc-c

suf-f

sug-g

sup-p

sus- under subway =underground=skytrain:

succeed in success success successful successfully

succeed to succession successor successive successively

My dad is a great success, and I do not want to be a loser.

Hu succeeded Jiang as China's president.

Suffice

sufficient=enough=adequate=ample

suggest

sustainable development

support=carry porter portable dictionary import export

anti-

against antiwar anti-Japanese, antiabortion, antibody ante- before anteroom am/pm ante/post meridian antelope antler antecedent : The man who escaped is my classmate. bene- good benefit benefactor beneficial to benediction uni- sol- 1 uniform union unite unicorn unique universe unicycle sole agent solo solitary solitude solitaire millionaire bi-,di-, du- dy- 2 bigamy bicycle bipetalous bipedalism pedestrian centipede dual spy duplex tri- 3 tricycle solo duo trio quartet triangle triangular love by- apart from the common byproduct bylaw byline bypath circum- Around circumstance circumcise circumvent circumglobal circumaviate contra- Against contraception contra-revolution dia- through across monologue dialogue diameter radius monotonous epi- upon over outer epidermis epidemic epicenter hyper- above beyond excessive Hypersensitive hypernym hyperactive hyperacute hyperacide hyperacoustic hyperaemia anaemia hyperaggressive hypo- under beneath down Hypothesis hyponym hypoacid hypoadrenalism hypoaesthesia aesthetics Humankind man woman inter- Between International internet inter-provincial intercollegiate intro- intra- Within intranet introduce intracardiac intracellular intracerebral intracranial intracrystal space micro- Small Microwave microscope macro- big macroeconomics mis- Wrong mistake misspelling misunderstanding miscarry abortion: suspend, retry, or abort? mono- one alone monotonous tone monoacid

adj. multi- Many multiply, multifunction, multihead missile multiculturalism peri- Around perimeter periscope periastron pericardiac periderm peripheral poly- Many polygamy monogamy bigamy polytechnic post- After postgraduate elementary secondary tertiary = postsecondary: post doctorate postwar reconstruction pre- Before preschool premature birth prenatal native renaissance re-

retro- back again Return, restart, retrospect prospect inspect semi- half partly semifinal quarterfinal semi-liquid super- above greater better superb supermarket superstar supervisor overseer overlook trans- Across translate transsexual transparent semitransparent=translucent opaque transatlantic transpacific flight ultra- beyond excessive extreme uv ultraviolet ultraleftist infrared infrastructure quadr- 4  quadrangle quarter quartet twin triplet quadruplet pent- 5  pentagon hexa- 6  hexagon sept- 7  Septangular, September oct- 8  October octopus, octarchy nona- 9  nonagon November deci- deca- 10  decimal decagonal decade December

Stems/Roots

anthro-

anthrop-

anthropo- human100% philanthropist anthropologist anthropecology ecosystem anthropocentric

anthropogenesis anthropoid Anthropolithic Age anthropometer anthropomorphic Aqua- aque- water Aquarium aquatic life aqueous subaqueous aqueduct –arch- First chief anarchy monarchy archenemy hierarchy

hierarchical duarchy dyarchy heptarchy hexarchy octarchy -aster-

-astro-

-stellar- star100% astrology astronaut asterisk stellar constellation –audi-

audit- hear 100% auditorium audience auditor audible AV=audio-video equipment aural oral –auto- self

automobile automobile mobile auto industry autonomy autonomous region autobiography -bio- life 100% autobiography autobiographic antibiotic biology bioacoustics bioastronautic biochronology biochronometer biogenesis –capit- head chief capital crime, decapitate, capital, capital letter, per capita, captain -cide -cis Cut kill Decide excise incision precise incisive decisive insecticide adulticide aborticide algaecide aquatic herbicide avicide bactericide ecocide femicide fratricide fungicide genocide geocide patricide matricide -chron- time100% chronic disease synchronization achrony biochron aviation chronometer chronic appendicitis -chrom- color 100% trichromatic monochrome achromatic chromaticity chromatographic analysis chromosome -clude -clus Close, shut Exclude exclusive include inclusive reclusion recluse seclude -cycle- circle100% encyclopedia recycle reduce, reuse, and recycle –dic-

-dict- say speak contradict dictionary dictator Dictaphone dictation –duc

-duct lead conductor; conduct; aqueduct; introduce; aquatic life internet intranet -cede, -ceed, -cess Go, move Accede, concede, concession, exceed, excess unprecedented excessive drinking excessive rainfall excessive speed succeed success succession –fact-

-fect-

-fit-

make do manufacture; benefactor beneficiary benefit -fer Carry bring Confer conference differ difference infer inference offer offerings prefer preference refer reference transfer defer –flect- bend reflect, flexible reflexive pronoun genuflect –gam- marriage polygamy polytechnic monogamy, bigamy –geo- earth100% geothermal geology geography geoacoustics geobiology geochronology geometry –graph-

-gram- write 100% geography telegram -greg Group gather Aggregation congregate gregarious segregate racial segregation racial discrimination -gress, -grad Move Aggressive degrade graduate ingredient progress regress upgrade -hetero- different other 100% Heterosexual=straight; homosexual; bisexual heterogeneous; transsexual heteroatom heterochromatic

–homo- same homosexual lesbian gay straight. homocellular homocentric homochromatography homodynamic homogeneous –hydr-

-hydro- water hydroaeroplane hydropower, hydraulic system hydroacoustic hydroballistics hydrobarometer hydrocarbon hydrochloric hydrodynamic hydroelasticity –log-

-ology-

logue speech word study monologue, dialogue psychology -ject Throw Conjecture dejected eject inject projectile subject trajectory project projector -lude lus Play Allude allusion delude elude prelude interlude –man-

-manu-

Mani- hand manuscript, manufacture manicure manual transition manumit –mega- great large

one million cent, thousand, million, billion, trillion, zillion. kilobyte kb, megabyte mb gigabyte gb megaton megabuck

123,121,312,323,132,465.00

12,3121,3123,2313,2465.00

megabusiness megadebt megalith Neolithic Age

–mit- -mission- send emit =give off emission permit

admit admissions officer

remit remittance

transmit transmitter transmission –morph- form100% structure morpheme; anthropomorphic

actinomorphic metamorphism metabolism

aeromorphosis amorphous biochemomorphology –mort-

death mortal=fatal, immortal, infant mortality rate, mortal thrust postmortem –onym-

-nomen- name anonymous letter/phone call/author synonym antonym nominate, nominator, nominee -pel -pulse Drive push Dispel expel impel propel propeller repel repelling –pathy- feeling40% disease60% apathy sympathy pathetic empathy telepathy aeropathy acropathy antipathy arteriopathy arthropathy arthritis chromatopathy cardiopathy compathy psychopathy -mania, -maniac one who is crazy about –phil- love Philosopher philander philanthrope philologue philotechnical -pend pense Hang weigh pendulum Appendix dispense expenditure impending suspenders suspension bridge –phon- sound100% phonograph phonate phonebooth phoneme phonendoscope phonocardiogram photo- light100% Photon photosynthesis photoactive photoallergy photoamplifier photobiologic -on particle Photon electron ion proton neutron

–pod-

-ped- foot centipede; pedestrian bipedal pedal pedicure peddler

6 billion 1.3 billion –port- carry portable radio/ dictionary/ fridge porter support export import portfolio –psych- mind100% psychology psycho psychopathist psychophonetics psychotherapist –scrib-

-scription- write100% inscribe inscription describe ps: postscript subscribe to prescribe prescription manuscript superscript playscript rescript ascribe to circumscribe escribe overprescribe transcribe -sequ-

-secut- follow sequence consecutive odd/even number consequently=thus=therefore=as a result subsequently=later -serve Keep save Conserve preservation reservation oil reserve -son- sound 100% Ultrasonic Supersonic Sony Panasonic sonic Sonia –spect- look 100% inspect=investigate inspector respect aspect prospect retrospect suspect speculate spectator spectacles=glasses contact lens –spir- breathe inspire inspiration respire spirit respiratory system perspiration=sweat

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. –soph- wisdom freshman sophomore junior senior philosopher sophisticated=complicated -tain -ten Hold Contain containment detain detention center retain retention tenacious obtain maintain maintenance attain attainment entertain entertainment distain pertaining to=about sustain sustainable development sustenance = food –tele- far 100% telepathy telephone –therm-

-thermo- heat 100% thermos; thermostat; thermometer; diameter radius geothermal taximeter –ven-

-vene- come Venir intervene; interfere; convenient venue convenor

time

venue

event –vid-

-vis- see 90% video visual arts television -voc-

-vok- call voice Vocal track

provocative

vociferous

advocate

vocation school <=> summer vacation  vacuum vacate Suffixes -able

-ible

–ble capable of, fit for 100% adjective

10% noun adjective:

capable:

He is capable of doing something.

He is able to do anything for you.

eatable

feasible feasibility study

respected respectful respectable respective in this respect –ate to make 100% verb

70% adj.

10% n. alternate, appreciate, donate, separate /eit/ A from B. accelerate

alternate passionate. This is a separate /it/ issue.

advocate -er

–or

-ar one who does sth. Verb -->Noun

teacher

trainer

receiver

fighter F16

bomberB2

employer

donator

FELCer BELCer

scholar

–ee the receiver of the action: V + ee --> noun

employer, employee, trainee, refugee, adoptee abandonee absentee acceptee addressee advisee arrestee assignee -ful full of  noun-->adjective: plentiful, colorful, beautiful, careful a handful of -ly   noun--> adjective  friendly scholarly

adjective --> adverb: colorfully -less without:  noun -->adj. careless –fy to make: transitive verb:

beautify clarify terrify purify amplify autoverify acidify Anglify assify calcify calorify –ize to make: transitive verb: absolutize academize

realize revolutionize atomize Africanize alphabetize anthropomorphize –ic

–al relating to having the nature of:

-ic 100%adj.

terrific, tactic, strategy strategic nuclear weapons terrific horrific gigantic hieroglyphic abiogenetic abiotic acentric achromatic aeronautic aerostatic

5% n.

Atlantic, antique

-al: 80% adj.

abacterial abiological

20% noun

arrival, refusal, proposal arousal betrayal portrayal survival –ism action or practice theory or doctrine noun

capitalism feudalism socialism Nazism nationalism tourism absenteeism –ist one who noun, adj.

socialist tourist visit trip travel voyage journey rapist accidentalist activist acupuncturist aerobacteriologist aerodynamicist acculturationist aerothermochemist –ous

-ious full of having the qualities of: adj.

anonymous letter/ call –ity condition quality state of being: noun

quality reliability immunity humidity instability sensitivity abnormality density luminosity absolute probability –ness condition quality state of being: adj.-> noun

happiness carelessness affectlessness agreeableness

witness –tion

–ation

-sion

-ment

-sure condition the act of Verb->noun

evolution, education, foundation, fusion, confusion, commission, equipment, advice information evidence, advertisement, erasure, pleasure government -ship the state of N-> N

Friendship relationship, scholarship,

craftsmanship

workmanship assistantship -ie -y dear Frankie cookie Sammy -itis infection Gastritis -let

ette the small

Booklet bracelet

brooklet : wallet, novel novelette short story cigarette purse -ry the collection of Soldiery, peasantry, poetry jewelry machinery -ess the female Hostess she-wolf tiger tigress woman doctor teacher boy student actor actress -en

-en n or adj->transitive verb

N->adj.

widen, lengthen, broaden, deepen, heighten, enlighten, lighten, shorten, worsen enlarge

wooden, woolen, -like n.==>adj. childlike domelike –oid N->adj. n like resembling