Grammar review: 4- The Noun Phrase

4. The Noun Phrase
The noun phrase is a group of words that ends with a noun. It can contain determiners (the. a. this. etc.), adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. It CANNOT begin with a preposition. Remember that both subjects and complements are generally noun phrases.
• Count and non-count nouns:
A count noun is one that can be counted.
book-one book, two books, three books, . . .
student-one student, two students, three students, . . .
person-one person, two people, three people, . . .
A non-count noun is one that cannot be counted.
milk-you cannot say: one milk, two milks, . . .

It is possible, however, to count some non-count nouns if the substance is placed in a countable container.
glass of milk-one glass of milk, two glasses of milk, . . .

Some determiners can be used only with count or non-count nouns, while others can be used with either. Memorize the words in the following chart.

WITH COUNT NOUNS / WITH NON.COUNT NOUNS
a, the,some,any / the,some,any
this, that, these, those /this, that
none, one, two, three, . . . /none
many /much (usually in negatives or questions)

a lot of /a lot of
a large number of / a large amount of
a great number of /
(a) few /(a) little
fewer. . . than /less. . . than
more. . . than /more. . . than

It is very important to know, if a noun is count or non-count. Students often make mistakes with the following nouns. Be sure that you know the plurals of irregular count nouns. The following list contains some irregular count nouns that you should know.
person-people, foot-feet, child-children, tooth-teeth, mouse-mice

The following list contains some non-count nouns that you should know.
sand, food, information, air, mathematics, money, news, soap, economics, meat, politics, measles mumps , physics, advertising* homework

.NOTE:Although advertising is a non-count noun, advertisement is a count noun. If you wish to speak of one particular advertisement, you must use this word.
There are too many advertisements during television shows.

Some non-count nouns, sucb as food. meat. money. and sand, maybe used as count nouns in order to indicate different types.
This is one of the foods that my doctor has forbidden me to eat.(indicates a particular type of food)
He studies meats.(for example, beef, pork, lamb, etc.)

The word time can be either countable or non-countable depending on the context. When it means an occasion, it is countable. When it means a number of hours, days, years, etc., it is non-countabte;
have spent too much time on this homework. (non-count)
She has been late for class six times this semester. (count)

To decide if a noun that you are not sure of is countable or non countable,
Decide if you can say: one _______or a __________ .
For example, you can say "onebook" so it is a count noun. You cannot say "one money" so it is not a count noun. Also, .ofcourse, by the very nature of non.-count nouns, a non-count noun can never be plural. Remember that, while some of the nouns in the list of non-count nouns appear to be plural because they end in -s, they are actually not plural.

Exercise 2: Count and Non-Count Nouns
Identify the following nouns as count nouns or non-count nouns according, to their usual meaning.

Television, atmosphere, food, cup, car, person, tooth, money, news, water, soap, hydrogen, geography, pencil, soup, minute

Answer for exercises 2:

Television (count), atmosphere (non-count), food (non-count), cup (count), car(count), person(count), tooth(count), money(non-count), news (non-count), water (non-count), soap(non-count), hydrogen(non-count), geography(non-count), pencil (count), soup(non-count), minute(count)

Exercise 3: Determiners
Choose the correct determiners in the following sentences.
1. He doesn't have (manyomuch) maney.
2. I would like (a few/a little) salt an my vegetables.
3. She bought (that/those) cards last night.
4. There are (less/fewer) students in this room than in the next room.
S. There is (too much/too many) bad news on television tonight.
6. I do not want (these/this) water.
7. This is (too many/too much) information to learn.
8. A (few/1ittle) people left early.
9. Would you like (less/fewer) coffee than this?
10. This jacket costs (too much/too many).

Answer for exercises 3:

1. much 2. a little 3. those 4. fewer 5. too much 6. this 7. too much 8. few 9. less 10. too much

• A and an:
A or an can precede only singular count nouns; they mean one. They can be used in a general statement or to introduce a subject which has not been previously mentioned.
A baseball is round. (general-means all baseballs)
I saw a boy in the street. (We don't know which boy.)
An is used before words that begin with a vowel sound. A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound.
a book . an apple

Some words can be confusing because the spelling does not indica pronunciation.
a house (begins. with a consonant sound)
an hour (begins with a vowel sound)
a university (begins with a consonant sound)
an umbrella (begins with a vowel sound)

The following words begin with a consonant sound and thus must always be preceded by a.
house, home, heavy, half
uniform, university, universal, union

The following words begin with a vowel sound and thus must always be
preceded by an.
Uncle, umbrella, hour, heir

The initial, sound .of the word that immediately follows the indefinite article will determine whether it should be a or an.
an umbrella, a white umbrella
an hour, a whole hour

• The:
The is used to indicate something that we already know about or
something that is common knowledge.
The boy in the corner is my friend. (The speaker and the listener know which boy.)
The earth is round. (There is only one earth.)

With non-count nouns, .one uses the article the if speaking in specific terms, but uses no article if speakingin general.
Sugar is sweet. (general-all sugar)
The sugar on the table is from Cuba. (specific-the sugar that is on the table)

Normally, plural count nouns, when they mean everything within a certain class, are not preceded by the.
Oranges are green until they ripen. (all oranges)
Athletes should follow a well-balanced diet. (all athletes)

Normally a proper noun is not preceded by an article unless there are several people or things with the same name and the speaker is specifying one of them.
There are three Susan Parkers in the telephone directory.
The Susan Parker that I know lives on First Avenue.

Normally words such as breakfast. lunch, dinner. school, church, home, and college do not use any article unless to restrict the meaning.
We ate breakfast at eight o'clock this morning.
We went to school yesterday.

Use the following generalizations as a guide for the use of the article the.



Hinh anh cho de hieu, con ben duoi la chu~ de de tra tu dien:

USE THE WITH
oceans,rivers,seas,gulfs, plural lakes
the Red Sea. the Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Great Lakes

mountains
the Rocky Mountains, the Andes

earth, moon
the earth, the moon

schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with school, etc.
the University of Florida, the College of Arts and Sciences

ordinal numbers before nouns
the First World War, the third chapter

wars (except world wars)
the Crimean War, the Korean War

countries with more than one word (except Great Britain)
the United States, the Central African Republic


historical documents
the Constitution, the Magna Carta

ethnic groups
the Indians, the Aztecs

DON'T USE THE WITH
singular lakes
Lake Geneva, Lake Erie

mounts
Mount Vesuvius, Mount McKinley

planets, constellations
Venus, Mars, Orion

schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with a proper noun
Santa Fe Community College, Cooper's Art School, Stetson University

cardinal numbers after nouns
World War One, chapter three

countries with one word
China, Venezuela, France

continents
Europe, Africa, South America

states
Florida, Ohio, California

sports
baseball, basketball

abstract nouns
freedom, happiness

general areas of subject matter
mathematics, sociology

holidays
Christmas, Thanksgiving


Exercise 4: Articles
In the following sentences supply the articles (a, an, or the) if they are
necessary. If no article is necessary, leave the space blank.

1. Jason's father bought him _________ bicycle that he had wanted for his
birthday.
2. _________Statue of Liberty was a gifl of friendship from _________France to _________ United States.
3. Rita is studying _________ English and _________math this semester.
4. _________ judge asked_________witness to tell_________ truth.
5. Please give me _________ cup of _________coffee with _________cream and _________ sugar
6. _________big books on _________ table are for my history class.
7. No one in _________ Spanish class knew _________correct answer to Mrs. Perez's question.
8. My _________car is four years old and it still runs well.
9. When you go to _________ store, please buy_________ bottle of _________chocolate milk and _________ dozen oranges.
10. There are only _________ few seats left for _________ tonight's musical at_________university.
11. John and Marcy went to _________ school yesterday and then. studied in
_________library before returning home.
12. Lake Erie is one of _________five Great Lakes in _________ North America.
13. On our trip to_________Spain, we crossed _________Atlantic Ocean.
14. _________Mount Rushmore is the site of _________ magnificent tribute to _________ four great American presidents.
15. What did you eat for _________breakfast this morning?
16. Louie played_________basketball and _________baseball at _________Boys' Club this year.
17. Rita plays _________violin and her sister plays _________guitar.
18. While we were in _________Alaska, we saw _________Eskimo village.
19. Phil can't go to _________ movies tonight because he has to write _________ essay.
20. David attended _________PrincetonUniversity.
21. Harry has been admitted to_________School of Medicine at _________midwestern university.
22. Mel's grandmother is in _________ hospital.so we went to visit her _________ last night.
23. _________ political science class is taking _________ trip to _________Soviet Union in _________
Spring.
24. _________Queen Elizabeth II is _________monarch of _________ Great Britain
25. _________Declaration of Independence was drawn Up in 1776.
26. Scientists hope to send _________ expedition to _________Mars during _________1980s.
27. Last night there was _________ bird singing outside my house,
28. _________ chair that you are sitting in is broken.
29. _________Civil War was fought in _________ United States between 1861 and 1865,
30. _________ Florida State University is smaller than _________ University of Florida.

Answers for exercise 4

Ø = nothing

1. the
2. the, Ø , the
3. Ø ,Ø
4. the, the, the
5. a, Ø, Ø , Ø
6. the, the
7. the or Ø , the, Ø
8.Ø
9. the, a, Ø , a
10. a, Ø , the
11. Ø , the
12. Ø , the, Ø
13. Ø , the
14. Ø , a or Ø , the or Ø
15. Ø
16. Ø ,Ø , the
17. the or Ø , the or Ø
18. Ø , an
19. the, an
20. Ø
21. the, a
22. the, Ø
23. the, Ø
24. Ø , the, Ø
25. the
26. an, Ø , the
27. a
28. the
29. the, the
30. Ø, the

• Other:
The use of the word other is often a cause of confusion for foreign students. Study the following formulas.

WITH COUNT NOUNS
an+ other + singular noun (one more)
another pencil -one more pencil

the othrer + singular noun (last of the sel) ,
the other pencil -the last pencil present

other + plural noun (more of the set) .
other pencils -some more pencils

the other + plural noun (the rest of the set)
the other pencils -all remaining pencils

WITH NON-COUNT NOUNS
xxxxxxxx


xxxxxxxx


other + non-count nouns (more of the set)
other water -some more water

the other + non-count noun (all the rest)
the other water -the remaining water

NOTE: Another and other are nonspecific while the other is specific. If the subject is understood, one can omit the noun and keep the determiner and other so that other functions as a pronoun, If it is a plural count noun that is omitted, other becomes others. The word other can NEVER be plural if it is followed by a noun.
I don't want this book. Please give me another.
(another - any other book-not specific)

I don't want this book.Pkase give me the other.
(the other - the other book-specific)

This chemical is poisonous. Others are poisonous too.
(others -other chemicals-not specific)

I don't want these books.Please give me the others.
(the others -the other books-specific)

NOTE: Another way of substituting for the noun is to use other + one or
ones.
I don't want this book: Please give me another one.
I don't want this book. Please give me the other one.
This chemical is poisonous.Other ones are poisonous too.
I don't want these books. Please give me the other ones


Con tiep theo

Exercise 5: Other
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of other.

1. This pen isn't working. Please give me ______ (singular)
2. If you're still thirsty. I'll make ______ pot of coffee.
3. This dictionary has a page missing. Please give me ______last one)
4. He does not need those books. He needs ______ (all the remaining)
5. There are thirty people in the room. Twenty are from Latin America and ______are from______countries
6. Six people were in the store. Two were buying meat______. was looking at magazines______was eating a candy bar ______ were walking around looking for more food. (notice the verbs)
7. This glass of milk is sour______glass or milk is sour too.
8. The army was practicing its drills. One group was doing artillery practice______was marching; ______ was at attention; and ______was practicing combat tacties,
9. There are seven students from Japan. ______are from Iran, and ______are from ______places,
10. We looked at four cars today. The first two were far too expensive, but ______ones were reasonably priced.

Answers for exercise 5

1. another or the other or another one or the other one
2. another
3. the other
4. the others
5. the others, other
6. another, another, the others
7. the other
8. another, another, another or the other
9. others, the orthers, other
10. the other

NOTE:It is also possible to use the demonstrative articles this, that, these. and those as pronouns. It is correct to say this one and that one; however, it is not correct to say these ones or those ones. Simply use these or those as pronouns without adding ones.
This elevator is broken. That one is also broken. (that one - that elevator)
These glasses are dirty. Those are dirty also. (those -those glasses)