A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (8 page)

In the following text, underline the generic uses of the article (definite article, indefinite article and zero article). Then rewrite the text with alternative articles where possible, if necessary changing the noun from singular to plural or from plural to singular.

Lions, tigers and other big cats

Few creatures are held in such awe as lions, tigers, cheetahs and leopards, which we often call the big cats. These agile predators have strong, razorsharp teeth and claws, muscular bodies and excellent senses. Their beautiful striped and dappled fur camouflages among the trees, allowing them to leap from the shadows to ambush unwary zebras, giraffes and other prey. There are seven kinds of big cats. The tiger is the largest. A fully-grown tiger may measure more than three metres from nose to tail; a fully-grown lion is almost as big.

The first large cats lived 45 million years ago. Many, including the lion, cheetah and leopard still inhabit parts of Africa. Snow leopards dwell in the mountains of Asia. Jaguars are the largest of the big cats in North and South America. They are equally at home swimming in lakes or climbing in trees.

Lions are the only big cats that live in groups, called prides, which may be up to thirty strong. The pride roams over an area of 100 sq. km. or more, depending on the abundance of prey in that area. The large male lion protects the pride’s territory against other prides. The lion also defends the female against other males.

Lions, tigers and other big cats are true carnivores (flesh eaters). Lions usually eat large prey such as antelopes and zebras. One giraffe is often enough to feed a whole pride of lions.

4.4. Other words of definite meaning

Sections 91–101; 521; 619; 667

Other words which signal definite meaning are:

•
proper nouns
–
Susan, Chicago, Tuesday
, etc.

•
personal pronouns
–
I, we, he, she, it, they, you
, etc.

•
pointer words or demonstratives
–
this, that, these, those

Task one *

Complete the following sentences with an article (
the, a, an
) where necessary.

1.
……………. Tom I’m talking about is the person you met last week, not ……………. one who used to be at school with us.

2.
……………. Tokyo of today is very different from ……………. one I knew in the seventies.

3.
……………. San Juan is an old market town.

4.
I’m talking about ……………. San Juan in Puerto Rico not ……………. one in Argentina.

5.
He intended at one time to marry ……………. Jenny.

6.
……………. Jenny? Which one? He knew two Jennys. There was ……………. Jenny from Australia and then there was ……………. one from Scotland.

7.
Oh, I think it was ……………. Scottish Jenny.

8.
Can you tell me the way to ……………. Brook Street?

9.
Which one? There are three Brook Streets in this area.

10.
Oh dear. Is there ……………. Brook Street by the river?

11.
Yes.

12.
That’s ……………. one I want.

Task two **

Complete the sentences below with an appropriate third person pronoun. Rewrite the sentence where necessary to avoid gender discrimination.

1.
……………. adopted the cat of a dying friend and it soon settled in her home.

2.
A doctor in the emergency department of a hospital sometimes has to deal with violent patients so ……………. needs police support.

3.
His colleagues were very supportive and ……………. helped ……………. through a difficult period.

4.
These days a teacher isn’t paid enough money and ……………. often leaves the profession after a few years.

5.
…………. was a beautiful yacht and ……………. was very fast. ……………. was expected to win the challenge cup race.

6.
Her life was essentially unfulfilled and ……………. crammed it with trivia.

7.
Ming, the panda, used to sulk in his cage and ……………. refused to meet his intended wife.

8.
……………. were always together in a group known as the clan and ……………. was thought ……………. would never break up.

9.
Patrick saw the two children trying to get into the house. ……………. shouted at ……………. and they ran away.

10.
Last year Britain lost a lot of tourists. So this year, ……………. is making a big effort to attract them back.

Task three *

In the sentences below, mark those E if the use of the first person pronoun is exclusive and I if it is inclusive.

1.
We saw a very good play last night. It was a pity you couldn’t come. □

2.
We’ve discussed this problem already, when you were here last week. □

3.
We should all support him. He has a difficult job. □

4.
We did enjoy meeting them. You would have liked them as well. □

5.
He’s never been very friendly with us. So don’t worry. □

6.
I suggest we take a vote on that. □

Task four *

Rewrite the following passage in an informal manner, avoiding the passive, and using
they, you, people
and contractions such as
it’s, isn’t
.

One shouldn’t take it for granted that one will be admitted to a top university simply because one has been to the right school. It is said that, on occasion, one can be rather disadvantaged if one has been to certain schools. It is said that colleges like to have a balance of scholars from different backgrounds. So if one’s background group is full, nothing can be done.

Task five **

Indicate whether the pointer words (
this, that, these, those, here, now, then, there
) are forward (F) or backward (B) pointing or (S) situational.

1.
I want you to listen to this. It’s very important. □

2.
I quite agree. That goes without saying. □

3.
I tried to explain, but that was a mistake. □

4.
Here is an important announcement. Will Dr Keiko Suzuki please call at the information desk immediately? □

5.
John: There’ll be trouble if they don’t get home early. □

Mary: I’ve already told them that. □

6.
These are the rules here. First no lights on after 11 p.m.; second everyone ready for a run round the park at 7 a.m.; third no eating anything except at meal times. □

7.
He will be doing that exam now. The one that’s important for promotion. □

8.
Come and have a look at my garden. Now, these tulips are my favourites. □

9.
That was the bad news. Now for the good news. □

10.
Those were not good annual results after the business expanded last year. □

4.5. Expressions using ‘
of
’ and the genitive

Sections 102–107; 530–535

‘
Of
’ is used to indicate various relations between two nouns.

A genitive can often be used with the same meaning as an ‘
of
’ phrase, especially where the genitive has human reference. Some of these relations are:

‘
Have
’ relation; subject-verb relation; verb-object relation; subject complement relation.

A genitive can be a noun phrase containing more than one word and ending with the genitive ending ’
s or s
’ (see 532).

The genitive is more commonly used for an
origin
relation or for a
classifying
relation. There are special cases where
time
and
place
nouns frequently use the genitive. It is especially the case when the place noun is followed by a superlative.

In some cases, the uses of the ‘
of
’ phrase can suggest a different meaning from the genitive use.

Task one *

Underline the genitive and
of
-phrases in the passage below.

The art gallery’s next exhibition will be a retrospective of the early drawings of Keith Mason. Mason was an East Anglian artist whose interest lay in capturing the atmosphere of the region. When he was in East Anglia, he often stayed at the Shearers’. He had become a friend of David Shearer’s when, as teenagers, they had gone each week to the local school’s evening art classes. Mason showed early signs of a very individual talent and was encouraged to apply for a scholarship to the Cambridge art school. After studying there, he travelled a lot through Europe but always returned to his beloved East Anglia and became one of the Cambridge college’s regular visiting lecturers. He became a friend of several galleries in the region and donated several of his paintings to each gallery. Mason’s death in 1993 left a gap in the region’s art scene. While the region has always produced interesting painters whose work created interest in the region, Mason’s created a national interest for the region.

Task two **

Show where the apostrophe should be in the following genitive phrases. In some cases, it is possible to omit the apostrophe.

1.
A teachers work

2.
The writers circle

3.
The over-fifties club

4.
Shakespeares plays

5.
Bruce Willis early films

6.
The United States economic policies.

7.
The governments performance

8.
The Managing Directors car

9.
Yesterdays news

10.
An old boys network

Task three **

Rewrite the following ‘
of
’ phrases to show the relation between the two nouns.

1.
people of Africa

2.
the main entrance of the building

3.
the concern of the workers

4.
the dishonesty of some journalists

5.
a lack of ideas

6.
the courage of ordinary people

7.
a bottle of wine

8.
the causes of the economic crash

9.
the result of his complaint

10.
the postponement of the meeting.

Task four **

State the relation between the nouns in the following phrases: ‘have’ relation; subject-verb relation; verb-object relation; subject complement relation.

Rewrite them as ‘
of
’ phrases.

1.
his mother’s despair

2.
the sovereign’s rights

3.
the actor’s charm

4.
the town’s traffic problems

5.
the government’s downfall

6.
the killer’s arrest

7.
the child’s murder

8.
the moon’s effect on the tides

9.
the father’s anger

10.
the orchestra’s performance

Task five ***

Show how the meaning may differ in the pairs of phrases below.

Task six *

Rewrite the following phrases using the genitive.

1.
The meeting taking place today.

2.
The most successful airline in the world.

3.
A wait for an hour.

4.
The oldest married couple in Britain.

5.
The highest mountain in Scotland.

6.
A delay lasting a month.

7.
A pause for a minute.

8.
The favourite son of Liverpool.

9.
The worst-kept secret in London.

10.
The bush fires which took place last year.

UNIT FIVE

Time, tense and aspect

5.1. Auxiliary verbs

Sections 477–478; 582; 735

Auxiliary verbs, or auxiliaries, are verbs which help to make up a verb phrase in combination with a main verb. The verbs
do, have
and
be
can be used as primary auxiliaries, while
can, could, will
, etc. are used as modal auxiliaries.