Subject-Verb AgreementGrammatical concord agreement between subject and

predicate with regard to number The music he played is very beautiful.Jenny and her parents are going to visit the Palace tomorrow.

Notional concord The Public were invited to express their opinions about the affairs.

Bread and butter is what they usually have for breakfast. ProximityNot only Kate but I am ready for the picnic now. Either the coach or the players are responsible for the defeat.

Articles Rod Ellis 1994:55 quoted from Duskova (1969) identified a total of 1007 errors in the written work of 50 Czech learners of English, who were postgraduate students studying science. She found 756 ‘ recurrent systemic errors’ and 251 ‘nonce errors’(i.e. errors that occurred only once).Errors in articles were most common (260), followed by errors in lexis(233) and morphology(180).In comparison, there were only 54 errors in syntax and 31 in word order.

A Headache for us Chinese Learners

This is not only no article contrast in Chinese common nouns, but also because there are too many exceptions to the rules guiding the use of articles. As a matter of fact, the choice of an article in quite a few idiomatic expressions is just a matter of usage which is difficult or even impossible to explain in terms of grammatical rules.

1. She likes the man of no little humor.

She likes a man of no little humor

2.The fox may grow gray, but never good.

3.The living mourn for the dead.

4.There is still much of the schoolboy in him.

5.Information technology allows the haves to increase their control on global market- with destructive impact on the have-nots. (generic reference)

6.Her father is professor of the college.

Cf. Her father is a professor of the college .

7.He is more animal than man .

8.Young boy as he was, he knew a lot about the world.

Article usages• The pen (=the power of a pen) is mightier than the

sword (= the power of a sword.)• He patted me on the back.• Keep to the left.• They were of an age. No two men are of a mind. ( a =the same)• The car was running at forty miles an hour. • A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 多得

不如现得 • A Newton cannot become a Shakespeare at will. • What this country needs is not a good five-cent cigar,

or a good five-cent cup of coffee, but a good five cents

A/an +noun, zero article• He wants a position as a teacher of English.

(?)

• He wants a position as teacher of English.

• She was respected as a teacher.

• He has relinquished his position as manager.

• As a teacher of English, he has no equal.

• She won’t do for a teacher.

• I took his story for truth.

rain, a rain , the rain• We will start before daybreak, rain or shine.• We must take shelter from rain.• Rain has set in. • I put off my departure on account of a heavy rain.• A sharp rain was beating against the window panes

and the quilt was not warm enough.• A rain now came on, which continued for two or th

ree hours, and made the road slippery and toilsome.• A welcome rain A rain of tears• I was caught in the rain. Identifiable uniquely in the context or accordin

g to the common knowledge shared by the listeners and the speakers

• The hut is barely able to keep out the rain. （仅能御雨）

First , is it a thing or a concept?Second , is it identifiable in context?

1. I bought a bicycle yesterday.

I could not fix the bicycle.

I came by bicycle.

2. I can see a chicken in the yard.

The chicken is pecking on the corn.

He likes eating chicken.

3. A stone is a chunk of rock.

This is the stone that rolled down the slope.

Stone is a good building material.

The Countable or the Uncountable?1.A native speaker of English has a vocabulary of 50,000

words.2. “ Are you ready to order?” “Yes. Two coffees, one blac

k and one with milk but no sugar, please.” 3. The water is boiling. 4. I am thirsty. May I have some water? 5. The plants need water. (Water is a concept instead of a

thing.)6. The waters in the Mediterranean has been seriously p

olluted. 7. A crowd is not company,and faces are but a gallery of

pictures…when there is no love. From On Friendship by F.Bacon

Agreement1. There is no school (no lessons)today. There was no schoolhere three years ago.

The whole school(sing.) is talking about the new library.

the school of Dentistry

There are schools of art, law and medicine in the town.

Cf: Those boys are now at school. That young fellow is still in school.

(sing)all the pupils or all the pupils and (sing)all the pupils or all the pupils and teachers in a schoolteachers in a school

institution for educating children

Department of a university connected with a Department of a university connected with a particular branch of studyparticular branch of study

Institution for teaching a particular subjectInstitution for teaching a particular subject专科学校专科学校

2 There are many peoples in the world.

The Chinese are a polite people.

They met all sorts of people on the way.

3. They have become master of the Chinese language.

Master-key 万能钥匙4. He is partners with me.

He is friends with me.

Person who has control of sth Person who has control of sth

Collective Nouns• Cattle, people, police used as subjects• Cattle were allowed to graze on the village common.• The police are going to question everyone in the

house.• Look! Three American people are standing in the

house.

• Crowd, staff, crew, public, team, family

• My family has lived in this city since my father found work here.

• My family have agreed to visit Beijing this summer.

Furniture, machinery, merchandise, information, foliage

• Furniture has gone up since the end of the war.

• There is little furniture in the room.

• How much new machinery has been installed?

• Merchandise has no charm for us.

• The merchandise has arrived undamaged.

• The produce of the factory is sent abroad.

• The information has been confirmed.

• The book contains much useful information, imparted with great clearness and impartiality.

Names of things made of two parts such as scissors, pincers,etc

• Names such as scissors, pincers, glasses, shorts, trousers, suspenders are usually used as plurals. But when they are preceded by such unit nouns as a pair of and two pairs of, the number form of the following verb is generally determined by the number makers of the unit noun.

• This pair of trousers is Lucy’s. Your trousers are on your bed.

• One pair of scissors isn’t enough.• Two pairs of pliers, one large and one small, are

missing from my tool box.

Nouns ending in _s• No news is good news.• The summons was served on the man.

• The New York Times still has a wide circulation• “The Arabian Nights” is a very interesting story book.• The United Nations is an international organization.• The Niagara Falls are the falls on the Niagara River.• The Great Lakes lie between the U.S.A and Canada.• The Philippines lie on the southeast of China. • The Olympics are held every four years.• The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life.Cf.Mount Fuji ,Mount Everest

.

The Canterbury Tales is my favorite book. Gulliver’s Travels is very interesting.

A order to attend a lawcourt, esp to answer a chargeA order to attend a lawcourt, esp to answer a charge

The names of mountain ranges, archipelagoes,deserts, and other plural names of regions generally have the definite articles whereas the names of individual mountains or islands have no article.

Nouns ending in -ings• Nouns ending in –ings such as clippings , diggings, belon

gings, earnings, findings, surroundings,sweepings are generally used as plurals with the exception of tidings which can be used both way.

• Their findings cast much light upon the burial customs of the Indian tribes of that area.

• Their present surroundings are very satisfactory.• The clippings of the hedges are usually burnt.• The sweepings of the godown(warehouse 仓库） have be

en burnt.• Good tidings have cheered them up.• The tidings has come a little too late.

All the things without exceptionsAll the things without exceptions

newsnews

Contextual uses of Nouns ending in –s(1)• His politics are very radical.• The acoustics of this concert hall is very good. • The acoustics are imported from abroad.• Mathematics seems to be very difficult to him.• His mathematics are very weak.ie He is not good at doi

ng calculations.• Statistics in his report are not accurate.• • Statistics is taught in our university.

• The economics in this country are very stable.• Athletics include all kinds of sports, such as rowing and

running.• Athletics is recommended for every students.

Numerical facts collected or shownNumerical facts collected or shown

Conditions as regards with wealthConditions as regards with wealth

• Tactics differs from strategy, which refers to the overall plans of a nation at war

• His tactics are in winning the class election were hardly ethnical.

procedures adopted in order to achieve sth. 方法，策略

art of placing and moving fighting forces 战术，兵法

Contextual uses (2)

Where are you manners? Good manners is a rarity.  • Much pains has /have been taken to keep the plan sec

ret. • All these pains were for nothing• Every means has been tried.• All means have been tried.• Wages are paid on Fridays.(regular usu weekly)• We expect a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work.• The wages of sin is death. • I want him to make a full amends for my loss. Compensate sb. for an insult or injury given in the pa

st

Determiners + kind 1. He served us a kind of coffee.

He served us with coffee of a kind.( coffee of inferior quality)

2. Men of this kind are dangerous.

There are many kinds of apples.

3. Roses of this kind are very sweet.

Cars of that type are old-fashioned.(this kind of roses, that type of cars ?)

4.There are many different kinds of snake in the mountain.

These types of car are imported from Japan.

I have met all kinds of tourists who come from Europe.

Those kinds of insects are harmful.

Numbers• An estimated two hundred persons was killed in the battle.

• Two is company,but three is none. In married life three is company and two none .by Oscar Wilde

• A happy five days has passed like a dream.• Four thousand dollars is what she can afford.

(as much as four thousand dollars, as much as or as high as 72 degrees instead of as many as)

• One and a half bananas is left on the table.• One or two soldiers have been beaten.• A word or two is/are missing here. • There are one or two problems to be tackled today.

A committee of + plural, etca quantity of, a series of, a species of,a portion of ,

• A committee of five men and three women is to consider the matter.

• The board of directors is responsible for the management of the company.

• A portion of the blame for the accident was borne by the driver.

• Large quantities of heat are generated by the steam engine.

• A series of the pre-recorded tapes has been prepared for language lab.

• There are two series of readers: one for beginners and one for the advanced students.

• A new species of mammal has been found.• Altogether, about 450 species of flat fish are known.

Many a , more than one• Many a little makes a mickle.• Many a ship has been wrecked on these rocks.• Many a crime has been committed under the pret

ext of democracy.• More than one spelling mistakes has been found.• Every man and every child was filled with joy. • Each boy and girl was invited. He was the only one of the boys who was given a

prize. This is one of the laboratories that have been built

this year in our institute.

A number of , the number of

• A number of foreigners have been working and living in China.

• The number of jobs is increasing .

• A variety of goods are on sale in that department store now.

• The variety of items sold in this small shop is very limited.

worth• The worth of the stamp is estimated at two hundred dollars.

• The worth of the noble men is not always understood.

• One dollar’s worth of stamps is bought.

• Ten dollars’ worth of stamps are bought.

• His words are worth notice.(predicative adj.)

• The game is worth the candle. 值得去做• I paid five dollars for the picture, but it’s worth more.

• He is worth a million dollars.

• The book is worth reading.

• Life wouldn’t be worth living without friendship.

• Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

• It is worth while seeing the museum.

• It is worth your while to see the museum.

Curry and rice is his favorite dish.• A cart and horse was seen at a distance.

• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

• Bread and butter is my usual breakfast.

• Our secretary and treasure is coming.

• A pink and white tulip is in blossom.

• A needle and tread was given her, but she could not sew the button.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy.

• What he says and does do not agree.

What he says and does does not matter.

Other Agreements• Her job is washing, cleaning and taking care of

the children.

• The instrument has been welcomed by users because of its stability in serviceability, reliability in operation and simplicity in maintenance.

• The climate of Beijing is not so changeable as that of the seaside town.

• In the margin was written something in red ink.(inverted)

• There is a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time for study and a time for recreation.

Read more books if possible