- •The abc of modern english grammar: a key to successful communication
- •Unit 1. Singular and plural
- •1.1. Give the plurals of the following nouns.
- •1.2. Rewrite these sentences in the plural.
- •1.3. Complete these sentences with a singular or a plural count noun.
- •1.4. Complete these sentences with a singular or a plural verb.
- •1.5. Choose the correct answer.
- •1.6. Complete these sentences by adding the names given. Use each name twice.
- •1.7. Use the singular nouns below to complete the sentences which follow.
- •1.8. Use these plural nouns to complete the sentences that follow.
- •1.9. Use these collective nouns to complete the sentences that follow.
- •1.10. Choose the correct phrase to answer each of the questions below.
- •1.11. Render the sentences into English.
- •Unit 2. Numerals
- •2.1. Say the following numerals in English.
- •2.2. Say the following dates in English.
- •2.3. “What time is it?”
- •2.4. Match the questions with the appropriate answers. Practise saying the numbers.
- •2.5. Find the errors in these statements and correct them.
- •2.6. Country statistics
- •2.7. Give an English equivalent for the underlying sentences.
- •Unit 3. Quantifiers
- •3.1. Complete these sentences by using “some” or “any”.
- •3.2. Rewrite these sentences using “some” or “any”.
- •3.3. Choose the best alternative.
- •3.4. Complete the sentences using some, any or no. More than one answer may be possible.
- •3.5. Complete the sentences using a word from the box. There is one word you shouldn’t use. More than one answer may be suitable. Give all possible alternatives.
- •3.6. Choose the correct word in each sentence.
- •3.7. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
- •3.8. Rewrite each sentence so that it has a similar meaning and contains the word in bold.
- •3.9. Complete the sentences using much, many or a lot of. More than one answer may be possible.
- •3.10. Complete the sentences using a little, a few, little or few.
- •3.11. Choose the correct answer.
- •3.12. Complete these sentences using “little” or “few”.
- •3.13. Complete these sentences using “a little” or “a few”.
- •3.14. Complete these sentences using “a few”, “a little”, “very few”, “very little”.
- •3.15. Find the errors in these sentences. Rewrite each sentence.
- •3.16. Choose the best alternative in each case.
- •3.17. Choose the best alternative.
- •3.18. Complete these sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
- •3.19. Complete the following sentences with something, nothing, everything or anything.
- •3.20. Choose the best alternative.
- •3.21. Complete each sentence with one suitable word.
- •3.22. Complete these sentences using the determiners given in brackets.
- •3.23. Put these expressions into the table. Some go into more than one place.
- •3.24. Geography game
- •3.25. Give an English equivalent for these sentences.
- •Unit 4. Count and uncount nouns
- •4.1. Use these uncount nouns to complete the sentences below.
- •4.2. List these words in two columns side by side, one for uncountables and one for countables. Then join the words which have similar meaning.
- •4.3. Put the underlying words under three headings: countable, uncountable, or both.
- •4.4. Decide whether these sentences need the indefinite article a (an).
- •4.5. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.
- •4.10. Use these phrases with “the” and an uncount noun to complete the sentences which follow.
- •4.11. Choose the correct word or phrase in each sentence.
- •4.12. Put one word in each space. Put a dash (-) if the space should be blank.
- •4.13. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence and contains the word in bold.
- •4.14. Choose the best alternative to complete each sentence.
- •4.15. Choose the most suitable word in each sentence.
- •4.16. Complete each sentence with a suitable word from the box.
- •4.17. Complete each sentence with one suitable word.
- •4.18. Suggest the English for the sentences.
- •Unit 5. The imperative and “let”. Emphatic “do / does”
- •5.6. Supply the English for the sentences.
- •Unit 6. Word order
- •6.1. Read the following sentences and write down their structure using the letters s (for Subject), V (for Verb), o (for Object), and a (for Adverbial).
- •6.2. Change the meaning of these sentences by changing the subject and the object.
- •6.3. Put the adverbs given into the correct place. More than one answer may be suitable.
- •6.4. Put these words and phrases in the right order to make sentences.
- •Consolidation of Part 1 and Part 2
- •Recommended learning resources Reference and grammar books
- •Dictionaries
- •Internet resources
3.24. Geography game
Work in groups of three. Think of a country each, but don’t tell the others what it is. Ask each other quantity questions about these things to guess the country, e.g.
A – Are there many skyscrapers?
B – No, there aren’t many. / Yes, there are a lot.
C – Is there much rain?
B – No, there isn’t much. / Yes, there’s a lot.
mountains, wildlife, pyramids, skyscrapers, snow, crime, sand, traffic, megacities, bicycles, religions, beaches, languages, fresh water, tourism, people, pollution
3.25. Give an English equivalent for these sentences.
1. В банке было полно людей.
2. Я никого там не видел.
3. Кто-нибудь может ответить на этот вопрос сразу же?
4. Нам не о чем говорить.
5. Я знаю несколько людей в этом городе, но не многих.
6. У нас осталось совсем мало денег. Нужно сходить в банкомат.
7. Он проводит слишком много времени за компьютером.
8. На выставке много необычных экспонатов.
9. В аудитории никого нет.
10. У тебя много бумаги? Дай мне немного.
11. Кто-то звонит в дверь. Ты ждешь кого-нибудь? – Нет, я никого не жду.
12. Я нигде не видел такой модели.
13. У тебя есть какие-нибудь идеи на этот счёт?
14. Все делают успехи, кроме Ника. У него просто нет интереса к учёбе.
15. Я согласен со всем, что Вы говорите.
16. Можно мне немного яблочного сока?
17. Сейчас это можно купить где угодно.
18. Вы можете выбрать любую книгу.
19. Все хотят знать точную дату начала конкурса.
20. Что-то не так с оборудованием?
21. Сколько раз я тебе об этом говорил?
22. Она много говорит на этом языке, поэтому и знает его так хорошо.
23. Мне нужно многое сделать сегодня вечером. Поэтому я никуда не иду.
24. Мне нечего было сказать.
25. Как дела? – Всё так же. Ничего не изменилось.
26. Могу я что-нибудь для Вас сделать?
27. У нас полно места. Мы можем поставить этот диван куда угодно.
28. У неё много работы. – Конечно, ведь она работает в нескольких местах.
29. Вы не могли бы его описать в нескольких словах?
30. Он был выше, чем любой другой игрок в команде.
Unit 4. Count and uncount nouns
REFERENCE
A General information
В английском языке возможны различные терминологические обозначения понятий «исчисляемые» и «неисчисляемые» существительные: countable and uncountable nouns, count and uncount nouns, countables and uncountables. Выбор термина в данном случае не имеет принципиального значения и остаётся на усмотрение говорящего.
К разряду исчисляемых существительных относятся существительные, количество которых мы можем точно посчитать. Они имеют формы единственного и множественного числа:
а room – three rooms, a knife – two knives, a girl – five girls, etc.
К разряду неисчисляемых существительных относятся существительные, количество которых мы не можем точно посчитать. Соответственно, они имеют форму только единственного числа:
water, money, knowledge, professionalism, etc.
B Most typical uncount nouns
К числу неисчисляемых существительных относятся следующие категории:
♦ продукты питания: flour, yoghurt, butter, meat, cheese, spaghetti, rice, sugar, salt, pepper, honey, bread, ham, fish, chocolate, pasta, etc.
♦ жидкости: milk, coffee, tea, lemonade, oil, wine, water, petrol, beer, whiskey, etc.
♦ вещества: crystal, wood, plastic, silver, gold, china, glass, cotton, nylon, copper, silk, iron, paper, leather, concrete, chalk, air, etc.
♦ абстрактные понятия: knowledge, beauty, justice, help, love, education, freedom, hatred, friendship, happiness, greediness, envy, malice, kindness, callousness, jealousy, humour, ferocity, stupidity, progress, sincerity, sensitivity, severity, importance, honesty, honour, arrogance, courage, wisdom, etc.
♦ понятия, не относящиеся к какой-либо одной тематической категории: information, research, luggage, baggage, money, machinery, jewellery, cutlery, crockery, hair, weather, behaviour, advice, news, accommodation, fun, equipment, litter, rubbish, dust, furniture, garbage, space, time, etc.
Для указания количества неисчисляемого понятия используется специальные лексические средства: a piece of cake / paper / news / advice / information / furniture, a glass / bottle of water, a jar of jam / honey, a rasher of bacon, a packet of rice / tea, a loaf / slice of bread, a pot of yoghurt / honey, a pot / cup of tea, a kilo of meat, a tube of toothpaste, a bar of chocolate / soap, a can of soda / beer, a carton of milk, a bowl of sugar / soup, etc.
C Count and uncount nouns: comparison
COUNTABLES |
UNCOUNTABLES |
Глагол ставится в форму единственного или множественного числа: The room is empty. The rooms are empty. |
Глагол ставится в форму только единственного числа: Silver is more expensive than copper. Money makes the world go round. |
В единственном числе всегда имеется детерминатив в виде a/an/the/my/six, etc.: She is choosing a gift. We have an idea. Did you study the plan? Her laptop is up-to-date now. We can see six students in the hall. |
В качестве детерминатива не могут использоваться слова a/an/one/two, etc.: Wine is too expensive here.
НО: a/an/one/two/three, etc. используются с такими словами, как coffee, tea, beer, milk, juice, etc. в значении «одна порция»: I’d like a tea, please. – Мне чашку чая, пожалуйста. We’ll have three beers, please. – Нам три бокала пива, пожалуйста. |
Во множественном числе используются без детерминатива или с соответствующими словами, обозначающими количество (see Unit 2, Reference, C): I love pears. I’ve brought you some flowers. I didn’t buy any newspapers. We don’t have many photos. I have a few suggestions to make. |
В качестве детерминативов могут использоваться слова типа my/the или соответствующие слова, обозначающие количество (see Unit 2, Reference, C): Buy some coffee on your way home, please. I didn’t find any information in this book. We don’t have much time, I’m afraid. She has little knowledge on stock markets. Have you seen the money? |
See also Unit 3, Reference, C.
D Similar but different
Некоторые существительные могут использоваться и как исчисляемые, и как неисчисляемые. Значение при этом меняется. Ср.:
Would you like a glass of white wine?
She is looking for her glasses.
This hand-made vase is made of glass.
I’m going out to buy a paper.
I need to write down a phone number. Do you have a piece of paper?
Remind him to bring all the necessary papers, please.
Pamela has got long dark hair.
There is a hair in my coffee!
We bought a state-of-the-art iron last weekend.
Iron is one of the basic building materials.
If you want to slim down, you have to eat less chocolate.
We gave her a box of chocolates.
My room is twice as large as yours.
There isn’t enough room in the office for all that equipment.
This chair is made of wood.
There are a lot of bears in the woods.
She has a lot of experience in landscape design.
We had a few unpleasant experiences while living together.
I have no time to sit around contemplating the meaning of life.
We saw each other a couple of times when we worked in the same building.
PRACTICE