Articles with countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns are the names of separate people or objects which we can count. Uncountable nouns are the names of materials, liquids and other things which we do not see as separate objects.

We can use the indefinite article (a/an) with singular countable nouns. A plural countable noun cannot be used with indefinite articles. Countable nouns (both singular and plural) can also be used with numbers.

A cat
Two cats
A boy
Two boys

We cannot use the indefinite article or numbers with uncountable nouns.

Water (NOT a water) (NOT two waters)
Weather (NOT a weather) (NOT two weathers)

A singular countable noun usually has an article or other determiner with it. We say, the cat, my cat or this cat, but not justcat. Plural and uncountable nouns can be used with or without an article or other determiner.

Exceptions

Many nouns which are normally uncountable are treated as countable in some cases.

Have you got a good shampoo? (Although shampoo is an uncountable noun, it is treated as countable to express the meaning of ‘a type of’.)
Three coffees, please. (= three cups of coffees)

Some nouns that are countable in other languages are uncountable in English. Examples are: information, advice, news, scenery, accommodation etc.

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Figures of speech – Simile and Metaphor

A figure of speech is a departure from the ordinary form of expression. It is employed to produce a greater effect.

There are four different kinds of figures of speech.

1. Those based on resemblance

Examples are: simile, metaphor, personification and apostrophe

2. Those based on contrast

Examples are: antithesis and epigram

3. Those based on association

Examples are: metonymy and synecdoche

4. Those depending on the construction of the plot

Examples are: climax and anticlimax

Simile

In a simile we make a comparison between two objects of different kinds. These two objects will have at least one point in common.

The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree. (Here a comparison is made between the righteous and the palm tree.)

Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale.

O my Love’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Love’s like a melodie
That’s sweetly played in tune.

Here are some similes common in everyday speech.

as proud as a peacock

as cool as a cucumber

as hard as nails

as good as gold

as old as the hills

as clear as crystal

Note

A comparison of two things of the same kind is not a simile.

Metaphor

A metaphor is an implied simile. It doesn’t state that one thing is like another or acts as another. Instead it says that the two things are one and the same. A simile, on the other hand, says that one thing is like another.

Thus, when we say, ‘She is like an angel’ we use a simile, but when we say ‘She is an angel’, we use a metaphor.

Examples are:

Life is a dream. (Metaphor)

Life is like a dream. (Simile)

The camel is the ship of the desert. (Metaphor)

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Figures of Speech – Part II

We have seen that a metaphor is an implied simile. Every simile can be compressed into a metaphor and every metaphor can be expanded into a simile.

Compare:

Life is like a dream. (Simile)
Life is a dream. (Metaphor)

Personification

In personification inanimate objects and abstract ideas are spoken of as if they have life and intelligence.

Example

Pride goeth forth on horseback, grand and gay’
But cometh back on foot, and begs its way.

Apostrophe

An apostrophe is a direct address to the dead, the absent or a personified object or idea. It is a special form of personification.

Milton! thou should’st be living at this hour.

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean – roll!

O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?

O Solitude! where are the charms

That sages have seen in thy face?

Hyperbole

In hyperbole a statement is made emphatic by overstatement.

Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.

O Hamlet! thou has cleft my heart in twain.

I Loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up the sum.

Euphemism

In Euphemism, a disagreeable thing is described by an agreeable name.

For example, we often say ‘He has fallen asleep’ or ‘He has passed away’ instead of ‘He has died.’

Other examples are given below:

Old Sam is pushing up the daisies. (= Old Sam is dead.)

He is a little careless of the truth. (= He is a liar.)

She has become hard of hearing lately. (= She has become deaf.)

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Figures of Speech – Part III

Antithesis
In antithesis, a striking contrast of words or sentiments is expressed in the same sentence. It is employed to secure emphasis.

Examples are given below:

Man proposes, God disposes.
Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.

Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a special form of antithesis. Here two contradictory qualities of the same thing are predicted at once.

So innocent arch, so cunningly simple.
She accepted it as the kind cruelty of the surgeon’s knife.

Epigram

An epigram is a brief pointed saying. It is used to introduce ideas which invoke surprise.

The child is the father of the man.
Fools rush in angels fear to tread.

Here lies our Sovereign Lord the King
Whose word no man relies on,
Who never said a foolish thing
And never did a wise one.

Art lies in concealing art.

Irony

Irony is a mode of speech in which the real meaning is exactly the opposite of that which is literally conveyed.

Here under leave of Brutus and the rest
(For Brutus is an honorable man:
So are they all, all honorable men)
Come I speak in Caesar’s funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
But Brutus says he was ambitious’
And Brutus is an honorable man.

Pun

A pun is employed to produce a ludicrous effect. It consists in the use of a word in such a way that it is capable of more than one application.

An ambassador is an honest man who lies abroad for the good of his country.
Is life worth living? – It depends upon the liver?

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Figure of Speech Part III

Metonymy

Metonymy literally means a change of name. In metonymy an object is denoted by the name of something which is generally associated with it.

For example

The Bench, for the judges
The laurel, for success
Bluejackets, for sailors
Red-coats, for British sailors
The Crown, for the king

Since there are different kinds of association between objects, there are
several varieties of metonymy. For example, a metonymy may result from the use of the sign for the person or thing symbolized.

From the cradle to the grave (= from infancy to death)

Lilotes
In Lilotes an affirmative is conveyed by negation of the opposite. It is the
opposite of hyperbole.

I am a citizen of no mean city. (= I am a citizen of a very celebrated
city.)
He is no fool. (= He is very clever.)

Exclamation
In this figure of speech, the exclamatory form is used to draw greater
attention to a point.

What a piece of work is man!
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!

Climax
Climax is the arrangement of a series of events or ideas in the order of
increasing importance.

What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties! In action, how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a God.

Anticlimax
Anticlimax is the opposite of climax. It shows a sudden descent from the
higher to the lower. The anticlimax is employed for the purpose of satire or
ridicule.

Here thou great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Dost sometimes counsel take – and sometimes tea.

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Uses of the verb have

The verb have is used in a number of ways in English. It can be used as an auxiliary verb. It can also be used as an ordinary verb.
As an ordinary verb have indicates ideas such as possession of objects, individual characteristics, relationships etc.
Examples:

He has a brother in Germany.
She has long hair.
The baby has blue eyes.
I have two kids.

Notes
Have is used in the present tense when the subject is a plural noun or the pronouns I / you / they / we.
Has is used in the present tense when the subject is a singular noun or pronoun.
Had is used in the past tense with subjects of all numbers and persons.
Have and Have Got
Have got means the same as have in most cases. It can also be used to indicate possession of objects and similar ideas.
Examples:

She has got black hair.
I have got seven sisters.

Common expressions with have

The ordinary verb have is used in a number of common expressions.

have a bath, wash, shower, etc.
have breakfast, lunch, dinner
have fun
have a party
have a walk, hike, ride, etc.
have a discussion, fight, argument etc.

Examples:

We usually have dinner at 9 o’clock.
She is having a bath.
Let’s have fun.

Have as an Auxiliary Verb
As an auxiliary verb have is used in the formation of perfect tenses. Remember that the verb have will change its form depending on the number and person of the subject and the tense of the verb. Here is a quick review of the tenses that use have as an auxiliary verb.
Present Perfect:

They have come.
I have finished the work.
It has stopped raining.

Present Perfect Continuous:

We have been waiting for a long time.
It has been raining since yesterday.

Past Perfect:

The train had already left before we reached the station.

Past Perfect Continuous:

She had been working for two hours when he came.

Future Perfect:

I will have finished working by 6 o’clock.

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When to spell out numbers

Many writers have difficulty figuring out when to write numbers in words or figures. There are some general rules but these are not applicable in all contexts. The following guidelines should, nevertheless, help.
The numbers of Kings and Queens should be written in Roman characters.

Examples: Elizabeth II, Louis XIV

Ordinal numbers up to twelfth should be written in words except in dates.

He finished second. (NOT He finished 2nd.)
Who came first? (NOT Who came 1st?)

He was born on 3rd May. OR He was born on May 3rd. (BUT Not normally He was born on third May.)

Cardinal numbers up to 12 should be written in words, except when telling the time.

We need three chairs and one table.
He has three sisters.
The train leaves at 5 pm.

Cardinal and ordinal numbers above twelve and twelfth should be written in either figures or words as seems in each case more convenient.

There were 50 students in the class.

Technical writing, however, is different. In technical writing any numbers used with measurements of time or distance should be expressed in figures. Examples are: 5 years, 2 months, 6 inches etc.
There is some difficulty in defining the rules, but generally any number that represents a key value is written in figures. For example in the sentence, ‘This chipset is based on the 32nm technology’ the numeral is in order because the number 32 has a key value in the context. When the number is not very ‘important’ it can be written in words.
Even in technical writing, sentences shouldn’t begin with numerals. In such cases write the number out in words or rephrase the sentence so that the number doesn’t begin the sentence.
According to the Chicago Manual of Style, whole numbers from one through one hundred, round numbers and any number beginning a sentence should be spelled out. For other numbers, numerals are used.

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Personal pronouns

I, we, you, he, she, they and it are called personal pronouns because they stand for the three persons:

the person speaking
the person spoken to
the person spoken of

The pronouns I and we, which refer to the person or persons speaking are said to be the personal pronouns of the first person.

I am fed up.
We have to go.

The pronoun you, which refers to the person or persons spoken to, is said to be a personal pronoun of the second person. Note that you has the same form for the singular and plural. Both singular and plural you are followed by the plural verbs are and have.

You are my best friend.
You have betrayed my trust.

The pronouns he, she and they, which refer to the person or persons spoken of are said to be personal pronouns of the third person. It is also called a personal pronoun of the third person.
Personal pronouns have different forms:
The pronouns that are used as subjects of verbs are: I, he, she, they, you and we.
The personal pronouns that are used as objects of verbs are: me, him, her, them, you and us. Note that you does not change.
Personal pronouns in the possessive case has the following forms: mine, his, hers, theirs, yours and ours.
Note that the possessive pronouns shall not be confused with the possessive adjectives my, his, her, their, your and our. The possessive adjectives are used before nouns.
Compare:

This is my dog. (Here the possessive adjective my qualifies the noun dog.)
Those are their books. (Here the possessive adjective their qualifies the noun books.)
This dog is mine.
Those books are theirs.
This is my coat. Where is yours?

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Correct Use of Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun must be of the same number, gender and person as the noun it stands for.
John is a good boy. He loves and respects his parents and teachers. (Here the pronoun he is of the same number, gender and person as the noun John.)
Alice is my sister. She lives abroad. (Here the pronoun she is of the same number, gender and person as the noun Alice.)
The students worked hard. Their teacher praised them. (Here the plural pronoun them is of the same number, gender and person as the plural noun students.)
A personal pronoun referring back to a collective noun must be in the singular number if the collective noun is viewed as a whole.
The jury has given its verdict.
The fleet will reach its destination in a week.
If the focus is on the individual members of the group, the pronoun should be in the plural number.
The jury were divided in their opinion.
When two or more singular nouns are joined by and, the pronoun used for them must be plural in number.
Both John and Peter played well. They were praised by the coach.
When two singular nouns joined by and refer to the same person, the pronoun must be singular in number.
The Secretary and Treasurer is negligent of his duty. (Here the nouns Secretary and Treasurer refer to the same person. Therefore we use a singular pronoun to refer back to them.)
Note that when two nouns refer to the same person, the determiner (the, my, this etc.) is used only before the first one.
My uncle and guardian is a doctor. (Here the nouns uncle and guardian refer to the same person.)
My uncle and my guardian are doctors. (Here the nouns uncle and guardian refer to two persons.)
When two singular nouns joined by and are preceded by each or every, the pronoun must be singular in number.
Every soldier and every sailor was in his place.
When two or more singular nouns are joined by or, either …or or neither…nor, the pronoun should be singular in number.
Either Alice or Mary forgot to take her umbrella.
Neither Peter nor John has done his homework.

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Non-finite verbs

Read the following sentences:

John thinks that he is a great artist.
I wish to learn English.

In sentence 1, the verb thinks has a subject. Its form is determined by the number and person of its subject, namely John. Verbs which are thus limited by number and person of their subject are called finite verbs. Note that all verbs in the indicative, imperative and subjunctive moods are finite, because they have subjects and are limited by the number and person of those subjects.
In sentence 2, the verb wish is finite, because it has a subject and is limited by the number and person of that subject, namely I. But to learn has no subject and is not limited by the number or person of the subject. It is used without any change whatever be the subject of the sentence.
Compare:

You wish to learn.
I wish to learn.
He wishes to learn.
They wish to learn.

As you can see, the verb wish changes its form according to the number and person of the subject. When the subject is a singular noun it becomes wishes. The verb to learn, however, remains the same. It is therefore described as a non-finite verb and its specific name is an infinitive.
There are three kinds of non-finite verbs:
The infinitive
Examples are: to learn, to write, to work, to break, to speak etc.
The participle
Examples are: learning, learned, writing, written, working, worked, breaking, broken, speaking, spoken etc.
The gerund or verbal noun
Examples are: learning, writing, working, running, speaking etc.

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Passive Voice Exercise

Change the following sentences from the Active voice to the passive voice.
1. The boy killed the spider.
2. The woodcutter felled the trees.
3. Columbus discovered America.
4. The master praised the boy.
5. The police arrested the thief.
6. The boys were making kites.
7. He has written a novel.
8. We will conquer the enemy.
9. The hunter shot the tiger.
10. Your manners irritate me.
11. He made a very remarkable discovery.
12. Everybody loves him.
13. My cousin has drawn a beautiful picture.
14. Somebody has put out the light.
15. Somebody has picked my pocket.
Answers
1. The spider was killed by the boy.
2. The trees were felled by the wood cutter.
3. America was discovered by Columbus.
4. The boy was praised by the master.
5. The thief was arrested by the police.
6. Kites were being made by the boys.
7. A novel has been written by him.
8. The enemy will be conquered by us.
9. The tiger was shot by the hunter.
10. I am irritated by your manners.
11. A very remarkable discovery was made by him.
12. He is loved by everybody.
13. A beautiful picture has been drawn by my cousin.
14. The light has been put out by somebody.
15. My pocket has been picked by somebody.

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Grammar

Articles with countable and uncountable nouns

Articles with countable and uncountable nouns