Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Business English - Exercise 10 & 11


Exercise 10: Subject-Verb Agreement

1.        John, along with twenty friends, are planning a party.
2.        The picture of the soldiers bring back many memories.
3.        The quality of these recordings are not very good.
4.        If the duties of these officers aren’t reduced, there will not be enough time to finish the project.
5.        The effects of cigrette smoking have been proven to be extremely harmful.
6.        The use of credit cards in place of cash have increased rapidly in recent years.
7.        Advertisements on television are becoming more competitive than ever before.
8.        Living expenses in this country, as well as in many others, is at an all-time high.
9.     Mr. Jones, accompanied by several members of the committee, has proposed some changes of the rules.
10.    The levels of intoxication vary from subject to subject.


Exercise 11: Subject-Verb Agreement

1.       Neither Bill nor Mary are going to the play tonight.
2.       Anything  are better than going to another movie tonight.
3.       Skating is becoming more popular every day.
4.       A number of reporters were at the conference yesterday.
5.       Everybody who has a fever must go home immediately.
6.       Your glasses were on the bureau last night.
7.       There were some people at the meeting last night.
8.       The committee has already reached a decision.
9.       A pair of jeans were in the washing mechine this morning.
10.    Each student have answered the first three questions.
11.    Either John or his wife makes breakfast each morning.
12.    After she had perused the material, the secretary decided that every-thing were in order.
13.    The crowd at the basketball game was wild with excitement.
14.    A pack of wild dogs has frightened all the ducks away.
15.    The jury is trying to reach a decision.
16.    The army has eliminated this section of the training test.
17.    The number of students who have withdrawn from class this quarter are appalling.
18.    There have been too many interruptions in this class.
19.    Every elementary school teacher has to take this examination.
20.    Neither Jill nor her parents have seen this movie before.

Business English - exercise 4


Exercise 4: Articles

1.        Jason’s  father bought him a bicycle that he had wanted for  his birthday.
2.        Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from France to United States.
3.        Rita is studying English and math this semester.
4.        A Judge asked the witness to tell the truth.
5.        Please give me a cup of coffe  with cream and sugar.
6.        A Give books on the table for my history class.
7.        No one in the Spanish class knew correct the answer to Mrs. Perez’s question.
8.        My car is four years old and it still runs well.
9.        When you go to the store, please buy a bottle of chocholate milk and a dozen oranges.
10.    There are  only a few seats left for tonight’s musical at the university.
11.    John and Marcy went to school yesterday and then studied in the library before returning home.
12.    Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes in North America.
13.    On our trip to Spain, we crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
14.    Mount Rushmore is the site of the magnificent tribute to the four great American presidents.
15.    What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
16.    Louie played basketball and baseball at the Boys’ Club this year.
17.    Rita plays a violin and her sister plays a guitar.
18.    While we were in Alaska, we saw the Eskimo village.
19.    Phil can’t go to the movies tonight because he has to write an essay.
20.    David attended Princenton University.
21.    Harry has been admitted to the School of Medicine at midwestern university.
22.    Mel’s grandmother is in hospital, so we went to visit her last night.
23.    The Political science class is taking trip to Soviet Union in the   spring.
24.    Queen Elizabeth II is a monarch of the Great Britain.
25.     The Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776.
26.    Scientists hope to send an expendition to Mars during 1980s.
27.    Last night there was bird singing outside my house.
28.    The chair that you are sitting in is broken.
29.     The Civil War was fought in United States between 1861 and 1865.
30.     Florida State University is smaller than University of Florida. 

ARTICLE (A, An, The)


What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns;a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read abook," I mean any book rather than a specific book.
Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.
Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.
Indefinite Articles: a and an

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:
  • "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
  • "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
  • "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.
Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...
  • a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
  • an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot;an orphan
  • a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
  • an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
  • a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse 
    • In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred.
A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:

Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.

Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:

An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:
  • a broken egg
  • an unusual problem
  • a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)
Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:
  • I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
  • Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
  • Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)
Definite Article: the
The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:
"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.
"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about aparticular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.
"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
Count and Noncount Nouns
The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.
  • "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
  • "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).
"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.
  • "I need a bottle of water."
  • "I need a new glass of milk."
Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.
Geographical use of the
There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.
Do not use the before:
  • names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands,the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
  • names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
  • names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
  • names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes likethe Great Lakes
  • names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains likethe Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
  • names of continents (Asia, Europe)
  • names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like theAleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands
Do use the before:
  • names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
  • points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
  • geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
  • deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula
Omission of Articles
Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:
  • Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
  • Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
  • Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science