NO: Your car is the fastest car in the neighbourhood.
(Whose neighbourhood?)
YES: Your car is the fastest of all the cars in the neighbourhood.
(Your car belongs in the neighbourhood.)
CONFUSION WITH ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES
There are two categories of verbs after which an adjective form is used instead of an adverb form. When using these verbs, it is easy to make a mistake and use an adverb instead of an adjective since, logically, the modifier seems to refer to the verb, but actually it refers to the subject.
Use an adjective after:
1. Forms of the verb "to be" and other nonaction verbs such as:
seem appear become
remain prove
The boy was studious. (studious boy)
She appears happy. (happy girl)
The prediction proved incorrect. (incorrect prediction)
Jim remained depressed. (depressed Jim)
2. Verbs of the senses such as:
taste feel look
smell sound
Marianne feels sick. (sick Marianne)
That apple tastes good. (good apple)
Those girls look beautiful. (beautiful girls)
The music sounded crisp and clear. (crisp and clear music)
The cake smelled appetizing. (appetizing cake)
NO: Those girls look beautifully. (wrong)
Those girls look beautifully. (illogical)
YES: She appears happy.
She is happy. (logical)
NO: I feel badly (wrong)
I am badly (illogical)
YES: The rose smells sweet.
The rose is sweet. (logical)
YES: The music sounded crisp and clear
The music is crisp and clear. (logical)
Sometimes the modifier refers to the verb, or clarifying the manner of the action. In this case, the adverbial form must be used.
She felt cautiously for the light switch. (felt cautiously)
The music sounded loudly in her ears. (sounded loudly)
Her parents appeared immediately after she called. (immediately appeared)
The most commonly used adjectives are the shortest – the articles "a», "an», "the" that signal nouns. A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer any unspecified member of a group or class. The is called a definite article because it refers to a specific member of a group or class. Articles function as adjectives because they limit a noun or pronoun.
Indefinite articles – "a" "and" "an" Definite article – "the"
a pen a refrigerator the pen (a specific pen)
a tree a secretary the tree (a specific tree)
an onion an error the error (a specific error)
"A" is used before words beginning with a consonant sound, and "an" before words with a vowel sound. This is an important distinction; it is not the spelling that determines whether to use "a" or "an», but the sound. .
an umbrella BUT a university
a radio BUT an R.C.A. record
an hour BUT a human being
Do not use the before "both":
NO: Let's see the both of them on Saturday.
YES: Let's see both of them on Saturday.
NO: He helped the both of them out of the car.
YES: He helped both of them out of the car.
Do not use a or an after phrases ending with "of», such as "kind of», "sort of», "type of», "manner of":
NO: What kind of a car did he buy?
YES: What kind of car did he buy?
NO: He was not that sort of a person.
YES: He was not that sort of person.
The following possessive forms of pronouns, "my», "our», "your», "her», "his», "its», "their" are also limiting adjectives. They help to define or limit the noun or the pronoun. Indefinite, demonstrative, interrogative and relative pronouns also function as adjectives when they modify a noun or pronoun.
Take this road.
Will you hand me some silverware?
Whose sweater is this?
That was my paper which won.
The girl whose purse was stolen was very upset.
NUMBER – PLURAL NOUNS
Most nouns can be singular or plural. The usual plural form adds "s" to the end of the word:
desk desks
book books
girl girls
lamp lamps
guest guests
idea ideas
letter letters
smile smiles
However, there are many exceptions to this guideline. After "y" preceded by a consonant, "y" changes to "i" and "es" is added:
forty forties ecstasy ecstasies
lady ladies category categories
country countries sky skies
baby babies secretary secretaries
cabby cabbies berry berries
economy economies fairy fairies
If the final “y” is preceded by a vowel, no change is made and the plural is formed by adding “s”;
money moneys decoy decoys
buy buys guy guys
attorney attorneys abbey abbeys
valley valleys boy boys
volley volleys monkey monkeys
If the last sound in the word is "s», "z», "ch», "sh», or "x», an "es" is added. The "es" is added so the word can be easily pronounced.
class classes branch branches
box boxes dish dishes
kiss kisses fish fishes
fox foxes ranch ranches
watch watches match matches
However, if the "ch" is pronounced "k», only "s" is added:
stomach stomachs monarch monarchs
epoch epochs
Often the final "fe" or "f" in one syllable words becomes "ves":
half halves
wife wives
life lives
leaf leaves
hoof hooves
calf calves
There are exceptions, of course:
chief chiefs
roof roofs
Many nouns have plural forms that are irregular:
child children goose geese
sheep sheep cherub cherubim
mouse mice deer deer
series series man men
foot feet ox oxen
For nouns ending in "o», add "s" or "es" to form the plural. These spellings must be memorized individually.
solo solos tomato tomatoes
piano pianos potato potatoes
studio studios
Finally, there are a number of foreign words that have become part of the language that retain their foreign plural form. There is a trend that Anglicizes the spelling of some of these plural forms by adding "s" to the singular noun. In the list that follows, the letter(s) in parentheses indicate the second acceptable spelling as listed by Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.
axis axes
radius radii (radiuses)
bureau bureaux (s)
plateau plateaux (s)
larva larvae (s)
vertebra vertebrae (s)
crisis crises
parenthesis parentheses
criterion criteria (s)
phenomenon phenomena (s)
vortex vortices (es)
matrix matrices (es)
memorandum memorandums (a)
stratum strata
symposium symposia (s)
appendix appendices (es)
As you can see, there are many peculiarities associated with plural formation. It is advisable to have a dictionary on hand to check plural forms.
POSSESSIVE CASE
The possessive case of nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe and an "s" to words that do not end with an "s" or a "z" sound:
a fox's cunning anyone's choice
the girl’s dress the tree’s leaves
somebody’s letter the mother’s hope
the room’s colour the men’s store
the children’s game the M.D.’s charges
one's desire anybody else's way
nobody's business our school's record
Jeannie's grades Mr. Smith's hopes
The preference is to add only an apostrophe to words when they end in an "s" or "z" sound:
a lioness' strength the lynx' tail
the boys' bicycles the crocus' growth
the girls' dresses the Roberts' address
Burns' poems the hostess' gown
for goodness' sake Dickens' story
M.D.s' theories the Jones' house
However, it is also acceptable to add "s" if the sound is not unpleasant or difficult to pronounce:
a lioness's strength the lynx's tail
Burns's poems crocus's growth
the Roberts's address the hostess's gown
Dickens's story the Jones's house
the boys's bicycles the girls's dresses
for goodness's sake the M.D.s's theories
It is the sound that determines whether to add ('s) or only (').
THE "OF" PHRASE
When the possessive form refers to an animate object, such as a person, the addition of (') or ('s) to the noun is the standard procedure. However, an "of" phrase is most often preferred when the possession refers to an inanimate object.
TOEFL # 1
Directions.
Each sentence in this part has four words or phrases underlined. The four underlined parts of the sentences are marked A, B, C, D. You are to identify the one underlined word or phrase that should be corrected or rewritten. Then , on your answer sheet , find the number of the problem and mark your answer.
1. The main office of the factory can be found in Maple Street in New York
A B C D
City.
2. Because there are less members present tonight than there were last night, we
A B C
must wait until the next meeting to vote.
D
3. David is particularly fond of cooking, and he often cooks really delicious
A B C D
dishes.
4. The progress made in space travel for the early 1960s is remarkable.
A B C D
5. Sandra has not rarely missed a play or concert since she was seventeen years old.
A B C D
6. The governor has not decided how to deal with the new problems already.
A B C D
7. There was a very interesting news on the radio this morning about the earthquake
A B C D
in Italy.
8. The professor had already given the homework assignment when he had
A B
remembered that Monday was a holiday.
B C D
9. Having been beaten by the police for striking an officer, the man will cry out in
A B C D
pain.
10. This table is not sturdy enough to support a television, and that one probably
A B C
isn’t neither.
D
11. The bridge was hitting by a large ship during a sudden storm last week.
A B C D
12. The company representative sold to the manager a sewing machine for forty
A B C D
dollars.
13. The taxi driver told the man to don’t allow his disobedient son to hang out of
A B C D
the window.
14. These televisions are quite popular in Europe, but those ones are not.
A B C D
15. Harvey seldom pays his bills on time, and his brother does too.
A B C D
16. The price of crude oil used to be a great deal lower than now, wasn’t it?
A B C D
17. When an university formulates new regulations, it must relay its decision to the
A B C D
students and faculty.
18. Jim was upset last night because he had to do too many homeworks.
A B C D
19. There is some scissors in the desk drawer in the bedroom if you need them.
A B C D
20. The Board of Realtors doesn’t have any informations about the increase in rent
A B C D
for this area.
D
21. George is not enough intelligent to pass this economics class without help.
A B C D
22. There were so much people trying to leave the burning building that the police
A B C D
had a great deal of trouble controlling them.
23. John lived in New York since 1960 to 1975, but he is now living in Detroit.
A B C D
24. The fire began in the fifth floor of the hotel, but it soon spread to adjacent
A B C D
floors.
25. Mrs. Anderson bought last week a new sports car, however, she has yet to
A B C
learn how to operate the manual gearshift.
D
TOEFL # 2
Directions.
Each sentence in this part has four words or phrases underlined. The four underlined parts of the sentences are marked A, B, C, D. You are to identify the one underlined word or phrase that should be corrected or rewritten. Then , on your answer sheet , find the number of the problem and mark your answer.
1. The officials object to them wearing long dresses for the inaugural dance
A B C
at the country club.
D
2. Janet is finally used to cook on electric stove after having a gas one for so
A B C D
long.
D
3. He knows to repair the carburetor without taking the whole part
A B C
apart.
D
4. Stuart stopped to write his letter because he had to leave for the hospital.
A B C D
5. She must retyping the report before she hands it in to the director of
A B C D
financing.
6. How much times did Rick and Jennifer have to do the experiment before
A B
they obtained the results they had been expecting.
C D
7. Each of the students in the accounting class has to type their own
A B C D
research paper this semester.
8. Mrs. Stevens, along with her cousins from New Mexico, are planning to
A B C D
attend the festivities.
9. They are going to have to leave soon, and so do we.
A B C D
10. All the students are looking forward spending their free time relaxing in the
A B C D
sun this summer.
11. Dresses, skirts, shoes, and children’s clothing are advertised at great
A B C D
reduced prices this weekend.
12. Mary and her sister just bought two new winters coats at the clearance sale. A B C D
13. A lunch of soup and sandwiches do not appeal to all of the students.
A B C D
14. Some of us have to study their lessons more carefully if we expect to pass
A B C D
this examination.
15. Mr. Peters used to think of hisself as the only president of the company.
A B C D
16. The instructor advised the students for the procedures to follow in writing the term paper. A B C D
17. Although both of them are trying to get the scholarship, she has the
A B C
highest grades.
D
18. The new technique calls for heat the mixture before applying it to the
wood. A B C D
19. The pilot and the crew divided the life preservers between the twenty
A B C
frantic passengers.
D
20. A five-thousand-dollars reward was offered for the capture of the escaped
A B C D
criminals.
21. The equipment in the office was badly in need of to be repaired.
A B C D
22. A liter is one of the metric measurements, aren’t they?
A B C D
23. We thought he is planning to go on vacation after the first of the month.
A B C D
24. There are a large supply of pens and notebooks in the storeroom to the
A B C D
left of the library entrance.
25. The president refuses to accept either of the four new proposals made by
A B C D
the contractors.
TOEFL # 3
Each sentence in this part has four words or phrases underlined. The four underlined parts of the sentence are marked (A),(B), (C),(D). You are to identify the one underlined word or phrase that should be corrected or rewritten.Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the problem and mark your answer.