Collins Cobuild English Grammar (29 page)

1.219
  Possessive forms can also be used to refer to things of a particular type that are usually associated with someone.

…a woman dressed in a
man’s
raincoat.
…a
policeman’s
uniform.
…
women’s
magazines.
…the
men’s
lavatory.

1.220
  The possessive form can sometimes be used with nouns that refer to an action in order to show who or what is performing the action.

…the
banking service’s
rapid growth.
…
Madeleine’s
arrival at Fairwater House School.

Note that phrases beginning with
of
are used more commonly to do this, and that they are more formal than this use of possessive forms. The use of prepositional phrases beginning with
of
to show who or what is performing an action is explained in paragraph
2.282
.

1.221
  Sometimes you can add apostrophe
s
(
’s
) to a noun referring to the thing affected by the performer of an action and put it in front of the noun referring to that performer. For example, you can talk about
the scheme’s supporters
.

…
Christ’s
followers.
…the
car’s
owner.

Sometimes an apostrophe
s
(
’s
) structure can be used to refer to the thing affected by an action.

…
Capello’s
appointment as England manager.

Note again that
of
structures are more commonly used to do this.

other ways of showing possession

1.222
  It is also possible to show possession by using either a prepositional phrase beginning with
of
, or a structure with a noun modifier in it.

Prepositional phrases beginning with
of
are explained in paragraphs
2.277
to
2.283
. Noun modifiers are explained in paragraphs
2.169
to
2.174
.

Indefinite determiners:
all
,
some
,
many
, etc.

1.223
  
Indefinite determiners
are used in noun phrases when you are talking about people or things in a general way, without identifying them.

Here is a list of indefinite determiners:

a

all

an

another

any

both

each

either

enough

every

few

little

many

more

most

much

neither

no

other

several

some

A
, and
an
are the most common indefinite determiners; they are sometimes called the
indefinite article
. For more information about
a
and
an
, see paragraphs
1.228
to
1.235
.

For more information about the other indefinite determiners, see paragraphs
1.236
to
1.250
.

with countable nouns

1.224
  
A
and
an
are used with singular countable nouns, and show that you are talking about just one person or thing.

Another
is used with singular countable nouns and
other
with plural countable nouns, but only after one or more of the same type of person or thing has been mentioned.

Any
can be used with singular and plural countable nouns to talk about one or more people or things. You use
enough
,
few
,
many
,
more
,
most
,
several
, and
some
with plural countable nouns to show that you are talking about a number of people or things. Each of these determiners indicates a different set or group within the total number. For more information about their meanings, see the section beginning at paragraph
1.236
.

All
,
both
,
each
,
either
, and
every
show that you are talking about the total number of people or things involved.
Both
and
either
specify that only two people or things are involved.
Both
is used with a plural noun, and
either
with a singular noun.
All
,
each
, and
every
usually show that there are more than two.
All
is used with a plural noun, and
each
and
every
with a singular noun.

No
and
neither
refer to the total number of things involved in negative statements.
No
is used with singular or plural nouns, and
neither
only with singular nouns.
No
and
neither
are covered in the section on
negative words
in
Chapter 5
.

For more information about
countable nouns
, see paragraphs
1.15
to
1.22
.

with uncountable nouns

1.225
  For uncountable nouns,
any
,
enough
,
little
,
more
,
most
,
much
, and
some
are used to talk about a quantity of something.
No
and
all
indicate the total quantity of it.

For more information about
uncountable nouns
, see paragraphs
1.23
to
1.33
.

BE CAREFUL

1.226
  
A
,
an
,
another
,
both
,
each
,
either
,
every
,
few
,
many
,
neither
, and
several
are not usually used with uncountable nouns.

using nouns without determiners

1.227
  When you are referring to things or people in an indefinite way, you can sometimes use a noun without a determiner.

…raising
money
from
industry
,
government
, and
trusts
.
Permission
should be asked before
visitors
are invited.

Uncountable nouns
are usually used without a determiner.

Health
and
education
are matters that most voters feel strongly about.
Wealth
, like
power
, tends to corrupt.

Plural nouns
are used without a determiner when you are referring to all the people or things of a particular kind.

Dogs
need a regular balanced diet, not just meat.
Are there any jobs that
men
can do that
women
can’t?

Plural nouns can also be used without a determiner to talk about an unspecified number of things.

Teachers should read
stories
to children.
Cats and dogs get
fleas
.

For more information about plural nouns, see paragraphs
1.41
to
1.46
.

A
and
an

1.228
  
A
and
an
are the most common
indefinite determiners
. They are used for talking about a person or thing when it is not clear or not important which one is intended. You put
a
or
an
in front of the singular form of a
countable noun
.

He’s bought the children
a puppy
.
He was eating
an apple
.
An old lady
was calling to him.

choosing
a
or
an

1.229
  You use
a
when the following word begins with a consonant sound.

…a piece…a good teacher…a language class.

This includes some words that begin with a vowel in their written form, because the first sound is a
y
sound, /j/.

…a university…a European language.

You use
an
when the following word begins with a vowel sound.

…an example…an art exhibition…an early train.

This includes some words that begin with the letter
h
in their written form, because the
h
is not pronounced.

…an honest politician…quarter of an hour.

A
is usually pronounced /ǝ/.
An
is usually pronounced /ǝո/.

not being specific about which person or thing you are referring to

1.230
  People often say that you use
a
or
an
when you are mentioning something for the first time, but this is not a very helpful rule because there are so many situations where you use
the
for the first mention of something. See, for example, paragraphs
1.166
,
1.167
, and
1.168
.

You usually use
a
or
an
when it is not clear or not important which specific person or thing is being referred to.

She picked up
a book
.
After weeks of looking, we eventually bought
a house
.
A colleague
and I got some money to do research on rats.

adding extra information

1.231
  Sometimes,
a
or
an
is simply followed by a noun.