Collins Cobuild English Grammar (6 page)

submodifying adverb
an adverb that is used in front of an adjective or another adverb in order to strengthen or weaken its meaning; e.g. …
very
interesting
…
quite
quickly
.

subordinate clause
a clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction such as
because
or
while
and which must be used with a main clause.

subordinating conjunction
a conjunction that begins a subordinate clause.

substitution
the special use of pronouns and other words to replace part or all of a clause; e.g.
‘Are you going to the party?’
–
‘I hope
so
’.

superlative
an adjective or adverb with
-est
on the end or
most
in front of it; e.g.
thinnest
,
quickest
,
most wisely
.

tense
the verb form that shows whether you are referring to the past or the present.

that
-clause
a clause starting with ‘
that
’ which is used mainly when reporting what someone has said; e.g.
She said
that she’d wash up for me
.
That
can be omitted when the clause is used after a reporting verb.

third person
see
person
.

time adverbial
an adverbial that gives more information about when something happens; e.g.
I saw her
yesterday
.

time clause
a subordinate clause that indicates the time of an event; e.g.
I’ll phone you
when I get back
.

title
a word used before a person’s name to show their position or status; e.g.
Mrs
,
Lord
,
Queen
.

to
-infinitive
the base form of a verb preceded by
to
; e.g.
to go
,
to have
,
to jump
.

transitive verb
a verb used to talk about an action or event that involves more than one person or thing, and so is followed by an object; e.g.
She’s
wasting her money
.

uncountable noun
a noun that refers to a general kind of thing rather than to an individual item, and so has only one form; e.g.
money
,
furniture
,
intelligence
. Also called
uncount noun
.

verb
a word used with a subject to say what someone or something does, or what happens to them; e.g.
sing
,
spill
,
die
.

verb phrase
a main verb, or a main verb preceded by one or more auxiliary verbs, which combines with a subject to say what someone or something does, or what happens to them; e.g.
I’
ll show
them… She’
s been
sick
.

vocative
a word used when speaking to someone, just as if it were their name; e.g.
darling
,
madam
.

wh
-clause
a clause starting with a
wh
-word.

whether
-clause
a clause used to report a
yes/no
-question; e.g.
I asked her
whether she’d seen him
.

wh
-question
a question that expects an answer giving a particular person, place, thing, amount, and so on, rather than just
yes
or
no
.

wh
-word
one of a group of words starting with
wh-
, such as
what
,
when
or
who
, which are used in
wh
-questions.
How
is also called a
wh
-word because it behaves like the other
wh
-words.

yes/no
-question
a question that can be answered simply with either
yes
or
no
; e.g.
Would you like some more tea
?

1        Referring to people and things:
nouns, pronouns, and determiners

Introduction to the noun phrase

1.1
      At its simplest, language is used to talk about people and things. People do this by using words in a variety of ways, for example to make statements, to ask questions, and to give orders. The words chosen are arranged into groups, either around a noun or around a verb. They are called
noun phrases
and
verb phrases
.

Noun phrases
tell us which people or things are being talked about.
Verb phrases
tell us what is being said about them, for example what they are doing.

Chapters 1
and
2
of this grammar deal with noun phrases. For information about verb phrases, see
Chapter 3
.

position

1.2
      A noun phrase can be the
subject
or
object
of a verb, it can follow a
linking verb
, or it can be the object of a
preposition
.

Babies
cry when they are hungry.
I couldn’t feel
anger
against him.
They were
teachers
.
Let us work together in
peace
.

common nouns and proper nouns

1.3
      You use a noun phrase to talk about someone or something by naming them. You do this by using a general name, called a
noun
or
common noun
, or by using a specific name, called a
proper noun
.

Proper nouns are mainly used for people, places, and events.

Mary
likes strawberries.
I went to
Drexel University
and then I went to
Pittsburgh
to work for a psychiatrist.
We flew to
Geneva
with
British Airways
.

See paragraphs
1.52
to
1.58
for more information about
proper nouns
.

determiners with common nouns

1.4
      If you use a common noun, you are saying that the person or thing you are talking about can be put in a set with others that are similar in some way.

If you just want to say that the person or thing is in that set, you use an
indefinite determiner
with the common noun.

I met
a girl
who was
a student
there.
Have you got
any comment
to make about that?
There are
some diseases
that are clearly inherited.

If you want to show which member of a set you are talking about, you use a
definite determiner
with a common noun.

I put
my arm
round
her shoulders
.
…
the destruction
of
their city
.
She came in to see me
this morning
.

See paragraphs
1.162
to
1.251
for more information about
determiners
, and paragraphs
1.13
to
1.92
for more information about
nouns
.

personal and demonstrative pronouns

1.5
      You may decide not to name the person or thing and to use a
pronoun
rather than a proper noun or common noun.

You usually do this because the person or thing has already been named, so you refer to them by using a
personal pronoun
or a
demonstrative pronoun
.

Max will believe us, won’t
he
?
‘Could
I
speak to Sue, please?’–‘
I
’m sorry,
she
doesn’t work here now.’
Some people have servants to cook for
them
.
This
led to widespread criticism.

See paragraphs
1.95
to
1.106
for more information about
personal pronouns
, and paragraphs
1.124
to
1.127
for more information about
demonstrative pronouns
.

indefinite pronouns

1.6
      You may decide not to name the person or thing at all, for example because you do not want to, you think it is not important, you do not know, or you want to be vague or mysterious while telling a story. In such cases you use an
indefinite pronoun
, which does not refer to any particular person or thing.

I had to say
something
.
In this country
nobody
trusts
anyone
.
A moment later, his heart seemed to stop as he sensed the sudden movement of
someone
behind him.

See paragraphs
1.128
to
1.141
for more information about
indefinite pronouns
.

adding extra information

1.7
      If you want to give more information about the person or thing you are talking about, rather than just giving their general or specific name, you can use a
modifier
such as an
adjective
, or you can add extra information in the form of a phrase or a clause, for example.

modifiers

1.8
      Most
adjectives
are used as modifiers. Nouns are also often used as modifiers.

…a
big
city.
…
blue
ink.
He opened the
car
door.
…the
oil
industry.

See paragraphs
2.2
to
2.168
for more information about
adjectives
, and paragraphs
2.169
to
2.174
for more information about
noun modifiers
.

adding information after the noun

1.9
      You can add a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, an adverb of place or time, or a
to
-infinitive after the noun.

…a girl
in a dark grey dress
.
…the man
who employed me
.
…the room
upstairs
.
…the desire
to kill
.

Adjectives and participles are also sometimes used after the noun, usually in combination with other words.

…the Minister
responsible for national security
.
…the three cards
lying on the table
.

See paragraphs
2.272
to
2.302
for more details about information that is added after the noun.

1.10
    In particular, prepositional phrases beginning with
of
are very common, because they can express many different kinds of relationship between the two noun phrases.

…strong feelings
of jealousy
.
…a picture
of a house
.
…the rebuilding
of the old hospital
.
…the daughter
of the village cobbler
.
…problems
of varying complexity
.
…the arrival
of the police
.