MOOD & VOICE

MOOD
English has 3 moods:

1. INDICATIVE is used for both a
statement e.g. You are reading this book. and, a
question e.g. Will you reread it?

2. SUBJUNCTIVE is used when something is possible but not actual e.g.
If I were a blackbird I’d whistle and sing.

The subjunctive causes little trouble in English. It does not matter if the indicative is used in its place. You can write, “If I was a blackbird…” if you prefer BUT don’t use the subjunctive when you don’t need one: If in doubt, don’t.

3. IMPERATIVE is used to give an order e.g.
Hurry up. Come here.


VOICE
English verbs have 2 voices:

1. ACTIVE e.g. Shu Zi read the book.
2. PASSIVE e.g. The book was read by Shu Zi.

For most strong writing, the active is the better choice though it can seem harsh in some contexts. The passive is always longer, less direct, and often, more gentle as it can be useful to convey certain shades of meaning e.g.

The judge would not grant him a reprieve sounds as though the judge was merciless.
He was not granted a reprieve by the judge imply that he did not deserve one.

The intended meaning dictates which voice is appropriate in each context.

SINGLE WORDS & GROUPS OF WORDS

A word is a group of letters with a space on either side, which conveys a unit of meaning e.g. word, wordy, wordplay and worded are words.

A phrase is a group of words which acts as a unit. ‘A phrase’ is itself a phrase e.g.

- ‘A car’ is a noun phrase;
- To ‘put up with’ is a verb phrase, which is made up of 3 words, which together means to ‘tolerate’;
- ‘Very pretty’ is an adjectival phrase;
- ‘Quite quickly’ is an adverbial phrase;
- ‘In front of’ is a prepositional phrase.

Clauses contain both subject and verbs.

Some clauses are main or independent i.e. they are, or could be whole sentences and so, could exist alone e.g. She read the magazine.

Some clauses are dependent i.e. they must be linked before, within or after other clauses e.g.

DEPENDENT: Before he ate his lunch,
INDEPENDENT: he read the article
OR
He read the sports article [DEPENDENT:] because he was a sports fan.

MAIN CLAUSE: He read the article
DEPENDENT CLAUSE: while he ate his lunch.

PARTS OF SPEECH: INFINITIVE & COMPLEMENT

The infinitive is the basic form of a verb, without an inflection e.g. see in we came to see, let him see; it is a verb form that commonly begins with to and does not have a subject e.g. To go, to have, to run.

As a noun it is the basic form of a verb without an inflection binding it to a particular subject or tense (normally occurring in English with the word to, as in to see, to ask). It’s definition originates from Latin infinitus, from in- ‘not’ + finitus ‘finished, finite’.


A complement is the word or group of words which follows a being or linking verb (as opposed to an action). It can be a noun, an adjective, or adverb e.g.

- Neenah became a singer, where a singer is a noun complement;
- Lyn Qi was beautiful, where beautiful is an adjectival complement;
- Yuan was on the stage, where on the stage is an adverbial complement;

A complement can also be a clause itself e.g. Qing became what I thought. (Noun clause)

Notes
Some words can work as several parts of speech without changing a single letter e.g.
- She tried to round off her presentation well. (verb)
- He bought a round of drinks to celebrate the occasion. (noun)
- Golf uses a round ball. (adjective)
- When mother called out, they spun round. (adverb)
- He sauntered round the shopping mall. (adverb)

PARTS OF SPEECH: PARTICLE & PARTICIPLE

A particle, sometimes called a tied preposition, is a word which belongs with a verb and is part of its meaning e.g. I looked at my lover. She looked like a movie star.

To find the meaning of looked at and looked like, a person learning English as a foreign language would have to search in a dictionary for look at and look like because searching for words like at and like would be no help.

As a noun, a particle is a minute portion of matter. In physics, a component of the physical world smaller than an atom e.g. an electron, proton, neutrino, or photon. Grammatically, it is a minor function word that has comparatively little meaning and does not inflect e.g. in, up, off, over used with verbs to make phrasal verbs. The definition is of Latin origin i.e. particula ‘little part’.


A participle can be present e.g. talking or eating or past e.g. talked or eaten, and can work as a noun e.g. e.g. Jogging is enjoyable
OR it can work as part of a verb e.g. I am enjoying this.
OR it can work as an adjective e.g. This was a stimulating exercise routine.

All present participles end in –ing e.g. hurrying
Past participles end in –ed, -d, -en, -n, -t, or –k e.g. hurried, found, taken, torn, put, sunk.

PARTS OF SPEECH: CONJUNCTION & PREPOSITION

A conjunction joins words, phrases or clauses, which usually contain their own verbs e.g.
- He found it difficult but I helped him;
- They made lunch for Alice and Mary;
- I waited until you came.

It cannot move its position in a sentence unless all the words it introduces are also moved. It always comes at the beginning of a phrase, clause or sentence e.g. I spotted Charlie because she was so stylishly dressed. It often describes the position of something, e.g. under the chair OR the time at which something happens e.g. in the evening.

Some common conjunctions include…
after, although, and, as, because, before, but, for, if, in order that, like, now, once, or, since, so, so that, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, where, whether, while


A preposition is used in front of a noun or pronoun to form a phrase, showing a relationship with the rest of the sentence e.g. I placed the bookon the table, not under the chair.

Some common prepositions include:
about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before, behind, beside, between, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, outside

PARTS OF SPEECH: ADVERB

An adverb or adverbial group can be shifted within a sentence without any other word or word group being moved. Each shift will change the meaning e.g. However (on the other hand), I enjoy playing card games.
OR
I, however (you might not, but I do), enjoy playing card games.
OR
I enjoy playing card gameshowever (in spite of all that has been said…)

An adverb is used with a with a verb…
- to say how something happens e.g. he walks quickly;
- where something happens e.g. I live here;
- when something happens e.g. they visited us yesterday;
- how often something happens e.g. we usually have coffee.

An adverb is used to strengthen or weaken the meaning of…
- a verb e.g. he really meant it; I almost fell asleep;
- an adjective e.g. she is very clever; this is a slightly better result;
- another adverb e.g. it comes off terribly easily; the boys nearly always get home late.

An adverb is used to add to the meaning of a whole sentence e.g. he is probably our best player; luckily, no one was hurt.

In writing or formal speech it is wrong to use an adjective instead of an adverb e.g. use…
Do it properly and not do it proper

Note that many words are both an adjective and an adverb e.g.
a fast horse (adjective) he ran fast (adverb);
a long time (adjective); have you been here long? (adverb).

Exception
The only kind of adverb that cannot be moved is one that comes before an adjective or adverb that indicate degree e.g. However intelligent he is, he is not very considerate.

Although some words which end with –ly e.g. lovely and ugly are adjectives, –ly is a common adverb ending e.g. She strolled along slowly, but thoughtfully and carefully.

PARTS OF SPEECH: ADJECTIVE

An adjective restricts or extends the meaning of a noun. It goes either before or soon after a noun e.g. Petite Tanya is gorgeous or Tanya is petite and gorgeous. If you see these endings (suffixes) on a word, then you know they are probably adjectives:

-able / -ible / -ble at the end of a word means capable of, fit for, tending to, likely to e.g. trainable, flexible.

-al at the end of a word means relating to, having the nature of e.g. musical, personal.
-ant at the end of a word means in the act or process of doing e.g. vigilant, militant.

-ed at the end of a word are often adjectives formed from nouns e.g. interested, bored.

-ent at the end of a word often means having the quality of e.g. dependent, resilient.

-er means a comparative ending e.g. bigger, faster.

-est means a superlative ending e.g. biggest, fastest.

-ful often means full of or characterized by e.g. beautiful, bountiful.

-ic means pertaining to, connected with, resembling e.g. volcanic, angelic.

-ing means participial [adj., with the form or function of a verb that can be used as both adjective or verb] form of an adjective e.g. interesting, boring.

-istic means having the qualities of, formed from a form of an adjective e.g. realistic, socialistic.

-ite word endings are derived from some Latin verbs e.g. infinite, polite.

-ive means having a tendency to or the nature of e.g. attentive, massive.

-ory means a place or instrument for doing the main element e.g. laboratory, dormitory.

-ose means full of; like e.g. verbose, grandiose.

-ous / -ious means full of; having the qualities e.g. poisonous, anxious.

PARTS OF SPEECH: VERB

A verb is a word or word group which can show tense or mood e.g. She has driven to Penang island but might fly to Langkawi island. If you see these endings (suffixes) on a word, then you know they are probably verbs:

-en at the end of a word are often verbs formed from adjectives and mean to make ‘X’ e.g. brighten i.e. bright + en means to make bright; soften i.e. soft + en means to make soft.

-ise / -ize at the end of a word means to to cause to become, resemble; make into ‘X’, or to act in the manner of e.g. publicize i.e. public + ize means to make public or to make the public aware of; authorize; sympathize.

-ate are verbs derived from some Latin forms. At the end of a word, means to have or be characterized by ‘X’ e.g. activate i.e. active + ate means to make active; differentiate i.e. different + ate means to make or show a difference.

-ify / -fy at the end of a word means to cause to become or to make ‘X’ e.g. simplify i.e.
simple + ify means to make simple or simpler; liquefy.

-ed at the end of a word forms the simple past and past participle of regular verbs e.g. walked i.e. walk + ed means has walked; landed i.e. land + ed means has landed.

-s / -es [-ss, z after a vowel sound or voiced consonant] at the end of a word forms the third person singular of the present tense e.g. sews i.e. sew + s means ‘X’ is being described as a person who sews; walks, runs.

-er at the end of a word are often verbs with a habitual or repeated action e.g. stutter; canter.

-ing at the end of a word are often present participle and part of progressive tenses e.g. walking; is walking.

PARTS OF SPEECH: ARTICLE & PRONOUN

Article
An article comes before a noun or noun group. The only articles in English are a, an and the.

Pronoun
A pronoun stands for a noun or noun group but cannot take an article in front of it e.g. Jean did not realise I was observing her but someone else did.

I. PARTS OF SPEECH: NOUN

A few months ago, I attended a workshop at UPM and met two wonderful professors during a workshop on thesis writing. I found their patience and guidance extraordinarily helpful. During the next couple of weeks, I hope to share some of what I learnt with you by using a book by professor Margaret as a guide. Research based on information from the Internet, which I found useful have also been added to lend a more comprehensive helping hand to students like myself who need a quick reference guide or useful tips as and when the need arises.

During the course of this endeavour, I only hope you benefit from the work here, in your own works, and subsequently, whenever you have a thought anout any of the pieces here, please feel free to share your comments.

Ready? Let's get back on topic, then.

So what's a noun?
A noun is a word or word group which:
1. is a unit of meaning which follows an article (a, an or the) e.g. a song;
2. can form a plural e.g. songs;
3. needs a capital whenever it occurs in a sentence e.g. I saw Ryan in the library.

Exceptions
2 other groups also have capitals whenever they occur in a sentence:

a. The pronoun I, and the pronouns He and Him when referring to God e.g. He is my saviour.

b. Adjectives formed using nouns, which take a capital letter e.g. Cantonese from Canton.

If you see these endings (suffixes) on a word, then you know it is a noun:
-dom at the end of a word means state or condition; domain, position or rank; a group with position, office or rank, e.g. wisdom i.e. wise + dom means the state of understanding what is good, right and lasting; kingdom i.e. king + dom means the domain or area belonging to a king.

-ity at the end of a word means condition or quality of ‘X’ (a specific subject) e.g. capability i.e. capable + ity means the condition of being capable; flexibility i.e. flexible + ity means the quality of being flexible.

-ment at the end of a word means act of ‘X’; state of ‘X’; result of ‘X’ e.g. contentment i.e. content + ment means the state of being satisfied or content.

-sion / -tion at the end of a word means act of ‘X’; state of ‘X’ e.g. celebration i.e. celebrate + tion means the act of celebrating.

-ness at the end of a word means state of ‘X’ e.g. kindness i.e. kind + ness means the state of being kind.

-ance / -ence at the end of a word means act of ‘X’; state of ‘X’; quality of ‘X’ e.g. assistance i.e. assist + ance means act of giving help; eminence i.e. eminent + ence means quality of being eminent or distinguished.

-er / -or at the end of a word means one who ‘X’; that which ‘X’ e.g. fighter i.e. fight + er means one who fights; actor i.e. act + or means one who acts.

-ist at the end of a word also means one who ‘X’; that which ‘X’ e.g. pianist i.e. piano + ist means one who plays the piano.

-ism at the end of a word means an ‘X’ approach or style e.g. naturalism i.e. natural + ism means an artistic or literary approach or style, or an exponent of naturalism.

Let's talk about graduates.

I always find true love during those awesome sunset days.

But let's talk about graduates. Which of the following sentences do you think are problematic?

1. Our new employee was graduated from Newberry College.
2. Our new employee graduated from Newberry College.
3. Our new employee graduated Newberry College.
4. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in finance.
5. She earned a bachelors degree in business administration and a masters degree in finance.

Let’s begin with a discussion of the verb to graduate.
Most dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition) and The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th edition) agree that sentences 1 and 2 both reflect standard usage. In the 19th century, the preferred use was the transitive passive form (1). Since then, the intransitive sense (2) has become widely used and as a result, has long been considered acceptable, if not preferable.

Many people would consider sentence 3 problematic.
Webster’s claims that such usage is standard but points out that it is the least common of the three forms.
The American Heritage Dictionary, however, considers this usage substandard, noting that 77 percent of its usage panel finds the transitive active use of to graduate unacceptable.

Sometimes the best choice in word usage depends upon the meaning the writer intends. In the present case, if we want to place emphasis on the institution conferring the degrees rather than on the students who earned them, then it would be better to say,
“Three hundred students were graduated from Newberry College in the spring” or “Newberry College graduated three hundred students in the spring.”

Consider that the verb to graduate can mean either “to earn a degree” or “to confer a degree,” and then decide which use is more appropriate in your sentence.

All dictionaries agree that when we write the names of academic degrees, we use the possessive forms because these words refer to the person who is at a certain level of training.

In the middle ages, a bachelor was a young knight-in-training. The bachelor’s degree became the name of the lowest degree a college or university can award; a master was someone recognized in the guild system as having the highest level of expertise in a particular craft, above the apprentice and the journeyman. We now have the master’s degree- the next level of college degree above the bachelor’s but the lowest of the advanced degrees. Sentence 4 is thus correct, and sentence 5 is unacceptable.

2 final points:
1. We do not capitalize such terms as bachelor of arts, bachelor's degree, master of arts, master's degree, and doctorate; however, we do of course use capitals in their abbreviated forms: BA, MA, PhD (notice that PERIODS are NOT used).

2. We do not capitalize the names of academic subjects, subject areas, disciplines, or career fields. If such names are or contain words that are proper nouns or proper adjectives, then those particular words are capitalized- English, for example, or French history.

TRY IT OUT!
Rate the usage of the verb to graduate as most acceptable, acceptable, or least acceptable:
1. Ana Sofia graduated Columbia College last Saturday and will pursue a master’s degree in physics in the fall.

2. Sally graduated from Columbia College last Saturday and will pursue a master’s degree in physics in the fall.

3. Omar was graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in both French history and English.

ANSWERS
1. Ana Sofia graduated Columbia College last Saturday and will pursue her master’s degree in the fall. [least acceptable if not totally unacceptable]

2. Sally graduated from Columbia College last Saturday and will pursue her master’s degree in the fall. [most acceptable]

3. Omar was graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in both French history and English. [acceptable]

Note that the possessive case, master’s and bachelor’s is correct in all 3 sentences.

What's this about possessive cases?

Amazing... such a little tree with such significantly beautiful flowers... I can just imagine how stunning they'll look when they're in full bloom! Oh uhh... all right, let's get back to the possessive case.


So what's with using the Possessive Case with Gerunds?
Read on and you tell me...

The problems in the following sentences are identified in bold.
1. I appreciate you taking the time to read our year-end report.

2. The revised plan would result in the family paying for services that previously would have been covered by the public insurance program.

3. All child safety seats must be properly installed to reduce the risk of a child being injured.

In each of these sentences, we need to use the possessive case to modify a gerund.
The correct phrases, then, are (1) “your taking” (2) “family’s paying,” and (3) “child’s being.”

But what’s a gerund?
A gerund is a verbal i.e. a word formed from a verb, which retains certain characteristics of a verb
e.g. tenses and the ability to take an object, but no longer functions as that part of speech.

A gerund always functions as a noun.
It is formed by adding “ing” to the verb. Because a gerund functions as any other noun does, we must use the possessive case of nouns that modify it. For example, we’d write: “My sister’s singing always pleases my father.” Here, “singing” is the gerund and “sister’s” is the possessive noun modifying it.

2 central problems thus arise with regard to the use of the possessive case with the gerund:
1. The failure to use the possessive case with the gerund can give a sentence an entire different meaning.

Consider these two sentences:
(a) Chuan did not like the woman standing in front of him at the parade.
(b) Chuan did not like the woman’s standing in front of him at the parade.

In sentence (a), “standing” is an adjective modifying “woman.”
We call “standing in front of him at the parade” a participial phrase.
The sentence says that Chuan did not like the woman who was standing in front of him at the parade.
The participial phrase answers the question “which woman?”
It identifies her as “the standing woman” and states that she is the person whom Chuan did not like.

In sentence (b), “standing” is a noun- a gerund. This sentence says that Chuan did not like the fact that someone (the “woman”) was standing in front of him at the parade. Chuan probably did not know the woman at all. The notion of his liking or disliking her has nothing whatsoever to do with the idea that the sentence intends to convey.

It was the *standing in front of him* that Chuan did not like- the *woman’s* standing. The true meaning of the sentence- the fact that Chuan did not like having someone stand in front of him at the parade, hinges entirely on the use of the possessive case of the word “woman.”

2. The failure to use the possessive case with the gerund can create an illogical statement.

Consider the following sentence:
I appreciate you taking time to talk with me about the project.

The possessive case of “you” is not used with the gerund “taking” so the writer ends up making the illogical statement (in this context) “I appreciate you.” The point is not that the writer of the sentence appreciates *you* per se; instead, he or she appreciates the fact that you took time to talk with him or her: I appreciate *your* taking time to talk with me about the project.

More examples?
1. Each office wants to arrange its own schedule, but doing so would result in the *company’s* being inundated with calls and scheduling requests.

This practice does not result in the company; it results in the inundation of the company i.e. in *its* being inundated.

2. The principal may require the parents to come to the school for a conference prior to the *student’s* being allowed to resume riding the bus.

The parents will not have to come to the school prior to the student; they will have to come before the student can be allowed to resume riding the bus i.e. prior to *his or her* being allowed to resume riding.

3. What can we do about *others’* not being able to read well?
The question is not what can we do about others but what can we do about the fact that they are not able to read well i.e. about *their* not being able to read well.

4. Funding eligibility is contingent upon the *entity’s* meeting the financial reporting requirements.
The eligibility is not contingent upon the entity but upon the fact that the entity meets the financial reporting requirements i.e. upon *its* meeting the requirements.]

Want to try?
Identify problems with gerunds in the following sentences:

1. The tax incentive program has resulted in South Carolina gaining seventy new businesses in the northern coastal area.

2. The principal will notify the parents that any disruptive conduct will result in a student losing his or her hall privileges for the remainder of the school year.

3. An emergency technician had recorded vital signs prior to the patient receiving medical care.

4. The “employee of the month” award is based on an employee having demonstrated a strong work ethic, collegiality, and dedication to the company.

5. The board of directors realized that its actions were responsible for the company having lost $2.3 million in revenue during the fourth quarter.

ANSWERS
1. The tax incentive program has resulted in South Carolina’s gaining seventy new businesses in the northern coastal area.

The incentive program has not resulted in South Carolina; instead, it has resulted in the *state’s* gaining seventy new businesses in the northern coastal area.

2. The principal will notify the parents that any disruptive conduct will result in a student’s losing his or her hall privileges for the remainder of the school year.

The conduct will not result in the student; it will result in the loss of hall privileges by the student- in *his or her* losing the privileges.

3. An emergency technician had recorded vital signs prior to the patient’s receiving medical care.

The technician did not record the vital signs prior to the patient; instead, he or she recorded vital signs prior to the *receiving* of the medical care.

4. The “employee of the month” award is based on an employee’s having demonstrated a strong work ethic, collegiality, and dedication to the company.

The award is not based on the employee; instead, it is based on *his or her* having demonstrated certain qualities.

5. The board of directors realized that its actions were responsible for the company’s having lost $2.3 million in revenue during the fourth quarter.

The sentence means to convey that the board was responsible not for the company per se but for *its* having lost revenue.