大学英语语法358

CollegeEnglishGrammar:

GrammarandWritingUnit1Basicpartsofasentence(I)

Grammar:

1.Subjectandpredicate

2．Hard-to-findsubjectsWriting:

Correcting:Sentencefragments

Rewriting:SentencecombiningstrategiesSubjectandpredicate

Asentenceisagroupofwordsthatexpressesacompletethought.Everysentencehastwobasicparts,asubjectandapredicate.

Thesubjectisthenamingpartofthesentence,representingtheperson,place,orthingthatperformstheactionoftheverborexpressingtheconditionorstateoftheverb.Subjects

arenounsandotherformsthatcanfunctionasnouns,suchaspronouns,clauses,infinitivesandgerunds.Asubjectusuallycomesfirstinasentence.Itisthetopicaboutwhichthespeakerorwriterisspeakingorwriting.Forexample,

1)Mygrandfatherboughtthecarmanyyearsago.2)Thecarwasboughtmanyyearsagobymygrandfather.Fillintheblanks:

1)Mygrandfatherboughtthecarmanyyearsago.

2)Thecarwasboughtmanyyearsagobymygrandfather.

Inmygarage,thereisanoldcar._______________.ItisaCadillac,averyclassicalluxurycar,manufacturedin1966.Thecarhas65.000originalmilesonit,butsittinginadampgarageformostofitslifedidn’tdomanyfavorsforit.Fillintheblanks:

1)Mygrandfatherboughtthecarmanyyearsago.

2)Thecarwasboughtmanyyearsagobymygrandfather.Inmygarage,thereisanoldcar.Itismygrandfather’sgiftformygrandmother._____________.Inordertobuythiscar,mygrandfatherhadbeensavinghismoneyforquiteafewyears.Heworkedasatruckdriverforalocalgrocerychain,andsupportedabigfamilyonhissalary.Needlesstosay,moneywasprettyhardtocomebythattime.Accordingtomygrandmother,attheendofthedayhewouldcomehomeandemptyhisspacechangeintoajarbesidethebed.Whenthejarwasfull,hewouldtakeittotheband.Predicatesareverbs.Apredicateisthedoingorbeingpartofthesentence,expressingtheactionorstateofbeingofthesubject.Thepredicate,oftencomingafterthesubject,isthesemanticandgrammaticalcenterofasentence.Iboughtahouseformyparents.Someoftheburiedworkersarestillalive.Thebabiesgrewnervousfromtheloudnoise.

Averbisoftenmadeupofmorethanoneword.Theverbthatexpressestheactionorstateofbeingofthesubjectiscalledmainverb.Thewordthataccompanythemainverbiscalledanauxiliary/helpingverb,whichhelpsthemainverbexpressmoodortimebyformingvarioustenses.Georgemustbeplayingbasketballwiththemnow.Thethiefhasbeencaughtinadesertedbuilding.Auxiliary/helpingverbscannotbeusedaloneinasentence.Itmustgotogetherwithmainverbs.Correctthefollowingsentences：

Tomorrowwillsurelybetter.

Ourcampuswillmoreandmorebeautiful.

Whenyouopenedthewindow,theroomwouldimmediatelybright.Verbcanbeclassifiedintotwo:actionverbsandlinkingverbs.Anactionverbexpressesanaction,suchasdo,act,make,walk,take,break,react,write,see,say,buy,buildandsoon.Alinkingverblinks/joinsthesubjectofasentence(oftenanounorapronoun)withanoun,apronoun,oranadjectivethatidentifiesordescribesthesubject.Itdoesnotshowaction,butexpresstheexistenceorstateofbeingofthesubject.Anoun,apronounoranadjectivethatfollowsalinkingverbiscalledapredictive,whichpointsbacktothesubjecttorenameit,toidentifyitortodescribeitfurther.Thereareelevenlinkingverbswhicharemostfrequentlyused.Wecanbrieflyputthemintothreegroups.expressingjudgmentorchange:be,get,turn,proveindicatingfivesensesofhumans:look,feel,smell,taste,soundsomeothers,“GRABS”:grow,remain,appear,become,seemExamples：Foryearshergrandfatherwasoneofthetownleaders.Mycoatseemedtoolarge.Pineapplesometimestastesbetterwithsalt.Moststudentsfeeldisappointedwiththeresult.Thetimeofhisbirthremainsamysterytous.LocatingtheSubjectandVerbForestfiresareoftencausedbybrokenglass.Bythen,however,inmanyplacesthegrasshadalreadytakenroot.Awomanyouknowwellwillrushtowardsyou.Eachofthestudentsrequestedmorehomework.Theleaderofthepartywasexaminingthesoilneartheentrancetothecave.Itsuddenlyoccurredtooneoftheworkerstoopenupthebox.Thenhesitsandbarksuntilsomeoneletshimout.Totheirsurprise,thepreciousparcelwasfullofstonesandsand!Tonysawmeandcameandsatatthesametable.Ifyouparkyourcarinthewrongplace,atrafficpolicemanwillsoonfindit.2.Hard-to-findsubjects

1.There/Herebe…Mostfrequently,asubjectcomesfirstinasentenceandusuallygoesbeforeapredicate.However,sentencescanbebuiltsothatthepredicatecomesbeforethesubject.Onewaytomakesuchasentenceistobeginasentencewiththereorhere.Noticetheplacementofsubjectsinthefollowingexamples.Thesubjectsareunderlinedonceandthepredicatestwice.Hereisyourticket.Herearethechildren.Therearelotsofpinetreesinthepark.Therewillbeaninternationalexhibitionnextyear.Inthesentencepatterns“There/Herebe…”,thepredicate“be”canalsobereplacedbyanactionverbsuchascome,live,remain,stand,lie,appear,exist,seem,remainandsoon.

Herecomesthebus.Theregoesthelittleboy.TherelivedsixblandmeninasmallIndianvillage.Thereexistedagreattribecenturiesago.2.ImperativesentencesAnimperativesentencegivesanorder/command,ormakesarequest:Thesubjectyouisunderstood.Itdoesn’tneedtobestated.Obviously,thewordyoumeanstheperson(subject)beingorderedorcommanded.

Shutup!(You)shutup!Showmeyourpassport.(You)showmeyourpassport.Closethedoorbehindyou.(You)closethedoorbehindyou.3.InterrogativesentencesAninterrogativesentenceasksaquestion,usuallyendingwithaquestionmark.Whenyoubuildquestions,youplaceahelping/auxiliaryverbbeforethesubjectandleaveamainverbbehind.

Haveyou

appliedforthejob?DidJim

finishhisprojectandhanditinearly?Whendidthewitness

reporttheaccident?

4.InvertedSentences

AninvertedSentenceisasentencebuiltinthewaythatthepredicatecomesbeforethesubject.Itservestoaddemphasistothesubject.Aninvertedsentenceusuallybeginswithaprepositionalphrase.

Alongcountryroadsgrowmanyflowers.Onthefloorisyourhomeworkassignment.Downthestepsofthepalacewalks

journalist.

LocatingtheSubjectandVerbDonotcomeinunlessasked.Infrontofthetowerflewsastream.Manyyearsagotherelivedanoldmaninthewoodenhouse.Becarefulwhencrossingthestreet.Isthisyourcellphonenumber?Awaywentthecrowedonebyone.Neverbelateagainnexttime.Toeachoftheneighborscameareward.Atthetopofthelemontreethereisasparrow’snest.RightfromthestarttherewastroublewiththeHubbletelescope.“Didyouhaveagoodmeal?”heasked.Whatdidshewanttorepair?3.SentenceFragment

Everysentencemusthaveasubjectandaverbandmustexpressacompletethought.Awordgroupthatlacksasubjectoraverbandthatdoesnotexpressacompletethoughtisasentencefragment.1.LackofasubjectAsubjectislikeaheadforahumanthatyoucannotgowithoutit.Lackofasubjectisoneofthemostcommonerrorsinwriting.Twosolutionsareavailable:1)addingasubjecttothefragmenttomakeitacompletesentence;2)combiningthefragmentwithanothersentenceifthetwoshareasubject.

Ilookedforaplacetoturnaround.Butonlyfoundanarrowroad.

Ilookedforaplacetoturnaround.ButIonlyfoundanarrowroad.

Ilookedforaplacetoturnaroundbutonlyfoundanarrowroad.

Ilookedforaplacetoturnaroundbutonlytofindanarrowroad.2.LackofacompleteverbApredicateverbismostnecessaryforasentence.Theerroroflackingacompleteverbcanbecorrectedby:1)addingacompleteverborahelpingverbtomakethesentencecomplete;2)combiningthefragmentwithanothersentence.

Iwasfullyawakenow.Iwonderingwhathadhappenedtome.

Iwasfullyawakenow.Iwaswonderingwhathadhappenedtome.

Iwasfullyawakenow,wonderingwhathadhappenedtome.

Fullyawakenow,Iwaswonderingwhathadhappenedtome.3.Lackofbothasubjectandaverb.Agroupofwordswithoutasubjectandaverbisonlyafragment.Theerrorcanbecorrectedbycombiningitwithanothersentence.

TheTitanicwascompletedin1912.Themostluxuriousshipofitsday.

TheTitanic,themostluxuriousshipofitsday,wascompletedin1912.

Completedin1912,theTitanicwasthemostluxuriousshipofitsday.4.LackofamainclauseAmainclause—sometimescalledanindependentclause—isaclausethatcanstandbyitselfandstillmakesense.Youmusthaveatleastonemainclauseineverysentence.Amainclauseistheessentialcomponent.Withoutamainclause,agroupofwordsisafragment.Twosolutionsareavailable:1)combiningthefragmentthatisasubordinateclausewithamainclause;2)rewritingthefragmentasacompletesentence,eliminatingthesubordinatingconjunctionortherelativepronounandaddingwordsnecessarytomakeacompletethought.

Grandparentsalwaysheldaspecialplaceincaringforthelittleones.Becausetheyhadmoretimetodevotetothem.

Grandparentsalwaysheldaspecialplaceincaringforthelittleones,becausetheyhadmoretimetodevotetothem.

Grandparentsalwaysheldaspecialplaceincaringforthelittleones.Theyhadmoretimetodevotetothem.Exercises:

Findthemissingwordandcorrectthefollowingsentencefragments.1.Theplaywillsoonover.2.Astrangeflyingobjectseeminglyinthebackyard.3.Thecatmaybeontherooforinthebushes.4.Ialwaysnervousinthefirstdayofclasses.5.Stanleyalwaysreadyforafight.6.Lightingthedarkskyforafewseconds.7.PumasarefoundinAmerica.Large,cat-likeanimals.8.Thesearchingwentonforseveralweeks,butthemurdernotcaught.9.We'llsaygoodbyetohim,becausehe’llawayfortwomonths.10.Theteamplanstostayhereforfivedays.Duringthistime,willgivefiveperformances.11.Thebeggarmayaskyouformoney.Butneveraskyoutofeelsorryforhim.12.“Oh,that,”hesaidwithasmileasifhetalkingaboutanoldfriend.Correcting:1.beover.2.cannottrust→cannotbetrusted3.seeminglylanded/fell4.maybe→maybe5.maybe→maybe6.AfterIhadhadlunchatavillagepub.→AfterIhadhadlunchatavillagepub,7.amalwaysnervous8.isalwaysready9.Lighting→Itlighted10.Theyarelarge,cat-likeanimals.11.themurderwasnotcaught.12.he'llbeawayAssignment：Theexerciseinthissectionistocreateeffectivepassagesbycombiningtheshortsentenceswhichyouthinkisrelatedintolonger,

morecomplexones.Iftherearesomemistakes,correctthem.Passage1(AdaptedfromLesson12,NewConceptEnglishbyL.G.Alexander)

OurneighborisCaptainCharlesAlison.HewillsailfromPortsmouth.Thetimeistomorrow.We'llmeethim.Theplaceisattheharbour.Wewilldothatearlyinthemorning.Hewillbeinhisboat.Itissmall.ItiscalledTopsail.Topsailisafamouslittleboat.IthassailedacrosstheAtlanticmanytimes.CaptainAlisonwillsetout.Hewilldothatateighto'clock.We'llhaveplentyoftime.We'llseehisboat,thenwe'llsaygoodbyetohim.Hewillbeawayfortwomonths.Weareveryproudofhim.Hewilltakepartinanrace.Theraceisimportant.ItisacrosstheAtlantic.Passage2(AdaptedfromLesson20,NewConceptEnglishby

L.G.Alexander)

Fishingismyfavoritesport.Ioftenfishforhours.Idon’tcatchanything.Idon’tworryaboutthis.Somefishermenareunlucky.Theydon’tcatchingfish,theycatcholdboots.Theycatchrubbish.Iamevenlesslucky.Inevercatchanything.Idonotevencatcholdboots.Ihavespentwholemorningsontheriver,Ialwaysgohome.Ialwayshaveanemptybag.Myfriendssay‘youmustgiveupfishing!’‘It’sawasteoftime.’Theydon’trealizeoneimportantthing.I’mnotreallyinterestedinfishing.Iaminterestedinsittinginaboat,Iaminterestedindoingnothingatall!CollegeEnglishGrammar:

GrammarandWritingUnit2Basicpartsofasentence(II)

Grammar:

1.Objectandcomplement

2．BasicsentencestructuresWriting:

Correcting:Run-onSentence

Rewriting:TheimportanceofthesubjectObjectandcomplement

Generally,verbscanbeputintotwo:linkingverbsandactionverbs.Bothofthemrequireawordtocompletetheirmeaning.Wecancallsuchawordcomplement.Thecomplementofalinkingverbiscalledapredicativeorasubjectcomplement,whichdescribesorrenamesthesubject.Forexample:

MyfavoriteplaywrightisWilliamShakespeare.MarkTwainbecameapilotonasteamboat.Shefeltuneasyinthecrowd.

Thecomplementofanactionverbiscalledanobject.Subjectisthedoeroftheaction,andtheobjectisthereceiveroftheaction.

Theoldmancaughtabigfish.Herhusbandfrequentlybeather.Myuncleeventuallygaveupsmoking.

Sometimesactionverbshavetwodifferentobjects:directobjectandindirectobject.Directobjectisthereceiveroftheactionwhileanindirectobjectisthereceiverofthedirectobject.Forinstance：

Harryboughthissonanewschool-bag.

Usually,apreposition“to”or“for”canbeputinfrontoftheindirectobject.Forexample,

1.Theoldmanlefthisdaughteralargehouse.(Theoldmanleftalargehouseforhisdaughter.)

2.Jimpresentedhisgirlfriendabunchofflowers.(Jimpresentedabunchofflowerstohisgirlfriend.)

Adverbialsindicatestime,place,manner,andreasons.Theyanswerquestionssuchaswhen,where,howandwhy.Adverbialscanbeadverbs,prepositionalphrases,oradverbialclauses.

Asarule,alongadverbialareplacedattheendofasentence,whileshortadverbialsareflexibletolocate:atthebeginning,inthemiddleorattheendmaybeallright.Forinstance

1.Thetrainwillarrivenextmorning.2.Hecarefullydrovehiscartothestation.3.Verysoon,sheknewthefullstory.

Exercises1:

Combinethesentencesineachsetintoasingleclearsentence.Omitwordsthatareneedlesslyrepeated,butdon'tleaveoutanyimportantdetails.Keepinmindthatmanycombinationsarepossible,andthere'snosinglecorrectone.

Themanhandedaphotoofagirl.

Thephotowastome.

Hedidthatsilently.

Themanwasold.

Thegirlwaspretty.

Theoldmansilentlyhandedaphotoofaprettygirltome.

Itwasthefirsttimeinhislife.

Hebecameaboss.

Hewasproud.

Heownedabook-store.

Heproudlybecameabossofabook-storeforthefirsttimeinhislife.

Wehavemovedintoahouse.

Wedidthatrecently

Thehousewasnew.

Ithadsingle-storied.

Wehavemovedintoanewsingle-storiedhouserecently.

4.Itoccurredashortwhileago.

Mybrotherhelpedme.

Wecarriedabookcaseupthestairs.

Thebookcasewasveryheavy.

Ashortwhileago,mybrotherhelpedmecarryaveryheavybookcaseupthestairs.

5.Thefiremenhaveputoutaforestfire.

Thefiremendidthatatlast.

Thefirewasbig.

ThefirebrokeoutinCalifornia.

AtlastthefiremenhaveputoutabigforestfireinCalifornia.Basicsentencestructures

Structure1:S-PTheS-Psentencestructureismadeupofanoun,pronoun,orother

nominalasthesubjectofthesentenceandanintransitive

verborverbphraseasthepredicate.Deaddogdon’tbite.Moneytalks.

Structure2:S-IV-CThewordsactingasapredicativemaybeaprepositionalphrasetoshowtheplaceofthesubject,oranountoidentifyorrenamethesubject,oranadjectivetoindicatethestateofthesubject.Speechisthepictureofmind.Thefiremenareinsidethebuilding.

Structure3:S-P-OTheverbactingasapredicateintheS-P-Osentencestructureisatransitiveverb,whichmaytakeadirectobjectorbothadirectobjectandanindirectobject.Povertytriesfriends.TheLiberianhandedmeaSpanishdictionary.

Structure4:S-P-O-AThewordsactingasanadverbialcanbeadverbs,prepositionalphrases,oradverbialclauses,providinginformationabouttime,place,manner,andreasons.Younevermissthewatertillthewellrunsdry.Nomancanmakeagoodcoatwithbadcloth.Structure5:S-P-O-OCDifferentfromanindirectobjectwhichisthereceiverofthedirectobject,anobjectcomplementistocompletethemeaningofthedirectobject.Thewordsactingasanobjectcomplementcanbenouns,adjectivesorprepositionalphrases.Thevillagersfoundtheirbedroomsankle-deepinwater.Thefriendlymoodmakesuscomfortable.

Exercises2:Combinethesentences

Ifeltpleasedwithmybargain

Mypleasurewasespecial.

Mybargainwaswonderful.

Ifeltespeciallypleasedwithmywonderfulbargain.

Peoplefindthissortofjoke.

Thesepeopleareforeign.

Thissortofjokearedistasteful.

Foreignpeoplefindthissortofjokedistasteful.

Advertisingexertsaninfluence.

Theinfluenceissubtle.

Theinfluenceisonchildren.

Advertisingexertsasubtleinfluenceonchildren.

Iwasbeingtested.

Thetestwasforadrivinglicense.

Itwasthethirdtime.Iwasbeingtestedforadrivinglicenceforthethirdtime.

Amurdercrossedtheroad.

Theroadwasinfrontofme.

Hedidthatwithasudden.

Amurdersuddenlycrossedtheroadinfrontofme.

Thescientistsetuphiscamp.

Hedidthatsuccessfully.

Hiscampwasveryclosetothevolcano.

Thevolcanowasactive.

Thescientistsetuphiscampveryclosetotheactivevolcanosuccessfully.

Run-onSentenceArun-onsentenceistwoormorecompletesentenceswrittenasthoughtheywereonesentence.1.CommaspliceThemostcommonkindofrun-onsentenceisperhapsacommasplice,whichoccurswhentwomainclausesareseparatedbyacommaratherthanbyasemicolonoraperiod.Forinstance:

Tomisamanager,heisworkingforabigcompany.Foursolutionsareavailable:1)Replacethecommawithaperiodandbeginthenewsentencewithacapitalletter.

Tomisamanager.Heisworkingforabigcompany.2)Turnoneofthesentencesintoaphrase.

Asamanager,Tomisworkingforabigcompany.

Tomisamanager,workingforabigcompany.

Twomoresolutionsareavailable:

Theairportwasbuiltyearsago,forsomereason,itcouldnotbeusedthen.

3)Placeasemicolonbetweenthetwomainclauses.

Theairportwasbuiltyearsago;forsomereason,itcouldnotbeusedthen.4)Addacoordinatingconjunctionafterthecomma.

Theairportwasbuiltyearsago,butforsomereason,itcouldnotbeusedthen.

2.Twomainclauseswithnopunctuationbetweenthem.

ItwaswarmlastSundayIwentandsatontheriverbankasusual.

Threesolutionsareavailable:1)Separatethesentenceswithaperiodandbeginthesecondsentencewithacapitalletter.

ItwaswarmlastSunday.Iwentandsatontheriverbankasusual.2)Separatethesentenceswithasemicolon.

ItwaswarmlastSunday;Iwentandsatontheriverbankasusual.3)Addacommaandacoordinatingconjunctionbetweenthesentences.

ItwaswarmlastSunday,soIwentandsatontheriverbankasusual.Exercises:Correctthefollowingrun-ons.

1.Shedroppedtheletterinthebox,thensheregrettedmailingit.2.Mybrotherhasneverbeenabroadbefore,heisfindingthistripveryexciting.3.Lateraneighbortoldmeabouther,hernameisJaneEarl.4.Wewaitedandwaited,atthesametime,nothinghappened.5.Iamanartstudent,usuallyIpaintalotofpictures.6.Ididnotknowthewaytomyhotel,thenIaskedapoliceman.7.Shethrewthebottleintothesea,thensheneverthoughtofitagain8.Theairportwasbuiltyearsago,forsomereason,itcouldnotbeusedthen.9.Somefishermendon’tcatchfish,instead,theycatcholdbootsandrubbish.10.Irepeatedmyquestionseveraltimes,atlastheunderstood.Correcting:1.Shedroppedtheletterinthebox,andthensheregrettedmailingit.2.Mybrotherhasneverbeenabroadbefore,soheisfindingthistripveryexciting.3.Lateraneighbourtoldmeabouther.HernameisJaneEarl.4.Wewaitedandwaited.Atthesametime,nothinghappened.5.Iamanartstudent,andusuallyIpaintalotofpictures.6.Ididnotknowthewaytomyhotel,andthenIaskedapoliceman.7.Shethrewthebottleintothesea,andthensheneverthoughtofitagain8.Theairportwasbuiltyearsago,butforsomereason,itcouldnotbeusedthen.9.Somefishermendon’tcatchfish.Instead,theycatcholdbootsandrubbish.10.Irepeatedmyquestionseveraltimes.Atlastheunderstood.Theexerciseinthissectionistocreateeffectivepassagesbycombiningtheshortsentenceswhichyouthinkisrelatedintolonger,morecomplexones.Iftherearesomemistakes,correctthem.Passage1(AdaptedfromLesson16,NewConceptEnglishby

L.G.Alexander)

Yourcarisparkedbyyouinthewrongplace.Itwillsoonbefoundbyatrafficpoliceman.Youareletgobyhim.Aticketisnotgiventoyoubyhim.Youwillbeverylucky.Thisdoesnotalwayshappen.Trafficpolicearesometimesverypolite.IwasinaholidayinSweden.Thisnotewasfoundbymeonmycar:'sir,wewelcomeyoutoourcity.Thisisa"NoParking"area.Youpayattentiontoourstreetsigns.Youwillenjoyyourstayhere.Thisnoteisonlyareminder.'Asuchkindofrequestisreceivedbyyou.Youcanobeyit!Passage2

(AdaptedfromLesson18,NewConceptEnglishby

L.G.Alexander)Ihadlunchatavillagepub.AfterthatIlookedformybag.Ihadleftitonachair.Thechairwasbesidethedoor.Nowitwasn'tthere!Ilookedforit.Thelandlordcamein.Heasked'Didyouhaveagoodmeal?".Ianswered'Yes,thankyou.Ican'tpaythebill.Ihaven'tgotmybag.'Thelandlordsmiled.Heimmediatelywentout.Inafewminuteshereturned.Hehadmybaginhishand.Hegaveitbacktome.Hesaid'I'mverysorry.Mydoghadtakeninintothegarden.Heoftendoesthis!'CollegeEnglishGrammar:

GrammarandWritingUnit3Modifiers:adjectives

Grammar:

AdjectivesWriting:

Correcting:ComparisonProblems

Rewriting:Howtorewritesentences

Modifiers

Amodifierisanywordthatactstodescribeorqualifyanotherwordinsuchawaythatitenrichestheotherwordsmeaning.Itusuallymaybeanadjective,anadverboraprepositionalphrase.Addingmodifierscanmakesentencesmoreexplicit,moreinterestingandmorepowerful.Let’slookatanexample.

Thegirlmarried.Thegirlwaspoor.Shemarriedimmediately.Shemarriedaftergraduation.Now,youmaycombineallthesedetailsintoonesentence.Thepoorgirlmarriedimmediatelyaftergraduation.

AdjectivesAnadjectiveisawordthatmodifiesanounorapronounbylimitingitsmeaning.Ittellsacharacteristicorqualityofanounorpronoun.Adjectivestellsuchthingsaswhichone?whatkind?whose?howmany/much?Generally,adjectivesmaybeclassifiedintotwo:oneisattributiveadjectiveswhichareplacedbeforenounsandtheotherispredictiveadjectiveswhichareplacedafterlinkverbs.

attributiveadjectives

predictiveadjectives

thebighouse→Thehouseisbig.apopularsinger→Thesingerispopular.

Somewordscanonlybeusedaspredictiveadjectives.Theyhavenodegreeofcomparisonandcannotbemodifiedbydegreeadverbssuchastoo,very,much,almost,nearly,enough,hardlyandsoon.Mostadjectiveswithinitiallettera-arepredictiveadjectives,suchasafraid，alike，alive，alone，asleep，awake,ahead,ashamedetc.Andsomeothersareill,well,faint,glad,pleased,sorry,sure,certain,unable,ready,fondandsoon.

Thedogisasleep.→anasleepdog

Theboywasill.→anillboy

1DegreesofcomparisonManyadjectiveshavedifferentformstoindicatetheirdegreeofcomparison.Therearethreelevelsofcomparison:positive,comparative,andsuperlative.Thepositivedegree,theadjectiveinitsmostbasicform,indicatesnoincreaseordiminutionoftheoriginalquality.

Wearelucky.

Ihavesomethingimportanttotellyou.Tocomparepeople,places,eventsorthings,whentheyareequal,weuseas+adj.+as;whentheyareunequal,weusenotso/as+adj.+as.

SummerinEnglandislovely.SpringinChinaislovely.SummerinEnglandisaslovelyasspringinChina.

Yourstoryisinterested.Mystoryisveryinterested.Yourstoryisnotsointerestedasmine.Whenwemakeacomparisonofquantity,weusethestructure“as+much/manyn.+as”or“as+few/littlen.+as”

Iearnmuchmoney.Mysonearnsmuchmoney.Iearnasmuchmoneyasmysondoes.

Harryhasfewcardsasyouhave.Youhavefewcards.Harryhasasfewcardsasyouhave.

Notice:Inaninformalstyle,weuseobjectpronouns(us,them,himetc.)afterthesecond“as”.Ireceivedasmanypostcardsas

hedid.(formal)Ireceivedasmanypostcardsas

him.(informal)Thecomparativedegreecomparestwonounsorpronouns:oneholdsagreaterorlesserdegreeofaqualitythantheother.Singlesyllableadj.:adj.-er

Two-syllableadj.:more+adj(-ful/-re).

(morecareful,moremature);

adj(-er/-yor-ly).-er.

(cleverer,prettier,sillier).Multi-syllableadj.:more+adj.(moreinteresting)

Sheisthirtyeightyearsold.Herhusband