English-Writing-Course-Correct-Words

1、Think before you write; read before you think.,Welcome to Writing Class!,Dont Forget to Bring to Class,A writing notebook Pencil (or pen) with an eraser A dictionary,Electronic Dictionaries,Good for: Definitions of individual words only Ease of use Not good for: Detailed explanations of word meaning

2、s Examples of ordinary usage to understand true meaning Examples of expressions in which the meaning of the word may change,Recommended Dictionaries for Foreign Learners,Oxfords Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English MacMillan English Dictionary fo

3、r Advanced Learners Collins COBUILD Students Dictionary,Why Have a Great Dictionary?,Understanding the exact meaning of a word is important to communicating exactly what you mean!,Important functions of a dictionary,Correct Pronounciation 2. Dealing with a very important grammatical feature- subject

4、-verb agreement; 3. Writing a simple note.,I. Different Meanings of Words,(1) Denotative meaning: literal meaning; the meaning found in the dictionary. (2) Connotative meaning: implied or suggested meaning. (3) Affective meaning: showing the attitude of the writer -whether he/she thinks favorable or

5、 unfavorable of something. (4) Collocative meaning: referring to the meaning a word has in a set combination with other words.,Words similar in denotative meanings can be diverse in connotative and affective meanings. Examples: (1) small, little They lived in a _ town. I will never forget the _ town

6、 where I spent my happy childhood. (2)modest, humble _ and hardworking, he made very quick progress at school. Clearly Gompers was overawed by Wilson. His face took on a servile look; his voice was _.,(3) big, large, huge Wuhan is a very _ city in Central China. The team has got a _ man over two met

7、ers tall. (4) plump, portly, fat Here comes an elderly gentleman, large and _. They are looking at the _ goddesses of Renaissance paintings.,Classroom Activities (Page 3):,Collocation,N.+prep.+n. a straw in the wind the apple of ones eye (like) a fish out of water Prep.+n. in kind on the air at leng

8、th with flying colors V. +n. slip ones mind kill two birds with one stone go to the dogs,Your Topic Goes Here,As. as: as easy as pie as big as life as different as night and day as poor as a church mouse Pairs of words: wear and tear high and dry touch and go in black and white Sayings: One mans mea

9、t is another mans poison. A stitch in time saves nine. Take it or leave it. Dont count your chickens before they are hatched.,II. Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement,3 Basic Principles: grammatical agreement 语法一致 notional agreement 意义一致 the principle of proximity 就近原则,（1）When the subject is compound;,1)

10、 A compound subject with and takes a plural verb in most cases, but when it expresses a singular meaning or when each of the singular subjects is considered individually, it takes a singular verb. 2) After a compound subject with or, nor, either.or, neither.nor, not.but, the verb agrees in number an

11、d person with the nearer part of the subject. 3) Intervening phrases or clauses not introduced by coordinating conjunctions do not affect the number of a verb. Such phrases are normally introduced by prepsitions or prepsitional phrases such as as well as, as much as, rather than, along with, in addi

12、tion to, together with, with, plus, and including.,（2）When the subject expresses quantity;,1) Nominal phrases of time, money, weight and measurement normally take a singular verb. 2) Some words or phrases, such as all, most, half, the last, the rest, take a singular or plural verb, depending on the

13、meaning of the noun or pronoun that follows. 3) Phrases like lots of, heaps of, loads of take singular or plural verbs depending on the form of the nouns that follow. 4) In sentences with more than one or many a modifying the subject noun, the verb should take a singular form though it is plural in

14、meaning.,(3) When the subject is a relative pronoun, a what-clause, or in the there-be structure; Translation: 1) a. He was one of the candidates who were able to carry out their campaign pledges. b. He was only one of the candidates who was able to carry out his campaign pledges. Summary: After a r

15、elative pronoun (who, which, that), the verb has the same person and number as the antecedent.,2) a. What he wants is just a little love from his foster parents. b. What one thinks and says are not always the same. Summary: After a what-clause, the verb is usually singular. But if the what-clause is

16、 in a compound structure plural in meaning, the verb is in plural form.,3) a. There is a cherry tree and several orchid flowers in the garden. b. There are hundreds of applicants on the waiting list for the job. Summary: In the there-be structure, the verb is singular or plural depending on the numb

17、er of the subject. The singular there is may be used to introduce a compound subject when the first noun or nominal phrase is singular.,(4) Others,1) Indefinite pronouns such as anybody, anyone, each, everybody, nobody, no one, and somebody generally require a singular verb. 2) The pronouns any and

18、none take either singular or plural verbs. 3) The complement of the verb be does not affect its number.,4) A collective noun takes a singular verb when the class it names is thought of as a unit, but a plural verb when the members of the class are thought of as individuals. 5) Titles of books, magazines, movies, newspapers, plays, and the like take a singular verb. 6) Certain nouns which are plural in form but singular in meaning generally take a singular verb. Some of these are physics, mechanics, news, statistics, and whereabouts.,II