All About English Grammar & Vocabulary

[English Lessons]

Lesson 2: Transitive and Intransitive Verbs


1) Transitive verb is one that requires an object, eg Lay, Set

2) Intransitive verb is one that does not require an object, eg Lie, Sit

The confusion is that Lay is also the past tense of Lie.

Present Tense: Lay
Past Tense: Laid
Present Particle: Laying
Past Particle: Laid

Present Tense: Lie
Past Tense: Lay
Present Particle: Lying
Past Particle: Lian

Example:
Transitive -
Lay down the pen. (Pres)
Last week, I laid the book on your desk. (Past)
She is laying the book on the table. (Pres Par)
I have laid the book on your desk. (Past Par)

Intransitive -
I want to lie down on the bed. (Pres)
Yesterday, he lay down on the bed. (Past)
She is lying on the floor. (Pres Par)
I have lain on the bed. (Past Par)

This is quite a common exam question. There is no easy way but to remember and practice using the various forms.

[meimeitan]

Hi all experts,


May i know which answer is correct?

The one hundred dollars belong / belongs to me.

Thanks.

Meimei

[The Alternative Story]

meimeitan:

Hi all experts,


May i know which answer is correct?

The one hundred dollars belong / belongs to me.

Thanks.

Meimei

Hi meimeitan,

The answer should be 'belongs'

This is because the one hundred dollars does not refer
to 100 dollar notes but to the amount of money.

When you are referring to an amount of money, it is singular.
When are you referring to the dollar notes or number of coins,
then it is plural.

An example of cases where money would be used in a plural form:

- These 10 dollar notes are mine
- The two fifty-cent coins belong to me

[meimeitan]

Hi Thanks.

[P5G]

Ms English Lessons,


I will be learning Percentage in Term 3.

I need your help to interprete the following Mathematics question:

Abel, Bob, Conan, Dave and Elijah divided a certain number of marbles amongst themselves in the following way: Abel took 1 marble and 20% of the remaining marbles, then Bob took 1 marble and 20% of the remaining marbles. Conan, Dave and Elijah did the same. At least how many marbles were there in tbe beginning?


Please advise which interpretation is correct.


http://www.onsponge.com/forum/35-thinkingmathonsponge/3458-p5-maths-percentage.html


http://psle2010a.blogspot.com/2010/06/challenging.html#comments

TIA.

[tankee]

hi English Lesson


Thanks ! All these have been returned to my teachers :oops:

[CoffeeCat]

P5G:

Ms English Lessons,


I will be learning Percentage in Term 3.

I need your help to interprete the following Mathematics question:

Abel, Bob, Conan, Dave and Elijah divided a certain number of marbles amongst themselves in the following way: Abel took 1 marble and 20% of the remaining marbles, then Bob took 1 marble and 20% of the remaining marbles. Conan, Dave and Elijah did the same. At least how many marbles were there in tbe beginning?


Please advise which interpretation is correct.


http://www.onsponge.com/forum/35-thinkingmathonsponge/3458-p5-maths-percentage.html


http://psle2010a.blogspot.com/2010/06/challenging.html#comments

TIA.

You do not need an english specialist to answer interpretation of a maths question; it's like asking one to interpret a legal document = P.
But anyway today i found out your question is exactly the same as 2006 hci smops round 2 qns except for the names. Anyway my personal interpretation is the same as the hci's one which is also the same as uncle observer's.

[iamyoung]

Hi TAS,


Can I ask,

People like to go to ______ Ion Orchard.

Should I put 'the' in the blank, or just leave it ?
I understand that 'the' is used to specific locations.
However, I was told that for this question, we should leave blank.
But isn't Ion Orchard specific ?

Thank you.

[starlight1968sg]

I guess Ion Orchard is a name and thus may not be necessary to include the word "the".


It is just like "People like to go to Malaysia" and not "People like to go to the Malaysia".

[The Alternative Story]

iamyoung:

Hi TAS,


Can I ask,

People like to go to ______ Ion Orchard.

Should I put 'the' in the blank, or just leave it ?
I understand that 'the' is used to specific locations.
However, I was told that for this question, we should leave blank.
But isn't Ion Orchard specific ?

Thank you.

Hi iamyoung,

Starlight is right Ion Orchard is the name of a place, so there is no
need for an article (a, an, the).

This is because when you are given the name of the place, you have
already pointed out the specific shopping centre that you want to go to.

When do you need to use 'the'?

- the: to identify/pick out a specific member of a group so that
everyone involved knows that you are referring to that specific
member

Example:

- I want to go to the shopping centre that is opposite
Toa Payoh mrt station.

In this case, there are many shopping centres, but you are referring to
the specific one that is opposite Toa Payoh mrt station.
You are picking it out from a number of shopping centres, thus 'the'
is used.

However, for your example, the moment that is a name attached to
the shopping centre- Ion Orchard, there is no need to pick it out from
a number of shopping centres, as you have already identified it
by giving the name.

Hope this helps you:D

TAS