Quirky Grammar & Other Obscure Things Good To Know
-
Thank you ,Learning Partners. Your explanation is very clear. Could you elaborate on verbs of perception ?
-
Sorry.
This was a double post.
Learning Partners -
No problem KRR and pixiedust, we are glad that you enjoy our posts.
Regarding verbs of perception, pixiedust, they are verbs that are used to describe the actions 'done' by our five senses.
Some examples of Verbs of Perception:
1. Eyes: 'see', 'watch', 'look'
2. Ears: 'listen', 'hear'
3. Skin: 'touch', 'feel', 'sense'
4. Nose: 'smell'
5. Tongue: 'taste'
Some of these verbs can be used in an 'active' sense, which means that the subject (the person doing the action) is actively focusing on the action.
In this case, these verbs can take on the the continuous ('-ing') form.
Example
James is listening to the music.
Ali is watching television.
Jill is smelling the roses.
Verbs of Perception that can be used in the 'active' sense include:[list]- listen
[/list]
look
touch
feel
smell
taste
There is another set of Verbs of Perceptions used to describe the situation whereby the subject is passively perceiving his environment.
In this case, the continuous form is not used.
Example
James hears a noise in the kitchen. (We don't say 'James is hearing a noise in the kitchen.')
She sees a black cat. (Likewise 'She is seeing a black cat.' is generally not used too.)
Verbs of Perception that can be used in the 'active' sense include:[list]- see
[/list]Yes, 'feel', 'smell' and 'taste' can be used in both the active and passive senses.
hear
feel
smell
taste
How are Verbs of Perception relevant to children?
The NVNV pattern
Children, especially from Primary 4 onwards, are expected to know the NVNV pattern (commonly tested in Grammar MCQ but good to know for writing too).
NVNV refers to Noun-Verb-Noun-Verb pattern.
The first verb in the NVNV pattern is very likely a Verb of Perception.
Example
Alice saw the Cheshire cat grin widely.
Liz heard the baby cry loudly.
In the above NVNV sentences, the first verb is a Verb of Perception and do you notice that the second verb is in the infinitive form?
This is what children need to know - that in NVNV sentences, the second verb cannot be in the singular or past tense form.
Can the second verb be in the continuous form?
Yes, it can. The sentences above can be rewritten into:
Alice saw the Cheshire cat grinning widely.
Liz heard the baby crying loudly.
However, there is a difference in the meaning.
Alice saw the Cheshire cat grin widely.
This means that Alice saw the entire action from when the cat began to grin and when it stopped.
Alice saw the Cheshire cat grinning widely.
In this case, when Alice looked at the cat, it was already grinning. This means that Alice only saw part of the action.
Word of Caution
The first verb in the NVNV pattern could also be a verb other than a Verb of Perception.
The first verbs are likely to be:[list]- let (not Verb of Perception)
[/list]
make (not Verb of Perception)
help (not Verb of Perception)
see
watch
hear
feel
Learning Partners - listen
-
Hi Learning Partners,
Thanks for the post on Verbs of Perception.
I'm aware of the N-V-N-V pattern but I've never heard of Verbs of Perception.
What I particularly enjoyed was the way you linked both topics together and made it relevant to what the kids learn in school.
Great job and keep the posts coming... :goodpost:
PS: Are you aware that you double posted? Should do something about it before you get 'summon' from admin.
-
hermes173, thanks to me too for raising the question, right ? Hahahaha....just kidding.
Thanks again Learning Partners. Once again, crystal clear ! Are you a grammar teacher ? :lol:
The NVNV sentences is exactly why I asked. Given a question :
I heard my neighbours ___________ last night.
1) quarrel
2) quarrelling
3) quarrels
4) quarrelled
Since (1) and (2) are available as answers, this is a badly set question ?
OR is the gerund form preferred when both base and gerund form are available as answers ? -
pixiedust:
hermes173, thanks to me too for raising the question, right ? Hahahaha....just kidding.
Hehehe...
Sorry...my oversight, pixiedust. :imsorry:
A big thank you to you too...
:thankyou: -
pixiedust:
hermes173, thanks to me too for raising the question, right ? Hahahaha....just kidding.
Thanks again Learning Partners. Once again, crystal clear ! Are you a grammar teacher ? :lol:
The NVNV sentences is exactly why I asked. Given a question :
I heard my neighbours ___________ last night.
1) quarrel
2) quarrelling
3) quarrels
4) quarrelled
Since (1) and (2) are available as answers, this is a badly set question ?
OR is the gerund form preferred when both base and gerund form are available as answers ?
You are welcome, pixiedust and hermes173.
In a way, yes, we are grammar teachers. Learning Partners is an education centre in Yishun. We provide tuition services to schoolchildren in Yishun and beyond (Upper Changi, Sengkang, Kovan, Bishan, Woodlands and Sembawang).
We provide lessons in English (Paper 2), Creative Writing, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue for children from K2 to Sec 4.
Regarding the question that you posted, pixiedust, it is a badly set question.
This question would appear under Grammar MCQ during a test/exam.
If the school is testing for grammar, then both (1) and (2) are perfectly correct.
If your child is unfortunate enough to face this situation during a test/exam, teach him to look at the context, i.e. the meaning of the sentence.
If the sentence is:
I heard my neighbours quarrel last night.
it means that you heard the whole quarrel, right from the start to the end.
If the sentence is:
I heard my neighbours quarrelling last night.
the meaning changes. It means that you only heard part of the quarrel.
Given the context, the better answer for this question would be (2), as it is unlikely that you would have heard the entire quarrel (not unless the fight was very loud or you have the habit of eavesdropping).
However, we would like to repeat that this question is badly set. This is because, grammatically, both answers are correct. In fact, in cases like this, you could exercise your rights as a parent and demand that the school accept both answers.
Learning Partners -
Part II of Agreement
Hi parents,
We promised to introduce the more obscure points of Agreement in one of our previous posts and here it is.
1. Relative pronouns
A question from from this genre has been brought up in some of the other threads. We hope that by revisiting it, it would clear up any lingering doubt or question parents might have.
A relative pronoun is a word that acts as a subject (noun that does the action) in the middle of a sentence. It refers to another noun that is directly before it.
Examples of relative pronouns are:[list]- who
[/list]
which
whom
whose
where
The million-dollar question: Are relative pronouns singular or plural?
Example 1:
Jane is the girl who is always late.
In the above example, the relative pronoun is 'who'. It refers to the noun that is directly before it - the girl. Since 'girl' is singular, 'who' is also singular in this case and that is why the verb is in the singular form ('is').
Example 2:
Miss Lim dislikes those boys who are always late.
In Example 2, the noun directly in front of 'who' is 'boys' (plural). Thus, in this case, 'who' becomes plural and the verb following it is also in the plural form ('are').
In a nutshell, relative pronouns refer to the nouns that are directly in front of them and would take the singular or plural form accordingly.
2. 'Everyone', Everybody' and 'Each'
These words are always singular!
Children tend to think that 'everyone' and 'everybody' mean 'all the people' and hence they should be plural.
No.
They are always singular as seen in the examples below.
Examples:
(a) Everyone is going to the zoo tomorrow.
(b) Everybody has a red jacket.
(c) Each of the students is responsible for his/her own work.
For (c), many children are tricked by the word 'students'. So teach your child to memorise that 'each', 'everybody' and 'everyone' are singular.
Other pronouns that are always singular include:
[list]- someone
[/list]
somebody
anyone
anybody
3. 'Except'
Question: Which of the following sentences is correct?
(a) All the boys except Alan is going to the beach.
(b) All the boys except Alan are going to the beach.
The answer is (b).
The reason is that 'except' means 'not including'. This would mean that the noun that comes after 'except' is not the subject (the noun that does the action).
In the above question, Alan is not going to the beach so he is not the subject of the sentence and should not determine if the verb is singular or plural.
The subject of the sentence is 'All the boys' and as there are many boys, the verb should also be plural ('are').
The word 'except' could also appear at the start of the sentence.
Example
Except for Lucy, all the pupils want to take part in the singing competition.
In this case, the relationship between subject and verb is even clearer. The subject in the above example is 'pupils' (plural) and so the verb takes plural form 'want'.
We hope that this has been useful. Part III would be up some time next week.
Learning Partners - who
-
Learning Partners:
Thank you. Great tip above !...Given the context, the better answer for this question would be (2), as it is unlikely that you would have heard the entire quarrel (not unless the fight was very loud or you have the habit of eavesdropping).
Learning Partners
Great 'Agreement' lesson too !
In the near future, if you could clarify the finer points of usage related to who vs whom, I would greatly appreciate it! -
Hi pixiedust, we would be glad to help.
We mentioned in one of our earlier posts, Agreement II, that 'who' and 'whom' belong to a class of words known as pronouns. They could be used as interrogative pronouns or relative pronouns but that is for another post.
Many people get confused over the difference between the two.
The main idea to remember is that 'who' refers to the subject (noun that does the action) while 'whom' refers to the object (noun that the action is done to).
Example
John gave the book to Peter.
In the above example, John is the subject (he performed the action of 'giving').
Peter is the object (the book was given to him).
So if I were to ask questions pertaining to the above situation, they would be as such:
1. Who gave Peter the book?
John gave Peter the book. (subject)
2. Whom was the book given to?
The book was given to Peter. (object)
What does this translate into during the tests/exams?
The child may get a question like this:
Tim _____ the teacher praised is the head prefect's brother.
(1) who
(2) whom
(3) whose
(4) which
In this question, the teacher is the subject (the teacher performed the action of praising) while Tim is the object (he was being praised). Hence, the pronoun in the blank is referring to an object and so the answer should be (2).
In some schools, they introduce such questions from as early as P3. From our experience, it is very difficult for children so young to understand the concepts of 'object' and 'subject'.
Hence we teach them the following trick.
Tim whom the teacher praised is the head prefect's brother.
Noun 'whom' Noun
The word 'whom' is usually sandwiched between nouns.
Alan who was late overslept this morning.
Noun 'who' verb
The word 'who' would be sandwiched between a noun and a verb.
It is important to master the usage of 'who' and 'whom' because besides Grammar MCQ, it could also be tested in Editing, Grammar Cloze, Comprehension Cloze and Synthesis & Transformation.
Hopefully, now you have a clearer understanding of how to use them.:)
PS: Increasingly, people are dropping 'whom' and using 'who' in place of it. This is especially prevalent in America. However, when formal grammar is required, 'whom' should be used.
Learning Partners
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better š
Register Login