All About English Grammar & Vocabulary

[iamyoung]

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 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

Hi TAS,

Thank you for your reply.
Just want to ask another question which is related.
What about 'United States of America' ?
There should be a 'the' infront of it right?
But why is this so ?

Tks

[The Alternative Story]

ET-PH:

Hi, may I know when do we use \"will be ___ \" and \"will ___ \".


For example, we will be going to Sentosa next week. Do we write, we \"will be leaving\" the house at 11am or do we write we \"will leave\" the house at 11am. Thanks.

Hi ET-PH,

The difference between 'will leave' (future tense) and 'will be leaving'
(future continuous tense) is this:

a) Future tense is used to state a command or strong desire

- We will leave the house at 11 am (stating a desire or command,
eg: telling the children that they better be ready by then)

OR

b) Future tense is used to describe an action that will take place
in the future

- We will leave the house at 11 am (stating that the action of
'leaving' will take place in the future at 11 am)

Future continuous tense is used to describe an action that will be
on-going sometime in the future. Here the emphasis is on
the continuity of the action.

- We will be leaving the house at 11 am (stating that at 11 am,
the family will be in the process of leaving)

It depends on what you are trying to communicate to determine
whether 'will leave' or 'will be leaving' should be used.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

iamyoung:

Hi TAS,

Thank you for your reply.
Just want to ask another question which is related.
What about 'United States of America' ?
There should be a 'the' infront of it right?
But why is this so ?

Tks

Hi iamyoung,

No problem

There should be a 'the' in front of United States because
there are many different states in different countries but here
we are only picking out the states in America, that is why there is
a 'the' in front.

TAS

[iamyoung]

The Alternative Story:

iamyoung:

Hi TAS,

Thank you for your reply.
Just want to ask another question which is related.
What about 'United States of America' ?
There should be a 'the' infront of it right?
But why is this so ?

Tks

Hi iamyoung,

No problem

There should be a 'the' in front of United States because
there are many different states in different countries but here
we are only picking out the states in America, that is why there is
a 'the' in front.

TAS

Hi TAS!

Thanks for your reply! Will ask you if I have anymore problems in my English!

[starlight1968sg]

The Alternative Story:

iamyoung:

Hi TAS,

Thank you for your reply.
Just want to ask another question which is related.
What about 'United States of America' ?
There should be a 'the' infront of it right?
But why is this so ?

Tks

Hi iamyoung,

No problem

There should be a 'the' in front of United States because
there are many different states in different countries but here
we are only picking out the states in America, that is why there is
a 'the' in front.

TAS

Thanks TAS for sharing.
I am unaware that we need to put the article \"the\" for USA.
eg: Is the below sentence grammatically correct?
Do you like to go to (the) USA?
Do you like to go to (the) Europe?

[The Alternative Story]

starlight1968sg:

Thanks TAS for sharing.
I am unaware that we need to put the article \"the\" for USA.
eg: Is the below sentence grammatically correct?
Do you like to go to (the) USA?
Do you like to go to (the) Europe?

Hi starlight,

Actually for USA, many of us just say \"USA\" without the 'the' in front.
That is a more informal way of speaking but in a more formal written
form, the 'the' is required.

Hence, for your eg:

- Do you like to go to the USA?

this is correct, we can also say 'Do you like to go to USA'
but that is correct only in an informal spoken context.

For your next eg:

- Do you like to go to (the) Europe?

this is wrong, as Europe is the name of a continent,
it already singles out the continent by giving the name.
Hence 'the' is not required as 'the' is only needed to
single out a specific member from a group.

For 'United States of America', there are many different
states in the world and you need 'the' to specify that you
are only referring the 'United States'.

These examples below require 'the' in front of them:

- The United Kingdom (there are many kingdoms, we are
singling out only the UK)

- The Republic of China or any other country (when there is
the word 'republic' in front, you need 'the' as there are many
republics and we are only referring to a specific republic)

TAS

[meimeitan]

Hi TAS


Could u help out the following T & S?

The girls refused to talk to each other. They should work out their differences.

Instead of ____________________________________________.

Thanks.

[janet88]

meimeitan:

Hi TAS


Could u help out the following T & S?

The girls refused to talk to each other. They should work out their differences.

Instead of ____________________________________________.

Thanks.

Can I try ?
Instead of refusing to talk to each other, the girls should work out their differences.

[The Alternative Story]

meimeitan:

Hi TAS


Could u help out the following T & S?

The girls refused to talk to each other. They should work out their differences.

Instead of ____________________________________________.

Thanks.

Hi meimeitan,

Janet Lee's answer is correct For 'instead of', the clause
after it must be a noun or a gerund (a gerund is a specific
type of noun phrase with the verb changing to 'ing' form).
A gerund is not a verb.

There are many such types of synthesis questions where the question
requires a change in the verb to a gerund/noun phrase form.

Eg:

- Despite/In spite of

Qn- I got wet even though I brought an umbrella with me.

Ans- Despite bringing an umbrella with me(gerund), I got wet.

Eg:

- Upon

Qn- When I arrived at the airport, I saw that the popstar had arrived.

Ans- Upon arriving at the airport (gerund), I saw that the popstar
had arrived.

OR

Ans- Upon arrival at the airport (noun phrase), I saw that
the popstar had arrived.

TAS

[meimeitan]

Hi All,


thanks for prompt reply. Great!

meimeitan