All About English Grammar & Vocabulary

[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

[meimeitan]

Hi!


How about the following T & S:

The frogfish uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey. The decoy fish also uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey.

Both _________________________________________________________.

The fish is used in plural form, how about the prey?

Thanks :lol:

meimei tan

[janet88]

meimeitan:

Hi!


How about the following T & S:

The frogfish uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey. The decoy fish also uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey.

Both _________________________________________________________.

The fish is used in plural form, how about the prey?

Thanks :lol:

meimei tan

Both the frogfish and decoy fish use a certain part of their bodies to attract their prey. [Just trying]

[The Alternative Story]

meimeitan:

Hi!


How about the following T & S:

The frogfish uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey. The decoy fish also uses a certain part of its body to attract its prey.

Both _________________________________________________________.

The fish is used in plural form, how about the prey?

Thanks :lol:

meimei tan

Hi meimei,

Janet Lee is right as 'prey' when used in the plural or singular form
is always 'prey'.

It is good to get the children to know which words act in such a manner.

We have listed a few for you:
(no change in the word whether it is in the singular or plural form)

- deer
- sheep
- salmon
- aircraft
- series

TAS

[janet88]

I was trying my luck for the #2 question.

English grammar is getting tougher now. I have problems explaining to my son past perfect tense and present/past participle.

As for this word ‘gerund’, it’s really greek to me. Went to Popular for my son as reference for English but Preston is not detailed.