Academic English Workshop 0910s3 Pronoun And Articles

CC0040 Academic English workshop (Health Care) 2009-2010 Session 3 – Common ESL Errors II (Pronoun Agreement and Reference, Articles and Nouns) Wience Lai

[email protected] 3746-0170 HHB 1630

Part A: Diagnostic Test • Ten grammatical mistakes in the given passage have been underlined. Correct the mistakes in the space between the lines.

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Part B: Grammatical principles Review

Pronoun Agreement Articles and Nouns

1.1 Pronoun agreement A pronoun must agree in person (first/second/third) and number (singular/plural) and gender (feminine/masculine/neuter) with the noun it replaces/refers to.

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1.1 Pronoun agreement Circle the correct pronoun. 1. Neither of the potential buyers had really made up (his or her, their) mind. 2. Not one of the new cashiers knows what (he or she, they) should be doing. 3. Each of these computers has (its, their) drawbacks. 4. Anyone trying to reduce (his or her, their) salt intake should avoid canned and processed foods. 5. If anybody calls when I’m out, tell (him or her, them) I’ll return in an hour. (Langan, 2008, p.358)

6. The group had (its, their) seminar last week.

Collective Noun

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1.1 Pronoun agreement

Error

What’s the problem? Sexis in • If a student wants to get an A in hism exam,person you should study not only the notes but also the textbook. Use both masculine and feminine pronoun If a student wants to get an A in his or her exam, he or she should study not only the notes but also the textbook. Use the plural If students want to get an A in their exam, they should study not only the notes but also the textbook. Eliminate theexam, pronoun If one wants to get an A in an one should study not only the notes but also the textbook. 8

1.2 Pronoun Reference • A sentence may be confusing and unclear if a pronoun may refer to more than one word or does not refer to any specific word.

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1.2 Pronoun Reference Rewrite each of the following sentences to make clear the vague pronoun reference. Add, change, or omit words as necessary. 1. Dad spent all day fishing but didn’t catch a single one. 1.Dad spent all day fishing but didn’t catch a single fish. 2. At that fast-food restaurant, they give you free glasses with your soft drinks. 2.At the fast-food restaurant, the waiters give you free glasses with your soft drinks. (Langan, 2008, p.359) 10

1.2 Pronoun Reference 3. Ruth told Denise that her bouts of depression were becoming serious. 3. Ruth told Denise, “My bouts of depression are becoming serious.” Ruth told Denise, “Your bouts of depression are becoming serious.” 4. Dipping her spoon into the pot of simmering spaghetti sauce, Helen felt it slip out of her hand. . . . 4.Dipping her spoon into the pot of simmering spaghetti sauce, Helen felt the spoon slip out of her hand. 5. Pete visited the tutoring center because they can help him with his economics course. 5. Pete visited the tutoring center because its staff can help him with his economics course. (Langan, 2008, p.359) 11

2. Articles Articles • are used to mark nouns. • can be classified into definite (the) and indefinite articles (a/an). – Use a or an for singular nonspecific count nouns; – Use the with all specific nouns – specific singular, plural, and noncount nouns; – Omit articles with generic nouns – generic plurals and noncount nouns. 12

2. Articles Circle the correct form of the noun in parentheses. 1. Put (a M, an M) if you are male but (a F, an F) if you are female. 2. Has he graduated from (a university, an university) with (a honours degree, an honours degree)?

Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound and the use an before a word with 3. This morning, mail carrier brought me (abeginning letter, the letter) a vowel sound. from my cousin. As I read (a letter, the letter), I began to laugh at what my cousin wrote. 4. Children should treat their parents with (the respect, respect).

Use a with the first mention and use an with the second mention. Omit articles with abstract nouns (see Langan, 2008, p. 362 for other types of noncount nouns). 13

2.1 Articles 5. My son would like to eat (the spaghetti, spaghetti) at every meal.

Omit articles for foods , a kind of noncount 6. nouns). (The accident, Accident) was caused by ice on the highway. Use the with identity known from the general 7. My neighbor’s son attends college in (the Chicago, Chicago). context.

8. A hurricane crossed (Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean) before it hit the United States.

Skip the with cities but use the with seas or (see 2008, to pp.364-365 forchess) the and 5. oceans Computers haveLangan, been programmed play (the chess, can now beat most with humanproper players. nouns). use of articles 6. Every night we have to do lots of (homework, homeworks).

Omit articles for general reference. Omit articles uncountable nouns. 10/05/09

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For more uses of Articles, see Langan, 2008, pp.362365

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Part C: Concept Boosting Exercises Exercise C1 The following are some ungrammatical sentences. Identify (i) the mistake(s) and (ii) correct the mistake(s). Some sentences may have more than one error. 1. Either the servers or the manager must give their permission for you to return that half-eaten dish. 2. It was easy quiz. However, because I have never been good at Accounting, it still took me a long time to complete the paper. 3. My brother’s son, in a way resembling many young kids, believes in everything they come across in tabloids. 4. If you want to take leave during the Lunar New Year, they had better indicate their wish as soon as possible.

5. Even with the most effective tattoo removal procedure, a person’s skin can hardly be restored to their original condition. Thus, a person should think twice before having tattoos. 6. The ideas put forth by Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud had no doubt made its mark on twentieth-century life. 7. Ben is the most pessimistic person I have come across. He likes to look on dark side of things. When he encounters problems, he always dramatizes it. Indeed, these days I find him so intolerable that his grumbles always madden me. 8. What did teacher say about your performance in recent test? 9. You can always understand a person by looking at company they keep. 10. When people are in love, they tend to downplay problem found in their partners. It is only when lovers are no longer so much in love that minor problems escalate into major mistakes.

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Part C: Concept Boosting Exercises Exercise C2 Add an appropriate article (a/an, the, or φ) in the blanks. There can be more than one possible answer. 1. I didn't bring ____________ alcohol you asked for. I completely forgot about it. 2. Did you tip _____________ magicians at your party? Their performance suggested that they certainly didn't deserve our tipping. 3. Christina wanted to purchase ______________ gift for her grandmother, but she ended up buying things for herself. 4. I know Galen’s character. He will not like to share ___________ problems with others. However, he wouldn't mind mentioning his problems once they were resolved. 5. Would you like ______________ cold iced tea?

Part C: Concept Boosting Exercises

Exercise C3 Add appropriate personal pronouns (she, it, etc.) or articles (a/an, the) in the blanks. 1. Mary got a new car for ________ birthday. She is glad that her parents gave ________ to her for _________ car will be much more practical than other gifts. 2. The essay that Michele submitted received an F grade. For one, ______________ didn't include any of the components Dr. Killah had explained when he assigned __________ essay. For the other, Dr Killah retrieved _________ replica of Michele’s work in the Internet.

Part C: Concept Boosting Exercises

Exercise C4 Select one of the following topics and write a 100-word paragraph in response to the chosen topic by applying the language skills learnt in these three sessions. Question i Friends are indispensible to our life. However, conflicts are unavoidable even amid the best friends. In your opinions, how can we maintain a harmonious relationship with others? Question ii "Teenage models like Chrissie Chau, Angelababy, Lavina etc have caused heated discussion among the "netizens" or the public these days. Do you think that these models have cast a bad influence on youngsters? Why or why not?"

Draft an outline as follows before writing the paragraph:

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Homework Practice 2: Reflective Writing Practice I (Comments on a Newspaper/ Magazine Article) In this task, you are required to i) read and choose a newspaper/ magazine article relevant to your study discipline (i.e. Health Care) Attach a copy of the newspaper/ magazine article in the given space.

ii)write a reflection paragraph of 100-150 words on the article. Due Date: In the Workshop of Week 5 22

THE END

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