How to Chunk Up a Sentence (Part 2: Unconnected Words)

<< Part 1 - The Basics :: Chunky Language Exercises :: Part 3 - Split Chunks >>

In the previous post, I explained the basic "rules" for chunking up a sentence.  To summarize:

1. Type each chunk in its own box.
2. Don't capitalize the first word of the first chunk unless it's a proper noun (name).
3. Don't include punctuation marks that come at the end of a chunk.
4. Keep the punctuation parks, commas ( , ) and quotation marks ( " ) when they are inside a chunk.
5. Sometimes you might have a one-word chunk because it is part of a reduced clause or part of a compound subject, verb or object.

Now we have to figure out what to do with the leftover words, and more importantly, how to identify them.

Unconnected Words

Unconnected words basically fall into two categories: adverbs and coordinating conjunctions.  When you have one of these unconnected words, type them in the second row of blanks.

Simple Adverbs:  Adverbs are the single words that answer the questions when, where, why and how.  For example:

Diagram 8

In this sentence, there are two unconnected adverbs, yesterday and late.  However, adverbs can also come in the middle of a chunk, usually between the subject and verb or between a helping verb and a main verb.  Look at the following example:

Diagram 9

There are two adverbs in this sentence, usually and early.  Since early is at the end of the sentence, it is considered an unconnected word.  However, usually is in the middle of a chunk, between the subject Dana and the verb comes.  Therefore, it is included in the chunk.

Two Word Adverbs: One of the first decisions I had to make about adverbs was what to do with phrases like at least and of course.

Diagram 10

As you can see in I decided that these phrases should be considered phrasal adverbs and should be considered unconnected words.  Also, online is an adverb because it answers the question where.

Adverb Complements: A complement is a word that follows a linking verb like be, become or seem.  Usually complements are adjectives or nouns, but complements can also be adverbs.  Consider the following examples:

Diagram 11

In the first example, here is part of the clause chunk because here comes after the linking verb is and is therefore the complement.  On the other hand, in the second example here follows the action verb live.  Therefore, it is not connected to the clause chunk and is considered an unconnected word.

Adverbs of Degree: Adverbs of degree are the words like very, really and so that increase (or decrease) the level.  Very good is better than just good and less difficult is easier than just difficult.  The problem is should so quickly be considered a chunk, even though quickly by itself would be considered an unconnected word?  Or should they be considered two separate unconnected words?

Diagram 12

As you can see from this example, I decided to consider them unconnected words and split them up.

Adverbs Connected by And: As I was making some exercises, I came across another puzzler.  What should I do with groups of words like back and forth and quickly and quietly?

Diagram 13

As you can see from this example, I decided to split them up because they don’t have to be together.  Maybe the burglar just entered quickly.  Or maybe he entered quickly but noisily.  Or quietly and carefully.

Diagram 14

There are exception to this rule, of course.  In the above example, back and forth must be kept together for two reasons.  First, the tiger continued pacing.  It didn’t walk just once.  Secondly, you cannot remove one of the adverbs.  Does it make sense to say the tiger walked back?  The two words are obviously connected to one another.  Other examples are now and then, meaning occasionally, again and again and over and over.

Coordinating Conjunctions:   Coordinating Conjunctions are a small group of six simple word that are used to join two ideas together.  The simplest ones are and, but and or.  Whether they are part of a chunk or unconnected words depends on the information they are connecting.

Diagram 15

In this example, and is combining two nouns inside one chunk.  This is called a compound object.  In cases like this, the coordinating conjunction stays inside one larger chunk.

Diagram 16

In this example, however, and is connecting two separate clauses.  The subject of the second clause is understood, but not written.  In this case, and is considered and unconnected word.  Unfortunately, there is grey area here.  In the sentence The children were laughing and screaming in the park, I would keep laughing and screaming together because the actions are happening together and there are no objects after either verb.  Hopefully you will be able to tell what I was thinking by the length and number of blanks in the exercises.

So and So that: The conjunction so can be a bit confusing.  So, by itself, is a coordinating conjunction.  So that is a subordinating conjunction that connects an adverb clause to a sentence.  (Click here for diagrams to explain the difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.)  Look at the following examples:

Diagram 17

Diagram 18

In Diagram 17, so is a coordinating conjunction, so it is an unconnected word.  You can tell this because of the comma in front of so.  In Diagram 18, so is a subordinating conjunction so it is part of the second clause chunk.  You can see that in this case, there is no comma in front of so.  What makes this tricky is that that is often not written.  If you are not sure, try putting that back in the sentence and see if it makes sense.  (I always bring my iPad so that I have something to read.)

For - Conjunction or Preposition: For, as a coordinating conjunction, has the same meaning as because.  It is important to not that for as a conjunction is very formal and literary.  Therefore, it is not commonly used in everyday English.  You will, however, see it frequently in literature.

Diagram 19

Diagram 20

In Diagram 19, for is a conjunction and in Diagram 20, for is a preposition.  There are two ways to tell.  First, when for is a conjunction, there is almost always a comma separating it from the previous chunk.  Also, in the chunk that follows for, there is a main verb.  When for is a preposition, it obviously cannot have a subject and main verb in the chunk.

Yet - Conjunction or Adverb: This one is a little easier.  When yet is a conjunction, just like for, it is preceded by a comma and followed by a full clause with a subject and main verb.  As an adverb, yet is almost always found at the end of a clause and is an unconnected word.  For examples, look at the following examples.

Diagram 21

Diagram 22

As you can see, in either case, yet is an unconnected word.

It is impossible to anticipate every possible situation.  The English language is so flexible that I am constantly coming across situations that make me stop and think.  However, after finishing a bunch of exercises prior to writing the instructions, I think I have covered most of the big ones.  Now you are ready to try it on your own.

And when you are ready for something even more challenging, go on to Split Chunks.

Aloha and Happy Chunking

<< Part 1 - The Basics :: Chunky Language Exercises :: Part 3 - Split Chunks >>

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Related Posts and Other Information:

• Chunky Language (It's Delicious with Milk)
• Adverbs, Prepositions and Conjunctions, Oh, My!
• Subordinating and Coordinating Conjunctions
• Blog Index and Grammar Illustrations/Diagrams
• Mr. K's Grammar World (Web Site)
• Mr. K's Grammar World (Facebook)

A Reduced Clause is Not a Skinny Santa (Part II: Weird Adjective Clauses)

In Part I, I described how most adjective clauses are reduced.  This is very important information, but kind of boring.  Now I’d like to show you some of the weird, wacky, wonderful ways to use reduced adjective clauses.  You’ll see them a lot when you read, especially in literature, but kids, don’t try these at home.  (Professional writer - closed course.)

This first one is pretty vanilla, but I realized I didn’t give any examples of reduced non-defining clauses.  I’m sure you were tossing and turning all night last night worrying about this.

• In the following days, Magellan, inflamed with biblical fervor, destroyed other idols arrayed along the shore, and incited the agitated islanders to follow his example.  (Over the Edge of the Earth)

This one actually has two reduced adjective clauses.  (Can you find them?  No peeking.)  The first one is the non-defining clause.  In its full glory, the clause would read Magellan, who was inflamed with....  It is a non-defining clause because Magellan is a proper noun (capitalized name).  The second one is idols that were arrayed....  This one is a defining clause (without commas) because idols is a general, non-specific noun.

(For an explanation of defining and non-defining clauses, click HERE.)

Here is another non-defining clause with a non-action verb that has been changed to a gerund.

• Phil and Mac, realizing that Louie was going to get his head ripped off, grabbed the oars and bumped the sharks away while Louie splashed about, trying to drown the lice.  (Unbroken)

The full version of the adjective clause would be Phil and Mac, who realized that....  Again, nothing spectacular, but a couple more examples never hurts.  One interesting thing that I’ve found in doing this “research” over the past year or so is that every writer has their own grammatical tendencies.  One writer will use tons of gerund phrases while another will use very few.  One writer reduces everything while another rarely does.  Over the Edge of the World has lots and lots of appositives and adjective clauses while Unbroken has many more noun clauses.  (Maybe I’m the only one nerdy enough to care about this.)

One of the more interesting “discoveries” I made while looking at all of these sentences was that not all adjective clauses come directly after the noun they modify.  For example:

• Increasingly desperate to find the strait, Magellan scrutinized every inlet, hoping it might contain a hidden channel leading inland...  (Over the Edge of the Earth)

This sentence begins with the adjective desperate, which seems strange at first glance.  This is actually a reduced SVC clause that describes Magellan’s feelings.  The original pre-reduction sentence would read:

• Magellan, who was increasingly desperate to find the strait, scrutinized every inlet...

In the original form, the action, which is most important, is being interrupted by the emotion.  By fronting the adjective desperate, the author is setting the mood of the sentence and letting the action flow more smoothly, without interruption.

Another interesting type, which I discussed in Part I, is putting an adjective AFTER a noun rather than in front of the noun, which is far more common.  One simple example is the adjective after an indefinite pronoun.  For example:

• I want to have something spicy for dinner.

In this extremely simple example, the adjective spicy, which started in the adjective clause that is spicy, must go after something because you cannot put an adjective in front of a pronoun.  But why would you do this with nouns?  One reason is simply literary style.  The author just likes the sound of it.  It works in literature, but I don’t recommend it for formal academic or business writing.  The second reason is shown in this sentence.

• The slave labor at Naoetsu was the kind of work that swallowed men’s souls, but the prisoners found ways to score little victories so essential to their physical and emotional survival.

The phrase could have been written as essential little victories.  However, the information about physical and emotional survival is extremely important.  If the author put essential in front of victories, she would not have been able to include this information.  In order to include the infinitive phrase, the adjective had to be put after the noun as a reduced adjective clause.

Finally, here’s one that, after a LOT of head scratching, I think I’ve finally figured out.

• ...the ill will between Spain and Portugal led to rumors that the lives of the Portuguese co-commanders were in danger.  (Over the Edge of the Earth)

At first glance, it seems pretty straightforward.  The adjective clause begins with rumors that.  But is it really an adjective clause.  The answer is YES and NO.  The first rule of adjective clauses is that the relative pronoun (who, which, that, etc.) has the same meaning as the noun that it follows.  For example.

• the dress that my wife is wearing (that = dress)
• the students who sit in the back of the room (who = students)

However, in this case, does that mean rumor?  If you take the entire clause out of the sentence, without that, this is what you are left with.

• The lives of the Portuguese co-commanders were in danger.

Nothing seems to be missing.  Now, try the same thing with the simple adjective clauses I wrote

• My wife is wearing
• sit in the back of the room

Clearly something is missing in these.  Furthermore, how could you add the word rumor to the clause about the co-commanders?  You can’t.  So what in blazes is going on?  This is what I’ve discovered.

Is the clause, as written, an adjective clause?  No.  It’s a NOUN CLAUSE.  (They heard that the lives of the Portuguese co-commanders were in danger.)  However, it is also a reduced SVC adjective clause.  When you put the reduced words back into the clause, this is what you get.

• ...the ill will between Spain and Portugal led to rumors, which were that the lives of the Portuguese co-commanders were in danger.

In other words, the rumors were that their lives were in danger.  Another explanation for this is that the noun clause (that their lives...) is an appositive.  In the immortal words of Gus Portokalos, “There you go.”  Here are some other examples of this structure that I have found.

• [Magellan] agreed to free Cartagena on condition that Mendoza confine him aboard Victoria.  (Over the Edge of the Earth)
• Despite the many indications that they had found nothing but a large river...  (Over the Edge of the Earth)
• ...[Louie] had been filled with the rushing fear that he would lose her.  (Unbroken)
• ...citizens...were relentlessly indoctrinated with the lesson that to be captured in war was intolerably shameful.  (Unbroken)

In conclusion, reduced adjective clauses are like dogs.  (Huh?)  They come in many shapes and sizes and you see them everywhere, but they all come from the same common ancestor.  (The wolf.  Get it?)

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Over the Edge of the Earth is a fascinating book about the voyage around the world of Ferdinand Magellan.  It's a bit long with a lot of detail, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The language is fairly advanced.

Unbroken is one of the best books I've ever read.  Without spoiling the story, if this were a fictional story, no one would read it.  It would be too fantastical.  However, it is a true story.  I highly recommend this book.

For links to these and other books that I've read and used in online exercises, click HERE.

The Mystery of the Random “Be” Verb in Japan and Korea

The majority of my career as an ESL teacher has been spent teaching Japanese students. First, I spent twelve and a half years living and teaching in Japan. Then, after moving to Hawaii, I spent ten years teaching in an ESL program that usually had between eighty and ninety percent Japanese students.

For years I couldn’t figure out why the "be" verb would often find it’s way randomly into sentences, like:

• I am like sports.
• I was played soccer last weekend.
• They are study in the library.

Then, as I taught more Korean students in Hawaii, I began to see this mistake in their writing as well. Finally, one day a discussion in class led me to this discovery. The "be" verb is traditionally taught WRONG in Korea and Japan.

I don’t blame the teachers. I have met and worked with many dedicated hard-working Japanese teachers who only want the best for their students. I have also met enough Korean teachers to know that this is true for them as well. The problem is a monolithic education system that prescribes everything from what and how teachers teach to the size of desks and chairs in the classroom.

Although it is less true today than it used to be, when I was in Japan in the late 80s and 90s, it was said that you could go into any fourth grade classroom in Japan and they would be teaching the same lesson in the same way from the same textbook, down to the page. The English problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Japanese Ministry of Education has decided that all English language textbooks for Japanese students must be written by Japanese authors. A book written by a native-speaker cannot be used in a Japanese public school classroom. Furthermore, even the few books that are allowed all refer back to the same Ministry source on what and how to teach. It’s my understanding that this source has not been updated in perhaps 100 years.

Since the Korean education system is so similar to the Japanese education system and since both languages are so similar, my discovery leads me to think the educational root is the same in Korea. The linguistic root is definitely the same.

To understand the root of the problem, you need to understand a little about the two languages. English is an SVO language, meaning the standard clause structure first has a subject, followed by a verb and finally the direct object, if one is needed. Japanese and Korean, on the other hand, are SOV languages, meaning the verb comes last and the direct object goes in the middle. Look at these two sentences, the first in Japanese, the second in Korean.

• Watashi wa hon o arimasu.
• Na nun chek ul kajida.

If they were transcribed literally into English, without changing word order, they would read:

• I book have.

Both languages also have features not found in English. The original Japanese sentences has five parts whereas the English sentence only has three. There are two additional "words" in Japanese. The first is wa, which is called the subject marker. This is how the subject is connected to the sentence. The second is the object marker, which is o. There is a third marker, ga, which is extremely confusing to non-native speakers like me, that can be substituted for either the subject or object marker. Similarly, the Korean subject marker is a variant of nun, depending on the final consonant of the subject, and the object marker is ul.

Here is where the mistake comes from. In both countries, students are taught that the subject markers wa or nun indicate the use of the "be" verb. Therefore, students would translate these sentences as:

• I am have a book.

This is completely and totally WRONG. There is absolutely no correlation between wa/ga or nun and the "be" verb in English. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, they have no counterpart in English at all. Therefore, they are untranslatable and should just be ignored for acquisition purposes.

The "be" verb, does, however, have a fairly direct counterpart in both Japanese and Korean: the last word of the sentence.

Take for example the following sentences, first in English, then in Japanese and Korean.

• I am cold.
• Watashi wa samui desu.
• Na nun cha da.

Since the verb is the final word of the sentence in Japanese and Korean, then the "be" verb is indicated by the final word of these sentence, i.e. desu in Japanese and da in Korean.

Although this is not universally taught in Korea and Japan anymore, I still run across enough students who tell me they learned this way to think it still happens often enough to be an ongoing issue.
Any thoughts or comments?

That Crazy Little Thing Called the “Be” Verb (Part II)

The "be" verb is the most irregular verb in the English language, but because it is so commonly used, learners stop making mistakes with subject/verb agreement fairly quickly. What makes the "be" verb so tricky is knowing when to use it and what form you are using.

Be Verb as the Main Verb

 

Adjective Complements

 

The first, most common use of the "be" verb is as a main verb. When an action or non-action verb is used as the subject of a clause, the noun that comes after the verb is the direct object, so the most common type of clause is an SVO clause. However, when the "be" verb is the main verb, the word (or phrase) that comes next is called a complement and the clauses are called SVC clauses. In English, there are four kinds of complements that can be connected to the "be" verb.

 

The most common complement that comes after the "be" verb is an adjective complement. The adjective describes the condition or state of the subject. 

• The runner is tired. (the tired runner)
• The test was difficult. (the difficult test)
• Everything is ready.

Noun Complements

 

The second most common type of complement is a noun complement. This is when a noun describes the subject, often a relationship or a job. The subject and the complement are the same person or thing. 

• My brother’s name is Justin.                   (brother’s name = Justin)
• Mr. Smith is my math teacher.                (Mr. Smith = math teacher)
• London is the capital of Great Britain.    (London = capital of Great Britain)

One feature of noun complements is that they can switch places with the subject. For example:

• Justin is my brother’s name.
• My math teacher is Mr. Smith.
• The capital of England is London.

To decide which noun should be the subject and which should be the complement, you must decide which piece of information is most important. The most important piece of information should be the complement and the other should be the subject.*

 

Second language learners often use the "be" verb between two nouns when it shouldn’t be. If you are trying to decide whether to use the "be" verb or not, just ask this simple question. "Are the two nouns the same person or thing?" If the answer is yes, then you can use the ‘be" verb. If the answer is no, then you need something else, very often the verb have. For example.

• I ≠ a cold.                            The cause of the accident = icy roads.
•      I have a cold.                        The cause of the accident was icy roads.
• I ≠ high school.                      I = high school student.
•       I go to high school.               I am a high school student.

 Adverb and Prepositional Phrase Complements

 

The final two are less common, but they are regularly used. You can also connect an adverb to a subject with the "be" verb. The adverbial complement usually answers the questions when or where.

• The test is tomorrow.                 (When is the test?)
• The children are outside.            (Where are the children?)

 Finally, the "be" verb can connect a prepositional phrase to the subject. These also usually answer the questions when or where.

• Jason is in the library.                (Where is Jason?)
• The test is on Monday.                (When is the test?)

 

 

Be Verb as a Helping Verb

 

The Continuous Tense**

 

The second use for the ‘be’ verb is as a helping verb. The simplest and most common use is in the continuous tense. To do this, you simply add the gerund form of the main verb to the "be" verb. For example:

• The children are playing...
• The dog is barking...
• We were sleeping...

Again, this is relatively simple, but there are frequent errors. The most common is putting the base form of the verb after the "be" verb rather than the gerund form. For example:

• I was eat lunch in the cafeteria.
• We aren’t have a pet. 

One possible root of this error will be discussed later. To avoid this error, just remember you always need ~ing after the "be" verb.

 

 The Passive Voice***

  

The final use of the "be" verb is also as a helping verb. It is used in the passive voice and followed by the past participle form of the main verb.

•  This blog was written...
• The game was played...
• The tests are taken... 

This is it. This is how the "be" verb is used in English. With a little time and practice, the "be" verb isn’t that hard to master. The trick is knowing when to use it.

 

-- Back to Part I --

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 *As a general rule, when organizing information, the least important information should go first and the most important information should go last. This is because you remember best what you hear or read last.

•  We will have a unit test next Friday.
• (The day of the test is the most important.)
• Next Friday, we will have a unit test.
• (The plan for next Friday is the most important.)

**For more on the continuous tense, you can read this blog post. (I haven’t written the blog yet. Give me a little more time.)

 

***For more on the passive voice, you can read this blog post.

That Crazy Little Thing Called the “Be” Verb (Part I)

(I wrote this blog entry almost a year ago, and then life got in the way.  I have since left California and moved my family back to Hawaii.  Now I'm just a few weeks away from going to Saudi Arabia to start a new job.  This is proof of the old saying: "Life is what happens while you are making plans.")

For years in my writing class, I would tell my students two things that they never believed. First, when you know how to do it, writing is easy. Second, after you learn the fundamentals of writing, writing is actually fun. I would also tell them that, while I would never sit down on a Friday night and write and essay for fun, when I need to write something for work, I look forward to it. Well. I was wrong on that one. I actually do sit down on a Friday night and write for fun. It has become a hobby, and with a little luck, maybe a second job someday.

This past year, when I moved to California and began teaching at a new school, has been full of interesting challenges and opportunities to expand as a teacher. But it has also been insanely busy. Therefore, writing for fun had to be sacrificed. I can’t believe it’s been nine months since my last blog posting. However, with summer finally here and a less crazy schedule in the fall*, I can look forward to more time to do the things I love. I will have more time to spend with my family. I will be able to take Skyler to the pool every morning and train our new puppy. I will watch every Yankees game and read, read, read. But what is the one that keeps coming up in my mind? I get to write again.

I have a list of blog topics as long as my arm, but I thought I would relaunch my online ramblings from the beginning. That tiny little word that causes so many gigantic problems for second language learners: the "be" verb.

The "be" verb is one of the most common words in English, and even though it is the most irregular verb in English, most students learn how to use it correctly very quickly.
 
Forms of the Be Verb
 Every verb in English has five forms*: the base form, simple past, past participle, gerund and infinitive. Regular verbs are very simple and although irregular verbs are frustrating, with a little time and effort, they are fairly simple as well.

•                              Regular                 Irregular
• Base                     study                      take
• Simple Past          studied                   took
• Past Participle      studied                   taken
• Gerund                 studying                 taking
• Infinitive              to study                  to take

The only time you have to worry about the subject is with the 3^rd person singular in the simple present tense. If the subject is he, she or it, you need to add ~s to the base form of the verb.

The "be" verb, on the other hand, has three forms in the simple present (am, is and are) and two in the simple past (was and were). Which form you use depends on the subject.

•                          Present Singular          Present Plural
• 1^st person          I am                               We are
• 2^nd person         You are                         You are
• 3^rd person          He/She/It is                  They are　

 

•                           Past Singular               Past Plural
• 1^st person           I was                            We were
• 2^nd person          You were                     You were
• 3^rd person           He/She/It was              They were

However, as I said earlier, with a few weeks of solid practice, this becomes very natural.
 
Questions and Negatives 
Now for the good news. The "be" verb is the easiest verb to use in questions and negative statements. To make a negative statement, all you have to do is put not after the verb. All of the negative forms, except I am, have a shorter form, which is called a contraction.

•                            Present Singular                        Present Plural
• 1^st person            I am not                                      We are not (aren’t)
• 2^nd person           You are not (aren’t)                   You are not (aren’t)
• 3^rd person            He/She/It is not (isn’t)              They are not (aren’t)

 

•                             Past Singular                           Past Plural
• 1^st person             I was not (wasn’t)                    We were not (weren’t)
• 2^nd person            You were not (weren’t)           You were not (weren’t)
• 3^rd person             He/She/It was not (wasn’t)      They were not (weren’t)

To make a question, all you have to do is switch the subject and the "be" verb. (Put the "be" verb in front of the subject.)

•                              John is here.                              Is John here?
•                              I am hungry.                             Are you hungry?
•                              Everything was ready.              Was everything ready?
•                              They are playing...                    Are they playing...?

The only weird thing related to the "be" verb is with imperatives***. For example, if someone were being noisy, you could say to them "Be quiet." However, a negative imperative is made by putting don’t in front of the main verb, like "Don’t drop that!" The correct negative form with the "be" verb is Don’t be...

• Don’t be shy.
• Don’t be so noisy.

These are the basics of how to use the "be" verb.  Now, it is even more important to know WHEN to use the "be" verb.

-- Go on to Part II -- 

-- Click here for "be" verb exercises online. --

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*I finally have my dream schedule. I am going to be a full-time grammar teacher. While this might be hell for many teachers, it’s heaven for me.

**I would argue that there is a sixth form in English, the present 3^rd person singular, which is formed by adding ~s or ~es to the base form.

***Imperatives are like orders. The subject is always you, so it’s not necessary to say or write. Therefore, the first word of an imperative sentence is the verb.

• Stand up!
• Open your books.
• Don’t do that!

When is the Subject NOT the Subject

Be prepared for class.  That is the number one rule for a teacher (and a student).  However, a second, very important rule is: Be prepared to throw your lesson plan out the window.  (For students, the second most important rule is: Ask questions.)

I was reminded of this last night when I got a very interesting question from a former student--let’s call him DK--via my Facebook grammar forum, which I’ll answer later in this blog.  Some of my all-time favorite lessons have been totally improvised and started with one great question that led to another question, and another, and another.  It’s like a bunch of musicians sitting down and jamming.  (See my blog Keep the Music in the Classroom.)

DK’s question was about quantifiers and whether a certain quantifier was considered singular or plural, to which I confidently replied “Plural.”  Then another former student--let’s call him KF--jumped in and said, “Wait a minute.  Shouldn’t it be singular?”  Unfortunately I couldn’t use my standard answer, which is “No, because I’m bigger than you,” to prove my point because KF also provided a link to an answer that backed up his position, sort of.  (To imagine my immediate reaction, Imagine the classic bit on Seinfeld.  “Newman!”)  So I actually had to do some thinking.  Here are the four conclusions I made.

First, I knew I should have followed my first instinct and denied KF entry into the grammar group.  Nothing can mess up a teacher like a smart kid who asks really good questions and can back them up.

Second, I am really old.  I first began teaching KF when he was in fifth grade and visiting the U.S. from Japan.  Now he is a big, bad senior ready to take on the world.

Third, somewhere along the way, KF has gotten a very good education.  Hopefully I had a little to do with that.  To all of my students, whom I will force to read this blog entry, never be afraid to ask questions.  However, make sure you can back them up.

Fourth, sorry KF.  I’m right.  And not just because I’m bigger than you.

So anyway, DK’s specific question was Is the phrase a number of scientists singular or plural?  My immediate answer was singular because a number obviously is one group.  I then added an example sentence to demonstrate my genius.  A number of scientists have suggested...  Whoops.  That’s plural.  Now I actually have to think.  (This is called native-speaker intuition.  As a native speaker, you automatically know when something sounds correct or not.  You just don’t necessarily know why.)

Here’s the final answer I came up with.

In order to figure this out, you have to go back to quantifiers and their rules/patterns.  (I’ll try to write a detailed blog entry on this soon.)  The short explanation is as follows.

A quantifier is any word that answers the questions how much or how many.  For example: A lot of students were late for school today because of traffic.  A lot of is a quantifier because it answers the question How many students...?  Another example is Skyler spilled some milk on the table, which answers the question How much milk...?

Furthermore, quantifiers can be used three different ways.  The two patterns that are important here are quantifier + noun and quantifier + of + noun phrase.

• Most Americans live in big cities.
• Most of my friends live in big cities.

In the first example, Americans is the subject of the clause, but in the second, most is the subject and friends is the object of the preposition of.  Therefore, if you change most to one, the subject becomes plural.

• Most of my friends are married.
• One of my best friends is a doctor.

The question now is this.  Is the quantifier in the example a number or a number of?  There are several quantifiers that I call phrasal quantifiers.  The most common are a lot of and a couple of.  Look at these examples.

• I saw a lot of hikers on the trail today.
• I bought a couple of t-shirts at the concert.
• Most of my friends are married.

Now, change the quantifiers in these sentences to regular numbers, which are also quantifiers.

• I saw fifty hikers on the trail today.
• I bought two t-shirts at the concert.
• Seven of my friends are married.

As you can see, the first two sentences follow the pattern quantifier + noun and the third sentence follows the pattern quantifier + of + noun phrase.  Therefore, the direct objects of the first two sentences are hikers and t-shirts and the quantifiers are adjectives.  Of is part of the phrasal quantifiers a lot of and a couple of  In the last sentence, though, the quantifier seven is the subject and of is a preposition.

Now, apply this test to the question.  Again, is the quantifier in this sentence a number of or a number?  What happens when you substitute another quantifier?  Which is correct, a number of scientists have suggested or a number of scientists has suggested?  Well, which of these new sentences is correct?

• Many scientists have suggested...
• Many of scientists has agreed...

To me, clearly the first sentence is correct.  A number of is the quantifier and scientists is the subject.  Consequently, the expression a number of scientists is plural.

This is probably way more information than you ever wanted, but this is the process I used to answer DK’s question.  If you have questions like this and would like to join Mr. K’s Grammar World on Facebook, please click on this link.

Nouns: The Building Blocks of Language

  Just like a medical student begins her training studying the bones and muscles of the human body, all serious language students should start with parts of speech.  And the study of parts of speech should begin with nouns.
  Basically, a noun is a word that refers to a person, place or thing.  Many people now divide things into two sub-groups: concrete nouns and abstract nouns.  Concrete nouns are things you can feel or touch or smell or taste.  These things have mass and substance.  You can pick them up and carry them around.  (Fine.  You can’t pick up or carry around an airplane, but it’s still a concrete noun.  You can certainly touch it.)  Conversely, an abstract noun is something you cannot touch or pick up or carry.  Abstract nouns are ideas, emotions and ideals.  For example, bravery, happiness and memory are all abstract nouns.  Things can also be divided into two other groups: countable and uncountable.  (See Death of the Countable Noun for more explanation.)  The trickiest group of nouns are called compound nouns.  They are LOTS of fun.
  You can identify parts of speech by characteristics that most, and sometimes all, words of a certain part of speech share.  I call these “markers.”  You can identify nouns by some basic markers that most nouns have.  First, most nouns have two forms: singular and plural*.  To make the plural form of a regular noun, you simply add an ~s or ~es to the end of the word.  For example:

• one dog, two dogs
• one ticket, three tickets
• one peach, two peaches

        The plural ~s is a good way to identify a noun.  If you have a word that seems to be a singular noun, try adding the ~s.  If the word looks like a plural noun, try taking the ~s away.  Do you still have a real word?
  This rule doesn’t always work though.  Some nouns are irregular, which means the plural form is very different from the singular form.  Or the plural form is the same as the singular form.  For example:

• one person, two people
• one tooth, two teeth
• one fish, two fish

        Also, uncountable nouns don’t have a plural form at all.  (One information, two informations?) That’s why they’re uncountable.  Finally, verbs in the third person singular form also have an ~s at the end.  (I like; she likes) Like is obviously not a noun.  That being said, the plural ~s rule is a good noun marker.
  A second excellent noun marker is capital letters.  Basically, if a word is capitalized, it’s a noun.  Capitalized nouns are also known as proper nouns.  (That’s just a fancy way of saying names.)  If two or three words are connected and all of them are capitalized, they are all a part of the same name.  Take the following group of words as an example.  If you have the simple phrase New York’s best pizza, only pizza is a noun and best is an adjective describing the pizza.  On the other hand New York’s Best Pizza altogether is one long noun that includes New York’s because all of the words are capitalized.  (This is probably the name of a restaurant in Kansas.)
  There are two exceptions to the capitalization rule.  First, and quite obviously, the first word of a sentence is always capitalized in English, but it is not always a noun.  Second, sometimes adjectives are capitalized.  Some proper nouns have an adjective form that is different.  For example:

• China, Chinese
• Germany, German
• Thailand, Thai

  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.  Very often, the noun form and the adjective form of proper nouns is the same.  For example, Philly is the nickname of Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania.  One of the greatest foods ever created is the Philly cheesesteak.**  By itself, Philly is obviously a noun, but when describing this wonderful food of the gods, Philly is an adjective describing the cheesesteak.  This one can be very confusing to students.  The only advice that I have is to chunk up the sentence and make sure the last word of a chunk is the capitalized word.  If the capitalized word is the last word, it’s a noun.  However, if ANYTHING comes after the capitalized word in the chunk, the capitalized word is an adjective.  (See the blog entry on Chunky Language for a more detailed explanation.)
  Another guaranteed marker for a noun is the apostrophe s ( ‘s )***.  The ‘s turns a regular old noun into a possessive noun that shows the relationship (ownership) between two nouns, usually a person and a thing or place.  Both the word with the ‘s and the last word of the chunk must be nouns.

• the school’s new gym
• Jim’s old job
• the car’s air-conditioner

        Related to ‘s is the preposition of.  Very, very often, but not always, the word that comes before of, along with the word after of, is a noun.  For example.

• the top of the stairs
• the middle of the night
• most of the food

  Finally, there are several noun markers that come at the beginning of a chunk.  This specific kind of chunk is called a noun phrase.  A noun phrase is a group of words that ends with a noun and includes all of the words connected in front of the noun, like adjectives.  Probably the most common noun markers are a(n) and the.  Guaranteed, if you see one of these words, there is a noun at the end of the chunk.  For example:

• the homework assignment
• a fluffy, white dog
• an enormous, pink elephant
• the seemingly impossible task

  The last word in all of these groups must be a noun.  There are a couple of common errors illustrated here.  In the first chunk, very often students will identify homework as the noun, but in this case, it’s an adjective.  Make sure you go completely to the end of the chunk.  Don’t stop at the first word that looks like a noun.  The second common error is thinking that fluffy and enormous are nouns.  This is because students think that commas always come at the end of the chunk.  This is normally true, but sometimes commas replace the conjunction and and connect ideas instead of separating them.
  The second group of noun markers also guarantees that a noun is at the end of the chunk.  Anytime you see an adjective pronoun like my, her, their, etc., a noun is close by.  For example:.89+

• his favorite band
• our new house
• your final exams
• its pristine beaches

  The final group of noun markers is not quite as guaranteed. There is a group of pronouns called demonstrative pronouns.  Basically, they are this, that, these and those.  Just like the adjective pronouns above, this, that, these and those are often at the beginning of a noun phrase, like:

• this car
• these black shoes
• that noisy monkey
• those wooden puzzles

  Just like the other markers, if a demonstrative pronoun comes at the beginning of a chunk, the last word of the chunk is a noun.  However, they can also be used alone, so there isn’t always a noun after them.  Also, they can be followed by one or ones, which are pronouns.

• That was delicious.
• I think I’ll get this one.
• Those belong to Kyra.

  By following these rules and looking for the noun markers, you should be able to find any noun in any sentence.  However, nothing comes easily.  Like anything else, it will take some time and practice.  But it is well worth the effort.  It’s a valuable skill to have.  Trust me.


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          *Singular means one.  Plural generally means two or more.  However, the tricky part of this is zero (0).  Even though it is less than one, zero nouns need the plural form.

• one person   /  one book
• two people   /   two books
• no people   /   no books

        **The absolute best cheesesteak I have ever had was from a place in Gettysburg, where I went to college for two years, called Robby's Pizza.  After I transferred to a college in Hawaii, whenever I was back in Pennsylvania, I would drive over an hour back to G-burg just for a Robby's cheesesteak.  One of the saddest days of my life was the day I went back and saw that Robby's had closed.  I have searched and searched for a cheesesteak as good and came close once in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but the search continues.  If I can get the recipe for a Robby's, I'll be a rich, rich man.  Best sandwich in the world.