Unit 1: THE SINGLE WORD MODIFIER OF NOUNS

I.             DEFINITION

Modifier is a single word, a phrase or a clause that describes or modifies another word.

II.           FORMS OF MODIFIERS

1.    Articles: a, an, the

Ex: a factory, an apple, the workers…

2.    Demonstratives: this, that, these, those.

Ex: This center, those pictures

3.    Possessives: my, yours, his, their….

Ex: his job, their school, Mary’s hat….

4.    Indefinite adjectives: some, many, several, much, little,…

Ex: some books, little water.

5.    Numerals: one, two, three…first, second, third…

Ex: two students, the second time

6.    Adjectives: young, small, good…

Ex: a young man, the happy women, big companies… 

7.    Nouns: It is used as an adjective

Ex: A tea cup, a history book, the college student 

8.    Participles: V-ing and V-ed

Ex:  the coming month (chu dong), an invited guest

9.    Adverbs: It is used as an adjective

Ex: The boy upstairs, the sky above, the people inside, the down train, the above statements

10. Infinitives: It is used after the noun it modifies.

Ex: a report to finish, the exercise to do, the right to vote 

Unit 2: NOUN PHRASES 

I. FORMS OF NOUNS

-          Nouns can be a subject, an object of verb and of preposition, a compliment, and an appositive.

Ex:                   The English professor is tall.              He chose the English professor [object]. 

II. NOUN PHRASE

A noun phrase = modifiers + headword

* The order of modifiers:

1.    Articles

2.    Demonstratives

3.    Possessives

4.    Numeral

5.    Quality

6.    Characteristic

7.    Size, shape, length, color, etc.

8.    Noun, gerund, v-ed, to-inf 

III. THE ORDER OF ADJECTIVES IN A SERIES

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
Determiner		Observation	Physical Description				Origin	Material	Qualifier	Noun
			Size	Shape	Age	Color
A	Beautiful				Old		Italian		touring	Car
An	Expensive				Antique			silver		Mirror
Four	Gorgeous			Long- stemmed		red		silk		Roses
Her				Short		black				Hair
Our			Big		Old		English			Sheepdog
Those				Square				wooden	hat	Boxes
That	Dilapidated		Little						hunting	Cabin
Several			Enormous		Young		American		basketball	Players
Some	Delicious						Thai			Food

Unit 3: HOW TO USE THE?

1. Trước danh từ xác định.

                - The + noun + preposition + noun.

                Ex: the girl in blue; the man with a banner; the gulf of Mexico; the United States of  America.

                - The + N + Relative Pronouns + Clause

                Ex: the boy whom I met; the place where I met him.

2. Tr­ước danh từ chỉ một vật riêng biệt.

                Ex: She is in the garden.

3. The + tinh từ so sánh nhất hoặc trước only way.

                Ex: The first week; the only way.

4. The + dt số ít đại diện cho một nhóm động vật hay đồ vật. Số nhiều thì không có the.

                Ex: The whale = Whales, the shark = sharks, the deep - freeze = deep - freezes.

* man (chỉ loài người) thì không có a, hay the đứng trước.

                 Ex: If oil supplies run out, man may have to fall back on the horse.

5. The + danh từ số ít chỉ thành viên của một nhóm người nhất định.

                Ex: the small shopkeeper is finding life increasingly difficult.

6. The + adj: đại diện cho một tầng lớp ng­ười.

               Ex: the old; The disabled; The unemployed

7. Dùng trước khu vực, vùng, miền nổi tiếng.

                Ex: The Shahara. The Netherlands. The Atlantic.

- The + East / West/ South/ North + noun.

 Ex: the East/ West end.                     The North / South Pole.

Không dùng the trước các từ chỉ phương hướng nếu đi với tên một khu vực địa lý.

Ex: South Africal, North Americal, West Germany.

8. The + dụng cụ âm nhạc¸ các dàn hợp xướng, ban nhạc.

                Ex: the Bach choir, the Philadenphia Orchestra, the Beatles.

9. The + tên các tờ báo lớn, các con tàu, các khinh khí cầu.

                Ex: The Titanic, the Time, the Great Britain.

10. The + tên họ số nhiều để chỉ gia đình 

Ex: the Smiths = Mr and Mrs Smith and their children.

11. Không dùng the tr­ước một danh từ: Home, church, bed, court, hospital, prison, school, college, university khi chỉ hành động đi đến đó nhằm mục đích chính.

Ex: He is at home. I arrived home before dark. I sent him home.

Note:

- We go  to hospital: đi trị bệnh

- We go to the hospital: đi thăm bệnh (hoặc thăm ai làm ở bệnh viện, hoặc đi làm ở bệnh viện)

- Go to sea: thủy thủ đi biển

- Go to the sea / be at the sea = đi tắm biển.

12. Work and office.

- Go to work but Go to the office.

 3. Bảng dùng the và không dùng the trong một số trường hợp đặc biệt

Unit 4: THE V­­-ING PHRASE

 

I.             DEFINITION

V-ing group is a phrase begun with V+ing

Ex:       Eating his breakfast quickly                          Driving his car to Hanoi

Moving around the earth                              Watching television at night

 

II.            FUNCTION

It has functions of a noun and an adjective.

 

1.    The v-ing phrase as an adjective:

A. Rút ngắn của mệnh đề quan hệ (WHO, WHOM, WHICH, THAT)

Ex:      

• The man driving the red car is Mr. Green.

Which man? The man driving the red car.

            The man who drives the red car is Mr. Green.      

• Mr. Harrison is a doctor specializing in heart disease.
  

Mr. Harrison is a doctor who specializes in heart disease.

•  The satellite moving around the earth is a weather one.
  

The satellite which moves around the earth is a weather one.

                B. Rút ngắn 2 câu có cùng chủ từ

·         I go to school. I make a lot of new friends.
·         Going to school, I make a lot of new friends

 

2. The v- ing phrase as noun.

a.    The v-ing phrase as Subject.

Visiting Ha Long Bay is my wish.

Painting the entire house will take a week.

Studying science requires hard work.

 

b.    The v-ing phrase as Object of Verb.

She dislikes going to the cinema on Sundays.

Tom enjoys reading scientific books.

We consider inviting our friends to a party.

 

c.    The v-ing phrase as Object of  Preposition.

            Man has succeeded in landing on the moon.

He always thinks of becoming a radio engineer.

We can never calculate the orbits of spaceships without using the electronic calculator.

 

d.    The v-ing phrase as Predicate Noun.

            His ambition is becoming a doctor.            

The man’s chief is repairing radios.

                Knowing all is forgiving all.              

 

Unit 5: THE INFINITIVE PHRASE

 

I.              DEFINITION

-       Infinitive phrases can act as adjectives, adverbs, and nouns.

Ex:     

-       Her plan to subsidize childcare won wide acceptance among urban    politicians.  

-       She wanted to raise taxes.

-       To watch Uncle Billy tell this story is an eye-opening experience. 

-       To know her is to love her.

-       Juan went to college to study veterinary medicine. 

Note:

1. Active present :             to invite ; to take

2. Passive present :           to be invited ; to be taken

3. Active perfect :                to have invited ; to have taken

4. Passive perfect :            to have been invited ; to have been taken

5. see, hear, watch, listen to, notice, perceive let, make + Object + bare inf.

Ex:      I saw him leave the house.                         Have you ever heard her sing?

 II.            FUNCTION

To–group has 3 functions: noun, adjective, and adverb.

1.    The to–group as noun

 Subject, object, predicate noun and appositive.

a.    The to–group as subject

Ex :     To become a doctor is his ambition.

To sing well requires much practice.

b.    The to–group as object

Ex :     He wanted to visit Ha Long Bay.

She likes to read scientific books.

Note :

Subject of the infinitive.

Ex :    

·         He invited her to dance with him

·         Her to dance with him : to –group ,used as a noun ,object of “invited”.

·         He asked his boss to reconsider the decision.

·         She wants us to be happy.

 c.    The to –group as predicate noun.

Ex:     

·         His purpose is to get more money.

·         Mike’s ambition is to master three languages.

·         Now the problem is to find the best man for the position.

 d.    The to –group as appositive phrase.

·         Mr. Green’s orders, to put the piano at the corner ,were disobeyed.

·         Tim’s job, to paint all the doors, took almost two hours.

2.    The to –group as adjective:

·         This is the book to read during your trip.

·         His intention to become an engineer is clear.

·         I had a plan to help my friends

3.    The to –group as adverb

·         We stopped to have lunch.

·         He came to kill the king ,not to praise him.

·         He tried hard to succeed in the next exam.

·         I’m happy to see you here.

 III. ACTORS:

 

Example:

-       They asked me to bring some food.

-       Everyone wanted Carol to be the captain of the team.

 

Certain verbs, when they take an infinitive direct object, require an actor for the infinitive phrase; others can't have an actor. Still other verbs can go either way:

 

1.    VERBS THAT TAKE INFINITIVE OBJECTS WITHOUT ACTORS:

 

Examples:

·         Most students plan to study.         

·         We began to learn.

·         They offered to pay.                        

·         They neglected to pay.

·         She promised to return.

 

2.    VERBS THAT TAKE INFINITIVE OBJECTS WITH ACTORS:

 

Examples:

·         He reminded me to buy milk.                    

·         Their fathers advise them to study.

·         She forced the defendant to admit the truth.

·         You've convinced the director of the program to change her position.

·         I invite you to consider the evidence.

 

3. VERBS THAT USE EITHER PATTERN:

Examples:

·         I asked to see the records.             

·         I asked him to show me the records.

·         Trent expected his group to win.  

·         Trent expected to win.

·         Brenda likes to drive fast.              

·         Brenda likes her friend to drive fast.

IV.          PUNCTUATION:

If the infinitive is used as an adverb and is the beginning phrase in a sentence, it should be set off with a comma; otherwise, no punctuation is needed for an infinitive phrase.

• To buy a basket of flowers, John had to spend his last dollar.
• To improve your writing, you must consider your purpose and audience.