- •Which three basic types of conditional clauses do you know in English. What is the structure of these clauses? Write 2 sentences for each type.
- •What is the subjunctive mood and when is it used? Write three sentences in subjunctive mood.
- •Are any of these sentences incorrect or inappropriate? What similarities or differences in meaning are there between the sentences in the group?
- •Mood. The conditional and subjunctive
- •Variations of the Type 1:
- •Variations of the Type 2:
- •Voice. The active, passive and the causative
- •I like playing chess
- •I saw student jumping
- •Infinitives
- •Verbs followed by the infinitive
- •Verbs followed by the gerund
- •Verbs followed by the gerund or infinitive - different meanings
- •1. Can you complete the following definition?
- •2. Can you decide whether the following nouns are countable nouns, uncountable nouns or both?
- •3. Can you complete these definitions?
- •Id say that about 50 per cent need repairs/
- •Morphological characteristics and classification of nouns. Countable and uncountable nouns.
- •Invariable nouns ending in -s which take a sg verb:
- •Variable nouns
- •Which of these sentences are correct and incorrect? Why? What is the meaning of the particular sentences?
- •In which sentences do we talk about generic or specific reference? Why?
- •Is the definite article used in these sentences anaphoric or cataphoric “the”?
- •4. Which alternatives are right? Why?
- •5. Which of these possessive forms are possible?
- •6. Which pronouns can complete the sentences correctly?
- •Definite Indefinite
- •Case and Gender
- •Inanimate nouns (neživotné)
- •Inanimate nouns
- •What are the forms of present, perfect and past participles? Join the following sentences using either present, past or perfect participle:
- •3. What is the difference in meaning between the following sentences? Translate them into Slovak.
- •The economics of the plan are worrying investors.
- •Verbs followed by the infinitive
- •Verbs followed by the gerund
Case and Gender
English nouns have a two case system: the unmarked common case (boy) and the marked genitive case (boy´s) when the -s morpheme is added. The central use of the genitive, but not the only one, is to express possession (possessive case).
The meanings of the genitive
a) possessive genitive: my son´s wife, Mrs Johnson´s passport = my son has a wife, Mrs J. has…
b) subjective genitive: the boy´s application, his parents´ consent = the boy applied, his parents consented
c) genitive of origin: the girl´s story, the general´s letter = the girl told a story, the general wrote a letter
d) objective genitive: the family´s support, the boy´s release
e) descriptive genitive: a women´s college, a summer´s day, doctor´s degree, cow´s milk = a college for women, a summer day, a doctoral degree, milk from cows
f) the elliptic genitive: My bicycle is better than John´s., His memory is like an elephant´s. We need a ladder. We can borrow our neighbour´s. = the head is not expressed
g) the local genitive: my aunt´s, St Paul´s (Cathedral), the butcher´s, the chemist´s, the barber´s = institutionalized expressions where no head needs to be mentioned
h) the double genitive: a work of Milton´s, a friend of his father´s, a friend of my parents´ = combination of the inflected and periphrastic genitive
The -s and of genitive:
- two types of the genitive:
1. the inflected genitive (the –s genitive): apostrophe + s suffix or an apostrophe only, after the modifying noun. E.g. the children´s toys, the body´s temperature
2. the periphrastic genitive (the of-genitive): a structure of postmodification E.g. the toys of the children, the temperature of the body.
The forms of the –s genitive
In writing there are 2 forms: with an apostrophe + s (boy´s) and with apostrophe only (boys´):
´s added to sg personal nouns: child´s dream
´s added to sg personal nouns ending in –s: actress´s career
´s added to the plural of irregular personal nouns: children´s games
´ added to the plural of personal nouns ending in –s: girls´ school
Since the genitive inflection has the same speech form as the regular plural, we have to make a distinction between nouns - those that have –s plural and those that do not. Regular plurals have the zero genitive (dogs´, cats´, horses´).
Pronunciation
In speech the - s genitive has 4 forms /s/, /z/, /iz/ and zero.
The rules for pronunciation of the genitive suffix are identical with the rules for pronunciation of the -s suffix in the plural and the 3rd person singular.
/s/ after a voiceless sound: Jack´s job, month´s salary, Pat´s handbag
/z/ after a voiced sound: Ben´s opinion, Bill´s bill, Bob´s house
/iz/ after a sibilant: the boss´s office
The zero form is used with plural nouns and with Greek names of more than one syllable, e.g. Socrates´ /-tiz/ wife, Euripides´ /-diz/ plays.
Uses of the –s genitive
Animate nouns (životné)
a) personal names: George Washington´s statue
b) personal nouns: the boy´s new shirt
c) indefinite pronouns: anyone´s guess, someone´s responsibility
d) collective nouns: the government´s conviction, the party´s elder statesmen, the company´s working capital, the nation´s social security
e) higher animals and some lower animals: the horse´s neck, the lion´s tail, the dog´s bark, an ant´s nest, a bee´s sting (only with living animals), dead animals: sheepskin, beef broth