Suggested Answers and Hints - Chapter 1Exercise 8
a John likes eating nice food.
John is a proper noun. Likes is a verb in 3rd person singular simple present tense. Like
is the verbal stem. ‘-s’ is the 3rd person singular present tense inflection. Eating is a
verb in ‘-ing’ form used as a noun also called the gerund, nice is an adjective. Food is
a common noun.
b The workers must have built the bridge near Boston.
The is the definite article. Workers is a common noun in plural. Must is a modal
auxiliary verb. Have is an aspectual auxiliary. Built is a lexical verb in its -en form(3rd
form). Bridge is a common noun in singular. Near is a preposition. Boston is a proper
noun.
c A friend of mine gave a book to John’s brother.
A is an indefinite article. Friend is a common noun in singular. Of is a preposition.
Mine is a possessive pronoun which is used predicatively or in the “of” possessive
construction. Gave is a lexical verb in past tense. Book is a singular common noun. To
is a preposition. John is a proper noun and 's is a determiner. Brother is a common
noun in singular.Exercise 9
Obviously, as far as the possible sample sentences are concerned, there are a lot of
solutions for this exercise. As a guide, a sample set of sentences is given here.
(1) a The soil of the forest is covered with leaves. (N – plural of leaf)
b The train leaves immediately. (V – 3Sg form of leave)
(2) a This behaviour of yours will lead to problems. (V)
b Lead is considered to be one of the heavy metals. (N)
(3) a That newspaper costs 2$. (V – 3Sg form of cost)
b The costs of the reconstruction must be urgently reduced by the committee.
(N – plural of cost)
(4) a A fly has been found in the guest’s soup. (N)
b Although they are birds, penguins cannot fly. (V)
(5) a Whenever I go to the bathroom, the telephone rings. (V – 3Sg form of ring)
b “Three rings for the elven kings under the sky...” (J. R. R. Tolkien) (N –
plural of ring)
(6) a Tears were rolling down on her face while listening to the story. (N – plural
of tear)
b He tears a sheet from the pad. (V – 3Sg form of tear)
(7) a Our neighbours will water our plants while we travel. (V)
b Could you please give me a glass of water? (N)
(8) a Queen Elizabeth II rules the United Kingdom. (V – 3Sg form of rule)
b All players must follow the rules of this game. (N – plural of ring)