Download Inclusives

UNIT 3:
MORE REFERRERS
Introduction
In this unit, the inclusive referrers are explained. Quantifiers, Describers and Classifiers
are dealt with as premodifiers in the structure of the noun group. More details about
postmodifiers accompany the description. The process of nominalization is shown to
enable students to vary sentence structure, practise word economy as well as conciseness
in the use of the language especially in writing.
Inclusives
Inclusives are used to refer to a complete group of things.
Some positive inclusives are : both, each, every, all, and either.
Note the difference in the structures in the use of the following inclusives:
Each bear is different in its behaviour.
Each of the bears is different in its behaviour.
Every child likes to play with toys.
Every one of the children is given a toy.
All pails are made of plastic these days.
All of the pails are made of plastic these days.
Quantifiers
These are words like many, much, a lot of, several, some, any, a few and little which give
the meaning of an inexact amount.
Problems in the use of quantifiers for ESL students
1.
*a.
The co-occurrence of referrers and quantifiers
Their much help is appreciated
b.
Their many lecturers is an asset in the institution.
While it is possible to add a quantifier for sentence b, it is not possible to combine a
referrer and a quantifier for a.
2.
The matching of an appropriate quantifier with the mass noun
The following sentences have problems.
*a.
Several beautiful sceneries were shown in the film.
*b.
Many intelligence is needed to qualify for the top post.
*c.
Much stories are told to the playgroup children.
*d.
Few money was earned from the auction.
Correction:
a.
Many beautiful sceneries were shown in the film.
b.
Much intelligence is needed to qualify for the top post.
c.
Many stories are told to the playgroup children.
d.
Little money was earned from the auction.
Thus in the use of quantifiers, the following principles must be borne in mind. Count
nouns may go with certain quantifiers and mass nouns may be accompanied by its own
list of quantifiers and finally, some quantifiers may be used for either mass nouns or
count nouns. The categories are summarized below:
Count Nouns
Mass Nouns
Mass noun and count noun
Many, few, a few,
much, a little, little
some, a lot of , less, least
several, fewer, fewest
In the use of some and any as quantifiers, meaning is also determined by stress.
Depending on whether the word is stressed or unstressed, the quantifier may act like a
definite or indefinite referrer. Refer to the examples in the Text (p. 46)
Exact quantifiers are those that are specific in terms of number such as one, five hundred,
a thousand and so forth.
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Task 1
(15 minutes)
Complete the following sentences with suitable quantifiers, inexact and exact. Use a
variety of them.
I found (1)_______ kittens in the alley behind my house. (2) _______of the kittens were
black while the others were white. I decided to send them to the SPCA, but before that I
tried feeding them with (3)______ milk as they looked hungry. However, (4)_____ of it
was spilled as I did not know how to feed them properly. The one that drank the
(5)_______ milk did not make it to the SPCA. It was just too weak.
When I arrived at the SPCA, the animals there were making (6) _______ noise. I waited
for (7) ______minutes before I could see the lady in charge. When she was able to see
me, she did not waste (8)______ time. Soon the kittens were put into a cage and the (9)
_______ attention I gave to them was about all that I could do for them. (10)_______
weeks later I dropped by again and found (11)_______kittens had been adopted while
just one was left behind.
Suggested Answers
1.Five
2.some
3.a little
5.least
6.a lot of
7.a few
9.little
10.Many
11. four
4.much
8.much
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Partitives
Partitives are used to show units of mass nouns, for example, a piece of bread, a lump of
sugar, a drop of perfume. In other words, a partitive allows a mass noun to be counted.
The structure is similar to that of a noun group where there is a premodifier, a head noun
and a postmodifier. However, the head noun in a partitive is the unit.
Examples
Premodifier
Head
Postmodifier
A
wad
of money
Some
drops
of rain
Three
pieces
of chalk
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Task 2
(10 minutes)
Complete the sentences with suitable partitives.
1.
Do you take two or three ____ of sugar for your coffee?
2.
A few _____ of vanilla essence would enhance the taste to the cake.
3.
Do get me two _____ of soap from the shop when you go there.
4.
The cat drinks a ______ of milk everyday.
5.
He has used many ______ of paper for his composition.
6.
The company ordered ten _____ of wine for the office dinner.
7.
He put three _____ of chicken on each plate for dinner.
8.
Sarah developed her story from a _____ of his imagination.
9.
A _____ of black pepper is added to the steak just before it is served.
10.
For dessert, he had three ______ of ice-cream.
Answers
1.
cubes
2.
drops
3.
bars
4. dish
5.
sheets
6.
bottles
7.
pieces
8. figment
9.
dash
10.
scoops
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Describers
A describer reveals the quality of the noun or an attitude towards the noun used.
Examples
A slender girl
A boyish look
That useless boy
An ugly scene
These describers can be modified by adverbs.
Examples
An extremely slender girl
A very boyish look
That really useless boy
A tasteless ugly scene
Use of participles as describers
To form describers we may add -ing or -ed to verbs. These words are referred to as
participles. For example, an enlightening talk, a hesitating smile, an enlarged heart, a
broaden outlook
As pointed out in the Text, (p. 48-49) problems may arise from the use of the incorrect
form of the participles. What is the difference between the sentences below?
1.
An increased workload added to his stress.
2.
An increasing workload added to his stress.
In Sentence 1 the idea is that the workload is already increased while in Sentence 2 the
emphasis is on the continued action of increasing.
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Task 3
(15 minutes)
A.
Form participles from the given verbs.
B.
Construct your own sentences to show the context of use for each pair of the
words formed.
depress
wither
rise
burn
melt
Suggested Answers
The depressing news about retrenchment worries him a great deal.
The depressed Mr Lee, after his retrenchment, became a recluse.
Mee Yoke threw the withered flowers into the recycle bin.
As the weather was hot, the withering plants were crying out for water.
The daily rising temperature indicated the coming of a drought season.
The risen dough can only be used after an hour.
The burnt caramel was difficult to scrub off.
What is that burning smell coming from the kitchen?
He quickly put the melting ice cream into the freezer.
He threw away the melted ice cream as it had turned into water.
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Order of describers
The order of describers is often not arbitrary. The usual order is as follows:
attitude
That ugly
An interesting
The
age
ancient-looking
size
shape
colour
large
round
yellow
old
narrow
tall
thin
clock
tunnel
pale-looking girl
While there is no explicit rule to say that we cannot pile up adjectives as in the first
example, it is however very unlikely for us to use so many adjectives all at one go. We
normally would not use more than three in a sentence. We can always construct another
sentence to describe the chosen noun group further.
Example
That ugly ancient-looking yellow clock has been stored away for years.
It is also large and round, taking up a lot of storage space.

Go through Task 3b (p. 49) in the Text to identify the order of describers.
( 10 minutes)
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Classifiers
Adjectives, nouns or participles may be used as classifiers such as urban development,
city dweller, losing game.
Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between classifiers and describers as similar word
forms are used. The test is to see if an adverb can be use to modify the noun group. If we
can, then it is a describer.
Example
The monsoon season cannot be modified by an adverb
The tall glass can be modified
the very tall glass.
Tall is a describer while monsoon is a classifier.

Go through Task 3c (p. 50) in the Text to see the distinction
between classifiers and describers. ( 15 minutes)
Some words are confusing for use as describers or classifiers. In the case of classifiers,
some combinations are acceptable as shown in Task 3d while some would sound rather
odd.
A case in point is the following group of words. How do you use them in the formation of
noun groups?

economy

economical

economic
The word economy can be used as a mass noun on its own
The economy of Malaysia is well regulated.
It may be used as a classifier ( modifying drive ):
The economy drive brought about results that were encouraging.
Economic used as a describer (to describe condition)
The economic conditions are not as rosy as last year's.
Economical used as an describer ( as a complement)
We were told that we have to be more economical if we do not want to face
difficulties later on.
________________________________________________________________________
____
Postmodifiers
Premodifiers are words that come before the head noun such as the mob, that car, these
books while postmodifiers are words that follow the head nouns to give specific meaning.
The post modifiers may be in the form finite clauses, infinite clauses or prepositional
phrases as shown in the examples below.
Examples:
The mob that gathered at the hall was restless. ( finite clause)
That car, being newly painted ,was parked in the garage. ( infinite clause)
These books in the bookshelf are priceless. (prepositional phrase)
More Examples:

The man whom you saw last night is my uncle.

He found his friend waiting at the bus stop.

The prisoner, sentenced for life, broke down in tears.

Use the umbrella in the corner.
Are you able to identify the variety of structures of the postmodifiers in the above
sentences?
Answers:

The man whom you saw last night is my uncle. ( finite clause)

He found his friend waiting at the bus stop. ( infinite clause)

The prisoner, sentenced for life, broke down in tears. ( infinite clause)

Use the umbrella in the corner.
(prepositional phrase)
NOTE: Always remember that there must be a finite verb in a finite clause.
Problems in the use of modifiers for ESL students
1.
Correct placement for modifiers
If a group of words is functioning as a modifier of the noun, it should be placed right
after it or as close to it as possible. For example, the following sentences would have
different meanings depending on which is the head noun that is being modified.

The table was placed next to the sofa which was newly bought.

The table which was newly bought was placed next to the sofa.
The above sentences although conveying different meaning are grammatically correct
either way but in the following pair, only the first sentence is acceptable.

The vegetables packed for export will remain fresh for days.
*
The vegetables will remain fresh for days packed for export.
2.
Using the correct relative pronoun
In the construction of a finite clause that acts as a postmodifier , there is a choice of
relative pronouns depending on the noun that is referred to and the manner of embedding.
For 'human' nouns such as man, woman, child, we may use that, who and whose, and
whom.
For animals and non-human things, the choice is that and which.
Examples
The man who visited me last night was my uncle.
The man that robbed the bank was caught.
The man whose bag was stolen lodged a report at the police station.
The man whom you saw last night was my uncle.
The paper which he took from me cost me RM 5.00 a piece.
The paper that he used was bought from the supermarket.
The cat which ate the mice belonged to my neighbour.
Problems arising in the use of who and whom and the zero relative pronoun.
These days whom is very often substituted by
who especially in informal speech.
However, in writing, the correct choice is often emphasised. As students of the language,
it would be necessary to know the distinction. Basically it has to do with how the
embedded structures come about. Examine the steps involved in the transformation.
Since we are talking about finite clauses being used as modifiers, we have to start with
two sentences.
Sentence 1.
The man is my uncle.
Sentence 2
You saw my uncle last night.
Assuming that you wish to embed Sentence 2 into Sentence 1.
Examine the structure of Sentence 2:
Subject
Verb group
You
saw
Object
my uncle
Adjunct
last night
Thus when the head noun is the object in the base sentence, whom is used.
The man whom you saw last night was my uncle.
Now, examine the next pair of sentences:
1.
The man was my uncle.
2.
He visited me last night.
The embedded sentence is Sentence 2.
The structure of the embedded sentence is as follows :
Subject
Verb group
Object
Adjunct
He
visited
me
last night.
Thus when the relative pronoun refers to a noun that is used as the subject of a
sentence then who is used.
The man who visited me last night was my uncle.
The use of the zero relative pronoun
In English we are allowed to omit the use of the relative pronoun in certain constructions.
For example in the sentence :

The house we bought was a real bargain.
We have choose to omit that . If we put it back, the sentence will read as follows:

The house that we bought was a real bargain.
However, we cannot omit the relative pronoun in the following sentence:

He lives in the house that belongs to his grandmother
and have a sentence such as . :

He lives in the house belongs to his grandmother.
In the use of the zero relative clause, just as in the use of who and whom, there are
constraints. Optional replacement by the zero relative pronoun is possible when the head
noun is in an object position. Look at the structures involved in the construction.

The house we bought was a real bargain.
Subject
Verb group
The house
was
Complement
a real bargain.
Subject
Verb Group
Object
We
bought
the house.

He lives in the house that belongs to his grandmother.
Subject
Verb group
Adjunct ( the house is the object in the prepositional
phrase)
He
lives
in the house.
Subject
Verb group
Adjunct
The house
belongs
to his grandmother.
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Task 4
(10 minutes)
Some of the sentences contain errors. Correct them.
1. That cat who fur is black is called Bella.
2. The carpet who is Persian is very colourful.
3. My brother which is six foot tall has difficulties buying shoes.
4. Do you recognise Alan whom you met three years ago?
5. Please tell Kee Jun whom live down the road to come here immediately.
6. I am surprised the grade you got is so low.
7. The room is on the top floor belongs to my sister.
.
8. Why don't you try the cheese we bought from the United States?
9. I like the sweater that you bought from the boutique.
10. The land lady who you lived with as a student is now retired.
Answers
1.
That cat whose fur is black is called Bella.
2.
The carpet which is Persian is very colourful.
3.
My brother who is six foot tall has difficulties buying shoes.
5.
Please tell Kee Jun who lives down the road to come here immediately.
7.
The room that is on the top floor belongs to my sister.
10.
The land lady whom you lived with as a student is now retired.

.
Go through Task 3e in the Text to see how relative nouns are used.
(10 minutes)
________________________________________________________________________
____
Problems using relative pronouns
1.
when a preposition is used together with a relative pronoun
Often, problems arise when relative pronouns are accompanied by prepositions such as:.

He lives in a house in which there is a secret tunnel.

He had to repaired the car of which the tyres were also changed.
These variations come about because of the indication of possession. Not inserting the
preposition will cause the sentence to be ungrammatical.
Going back to the base sentences:
He lives in a house.
The house has a secret tunnel.
He lives in a house in which there is a secret tunnel.
He had to repaired the car.
The car has tyres.
The tyres were also changed.
He had to repair the car of which the tyres were also changed.
2.
Using the relative pronoun and the noun together as in:
*I saw a movie which I had read about it.
The sentence should be:
I saw a movie which I had read about.
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Process of nominalization
The process of nominalization allow us to repackage our thoughts whereby the noun
groups can be formed by changing verbs into nouns such as:
allow
allowance
ship
shipment
know
knowledge
reject
rejection
produce
production
Can you think of more words that can undergo such a process? Try doing it with the
following words: Check your answers with a dictionary.
Verb
Link
Pave
Inform
Represent
Nominate
Construct
Relate
Participate
Accompany
Repeat
Season
Build
Noun
The nominalised noun groups allow the representation of the processes depicted usually
by the verb groups.
Another process of nominalization is to change adjectives into nominal groups, for
example:
The girl who is young
the young girl
Functions of nominalization
As said in the Text (p. 60-61), there are reasons why nominalization is used. They serve
the following functions:
1. They offer the potential of conciseness
1. They allow us to start a sentence more easily
2. They aid scientific writing in categorising, labeling and describing
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Task 5
(15 minutes)
Rewrite the underlined parts in the passage below by using nominalization so that
reading is aided. You may need to change the exiting structure slightly to
accommodate the nominalization.
Make-up should not be used as camouflage, but rather as something that would enhance
or more exactly something that seeks to discover. A face that is bare has it own character
and hidden harmony. It is this character that is hidden that one must try to reveal. There is
no need for make-up that is heavy to achieve that.
L'Oreal was launched in Malaysia in 1990 but the brand though it was strong and
exclusive failed to stand out and people weren't aware of how much it has to offer. With
new styles to manage the company hopes to regain its footing. As a cosmetic company
that is considered leading, it stands to benefit from a new partnership with Shu Uemura
,a company found in Japan. The way that Shu Uemura packages its products is kept
simple and compact. And the price range is also reasonable, varying from RM12 to
RM225.
(adapted from The Weekender in the Star, Saturday, February 16, 2002)
Suggested Answer
Make-up should not be used as camouflage, but rather as enhancement or more exactly
for discovery. A bare face has it own character and hidden harmony. It is this character
that is hidden that one must try to reveal. There is no need for heavy make-up to achieve
that.
L'Oreal was launched in Malaysia in 1990 but the strength and exclusivity of the brand
failed to stand out and people weren't aware of how much it has to offer. With new
management styles the company hopes to regain its footing. As a leading cosmetic
company, it stands to benefit from a new partnership with Shu Uemura ,a Japanese
company. The packaging of Shu Uemura products is kept simple and compact. And the
price range is also reasonable, varying from RM12 to RM225.
NOTE:
dense.
Too much of nominalization is not encouraged as the text can become very
 Go through Task 3f in the Text to undergo the process of
denominalization. (15 minutes)
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Summary
The noun group serves its function in many ways. We have seen how the use of
inclusives, quantifiers and the partitive structures give rise to particular descriptions of
the noun group. Describers in the form of words realized by the use of -ed and -ing may
precede the noun or are found in the postmodifying clause. Adjectives, participles and
nouns may also be used together with the head to form sub -sets. Postmodifiers may be
used in the form of finite and nonfinite clauses as well as prepositional phrases. Finally,
to help us use the language more efficiently, the process of nominalization is
demonstrated.