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Subject – Verb Agreement

2.  Substantive Adjective:

Subject – Verb Agreement: “Plural vs. Singular”

This is to continue my topic around countable vs. uncountable nouns.

Substantive Adjective - 實名詞

Just as nouns can function like adjectives, some adjectives may function as nouns (substantive, 實名詞).  Generally, adjectives that function as substantive are ones that apply to people or things and are preceded by a definite article, such as “the rich and the poor”.  In this case, the adjective functions as a noun rather than modifying one.

Sense verbs are verbs (such as feel, taste, smell, hear, see, watch, sense, listen to, sound, look, appear, and seem) that describe someone's sensation or feeling or perception.  Unlike other verbs, they require adjective, not adverb, modifiers.

For example:

The rotisserie chicken tastes awfully. (X)

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and an adverb (Particle verb, verb + adverb), a verb and a preposition (prepositional verb, verb + preposition), or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition (phrasal-prepositional verb, verb + adverb + preposition) that modifies or changes the meaning from the original verb.

 (1) Particle Verb (Verb + Particle: Adverb)

Intransitive (verb that does not have an object) + Adverb

Conditional – Misc.:

Type 1 - Present Real:

5. Mixed Conditional

4. Third Conditional (Type 3)  與過去事實相反的條件句

3. Second Conditional (Type 2) 很可能與現在或未來的事實相反的條件句

The second conditional, often called “unreal conditional”, is a structure used when it is impossible for the result to occur in the present or in the future. 

2.  The First Conditional (Type 1) 現在或未來可能成為事實的條件句
The first conditional, often called “real conditional”, is a structure used when there is a possibility that the result will occur in the present or in the future if certain conditions are met. 

1.  The Zero Conditional (Type 0)

The zero conditional is a structure used when situations are always true under certain conditions.  Since the result will always occur if the condition is met, the time is not important.  By the way, “if” can usually be replaced with “when”.  However, there is a difference.  ** The difference lies in that the condition where "when" is used suggests a higher frequency of occurrence than where "if" is used. 

Conditional Comparison:

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Squinting modifiers:

A squinting modifier, also called two-way modifier, is an adverb or phrase placed between two phrases, and can be used to modify either one. 

Dangling Participles

A participle is a verb ending in –ing or -ed.  Dangling participles occur when the verb and the subject of the sentence do not agree, when it is unclear what the participial phrase is describing.  Dangling participles could appear as introductory participial phrases or at the end.

Usage of “there is” vs. “there are”

When a compound subject follows the verb and the first element is singular, the verb may be either singular or plural (as stated by The Merriam-Webster Guide to English Usage).

A.  How to determine whether a noun is countable or uncountable when it can be used as either? 

(1) The difference lies in how and where you use the word, whether it means something in general or different types of a certain thing.

Relative Clause

Relative clauses are subordinate clauses that modify nouns.  Because they add information to a noun, they are also called adjective clauses.  For more information about adjective clauses, please refer to the article I wrote – Adjective Clause - 何為形容詞子句?

Adverb Clause:

副詞子句是有副詞作用的子句 (包含主詞, 述詞, 動詞) 修飾另一個子句, 主要作為附屬或連接,  像副詞片語般，但更像是介詞片語。

Noun Clause:

Adjective Clause

Adjective Clause: