اضغط وشوف:سؤال وجواب:كنوز انجليزية

[ابو بيشو]

سؤال وجواب

I checked the dictionary and found that the word "fast" is a noun and a verb but can I use it as an adjective? For example: He stopped drinking. He is fast OR is fasting OR fasts. ??
Sender
Maha
Position
Student

Fast can be a noun, a verb, an adjective, and an adverb, but their meanings are not the same.
The adjective fast means moving, happening, or done quickly. The adverb means in a quick manner. (Both the adjective and adverb have other meanings also. See LDOCE.)

You are asking about the verb fast when it means to not eat or drink (or to eat and drink less than usual) for a period of time. This is usually done for religious reasons but can be done for other reasons (for example, before some kinds of blood tests you have to fast for 8 hours or more).

The noun is fast: a period of time in which you do not eat or drink (or you eat or drink less than usual).

The word you want is not the adjective, but the present continuous of the verb fast:

He is fasting today. (verb)
He fasts every Thursday. (verb)
He breaks his fast with dates. (noun)

By the way, these sentences are not very natural: He stopped drinking. He is fasting. If he is fasting, why was he drinking? (He couldn't stop unless he was drinking.) It would make more sense to say He's not drinking (today). He's fasting.

ed 19/12/10

[ابو بيشو]

Sec 3, unit 6. I know that the second conditional represents impossibility, such as: If he were tall, he'd join the basketball team. I also know that the third conditional represents impossibility or an imagined action in the past. How can I differentiate between them? For example in this sentence: Without the High Dam, many Egyptian cities ... (would flood or would have flooded)?
Sender
Maha
Position
Student

The sentence you give does not have a conditional clause in it, although we can understand that it is implied in the prepositional phrase without the High Dam. But the sentence also does not give a clear time frame. Is it talking about a past time in which flooding was prevented, or is it talking about the present? As a stand-alone sentence, both endings are grammtically correct. If the sentence appears in a paragraph that gives the time frame, you can choose the verb tense accordingly.

[ابو بيشو]

In Sec 3 WB page 38, Ex 1, #d: "She explained that she was hoping..." Why do you use the continuous tense here? I think the simple would be better?
Sender
Mohamad Abdalah
Position
Head teacher

This is an exercise in which students have to read the reported speech and write what the people said. Here, the person explained, "I'm hoping to come and see you next week."
With the verb hope, we use the present continuous to say that we are depending on something happening. (See LDOCE) That meaning fits the verb explain that is used here. She is not just saying that she hopes (wants) to come and visit, but that she is depending on that visit for something. We are not told what that something is. Perhaps she needs to get something from the person or give the person something.

[ابو بيشو]

Sec 3 WB page 18: Find the mistake: She played the piano since the age of six and she still plays every day. The answer provided is "has played." Is "has been playing" possible here?
Sender
Mr. Htim
Position
Head teacher

It is possible to use the present perfect continuous for repeated as well as continuous activity. However, continuous forms are used mostly for shorter, temporary actions and situations.
Continuous and simple tenses are sometimes both possible, with a slight difference of emphasis.

Is the present perfect continuous possible in the sentence you ask about? I think it is, but it does give more emphasis to the repeated action.

See Michael Swan. Practical English Usage, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, sections 458ff.

Do we say "a quite good man" or "quite a good man"?
Sender
ali
Position
Student

I assumed that you meant quite and not quiet (making little or no noise) as you had in your question.
Quite is a predeterminer here and goes before a or an.
quite a good man
quite an interesting book
In British English quite means fairly, to a small extent, but not very.
In American English quite means very, but not extremely. See LDOCE.

When "hardly" comes at the beginning of a sentence, is it followed by inversion or not?
Sender
nabil
Position
Teacher

Hardly, scarcely, and no sooner are used (often with a past perfect) to say that one thing happened very soon after another.
He had hardly/scarcely opened the book when someone knocked on the door.
Dad was hardly/scarcely home before the boys started fighting.
We no sooner sat down to dinner than the phone rang.

In a formal or literary style they can come at the beginning of a sentence, with an inversion of the (auxiliary) verb and subject. If you are going to teach this structure to your students, you should tell them that this is formal and not the usual way to express these ideas.

Hardly/Scarcely had he opened the book when someone knocked on the door.
Hardly/Scarcely was Dad home before the boys started fighting.
No sooner did we sit down to dinner than the phone rang.

Which is correct: There is something (missed / missing).
Sender
hamdy ahmed
Position
Student

Missing is correct.

In Sec 3 Unit 7, I know that I should use "must have + p.p." to refer to past deduction. Can I use "must + inf." to refer to present deduction? Ahmed has a very good job so he (must have - must have had) a lot of money.
Sender
Messi
Position
Student

Yes, to make a deduction about a present situation you can use must + the infinitive without to. You had this in Sec 1, Unit 15, modal verbs of possibility. See here for some exercises to revise.
That must be why I have a phobia about lifts.
I think I must have some kind of fear of large spaces.

Why did you say "for a fixed price" although LDOCE says "at a fixed price"? (Sec 2 SB, reading text, page 103)
Sender
Abdul Rahman Sherif
Position
Student

Both at and for can be used here.

Why did you say "at Giza", not "in Giza" in the listening part of Sec 2, unit 16 (TG page 280)?
Sender
Abdul Rahman Sherif
Position
Student

Both prepositions can be used. At is especially appropriate when talking about travel from one place to another. At indicates some point in the travel. At is also appropriate to say something or someone is in the vicinity of something, without pinpointing exactly where.

[ابو بيشو]

Can I say "at the weekend" or "on the weekend"?
Sender
Rania
Position
Student

Both are correct. At the weekend is British. On the weekend is American. It is best to use the British form on your exam.

Is there a difference between "home to" and "home of" in a sentence such as "All environments are home ... many types of wildlife."
Sender
salah kashab
Position
Teacher

Home can be both countable and uncountable. Common usage here would be home to (no article) and the home of (article). I can't explain why.

He ran as fast ... a horse. ( like - as )
Sender
Ahmed
Position
Student

He ran as fast as a horse.
He ran fast like a horse.
Both, of course, are understood to be exaggerations because humans can't run that fast.
See more at LDOCE under "as".

Can "during" be followed by v + ing or a noun only?
Sender
Ahmed
Position
Student

During is a preposition. It can only be followed by a noun or noun phrase: during the summer, during lunch, etc.
You cannot say during eating. Use while:
While eating, we watched TV.
While we ate, we watched TV.
During dinner we watched TV.

Do we say someone got the full mark on an exam or in an exam? Which preposition is correct?
Sender
S
Position
Teacher

Both are correct. You can say on an exam or in an exam.

Sec 3 Unit 3 tapescript: "Could you explain how for our listeners?" I think we explain something to somebody, not explain something for somebody. I'd be grateful if you could clarify this to me.
Sender
sahar adly
Position
Teacher

We usually say explain something to somebody, but it is also possible to use for — in order to help someone. In this dialogue, the interviewer is asking Dr Zaki to explain something (to her) for the benefit of the listeners — to help them understand. This is correct usage.

In chapter 1 of "The Mask of Gold" it says, "Samira is a reporter ON one of the Cairo newspapers." Why do we use "on" here instead of "in"?
Sender
Abdul Rahman Sherif
Position
Student

Prepositions rarely translate exactly from one language to another. You have to learn the correct preposition in the target language (the one you're learning) rather than thinking how you would say something in your native language.
Someone is a reporter on or for a newspaper. That is the idiom in English. My guess is that on the newspaper is short for on the staff of the newspaper.

Sec 3, SB Unit 6, page 33, Ex 4: "Some types of ice cream are made with wood products." Is the preposition "with" here correct? And does it work like "from"?
Sender
amr ahmed
Position
Teacher

With is the correct preposition here. It is not the same as from and they cannot be interchanged here. When we say something is made with a certain component or ingredient, we are saying that that component is one of several or many components. Often it is only a small part of the whole.
This cake is made with oil, not butter.

Sec 3 SB, Unit 13, page 83, Ex 5: "Which of the two women do you think was the most impressive?" Is this structure correct? I mean we are comparing two people. Wouldn't it be correct if we say "more impressive," the same way we say in "The Spiders" that Lamia is the older of Ayman's two sisters?
Sender
Hossam
Position
Supervisor

When members of a group are being compared and there are only two members in the group, the superlative is often used in an informal style. This is especially common in spoken English. See here for more.

Is it correct to say "Nora is the shorter of the two girls"?
Sender
Rahmah Atef
Position
Student

Yes. When we are comparing only two things, some people prefer the comparative rather than the superlative. However, it is also possible to use the superlative because we are comparing members of a group, even if the group has only two members. And of course we always use the superlative when comparing three or more.
Nora is the shorter of the two girls.
Nora is the shortest of the two girls.(not acceptable to some)
Nora is the shortest girl in the class.
In real life, native speakers often use the superlative when comparing only two things, especially in informal speech. Some think that this is incorrect and that the comparative must be used.
A question of this sort should not appear on an exam because there are two possible answers. Students have been taught that when they see the, they must use the superlative. But which of the rules would an examiner follow -- that the comparative must be used when only two things are compared, or that the must be followed by the superlative? This would be an unfair question on an exam.

In the Sec 3 SB, unit 4, page 22 (grammar), Ex. 1, sentence 5: "As soon as I'd finished a story, I'd start the next one." I am a little confused about the structure of the second clause "I'd start..." Could you explain it, please?
Sender
Mr. Hany Nakhla
Position
Teacher

The first I'd is I had. The second I'd is I would: As soon as I had finished a story, I would start the next one.

Sec 3 SB page 28: "But it is believed that the spies' headquarters is a small hotel..." According to Longman, the word "headquarters" is plural. How does it take "is"?
Sender
mr.no3many
Position
Student

Dictionaries and other reference works sometimes disagree. The Longman Active Study Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English both say that headquarters takes a plural verb. However, many other references, including The Cambridge Guide to English Usage and Garner's Modern American Usage, say that headquarters can be used with either a plural or singular verb. The plural is preferred when the location is meant, while the singular is preferred when the authority or the building is meant. The distinction may not always be clear in a given sentence.
Here are some examples:

What is the difference between "another" and "other" and "the other"? Is it correct to say "Tom and another three boys robbed the bank" or "Tom and other three boys robbed the bank"?
Sender
Ahmed Fahmy
Position
Student

Other and another each have several different meanings. Please check LDOCE.
One meaning of another is "more of the same kind" and, strictly speaking, this should also be of the same number. So, for example, I can say my brother and another boy but NOT my brother and another girl because girl is not the same *** as brother. I can say my brother and another person,my brother and another boy, my brother and another student.
In all of these cases another, rather than the other, shows that I assume the listener/reader does not know which other person I am talking about. The an in another can act as the article an.

If I have already mentioned the other person, I use the other. For example:
My uncle and another man went fishing. (The listener doesn't know which man I'm talking about, or it could be any other man.) My uncle caught three fish but the other man caught only one. (The listener now knows I mean the man who went with my uncle.)

As I said above, another should refer to the same number of people/things as previously mentioned. Therefore, I CANNOT say Tom and another three boys. I can say Tom, Dick and Harry and another three boys. Likewise, I CANNOT say I have three apples in my left hand and another two (apples) in my right hand because three and two are not the same number.

The number words must come before other. So I can say Tom and three other boys or three apples in my left hand and two other apples (or two others) in my right hand. But I CANNOT say Tom and other three boys.

Sec 3 WB page 53, in the comprehension passage the question is "Who does the word 'they' refer to in the phrase 'they find their way'?" The answer is "birds and animals." Is it correct to use "Who" here in this question?
Sender
Ahmed
Position
Head teacher

You are correct that this would be better worded as who or what. The most likely incorrect answer is "scientists" at the beginning of the sentence.

In Sec 3, Grammar Review on page 123, it is mentioned that the word "politics" is always used with singular verb, but I looked this word up in many dictionaries and found that it takes both singular and plural verbs, not just a singular verb.
Sender
Emad Ragheb
Position
Teacher

You are not reading the textbook and dictionaries carefully enough.
The textbook says, on pages 7 and 123, that school subjects and sports that end in -ics take singular verbs. When politics means "the study of political power and systems of government" (= American English political science), it takes a singular verb. This is a school subject.

Politics does have other meanings that take a plural verb. These meanings include "ideas and activities related to gaining and using power in a country, city, etc" and "someone's political beliefs and opinions." However, we intended that students not be tested on subject-verb agreement for these other meanings.

The word classics also takes a singular verb when it means a school subject, the study of the literature and history of ancient Rome and Greece. The word classic also has countable uses, and while this appears as an extension in our online vocabulary exercises, we intended that students only be tested on the meaning presented in the textbook.

The same applies to some other words. The meaning of an academic study takes a singular verb but other meanings can take a plural verb.

Sec 3 SB page 7, which is correct? (1) Three one-pound coins are on the table. (2) Three one-pound coins is on the table.
Sender
yoyo
Position
Student

In this sentence, the focus is on the number of coins (countable), not on the quantity of money. So the correct sentence is
(1) Three one-pound coins are on the table.

Let's look at this grammar point more. In this sentence, one-pound is acting like an adjective. I can remove it and the sentence would be

(3) Three coins are on the table.

Sentence (3) clearly needs a plural verb because I don't know the quantity of money. The coins could be 5-piastre coins, they could be different values, they could each be from a different country. So I only know how many coins I have (countable), but not how much money (uncountable).

Usually when we talk about money, time, distance, or other quantities such as volume (litres, cubic metres, etc.) or weight (kilos, tonnes, etc.), we are thinking of the entire quantity as one "lump sum" rather than the individual parts of that sum.

Look at another sentence:

(4) Ten pounds is on the table.

I'm looking at the whole amount, something that is called ten pounds. It might be one 10-pound note, it might be two 5-pound notes, it might be one 5-pound note and ten 50-piastre coins, it might be forty 25-piastre coins. The parts are not important. The sum — ten pounds — is important and that quantity takes a singular verb.

Sec 3 SB, Unit 7, reading text on page 43. "It took them many years to do it." Which is correct: Homework took me two years to do, or to be done?
Sender
mohamed
Position
Teacher

The text in the SB is The work took thousands of workers and more than three years to complete.
When we use take to say how much time we need to do something, we use an infinitive (to complete), not a passive infinitive (to be completed). There are five common structures.

1 The person is the subject: person + take + time + infinitive
Thousands of workers took more than three years to complete the work.

2 The activity is the subject: activity + take (+ person) + time
The work took more than three years.
The work took thousands of workers more than three years.

3 The object of the activity is the subject: object of activity + take (+ person) + infinitive
The work took more than three years to complete.
The work took thousands of workers more than three years to complete.

4 Preparatory it is the subject: It + take (+ person) + time + infinitive
It took more than three years to complete the work.
It took thousands of workers more than three years to complete the work.

5 Before/until is used: It + take (+ person) + time + before/until
It took more than three years before/until the work was completed.
It took thousands of workers more than three years before/until they completed the work.

(Michael Swan. Practical English Usage, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 570)

And with that information you should be able to answer the question about homework by yourself. I hope it won't take you two years again!

25 coins (is - are) a lot of money.
Sender
aya
Position
Student

See Sec 3 SB page 7 again. A coin is not a quantity of money.

Sec 3, unit 3, in the tapescript, can we say "geothermal powers stations"? I mean why is "s" added to the word "power"?
Sender
amr ahmed
Position
Teacher

This is an error which will be corrected in the next printing. The audio is correct -- geothermal power stations.

ed 11/10/10

In Sec 3 in the reading text of unit 2, "The Prisoner of Zenda," why did the writer use the present simple form in telling the summary of the novel ?
Sender
Mr Hany
Position
Teacher

This is the historic present and is commonly used in summarizing stories. Please see the Archives for Historic Present and here for more.

Sec 3 Grammar Review of Unit 2" People is the plural of "persons". I think it should be "person". Thanks.
Sender
Akef Al Tahawy
Position
Head teacher

Thank you. This will be marked for correction in the next printing.

Sec 3 exercises on this website, Grammar Unit 3 Ex 5: The paper and food was burned to generate electricity. I think "were burned" is correct here. Thanks in advance for your great support for English teachers.
Sender
sahar
Position
Teacher

Thank you for pointing that out. The answer has been corrected to "were burned".

Sec 3 WB, page 2, Part 3, item b: I think my brother ... (be) a doctor. He's very clever. There's evidence about the intelligence of my brother and he's expected to be a doctor with a proof not as a personal opinion. How is it answered in the TG "will be"? And also item d: My lesson ... (finish) at four o'clock. It's a timetable in a school. We learned to use the present simple with the sentences like this. Why is it answered "finishes/will finish"?
Sender
Aya Ali Mohammed
Position
Student

Please read here.
Forget the word "evidence" and use instead "present reality" — something that is happening now that gives you reason to say that something is about to happen (in the near future).

The fact that your brother is intelligent is not proof or evidence that he will be a doctor. Maybe he will be an engineer or a brilliant computer programmer or a wealthy businessman. Intelligence alone does not make a doctor. If your brother is already in university and studying medicine, you have reason to say he's going to be a doctor. But note that the sentence in the workbook begins with I think. It calls for someone's opinion or prediction, and that is best expressed with will.

As for the other sentence, we gave an alternative answer because we want to emphasize that sometimes more than one answer is possible. Note that the rubric here calls for a correct form of the verb. We usually use the present continuous when talking about timetables, but another form is possible.

Sec 3, unit 2: subject-verb agreement. Words like scissors/shoes/glasses. What do we choose if we want to say "Bring the scissors and put (it or them) in the box."
Sender
masrwy777
Position
Other

Words like scissors, (eye)glasses, trousers, pants take plural verbs and pronouns, even though we mean one item. However, if we say a pair of scissors, shoes, trousers, pants, etc., we use singular verbs and pronouns because a pair is singular. And, of course, if we say two/three/several pairs of we use plural verbs and pronouns.

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[مستر سعيد دراهم]

انت كنز والله لك منا كل الاحترام

[ابو بيشو]

شكرا جزيلا للرائع دائما مستر سعيد اليك منى كل احترام وتقدير شكرا

[ابو بيشو]

شكرااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا اااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا

[ابو بيشو]

شكرااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا اااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا ااااا