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{C}TOEFL Grammar
The Passive Voice

More Skills

Definite and Indefinite Articles

Because articles in English are troublesome for many learners, it is useful to review the use of these articles:

The Indefinite Article:

The most common use of the indefinite article a (an before a vowel sound) is to signal an unspecified item. Note the example: "She wants a car."

Note that the noun, car, is indefinite; it is not specific.

The Definite Article

The definite article the signals a specific or particular person, place, or thing. Nouns can be made specific in several ways.

The noun has been identified in a previous sentence. When the noun is first mentioned, it is unspecified, so the article a may be used. For example: "We bought a new car last year. After we got the car home, one of its tires went flat."

The noun has a modifying phrase or clause in the sentence that identifies it as a specific item. For example: "The information that I got from this book was helpful."

The situation identifies the noun. When both the writer and the reader are familiar with the item that is being referred to, the is used.

Exercise on The Use of Articles

Please copy this exercise on a word document, complete and e-mail it to me: sabri@sabri.org

Directions: Write a, an, or the in the blanks. If no article is needed, write 0.

1. ______ life brings many strange events.

2. ______ food is necessary for survival.

3. ______ food we had at the restaurant was excellent.

4. ______ fascinating place to visit is Samoa.

5. ______ people who do not eat meat are generally healthy.

6. ______ extended example is often called ______ illustration.

Articles With Quantifiers:

Please note that there is a difference between few and a few and between little and a little. Few and little have a negative meaning. A few and a little have a positive meaning.

Participles as Adjectives:

Adjectives such as beautiful, tall, and soft are necessary in effective writing because they give specific, vivid detail. Two other kind of adjectives that are useful but troublesome are the present participle (-ing) and the past participle (-en) forms. Although they are actually verb forms, they can be used as adjectives.

Consider The Following

When I am depressed, my favorite place to go is the beach. The film 'Chocolat' is interesting and touching. It is difficult sometimes to tell whether you should use the present or the past participle, choose. However, you will soon discover that you use the present participle (-ing) to describe the doer (the cause) and you use the past participle (-en) to describe the receiver (the result).

Watch this:

The movie caused me to be depressed. It is a depressing movie.

Got it!

Here are some troubling verbs

The Subjunctive

Some types of essays, such as the argumentation essay, frequently conclude with a suggestion or recommendation for future action. A good sentence construction to use for this form of writing is a noun clause beginning with 'THAT'. The noun clause patterns that recommends and suggests requires special attention. After certain verbs and adjectives that express the idea of requesting or advising, the simple verb form, or the infinitive, is used.

Consider The Following:

The doctor recommended that I see him immediately.
Meaning: The doctor recommends that I should see him immediately.

The teacher advised that all students take the test.
Meaning: The teacher advised that all students should take the test.

It is suggested that the president be responsible for his actions.
Meaning: It is suggested that the president should be responsible for his actions.

The following is a list of verbs used in the subjunctive.

Sentence Variety:

For short, choppy sentences

1. Coordination:
   and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so
   
   Join complete sentences, clauses, and phrases with coordinators:
   
   example: Doonesbury cartoons satirize contemporary politics. The victims of political corruption pay no attention. They prefer to demand that newspapers not carry the strip.
   
   revision: Doonesbury cartoons laugh at contemporary politicians, but the victims of political corruption pay no attention and prefer to demand that newspapers not carry the strip.

2. Subordination:
   
   after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, if only, rather than, since, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whereas, wherever, whether, which, while
   
   Link two related sentences to each other so that one carries the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence (subordination). Use connectors such as the ones listed above to show the relationship.
   
   example: The campus parking problem is getting worse. The university is not building any new garages.
   
   revision: The campus parking problem is getting worse because the university is not building any new garages.
   
   example: The US has been overly dependent on foreign oil for many years. Alternate sources of energy are only now being sought.
   
   revision: Although the US has been overly dependent on foreign oil for many years, alternate sources are only now being sought.
   
   Notice in these examples that the location of the clause beginning with the dependent marker (the connector word) is flexible. This flexibility can be useful in creating varied rhythmic patterns over the course of a paragraph. See the section below under "For the same pattern or rhythm in a series of sentences."

For the same subject or topic repeated in consecutive sentences

1. Relative pronouns
   which, who, whoever, whom, that, whose
   
   Embed one sentence inside the other using a clause starting with one of the relative pronouns listed above.
   
   example: Indiana used to be mainly an agricultural state. It has recently attracted more industry.
   
   revision: Indiana, which used to be mainly an agricultural state, has recently attracted more industry.
   
   example: One of the cameras was not packed very well. It was damaged during the move.
   
   revision: The camera that was not packed very well was damaged during the move.
   
   example: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law. This law states that if something can go wrong, it will.
   
   revision: The experiment failed because of Murphy's Law, which states that if something can go wrong, it will.
   
   example: Doctor Ramirez specializes in sports medicine. She helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury.
   
   revision 1: Doctor Ramirez, who specializes in sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury.
   
   revision 2: Doctor Ramirez, whose specialty is sports medicine, helped my cousin recover from a basketball injury.

2. Participles:
   
   Present participles end in -ing, for example: speaking, carrying, wearing, dreaming.
   
   Past participles usually end in -ed, -en, -d, -n, or -t but can be irregular, for example: worried, eaten, saved, seen, dealt, taught.
   
   For more on participles, see our handout on verbals. Eliminate a be verb (am, is, was, were, are) and substitute a participle.
   
   example: Wei Xie was surprised to get a phone call from his sister. He was happy to hear her voice again.
   
   revision 1: Wei Xie, surprised to get a phone call from his sister, was happy to hear her voice again.
   
   revision 2: Surprised to get a phone call from her, Wei Xie was happy to hear his sister's voice again.

3. Prepositions:
   
   about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, near, next to, of, off, on, out, over, past, to, under, until, up, with
   
   Turn a clause into a prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with a preposition, such as the ones listed above).
   
   example 1: The university has been facing pressure to cut its budget. It has eliminated funding for important programs. (two independent clauses)
   
   example 2: The university, which has been facing pressure to cut its budget, has eliminated funding for important programs. (subject, relative clause, predicate)
   
   example 3: Because it has been facing pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for important programs. (dependent clause, independent clause)
   
   revised: Under pressure to cut its budget, the university has eliminated funding for important programs. (prepositional phrase, independent clause: the most concise version of the four)

For the same pattern or rhythm in a series of sentences

1. Dependent Markers
   
   See the list of dependent markers above under "Subordination."
   
   Put clauses and phrases with dependent markers at the beginning of some sentences instead of starting each sentence with the subject. In this example the structure and content of the sentences remains the same, but some elements are moved around to vary the rhythm.
   
   example: The room fell silent when the TV newscaster reported the story of the earthquake. We all stopped what we were doing. The pictures of the quake shocked us. We could see that large sections of the city had been completely destroyed.
   
   revised: When the TV newscaster reported the story of the earthquake, the room fell silent. We all stopped what we were doing. The pictures of the quake shocked us because we could see that large sections of the city had been completely destroyed.

2. Transitional Words and Phrases
   
   accordingly, after all, afterward, also, although, and, but, consequently, despite, earlier, even though, for example, for instance, however, in conclusion, in contrast, in fact, in the meantime, in the same way, indeed, just as... so, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, not only... but also, now, on the contrary, on the other hand, on the whole, otherwise, regardless, shortly, similarly, specifically, still, that is, then, therefore, though, thus, yet
   
   Vary the rhythm by adding transitional words at the beginning of some sentences.
   
   example: Fast food corporations are producing and advertising bigger items and high-fat combination meals. The American population faces a growing epidemic of obesity.
   
   revised: Fast food corporations are producing and advertising bigger items and high-fat combination meals. Meanwhile, the American population faces a growing epidemic of obesity.

Vary the rhythm by alternating short and long sentences.

example: They visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art. In Anchorage stores they found some excellent examples of soapstone carvings. But they couldn't find a dealer selling any of the woven wall hangings they wanted.

revised: They visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some native American art, such as soapstone carvings and wall hangings. Anchorage stores had many soapstone items available. Still, they were disappointed to learn that wall hangings, which they had especially wanted, were difficult to find.