English for Academic Skills
Independence
[EASI]
Session 10
Grammar
Review quiz
In addition to modal verbs (may, could, etc.), what
are some of the grammatical resources for
expressing degrees of probability in English?
It might rain …
The probability of rain …
Grammatical resources for expressing probability
[modal verb] it might rain …
[noun] the probability of rain …
[adjective] it is possible that we will get rain …
[adverb] it will possibly rain …
Scaffolding quiz
Explain the difference between the following:
‘doors’
‘a door’
‘the door’
Referring to things …
doors: referring to doors in general
a door: indefinite reference – could be any door
the door: definite reference – both speaker and
listener know which door is being referred to
By the end of this session you will be able to …
 state the grammatical resources for referring to
people and things
 proof-read a text to check that the correct articles
are used
 be able to apply a flow-chart
General reference
This refers to a whole class of things, e.g.







doors
umbrellas
websites
spaces
individuals
networks
connections
General reference
The standard structure is [zero article] + plural
countable noun when we are making general
statements:
Social networking websites can be defined as
online spaces which “allow individuals to present
themselves, articulate their social networks, and
establish or maintain connections with others”
(McCarthy, 2012, p.758).
General reference
The standard structure is [zero article] + plural
countable noun when we are making general
statements:
Social networking websites can be defined as
online spaces which “allow individuals to present
themselves, articulate their social networks, and
establish or maintain connections with others”
(McCarthy, 2012, p.758).
General reference: Grammatical resources
The standard grammatical resources for referring to
a whole class of things are summarised as follows:
 [zero article] + plural countable noun eg doors
 [zero article] + uncountable noun eg furniture
Can you think of some other uncountable nouns?
Some common uncountable nouns
accommodation
childhood
employment
genetics
information
mathematics
punctuation
transportation
advertising
distribution
equipment
hardware
management
pollution
research
violence
assistance
commerce
evidence
homework
knowledge
production
scenery
welfare
Activity
Read this sentence and decide if it is correct:
The social networking websites can be defined as
the online spaces which “allow the individuals to
present themselves, articulate their social
networks, and establish or maintain the
connections with the others” (McCarthy, 2012,
p.758).
Which article? Proofreading activity
Use this flowchart as an aid to help you decide …
Activity
Note ‘general reference’ and remember the rule - if
it is not specific, then no article is needed:
The social networking websites can be defined as
the online spaces which “allow the individuals to
present themselves, articulate their social
networks, and establish or maintain the
connections with the others” (McCarthy, 2012,
p.758).
Which article? Proofreading activity
Use this flowchart as an aid to help you decide …
General reference
Here is the original version:
Social networking websites can be defined as
online spaces which “allow individuals to present
themselves, articulate their social networks, and
establish or maintain connections with others”
(McCarthy, 2012, p.758).
General reference: Traps
The standard structure is [zero article] + plural
countable noun when we are making general
statements:
Penguins are flightless birds.
Many students make mistakes with this form. If you
can learn and apply this rule, you will improve your
writing immediately!
General reference: Scientific writing
Sometimes you will find the following structures in scientific
texts and encyclopaedias:
 ‘a’ + singular countable noun
A penguin eats …
 ‘the’ + singular countable noun
The penguin eats …
If you are writing yourself, you are advised to use [zero article] +
plural countable noun:
Penguins eat …
Indefinite reference: Using ‘a’
The standard structure is ‘a’ + singular countable noun.
There are three common functions:
 Labelling and pointing: This is a problem.
 First mention: A soldier was shot …
 Concept of ‘any’: You must bring a pen.
Use this form when you refer to an unidentified subset of
things.
Definite reference
 This aspect of grammar is reasonably
straightforward
 The object(s) which are referred to are identified
in some way
My computer
The clock
Definite reference
This refers to a clearly identified subset of things:




Possessives [my, our]
Pronouns [her, their]
Demonstratives [this, that]
Definite article ‘the’
Definite reference: Possessives
This clearly establishes a relationship of possession
or ownership or association:
My computer …
Our lecture theatre…
Do you know all of the possessives and how they fit
together?
Definite reference: Possessives
Singular
1st person
my, mine
your, yours
2nd person
3rd person
Plural
his, her, hers,
John’s
Definite reference: Possessives
Singular
Plural
1st person
my, mine
our, ours
2nd person
your, yours
your, yours
3rd person
his, her, hers,
John’s
their, theirs, the
Smiths’
Definite reference: Pronouns
We use pronouns such as ‘it’ or ‘they’ to refer to
things, ideas or situations which have just been
mentioned
‘It’ is very often used to point forward to a ‘that…’
clause. This structure gives more emphasis to the
information in the ‘that…’ clause as it is positioned
towards the end of the clause.
Using ‘it’ to point forward
‘It’ is often used to point forward to a ‘that…’ clause
– It is clear that online privacy and safety are issues.
– It is clear then that social networking sites can be fertile
creative spaces; however, this all hinges on students
having sufficient skills, not only with technological tools,
but also with academic literacy.
Definite reference: Pronouns
Do you know all of the pronouns and how they fit
together?
Definite reference: Pronouns
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
subject
object
I
you
you
he
her
it
Plural
subject
object
we
you
you
they
Definite reference: Pronouns
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
subject
object
I
me
you
you
he
him
she
her
it
it
Plural
subject
object
we
us
you
you
they
them
Definite reference: Demonstratives
These words indicate how near or far. This distance can
be physical and refer to spatial distance:
this computer …
that mountain …
… or distance in time:
this decade …
that century …
Definite reference: Demonstratives
Do you know all of the demonstratives and how they
fit together?
Definite reference: Demonstratives
Proximity (in
space or time)
Near
Far
Singular
Plural
this
those
Definite reference: Demonstratives
Proximity (in
space or time)
Singular
Plural
Near
this
these
Far
that
those
Definite reference: Pronouns or demonstratives
Should we use a pronoun or a demonstrative when
referring back?
Another advantage of Facebook is that it can increase
student engagement.
Another advantage of Facebook is that this can
increase student engagement.
Definite reference: Pronouns or demonstratives
When we use a pronoun we do not give any emphasis to
what has been referred to:
Another advantage of Facebook is that it can increase
student engagement.
If we do want to emphasise what has been referred to
we use a demonstrative:
Facebook is highly versatile. This social networking
website can increase student engagement.
Definite reference: Demonstrative ‘this’
What is the function of the demonstrative ‘this’
here?
When using Facebook however, students are able to
create their own content, and then easily share it with
peers and teachers, who are then able to provide
immediate feedback online. McCarthy (2013) emphasises
that this provides a space for students to “share, converse,
discuss and critique” (p. 340).
Definite reference: Demonstrative ‘this’
The demonstrative ‘this’ can be used to summarise a
whole idea from a previous sentence or paragraph:
When using Facebook however, students are able to
create their own content, and then easily share it with
peers and teachers, who are then able to provide
immediate feedback online. McCarthy (2013) emphasises
that this provides a space for students to “share, converse,
discuss and critique” (p. 340).
Definite reference: Demonstrative ‘this’
 often used to point back to information from previous
clause(s)
 old information is packaged up and brought forward as
the subject of the next sentence
Old >> new pattern
 old information is packaged up and brought forward as
the subject of the next sentence
given (old) information  new information
given
 new
 given  new  given  new 
Activity: Demonstrative ‘this’
What does ‘this’ refer to?
Duffy (2011) suggests that social networking sites offer
possibilities to move from paradigms of teachercentered delivery of instruction towards the facilitation
of active, participatory, collaborative interactions. This
is a dramatically different context for learning and
teaching than the traditional mode …
Activity: Demonstrative ‘this’
What does ‘this’ refer to?
McCarthy (2013) found that students benefited from
involvement in virtual discussions which allowed them
time to create and measure their responses. This would
not be possible in a physical classroom environment.
Definite reference: Demonstrative ‘this’
In academic writing, the demonstrative ‘this’ is a
useful device for introducing a summarising noun
which points backwards:
… this idea
… this hypothesis
… this question
… this issue
… this conclusion
Definite reference: Definite article ‘the’
We use the definite article ‘the’ to refer to
something that is clearly understood by both
speaker and listener.
A typical example is where there is only one possible
referent:
The sun rises in the east.
Definite reference: Definite article ‘the’
In text the reference can be backward pointing or
forward pointing. In its backward pointing function it is
typically associated with the second mention:
A soldier was shot yesterday; the soldier’s name …
When forward pointing, it is associated with the head
noun:
The computer which I bought yesterday
Definite reference: Definite article ‘the’
We use the definite article ‘the’ to refer to
something that is clearly outside the text; we call
this ‘outward pointing’.
It points outward to the wider world of shared
knowledge or understanding:
The Prime Minister announced yesterday …
Definite, indefinite and general reference
singular
Definite
Indefinite
General
plural
uncountable
the HP computer
this computer
that computer
our computer
the HP computers
these computers
those computers
our computers
the HP software
this software
that software
a computer
computers
software
-
computers
software
Definite, indefinite and general reference
singular
Definite
Indefinite
General
plural
uncountable
the HP computer
this computer
that computer
our computer
the HP computers
these computers
those computers
our computers
the HP software
this software
that software
a computer
computers
software
-
computers
software
To summarise
You will communicate more effectively if you
become sensitised to the following:




General reference
Indefinite reference
Definite reference
Grammar resources for referring
Which article? Proofreading flowchart
Use this flowchart as an aid to help you decide …
Summary: Grammar resources for referring
 Articles [a/an, the]
 Demonstratives [this, that, these, those]
 Possessives [my, our]
End of classroom session
Here are some follow-up activities you might like to do …
 Read about grammar resources for referring
 Go back to your last assignment – use the ‘which
article?’ flowchart to check your use of articles
Grammar resources: Articles
 Indefinite article: a/an
 Definite article: the
 ‘Zero’ article: [ZERO]
Grammar resources: Demonstratives
Proximity (in space
or time)
Singular
Plural
Near
this
these
Far
that
those
Grammar resources: Possessives
Singular
Plural
1st person
my, mine
our, ours
2nd person
your, yours
your, yours
3rd person
his, her, hers,
John’s
their, theirs, the
Smiths’
Grammar resources: Inclusives







all
either
both
each
every
neither
no
Which article? Proofreading activity
When you are proofreading your assignments it is
useful to focus on nouns.
Remember the basic principle: when we talk about
things in general terms we tend to use plural countable
nouns [with no article] – or uncountable nouns [with
no article].
Countable nouns and uncountable nouns
Decide if these nouns are countable or uncountable:
money
petrol
dollar
computer
software
bread
litre
loaf
Countable nouns and uncountable nouns
Countable noun
dollars
litres
loaves
bars
bottles
pens
Uncountable noun
money
petrol
bread
soap
milk
stationery