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Which verb comes before the word “report“? See the phrases below. Can you tell when each one is used?

• make a report
• write a report
• present a report
• give a report

You make a report when something happens and you want to inform others about that incident. For instance, in an accident, you’re required to make a report at the police station. The report can be either verbal or written – mostly verbal as the cops will do all the paper work.

You write a report to inform your fellow colleagues about some  incidents, events or the financial situation in the company you work. Reports are written at the request of the management. If your boss keeps quiet, so do you. In most cases, it is a monthly routine, so you have to do it.

After writing a report, you may be required by the management to present a report in the next meeting. When you present the report, you have to orally summarise what you have reported in writing. Written reports are normally sent to every one after the meeting, so your fellow colleagues do not know what you’ve written until the meeting.

“Give me your report!” – your boss commands. Presumably, you have already written it, and you’re required to personally hand it to him soon before your posterior gets  burnt.  So you give a report when you’re forced to do it – something like “write a report” but more urgent.

Sigh, so many reports to  make, write, give and present.

Someone has just sent me a message and wants to know if this sentence is correct: “I feed the cat with some milk.” One of her colleagues said the preposition “with” should be dropped. This friend of mine argued that having “with” in the sentence is acceptable.

Well, “with” could be used if it is followed by an eating utensil or food. That means, these examples are correct:

• Foreigners find it strange that some Chinese in Malaysia eat with their fingers. (√)
• The little boy fed the chick with a syringe. (√)
• I had rice with curry and some meat. (√)

It is therefore incorrect to say:

• They fed the boy with fried chicken. (X)
• My neighbour feeds his chickens with corn each morning. (X)
• Did you feed the baby with milk though you know he’s allergic to it? (X)

The general rules are as follows: 

• [someone] feeds [person/animal] [food]
• [someone] eats [food] with/and [food]
•  [someone] eats [food] with [an eating tool/fingers]

I believe there are some exceptions. Care to add?

“If I were you, I would [start exercising].”

How often have you heard someone say that statement?  Our teachers have taught us that singular subjects are followed by singular verbs. Check out my post on Subject-verb Agreement.

Back to the above statement. Why do we use the verb “were” instead of “was“? The answer is, it has something to do with “mood” of the verbs used. There are three types of mood:

• indicative: “You have to come.”
• imperative: “Come here!”
• subjunctive: “If I were taller, I would be able to reach it.”

(a) Present subjunctive

In the present subjunctive, use “were” for people.

Example:

• If I were rich, I would be a philanthropist.

→ I am not rich (this is a factual statement).

(b) Past subjunctive

In the past subjunctive mood, use “had” in all cases.

Examples:

• If the police had arrived sooner, the robber wouldn’t have escaped.

→ The police arrived late (this is a factual statement).

Remember this:
Subjunctive mood is the use of “mood” verbs to express conditions, hypotheses, and wishes.

Learners of grammar know that nouns are words that name people, objects and abstract ideas. For instance, words like house, John, insect, happiness etc. are all nouns. Click here for more details on nouns.

Some nouns can be quantified, or counted. These are called countable nouns (e.g.: house – houses; child – children; book – books); others cannot be counted. These are mass nouns or uncountable nouns.

Here are some mass nouns:

Examples:

• news
• information
• furniture
• stationery
• equipment
• baggage
• jewellery
• hardware
• machinery
• scenery

Mass nouns cannot be pluralised as they are considered as ONE unit.  That means, you cannot add an “-s” or “-ies” at the end of the word. So, it is incorrect to say these:

1. I need informations about that case immediately. (X)
2. My parents are going to IKEA to look at a few furnitures. (X)
3. We took pictures of beautiful sceneries when we were in Paris. (X)
4. I’m going to the bookstore to get my stationeries. (X)
5. A few jewelleries were stolen from the goldsmith last night. (X)

Mass nouns should be preceded by “some” or “the” only, and always use singular verbs.

1. I need some information about that case immediately. (√)
2. My parents are going to IKEA to look at some furniture. (√)
3. We took pictures of beautiful scenery when we were in Paris. (√)
4. I’m going to the bookstore to get my stationery. (√)
5. The jewellery was (not “were”) stolen from the goldsmith last night. (√)

A gerund is a special noun. It is a verb that has been transformed into a noun by adding the “-ing” suffix.

Using gerunds in a sentence:

(a) as a Subject

• Swimming is my favourite past time.
• I find that reading and writing are difficult language skills to master.
  

(b) as a Complement

• My favourite past time is swimming.
• The most difficult skills to learn are reading and writing.

(c) as an Object

• Mary loves drinking hot chocolate with her boyfriend.
• My students dislike watching romantic movies.

(d) with articles and adjectives

• The (art.) actual (adj.) making of the movie will be shown on TV.
• The (art.) strange (adj.) writing on the wall is a mystery.

So, a gerund is a verbot that deceptively transforms into a nounbot to confuse our fellow humans. If you haven’t been watching “Transformers“, you obviously wouldn’t understand.