Unit 48: PROPER NOUNS & VERBAL NOUNS

These nouns usually have only one form. Proper nouns are either singular or plural; verbal nouns are mass noun (Unit 47)

Proper nouns

These are names for a particular person (Juanita) or thing (Interac) or place (Boston Pizza) or time (May).

They begin with a CAPITAL LETTER

Mr. and Mrs. Wong, Premier Stelmach, Alberta, Canada Day

Normally, we do not use the. We say:

Julio  Not the Julio
Edmonton  Not the Edmonton
Montana's Restaurant  Not the Montana's
January  Not the January

BUT NOTICE
PLURALS:  the Queen Charlotte Islands, the Badlands
RIVERS AND SEAS:  the Indian Ocean, the Nile
FAMOUS BUILDINGS:  the Acropolis, the Louvre
NAMES WITH OF:  the King of Spain, the House of Commons

Verbal nouns

These are the -ing form of the verb (Unit 14) used as a noun.

AS THE SUBJECT

Smoking is bad for you.

AS PART OF THE SUBJECT

Travelling by plane makes me nervous.

AFTER VERBS

He doesn't mind working at night.

Would you mind leaving now? (A polite command.)

I'll do the washing and you do the cooking.

Let's go shopping. (A suggestion.)

My car keeps stopping.

I remember locking the door. (I remember that I did this.)

BUT I'll remember to lock the door. (I won't forget to do it.)

I like listening to music. (Generally.)

BUT I would like to listen to some music. (now)

He stopped talking. (He was talking; then he stopped.)

BUT He stopped to talk. (He was doing something; then he stopped because he wanted to talk.)

AFTER PREPOSITIONS

How about phoning John. (A suggestion.)

He's no good at driving.

Why don't we walk instead of going by car? (A suggestion.)

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Exercise 48.1
Exercise 48.2