Given below are some nouns, and a set of modifiers (in the box). Combine the nouns and modifiers to make as many appropriate phrases as you can. (Hint: The nouns and modifiers are all from the texts in this book.)

Temple – girls – triangle - Dresses

Person – thoughts – boys - roar

Gifts – scream – farewell - expression

Time – subject – landscape - handkerchief

Crossing – flight – chatterbox - profession

Physique – coffee - view - celebration

College – rough – hundred – Stone - ordinary

Love - Uncomfortable - white - slang - slack

Bare – railroad – tremendous – family - marriage

Plump – invigorating – panoramic – heartbreaking - birthday

Incorrigible – Ridiculous – loud – first - three

Describing a Repeated Action in the Past

To talk about something that happened regularly in the past, but does not happen any longer, we use would or used to. Both would and used to can describe repeated actions in the past.

(a) Mij would follow me without a lead and come to me when I called his name.

(b) He would play for hours with a selection of toys.

(c)On his way home... Mij would tug me to this wall.

(d) When I was five years old, I used to follow my brother all over the place.

(e) He used to tease me when mother was not around.

To describe repeated states or situations in the past, however, we use only used to.(We cannot use would for states or situations in the past.) So we do not use would with verbs like be, have, believe, etc. Look at the following sentences.

(a) When we were young, we used to believe there were ghosts in school. (Note: belief shows a state of mind.)

(b) Thirty years ago, more women used to be housewives than now. (Note: be here describes a situation.)

From the table below, make as many correct sentences as you can using would and/ or used to, as appropriate. (Hint: First decide whether the words in italics show an action, or a state or situation, in the past.) Then add two or three sentences of your own to it.

Look at these examples from the text and say whether the modifiers (in italics) are nouns, proper nouns, or adjective plus noun.

(i) An otter fixation

(ii) The iron railings

(iii) The Tigris marshes

(iv) The London streets

(v) Soft velvet fur

(vi) A four-footed soccer player

Match the words on the left with a word on the right. Some words on the left can go with more than one word on the right.

(i) a portion of -blood

(ii) a pool of – cotton

(iii) flakes of – stones

(iv) a huge heap of – gold

(v) a gust of – fried fish

(vi) little drops of – snow

(vii) a piece of – water

(viii) a pot of – wind

Use a bit of/a piece of/a bunch of/a cloud of/a lump of with the italicised nouns in the following sentences. The first has been done for you as an example.

(i) My teacher gave me some advice. __________

(ii) Can you give me some clay, please? _________

(iii) The information you gave was very useful. ___________

(iv) Because of these factories, smoke hangs over the city. _________

(v) Two stones rubbed together can produce sparks of fire. ___________

(vi) He gave me some flowers on my birthday. __________________