Lack / Lack of

So it is probably a verb: lack, lacks, lacking or lacked. Choose a tense: The sentence describes a general rule, guideline or phenomena, something that is true ... TaskOne RatethisExercise Aim:ManyHongKongstudentsuse'lack'and'lackof'wrongly.This exerciseistoshowthedifferenceandtohelpyouunderstandwhichonetouseinwhich situation. Introduction: 'Lack'isbothaverbandanoun.Forexample,using'lack'asaverbyoucansay'Someone lackssomething.',andasanoun'Thereisalackofsomething.' Grammar: Word PartofSpeech ExampleSentences lacklacks verb- I/you/we/theylack he/she/itlacks singularnoun+lacks uncountablenoun+lacks Theylackthenecessaryfamilysupportoranyotherchannelswheretheycanseek assistance. Deprivedanddisadvantagedfamilieslackbothknowledgeandself-confidence. Achildwithoutparentsusuallylacksasenseofsecurity. Thegovernmentoveralllacksdynamism. ItwassointerestingtoseehowWesternthinkinglackscreativityandisnotgearedto changes. lacking adjective Financialbackingfortheprogrammeisstilllacking. lackingin adjective Itwasasolidlybuiltvesselbutlackinginnavigatinginstruments.(Avesselisaboat orship.) (Grammaticalstructure:'lackingin'+nounphrase.) lacking '_ing'form(presentparticiple) Lackinganyfilialpiety,PrinceRichardrebelledagainsthisfather.('filialpiety' means'respectforparents') Sentencestructure:'Lacking+nounphrase+comma+clause lacking '_ing'form (reducedrelativeclause:therelativepronoune.g.'who'andtheverbaremissing) Studentslackingadictionarycanuseanonlinedictionary. (Meaning:Studentswhoarelackingadictionarycanuseanonlineone.) lacked verb-perfectandpasttenses Hisleadershiphaslackedimaginationandaggression. HesaidthatHongkonglacked"along-termauthoritythat monitors tree-plantingefforts". lackof noun SocialworkersblametheGovernmentfortheseverelackofresidentialplaces. There'sbeenalackofawarenessaboutwhatyoungpeoplelike. Mostlandslipsarecausednotbydesigndeficienciesonslopes,butbyalackof supervisionandcontrol.   Exercise Choosethecorrectwordfromthedrop-downlist: HecriticisedtheLegalDepartmentclaimingitClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofcommitmentandonlypaidlip-serviceto"makeitseemasthoughthe departmentisdoingsomething".  Answer: HecriticisedtheLegalDepartmentclaimingitlackedcommitmentand onlypaidlip-serviceto"makeitseemasthoughthedepartmentisdoing something". Explanation: 'TheLegalDepartment'('it')isthesubjectofthissentence,and'commitment'isthe object.Thereshouldbeaverbbetweenthem.Theverbshouldbeinthepasttensebecause thisisreportedspeech,asshownbythephrase'hecriticised...'. AchildwithoutparentsusuallyClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofasenseofsecurity.  Answer: Achildwithoutparentsusuallylacksasenseofsecurity. Explanation: Findthepart-of-speech: 'usually'isanadverb,andadverbsareusuallyfollowedbyverbsoradjectives,andgive moreinformationaboutthem.Adjectiveshaveaformoftheverb'be'e.g.'is'or'was', beforethem,andasthisismissingfromthesentence,themissingwordisnotan adjective.Soitisprobablyaverb:lack,lacks,lackingorlacked. Chooseatense: Thesentencedescribesageneralrule,guidelineorphenomena,somethingthatistruein thepast,presentorfuture,sothecorrecttenseisthepresentsimple,soitis'lack' orlacks'.' Choosethird-personsingularornot: 'Achild'isasingularnoun,sotheverbformthatagreeswithitis'lacks'.   NeithersmokesensorsnorfiresprinklershadbeeninstalledduetoClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackoffunds.  Answer: Neithersmokesensorsnorfiresprinklershadbeeninstalledduetoalack of/lackoffunds. Explanation: 'dueto'isfollowedbyanounphrase,andboth'alackof'and 'funds'arenouns. Itcannotbe'thelackof'becausethistopichasnotbeenmentionedbeforein thesentence. IfHongKongpeopleClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofconfidence,webusinessmenwillnotbeabletoinvest.  Answer: IfHongKongpeoplelackconfidence,webusinessmenwillnotbeable toinvest. Explanation: Chooseapart-of-speech: Thissentencehas2clauses,thepartbeforethecomma,andthepartafterit.The'if' clauseistheclausethatcontains'if'.'If'clausesmustcontainaverb,and'If','Hong Kong','people'and'confidence'arenotverbs.Thereforeyoushouldchooseaverbfrom thelist. Chooseatense: Fromthegrammarrulesof'if'sentences,youknowthatiftheclause without'if'uses'will',the'if'clauseshouldcontainapresentsimpleverbform. Singularorplural? As'people'isplural,'lacks'iswrong,so'lack'isthecorrectanswer.   BoatpeopleheldatVictoriadetentioncentrewereClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofindailyutilities.  Answer: BoatpeopleheldatVictoriadetentioncentrewerelackingindaily utilities. Explanation: 'were'ispartoftheverb'tobe',andisusuallyfollowedbyacontinuousverboran adjective.Thefollowingwordis'in',sothecorrectansweris'lacking'. HecriticisedClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofanyemergencyback-upsystemandsaidtheengineersweretooslowtorestorethe air-conditioning.  Answer: Hecriticisedthelackofanyemergencyback-upsystemandsaidthe engineersweretooslowtorestoretheair-conditioning. Explanation: Chooseapart-of-speech: 'criticise'isthemainverbinthissentence,sothewordfromthelistshouldnotbea verb.Thereisnoformoftheverb'tobe',soit'snotanadjective.Thereforeit's probablyanoun. Choosewhichnoun: Thefollowingnounphrasedescribesaspecificsystem,the'emergencybackupsystem',so'the lackof'isthecorrectanswer. Mostlandslipsarecausednotbydesigndeficienciesonslopes,butbyClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofsupervisionandcontrol.  Answer: Mostlandslipsarecausednotbydesigndeficienciesonslopes,butbya lackofsupervisionandcontrol. Explanation: Thisisaparallelsentencestructure: 'Mostlandslipsarecaused...'(Thisintroducesthetopicofthissentence,andshowsthat thenextpartofthesentencewillbeananalysisofthecauses)    -notbydesigndeficiencies(anounphrase)    -butbyalackofsupervision(anothernounphrase). MembershipoftheboardcompletelyClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackoftransparencyatthemomentsincealltheboardmembersareappointed.  Answer: Membershipoftheboardcompletelylackstransparencyatthemoment sincealltheboardmembersareappointed. Explanation: Chooseapart-of-speech: 'completely'isanadverb,andthesedescribeverbsoradjectives.Theclause'Membership oftheboardcompletely???transparency'doesnothaveaverb,sothemissingwordisa verb. Chooseatense: Thephrase'atthemoment'showsthatthisisinthepresent.Thereforethemissingword is'lack'or'lacks'. Singularorplural? Themainnouninthesubjectnounphraseis'Membership',whichissingular.Thereforethe correctwordis'lacks'. TheyalsobelieveheClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackoftheexperiencetorecognisehowdecisionswillplayinthemarket.  Answer: Theyalsobelievehelackstheexperiencetorecognisehowdecisions willplayinthemarket. Explanation: Chooseapart-of-speech: 'he'isapronoun,andpronounsareoftenfollowedbyverbs Chooseatense: Thingsthatpeoplebelieveareusuallydescribedinthepresenttense. Singularorplural? 'He'shouldbefollowedby'lacks'. SocialworkersblametheGovernmentforthesevereClickhere> lack lacks lacked lacking lackof alackof thelackofresidentialplaces,forcingadultstowaitformorethanadecadeforplaces.  Answer: SocialworkersblametheGovernmentfortheseverelackofresidential places,forcingadultstowaitformorethanadecadeforplaces. Explanation: 'the'andanadjective(severe)arepartofanounphrase,sochoose'lackof',as'the' isalreadyinthesentence. Correctthemistakesinthefollowingsentences,thenclickthe'SeeAnswer'buttons toseethecorrectsentenceandanexplanation: ThecausesincludetheencouragementoftheGovernmentanditslackageofmanagementofprotectivepolicies.  Answer: ThecausesincludetheencouragementoftheGovernmentanditslackof managementofprotectivepolicies. Explanation: 'Lackage'isnotanEnglishword.Afterapossessivepronounlike'its',useanoun phrase. Itisaquitegoodidea,sincethereislackingofgreenparksinHongKong.  Answers: Itisaquitegoodidea,sincethereisalackofgreenparksinHong Kong. Explanation: After'thereis'useanounphrase. Theproblemoflackinghousingcanbesolved.  Answer: Theproblemoflackofhousingcanbesolved. Explanation: Aproblemshouldbewrittenasanounphrase:'lackofhousing'. Itshowedthatthesubjectslackedofinterviewtechniques,particularlyiftheinterviewswereinEnglish.  Answer: Itshowedthatthesubjectslackedinterviewtechniques, particularlyiftheinterviewswereinEnglish. Explanation: No'of'afterlackasaverb. LotsofcommercialbuildingsinHongKonglacksenvironmentalconsiderationsintheirdesign.  Answer: LotsofcommercialbuildingsinHongKonglackenvironmental considerationsintheirdesign. Explanation: 'Lotsof'andbuildings'showthatthesubjectofthissentenceisplural,soitshouldbe 'lack'(asin'theylack'),not'lacks'. Table5summarizesthejob-seekingskills,whichthesubjectsfeltthattheylackedofinthecourseofthejobhuntingprocess.  Answer: Table5summarizesthejob-seekingskills,whichthesubjectsfeltthattheylackedinthecourseofthejobhuntingprocess. Explanation: No'of'afterlackasaverb. Yourtotalscoreis: Loading... Copyright©2012-2013UGCICOSAProject,HongKong.Allrightsreserved.