21. Active Verbs with Non-Active Meanings

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The word “active” gives a very misleading idea of verbs in the active voice

THE MEANING OF “ACTIVE”

It is common to first meet the word “active” in English grammar when learning about its opposite, the passive form of verbs. This is perhaps because, in simplest terms, “active” is a name for any verb that is not passive. In other words, if passive verbs are defined in terms of their form (a “past” participle of a verb, alone or combined with BE – see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs), active verbs can be understood as verbs with other forms.

Defining active and passive in terms of their forms is very precise – it is indeed the preferred approach elsewhere within this blog – but a problem that it can give to learners of English is that it says nothing about their meaning in reading, and in writing it only says how they should be made, not when. For these purposes, there is a need to think about meanings.

The terms “active” and “passive” are actually attempts to describe these verb categories in terms of their meaning. Outside of grammar, they have easily-understood meanings which resemble those carried respectively by active and passive verbs. A major problem with them, however, is that the meanings they suggest do not cover all of the possible meanings that active and passive verbs can express.

This problem is actually not so great with “passive”, which suggests some kind of receiving or suffering. Most passive verbs do associate this meaning with their “subject” (the noun or equivalent that determines whether the verb is singular or plural – see 12. Singular and Plural Verb Choices), particularly when by is present. The exceptional ones seem mostly to express a state or condition rather than an action, such as BE SITUATED or BE COMPOSED OF.

Active verbs, on the other hand, more often have a meaning that does not seem to match their name. “Active” suggests action, but many active verbs express a state instead. “Active” also suggests that the subject of the verb has some responsibility for the action – the opposite of the “receiving” role bestowed by most passive verbs. In this respect too there are numerous exceptions, for example verbs expressing actions beyond human control, such as DIE or AWAKE.

It is this problem of the variability of active verb meanings that the present post is about. A later one (83. Adjectives before a “to” Verb) also deals with it, but focuses on the influence of surrounding words and not on the basic meanings of the verbs. My aim here is to present a classification of exceptional active verbs, in order to help them to be remembered more successfully. I will consider four broad groups:

1. Active verbs without an object.
2. Active verbs with an object that express states rather than actions.
3. Active verbs with an object and non-initiating subject.
4. Verbs whose active and passive forms mean the same.

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ACTIVE VERBS WITHOUT AN OBJECT

An object is a verb-dependent noun (or noun equivalent) that is not the verb’s subject and does not repeat the meaning of the subject. Like the subjects of passive verbs, objects usually receive or suffer the action or state expressed by the verb (for a fuller definition, see 8. Object-Dropping Errors).

Some verbs absolutely must have an object (e.g. SAY), some must not (e.g. APPEAR), and some allow a choice (e.g. INCREASE). Verbs of the APPEAR and INCREASE kinds are both relevant here. They can be read about in depth elsewhere in these pages in 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive and 4. Verbs that don’t have to be Passive.

Verbs without an object quite often lack a true “active” meaning. Consider these:

1. Verbs that cannot also Have an Object

(a) Einstein persisted until he found a solution. (ACTIVE MEANING)

(b) The lawyer went to the prison. (ACTIVE MEANING)

(c) Rain falls more often in August. (NON-ACTIVE MEANING)

(d) Luxembourg lies between France and Germany. (NON-ACTIVE MEANING)

In (a), persisted has a fully active meaning because it suggests both “action” and “responsibility”. Other object-prohibiting verbs that typically suggest the same include PROCEED, TRAVEL and WORK. Sentence (b) shows GO acting similarly. However, GO can also have the semi-active meaning of “action without responsibility”:

(e) The accused went to prison.

What changes the meaning here is the use of prison without the. The result is that went is now closer in meaning to was sent (see 176. Ways of Using GO, #5).

In (c) above, falls resembles this semi-active second use of GO in expressing action without responsibility. In (d), lies is fully non-active, expressing neither action nor responsibility. France and Germany here is not an object because there is an intervening preposition (between) – something not usually possible with objects (see 84. Seven Things to Know about Prepositions, #5).

Examples of other fully non-active verbs like LIE are BE (unless used in a “continuous” tense), EXIST and SUFFICE. There are also many object-less verbs that can be fully non-active but can also be partly active (in the “action” sense), such as EMERGE, LIE DOWN, REMAIN and RISE.

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2. Verbs that can also Have an Object

(f) The bottle broke. (NON-ACTIVE)

(g) The Andes stretch from the Tropics almost to the Antarctic. (NON-ACTIVE)

In (f), broke is non-active in the “action without responsibility” sense, while in (g) stretch expresses a state (see 295. Options in Saying Where, #1).

Verbs that can be used with or without an object, like BREAK and STRETCH, differ in their non-object use in two important ways from verbs that cannot ever have an object. Firstly, as the examples indicate, they very rarely, if ever, have a full active meaning (for that they need an object). The nearest to it that they might have without an object is “action without responsibility”, as illustrated by broke in (f). Note that this meaning is not “passive”, as passive verbs are usually more definite about their subject lacking responsibility for the action (see 27. How to Avoid Passive Verbs).

Secondly, there seem to be very few verbs in this category that, like STRETCH, can express a non-action meaning. Rare examples are DERIVE and FLOAT. Verbs that, like BREAK, typically refer to an action, such as BEGIN, CHANGE, and MOVE, are extensively illustrated in these pages in 4. Verbs that Don’t Have to be Passive.

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ACTIVE VERBS WITH AN OBJECT THAT EXPRESS A STATE

Verbs of this kind are quite numerous – proof of how often verbs are not “doing” words. They are rarely found in the continuous tenses. One kind solely represents states. Examples are KNOW, BELONG TO, COMPRISE, CONTAIN, COST, LACK, RESEMBLE and OWN. Verbs that name a property are a notable subgroup (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties).

A number of other verbs can express either “doing” or “being”. Compare the following uses of OCCUPY:

(h) The Romans had occupied most of Europe by the time of Christ. (COMPLETED ACTION)

(i) Nelson’s Column occupies the centre of Trafalgar Square. (STATE)

Verbs with this double possibility also include HAVE, HOLD, CROSS, (DIS)LIKE, FILL, LINK, JOIN, CONNECT, POSSESS, ALLOW, LEAD, TOUCH and FEEL. Among these, OCCUPY, CROSS, FILL and CONNECT illustrate a notable subgroup that correspond to BE + preposition (see 205. Paraphrasing Prepositions with Words of Other Kinds). For details of HAVE, see 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE. For other examples, see 66. Types of Passive Verb Meaning.

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ACTIVE VERBS WITH AN OBJECT AND RECIPIENT SUBJECT 

Probably the best-known example of a verb of this kind is SUFFER, as in:

(j) Drivers suffer more accidents when the road is wet.

The very meaning of suffer makes it clear that drivers receive rather than cause the action – despite the use of the active form and following object. This unusual situation is probably why the active and passive uses of SUFFER are so often mixed up (see 142. Grammar Errors with Passive Verbs).

There are a few other verbs like SUFFER, such as ENCOUNTER, EXPERIENCE, HEAR, RECEIVE, SEE and UNDERGO. There are also some verbs that have a passive-like meaning in some of their uses, including GET, HAVE, MEET and TAKE. Note also MAKE A MISTAKE, a typically involuntary action. Here are some more example sentences:

(k) The most successful team will receive a prize.

(l) The ship met its doom.

(m) Sales saw a sharp fall in June.

(n) The country has undergone much change.

HAVE is broader than SUFFER, being able to name desirable experiences as well as undesirable ones (see 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE, #2). It could replace the indicated verbs in (j), (m) and (n).

GET is rather informal (see 108. Formal and Informal Words). It could be used in (k), but not in (j). For other uses, see 116. Rarer Uses of HAVE.

SEE and EXPERIENCE commonly have object nouns referring to an action, to which they give passive meaning. They are useful for describing numerical and graphical data, as in (m) (see 115. Surveying Numerical Data).

UNDERGO also commonly has action noun objects with passive meaning, especially those that express services provided by other people (see 173. “Do Research” or “Make Research”?). Common object nouns include change, criticism, examination, scrutiny, surgery and treatment. These tend to be the same as nouns commonly found after under by itself (see 164. Fixed Preposition Phrases).

TAKE in its passive sense seems to need an object naming incidental suffering, such as punishment in a boxing match (see 264. Variations in the Use of TAKE, #8).

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VERBS WHOSE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE FORMS MEAN THE SAME 

This is a very small group, and is easy to remember as a result. It may be a subgroup of object-taking actives that express states. Compare:

(o) The company is faced with a crisis.

(p) The company faces a crisis.

Both of these sentences mean more or less the same (see 314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4, #1). Note how the passive use is followed by with, not by. Other verbs like FACE, some similarly unable to have by, include ACCOMPANY/ BE ACCOMPANIED BY, AIM (+ to verb) / BE AIMED AT (+-ing), COMPRISE/ BE COMPRISED OF and CONFUSE/ BE CONFUSED BY.

Similar to these are BOTHER ABOUT/ BE BOTHERED ABOUT, OPPOSE/ BE OPPOSED TO and SUIT/ BE SUITED TO. The difference is that the -ed forms are probably adjectives rather than participles within passive verbs (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending). Confused can also be an adjective – followed by about rather than by (see 261. Words with Complicated Grammar 3, #3).

Also notable is a close equivalence between active had gone and passive was gone (see 207 Exotic Grammar Structures 4, #1).

20. Problem Connectors

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The connector has to be right

Connectors rarely translate exactly, and some in English are especially hard to use correctly

DEFINITION OF CONNECTORS

Connectors are adverb-like words and phrases that help a reader or listener to understand how the meanings of two neighbouring sentences are related (see 18. Relations Between Sentences). Common examples are therefore, however, indeed and in addition. Many are similar in meaning to conjunctions – for example, however resembles but, and therefore is like so – but their grammar is different, most importantly in that they do not enable multiple verbs to occupy a single sentence (see 40. Conjunctions versus Connectors).

Connectors exist in many, if not most, languages. However, they are rarely easy to translate directly from one language to another. Some connectors in English give especial trouble in this respect, and it is these that I wish to focus on here.

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CONNECTORS THAT ARE OFTEN USED WRONGLY IN ENGLISH

Eight of the most problematic connectors are as follows.

1. “on the contrary”

This is one of the most frequently misused connectors. Part of the problem with it is that European Romance languages like French and Spanish have a very similar-looking connector with a different meaning (au contraire/al contrario). The wrong use of on the contrary is for contrasting, or presenting a difference between two opposites. The correct connector for this is on the other hand, however or by contrast (see #3 below and also 216. Indicating Differences):

(a) Conjunctions join two verbs into one sentence. On the other hand, connectors keep them apart.

It was possible up to about 70 years ago to use on the contrary to show a contrast in English, but in modern English its correct use is to clarify a negative statement, like this: 

(b) Global warming does not always mean warmer weather. On the contrary, it can lead to extremes of cold. 

Note the word not in the first sentence. It or another negative like rarely or scarcely nearly always needs to be present before on the contrary.

To understand this use more fully, consider the meaning of not … warmer. Logically, there are two possibilities: not just the extreme opposite “cold”, but also the intermediate “neither warm nor cold”. What on the contrary does is to clarify that the extreme opposite of warmer is meant, rather than the intermediate state. It can act like this with not just adjectives like warmer but most other kinds of words too.

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2. “in fact”/ “indeed”

Here is the kind of link where these two connectors are often wrongly used:

(c) South America has two main languages. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil and Spanish is common everywhere else.

This link can be described as “specifying” or “identifying” (see 117. Restating Generalizations More Specifically). It is similar to the link that colons can also express (see 17. Colons versus Semi-Colons and 55. Sentence Lists 2: Main-Message). English normally uses no connector to show this meaning.

The correct uses of indeed and in fact are varied, but one of the commonest is to increase the strength of a statement: 

(d) There is plenty of silicon in the world. In fact, it is the second most abundant element on earth.

In spoken English, as a matter of fact is also possible here, but in writing it should be avoided. In fact is additionally usable with the meaning of “in reality” to show a contrast between an untrue situation and a true one: 

(e) Population growth has been blamed for many of the world’s economic problems. In fact, there are a wealth of other possible explanations.

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3. “nevertheless” versus “on the other hand”

Both of these connectors correspond to the conjunction but. However, each expresses a different meaning. Compare:

(f) Whales swim in the sea but they are not fish.

(g) Whales swim in the sea but elephants walk on land.

In (f) the words after but say something that is a surprise: we do not expect sea swimmers not to be fish. In (g), the words after but show a difference: whales and elephants live in opposite environments. Differences are sometimes changes from positive to negative or vice versa (see 277. Advantages & Disadvantages, #3). Technically, these two meanings are called “concession” and “contrast”.

The connector nevertheless shows only surprise and hence must go in sentences like (f) (an alternative is even so), while on the other hand (or by/in contrast) shows only a difference and hence must go in sentences like (g). One other but-related connector, however, can have either meaning.

For more on contrasts, see 143. Subtleties of “-self” Words. and 216. Indicating Differences. For some uses of concession statements, see 51. Making Concessions with “May” and 215. Naming Exceptions.

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4. “as a result” versus “therefore”

It is tempting to think as a result means the same as consequently or therefore: all three are used after causes (see 32. Expressing Consequences), and they seem interchangeable in some contexts, such as this:

(h) Most of South America was colonised by Spain. As a result, Spanish is the main language. 

Compare this example, however, with the following:

(i) Alexander the Great contracted malaria in Asia. As a result, he died. 

It would be inappropriate to use therefore or consequently here. The reason is that they introduce logical consequences, which tend to be inevitable, and dying is not a logical consequence of contracting malaria (some people recover instead). The difference between the two meanings even applies to (h): therefore would suggest that the language of colonisers always establishes itself in colonies, whereas as a result simply introduces a result without suggesting anything about its inevitability. As a result is especially common in process descriptions.

An associated difference is that logical consequences tend to be ideas rather than real-world events, so that it is ideas that are commonly found after therefore and consequently. This tendency is especially evident in the use of these words in argumentation, linking an opinion statement with preceding evidence (see 167. Ways of Arguing 1).

For some other ways of showing whether or not a consequence is logically expected, see 32. Expressing Consequences and 61. “Since” versus “Because”.

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5. “that is why”

In sentences (h) and (i) above, it is possible to replace the connectors with that is why – but with changed meaning. The difference is in whether or not the reader is expected to already know the result. If there is expected familiarity, for example, with the fact that Spanish is the main language of South America, then that is why is more appropriate in (h).

The possibility of telling a reader something they know already is discussed in detail in the Guinlist posts 24. Good and Bad Repetition and 156. Mentioning What the Reader Knows Already. Consider these further examples:

(j) It is becoming harder to exercise regularly. That is why so many people are overweight.

(k) Plants absorb carbon dioxide. As a result, they reduce global warming.

The result in (j), people being overweight, is obvious to everyone, and therefore not likely to be something they are being told by the sentence. On the other hand, the result in (k), that trees reduce global warming, is not obvious, and is hence assumed not to be known already by the reader.

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6. “besides”

Besides means the same as in addition or furthermore. However, like as a matter of fact, it is more typical of spoken English so should be avoided in formal writing (see 46. How to Avoid “I”, “We” and “You”). It is more formal with this after it:

(l) Smoking diminishes the sense of smell. Besides this, it is unhealthy.

Care needs to be taken, both with and without this, not to confuse besides with beside (without -s), which means “next to” rather than “in addition”.

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7. “at last”

The wrong use of at last is before the last item in a multi-sentence list (see 122. Signpost Words in Multi-Sentence Lists) or the last event in a process description (see 210. Process Descriptions). In the first situation, the right connector is lastly or finally, like this:

(m) Another common means of transport is trains. FINALLY/LASTLY, there are aeroplanes.

At the end of process descriptions, the right choice depends on whether or not a long time delay needs to be implied. Without this need, finally and lastly are again the right choices, but with it finally, in the end and eventually are preferred.

The correct use of at last is also where there is a time delay, but only to suggest that the event in question has been desired for a long time, so that its occurrence is a happy event:

(n) The war lasted for twenty long years. At last a peace treaty was signed.

For more about in the end, see 157. Tricky Word Contrasts 5, #7.

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8. “first”, “firstly” and “at first”

The connector use of first signals the beginning of a chronological process or procedure, while firstly introduces a non-chronological list, and at first indicates a contrast with a single chronologically later event:

(o) First, switch on the computer. Then log on and open a web browser.

(p) There are three ways to apply.  Firstly, you can call the number above.

(q) At first there will be some discomfort, but later a feeling of well-being will develop.

For more about firstly, see 122. Signpost Words in Multi-Sentence Lists. For more about adverbial first, see 210. Process Descriptions, #2 and 227. Time Adverbs. For aspects of the adjective first, see 296. Tricky Word Contrasts 12, #3.

19. Noun Countability Clues 2: Activity Locations

Some nouns express an activity when uncountable and a particular location of that activity when countable

THE DIFFICULTY OF DECIDING NOUN COUNTABILITY

Being able to recognise whether nouns are “countable” or “uncountable” is fundamental for using them correctly (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”). Noun countability is thus a common topic in elementary English courses. However, it is also an aspect of English that continues to trouble even very proficient users, which is why it is the topic here. This is the second of four Guinlist posts about it. The others are 14. Noun Countability Clues 1: Action Outcomes,  23. Noun Countability Clues 3: Subtypes and 43. Noun Countability Clues 4: Substance Locations.

Most readers will know that the terms “countable” and “uncountable” refer not to what nouns mean but to what they do. They tell us not about the ability or otherwise of the idea expressed by the noun to “be counted”, but rather about the grammar rules that the noun must follow. Only “countable” nouns, for example, can be made plural. Only “uncountable” nouns can be singular without an article or equivalent. “Uncountable” nouns can follow all but not each or every (see 169. “All”, “Each” and “Every”); singular “countable” nouns cannot follow enough (see 189. Expressing Sufficiency). Countability can even affect vocabulary choices (see 81. Tricky Word Contrasts 2, #9).

The reason for calling these two types of noun “countable” and “uncountable” is that this can seem a useful means of recognising which nouns are which: many nouns that can be made plural are obviously able to be counted, and many that cannot be plural are obviously unable to be counted. The problem, however, is that there are also many nouns whose ability or not to be counted is unclear. Luggage, for example, can be thought of as either a collection of individual bags carried by travellers – an eminently countable concept – or as something travellers carry that has no fixed size or shape.

An interesting indicator of the subjectivity of “ability to be counted” is the fact that some noun meanings that are expressed by an “uncountable” noun in English are expressed by “countable” nouns in French, a language with a similar way of classifying nouns. Examples are access, advice, information and research. It is also notable that some “uncountable” English nouns are much more likely than others to be incorrectly used in a “countable” way by speakers of languages with no countability distinction at all (e.g. *luggages, *punctuations).

In fact, even English recognises that many “uncountable” nouns do actually represent an idea that can be just as easily thought of as countablr. This is clear from the existence of a large number of “uncountable” nouns that can be combined with a “countable” noun in order to act in a “countable” way, as in pieces of luggage, forms of transport and research projects. The combinations commonly taught to elementary-level learners are only a small sample of the possibilities (see 180. Nouns that Count the Uncountable).

So what better way is there of determining countability in English? As with the transitivity of verbs (see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive), the surest way is to find out from a dictionary. Failing that, however, a more sophisticated look could perhaps be given to the kind of meaning possessed by the noun. Ability to be counted can on occasion be helpful, and there is also some value in the common assertion that many uncountable nouns like flour and water represent a “mass” of something, with no fixed shape, rather than something discrete.

There is another possibility too, which is not usually highlighted in grammar books. A very large number of nouns are sometimes countable and sometimes uncountable depending on their meaning, and the difference between the two meanings rarely has anything to do with ability to be counted or with shape. It is not always the same kind of difference, but some kinds can occur across numerous nouns that have variable countability. There thus seems to be value in making these kinds of difference clear and indicating the nouns that possess them.

At least four major kinds of difference seem to be possible between the countable and uncountable meanings of individual nouns. This post is about one of these four: an “activity” meaning when the noun is uncountable versus an “activity location” meaning of the countable form. The other three meaning differences are the topics of the three similar posts to this that are listed above.

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ACTIONS AND ACTIVITY LOCATIONS

A fair number of nouns are used uncountably to express an activity – an action that happens or is done – and countably to express an activity location. An activity location is where the action typically happens. Consider the double-meaning nouns competition, investigation, introduction and speech. The activity meaning of the uncountable form may be seen in these examples: 

(a) Competition between shopkeepers keeps prices down.

(b) Investigation revealed a pattern of occurrence.

(c) Introduction of the topic will take about 15 minutes.

(d) Speech distinguishes humans from animals. 

The highlighted nouns can be recognised as uncountable because they are in the singular form without any article before them (see 110. Nouns without “the” or “a”). They can be recognised as activities because they can usually be replaced by a verb with -ing, e.g. competing, investigating (see 14. Action Outcomes), and some have typical endings of action nouns (see 249. Action Noun Endings). Their value in English is considered in this blog in 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns. Also relevant are 31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1 and 49. Prepositions after Action Nouns 2.

On the other hand, the countable activity-location meaning of these nouns is observable in the following examples: 

(e) A football competition is scheduled for next week.

(f) Investigations took the form of interviews.

(g) An introduction to a report can be found at the beginning.

(h) A speech well delivered can win many votes. 

A competition is an event, often sporting, where people try to perform better than others in order to win prizes. It is a typical place where competition takes place. Not all competition is found in competitions, though. Competition between sellers, for example, is found in the market place. But competitions are a major location of competition. Note that if you replaced competition in (a) with a competition, the sentence would be saying that shopkeepers keep prices down by playing sports against each other!

In the same way, an investigation (a formal operation aimed at solving an uncertainty) is a major place where investigation takes place, but not the only possible one, since a single person asking a single question can also be investigating; an introduction is a special kind of text at the start of a longish piece of writing or speech (note how it is followed by to not of), but not all introduction is done in introductions; and a speech is a formal oral delivery given for such purposes as thanking, persuading or honouring, but not all speech takes place in speeches (think of babies).

Although activity locations and their related action are very often expressed by the same word, this is not inevitable. Consider the countable noun a store meaning “place where things are stored”. The related action noun is the differently-spelled storage (see the discussion of sentence #e in 280. Alternative Meanings of Action Nouns). Another example is a briefing meaning “event where people are briefed” (see 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”). There is no action noun expressing its associated action: one must instead use the gerund briefing.

Also important to remember is the fact that, although activity location nouns are usually able to express an action as well, action nouns quite often cannot alternatively express an activity location. Many, such as creation, alternatively express an “action outcome” (see 14. Action Outcomes). An interesting grammatical difference between action outcome and activity location nouns is that the latter seem to be more consistently countable. Two rare uncountable exceptions are photography meaning “photographic skill” and motivation meaning “desire” (see 276. Tricky Word Contrasts 11, #3)

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: FURTHER NOUNS EXPRESSING ACTIVITY LOCATIONS

Some very familiar nouns in English express an activity location in their countable form. Since a simple list of them is not likely to be very interesting, I have chosen to present them through a practice exercise that will perhaps also help the concept to be better understood and the examples to be more firmly memorised. Answers are given at the end. See 214. Test your Command of Grammar 2 for a further example.

EXERCISE: Match each countable noun in the following list with the right definition below. Then identify the verb in the definition that corresponds to the uncountable use of the noun in question. The first one has been done as an example.

a competition;   a television;   a sale;   an industry;   a carriage;   a treatment;   an activity;   an examination;   an election;   instructions;   a charity;   an education;   a criticism;   an equation;   a pursuit;   an exhibition;   a life;   a departure.

1. An event where each participant is struggling against the others. (= a competition; struggling = competition).

2. The total time that one spends living.

3. A large human-transport vehicle pulled by a separate animal or locomotive.

4. All of the businesses that produce the same thing.

5. An extended time period when people are formally taught about things.

6. An organization dedicated to providing help and support to needy people.

7. A formal way of testing somebody’s knowledge or health.

8. An unusual behaviour or situation caused by a move away from normal practice.

9. An event where products are displayed for immediate or future purchase.

10. A period when members of a group can choose their leader(s) by voting.

11. An electronic device for receiving and showing pictorial broadcasts.

12. A mathematical formula likening two quantities.

13. A leisure activity that one tries to do often.

14. A period of time when purchasable goods are offered at reduced prices.

15. A procedure or medicine that addresses suffering.

16. Information-giving aimed at ensuring a procedure is carried out correctly.

17. A limited period of specific busy behaviour.

18. A statement highlighting a particular fault in something.

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 ANSWERS.

2. a life (living = life)

3. a carriage (pulled = carriage)

4. an industry (produce = industry)

5. an education (taught = education)

6. a charity (providing = charity)

7. an examination (testing = examination)

8. a departure (move away = departure)

9. an exhibition (displayed = exhibition)

10. an election (election = choose)

11. a television (receiving and showing = television)

12. an equation (likening = equation)

13. a pursuit (do = pursuit)

14. a sale (offered = sale)

15. a treatment (addresses = treatment)

16. instructions (information-giving = instruction)

17. an activity (busy behaviour = activity)

18. a criticism (highlighting a fault = criticism)