ABNER'S ENGLISH TUTORIAL
ABNER’S ENGLISH TUTORIAL
Conjugation/Declination of the Present Participle
To construct the present participle, we take the infinitive particle off and add to the verbal root the suffix “–ing”. Examples,
To Work – working / To March – marching / To Wait – waiting / To Rush – rushing / To Cling – clinging / To Reap – reaping / To Add – adding / To Deal – dealing / To Foam – foaming / To Roar – roaring / To Press – pressing / To Bracket – bracketing / To Glow – glowing / To Fox – foxing / To Buzz – buzzing.
When the infinitive ends by <e> you generally drop the <e> before adding the <ing>. Examples,
To Ride – riding / To Move – moving / To Booze – boozing / To Waive – waiving / To Love – loving / To Hate – hating / To Scrounge – scrounging / To Sate – sating / To Fire – firing / To Come – coming / To Raise – raising / To Fence – fencing / To Make – making / To Tune – tuning / To Queue – queuing.
But, To Be – being / To See – seeing / To Agree – agreeing / To Flee – fleeing / To Lie – lying / To Lye – lyeing / To Die – dying / To Dye – dyeing / To Hoe – hoeing / To Toe – toeing
When the infinite ends by consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC), the last consonant is doubled. Examples,
To Rub – rubbing / To Stop – stopping / To Jam – jamming / To Run – running / To Sit – sitting / To Hug – hugging / To Prod – prodding / To Mar – marring / To Gas – gassing or gasing / To Bus – bussing or busing / To Quiz – quizzing / To Crop – cropping / To Get – getting / To Skip – skipping / To Trek – trekking.
But never when the verb ends by two vowels and a consonant or by a vowel and two consonants. Examples,
To Leap – leaping / To Trick – tricking / To Track – tracking / To Sweep – sweeping / To Dust – dusting / To Ring – ringing / To Bleed – bleeding / To Wound – wounding / To Read – reading / To Mark – marking / To Block – blocking / To Join – joining / To Add – adding / To Grant – granting.
When the infinitive ends by <h, w, x> there is no doubling. Examples,
To Flinch – flinching / To Touch – touching / To Stash – stashing / To Lash – lashing / To Glow – glowing / To Grow – growing / To Renew – renewing / To Stew – stewing / To Mix – mixing / To Box – boxing / To Jinx – jinxing.
When the verb ends by <y>, you add the <–ing> after the <y>, no matter there be a vowel or a consonant before it. Examples,
To Flay – flaying / To Fly – flying / To Buy – buying / To Bury – Burying / To Stay – staying / To Prey – preying / To Pray – praying / To Alloy – alloying / To Fry – frying / To Deploy – deploying / To Cry – crying / To Mortify – mortifying.
When a verb derives from another, you follow the rule: To Plot – plotting / To Replot – replotting.
But when the derivation is only apparent, you don’t: To Ship – shipping / To Worship – worshiping.
Employment of the Present Participle
Only very rarely the present participle is employed as a gerund. Indeed, most grammars include twenty-three different functions. Four of these are the most important and we shall limit ourselves to the study of same, each of which will span several similar ones. We can therefore list the following,
• Gerund;
• Noun;
• Adjective;
• Substantiated present participle.
The present participle only functions as a gerund after an implicit or explicit flexion of the verb, To Be. Examples,
• I am working on that program.
• You are expecting too much from me.
• He is designing the modules for the application.
• I was walking on the sidewalk.
• They were driving along a dirty, dusty road.
• We shall be cheering for you.
• She will be swimming in our neighbor’s pool.
• I should be singing in the choir by now.
• It would be malfunctioning.
As instances of implicit forms, you can see,
• Marching all night, the soldiers were exhausted.
• Working with Mr. Berry, she learned all the tricks on the job.
• Nobody expects you to be alert, working twelve hours in a row.
• His back seemed broken riding that bucko almost for a day.
The instances of the present participle as a gerund correspond, maximum, to ten percent of total employment.
Whenever the present participle is preceded by an article or a possessive, demonstrative, indefinite, quantitative, relative, interrogative, or numeral adjective it functions as a noun and must be translated as such. Examples,
1. The building was interrupted by the flood.
2. I never saw as tall a building.
3. There will be a new building in the plot of the arsoned house.
4. My thinking is different from yours.
5. I don’t like her singing myself, but she has many fans.
6. That programming is full of holes.
7. This marching up and down tires the privates unnecessarily.
8. I couldn’t sleep a wink because of their singing.
9. Any workers’ organizing will be forbidden.
10. We could do some fishing in the week-end.
11. No drinking before driving is allowed.
12. How much schooling does a farmer’s son need?
13. A few learning on common trades won’t do him any evil.
14. He could do with some brick-laying.
15. Three coats of painting and it still looks weathered.
Observation: diminutives ending by ‘ing’ are also nouns. Examples,
The ugly Duckling / doveling / wolfling / princeling / priestling / gosling / asf.
Whenever the present participle precedes a noun it functions as an adjective. Likewise, it may be an adjective after a flexion of the verb, To Be, when expressing a quality; adjective participles also appear in time-honored expressions. Examples,
1. The building site was interdicted by City Hall.
2. The programming team should be enhanced.
3. Those typing girls are rather swift but they are prone to mistakes.
4. Look out for the cutting edge of those stones!
5. If they want to lose weight, they’ll have to adopt a faster walking rhythm.
6. Your students’ writing skills have improved a lot.
7. The leavening bread still must sleep about three quarters.
8. I never saw such luxurious lodging facilities anywhere else.
9. Your daughters are really charming.
10. The water of that spring is very refreshing.
11. Every teenager girl looks for their Charming Prince.
12. Sleeping Beauty spent a century senseless after pricking her finger.
13. Roller-coaster riding can be both exciting and frightening.
14. The idea of such well-paying job is alluring.
15. My neighbor’s wife was fetching indeed.
When the present participle appears by itself, without any flexions of the verb, To Be, not preceded by adjectives or the particles listed above, it works as a substantiated present participle and will be translated in Portuguese by the corresponding substantiated infinitive. Examples,
1. Working is the law of life.
2. Too much sleeping leads you nowhere.
3. The dream of many people is winning the lottery.
4. Customizing the installation.
5. Diagnosing problems to be solved.
6. Persevering is winning.
7. You need some expert to do the troubleshooting here.
8. Coordinating a team requires managerial skills.
9. Command-setting usually asks for some hardware knowledge.
10. This program’s input needs some redirecting.
11. Decision-making can be very taxing.
12. Performing is the final end of a very long learning process.
13. Instructing your employees on how to do a job is sometimes difficult.
14. Fishing is good to relaxing.
15. Overhauling a car can be more expensive than buying a new one.
Simple tenses To Work
Affirmative form
Present – I work, you work, he, she, it works, we work, you work, they work
Past – I worked, you worked, he, she, it worked, we worked, you worked, they worked
Future – I shall work, you will work, he, she, it will work, we shall work, you will work, they will work [I’ll, you’ll, he’ll, etc.]
Conditional – I should work, you would work, he, she, it would work, we should work, you would work, they would work [I’d, you’d, etc.]
Obs.: Verbos anômalos são empregados em todas as pessoas com significado único. Shall indica uma coisa que realmente será feita; Will indica a intenção de fazer algo; Should indica o dever de fazer algo; Would indica uma obrigação desagradável que dificilmente será realizada.
Negative form
Present – I do not work, you do not work, he, she, it does not work, we do not work, you do not work, they do not work [don’t, doesn’t]
Past – I did not work, you did not work, he, she, it did not work, we did not work, they did not work [didn’t]
Future – I shall not work, you will not work, he, she, it will not work, we shall not work, you will not work, they will not work [shan’t, won’t]
Conditional – I should not work, you would not work, he, she, it would not work, we should not work, you would not work, they would not work [shouldn’t, wouldn’t]
Interrogative form
Present – Do I work? Do you work? Does he, she, it work? Do we work? Do you work? Do they work?
Past – Did I work? Did you work? Did he, she, it work? Did we work? Did you work? Did they work?
Future – Shall I work? Will you work? Will he, she, it work? Shall we work? Will you work? Will they work?
Conditional – Should I work? Would you work? Would he, she, it work? Should we work? Would you work? Would they work?
Interrogative-negative form
Present – Do not I work? Do not you work? Does not he, she, it work? Do not we work? Do not you work? Do not they work? [don’t I, doesn’t he]
Past – Did not I work? Did not you work? Did not he, she, it work? Did not we work? Did not you work? Did not they work? [didn’t]
Future – Shall I not work? Will you not work? Will he, she, it not work? Will we not work? Will you not work? Will they not work? [shan’t I, won’t you]
Conditional – Should I not work? Would you not work? Would he, she, it not work? Should we not work? Would you not work? Would they not work? [shouldn’t I, wouldn’t you]
Emphatic form
Present – I do work, you do work, he, she, it does work, we do work, you do work, they do work. [I do work! Do I work!]
Past – I did work, you did work, he, she, it did work, we did work, you did work, they did work. [I did work! Did I work!]
Future – Shall I work! Will you work! Will he, she, it work! Shall we work! Will you work! Will they work!
Conditional – Should I work! Would you work! Would he, she, it work! Should we work! Would you work! Would they work!
Definite article
The man, The woman / The boys, The girls
The egg, The apple / The idiot, The oddity, The uncle
Indefinite article
Quando a palavra seguinte começa por consoante, usamos <a>.
Examples: a fog, a bird, a pillow, a sky, a lion
Quando a palavra seguinte começa por vogal, usamos <an>.
Examples: an animal, an ember, an impression, an oyster, an usher
Quando a palavra começar por <h> aspirado, usamos <a>.
Examples: a hat, a hell, a hinge, a hold, a hull
Quando a palavra começar por <h> mudo, usamos <an>.
Examples: an heir, an honor, an honesty
Quando a palavra começar por <u> com som de <iu> ou com outro começo que também tenha esse som, usamos <a>.
Examples: a unit, a uniform, a union, a eulogy, a youth, a ewe, a yew, a European.
Personal pronouns
Subject (retos): I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they
Object (obliquos): me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
(me, mim; te, ti; se, si, o, lhe; se, si, a, lhe; se, si, o, a, lhe; nos; vos; se, si, os, as, lhes)
Obs.: Após a conjunção <com> usamos <comigo, contigo, consigo, conosco, convosco e consigo>.
Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns
Adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their
Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs
Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns
Near: This, These (Este, esta, isto; Estes, estas, isto)
Far: That, Those (Aquele, aquela, aquilo; Aqueles, aquelas, aquilo)
Obs.: O <esse, essa, isso> são traduzidos também por <that>; <esses, essas, isso> também se traduzem por <those>.
Plural of the nouns
1. General rule: add an <s> to the singular. Area, areas / club, clubs / tarmac, tarmacs / bend, bends / love, loves / egg, eggs / hajji, hajjis / trunk, trunks / chill, chills / gum, gums / span, spans / jump, jumps / hammer, hammers / light, lights / ormolu, ormolus / flow, flows.
Agenda, agendas / amoeba, amoebas / antenna, antennas, antennae / aroma, aromas / asthma, asthmas –/ barb, barbs / bib, bibs / bomb, bombs / bulb, bulbs – attic, attics / adverb, adverbs critic, critics / flic, flics / disc, discs / characteristic, characteristics / – clod, clods / cloud, clouds / cod, cods / command, commands / compound, compounds – cone, cones / confine, confines / hedge, hedges / crane, cranes / fence, fences – crag, crags / dialog, dialogs / hug, hugs / shrug, shrug / fog, fogs - safari, safaris / huri, huris / bikini, bikinis, raki, rakis / sari, saris - walk, walks / shack, shacks / shank, shanks / shark, sharks / shirk, shirks – skull, skulls / wall, walls shawl, shawls / sibyl, sibyls / skill, skills – slam, slams / skim, skims / worm, worms / rim, rims / spasm, spasms / clam, clams - stain, stains / spurn, spurns / spin, spins / stern, sterns / strain, strains – strap, straps / stirrup, stirrups / stoop, stoops / stop, stops / gap, gaps – stranger, strangers / stir, stirs / sugar, sugars / supper, suppers / taper, tapers – attempt, attempts / taunt, taunts / tart, tarts / test, tests / thicket, thickets – saddhu, saddhus /snafu, snafus / urdu, urdus / adieu, adieus / hindu, hindus - view, views / vow, vows / wallow, wallows / show, shows / winnow, winnows.
2. Singular words ending by, <s, ss, sh, ch, x, z> or <o> usually add <es> in the plural. Examples,
Circus, circuses / access, accesses / brush, brushes / touch, touches / fox, foxes / buzz, buzzes / volcano, volcanoes.
However, there are many exceptions…
When the word ends by <sis> or <lis>, it changes in the plural to <ses> or <les>. Examples,
Synthesis, syntheses / thesis, theses / oasis, oases / basis, bases / analysis, analyses / systolis, systoles / diastolis, diastoles
When the word ends by <ch> with occlusive sound, like in <k>, you only add an <s> to the singular.
Examples,
Stomach, stomachs / monarch, monarchs / almanach, almanachs / zodiach, zodiachs / spinach, spinachs
When the word represents a pair or a collective, it will not change in the plural.
Examples,
Barracks, barracks / troops, troops / quarters, quarters / headquarters / civvies / fatigues / corps / falls / rapids / shallows / measles / rickets / mumps / bends / mathematics / physics / gymnastics / trousers / pants / knickers / trunks / shorts / shorties / panties / dungarees / scissors / pliers / wirecutters / shears / series / compasses (compass, compasses) / customs (custom, customs) / glasses (glass, glasses) /species / spices / spectacles / specs / binoculars / spyglasses / sunglasses / news / assizes
Technical words of Greek origin ending by <x>, change to <ces> or <ges> in the plural. As a rule of thumb, these words are usually the same in the Portuguese plurals. Examples,
Vertex, vertices / vortex, vortices / apex, apices / syrinx, syringes / sphinx, sphinges [also, sphynx, sphynxes]
Some words accept double plurals, like bus, buses, busses / gas, gases, gasses.
3. Nouns ending by <y> after a consonant, change it to <ies> in the plural. Examples, city, cities / sky, skies / ally, allies / army, armies / navy, navies.
4. Nouns ending by <y> after a vowel, add only <s> to the singular. Examples, abbey, abbeys / boy, boys / buoy, buoys / ray, rays / guy, guys.
But when they end by <quy>, the <u> is unconsidered and they change to <quies> in the plural. Examples, colloquy, colloquies / soliloquy, soliloquies / obsequy, obsequies / ventriloquy, ventriloquies / obloquy, obloquies.
5. Words ending by <f> or <fe> change to <ves> in the plural. Examples, life, lives / scarf, scarves / wolf, wolves / wife, wives / loaf, loaves / knife, knives / sheaf, sheaves / shelf, shelves /
6. Words ending by <ff> or <ief> only add an <s> to the singular. Examples, bluff, bluffs / chief, chiefs / grief, griefs / fluff, fluffs / brief, briefs / cliff, cliffs.
But some nouns accept double plurals. Examples, staff, staffs, staves / dwarf, dwarfs, dwarves / wharf, wharfs, wharves / beef, beefs, beeves / reef, reefs, reeves / hoof, hoofs, hooves / roof, roofs, rooves.
7. Words derived from <man> change to <men> in the plural, without adding an <s>. Examples, woman, women / horseman, horsemen / Irishman, Irishmen / fireman, firemen / bowman, bowmen / Englishman, Englishmen.
But some words do not derive from <man>, but from the Latin ending <manus> and they only add an <s> in the plural. Examples, roman, romans / German, Germans / human, humans.
8. Foreign words in a technical context, mostly added to English in the last fifty years, keep the plurals from the original languages. Examples:
Latin: alga, algae / nova, novae / campus, campi / fungus, fungi / datum, data / addendum, addenda / medium, media.
Greek: phenomenon, phenomena / ganglion, ganglia / crisis, crises / basis, bases / calix, calices /
Spanish: sombrero, sombreros / puro, puros / rancho, ranchos / caudillo, caudillos.
Italian: madonna, madonne / lazzarella, lazzarelle / cavaliere, cavalieri, condottiero, condottieri / bersagliere, bersaglieri / ragazzo, ragazzi.
French: vitral, vitraux / tableau, tableaux
German: übermensch, übermenschen / hausfrau, hausfrauen
Hebrew: matzo, matzoth / menorah, menurim
Arab: fellah, fellahin / feddah, feddayyim
9. Composed nouns, hyphenated or not, when there is a preposition, change only the first elements. Examples, son-in-law, sons-in-law / lady-in-attendance, ladies-in-attendance / man o’war, men o’war / passerby, passersby.
When there is no preposition, only the second element goes to the plural. Examples, butterfly, butterflies / werewolf, werewolves / manservant, manservants / hairbrush, hairbrushes.
Remember that adjectives have no plurals in English, only nouns or verbs.
Finally, the exceptions…
Rhinoceros, rhinoceri / mouse, mice / louse, lice / deuce (die), dice / ox, oxen / child, children / kin, kindred / brother, brethren, brothers / cow, kine, cows / tooth, teeth / foot, feet / goose, geese
Information is invariable: one information, one score information, a couple information, and so forth.
You say, one cow, two cows, three cows, four kine, five or more kine.
GENDER OF THE NOUNS
In English, there are three genders, male, female, and neuter. The vast majority of nouns are neuters.
1. Male nouns are those referring to men, the males of the superior animals, professions and qualities corresponding exclusively to men.
Examples, man, lad, boy, lion, hog, ram, father, uncle, nephew, priest, God, devil, king, duke, pope.
2. Female nouns are those referring to women, the females of the superior animals, professions and qualities corresponding exclusively to women.
Examples, woman, lass, girl, lioness, sow, ewe, mother, aunt, niece, nun, goddess, she-devil, queen, duchess, popess.
3. Neuter nouns are all other nouns, things at large, tools, artifacts, parts of the house, parts of the body, machines, elements in the landscape, metals, sciences, diseases, categories, abstractions, and so forth.
Examples, computer, mouse, car, needle, scissors, jackhammer, soap, spoon, fork, bathroom, faucet, stove, wall, floor, ceiling, arm, head, heart, dishwasher, fan, telephone, river, sky, grass, iron, copper, silver, gold, astronomy, chemistry, botany, cholera, cancer, scurvy, program, module, adverb, thought, emotion, knowledge, etc.
Gender determination
The gender is specified by means of prefixes and suffixes,
1. When the male noun is qualified by the prefix ‘male’, it will be replaced by ‘female’. It is perfectly correct to employ these prefixes for human beings. Examples, male teacher, female teacher / male student, female student / male elephant, female elephant / male ostrich, female ostrich / male fish, female fish / male cricket, female cricket.
2. When the male noun is qualified by the prefix ‘he-’, it will be replaced by ‘she-’. This is the second most general rule and can be employed for any living being, but never for human beings. Examples, he-wolf, she-wolf / he-boar, she-boar / he-grasshopper, she-grasshopper / he-whale, she-whale / he-parrot, she-parrot / he-turtle, she-turtle.
3. For birds only, you put ‘cock’ for males and ‘hen’ for females. Examples, cock toucan, hen toucan / cock parakeet, hen parakeet / cock penguin, hen penguin / cock eagle, hen eagle / cock hawk, hen hawk / cock crow, hen crow / cock owl, hen owl.
4. For cetaceans and syrenidians (great water mammals) and for the great herbivores, we employ ‘bull’ for males and ‘cow’ for females. Examples, bull spermwhale, cow spermwhale / bull seal, cow seal / bull walrus, cow walrus / bull killerwhale, cow killerwhale / bull dolphin, cow dolphin / bull sea-lion, cow sea-lion.
5. Male nouns ending by ‘-er’ or ‘-or’ usually change to ‘-ess’ to designate their female correspondents, oftentimes with a modification. Examples, painter, paintress / emperor, empress / sculptor, sculptress / murderer, murderess / hunter, huntress / tiger, tigress / panther, pantheress / tempter, temptress / butcher, butcheress / proctor, proctoress / sorcerer, sorceress / prior, prioress / mister, mistress / webster, webstress / launderer, laundress / actor, actress / author, authoress, etc.
6. Many other male nouns with different endings also take the ‘-ess’ suffix for the female formats. Examples, poet, poetess / prince, princess / priest, priestess / pope, popess / god, goddess / devil, deviless / duke, duchess / earl or count, countess / marquis, marchioness / baron, baroness / viscount, viscountess / archduke, archduchess / bishop, bishopess / deacon, deaconess / archdeacon, archdeaconess / dwarf, dwarfess / giant, giantess / vampire, vampiress / werewolf, werewolfess / lion, lioness / elephant, elephantess / heir, heiress / host, hostess / shepherd, shepherdess / leopard, leopardess / Jew, Jewess / Arab, Arabess / Spaniard, Spaniardess / Turk, Turkess / Negro, Negress / seer, seeress / prophet, prophetess / ghoul, ghouless / abbot, abbess / steward, stewardess / monk, monkess, a.s.o.
7. Male names derived from ‘man’, change in the feminine form to ‘woman’, ‘girl’ or ‘maid’, depending on the usage. Examples: Englishman, Englishwoman / Dutchman, Dutchwoman / Irishman, Irishwoman / Scotsman, Scotswoman / fireman, firewoman / policeman, policewoman / horseman, horsewoman / counterman, counter girl / salesman, salesgirl / barman, barmaid / merman, mermaid / milkman, milkmaid / manservant, girl servant, woman servant, and so forth.
8. Many other male names have traditional female correspondents that will not follow the rules above, sometimes rather different. Examples, farmhand, farm girl / warlock, witch / king, queen / lord, lady / knight, dame / sir, madam / master, miss / danseur, danseuse / poseur, poseuse / coiffeur, coiffeuse / masseur, masseuse / groom, maid / viceroy, vicereine / zombie, zovembie / rajah, ranee / maharajah, maharanee / sahib, memsahib / elephant, aliah / playwright, lady playwright / schoolmaster, schoolmarm / bachelor, spinster / dog, bitch / tomcat, pussycat, tabby, or gumby / bull or ox, cow / steer or bullock, heifer / stallion or horse, mare / colt, filly / hog or pig, sow / ram, ewe / drone, queen bee / pigeon, dove / jackass, she-ass / jackrabbit, she-rabbit / duck, mother duck / goose, mother goose / drake, mother drake / billy goat, nanny goat / billy, nanny / father, mother / son, daughter / husband, wife / hubbie, wifie / dad, mom / daddy, mommy / sonny, dotty / brother, sister / brer or bro, sis / uncle, aunt / unk, unkie or unca, auntie / nephew, niece / cousin, cousine / coz, cozzie / great-uncle, great-aunt / great-nephew, great-niece / grandfather, grandmother / gramps, pappy or pop, granny / greatgrandfather, greatgrandmother / greatgrandson, greatgranddaughter / groom or bridegroom, bride / fiancé, fiancée / boyfriend, girlfriend / boy friend, girl friend / father-in-law, mother-in-law / son-in-law, daughter-in-law / brother-in-law, sister-in-law / godfather, godmother / godson, goddaughter / stepfather, stepmother / stepbrother, stepsister / stepson, stepdaughter / foster father, foster mother / foster son, foster daughter / foster brother, foster sister, and so on, and so forth.
A young dog is a male pup, female pup / male puppy, female puppy. [puppies]
A young cat is a male kitten, female kitten / male kitty, female kitty. [kitties]
A young horse is a male foal, female foal.
A young sheep is a male lamb, female lamb.
A young bull is a male calf, female calf. [calves]
Young pachyderms, young big herbivores, young sea mammals, are also calves.
[say, a giraffe male/female calf, a rhinoceros calf, a seal calf, a whale calf.]
Young small mammals are referred as male brat, female brat.
Young foxes are vixen; young wolves are wolflings or pups; young lions, tigers, bears, are cubs; young pigs or boars are piglets, suckling pigs, and so on.
Young goats are kids; young asses are asslings or eselings; young doves, dovelings; young rabbits are bunnies [bunny].
Young chicken/roosters are chicks; almost all birds’ and fowls’ young are also chicks; but you say, duckling, gosling, drakeling.
Insects have larvae or grubs; ants have aphids; fish have fries (fry).
PUNCTUATION
. Period, Dot / , Comma / : Colon / ; Semicolon, half-colon / … Suspension / ‘ Apostroph / * Asterisk / *** Asterism /! Expletive, exclamative, exclamation point / ¡ Spanish expletive / ? Question mark / ¿ Spanish question mark / ¨ Umlaut / @ Address, at / ‘ ‘ Single quotes, singles quotation marks / “ “ Double quotes / ‘ , French quotes, single / “ ,, French quotes, double / < > German quotes, single / << >> German quotes, double / ( ) Brackets, Curves / [ ] Brackets / { } Braces.
You say, open quotes, close quotes, within quotes, open brackets, close brackets, within brackets.
/ Slash or bar \ Counterslash or counterbar # or No. Number $ Dollar Sign or Cypher / c/ Cent / % Percent or percentile / & Commercial <and> = Equal or equality / - M-dash /  N-dash / (in-law) Hyphen You say, hyphenated word.
ABC Capitals or uppercase / abc Lowercase / + Plus / - Minus / x or . Times / : Divided by, Per / ~ Tilde / ^ Circumflex / ´ Sharp stressmark / ` Flat stressmark
0.20 or .20 Decimal point
SOME COLLECTIVES
A pack of wolves / A pride of lions / A murder of crows / A whisper of sterlings / A fold of sheep / a herd of reindeer / a flock of birds