Everyday Grammar Video: 'Population' in Sentences

JR: Hi Dr. Jill! We should continue talking about the noun “population.” It’s such a useful term to talk about both people and animals. Dr. Jr: Hi John. That’s a fine idea. We can start by thinking about how we use “population” in sentences. JR: Population is a noun. If you have followed our lessons, you can probably guess that determiners – words that show if a noun is specific or general – are likely to come before “population.” Dr. J: We can check an online database for more information. Google’s Ngram Viewer, for example, tells us that the word “the” is the most commonly used word before “population.” JR: Grammar books say that “the” is an article. And articles are a kind of determiner. Dr. J: So, you are very likely to hear or read something like this: Experts said the population declined by 1 percent. JR: What might be the most commonly used words after the noun population? Dr. J: Google’s Ngram Viewer tells us that the short word “of” is the most common by far. JR: So, you are very likely to hear or read something like this: The population of Japan is aging quickly. Dr. J: What else can we say about population? Two related nouns include overpopulation and underpopulation. JR: Overpopulation means too many people; underpopulation means too few people. Some countries once had an overpopulation problem, but with lower birth rates, now the problem is underpopulation. DR. J: Both of these nouns are generally used in the noncount forms. In other words, we don’t generally make them plural. JR: And that’s Everyday Grammar. --------- Learning English is Voice of America’s multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide. We help you build vocabulary, strengthen your speaking skills and improve your ability to communicate for work, school and everyday life. EXPLORE OUR PLAYLISTS: » Learning English Podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd9hCvj34W5hZxGsu5etKF6bZ9w4Ap2hl » Let's Learn English with Anna! (For children 8-12) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd9hCvj34W5gfXecA2uPRsKv9q5L5nQng&si=-gF1wuzIxhLQUwFQ » Let's Learn English Level 1 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd9hCvj34W5it4a-RMzhlwNJ-edf5HU3Q&si=aVUuvvUsDPe41jBp » Let's Learn English Level 2 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd9hCvj34W5hWkRym8sljiEvEBJ1JGIu5&si=3jEjCFfVRNfMbJ3j » VISIT OUR WEBSITE: https://learningenglish.voanews.com » LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/voalearningenglish » FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/voalearningenglish/ » FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/voalearnenglish » SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST ON ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/voa-special-english-tv/id419005656 Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 326 million people.