English Parts of Speech

There are thousands oI words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For
example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one
word to another word. These are the "building blocks" oI the language. Think oI them like the
parts oI a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the Ioundations or
base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window Irames to make the windows, and door
Irames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all together. Each part oI the
house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the diIIerent types oI word.
Each type oI word has its own job.
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts oI
speech".
Some grammar books categorize English into 9 or 10 parts oI speech. At EnglishClub, we use
the traditional categorization oI 8 parts oI speech (see table Ior more details).
It's quite important to recognize parts oI speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and
understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.
In this lesson, we have an overview oI the eight parts oI speech, Iollowed by a quiz to check your
understanding:







Parts of Speech Table
This is a summary oI the 8 parts oI speech*. You can Iind more detail iI you click on each part oI
speech.
part of
speech
function or "job" example words example sentences
Verb action or state
(to) be, have, do,
like, work, sing,
can, must
EnglishClub.com is a web site. I
like EnglishClub.com.
Noun thing or person
pen, dog, work,
music, town,
London, teacher,
John
This is my dog. He lives in my
house. We live in London.
Adjective describes a noun
a/an, the, 69, some,
good, big, red, well,
interesting
My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Adverb
describes a verb,
adjective or adverb
quickly, silently,
well, badly, very,
really
My dog eats quickly. When he
is very hungry, he eats really
quickly.
Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she, some Tara is Indian. She is beautiIul.
Preposition
links a noun to another
word
to, at, aIter, on, but We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction
joins clauses or
sentences or words
and, but, when
I like dogs and I like cats. I like
cats and dogs. I like dogs but I
don't like cats.
Interjection
short exclamation,
sometimes inserted
into a sentence
oh!, ouch!, hi!, well
Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are
you? Well, I don't know.
* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts oI speech. At EnglishClub.com,
we use the traditional categorization oI 8 parts oI speech. Examples oI other categorizations are:
O Verbs may be treated as two diIIerent parts oI speech:
4 Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
4 uxiliary Verbs (-e, have, must)
4 eterminers may be treated as a separate part oI speech, instead oI being
categorized under Adjectives
Verb Classification
We divide verbs into two broad classiIications:
. Helping Verbs
Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:
O l can
O eople
O @e LarL
o you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not!
That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are
necessary Ior the grammatical structure oI the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone.
We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the
above examples are thereIore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.)
There are only about 15 helping verbs.
. Main Verbs
Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:
O l ach
O eople a
O @e LarL a
o you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes!
Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their
own. They tell us something. OI course, there are thousands oI main verbs.
In the Iollowing table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that
all oI these sentences have a main verb. Only some oI them have a helping verb.
hng v an v
!o llkes coffee
?ou lled Lo me
@ey are appy
@e clldre are playl
We musL o ow
l do oL waL ay
Helping verbs and main verbs can be Iurther sub-divided, as we shall see on the Iollowing pages.
Helping Verbs
elpl verbs are also called auxlllary verbs
Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary Ior the grammatical structure
oI a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main
verbs. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping
verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:
rimary belping verbs { verbs]
These are the verbs -e, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or
as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the Iollowing
cases:
O
4 Lo make coLluous Leses (e waLcl @I)
4 Lo make Le passlve (Small fls a eaLe by bl fls)

O hav
4 Lo make perfecL Leses (l hav fllsed my omework)

O
4 Lo make eaLlves (l oL llke you)
4 Lo ask quesLlos ( you waL some coffee?)
4 Lo sow empasls (l waL you Lo pass your exam)
4 Lo sLad for a mal verb l some cosLrucLlos (e speaks fasLer La se )
Modal belping verbs { verbs]
We use modal helping verbs to "modiIy" the meaning oI the main verb in some way. A modal
helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These
are the modal verbs:
O ca could
O may mlL
O wlll would
O sall sould
O musL
O ouL Lo
Here are examples using modal verbs:
O l can speak Clese
O !o ay arrlve laLe
O J you llke a cup of coffee?
O ?ou h see a docLor
O l really o ow
ain Verbs
,al verbs are also called lexlcal verbs
Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands oI main
verbs, and we can classiIy them in several ways:
ransitive and intransitive verbs
A transitive verb takes a direct object: $ome-ody killed the President. An intransitive verb does
not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look
at these examples:
transitive:
O l a elepaL
O We are achng @I
O e ak Llls
intransitive:
O e as av
O !o g Lo scool
O Se ak fasL
inking verbs
A linking verb does not have much meaning in itselI. It "links" the subject to what is said about
the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality () or a change to a diIIerent state or place
(~). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).
O ,ary a Leacer (mary Leacer)
O @ara beauLlful (Lara beauLlful)
O @aL n lLeresLl (LaL lLeresLl)
O @e sky ca dark (Le sky dark)
O @e bread ha gn bad (bread bad)
ynamic and stative verbs
Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses.
Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot
normally be used with continuous tenses (though some oI them can be used with continuous
tenses with a change in meaning).
dynamic verbs (examples):
O lL explode flL ru o
stative verbs (examples):
O be
O llke love prefer wls
O lmpress please surprlse
O ear see soud
O belo Lo coslsL of coLal lclude eed
O appear resemble seem
egular and irregular verbs
This is more a question oI vocabulary than oI grammar. The only real diIIerence between regular
and irregular verbs is that they have diIIerent endings Ior their past tense and past participle
Iorms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed.
For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is
necessary to learn them by heart.
regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle
O look looked looked
O work worked worked
irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle
O buy bouL bouL
O cuL cuL cuL
O do dld doe
Here are lists oI regular verbs and irregular verbs.
Ce way Lo Llk of reular ad lrreular verbs ls llke Lls a verbs are lrreular ad Le socalled
reular verbs are slmply oe very lare roup of lrreular verbs
OIten the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and
dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.
ouns
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions").
Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is
something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are
(verb).
What are ouns?
The simple deIinition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
O person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
O place: home, oIIice, town, countryside, America
O thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
The problem with this deIinition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a
verb.
Another (more complicated) way oI recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending
2. Position
3. unction
1. Noun Ending
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, Ior example:
O -ity ~ nationality
O -ment ~ appointment
O -ness ~ happiness
O -ation ~ relation
O -hood ~ childhood
But this is not true Ior the word endings oI all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonIul" ends in -
Iul, but the adjective "careIul" also ends in -Iul.
2. Position in Sentence
We can oIten recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.
Nouns oIten come aIter a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):
O a relief
O an afternoon
O the doctor
O this word
O my house
O such stupidity
Nouns oIten come aIter one or more adjectives:
O a great relief
O a peaceIul afternoon
O the tall, Indian doctor
O this diIIicult word
O my brown and white house
O such crass stupidity
3. Function in a Sentence
Nouns have certain Iunctions (jobs) in a sentence, Ior example:
O subject oI verb: octors work hard.
O object oI verb: He likes coffee.
O subject and object oI verb: Teachers teach students.
But the subject or object oI a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In
the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".
Countable and Uncountable ouns
English nouns are oIten described as "countable" or "uncountable".
In this lesson we look at:
Countable ouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen".
We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable
nouns:
O dog, cat, animal, man, person
O bottle, box, litre
O coin, note, dollar
O cup, plate, Iork
O table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
O My dog is playing.
O My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indeIinite article a/an with countable nouns:
O dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
O I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
O Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
O I like oranges.
O Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
O I've got some dollars.
O Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
O I've got a few dollars.
O I haven't got many pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural oI "person". We can count people:
O There is one person here.
O There are three people here.
Uncountable ouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements.
We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles oI milk"
or "litres oI milk", but we cannot count "milk" itselI. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
O music, art, love, happiness
O advice, inIormation, news
O Iurniture, luggage
O rice, sugar, butter, water
O electricity, gas, power
O money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
O This news is very important.
O Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indeIinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
inIormation" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
O a piece of news
O a bottle of water
O a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
O I've got some money.
O Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
O I've got a little money.
O I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples oI countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable Uncountable
dollar money
song music
suitcase luggage
table Iurniture
battery electricity
bottle wine
report inIormation
tip advice
journey travel
job work
view scenery
When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.
ouns that can be Countable and
Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, oIten with a change oI meaning.
Countable

Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coIIee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. noise
It's diIIicult to work when there is too much
noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (
newspaper)
paper
I want to draw a picture. Have you got some
paper?
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room Ior me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. time Have you got time Ior a coIIee?
ac-eth is one oI Shakespeare's greatest
works.
work I have no money. I need work!

rinks (coIIee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But iI we are thinking oI a cup or a
glass, we can say (in a restaurant, Ior example):
O Two teas and one coIIee please.
O Proper ouns (ames)
O A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use Ior a person, place or
organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very
special noun - a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules.
common noun proper noun
man, boy John
woman, girl Mary
country, town England, London
company Ford, Sony
shop, restaurant Maceys, Mconalds
month, day oI the week January, Sunday
book, Iilm ar & Peace, Titanic
O In this lesson we look at the uses oI proper nouns, Iollowed by a quiz to check your
understanding:
Using Capital Letters with Proper ouns
We always use a Capital Letter Ior the Iirst letter oI a proper noun (name). This includes names
oI people, places, companies, days oI the week and months. For example:
O They like ohn. (not *They like john.)
O I live in England.
O She works Ior Sony.
O The last day in anuary is a Monday.
O We saw %itanic in the Odeon Cinema
Proper ouns without THE
We do not use "the" with names oI people. For example:
Iirst names
Bill (not *the Bill)
Hilary
surnames
Clinton
Gates
Iull names Hilary Gates
We do not normally use "the" with names oI companies. For example:
O #enault, Ford, Sony, EnglishClub.com
O General Motors, Air France, British Airways
O Warner Brothers, Brown & Son Ltd
II the Iull (registered) name oI a company starts with "The", then we use "The" iI we use the Iull
name, Ior example:
O The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd
We do not normally use "the" Ior shops, banks, hotels etc named aIter a Iounder or other person
(with -'s or -s). For example:
shops Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys
banks Barclays Bank
hotels, restaurants Steve's Hotel, Joe's CaIe, Mconalds
churches, cathedrals St John's Church, St Peter's Cathedral
We do not normally use "the" with names oI places. For example:
towns Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo
states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe
countries England, Italy, Brazil
continents Asia, Europe, North America
islands Corsica
mountains Everest
Exception! II a country name includes "States","Kingdom", "#epublic" etc, we use "the":
states the United States, the US, the United States oI America, the USA
kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK
republic the French #epublic
We do not use "the" with "President/octor/Mr etc Name":
the president, the king President Bush (not *the President Bush)
the captain, the detective Captain Kirk, etective Colombo
the doctor, the proIessor octor Well, r Well, ProIessor olittle
my uncle, your aunt Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill
Mr Gates (not *the Mr Gates), Mrs Clinton, Miss Black
Look at these example sentences:
O I wanted to speak to the doctor.
O I wanted to speak to octor Brown.
O Who was the president beIore President Kennedy?
We do not use "the" with "Lake/Mount Name":
the lake Lake Victoria
the mount Mount Everest
Look at this example sentence:
O We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a Iantastic view across the lake.
We do not normally use "the" Ior roads, streets, squares, parks etc:
streets etc OxIord Street, Trenholme #oad, FiIth Avenue
squares etc TraIalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus
parks etc Central Park, Kew Gardens
Many big, important buildings have names made oI two words (Ior example, Kennedy Airport).
II the Iirst word is the name oI a person or place, we do not normally use "the":
people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul's Cathedral
places Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station, Edinburgh Castle
Proper ouns with THE
We normally use "the" Ior country names that include "States","Kingdom", "#epublic" etc:
States the United States oI America/the USA
Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK
#epublic the French #epublic
We normally use "the" Ior names oI canals, rivers, seas and oceans:
canals the Suez Canal
rivers the #iver Nile, the Nile
seas the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean
oceans the PaciIic Ocean, the PaciIic
We normally use "the" Ior plural names oI people and places:
people (Iamilies, Ior example) the Clintons
countries the Philippines, the United States
island groups the Virgin Islands, the British Isles
mountain ranges the Himalayas, the Alps
Look at these sentences:
O I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill's birthday.
O Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies.
O Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.
We normally use "the" with the Iollowing sorts oI names:
hotels, restaurants the #itz Hotel, the Peking #estaurant
banks the National Westminster Bank
cinemas, theatres the #oyal Theatre, the ABC Cinema
museums the British Museum, the National Gallery
buildings the White House, the Crystal Palace
newspapers the aily Telegraph, the Sunday Post
organisations the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union
We normally use "the" Ior names made with "oI":
O the Tower oI London
O the GulI oI Siam
O the Tropic oI Cancer
O the London School oI Economics
O the Bank oI France
O the Statue oI Liberty
Possessive 's
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a
singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, Ior example:
O h y a (oe boy)
O h y a (Lwo or more boys)
Notice that the number oI balls does not matter. The structure is inIluenced by the possessor and
not the possessed.

n a han n a
n y
Le boys ball

Le boys balls
han n y
Le boys ball

Le boys balls
The structure can be used Ior a whole phrase:
O h an n moLer (Le moLer of tbe moo oext Joot)
O h n Lngan poodles (Le poodles of tbe Ooeeo of oqlooJ)
AlLou we ca use Lo sow possesslo lL ls more usual Lo use possesslve @e followl prases
ave Le same meal buL #2 ls more usual ad aLural
Le boyfrled of my slsLer
2 my slsLers boyfrled
Proper Nounx (Numex)
We very oIten use possessive 's with names:
O @ls ls ,arys car
O Were ls 8ams Lelepoe?
O Wo Look ALoys pe?
O l llke @aras alr
When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:
O @ls ls Carless calr
But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':
O Wo was !esus faLer?
rregulur Plurulx
Some nouns have irregular plural Iorms without s (man ~ men). To show possession, we usually
add 's to the plural Iorm oI these nouns:
nga nn a nn
my cllds do my clldres do
Le mas work Le mes work
Le mouses cae Le mlces cae
a persos cloLes peoples cloLes

oun as djective
As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun:
Compound ouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually
|noun noun| or |adjective noun|, but there are other combinations (see below). It is important
to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can
be modiIied by adjectives and other nouns.
There are three Iorms Ior compound nouns:
1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)
2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)
3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)
Here are some examples oI compound nouns:
noun noun
bus stop Is this the bus stop Ior the number 12 bus?
Iire-Ily In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.
Iootball Shall we play football today?
adjective noun
Iull moon I always Ieel crazy at full moon.
blackboard Clean the blackboard please.
soItware I can't install this software on my PC.
verb(-ing) noun
breakIast We always eat breakfast at 8am.
washing
machine
Put the clothes in the red washing machine.
swimming pool What a beautiIul swimming pool!
noun verb(-ing)
sunrise I like to get up at sunrise.
haircut You need a haircut.
train-spotting His hobby is train-spotting.
verb preposition check-out Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.
noun
prepositional
phrase
mother-in-law My mother-in-law lives with us.
preposition noun underworld
o you think the police accept money Irom the
underworld?
noun adjective truckIul We need 10 truckIuls oI bricks.
Pronunciation
Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the Iirst word. In the phrase "pink ball", both
words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the
compound noun "golI ball", the Iirst word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns,
and nouns are always stressed). Since "golI ball" is a compound noun we consider it as a single
noun and so it has a single main stress - on the Iirst word. Stress is important in compound
nouns. For example, it helps us know iI somebody said "a G#EEN HOUSE" (a house which is
painted green) or "a G#EENhouse" (a building made oI glass Ior growing plants inside).
British/merican differences
iIIerent varieties oI English, and even diIIerent writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed
Iorm Ior the same compound noun. It is partly a matter oI style. There are no deIinite rules. For
example we can Iind:
O container ship
O container-ship
O containership
II you are not sure which Iorm to use, please check in a good dictionary.
Plural forms of compound nouns
In general we make the plural oI a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most
"signiIicant" word). Look at these examples:
singular plural
a school teacher three school teachers
one assistant headmaster Iive assistant headmasters
the sergeant major some sergeants major
a mother-in-law two mothers-in-law
an assistant secretary oI state three assistant secretaries of state
my toothbrush our toothbrushes
a woman-doctor Iour women-doctors
a doctor oI philosophy two doctors of philosophy
a passerby, a passer-by two passersby, two passers-by
Note that there is some variation with words like spoonIul or truckIul. The old style was to say
spoonsIul or trucksIul Ior the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonIuls or truckIuls. Both
the old style (spoonsIul) and the new style (spoonIuls) are normally acceptable, but you should
be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples:

old style plural
(very formal)
new style plural
teaspoonIul 3 teaspoonsful oI sugar 3 teasponfuls oI sugar
truckIul 5 trucksful oI sand 5 truckfuls oI sand
bucketIul 2 bucketsful oI water 2 bucketfuls oI water
cupIul 4 cupsful oI rice 4 cupfuls oI rice
Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to
Iind the plural:
O higher-ups
O also-rans
O go-betweens
O has-beens
O good-for-nothings
O grown-ups
Note that with compound nouns made oI |noun noun| the Iirst noun is like an adjective and
thereIore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple
tree, not apples tree; matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.
With compound nouns made oI |noun noun| the second noun takes an -s Ior plural. The Iirst
noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these
examples:
long plural form becomes
plural compound noun
noun + noun]
100 trees with apples 100 apple trees
1,000 cables Ior telephones 1,000 telephone cables
20 boxes Ior tools 20 tool boxes
10 stops Ior buses 10 bus stops
4,000 wheels Ior cars 4,000 car wheels

acv nn
clever Leacer
small offlce
black orse
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the Iirst noun "acts as" an
adjective.
nn
a acv nn
lsLory Leacer
LlckeL offlce
race orse
be noun as ad|ective always comes first
II you remember this it will help you to understand what is being talked about:
O a ac h ls a h LaL rus l races
O a h ac ls a ac for orses
O a a ac ls a ac for boaLs
O a v y ls a y abouL love
O a a y ls a y abouL war
O a nn a ls a a for playl Lels
O nn h are h for playl Lels
O a c hn ls a hn of compuLers
O a cyc h ls a h LaL sells blcycles
be noun as ad|ective is singular
Just like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular Iorm.
gh Jng
boaL race boaL races nC@ boaLs race boaLs races
LooLbrus LooLbruses nC@ LeeLbrus LeeLbruses
soelace soelaces nC@ soeslace soeslaces
clareLLe packeL clareLLe packeLs nC@ clareLLes packeL clareLLes packeLs
In other words, iI there is a plural it is on the real noun only.
A Iew nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (Ior example news, billiards,
athletics). When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:
O a ews reporLer Lree ews reporLers
O oe bllllards Lable four bllllards Lables
O a aLleLlcs Lraler flfLy aLleLlcs Lralers
Exceptions:
When we use certain nouns "as adjectives" (clothes, sports, customs, accounts, arms), we use
them in the plural Iorm:
O cloLes sop cloLes sops
O sporLs club sporLs clubs
O cusLoms duLy cusLoms duLles
O accouLs deparLmeL accouLs deparLmeLs
O arms producLlo
How do we write tbe noun as ad|ective?
We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several diIIerent ways:
O Lwo separaLe words (car door)
O Lwo ypeaLed words (bookcase)
O oe word (baLroom)
There are no easy rules Ior this. We even write some combinations in two or all three diIIerent
ways: (head master, head-master, headmaster)
How do we say tbe noun as ad|ective?
For pronunciation, we usually stress the Iirst word:
O h sop
O arace
O ahroom
an we bave more tban one noun as ad|ective?
Yes. Just like adjectives, we oIten use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these
examples:
car production costs: we are talking about the costs oI producing cars
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve ou
c
cn c
ca cn c
England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays
Iootball Ior England
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve ou
cach
a cach

a a cach
Lngan a a cach
Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the
word "Iootball" (Ioot-ball). These two nouns (Iootball) have developed into a single noun
(Iootball). This is one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as
adjective" are regarded as nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary deIinition. But not
all dictionaries agree with each other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun
and other dictionaries do not.
government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into
accidents on the road Ior the government
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve
ou as
ad[ecLlve ou
cn
ach cn

accn ach cn

a accn ach cn
gvnn a accn ach cn
Newpapers oIten use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example:
BI# HEALTH #ESEA#CH CENT#E MU#E# MYSTE#Y
To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a
MYSTE#Y concerning a MU#E# in a CENT#E Ior #ESEA#CH into the HEALTH oI
BI#S.
Note, too, that we can still use a real adfective to qualiIy a "noun as adjective" structure:
O empty coffee [ar
O booest car salesma
O Jellcloos do food
O tlsloq car producLlo cosLs
O fomoos Llad fooLball Leam coac

djectives
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and
noun phrases.)
An adjective "qualiIies" or "modiIies" a noun (a big dog).
Adjectives can be used beIore a noun (I like Chinese 1ood) or aIter certain verbs (It is hard).
We can oIten use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young rench lady).
lL ls someLlmes sald LaL Le ad[ecLlve ls Le eemy of Le ou @ls ls because very ofLe lf we use
Le preclse ou we doL eed a ad[ecLlve lor example lsLead of sayl a lare lmpresslve ouse
(2 ad[ecLlves + ou) we could slmply say a maslo ( ou)
eterminers
the, a/an, this, some, any
djective Order (with Quiz)
beautiIul, long, dark brown
Comparative djectives
richer, more exciting
Superlative djectives
the richest, the most exciting
Gradable and Non-gradable Adjectives , Quiz
see also:
Noun as Adjective
coIIee cup, bus station, research centre
eterminers
eterminers are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at
the beginning oI noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same
noun phrase.
Articles:
O a a Le
Possessive Adjectives:
O my your ls er lLs our Lelr wose
Other determiners:
O eac every
O elLer elLer
O some ay o
O muc may more mosL
O llLLle less leasL
O few fewer fewesL
O waL waLever wlc wlcever
O boL alf all
O several
O eou
, n or The?
When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about
singular, countable nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "deIinite" and "indeIinite" like this:
Articles
efinite Indefinite
the a, an
We use "deIinite" to mean sure, certain. "eIinite" is particular.
We use "indeIinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "IndeIinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one
thing in general, we use a or an.
Think oI the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions oI stars. So normally we would
say:
O I saw the moon last night.
O I saw a star last night.
Look at these examples:
the a, an
O The capital oI France is Paris.
O I have Iound the book that I lost.
O Have you cleaned the car?
O There are six eggs in the Iridge.
O Please switch oII the TV when you Iinish.
O I was born in a town.
O John had an omelette Ior lunch.
O James Bond ordered a drink.
O We want to buy an umbrella.
O Have you got a pen?
OI course, oIten we can use the or a/an Ior the same word. It depends on the situation, not the
word. Look at these examples:
O We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
O Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking Ior our umbrella,
a particular umbrella.)
This little story should help you understand the diIIerence between the and a, an:

man and a woman were walking in OxIord Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a
shop. She asked the man iI he could buy the dress Ior her. He said: "o you think the shop will
accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."

djective Order
There are 2 basic positions Ior adjectives:
1. before the noun
2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, Ieel, sound, smell, taste)
adj. noun verb adj.
1 I like big cars.
2 My car is big.
In this lesson we look at the position oI adjectives in a sentence, Iollowed by a quiz to check
your understanding:
djective Before oun
We sometimes use more than one adjective beIore the noun:
O I like big black dogs.
O She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.
What is the correct order Ior two or more adjectives?
1. The general order is: opinion, fact:
O a nice French car (not a French nice car)
("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is deIinitely true about
something.)
2. The normal order Ior Iact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin:
O a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table
3. eterminers usually come first, even though they are Iact adjectives:
O articles (a, the)
O possessives (my, your...)
O demonstratives (this, that...)
O quantiIiers (some, any, Iew, many...)
O numbers (one, two, three)
Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:
adjectives
noun
deter-
miner
opinion
fact
age shape colour
two nice old round red candles
When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and":
O Many newspapers are black and white.
O She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.
The rules on this page are Ior the normal, "natural" order oI adjectives. But these rules are not
rigid, and you may sometimes wish to change the order Ior emphasis. Consider the Iollowing
conversations:

Conversation 1
A "I want to buy a round table."
B "o you want a new round table or an old round table?"

Conversation 2
A "I want to buy an old table".
B "o you want a round old table or a square old table?"

djective fter Certain Verbs
An adjective can come after some verbs, such as: -e, -ecome, 1eel, get, look, seem, smell, sound
Even when an adjective comes aIter the verb and not beIore a noun, it always reIers to and
qualiIies the subject oI the sentence, not the verb.
Look at the examples below: subject ver- adjective
O 8am ls Lngh
O ecause se ad Lo walL se ecome an
O ls lL qettloq ak?
O @e examlaLlo dld oL seem c
O ?our frled looks nc
O @ls Lowel feels a
O @aL ew fllm doesL soooJ very nng
O ler smells g LolL
O @ls mllk tostes
O lL smells a
These verbs are "stative" verbs, which express a state or change oI state, not "dynamic" verbs
which express an action. Note that some verbs can be stative in one sense (she looks beautiIul , it
got hot), and dynamic in another (she looked at him , he got the money). The above examples do
not include all stative verbs.
Note also that in the above structure (subject ver- adjective), the adjective can qualiIy a pronoun
since the subject may be a pronoun.
Comparative djectives
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see iI they are the same or
diIIerent. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and diIIerent in other ways. We can use
comparative adjectives to describe the diIIerences.
We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).
In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative Iorm oI the adjective "big":
A1 A2
A1 is bigger than A2.
In this lesson we will look Iirst at how we make comparative adjectives, and then at how we use
them:
ormation of Comparative djectives
There are two ways to make or Iorm a comparative adjective:
O short adjectives: add "-er"
O long adjectives: use "more"
Short adjectives
O 1-syllable adjectives
old, Iast
O 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y
happy, easy
ormal rule: add "-er" old older
Variation: iI the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late later
Variation: iI the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,
double the last consonant
big bigger
Variation: iI the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy happier
Long adjectives
O 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y
modern, pleasant
O all adjectives oI 3 or more syllables
expensive, intellectual
ormal rule: use "more"
modern more modern
expensive more
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':
O quiet quieter/more quiet
O clever cleverer/more clever
O narrow narrower/more narrow
O simple simpler/more simple
Exception
The Iollowing adjectives have irregular Iorms:
O good better
O well (healthy) better
O bad worse
O Iar Iarther/Iurther
Use of Comparative djectives
We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things,
only 2 things).
OIten, the comparative adjective is Iollowed by "than".
Look at these examples:
O John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
O America is big. But #ussia is bigger.
O I want to have a more powerful computer.
O Is French more difficult than English?
II we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table
below:
Earth ars
iameter (km) 12,760 6,790 Mars is smaller than Earth.
istance Irom Sun (million km) 150 228 Mars is more distant Irom the Sun.
Length oI day (hours) 24 25
A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day
on Earth.
Moons 1 2 Mars has more moons than Earth.
SurIace temperature (degrees
Celcius)
22 -23 Mars is colder than Earth.

Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more
things), in Iact one or both oI the things may be a group oI things.
O Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
Here, we are talking about hundreds oI mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt
Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).

Superlative djectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree oI a quality. We use a superlative
adjective to describe the extreme quality oI one thing in a group oI things.
In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative Iorm oI the adjective "big":
A C
A is the biggest.
In this lesson we will look Iirst at how we make superlative adjectives, and then at how we use
them:
O lormaLlo of SuperlaLlve Ad[ecLlves
O Dse of SuperlaLlve Ad[ecLlves
We ca use superlaLlve ad[ecLlves we Lalkl abouL h Lls (oL Lwo Lls)

ormation of Superlative djectives
As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to Iorm a superlative adjective:
O short adjectives: add "-est"
O long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives old, Iast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
ormal rule: add "-est" old the oldest
Variation: iI the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late the latest
Variation: iI the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,
double the last consonant
big the biggest
Variation: iI the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy the happiest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant
all adjectives oI 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
ormal rule: use "most"
modern the most
modern
expensive the most
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':
O quiet the quietest/most quiet
O clever the cleverest/most clever
O narrow the narrowest/most narrow
O simple the simplest/most simple
Exception
The Iollowing adjectives have irregular Iorms:
O good the best
O bad the worst
O Iar the Iurthest
Use of Superlative djectives
We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group oI three or more things. Look at
these examples:
O John is 1m75. avid is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.
O Canada, China and #ussia are big countries. But #ussia is the biggest.
O Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
II we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as
shown in the table below:
Earth ars upiter
ia-
meter (km)
12,760 6,790 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest.
is-
tance Irom Sun (million
km)
150 228 778
Jupiter is the most distant Irom the
Sun.
Length oI day (hours) 24 25 10 Jupiter has the shortest day.
Moons 1 2 16 Jupiter has the most moons.
SurIace temp.
(degrees Celcius)
22 -23 -150 Jupiter is the coldest.

When we compare one thing with itselI, we do not use "the":
O England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
O My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

Possessive djectives
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something. The possessive
adjectives are:
O my, your, his, her, its, our, their
O whose (interrogative)
number person gender
possessive
adjective
example sentence
singular
1st male/Iemale my This is my book.
2nd male/Iemale your I like your hair.
3rd
male his His name is "John".
Iemale her Her name is "Mary".
neuter its The dog is licking its paw.
plural
1st male/Iemale our We have sold our house.
2nd male/Iemale your Your children are lovely.
3rd male/Iemale/neuter their
The students thanked their
teacher.

singular/plural 1st/2nd/3rd
male/Iemale (not
neuter)
whose Whose phone did you use?

Compare:
your possessive adjective
you're you are
its possessive adjective
it's it is # it has
their possessive adjective
they're they are
there adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
whose possessive adjective
who's who is # who has

Be careIul! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to
write the short Iorm oI "it is" or "it has". For example:
it's raining it is raining
it's Iinished it has Iinished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.
Each, Every
Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each every one separately
Every each, all

Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
O Prices go up each year.
O Prices go up every year.

But oIten they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea oI 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is halI-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in
general.
Consider the Iollowing:
O Every artist is sensitive.
O Each artist sees things diIIerently.
O Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
O The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in Iront oI the verb:
O The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be Iollowed by 'oI':
O The President spoke to each oI the soldiers.
O He gave a medal to each oI them.

Every cannot be used Ior 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
O He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how oIten something happens:
O There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
O The bus leaves every hour.

Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.
Some, ny
Some a little, a Iew or a small number or amount
Any one, some or all
Usually, we use some in positive () sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?)
sentences.

some any example situation

I have some
money.
I have $10.
-
I don't have any
money.
I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have
$1,000,000. I have $0.
?
o you have any
money?
o you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.
Look at these examples:
O He needs some stamps.
O I must go. I have some homework to do.
O I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
O I can see somebody coming.
O He doesn't need any stamps.
O I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
O I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
O I can't see anybody coming.
O oes he need any stamps?
O o you have any homework to do?
O o you want anything to drink?
O Can you see anybody coming?
We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.
O I reIused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
O She Iinished the test without any diIIiculty. (she did not have any diIIiculty)
Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say
that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)
O Would you like some more tea?
O Could I have some sugar, please?
dverbs
An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualiIies" or "modiIies" a ver-
(The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modiIy adfectives (Tara is really -eauti1ul), or
even other adver-s (It works very well).
Many diIIerent kinds oI word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise an adverb by its:
1. unction (ob)
2. orm
3. Position
1. Function
The principal job oI an adverb is to modiIy (give more inIormation about) verbs, adjectives and
other adverbs. In the Iollowing examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modiIies is in
italics.
O ModiIy a verb:
- John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
- She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
O ModiIy an adjective:
- He is really handsome.
O ModiIy another adverb:
- She drives incredibly slowly.
But adverbs have other Iunctions, too. They can:
O ModiIy a whole sentence:
- Obviously, I cant know everything.
O ModiIy a prepositional phrase:
- It's immediately inside the door.
2. Form
Many adverbs end in -ly. We Iorm such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some
examples:
O quickly, soItly, strongly, honestly, interestingly
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", Ior example, is an adjective.
Some adverbs have no particular Iorm, Ior example:
O well, Iast, very, never, always, oIten, still
3. Position
Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:
O Front (beIore the subject):
- ow we will study adverbs.
O Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
- We often study adverbs.
O End (aIter the verb or object):
- We study adverbs carefully.
dverbs of requency
100 always
usually
Irequently
oIten
50 sometimes
occasionally
rarely
Adverbs oI Frequency answer the question "How oIten?" or "How
Irequently?" They tell us how oIten somebody does something.
Adverbs oI Irequency come before the main verb (except the main verb
"to be"):
O We usually go shopping on Saturday.
O I have often done that.
O She is always late.
ccasionally, sometimes, o1ten, 1requently and usually can also go at the beginning or end oI a
sentence:
O Sometimes they come and stay with us.
O I play tennis occasionally.
#arely and seldom can also go at the end oI a sentence (oIten with "very"):
O We see them rarely.
O John eats meat very seldom.
Pronouns
Pronouns are small words that take the place oI a noun. We can use a pronoun instead oI a noun.
Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... II we didn't have pronouns,
we would have to repeat a lot oI nouns. We would have to say things like:
O o you like the president? I don't like the president. The president is too pompous.
With pronouns, we can say:
O o you like the president? I don't like him. He is too pompous.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns represent speciIic people or things. We use them depending on:
O number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)
O person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he)
O gender: male (eg: he), Iemale (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
O case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)
We use personal pronouns in place oI the person or people that we are talking about. My name is
JoseI but when I am talking about myselI I almost always use "I" or "me", not "JoseI". When I
seldom
hardly ever
0 never
am talking direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about
another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.
Here are the personal pronouns, Iollowed by some example sentences:
number person gender
personal pronouns
subject object
singular
1st male/Iemale I me
2nd male/Iemale you you
3rd
male he him
Iemale she her
neuter it it
plural
1st male/Iemale we us
2nd male/Iemale you you
3rd male/Iemale/neuter they them
Examples (in each case, the Iirst example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object
pronoun):
O I like coIIee.
O John helped me.
O o you like coIIee?
O John loves you.
O He runs Iast.
O id #am beat him?
O She is clever.
O oes Mary know her?
O It doesn't work.
O Can the engineer repair it?
O We went home.
O Anthony drove us.
O o you need a table Ior three?
O id John and Mary beat you at doubles?
O They played doubles.
O John and Mary beat them.
When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a Iew
exceptions. We may sometimes reIer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially iI the animal
is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are
oIten treated as Iemale and reIerred to as she/her. Here are some examples:
O This is our dog #usty. He's an Alsation.
O The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her Iirst voyage.
O My Iirst car was a Mini and I treated her like my wiIe.
O Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.
For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several
solutions to this:
O II a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.
O II a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.
O II a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.
We oIten use it to introduce a remark:
O It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
O It is important to dress well.
O It's diIIicult to Iind a job.
O Is it normal to see them together?
O It didn't take long to walk here.
We also oIten use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:
O It's raining.
O It will probably be hot tomorrow.
O Is it nine o'clock yet?
O It's 50 kilometres Irom here to Cambridge.
emonstrative Pronouns
to demonstrate (verb):
to show; to indicate; to point to
A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:
O near in distance or time (this, these)
O Iar in distance or time (that, those)
near Iar
singular this that
plural these those
Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, Iollowed by an illustration:
O This tastes good.
O Have you seen this?
O These are bad times.
O o you like these?
O That is beautiIul.
O Look at that!
O Those were the days!
O Can you see those?
O This is heavier than that.
O These are bigger than those.

o not conIuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a
demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualiIies a noun.
O That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)
O That book is good. (demonstrative adjective noun)
Normally we use demonstrative pronouns Ior things only. But we can use them Ior people when
the person is identiIied. Look at these examples:
O This is JoseI speaking. Is that Mary?
O That sounds like John.
Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to reIer to a speciIic person/people or thing/things (the
"antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or
thing/things).
We use possessive pronouns depending on:
O umber slular (e n) or plural (e )
O perso sL perso (e n) 2d perso (e y) or 3rd perso (e h)
O eder male (h) female (h)
Below are the possessive pronouns, Iollowed by some example sentences. Notice that each
possessive pronoun can:
O be sub[ecL ot ob[ecL
O refer Lo a slular ot plural aLecedeL
umber perso eder (of ower) possesslve proous
slular
sL male/female n
2d male/female y
3rd
male h
female h
plural
sL male/female
2d male/female y
3rd male/female/euLer h
O ook aL Lese plcLures ,n ls Le bl oe (sub[ecL ,y plcLure)
O l llke your flowers o you llke n? (ob[ecL my flowers)
O l looked everywere for your key l foud !os key buL l couldL fld y (ob[ecL your
key)
O ,y flowers are dyl are lovely (sub[ecL ?our flowers)
O All Le essays were ood buL h was Le besL (sub[ecL ls essay)
O !o foud ls passporL buL ,ary couldL fld h (ob[ecL er passporL)
O !o foud ls cloLes buL ,ary couldL fld h (ob[ecL er cloLes)
O ere ls your car ls over Lere were we lefL lL (sub[ecL Cur car)
O ?our poLos are ood are Lerrlble (sub[ecL Cur poLos)
O Lac couples books are colourcoded are red (sub[ecL ?our books)
O l doL llke Lls famllys arde buL l llke y (sub[ecL your arde)
O @ese areL !o ad ,arys clldre @h ave black alr (sub[ecL @elr clldre)
O !o ad ,ary doL llke your car o you llke h? (ob[ecL Lelr car)
noLlce LaL Le followl (wlL aposLrope ) do nC@ exlsL ers yours Lelrs
Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:
O @ere was $ o Le Lable ad @ara wodered h lL was
O @ls car asL moved for Lwo moLs Jh ls lL?
Interrogative Pronouns
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing
that we don't know (what we are asking the question about).
There are Iour main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which
Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun).
sub[ecL ob[ecL
perso h h
Ll ha
perso/Ll hch
perso h (possesslve)

noLlce LaL h ls Le correcL form we Le proou ls Le ob[ecL of Le verb as l Jh dld you
see? (l saw hn) owever l ormal spoke Llls we rarely use h ,osL aLlve speakers
would say (or eve wrlLe) Jh dld you see?
Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative
pronoun represents is shown in bold.
quesLlo aswer
Jh Lold you? hn Lold me sub[ecL
Jh dld you Lell? l Lold ,ay ob[ecL
Jhas appeed? n accns appeed sub[ecL
Jha do you waL? l waL c ob[ecL
Jhch came flrsL? @h ch 911 came flrsL sub[ecL
Jhch wlll Le docLor see flrsL?
@e docLor wlll see h an n
flrsL
ob[ecL
@eres oe car mlssl Jh asL
arrlved?
hn (ca% asL arrlved sub[ecL
Weve foud everyoes keys Jh dld you
fld?
l foud hn (ky% ob[ecL
Note that we sometimes use the suIIix "-ever" to make compounds Irom some oI these pronouns
(mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it Ior emphasis, oIten to
show conIusion or surprise. Look at these examples:
O Jhv would waL Lo do suc a asLy Ll?
O Jhav dld e say Lo make er cry llke LaL?
O @eyre all faLasLlc! Jhchv wlll you coose?
eflexive Pronouns
reflexlve (ad[) rammar reflecLl back o Le sub[ecL llke a mlrror
We use a reIlexive pronoun when we want to reIer back to the subject oI the sentence or clause.
#eIlexive pronouns end in "-selI" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).
There are eight reIlexive pronouns:
reflexlve proou
slular
y
y
h h
plural
v
yv
hv
Look at these examples:
reflexlve proous
tbe ooJetlloeJ wotJs ote NO1 tbe some
petsoo/tbloq
tbe ooJetlloeJ wotJs ote tbe 5AM
petsoo/tbloq
!o saw me l saw y l Le mlrror
Wy does e blame you? Wy do you blame y?
avld seL lm a copy !o seL h a copy
avld seL er a copy ,ary seL h a copy
,y do urL Le caL ,y do urL
We blame you We blame v
Ca you elp my clldre? Ca you elp yv?
@ey caoL look afLer Le bables @ey caoL look afLer hv
ntensive pronouns
Notice that all the above reIlexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the Iunction
and usage are diIIerent. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these
examples:
O l made lL y Ok l y made lL
O ave you y see lL? Ok ave you see lL y?
O @e resldeL h promlsed Lo sLop Le war
O Se spoke Lo me h Ok Se h spoke Lo me
O @e exam wasL dlfflculL buL exam room was orrlble
O never mld Well do lL v
O ?ou yv asked us Lo do lL
O @ey recommed Lls book eve Lou Ley hv ave ever read lL Ok @ey
recommed Lls book eve Lou Ley ave ever read lL hv
eciprocal Pronouns
reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; |grammar| expressing mutual action
We use reciprocal pronouns when each oI two or more subjects is acting in the same way
towards the other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:
O A and B are talking to each other.
The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and
you give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog.
There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:
O each other
O one another
When we use these reciprocal pronouns:
O there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use
reciprocal pronouns with I, you |singular|, he/she/it), and
O they must be doing the same thing
Look at these examples:
O John and Mary love each other.
O Peter and avid hate each other.
O The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.
O Both teams played hard against each other.
O We gave each other giIts.
O Why don't you believe each other?
O They can't see each other.
O The gangsters were Iighting one another.
O The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.
You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's
because in general we use each other more oIten than one another, which sounds a little Iormal.
Also, some people say that we should use one another only Ior three or more people or things,
but there is no real justiIication Ior this.
Indefinite Pronouns
That's ot y ob!
This is a story about Iour people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
An indeIinite pronoun does not reIer to any speciIic person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not
deIinite". Some typical indeIinite pronouns are:
O all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, Iew,
many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone
Note that many indeIinite pronouns also Iunction as other parts oI speech. Look at "another" in
the Iollowing sentences:
O He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)
O I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)
Most indeIinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some oI them can be singular in
one context and plural in another. The most common indeIinite pronouns are listed below, with
examples, as singular, plural or singular/plural.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular ver- AN that any personal pronoun should also
agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:
O Each oI the players has a doctor.
O I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:
O any have expressed their views.
pronoun meaning example
singular
another
an additional or diIIerent person or
thing
That ice-cream was good. Can I
have another?
anybody/anyone no matter what person
Can anyone answer this
question?
anything no matter what thing
The doctor needs to know iI you
have eaten anything in the last
two hours.
each
every one oI two or more people or
things, seen separately
Each has his own thoughts.
either
one or the other oI two people or
things
o you want tea or coIIee? / I
don't mind. Either is good Ior
me.
enough as much or as many as needed Enough is enough.
everybody/everyone all people
We can start the meeting because
everybody has arrived.
everything all things They have no house or
possessions. They lost
everything in the earthquake.
less a smaller amount
"Less is more" (Mies van der
#ohe)
little a small amount
Little is know about his early
liIe.
much a large amount uch has happend since we met.
neither
not one and not the other oI two
people or things
I keep telling Jack and Jill but
neither believes me.
nobody/no-one no person
I phoned many times but nobody
answered.
nothing no single thing, not anything
II you don't know the answer it's
best to say nothing.
one an unidentiIied person
Can one smoke here? , All the
students arrived but now one is
missing.
other
a diIIerent person or thing Irom
one already mentioned
One was tall and the other was
short.
somebody/someone an unspeciIied or unknown person
Clearly somebody murdered
him. It was not suicide.
something an unspeciIied or unknown thing
Listen! I just heard something!
What could it be?
you an unidentiIied person (inIormal) And you can see why.
plural
both two people or things, seen together
John likes coIIee but not tea. I
think both are good.
Iew a small number oI people or things
ew have ever disobeyed him
and lived.
Iewer
a reduced number oI people or
things
ewer are smoking these days.
many a large number oI people or things any have come already.
others other people; not us
I'm sure that others have tried
beIore us.
several more than two but not many
They all complained and several
leIt the meeting.
they people in general (inIormal)
They say that vegetables are
good Ior you.
singular or plural
all
the whole quantity oI something or
oI some things or people
ll is Iorgiven.
ll have arrived.
any no matter how much or how many
Is any leIt?
Are any coming?
more
a greater quantity oI something; a
greater number oI people or things
There is more over there.
ore are coming.
most the majority; nearly all
ost is lost.
ost have reIused.
none not any; no person or persons
They Iixed the water so why is
none coming out oI the tap?
I invited Iive Iriends but none
have come.*
some
an unspeciIied quantity oI
something; an unspeciIied number
oI people or things
Here is some.
Some have arrived.
such oI the type already mentioned
He was a Ioreigner and he Ielt
that he was treated as such.
* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking
about countable nouns (eg Iive Iriends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and
"one" is obviously singular. They say that "I invited Iive Iriends but none has come" is
correct and "I invited Iive Iriends but none have come" is incorrect. Historically and
grammatically there is little to support this view. "None" has been used Ior hundreds oI
years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and the emphasis
required.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun
because it "relates" to the word that it modiIies. Here is an example:
O The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
In the above example, "who":
O relates to "person", which it modiIies
O introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"
There are Iive relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only Ior people. Whose is Ior possession.
Which is Ior things. That can be used Ior people** and things and as subject and object in
deIining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra
inIormation).
#elative pronouns can reIer to singular or plural, and there is no diIIerence between male and
Iemale.
Look at these examples showing deIining and non-deIining relative clauses:

example sentences
Ssubject, Oobject, Ppossessive
notes
deIining
S
- The person who phoned me last night
is my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last night
is my teacher.
That is preIerable
- The car which hit me was yellow.
- The cars that hit me were yellow.
That is preIerable
O
- The person whom I phoned last night
is my teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night are
my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night is
my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my
teacher.
Whom is correct but very
Iormal. The relative pronoun
is optional.
- The car which I drive is old.
- The car that I drive is old.
That is preIerable to which.
The relative pronoun is
- The car I drive is old. optional.
P
- The student whose phone just rang
should stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy
pay extra.

- The police are looking Ior the car
whose driver was masked.
- The police are looking Ior the car of
which the driver was masked.
Of which is usual Ior things,
but whose is sometimes
possible
non-
deIining
S
- Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my
teacher.

- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.

O
- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is
my teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very
much, are my teachers.
Whom is correct but very
Iormal. Who is normal.
- The car, which I was driving at the
time, suddenly caught Iire.

P
- My brother, whose phone you just
heard, is a doctor.

- The car, whose driver jumped out just
beIore the accident, was completely
destroyed.
- The car, the driver of which jumped
out just beIore the accident, was
completely destroyed.
Of which is usual Ior things,
but whose is sometimes
possible
*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.
**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" Ior people but must use "who/whom"; there is no
good reason Ior such a claim.

English Prepositions
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in Iront oI, a noun or pronoun and
expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:
O Se lefL teokfost
O Jbot dld you come ?
(lor waL dld you come?)
List of Prepositions
A Simple #ule Ior Prepositions
Prepositions of Place
at the bus stop, in the box, on the wall
Prepositions of Time
at Christmas, in May, on Friday
English Prepositions List
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think oI
the thousands oI other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use
individual prepositions more Irequently than other individual words. In Iact, the prepositions of,
to and in are among the ten most Irequent words in English. Here is a short list oI 70 oI the more
common one-word prepositions. Many oI these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please
reIer to a dictionary Ior precise meaning and usage.
lor a 1S0 n Lry Lls
dowloadable ebook nq/ish Prepositions List by Llls Club fouder
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O lcludes n ad c preposlLlos
O aboard
O abouL
O above
O across
O afLer
O aalsL
O alo
O amld
O amo
O aLl
O aroud
O as
O aL
O before
O beld
O below
O beeaL
O beslde
O besldes
O beLwee
O beyod
O buL
O by
O cocerl
O coslderl
O desplLe
O dow
O durl
O excepL
O excepLl
O excludl
O followl
O for
O from
O l
O lslde
O lLo
O llke
O mlus
O 0 a nnc
O 00 q qn wlL an
O a na Lo your compuLer
O read o your c or prlL ouL o a
O works o Jn or ,ac
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O ear
O of
O off
O o
O oLo
O opposlLe
O ouLslde
O over
O pasL
O per
O plus
O reardl
O roud
O save
O slce
O La
O Lrou
O Lo
O Loward
O Lowards
O uder
O udereaL
O ullke
O uLll
O up
O upo
O versus
O vla
O wlL
O wlLl
O wlLouL
Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:
O at Ior a POINT
O in Ior an ENCLOSE SPACE
O on Ior a SU#FACE
at in on
POIT ECLOSE SPCE SURCE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top oI the page in a box on the cover
at the end oI the road in my pocket on the Iloor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the Iront desk in a car on a page
Look at these examples:
O Jane is waiting Ior you at the bus stop.
O The shop is at the end oI the street.
O My plane stopped at ubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
O When will you arrive at the oIIice?
O o you work in an oIIice?
O I have a meeting in New York.
O o you live in Japan?
O Jupiter is in the Solar System.
O The author's name is on the cover oI the book.
O There are no prices on this menu.
O You are standing on my Ioot.
O There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
O I live on the 7th Iloor at 21 OxIord Street in London.
Notice the use oI the prepositions oI place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a liIt (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the leIt, on the right
at reception in OxIord Street on the way
Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
We use:
O at Ior a P#ECISE TIME
O in Ior MONTHS, YEA#S, CENTU#IES and LONG PE#IOS
O on Ior AYS and ATES
at in on
PRECISE
TIE
OTHS, YERS, CETURIES and LO
PERIOS
YS and
TES
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 ec. 2010
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas ay
at sunrise in the next century
on Independence
ay
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/Iuture on New Year's Eve
Look at these examples:
O I have a meeting at 9am.
O The shop closes at midnight.
O Jane went home at lunchtime.
O In England, it oIten snows in ecember.
O o you think we will go to Jupiter in the Iuture?
O There should be a lot oI progress in the next century.
O o you work on Mondays?
O Her birthday is on 20 November.
O Where will you be on New Year's ay?
Notice the use oI the preposition oI time at in the Iollowing standard expressions:
Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter I stay with my Iamily at Christmas.
at the same time We Iinished the test at the same time.
at present He's not home at present. Try later.
Notice the use oI the prepositions oI time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the aIternoon(s) on Sunday aIternoons
in the evening(s) on Monday evening
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
O I went to London last June. (349 in last June)
O He's coming back next Tuesday. (349 on next Tuesday)
O I go home every Easter. (349 at every Easter)
O We'll call you this evening. (349 in this evening)
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts oI a sentence.
Here are some example conjunctions:
nang nncn nang nncn
ad buL or or for yeL so alLou because slce uless
We can consider conjunctions Irom three aspects.
orm
Conjunctions have three basic Iorms:
O ng J
for example ad buL because alLou
O n (ofLe edl wlL os or tbot)
for example provlded LaL as lo as l order LaL
O av (surroudl a adverb or ad[ecLlve)
for example soLaL
unction
Conjunctions have two basic Iunctions or "jobs":
O nang cnncn are used Lo [ol Lwo parLs of a seLece LaL are rammaLlcally
equal @e Lwo parLs may be slle words or clauses for example
ock an lll weL up Le lll
1be wotet wos wotm JlJot qo swlmmloq
O nang cnncn are used Lo [ol a subordlaLe depedeL clause Lo a mal clause
for example
weot swlmmloq ahgh lt wos colJ
osition
O nang cnncn always come beLwee Le words or clauses LaL Ley [ol
O nang cnncn usually come aL Le bell of Le subordlaLe clause
In this lesson we will look in more detail at:
Coordinating Conjunctions
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
O and, but, or, nor, Ior, yet, so
A coordinating conjunction joins parts oI a sentence (Ior example words or independent clauses)
that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it
joins are similar in importance and structure:



Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in
square brackets | |:
O I like |tea| and |coIIee|.
O |#am likes tea|, but |Anthony likes coIIee|.
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a
comma beIore the conjunction:
O I want to work as an interpreter in the Iuture, so I am studying #ussian at university.
However, iI the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really essential:
O She is kind so she helps people.
When "and" is used with the last word oI a list, a comma is optional:
O He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.
O He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.
The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short, simple words. They have only two or three letters.
There's an easy way to remember them - their initials spell:
B O Y S
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Subordinating Conjunctions
The majority oI conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating
conjunctions are:
O aIter, although, as, because, beIore, how, iI, once, since, than, that, though, till, until,
when, where, whether, while
A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent)
clause:



Look at this example:
main or
independent clause
subordinate or
dependent clause
#am went swimming although it was raining.

subordinating
conjunction


A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist
alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you
understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand
very well iI somebody says to you: "Hello! #am went swimming."
A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning oI a subordinate clause. It
"introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come aIter and
sometimes beIore a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:




#am went swimming although it was raining.






lthough it was raining, #am went swimming.
Interjections
Hi! That's an interjection. :-)
Interjection is a big name Ior a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or
h! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite oIten, usually more in speaking
than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical
connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes Iollowed by an exclamation mark (!)
when written.
Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common
in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are
thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize
that they have no real meaning.
The table below shows some interjections with examples.
interjection meaning example
ah
expressing pleasure "Ah, that Ieels good."
expressing realization "Ah, now I understand."
expressing resignation "Ah well, it can't be heped."
expressing surprise "Ah! I've won!"
alas expressing grieI or pity "Alas, she's dead now."
dear
expressing pity "Oh dear! oes it hurt?"
expressing surprise "ear me! That's a surprise!"
eh
asking Ior repetition
"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot
today."
expressing enquiry "What do you think oI that, eh?"
expressing surprise "Eh! #eally?"
inviting agreement "Let's go, eh?"
er expressing hesitation "Lima is the capital oI...er...Peru."
hello, hullo
expressing greeting "Hello John. How are you today?"
expressing surprise "Hello! My car's gone!"
hey
calling attention "Hey! look at that!"
expressing surprise, joy etc "Hey! What a good idea!"
hi expressing greeting "Hi! What's new?"
hmm
expressing hesitation, doubt or
disagreement
"Hmm. I'm not so sure."
oh, o
expressing surprise "Oh! You're here!"
expressing pain "Oh! I've got a toothache."
expressing pleading "Oh, please say 'yes'!"
ouch expressing pain "Ouch! That hurts!"
uh expressing hesitation "Uh...I don't know the answer to that."
uh-huh expressing agreement "Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."
um, umm expressing hesitation "85 divided by 5 is...um...17."
well
expressing surprise "Well I never!"
introducing a remark "Well, what did he say?"