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Curs LIMBA ENGLEZA Anul 1 Sem I Gramatica 1
Curs LIMBA ENGLEZA Anul 1 Sem I Gramatica 1
2
1.1. Kinds and function.............................................................................................................................................................2
1.2. Gender................................................................................................................................................................................2
1.3. Plurals................................................................................................................................................................................3
1.3.1. Uncountable nouns (also known as non-count nouns or mass nouns)........................................................................7
1.4. The form of the possessive/genitive case...........................................................................................................................8
1.5. Use of the possessive/genitive case and of + noun...........................................................................................................8
1.6. SEMINAR - NOUN..........................................................................................................................................................9
II. ARTICLES.............................................................................................................................................................................14
2.1. The definite article...........................................................................................................................................................14
2.2. Omission of the................................................................................................................................................................16
2.3. The indefinite article........................................................................................................................................................19
2.4. The zero article.................................................................................................................................................................19
2.5. SEMINAR - ARTICLE....................................................................................................................................................20
III. ADJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................................................................23
3.1. Kinds of adjectives...........................................................................................................................................................23
3.2. Order of adjectives of quality..........................................................................................................................................24
3.3. Comparison......................................................................................................................................................................25
3.4. Constructions with comparisons......................................................................................................................................26
3.5. Possessive adjectives........................................................................................................................................................27
3.6. SEMINAR - ADJECTIVE...............................................................................................................................................28
IV. ADVERBS............................................................................................................................................................................31
4.1. Kinds of adverbs..............................................................................................................................................................31
4.2. Form and use....................................................................................................................................................................32
4.3. Comparative and superlative adverb forms.....................................................................................................................34
4.4 Position of adverbs............................................................................................................................................................34
4.5. Inversion of the verb........................................................................................................................................................36
4.6. SEMINAR - ADVERB....................................................................................................................................................37
V. THE PRONOUN....................................................................................................................................................................39
5.1. Personal pronouns............................................................................................................................................................40
5.2. Uses of it..........................................................................................................................................................................41
5.3. Possessive pronouns.........................................................................................................................................................42
5.4. Demonstrative pronouns..................................................................................................................................................43
5.5. Reflexive pronouns.........................................................................................................................................................43
5.6. Interrogative pronouns.....................................................................................................................................................43
5.7. Relative pronouns...........................................................................................................................................................44
5.8. Indefinite pronouns..........................................................................................................................................................44
All Some None............................................................................................................................................................45
5.9. SEMINAR – PRONOUN................................................................................................................................................45
VI. PREPOSITIONS...................................................................................................................................................................54
6.1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................................................54
6.2. SEMINAR - PREPOSITION...........................................................................................................................................63
1
I. THE NOUN
1.2. Gender
2
duke, duchess earl, countess
king, queen lord, lady
prince, princess
2 The majority of nouns indicating occupation have the same form:
artist cook driver guide assistant dancer doctor etc.
Main exceptions:
actor, actress manager, manageress
host, hostess heir, heiress
conductor, conductress steward, stewardess
Sometimes -person is used instead of -man, -woman: salesperson,
spokesperson.
1.3. Plurals
dog, dogs
The nouns hoof, scarf and wharf take either s or ves in the plural:
hoofs or hooves wharfs or wharves
scarfs or scarves
Other words ending in f or fe add s in the ordinary way:
cliff, cliffs safe, safes
handkerchief,
handkerchiefs
A 's is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:
a man's job the people's choice
men's work the crew's quarters
a woman's intuition the horse's mouth
the butcher's (shop) the bull's horns
a child's voice women's clothes
the children's room Russia's exports
Half, cuff, wolf, belief, leaf, scarf, chief, calf, cliff, shelf, dwarf, self,
thief, safe, gulf, proof, loaf, wife, roof, handkerchief, knife.
b) Write the plural of: potato, radio, hero, cargo, echo, tango, buffalo,
concerto, volcano.
4.ground a) You must have solid ... if you want to ask for a
divorce.
b) What was the ... of this quarrel?
c) Children have taken good care of their sports . . .
5.minute a) How many . . . does it take to get to the office?
b) We wanted him to read the ... of the previous meeting.
c) Wait a . . . !
6.pain a) She feels no . . . now.
b) What do you recommend for stomach . . . ?
c) You do take great. . . with your work.
Queen, woman, wife, daughter, nun, lady, sister, goose, bee, duck,
granddaughter.
EXERCISE . List the feminine nouns in the 2nd column and the
generic nouns in the 3rd column so as to correspond to the
masculine nouns in the 1st column:
hog mare pig/swine
cock vixen deer
hound hen dog
buck ewe ox
bull bee horse
drone bitch fowl
stallion hind fox
fox cow sheep
ram doe goat
stag sow bee
A Form
the is the same for singular and plural and for all genders:
the boy the girl the day the boys the girls the days
B Use
The definite article is used:
1 When the object or group of objects is unique or considered to
be
unique:
the earth the sea the sky the equator the stars
2 Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being
mentioned
a second time:
His car struck a tree; you can still see the mark on the tree.
3 Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause:
the girl in blue the man with the banner the
boy that I met the place where I met him
4 Before superlatives and first, second etc. used as adjectives
or
pronouns, and only:
the first (week) the best day the only way
G the with names of people has a very limited use. the + plural
surname can be used to mean 'the . . . family':
the Smiths = Mr and Mrs Smith (and children)
A home
When home is used alone, i.e. is not preceded or followed by a
descriptive word or phrase, the is omitted: He is at
home.home used alone can be placed directly after a verb of
motion or verb of motion + object, i.e. it can be treated as an
adverb:
He went home. I arrived home after dark. I sent him
home. But when home is preceded or followed by a descriptive
word or phrase it is treated like any other noun:
They went to their new home.
We arrived at the bride's home.
For some years this was the home of your queen.
A mud hut was the only home he had ever known.
B bed, church, court, hospital, prison,
school/college/university
the is not used before the nouns listed above when these
places are
visited or used for their primary purpose. We go:
to bed to sleep or as invalids to hospital as patients
to church to pray to prison as prisoners
to court as litigants etc. to school/college/university to study
Similarly we can be:
in bed, sleeping or resting in hospital as patients
at church as worshippers at school etc. as students
in court as witnesses etc.
We can be/get back (or be/get home) from
school/college/university.
We can leave school, leave hospital, be released from prison.
When these places are visited or used for other reasons the
is necessary:
I went to the church to see the stained glass.
He goes to the prison sometimes to give lectures.
C sea
We go to sea as sailors. To be at sea = to be on a voyage (as
passengers or crew). But to go to or be at the sea = to go to or
be at the seaside. We can also live by/near the sea.
E town
the can be omitted when speaking of the subject's or speaker's
own town:
We go to town sometimes to buy clothes.
We were in town last Monday.
III. ADJECTIVES
C Agreement
Adjectives in English have the same form for singular and
plural, masculine and feminine nouns:
a good boy, good boys, a good girl, good girls
The only exceptions are the demonstrative adjectives this
and that, which change to these and those before plural
nouns:
this cat, these cats that man, those men
my
your
his/her/its
our
your
their
Note that there are two regular ways of marking the category
of comparison in English; a) by means of -er in the comparative
and (the) -est in the superlative (the synthetic comparison) with
monosyllabic adjectives; b) by means of the periphrastic forms
with more and (the) most (the analytic comparison), incase of
plurisyllabic adjectives. A series of monosyllabic adjectives, such
as: calm, cross, fit, fond, frank, scarce, grave, prompt display both
patterns. Many disyllabic adjectives display both patterns too. It is
typically the case with adjectives ending in -y, -ow, -le, -er such
as: clumsy, sallow, humble, clever, as well as the following
adjectives: handsome, common, polite, quiet, pleasant, precise,
sincere etc.
l. The (long) the speech is, the (tedious) it is. 2. The (weak) the
patient, the (great) his dependence on the nurse. 3. The (stormy)
the weather, the (dangerous) the trip. 4. The (humble) a man is,
the (haughty) her manner becomes. 5. The (scarce) the food is
getting, the (wild) the beasts become. 6. The (prompt) the
answer, the (high) the grade. 7. The (proper) the word, the
(exact) the translation is. 8. The (narrow) the path was getting,
the (hostile) the horse was becoming. 9. The (eager) the child,
the (intricate) the questions he asks. 10. The (fertile) the land,
the (little) the amount of fertilizer given to it.
EXERCISE 7. Give the correct succession of the adjectives in the
following noun phrases:
1. a/an (blue, washable, good, cotton) skirt; 2. (blue, frightened,
small) eyes; 3. a/an (Asiatic, large, striped) quadruped; 4. (cold,
turbulent, greyish, de_ep) waters; 5. (volcanic, dark, tall) rocks; 6.
a (Greek, young, bright) student; 7. a/an (fifteen-foot, pale-red,
age-old) brickwall; 8. a/an (little, marble, Roman, brownish)
statue; 9. a/an (intelligent, Polish, wiry, elderly) logician; 10 a/an
(fluffy, orange, wide, woolen, Peruvian) shawl.
IV. ADVERBS
B Adjectives ending in ly
daily, weekly, monthly etc., kindly and sometimes
leisurely can be
adjectives or adverbs, but most other adjectives ending in ly,
e.g.
friendly, likely, lonely etc., cannot be used as adverbs and
have no
adverb form. To supply this deficiency we use a similar adverb
or
adverb phrase:
likely (adjective) probably (adverb)
friendly (adjective) in a friendly way (adverb phrase)
Positive ComparativeSuperlative
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of frequency
1. You are an excellent cook. The food tastes (good, well). 2. It was a
lovely day with birds singing and the sun shining (bright, brightly)
and girls wearing (bright, brightly)-coloured dresses. 3. I hate
taking medicine. It tastes (bitter, bitterly). 4. I don't think he is ill.
His voice sounds (merry, merrily). 5. It rains (heavy, heavily). 6. It
is (near, nearly) five o'clock. 7. You must work (hard, hardly) for
your exams. 8. He spoke so (quick, quickly) that we could (hard,
hardly) follow him. 9. When did you (last, lastly) see him? 10. I am
(direct, directly) interested in what you think. 11. He couldn't
move as he was (dead, deadly) tired. 12. His eyes hurt him (bad,
badly). 13. Mr. Jones held it (tight, tightly). 14. It was six o'clock as
(near, nearly) as he could guess. 15. (last, lastly) I must account
for my sister's behaviour.
EXAMPLE:
Carmen and Joan walked into the theatre. It was so dark that
they could barely see the floor.
Expressing person
Expressing gender
5.2. Uses of it
EXAMPLE:
EXERCISE 5
Identify the two personal pronouns in each of the following
sentences. Tell whether each pronoun is in the first person, the
second person, or the third person.
EXERCISE 6
Underline the pronouns used in place of nouns. Identify their
antecedents (the noun each pronoun stands for)
1. Carolyn and Katy waxed their skis.
2. Ms. Rodriguez played the guitar for her class.
3. “Have you spoken to Jean?” Sheila asked Rene.
4. The steam made a hissing sound as it escaped.
5. Dad and Marty finished their painting.
6. The Millers moved. Anthony helped them.
7. “Are the gloves yours?” the sales clerk asked Joe.
8. Kim won a trophy. She was excited.
9. “I will write the invitations,” said Kevin.
10. “We met Jim at the movie,” said Mike and Jan.
11. The test took half an hour. It was simple.
12. The results are in. They will be posted later.
13. Bob carried Sue’s picture with him.
14. Dolores deposited the money in her savings account.
15. Al and Lee are here. Did Sarah find them?
EXERCISE 7
List the antecedents of the pronouns in CAPITAL letters.
1. Shelley, will YOU please answer the phone? IT has been ringing
for five minutes.
2. Grandmother said that SHE would love to come for dinner
today.
3. Larry will give you the information when you need IT.
4. Juan should go to the fair before IT closes on Friday.
5. Peter and I will practice our duet before WE come to band
practice on Saturday morning.
6. The carpenter picked up HIS hammer.
7. You must wait YOUR turn.
8. The columnist wrote HER article.
9. Two members have not paid THEIR dues.
10. Nora has improved HER grades.
2. At some schools, you have to take the courses they tell you to
take.
4. Marie and me will go with you and she to the craft fair.
7. On the ten o'clock news, they announced that Pete and her will
be the new delegates.
11. You and me are best buds. This makes me very happy.
12. When they drove to California, they were surprised at how fast
it went.
14. Dad loves the wide open spaces. That is why he moved out of
the city.
15. Sarah says she is going to graduate with honors or die trying.
16. Mike, Susan, and I washed the floor ourself this morning.
17. One of the plans were drawn by the architect who is more
famous than me.
8. The student ______ was wearing the blue shorts swore that he
would punch out ______he could catch.
12. This general, with ______ many soldiers fought and under
______ more soldiers were trained, ______ disciplined soldiers
_______ disobeyed the slightest order, and ______ challenged
______ appeared to have the faintest spark of promise, died
ingloriously yesterday while sitting in his easy chair in the nursing
home, dreaming of the days when he could strike fear in the
hearts of ______ he commanded.
VI. PREPOSITIONS
6.1. Introduction
A to and till/until
to can be used of time and place; till/until of time
only. We can use from ... to or from . . . till/until:
They worked from five to ten/from five till ten. (at five to ten
would
mean 'at 9.55'.) But if we have no from we use till/until,
after
after (preposition) must be followed by a noun, pronoun or
gerund:
Don't bathe immediately after a meal/after eating.
Don't have a meal and bathe immediately after it.
A at and in
at
We can be at home, at work, at the office, at school, at
university, at an address, at a certain point e.g. at the bridge,
at the crossroads, at the bus-stop.
in
We can be in a country, a town, a village, a square, a street, a
room, a forest, a wood, a field, a desert or any place which has
boundaries or is enclosed.
But a small area such as a square, a street, a room, a field
might be used with at when we mean 'at this point' rather
than 'inside'.
We can be in or at a building, in means inside only; at could
mean
inside or in the grounds or just outside. If someone is 'at the
station' he
could be in the street outside, or in the ticket office/waiting
room/
restaurant or on the platform.
We can be in or at the sea, a river, lake, swimming pool etc.
in here means actually in the water:
The children are swimming in the river. at the
sea/river/lake etc. means 'near/beside the sea'. But at sea
means 'on a ship'.
B in and into
in as shown above normally indicates position.
into indicates movement, entrance:
They climbed into the lorry. I poured the beer into a
tankard.
Thieves broke into my house/My house was broken into.
With the verb put, however, either in or into can be used:
He put his hands in/into his pockets. in can
also be an adverb:
Come in = Enter. Get in (into the car).
absorbed in involved in
according to keen on
accustomed to liable for/to
afraid of nervous of
anxious for/about owing to
ashamed of pleased with
aware of prepared for
bad at/for proud of
capable of ready for
confident of responsible for/to
due to/for scared of
exposed to sorry for/about
fit for successful in
fond of suspicious of
frightened of/at terrified of
good at/for tired of
interested in used to
1. Mary walked (in, into) the dining-room. 2. She put her packages
(on, at) the table. 3. She is sitting (in, on) an armchair (into, in)
the living-room. 4. Is her husband (at, in) home now? No, he is
(on, at) the library. 5. He also spends many hours (in, on) his
office (on, at) 50, Fleet Street. 6. I found a note pinned (in, on) my
door which said: "Meet me (at, in) the corner of Oxford Street and
Regent Street. 7. His family lives (at, on) Bridge Street (in, on)
Edinburgh, Scotland. 8. You must always write your return address
(in, on) the envelope. 9. The team arrived (in, at) England last
week.
1. They stopped (in front of, below) the museum and sat
down (in, on) the steps. 2. Jim said, "I must go (to,
towards) the library and take out some books. I'm living
(to, in) our hostel this term". 3. Our house is number 40.
Number 42 is (opposite, next to) ours. 4. Number 41 is
(opposite, next to) ours. 5. We like to live (about, among)
civilised people. 6. Something is hidden (at the back of,
behind) this simple occurence. 7. I am (behind, at the
back of) my work. 8. There is a beautiful park (behind, at
the back of) my house.