What is the passive voice? 1.

Passive: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da

Vinci. (agent =Leonardo Da Vinci )
2. Active: Leonaro Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
In general we tend to use the active voice. That is when a subject
does an action to an object.
Most writing instructors and editors recommend against using the
passive voice, when possible. The reason for this is that when you
1. Somebody stole my laptop. (subject = Somebody /
use the active voice, your writing is clearer and less complicated.
action(verb) = stole / object = my laptop)
1. Active: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101,
The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action
a police officer pulled him over and gave him a speeding
(the verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This
ticket.
means that the subject is either less important than the action itself
2. Passive: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101,
or that we don’t know who or what the subject is.
he was pulled over and given a ticket by a police officer.
1. My laptop was stolen. (The object – now the subject = My
If it’s a long sentence and you know who the subject is, it’s best to
laptop / action= was stolen)
use the active voice.
1. Passive: Napa Valley is known for its excellent wines.
The passive is often used to report something or to state a fact.
2. Active: [Many people] know Napa Valley for its excellent
wines.
1. Highway 15 was closed yesterday due to a serious road
accident.
1. Passive: Twenty civilians were killed in the bomb
2. A lot of corn is grown in Iowa.
explosion.
2. Active: Someone killed twenty civilians in the bomb
explosion. Forming the passive voice
The passive voice is not a tense in English. Each tense has its own
passive voice which is created by using a form of the auxiliary
verb to be + V3 (past participle)
The passive agent The passive voice in each tense:
When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end with by.
We call this an agent.
 Auxiliary verb + Auxiliary verb +
Tense sample V3 (past Examples Tense sample V3 (past Examples
participle) participle)
Present Wine is made from grapes. company.
am, is, are + made
simple Many cars are made in Japan. All the employees had hired
The document is being sent before the store opened.
Present am, is, are + being right now. The car will have been loaded
progressive + sent I am being sent to work in the will + have been + by the time he gets home.
Future perfect
London office. finished The crates will have been
John was invited to speak at loaded by then.
the conference. A passport can only be issued
Past simple was, were + invited
We were invited to Daniel and Modals: can, could + be + at the embassy.
Mary’s wedding. can/could issued He said the documents could
The dog was being washed be issued within the week.
when I got home. A babysitter has to be arranged
Past was, were + being +
Their cars were being washed Modal: have have to, has to, had for this evening.
progressive washed
while they were in the mall to to + be + arranged Joan’s travel plans have to be
shopping. arranged by December.
The contract will be signed Criminals must be stopped
Modal: must must + be + stopped
tomorrow. before they commit crimes.
Future (will) will be + signed
The documents will all be
signed by next week. All of the rules for passive negatives and questions are the same as
A bridge is going to be built for the active voice.
Future (going am, is, are + going within the next two years.
to) to be + built New houses are going to be Note: Verbs that have no object (no one to “receive” the action)
built in our neighborhood. cannot be put into the passive, such as, arrive, come, die, exist, go,
That start-up has been sold for happen, have, live, occur sleep, etc.
Present has, have + been + $5 million.
perfect sold The rights to his book have
been sold for $250,000.
Past perfect had + been + hired The new manager had been Passive Voice – Exercises
hired before John left the
Fill in the correct passive form of the verb in parentheses. 7. is grown
8. had been cancelled
1. After the earthquake, aid was sent to the people of Haiti. 9. won’t be sent
(sent) 10. is/added
2.
3. The electricity was cut off because the bill hadn’t been
paid. (not pay)

1. Penicillin ______ by Alexander Fleming in 1928.

(discover)
2. Statements ______ from all the witnesses at this moment.
(take)
3. Whales ______ by an international ban on whaling. (must
protect)
4. Both weddings _______ by Good Taste. (cater)
5. A Picasso ____ from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
(steal)
6. ____ this washing machine ______in Germany? (make)
7. Tea _____ in China. (grow)
8. When we reached the airport, we found that all the
flights____ due to the storm. (cancel)
9. The fax _____ until tomorrow morning. (not send)
10. The soundtrack of a movie _____ always _____ after the
filming is finished. (is/add)

Answers:

1. was discovered
2. are being taken
3. must be protected
4. were catered
5. was stolen The FUTURE PERFECT TENSE indicates that an action will have
6. Was/made been completed (finished or "perfected") at some point in the future.
This tense is formed with "will" plus "have" plus the past participle of Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:
the verb (which can be either regular or irregular in form): "I will have
spent all my money by this time next year. I will have run successfully I baked some cookies.
in three marathons if I can finish this one."
I rode the bicycle.
Singular Plural
I moved the chair.
I will have walked we will have walked
you will have walked you will have walked I stitched a quilt.

he/she/it will have walked they will have walked All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an
object is receiving the action of the verb.
Singular Plural But what about the sentence “The bird sang.” Is the verb in that
I will have slept we will have slept sentence a transitive verb? No, in this case the verb sang is an
intransitive verb.
you will have slept you will have slept
he/she/it will have slept they will have slept What are intransitive verbs?
Intransitive verbs are action verbs but unlike transitive verbs, the
Singular Plural
do not have an object receiving the action. Notice there are no
I will have been we will have been words after the verb sang.
you will have been you will have been
More examples of intransitive verbs:
he/she/it will have been they will have been
I laughed.

What are transitive verbs? I cried.

Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive that The book fell.
action. In the first sentence above, the direct object ball received
the action of the verb hit. The horse galloped.
The sun set. She walked home. - Here we can see how the verb
changed/modified to change the tense of the sentence.
In all of the above cases the subject is performing the action of the
verb and nothing is receiving the action.  

What about this sentence? Non-Finite Verbs

I walked to the park today. These verbs cannot be the main verb of a clause or sentence as
they do not talk about the action that is being performed by the
Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since subject or noun.  They do not indicate any tense, mood or gender.
walked has words coming after it, the verb must be transitive, They are used as nouns, adverbs and adjectives. They are also used
right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a prepositional phrase to form non-finite clauses which are simply dependent clauses that
and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of use non-finite verbs. 
the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.
He loves camping in the woods. - Here the non-finite verb is
To recap, a transitive verb must be an action verb plus there must camping and it is used as a noun. These kind of non-finite verbs
be an object to receive that action. are called Gerunds.

I need to go to sleep. - Here the non- finite verb phrase is to sleep,

it is acting as a noun. Non-finite verbs that use ‘to’ before them are
called Infinitives.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs
The sleeping dog caused a delay. - The nonfinite verbs that have ‘-
Finite Verbs ing’ or ‘-ed’ as suffixes and cause the verb to come an adjective
are called Participles.
Finite Verbs are those verbs that have a definite relation with the
subject or noun. These verbs are usually the main verb of a clause
or sentence and can be changed according to the noun. They are
used only in present and past tense. They can be indicative of
passive or active voice and also of number (singular or plural). 

She walks home.  - Here we see that the finite verb is walks and
the pronoun is 'she'. 
The Linking Verb Just as the name implies, helping verbs, sometimes called auxiliary
verbs, help out the main verb in a sentence.
Recognize a linking verb when you see one.
On their own, helping verbs don’t show meaning in that they don’t
Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the communicate much when they stand alone. There sole purpose to
subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. help the main verb, which provides the real meaning.
Look at the examples below:
Primary helping verbs
Keila is a shopaholic.
The primary helping verbs are be, do, and have. They’re called
Ising isn't something that Keila can do. Is connects the subject, primary because they can help main verbs or they can actually be
Keila, to additional information about her, that she will soon have the main verb. Here are some examples of the primary verbs being
a huge credit card bill to pay. used as helping verbs.
During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch. 1.  “Be” verbs. The term “be verbs” is a little deceiving because
they include more than the word “be.” They help show a state of
Areing isn't something that cats can do. Are is connecting the being or a state of existing.
subject, cats, to something said about them, that they enjoy
sleeping on the furniture. Here is a list of “be” verb forms: am, is, are, was, were, been,
being, be.
The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the
verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has been, are being, might have And here are a few used in sentences:
been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are
always linking verbs. Katy is watching television. (this shows a continuous tense.)
Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: The other children are playing outside. (this example shows the
appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and passive tense.)
turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they
are action verbs. 2.  Have. The helping verb have is used to make perfect tenses.
The perfect tense shows action that is already completed.
What are helping verbs?
I have finished washing the dishes. (Dish washing is complete!)
3.  Do. The verb “do” can perform a variety of functions: Will Katy ride with James to soccer practice?

 To make negatives: I do not care for broccoli. Would she prefer to ride with Emily instead?
 To ask questions: Do you like broccoli?
 To show emphasis: I do you want you to eat your broccoli. 4.  Shall, should.
 To stand for a main verb: Sam like broccoli more than
Carmen does. Shall I set the table now?

You should wait a little longer.

5.  Must.
Modal helping verbs
You really must see a doctor about that nasty cut.
Modal helping verbs help “modify” the main verb so that is
changes the meaning somewhat. They help express possibility or A few points to remember about helping verbs.
necessity.
 Not every sentence has or needs a helping verb.
Here are the modal verbs:  Any time you see a verb ending in “ing”, a helping verb
usually accompanies it.
1.  Can, could.
 Sometimes other words separate the helping verb and main
verb in the sentence. The word “not” is an example. Sarah
I can’t reach the top shelf.
couldn’t run as fast as Beth. Here the word “not”
separates the helping verb “could” from the main verb
You could try using a stepladder. “run.”
2.  May, might.

The bus may arrive on time this morning.

It might be full of rowdy passengers, though.

3.  Will, would.

The Action Verb  One of his duties is attending meetings.
 The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the
Recognize an action verb when you see one. gerund.
 One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.
Explode! Scream! Sneeze! Type! Kick! What are these words
doing? They are expressing action, something that a person, c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb
animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a result, we call these comes after a preposition:
words action verbs. Look at the examples below:
 Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
In the library and at church, Michele giggles inappropriately.  She is good at painting.
 They're keen on windsurfing.
 She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
Giggling is something that Michele can do.
 We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
 My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
Because of the spicy Jamaican pepper, David reached for his glass
of iced tea.
This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g.
in spite of, there's no point in..:

 There's no point in waiting.

THE GERUND
 In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.

This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a
reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. verb + preposition/adverb
However it is useful to understand the difference between the two.
The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it
Example:
looks like a verb), so it can be used:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put
off, to keep on:
a. as the subject of the sentence:
 I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
 Eating people is wrong.
 When are you going to give up smoking?
 Hunting tigers is dangerous.
 She always puts off going to the dentist.
 Flying makes me nervous.
 He kept on asking for money.

b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':

NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:
include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive:
- to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to.  She couldn't help falling in love with him.
It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases,  I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
as it must be followed by a gerund:  It's no use/good trying to escape.
 It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the
 We are looking forward to seeing you. train.
 I am used to waiting for buses.
 She didn't really take to studying English.

It is possible to check whether 'to� is a preposition or part of a

to-infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it
Complements
is a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:
Since this page is about the completers of thoughts, it is
appropriate to include a brief description of complements. A
 I am accustomed to it (the cold).
complement (notice the spelling of the word) is any word or
 I am accustomed to being cold.
phrase that completes the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb.
As you will see, the terminology describing predicates and
e. in compound nouns
complements can overlap and be a bit confusing. Students are
probably wise to learn one set of terms, not both.
Example:
 A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an
 a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train- adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the
spotting subject.
o A glacier is a huge body of ice.
It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous o Glaciers are beautiful and potentially dangerous at the
verb. same time.
o This glacier is not yet fully formed. (verb form acting as
Example: an adjective, a participle)

 the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in. Adjective complements are also called predicate
adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate
f. after the expressions: nouns or predicate nominatives. See predicates, above.
  An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct Common nouns are further classified into: sentence or are part of
object. It can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a a title). It is a common
noun or adjective.  Abstract nouns – things you cannot see mistake to capitalize a
o The convention named Dogbreath Vice President to or touch (e.g., bravery, joy) common noun that is an
keep him happy. (The noun "Vice President"  Collective nouns – words to describe important word in a
complements the direct object "Dogbreath"; the groups (e.g., team, choir)
adjective "happy" complements the object "him.") sentence. 
 Compound nouns – nouns made up of
o The clown got the children too excited. (The participle more than one word (e.g., court-
"excited" complements the object "children.") martial, pickpocket, water bottle)  The corporal
 A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb. (See  Concrete nouns – things you can see or disobeyed a
above.) touch (e.g., tree, cloud) direct Order.
o Granny left Raoul all her money. (Both "money" [the  Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) –
direct object] and "Raoul" [the indirect object] are said things you cannot count (e.g., food, (order is a
to be the verb complements of this sentence.) music) common noun –
 Gender-specific nouns – words which no capital
are definitely male or female (e.g., letter) 
vixen, actress)
Common Nouns    Verbal nouns (gerunds) – nouns that
represent actions (e.g., running,
 It is the largest
Church in
  guessing)
A common noun is the word used for a class of Birmingham.
person, place or thing.  
Proper Nouns (church is a
Examples: Below are some common noun –
common errors related A proper noun is the name of a person, place no capital
to nouns: or thing (i.e., its own name). A proper noun letter) 
 Car
 Man always starts with a capital letter.
 Bridge NO CAPITAL LETTERS This is covered more in
 Town FOR COMMON NOUNS Examples: the lesson Capital
 Water Letters for Proper
 Metal  Michael 
Common nouns do not Nouns but Not Common
 Ammonia  Africa
start with capital letters Nouns.
 Peking
(unless they start a
 Dayton Peace Accord
  United Nations ONLY CAPITALIZE THE The big question with collective nouns is Case.
 The Tower of London PRINCIPAL WORDS IN whether they should be treated as singular or
 Uncle George TITLES plural. The answer is: They can be treated as SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
singular or plural depending on the sense of
(Uncle is written with a capital letter
When names contain your sentence. This is covered in more depth in Writers are sometimes
because it is part of his name.)
words such as the, of, the lesson Collective Nouns – Singular or unsure whether to treat
an or in, these words Plural? and in the Beware section on the right a collective noun as
 My favourite auntie is Auntie Sally. 
are not usually given of this page. singular or plural. In
(In this example, the first auntie is a capital letters. fact, a collective noun
common noun, but the second Auntie Pronouns can be singular or plural
is part of a proper noun.)   I must visit the depending on the sense
Tower of
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. of the sentence.
London.
 The Red Lion
Pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech  That team is the
(of is not a worst in the
See also: Capital Letters for Proprer Nouns but which are: adjectives, adverbs
principal word – league.
Not Common Nouns conjunctions, interjections, nouns,
no capital
letter)  prepositions, pronouns and verbs. (team treated
Collective Nouns as singular)
  Have you seen Even though they are classified as a different
A collective noun is the word used for a group Day of the part of speech to nouns, pronouns are nouns.  The team are
of people or things. Jackal? They always play the role of a noun in a not
sentence. communicating
Examples: (of and the are amongst
not principal  James is the first choice for the post. themselves.
 Choir words – no He has applied for it twice already.
 Team capital letters) (team treated
 Jury (He is a pronoun. In this example, it as plural)
 Shoal  This is called Title Case replaces the proper noun James.)
 Cabinet (of ministers) (It is a pronoun. Here, it replaces the When the group is
and is covered more in
 Regiment considered as one unit,
Capital Letters - Title common noun post.)  
 it is singular. When the principal word
 Some / Who / This individuals of the group Compound Nouns clip
are considered, it is
(The term pronoun covers lots of plural.  Forget-me-nots
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two
words, and all three words above are
or more words. Some compound nouns are
classified as pronouns. There is whole This is covered in the
hyphenated. Some are not, and some combine
section dedicated to pronouns.) (no principal
lesson Collective Nouns their words to form a single word. (This is
word, so add s
- Singular or Plural?. covered in the lesson Hyphens in Compound
Verbal Nouns  Nouns.)
to the end)

FORMING THE PLURAL

Verbal nouns (also called gerunds) are formed OF COMPOUND NOUNS Words like spoonful,
Examples:
from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type of plateful and cupful are
common noun.  exceptions to this rule.
To form the plural of a  Mother-in-law
They form their plurals
compound noun,  Board of members
 I love swimming. by adding an s to the
pluralize the principal  Court-martial
end, even though the
word in the compound.  Forget-me-not
(swimming – the name of an activity; it principal words are
When there is no  Manservant
is formed from the verb to swim.) spoon, plate, and cup.
obvious principal word,  Pickpocket
add s (or es) to the end  Paper-clip
 Lateral thinking is required to solve This is covered more in
this problem. of the compound. 
the lesson Compound
Nouns - Forming Plurals.
(thinking – the name of an activity; it is  Mothers-in-law
formed from the verb to think.)  
Verbal nouns are different to other nouns,
(pluralize the
because they can take an object or be modified
principal word
with an adverb.
mother) 

 I love swimming this lake.

  Paper-clips
 Thinking laterally is required to solve
this problem.
(pluralize the
 We can use some and any with countable nouns:
Countable Nouns  I've got some dollars.
 Have you got any pens?
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can
count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
 I've got a few dollars.
 dog, cat, animal, man, person  I haven't got many pens.
 bottle, box, litre
 coin, note, dollar Forming the possessive
 cup, plate, fork
 table, chair, suitcase, bag
The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups
of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is
Countable nouns can be singular or plural: one of the relationships it expresses :
 My dog is playing.  John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)
 My dogs are hungry.  It is John's car.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:  

 A dog is an animal.  America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)
 They are America's gold reserves.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like
a/the/my/this with it: It can also express other relationships, for example:
 I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
where someone works or studies or spends time:
 Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
 John goes to this school. This is John's school.
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:  John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

 I like oranges.
a family relationship:
 Bottles can break.
  John's mother a day's work For God's sake!
 The Queen's daughter
a fortnight's holiday a pound's worth of apples.
qualities:
a month's pay the water's edge
 John's patience.
 The politician's hypocrisy. today's newspaper a stone's throw away (= very near)

Form in a year's time at death's door (= very ill)

To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.   in my mind's eye (= in my imagination)
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an
apostrophe).
The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches
and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.
For names ending in -s:
Examples:
In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is
possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common. e.g. the grocer's the doctor's the vet's
Thomas's book, James's shop.
the newsagent's the chemist's Smith's
Examples
the dentist's Tommy Tucker's Luigi's

 The car of John = John's car. Saint Mary's Saint James's

 The room of the girls = The girls' room.
 Clothes for men = Men's clothes.
 The sister of Charles = Charles' sister. 1. Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
 The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat. 2. I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
3. Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?
There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is
used:

Time expressions Other expressions

 The Rules of Regular and Irregular Plurals echo echoes logo logos
For nouns ending in s, x, z, ch or
For most nouns, just add -s sh, add -es banjo banjoes patio patios

Singular Plural Singular Plural photo photos

The plural of many words ending in

hand hands box boxes piano pianos
o can be spelt with -s or -es.

rabbit rabbits pitch pitches radio radios

key keys wish wishes     

clock clocks boss bosses For some words ending in f, However, for some words
change the f to a v and add ending in f, just add -s
football footballs buzz buzzes
-es
Singular Plural Singular Plural
door doors glass glasses
half halves chef chefs
    
loaf loaves cliff cliffs
However, for some words
For some words ending in o,
ending in o, just add -s elf elves ref refs
add -es
Singular Plural Singular Plural leaf leaves roof roofs

potato potatoes cello cellos self selves The plural of some nouns ending in
f can be spelt using either variation.
tomato tomatoes disco discos shelf shelves

hero heroes hairdo hairdos thief thieves

 wolf wolves Singular Plural Singular Plural

     fish fish person people

sheep sheep child children

deer deer ox oxen

For common nouns that end

For some nouns ending in tuna tuna foot feet
ife, change the f to a v and with consonant + y, change the
then add -s y to an i and then add -es
salmon salmon tooth teeth

Singular Plural Singular Plural

trout trout goose geese

wife wives poppy poppies

    mouse mice

life lives fly flies

    louse lice

knife knives penny pennies

man men

spy spies

nappy nappies
Personal Pronouns
sty sties
Personal pronoun describes a particular person or thing or group.
    
 
For some nouns, change other
Some nouns are the same in
both singular and plural letters or just change the word Personal pronoun describes the person speaking (I, me, we, us), the
from completely! person spoken to (you), or the person or thing spoken about (he,
she, it, they, him, her, them).
Example.          I met him yesterday.
He helps poor.          He gave her a gift.
         Did you go to home?
The pronoun “he” in above sentence describes a person who helps
poor.

 
Possessive Pronouns
Use of Personal Pronouns.
Possessive Pronoun indicates close possession or ownership or
relationship of a thing/person to another thing/person.
Personal Pronoun e.g. yours, mine, his,  hers, ours, theirs, hers,
Namber Person
Subject Object
 
1st Person I Me
Example.
Singular 2nd Person You You
This book is mine.
3rd Person He, She, It Him, Her, It
The pronoun “mine” describes the relationship between book and a
1st Person We Us
person (me) who possesses this book or who is the owner of this
book.
Plural 2nd Person You You
 
3rd Person They Them

Namber Person Possessive Pronoun

Examples. 1st Person Mine
         She is intelligent
         They are playing chess. Singular 2nd Person Yours
         He sent me a letter.
         It is raining. 3rd Person Hers, his, its
         We love our country.
         The teacher appreciated them. Plural 1st Person Ours
 2nd Person Yours

3rd Person Theirs

Examples.
        That car is hers.
        Your book is old. Mine is new. Reflexive Pronoun.
        The pen on the table is mine.
        The smallest cup is yours.
 
        The voice is hers.
        The car is ours not theirs.
Reflexive pronoun describes noun when subject’s action affects the
        I have lost my camera. May I use yours?
subject itself.
        They received your letter. Did you received theirs.
e.g himself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves, itself  are
reflexive pronouns.
 
 
Note: Possessive adjectives (my, her, your) may be confused with
possessive pronouns. Possessive adjective modifies noun in terms
Reflexive pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they
of possession. Both possessive adjective and possessive show
require an interaction between the subject and an object.
possession or ownership, but possessive adjective is used (with
noun) to modify the noun while Possessive pronoun is used instead
 
(in place of) a noun.

Examples. Namber Person Subject Reflive Pronoun

1st Person I Myself
This is my book. (Possessive adjective: “my” modifies the noun
Singular 2nd Person You Yourself
“book”)
This book is mine. (Possessive pronoun: “mine” is used instead of 3rd Person He, she, it Himself, Herself, Itself
noun “to whom the book belongs”)
 1st Person We Ourselves  Examples. (Intensive Pronouns)
I did it myself. OR. I myself did it. She herself washed the clothes.
Plural 2nd Person You Yourselves

3rd Person They Themselves

Definition.  An antecedent is the word or group of words to which a

Examples. pronoun refers.  One way to look at this is:  A pronoun is a form of
shorthand that we use instead of repeating a certain word or group of
        I looked at myself in the mirror.
words; the word or phrase that the pronoun replaces is a duplicate of
        You should think about yourself. the word or phrase that is the pronoun's antecedent.
        They prepared themselves for completion.
        She pleases herself by think that she will win the prize. EXAMPLE:    We may write "Our company makes commitments, and our
        He bought a car for himself. company follows through on commitments" as "Our company makes
        He locked himself in the room. commitments, and it follows through on them."  The pronouns it and
        He who loves only himself is a selfish. them represent, respectively, company and commitments.  The
antecedent of it is company, and the antecedent of them  is
commitments. 
 
            Every pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and
Note: Reflexive noun can also be used to give more emphasis on gender.
subject or object. If a reflexive pronoun is used to give more             All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and
emphasis on a subject or an object, it is called “Intensive gender.*
Pronoun”. Usage and function of intensive pronoun are different
Singular antecedents such as man, person, customer, employee,
from that of reflexive pronoun.
everybody, one, anyone, and each are referred to by a singular pronoun.

              Each of these ideas has its merits.

            Any student who wants to change a course must first consult his
For example, she herself started to think about herself. or her advisor.
            Everyone with an expense account must present receipts for all
of his or her expenses.
            As a person grows up, he or she must assume more
In the above sentence the first “herself” is used as intensive
responsibility.
pronoun while the second “herself” is used as reflexive pronoun.
See the following examples of intensive pronouns. Two or more antecedents joined by and are referred to by a plural
pronoun.
            Mr. Jones and his assistant are examining their options.
 
With two or more antecedents joined by or or nor, the pronoun agrees
with the nearer antecedent.

            Neither the package nor the letters reached their destination. 
(Pronoun agrees with letters.)
ADVERBS: How adverbs are formed
[NOTE:  Such constructions often become awkward.  Consider:  "Neither
the employees nor the boss has abandoned his position in the dispute." 
Rules
Rephrasing is the answer:  "The employees have not abandoned their
position in the dispute; neither has the boss."] 1. In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to an
adjective:
Collective nouns are referred to by singular or plural pronouns,
depending upon whether the sense of the collective noun is singular or
plural. Adjective Adverb

            The committee has submitted its proposals.  (The committee cheap cheaply
acts as a singular unit – it)
            The group have been arguing among themselves.  (The sense is
quick quickly
"group members have been arguing"; the sense is plural.) slow slowly

[NOTE:  The verb is often a clue to the appropriate pronoun.  Above, Examples:
"has" treats  "the committee" as a singular entity; hence, the proper
pronoun is singular.  In the second sentence, "have" treats "the group"  Time goes quickly.
as a plural; hence, themselves is the appropriate plural pronoun.  This
 He walked slowly to the door.
latter sentence would be better if rewritten:  "Group members have been
arguing among themselves."  Note that the verb and pronoun must be  She certainly had an interesting life.
consistent when both relate to the same noun.]  He carefully picked up the sleeping child.

Rules

If the adjective ends in '-y', replace the 'y' with 'i' and add '-ly':

Adjective Adverb
easy easily hard straight
angry angrily high wrong
happy happily
lucky luckily Compare:

If the adjective ends in -'able', '-ible', or '-le', replace the '-e' with  It is a fast car.
'-y':  He drives very fast.
 This is a hard exercise.
 He works hard.
Adjective Adverb
 We saw many high buildings.
 The bird flew high in the sky.
probable probably
terrible terribly 3. 'Well' and 'good'
gentle gently
'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good'.
If the adjective ends in '-ic', add '-ally':
Examples:
Adjective Adverb
 He is a good student.
 He studies well.
basic basically
 She is a good pianist.
economic economically
 She plays the piano well.
tragic tragically  They are good swimmers.
 They swim well.
Note: Exception: public - publicly

2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:

Adjective and Adverb

Typical adjective endings
Some adjectives can be identified by their endings. Typical
early late adjective endings include:
fast near
 1. -able/-ible understandable, capable, readable, incredible Noun Adjective
2. -al mathematical, functional, influential, chemical star starry
3. -ful beautiful, bashful, helpful, harmful wind windy
4. -ic artistic, manic, rustic, terrific
5. -ive submissive, intuitive, inventive, attractive From verbs:
6. -less sleeveless, hopeless, groundless, restless
7. -ous gorgeous, dangerous, adventurous, fabulous Verb Adjective
enjoy enjoyable
Sometimes when adding these endings changes have to be made.
Here are some rules for forming adjectives and their exceptions: help helpful
obey obedient
Add Exceptions Word Adjective play playful
Nature Natural talk talkative
-al If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it
Function Functional
Ice Icy Or even from other adjectives:
-y If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it
Oil Oily
If ending with a ‘y‘, replace with an Beauty Beautiful Adjective Adjective
-ful comic comical
‘i‘ Peace Peaceful
-ous/- Mystery Mysterious correct corrective
If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it elder elderly
ious Danger Dangerous
History Historic red reddish
-ic If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it
Rust Rustic sick sickly

Forming adjectives from nouns and verbs

Adjectives can be formed from different words. They can be
formed from nouns: Adjectives and Adverbs
More Grammar Rules:

Noun Adjective
accident accidental
danger dangerous
length long
Definitions: Rule 2

Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They may A special -ly rule applies when four of the senses - taste, smell,
come before the word they describe (That is a cute puppy.) or they look, feel - are the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the
may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.). question how to determine if -ly should be attached. Instead, ask if
the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the -ly.
Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and
pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A Examples:
word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where. Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Do the roses actively smell with noses? No, so no -ly.
The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that The woman looked angry/angrily.
answer the question how, so focus on these. Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her
appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no -ly.
Rule 1 The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the woman did actively look with eyes, so the -ly is added.
Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it She feels bad/badly about the news.
can have an -ly added to it, place it there. She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.

Examples: Good vs. Well

She thinks slow/slowly.
She thinks how? slowly. Rule 3
She is a slow/slowly thinker.
Slow does not answer how, so no -ly is attached. Slow is an
The word good is an adjective, while well is an adverb.
adjective here.
She thinks fast/fastly.
Examples:
Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never
You did a good job.
has an -ly attached to it.
Good describes the job.
We performed bad/badly.
You did the job well.
Badly describes how we performed.
Well answers how.
You smell good today.
Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow
with the adjective. You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with a nose here, so follow with the Rule 6
adverb.
Never drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparison
Rule 4 form.

When referring to health, use well rather than good. Correct:

She spoke quickly.
Example: She spoke more quickly than he did.
I do not feel well. You do not look well today.
Incorrect:
Note: You may use good with feel when you are not referring to She spoke quicker than he did.
health.
Correct:
Example: Talk quietly.
I feel good about my decision to learn Spanish. Talk more quietly.

Rule 5 Incorrect:
Talk quieter.
A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using
the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing Rule 7
we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things,
we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women." When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are
To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they
"She is the poorest of them all." are pronouns.

Examples: Examples:
One Two Three or More This house is for sale.
sweet sweeter sweetest This is an adjective here.
bad worse worst This is for sale.
efficient* more efficient* most efficient* This is a pronoun here.
*Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or
-est. Use more or most in front of the words.
Rule 8

This and that are singular, whether they are being used as
adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while
that points to something "over there."

Examples:

This dog is mine.

That dog is hers.
This is mine.
That is hers.

Rule 9

These and those are plural, whether they are being used as
adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while
those points to something "over there."

Examples:
These babies have been smiling for a long time.
These are mine. Those babies have been crying for hours. Those
are yours.

Rule 10

Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question

when.

Examples:
I would rather go skiing than rock climbing.
First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing.