GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES

 Grammatical categories refer to classes of words in English, traditionally called parts

of speech. These are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, articles,
prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.
 Traditionally, can be classified into major (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and minor
parts of speech. Major parts of speech have distinct referents while minor parts do not.
 Traditional definitions, though, lack in scientific rigor as bases of classification are
inconsistent. Some are defined notionally (nouns as names of persons, places or things)
while others, functionally (adjective modifies a noun). Definitions of adverbs are also
illogical as it is circular (adverb modifies another adverb). Words classified together also
behave differently like the conjunction that, which does not connect in the same way as
and or if…then.
 These can be traced to the first grammars of English in late 18th century, following
publication of first monolingual English dictionary, mere translations from Greek and
Latin meant for rhetoric.
 Modern grammar books use the concept of distribution – pattern of occurrence and non-
occurrence – as defining criterion, making “parts of speech” distribution classes. For
example, nouns can come after a determiner, as a plural or possessive, before a verb
phrase as a subject, after a transitive verb as its object or complement, after a
preposition as its object and after a noun phrase as an appositive.
 Other terms used include form class or word class but distribution class is preferred.
The more general term is grammatical category serving a particular grammatical
function.
 Grammatical categories like nouns, verbs and adjectives where speakers keep adding to
them are called open sets. They are also known as content words (contentives or lexical
categories) as they have particular semantic referents.
 Grammatical categories where speakers do not or very rarely create more words in the
same classification are closed sets, also known as function words (functors or
functional categories).
 When a word falls under different distribution classes like a noun class being mixed with
some words considered as adjectives, it is known as overlapping sets or multiple set
membership. What is important is to establish lexemes with same pronunciation and
spelling.
 Lexemes – correspondence between a word form and a limited set of closely related
meanings
 As language evolves, words tend to get used in different ways leading to varying
classifications like author being used a verb, hopefully as a sentence adverb, read as a
noun and –ly words like kingly being used as an adjective.
 For certain words, knowing their classification can help pronounce them correctly like
the word consummate.
DETERMINERS
 Core English sentence is NP+VP, with NP as subject and VP as predicate. Usually
(predeterminer)+NP+VP or (predeterminer)+determiner+NP+VP
 Determiners are positioned before nouns, and express degrees of definiteness, position
of nouns relative to speaker or text or quantity.
 The different types of determiners are article, demonstrative, specifier, quantifier,
negative or possessive
 Article:
- art1 or indefinite – a/an for singular nouns (preferred in signifying one and each),
zero for plural; used for item not yet commonly known like when it is mentioned in
discourse for first time; used only by count nouns with the exception of the idiom get
an education.
- art2 or nondefinite – some with singular noun for entity identifiable to some extent
but prefer not to name; also usable in plurals depending on context in writing and
intonation in speech; can emphasize special attribute or mean “a degree of”
- art3 or definite – the – used when certain about identity of what noun refers to,
when it has already been mentioned or a particular instance
 Demonstrative
- near or d1 - this, these – when noun is nearer than hearer or more recently
mentioned in text; single out entity from set; these as a pronoun for plural, non-
personal noun
- far or d2 – that, those – not near you, either nearer to hearer or far from both; not
recently mentioned in text; distance from what noun refers to
 Specifier – such followed immediately by a noun; determiner, not adjective, due to
closeness of such to demonstrative different behavior from adjectives
 Quantifiers
- any, each, every, either, neither with a singular noun (each gallon); any with
plural has become widespread (any questions?); singular still follows when any is
modified (just about any singer)
- all, some, both, few, many, more with plural noun (Some therapists); when used
singly, along with each, can be ellipses (All [persons] are free); all can be a mass
noun with singular verb (all is calm)
- less, much with noncount noun (less attention); singly as ellipses (Less is more)
 Negative – no, with singular noun as “not one” (no person) or with plural as “not any”
(no trees)
 Possessive – see section in Case
Category Singular Plural
indefinite article a, an (zero)
nondefinite article some some
definite article the the
demonstrative this, that these, those
specifier such such
quantifier any, each, every, either, all, some, both, few, many,
neither more
less, much
negative no no
 Indefinite determiner depends on initial sound, a for initial consonants (a circle), an
for initial vowels (an easy chair)
 Choose determiner very carefully as it carries considerable semantic load; absence or
wrong use can lead to controversial or faulty interpretation
 Noun must first be introduced by indefinite or nondefinite before definite can be used
 Distinguish between nouns that do not take a determiner (evolution), may take a
determiner with slight change in meaning ([a] philosophy) and require a determiner
(a/the book).
 Only count nouns use indefinite articles. To determine, count using cardinal numbers,
with rapport as an exception which may use a.
 Some acronyms and abbreviations need a determiner (the UN) while some don’t
(UNESCO)
 Some proper nouns have determiners as part of the entire construction (the Philippines)
 These don’t use articles: countries (if singular), continents, languages, meals, names of
persons (if singular), professions, proper names of stores, sports and games, titles used
before names, years
 These always use the: nationalities similar to adjective form (the Chinese), title
without names (the Queen), years in groups (the ‘60s)
 Some nouns have different meanings depending on use of indefinite or definite article (a
following, the following)
 Determiner also signals concrete or specific meaning
 Nouns with concrete sense take a determiner while those with abstract sense do not
 When referring to particular type of noun, the is used.
 Superlative forms always take the definite article the
 Half, quite, rather, such and what only followed by indefinite article. “There’s no
such thing as” is the exception
 The may appear after all for definite meaning
 The appears after double, half, twice and similar construction of quantities
 Some nouns that appear in idioms have determiners omitted
 Any, either, no and neither only used according to sense they convey
 Few, several and many for count nouns; little, much and some for noncount nouns
 NP joined by and, delete second determiner if it refers to same person
 Predeterminers may occur before determiner in noun phrase with plural noun; some
have articles (a little of, a few of) while some do not (some of, many of); verb agrees in
number with noun, not predeterminer
 Both of used before pronouns, both for all other parts of sentence
 Majority as a predeterminer must be used with an article
  Many of (predeterminer), many (quantifier with plural noun), many a (quantifier with
singular noun but with plural sense); a few of (predeterminer), a few (quantifying
predeterminer), few (quantifier)
 One of and none of are not predeterminers but indefinite pronouns with prepositional
phrases
 Only one predeterminer can occur before a determiner and only one determiner can
occur in a noun phrase
 A number of (predeterminer) is different from the number of (noun
phrase+prepositional phrase)

NOUNS
 Nouns – notionally defined as “names of persons, places or things”; linguistic approach
is to describe its forms, functions and possible positions in basic or core sentences
- occurs with determiner before it (except proper nouns and some common nouns)
- has singular and plural forms (except noncounts and nouns used as modifiers)
- has a possessive form
- may function
 subject of a verb e.g. Time flies
 object of transitive verbs e.g. Faith can move mountains.
 complement of transitive verbs e.g. We call them heroes.
 complement of a linking verb e.g. Destiny is not chance.
 object of a preposition e.g. Demitasse is after dinner.
 nominative of address e.g. Buyers, beware!
 appositive e.g. Herning Brendt, the alchemist, discovered…
 Nouns are either proper or common. Proper nouns are specific names and capitalized.
All others are common with some types such as:
- According to grammatical number
 collective nouns – persons (jury, committee), animals (herd, school), things
(cluster, convoy); singular form may be treated as singular or plural depending
on sense
 count nouns – box, package, truck, house; has plural forms
 noncount or mass nouns – cloth, coffee, water, wheat, flour; no plural form
except in special cases
- According to reference
 abstract nouns – imagination, anger, fear, love, honesty; refer to concepts,
emotions, etc.
 concrete nouns – thunder, earthquake, fragrance, sweetness; phenomena
experienced through senses
Derivations
 Adjective-Noun Derivations – transformed through derivational suffixes
- -age – short-shortage
 - -ance, -ence – brilliant-brilliance, absent-absence
- -cy – normal-normalcy
- -dom (some with stem change) – wise-wisdom
- -ion, -tion – cautious-caution, perfect-perfection
- -ism – modern-modernism
- -ist – extreme-extremist
- -ness (most common) – polite-politeness
- -ry – brave-bravery
- -th (some with stem change) – deep-depth, long-length
- -y, -ty, -ity – brief-brevity, cruel-cruelty
 Watch out for incorrect adjective-noun derivations like appropriate-appropriateness and
not appropriacy
 Some have different noun derivations like adequate becoming adequateness or adequacy
 Some adjectives, despite having homographs with different meanings, do not have noun
derivations.
 Some are not derivations but are sourced from same root like gratitude and grateful
coming from gratus
 Verb-Noun Derivation
- -age – marry-marriage
- -al – approve-approval
- -ance, -ence – perform-performance
- -ation – excite-excitation
- -ience – obey-obedience
- -ion, -ation, -ition, -ision – deduct-deduction
- -is – analyze-analysis
- -ment – excite-excitement
- -t – complain-complaint
- change in vowel and consonant – choose-choice
 Nominal agentive form (active agentive) – denote doer of action
- -art, -ard – brag-braggart
- -ent – study-student
- -er, -or (most common) – teach-teacher
- -ist – copy-copyist
- -man – sell-salesman
- zero, no change – cook-cook
 There are agentive forms used by institutions. These should only be used in their
respective, limited contexts.
- assistor – assists in handling and counting of ballots
- boardsman – handles lighting controls for theater production
- commentator – talks about event as it unfolds
- fetcher – picks up someone from a place
- presentor – presents an award; presents a cultural activity produced by another
- left turner – driver turning left at intersection
 - requestor – makes official request
- trainer – trains athletes or animals; trains provisional employees
- trainor – handles professional training workshop for personnel
- valet parker – parks customer’s vehicles
 Some have different meanings despite deriving from the same verb
(documentarian/documentarist – video documentaries; documentalist – official
documents)
 Be careful with making own agentive forms (salesperson, sales clerk instead of
markerter)
 Be sensitive to preference to use of male and female forms of agentive
 Agentive form that is confusing is that of tally
- tallyman – sells on credit, door-to-door
- tallywoman – lives with a man with whom she is not married; mistress
- tallier – recommended form
 Nominal patient form (passive agentive) – denotes person receiving the action;
normally uses –ee suffix
- designate – designee
- donate – donee
- examine – examinee
- nominate – nominee
- pay – payee
- refer – referee (one to whom something is referred
- train – trainee
- tutor – tutee
 Not all –ee and –er forms are not patient or agent, respectively (attendee, contractor,
escapee, retiree, reviewee)
 Not all agentive forms have corresponding patient forms, vice versa (appointee, awardee,
detainee, editor, giver, teacher)
 A few agentive-patient derivations use other suffixes (analyst - analysand)
 A few noun derivations may be variants (differ in form but not in meaning)
Noun Transformations
 Concrete-Abstract – concrete nouns into abstract nouns through inflectional suffixes
- -hood – man > manhood
- -ship – friend > friendship
- -ice – coward > cowardice
- vice versa (devil > devilry/deviltry)
 Person-Position/Territory – title derived from position or territory
- archbishop – archbishopric
- bishop – bishopric
- duke – dukedom/duchy
- king – kingdom
 - official – officialdom
 Nominal agentives – formed from nouns to denote practitioner in discipline
- -an, -ian, -ean – history > historian, phonetics > phonetician
- -er – drum >drummer, trumpet > trumpeter
- -ist – piano > pianist, guitar > guitarist
- Some titles not easily predictable (children > pediatrician, cancer > oncologist, nose >
rhinologist, heart > cardiologist, skin > dermatologist)
 Names referring to place of origin – place of origin, nationality, citizenship using –i, -n,
-an or –ian
- Countries or regions – Afghanistan > Afghan, Denmark > Dane, England > English,
Philippine > Filipino, Catalonia > Catalan
- Cities – Glasgow > Glaswegian, Liverpool > Liverpudlian, Manila > Manileno,
Moscow > Muscovite, Paris > Parisian

GENDER
 Gender – refers to biological sex of noun’s reference; masculine or feminine for
animate nouns; neuter for inanimate nouns; pronoun must agree in number and
gender with noun antecedent
 Basic or marked form is usually masculine; feminine form constructed according to
noun’s idiosyncracy
 Some feminine nouns constructed by adding –ess
- baron – baroness
- count – countess
- giant – giantess
- heir – heiress
- lion – lioness
 Some replace masculine agentive suffix –or/-er with –ress
- actor – actress
- conductor – conductress
- director – directress
- instructor – instructress
- janitor – janitress
 Some feminine derivations cannot be used as feminine counterparts (governor-governess,
master-mistress)
 Some undergo slight stem change (duke-duchess, emperor-empress)
 A few Latin forms also used (alumnus-alumna, emeritus-emerita)
 Some masculine-feminine pairs are idiomatic
- bride – groom
- bartender – barmaid
- bull – cow
- husband – wife
- king – queen
  Some are transformed to gender-neutral ones, in response to “sexism” in language
(chairman-chairperson, salesman-salesperson, policeman-police officer)
 Recent development is use of actor agentive form as generic; male actor and female
actor
 Some are traditionally gender-specific; not yet developed other-gender counterparts
(bellboy, blacksmith, doorman, messenger, sailor)
 Some occupational titles replaced by gender-neutral ones (steward/stewardess-flight
attendant, roomboy/chambermaid-room attendant)
 Some associated with particular sex that other-gender forms need modifying words
(doctor-lady doctor, nurse-male nurse)

NUMBER
 Grammatical number refers to meanings of singular and plural as signaled in noun
and agreement rules (determiner, verb); quantity of referent, although some are plural
but grammatically singular (collective nouns) or noun does not have plural affix
(noncount nouns)
 Noun forms in plural can be regular or irregular
Regular Plurals
 Most common regular plural form constructed by adding –s (fact-facts, lie-lies)
 Regular nouns ending in sounds s, sh, ch or z take –es for plural (batch-batches, buzz-
buzzes)
 Nouns ending in –se get only –s but syllable is still –es (hose-hoses, rose-roses)
 Regular nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel end in –s (cameo-cameos, cuckoo-
cuckoos, radio-radios, rodeo-rodeos, studio-studios)
 Nouns ending in o preceded by consonant are tricky; can either take –es (echo-echoes,
hero-heroes), just –s (albino-albinos, armadillo-armadillos, hippo-hippos, photo-photos,
piano-pianos) or can have either –s or –es (buffalo-buffalo/es, domino-dominos/es,
mango-mangos/es, mosquito-mosquitos/es, zero-zeros/es); best to check latest dictionary
(e.g. hero, a sandwich filled with cold cuts, pluralized as heros)
 Ending in –ix or –ex undergo stem change and take the form –ices (apex-apices,
appendix-appendices, index-indices, vertex-vertices, vortex-vortices)
 Ending in –f and –fe, undergo stem change and take –ves (calf-calves, elf-elves, knife-
knives, wife-wives, half-halves); some are exceptions and only take –s (gulf-gulfs, chief-
chiefs, belief-beliefs, cliff-cliffs, cuff-cuffs) while others take both –s and –ves (dwarf-
dwarfs/ves, hoof-hoofs/ves, scarf-scarfs/ves)
 Nouns ending in –y preceded by consonant replace –y with –ies (ally-allies, baby-babies,
country-countries, gypsy-gypsies, lady-ladies)
 Ending in –y and preceded by a vowel use –s (bay-bays, buoy-buoys, guy-guys, jersey-
jerseys, jockey-jockeys); except obloquy, colloquy and soliloquy (use –ies)
 Proper nouns ending in –y use –s (Mary-Marys, Sally-Sallys)
Irregular Plurals
 Many nouns, especially loan words, have irregular plural forms.
 Anglo-Saxon – brother > brethren, child > children, die > dice, goose > geese, louse >
lice, man > men, mouse > mice, ox > oxen, tooth > teeth, woman > women
 Latin – abacus > abaci, addendum > addenda, agendum > agenda, bacterium > bacteria,
cactus > cacti, colossus > colossi, cicada > cicadae, curriculum > curricula, gymnasium >
gymnasia, radius > radii
- Special case: opus > opera. In Modern English, opus > opuses, musical compositions;
opera > operas, musical theater; bacteria used for a type of bacteria in singular
 Greek – analysis > analyses, automaton > automata, dogma > dogmata, oasis > oases,
trauma > traumata
 French – adieu > adieux, beau > beaux, plateau > plateaux, tableau > tableaux, coup
d’etat > coups d’etat
 Italian – alto > alti, bravo > bravi, graffito > graffiti, dilettante > dilettanti, Mafioso >
Mafiosi
 Hebrew – cherub > cherubim, kibbutz > kibbutzim, seraph > seraphim
 Zero plural affix (singular and plural pronounced and spelled the same) – cod,
moose, elite, regalia, reindeer, salmon, sheep, trout, vermin, wheat, etc.
 Names of nationalities and languages identical to corresponding adjective form
differentiated in sense by grammatical number – plural > people, singular > individual
person, language (Chinese, Japanese, English, French, Irish, Portuguese)
 Nouns with zero affix given regular plural affix in professional usage (fish-fishes, grass-
grasses, rice-rices)
 Two nouns have same spelling but different pronunciation in singular and plural: chassis
([chasi]* in singular; [chasiz]* in plural), corps ([kor] in sing., [korz] in pl.) *replace ch
with the corresponding phonetic symbol for transciption
 Most nouns used as modifiers before another noun take the singular noun (analysis of
errors)
 Some do not have plural forms; always singular (advice, aid, armor, dirt, food, jewelry,
junk, learning, smoke, trash, etc.)
 To indicate plural of a noncount noun, a partitive noun or nominal quantifier is used
with it. (advice > pieces of advice, dust > specks of dust, ink > drops/bottles of ink,
jewelry > pieces of jewelry, paper > sheets of paper, etc.)
 Watch out for noncount nouns that end in –s but are singular (apparatus, civics,
economics, mathematics, news, physics, politics, linguistics, measles, mumps, etc.)
 Some terms have different meanings with different grammatical numbers
- antenna, antennae (insects) – antenna, antennas (electronic equipment)
- interest (charge for borrowed money) – interest, interests (rights, legal shares,
concerns)
- index, indices (indicators of information) – index, indexes (list of important terms in
a book)
- paper, papers – written reports, news – paper, sheets of paper – the material
 - service (general concept) – service, services (act of serving)
- and others
 Some nouns are plural in form and use (antics, assets, barracks, clothes, eyeglasses,
gallows, grounds, lyrics, nuptials, riches, etc.)
 Special cases: insignia – plural in many grammar books, with singular insigne only used
in technical writing, can also be singular with insignias as plural; intelligentsia –
intellectual elite; pant – short for pantaloons, used in fashion magazines and catalogs;
reserves – currency reserves; reserve rarely used as singular; reservations – doubt,
disagreement, but singular reservation used for hesitation, can also be plural of
reservation, act of reserving.
 Words in this group are not counted but those in two parts may be counted using “pair
of” (three pairs of pants, a pair of scissors)
 Some “always plural” seem to have singular forms but only by accident of spelling and
pronunciation (dental brace > neck brace, airport customs > local custom, colored
spectacles > showbiz spectacle, etc.)
 Another special case is crossroads. Singular crossroad is one road that crosses another;
crossroads refers to the intersection
 Election – voting for a particular position; since many positions are at stake, elections is
used.
 Some are always plural but with no explicit plural suffix (aircraft, cattle, people, police)
- People could also be used to mean a race or nation
 Letters, figures, symbols, signs and words referred to as words use –s with an
apostrophe ($’s, 2’s, if’s, or’s, s’s); current editorial practice omit the apostrophe in
numerals and acronyms (‘90s, NGOs, 1990s)
 Titles used with names take idiomatic plural forms. (Mr Aranda > Messrs Aranda,
Doctor Mendoza > Doctors Mendoza); may also pluralize the name instead (Mrs de
Veras, Doctor Mendozas)
 Some have two plurals but are different nouns (brothers (family) - brethren
(congregation), geniuses (persons) – genii (spirits), indexes (books) – indices
(indicators), staffs (personnel, walking stick) – staves (music)
 Names of nationalities pluralized as follows: ending in sibilants remain unchanged
(Chinese, English, Japanese); ending –man take –men (Frenchmen), others regular –s
(Croats, Spaniards, Indonesians; adjective form of nationality nouns can also be plural
(the Dutch, the French, the Malay)
 Compound nouns take plural in principal noun (daughters-in-law, curricula vitae,
passersby, solicitors general, notaries public, etc.) except those ending in –ful; some
plural in both component stems (gentlemen ushers, Knights Templars, women doctors);
some can pluralize either but not both (courts martial/court martials, poets laureate, poet
laureates)
 Nouns denoting quantity used as adjectives or adverbs do not take plural forms when
with numerals (3 thousand, 4 score, 2 dozen)
PRONOUNS
 Pronouns – traditionally defined as words that replace a noun; defined as closed set (all
forms can be listed) of nominals whose referents are established in context (no definite
meaning by themselves); composite of various grammatical morphemes
Classification of Pronouns
 Personal
Subj Obj Pos/Att Pos/Pre
1st pers. (sing) I me my mine
2nd pers. (sing) you you your yours
3rd pers. (sing) he (m), she (f), him (m), her his (m), her (f), his (m), hers (f)
it (n) (f), it (n) its (n)
st
1 pers. (pl) we us our ours
2nd pers. (pl) you you your yours
3rd pers (pl) they them their theirs
- “You” always takes a plural verb; first person plural forms may mean speaker and
associates or may include reader/hearer
 Relative
Subj Obj Pos
Human who whom whose
Non-human which which which
H or non-H that that
 Demonstrative – indicates distance and number (near: this (sing.), these (pl); far: that
(sing), those (pl)). Another one, such, no distance nor number; only pronoun when used
alone, otherwise, determiners
 Interrogative – Eliciting [who (human, subj), whom (human obj), whose (human pos),
what (non-H, subj & obj)]; Selecting [which (subj & obj)]
 Indefinite – Singular [Compound forms (some, any, no, every + one, body, thing);
Simple forms (one, little, much)]; Plural (both, many, few, several, others); Singular or
plural (all, most, some)
 Impersonal – one, used to refer to both genders at the same time
 Distributive – each, either, neither – always singular
 Reflexive – refers back to earlier nominal as object if same as subject or appositive to
emphasize subject – 1st per: myself (sing), ourselves (pl); 2nd per: yourself (sing),
yourselves (pl); 3rd per: himself (m-sing), herself (f-sing), itself (n-sing), themselves (pl)
 Reciprocal – each other, one another – actor to receiver, receiver to actor; different from
reflexive (action to self), reciprocal (action to another)
 Guidelines: do not use them for those; whose instead of which if it is awkward; one
used with caution, replaced by third person singular pronoun in subsequent references;
one instead of generalized you; avoid using one for I or me; reflexive pronoun added to
indicate difficulty of action; pronoun must have clear, unambiguous reference
CASE
 Case – form of noun or pronoun dictated by their function in sentence, or meaning; may
be subjective (nominative), objective (accusative) or possessive (genitive); also
reflexive form for specific semantic and idiomatic functions; difficulties because there no
overt differences between subjective and objective, only in possessive
 Subjective case applies when used as subject of the sentence or complement of be-
verb; objective case when complement/object of transitive verb or preposition;
possessive case when indicating possession
 Old grammars indicate dative case (indirect object) and vocative case (noun of address),
but are the same as objective and subjective so no longer used
Subjective and Objective Cases
 Forms (subj-obj): I-me, you-you, he-him, she-her, it-it, we-us, they-them
 Subject of verbs – must be in subjective case (I and Sam will join the summer camp.);
some in objective case common in informal speech (Mother and him went…) but not
acceptable in formal speech and writing
 Complement (or object) of verb or preposition – objective case is used, traditionally
known as object of the verb (It bothers me) and object of the preposition (…not for
me); also as complement of the phrase to be (…want to be him…)
 Appositive – case should be same as noun it is in apposition to; may be subjective (The
new crimebusters, Atty. Galvez and I, were…) or objective (…selected the new
crimebusters, Atty. Galvez and me.)
 Compound noun phrase – case according to function; John and I (subjective), John and
me (objective)
 Complement with “be” – after conjugated form of verb be, according to structure;
objective if final word, esp. in informal speech (It’s me), sometimes in complex
sentences (It’s me playing the drums) and after to be (Who wants to be me?); subjective
in formal speech (It is I) or if modified by relative clause (It is I who created this.)
 Embedded clause – case dictated by function, not by position in main clause; who and
whoever follow case rules but is in subjective case when began in informal register,
should be differentiated in formal writing; verbs like think, feel, want, like, consider, etc
can have variations in case
 Comparative with “as” or “than” – subjective case since than or as used as
conjunctions (His wife is smarter than he) but modern grammars argue as or than can be
prepositions so accept use of objective case (His wife is smarter than him.); preferably,
subjective for formal academic writing; objective for business letters
 Complement (or object) of prepositions “but” and “like” – recommended to use
objective case in the same vein as except (Nobody but him was able to complete the test.)
Reflexive Case
 Forms (subj-ref) – I-myself, you-yourself(sg), he-himself, she-herself, it-itself, we-
ourselves, you-yourselves(pl), they-themselves
 Refers to complement or object which refers back to subject (We must train ourselves)
 To emphasize noun/prnoun it refers to (I myself handled…)
 To indicate action was done “on one’s own” or “unaided” (She worked out the graphics
herself.)
 Idiomatically dictated by some verbs (It is difficult not to enjoy oneself…)
 Positioned closest to the noun referred to (We discovered that the secretary herself…)
Possessive Case
 Possessive case – denotes a sense of belonging, either actual ownership or in intent; of
and for phrases used more often when object/complement is inanimate or in formal
writing (the symbol of nationhood)
 Generally formed by adding -‘s to singular noun or plural noun not ending in –s
(President’s, women’s)
 Simply apostrophe in plurals ending in –s (presidents’) or singular nouns with more than
one syllable ending in –s (albatross’)
 Proper nouns can end both ways (Charles’ or Charles’s) but only apostrophe is preferred
in formal writing; single-syllable names occur with –‘s. –‘s denote additional syllable.
 Compound nouns add possessive suffix to last element (editor-in-chief’s); compound
nouns joined by conjunction can use in two ways with different meanings (Jack and Jill’s
for joint ownership; Jack’s and Jill’s for separate ownerships)
 When with appositive, the appositive gets the possessive suffix (Mr. Arevalo, the
manager’s, car)
 Some possessive case in proper nouns are not marked (National Teachers College)
 There are two forms of possessive case of personal pronouns: possessive
adjective/attributive and possessive pronoun
 Forms: I-my-mine, you-your-yours, he-his-his, she-her-hers, it-its-(its), we-our-ours,
they, their, theirs; supposed possessive pronoun its is not used with noun instead
supplied (This rule is the college’s)
 Possessives after the Noun – after noun possessed with particle of preceding possessive
noun (the friend of Magda); still carry morpheme –‘s if determiner is indefinite (a friend
of Magda’s); with possessive of, possessive pronoun form is used (a friend of hers)
 Emphatic Possessive – expressed by putting own between possessive noun/pronoun and
noun (Even his own mother…)
 Possessives in Expressions of Time – time phrase as a variant for of or for phrase (Your
salary of/for three months… > your three months’ salary…)
 Possessive Forms with Verbs in “-ing” – transforming sentence to nominal clause use
possessive case of original subjective and replace verb with –ing suffix (Early man’s
coming from Asia…)