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Curs LIMBA ENGLEZA Anul 1 Sem I Gramatica
Curs LIMBA ENGLEZA Anul 1 Sem I Gramatica
Curs LIMBA ENGLEZA Anul 1 Sem I Gramatica
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.
C Domestic animals and many of the larger wild animals have different forms:
bull, cow gander, goose
duck, drake stag, doe
ram, ewe tiger, tigress
stallion, mare dog, bitch
cock, hen lion, lioness
1.3. Plurals
dog, dogs
C Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y and adding
ies:
baby, babies fly, flies
country, countries lady, ladies
Nouns ending in y following a vowel form their plural by adding s:
boy, boys donkey, donkeys
day, days guy, guys
Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add ves. These nouns are calf, half,
knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf:
loaf, loaves
wife, wives
wolf, wolves
Nouns
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
Names of certain creatures do not change in the plural. fish is normally unchanged,
fishes exists but is uncommon. Some types of fish do not normally change in the plural:
Carp pike salmon trout cod plaice squid turbot mackerel but if used
in a plural sense they would take a plural verb. Others add s:
crabs herrings sardines eels lobsters sharks
Deer and sheep do not change: one sheep, two sheep.
The word game, used by sportsmen to mean an animal/animals hunted, is always in
the singular and takes a singular verb.
Collective nouns, crew, family, team etc., can take a singular or plural verb; singular if
we consider the word to mean a single group or unit:
Our team is the best or plural if we take it to mean a number of individuals.
Our team are wearing their new jerseys.
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.
7. scale a) My neighbour has been practising ... for hours.
b) Did you know he could play with a fish . . . . ?
c) The ... of this species of fish are phosphorescent.
d) On top of the Court House one can notice a sculptured ... of Justice.
EXERCISE . Form feminine nouns from the following masculine nouns using the
following suffixes: -ess, -ix, -a, -ine:
Actor, host, shepherd, administrator, sultan, god, lion, prior, hero, prince, tiger,
heir, waiter.
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 deer
stag sow cattle
EXERCISE 39. Substitute synthetic genitive forms for the prepositional genitive forms.
The former are generally used with animate nouns, mainly with persons, with
collective nouns (e.g. government, company), and with certain kinds of inanimate
nouns denoting: a) geographical names (continents, countries, cities, towns); b)
locative nouns denoting regions, heavenly bodies, institutions (e.g. the region's
welfare, the earth's core, the sun's impact, the Club's band); c) temporal nouns (e.g.
yesterday's reception, this year's anniversaries); d) nouns of the type: body, mind,
science, life, treaty, play, book, car, ship etc. (e.g. the play's success, the ship's captain,
science's progress):
1. The new car of his friend is a Fiat 125. 2. What do you know about the climate
of this country? 3. I admired the hats of the ladies. 4. He has been studying the folklore
of Wales for three years. 5. What's the name of the new typist of the manager? 6. This
is the most important museum of/in London. 7. The parents of all the other girls are
present. 8. What are the first signs of spring? 9. These are the best paintings of Turner.
10. He won't say a word about the purpose of his life. 11. The interests of the
Government lie elsewhere. 12. What do you know about the War of a Hundred Years?
13. The future of Africa is in the hand of its own peoples. 14. The blouses of the shop-
girls are the best advertisment. 15. Bob doesn't even know the time-table of his child.
16. Is it possible to track the rays of the sun? 17. He is proud of the performance of his
car on the road. 18. Do you doubt the good intentions of my relatives?
II. ARTICLES
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)
7 Omission of the before home, before church, hospital, prison, school etc.
and before work, sea and town
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.
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.
Zero article is used to express generalities, whole categories and not individual
items.
Children will be children
Clothes do not make the man
Barking dogs seldom bite.
Substance names: Oil is lighter than water; Blood is thicker than water.
With abstract nouns: Love is a noble feeling;
Before human names: Michael, George, Daisy
Names of continents, countries, provinces, regions, counties, towns, cities,
villages: Europe, Africa, Wallachia – exceptions: the Ukraine, the United
States, the Argentine, the Congo.
Months of the year, days of the week
Expressions: from time to time, by means of, at random, by sea, on sale, at
dawn.
2.5. SEMINAR - ARTICLE
EXERCISE 2. Supply the necessary article(s): zero (0), the or a/an, used in their
generic function. Make any necessary changes:
1. . . . verdict has to be unanimous. 2. . . . tiger is larger than . . . lynx. 3.. witness may
tell only what he himself knows to be true. 4. . . . French have good wines. 5. . . .
leopard is a cat. 6. . . . leopard is the fastest cat. 7. He's wasted his life in search of .
. . unusual. 8. You're rather partial to . . . asparagus, and . . . trout. 9. They have a
fine taste in . . . music and . . . literature. 10. The responsibility of. . . parents is
stressed in the Declaration on the Rights of. . . Child. 11. . . . fellow does a lot of
crazy things when he has been drinking. 12. . . . man has left his imprint here too.
13. What can …. man do when he is cast on a far-off island? 14. . . . (rubber tyre,
do, not, make a noise). 15. . . . (first offender) should be treated with sympathy. 16.
. . . rich have always exploited . . . poor.
EXERCISE 3. Supply the necessary article: zero (0), a/an
EXERCISE 5. Insert definite or zero articles before the geographical names used
in the following sentences:
1. . . British Isles have a total area of about 121,600 square miles. The largest
islands are . . . Great Britain proper (comprising the mainlands of. . , England,. . .
Wales, and . . . Scotland) and . . . Ireland (comprising . . . Northern Ireland and ...
Irish Republic). 2. ... Isle of Man in... Irish Sea and . . . Channel Islands between . .
. Great Britain and . . . France have administrative autonomy. 3. The latitude of
50° North cuts across... Lizard Peninsula and latitude 60° North passes through...
Shetland Islands. 4. The boundaries of this region run from the mouth of . . . Tyne
to the mouth of. . . Exe. 5. . . . North Atlantic Current reaches the islands from
across . .. Atlantic. 6. . .. Highland Britain comprises the whole of. . . Scotland
(including the hills and moors of . . . southern Scotland as well as the mountains
of. . . Scottish Highlands, which extend from . . . Forth-Clyde valley to the extreme
north-west), . . . Lake District in . . . north-west England, the broad central upland
known as . . . Pennines. 7. The whole of. . . Britain north of a line joining... river
Thames and . . . Bristol Channel was covered by ice caps. 8. The red sandstone
on . . . Cumberland coast and the limestone masses and slates of . . .
Pembrokeshire coast in . . . South Wales are notable features of the varied
coastline. 9. Between 150 and 200 inches of rain fall on the summits of . . .
Snowdon and .. . Ben Nevis during the average year. 10. The eastern coast of
England between . . . Humber and . . . Thames estuary is for the most part low-
lying.
(Adapted from "Britain-An Official Handbook 1968")
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
D Adjectives of two syllables follow one or other of the above rules. Those
ending in ful or-re usually take more and most:
doubtful more doubtful most doubtful
obscure more obscure most obscure
Those ending in er, y or ly usually add er, est:
clever cleverer cleverest
pretty prettier prettiest (note that the y becomes i)
silly sillier silliest
E Irregular comparisons:
bad worse worst
far farther farthest (of distance only)
further furthest (used more widely; see F, G)
good better best
little less least
many/much more most
old elder eldest (of people only)
older oldest (of people and things)
my
your
his/her/its
our
your
their
A Possessive adjectives in English refer to the possessor and not to the thing
possessed. Everything that a man or boy possesses is his thing; everything
that a woman or girl possesses is her thing:
Tom's father is his father but
Mary's father is her father. Everything that an animal or thing
possesses is its thing:
A tree drops its leaves in autumn.
A happy dog wags its tail. But if the sex of the animal is known, his/her
would often be used. If there is more than one possessor, their is used:
The girls are with their brother.
Trees drop their leaves in autumn. Note that the possessive adjective
remains the same whether the thing possessed is singular or plural:
my glove, my gloves his foot, his feet
C To add emphasis, own can be placed after my, your, his etc. and after one's:
my own room her own idea own can be an adjective, as
above, or a pronoun:
a room of one's own
Note the expression:
I'm on my own = I'm alone.
EXERCISE 1. Choose the appropriate adjective. Note that -ic alternates with -ical
with a difference of meaning:
EXERCISE 2. Group the adjectives listed below under the three heads of the
table.
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.
sly, wicked, convenient, foolish, active, vague, afraid, common, red, wounded,
thin, pretty, startling, stupid, big, healthy, correct, alive, fertile, worthy, pleasant,
minute, eager, cruel, tiring, remote, early, comic, simple, easy, tender, low, calm,
sore, fast, just, docile, proper, distinct, high, sincere.
1. good, 2. bad / ill, 3. little, 4. near, 5. much / many, 6. far, 7. late, 8. old.
1. What is the (late) information you've got? 2. Her (old) brother is called Jim. 3. We
were in a hurry to catch the (late) bus. 4. Which is (old) of the two ? 5. Who is the
(old) member of the students' club? 6. They got down to business without (far)
delay. 7. I've got a still (old) edition of the dictionary. 8. The (old) sister was
twenty years (old) than the youngest. 9. The (late) half of May was quite rainy. 10.
I was told to wait until (far) notice. 11. I wish I had bought it at the (near) shop. 12.
He provided them with (far) information as agreed. 13. The (near) station is Calea
Victoriei. 14. John's (late) novel was a (good) seller and for sure it won't be his
(late) one. 15. He is the (little) writer of the two. 16. I saw him meet her at the (far)
end of the street. 17. I shall need (far) help with this.
EXERCISE 5. Supply the appropriate form of the adjectives given in brackets :
1. This is the . . . book I have read for a long time (good). 2. He has one of
the . . . cars on the road (fast). 3. The work you are doing today is . . . than the
work you did yesterday (easy). 4. Ann often wears . . . dresses than her mother
(expensive). 5. Which is the . . . play you have lately read? (interesting). 6. The
actress on the stage was the . . . girl I have ever seen (striking). 7. Tom is . . . than
his friend (tall). 8. They have a. . . garden than ours (lovely). 9. He said this was
the . . . day in his life (important). 10. He was . . . than his wife when the child
broke the window (angry). 11. He was the . . . man in the world to do that (late).
12. A: 'Which was your . . . subject at school and which was your ... (good, bad)?'
B:'Physics was my . . . and history my.. .'(good, bad).' 13. Is Bucharest or Prague
the . . . from London (far)? 14. Tom is 17 years old, his brother Jack is 19 and his
sister Jane is 15. Therefore Jane is the . . . and Jack is the.. . (young, old).
EXERCISE 6. Supply the comparative form of the adjectives given in brackets. Note
that the meaning of the pattern the comparative of Adjective . . . , the comparative
of Adjective is cu cit. . . cu atit:
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
A Many adverbs of manner and some adverbs of degree are formed by adding ly
to the corresponding adjectives:
final, finally immediate, immediately slow, slowly
Spelling notes
(a)A final y changes to i: happy, happily.
(b)A final e is retained before ly: extreme, extremely. Exceptions: true,
due, whole become truly, duly, wholly.
(c)Adjectives ending in a consonant + le drop the e and add y: gentle, gently
simple, simply
Note that the adverb of good is well.
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)
B Starred words above also have ly forms. Note the meanings. deeply is
used chiefly of feelings:
He was deeply offended.
Directly can be used of time or connection:
He '11 be here directly, (very soon)
The new regulations will affect us directly/indirectly.
Highly is used only in an abstract sense:
He was a highly paid official. They spoke very highly of him.
Justly corresponds to the adjective just (fair, right, lawful), but just can also be an
adverb of degree.
Adverbs of manner
B When we have verb + preposition + object, the adverb can be either before
the preposition or after the object:
He looked at me suspiciously or He looked suspiciously at me. But if the
object contains a number of words we put the adverb before the preposition:
He looked suspiciously at everyone who got off the plane.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of frequency
(a) always, continually, frequently, occasionally, often, once, twice,
periodically, repeatedly, sometimes, usually etc.
(b) ever, hardly ever, never, rarely, scarcely ever, seldom
Order of adverbs and adverb phrases of manner, place and time when they occur in
the same sentence
Certain adverbs and adverb phrases, mostly with a restrictive or negative sense, can
for emphasis be placed first in a sentence or clause and are then followed by the
inverted (i.e. interrogative) form of the verb. The most important of these are
shown below. The numbers indicate paragraphs where an example will be found.
hardly ever on no account
hardly . . . when ) only by
in no circumstances only in this way
neither/nor only then/when
never scarcely ever
no sooner . . . than scarcely . . . when
not only seldom
not till so
nowhere
1. Haven't got a ticket. — Neither/Nor have I.
2. I had never before been asked to accept a bribe. Never before had I
been asked to accept a bribe.
3. They not only rob you, they smash everything too. Not only do they rob
you, they smash everything too.
4. He didn 't realize that he had lost it till he got home. Not till he got
home did he realize that he had lost it.
5. This switch must not be touched on any account. On no account
must this switch be touched.
EXERCISE Form adverbs from the following adjectives and nouns by adding
the suffix -If or -ward(s), paying attention to their spelling. Remember that certain
adverb coincide in form with the adjectives they derive from:
Gay, extreme, back, sincere, true, sensible, east, whole, final, due, beautiful,
good, sure, home, pleasant, hungry, whole-hearted, deep, bad, thankful, late,
devoted, striking, hard, west, unhappy, terrible, diligent, silent, fast, near.
EXERCISE 3. Rewrite these sentences substituting -ly adverbs for the italicized
phrases:
Much, brightly, quietly, expressively, badly, quickly, late, fast, high, often,
well, swiftly, far, little, slowly.
1. In a large city you must cross the street (carefully) than in a small one. 2. He
walked (far) than I did. 3. Please speak (slowly), so that I can take notes. 4. She
moved (awkwardly) an elephant. 5. He reviewed her work (unfavorably) than
Dixon did. 6. Of the three men, you behaved (disgracefully). 7. He's been sleeping
(badly) than myself the last few months. 8. Of the ten students he has been
working (hard). 9. I pick my staff (carefully) than you do; that's why our results
are worse. 10. The answer came back (quickly) than I had expected.
V. THE PRONOUN
EXAMPLE:
Carmen and Joan walked into the theatre. It was so dark that they could
barely see the floor.
(Theatre is the antecedent of it. Carmen and Joan are the antecedents of
they.)
The antecedent usually appears before the pronoun. Pronouns may be the
antecedents of other pronouns
Expressing person
When you write or speak about yourself, you use first-person pronouns: I,
me, we, us.
When you refer to an audience, you use the second person pronoun: you.
When you refer to other people or things, you use third-person pronouns: he,
she, they, it, and them.
Personal pronouns also indicate whether the antecedent (the noun that the
pronoun is replacing) is singular or plural.
Expressing gender
It indicates the neuter gender, which you use to refer to things and
ideas.
5.2. Uses of it
EXAMPLE:
The following chart contains the personal pronouns. The POSSESSIVE forms are
in parentheses.
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON I, me (my, mine) we, us (our, ours)
SECOND PERSON you (your, yours) you (your, yours)
he, him (his)
THIRD PERSON she, her (her, hers) them, they (their, theirs)
it (its)
5.4. Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns tell which one or which group is referred to. A list of
demonstrative pronouns follows: THAT THIS THESE THOSE
THIS and THESE point to people or things that are near in space or time. THAT or
THOSE point to people or things that are farther away in space or time.
EXAMPLE 1: THIS is a new book.( the antecedent of THIS is book)
EXAMPLE 2: THOSE are rare coins. (the antecedent of THOSE is rare coins)
Relative Pronouns introduce adjective clauses, which are word groups that modify
a word or a phrase. A list of reflexive pronouns follows.
Who Whose That Whom Which
EXAMPLE 1: I know the PERSON who lives here. (PERSON is the antecedent of
who)
EXAMPLE 2: He planted FLOWERS that bloom every year. (FLOWERS is the
antecedent of that)
*Remember, that INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS introduce QUESTIONS only.
Indefinite Pronouns do not refer to a definite person, place or thing; instead they
refer to persons, places or things in general.
The following indefinite pronouns are singular. They are used with the singular
possessive pronouns HIS, HER, and ITS: another , anything, everybody,
neither, one, anybody, each, everyone, nobody, somebody anyone, either,
everything, no one, someone
EXAMPLE: Each of the jobs has ITS rewards.
The following indefinite pronouns are plural. They are used with the plural
possessive THEIR: both, many, few, several.
EXAMPLE: Many of the viewers expressed THEIR opinions.
The following indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on
their meaning in the sentence: all, some, none.
1. He is one of my friends. 2. Tom lent his friend one of his books. 3. I gave
him one of our dictionaries. 4. She played one of her old records. 5. Some of their
neighbours had come over to tea. 6. He took a fancy to one of my cousins. 7 Here,
John, meet one of your well-known commentators. 8. Is this another of their little
schemes? 9. Was it one of her favourite puns? 10. That's one of our favourite
tunes.
1. If the child eats so little he'll make . . . ill. 2. Can a five-year-old boy
wash . . ., dress . . . , feed . . . ? 3. We find it still difficult to express ... in English.
4. Alice hurt. . . when she fell down the tree. 5. They are likely to have enjoyed ...
at your party. 6. One has to serve ... in that restaurant.
7. My cousin switched the light off and finding ... in the dark began to cry.
8. I was told you have devoted ... to science. 9. She cheers ... up by talking about
her youth. 10. I bought a new watch for . . . yesterday. 11. One can lose . . .quite
easily in London. 12. We forced ... to smile. 13. Do pull. . . together! 14. The
ringleader shot . . . . 15. I chose to defend . . . against her. 16. The cat looked at... in
the looking glass. 17. Make ... at home (pi). 18. They could only speak for .... 19.
She cooked ... a good meal and went to bed.
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.
Ex. 11 Fill in the correct self pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves) or each other into the gaps.
1. Where is the bottle of Coke ………. who which whose x I bought this morning?
2. I talked to the girl ………. who which whose x car had broken down in front of
the shop.
3. Mr Jones, ……… who which whose x is a taxi driver, lives on the corner.
4. There is the car ………. who which whose x I'd like to buy.
5. He cleaned the car ………. who which whose x had an accident.
6. This is the girl ………. who which whose x comes from Spain.
7. That's Peter, the boy ……. who which whose x has just arrived at the airport.
8. What did you do with the money …….. who which whose x your mother lent
you?
Ex. 14 Correct the pronoun errors.
1. Keats wrote that "a thing of beauty is a joy forever." He added that it's
"loveliness increases."
2. At some schools, you have to take the courses they tell you to take.
3. Everyone at the game brought their Thermos filled with hot chocolate.
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.
9. My barber and his boss are always arguing; he told me they may never make
peace.
10. The band played a fanfare for the President and I as we disembarked from the
plane.
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.
13. The photograph certainly did justice to the scenery; it's quality was excellent.
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.
18. All of the lumber were warped by the heavy rain.
19. Joe is afraid of dogs, and he is allergic to cats. That is why he doesn't have a
pet.
4. Dan Baker is not only the man ______ wrote the best-selling novel but also the
ex-convict about ______ everyone wonders.
8. The student ______ was wearing the blue shorts swore that he would punch out
______he could catch.
9. Jody went to the history class admiring ______ could write an "A" paper for that
professor, ______ was noted for his tough grading policies and about ______
everyone was gossiping.
10. The corporation was facing bankruptcy; consequently, it could not advertise for
the technicians ______ would be the most qualified, and they had to settle for
______ they could find that would be willing to work for low wages.
11. Martha is a very conscientious mother upon ______ the whole family depends.
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
The student has two main problems with prepositions. He has to know
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.
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).
beneath can sometimes be used instead of under, but it is safer to keep it for
abstract meanings:
He would think it beneath him to tell a lie. (unworthy of him) She married
beneath her. (into a lower social class)
Don't confuse beside with besides, beside = at the side of: We camped beside a
lake.
besides (preposition) = in addition to/as well as:
I do all the cooking and besides that I help Tom.
Besides doing the cooking I help Tom. besides (adverb) means (a) 'in
addition to that/as well as that':
I do the cooking and help Tom besides and (b) 'in any
case/anyway':
We can't afford oysters. Besides, Tom doesn't like them.
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. She learnt English . . . books. 2. Then she taught it . . . you. 3. A prisoner has
escaped . . . prison. 4. He escaped . . . the woods. 5. He fell... a river and the police
rescued him . . . it. 6. They saved him . . . drowning. 7. Her father has retired . . .
bed. 8. He has retired . . . the army.
EXERCISE 3 Fill in each blank with onto or into whenever possible; otherwise
with on or in:
a) 1) Take a seat... the car. 2. Don't take everything... the car. 3. Help me lift
this suitcase . . . the seat. 4. They are arriving . . . Rome. 5. They are driving . . .
the city. 6. Are they staying . . . the city tonight ?
b) In which of the last 6 sentences could we use off, and in which could we use
out of?
EXERCISE 4. Fill in each blank with the suitable preposition. Use a different
preposition each time:
1. The Danube rises . . . the Black Forest and flows . . . the Black Sea. 2. The
Isles of Scilly are a group of islands . . . the Atlantic, . . . Cornwall. Not many
people live . . . them. 3. The train leaves . . . Paris early in the morning, and it
gets . . . Curtici by dinner-time. 4. Step . . . this ladder, but be careful you don't
fall... it. 5. Wait ... me round the corner, just . . . the baker's. 6. You aren't
permitted to smoke . . . the area of petrol tanks. 7. Look out, children! There's a car
racing . . . you!
EXERCISE 5. Choose the correct preposition in parentheses in the sentences
below:
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.