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Direct Object DO - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or "what" after an action verb.. Uncountable nouns refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances, feelings and types of acti

COURSE OUTLINE

Suggested self- study 90 periods

Cell phone: 0983791306

The subject outline contains important information Please ensure that you read it carefully It is also strongly recommended that you keep this copy of your subject outline for future reference

Course Description: Understanding and utilizing the proper parts of speech in writing is

often difficult for students because there is less focus on it The purpose of this course is to focus on the basics of identifying, using with the correct parts of speech

Learning Goals: By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- Master their knowledge and understanding of parts of speech

- Identify, describe and explain the different parts of speech

- Identify, describe and explain the formation, functions and classification

of each part of speech

- Use 8 kinds of parts of speech properly in writing and speaking

Assignments: Students will write exams, participate in small group activities,

and give oral presentations Grades will be assigned according to the following percentages:

Assessment for the subject will be on the basis of:

(a) Class attendance Required assessment

(> 2 absences in the tutorial sessions: FAIL)

(c) Participation/small

group activities

Proposed schedule

Time Contents

Week 1 Course introduction

Week 2 Unit 1: Nouns

Week 3 Unit 1: Nouns (cont.)

Week 4 Unit 2: Articles

Week 5 Unit 3: Pronouns

Week 6 Unit 4: Prepositions

Week 7 Unit 5: Adjectives

Week 8 Unit 5: Adjectives (cont.)

Week 9 Unit 6: Conjunctions

Week 10 Unit 7: Verbs

Week 11 Unit 7: Verbs (cont.)

Week 12 Unit 7: Verbs (cont.)

Week 13 Unit 8: Adverbs

Week 14 Unit 8: Adverbs (cont.)

Week 15 Revision

Textbooks:

- Developing grammar in context (Mark Nettle and Diana Hopkins)

- Oxford Practice Grammar- Advanced (George Yule)

UNIT 1: NOUNS IN ENGLISH

A Definition

 A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events and feelings Nouns can be a subject or an object of a verb, can be modified by an adjective and can take an article or determiner

3 is renamed or described after a verb of being or a linking verb

4 is acted upon with a passive verb

II Object of Preposition (OP) - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or

"what" after a preposition in a prepositional phrase

III Direct Object (DO) - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or "what"

after an action verb A direct object "receives" or is the "object" of the action

IV Retained Object (RO) - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or "what"

after a passive verb

V Indirect Object (IO) - a noun or pronoun answering "to whom/what" or

"for whom/what" after an action verb

An indirect object

 always precedes a direct object

 never has the word “to” or “for” stated

VI Subjective Complement (SC) - a noun, pronoun, or adjective that

renames or describes (equals) the subject after a linking verb

VII Objective Complement (OC) - a noun, pronoun, or adjective that

renames or describes (equals) the direct object

Test for OC: insert "to be" between the DO and the OC

VIII Appositive (App) - a noun or pronoun that renames another noun; An

appositive is usually placed next to the noun it renames

Gourmet renames the noun Joe Therefore, gourmet is an appositive of Joe

C Noun Plurals

 We are going to explain some rules that will help you to form the plural

forms of the nouns The general rule is to add "-s" to the noun in singular For example:

- Book - Books

- House - Houses

- Chair - Chairs

 When the singular noun ends in: -sh, -ch, -s, -ss, -x, -o we form their plural

form by adding "-es"

 When the singular noun ends in "y", we change the "y" for "i" and then add

"-es" to form the plural form But do not change the "y" for "ies" to form the plural when the singular noun ends in "y" preceded by a vowel

 Nouns may take an “s” ("apostrophe s") or "Genitive marker" to indicate

possession If the noun already has an -s ending to mark the plural, then the

genitive marker appears only as an apostrophe after the plural form

For example:

- my girlfriend's brother

- John's house

- The Browns' house

- The boys' pens

 The genitive marker should not be confused with the “„s " form of contracted verbs, as in John's a good student = John is a good student

D Noun Gender

 Many common nouns, like "engineer" or "teacher", can refer to men or women Once, many English nouns would change form depending on their gender For example: A man was called an "author" while a woman was called an "authoress"

For example:

- David Garrick was a very prominent eighteenth-century actor

- Sarah Siddons was at the height of her career as an actress in the

1780s

- The manager was trying to write a want ad, but he couldn't decide

whether he was advertising for a "waiter" or a "waitress"

E Types of Nouns

1 Proper nouns are the names of specific things, people, or places, such as

John, France They usually begin with a capital letter

2 Common nouns are general names such as person, mansion, and book

They can be either concrete or abstract

3 Concrete nouns refer to things which you can sense such as clock and

telephone

4 Abstract nouns refer to ideas or qualities such as liberty and truth

5 Countable nouns refer to things which can be counted (can be singular or

plural)

6 Uncountable nouns refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances,

feelings and types of activity (can only be singular)

 Definition: A Count Noun is a noun which can be modified by a numeral

and occur in both singular and plural form, as well as co-occurring with

quantificational determiners like every, each, several, most, etc Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc which can be counted Count nouns can be made plural, usually by adding -s or -es at the end

For example:

- She saw seven cows in the garden

- There is a cow in the garden

- Every cow is an animal

Examples:

Usually count nouns

shoe/s car/s door/s house/s key/s letter/s chair/s box/es cow/s poster/s glass/es ball/s

 Some nouns, like the word time, beauty, fire, death, gossip can be used as

either a count noun, or a non-count noun

For example:

- How much time did it take for you to drive to school?

Here, time is a non-count noun, because it refers to a category that

contains smaller items (think of it as a "group" of minutes)

- How many times did you take the test before you passed?

Here, time is a count noun; because you can count exactly how

many separate times you took the test

- They had a death in the family

- Death is a tragic thing

- Supermarkets have aisles for different foods

- The animals at the zoo wanted food

 The "much" and "many" Rule

Many is used with count nouns

For example:

- How many papers do you have to write?

- There were too many books required for that class

Much is used with non-count nouns

For example:

- How much homework did you have last night?

- I had to read so much literature for my English class

 You can use "some" and "any" with countable nouns

For example:

- Some dogs can be dangerous

- I don't use any computers at work

 You only use "many" and "few" with plural countable nouns

For example:

- Many elephants have been hunted

- There are few elephants in England

 You can use "a lot of" and "no" with plural countable nouns

For example:

- No computers were bought last week

- A lot of computers were reported broken the week before

 Definition: An uncountable noun (or non-count noun) is a type of common

noun that cannot be modified by a number without specifying a unit of measurement In general, non-count nouns are considered to refer to indivisible wholes (which are not individual objects and cannot be counted) For this reason, they are sometimes called MASS nouns Uncountable nouns are used to describe a quality, action, thing or substance that can be poured or measured Non-Count nouns also refer to a whole category made up of different varieties or a whole group of things that is made up of many individual parts Uncountable nouns are always singular Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns

For example:

- There is some water in that pitcher

- That is the equipment we use for the project

Examples:

Usually non-count nouns

thinking/to think swimming/to swim

psychology history

economics biology English anatomy philosophy religion theology

 Some nouns, like the word time, beauty, fire, death, gossip can be used as

either a count noun, or a non-count noun

For example:

- How much time did it take for you to drive to school?

Here, time is a non-count noun, because it refers to a category that

contains smaller items (think of it as a "group" of minutes)

- How many times did you take the test before you passed?

Here, time is a count noun; because you can count exactly how many

separate times you took the test

- They had a death in the family

- Death is a tragic thing

- Supermarkets have aisles for different foods

- The animals at the zoo wanted food

 The "much" and "many" Rule

Many is used with count nouns

For example:

- How many papers do you have to write?

- There were too many books required for that class

Much is used with non-count nouns

For example:

- How much homework did you have last night?

- I had to read so much literature for my English class

 You can use "some" and "any" with uncountable nouns

For example:

- I usually drink some wine with my meal

- I don't usually drink any water with my wine

 You only use "much" and "little" with uncountable nouns

For example:

- I don't usually drink much coffee

- Little wine is undrinkable though

 You can use "a lot of" and "no" with uncountable nouns

For example:

- A lot of wine is drunk in France

- No wine is drunk in Iran

EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Underline all the words that without further alteration can fit into

the following sentences If necessary, consult a good dictionary

Example: Tom is always offering advice/assistance/idea/suggestion [idea and suggestion are count nouns We could say: He is always offering ideas,

suggestions But not *He is always offering ideal/suggestion.]

1 You shouldn't judge him on one achievement/failure/progress/success

2 It was difficult for him to find career/employment/job/work

3 His new job is something to do with advertisement/advertising/publicity/ marketing

4 Buy now - it's a real bargain/saving/savings/reduction

5 There is a/an fortune/income/money/wealth to be made from computers these days

6 I need a new clothes/clothing/suit/underwear

7 Modern ammunition/arms/equipment/weapons/weaponry is sophisticated

8 You'll have to get a leave/pass/permission/permit to get into the factory

9 Did you have a good experience/fortune/luck/time while you were away?

10 One scene/scenery/view/countryside particularly stays in my mind

Exercise 2: Complete the pairs of sentences below, using the following words,

once as a count and once as a noncount noun Use a dictionary to help you if necessary

business - cheese - dinner - experience - glass - ice - life - noise - painting - paper - pleasure - worry

1 Where can I get A PAPER? I want to know what's happening I also need PAPER to wrap up some parcels with

2 Do you sell ? I mean, could you cut a piece so that I could replace a broken window? Also I'm hoping to find to replace one I broke when I was washing up

3 Shopping in this huge store is quite They sell everything, but some of the sales staff are very young and lack so they don't know where anything is

4 Still I find it to shop here I mean I don't exactly shop for , but I like the atmosphere

5 I shall have to come back another day and go to the art department Tom and Molly have asked for as a wedding present I don't think they like (modern) much

6 So it's to know what to choose Silly isn't it ? Choosing a picture shouldn't be a cause for

7 Did you hear ? Of course, there's a lot of , but I heard something that sounded like a bomb

8 They did have a terrorist bomb go off here some years ago, but they were open next day ' as usual.' I‟ve sometimes thought I'd like to start but it must be a nightmare these days

9 Oh I must go to the food department They sell (very special) made from goat's milk, one I can't get in my local grocer's You don't like '? You don't know what you're missing

10 And what am I going to cook for this evening? I think

something simple, because tomorrow we're going to organized by Bill Brown's family to celebrate his ninetieth birthday

11 He's led (very active) and climbed almost every mountain you can think of But now poor old chap, he can hardly walk Still, that's

12 Well, I think we've just time for the restaurant I'm going to have What about you ? Are you going to have tea, or will you have your

favorite gin and tonic with ?

Exercise 3:

Complete the following using the correct plural forms

Example: I want a chocolate mousse

Answer: We haven't any edible MICE Sorry!

1 I want a Christmas card with a snowman on it

I'm afraid we're out of cards with

2 And I need some sort of bookshelf

We have some good value wooden at $49.99

3 And where can I get a silk scarf and a pure linen handkerchief?

We have some beautiful silk , but we only sell cotton

4 And can you ask your food department to send me a large plaice ?

I don't think they've any at all today

5 Oh, and I need a dozen eggs - no, make it two

6 And I want a story about spacecraft

I'm afraid there's no demand for about

7 Oh, and I need a hundred pins

We sell pins in packets of two at 99p You do seem to want some rather peculiar things

8 Yes, well, that's the lot I've only got about a pound in cash, but I suppose I can pay by credit card?

All this is rather a tall order! Give me a cheque for ninety-nine 50p

Exercise 4:

Write out all the possible alternatives in the following

1 Some/this/these folk don't/doesn't know how to spend its/their money

Answers: Some folk don't know how to spend their money

These folk don't know how to spend their money

(folk is normally plural]

2 This/these belongings of John's was/were found in the cupboard

3 This/these family need/needs help

4 I paid CHF100 for this/these binoculars, but it/they isn't/aren't very good

5 The police has/have a hard job to do

6 What was/were the news on television last night?

7 There is/are a couple of people outside who/which want/wants to talk to you

8 The Prime Minister's office has/have issued a statement

9 The outskirts of the town is/are rather dull

10 A majority of the strikers want/wants to return to work

11 Our MP's majority was/were higher this time than last time

12 Why is/are there remains of food on the table?

13 The public has/have a right to know what money is being spent in its/their name

Exercise 5: Genitive or of-construction

Use the information given to complete the sentences using a genitive In some sentences you will have to use a noun derived from another word in the

sentence

Example: Henry behaved very badly, which upset all of us

Answer: We were all upset by HENRY‟ S BAD BEHAVIOUR

1 My parents insisted on taking the dog on holiday This caused problems

There were problems because of (2)

2 My uncle says he was educated during the school holidays

, he says, took place in the school holidays

3 My aunt has her initials on all her things

things have her initials on

4 Bill has been omitted from the team It is a great surprise to us all

We are all surprised at

5 Bill has been very loyal to them It impresses me

UNIT 2: ARTICLES

A Definition

 An article is an adjective Like adjectives, articles modify nouns

 English has two articles: the & a/an “The” is used to refer to specific or

particular nouns; “a/an” is used to modify non-specific or non-particular

nouns We call “the” the definite article and “a/an” the indefinite article

the = definite article a/an = indefinite article

 For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book

 Here's another way to explain it: “The” is used to refer to a specific or

particular member of a group For example, "I just saw the most popular

movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie

is the most popular Therefore, we use the

 "A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the

group For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not

talking about a specific movie We're talking about any movie There are many movies, and I want to see any movie I don't have a specific one in

mind

B CLASSIFICATION

1 Indefinite Articles: a and an

 "A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any

member of a group For example:

- "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog

We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet

- "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman We don't

need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available

- "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant There are probably

several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here

 Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next

word So

 a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo;

a dog

 an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an

apple; an idiot; an orphan

 a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a

university; a unicycle

 an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour

 a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse

o In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an However, a is more commonly used and preferred

A historical event is worth recording

 If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

- I am a teacher (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)

- Brian is an Irishman (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)

- Seiko is a practicing Buddhist (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

2 Definite Article: the

 The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group For example:

- "The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific

dog, the dog that bit me

- "I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're

talking about a particular policeman Even if we don't know the

policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat

- "I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific

noun Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo

3 Count and Noncount Nouns

“The” can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely

 "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water)

 "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk)

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns

 "I need a bottle of water."

 "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water

4 Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using “the” with geographical nouns

Do not use the before:

 names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States

 names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami

 names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St

 names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes

 names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the

Matterhorn

 names of continents (Asia, Europe)

 names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use “the” before:

 names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific

 points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole

 geographical areas: the Middle East, the West

 deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the

Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

5 Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

 Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian

(unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are

known for their warm hospitality.")

 Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball

 Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer

1 I want apple from that basket

2 church on the corner is progressive

3 Miss Lin speaks Chinese

4 I borrowed pencil from your pile of pencils and pens

5 One of the students said, " professor is late today."

6 Eli likes to play volleyball

7 I bought umbrella to go out in the rain

8 My daughter is learning to play violin at her school

9 Please give me cake that is on the counter

10 I lived on Main Street when I first came to town

11 Albany is the capital of New York State

12 My husband's family speaks Polish

13 apple a day keeps the doctor away

14 ink in my pen is red

15 Our neighbors have cat and dog

Exercise 2:

Directions: Write the following paragraphs, inserting a, an, and the where

instantly, other horses are already ahead of him During race, when he sees

another horse just ahead of him, he will try to pass him Sometimes jockey holds him back to save his energy for last stretch Eventually horse gets to run as fast

as he can

Exercise boy, watching owner's favorite jockey riding horse he has exercised day after day, says nothing Secretly, he is planning for day when he will be jockey himself, and his horse will be first to cross finish line

3 Most people have fewer hours to give to time-consuming activities of clubs than they used to have, but most people in small town belong to club or two One of clubs is likely to be social and benevolent organization, such as Rotary

or Elks Business people are likely to belong, also to either Kiwanis Club or Lions Such business people's organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of private dining rooms of town's leading hotel for lunch They have good lunch, hear good program, and continue their fundraising program for worthy organization, such as local hospital

UNIT 3: PRONOUNS IN ENGLISH

A Definition:

 A pronoun usually refers to something already mentioned in a sentence or piece of text A pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun or noun phrase used to prevent repetition of the noun to which they refer One of the most common pronouns is it

B Rule for Pronouns

 A pronoun must agree with the noun it refer Therefore, if the noun is singular, therefore the pronoun must be singular; if the noun is plural, use a plural pronoun; if the noun is feminine, use a feminine pronoun, and so on For example:

The train was late, it had been delayed

The trains were late, they had been delayed

C Types of pronouns

 English Pronouns are divided into sub-categories These are

Demonstrative, Personal, Reflexive, Possessive, Interrogative, Negative,

Reciprocal, Relative and Quantifier

Personal Pronoun Takes the place of a specific or named

Adds information by pointing back to

a noun or another pronoun

myself, yourself, etc

who, whose, which, that, etc Interrogative

Pronoun Is used to ask a question

who, what, where, etc

Reciprocal Express an interchangeable or mutual each other, one

pronoun action or relationship another

some, any, something, much, etc

1 Definition: Personal pronouns refer to the person who is doing the action

or to whom the action affects In that way we distinguish two types of personal pronouns: Personal "Subject Pronouns" and Personal "Object Pronouns"

2 Personal Subject Pronouns

We use the Personal Subject Pronouns to refer to the person who is doing the action of the verb or the verb speaks about A subjective personal

pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the

sentence

- John is listening to music

=> He listens to music every day

* In this case, "he" substitutes "John" which is the subject of the

sentence

- Are you the delegates from Paris?

- After many years, they returned to their homeland

3 Personal Object Pronouns

 We use the Personal Object Pronouns to refer to the person whom the action of the verbs affects An objective personal pronoun indicates that

the pronoun is acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition,

or infinitive phrase

- Seamus stole the sulkies‟ skin and forced her to live with him

* The objective personal pronoun "her" is the direct object of the verb

"forced" and the objective personal pronoun "him" is the object of the

- Deborah and Roberta will meet us at the newest café in the market

* Here the objective personal pronoun "us" is the direct object of the compound verb "will meet."

- Christopher was surprised to see her at the drag races

* Here the objective personal pronoun "her" is the object of the

infinitive phrase "to see."

 A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its

form to indicate person, number, gender, and case

- This is your disk and that's mine

* Mine substitutes the word disk and shows that it belongs to me

 A possessive pronoun indicates it is acting as a subject complement or a

subject of the sentence

- The smallest gift is mine

This is yours

* Here the possessive pronouns acts as a subject complement

- His is on the kitchen counter

Theirs will be delivered tomorrow

Ours is the green one on the corner

* Here the possessive pronoun acts as the subject of the sentence

 Note: Possessive pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives

- You can borrow my book as long as you remember that it's not yours

=> The possessive "my" depends on the noun "book."

=> The possessive "yours" is a pronoun which stands in the place of

"your book"

- When you drive to Paris, will you take your car or theirs?

=> The possessive "your" depends on the noun "car."

=> The possessive pronoun, "theirs," stands in the place of the noun phrase, "their car."

1 Definition:

 Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point to specific things "This, that, these, those " are Demonstrative Pronouns that substitute nouns when the nouns they replace can be understood from the context At the same time, to indicate whether they are close or far, in space or time, from the speaker in the moment of speaking

 They also indicate whether they are replacing singular or plural words Some grammars describe them as members of the class of function words called "determiners", since they identify nouns and other nominals

o "This" (singular) and "These" (plural) refer to an object or person NEAR

- These are unbelievable

* In this example, "these" can refer to some objects close in space or in time to the speaker

- Those are unbelievable

* In this example, "those" can refer to some objects farther in space or

in time to the speaker

2 Position

 Before the noun

 Before the word 'one'

 Before an adjective + noun

 Alone when the noun is 'understood'

- Who owns that house? (distant - physical )

- Is this John's house? (near - physical )

That's nothing to do with me (distant - psychological )

- This is a nice surprise! (near - psychological )

III INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

1 Definition:

 An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun used in order to ask a question Some of them refer only to people, like "who" and others refer to people and objects, etc like "what"

 They do not distinguish between singular and plural, so they only have one form Interrogative pronouns produce information questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer

- What is her phone number?

- What do you want?

 Interrogative pronouns are: What, Which, Who, Whose, Whom In addition, these pronouns may take the suffixes -ever and -so ever

2 Forms:

As we can see in the next table, these pronouns could act as a subject, object

or possessive in a sentence

a WHAT can be used to ask about objects or people

For example:

- What time is it?

- What is your name?

- What do you want?

b WHICH can be used to ask about objects or people?

- Which chair are you talking about?

- Which jumper do you like?

- Which is your mother?

c WHO can be used to ask about people

- Who are you?

- Which is your mother?

- Who has been sitting in my chair?

d WHOSE can be used to ask about a possession relation

- Whose is this book?

- Whose car did you drive here?

 WHOM can be used to ask about people It is less usual and more formal

than "who"

For example:

- Whom did you phone?

- For whom will you vote?

 NOTE: Either "which" or "what" can also be used as an interrogative

adjective, and that "who," "whom," or "which" can also be used as a relative pronoun

- The man whom she chose will do a wonderful job

- Who is in charge?

- Which wants to see the dentist first?

- Who wrote the novel Rockbound?

- Whom do you think we should invite?

- What did she say?

IV RELATIVE PRONOUNS

1 Definition: We use the relative pronouns to refer to a noun mentioned

before and of which we are adding more information They are used to join two

or more sentences and forming in that way what we call "relative sentences"

Relative pronouns

Who, Whom, That,

Which whoever, whomever, whichever

- People who speak two languages are called bilingual

* In this example, the relative "who" introduces the relative sentence

"speak two languages" that describes or gives more information about the noun "people"

2 Relative pronouns: Subject or Object

 As the relative pronouns relate to another noun preceding it in the sentence, they connect a dependent clause to an antecedent (a noun that precedes the pronoun.) Therefore, relative pronouns act as the subject or object of the dependent clause

 The chef who won the competition studied in Paris

* Here, "who" relates back to (or is relative to) the noun "Chef" "Who"

also acts as the subject of the dependent clause and the verb "won"

=> The dependent clause: who won the competition?

=> The independent clause: The chef studied in Paris

 The shirt that Carl bought has a stain on the pocket

* Here, "that" relates back to (or is relative to) the noun "shirt" "That" is also the object of the verb "bought"

=> The dependent clause is: that Carl bought

=> The independent clause: The shirt has a stain on the pocket

3 Referring to people: Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever

 These pronouns take a different case depending on whether the relative

pronoun is a subject or an object in the dependent clause

 Subjective case

Use the subjective case when these relative pronouns are the subject

(initiating the action) of the dependent clause: Who, Whoever

- Negotiations were not going smoothly between the two leaders, who

made no bones about not liking each other

* "Who" relates back to the noun "leaders" and is the subject of the

dependent clause and the verb "made"

- Most workers, whoever was not employed by the auto manufacturer,

toiled at one of the millions of little minnow companies

* "Whoever" relates back to the noun "workers" and is the subject of

the dependent clause and the verb "was employed"

 Objective case

Use the objective case when these relative pronouns are the object (receiving

the action) of the dependent clause: Whom, Whomever

- This is the approach taken by journalists, whom some consider to be

objective

* "Whom" relates back to the noun "journalists" and is the object of

the verb "consider" The subject of the dependent clause is "some"

- The three representatives, whomever the committee chooses, should

be at the meeting tomorrow

* "Whomever" relates back to the noun representatives and is the

object of the verb "chooses" The subject of the dependent clause is

"Committee"

4 Referring to a place, thing or idea: Which, That

 When using relative pronouns for places, things or ideas, rather than determining case, the writer must decide whether the information in the dependent clause is essential to the meaning of the independent clause or simply additional information

 When information is critical to the understanding of the main clause, use

That as the appropriate relative pronoun and do not set the information off by

commas

- Russian generals have delivered a message that is difficult to ignore

* "That" relates back to the noun "message" and is necessary for the

reader to know what "message" the sentence is about

- There is another factor that obviously boosts the reputation of both of

these men

* "That" relates back to the noun "factor" and is necessary for the reader

to know what "factor" the sentence is about

 When information is not critical to the understanding of the main clause, use

"Which" as the appropriate relative pronoun and set the information off by

commas

- The toughest intramural fight of all for Clinton was the North American

Free Trade Agreement, which he undertook a full year before the 1994

election

* "Which" relates back to the noun "agreement" and the information

following it is not necessary for the reader to know what "agreement" the sentence is about

- Clinton refused to head toward the center on affirmative action and

abortion, which are the two most sacred issues to the traditional liberal

wing of the party

* "Which" relates back to the noun "affirmative action and abortion" and

the information following it is not necessary for the reader to know what

"affirmative action and abortion" the sentence is about

 When referring to more than one place, thing or idea use these relative

pronouns: Whatever, Whichever

1 The three approaches, whichever works is fine, produce a more

ambiguous picture of a man

* "Whichever" relates to the noun "approaches" and the information

contained within the commas is additional, not critical information

2 Any excessive profits, whatever exceeded accepted limits, would attract

the notice of representatives

* "Whatever" relates to the noun "profits" and the information contained

V REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

 Definition: We use the reflexive pronouns to indicate that the person who

realizes the action of the verb is the same person who receives the action

Reflexive pronouns are identical in form to intensive pronouns

Subject Reflexive

Singular

I You

He She

It

myself yourself himself herself itself Plural

We You They

ourselves yourselves themselves

- I cut my hair myself

* In this example "I" does the action of cutting the hair and at the same time "I" gets the action of the hair being cut

- We defended ourselves brilliantly

* In this example the reflexive pronoun "ourselves" refers back to the subject of the sentence

- John talks to himself when he is nervous

* In this example "Himself" refers to John

 Reflexive pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they require an

interaction between the subject and an object

- Because she was not hungry when the cake was served, Ellen saved

herself a piece

* In the independent clause, "Ellen" is the subject and "herself" is a reflexive pronoun acting as the indirect object This sentence is

grammatically correct

- John and myself are going to the movie

* In this sentence, "John" and "myself" are the subjects Reflexive

pronouns cannot be subjects This sentence is grammatically

incorrect

 Care must be taken to identify whether the noun is singular or plural and choose the pronoun accordingly

- Nor is she shy about giving herself credit for it

- We gave ourselves a second chance to complete the course

- Did they lock themselves out of the house again?

- Give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done

 Note: The reflexive pronoun can also be used to give more emphasis to the

subject or object (intensive pronoun)

- I did it myself

* I want to emphasize the fact that I did it

- He washed himself

VI RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

1 Definition: We use the reciprocal pronouns to indicate that two people

can carry out an action and get the consequences of that action at the same time There are two reciprocal pronouns:

Reciprocal pronouns

each other one another

 They enable you to simplify sentences where the same general idea is expressed two or more times

- On their wedding day John gave Mary a gold ring and Mary gave John

a gold ring

* Using the reciprocal pronoun, "each other", this could be rewritten:

=> On their wedding day Mary and John gave each other gold rings

- Peter and Mary kissed each other

* In this example "each other" indicates that both people involved in the action of "kissing" got the result, kisses, at the same time

 If you need to refer to more than two people, say the students in a

classroom, then we could use the reciprocal pronoun, "one another"

- The students in this classroom cooperate with one another

- The teachers gathered to congratulate one another on the year's

conclusion

EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Decide whether you have to use the reflexive pronoun, the

reciprocal pronoun (each other) or nothing

1 John hurt ……… when climbing the tree

2 Peter and Sue helped ……… with the homework

3 I feel ………… much better today

4 Did she make ………… a cup of tea?

5 The wild monkey looked at……… in the mirror

6 Brigit and Billy smiled at………

7 We're meeting……… at the station

8 During the meeting, Jane and Mary were talking to ………

9 I don't remember……… where we spent our holiday last year

10 We need to concentrate ………

Exercise 2: Choose the correct relative pronoun (who, which, whose)

1 This is the bank ………… was robbed yesterday

2 A boy ………… sister is in my class was in the bank at that time

3 The man ………… robbed the bank had two pistols

4 He wore a mask ………… made him look like Mickey Mouse

5 He came with a friend ………… waited outside in the car

6 The woman ………… gave him the money was young

7 The bag ………… contained the money was yellow

8 The people ………… were in the bank were very frightened

9 A man ………… mobile was ringing did not know what to do

10 A woman ………… daughter was crying tried to calm her

11 The car ………… the bank robbers escaped in was orange

12 The robber ………… mask was obviously too big didn't drive

13 The man ………… drove the car was nervous

14 He didn't wait at the traffic lights ………… were red

15 A police officer ………… car was parked at the next corner stopped and arrested them

Exercise 3: Fill the gaps with the correct pronouns

1 Once upon a time there was a girl called Little Red Riding Hood

Together with ………… mum, ………… lived in a big forest

2 One fine day, Little Red Riding Hood‟s mother said, “…………

grandma is ill Please go and take this cake and a bottle of wine to

…………

3 Grandma‟s house is not too far from ………… house, but always keep

to the path and don‟t stop!”

4 So, Little Red Riding Hood made ………… way to Grandma‟s house

5 In the forest, ……… met the big bad wolf Little Red Riding Hood greeted ………… and the wolf asked:

6 “Where are ………… going, Little Red Riding Hood?”

7 “To ………… grandma‟s house.” answered Little Red Riding Hood

8 “Can you tell ………… where ………… grandma lives?”

9 “………… lives in a little cottage at the edge of the forest.”

10 “Why don‟t ………… pick some nice flowers for ………… ?” asked the wolf

11 “That‟s a good idea.” said Little Red Riding Hood and began looking for flowers Meanwhile, the wolf was on ………… way to grandma‟s

house

12 The house was quite small but nice and ………… roof was made out of straw

13 The wolf went inside and swallowed poor old Grandma After that

………… put Grandma‟s clothes on and lay down in