COLEGIUL TEHNIC DE COMUNICATII NICOLAE VASILESCU KARPEN BACAU

SINTEZE CURS LIMBA ENGLEZA

a 10-a FR

2013-2014

BIBLIOGRAFIE
www.englishclub.com
2. Arhire, Mona, Micu Anamaria, Limba engleza 1600 teste grila, editura Aula,
Brasov, 2004
1.

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Contents
Contents.................................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.Adjectives............................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 Determiners...................................................................................................................................................4
Articles:...........................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Possessive Adjectives....................................................................................................................................5
1.2.1 Other determiners:......................................................................................................................................5
1.3 Adjective Order.............................................................................................................................................7
1.4 Adjective Before Noun..................................................................................................................................7
1.5 Adjective After Certain Verbs.......................................................................................................................7
1.6 Comparative Adjectives................................................................................................................................8
1.6.1 Formation of Comparative Adjectives....................................................................................................8
1.6.2 Use of Comparative Adjectives..............................................................................................................9
1.7 Superlative Adjectives...................................................................................................................................9
1.7.1 Formation of Superlative Adjectives......................................................................................................9
1.7.2 Use of Superlative Adjectives..............................................................................................................10
1.8 Gradable and Non-gradable Adjectives.......................................................................................................10
1.8.1 Gradable Adjectives.............................................................................................................................10
1.8.2 Non-gradable Adjectives......................................................................................................................11
1.8.3 Adjectives that can be gradable and non-gradable................................................................................12
1.9 Exercises.....................................................................................................................................................12
2.What is an Adverb?............................................................................................................................................14
2.1 Adverb Form...............................................................................................................................................14
2.2 Kinds of Adverbs........................................................................................................................................14
2.3 Adverb Position...........................................................................................................................................15
2.4 Adverbs of Frequency.................................................................................................................................16
2.5Exercises .........................................................................................................................................................16
3.Pronouns............................................................................................................................................................ 18
3.1 Personal Pronouns.......................................................................................................................................18
3.2 Demonstrative Pronouns.............................................................................................................................19
3.3 Possessive Pronouns....................................................................................................................................19
3.4 Interrogative Pronouns................................................................................................................................20
3.5 Reflexive Pronouns.....................................................................................................................................21
3.6 Intensive pronouns......................................................................................................................................22
3.7 Reciprocal Pronouns...................................................................................................................................22
3.8 Indefinite Pronouns.....................................................................................................................................22
3.9 Relative Pronouns.......................................................................................................................................24
3.10 exercises........................................................................................................................................................26
4. Nouns................................................................................................................................................................ 27
4.1 Countable Nouns.........................................................................................................................................27
4.2 Uncountable Nouns.....................................................................................................................................28
4.3 Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable...........................................................................................29
4.4 Proper Nouns (Names)................................................................................................................................29
4.4.1 Using Capital Letters with Proper Nouns.............................................................................................29
4.4.2 Proper Nouns without THE..................................................................................................................29
4.4.3 Proper Nouns with THE.......................................................................................................................31
4.5 Possessive 's................................................................................................................................................32
4.6 Noun as Adjective.......................................................................................................................................32
4.7 Compound Nouns........................................................................................................................................34
4. 8 Execises:....................................................................................................................................................36
5.TESTS................................................................................................................................................................ 37
5.1 Test 1A........................................................................................................................................................37
5.2 TEST 2........................................................................................................................................................37
5.3 TEST 3........................................................................................................................................................39
5.4 TEST4.........................................................................................................................................................42

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1. Adjectives
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and noun
phrases.)
An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a big dog).
Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard).
We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady).
It is sometimes said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. This is because, very often, if we use
the precise noun we don't need an adjective. For example, instead of saying "a large, impressive house"
(2 adjectives + 1 noun) we could simply say "a mansion" (1 noun).

1.1 Determiners
Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at the
beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same noun
phrase.

Articles:
A, An or The?
When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable
nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:
Articles
Definite Indefinite
the

a, an

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general,
we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say:
I saw the moon last night.
I saw a star last night.
Look at these examples:

the

a, an

The capital of France is Paris.

I have found the book that I lost.
Have you cleaned the car?
There are six eggs in the fridge.
Please switch off the TV when you finish.

I was born in a town.

John had an omelette for lunch.
James Bond ordered a drink.
We want to buy an umbrella.
Have you got a pen?

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word.
Look at these examples:
We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a
particular umbrella.)
This little story should help you understand the difference between the and a, an:
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop.
She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think theshop will
accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."

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1.2 Possessive Adjectives

Warning! These are adjectives. Don't confuse them with pronouns!
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something. The possessive adjectives
are:
my, your, his, her, its, our, their
whose (interrogative)
number

person

gender

possessive
adjective

example sentence

singular

1st

male/female

my

This is my book.

2nd

male/female

your

I like your hair.

3rd

male

his

His name is "John".

female

her

Her name is "Mary".

neuter

its

The dog is licking its paw.

1st

male/female

our

We have sold our house.

2nd

male/female

your

Your children are lovely.

3rd

male/female/neuter

their

The students
thanked theirteacher.

1st/2nd/3rd

male/female (not
neuter)

whose

Whose phone did you use?

plural

singular/plural

Compare:
your = possessive adjective
you're = you are
its = possessive adjective
it's = it is OR it has
their = possessive adjective
they're = they are
there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
whose = possessive adjective
who's = who is OR who has
Be careful! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to write
the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example:
it's raining = it is raining
it's finished = it has finished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.

1.2.1 Other determiners:

Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each = every one separately
Every = each, all
Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
Prices go up each year.
Prices go up every year.
But often they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in
general.
Consider the following:
Every artist is sensitive.
Each artist sees things differently.

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Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.

The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in front of the verb:
The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be followed by 'of':
The President spoke to each of the soldiers.
He gave a medal to each of them.
Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how often something happens:
There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
The bus leaves every hour.
Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.

Some, Any

Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount

Any = one, some or all
Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.
some

any

+ I
have somemoney.

example situation
I have $10.

I don't
have anymoney.

I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have

$1,000,000. I have $0.

Do you
have anymoney?

Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way assome/any.

Look at these examples:
He needs some stamps.
I must go. I have some homework to do.
I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
I can see somebody coming.
He doesn't need any stamps.
I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
I can't see anybody coming.
Does he need any stamps?
Do you have any homework to do?
Do you want anything to drink?
Can you see anybody coming?
We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.
I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)
Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is
not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)
Would you like some more tea?
Could I have some sugar, please?
Other Determiners

much, many; more, most

little, less, least
few, fewer, fewest
what, whatever; which, whichever
both, half, all
several
enough
either, neither

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1.3 Adjective Order

There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:
1. before the noun
2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)
adj. noun

verb adj.

1 I like big

cars.

My car is

big.

1.4 Adjective Before Noun

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:
I like big black dogs.
She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.
What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?
1. The general order is: opinion, fact:
a nice French car (not a French nice car)
("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is definitely true about something.)
2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin:
a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table
3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:
articles (a, the)
possessives (my, your...)
demonstratives (this, that...)
quantifiers (some, any, few, many...)
numbers (one, two, three)
Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:
adjectives

noun

deter- opinion fact

miner
age shape
two

nice

colour

old round red

candles

When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and":
Many newspapers are black and white.
She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.
The rules on this page are for the normal, "natural" order of adjectives. But these rules are not rigid, and
you may sometimes wish to change the order for emphasis. Consider the following conversations:
Conversation 1
A "I want to buy a round table."
B "Do you want a new round table or an old round table?"
Conversation 2
A "I want to buy an old table".
B "Do you want a round old table or a square old table?"

1.5 Adjective After Certain Verbs

An adjective can come after some verbs, such as: be, become, feel, get, look, seem, smell, sound
Even when an adjective comes after the verb and not before a noun, it always refers to and qualifies
the subject of the sentence, not the verb.
Look at the examples below: subject verb adjective
Ram is English.
Because she had to wait, she became impatient.
Is it getting dark?
The examination did not seem difficult.
Your friend looks nice.
This towel feels damp.

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That new film doesn't sound very interesting.

Dinner smells good tonight.
This milk tastes sour.
It smells bad.
These verbs are "stative" verbs, which express a state or change of state, not "dynamic" verbs which
express an action. Note that some verbs can be stative in one sense (she looks beautiful | it got hot), and
dynamic in another (she looked at him | he got the money). The above examples do not include all
stative verbs.
Note also that in the above structure (subject verb adjective), the adjective can qualify a pronoun since
the subject may be a pronoun.

1.6 Comparative Adjectives

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different.
Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative
adjectives to describe the differences.
We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).

1.6.1 Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:
short adjectives: add "-er"
long adjectives: use "more"
Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-er"

old older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r

late later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the

last consonant

big bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy happier

Long adjectives

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "more"

modern more modern

expensive more
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':

quiet quieter/more quiet
clever cleverer/more clever
narrow narrower/more narrow
simple simpler/more simple
Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good better
well (healthy) better
bad worse
far farther/further

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1.6.2 Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2
things).
Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
Look at these examples:
John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
America is big. But Russia is bigger.
I want to have a more powerful computer.
Is French more difficult than English?
If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below:
Earth

Mars

Diameter (km)

12,760

6,790

Mars is smaller than Earth.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150

228

Mars is more distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on

Earth.

Moons

Mars has more moons than Earth.

Surface temperature (degrees

Celcius)

22

-23

Mars is colder than Earth.

Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in
fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.
Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt Everest) to
one other thing (all other mountains).

1.7 Superlative Adjectives

A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative
adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.

1.7.1 Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:
short adjectives: add "-est"
long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-est"

old the oldest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st

late the latest

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double

the last consonant

big the biggest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy the happiest

Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

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all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "most"

modern the most modern

expensive the most
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':

quiet the quietest/most quiet
clever the cleverest/most clever
narrow the narrowest/most narrow
simple the simplest/most simple
Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good the best
bad the worst
far the furthest

1.7.2 Use of Superlative Adjectives

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these
examples:
John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.
Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in
the table below:
Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Diameter (km)

12,760

6,790

142,800

Jupiter is the biggest.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150

228

778

Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

10

Jupiter has the shortest day.

Moons

16

Jupiter has the most moons.

Surface temp.
(degrees Celcius)

22

-23

-150

Jupiter is the coldest.

When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)
My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

1.8 Gradable and Non-gradable Adjectives

Adjectives describe qualities (characteristics) of nouns.
Some qualities can vary in intensity or grade (for example: rather hot, hot, very hot; hot, hotter,
the hottest).
The adjective hot is gradable.
Other qualities cannot vary in intensity or grade because they are:
a. extremes (for example: freezing)
b. absolutes (for example: dead)
c. classifying (for example: nuclear)
The adjectives freezing, dead and nuclear are non-gradable.

1.8.1 Gradable Adjectives

A gradable adjective can be used with "grading adverbs" that vary the adjective's grade or intensity.
Look at these examples:

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grading adverbs
a little, dreadfully, extremely, fairly, hugely,
immensely, intensely, rather, reasonably,
slightly, unusually, very

+ gradable adjectives
angry, big, busy, clever, cold, deep, fast, friendly,
good, happy, high, hot, important, long, popular, rich,
strong, tall, warm, weak, young

A gradable adjective can also have comparative and superlative forms:

EC Tip: "Gradable adjectives" are also called "qualitative adjectives". "Grading adverbs" are also
called "submodifiers".
big, bigger, the biggest
hot, hotter, the hottest
important, more important, the most important
Look at these example sentences:
My teacher was very happy with my homework.
That website is reasonably popular. But this one is more popular.
He said that Holland was a little cold and Denmark was rather cold. But Sweden was the
coldest.
EC Tip: The adjective dead is non-gradable because it is anabsolute. Dead is dead. We cannot be more
or less dead. One person cannot be "deader" than another. Other absolutes
include: correct, unique, perfect

1.8.2 Non-gradable Adjectives

A non-gradable adjective cannot be used with grading adverbs:
It was rather freezing outside.
The dog was very dead.
He is investing in slightly nuclear energy.
Non-gradable adjectives do not normally have comparative and superlative forms:
freezing, more freezing, the most freezing
dead, deader, the deadest
nuclear, more nuclear, the most nuclear
Often, non-gradable adjectives are used alone:
EC Tip: Don't try to learn lists of gradable and non-gradable adjectives! It's better to understand what
makes an adjective gradable or non-gradable. This is a matter of logic and common sense. Most nativespeakers have never heard of gradable and non-gradable adjectives. They just "feel" that it doesn't make
sense to say "fairly excellent" or "very unique". You probably have the same idea in your language.
It was freezing outside.
The dog was dead.
He is investing in nuclear energy.
However, a non-gradable adjective can be used with "non-grading adverbs" (which usually just give
the adjective extra impact), for example:
non-grading adverbs non-gradable adjectives
absolutely

awful

utterly

excellent

completely

terrified

totally

dead

nearly

impossible

virtually

unique

essentially

chemical

mainly

digital

almost

domestic

extreme

absolute

classifying

Here are some example sentences with non-gradable adjectives:

Her exam results were absolutely awful. She will have to take the exam again.
Is there anything like it in the world? It must be virtually unique.
It starts an essentially chemical reaction.

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1.8.3 Adjectives that can be gradable and non-gradable

Some adjectives may have more than one meaning or sense. It's possible for the same adjective to be
gradable with one sense and non-gradable with another sense. For example:
adjective

common =

He's got a very old car.

gradable

not young

I saw my old boyfriend yesterday.

non-gradable former, ex-

He has some dreadfully common habits.

gradable

vulgar

"The" is a very common word in English.

gradable

prevalent

The two countries' common border poses problems. non-gradable shared

Adverbs used with gradable and non-gradable adjectives

The adverbs really (very much) and fairly and pretty (both meaning "to a significant degree, but less than very")
can often be used with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:

gradable

non-gradable

Please don't forget! It's really important. He was really terrified.

He's a fairly rich man.

It's a fairly impossible job.

He's pretty tall.

It's pretty ridiculous when you think about it.

"Quite" with gradable and non-gradable adjectives

The meaning of the adverb "quite" changes according to the type of adjective we use it with:

It's quite warm today.

adjective

quite =

gradable

fairly, rather

Are you quite certain? non-gradable completely, absolutely

Reference
Non-gradable adjectives
Although we don't recommend that you learn lists of non-gradable adjectives, here are some for reference. You
can decide for yourself whether they are extreme, absolute or classifying.

alive, awful, black, boiling, certain, correct, dead, domestic, enormous, environmental, excellent,
freezing, furious, gigantic, huge, immediately, impossible, miniscule, mortal, overjoyed, perfect,
pregnant, principal, ridiculous, superb, terrible, terrified, unique, unknown, white, whole
Non-grading adverbs
Again, no need to learn lists. Here are a few examples. There are many more. Remember that you
cannot use all non-grading adverbs with all non-gradable adjectives. Some collocate (go together). Some
don't.
absolutely, almost, completely, entirely, exclusively, fully, largely, mainly, nearly, perfectly, practically,
primarily, utterly, virtually

1.9 Exercises
1 participant was given a sheet containing the agenda of the meeting.
a) All; b) Each; c) Some
2......................witnesses were not really well-meant.
a) All; b) Every; c) Some
3.
There isn't....................water for all the citizens of the village.
a) enough; b) no; c) some
4.
Mary welcomed us this time. She is...........................her mother.

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a) less kinder than; b) less kinder as; c) less kind than

Although she is 10 years younger than her sister, she is....................her.
a) not so beautiful than; b) not more beautiful as;
c) not as beautiful as
6.
My garden is less large than yours, but hers is...............................
a) the least large; b) the least largest; c) the least larger
7.
He is..................boy in the neighbourhood.
a) the handsomest; b) the most handsome; c) more handsome
8.
David is...................than Mike.
a) intelligenter; b) more intelligenter; c) more intelligent
9.
Give him....................job to do. He's only a child.
a) an easier; b) a more easy; c) a more easily
10. He's
very
skilled
at
building
sand
than his brother.
a) easier; b) more easily; c) more easilier
5.

castles.

He

builds

them

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2. What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. It "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man ran
quickly). In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the verb that it modifies is in italics.
John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
Afterwards she smoked a cigarette. (When did she smoke?)
Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It
works verywell). Look at these examples:
Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome. (How handsome is he?)
- That was extremely kind of you.
Modify another adverb:
- She drives incredibly slowly. (How slowly does she drive?)
- He drives extremely fast.
Note that adverbs have other functions, too. They can:
Modify a whole sentence: Obviously, I can't know everything.
Modify a prepositional phrase: It's immediately inside the door.

2.1 Adverb Form

We make many adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, for example:
quick (adjective) > quickly (adverb)
careful (adjective) > carefully (adverb)
beautiful (adjective) > beautifully (adverb)
There are some basic rules about spelling for -ly adverbs. See the table below:
Adjective ending

do this

adjective

adverb

most adjectives

add -ly

quick
nice
sole
careful

quickly
nicely
solely
carefully

-able or -ible

change -e to -y

regrettable
horrible

regrettably
horribly

-y

change -y to -ily

happy

happily

-ic

change -ic to -ically

economic

economically

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. The words friendly, lovely, lonely and neighbourly, for
example, are all adjectives.
And some adverbs have no particular form. Look at these examples:
well, fast, very, never, always, often, still
Note that the form of an adverb can also change to make it comparative or superlative.

2.2 Kinds of Adverbs

Here you can see the basic kinds of adverbs.
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in which something happens. They answer the question "how?".
Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs.

He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?)

They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)
James Bond drives his cars fast. (How does James Bond drive his cars?)
We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic (action) verbs, not with stative or state verbs.
He ran fast. She came quickly. They worked happily.
She looked beautifully. It seems strangely. They are happily.

Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something happens. They answer the question "where?". Adverbs of
Place mainly modify verbs.

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Please sit here. (Where should I sit?)

They looked everywhere. (Where did they look?)
Two cars were parked outside. (Where were two cars parked?)

Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time that something happens. Adverbs of Time mainly
modify verbs.

They can answer the question "when?":

He came yesterday. (When did he come?)
I want it now. (When do I want it?)
Or they can answer the question "how often?":
They deliver the newspaper daily. (How often do they deliver the newspaper?)
We sometimes watch a movie. (How often do we watch a movie?)
Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to which something happens. They answer the question "how
much?" or "to what degree?". Adverbs of Degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with him?)
Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful? How beautiful is Mary?)
He drove quite dangerously. (To what degree did he drive dangerously? How dangerously did
he drive?)

2.3 Adverb Position

When an adverb modifies a verb, there are usually 3 possible positions within the sentence or clause:
1. FRONT - before subject

Now I will read a book.

2. MID - between subject + verb

3. END - after verb/object

I often
I read books

read books.

carefully.

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually goes in front of the word that it
modifies, for example:
adverb
She gave him a really
adverb
We quite

adjective
dirty

look.

adverb
often

study English.

The position of an adverb often depends on the kind of adverb (manner, place, time, degree). The
following table gives you some guidelines for placement based on the kind of adverb.
Warning: these are guidelines only, and not complete. There are many exceptions.
kind of adverb

mainly
modifies

sentence

usual position
adverb

manner

verbs

She stroked his hair gently.

END

place

verbs

He was working here.

END

time definite

verbs

frequency
degree

He finished the job yesterday.

We often

verbs,
adjectives and
adverbs

I nearly
It was terribly
He works really

END
go to Paris.

MID

died.

MID

funny.

before adjective

fast.

before adverb

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2.4 Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Frequency are Adverbs of Time that answer the question "How frequently?" or "How
often?". They tell us how often something happens. Here are some examples:
a. daily, weekly, yearly
b. often, sometimes, rarely
You probably see a difference between a) and b) above. With words like daily we know exactly how
often. The words in a) describe definite frequency. On the other hand, words like often give us an idea
about frequency but they don't tell us exactly. The words in b) describe indefinite frequency.
We separate them into two groups because they normally go in different positions in the sentence.
In this lesson we will look in more detail at:
Adverbs of definite frequency
Examples:
hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
every second, once a minute, twice a year
once, twice, once or twice, three times
Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END position. Look at these
examples:
Most companies pay taxes yearly.
The manager checks the toilets every hour.
The directors meet weekly to review progress.
Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go at the FRONT,

for example:
Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.
Adverbs of indefinite frequency
Examples:
never, seldom, sometimes, often, always
Adverbs of indefinite frequency mainly go in MID position in the sentence. They go before the main verb
(except the main verb "to be"):

We usually go shopping on Saturday.

I have often done that.
She is always late.
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a
sentence:
Sometimes they come and stay with us.
I play tennis occasionally.
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):
We see them rarely.
John eats meat very seldom.

2.5

Exercises
1. Unfortunately, her health was growing..................
a) worse and worse; b) worser and worser; c) worse and worst
2.Jane doesn't drive.............her husband.
a) so fast as; b) as fastly as; c) faster as
3.She sings..........her sister.
a) as good as; b) so good as; c) as well as

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4.These students have ............... made any progress since the beginning of the semester.
a) hardy; b) hard; c) hardly
5.He has been doing............work, that's why he's so tired.
a) hardy; b) hard; c) hardly
The food tastes...............
a) deliciously; b) delicious; c) deliciously
6.She feels.........for having made such a blunder.
a) badly; b) bed; c) bad
7.He took a fast train; it runs very................indeed.
a) fast; b) fastly; c) fasty
8.Look at her! She looks..............
a) beautifuly; b) beautifully; c) beautiful
9. They were urged to play.............
a) fair; b) fairy; c) fairly
10.The dog was running..........about the surroundings of their house.
a) free; b) freely; c) for free

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3. Pronouns
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun.
Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we
would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:
Do you like the president? I don't like the president. The president is too pompous.
With pronouns, we can say:
Do you like the president? I don't like him. He is too pompous.

3.1 Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:
number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)
person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he)
gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)
We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is Josef
but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking
direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about another person, say
John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.
Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:
number

singular

plural

person

gender

personal pronouns
subject

object

1st

male/female

me

2nd

male/female

you

you

3rd

male

he

him

female

she

her

neuter

it

it

1st

male/female

we

us

2nd

male/female

you

you

3rd

male/female/neuter

they

them

Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):
I like coffee.
John helped me.
Do you like coffee?
John loves you.
He runs fast.
Did Ram beat him?
She is clever.
Does Mary know her?
It doesn't work.
Can the engineer repair it?
We went home.
Anthony drove us.
Do you need a table for three?
Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?
They played doubles.
John and Mary beat them.
When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a few
exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal is
domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often
treated as female and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:
This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsation.

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The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage.
My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife.
Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.
For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several solutions to
this:
If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.
We often use it to introduce a remark:
It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
It is important to dress well.
It's difficult to find a job.
Is it normal to see them together?
It didn't take long to walk here.
We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:
It's raining.
It will probably be hot tomorrow.
Is it nine o'clock yet?
It's 50 kilometres from here to Cambridge.

3.2 Demonstrative Pronouns

demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to
A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:
near in distance or time (this, these)
far in distance or time (that, those)
near

far

singular

this

that

plural

these

those

Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an illustration:

This tastes good.
Have you seen this?
These are bad times.
Do you like these?
That is beautiful.
Look at that!
Those were the days!
Can you see those?
This is heavier than that.
These are bigger than those.
Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a
demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.
That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)
That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)
Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when the
person is identified. Look at these examples:
This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?
That sounds like John.

3.3 Possessive Pronouns

We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent")
belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or thing/things).
We use possessive pronouns depending on:
number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)
person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
gender: male (his), female (hers)
Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each possessive
pronoun can:

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be subject or object
refer to a singular or plural antecedent

number

person

gender (of "owner")

possessive pronouns

singular

1st

male/female

mine

2nd

male/female

yours

3rd

male

his

female

hers

1st

male/female

ours

2nd

male/female

yours

3rd

male/female/neuter

theirs

plural

Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)

I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)
I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't find yours. (object = your
key)
My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)
All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport)
John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes)
Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car)
Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos)
Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books)
I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (subject = your garden)
These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children)
John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)
Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's, their's
Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:
There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

3.4 Interrogative Pronouns

We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing that we
don't know (what we are asking the question about).
There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which
Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun).

person

subject

object

who

whom

thing

what

person/thing

which

person

whose

(possessive)

Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the verb, as in "Whom did you
see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal, spoken English we rarely usewhom. Most native speakers
would say (or even write): "Who did you see?"
Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative pronoun
represents is shown in bold.

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question

answer

Who told you?

John told me.

subject

Whom did you tell?

I told Mary.

object

What's happened?

An accident's happened.

subject

What do you want?

I want coffee.

object

Which came first?

The Porsche 911 came first.

subject

Which will the doctor see first?

The doctor will see the patient in

bluefirst.

object

There's one car missing. Whose hasn't arrived?

John's (car) hasn't arrived.

subject

We've found everyone's keys. Whose did you

find?

I found John's (keys).

object

Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from some of these pronouns
(mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to show
confusion or surprise. Look at these examples:
Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing?
Whatever did he say to make her cry like that?
They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?

3.5 Reflexive Pronouns

reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror
We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause.
Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).
There are eight reflexive pronouns:
reflexive pronoun
singular

myself
yourself
himself, herself, itself

plural

ourselves
yourselves
themselves

Look at these examples:

reflexive pronouns
the underlined words are NOT the same
person/thing

the underlined words are the SAME

person/thing

John saw me.

I saw myself in the mirror.

Why does he blame you?

Why do you blame yourself?

David sent him a copy.

John sent himself a copy.

David sent her a copy.

Mary sent herself a copy.

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My dog hurt the cat.

My dog hurt itself.

We blame you.

We blame ourselves.

Can you help my children?

Can you help yourselves?

They cannot look after the babies.

They cannot look after themselves.

3.6 Intensive pronouns

Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and
usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples:
I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?
The President himself promised to stop the war.
She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
The exam itself wasn't difficult, but exam room was horrible.
Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
You yourselves asked us to do it.
They recommend this book even though they themselves have never read it. OR They
recommend this book even though they have never read it themselves.

3.7 Reciprocal Pronouns

reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing mutual action
We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the
other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:
A and B are talking to each other.
The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and you
give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog.
There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:
each other
one another
When we use these reciprocal pronouns:
there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use reciprocal
pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it), and
they must be doing the same thing
Look at these examples:
John and Mary love each other.
Peter and David hate each other.
The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.
Both teams played hard against each other.
We gave each other gifts.
Why don't you believe each other?
They can't see each other.
The gangsters were fighting one another.
The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.
You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's because
in general we use each other more often than one another, which sounds a little formal. Also, some
people say that we should use one another only for three or more people or things, but there is no real
justification for this.

3.8 Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not
definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:
all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many,
nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone
Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the
following sentences:
He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)

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I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one
context and plural in another. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with examples,
as singular, plural or singular/plural.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should
also agree(in number and gender). Look at these examples:
Each of the players has a doctor.
I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:
Many have expressed their views.

pronoun

meaning

example

another

an additional or different person

or thing

That ice-cream was good. Can I

haveanother?

anybody/anyone

no matter what person

Can anyone answer this question?

anything

no matter what thing

The doctor needs to know if you have

eaten anything in the last two hours.

each

every one of two or more people

or things, seen separately

Each has his own thoughts.

either

one or the other of two people or

things

Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't

mind. Either is good for me.

enough

as much or as many as needed

Enough is enough.

everybody/everyone

all people

We can start the meeting

becauseeverybody has arrived.

everything

all things

They have no house or possessions. They

lost everything in the earthquake.

less

a smaller amount

"Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)

little

a small amount

Little is know about his early life.

much

a large amount

Much has happend since we met.

neither

not one and not the other of two

people or things

I keep telling Jack and Jill

but neitherbelieves me.

nobody/no-one

no person

I phoned many times but nobodyanswered.

nothing

no single thing, not anything

If you don't know the answer it's best to

say nothing.

one

an unidentified person

Can one smoke here? | All the students

arrived but now one is missing.

other

a different person or thing from

one already mentioned

One was tall and the other was short.

somebody/someone

an unspecified or unknown person Clearly somebody murdered him. It was not

suicide.

something

an unspecified or unknown thing

singular

Listen! I just heard something! What could

it be?

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you

an unidentified person (informal)

And you can see why.

both

two people or things, seen

together

John likes coffee but not tea. I thinkboth are

good.

few

a small number of people or

things

Few have ever disobeyed him and lived.

fewer

a reduced number of people or

things

Fewer are smoking these days.

many

a large number of people or things Many have come already.

others

other people; not us

I'm sure that others have tried before us.

several

more than two but not many

They all complained and several left the

meeting.

they

people in general (informal)

They say that vegetables are good for you.

all

the whole quantity of something

or of some things or people

All is forgiven.
All have arrived.

any

no matter how much or how many Is any left?

Are any coming?

more

a greater quantity of something; a There is more over there.

greater number of people or things More are coming.

most

the majority; nearly all

Most is lost.
Most have refused.

none

not any; no person or persons

They fixed the water so why is nonecoming

out of the tap?
I invited five friends but none have come.*

some

an unspecified quantity of
Here is some.
something; an unspecified number Some have arrived.
of people or things

such

of the type already mentioned

plural

singular or plural

He was a foreigner and he felt that he was

treated as such.

* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking about countable
nouns (eg five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and "one" is obviously singular. They
say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five friends but
none havecome" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is little to support this view. "None"
has been used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and
the emphasis required.

3.9 Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun
because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here is an example:
The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
In the above example, "who":
relates to "person", which it modifies
introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"
There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*

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Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for
things. That can be used for people** and things and as subject and object in defining relative clauses
(clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information).
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female.
Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:

defining

example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive

notes

- The person who phoned me last night is my

teacher.
- The person that phoned me last night is my
teacher.

That is preferable

- The car which hit me was yellow.

- The cars that hit me were yellow.

That is preferable

- The person whom I phoned last night is my

teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night are my
teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night is my
teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my teacher.

Whom is correct but very formal.

The relative pronoun is optional.

- The car which I drive is old.

- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.

That is preferable to which. The

relative pronoun is optional.

- The student whose phone just rang should

stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy pay extra.
- The police are looking for the car whose driver
was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of which the
driver was masked.

nondefining

Of which is usual for things,

butwhose is sometimes possible

- Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher.

- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.

- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my

teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, are
my teachers.

Whom is correct but very

formal.Who is normal.

- The car, which I was driving at the time,

suddenly caught fire.
P

- My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a

doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out just before
the accident, was completely destroyed.
- The car, the driver of which jumped out just
before the accident, was completely destroyed.

Of which is usual for things,

butwhose is sometimes possible

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*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.

**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use "who/whom"; there is no good
reason for such a claim.

3.10 exercises
1. I wrote the letter myself. Indeed, it is................................who wrote it.
a) me; b) I; c) myself
2. .....................was last week that I heard the news.
a) There; b) That; c) It
3.I find.......................wrong of him to be rude to his elderly relatives.
a) it; b) him; c) there
4.
The little money.....................she has is too little to pay her rent.
a) which; b) that; c) whom
5.
Nothing................I care about has been recently made available.
a) who; b) which; c) that
6......................are the months of the year?
a) Which; b) What; c) Who
7. I don't like that dress.........................do you mean, the one over there?
a) What; b) Which; c) Whom
8. One of them has to admit.............................fault after all.
a) their; b) her; c) his
9.
Every student has to carry out........................assignment.
a) one's; b) their; c) him
10. Take this handkerchief, it's............................
a) your; b) you; c) yours

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4. Nouns
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Likefood.
Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want
(verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
place: home, office, town, countryside, America
thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb.
Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function
1. Noun Ending
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:
-ity > nationality
-ment > appointment
-ness > happiness
-ation > relation
-hood > childhood
But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but
the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
2. Position in Sentence
We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.
Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):
a relief
an afternoon
the doctor
this word
my house
such stupidity
Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:
a great relief
a peaceful afternoon
the tall, Indian doctor
this difficult word
my brown and white house
such crass stupidity
3. Function in a Sentence
Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:
subject of verb: Doctors work hard.
object of verb: He likes coffee.
subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.
But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the
sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".

4.1 Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can
count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)

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Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:
There is one person here.
There are three people here.

4.2 Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We
cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of
milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable

Uncountable

dollar

money

song

music

suitcase

luggage

table

furniture

battery

electricity

bottle

wine

report

information

tip

advice

journey

travel

job

work

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view

scenery

When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.

4.3 Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Countable

Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair

I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

There are so many different noises in the
city.

It's difficult to work when there is too much

noise noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper)

Hand me those student papers.

paper

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some

paper?

Our house has seven rooms.

room Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

How many times have I told you no?

time

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest

works.

work

Have you got time for a coffee?

I have no money. I need work!

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass,
we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
Two teas and one coffee please.

4.4 Proper Nouns (Names)

A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like
John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun - a proper
noun. Proper nouns have special rules.

common noun

proper noun

man, boy

John

woman, girl

Mary

country, town

England, London

company

Ford, Sony

shop, restaurant

Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week January, Sunday

book, film

War & Peace, Titanic

4.4.1 Using Capital Letters with Proper Nouns

We always use a Capital Letter for the first letter of a proper noun (name). This includes names of
people, places, companies, days of the week and months. For example:
They like John. (not *They like john.)
I live in England.
She works for Sony.
The last day in January is a Monday.
We saw Titanic in the Odeon Cinema.

4.4.2 Proper Nouns without THE

We do not use "the" with names of people. For example:

125

first names Bill (not *the Bill)

Hilary
surnames

Clinton
Gates

full names Hilary Gates

We do not normally use "the" with names of companies. For example:
Renault, Ford, Sony, EnglishClub.com
General Motors, Air France, British Airways
Warner Brothers, Brown & Son Ltd
If the full (registered) name of a company starts with "The", then we use "The" if we use the full name,
for example:
The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd
We do not normally use "the" for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other person (with
-'s or -s). For example:
shops

Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys

banks

Barclays Bank

hotels, restaurants

Steve's Hotel, Joe's Cafe, McDonalds

churches, cathedrals St John's Church, St Peter's Cathedral

We do not normally use "the" with names of places. For example:
towns

Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo

states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe

countries

England, Italy, Brazil

continents

Asia, Europe, North America

islands

Corsica

mountains

Everest

Exception! If a country name includes "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc, we use "the":

states

the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA

kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK

republic

the French Republic

We do not use "the" with "President/Doctor/Mr etc + Name":

the president, the king

President Bush (not *the President Bush)

the captain, the detective Captain Kirk, Detective Colombo

the doctor, the professor Doctor Well, Dr Well, Professor Dolittle
my uncle, your aunt

Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill

Mr Gates (not *the Mr Gates), Mrs Clinton, Miss Black

Look at these example sentences:

I wanted to speak to the doctor.
I wanted to speak to Doctor Brown.
Who was the president before President Kennedy?
We do not use "the" with "Lake/Mount + Name":
the lake

Lake Victoria

the mount Mount Everest

Look at this example sentence:

125

We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.
We do not normally use "the" for roads, streets, squares, parks etc:

streets etc

Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue

squares etc Trafalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus

parks etc

Central Park, Kew Gardens

Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy Airport). If the
first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use "the":
people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul's Cathedral
places Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station, Edinburgh Castle

4.4.3 Proper Nouns with THE

We normally use "the" for country names that include "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc:
States

the United States of America/the USA

Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK

Republic the French Republic
We normally use "the" for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans:
canals the Suez Canal
rivers

the River Nile, the Nile

seas

the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean

oceans the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific

We normally use "the" for plural names of people and places:
people (families, for example) the Clintons
countries

the Philippines, the United States

island groups

the Virgin Islands, the British Isles

mountain ranges

the Himalayas, the Alps

Look at these sentences:

I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill's birthday.
Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies.
Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.
We normally use "the" with the following sorts of names:
hotels, restaurants the Ritz Hotel, the Peking Restaurant
banks

the National Westminster Bank

cinemas, theatres

the Royal Theatre, the ABC Cinema

museums

the British Museum, the National Gallery

buildings

the White House, the Crystal Palace

newspapers

the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Post

organisations

the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union

We normally use "the" for names made with "of":

the Tower of London
the Gulf of Siam
the Tropic of Cancer
the London School of Economics
the Bank of France

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the Statue of Liberty

4.5 Possessive 's

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a
singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example:
the boy's ball (one boy)
the boys' ball (two or more boys)
Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the
possessed.
one ball
one boy

more than one ball

the boy's ball the boy's balls

more than one boy

the boys' ball the boys' balls

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)
the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England)
Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases
have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
1. the boyfriend of my sister
2. my sister's boyfriend
4.5.1 Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with names:
This is Mary's car.
Where is Ram's telephone?
Who took Anthony's pen?
I like Tara's hair.
When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:
This is Charles's chair.
But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':
Who was Jesus' father?

4.5.2 Irregular Plurals

Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually
add 'sto the plural form of these nouns:
singular noun

plural noun

my child's dog

my children's dog

the man's work

the men's work

the mouse's cage

the mice's cage

a person's clothes people's clothes

4.6 Noun as Adjective

As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun:
adjective noun
clever

teacher

small

office

black
horse
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an adjective.
noun
as adjective noun
history

teacher

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ticket

office

race

horse

The "noun as adjective" always comes first

If you remember this it will help you to understand what is being talked about:

a race horse is a horse that runs in races

a horse race is a race for horses
a boat race is a race for boats
a love story is a story about love
a war story is a story about war
a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis
tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis
a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers
a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles

The "noun as adjective" is singular

Just like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular form.
Right

Wrong

boat race

boat races

NOT boats race, boats races

toothbrush

toothbrushes

NOT teethbrush, teethbrushes

shoe-lace

shoe-laces

NOT shoes-lace, shoes-laces

cigarette packet cigarette packets NOT cigarettes packet, cigarettes packets

In other words, if there is a plural it is on the real noun only.
A few nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (for example news, billiards, athletics).
When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:
a news reporter, three news reporters
one billiards table, four billiards tables
an athletics trainer, fifty athletics trainers
Exceptions:
When we use certain nouns "as adjectives" (clothes, sports, customs, accounts, arms), we use them in
the plural form:
clothes shop, clothes shops
sports club, sports clubs
customs duty, customs duties
accounts department, accounts departments
arms production
How do we write the "noun as adjective"?
We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several different ways:
two separate words (car door)

two hyphenated words (book-case)

one word (bathroom)
There are no easy rules for this. We even write some combinations in two or all three different ways:
(head master, head-master, headmaster)

How do we say the "noun as adjective"?

For pronunciation, we usually stress the first word:
shoe shop

boat-race
bathroom

Can we have more than one "noun as adjective"?

Yes. Just like adjectives, we often use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these examples:

car production costs: we are talking about the costs of producing cars
noun as noun as
noun
adjective adjective
costs
production costs
car production costs
England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays football
for England
noun as noun as noun as noun
adjective adjective adjective

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coach
team coach
football

team coach

England football
team coach
Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the word
"football" (foot-ball). These two nouns (foot+ball) have developed into a single noun (football). This is
one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as adjective" are regarded as
nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary definition. But not all dictionaries agree with each
other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun and other dictionaries do not.
government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into
accidents on the road for the government
noun as
noun as noun as noun as noun
adjective
adjective adjective adjective
centre
research centre
accident research centre
road accident research centre
government
road accident research centre
Newpapers often use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example:
BIRD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE MURDER MYSTERY
To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a
MYSTERY concerning a MURDER in a CENTRE for RESEARCH into the HEALTH of BIRDS.
Note, too, that we can still use a real adjective to qualify a "noun as adjective" structure:
empty coffee jar
honest car salesman
delicious dog food
rising car production costs
famous England football team coach

4.7 Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually [noun +
noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand
and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by
adjectives and other nouns.
There are three forms for compound nouns:
1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)
2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)
3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)
Here are some examples of compound nouns:
noun
+ noun
bus stop
Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?

adjective

+ noun

verb(-ing) + noun

fire-fly

In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.

football

Shall we play football today?

full moon

I always feel crazy at full moon.

blackboard

Clean the blackboard please.

software

I can't install this software on my PC.

breakfast

We always eat breakfast at 8am.

washing
machine

Put the clothes in the red washing machine.

swimming pool What a beautiful swimming pool!

noun

+ verb(-ing)

sunrise

I like to get up at sunrise.

haircut

You need a haircut.

train-spotting

His hobby is train-spotting.

verb

+ preposition

check-out

Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.

noun

+ prepositional

mother-in-law

My mother-in-law lives with us.

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phrase
preposition + noun

underworld

Do you think the police accept money from

theunderworld?

noun
+ adjective
truckful
We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.
Pronunciation
Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both words are
equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the compound noun "golf
ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns, and nouns are always
stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it as a single noun and so it has a single
main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if
somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a house which is painted green) or "a GREENhouse" (a building
made of glass for growing plants inside).
British/American differences
Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form
for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. For example we
can find:
container ship
container-ship
containership
If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.
Plural forms of compound nouns
In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most
"significant" word). Look at these examples:
singular
plural
a school teacher

three school teachers

one assistant headmaster

five assistant headmasters

the sergeant major

some sergeants major

a mother-in-law

two mothers-in-law

an assistant secretary of state three assistant secretaries of state

my toothbrush

our toothbrushes

a woman-doctor

four women-doctors

a doctor of philosophy

two doctors of philosophy

a passerby, a passer-by
two passersby, two passers-by
Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say
spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Both the old
style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally acceptable, but you should be consistent in
your choice. Here are some examples:
old style plural
new style plural
(very formal)
teaspoonful 3 teaspoonsful of sugar 3 teasponfuls of sugar
truckful

5 trucksful of sand

5 truckfuls of sand

bucketful

2 bucketsful of water

2 bucketfuls of water

cupful
4 cupsful of rice
4 cupfuls of rice
Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find the
plural:
higher-ups
also-rans
go-betweens
has-beens
good-for-nothings
grown-ups
Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and therefore
does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple tree, notapples
tree; matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.
With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first noun
acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these examples:

125

long plural form becomes plural compound noun

[noun + noun]
100 trees with apples

100 apple trees

1,000 cables for telephones

1,000 telephone cables

20 boxes for tools

20 tool boxes

10 stops for buses

10 bus stops

4,000 wheels for cars

4,000 car wheels

4. 8 Execises:
1. This is my pen............is over there.
a) That of George; b) The one of George; c) George's
2. Don't touch that scarf; it's..........
a) of my mother-in law; b) my mother 's-in-law; c) my mother-in-law's
3. Where did you buy these delicious apples? At the....
a) green-grocer; b) green-grocer's; c) green-grocers
4. Let's accept...........invitation and go to the party tonight.
a) Mr. and Mrs. Green's; b) Mr. and Mrs.' Green;
c) Mr.'s and Mrs.' Green
5. The two people over there are.......parents.
How many..........have you got lately?
a) informations; b) information; c) pieces of information
6. They have dug through several......of soil.
a) stratra; b) stratum; c) stratus
7. Could you give me a.........of chocolate, please?
a) item; b) bar; c) lump
8. Look! There's a...........of fish swimming among the stones!
a) shoal; b) flock; c) crowd
9...............is not a game for little children.
a) Billiard; b) Billiards; c) Billiardes
10........................................................They say they'd like to have a
a) billiards-table; b) billiard-table; c) billardes-table

at home.

125

5.TESTS

5.1 Test 1A
A.

Fill in the appropriate word(s) from the list. Use the word(s) only once. (30p)
mentally, elf-like, to reduce, works, hayfever, carnival, live, to shake, to burst into, crime

1 .prevention
2 . anxiety
3 a(n)..face
4 season
5 ...disturbed

6 ......of a-:
7 ...sufferers the screen
8 . .hands
9 ..broadcast
10 a(n)

B. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word(s) from the list below(30p)
inspiration, trend, overwhelming, munched, compassion, flocked, naive

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

She's so........................................you could tell her anything and she'd believe you.
Everyone.......................................to the summer sales; the shops were so busy!
The donkey happily........................................on the carrot.
The.......................................at the moment is to wear bright, cheerful colours.
The sight of the injured children filled her with............................................
The beautiful French countryside was the.........................................for many of Monet's paintings.
The party was a(n)........................................success; everyone said they enjoyed it.
C. Fill in the correct word derived from the words in bold. (30p)

5.2

Laura finds her job as a nurse quite..................................and tiring. (STRESS)

T
2...................................................................................................... He's never been abroad
E
before and felt very.........................................................................about the school trip to
S
Holland. (ENTHUSE)
3 My uncle Bob is an extremely.................................man and has travelled all around the
T
world. (ADVENTURE)
2
4 Despite having a good interview,.. she didn't get the job. (REGRET)
5
The police found .. evidence that he had been in the house at the time of
What
the murder, so they arrested him. (CONCLUDE)
1

BONUS 10p

can
you
buy
from
thes
e
shop
s
(50p
):
1. F
i
s
h
m
o
n
g
e
r

125

a. aspirin, b. ham, c. octopus

BONUS
10p

2. Chemist
a. lettuce, b. olives, c. aspirin
3. Delicatessen
a. padlocks, b. sunglasses, c. sandwiches
4. Boutique
a. blouse, b. toothpaste, c. postcards
5. Tuck shop
a. melons, b. biscuits, c. TV guides
6. Department store
a. envelopes, b. keys, c. sheets
7. Newsagent
a. magazines, b. olives, c. buckets
8. Stationary shop
a. lettuce, b. contact lenses, c. paper clips
9. Locksmith
a. cod, b. padlocks, c. melons
10. Optician
a. contact lenses, b. paper clips, c. toothpaste
11. Ironmonger
a. biscuits, b. buckets, c. cod
12. Greengrocers
a. TV guides, b. keys, c. lettuce

II.

Fill in the correct words: widespread, empty, buying, to get out, to give, to
go on, to start all, the debts (40p)
1. ..pile up
2. .your way out
3. .. for years
4. .. the illusion
5. of control
6. an emotionally . Life
7. the .. use
8. .. over again

125

5.3
T
E
S
T
3
I.

Fil
l
in
the
co
rre
ct
wo
rds
fro
m
the
list
bel
ow
(6
0p
)
Ad
dic
tio
n,
de
bts
,
wi
de
spr
ea
d,
ba
nk
ru
ptc
y,
ch
or
e,
pr
on
e
to,
tar
get
ed,
pil
e
up

125

, overdraft, triggered, stall, auction, bill, loan, discount, refund, tag,

crowded, brands, competitive

1. The company filed for after losing all its customers.

2. His is fighting his .. to smoking pot.
3. He has a huge at the bank and cant give you
any money.
4. To finance his project he needs a .. from the bank.
5. He got into due to his constant spending of money for trifles.
6. If you are not satisfied with our product we will give you a complete

7. She is spending a lot of money on dresses.

8. She finds doing house work a great
9. She owns a small where she sells socks.
10. The product is .. at teenagers.
11. The constant criticism . A bad reaction from him.
12. The is a use of computers in the world nowadays.
13. The price on the . is $79.
14. Dont forget to pay the .
15. Tom never wears anything but famous .
16. Because she didnt fix the problems on time, now all .
and overwhelm her.
17. The companies are very it will be hard to decide on a
winner.
18. He will go to an .. to bid for the statue.
19. The streets are so .. youd think theres nobody left
inside the houses.
20. The company will give you a .. if you by in large
numbers.

II. Choose the best variant (30p):

1. The painting is not for sale; its .
a. invaluable, b. priceless, c. worthless

4. Th
e
de
al
wa
sa
rea
l

..
a. off
er,
b.
re
du
cti
on
, c.
ba
rg
ain
5. Yo
u
ca
n
bu
y
it
on

.
An
d
pa
y
lat
er.

2. The teacher has a huge .. at the bank.

a. loan, b. debt, c. overdraft
3. The dress was half price in the July .
a. sales, b. bids, c. offers

125

a. cash, b. credit, c. cheque

Bonus 10p

125

5.4 TEST4
A. Circle the correct item.(30p)
1. In order for this appliance to function ., the safety screws must be
removed.
A virtually
C properly
B immediately D urgently
2. Jack Brown is a good employer. He is renowned .
his even
temper and patience.
A about B for
C of
D to
3. The carpets are really dirty; will you .. them?
A tidy
B mop
C iron
D vacuum
4. The flat has a small dining room, but the living room is quite
A average
B normal
C roomy
D ideal
5. There is a(n) .
view of the whole valley from my
bedroom window.
A winding
B quaint C bustling
D imposing
6. She . working really hard to get the garden into shape before
it gets too hot.
A is B has
C does
D will
7. What time .. the train for Edinburgh leave?
A is B does C has
C had
8. Despite his age, he was still able to give a(n)..
performance on stage.
A quaint B lively C lovely D idyllic
9. I must have a word John about his timekeeping;
this is the third time this week he's been late.
A with
B for
C from
D of
10. As he took his suit out of the ., he noticed a stain on the
sleeve.
A cabinet
B cupboard C wardrobe
D drawer
B. Cross out the incorrect word. (30p)
1
Our house hasn't got a garage, but it's got a huge back garden besides..
2

She will has been cleaning the attic since early this morning.

I usually go to the bed around midnight.

Look at the sky! Do you think it's going to be rain?

Have you ever' been travelled by plane?

C. Complete the second sentence using the word in bold. You can use two to five
words including the word given. Do not change the word given. (30p)
1. That's the most interesting book I've ever read.
never I
.. interesting book before.
2. We've arranged to have a barbecue next Sunday.
are
We
..
3. It's more than a month since I last went out.

next Sunday.

been I
over a month.
4. The smell of roast beef has been coming from their kitchen all day.
smelling Their kitchen roast beef all day.
5. Mary is still painting the living room.
finished Mary ............................................... the living room yet.
BONUS 10p

125

125

44