UNIT 1 – ENGLISH VERB SYSTEM.

Time and tense

The notion of time – present, past and future – is universal and independent of any particular language. Time can
be thought of as a line: anything ahead the present moment is in the future, and anything behind it is in the past.

Tense is the grammatical expression of relative time. Thus, the tense of a verb tells us that it is present, past or
future. For example, a present tense does not necessarily express an action taking place in the present time. In
the sentence “Fred will have dinner when his wife arrives home.”, the verb arrives is in the Simple Present Tense;

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however, it is used to express a situation that will take place in the future.

Mood
Mood has to do with the emotional attitude of the speaker towards the action. It refers to the factual or non-
factual status of events. Non-factual here means events which do not happen or are only desired. The moods of
English are indicative (or declarative), imperative and subjunctive.

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The indicative or declarative mood is a factual mood. It is by far the most frequent mood. It is the usual mood
in declarative and interrogative sentences.
Sally usually watches TV at night. / Did many people attend the meeting yesterday?
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 The imperative mood is a non-factual mood. The imperative involves the base or plain form (the finite form)
of the verb. We can make an imperative sound politer by using do or please before it. The subject of the verbs
in the imperative is usually “you”, which is generally understood. However, in the “let’s…” construction the
subject is “we”.
It is directive: it covers commands (Get out!), offers (Have a pear.), requests (Please pass me the salt.),
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invitations (Come to dinner.), advice (Get your doctor to look at it.), instructions (To see the picture, click here.)

 The subjunctive mood is a non-factual mood. It refers to wishes, desires, suggestions. It is used after a very
limited number of verbs -suggest, insist, recommend, demand, wish, imagine, suppose -, and occasionally
after conditional subordinators, expressions of necessity and a limited number of set phrases. There are two
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forms of the subjunctive, traditionally called the present and past subjunctive.

 PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
Mandative subjunctive: used in a that clause after an expression of such notions as demands,


recommendation, proposal, intention contained in subordinate clauses. Even when the verb is in the
past tense, the present subjunctive is used.
They insisted that she consult a psychiatrist, and Laura had the strength to insist that it be a
woman.
We require that all receipts be submitted to the committee for approval.
I suggest that you be careful.
It can also be used in the structure “It is important / essential / vital / advisable... that...”.
It is essential that an adult accompany any child under ten.
NEGATIVE MANDATIVE SUBJUNCTIVE
Regulations require that officers NOT ENTER the scene of the crime.
They ordered that he NOT LEAVE.

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 PUTATIVE SHOULD (less formal, not subjunctive)
The school ignored my suggestion that Susan SHOULD SIT fewer GCSEs.
They ordered that he SHOULD NOT LEAVE.

Formulaic subjunctive: It consists of the base form and it is only used in clauses in certain set expressions
which have to be learned as wholes. These expressions are usually used in exclamations to express a wish
or hope, very often involving supernatural powers:

Come what may, we will go ahead. Suffice it to say…

God save the Queen! Damn you!

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So be it. Peace be with you!

 THE WERE SUBJUNCTIVE OR PAST SUBJUNCTIVE

The were-subjunctive is hypothetical or unreal in meaning, being used in adverbial clauses introduced
by such conjunctions as if, if only, as if, as though, and in nominal clauses after verbs like wish, suppose

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and imagine. These sentences are called “counterfactual” because they always imply that the
situation described is actually not the case.
If I were you, I´d tell her the truth. / If only I were taller. / He acted as if he were my boss.
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ASPECT
The GRAMMATICAL ASPECT may be simple or non-progressive (zero or unmarked), progressive, perfect, and
perfect progressive.

The ASPECTUAL MEANING may be perfective (action complete from the POV of speaker) or imperfective (action
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incomplete)

Ann lived in London when I met her.

lived: Simple Past Tense; simple or non-progressive grammatical aspect; imperfective aspectual meaning.
(even though she doesn’t live there now, when I met her the action was incomplete)
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met: Simple Past Tense; simple or non-progressive grammatical aspect; perfective aspectual meaning.
(I met her once, the action is complete)


VOICE
It may be active or passive.

LEXICAL & AUXILIARY VERBS

Lexical verbs denote actions, states or events. They are classified into action verbs (drink; cry, walk; remember;
love; et c.), and linking verbs (be; become; feel; stay, remain, etc.)

Auxiliary verbs:

 Primary auxiliary verbs: be, have and do. They indicate clause type (e.g. interrogative, negative), aspect
(progressive or perfective), and passive voice. These CAN also be used as lexical verbs.

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  Secondary or modal auxiliary verbs: core modal verb (can, could, shall, will, would, must, might, may),
semi-modal verbs (dare, need, ought to, used to) and modal expressions (be able to, have (got) to).

These can be used to:

 Form questions (subject-auxiliary inversion): Are you leaving?

 Form question tags: She looks tired, doesn’t she?
 Form negative sentenced by putting not after the operator: She will not / won’t be staying with us.
 Form progressive tenses (BE): She is sleeping.
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Form perfect tenses (HAVE): She has slept all morning.
 Convey emphasis (emphatic positive): A: finish your work / B: I have finished.
 Substitute the predicate: A: are you leaving) / B: yes, I am (leaving).
 Form the passive voice (BE): The door was opened.

FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS.

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Finite verbs: they make a group of words into a sentence. It may be an action verb, a linking verb or an auxiliary
verb, and be in its base form, 3rd person singular or past simple. Finite verbs can show tense, mood, aspect and
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voice. In a finite verb phrase the first or only verb is finite, and the other verbs (if any) are non-finite.

Non-finite verbs: do not show tense or mood, but they are capable of indicating aspect and voice. The non-finite
forms are the infinitive, the “-ing” forms (present participle and gerund) and the past participle. In a non-finite
verb phrase all the verbs are non-finite.
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E.G: You could have told me that you were not coming back to help me with the children


COULD HAVE TOLD WERE COMING TO HELP

Finite (aux: modal) Non-finite Non-finite Finite (past Non-finite Non-finite

(present (-ed form) (present (TO infinitive)
participle) participle) participle)

Auxiliary Auxiliary lexical Auxiliary lexical lexical

(secondary/modal) (primary (primary BE)
HAVE)

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STATIVE AND DYNAMIC VERBS
Stative verbs: their inherent meaning is not easily compatible with the use of the progressive. This is so because
they describe states or situations that we do not expect to change. These verbs describe states (i.e., conditions
that exist, they have no beginning and no end); they do not describe actions. The progressive can occur with
stative verbs, turning the states into events.

COMMON NONPROGRESSIVE VERBS

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Some of these verbs describe both a state (stative use) and an action (dynamic use):

VERBS OF EXISTING:

Robert is a fool  it’s his nature, it expresses a permanent state  STATIVE VERB
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Robert is being a fool  he is acting foolishly, it’s a temporary situation  DYNAMIC VERB

CONTAIN = have or hold smth within itself

IS CONTAINING (her anger) = to control a strong feeling


VERBS OF SENSES:

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The verbs HEAR and SEE refer to involuntary reactions which correspond to the deliberate acts of “listening” and
“looking” (voluntary activities). When the verbs FEEL and LOOK are used to refer to physical condition or state,
they can occur freely in the simple present tense or in the progressive form with no change of meaning.

NON CONCLUSIVE VERBS:

These denote various mental perceptions, states of mind or feelings (emotional states). These activities cannot be
started or stopped at will. However, some of these verbs are also commonly used as progressive verbs, with a

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difference in meaning:

I believe she is a good teacher  “think” STATIVE VERB

She is always believing his lies!  Present progressive – Showing annoyance. DYNAMIC VERB

She considers him a good husband.  “She finds him …” – STATIVE VERB
I’m considering the idea of travelling to Europe next year.  “I’m studying the idea of …” – DYNAMIC VERB

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I forgot to tell you something more.  STATIVE VERB.
“I failed to remember...”  I’m gradually forgetting my English. Developing situation – Increasing or decreasing
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activity – DYNAMIC VERB

She imagines herself an old woman.  “She believes herself…” STATIVE VERB
She is always imagining she is an old woman.  Showing annoyance on part of the speaker. DYNAMIC VERB.

I don’t mind  “I don’t care”.- STATIVE VERB

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She is minding the baby.  “She is taking care of the baby”-DYNAMIC VERB.

I think you are not right.  “I believe” - STATIVE VERB

I’m thinking of a new plan.  “I’m studying” - DYNAMIC VERB.
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What does it mean?  “What is the meaning of …?” STATIVE VERB

She is meaning to get a new job.  “I’m intending” – DYNAMIC VERB.

I see you are wearing a new suit.  “I perceive” – STATIVE VERB



I’m seeing John at the party tonight.  “I’m meeting …” DYNAMIC VERB – Future time reference.

Most people love/enjoy eating out  “They like in general” – STATIVE VERB. It expresses general preference.
She is loving/enjoying every minute of her holiday.  likes specifically (intensify the emotion) – DYNAMIC VERB.
A: How do you like your new job? B: I’m loving it.  Occasionally, love and hate can be used in the progressive in
conversation for very strong emphasis.

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VERBS SHOWING POSSESION:

They have a cottage in the mountains.  “own” – STATIVE VERB

They are having lunch.  “eat” – DYNAMIC VERB.
They are having a good time.  “experience, undergo” — DYNAMIC VERB.
Some idioms with “have” behaving as action or dynamic verbs:

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VERBS OF APPEARANCE:

She appears to be asleep  “She seems …” – STATIVE VERB.

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She is appearing on the stage.  “She is acting …” – DYNAMIC VERB.

OTHER EXISTING VERBS:

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This box weighs a lot.  “Its weight is …” – STATIVE VERB
The grocer is weighing the fruit  “He is finding out the weight of…” – DYNAMIC VERB

That dress fits you perfectly.  “It is the right size” – STATIVE VERB.
We are fitting a new carpet in the office.  “laying” – DYNAMIC VERB.
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The verbs hurt and ache can be used in either the continuous or simple tenses with no difference in meaning.
My head hurts. / My head is hurting. My stomach aches. / My stomach is aching.
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USES AND MEANINGS OF THE VERB TENSES

 SIMPLE PRESENT
Express permanent actions, timeless actions or eternal truths. The verb is completely timeless; the present is


used without reference to any specific time: there is no limitation on the extension of the state into past and
future. They are statements of what was true in the past, is true now and is likely to be true in future time. It is
found in scientific, mathematical, geographical, proverbial, and other statements made for all time.

Water freezes at 0º C. (scientific statement) Two and two makes four. (mathematical)
Peru shares a border with Chile. (geographical) Honesty is the best policy. (proverbial)

Express actions or events which are considered as permanent. In such cases, we can express simple facts, abilities
and continuous states.
60% of robberies occur in big cities. (fact) She plays the piano. (ability) They live in America. (state)

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Express habitual actions. The habitual present represents a series of individual events which as a whole make up
a state stretching back into the past and forward into the future. Thus, the verb form indicates an established
habit, a series of repeated events, not just a single one. The action is not necessarily happening at the moment of
speaking. Adverbs of frequency and adverb phrases such as always, generally, every day, are often used to specify
the frequency of the repetition.
Sharon usually gets up at four o’clock. She arrives at the film studio at five and has a coffee.

Express future time reference: it is used to refer to a future action that is considered as very certain to happen. It
is usually called future as a fact, as the possibility of changing this action is out of the question or out of the speaker

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control. In many cases, we use it to refer to timetables and programmes. These sentences usually contain future
time words unless the future time reference is given by the context. BOTH THE GRAMMATICAL ASPECT AND THE
ASPECTUAL MEANING ARE IRRELEVANT.
My birthday is tomorrow. Next train leaves at 8:30.

Express an event that happened in the past and is characteristic of narrative style and the popular narrative
conversational style. It describes the past as if were happening now; it conveys something of the dramatic

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immediacy of an eye-witness account. It occurs largely in conversation in which it gives a sense of immediacy to a
past event. It can also be found in newspaper headlines reporting recent events, as the essence of news coverage
is its immediacy. Framing the bold headline statements in the present tense gives them a sense of urgency and
excitement that is thought to be more enticing to the reader.
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At that moment in comes a messenger from the Head office, telling me the boss wants to see me in a hurry.
“BABY STARTS FIRE”

 PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
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Indicate an activity in progress at the moment of speaking or around the time of speaking. The action began in
the recent past, is continuing at present and will probably end at some point of time in the future. The three main
characteristics of the progressive aspect: incompleteness, temporariness and emphasis on duration are present.
Time adverbs such as right now, currently emphasize the immediacy of the ongoing action.
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A: What are you doing? B: I’m watching TV right now.

Refer to an action that is habitual or repeated, but for or over a limited period of time. They are temporary
actions that are going on around now, but not at the actual moment of speaking. Adverbs of time, such as these
days, are essential to denote this meaning.


They are eating out this week because they are having their kitchen redecorated.

Refer to an action that is repeated more often than expected. There’s usually (though not necessarily)
annoyance, irritation, disapproval on the part of the speaker. In this case, it loses its semantic component of
temporariness. Adverbs of frequency such as for ever, constantly are used to reinforce the idea of repetition and
to describe and emphasize a never ending series of events.
He is always calling me to ask some silly question.

Express changing situations or states developing into other states. The verb indicates “increase” or “decrease”
in the activity. It is usually used with such comparative adverbials, adjectives or quantifiers as more and more,
little by little, worse and worse, etc.
More and more forests are disappearing because of fire.

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Indicate an activity which has been arranged, beforehand, for the near future. It has to be contextualized by
adverbs and other time expressions.
I’m coming back in a few minutes. I’m seeing the doctor next Tuesday.

 PRESENT PERFECT
Refer to an activity or state which begins in the past and continues up to the moment of speaking. The activity
has not finished yet, so the time of the action is past and present. The adverbial phrases/clauses are obligatory

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because their omission changes the meaning. This is called the “Unfinished use of the Present Perfect”.
Jane has lived in Scotland since 1980 / for 40 years / so far.

 A habit or repeated event -usually shown by adverbs of frequency- in a period of time leading up to
the present is also expressed by this use of the Present Perfect. The action or event may go on into
the future.
She has often worked at night until now.

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Express an action that began and finished in the past. The time is not specified at all. We talk about the past
without any reference to time because the time is not important or not known or imprecise. Using the Present
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Perfect rather than the Simple Past shows that the past is irrelevant to a present situation: we are interested in
the results of the action. The connection with the past action is valid and important for the speaker. This is usually
called “the finished use of the Present Perfect”.
I’ve finished my work; now I can sit and rest.

Indicate an activity completed in the immediate, recent - but also indefinite - past time. The action took place a
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short time ago. The adverbials just, lately and recently emphasize recency.
I have just had lunch.

Refer to an action that happened (or never happened) before now, at an indefinite, unspecified time in the
past. The exact time when the action happened is not important.
I haven’t had lunch yet.
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Have you ever been to America? I have already had lunch.

Denote an action that was completed during a present incomplete period of time; the period of time is not over
at the moment of speaking. We generally use adverbs or adverbial phrases such as today, this week, this year, etc.
as these expressions denote a period of time that refers partly to the past and partly to the present.


We’ve done very little today.

Describe or talk about a specific number of times we have completed or done something in the past; the exact
time when the action took place is not mentioned.
I’ve smoked ten cigarettes.

Convey future time reference in adverbial clauses of time or condition.

You will be able to play with your friends once / if you have done your homework.
Please, don’t leave until everybody has finished eating.

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 PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Indicate an activity which started in the past and is still in progress at the time of speaking. The action may or
may not go on into the future. It puts emphasis on the duration of the action and on the imperfective meaning
You have been sleeping for ten hours.

Indicate a (temporary) habit which started in the past and has continued up to the present.
Lucy has been walking to work this week.

If the verb is not accompanied by an adverbial of duration, the implication is often that the effects of the

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happening are still visible, that is to say, the action has effects which are still apparent. The action started in the
past and lasted for some time. The action may have finished or may still be going on.
You’ve been fighting again; you’ve got a black eye.

 SIMPLE PAST

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It takes place before the present moment and the speaker has a definite time in mind.

Denotes activities or states in the past without any connection with the present. We are interested in when the
action took place so we usually use adverbial expressions that indicate the specific point in time when the action
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was carried out.
Last night we ate dinner in that Italian restaurant you like so much.

Indicate a definite period of past time.

He drove along the motorway for two hours.
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Express past habits or states that are now finished.

Paul practised every day until he could hit his own mark.

 PAST PROGRESSIVE
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We use it when we are interested mainly in the past activity and in the duration of it. It is used to express a single
activity in progress in the past. We do not mention when the action started or finished. The three main
characteristics are present: incompleteness, temporariness and duration (action in progress).


It was raining hard.

Indicate that an action was repeated (but not permanent) over a limited period of time.
She was eating only one meal a day those days.

Indicate repeated and sporadic past actions that show (though not necessarily) annoyance, irritation,
disapproval, exasperation on the part of the speaker. Adverbs of frequency are usually used to reinforce the idea
of repetition.
She was always borrowing my books.

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 PAST PERFECT
Refers to a past action previous to another past action or stated time in the past. It is used to express “past in
the past”. It is also called “EARLIER PAST”.
She had begun her studies when I met her.

Denote an incomplete past action that had started before another past action and had lasted for some time.
He had been unconscious for several hours when we found him.

Express an action which had started and finished in the past and whose results were visible in the past. This is

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the “RESULTATIVE PAST IN THE PAST”.
Bill had injured his legs in a car accident, so he had to use a wheelchair for six months.

 PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

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It is used to put emphasis on the duration of an action which started in the past and finished in the past before
another past action or a stated time in the past, usually with “for” or “since” or with an adverbial clause of time.
He had been waiting long before she arrived.
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RESULTATIVE PAST IN THE PAST: express an action which lasted for some time in the past and whose duration
caused visible results later on in the past.
She had been shouting all day, so that night she couldn’t speak.
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 SIMPLE FUTURE
We can use the auxiliary “will” to talk about an action or activity that has been planned for the future. In formal
style, “will” is used to talk about future events that have been previously arranged in some detail.
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Where will you stay in Berlin? The meeting will begin at noon.

We use “will” to tell about an action, a state or event that is definitely going to happen in the future.
Aunt Catherine will be 90 next week.

Express “on-the-spot decisions”, that is to say, decisions we make at the time of speaking. It actually represents


the process of decision-making.

There is Sonia. I´ll go and talk to her.

Express promises, threats, warnings, hopes, fears, invitations, refusal, willingness.

I promise I will be punctual next time. He will not stop smoking although you insist.

Requests and offers.

A: I don’t understand this exercise. Will you help me? B: Yes, of course; I will explain it to you in a minute.

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 FUTURE PROGRESSIVE
Indicate an action that will be taking place, in progress (imperfective aspectual meaning), at a certain, stated
time in the future. Sometimes, it is used to refer to situations which are part of the normal course of events or
that are one of a repeated or regular series of events.
I will be travelling to London when you wake up tomorrow.

In certain contexts, there is no difference in meaning between this particular use of the Future Progressive tense
and the use of the Present Progressive tense when used to refer to future actions that are arranged beforehand.
I´m flying / will be flying to Madrid tomorrow morning as arranged.

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 FUTURE PERFECT
Refer to an action that will have been completed prior to or by (not later than) a certain time in the future.
When we use this structure, we think of a future time and look back from that future time to say that something
will be complete.

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I will have finished grading the papers before 4.00 p.m.
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 FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Refer to an action that began before a certain future time, but will not have been completed by then. It is used
to emphasize the duration of an action up to a certain time in the future. The action may continue further.
By the end of the year, they will have been working on that project for ten months.
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 BE GOING TO
Future fulfilment of a present intention / plan / ambition: the speaker has the firm intention of performing or
fulfilling an action.
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I’m going to look for a new place to live next month.

Future fulfilment of a present cause or evidence: show the future culmination of a present cause. It is used in
predictions where there is evidence in the present time that something will happen in the near future.
There is going to be a storm in a minute. (I can see black clouds gathering).


UNIT 2 – CLAUSE ELEMENTS.

THE SUBJECT
The head of a Noun Phrase [NP] may be a noun or a noun equivalent or a nominal.

 [COMMON NOUN] Birds fly

 [NOMINAL ADJECTIVES] The retired suffer a lot.
 [PROPER NOUN] Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

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 TEMPORAL July is a very cold month in our country.
 INDEPENDENT GENITIVE Martin’s was a clear example.
 [PERSONAL PRONOUN] They have been playing cards since two o’clock
 [INDEFINITE PRONOUN] Somebody has sent her a dozen roses
 [DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN] This is my last word.
 [POSSESSIVE PRONOUN] Mike’s is an old car, but mine is even older.

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 [INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN] Who is talking at the back?
 [PRONOMINAL GROUP] One of the students left the classroom
 [INFINITIVE PHRASE] To see is to believe.
 [GERUNDIAL PHRASE] Swimming is good exercise.
 NOUN PHRASE [(PREMODIFIERS) + HEAD + (POSTMODIFIERS)] Little girls like playing with dolls.

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 UNDERSTOOD Listen to me, please. (You)
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GRAMMATICAL SUBJECTS
THE EXISTENTIAL THERE AND THE NOTIONAL SUBJECT

EXISTENTIAL or NONREFERENTIAL THERE: THERE fills the subject position and does not refer to anything
previously mentioned.
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There is a unicorn in the garden. (= A unicorn is in the garden.)

There were some noisy children outside. (= Some noisy children were outside.)

THE INTRODUCTORY OR ANTICIPATORY IT

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It is used when we want or need to anticipate the subject, generally when the subject is long. The Anticipatory IT
has no meaning and merely performs a grammatical function. The resulting syntactic construction has two
subjects: the “anticipatory” or “introductory” subject and the “Postponed” or “Real” subject, which is the actual
carrier of meaning.
It’s lovely not to worry about the weather.


It’s great eating in a different restaurant every night.

IT AS DUMMY / NON-REFERENTIAL OR SEMANTICALLY EMPTY SUBJECT.

In such cases, “it” carries no information, so we call it an “empty subject” or “dummy it”. It can also be called
“non-referential subject” because it appears to have no clearly definable antecedent. We can use “it” to refer to:

 Weather / atmospheric conditions: It’s too windy in Chicago.

 Environment: It’s too cold in my room.
 Time: It’s getting late.
 Distance: It seems far from here to the mountains. How far is it to Oxford?

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THE VERB PHRASE
It expresses the action or state to which other elements relate, and it controls the other kinds of elements and
meanings that can be in the clause.

THE OBJECT
An object is a noun phrase; it usually follows the verb and it only occurs with transitive verbs. It occurs with the
monotransitive pattern and the ditransitive pattern.

THE PREDICATIVE

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A predicative can be an adjectival phrase or a noun phrase. It follows the verb phrase and (if one is present) the
direct object. There are two major types of predicative: the subject complement and the object complement.

ADVERBIALS
 OBLIGATORY ADVERBIALS: Some verbs take an adverbial to complete their meaning. This is known as an
obligatory adverbial. Obligatory adverbials can occur with two patterns: the copular pattern and the

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complex transitive pattern. Obligatory adverbials usually express place or direction although they can also
express time or manner meanings, as in:
Classes start in April.
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She placed the baby on a blanket in the living room.
She treated him very badly.
 OPTIONAL ADVERBIALS: they can be added to clauses with any type of verb. They are usually adverbial
phrases, prepositional phrases or noun phrases. More than one optional adverbial can occur in a simple
clause. They are rather loosely attached to the rest of the clause: whereas the verb phrase is central, the
optional adverbial is relatively peripheral. The adverbial could be omitted without making the clause
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structurally incomplete, but it still causes a difference in meaning. Optional adverbials add extra, further
information to the clause, such as place, time, manner, extent, and attitude:
Personally, I don’t like it. (attitude)
She loves him very deeply. (manner)
Stella has been working hard in her office since eight in the morning. (manner, place, time)
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BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS

A verb is intransitive (Vi) when the action denoted by the verb does not pass over from the subject to anything
else (only the subject suffers the action). When information about manner, place or time is not essential, it’s not
considered to be part of the pattern, so it’s an optional adverbial.

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If the main verb requires a direct object to complete the sentence, it is a transitive verb. The direct object refers

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to a person or thing directly affected by the action described in the sentence. A verb is called monotransitive
(VMT) when it takes only one object (the direct object).
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Often, the people we are talking to know what the object is because of the situation, or because the object has
!! already been mentioned. In this case, we can omit the object, even though the verb is transitive.
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(a car)
(cigarettes)
(the question)


THE COGNATE OBJECT

It allows to make a verb which is usually intransitive (lacking any object), transitive. It is an object alike to the verb;
it is formed from the same root as the verb.

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A verb is ditransitive (VDT) when it takes both a direct and an indirect object (who or what benefits from an action).
In some cases, the indirect object uses the connecting preposition “to” or “for”; in some cases, there is no
connecting preposition.

OM
.C
DD
LA

If a verb requires a subject complement (Cs) to complete the sentence, the verb is a linking verb. The subject
complement typically identifies or characterizes the person or thing denoted by the subject. The subject
complement is typically a noun phrase or an adjectival phrase. The subject complement is an obligatory
constituent in the sense that it completes the meaning of the verb.
A copula or linking verb is a verb that links the subject and the complement of a clause: “be”, “seem”, “become”,
FI

“look”, “stay”, “keep”, “remain”, “get”, “make”, “taste”, “sound”.



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A Complex Transitive verb (VCT) is a transitive verb that takes a direct object and an object complement that
completes the predication by giving same information about the object. An object complement (Co) is a part of a
clause that provides information about the object: it tells us what it is, is called or is thought to be. It may be a

OM
noun phrase or an adjectival phrase. The Object Complement is usually introduced by verbs with the following
types of meanings:

a. Verbs expressing “causing to remain in a certain state” such as “leave”, “hold” and “keep”.

.C
DD
b. Verbs expressing “mental processes” such as “believe”, “consider”, “think”, “find”, “imagine”, “judge”,
“presume”.
LA

c. Verbs expressing “affection processes” such as “want”, “like”, “prefer”.

FI


d. Verbs that represent “processes of doing”, such as “bake”, “drive”, “get”, “paint”, “rub”, “send”, “serve”,
“wipe”.

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e. Verbs of “declaring” which confer an official status e.g. “name”, “appoint”, “declare”, “call”, “proclaim”,
“report”, “certify”.

OM
.C
There are a number of verbs such as “keep”, “put”, “place”, “set”, “stick” that need an obligatory adverb to
complete their sense.
DD
LA
FI

Some intransitive verbs express movement or position such as “go”, “creep”, “lead”, “hang”, “live”, “stand”,


which often require an obligatory adverbial (Aobl.) that names the direction or destination of the action.

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Some verbs such as “be”, “stay”, “remain”, “keep”, etc., which are linking verbs when followed by a subject
complement, can be followed by an obligatory adverbial (Aobl.).

OM
.C
DD
PHRASES
A NOUN PHRASE is a structural unit comprised of a noun (the head element) or a noun equivalent either alone
or accompanied by any additional elements modifying the meaning of the noun in some way. These elements may
be determiners (they specify the reference of a noun) or modifiers (they describe or classify the entity denoted
by the head noun).
LA
FI


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An ADJECTIVE PHRASE contains an adjective as head, optionally accompanied by modifiers, e.g. rather poor, very
intelligent, quite difficult.

OM
An ADVERB PHRASE is a word or group of words containing an adverb as head, which may optionally be modified.
Most modifiers are premodifiers, with the exception of enough and indeed, which postmodify the adverb heads.

.C
DD
A VERB PHRASE contains a head or main verb, either alone or accompanied by one or more auxiliaries: a verb
phrase is a structure unit containing a lexical verb and any auxiliaries or particles associated with it.
LA
FI

A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE consists of a preposition or a prepositional group followed by an NP that functions as

the prepositional complement or object of a preposition.


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Some prepositional phrases are introduced by complex prepositions, which generally introduce prepositional
phrases that function as adverbials.

OM
.C
DD
An INFINITIVE PHRASE contains an infinitive as head, optionally accompanied by complements.
LA
FI

A GERUNDIAL PHRASE contains a gerund as head, optionally accompanied by complements. It fulfils the
functions of a noun.


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A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE contains a participle as head, optionally accompanied by complements. It fulfils the
functions of an adjective or an adverb.

OM
.C
SENTENCE / CLAUSE ANALYSIS
DD
LA
FI


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UNIT 3 – THE NOUN PHRASE.

Noun phrases are made up of obligatory and optional elements. An indispensable element is the HEAD, the one
without which there could exist no Noun Phrases (NPs). The head is most typically a noun but it can also be a
NOUN EQUIVALENT. PRONOUNS are usually called noun equivalents and frequently constitute the heads of NPs
(for instance, he in “He slunk away”). Not in all cases but for a great number of NPs a DETERMINATIVE element
cannot be dispensed with either. One clear example of this is the definite article the, which in all but one of the
following sentences is definitely obligatory. An optional constituent can be the MODIFIER (pre-modifiers {old} and

OM
post-modifiers {in brown}).

He slunk away.

The man slunk away.

The old man slunk away.

.C
The old man in brown slunk away.

The old man in brown that was sitting at the front slunk away.

The old man in brown that was sitting at the front when I was teaching slunk away.
DD
Classification of nouns
We may classify nouns into countable nouns, uncountable nouns, proper nouns, and collective nouns.


LA

COUNTABLE NOUNS: They refer to individual people or things. They have both singular and plural forms. The
latter form is usually formed by adding s though there are some irregular plurals. Those nouns that are
preceded by “a / an” are always countable and are always singular. When they are singular they are generally
used with a determiner such as a, an, the, each, his, or with a possessive such as John’s.

an apple three apples some books the cup(s) my car

FI

Although count nouns are normally used with a determiner when they are singular, there are some specific cases
when a singular count noun is used without a determiner:


1. After nouns such as kind, sort or type followed by the preposition of:
He has developed a control system that relies on three kinds of computer.
There isn’t any money to undertake this type of project.

2. After noun groups indicating size or distance and the preposition of:
She had two feet of intestine removed.

3. After the noun change and the preposition in or of:

They claimed for a change of leader.
His change in mood was a consequence of several factors.

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 4. After the nouns role and job followed by the preposition of or as:
This is because the job of manger never really appeals to Bonds.
In his role as judge, he tried to keep order all the time.

5. After the noun choice followed by the preposition of:

You may find your choice of tree restricted by the type of soil you have and by the climate.
He had been lucky in his choice of career.

6. When referring to a unique job:

OM
She has been captain since 1989.
Why does he want to be president?

7. In pairs and lists:

Therapist and patient work together.
A holy city for Muslim, Jew and Christian alike.

.C
 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS: There are two types of uncountable nouns: mass nouns (they cannot be easily
counted or divided) and abstract nouns (they refer to general concepts, feelings and ideas). They have no
DD
plural form. They are usually used without a determiner although, in some cases, they can be preceded by a
determiner such as some, any, all, her, or a possessive like John’s. They can also be used with the definite
article the or the demonstratives this/that when the thing they refer to is specified.

I have found great comfort in your comments.

LA

Try to keep any conflict between you and your ex-partner to a minimum.
It’s my pleasure to meet you.
FI


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 OM
.C
DD
LA
FI

(general ideas, concepts, feelings)



NOUNS WITH DUAL CLASS MEMBERSHIP. (they combine the behaviour of count and uncount nouns.)
a) Some nouns are uncountable when we talk about the abstract concept, but they are countable when we talk
about one specific or individual instance of a state, quality or concept.

UNCOUNTABLE COUNTABLE
Kindness A kindness
Crime A crime
Beauty A beauty
Strength Strengths

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They have received kindness, thoughts and good wishes from total strangers. (uncountable use)
It would be a “cruel kindness” to uphold the country court order. (countable use)

Crime has increased in our city in the last few years. (uncountable use)
More and more crimes happen every year. (countable use)

She had beauty in her youth. (uncountable use)

She was a beauty in her youth. (countable use)

Swimming is a sport which requires strength and endurance. (uncountable use)

OM
Your plan has both strengths and weaknesses. (countable use)

b) Some nouns which are uncountable when we talk about the material become countable when we refer to a
specific thing that has a particular meaning.

wood paper iron cloth rock

.C
Wood burns more easily than coal. (uncountable use)
We got lost in a wood. (countable use)
DD
c) Many substances, drinks and food stuffs are uncountable when they are thought of as a mass, but can be
countable when they refer to a unit, a piece of specimen or a particular variety. In informal English, drinks and
some types of food which are normally uncountable can be counted, especially when we are making an order
in a café or restaurant.
LA
FI

They don’t eat chicken very often. (uncountable use)



That farmer doesn’t raise chickens. (countable use)

d) Some mass nouns cannot be used to refer to a single item, so a different word must be used:

clothing money a poem

laughter a garment a coin, a note

luggage a laugh

poetry a case, a bag

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e) Nouns for animals are count nouns; nouns for meat are mass nouns:

a cow / beef a deer / venison

a pig / pork a sheep / mutton

FORMATION OF NOUNS
Simple nouns

OM
In English, there are some typical noun endings that can help us identify a word as a noun.

1. Nouns derived from verbs:

arrive - arrival
attend - attendance
agree - agreement

.C
end - ending
beg - beggar
DD
2. Nouns derived from adjectives
happy - happiness
private - privacy
ideal - idealism
active - activist
LA

3. Personal nouns derived from another noun

vegetable - vegetarian
address - addressee
farm - farmer
FI

4. Abstract nouns derived from concrete nouns

brother - brotherhood
slave - slavery


Compound nouns
Compound nouns are made up of two or more words. They form a single noun. CN can be written as:

- a single word: playboy; policeman; bedroom; rainfall…

- separate words: flower pot; computer programme; washing machine…
- a word with a hyphen: dining-table; take-off; sit-in; passer-by; dry-cleaning…

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Compound nouns with more than two nouns
Some compounds, which have more than two component words are called complex compound nouns. These are
formed by successively combining words into compounds. Compounds of length longer than two words are less
frequent in general, and are more typical of technical and scientific texts.

one-parent family back-seat driver parent-teacher association

OM
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender refers to the division of nouns into masculine, feminine, neuter and common. Nouns in
English have natural gender. This means that natural sex distinction determines English gender distinction.

1. Masculine gender for nouns referring to male beings (replaceable by “he”): boy / man / uncle / etc.
2. Feminine gender for nouns referring to female beings (replaceable by “she”): girl / woman / aunt / etc.
3. Neuter gender for nouns referring to inanimate beings (replace able by “it”): book / house / pencil / chair /

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etc.
4. Some nouns have common or dual grammatical gender, that is, they refer to either male or female beings:
doctor / teacher / student / cousin / child / friend / etc.
DD
In some cases, the feminine is formed by adding “ess” to the masculine:

host - hostess waiter - waitres god - goddess manager- manageress

In some cases, the feminine is formed by adding “rix” to the masculine:

LA

aviator - aviatrix legislator - legislatrix

administrator - administratrix executor - executrix

FI

 In two cases, the masculine derives from the feminine:

widow - widower (masc.) bride - bridegroom (masc.)



 In other cases, the gender is distinguished by different words:

boy – girl cock – hen stallion – mare lad – lass

bull – cow gander – goose ram – ewe usher – usherette

 In words of common gender, the distinction may be shown by a compound in which one element denotes the
sex:

manservant – maidservant boyfriend – girlfriend landlord – landlady

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Partitive constructions
Both countable and uncountable nouns can enter partitive constructions, i.e., constructions denoting part of a
whole. Such constructions express both quality partition (which is expressed by a partitive count noun like kind,
sort or type followed by an of-phrase.) and quantity partition (a piece of; a bit of; an item of; etc.) Partitives can
be used with mass or count nouns:
a loaf of bread (Mass)
a box of matches (Count)

OM
 They are particularly useful when we want to refer to specific pieces of mass nouns (uncountable substance):

.C
DD
 They also allow us to make noncount nouns countable.
two bottles of water
two scoops of ice cream
six pounds of coffee
LA

a) Specific partitives:

a lump of sugar a gust of wind

a slice of meat / ham a flake of snow
FI

a rasher of bacon / ham a pool of water

a block of Wood a shower of rain
a heap of earth a flash / bolt of lightning
a bit / a blade of grass a clap / a peal / a crash /a roll of thunder


a piece / a lump of coal a round / a thunder of applause

a cloud of / a speck of dust a handful of occasions
a section of a newspaper a roomful of antiques / furniture
a word of information a suite of furniture
a stroke of good luck a pile of laundry / books
a verse of a poem an item of clothing
a piece of stereo equipment a stick of dynamite
a roll of film a cake of soap

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 b) “Containers” used as partitives:
a bag of flour a flask of tea a carton of milk / OJ
a can of beer a pot of yoghurt a carton of eggs

c) Small quantities:
a grain of rice a lock of hair a bit of chalk
a crust of bread a dash of soda a pat of butter

d) Measures:

OM
metre of/ a length of cloth a pint of milk
a gallon of petrol a sack of potatoes / coal

e) “a game of”
a game of bridge / chess / tennis / football

.C
f) “abstract concepts”
a period of calm a fit of anger / passion an atom / a grain of truth
a bit / a piece / a word of advice a piece of research an act of courage
a branch of knowledge a segment of society
DD
g) Some measure words used to talk about the shape or appearance of the food item:
an ear of corn a clove/a head of garlic a head of lettuce
LA

Proper nouns:
Some important categories of proper nouns are:

 personal names: William; Mr. Thompson

 names of animals (pets): Fido (a dog’s name)
FI

 geographical names: the Pacific; the Andes; London University

 public buildings and institutions: St. Paul’s Cathedral; The Eiffel Tower;
 holidays; festivals of the year: Christmas; Easter


 months and days of the week: Tuesday; October

 names of people in fiction: Santa Claus; Harry Potter
 titles of magazines, newspapers, books and movies: The Times; Carry On
 languages: French; Japanese
 beliefs and their followers: Buddhism - Buddhists; Christianity - Christians; Judaism - Jews
 business companies and other organisations: Longman; Real Madrid (a football team)

Proper nouns are not used with determiners (except for the definite article in some cases such as the Pacific, the
Eiffel Tower, the United States) and they do not vary in number.

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Collective nouns:
They are words which refer to groups of single entities (people, animals, objects). They behave like ordinary
countable nouns; they vary in number and definiteness.

1. specific collective nouns like committee, crew, family, etc.

2. generic collective nouns like the aristocracy, the clergy, the public, etc.

3. unique collective nouns like the Arab League, Parliament, the United Nations, the Vatican, the Commons,

OM
the Olympic games, the BBc, the Church of England, etc.

Of-collectives
One special class of collective nouns often comes before an of-phrase describing the members of a group. These

.C
are called of-collectives.

a set of characteristics a family of mice

a herd of cows a pride of lions

DD
a pack of lies a troop of monkeys

a series of accidents a school of dolphins

a swarm of bees a clutch of eggs

LA

a troupe of actors a suite of rooms

a horde of tourists / savages a nest of tables

a party of cyclists a cluster / a clump of trees

FI

a gang of art thieves a fleet of ships / boats / ambulances

a board of directors a heap of stones



FORMATION OF THE PLURAL

Most nouns form their plural by adding “s” to the base.

chair - chairs

However, with nouns ending in ch pronounced / k /, we should add only “s”.

stomach – stomachs epoch - epochs

Nouns ending in a vowel + -y take –s in the plural.

toy - toys

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Nouns ending in a consonant + y drop the “y” and take –ies in the plural.

Baby - babies

However, the plural of proper nouns is formed by adding “s”, not “es”.

Kennedy - Kennedys

Nouns ending in o take –es to form the plural form.

tomato - tomatoes

OM
Notice that some nouns ending in –o take either –es or –s. Some of these are:

buffaloes / buffalos mosquitoes / mosquitos

However, some nouns – mostly abbreviations, musical terms of Italian origin, and some words which were
originally foreign – take only –s to form the plural:

.C
piano – pianos virtuoso - virtuosos (but also virtuosi)

concerto - concertos (but also concerti) libretto - librettos (but also libretti

Nouns ending in f, ff or ffe add –s to form the plural.

DD
roof - roofs

There is, however, a group of nouns ending in f that change f into –ves to form the plural.

calf - calves
LA

Notice that with some nouns ending in f both plural endings are possible:

scarf: scarfs / scarves

There are some nouns which are completely irregular. These form their plural by changing the middle vowel(s).
FI

ox - oxen louse - lice child - children goose - geese

ZERO PLURALS: There are some nouns which do not change in the plural.

series spacecraft deer carp offspring



trout sheep salmon aircraft elk

species aircraft reindeer hovercraft

There is a group of nouns that look singular but are in fact plural.

cattle people police clergy

Although some nouns look plural (they end in s), they are in fact singular.

Economics ethics darts athletics

news phonetics bowls mumps

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 (the) bends hives rickets hiccups

measles rabies shingles AIDS

A number of nouns only occur with a plural suffix and are known as pluralia tantum.

Belongings Valuables `pyjamas Greens

Procedes Oats Archives Brains

Riches Wages Tweezers Abdominals

OM
Foreign plurals

Both their singular and their plural forms have been borrowed from other languages, which means that the plural

.C
ending is not the regular English -s, but something else.

alumna - alumnae erratum - errata vertebra - vertebrae

alumnus - alumni larva - larvae corpus - corpora

DD
axis - axes medium - media nucleus - nuclei

bacillus - bacilli stratum - strata radius - radii

bacterium - bacteria datum - data

LA

Words of Greek origin:

analysis - analyses hypothesis - hypotheses synopsis - synopses

basis - bases oasis - oases thesis - theses

FI

crisis - crises parenthesis - parentheses

criterion - criteria phenomenon - phenomena

There are some foreign words in English that have both the original foreign plural form and an English one.


appendix - appendixes - appendices formula – formulae - formulas

aquarium - aquaria - aquariums maximum - maxima - maximums

cactus - cacti - cactuses memorandum – memoranda - memorandums

fungus – fungi - funguses minimum - minima - minimums

syllabus - syllabi - syllabuses retina - retinae - retinas

curriculum - curricula - curriculums symposium - symposia - symposiums

focus - foci - focuses

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Many foreign words have become completely naturalised and always take the English plural.

Asylum - asylums campus - campuses panacea - panaceas

bonus - bonuses circus - circuses solo - solos

Nouns from French that end in eau in the singular and in eaux in the French plural, usually have “s” endings in
English:

bureau - bureaus plateau - plateaus tableau - tableaus

OM
Plural of proper Nouns
When proper nouns are re-classified as common nouns, they may take the articles and form the plural.

They consider themselves Shakespeares. (= good writers)

.C
Plural of Compound Nouns.
DD
1. When compound nouns are written as one word, their plural is formed in the regular way:

Railways bookcases toothbrushes classrooms

When the compound noun is written as two words, or as words joined by a hyphen, you add –s to the second
word:
LA

information offices shopping centres fire engines

In the previous examples the last element is a count noun. If the last element is a mass noun, of course the
compound has no plural form:

Homework moonlight
FI

2. If the first element is a verb, the plural suffix goes at the end:

grown ups pullovers push-ups

3. Compounds consisting of a count noun + preposition or prepositional phrase, take the plural on the first


element (the noun):

sisters-in-law lookers-on passers-by runners-up

4. In compounds whose first element is “man” or “woman”, both elements become plural:

manservant menservants woman doctor women doctors

5. Compounds in “ful” tend to take the plural in the second element; however, they may also take it in the
first element.

mouthful mouthfuls mouthsful spoonful spoonfuls spoonsful

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The Genitive Case
Genitive case is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun. It often marks a noun as
being the possessor of another noun; however, it can also indicate various other relationships than possession.
The apostrophe s (‘s) also called inflected genitive (pre-modifying genitive) and the of construction –also called
periphrastic genitive (post-modifying genitive).

1. We add ‘s to singular nouns. This is called the “inflected” genitive.

the girl’s toys Sam’s bedroom

OM
2. With some proper names (chiefly classical ones) ending in “s”, we generally use only the apostrophe;
however the apostrophe ‘s can also be used:
Hercules’ labours / Hercules’s labour Archimedes’ law / Archimedes’s law

3. For plural nouns ending in “s” we add apostrophe only.

the boys’ house the soldiers’ horses the babies’ toys

4. For plural nouns not ending in “ s” we add “’s”

.C
the men’s room the women’s Society the children’s voices

5. The apostrophe “s” forms an additional syllable when the noun ends in a sound to which the ‘s cannot be
DD
added in the same syllable. This occurs with proper nouns and monosyllabic words.
fox’s horse’s James’s

6. When two or more nouns possess the same object, we add the ’s to the last noun. In this case, the genitive
is called the group genitive. It is also called a group possessive or phrasal possessive. Group genitive
constructions are more common in everyday speech than in formal writing.
LA

Caroline and Susan’s sister went away last night.

This is Aunt Susan and Uncle Martin’s house.

7. When two or more nouns possess an object of the same kind, we add an ’s to each. In this case, the genitive
is called the coordinated genitive.
John’s and Arthur ’s shoes want polishing
FI

Stella’s and Paul’s cars are brand new.

8. With compounds and names consisting of several words, the last word takes the ’s.
My brother-in-law’s car
Henry the Eight’s wives


The Prince of Wales’s helicopter

Different uses and meanings of the Genitive Case

1. The genitive form with apostrophe “s” is used with personal nouns and personal indefinite pronouns to
indicate possession, as in:
my father ’s name John’s house the girl’s toys
We wish to know / somebody’s opinion
/ somebody else’s opinion

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2. The genitive case can be used as an adjective to qualify or describe a noun. It denotes “connected with”.
a master ’s degree a boy’s college woman’s clothes

3. The apostrophe form is also used in expressions of time, distance, weight, value, volume or capacity and
other measurements.

 Time: a week’s holiday – a year ’s absence – tomorrow’s weather - yesterday’s news – a ten hours’ delay
 Weight: a pound’s weight of sugar
 Value: a shilling’s worth of fruit – ten dollars’ worth of steak
 Distance: a five miles’ drive – a boat’s length

OM
 Volume: a twenty litres’ tank – etc.

However, there is a tendency to put “a” before such expressions and use them as adjectives: a three day job, a
ten minute speech, a fifty minute walk. In this case, such constructions are singular in form and take a singular
verb:
A twenty minute walk every morning helps to keep me fit.

.C
The constructions “twenty minute”, “three year”, are adjectival, i.e. they are used as adjectives before a noun. As
adjectives in English have no plural form in English, the plural ending is not used.

4. The apostrophe form is used with dignified objects (objects which are unique):
DD
the sun’s rays Nature’s children
the moon’s light Heaven’s door
the earth’s surface

5. The genitive with apostrophe is also used with some geographical or institutional names.
Ireland’s beauty The National Bank’s employees
LA

Virginia’s senators Oxford University’s history

the world’s problems London’s traffic

6. The genitive is frequently used elliptically, i.e. without a headword, when referring to business, building, etc.
This is called the “independent genitive”.
FI

We’ve been to St. Paul’s. (Cathedral) She bought it at Hartridge’s. (shop)

I’ll be at my sister ’s this afternoon. (house) She was taken to St. Mary’s (Hospital)

7. We also use the possessive ‘s in some expressions of time.

next year ’s plans a fortnight’s holiday a moment’s rest


8. Collective nouns may take the inflected genitive:

the committee’s decision Parliament’s power

9. English has a few set expressions consisting of apostrophe form + noun, in which the genitive form has
become fixed and the resulting phrase is an idiom.
to have something at one fingers’ ends for goodness’ sake
to be a stone’s throw away at one’s wits’ ends
to be at death’s door in my mind’s eye
to keep someone at arm’s length in / out of harm’s way

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10. If we want to describe something unusual and different about a person, we can use the of form to indicate
something special.
Pavarotti has the voice of an angel. Stephanie has the hands of an artist.

11. The double genitive.

It is also called a double possessive, oblique genitive, and postgenitive. The double genitive is a phrase in which
possession is indicated by the preposition of followed by the possessive form of a noun or pronoun in a friend of
Eric's. In other words, it combines the inflected genitive with the of construction.
He’s a friend of John’s. (one of his friends) This is a play of Shakespeare’s.

OM
She is a cousin of my father’s. This is an old dress of my mother’s.

Notice that the first noun has indefinite reference (a friend …, a cousin …) and the second noun must be definite
and human (John’s, hers, my mother ’s). This construction is important because it helps to make a difference
between:
a portrait of Rembrandt (genitive of quality; a portrait showing Rembrandt)
a portrait of Rembrandt’s (one painted by him or belonging to him)

.C
The Double Genitive is common in English when we want to emphasize the person who possesses rather than
DD
the thing which he/she possesses.
It is one of Daniel’s habits to get up early.
It was one of my father ’s favourite expressions.
It is one of Mary’s weaknesses to eat too many sweets.
Any idea of yours would be welcome.
LA

The Double Genitive is also used to show contempt, arrogance, or a desire to ridicule on the part of the speaker.
We should use words such as this, that, these or those before the noun.
These shoes of Henry’s. Those dirty hands of yours.
That silly old hat of Mary’s. This idea of hers.

When we want to say that someone owns more than one of something, we can use two possessives: of +´s
FI

Robin was reading a novel of Peter’s. I borrowed a pair of gloves of Sue’s.

(Peter has several novels) (Sue has more than one pair of gloves)

12. The apostrophe form is not normally used with inanimate beings, instead, we use a phrase with “of”. This


is sometimes called the periphrastic genitive.

the leg of the chair the bank of the river the top of the hill

In some cases, there is an alternative form:

the side of the road = the roadside

13. The apostrophe form is not used with a noun which is postmodified by a phrase or a relative clause.
The camera of the man / by the car/ is very expensive x The man’s camera by the car is expensive

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SUBJECT AND VERB CONCORD
1. The rule that a verb matches its subject in NUMBER has been called the principle of “grammatical concord”.

a. Singular subjects take singular verbs: she lives in London.

b. Plural subjects take plural verbs: they live in France.

2. The number of the subject is not changed by a phrase following or modifying the head of the subject.
The performance was very funny.
The performance of the first three clowns was very funny

OM
3. Compound indefinite pronouns as subjects:
everybody – everything – anybody – anything - nothing

These indefinite pronouns take singular verb when they are working as head of the subject:

Everybody was paying attention.

.C
Nobody was there.

4. The case of “either”, “neither”, and “none”

DD
When any of these words is the head of the subject, we can use both forms: SINGULAR or PLURAL.

Neither is / are to blame. Either of the books is useful. (Formal written English)

None of us is /are speaking. Either of the books are useful. (In conversation)

5. The following common words are PLURAL: several – few – both – many
LA

Several of the regular members are absent today.

6. The words “some”, “any”, “all”, “enough” and “most” can be singular or plural according to the meaning of
the sentences.
FI

Some of the money was missing. Some of the coins were missing.

7. A collective noun takes a plural verb when the speaker is thinking of the individual members of the group; it
takes a singular verb when the speaker is thinking of the group as a unit:

The crowd were fighting for their lives. The crowd was an orderly one.


When a collective noun has a singular word such as a / an / this / that in front of it, a singular verb is usually
required:
An orchestra needs a good conductor.

When the collective noun follows a word such as each, every, either or neither, the verb is always singular:
Each class was given a different task to do.

8. The title of a book, a film or the name of an organization or country, even when plural in form, usually takes
a singular verb.
Star Wars is my favourite film. The United States remains the leader of the Western
block.

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9. There are some words (abstract or mass nouns) that are used only inthe singular with a singular verb: advice
– health – progress –information – luggage – etc.

Your advice has been quite useful.

10. Some nouns singular in form are used only in the plural sense with the verb in the plural form: people –
police – cattle - clergy

The police are investigating the case.

The cattle are grazing in the field.

OM
The clergy have decided to talk to the president.

11. Nouns ending in ics

Some nouns plural in form are used only in singular sense with the verb in the singular form: news – aeronautics
– acoustics – billiards.

.C
The news about the accident has shocked Billiards is played by most of my friends.
her.

The names of many sciences and diseases ending in “ics” take a singular verb: mathematics – phonetics – physics
DD
– politics – economics –measles – mumps - arthritis.

Mathematics was my favourite subject at High School.

However, some of these nouns have other meanings that are used with plural verbs. For example:

The noun “economics” is used with a plural verb when it means “economic or financial aspects”:
LA

The economics of the operation have to be taken into consideration.

The noun “politics” is used with a plural verb when it refers to somebody´s political beliefs:
FI

Her politics are less extreme than those of her husband.

The noun “gymnastics” is used with a plural verb in phrases such as “mental gymnastics”:


The mental gymnastics required to solve this problem are exhausting.

The noun “ethics” is used with a plural verb when it means “morals” or “moral principles that guide behaviour”:

The ethics of the decision were called into question.

12. In the case of the correlatives “ either … or”, “neither … nor” and “not only … but also...”, we apply the rule
of proximity, that is, the verb agrees with the head noun after “or”, “nor” or “but also”:

Either Mary or I am going to do it. Neither she nor you are ill.

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13. If the head of the subject is singular and it is followed by a modifier with one of the following expressions,
“along with”, “accompanied by”, “together with”, “including”, “in addition to”, “as well as”, the verb remains
singular because even if they have the same meaning as “and”, these expressions and the nouns that follow
them do not form part of the subject:

Mary, accompanied by her mother on the piano, was very well received.
Lead, in addition to iron and copper, is a type of metal.

14. When two subjects are connected by both ... and, we use a plural verb:

OM
Both Sarah and Doris were thought to be dead.

15. When the verb refers to the same object, it remains singular:

The author and lecturer is arriving tonight.

16. Although the phrases “a number of” and “the number of” are followed by plural nouns, they have different
rules of agreement:

.C
A number of students are complaining about the results of the exam. (verb in the plural)
The number of jobless people has increased in the last two months. (verb in the singular)
DD
When “a number” is followed by us or them, or when it stands alone with this meaning, it is followed by plural
verb:

A number of us / them are going to the cinema on Saturday.

The injured passengers were taken to hospital, and a number were kept in overnight

17. When an “of phrase” follows a percentage or fraction, the verb agrees with the noun closest to the verb.
LA

If the noun is not followed by an “of phrase”, and the context does not help to decide whether it is referring to a
singular / uncountable or a plural countable noun singular verb follows.

Twenty per cent is working hard.

FI

Twenty per cent of the students are working hard.

If a fraction or percentage is used with or in place of a collective noun, the verb may be singular or plural:

Two thirds of the population lives / live in the fertile south.

Nearly forty per cent of the electorate rarely bothers / bother to vote


18. Plural unit words of distance, time and money are followed by singular verb:

Four hundred miles is too far to go on foot.

On the other hand, words for numbers that are singular in form are always used with a plural verb:

There are many species, but only about a dozen are dangerous.
Forty people were killed and more than a hundred were injured

19. When the subject of a sentence is a clause, the verb goes in the singular even when the nouns referred to
are plural:

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 (What we need) is better employees.
(That many people want a change) is obvious.
(What I say and do) are two different problems.

20. When the infinitive and gerund are heads of the subject, the verb goes in the singular:

(To succeed in my exams) is my objective / (To succeed in the exams) and (to become a lawyer) are my
objectives.

21. Compound nouns (collocations or phrases which are considered single units or represents a singular idea)

OM
joined by and are followed by singular verb:

Peaches and cream is Fish and chips costs $2. Rock and roll was popular in the
my favourite dessert. 1950

22. a) The case of “one of” and “not one of”:

“one of” and “not one of” plus a plural noun are always followed by a singular verb:

.C
Not one of his friends has offered help during this crisis.

c) The case of “one or two”:

DD
This phrase means the same as a few and thus it is used with a plural verb:

One or two of the books are slightly damaged..

c) The case of “one or more”:

The phrase “one or more” is usually followed by a plural verb because the verb agrees with the part that is closest
LA

to it: If one or more of the books are damaged, the whole consignment will be returned.

If one or more people vote against the proposal, it will be rejected.

However, if a singular noun comes between one and or, a singular verb is the best option:
FI

If one person or more votes against the proposal, it will be rejected.

d) The case of “one in three /four / etc.”:

After any of these expressions, the verb can go in the singular or plural:


One in three of the women works / work full time.

Of the six machines tested, one in ten was / were found to be faulty.

23. When such nouns of nationality are preceded by the definite article “the”, the words refer to the people
who speak the language, so a plural verb follows:

The English are known for their wry sense of humour.

24. Certain adjectives preceded by “the” can be used as nouns that refer to groups of people; in such cases, a
plural verb follows.

The rich are getting richer and the poor have been forgotten.

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25. Some proper nouns standing for geographical names ending in –s take singular verb. In such cases, if the
noun is changed to a pronoun, the singular pronoun “it” is used because the noun is singular:

The United States has its headquarters in New York city.

26. “every” and “each” are always followed by singular nouns. Even when there are two or more nouns
connected by “and”, the verb is singular.

Every man, woman, and child needs love.

Each book and magazine is listed in the card catalog.

OM
27. The case of the phrases “the majority of” and “the minority of”:

“the majority of” is followed by a plural noun and used with a plural verb:

The majority of the students are from Spain.

Without a following of-phrase, the word “majority” is used with a plural verb if it refers to a previously mentioned

.C
plural noun:

There are more than a hundred candidates, and the majority were under thirty.
DD
The word “majority” can also be treated as a collective noun, referring to more than half of a group of people. In
this case, it follows the rules for collective nouns:

The vociferous majority has / have the power to change the law.

Similar rules apply to the word “minority”. When it is used with or in place of a plural noun, the verb is plural:
LA

A minority of those questioned were in favour of capital punishment.

The word “minority” can also be used as a collective noun:

A small minority still speaks / speak this ancient dialect.

FI

28. There are some situations in which a singular subject has a plural complement or vice versa.

Our main problem is noisy neigbours. – Noisy neighbours are our main problem.

The only furniture in the room was two chairs and a table. – Two chairs and a table were the only furniture.


29. When two gerunds are linked by and, the verb is usually plural:

Swimming and jogging are good forms of exercise.

However, if the two gerunds are used before a single noun, the verb is singular:

Buying and selling houses is not a foolproof of making money.

30. When the subject consists of two or more nouns or pronouns linked by or, there are two rules of agreement:

a) If the verb comes before the subject, as in most questions, it agrees with the first noun or pronoun:

Was Mary, Tom, Anna or the twins there? / Were you or Joe there?

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b) If the verb comes after the subject, it agrees with the part of the subject that follows “or”:

One large bag or two small ones are required.

DETERMINERS
“SOME” and “ANY” are the most frequently used quantity words in the language. We generally use “some” and
“any” when it is not important to state exactly how great or how small the quantity is. They often function as if
they were the plural of “a” / “an”.

OM
SOME
Used in questions when we are not seeking information (speaker expects a positive answer).
Would you like / may I have some more coffee? (expecting yes)

Used to mean “certain” but “not all”.

.C
Some people believe anything they read in the papers.

Used to refer to:

considerable quantity: I haven’t seen my father for some years.
DD
approximately: There were some 200 tourists.
extraordinary: That’s some computer you’ve bought.
an unknown: There must be some book which could help.

With abstract nouns “some” can be used to mean “an amount of”.
We’ve given some thought to your idea and find it quite interesting.
LA

ANY
Used in negative statements containing “not” or “n’t”.
We haven’t got / have got no any shirts in your size.
FI

Used in questions when we are not sure about the answer.

Have you got any paper clips in the box?

Used in sentences containing a negative word such as “hardly”, “never” or when there is any suggestion of


doubt like “if” or “whether”.

There is hardly any petrol in the tank.
I don’t know if (or whether) there is any news form Harry.

Used with “at all” and (more formally) “whatever” for special emphasis.
I haven’t got any idea at all/whatever about what happened yesterday.

Used in affirmative statements to mean:

the minimum / maximum: He’ll need any help he can get.
I don’t care which: Any book will be of help.

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 NO
It’s slightly more formal than “not” and makes a negative idea more emphatic. We must always use “no” if we
wish to begin a sentence with a negative.
There are no buses after midnight.
No department stores open on Sundays.

It combines with countable singular nouns and uncountable nouns:

There is no letter for you.
I’m no expert but I think the painting is a fake.

OM
With countable nouns “no” indicates that not one member of the set under consideration has the predication
property. With non -count nouns it indicates that there isn´t any subquantity of the quantity under consideration
that has the predication property.

MUCH AND MANY

“much” and “many” are generally used in questions:

.C
Is there much milk in that carton? Have you had many enquiries?

In everyday speech, they are avoided in affirmative statements and replaced with other quantifiers (a lot of).
Another formal alternative is “a great deal/amount of – a large/great number of”.
DD
Many teachers dislike correcting exams.
Not much sugar was left.

A great deal of / a great amount of money is spent on research.

A large number of / a great number of our students are American.
LA

“Many”, when used in time expressions, can also occur in the negative.
I have lived here / haven’t lived here for many years

“many” and “much” can be modified by “far too”.

There are far too many accidents at this crossroads.
FI

“MANY” in combination with “a”

 many a + noun in the singular form + verb in the singular

Many a student has been absent today.

!!


Many a problem has been solved recently.

Many a man has moved to tears by this sight.

 a good / great many + noun in the plural form + verb in the plural.
A good / great many complaints have been received.
There are a good / great many examples in this book.
A good / great many suggestions were made.

A LOT OF – LOTS OF – PLENTY OF – SEVERAL.

“A lot of” and “lots of” are generally used in the affirmative in everyday speech.
I’ve got a lot of / lots of time.

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“a lot of” and “lots of” occur in the negative when we are emphasizing a negative or denying.
I haven’t got a lot of patience.

“a lot of” can be modified by quite / rather

Jimmy caused quite a lot of trouble at his new school. This new law has affected rather a lot of people.

“PLENTY OF”, “a lot of” and “lots of” can be used with singular or plural verbs depending on the noun that
follows them.
There have been a lot of / lots of / plenty of questions about the issue.
Notice that a lot / lots means “a great quantity or number” and plenty means “more than enough”.

OM
“SEVERAL” can be used with plural countable nouns in the affirmative.
We’ve already had several offers for our flat.
It can also be combined with “dozen”, “hundred”, “thousand”, “million”, etc.
Several hundred workers took part in the new project.

FEE AND A FEW

.C
“few” is negative suggesting “hardly any at all” and is often used in formal English. In everyday speech, we
prefer the expressions “not many” or “hardly any”, “only a few”.
The exam was extremely difficult, so few students passed it.
DD
There are only a few students present today

“a few” is positive suggesting “some”, “a small number” or even “quite a lot”

The police would like to ask him a few questions.
LA

LITTLE AND A LITTLE

Used with uncountable nouns. “little” is negative suggesting “hardly any at all” and rather formal.

In everyday speech, we prefer “not much”; “hardly any”; “only a little”.

He hasn’t much hope/ has hardly any hope/ has only a little hope of winning this race.
FI

“little” occurs in idiomatic negative phrases such as “little point”, “little sense”, “little use”.
There is little point / little use / little sense in trying to mend it.

“a little” is positive suggesting “some”, “a small quantity”



I’d like a little time to think about it, please.

ENOUGH
“enough” means “adequate in quantity or number”. It expresses imprecise quantification being concerned with
the lower bound required to satisfy a need or purpose.
Have we got enough food in the house for the next few days?

BOTH
“both” refers to two people, things, etc. It is followed by plural nouns. It has dual number.
Both books were quite expensive.

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ALL
“all” refers to the whole number of people, things, etc.
All the books were quite expensive.
“All books” is general.
“The books on this subject …” “The” makes “books” specific.

When we are referring to a specific thing we must use “the” or “of the”; however, “all” and “half” can be used
directly in front of many proper nouns.

The negative of “all” is “none of” and the negative of “both” is “neither of”. “NOT ALL” IS AMBIGUOUS.

OM
All – none of the girls left early Both – neither of the girls left early.

HALF
“half” is always used with another determiner: the, my, this, etc.
She spent half her salary on clothes.

“half” + plural countable nouns refers to “more than two”.

.C
She broke half the eggs in the basket.

“half a” can be followed by singular countable nouns as in:

DD
half a loaf half a minute

EITHER – NEITHER
“either” in positive sentences can mean “one or the other, it doesn´t matter which” or “each, both”
You can use either eye to look through a telescope.
Trees were planted along either side of the road.
LA

“neither” means not this one nor the other of two people or things involved.
Neither side of the brain is dominant.

EVERY AND EACH

“every” and “each” refer to particular people or things. They can point to more than two; “each” is more individual
FI

and suggests one by one or separately. In some cases, they are used interchangeably.

“each” cannot be modified; “every” can be modified by “almost”, “nearly”, “practically”.

Almost every building was damaged in the earthquake.


“each” but not “every” can refer to both the numbers of a pair.
As they had both worked so hard, they each received a bonus.

“every” but not “each” can occur as a modifier following a genitive determiner:
They scrutinised her every move

“each” and “every” can be coordinated for emphatic effect:

Each and every contestant will win a prize.

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ANOTHER AND OTHER/S
“another” and “others” are indefinite and “the other” and “the others” are definite; “others” and “the others”
can only work as pronouns. “another”, as a determiner, always goes with a singular noun unless it is followed by
a cardinal number or by “few”.

“others” means “several more apart from the ones already mentioned”. It can only be used as a pronoun.
Some students arrived in time, but others arrived quite late.

“the other one(s)” means “not this / these but something else”. It refers to the remainder of a group, or the
second of two.

OM
I don’t like this sweater, but the other one.

“every other” means “alternate”.

I take piano lessons every other day.

WHAT, WHICH AND WHOSE

“What”, “which” and “whose” are interrogative determiners. They are used with both singular and plural nouns.

.C
They are used for people and things to be identified.

“What” asks for a choice from the whole range or class of things. “Which” asks for a choice to be made from a
DD
known group of things.

THIS AND THESE

Used for people or things near us: These boxes are yours.
For present / future situations: I’m staying home this weekend.
When the speaker is in or near the place he/she is referring to: This house was built last year.
LA

THAT AND THOSE

Used for people or things NOT near us: That box.
For past situations: That day.

SUCH
FI

“such” may work as a demonstrative determiner or an intensifier:

I never believed such tales. (demonstrative determiner)
It´s such (a) nuisance! (intensifier)


It can also be combined with another determiner, such as:

There’s no such thing. Any more such rudeness and you’ll be fired. I can’t stand another such encounter.

WHOLE
It means “complete”, “entire”; it goes between a determiner and a singular countable noun.
She spent the/a whole evening watching TV.

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THE ARTICLES
A FIRST FUNCTION OF ARTICLES is to show the difference between definite and indefinite reference. While the
indefinite article “a(n)” is used with a noun introduced for the first time, and therefore, unknown, the definite
article “the” shows either that the person or thing is the only one of its kind or that a special known case is being
referred to.
A SECOND FUNCTION OF ARTICLES is to indicate generic reference, that is, to refer to all members of a group in
general.

OM
The definite article the has ANAPHORIC REFERENCE when it is used to indicate that something has already been
mentioned in the text.
He took a small box from his pocket. The box felt heavy.

THE USES/MEANINGS OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE “A” / “AN”

.C
used with singular countable nouns to talk about indefinite things. There is a girl waiting for you outside.
 used before singular countable nouns to refer to a group of people, animals or things. A cat is an animal.
 used meaning “per”. She goes to school twice a / per week.
 used with: money (a dollar), fractions (a quarter), measures (an inch), weight (a kilo), whole numbers (a
DD
million), distance/speed (60km an hour), illnesses (a cold), frequency (a day).
 Used to say what a person’s job is, was or will be. She is a teacher.

THE USES/MEANINGS OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE”

LA

 used with a singular countable noun to talk about something in general. The dog is a lovable pet.
 before some nationality words when we want to mean “the people of that country”. The English like tea.
 with the names of: rivers, oceans and seas, canals, deserts, island groups, most hotels cinemas restaurants
and pubs, museums, mountain ranges (the Alps), most geographical regions (the Midwest), important or
famous buildings (the Eiffel tower).
FI

 With musical instruments, titles (the Queen), adjectives used as plural nouns (the rich), historical references
(The First World War), the words only last and first, nouns which are unique (the Moon), before a phrase
beginning with of… (what is the meaning of this word?)
 To show increase or decrease in the same proportion. The more I think about it now, the less I know (All You


Had To Do Was Stay)

 With plural nouns when we are referring to definite things, and people know which things we mean. Let’s
open all the windows.
 when it has the meaning “enough” or “sufficient”. I thought I didn´t have the brains for an academic career.

OMISSION OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE.

 Following the nouns school – hospital – prison – university – church – bed, when we think about the
main purpose of the place.
My sister has gone into hospital. We met outside the hospital (other purpose)

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  With the names of meals (except when we want to specify).
I had breakfast at 9 o’clock. The breakfast I had today was delicious.
 With the names of continents, countries, cities, lakes, individual mountains (Mount Everest), streets
(Cornelia Street) and most stations and airports. However, we used “the” when these words include a
countable noun (the United States).
 With means of transport and communication when introduced by the preposition “by”.
 In prepositional phrases containing the words for seasons. (In winter, …)
 In parallel structures (containing two nouns linked by a preposition or coordinator). (from country to
country / for mother and baby)

OM
 In block language (found in newspaper headlines). (Fire kills teenager after hoax)
 Before proper names, days, sports, games, colours, languages, titles (Queen Elizabeth II), abstract nouns
(Life is hard), materials (cement, butter), plural nouns used in general sense (books are fun) and two-
word names starting with the name of a person or place (Edinburgh Palace)

.C
GENERIC AND SPECIFIC REFERENCE
We express generic reference when we refer to a person, thing or idea in a general way, as a whole class.
Books are very expensive nowadays. (talking about all books)
DD
We express specific reference when we refer to one or more members of a limited, restricted group.
The book I bought yesterday is quite interesting. (talking about one specific book)

UNIT 4 – ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS/ADVERBIALS.

LA

ADJECTIVES
These tell us about the quality of a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives are invariable; they do not change their form
whether the noun they qualify is singular or plural.
FI

The position of adjectives:

ATTRIBUTIVELY: they usually come before a noun.

She is an intelligent girl.


PREDICATIVELY: they are separated from the noun, usually following a verb like be, seem, appear, look or after
a direct object in the pattern V + VCT + direct object + object complement.
You look tired.

Notice that some adjectives – especially those beginning with the prefix “a” – alive, ablaze, etc. – are generally
used in the predicative position
She was so tired that she fell asleep very early at night.

POSTPOSITIVELY: they can immediately follow the noun or pronoun they modify.
Compound indefinite pronouns and adverbs ending in “-body, -one, -thing, -where” can be modified only
postpositively:
I need something hot. Anyone clever enough can do it.

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With several institutionalised expressions, the adjective is used postpositively:
chancellor elect – court martial – notary public – body politic – heir apparent.

There are many set phrases which feature postpositive adjectives:

time immemorial – words unspoken – spaghetti Bolognese – persona non grata – Athlete extraordinaire

Some nouns, usually things and matters, tend to take postpositive adjectives.
Matters unknown – things innumerable.

Adjectives such as past and preceding can occur in attributive and postpositive position:

OM
in past years / in years past – the preceding authorities / the authorities preceding

Some adjectives, such as concerned, involved, available, opposite, present, proper, responsible, have different
meanings when they are used in attributive position or postpositive position.

Attributive: I was asked for my present address. (= my address now)

Postpositive: All the people present (= who were there) approved of the decision.

.C
Attributive: Concerned parents held a meeting to discuss the issue. (= worried about)
Postpositive: The parents concerned held a meeting to discuss the issue. (= who were involved, affected)
DD
Attributive: Every visible star is named after a famous astronomer. (= stars always visible in general)
Postpositive: Every star visible is named after a famous astronomer. (= the stars visible here and now)

Certain adjectives are used commonly in postpositive position.

all those entering should ... / one of the men executed was ...,
LA

A similar behaviour is displayed by many adjectives with the suffix -able or -ible
the best room available / the only decision possible.

Some adjectives that describe size (indicating the unit or measurement) can be in postpositive position.
He was about six feet tall. The water was several metres deep. The baby is nine months old.
FI

FORMATION OF ADJECTIVES


COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

 number + noun: a two-week holiday

 noun + adjective: sugar-free drinks
 noun + noun: a bullet-proof vest;
 adjective + noun: a part-time job
 adverb + past participle: a quick-witted lady; a well-known actor;
 noun + past participle: handmade toys; chocolate -flavoured icecream
 word + present participle: a time-consuming task; a never-ending story
 past participle + preposition: worn-out shoes, a broken-down car

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 adjective + past participle: a narrow-minded person; a half-finished essay
 Long hyphenated adjectives: The about-to-be-senior students were looking forward to their next school year.
My always-annoying-but-sometimes-cute little sister was bugging me again.

The adjective as headword of a noun phrase

The structure the + adjective is used as the head of a noun phrase when we want to refer to the whole class of
people described by the adjective. When this structure is working as head of the subject, the verb goes in the

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plural form.
We have made special arrangements for the handicapped and the disabled.

Nouns describing materials, substances, purpose and use can be used as adjectives, but they do not have
comparative or superlative forms and cannot be modified by “very”.
a cotton shirt, a silver brooch

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There are certain adverbs such as above, upstairs, downstairs, inside, etc. which can be used as adjectives:
the upstairs room, the downstairs bathroom, the above rule, the inside page
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COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives have three forms or “degrees”: the positive, the comparative and the superlative.

 The normal base form of the adjective is the POSITIVE: It has been dirty for years. My question is quite simple.
 The COMPARATIVE is used to compare two things: These apples are sweeter than those ones.
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 The SUPERLATIVE is used to compare three or more things: This is the sweetest apple in the whole world.

o Comparison of superiority. Sophie is more studious than Sally. George is taller than his brother.
o Comparison of equality. This apple is as sweet as that one.
o Comparison of inferiority. This apple is not as / so sweet as that one. /is less sweet than that one
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If a singular countable noun is placed between an adjective and the second as, we use a/an in front of the noun:
Despite his disability, he tried to lead as normal a life as possible.
She should have adopted as relaxed an attitude as anyone could think of.


We can use elder / eldest (instead of older and oldest) before a noun to talk about people´s ages, especially people
in the same family; “elder” is only used attributively, that is, before a noun.
Their eldest / oldest son went to Harvard.

 GRADUAL INCREASE: She is getting older and older as time goes by. / She is eating less and less.
 PARALLEL OR PROPORTIONAL INCREASE: The noisier the children (are), the angrier the neighbours become.

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CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES
Emphasizing or intensifying adjectives: They are used to emphasise our feelings.
It was SHEER luck. he speaks UTTER nonsense. This is the VERY book I wanted to read!

Classifying adjectives: They are used to say that something is of a particular type. (“democratic decisions”, where
“democratic” distinguishes them from other types of decisions.) These are seldom used after a linking verb.
CHEMICAL, CUBIC, DIGITAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, ANNUAL, GENERAL, OCCASIONAL, NORTHERN, MAXIMUM

Qualifying adjectives: They are used to give the quality that a thing or a person has.

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A BEAUTIFUL sunset. The sunset is BEAUTIFUL.

Some classifying adjectives can also be used with different meanings as qualifying adjectives and placed after a
linking verb.
The country´s economic reforms have proved to be beneficial. (= relating to economics, business)
The process isn´t economic. (= not profitable)

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GRADABLE AND NONGRADABLE ADJECTIVES

The prototypical adjective is GRADABLE: it denotes a property that can be possessed in varying degrees. Gradable
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adjectives can be used in the comparative form (small, smaller, the smallest) and with intensifiers (very).

NONGRADABLE adjectives describe absolute qualities such as left, right, single, correct, equal, absent, universal,
scientific, round, square, excellent, impossible. They imply “to a large degree”. With nongradable adjectives we
can use adverbs which emphasise their extreme or absolute nature, such as absolutely, completely, purely, totally,
utterly, quite, almost, practically, etc.
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The adverbs fairly, really, and pretty are commonly used with both gradable as well as nongradable adjectives.

Some adjectives have both gradable and nongradable uses.

John is a very common name (= frequently found; gradable)

We have a lot of common interests. (= shared; nongradable)
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This house is very old. (= existed many years ago; gradable)

I met an old friend of mine. (= former; nongradable)

We had a very public quarrel (= everybody could see it; gradable)



He took the public highway. (= the opposite of “private”, nongradable)

PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVES.
One familiar way to change a verb into an adjective is to use the present participle (the –ing ending) or the past
participle (the –ed ending).

 Present participles describe the quality of a noun. Daniel is a boring person.

 Past participles describe how the person feels. Daniel is bored.

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ADVERBS & ADVERBIALS
ADVERB: refers to a word class which words like slowly, here, there, very, quite

ADVERBIAL: is a functional label, covering all the syntactic units performing the same function as single-word
adverbials (units which describe the action denoted by the verb)

Adverbials are classified into:

 CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADVERBIALS (ALSO CALLED ADJUNCTS)

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They provide information about how, where, when, how often, why, how much, to what an extent an action is
done.
She sings sweetly. (how) She gets up at six o´clock every day. (how often) She left home in a hurry. (how)

 LINKING ADVERBIALS OR CONJUNCTS

They help to hold a text together or, linguistically speaking, “giving it cohesion”: moreover; nevertheless,

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therefore; to sum up; etc.

 STANCE ADVERBIALS
They provide comments towards the content or style of what is said.
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Logically, that one cannot be the solution to this problem.
Biologically, such phenomenon is not natural.

These can also convey the speaker/writer's assessment of the proposition in the clause in relation to the
probability or certainty of it. These adverbials express how sure we are about something. Among such adverbials
we can mention: certainly – definitely – obviously – probably – possibly – perhaps – maybe.
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 ADVERBS AS MODIFIERS

We have seen that degree adverbs can function as intensifying or moderating adverbials. These adverbs can also
intensify or moderate the force of an adjective or an adverb. This is the case in phrases such as “almost
impossible”, “hardly noticeable”, “relatively small”, “rather dangerously”, “too fast”.
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You did extremely well in the exam. Passing that exam was particularly important for me.

CLASSIFICATION OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADVERBIALS



Manner: They express how an action is done.

The tired traveller slept soundly. He did his work slowly but surely.

Time: They express the time, the moment when an action is or was done.
Day will break soon. The children have studied English for several years.

Frequency: They answer the question “how often”.

I often saw him formerly, but he seldom comes now.

Place: They express where an action is done.

They looked everywhere for the little girl but found her nowhere. At home, he feels safe.

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Degree (intensifying and moderating adverbials): Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity of an adjective, an
action, or another adverb. They express “to what extent” or “to what degree” an action is done.
INTENSIFYING: She was severely punished. The weather was extremely bad last weekend
MODERATING: He arrived a bit late. I slightly disagree with it. He doesn´t work hard enough.

Quantity: They express amount and number.

I met him twice in London. She has worked the most in the project. I love her very much.

Affirmation and negation: The words “yes”, “certainly”, “surely”, “evidently”, “naturally”, “obviously” and
“not”, “n´t”, “no”, “never”. They may replace a whole sentence with the exception of “not”.

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Instrument: They answer the question “What ....... with?”
She cut herself with a knife. She spoke from notes. Victoria hit Ana with her bag.

Cause:
She died of cancer. She spoke in that way out of desperation.

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Accompaniment:
She travels with her mother every year.

Focusing: They are called focusing adverbials because we can change their position in a sentence depending on
where we want to focus our attention. “only”, “even”, “just”, “simply”.
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Only I listened to his lecture on Saturday. I only listened to his lecture on Saturday.
I listened only to his lecture on Saturday. I listened to his lecture only on Saturday.

There are several adjectives that can be used, without change of form, as adverbs. However, adjectives modify
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nouns and adverbs modify verbs.

There is a small group of adjectives formed by adding “ly” to nouns to denote a period of time. Such is the
case of “hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.” These can also be used as adverbs.
Adjectives ending in “ly” such as “cowardly, fatherly, lively, friendly, lonely” can be used in an adverbial phrase
through the expression “in a … way / manner / fashion / mode”.
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He is a cowardly person. (adj) He behaved in a cowardly way. (adv. Phrase)

Adverbs with two forms and differences in meaning



There are some words such as “hard, near, high, late, free, easy, last, short, wrong” that have two forms and
differences in meaning.

hard / hardly She works hard. (with great force or effort; diligently; carefully)
She hardly works (scarcely; almost not)

near / nearly The time is drawing near for my visit to France. (close; within a short distance)
It’s nearly two o’clock. (almost)

late / lately She came back very late. (not early)

What have you been doing lately? (recently)

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high / highly The plane flew high. (at/to a high level; high upwards)
He is highly qualified for this job. (very much; to a great extent)

free / freely Children under five travel free. (without paying)

You can move freely. (without restrictions; willingly)

deep / deeply He went deep into the valley. (to a great depth; a long way down)
She is deeply in love. (greatly; to a great extent)

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fine / finely You´re managing fine. (perfectly well)
Chop the vegetables finely. (into thin pieces)

last / lastly Susan came last. (after all the others)

Lastly, she referred to the new project. (finally)

short / shortly She made her decision shortly. (suddenly)

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She is coming back shortly. (soon)

just / justly He has just arrived. (recently)

Was he treated justly? (fairly)
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wrong / wrongly You understood him wrong. (incorrectly)
He was wrongly accused. (unjustly)

right / rightly I liked him right from the start. (immediately)

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Turn right at the bottom of this road. (showing direction)

It´s worrying news and you´re rightly concerned about it. (with good reason)

direct / directly You can travel direct from Singapore to Honolulu. (without stopping; without a change)
I´ll deal with that matter directly. (immediately)
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most / mostly Susan is the most capable woman in the team. (the best)
He mostly travels by bus. (usually)

CHEAPLY, CLEARLY and LOUDLY don’t have a difference in meaning, but they are more formal.


UNIT 5 – PRONOUNS.
DETERMINERS: they accompany nouns, and are used to narrow down the reference of a noun. The most
important are:

 the definite article (the book): specifies that the referent is assumed to be known to the speaker and
addressee
 the indefinite article (a book): narrows down the reference to a single member of a class
 demonstrative determiners (this book, that book, etc.): establish the reference by proximity to the
speaker and the addressee

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  possessive determiners (my book, your book, her book, etc.): establish a connection with the participants
in the speech situation or some other entity and thereby limit the reference of the noun;
 quantifiers (some book, many books, etc.): specify the number or amount of the entities referred to.
 Determiner uses of wh-words and numerals

PRONOUNS: they replace nouns (or noun phrases). Pronouns may show number, person, gender and case. They
are used instead of full noun phrases when:

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when the entities referred to are identifiable through the speech situation or the surrounding text.
when the reference is unknown or general. Pronouns can serve as pointers, requiring the listener or reader to
find the exact meaning in the surrounding (usually preceding) text or in the speech situation.

Some books were stolen from the library. (determiner)

Some of them were stolen from the library. (pronoun)
Some were stolen from the library. (pronoun)

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

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OBJECTIVE PRONOUNS

They are used as direct object, indirect object or object of a preposition.

 DIRECT OBJECT: I bought them yesterday. I can´t understand her. Could the man fix it?
 INDIRECT OBJECT: Show it to me. My aunt is giving us the present. She brought them for you.
 OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION: I can’t live without you. I haven’t heard any news about him for ages. I haven’t
heard of them since they left home. She put the blame on us.

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POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely.

All the essays were good but his was the best.
Your photos are good. Ours are terrible.

OF + POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

The double genitive or post-genitive and it is used to give emphasis to the person who possesses rather
than to the object that is possessed.

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a friend of mine (one of my friends), a brother of his (one of John’s brothers)

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

The subject and the object of the sentence stand for the same person.
John sees himself on the mirror.

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Reflexive pronouns can work as:
 direct object: Bob is enjoying himself at the party
 indirect object: She made herself some tea.
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 object of a preposition: He made me talk about myself.
 subject complement: She doesn’t seem to be herself. The children are not being themselves today.

EMPHATIC REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

They are used for the sake of emphasis to mean “that person, nobody else”. They are usually placed at the
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end of the sentence or after the word they emphasize.

The teacher himself gave her the prize. I myself fax the report to him.

INDEFINITE PRONOUN.
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They indicate people or things in a vague or general way. Most of them can be postmodified, especially by of
constructions.
Some, any, all, enough, none, a lot, the other, another, one, few, little, much.


Any of the students can clean the blackboard.

Enough has been said about it.
If you have no money, I’ll lend you some.

COMPOUND INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

They are compounds of one, body or thing with the determiners every, any, some, no.
Nobody has come today. We have nothing to eat.

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RELATIVE PRONOUNS

A relative pronoun refers to an antecedent and joins the clause it introduces to some other clause. The most
common relative pronouns are: who, whom, which, that, and what.

 WHO – WHOM are used for personal antecedents: She is a woman about whom very little is known.
 THAT may be used to refer to persons, animals and things: This is a book that I need.
 WHICH is used when the antecedent is a thing, an idea or an animal: He took a room, for which he paid a lot.

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INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

These are used in forming questions and they always precede the verb.
Who, whom, whose, what, which

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DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

These take the place of a noun and give the idea of position with regard to the speaker.
THIS – THESE being nearer in space or time
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THAT – THOSE being more distant

THE FORMER (the first of two things just mentioned) and THE LATTER (the second) may also be considered as
demonstrative pronouns.
Virtue and vice offer themselves for our choice; the latter leads to misery, the former to happiness.

“SUCH” and “SAME” are also demonstrative pronouns.

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This sweater is not such as I want to buy.

“same” as a pronoun is used with “the”. In this case, the noun after “the same” is omitted.
He said the same Ø(thing) as he said before.
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DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS

These show that the persons or things are taken singly or in separate lots.
EACH – EITHER (one or the other of the two) – NEITHER (none of the two) – BOTH (the two things)


I am going to have a tattoo on either of my arms.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

These are used to indicate that two or more people are carrying out or have carried out an action of some type,
with both receiving the benefits or consequences of that action simultaneously.
Each other: Do Cathy and Steve see each other every day?
One another: The group of students often stayed in one another's houses.

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ANAPHORIC AND CATAPHORIC REFERENCE
ANAPHORIC REFERENCE: a pronoun refers to an antecedent.

John is proud of himself because he has got his Master´s Degree.

CATAPHORIC REFERENCE: a pronoun refers to a noun or idea that comes after it.

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It is difficult to study English grammar.

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