What is the passive voice? 1.

Passive: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da

Vinci. (agent =Leonardo Da Vinci )
2. Active: Leonaro Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
In general we tend to use the active voice. That is when a subject
does an action to an object.
Most writing instructors and editors recommend against using the
passive voice, when possible. The reason for this is that when you
1. Somebody stole my laptop. (subject = Somebody /
use the active voice, your writing is clearer and less complicated.
action(verb) = stole / object = my laptop)
1. Active: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101,
The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action
a police officer pulled him over and gave him a speeding
(the verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This
ticket.
means that the subject is either less important than the action itself
2. Passive: While Mr. Taylor was driving down Highway 101,
or that we don’t know who or what the subject is.
he was pulled over and given a ticket by a police officer.
1. My laptop was stolen. (The object – now the subject = My
If it’s a long sentence and you know who the subject is, it’s best to
laptop / action= was stolen)
use the active voice.
1. Passive: Napa Valley is known for its excellent wines.
The passive is often used to report something or to state a fact.
2. Active: [Many people] know Napa Valley for its excellent
wines.
1. Highway 15 was closed yesterday due to a serious road
accident.
1. Passive: Twenty civilians were killed in the bomb
2. A lot of corn is grown in Iowa.
explosion.
2. Active: Someone killed twenty civilians in the bomb
explosion. Forming the passive voice
The passive voice is not a tense in English. Each tense has its own
passive voice which is created by using a form of the auxiliary
verb to be + V3 (past participle)
The passive agent The passive voice in each tense:
When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end with by.
We call this an agent.
 Auxiliary verb +
Tense sample V3 (past Examples
participle)
Present Wine is made from grapes.
am, is, are + made
simple Many cars are made in Japan.
The document is being sent
Present am, is, are + being right now.
progressive + sent I am being sent to work in the
London office.
John was invited to speak at
the conference.
Past simple was, were + invited
We were invited to Daniel and
Mary’s wedding.
The dog was being washed
when I got home.
Past was, were + being +
Their cars were being washed
progressive washed
while they were in the mall
shopping.
The contract will be signed
tomorrow.
Future (will) will be + signed
The documents will all be
signed by next week.
A bridge is going to be built
Future (going am, is, are + going within the next two years.
to) to be + built New houses are going to be
built in our neighborhood.
That start-up has been sold for
Present has, have + been + $5 million.
perfect sold The rights to his book have
been sold for $250,000.
Past perfect had + been + hired The new manager had been
Auxiliary verb +
Tense sample V3 (past Examples
participle)
hired before John left the
company.
All the employees had hired
before the store opened.
The car will have been loaded
Future will + have been + by the time he gets home.
perfect finished The crates will have been
loaded by then.
A passport can only be issued
Modals: can, could + be + at the embassy.
can/could issued He said the documents could
be issued within the week.
A babysitter has to be arranged
Modal: have have to, has to, had for this evening.
to to + be + arranged Joan’s travel plans have to be
arranged by December.
Criminals must be stopped
Modal: must must + be + stopped
before they commit crimes.
All of the rules for passive negatives and questions are the same as
for the active voice.
Note: Verbs that have no object (no one to “receive” the action)
cannot be put into the passive, such as, arrive, come, die, exist, go,
happen, have, live, occur sleep, etc.
Passive Voice – Exercises 5. was stolen
6. Was/made
7. is grown
Fill in the correct passive form of the verb in parentheses.
8. had been cancelled
9. won’t be sent
1. After the earthquake, aid was sent to the people of Haiti.
10. is/added
(sent)
2.
3. The electricity was cut off because the bill hadn’t been
paid. (not pay)

1. Penicillin ______ by Alexander Fleming in 1928.

(discover)
2. Statements ______ from all the witnesses at this moment.
(take)
3. Whales ______ by an international ban on whaling. (must
protect)
4. Both weddings _______ by Good Taste. (cater)
5. A Picasso ____ from the Metropolitan Museum of
Art.(steal)
6. ____ this washing machine ______in Germany? (make)
7. Tea _____ in China. (grow)
8. When we reached the airport, we found that all the
flights____ due to the storm. (cancel)
9. The fax _____ until tomorrow morning. (not send)
10. The soundtrack of a movie _____ always _____ after the
filming is finished. (is/add)

Answers:

1. was discovered
2. are being taken
3. must be protected
4. were catered
The FUTURE PERFECT TENSE indicates that an action will have What are transitive verbs?
been completed (finished or "perfected") at some point in the future.
This tense is formed with "will" plus "have" plus the past participle of Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive that
the verb (which can be either regular or irregular in form): "I will have
action. In the first sentence above, the direct object ball received
spent all my money by this time next year. I will have run successfully
the action of the verb hit.
in three marathons if I can finish this one."
Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:
Singular Plural
I baked some cookies.
I will have walked we will have walked
you will have walked you will have walked I rode the bicycle.

he/she/it will have walked they will have walked I moved the chair.

I stitched a quilt.
Singular Plural All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an
I will have slept we will have slept object is receiving the action of the verb.

you will have slept you will have slept But what about the sentence “The bird sang.” Is the verb in that
sentence a transitive verb? No, in this case the verb sang is an
he/she/it will have slept they will have slept
intransitive verb.

What are intransitive verbs?

Singular Plural
I will have been we will have been Intransitive verbs are action verbs but unlike transitive verbs, the
do not have an object receiving the action. Notice there are no
you will have been you will have been words after the verb sang.
he/she/it will have been they will have been More examples of intransitive verbs:

I laughed.
I cried.
The book fell.
The horse galloped.
The sun set.
In all of the above cases the subject is performing the action of the
verb and nothing is receiving the action.
What about this sentence?
I walked to the park today.
Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since
walked has words coming after it, the verb must be transitive,
right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a prepositional phrase
and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of
the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.
To recap, a transitive verb must be an action verb plus there must
be an object to receive that action.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs
Finite Verbs
Finite Verbs are those verbs that have a definite relation with the
subject or noun. These verbs are usually the main verb of a clause
or sentence and can be changed according to the noun. They are
used only in present and past tense. They can be indicative of
passive or active voice and also of number (singular or plural).
She walks home. - Here we see that the finite verb is walks and
the pronoun is 'she'.
She walked home. - Here we can see how the verb
changed/modified to change the tense of the sentence.
Non-Finite Verbs
These verbs cannot be the main verb of a clause or sentence as
they do not talk about the action that is being performed by the
subject or noun. They do not indicate any tense, mood or gender.
They are used as nouns, adverbs and adjectives. They are also used
to form non-finite clauses which are simply dependent clauses that
use non-finite verbs.
He loves camping in the woods. - Here the non-finite verb is
camping and it is used as a noun. These kind of non-finite verbs
are called Gerunds.
I need to go to sleep. - Here the non- finite verb phrase is to sleep,
it is acting as a noun. Non-finite verbs that use ‘to’ before them are
called Infinitives.
The sleeping dog caused a delay. - The nonfinite verbs that have ‘-
ing’ or ‘-ed’ as suffixes and cause the verb to come an adjective
are called Participles.
The Linking Verb
Recognize a linking verb when you see one.
Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the
subject of the verb to additional information about the subject.
Look at the examples below:
Keila is a shopaholic.
Ising isn't something that Keila can do. Is connects the subject,
Keila, to additional information about her, that she will soon have
a huge credit card bill to pay.
During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch.
Areing isn't something that cats can do. Are is connecting the
subject, cats, to something said about them, that they enjoy
sleeping on the furniture.
The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the
verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has been, are being, might have
been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are
always linking verbs.
Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities:
appear, feel, grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and
turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they
are action verbs.
What are helping verbs?
Just as the name implies, helping verbs, sometimes called auxiliary
verbs, help out the main verb in a sentence.
On their own, helping verbs don’t show meaning in that they don’t
communicate much when they stand alone. There sole purpose to
help the main verb, which provides the real meaning.
Primary helping verbs
The primary helping verbs are be, do, and have. They’re called
primary because they can help main verbs or they can actually be
the main verb. Here are some examples of the primary verbs being
used as helping verbs.
1. “Be” verbs. The term “be verbs” is a little deceiving because
they include more than the word “be.” They help show a state of
being or a state of existing.
Here is a list of “be” verb forms: am, is, are, was, were, been,
being, be.
And here are a few used in sentences:
Katy is watching television. (this shows a continuous tense.)
The other children are playing outside. (this example shows the
passive tense.)
2. Have. The helping verb have is used to make perfect tenses.
The perfect tense shows action that is already completed.
I have finished washing the dishes. (Dish washing is complete!)
3. Do. The verb “do” can perform a variety of functions: Would she prefer to ride with Emily instead?

 To make negatives: I do not care for broccoli. 4. Shall, should.

 To ask questions: Do you like broccoli?
 To show emphasis: I do you want you to eat your broccoli. Shall I set the table now?
 To stand for a main verb: Sam like broccoli more than
Carmen does. You should wait a little longer.

5. Must.

Modal helping verbs You really must see a doctor about that nasty cut.

A few points to remember about helping verbs.

Modal helping verbs help “modify” the main verb so that is
changes the meaning somewhat. They help express possibility or
 Not every sentence has or needs a helping verb.
necessity.
 Any time you see a verb ending in “ing”, a helping verb
usually accompanies it.
Here are the modal verbs:
 Sometimes other words separate the helping verb and main
verb in the sentence. The word “not” is an example. Sarah
1. Can, could.
couldn’t run as fast as Beth. Here the word “not”
separates the helping verb “could” from the main verb
I can’t reach the top shelf.
“run.”
You could try using a stepladder.
The Action Verb
2. May, might.
Recognize an action verb when you see one.
The bus may arrive on time this morning.
Explode! Scream! Sneeze! Type! Kick! What are these words
It might be full of rowdy passengers, though. doing? They are expressing action, something that a person,
animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a result, we call these
3. Will, would. words action verbs. Look at the examples below:
Will Katy ride with James to soccer practice?
In the library and at church, Michele giggles inappropriately.
Giggling is something that Michele can do.
Because of the spicy Jamaican pepper, David reached for his glass
of iced tea.
THE GERUND
This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this
reason it is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'.
However it is useful to understand the difference between the two.
The gerund always has the same function as a noun (although it
looks like a verb), so it can be used:
a. as the subject of the sentence:
 Eating people is wrong.
 Hunting tigers is dangerous.
 Flying makes me nervous.
b. as the complement of the verb 'to be':
 One of his duties is attending meetings.
 The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the
gerund.
 One of life's pleasures is having breakfast in bed.
c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb
comes after a preposition:
 Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
 She is good at painting.
 They're keen on windsurfing.
 She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.
 We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
 My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g.
in spite of, there's no point in..:
 There's no point in waiting.
 In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.
d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a
verb + preposition/adverb
Example:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put
off, to keep on:
 I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
 When are you going to give up smoking?
 She always puts off going to the dentist.
 He kept on asking for money.
NOTE: There are some phrasal verbs and other expressions that
include the word 'to' as a preposition, not as part of a to-infinitive:
- to look forward to, to take to, to be accustomed to, to be used to.
It is important to recognise that 'to' is a preposition in these cases,
as it must be followed by a gerund:
 We are looking forward to seeing you.
 I am used to waiting for buses.
 She didn't really take to studying English.
It is possible to check whether 'to� is a preposition or part of a to-
infinitive: if you can put a noun or the pronoun 'it' after it, then it is
a preposition and must be followed by a gerund:
 I am accustomed to it (the cold).
 I am accustomed to being cold.
e. in compound nouns
Example:
 a driving lesson, a swimming pool, bird-watching, train-
spotting
It is clear that the meaning is that of a noun, not of a continuous
verb.
Example:
 the pool is not swimming, it is a pool for swimming in.
f. after the expressions:
can't help, can't stand, it's no use/good, and the adjective worth:
 She couldn't help falling in love with him.
 I can't stand being stuck in traffic jams.
 It's no use/good trying to escape.
 It might be worth phoning the station to check the time of the
train.
Complements
Since this page is about the completers of thoughts, it is
appropriate to include a brief description of complements. A
complement (notice the spelling of the word) is any word or
phrase that completes the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb.
As you will see, the terminology describing predicates and
complements can overlap and be a bit confusing. Students are
probably wise to learn one set of terms, not both.
 A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an
adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the
subject.
o A glacier is a huge body of ice.
o Glaciers are beautiful and potentially dangerous at the
same time.
o This glacier is not yet fully formed. (verb form acting as
an adjective, a participle)
Adjective complements are also called predicate
adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate
nouns or predicate nominatives. See predicates, above.
 An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct
object. It can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a
noun or adjective.
o The convention named Dogbreath Vice President to
keep him happy. (The noun "Vice President"
complements the direct object "Dogbreath"; the
adjective "happy" complements the object "him.")
o The clown got the children too excited. (The participle
"excited" complements the object "children.")
  A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb. (See  Concrete nouns – things you can see or  The corporal
above.) touch (e.g., tree, cloud) disobeyed a
o Granny left Raoul all her money. (Both "money" [the  Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) – direct Order.
direct object] and "Raoul" [the indirect object] are said things you cannot count (e.g., food,
to be the verb complements of this sentence.) music) (order is a
 Gender-specific nouns – words which common noun
are definitely male or female (e.g.,
– no capital
vixen, actress)
 Verbal nouns (gerunds) – nouns that letter)
Common Nouns represent actions (e.g., running,
guessing)  It is the largest
A common noun is the word used for a class of Church in
person, place or thing. Birmingham.
Proper Nouns
Examples: Below are some (church is a
A proper noun is the name of a person, place common noun
common errors related
or thing (i.e., its own name). A proper noun – no capital
 Car to nouns:
 Man always starts with a capital letter. letter)
 Bridge NO CAPITAL LETTERS
 Town Examples: This is covered more in
FOR COMMON NOUNS
 Water
the lesson Capital
 Metal  Michael
 Common nouns do not Letters for Proper
Ammonia  Africa
start with capital letters  Peking Nouns but Not
Common nouns are further classified into: (unless they start a  Dayton Peace Accord Common Nouns.
sentence or are part of  United Nations
 Abstract nouns – things you cannot see a title). It is a common  The Tower of London ONLY CAPITALIZE THE
or touch (e.g., bravery, joy)  Uncle George PRINCIPAL WORDS IN
mistake to capitalize a
 Collective nouns – words to describe TITLES
common noun that is (Uncle is written with a capital letter
groups (e.g., team, choir)
 Compound nouns – nouns made up of an important word in a because it is part of his name.)
sentence. When names contain
more than one word (e.g., court-
martial, pickpocket, water bottle) words such as the, of,
 an or in, these words the lesson Collective Nouns – Singular or a collective noun as
 My favourite auntie is Auntie Sally. are not usually given Plural? and in the Beware section on the right singular or plural. In
capital letters. of this page. fact, a collective noun
(In this example, the first auntie is a can be singular or plural
common noun, but the second Auntie  I must visit the depending on the sense
is part of a proper noun.) Tower of
Pronouns
of the sentence.
London.
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun.
 The Red Lion  That team is the
(of is not a worst in the
See also: Capital Letters for Proprer Nouns but principal word – Pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech
league.
Not Common Nouns no capital which are: adjectives, adverbs
letter) conjunctions, interjections, nouns, (team treated
prepositions, pronouns and verbs.
Collective Nouns as singular)
 Have you seen
Day of the Even though they are classified as a different  The team are
A collective noun is the word used for a group
Jackal? part of speech to nouns, pronouns are nouns. not
of people or things.
They always play the role of a noun in a communicating
(of and the are sentence. amongst
Examples: not principal themselves.
words – no  James is the first choice for the post.
 Choir (team treated
capital letters) He has applied for it twice already.
 Team as plural)
 Jury
 Shoal This is called Title Case (He is a pronoun. In this example, it
 Cabinet (of ministers) and is covered more in replaces the proper noun James.) When the group is
 Regiment Capital Letters - Title (It is a pronoun. Here, it replaces the considered as one unit,
Case. common noun post.) it is singular. When the
The big question with collective nouns is individuals of the group
whether they should be treated as singular or SINGULAR OR PLURAL?  Some / Who / This are considered, it is
plural. The answer is: They can be treated as plural.
singular or plural depending on the sense of (The term pronoun covers lots of
Writers are sometimes
your sentence. This is covered in more depth in unsure whether to treat words, and all three words above are This is covered in the
 classified as pronouns. There is whole lesson Collective Nouns more words. Some compound nouns are
section dedicated to pronouns.) - Singular or Plural?. hyphenated. Some are not, and some combine
their words to form a single word. (This is (no principal
FORMING THE PLURAL covered in the lesson Hyphens in Compound word, so add s
Verbal Nouns to the end)
OF COMPOUND Nouns.)
Verbal nouns (also called gerunds) are formed NOUNS
Examples: Words like spoonful,
from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type of
To form the plural of a plateful and cupful are
common noun.
compound noun,  Mother-in-law exceptions to this rule.
 I love swimming. pluralize the principal  Board of members They form their plurals
 Court-martial by adding an s to the
word in the compound.
(swimming – the name of an activity; it When there is no  Forget-me-not end, even though the
 Manservant
is formed from the verb to swim.) obvious principal word, principal words are
 Pickpocket
add s (or es) to the end  Paper-clip spoon, plate, and cup.
 Lateral thinking is required to solve this of the compound.
problem. This is covered more in
 Mothers-in-law the lesson Compound
(thinking – the name of an activity; it is
Nouns - Forming
formed from the verb to think.)
Plurals.
Verbal nouns are different to other nouns, (pluralize the
because they can take an object or be modified principal word
with an adverb. mother)

 I love swimming this lake.  Paper-clips

 Thinking laterally is required to solve
this problem. (pluralize the Countable Nouns
principal word
Compound Nouns clip Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can
count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one,
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or  Forget-me-nots two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
  dog, cat, animal, man, person  I haven't got many pens.
 bottle, box, litre
 coin, note, dollar Forming the possessive
 cup, plate, fork
 table, chair, suitcase, bag The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups
of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is
Countable nouns can be singular or plural: one of the relationships it expresses :

 My dog is playing.  John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)

 My dogs are hungry.  It is John's car.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

 A dog is an animal.  America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)
 They are America's gold reserves.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like
a/the/my/this with it: It can also express other relationships, for example:

 I want an orange. (not I want orange.) where someone works or studies or spends time:
 Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
 John goes to this school. This is John's school.
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:  John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

 I like oranges. a family relationship:

 Bottles can break.
 John's mother
We can use some and any with countable nouns:  The Queen's daughter

 I've got some dollars. qualities:

 Have you got any pens?
 John's patience.
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:  The politician's hypocrisy.

 I've got a few dollars.

Form in a year's time at death's door (= very ill)

To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an
apostrophe).
For names ending in -s:
in my mind's eye (= in my imagination)
The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches
and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.

In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is Examples:
possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common. e.g. the grocer's the doctor's the vet's
Thomas's book, James's shop.
the newsagent's the chemist's Smith's
Examples
the dentist's Tommy Tucker's Luigi's
 The car of John = John's car.
 The room of the girls = The girls' room. Saint Mary's Saint James's
 Clothes for men = Men's clothes.
 The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.
 The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat. 1. Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
2. I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is 3. Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?
used:

Time expressions Other expressions

a day's work For God's sake! The Rules of Regular and Irregular Plurals
For nouns ending in s, x, z, ch or
a fortnight's holiday a pound's worth of apples.
For most nouns, just add -s sh, add -es
a month's pay the water's edge
Singular Plural Singular Plural
today's newspaper a stone's throw away (= very near)
 hand hands box boxes o can be spelt with -s or -es. piano pianos

rabbit rabbits pitch pitches radio radios

key keys wish wishes

clock clocks boss bosses For some words ending in f, However, for some words
change the f to a v and add - ending in f, just add -s
football footballs buzz buzzes es
Singular Plural Singular Plural
door doors glass glasses
half halves chef chefs

loaf loaves cliff cliffs

However, for some words
For some words ending in o,
add -es ending in o, just add -s elf elves ref refs

Singular Plural Singular Plural leaf leaves roof roofs

potato potatoes cello cellos self selves

tomato tomatoes disco discos shelf shelves

The plural of some nouns ending in
f can be spelt using either variation.
hero heroes hairdo hairdos thief thieves

echo echoes logo logos wolf wolves

banjo banjoes patio patios

The plural of many words ending in photo photos

 For common nouns that end tuna tuna foot feet
For some nouns ending in
with consonant + y, change the
ife, change the f to a v and salmon salmon tooth teeth
then add -s y to an i and then add -es

Singular Plural Singular Plural trout trout goose geese

wife wives poppy poppies mouse mice

life lives fly flies louse lice

knife knives penny pennies man men

spy spies

nappy nappies
Personal Pronouns
sty sties
Personal pronoun describes a particular person or thing or group.

For some nouns, change other

Some nouns are the same in Personal pronoun describes the person speaking (I, me, we, us), the
letters or just change the word
both singular and plural person spoken to (you), or the person or thing spoken about (he,
from completely! she, it, they, him, her, them).

Singular Plural Singular Plural Example.

He helps poor.
fish fish person people
The pronoun “he” in above sentence describes a person who helps
sheep sheep child children poor.

deer deer ox oxen

Use of Personal Pronouns. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Pronoun indicates close possession or ownership or

Personal Pronoun relationship of a thing/person to another thing/person.
Namber Person e.g. yours, mine, his, hers, ours, theirs, hers,
Subject Object
1st Person I Me

Singular 2nd Person You You Example.

This book is mine.
3rd Person He, She, It Him, Her, It
The pronoun “mine” describes the relationship between book and a
person (me) who possesses this book or who is the owner of this
1st Person We Us
book.

Plural 2nd Person You You

3rd Person They Them

Namber Person Possessive Pronoun
1st Person Mine
Examples.
She is intelligent
Singular 2nd Person Yours
They are playing chess.
He sent me a letter.
It is raining. 3rd Person Hers, his, its
We love our country.
The teacher appreciated them. 1st Person Ours
I met him yesterday.
He gave her a gift. Plural 2nd Person Yours
Did you go to home?
3rd Person Theirs
Examples.
That car is hers.
Your book is old. Mine is new.
The pen on the table is mine. Reflexive Pronoun.
The smallest cup is yours.
The voice is hers.
The car is ours not theirs.
I have lost my camera. May I use yours? Reflexive pronoun describes noun when subject’s action affects the
They received your letter. Did you received theirs. subject itself.
e.g himself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves, itself are
reflexive pronouns.

Note: Possessive adjectives (my, her, your) may be confused with

possessive pronouns. Possessive adjective modifies noun in terms
of possession. Both possessive adjective and possessive show Reflexive pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they
possession or ownership, but possessive adjective is used (with require an interaction between the subject and an object.
noun) to modify the noun while Possessive pronoun is used instead
(in place of) a noun.

Examples.
Namber Person Subject Reflive Pronoun

This is my book. (Possessive adjective: “my” modifies the noun 1st Person I Myself
“book”)
This book is mine. (Possessive pronoun: “mine” is used instead of Singular 2nd Person You Yourself
noun “to whom the book belongs”)
3rd Person He, she, it Himself, Herself, Itself

1st Person We Ourselves

Plural
2nd Person You Yourselves
 3rd Person They Themselves
Examples.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
You should think about yourself.
They prepared themselves for completion.
She pleases herself by think that she will win the prize.
He bought a car for himself.
He locked himself in the room.
He who loves only himself is a selfish.
Note: Reflexive noun can also be used to give more emphasis on
subject or object. If a reflexive pronoun is used to give more
emphasis on a subject or an object, it is called “Intensive
Pronoun”. Usage and function of intensive pronoun are different
from that of reflexive pronoun.
For example, she herself started to think about herself.
In the above sentence the first “herself” is used as intensive
pronoun while the second “herself” is used as reflexive pronoun.
See the following examples of intensive pronouns.
Examples. (Intensive Pronouns)
I did it myself. OR. I myself did it. She herself washed the clothes.
Definition. An antecedent is the word or group of words to which a
pronoun refers. One way to look at this is: A pronoun is a form of
shorthand that we use instead of repeating a certain word or group of
words; the word or phrase that the pronoun replaces is a duplicate of
the word or phrase that is the pronoun's antecedent.
EXAMPLE: We may write "Our company makes commitments, and our
company follows through on commitments" as "Our company makes
commitments, and it follows through on them." The pronouns it and
them represent, respectively, company and commitments. The
antecedent of it is company, and the antecedent of them is
commitments.
Every pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and
gender.
All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and
gender.*
Singular antecedents such as man, person, customer, employee,
everybody, one, anyone, and each are referred to by a singular pronoun.
Each of these ideas has its merits.
Any student who wants to change a course must first consult his
or her advisor.
Everyone with an expense account must present receipts for all
of his or her expenses.
As a person grows up, he or she must assume more
responsibility.
Two or more antecedents joined by and are referred to by a plural
pronoun.
Mr. Jones and his assistant are examining their options.
With two or more antecedents joined by or or nor, the pronoun agrees
with the nearer antecedent.
 ADVERBS: How adverbs are formed
Neither the package nor the letters reached their destination.
(Pronoun agrees with letters.)
Rules
[NOTE: Such constructions often become awkward. Consider: "Neither
the employees nor the boss has abandoned his position in the dispute." 1. In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding '-ly' to an
Rephrasing is the answer: "The employees have not abandoned their adjective:
position in the dispute; neither has the boss."]

Collective nouns are referred to by singular or plural pronouns, Adjective Adverb

depending upon whether the sense of the collective noun is singular or
plural. cheap cheaply
The committee has submitted its proposals. (The committee
quick quickly
acts as a singular unit – it) slow slowly
The group have been arguing among themselves. (The sense is
"group members have been arguing"; the sense is plural.)
Examples:
[NOTE: The verb is often a clue to the appropriate pronoun. Above,
"has" treats "the committee" as a singular entity; hence, the proper  Time goes quickly.
pronoun is singular. In the second sentence, "have" treats "the group"  He walked slowly to the door.
as a plural; hence, themselves is the appropriate plural pronoun. This  She certainly had an interesting life.
latter sentence would be better if rewritten: "Group members have been  He carefully picked up the sleeping child.
arguing among themselves." Note that the verb and pronoun must be
consistent when both relate to the same noun.]
Rules

If the adjective ends in '-y', replace the 'y' with 'i' and add '-ly':

Adjective Adverb

easy easily
angry angrily
happy happily
lucky luckily
If the adjective ends in -'able', '-ible', or '-le', replace the '-e' with  He drives very fast.
'-y':  This is a hard exercise.
 He works hard.
 We saw many high buildings.
Adjective Adverb
 The bird flew high in the sky.

probable probably 3. 'Well' and 'good'

terrible terribly
gentle gently 'Well' is the adverb that corresponds to the adjective 'good'.

If the adjective ends in '-ic', add '-ally': Examples:

Adjective Adverb  He is a good student.

 He studies well.
 She is a good pianist.
basic basically  She plays the piano well.
economic economically  They are good swimmers.
tragic tragically  They swim well.

Note: Exception: public - publicly

2. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:

Typical adjective endings
Adjective and Adverb Some adjectives can be identified by their endings. Typical
adjective endings include:
early late
fast near 1. -able/-ible understandable, capable, readable, incredible
hard straight 2. -al mathematical, functional, influential, chemical
high wrong 3. -ful beautiful, bashful, helpful, harmful
4. -ic artistic, manic, rustic, terrific
Compare: 5. -ive submissive, intuitive, inventive, attractive
6. -less sleeveless, hopeless, groundless, restless
 It is a fast car. 7. -ous gorgeous, dangerous, adventurous, fabulous
Sometimes when adding these endings changes have to be made. Verb Adjective
Here are some rules for forming adjectives and their exceptions: enjoy enjoyable
help helpful
Add Exceptions Word Adjective
obey obedient
Nature Natural
-al If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it play playful
Function Functional
Ice Icy talk talkative
-y If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it
Oil Oily
If ending with a ‘y‘, replace with Beauty Beautiful Or even from other adjectives:
-ful
an ‘i‘ Peace Peaceful
Adjective Adjective
-ous/- Mystery Mysterious
If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it comic comical
ious Danger Dangerous
History Historic correct corrective
-ic If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it
Rust Rustic elder elderly
red reddish
Forming adjectives from nouns and verbs sick sickly

Adjectives can be formed from different words. They can be

formed from nouns:

Noun Adjective Adjectives and Adverbs

accident accidental More Grammar Rules:

danger dangerous
length long
star starry Definitions:
wind windy
Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They may
From verbs: come before the word they describe (That is a cute puppy.) or they
may follow the word they describe (That puppy is cute.).
Verb Adjective
Adverbs are words that modify everything but nouns and
pronouns. They modify adjectives, verbs, and other adverbs. A
word is an adverb if it answers how, when, or where.
The only adverbs that cause grammatical problems are those that
answer the question how, so focus on these.
Rule 1
Do the roses actively smell with noses? No, so no -ly.
The woman looked angry/angrily.
Did the woman actively look with eyes or are we describing her
appearance? We are only describing appearance, so no -ly.
The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the woman did actively look with eyes, so the -ly is added.
She feels bad/badly about the news.
She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.

Generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb. If it Good vs. Well
can have an -ly added to it, place it there.
Rule 3
Examples:
She thinks slow/slowly.
The word good is an adjective, while well is an adverb.
She thinks how? slowly.
She is a slow/slowly thinker.
Examples:
Slow does not answer how, so no -ly is attached. Slow is an
You did a good job.
adjective here.
Good describes the job.
She thinks fast/fastly.
You did the job well.
Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never
Well answers how.
has an -ly attached to it.
You smell good today.
We performed bad/badly.
Describes your odor, not how you smell with your nose, so follow
Badly describes how we performed.
with the adjective. You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with a nose here, so follow with the
Rule 2
adverb.
A special -ly rule applies when four of the senses - taste, smell, Rule 4
look, feel - are the verbs. Do not ask if these senses answer the
question how to determine if -ly should be attached. Instead, ask if
When referring to health, use well rather than good.
the sense verb is being used actively. If so, use the -ly.
Example:
Examples:
I do not feel well. You do not look well today.
Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Note: You may use good with feel when you are not referring to Incorrect:
health. She spoke quicker than he did.

Example: Correct:
I feel good about my decision to learn Spanish. Talk quietly.
Talk more quietly.
Rule 5
Incorrect:
A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using Talk quieter.
the wrong form for comparison. For instance, to describe one thing
we would say poor, as in, "She is poor." To compare two things, Rule 7
we should say poorer, as in, "She is the poorer of the two women."
To compare more than two things, we should say poorest, as in, When this, that, these, and those are followed by nouns, they are
"She is the poorest of them all." adjectives. When they appear without a noun following them, they
are pronouns.
Examples:
One Two Three or More Examples:
sweet sweeter sweetest This house is for sale.
This is an adjective here.
bad worse worst This is for sale.
efficient* more efficient* most efficient* This is a pronoun here.
*Usually with words of three or more syllables, don't add -er or -
est. Use more or most in front of the words. Rule 8

Rule 6 This and that are singular, whether they are being used as
adjectives or as pronouns. This points to something nearby while
Never drop the -ly from an adverb when using the comparison that points to something "over there."
form.
Examples:
Correct:
She spoke quickly. This dog is mine.
She spoke more quickly than he did. That dog is hers.
This is mine.
That is hers.

Rule 9

These and those are plural, whether they are being used as
adjectives or as pronouns. These points to something nearby while
those points to something "over there."

Examples:
These babies have been smiling for a long time.
These are mine. Those babies have been crying for hours. Those
are yours.

Rule 10

Use than to show comparison. Use then to answer the question

when.

Examples:
I would rather go skiing than rock climbing.
First we went skiing; then we went rock climbing.