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Main Complete English Grammar Rules: Examples, Exceptions & Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar
Complete English Grammar Rules: Examples, Exceptions & Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar
Peter Herring
Complete English Grammar Rules is a comprehensive English grammar guide covering both basic and advanced grammar rules. Learn proper English grammar with simple, in-depth explanations, featuring key exceptions, common grammar mistakes, and thousands of real-world usage examples, plus valuable grammar exercises—every topic includes a grammar quiz.
Publisher: CreateSpace
Series: The Farlex Grammar Book
noun999
adjectives823
adjective780
adverbs729
nouns696
clause544
phrases484
clauses471
adverb462
pronouns454
participle385
pronoun365
prepositional358
auxiliary340
adverbial332
interrogative290
preposition249
modal249
incorrect237
predicate220
prepositions217
modify216
infinitive198
irregular196
conditional195
main verb182
quiz180
linking165
prepositional phrase164
auxiliary verb159
comparative152
superlative152
grammatical147
complement146
modifies144
past participle143
person singular142
complements140
phrasal138
auxiliary verbs136
present participle136
finite131
restrictive129
following sentences127
conjunction127
conjunctions124
tenses121
indirect117
reflexive114
possessive113
determiners111
demonstrative110
indefinite110
modifying109
C3ATIP
Complete English Grammar Rules_Examples, Exceptions & Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar, 2016_(Peter Herring).pdf
14 May 2019 (13:04)
EXCELLENT reference, and a GREAT pdf reproduction with crisp print, original formatting, hyperlinks and bookmarked chapters and sections. Thank you for uploading.
02 October 2019 (21:44)
Mohammad.Alhbaidi
Very useful books from a great website
02 December 2019 (12:38)
Стилистика и культура речи корейского языка
Хабаровск Изд-во ДВГГУ
Лим В.Н.
Энергоатомиздат
Твайдел Дж., Уэйр А.
The Farlex Grammar Book:
Complete English Grammar Rules
FARLEX International
Copyright © 2016 Farlex International
Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns of Address
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Compound Nouns
Nominalization (Creating Nouns)
Personal Pronouns - Number
Personal Pronouns - Person (First person, Second person, Third person)
Personal Pronouns - Gender
Personal Pronouns - Case
Personal Pronouns - Reflexive Pronouns
Intensive Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns
Dummy Pronouns
Finite and Non-finite Verbs
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Primary Auxiliary Verbs
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Will
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Would
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Shall
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Should
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Can
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Could
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - May
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Might
Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Must
Substituting Modal Verbs
Semi-Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Stative Verbs
Light Verbs
Common Phrasal Verbs
Conditional Verbs
Factitive Verbs
Attributive Adjectives
Predicative Adjectives
Proper Adjectives
Collective Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
Interrogative Adjectives
Nominal Adjectives
Compound Adjectives
Comparative Adjectives
Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of Degree
Mitigators
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of Purpose
Focusing Adverbs
Negative Adverbs
Conjunctive Adverbs
Evaluative Adverbs
Viewpoint Adverbs
Relative Adverbs
Adverbial Nouns
Regular and Irregular Adverbs
Comparative Adverbs
Superlative Adverbs
Order of Adverbs
Categories of Prepositions
Common Prepositional Errors
Prepositions with Nouns
Prepositions with Verbs
Prepositions with Adjectives
Prepositions in Idioms
Idioms that Start with Prepositions
Idioms that End with Prepositions
Coordinating Conjunctions
Correlative Conjunctions
Subordinating Conjunctions
Other parts of speech
Possessive Determiners
Gerunds as Objects of Verbs
Inflection (Accidence)
Present Continuous Tense (Progressive)
Future Tense (Approximation)
Perfective and Imperfective Aspect
Aspects of the Present Tense
Aspects of the Past Tense
Aspects of the Future Tense
Subjunctive Mood - Expressing Wishes
Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)
Grammatical Person
Gender in Nouns
Regular and Irregular Inflection
Subjects and Predicates
The Subject
The Predicate
Subject Complements
Object Complements
Adjective Complements
Adverbial Complements
Noun Phrases
Adjective Phrases
Participle Phrases
Absolute Phrases
Appositives
Independent Clauses
Dependent Clauses
Noun Clauses
Adverbial Clauses
Compound-Complex Sentences
Declarative Sentences
Negative Interrogative Sentences
Major and Minor Sentences (Regular and Irregular Sentences)
Peter Herring was born in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up with a passion for
reading. He attended the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver,
Canada, where he majored in English Literature. He went on to complete a
master's degree in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College
Dublin in Ireland, where he graduated with honors.
Peter has worked as an editor since 2009, lending his passion for words to
scientific research projects, non-fiction publishing, and The Free Dictionary.
He lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife and son.
Nick Norlen is the managing editor of The Free Dictionary, where he
oversees all editorial projects. After graduating with honors from La Salle
University in Philadelphia, he worked as a reporter before joining the Farlex
team in 2008.
He lives in Newtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and daughter, whose first
word is his favorite word.
Grammar is without a doubt one of the most daunting aspects of the English
language, an area riddled with complexities, inconsistencies, and
contradictions. It has also been in a state of flux for pretty much its entire
existence. For native speakers of English, as well as for those learning it as a
new language, grammar presents a very serious challenge to speaking and
writing both accurately and effectively.
Having a single, reliable, go-to reference guide should therefore be
indispensable to those trying to learn, improve, or perfect their speech or
writing. This book is that guide: a clear, unambiguous, and comprehensive
source of information that covers all the relevant topics of English grammar,
while still being easy to understand and enjoyable to read.
Every topic in the book has been broken down into basic units. Each unit can
be read and understood in its own right, but throughout the book you will
find cross-references to other sections and chapters to help make it clear how
all the pieces fit together. If you're having trouble understanding something,
try going back (or forward) to other related topics in the book.
Finally, it must be mentioned that, because English is such a flexible,
inconsistent language, the "rules" that are often bandied about are usually
not rules at all, but rather guides that reflect how the language is used.
Accordingly, the guidelines contained within this book are just that—
guidelines. They are not intended to provide constrictive or proscriptive rules
that confine everyone to a particular way of speaking or writing.
Learning how the English language works will enhance your engagement
with speech and writing every day, from the books you read, to the e-mails
you write, to the conversations you have with friends and strangers alike.
As such, mastering grammar is not an exercise that is confined to the
classroom. While it is certainly important to learn the structures, styles, and
rules that shape the language, the key to truly learning English is to read and
listen to the way people write and speak every day, from the most wellknown authors to the people you talk to on the bus. Take the information
you find in this book and carry it with you into the world.
-P. Herring
This book is written according to the standard styles and spellings used in
American English. While major differences between American and British
English are usually addressed, some information in the book might not
coincide with the styles, tendencies, or preferences of other English-speaking
communities.
Grammar refers to the way words are used, classified, and structured
together to form coherent written or spoken communication.
This guide takes a traditional approach to teaching English grammar,
breaking the topic into three fundamental elements: Parts of Speech,
Inflection, and Syntax. Each of these is a discrete, individual part, but they
are all intrinsically linked together in meaning.
In the first part of the guide, we will look at the basic components of English
—words. The parts of speech are the categories to which different words
are assigned, based on their meaning, structure, and function in a sentence.
We'll look in great detail at the seven main parts of speech—nouns,
pronouns,
verbs,
adjectives,
adverbs,
prepositions,
conjunctions—as well as other categories of words that don't easily fit in
with the rest, such as particles, determiners, and gerunds.
By understanding the parts of speech, we can better understand how (and
why) we structure words together to form sentences.
Although the parts of speech provide the building blocks for English, another
very important element is inflection, the process by which words are
changed in form to create new, specific meanings.
There are two main categories of inflection: conjugation and declension.
Conjugation refers to the inflection of verbs, while declension refers to the
inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Whenever we change
a verb from the present tense to the past tense, for example, we are using
conjugation. Likewise, when we make a noun plural to show that there is
more than one of it, we are using declension.
The third and final part of the guide will focus on syntax, the rules and
patterns that govern how we structure sentences. The grammatical
structures that constitute syntax can be thought of as a hierarchy, with
sentences at the top as the largest cohesive unit in the language and words
(the parts of speech) at the bottom.
We'll begin the third part by looking at the basic structural units present in
all sentences—subjects and predicates—and progressively move on to
larger classes of structures, discussing modifiers, phrases, and clauses.
Finally, we will end by looking at the different structures and categories of
sentences themselves.
Using the three parts together
The best way to approach this guide is to think of it as a cross-reference of
itself; when you see a term or concept in one section that you're unfamiliar
with, check the other sections to find a more thorough explanation. Neither
parts of speech nor inflection nor syntax exist as truly separate units; it's
equally important to examine and learn about the different kinds of words,
how they can change to create new meaning, and the guidelines by which
they are structured into sentences.
When we learn to use all three parts together, we gain a much fuller
understanding of how to make our speech and writing not only proper, but
natural and effective.
The parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their
function in a sentence.
English has seven main parts of speech. We'll look at a brief overview of each
below; continue on to their individual chapters to learn more about them.
Nouns are words that identify or name people, places, or things. Nouns can
function as the subject of a clause or sentence, an object of a verb, or an
object of a preposition. Words like cat, book, table, girl, and plane are all
nouns.
Pronouns are words that represent nouns (people, places, or things).
Grammatically, pronouns are used in the same ways as nouns; they can
function as subjects or objects. Common pronouns include I, you, she, him,
it, everyone, and somebody.
Verbs are words that describe the actions—or states of being—of people,
animals, places, or things. Verbs function as the root of what's called the
predicate, which is required (along with a subject) to form a complete
sentence; therefore, every sentence must include at least one verb.
Verbs include action words like run, walk, write, or sing, as well as words
describing states of being, such as be, seem, feel, or sound.
Adjectives are words that modify (add description to) nouns and
(occasionally) pronouns. They can be a part of either the subject or the
predicate. Common adjectives are red, blue, fast, slow, big, tall, and wide.
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even
entire clauses. Depending on what they modify (and how), adverbs can
appear anywhere in the sentence. Adverbs are commonly formed from
adjectives by adding "-ly" to the end, as in slowly, quickly, widely,
beautifully, or commonly.
Prepositions are words that express a relationship between a noun or
pronoun (known as the object of the preposition) and another part of the
sentence. Together, these form prepositional phrases, which can function
as adjectives or as adverbs in a sentence. Some examples of prepositional
phrases are: on the table, in the shed, and across the field. (The
prepositions are in bold.)
Conjunctions are words that connect other words, phrases, or clauses,
expressing a specific kind of relationship between the two (or more)
elements. The most common conjunctions are the coordinating
conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.
In addition to the seven parts of speech above, there are several other
groupings of words that do not neatly fit into any one specific category
—particles, articles, determiners, gerunds, and interjections.
Many of these share characteristics with one or more of the seven primary
categories. For example, determiners are similar in many ways to
adjectives, but they are not completely the same, and most particles are
identical in appearance to prepositions but have different grammatical
Because they are harder to classify in comparison to the seven primary
categories above, they've been grouped together in this guide under the
general category Other Parts of Speech.
Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.
In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or
preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify
the subject of a sentence or clause; these are known as predicate nouns.
The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing,
or controlling the action of the verb. For example:
• "The dog chased its tail." (The noun dog is performing the action of the
verb chase.)
• "Mary reads a book every week." (The proper noun Mary is performing the
action of the verb read.)
Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a
verb, the indirect object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.
Direct objects
Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or
clause. For example:
• "The dog chased its tail." (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb
chase.)
• "Mary reads a book every week." (The noun book is receiving the action of
the verb read.)
Indirect objects
An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of
the verb. For instance:
• "Please pass Jeremy the salt." (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the
direct object salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.)
• "I sent the company an application for the job." (The noun company is
receiving the direct object application, which receives the action of the verb
sent.)
Objects of prepositions
Nouns are also used after prepositions to create prepositional phrases.
When a noun is part of a prepositional phrase, it is known as the object of
the preposition. For example:
• "Your backpack is under the table." (The noun table is the object of the
preposition under, which creates the prepositional phrase under the table.)
• "I am looking for work." (The noun work is the object of the preposition
for, which creates the prepositional phrase for work.)
Predicate Nouns
Nouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes
known as predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the
subject. If the noun is accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as
articles, adjectives, or prepositional phrases), the entire noun phrase
acts predicatively.
• "Love is a virtue." (The noun phrase a virtue follows the linking verb is to
rename the subject love.)
• "Tommy seems like a real bully." (The noun phrase a real bully follows
the linking verb seems to rename the subject Tommy.)
• "Maybe this is a blessing in disguise." (The noun phrase a blessing in
disguise follows the linking verb is to rename the subject this.)
(Go to the section on Subject Complements in the part of the guide that
covers Syntax to learn more about predicate nouns.)
Categories of Nouns
There are many different kinds of nouns, and it's important to know the
different way each type can be used in a sentence. Below, we'll briefly look at
the different categories of nouns. You can explore the individual sections to
learn more about each.
Nouns that identify general people, places, or things are called common
nouns—they name or identify that which is common among others.
Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify an absolutely
unique person, place, or thing, and they are signified by capital letters, no
matter where they appear in a sentence.
Common Nouns
"He sat on the chair."
"Go find Jeff and tell him dinner is ready."
"I live in a city."
"I'll have a Pepsi, please."
"We met some people." "Prince William is adored by many."
Nouns of address are used in direct speech to identify the person or
group being directly spoken to, or to get that person's attention. Like
interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence
—they don't modify or affect any other part of it. For example:
• "James, I need you to help me with the dishes."
• "Can I have some money, Mom?"
• "This, class, is the video I was telling you about."
• "Sorry, Mr. President, I didn't see you there."
Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are physically
tangible—that is, they can be seen or touched, or have some physical
properties. Proper nouns are also usually concrete, as they describe unique
people, places, or things that are also tangible. For example:
Abstract nouns, as their name implies, name intangible things, such as
concepts, ideas, feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc. For instance:
Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be
considered as individual, separable items, which means that we are able to
count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on.
We can also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a
single person or thing) or with the plural form of the noun.
Single Countable Nouns Plural Countable Nouns
two cups
an ambulance
several ambulances
a phone
10 phones
Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as noncount or mass nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as
individual units or elements. Uncountable nouns cannot take an indefinite
article (a/an), nor can they be made plural.
✔ Correct
"Would you like tea?"
✖ Incorrect
"Would you like a tea?"
"Do you have any information?"
"Do you have an information?"
camping "We
equipments."
Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple
people, animals, or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to
multiple individuals, they still function as singular nouns in a sentence. This
is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the group as a
whole. For example:
• "The flock of birds flew south for the winter."
• "The organization voted to revoke the rules that it had previously
• "The set of tablecloths had disappeared. "
Attributive
Adjuncts)
(Noun
Attributive nouns, also called noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used to
modify other nouns. The resulting phrase is called a compound noun. For
• "The boy played with his toy soldier."
In this sentence, toy is the noun adjunct, and it modifies the word soldier,
creating the compound noun toy soldier.
To learn more about attributive nouns, go to the section on Adjuncts in the
chapter on The Predicate.
A compound noun is a noun composed of two or more words working
together as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns
are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun.
• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)
• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)
• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)
• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)
A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that function together as a
noun in a sentence. Noun phrases consist of a noun and other words that
modify the noun. For example:
• "He brought the shovel with the blue handle."
In this sentence, the shovel with the blue handle is a noun phrase. It
collectively acts as a noun while providing modifying words for the head
noun, shovel. The modifiers are the and with the blue handle.
Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.
When nouns are created from other parts of speech, it is usually through the
use of suffixes. For example:
• "My fiancée is an actor." (The verb act becomes the noun actor.)
• "His acceptance of the position was received warmly." (The verb accept
becomes the noun acceptance.)
• "The hardness of diamond makes it a great material for cutting tools."
(The adjective hard becomes the noun hardness.)
• "This project will be fraught with difficulty." (The adjective difficult
becomes the noun difficulty.)
(answers start on page 610)
1. A noun can be which of the following?
a) The subject
b) An object
c) Predicative
e) B & C
2. What category of nouns is used to identify the person or group being
directly spoken to?
a) Common nouns
b) Nouns of address
c) Attributive nouns
d) Abstract nouns
3. Identify the type of noun (in bold) used in the following sentence:
"Your indifference is not acceptable."
a) Proper noun
b) Countable noun
c) Collective noun
d) Abstract noun
4. What category of nouns is used to modify other nouns?
5. Which of the following is commonly used to create a noun from a verb or
adjective?
a) Prefix
b) Suffix
c) Attributive noun
d) Predicative noun
Nouns fall into one of two broad categories: common nouns and proper
All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing.
Those that identify general people, places, or things are called common
nouns—they name that which is common among others.
• "He sat on the chair."
• "I live in a city."
• "We met some people."
• "She went into politics."
• "Our teacher is angry."
• "Let's go down to the lake."
Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify a unique person,
place, or thing. A proper noun names someone or something that is one of a
kind, which is signified by the use of a capital letter, no matter where it
appears in a sentence.
The most common proper nouns are names, as of people, places, or events.
• "Go find Jeff and tell him dinner is ready."
• "I lived in Cincinnati before I moved to New York."
• "My parents still talk about how great Woodstock was in 1969."
Proper nouns are also used for commercial brands. In this case, the object
that's being referred to is not unique in itself, but the brand it belongs to is.
• "Pass me the Hellmann's mayonnaise."
• "I'll have a Pepsi, please."
• "My new MacBook is incredibly fast."
When a person has additional words added to his or her name (known as an
appellation), this becomes part of the proper noun and is also capitalized.
(Some linguists distinguish these as proper names, rather than proper
nouns.) For example:
• "Prince William is adored by many."
• "Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun in 452."
Job Titles and Familial Roles
Many times, a person may be referred to according to a professional title or
familial role instead of by name. In this case, the title is being used as a
noun of address and is considered a proper noun, even if it would be a
common noun in other circumstances. For example:
• "How are you doing, Coach?"
• "I need your advice, Mr. President."
• "Mom, can you come with me to the playground?"
• "Pleased to meet you, Doctor."
1. Common nouns identify people, places, or things that are ___________?
a) Especially unique or one-of-a-kind
b) Generic among other similar nouns
c) Addressed by the speaker
d) Uncountable
2. Things referred to by their brand use which kind of nouns?
b) Proper nouns
3. Nouns of address are used in the same way as which kind of nouns?
Nouns of address (technically called vocatives, but also known as
nominatives of address or nouns of direct address) identify the
person or group being directly spoken to. Like interjections, they are
grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don't
modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener
or reader know who you are addressing, or to get that person's attention. For
• "Mr. President, I didn't see you there."
• "Hey, guy in the red shirt, can you help me?"
Nouns of address are found in the initial, middle, or final position in a
sentence. No matter where they occur, they are normally set apart from the
rest of the sentence by one or two commas. If they occur in the initial
position, they are followed by a comma. If they occur in the middle position,
they are enclosed between two commas, and if they occur in the final
position, they are preceded by a comma. For example:
• "James, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes."
• "I was wondering, James, if you could help me with the dishes."
• "I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes, James."
• "Class, this is the video I was telling you about."
• "This is the video I was telling you about, class."
Proper nouns, such as the name or title of a person, are the most frequent
nouns of address. These nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they
appear in a sentence. If a professional title is used with the name, it is
capitalized as well. For example:
• "Can you help me, James?"
• "Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for being here."
• "It's so nice to meet you, Doctor Jenner."
• "Hey, Coach Frank, how are you doing today?"
Common nouns in place of titles
Common nouns can also be used as nouns of address. If the common noun is
the title of a job or family member and is used in place of a person's name, it
should always be capitalized. For example:
• "Can you come with me, Mom?"
Compare the examples above to the following cases in which the same titles
of jobs and family members are not used to address the person directly, and
therefore are not capitalized:
• "Give that football to the coach."
• "Was the president at the meeting?"
• "Tell your mom to come with us."
• "Did you call the doctor yet?"
When a term of endearment is being used in place of a person's name, we do
not capitalize the word unless it begins the sentence. For example:
• "Would you get me a glass of water, sweetie?"
• "Thanks, pal, I appreciate your help."
• "Love, please put away your clothes."
Other common nouns
If they do not act as a professional or familial title, other common nouns
should generally remain in lowercase, unless they occur as the first word of
the sentence. For example:
• "Can you help me, guy in the red shirt?"
• "Please stand up, boys and girls."
• "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the duration of the
1. Nouns of address occur in the ________.
a) initial position
b) middle position
c) final position
d) A & C
e) All of the above
2. Nouns of address are set apart by ________.
a) periods
b) commas
c) hyphens
d) semicolons
3. Which of the following sentences does not contain a noun of address?
a) "Oh, hello, Dad."
b) "Come with me, Daniel."
c) "Coach, I thought that was you!"
d) "Give that message to the president, please."
4. Which of the following sentences is written incorrectly?
a) "I wish you were here, grandma."
b) "I wish my grandma was here."
c) "I wish you were here, Grandma."
d) "Grandma, I wish you were here."
a) "Please help us, Doctor Green."
b) "Doctor Green please help us."
c) "Please, Doctor Green, help us."
d) "Doctor Green, please help us."
All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing. Depending on whether
they name a tangible or an intangible thing, nouns are classed as being
either concrete or abstract.
Concrete Nouns
Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are or were
physically tangible—that is, they can or could be seen or touched, or have
some physical properties. For instance:
Proper nouns are also usually concrete, as they describe unique people,
places, or things.
my MacBook
a Pepsi
concepts, ideas, feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc.—you cannot see or
touch these kinds of things.
Here are some examples of abstract nouns:
Gerunds, verbs that end in "-ing" and function as nouns, are also abstract.
These all name actions as concepts. They cannot be seen or touched, so we
know they are not concrete.
Both concrete and abstract nouns can be
uncountable, depending on what they name.
either countable
Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are, as the name suggests,
nouns that can be counted as individual units.
Concrete countable nouns
Many concrete nouns are countable. Consider the following, for example:
Each of these can be considered as an individual, separable item, which
means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two,
five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles a
and an (which signify a single person or thing) or with the plural form of
the noun. For example:
a cup – two cups
an ambulance – several ambulances
a phone – 10 phones
a person – many people
Abstract countable nouns
Even though abstract nouns are not tangible, many of them can still be
counted as separable units. Like concrete nouns, they can take a or an or can
be made plural. For example:
a conversation – two conversations
an emergency – several emergencies
a reading – 10 readings
an aspiration – many aspirations
Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, are nouns that cannot be
considered as separate units. They are also known as non-count or mass
Concrete uncountable nouns
Concrete nouns that are uncountable tend to be substances or collective
categories of things. For instance:
• wood, smoke, air, water
• furniture, homework, accommodation, luggage
Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles a or an in a sentence,
because these words indicate a single amount of something. Likewise, they
cannot take numbers or plural forms, because there cannot be multiple units
of them. For example:
"I see a smoke over there." (incorrect)
"I see (some*) smoke over there." (correct)
"I don't have furnitures." (incorrect)
"I don't have (any*) furniture." (correct)
(*We often use the words some or any to indicate an unspecified quantity of
uncountable nouns.)
However, uncountable nouns can sometimes take the definite article the,
because it does not specify an amount:
• "They're swimming in the water."
• "The homework this week is hard."
Abstract uncountable nouns
A large number of abstract nouns are uncountable. These are usually ideas or
attributes. For instance:
• love, hate, news*, access, knowledge
• beauty, intelligence, arrogance, permanence
(*Even though news ends in an "-s," it is uncountable. We need this "-s"
because without it, news would become new, which is an adjective.)
Again, these cannot take indefinite articles or be made plural.
"He's just looking for a love." (incorrect)
"He's just looking for love." (correct)
"She's gained a great deal of knowledges during college." (incorrect)
"She's gained a great deal of knowledge during college." (correct)
As with countable nouns, though, we can sometimes use the definite article
the:
• "I can't stand watching the news."
• "Can you believe the arrogance he exhibits?"
1. Which of the following is a distinguishing feature of abstract nouns?
a) They can be seen or touched
b) They cannot be seen or touched
c) They can be counted
d) They cannot be counted
2. Proper nouns are generally _________.
a) concrete
b) abstract
3. Is the following word concrete or abstract?
6. True or False: All concrete nouns are countable.
single person or thing) or in their plural forms.
article, nor can they be made plural.
Concrete vs. Abstract Countable
Both concrete and abstract nouns can be countable. Concrete nouns
name people, places, or things that are tangible—they can be seen or
touched. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, name intangible things, such as
ideas, concepts, feelings, or attributes.
Concrete nouns are a bit easier to understand as being countable—after all,
they are things that we can see and feel, and so we can usually count them.
Consider the following, for example:
• cup
• ambulance
• phone
• person
• eel
• doctor
Each of these can be considered as an individual item or unit, which means
that we are able to count them:
an ambulance several ambulances
an eel
three eels
a few computers
some doctors
be made plural.
Consider these abstract nouns:
• conversation
• emergency
• reading
• aspiration
• emotion
• belief
Now let's see how they can be counted:
a conversation two conversations
an emergency several emergencies
a reading
10 readings
an aspiration
many aspirations
an emotion
hundreds of emotions
a belief
certain beliefs
Grammar with countable nouns
When we use countable nouns, certain elements in a sentence will change
depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.
Third-person singular vs. thirdperson plural pronouns
If a countable noun is being represented by a third-person pronoun, we
must take care to use the correct singular or plural form.
When a noun is singular and names a person (or, sometimes, a pet) whose
gender is known,* then we use the third-person singular he, him, or his
(masculine) or she, her, or hers (feminine). For example:
• "The man left early, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him." (Man is
singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun him.)
• "The president has many things that she wants to accomplish in office."
(President is singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun she.)
• "We taught our dog to know which bed is his." (Dog is singular, so it takes
the third-person singular pronoun his.)
If the noun names a singular place, thing, or non-domestic animal, then we
must use the third-person neuter pronoun it:
• "I hate this computer because it is so slow!"
• "The cow lowed softly as it ate."
• "Some people dislike this town, but I've always loved it."
When a noun is plural, we use the same third-person pronouns for people,
places, animals, and things: they, them, and theirs*. For example:
• "The parade floats are spectacular! I love watching them go down the
• "Bill and Samantha told me they were coming over later."
• "Make sure the children know which bags are theirs."
*Usage Note: "Singular they"
English does not have a way of identifying a single person with a pronoun if
his or her gender is not known, so sometimes the third-person plural forms
(they, them, etc.) are used as a gender-neutral alternative to the third-person
feminine/masculine forms. This is sometimes called "singular they."
• "You shouldn't judge someone until you know what they are really like."
• "If anyone needs extra help with their studies, they should feel free to see
me after class."
While it is still considered incorrect by some writers and writing guides,
especially in American English, "singular they" is gradually becoming
accepted as the norm, especially in instances with indefinite pronouns that
sound plural but are grammatically singular (like anyone in the example
above).
Subject-Verb Agreement
Because countable nouns can be either singular or plural, it is very important
to use the correct subject-verb agreement when they are functioning as
the subject of a clause.
Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs for
singular subjects and using other conjugations for plural subjects. This
happens most noticeably with the verb to be, which becomes is or was with
singular subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects.
• "My brother is back from college." (singular present simple tense)
• "The company was in financial trouble." (singular past simple tense)
• "Many people are getting frustrated with the government." (plural present
simple tense)
• "The computers were rather old." (plural past simple tense)
For any other verb, we only need to make a change if it is in the present
simple tense. For most verbs, this is accomplished by adding an "-s" to the
end if it is singular and leaving it in its base form if it is plural. For example:
• "My father runs his own business." (singular)
• "But his sons run it when he's away." (plural)
• "The dog wags his tail when he is happy." (singular)
• "Dogs sometimes wag their tails when they're angry or scared." (plural)
The verbs have and do also only conjugate for singular subjects in the
present simple tense, but they have irregular forms for this: has and does.
• "The apple has a mark on it." (singular)
• "All the apples have marks on them." (plural)
• "The teacher does not think it's a good idea." (singular)
• "The other teachers do not mind, though." (plural)
Finally, the modal auxiliary verbs will, would, shall, should, can, could,
might, and must do not conjugate for singular vs. plural subjects—they
always remain the same. For instance:
• "This phone can also surf the Internet!" (singular)
• "Most phones can do that now." (plural)
• "The president will arrive in Malta next week." (singular)
• "The other diplomats will arrive shortly after that." (plural)
1. Which of the following cannot be used with countable nouns?
a) Indefinite articles
b) Definite articles
c) Third-person singular pronouns
d) Plural forms
2. True or False: Countable nouns are always concrete nouns.
3. How do most verbs conjugate when they have a singular subject?
a) By adding "-d" to the end
b) By adding "-s" to the end
c) They remain in their base form
d) They take an auxiliary verb
4. Which of the following third-person pronouns is used for plural nouns?
a) he
b) she
c) it
d) they
5. Which of the following third-person pronouns is used for non-gendered
singular nouns?
Nouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate
parts are called uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or noncount nouns). These can be tangible objects (such as substances or
collective categories of things), or intangible or abstract things, such as
concepts or ideas. Nouns that can be divided are called countable nouns,
or simply count nouns.
Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:
• love, hate, beauty, intelligence, arrogance
• news*, access
Using articles with uncountable
Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles "a" or "an" in a
sentence, because these words indicate a single amount of something. For
✖ "Would you like a tea?" (incorrect)
✔ "Would you like tea?" (correct)
✖ "Do you have an information?" (incorrect)
✔ "Do you have (some/any) information?" (correct)
(We often use the words "some" or "any" to indicate an unspecified quantity
of uncountable nouns. We'll investigate this more in a later part of this
section.)
• "Have you heard the news?"
• "The furniture in my living room is old."
However, this is only the case if a specific uncountable noun is being
described. For example:
✖ "I am looking for an accommodation." (incorrect)
✖ "I am looking for the accommodation." (incorrect)
✔ "I am looking for accommodation." (correct)
✔ "I am looking for the accommodation listed in this advertisement."
(correct—references specific accommodation)
Uncountable nouns are not
Just as uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles "a" or "an"
because there is not "one" of them, it is equally incorrect to use third-person
plural pronouns with them, as they are not considered a collection of single
things. For example:
• Person A: "Your hair looks very nice today."
✖ Person B: "Yes, I washed them last night." (incorrect)
✔ Person B: "Yes, I washed it last night." (correct)
Note that single hairs become countable. If there are two hairs on your
jacket, you can say "hairs" or use the plural pronoun "they." The hair on your
head, however, is seen as an uncountable noun.
Plural forms of the noun
We also cannot make uncountable nouns plural by adding "-s" on the end.
Again, they are grammatically regarded as single, collective units. For
✖ "We bought new camping equipments." (incorrect)
✔ "We bought new camping equipment." (correct)
✖ "The teacher gave us many homeworks." (Incorrect. We also cannot
use the quantifier "many" with uncountable nouns, because it refers to
individual things.)
✔ "The teacher gave us a lot of homework." (Correct. We can use the
quantifier "a lot" to indicate a large amount of an uncountable noun.)
Because uncountable nouns cannot be plural, it is very important to use the
correct subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to using
certain conjugations of verbs with singular vs. plural subjects. This happens
most noticeably with the verb to be, which becomes is or was with singular
subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects. Because uncountable
nouns are grammatically singular, they must take singular forms of their
verbs.
Here are a few examples illustrating this distinction:
✖ "The furnitures in my living room are old." (incorrect)
✖ "The furnitures in my living room is old." (incorrect)
✔ "The furniture in my living room is old." (correct)
✖ "Their behaviors are not good." (incorrect)
✔ "Their behavior is not good." (correct)
✖ "The news are good." (incorrect)
✔ "The news is good." (correct)
Measurements of distance, time,
and amount
A notable exception to the subject-verb rule we just discussed relates to
countable nouns that are describing measurements of distance, time, or
amount. In this case, we consider the sum as a singular amount, and so they
must take singular forms of their verbs. For example:
✖ "$20,000 have been credited to your account." (incorrect)
✔ "$20,000 has been credited to your account." (correct)
✖ "I think 50 miles are too far to travel on foot." (incorrect)
✔ "I think 50 miles is too far to travel on foot." (correct)
✖ "Wow, two hours fly by when you're having fun!" (incorrect)
✔ "Wow, two hours flies by when you're having fun!" (correct)
If we want to identify one or more specific "units" of an uncountable noun,
then we must add more information to the sentence to make this clear.
For example, if you want to give someone advice in general, you could say:
• "Can I give you advice?" or;
• "Can I give you some advice?"
But if you wanted to emphasize that you'd like to give them a particular
aspect or facet of advice, you could not say, "Can I give you an advice?"
Instead, we have to add more information to specify what we want to give:
• "Can I give you a piece of advice?"
By adding "piece of" to the uncountable noun advice, we have now made it
functionally countable. This means that we can also make this phrase
plural, though we have to be careful to pluralize the count noun that we've
added, and not the uncountable noun itself. For example:
• "Can I give you a few pieces of advice?"
As we've already seen, certain quantifiers (a kind of determiner that
specifies an amount of something) can only be used with uncountable
nouns, while others can only modify countable nouns. While we will examine
these more in depth in the chapter on Determiners, here are a few
examples that cause particular confusion.
Too – Too Much – Too Many
We use "too + adjective" to mean "beyond what is needed or desirable," as in,
"It is too big."
Too much, on the other hand, is used to modify uncountable nouns, while
too many is used with countable nouns—they are not used with adjectives.
For example, the following sentences would both be incorrect:
✖ "It is too much big."
✖ "It is too many big."
One particular source of confusion that can arise here is the fact that much
can be used as an adverb before too to give it emphasis, as in:
• "It is much too big."
We also must be sure not to use too much with a countable noun, nor too
many with an uncountable noun.
✖ "I have too much pieces of furniture." (incorrect)
✔ "I have too many pieces of furniture." (correct)
✖ "I have too many furniture." (incorrect)
✔ "I have too much furniture." (correct)
Fewer vs. Less
The conventional rule regarding less vs. fewer is that we use fewer with
countable nouns and less with uncountable nouns. For example:
✖ "I have less friends than Jill has." (incorrect)
✔ "I have fewer friends than Jill has." (correct)
✖ "I have fewer money than he has." (incorrect)
✔ "I have less money than he has." (correct)
The rule carries over when we add words to an uncountable noun to make a
countable phrase (as we looked at above). We can see this distinction in the
following examples:
• "I want less toast." (toast is uncountable)
• "I want fewer pieces of toast." (pieces of toast is countable)
• "There is less water in the jug." (water is uncountable)
• "There are fewer cups of water in the jug." (cups of water is countable)
As we noted above, measurements of distance, time, or amount for nouns
that we would normally consider countable (and thus plural) end up taking
singular verbs. Likewise, these terms also take the word less, most often in
the construction less than. For example:
• "$20,000 is less than we expected to pay."
• "We walked less than 50 miles to get here."
• "We have less than two hours to finish this project."
• "I weigh 20 pounds less than I used to."
Note, however, that we can't use less before these kinds of nouns:
✖ "We have less $20,000." (incorrect)
✖ "I ran less 10 miles." (incorrect)
Less is also used with countable nouns in the construction one less _____,
• "That is one less problem to worry about."
Fewer can also be used (albeit less commonly), but the construction usually
changes to one ______ fewer, as in:
• "That is one problem fewer to worry about."
Rule or non-rule?
It is important to note that many grammar guides dispute the necessity of
this supposed "rule," referencing that it was in fact implemented as a stylistic
preference by the 1770 grammarian Robert Baker, and that fewer and less
had been used interchangeably for countable and uncountable nouns for
hundreds of years before that. Specifically, it is considered by some as
acceptable to use less with countable nouns, especially in informal or
colloquial writing and speech.
As long as the sentence does not sound awkward, it is probably safe to do so.
However, many still regard the fewer vs. less rule as indisputable, so it is
recommended to adhere to the rule for professional, formal, or academic
1. Which article can be used with uncountable nouns?
a) a
b) an
c) the
2. What verb form is generally used with uncountable nouns?
a) singular
b) plural
c) singular in the past tense only
d) plural in the past tense only
3. Which of the following is an uncountable noun?
a) person
b) friend
c) intelligent
d) news
4. Which of the following is not an uncountable noun?
a) love
b) piece
c) wood
d) water
5. Which of the following sentences is correct?
a) "We are waiting for a news."
b) "You can never have too many love."
c) "These homeworks are very hard."
d) "Could I have less water, please?"
multiple individuals, they still usually function as singular nouns in a
sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the
group as a whole. Here are some examples of collective nouns:
group – A group is a single unit that is made up of a number of
individuals, whether people or things.
collection – A collection is a single unit that typically consists of
many similar things organized together, such as paintings.
tribe – A tribe is a single unit that is made up of a group of tribe
fleet – A fleet is a single unit that is made up of several vehicles or
vessels, such as ships.
band – A band is a single unit that consists of a number of different
musicians.
Collective nouns are used in sentences to refer to a group of people, animals,
or things. Here are some examples of collective nouns being used in
sentences:
Similarity to plural nouns
Collective nouns are very similar to plural nouns. Plural nouns are nouns
that refer to multiple people, places, or things, and they primarily (but not
always) end in "-s," "-es," or "-ies." They are derived from singular nouns, and
so are truly plural in form and function. For example, the following words are
all plural nouns:
Both plural nouns and collective nouns can refer to multiple things. The
difference is that collective nouns refer to a group of individuals in a single
unit, whereas plural nouns refer to multiple individuals. To understand the
difference, consider the following sentence:
• "The musicians played the song beautifully."
This sentence contains the plural noun musicians. This word lets the reader
know that there are multiple musicians who played the song beautifully.
However, consider the following sentence:
• "The orchestra played the song beautifully."
This sentence contains the collective noun orchestra. This word lets the
reader know that there is a group of musicians that played the song
beautifully. However, it also lets the reader know that the multiple musicians
are arranged into a single group. The plural noun musicians in the first
sentence does not do that.
Here are two more examples:
• "The soldiers marched very swiftly." (plural noun)
• "The platoon marched very swiftly." (collective noun)
As in the previous examples, both soldiers and platoon indicate multiple
people. However, only platoon lets the reader know that the soldiers are
organized into a collective unit.
Singular vs. Plural Use
Collective nouns usually function as singular nouns in a sentence, but they
are occasionally used as plurals, too. Whether they are used in a singular or
plural manner can impact which verbs and pronouns should be associated
with the word.
The way we determine in which manner the collective noun should be used
is to consider whether the members of the collective noun are being regarded
as a single, whole unit, or as multiple individuals. If they are functioning as a
whole, then you use singular verb tenses and pronouns; if they are acting
individually, then you use plural verb tenses and pronouns.
For example, the following sentence demonstrates singular use of a collective
• "The offense hopes to score a touchdown on its next play."
Here, the collective noun offense refers to the members of the team's
offensive unit functioning as a whole; therefore, it acts as a singular noun in
the sentence. As a result, the verb hopes and the pronoun its are also
singular.
Compare this to the next sentence, which demonstrates plural use of a
collective noun:
• "The jury eat their lunches before they deliberate."
In this sentence, the collective noun, jury, refers to the jury members acting
individually. As a result, jury functions as a plural noun in the sentence. This
means that the plural pronouns they and their are used, as is the plural form
of the verb eat.
Finally, it is worth noting that in British English, it is more common for
collective nouns to function as plurals in all instances.
Plural-only collective nouns
Certain collective nouns can only be plural, such as "police." For example:
✖ "The police is investigating the matter." (incorrect)
✔ "The police are investigating the matter." (correct)
However, we can make the noun countable by adding more information to
the sentence. If we want to specify a single member of the police, we could
• "A police officer is investigating the matter."
Here are some other examples of collective nouns that can only be plural:
Collective Nouns and Animals
In the English language, there are many different types of collective nouns
that refer to different groupings of animals. There are hundreds of different
collective nouns used to describe animal group names, but here are a few
common ones:
flock of birds
pod of whales
pride of lions
band of coyotes
gatling of woodpeckers
huddle of penguins
mob of kangaroos
school of fish
1. Which of the following words is a collective noun?
a) birds
b) berries
c) cake
d) team
2. Which word is the collective noun in the following sentence?
"The herd moved north over the mountains."
a) moved
b) north
c) herd
d) mountains
3. Which of the following is not a collective noun?
a) ships
b) group
c) committee
d) government
4. A collective noun is usually _______ in a sentence.
a) plural
b) singular
c) Neither
5. Which of the following is a collective noun that refers to a group of
animals?
a) book
b) snow
c) flock
d) sky
A compound noun is a noun consisting of two or more words working
are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun, but other
combinations are also possible, as well.
Generally, the first word in the compound noun tells us what kind of
person or thing it is or what purpose he, she, or it serves, while the second
word defines the person or object, telling us who or what it is. For example:
Like other nouns, compound nouns can be modified by other adjectives. For
• "I need to buy a large water bottle."
• "That's a beautiful dining room."
• "My old backpack is still my favorite."
• "A lone policeman foiled the attempted robbery."
You can recognize compound nouns because the meaning of the two words
put together is different than the meaning of the words separately. For
example, water and bottle have their own separate meanings, but when we
use them together they mean a particular type of bottle that we drink water
Forming compound nouns
As mentioned, compound nouns are formed by combining two or more
words, with the most common combinations being noun + noun or adjective
+ noun. However, combinations using other parts of speech are also possible.
Below are the various combinations used to create compound nouns.
Noun + noun
There are a great number of compound nouns formed using the noun + noun
combination. For example:
• backpack
• bathtub
• bedroom
• bus stop
• fish tank
• handbag
• motorcycle
• shopkeeper
• tablecloth
• toothpaste
• wallpaper
• website
• wristwatch
Adjective + noun
There are also many compound nouns that are formed using the adjective +
noun combination. For example:
• full moon
• blackberry
• blackbird
• blackboard
• cell(ular) phone
• mobile phone
• highway
• greenhouse
• redhead
• six-pack
• small talk
• whiteboard
Other combinations
Although the noun + noun and adjective + noun combinations are the most
common, there are also plenty of other possibilities for forming compound
nouns. For example:
noun + verb
haircut, rainfall, sunrise, sunset
noun + preposition
hanger-on, passerby
prepositional
brother-in-law, mother-in-law
noun + adjective
cupful, spoonful
verb + noun
pickpocket, swimming pool
preposition + noun
bystander,
verb + preposition
check-in,
checkout/check-out,
lookout, makeup
adjective + verb
dry cleaning, public speaking
preposition + verb
input, output, overthrow, upturn
influx,
onlooker,
runway,
underpants,
drawback,
Writing compound nouns
Compound nouns are very common, both in written and spoken English, and
there are spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation norms that we must be
aware of if we want to use them correctly.
The three written
Writing compound nouns is a bit complicated due to the fact that they can
take three different forms.
First, open compound nouns (or spaced compound nouns) are those
that are written as two separate words, such as washing machine, swimming
pool, and water bottle.
Second, there are hyphenated compound nouns, as in check-in, hangeron, and mother-in-law.
Third, there are closed compound nouns (or solid compound nouns)
—those that are written as one word, such as rainfall, drawback, and
toothpaste.
Unfortunately, there aren't any rules that tell us which of the three forms is
acceptable for a particular compound noun. Some compound nouns are
commonly written in two forms, as in website / web site or checkout / checkout, while others, such as bus stop, are strictly used in one form. Where more
than one is possible, the form that is more commonly used may depend on
the variety of English (American English vs. British English, for example),
the style guide of a publication, or the personal preference of the writer.
If you're not sure which of the three forms to use, it's important to check a
good, up-to-date dictionary. If you are relying on the spellchecker in a word
processor, remember that this has its limits. For example, spellcheck is good
for checking whether a particular compound noun can be written as one
word (closed); however, if we write a compound noun as two words (open)
and it should be written as one word (closed), or if we write it with a hyphen
and it should be written without a hyphen, spellcheck will not catch the
mistakes.
Finally, remember that, no matter which way the compound noun is written,
it always functions grammatically as a single unit.
Pluralizing compound nouns
We usually pluralize a compound noun by adding an "-s" or "-es" to the main
word, or the defining word, of the compound noun. This is usually the
second word, but not always. For example:
water bottle water bottles
full moons
mothers-in-law
passerby / passer-by passersby / passers-by
When it's not obvious which of the words is the defining word, we pluralize
the end of it. For example:
checkout / check-out checkouts / check-outs
upturn
upturns
Pronouncing compound nouns
In general, compound nouns are pronounced with the emphasis on the first
part of the word. For example:
Pronouncing compound nouns in this way helps us distinguish words that
form a compound noun like blackbird and greenhouse from other instances
when the same words would appear together, as in: "Look at that beautiful
black bird," or "I like that green house on the corner."
Although we normally stress the first word in a compound noun, there are
certain exceptions to this pattern. For example, we disregard this rule when
pronouncing compound nouns that include titles or proper nouns, as in
Secretary GENeral and Mount RUSHmore.
If in doubt, you can use a good dictionary to determine which syllable
should be emphasized.
1. Compound nouns are made up of ________ words.
a) two or more
b) two
c) many
d) one or two
2. Closed compound nouns are written ________.
a) as two words
b) as one word
c) with a hyphen
d) with a comma
3. Which of the following sentences does not contain a compound noun?
a) "Did you see that noisy blackbird?"
b) "Let's go eat breakfast."
c) "I'd love to live in a green house with a red door."
d) "Would you like to see my new swimming pool?"
4. Which of the following compound nouns is written incorrectly?
a) spoonful
b) tablecloth
c) hangeron
d) passerby
5. If capital letters show emphasis in pronunciation, which word is
pronounced incorrectly?
a) attorney GENeral
b) PASSERby
c) BACKpack
d) PRIME minister
Most of the time, nouns are created from other parts of speech through the
use of suffixes. In other cases, the word remains the same but is simply
used a different way; this is known as conversion or zero derivation.
Suffixes
Suffixes are certain groupings of letters that can be attached to the end of
words to change their meaning. Most verbs and adjectives that become
nouns are changed using suffixes.
(Be aware, however, that the examples below only show some of the
common ways of using suffixes to change verbs and adjectives to nouns; they
are not all concrete rules, and the lists of possible suffixes are not exhaustive
ones. The best way to learn the spellings of such nouns is by using a good
dictionary, or by encountering them in everyday speech and writing.)
There are certain patterns that we follow to decide which suffix is needed in
order to create a noun from a verb.
The most straightforward way of turning a verb into a noun is through the
use of gerunds. These are made by adding the suffix "-ing" to the end of the
verb. For example:
• "Walking is very pleasant."
• "I enjoy reading."
• "Listening is an important aspect of any relationship."
• "My sleeping has been very disrupted lately."
• "Baking is my favorite pastime."
• "I hate running."
Note that if the gerund takes any additional information, such as an object,
adverb, or prepositional phrase, then this entire group of words (known
as a gerund phrase) acts as a noun. To learn more about gerunds and
gerund phrases, go to the section on Gerunds in the chapter about Other
Parts of Speech.
Nouns of agency and profession
When we turn a verb into a noun to represent someone (or occasionally
something) who is an agent of that action, or who performs the action in a
professional capacity, we typically use the suffixes "-or," "-er," or "-r." For
• "My fiancée is an actor." (Someone who acts.)
• "I'm training to be a teacher." (Someone who teaches.)
• "The writer is very well known." (Someone who writes.)
• "The company is a major employer in the area." (Something that employs
people.)
• "The projector was broken today." (Something that projects.)
Nouns of recipience
For verbs that become nouns to represent someone who is the recipient of
an action, we often use the suffix "-ee."
Perhaps the most common example of this in modern English is employee
(someone who others employ), as in:
• "The employee is disputing his wages."
• "The bank must approve you as the payee." (Someone who is paid.)
• "There is one more interviewee waiting to be seen." (Someone who is
interviewed.)
Nouns of general action
We can use a variety of different suffixes to describe an action in general. The
most common of these are "-tion," "-sion," "-ance," "-ment," and "-ence"; in
some instances, we change the ending of the verb slightly in order to take the
• "Thank you for the invitation!" (The verb invite becomes the noun
invitation.)
• "In conclusion, we should see a spike in profits soon." (The verb conclude
becomes the noun conclusion.)
• "Government must derive from the will of the population." (The verb
govern becomes the noun government; the verb populate becomes the
noun population.))
• "Attendance is at an all-time low." (The verb attend becomes the noun
attendance.)
• "I was surprised by my enjoyment of the play." (The verb enjoy becomes
the noun enjoyment.)
• "Use the textbook as your reference if you're confused." (The verb refer
becomes the noun reference.)
Some other suffixes that work in this way are "-al" and "-ure," as in:
• "Failure to find a solution is not an option." (The verb fail becomes the
noun failure.)
• "The review will include a quick perusal of your work." (The verb peruse
becomes the noun perusal.)
We change adjectives into nouns when we want to speak of them as general
ideas or concepts. Adjectives can take a variety of different suffixes,
depending on how they are spelled.
"-ness"
We often use the suffix "-ness" for many adjectives. Most of the time, we can
simply add the suffix on to the end of the adjective without making any
changes to its spelling. For example:
• "The hardness of diamond makes it a great cutting tool." (The adjective
hard becomes the noun hardness.)
• "The child's meekness is quite sweet." (The adjective meek becomes the
noun meekness.)
• "His gruffness is not appreciated." (The adjective gruff becomes the noun
gruffness.)
• "I don't care for the roughness of my hands." (The adjective rough
becomes the noun roughness.)
• "I don't think you understand the seriousness of the situation." (The
adjective serious becomes the noun seriousness.)
• "Please don't underestimate my gratefulness." (The adjective grateful
becomes the noun gratefulness.)
However, when we use this suffix with an adjective ending in "-y," we change
"y" to "i":
• "We're waiting for some steadiness in the market." (The adjective steady
becomes the noun steadiness.)
• "The teacher puts her students' happiness above all else." (The adjective
happy becomes the noun happiness.)
Some adjectives ending in a "-t" preceded by a long vowel sound can take this
suffix as well:
• "Her greatness is without question." (The adjective great becomes the
noun greatness.)
• "The flatness of the Earth was disproven long ago." (The adjective flat
becomes the noun flatness.)
Other adjectives that end in a "-t" preceded by a consonant will take the
suffix "-y" to become nouns. For example:
• "That's enough of your modesty." (The adjective modest becomes the
noun modesty.)
• "Honesty is a very important virtue." (The adjective honest becomes the
noun honesty.)
"-ity"
When adjectives end in "-e," they often take the suffix "-ity" to become
nouns. However, there is often a change to the spelling of the word. Usually,
we simply drop "e" and replace it with "-ity," as in:
• "There is a scarcity of food in the city." (The adjective scarce becomes the
noun scarcity.)
• "Kindness is a rarity in this world." (The adjective rare becomes the noun
rarity.)
When the word ends in "ble," though, we have to change "le" to "il," as in:
• "This project is your responsibility." (The adjective responsible becomes
the noun responsibility.)
• "I have no question of your ability." (The adjective able becomes the noun
ability.)
Uniquely, we also use the "-ity" suffix to change the adjective hilarious to
hilarity, even though other adjectives with similar endings (such as serious,
grievous, callous, etc.) take the suffix "-ness."
"-ance" and "-ence"
We often use the suffix "-ance" for adjectives ending in "-ant," as in:
• "This is of the utmost importance." (The adjective important becomes the
noun importance.)
• "Your ignorance is astounding." (The adjective ignorant becomes the
noun ignorance.)
We often use the suffix "-ence" for adjectives ending in "-ent," as in:
• "We demand greater independence." (The adjective independent becomes
the noun independence.)
• "Silence is expected during tests." (The adjective silent becomes the noun
silence.)
When we use a verb or adjective as a noun without changing its spelling in
any way, it is called conversion or zero derivation.
Conversion is especially common with verbs, and there are many instances
where the same word may function as a verb or a noun, depending on the
context. For example:
• "Please answer the phone, Tom." (verb)
• "We'll need an answer by tomorrow." (noun)
• "I run each morning before breakfast." (verb)
• "I'm going for a run later today." (noun)
• "Meteorologists are forecasting a snowstorm overnight." (verb)
• "The forecast said there would be rain in the afternoon." (noun)
Less commonly, there are instances in which, instead of changing a word's
spelling, we change where we pronounce a stress on the word's syllables to
indicate a shift from a verb to a noun; this change is known as a suprafix.
Let's look at some examples (with the stressed syllable underlined):
• "You need to convert pounds into kilograms." (verb)
• "The church always welcomes recent converts to its meetings." (noun)
• "Make sure you record the meeting so we can review it later." (verb)
• "I love listening to old records." (noun)
• "Please don't insult my intelligence." (verb)
• "We will not forget this insult to our company." (noun)
The word use can also function as either a noun or a verb, but instead of
changing the stress on a syllable, we change the actual pronunciation of the
word, as in:
• "We plan to use a diagnostic test to evaluate the problem." (verb—use is
pronounced "yooz")
• "There is only one use for this tool." (noun—use is pronounced "yuce")
We can also convert adjectives into nouns without changing spelling, but we
generally do so by adding the article the before the word. These are known as
nominal adjectives. For example:
• "The wealthy have an obligation to help the poor."
• "We all want the best for her."
• "This law protects the innocent."
To learn more about how and when these are used, go to the section about
Nominal Adjectives in the chapter on Adjectives.
Lastly, verbs can serve the function of nouns by being used in their
infinitive form—that is, the base form of the verb with the particle to.
Infinitives are not technically an example of nominalization, because they
can also act as adjectives and adverbs, but it's worth looking at how they
work when they function as nouns. For example:
As the subject of a clause
• "To err is human; to forgive is divine."
• "To study mathematics at Harvard was her ultimate dream."
• "To live in the city means adjusting to a completely different lifestyle."
As the object of a verb
• "I'm not going unless you agree to go with me."
• "You appear to be correct."
• "Please be quiet; I'm trying to study."
As an object complement
(An object complement is a word or group of words that describe, rename,
or complete the direct object of the verb.)
• "I don't expect you to approve of my decision."
• "She's forcing me to work through the weekend."
• "We need you to make a few more copies."
1. Which of the following is used to change the spelling of a verb or adjective
that is made into a noun?
a) prefixes
b) suffixes
c) infixes
d) circumfixes
2. What is the name for nominalization in which the spelling of the verb or
adjective does not change?
a) inversion
b) conscription
c) conversion
d) elision
3. Which of the following suffixes is commonly used to change a verb to a
noun to reflect agency or profession?
a) "-or"
b) "-ing"
c) "-ance"
d) "-ence"
4. Which of the following nominalized verbs (in bold) is a gerund?
a) "Adherence to the rules is expected of all students."
b) "We weren't expecting her refusal of our offer."
c) "Winning isn't everything, you know."
d) "We need to hire a few more employees."
Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns in a sentence. The
noun being replaced is known as the antecedent of the pronoun.
Using pronouns
We commonly use pronouns in speech and writing to avoid sounding
unnatural and repetitive by reusing the same noun in a sentence multiple
times. Take, for example, the following sentence:
• "John said that John wants to use the computer that belongs to John."
The sentence is awkward because John is repeated so many times. Instead,
we can use personal pronouns to stand in for the name of the antecedent
to make the sentence sound more natural, as in:
• "John said that he wants to use the computer that belongs to him."
In addition to making the sentence sound better, the pronouns provide
specific information, telling us that John is in the third person. If the
sentence were in the first person, it would read:
• "I said that I want to use the computer that belongs to me."
(We never use our own names when we talk about what we're doing in the
first person, so we use the personal pronoun I instead of an antecedent.)
As we can see in the examples above, the pronouns are all serving the same
function as nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence or clause, the
object of a verb, or they can follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the
subject (known as a subject complement).
Categories of Pronouns
There is a wide range of different categories of pronouns that we use in
everyday speech and writing. Each kind of pronoun has a unique function in
a sentence; many pronouns belong to multiple categories, and can serve
different purposes depending on the context. We'll briefly summarize these
categories below, but you can continue on into the chapter to learn more
about each.
Personal pronouns, which we looked at briefly above, are used to
represent people in a sentence. Unique among pronouns, personal pronouns
experience a wide range of inflection, meaning they change form to reflect
specific meaning in different contexts.
We already saw in the example above how personal pronouns can inflect
according to grammatical person (first person, second person, or third
person), but they also change to reflect grammatical number (singular or
plural), gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), and case (subjective,
objective, or possessive).
Go to each of the sub-sections of personal pronouns to learn more about
all their different forms.
Reflexive pronouns are very similar in style and form to personal
pronouns—so similar, in fact, that they are listed as a sub-group of personal
pronouns in this guide. (They are technically not personal pronouns, but
their use and the way they are formed are so similar that it is useful seeing
them in direct comparison to personal pronouns.)
We use reflexive pronouns when the subject of a clause is also the object of
the clause's verb. This occurs with certain reflexive verbs. They are formed
by adding "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural) to the end of my, your, our,
him, her, it or them (as well as the indefinite pronoun one). For example:
• "I saw myself in the mirror."
• "She imagined herself on a tropical beach."
• "They consider themselves to be above the law."
• "One should not concern oneself with the business of others."
Intensive pronouns are identical to reflexive pronouns in form, but,
instead of functioning as the object of a verb, they serve to emphasize or
reiterate the subject's role in the verb's action. For instance:
• "I checked over these documents myself."
• "The president himself will be in attendance."
We use indefinite pronouns in place of a noun that is not being specified
in the sentence. There are many different indefinite pronouns; which one we
use depends on whether we are representing a noun that is a person or thing,
and whether that noun is singular or plural. Some common examples
• "Is everyone here?"
• "I hope all is going well."
• "Whatever you decide is fine with me."
• "Many are coming to the show tonight."
Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate specific people or things
and indicate whether they are a) singular or plural and b) near or not near to
the speaker. The most common are this, that, these, and those. For example:
• "This isn't mine." (singular, nearby)
• "Give me that." (singular, not near)
• "These are really gross." (plural, nearby)
• "I forgot to bring those." (plural, not near)
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions, functioning either as
the subject or object of such sentences. There are five primary interrogative
pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and what.
• "Who is coming to the party tonight?" (subject)
• "So, which will it be: $10,000, or a new sports car?" (object)
• "Could you tell me whose these are?" (subject)
• "Do you know what we're doing here?" (object)
Relative pronouns are used to connect relative clauses (also known as
adjective clauses) to the main clause in a sentence. Relative clauses either
help clarify the antecedent with essential information (in which case they are
known as restrictive clauses), or else give extra, nonessential information
about it (in which case they are known as non-restrictive clauses).
In a relative clause, the relative pronoun functions in one of three ways: as
the subject of the clause, as the object of the clause's verb, or as a
possessive determiner. For example:
• "There's the woman who always sits next to me on the bus." (restrictive
clause; who functions as the subject)
• "The book that I wrote is being published in January." (restrictive clause;
that functions as the object of wrote)
• "The escaped giraffe, which had been on the loose for weeks, was finally
captured." (non-restrictive clause; which functions as the subject)
• "The person, whose name can't be revealed, appeared in court today."
(non-restrictive clause; whose functions as a possessive determiner,
modifying name)
We use reciprocal pronouns when two or more people both act as the
subject of a verb, and both (or all) individually and equally receive the verb's
action. They can be the object of either the verb itself or a preposition used to
complete the verb's meaning.
There are two reciprocal pronouns—each other (traditionally used for two
people) and one another (traditionally used for more than two people). For
• "Jake and I call each other every day."
• "My neighbors and I spent a lot of time at each other's houses when we
were kids."
"Dummy" pronouns (more technically known as expletive pronouns)
are words that function grammatically as pronouns but do not have
antecedents—that is, they do not replace a noun, phrase, or clause. They
refer to nothing in particular, instead helping the sentence to function
properly in a grammatical context. There are two dummy pronouns, there
and it.
• "There is a ship in the harbor."
• "There were flowers in the meadow."
• "It looks like it may snow tonight."
• "Could you tell me what time it is?"
1. What is the term for a noun that is replaced by a pronoun?
a) Remnant
b) Descendent
c) Antecedent
d) Precedent
2. Which of the following pronouns are used when a subject is also the object
of the same verb?
a) Reflexive pronouns
b) Relative pronouns
c) Personal pronouns
d) Demonstrative pronouns
3. Which of the following pronouns are used to indicate the nearness and
number of a specific noun?
4. Pronouns have the same grammatical function as _______ in a sentence.
a) Nouns
b) Adjectives
c) Adverbs
d) Prepositions
5. Identify the type of pronoun (in bold) used in the following sentence:
"Let me know if you need anything."
a) Reciprocal pronoun
b) Interrogative pronoun
c) Indefinite pronoun
d) Dummy pronoun
A personal pronoun is a pronoun (a word that functions as and acts as a
substitute for a noun or nouns) that represents a grammatical person within
a sentence. While personal pronouns often do indicate an actual person, they
can also refer to animals, inanimate objects, or even intangible concepts. For
instance, the word they in the previous sentence is a plural third-person
neuter (gender neutral) pronoun representing the words "personal
pronouns" as a grammatical person. Here are some other examples:
• "As soon as John comes home, I am going to give him back his hat."
• "My team lost again. We really stink this year!"
• "He spoke to the boss yesterday and already got her approval."
Which personal pronoun is used in each instance varies depending on four
grammatical elements: number (singular or plural), person (first, second,
or third person), gender (male, female, or neuter/neutral), and case
(subjective, objective, or possessive). This shifting of form is called
inflection. Quite often, the inflection of a personal pronoun will change
within the same sentence.
There is also a different kind of pronoun called a reflexive pronoun, which
is used when the subject of a verb is also the object (receiving the action) of
the same verb. For example:
• "He looked at himself in the mirror before he left."
• "I hurt myself on the playground today."
Although not technically considered personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns
are so similar in form and use that they have been included in this section.
We will examine each of these grammatical elements in relation to personal
pronouns more in-depth in the sub-sections of this chapter, but here is a
quick breakdown of all the personal pronouns and their different
inflections.
Subjective Objective Possessi
Determi
Person Number
Masculine/feminine I
Masculine/feminine We
Singular/Plural Masculine/feminine You
Plural*
Neutral)
(Gender
(*See the usage note under "Gender" for information about using they as a
singular pronoun.)
Grammatical number in English simply means whether something or
someone is singular or plural—that is, is there one of something or
someone (singular), or are there more than one (plural)? This is answered by
the pronoun's antecedent (the word, phrase, clause, etc., that indicates
what pronoun should be used, and in what form).
For nouns, we usually just add an "-s" to the end of the word to signify that it
is plural (though there are many exceptions to this). Personal pronouns,
however, have specific inflections (different forms of the word) depending
on whether they are singular or plural. For the most part, only the firstperson and third-person personal pronouns have plural forms. The only
plural second-person pronoun is the reflexive pronoun yourselves.
For second-person pronouns that don't inflect for number, you sometimes
have to use information from another part of the sentence or paragraph to
determine if it is plural or singular. (See the examples below.)
Unfortunately, there is no rule to how personal pronouns change when they
become plural; you simply have to memorize them. Refer to the table in the
chapter overview to learn them.
• "I (first-person singular) am meeting my (first-person singular) writing
club this afternoon. We (first-person plural)always meet on Wednesdays
after class."
• "I (first-person singular) really envy you (second-person singular)!"
• "They (third-person plural) can't tell you (second-person plural) what it
will be like; you (second-person plural) will just have to find out for
yourselves (second-person plural reflexive)."
• "The main reason Martha is so beautiful is because she (third-person
feminine singular) is so tall."
1. Which personal pronouns can be inflected for number? (Choose the
answer that is most correct.)
a) All of them
b) First-person and third-person pronouns
c) Reflexive pronouns
d) Second-person pronouns
2. Which of the following sentences has at least one pronoun that is plural?
(Choose the answer that is most correct.)
a) "I told you that I needed it done by yesterday, Jeff."
b) "She went for a walk by herself."
c) "Don't take your sister's toys, or you will make her cry."
d) "I asked all of you here so we could discuss the state of the business."
3. Which of the following is the plural form of the second-person
reflexive pronoun?
a) yourselves
b) itselves
c) themselves
d) ourselves
4. What is the plural form of the first-person possessive pronoun mine?
a) our
b) my
c) ours
d) theirs
Personal Pronouns - Person
(First person, Second person,
Third person)
Grammatical person refers to the perspectives of the personal pronouns used
to identify a person in speech and text—that is, it distinguishes between a
speaker (first person), an addressee (second person), and others beyond that
(third person).
• Singular: I, me, my, mine, myself
• Plural: we, us, our, ours, ourselves
First-person pronouns are used to express an autobiographical point of view
—they tell what is directly happening to the speaker, writer, or fictional
character. For example:
• "I don't know where my hat is!"
• "Janet is meeting me in town later."
• "Hey, that book is mine! I bought it!"
When the speaker is part of a group, the first-person pronouns inflect to the
plural form:
• "We brought our own car."
• "They told us to help ourselves."
• Singular/Plural: you, you, your, yours, yourself (singular),
yourselves (plural)
We use the second-person pronouns to indicate those who are being
addressed directly by the speaker. Unlike first-person pronouns, there is not
a distinction between singular and plural second-person pronouns (except in
the reflexive form). Here are some examples:
• "Bill, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes?" (second
person singular)
• "Children, where are your manners?" (second person plural)
• "You really must learn to help yourself." (second person singular)
• "I'm sick of cleaning up after all of you; from now on, you can clean up
after yourselves!" (second person plural)
Usage note: Generic "you"
The second-person pronouns are also often used to indicate an unspecified
person. This is sometimes referred to as generic you, impersonal you, or
indefinite you. This is less formal than its counterpart, the pronoun one,
but it is sometimes preferred because it does not sound as snobbish or
unnecessarily formal.
If one is writing something very formal or professional, then one might be
better off using the generic pronoun one. If you're writing something a bit
less formal, then you are probably just fine using the generic pronoun you.
Third person is used to talk about someone or something that is not the
speaker and is not being directly addressed. This is most widely used in
fiction writing. When the person or thing is singular, the pronouns used in
the third person are the different forms of she, he, and it:
• Feminine singular: she, her, hers, herself
• Masculine singular: he, him, his, himself
• Neuter singular: it, its, its own, itself
However, when there are multiple people or things, we use the ungendered
forms of they:
• Third person plural: they, them, their, theirs, themselves
Sometimes, when a single person of an unknown gender is being discussed,
the third-person plural forms (they, them, etc.) are used as a gender-neutral
alternative to the third-person feminine/masculine forms. To learn more
about this, please see the Usage Note about "Singular they" under the
chapter section explaining gender in personal pronouns.
1. Which perspective of grammatical person is used for someone being
addressed directly by the speaker?
a) First person
b) Second person
c) Third person
d) Third-person plural
2. Which of the following sentences uses a first-person plural pronoun?
a) "John said that I should be more careful with my writing."
b) "They are not happy with your sales this quarter."
c) "I'm not sure that he knows what they're doing."
d) "She doesn't think that we should be paying that much."
3. Who or what would be represented by third-person pronouns in a
sentence?
a) A person or thing who is not being directly addressed by someone
b) A person or thing who is being directly addressed by someone
c) A person who is directly addressing someone or something
d) A person who is speaking about someone or something who is not present
4. Which perspective (or perspectives) of grammatical person are being
used in the following sentence?
"When we were young, my father often told us that he didn't have as many
luxuries growing up."
d) Both first and third person
e) Both second and third person
f) First, second, and third person
Modern English is largely an ungendered language. Whereas other
languages might have masculine and feminine forms for nouns depending on
the verbs, articles, or adjectives they are used with, English nouns by and
large remain neutral. However, a personal pronoun can be inflected for
gender to correspond to the gender of the person (and, in some cases, an
animal) it represents.
Personal pronouns are only inflected for gender when they are in the third
person and singular—first-person and second-person pronouns (singular or
plural) and third-person plural pronouns* remain gender neutral. Here are
the gendered pronouns in English:
• Third-person feminine singular: she, her, hers, herself
• Third-person masculine singular: he, him, his, himself
The third-person singular can also be neuter. This is used when a personal
pronoun represents a thing or an animal. Animals can sometimes take
gendered personal pronouns if they are pets or domesticated animals;
otherwise, they take the third-person neuter form:
• Third-person neuter singular: it, its, its own, itself
Remember, when there are multiple people or things, we use the
ungendered forms of they*:
• "I really love Jenny. She is my best friend."
• "Danny said that he would lend me his jacket for tonight."
• "Look at that cute dog wagging his tail!"
• "You should not try to control love, but rather be guided by it."
• "I've got the report for you. I'll just set it on your desk."
• "The horse galloped by, its hooves pounding the ground violently."
Countries and ships
Countries and vehicles, especially ships or boats, will sometimes be given a
feminine form when spoken of in the third person. For example:
• "The SS Freedom is a good ship. She has certainly seen her fair share of
• "The Prime Minister promised that the United Kingdom would be returned
to her former glory during his term."
This is a more traditional usage; it is less common these days, and by no
means necessary. Some style guides go so far as to discourage its use.
"Singular they" is gradually becoming accepted as the norm, especially in
instances with indefinite pronouns that sound plural but are grammatically
singular (like anyone in the example above). However, it is still considered
incorrect by many writers and writing guides, especially in American English.
Previously, it was standard practice to simply use the masculine third-person
singular forms (he, him, his, himself), but this is now seen as being
potentially sexist. Likewise, using only the feminine third-person singular
would be exclusionary, and mixing him and her throughout a piece of writing
would be confusing.
Therefore, in formal or professional writing, the best form to use is "he or
she" or "him or her," or else simply to rewrite the sentence to avoid sounding
cluttered or awkward. In informal writing or speech, though, using "singular
they" is generally OK.
1. Which of the following is an appropriate third-person plural pronoun
to use when talking about more than one girl or woman?
a) Hers
b) Herselves
c) They
d) We
2. With what non-human things is it sometimes considered acceptable to use
a gendered pronoun?
a) A ship or boat
b) A country
c) A pet or domestic animal
d) All of the above
e) None of the above
3. Which of the following sentences uses the informal "singular they"?
a) "I asked them if they would like to join us for lunch."
b) "When a child asks you a question, you should always strive to answer
them truthfully."
c) "Don't pay any attention to them; that group is always bullying freshmen."
d) "John and Daniel said they would look after the kids tonight."
4. When is an animal most commonly given a gendered pronoun? (Select the
a) Never
b) If it is a wild animal
c) If there is only one
d) If it is a pet or domestic animal
e) C & D
5. In what instance can a third-person neuter singular pronoun be used
with a person?
a) If his or her gender is not known or specified
b) If there is more than one person
c) Never
e) Always
The English language has largely discarded its case system, which is the
manner by which a noun is inflected depending on its grammatical function
as a subject or object in a sentence. English largely uses prepositions to
accomplish this now, but personal pronouns are one part of English in which
the case system is still active, being inflected depending on whether they
function as a subject, object, possessive determiner, or possessive
pronoun.
When a personal pronoun is acting as the subject of a verb (that is, it is the
person or thing doing the action), it is said to be in the subjective case. For
instance:
• "I know that she said that." (Both pronouns are subjective, as both are
agents of their respective actions.)
• "He told her to be quiet." (Here, only he is in the subjective case; her, the
recipient or "object" of his action, is in the objective case.)
A personal pronoun is in the objective case when it is a direct or indirect
object of a verb, or else if it is the object or a preposition.
A direct object directly receives the action of a verb. For example:
• "Please send them in straight away."
• "Take him away!"
An indirect object, on the other hand, is the recipient of the direct object—it
therefore indirectly receives the action of the verb via the direct object. For
• "Please tell me any news immediately!"
Here, any news is acting as the direct object of the verb tell—it is the thing
being told. Me, on the other hand, is looking to receive any news by means of
the action of tell, making it the indirect object.
• "I can't believe he brought you flowers. How sweet!"
Again, you is receiving the flowers, which is the direct object of brought. Be
careful with the personal pronouns you and it, however—their subjective and
objective forms are the same. Take the following sentence, for example:
• "You said to give you the money as soon as I had it."
The pronouns you and I in italics are in the subjective case because they are
each performing the action of their verbs. The pronouns you and it in bold
are in the objective case because they are functioning as indirect and direct
objects of their verbs (respectively).
After Linking
Complements)
(Subject
One confusing area is when a pronoun is a subject complement to a
linking verb. For personal pronouns, this is almost always with forms of the
verb be. In this situation, the personal pronoun should be in the subjective
case. For example, "It was I who did this" is more correct than "It was me
who did this."
It is easy to mistake it as the direct object because it seems like it is receiving
the action of the verb, but linking verbs behave differently from action
verbs. One way to be sure you are using the correct pronoun is to reverse
the order of the verb and pronoun and see if the statement still makes sense.
Let's look again at the examples above:
✖ "It was me who did this." (incorrect)
✔ "It was I who did this." (correct)
If you reverse the order of the verb and pronoun, you can see why the first
sentence is incorrect:
✖ "Me was the one* who did this." (incorrect)
✔ "I was the one* who did this." (correct)
(*Because in most instances we don't refer to a person as being it in a subject
complement (except maybe in a game of tag), the indefinite pronoun phrase
the one is used instead to identify the speaker as the person who did
something.)
Here are some more examples:
• "Her husband took all the credit, but it was she who did all the work."
• "It was they who assured us that there would be no problems."
In many cases, it might be better to simply reword the sentence to sound less
awkward. For example, "it was he who won the race" would sound better
simply as "he won the race."
In conversational English, this distinction is much less frequently observed
for simple sentences like our first examples, and you will often hear people
using phrases such as "it's me" or "that was her" in response to questions.
But in writing (especially formal or professional writing), always use the
subjective case for a personal pronoun if it is functioning as a subject
complement after a linking verb.
Possessive Case (Genitive Case)
As the name implies, the possessive case changes the inflection of a personal
pronoun to mark possession. There are two forms of personal pronouns in
the possessive case: possessive determiners, and possessive pronouns.
Possessive determiners function grammatically like adjectives, modifying
a noun or nouns. However, they cannot function as nouns in a sentence. For
✔ "My dad's glasses went missing." (My is correctly used as a possessive
determiner, modifying dad to show his relation to the speaker.)
✖ "Hey, those glasses are my!" (My is incorrectly used as a possessive
pronoun; it should read "Hey, those are my glasses!" or "Hey, those glasses
are mine!")
Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns in the possessive case which
have the grammatical function of nouns. For example:
• "I can see mine through the window!"
• "You said you bought your


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National Edition Chopin's works
Catalogue of music discs recorded by BeArTon
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Home/Artists/Robert Cohen
Robert Cohen made his concerto debut at the age of twelve at the Royal Festival Hall London and throughout the following forty years of his distinguished international career, has been hailed as one of the foremost cellists of our time. It is easy to hear what the fuss is about, he plays like a God (New York Stereo Review), A virtuoso of genius (Nürnberg Nachrichten), Robert Cohen is a divinely gifted cellist. Cohen is one of the few musicians, whose every tone speaks to people (Keskisuomalainen, Finland).
Invited to perform concertos world-wide by conductors Claudio Abbado, Antal Dorati, Sir Mark Elder, Mariss Jansons, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Sir Roger Norrington, Tadaaki Otaka, Sir Simon Rattle, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Osmo Vanska. Robert Cohen has also collaborated in chamber music with Yehudi Menuhin, the Amadeus String Quartet (including their CD of Schubert Quintet on DGG), Fine Arts Quartet, Bruno Giuranna, Massimo Quarta, Leonidas Kavakos and Krystian Zimerman and his regular duo partnership with pianist Heini Karkkainen. He also directs the chamber music festival Charleston Manor Festival in the south of England. In January 2012, Cohen became the cellist of the legendary Fine Arts Quartet.
His musical education was also exceptional; early studies with the legendary William Pleeth, followed by Jacqueline du Pré, André Navarra and Mistislav Rostropovich. Cohen became an inspirational teacher himself; his much published views on the art of learning, performing and communicating music have led to masterclasses worldwide. He is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and in 2009, was awarded the HonRAM.
Robert Cohen made his recording debut at age 19 with the Elgar Cello Concerto and London Philharmonic (EMI) which earned a silver disc. He has recorded extensively for BIS, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony and under long term contract to Decca.
Robert Cohen won the Suggia Prize, Young Concert Artists (New York), Piatigorsky and Unesco International competitions. He has also had several compositions written and dedicated to him. Most recently Sally Beamish Cello Concerto No. 2 'The Song Gatherer'.
Cohen has been the subject of many TV documentaries and has created special projects for City of London Festival Les Six – poetry, literature and film – Royal Ballet School Collaborations, Robert Cohen's Cello Clinic (www.celloclinic.com) and Cohen Pod Talks (www.thecohenpodtalks.com). Cohen will curate a classical music channel for HiBrow. TV at the invitation of film producer Don Boyd.
The essence of Cohen as communicator is summed up by The Guardian who observed Cohen can hold and audience in the palm of his hand.
He plays the 'Ex Roser' cello by David Tecchler. Rome 1723.
www.robertcohen.info; www.fineartsquartet.com
Discs of artist recorded by BeArTon
Artists on discs recorded by BeArTon
Marek Toporowski
Piotr Paleczny
Stanislav Bunin
Małgorzata Armanowska
Anna Faber
The Polish Radio Choir
Adam Kruszewski
Roch Modrzejewski
Radosław Kurek
Szymon Klima
Tomasz Strahl
Jan Łukaszewski
The Polish Chamber Choir
Maciej Baranowski
Tomasz Król
Ludmiła Pawłowska
Wojciech Świtała
Yuko Kawai
Sinfonia Varsovia
Olga Pasiecznik
Marek Moś
Kuba Jakowicz
Krzysztof Jabłoński
Konstanty Andrzej Kulka
Janusz Olejniczak
Jacek Kasprzyk
Iwona Sobotka
Artur Ruciński
Ewa Pobłocka
Bronisław Krzystek
AUKSO – Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy
Ars Cantus
Agata Szymczewska
Bearton2017-09-13T14:58:48+02:00
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phone: +48 22 25 25 304
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