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The preposition about is traditionally used to refer to the relation between a narrative and its subject: a book about Cezanne, a movie about the Boston Massacre. Lately people have extended this use beyond narratives to refer to the relation between various kinds of nouns and the things they entail or make manifest: The party [...]
The construction able to takes an infinitive to show the subject’s ability to accomplish an action: We were able to finish the project thanks to a grant from a large corporation. The new submarine is able to dive twice as fast as the older model. Some people think able to should be avoided with passive [...]
In modern written English, we use a before a word beginning with a consonant sound, however it may be spelled (a frog, a university, a euphemism). We use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound (an orange, an hour). At one time, an was an acceptable alternative before words beginning with a consonant [...]
The pronouns are who, whom, whose, which. Commas are used as with non-defining clauses. Connective clauses do not describe their nouns but continue the story. They are usually placed after the object of the main verb: I told Peter, who said it wasn’t his business or after the preposition + noun: I threw the ball [...]
Non-defining relative clauses are placed after nouns which are definite already They do not therefore define the noun, but merely add something to it by giving some more information about it. Unlike defining relative clauses, they are not essential in the sentence and can be omitted without causing confusion. Also unlike defining relatives, they are [...]
These describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class. A clause of this kind is essential to the clear understanding of the noun. In the sentence: The man who told me this refused to give me his name ‘who told me this’ is the [...]
A. These are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Note the difference between the second person singular yourself, and the second person plural yourselves. The indefinite reflexive/emphasizing pronoun is oneself. В. myself, yourself etc. are used as objects of a verb when the action of the verb returns to the doer, i.e. when [...]
A. Form Subject Object Singular: first person I me second person you you third person he/she/it him/her/it Plural: first person we us second person you you third person they them The old form of the second person singular is: thou (subject) thee (object) B. Use of subject and object forms 1. you and it present [...]
62 Possessive adjectives and pronouns Possessive adjectives Possessive pronouns my mine your yours his/her/its his/hers our ours your yours their theirs Note that no apostrophes are used here. Students should guard against the common mistake of writing the possessive its with an apostrophe. it’s (with an apostrophe) means it is. The old form of the [...]
Where ever have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Who ever told you I’d lend you the money? I’ve no money at all! ever here is not necessary in the sentence but is added to emphasize the speaker’s surprise/astonishment/anger/irritation/dismay. It has the same meaning as on earth/in the world. Such sentences are always [...]