Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives have two singular forms (this, that) and two plural forms (these, those). These adjectives are used to designate proximity to an object, or to distinguish between an object that is close (in time or space) and one that is more remote. Usually "this" and "these" signal proximity, while "that" and "those" suggest distance:

Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns have the same form as the demonstrative adjectives, but are used without the nouns to which they refer. In the singular, when designating a specific object, the pronoun "one" is often added:

These books are too expensive. This car is responsive. That man irritates me! This hotel is more expensive than that one.

These tomatoes are fresher than those. These are better than those. Would you like a little of this? That strikes me as really weird! The book is more interesting than that one. In front of a relative pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun becomes "the one" or "the ones" (when speaking of things), or "he / she who", "they who" (when speaking of people): This film is the one that you hated so much. He who eats well works well. This pen is the one with which the President signed the new law.

Related topics
Relative pronouns Subject pronouns Reflexive pronouns Object pronouns Reciprocal pronouns Possessive pronouns

Agreement, adjectives
Forms
Adjectives are generally invariable in English and do not agree with nouns in number and gender; nor do they take case endings:

a blue car. the great outdoors. a group of young women.

However, a few adjectives have a connotation which is slightly masculine or feminine. Thus, one says that a woman is beautiful while a man would be called handsome. Adjectives indicating religion or nationality (or a region, state or province) generally begin with a capital letter, whether they refer to people or objects:

Usage:

She is an American student. They go to a Catholic school. They enjoy Breton music.

In a noun cluster an adjective will be placed, with very few exceptions, in front of the noun it modifies. When two adjectives precede a noun, they can be connected by a comma (,) or by the conjunction "and". In a series of three or more adjectives, one usually uses "and" before the last adjective in the list. Examples:

Examples:

I like short novels. That fellow will be a competent worker. She writes long and flowery letters. He works long, hard hours. She had a mean, old and overbearing step-mother.

An adjective may follow the noun when it is in a predicate (after the verb) or in a relative clause. (In relative clauses the relative pronoun may be implicit).

Related topics

He was a man (who was) always happy to help others. She is a woman (who is) true to herself. They were entirely satisfied.

Possessive adjectives Demonstrative adjectives Comparisons Superlatives

Adverbios interogativos
Questions
Simple questions
Simple questions (that is, questions to which one can respond by a simple "yes" or "no") may be formed in three different ways: 1. "Do": one precedes an assertion with "do" or "does" (or "don't" or "doesn't" for a negative expression, or "did", "didn't" for the past):

style.)

Do you want to go to the movies? Does she work at IBM? Don't you travel quite a bit? Do they answer questions quickly? Didn't they want to eat?

But: One never places "do" or "does" before the verb "to be" or before modal verbs in questions; in this case it is preferable to invert the subject and verb: Are you coming to the reception? Was the meeting boring? Weren't you hungry?

2. Inversion: with certain verbs (especially the verbs "to be", "to do", "to have", and modal verbs) questions are formed by inverting the subject and object. (In the case of the verb "to have," which is usually combined with "do" in interrogatives, inversion signals a literary

Is Jack home? Have you nothing to declare? Would you like to go to the movies? Will they ever come to visit? Can the employees talk to the boss? Won't you sit down?

3. Modal phrases: If a modal verb is used in a sentence, or if it is strongly implied, a modal phrase can be used to make an interrogative form. The modal phrase is typically an inversion of the subject and verb, in the negative, repeated at the end of the sentence: It's time to go, isn't it? He'd like to come with us, wouldn't he?

You would like to go with us, wouldn't you? You can understand that, can't you? You wouldn't want to try it, would you? She won't be back, will she?

In the case of a negative question, the modal phrase would be in the affirmative:

(See also: negations)

Interrogative adverbs
Simple questions solicit a "yes" or "no" answer. More precise questions may be formed by using the interrogative adverbs: when, why, how, how much, where. Generally, the interrogative adverb precedes the rest of the question; then the order of the sentence follows the rules indicated for inversion or for questions formed with "do / does".

Where are you going? Why do you want to take this class? How much do you earn a month? How do these machines work? (O vont ces tudiants ?) When do you expect to get home? (A quelle heure penses-tu rentrer ?)

See also: Questions, Interrogative pronouns.

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask who has done what, to whom, why, with what, etc. Normally these pronouns are placed at the beginning of the sentence; hen the order of the sentence follows the rules indicated for inversion or for questions formed with "do / does". One chooses the pronoun based on its function, according to the following table:

Adverbios
Formation
Most adverbs are formed from the adjective. One adds the ending "-ly" to the adjectival form:

intelligent -> intelligently slow -> slowly precise -> precisely

Some adverbs are irregular: A. If the adjective ends with "-le," simply replace the "e" with "y": simple -> simply subtle -> subtly good -> well high low hard better fast yesterday today tomorrow early soon late here there less more

B. The adverb corresponding to the adjective "good" is irregular: C. Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective:

D. In general, adverbs of time and space have no corresponding adjective; the same can be said of adverbs of quantity:

Position
When an adverb modifies a verb, it generally comes at the end of the clause (but before any prepositional phrases or subordinated clauses):

as very much a lot of little of

He writes poorly. She pronounced that word well. Joseph worked diligently. They worked hard before coming home.

Exceptions: certain adverbs signaling the speaker's opinion, such as "probably," "undoubtedly," "surely," "certainly," etc., come at the beginning of the sentence, or else between the modal verb (or auxiliary) and the principal verb: We are probably going to spend the summer in Corsica. Certainly we would never do that! We will undoubtedly see a dirty political campaign this year.

Adverbs of time and space generally come at the end of the sentence; however, they may be placed at the beginning of the sentence if the predicate clause is long and complicated: I saw her yesterday. We're going to the beach today. She went to bed very early. Tomorrow we will try to get up early to prepare for our trip. She was really very happy to see you. It was a brilliantly staged performance.

Adverbs modifying adjectives or an other adverb are placed before the adjective or adverb they modify:

Related topics
Comparatives Superlatives