Articles

Fill in the blanks with a, an, the articles. Put x where no article is necessary.
1-2.

Tower of London is

3-5. Newcastle is
6-8.
9-10.

popular tourist attraction.

town in

north of

Princess lives in

palace in

London.

Buckingham Palace is where

11-12. She bought

England.

Queen of England officially lives.

expensive necklace at

13-14. They went for

Harrods.

stroll around

15-16. The supermarket is in

St James' Park.

Kendell Street opposite

Lloyds Bank.
x

17-18.

hotel where they held their wedding reception was called

19-20. Anna was born in

Italy but she lives in

21-22. The convict is in

prison on

23. His favorite newspaper is

Grand Hotel.

U.S.A. now.
outskirts of town.

Guardian.

24-25.

Gatwick Airport is in

26-28.

Duchess of York opened

southern England.
new hospital in

center of London.
x

29-30. He went on

expensive holiday to

31-32.

Statue of Liberty is in

33-35.

National Park was opened

36-37.

expedition to

38-40.

Odeon cinema is in

41-44. Last month I saw

brilliant but

Bahamas.
New York.
last week by

mayor.

South Pole needs a lot of careful planning.

Appleton Street just past

movie and then went to

concert was boring.

concert.

library.
movie was

45-48. There are three cars parked outside:

Fiat. Mine is
49-50.

Mercedes,

Jaguar and

Fiat.
Harrods is a huge department store near

Kensington Gardens

NOUNS
A) Common Nouns
Common nouns are words that specify a general person, place or entity.
Examples:
I went to the downtown to do shopping.
The girl was very shy.
The car is black.
B) Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are words that specify a definite person, place or thing.
Examples:
They arrived at London at midnight.
Mr. Anderson is so helpful.
I found my friends at Sandras Place.

Quick Exercise
1. Danny

__________

11.Selangor __________

2. Cat

__________

12. Zoo __________

3. Teacher __________

13. Kuala Lumpur ________

4. Professor Martin __________

14, Grammar __________

5. Mouse __________

15. Wall

6. Christmas __________

16. Street ________

7. Laptop

17. Sultan __________

__________

8. New York Times __________

__________

18. Computer __________

9.Handphone __________

19. Milk __________

10. Nokia __________

20. Everyday milk ________

Nouns are divided into two groups.

i)

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are also called count nouns.

Countable: The toys are in the box.
Some Countable Nouns:
idea
mistake
city
car

worker
teacher
star
sister

bear
bottle
room
coin

Examples:
He has got a lot of books.
There aren't many cars outside.
ii)

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are called mass nouns.

Uncountable: The water is cold.
Some Uncountable Nouns:
water
ice
juice
rice

sand
butter
information
science

hair
soap
time
money

Examples:
There is little meat in the kitchen.
We haven't got much time.
Adam loves science.
Ali doesn't like milk.

Quantifiers that are used with countable and uncountable nouns.

With Countable Nouns

With Uncountable Nouns

Both With Countable and Uncountable

many
a great number of
a large number of
a great many
(a)few
a number of

much
(a) little
a great deal of
a great amount of

some
any
a lot of
lots of
plenty of

Hints:
A few is more than few and a little is more than little.
He has little money. I have a little money(I have more money)
Tim has few friends. I have a few friends. (I have more friends)

Some terms used with uncountable nouns:

a cup of coffee
a box of tea
a loaf of bread
a piece of chalk
a slice of bread
a bottle of perfume
a dish of fresh fruit
a pound of cheese
a bar of soap
a can of coke
a head of lettuce
a tube of toothpaste
a kind of shaving cream
a jar of honey

two slices of bread

three pieces of chalk
three loaves of bread
two bottles of perfume
five boxes of tea
two cups of coffee
two dishes of fresh fruit
a few pounds of cheese
two bars of soap
two cans of coke
three heads of lettuce
five tubes of toothpaste
two kinds of shaving cream>
three jars of honey

C) Personal Pronouns Table

Subject Pronouns

Object Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

Me

Mine

you

you

yours

he

him

his

she

her

hers

it

it

its

we

us

ours

they

them

theirs

Choose the correct personal pronouns.

1. They saw Steve and

at the movies last night after class.

2. He is going to the party with you and

3. You and

if you don't mind.

ought to return the books to the library because they are already overdue.

4. Prof. Molina left a message for you and

5. Ron invited Mary and

. He needs to see us.

to have dinner with him.

6. Emily is a good basketball player. I watch Betty and

7. Tom and

carefully during games.

both want to go out with Ann.

8. She has to choose between

9. Nick ate dinner with the Robertsons and

10. The new student has been assigned to work on the group research project with you and
11. He rang Mary and invited

to dinner.

D). Reflexive Pronouns

He hit himself with the slingshot.
They rescued themselves by selling their house.
Reflexive pronouns may be used to emphasis.
He himself finished all that work. (it's significant)
I myself couldn't believe what you said. (Again there is emphasis)
"By" + reflexive pronoun = alone, without help
My sister lives by herself. (on her own / alone).
I prepared the dinner by myself (alone).
I solved the puzzle all by myself. (emphasized)

Some other uses

Did you enjoy yourself at the party? (Did you have fun?)
Please help yourself to some food. ( Go and get whatever you want)
How do you feel yourself?
Complete the following sentences with each other or a suitable reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself...).

1. They told ___________ stories all night long.

2. I've always wanted to meet you but we've never had the chance to talk to __________ until now.
3. Let me introduce _________ . My name is Alan.
4. She weighs _________every morning. She is obsessed with her weight.
5. He should give _________ more time.
6. They were very good friends and often invited _________over.
7. No one wants to study with me so I am going to have to study by __________.
8. They love _________ and they are going to get married.

9. How could you do something like that. You must be ashamed of _________.
10. The two students started running around. I thought they were going to hurt _________but fortunately
nothing happened in the end.
11. The newly divorced couple tried to avoid seeing _________ at the party.
12. When I first entered the manager's room, I thought he was talking to __________, then I realized he
was on the phone.

D).Relative Pronouns
Like any pronoun, relative pronouns are substituted for nouns and other pronouns that functions as
subjects or objects in a sentence. Relative pronouns are mostly used when combining sentences in which
a word or phrase is repeated.
The gym was very crowded today.
The gym is closed tomorrow.
The gym, which was very crowded today, is closed tomorrow.
Who / Whom

Use who and whom when referring to beings with consciousness: people, animals (when
personified), God, etc.
The man who sold you that book is my teacher.
(Who is a definite pronoun because the sentence mentions the person in advance.)
Use who when the pronoun is the subject of a verb.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most popular action movie actors.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Governor of California.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is one of the most popular actors, was the Governor of California.
Use whom when the pronoun is the object of a verb, preposition, or infinitive.
Betty is the president of Bedrock.
Wilma praised Betty at the meeting.

Betty, whom Wilma praised at the meeting, is the president of Bedrock.

Whom replaces Betty, which is the object of the verb "praised".

More Examples:
Sam wondered who was ringing her doorbell.
(who is the subject of was ringing)
Sam was not sure whom he could trust with her secret.
(Sam is the subject of trust; whom is the object of trust)
Note: It is safe to use who if the sentence begins with the pronoun.
Who did you ask?
Whom did you ask? (more formal)

Which / That
Use that when referring to persons, animals, or things in an essential relative clause.
The book that is assigned to me is 400 pages.
We are giving information ("is 400 pages") about a specific book ("the book that is assigned to
me"). We limit the focus on that particular book. Without the clause "that is assigned to me" the
meaning of the sentence would change.
We can use "which" in the above sentence (although "that" should be preferred).
The book which is assigned to me...
Use which when referring to persons, animals, or things in an nonessential relative clause.

San Francisco, which is a great city in California, is where my brother lives.

After the pronoun "which" we are just giving some additional (nonessential) information about San
Francisco.
We cannot use "that" in the above sentence (after the comma).
San Francisco, that is...

More Examples on Which vs That

Animals that have four legs can learn to hop quickly.

(Limiting the focus on animals with four legs only)
Animals, which breath the same air as us, have existed on Earth for many hundreds of millions of years.
Cats, which cannot fly, are friendly animals.
(Additional information about cats ("which cannot fly") and the main point "are friendly animals"; there is
no certain limitation by the pronoun "which")
Note: The pronoun "who" is preferred in some cases for the above sentences:
Animals, who breath the same air as us, have existed on Earth for many hundreds of millions of years.

Whoever / Whomever
Similar to "who" and "whom" except in an indefinite way:
Someone sold you that book. He/She did not give you the right one.
Whoever sold you that book did not give you the right one.
("Whoever" is an indefinite pronoun because the sentence does not mention about the whoever in
advance.)
("Whoever" is the subject of the verb sold.)
You sold that book to someone. He/She is probably very unhappy now.
Whomever you sold that book to is probably very unhappy now.
("Whomever" is an indefinite pronoun and it is the object of the verb sold.)
Whose

Indicates possession:
Jack is the best in class. I borrowed Jack's notebook.
Jack, whose notebook I borrowed, is the best in class.
Relative Pronouns Exercises 1
Choose who / whom / that / which / when / where / whose / why.
There may be more than one correct answers.

1. My cousin Ethan
2. The shop

works at NASA is a brilliant scientist.

I go to is close to downtown.

3. Your shop,

will probably be shut down next year, is really old.

4. I've met most of the people

are eager to take part in the competition.

5. Do you know the reason

our offer was rejected.

6. Do you remember the town

7. The neighbor

you were born?

son is always running around the street is a journalist.

8. Where is the box

came in the mail?

9. 1999 is the year

the big earthquake happened.

10. Do you know the man

my father's helping?

11. I apologized to the woman

12. My cat Fer,

coffee I spilled.

I love, bit me yesterday.

13. I had never seen the guy

was following me yesterday.

14. The blonde girl in the lineup,

15. The car,
16. They towed the car
17. The container

has a white hat, won the race.

was in park, was hit from behind.

was in front of the barn.
we throw our trash should be kept outside the house.

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Relative Pronouns Exercises 2

A. Complete the exercise with who, whom, whose or where.
1. What's the name of the man

2. A cemetery is a place

3. A pacifist is a person

4. An orphan is a child

5. The town

car you borrowed?

people are buried.

believes that all wars are wrong.

parents have passed away.

we spent the holidays was very beautiful.

6. This school is only for children

first language is not English.

7. I don't know the name of the woman to

I spoke on the phone.

B. Complete the following exercise with correct relative pronouns, choosing from the
items given.
1. Jake and Jessica Carter,

(that / who) got married about a year

ago, recently bought a new house.

2. The neighborhood

(that / in which) they have been living is a

somewhat dangerous one.

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3. The neighborhood

(that / who) they are moving into is much

safer.
4. Their new house,

(that / which) they bought quite cheaply,

does need some fixing up.

5. However, they will be receiving some help from their neighbors, most of
(who / whom) they like.

6. The Flintstones

(who / whom) live next door to them, have

volunteered to lend their tools.

7. The Jetsons

(who / whom) live across the street from Jake

and Jessica, have promised to help them put in a new lawn.

8. The Flintstones,

(who / whose) daughter is the same age as

Mackenzie, Jake and Jessica's daughter, are helping Mackenzie make new
friends.
9. Jessica,

(that / who) works for a county hospital, will still have

to commute to work.
10.Jake,

(whom / whose) company is nearby, will be able to walk

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to work.

Demonstrative Pronouns
This That These Those + Exercise
Also known as pointing pronouns, are used to indicate which thing you are talking about. The pointing
pronouns are this, these, that, those.
Use this or these (plural) to point the objects near the speaker. Use that or those (plural) to point the
objects far from the speaker.

I want to buy this and those over there.(pointing pronoun, stands in for what the speaker is pointing to)
You should taste those, they are really good.(pointing pronoun)

Warning: A pronoun replaces a noun, or else it is an adjective.

You should taste those apples. (adjective, modifying apples)
That man looks suspicious. (adjective, modifying the man)
Look at the chart below

Near Us

At a Distance

Singular

This

That

Plural

These

Those

Examples:
a. This book is in my hand.
b. That book is over there on the desk.

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c. These coins are in my hand.

d. Those coins are over there on TV set.

Quick Exercise

Convert from singular form to plural or plural to singular as in the examples below.
a. This exercise is easy.
These exercises are easy.
b. Those socks are Sara's.
That sock is Sara's.
c. These flowers are on the floor.
That flower is on the floor.

1. Is this bed comfortable?

?
2. Is that Eleni's English book?
?
3. These are not my toys.
.
4. These boxes are Ana's.
.
5. Is that jacket Roy's?
?
6. Are these dictionaries Andre's?
?
7. Those are mine.
.

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8. This building is very old.

.
9. This is a good exercise.
.
10. These are the old dresses.
.

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