 Cele mai multe substantive individuale fac pluralul in 

"-s": book->books
 Dupa consoanele surde: p, z, k, f: cap->caps; hat->hats
 Dupa consoanele sonore si vocale -s se citeste  -z: pencil->pencils; car-
>cars
 Dupa s, z se pune es si se citeste "iz": case->cases
 Substantivele in  -ch, -sh, -s, -c sau -zz fac pluralul in  -es: peach->peaches;
bush->bushes
 Cand substantivele se termina in "y" precedate de consoane, "y-ul" se
transforma in  "i" + "es"  : fly->flies

        Dar cand "y"  este precedat de vocala se adauga  "s": play->plays

 Substantivele in "-f" si "-fe" primesc -(e)s cu transformarea

lui  "f" in "v": leaf -> leaves
 Substantivele  terminate in "o"  precedate de o consoana primesc  "-
es": patato->patatoes

Exceptie sunt substantivele din domeniul artei:

 tango->tangos
 concerto->concertos
 piano->pianos

Substantivele provenite din prescurtari: kilo->kilos

 Unele substantive primesc "s"  sau  "es" la alegere: volcano-> volcanos

                                                                                                                        cargo-
>cargos

NOTA: Primesc doar  "s"  substantivele care inainte de  "o" au vocala.

Substantivele cu plural neregulat:

 

Plurale imprumutate din alte limbi:

Substantive terminate in "um" provenite din limba latina primesc "a":

    addendum->addenda
     datum->data

Substantivele terminate in  "us"  primesc  "i" care se citeste "ai"  :

     stimulus->stimuli
     fungus->fungi

Substantivele din greaca terminate in "on" primesc "a":

      phenomenon->phenomena
      criterion->criteria

Substantivele in "is" il transforma pe ultimul "i" in "e"  :

      basis->bases
      crisis->crises

Substantivele formate din doua substantive dintre care unul are rol de atribut
primesc "s"  la substantivul de baza:

 boy friend -> boy friends

Substantivele formate dintr-o prepozitie si un alt substantiv primesc "s" la

substantiv:
 

Substantivele formate dintr-un verb si prepozitie primesc "s" la prepozitie:

Exceptie: substantivele care au in componenta lor man, woman: man servant -

> men servants

Substantivele nume de popoare:

Exceptie: Nu se adauga "s" la numele de popoare terminate in "ese": Japonese.

Substantivele nume de popoare care au in componenta lor man sau woman

trec la plural astfel:

 English man-> English men

Substantivele colective: family, crew, party, team:

 Se folosesc cu verbe la singular cand se refera la unitate: My

family  is  small

 Se folosesc cu verbe la plural cand se refera la toti membrii: My

family  were  sleeping when I arrived home.

Substantivele: news, information, advice, knowledge, homework, housework,

furniture, money, evidence, income, progress.

 Nu primesc "s" la plural si se folosesc cu verbe la singular

 Se folosesc cu  much nu cu  many si little nu few.

 Se cuantifica folosind: a piece of, an item of.  Pentru furniture se mai

foloseste: an article of.
 

Substantivele formate din doua parti simetrice se folosesc cu verbe la plural:

tongs, scissors, glasses, binoculars.

 Se cuantifica cu "a pair of "  .

Unele substantive cu nume de animale nu primesc  "s"  dar se folosesc cu

verbe la plural:

 sheep -> the  sheep are in the field; cattle, throat, fish, deer, salmon.

Substantivele provenite din adjective si participii trecute nu primesc "s": the

rich, the poor, the sick, the dead,  etc.

Numai forme de plural au substantivele:

a) discipline: mathematics, physics, dynamics, cybernetics

b) boli: measles, mumps

c) jocuri: billiards, skittles

Aceste substantive se acorda cu verbe la singular

The indefinite article a/an

We use a/an:

 With nouns when reffering to an unspecified thing; it means any one. Ex:
Bob has got a car and a bike.
 With singular countable nouns when we want to say what somebody
/something is or what someone's job is. ex: It is a cat. Alex is an
engineer.
  With the verb have(got)
 In certain expressions when we want to show how often we do
something. I go to the gym twice a week.

We use a:

 Before singular countable nouns which begin with a constant sound (a

house)

We use an:

 Before singular countable nouns which begin with a vowel sound (an
apple, oven)

an honour - the h is silent. We use an because the honour has a vowel sound
because the h is not pronounced: (h)onour.
a historic day - the h is pronounced. Historic starts with an h sound.

We  don\'t  use a/an:

 With uncountable or plurar nouns. In these cases we use some instead

of a/an. I need some coffee and sugar
 Before an adjective if it is not followed by a noun. However, if the
adjective is followed by a noun, we use a if the adjective begins with a
consonant sound and an if the adjective begins with a vowel sound. It is
a construction. It is huge. It is a huge construction.

The definite article \"the\"

We use the:

 With nouns when talking about something specific. the car is green.

 With nouns that are unique (the sun, the Earth)
 With names of newspapers, cinemas, theatres, museums, art galleries,
ships, organizations
 With the names of rivers, groups of islands, mountain ranges, deserts,
oceans, canals, countries when they include words such as States,
Kingdom, Republic, names or nous with of (the Houses of Parkiament),
in geographical terms such as Antarctic/Arctic/equator
  With the names of musical instruments and dances (the salsa, the
guitar)
 With the names of families and nationalities ending in -sh, -ch or -ese.
Other nationalities can be used with or without the (the
Egyptians/Egyptians)
 With titles (the queen) but not with titles including a proper name (Queen
Victoria)
 With adjectives /adverbs in the superlative form but when Most is
followed by a noun, it does not take the.
 With the words morning, afternoon, evening, day
 With historical periods (THE last Ice Age, THE Vietnam war) BUT:
WORLD WAR I
 With the word only, last and first (used as adjectives)
 With the words station, cinema, theatre, library, shop, coast, sea, beach,
country, city, jungle, world

We do not use the:

 With uncountable and plural nouns when talking about something in

general
 With proper nouns. ANN works as a librarian
 With the names of sports, games, activities, days, months, drinks and
meals
 With languages, unless they are followed by the word language
 With the names of contries which do not include the word State,
Kingdom or Republic. There are some exceptions: the Netherlands, the
Gambia, the Vatican, the Lebanon
 With names of the streets, squares, bridges, parks, railways stations,
mountains, individual islands, lakes, and continents.
 With possessive adjectives or the possessive case
 With the names of restaurants, shops, banks, hotels BUT Use the with
the names of hotels & restaurants, unless these are named after a
person. eg -> Brown's Restaurant BUT The Garden House Hotel 
 With the word bed, hospital, college, court, prison, school, university

Articolul Hotarat "The" se aseaza inaintea cuvintelor pe care le determina.

Cand insoteste adjectivele all, both se aseaza dupa both (both the
novels).  Arata ca substantivul inaintea caruia a fost mentionat in cursul
discutiei. Un numar de substantive sunt obligatoriu insotite de articolul
hotarat: the humanaties, the forefront.

Poate indeplini functia gradelor de a transforma adjectivele in substantive:

 abstracte unice: beautiful (adj), the beautiful (substantive)

 ale pluralitatii: poor (adj), the poor (substantive)
 individuale ale pluralitatii: unemployed (adj), the unemployed
(substantive)

Articolul Hotarat "The" se foloseste pentru:

 lacuri, oceane, insule, peninsule, tari formate din doua sau mai multe
cuvinte: SUA, UK, lanturi muntoase "The Alpes"
 institutii The National Theatre, vapoare, avioane, ziare, corpuri ceresti:
the sun.
 In expresii: for the time, on the whole, at the beginnig, in the end, in the
morning, by the way, in the seventh heaven, at the least, the day after
tomorrow, to have been through the mill.

"There is" dupa articolul hotarat inseamna iata: There is  the postman coming.

Articolul Zero se foloseste pentru:

 orase, tari, mesele zilei, abstractiuni: love science, life, order.

 substantivele la plural cand nu sunt determinate: Women like
jewelry. Daca sunt determinate se pune  "the": The women in this country
like jewelry.
 substantive nume de materie: Sugar is a sweet substance.  dar: The
sugar over there.
 anotimpuri: spring
 in expresii: at school, at home.
  cu substantive: school, university, church, work: London University. Dar
cand avem UNIVERSITATE + ORAS se pune articoul: The  University of
London
 in expresia: act as + substantivul zero: act as interpreter.
 substantive comune asociate cu numerale: room 10, chapter 2.
 denumirea titlurilor: Profesor Jones.
 denumirea limbilor: Romanian, French.
 substantive aflate la "nominativul adresarii"(vocativ): Good morning
uncle.
 functii numerice-nehotarate (substantive care nu sunt folosite in
sensul lor cel mai general): in the shop window one could see books,
maps, pictures.

Omisiunea articolului se face:

 reguli gramaticale obisnuite: atom is one of the smallest particule of the

matter (norma stiintifica)
 indicatii scenice: George goes table left.
 in exprimarea poetice, unele nume proprii care in mod normal sunt
folosite cu articol hotarat apar fara: Thames in loc de: The Thames.
 articolul poate fi omis ca manierism stilistic, stilul gazetaresc: Man is
fined; Trial over.

Adjectives:

 Adjectives describe noun, go before nouns and have the same form in
the singular and plural. a huge tree/huge trees
 Adjectives can also be used alone after the verbs be, look, smell, sound,
feel, taste, seem, appear, become, get, stay etc.
 There are two kinds of adjectives: opinion adjectives (interesting,
fantastic) which show what a person thinks of somebody or something,
and fact adjectives (old, fat, short) which give us factual information
about size, age, colour, origin, material etc.
 There are also compound adjectives which are formed with:

a)      Present participles: long-lasting  journey

b)      Past participles: broken-down car

c)      Cardinal numbers + nouns: a three-day trip

Well, badly + past participle: well -informed people

   Order of adjectives

 Opinion adjectives go before fact adjectives: a beautiful Italian girl

 When there are two or more fact adjectives in a sentence, they usually
go in the following order: size-age- shape-colour-origin-material-used
for/be about-noun a small, old, square, Chinese table
 We do not usually have a long list of adjectives before a single noun. A
noun is usually described by one, two or three adjectives at the most.

                 Comparisons

As /Like

         We use like:

 With nouns/pronouns/-ing form to express similarity

 With feel, look, smell, taste. She looks like her sister.

                      We use as to say what somebody or something really is. He works

as a waiter.

Comparatives and Superlatives

                      We use the comparatives to compare one person  or thing with

another. We use the superlatives to compare one person or thing with more
than one person or thing of the same group. We often use than after a
comparative and the before a superlative.

 
                     Formation of comparatives and superlatives from adjectives and
adverbs:

 With one-syllable adjectives we add -(e)r to form the comparative and -

(e)est to form the superlative. note: for one syllable adjectives ending in
a vowel + a consonant, we double the consonant. big-bigger-bigges.
 With two-syllable adjectives ending in -ly, -y, -w, we also add -er, -
est. note: for adjectives ending in a consonant +y, we replace the -y with
-I. tiny -tinier-tinest
 With other two -syllable adjectives or adjectives with more than two
syllables, comparatives and superlatives are forms with more/most
 With adverbs that have the same form as their adjectives, we add -er/-
est
 Two -syllable or compound adverbs take more / most, slowly - more
slowly -most slowly

Note: clever, common, cruel, friendly, gentle, pleasant, polite, shallow, simple,
stupid, quiet  can form their comparatives and superlatives either with -er/-est
or with  more/most   

Good-better-best / bad -worse -worst

Much -more-most/little-less-least

Far-farther/further-farthest/furthest

Many/lots-more-most

Types of comparisons 

 as +adjective +as(to show that two people or things are similar in some
way) in negative sentences we use not as /so... . . as
 less +adjectives +than (expresses the difference between two people or
things) the opposite is more... . than
  the least +adjectives +of/in (compares one person or thing to two or
more people or things in the same group) The opposite is the most... .
of/in
 much/a lot/far / a little /a bit / slightly +comparative(expresses the
degree of difference between two people or things)
 comparative and comparative (to show that something is increasing or
decreasing)
 the +comparative... . ., the+comparative (shows that two things change
together, or that one thing depends on another thing)
 by far +the + superlative(emphasizes the difference between one person
or thing and two or more people or things in the same group).

 Adjectivele care arata atitudinea fata de cineva sunt redate cu to:

Exemplu: He was rude  to  me.
 Expresia cu cat, cu atat se reda: the + comparativ. Exemplu: The sooner,
the better.
 Superlativ relativ cand avem doua elemente comparative: the +
comparativ. Exemplu: I've got two oranges, take the bigger.
 Comparativ+and+comparativ = din ce in ce mai: Exemplu: It is getting
darker and darker.
 By far more interesting = pe departe mai interesant.
 Regula: adjectivul "old" cand sta pe langa un substantiv denumind un
membru al familiei devine "er", "est": Exemplu: my elder/ eldest sister.
 Regula: cand avem un intreg format din doua parti: the former, the latter.

Gradele de comparatie:

 bad/ill-worse-the worst

 many/much-more-the most

 far-farther-the farthest (pentru distante)

ADJECTIVES GRESELI FRECVENTE

Incorrect: Every people know this.

Correct:    Everybody knows this. / Everyone knows this.

Incorrect: Each hands have five fingers.

Correct: Each hand has five fingers.

Incorrect: Either roads lead to the airport.

Correct: Either road leads to the airport.

The adjectives  each, every, either and neither  should be followed by a singular
noun and a singular verb.

Incorrect: I have no any friends.

Correct: I have no friends. /  I haven’t got any friends.

The word  any  has a negative meaning. It is not used with  no.

Incorrect: Both men have not come.

Correct: Neither man has come.

Instead of  both … not,  we normally use  neither.

Incorrect: Alex is elder than Mircea.

Correct: Alex is older than Mircea.

Incorrect: Raluca is the eldest girl in the class.

Correct: Raluca is the oldest girl in the class.

The adjectives  elder and eldest  are only used attributively (before nouns). After
a verb, we use  older and oldest.

Incorrect: He is more better than I.

Correct: He is better than I.

Adjectives of one or two syllables form their comparative and superlative forms
by adding  –er or –est. Longer adjectives take  more or most.  More and
most  cannot be used with adjectives ending in –er or –est.

Definition

A  pronoun  (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who,
whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.) is a word that takes the place of a
noun. In the sentence Joe saw Jill, and he waved at her, the pronouns he and
her take the place of Joe and Jill, respectively.

There are three types of pronouns:

1. subject (for example, he);
2. object (him); or
3. possessive (his).
 

Types of pronouns

e.g. I, me, mine, you, your, yours, he, him, his,

personal pronouns
she, her, hers, it, one, we, they
relative pronouns e.g. who, whom, whose, which, that
interrogative
e.g. who, what, when, where, why?
pronouns
e.g. someone, somebody, something, anyone,
indefinite pronouns
anybody, anything, everyone, no one
demonstrative
e.g. this, that, these, those
pronouns
e.g. myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself,
reflexive pronouns
ourselves, yourselves, themselves

 Personal pronouns change case in sentences

  Pronouns
    Pronouns
Person/Number Pronouns as subjects as the
for possession
objects
1st person singular I me my, mine
2nd person singular  you you your, yours
his, her, hers,
3rd person singular he, she, it him, her, it
its
1st person plural we us our, ours
2nd person plural  you you your, yours
3rd person plural  they them their, theirs

 
 

Personal pronouns are diveded into

 subject pronouns (I, you, he etc.), which go before verbs as subjects and

 object pronouns (me, you, him, etc.), which go after verbs or
prepositions as objects.

e.g I like him a lot.

subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they

object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them

Examples:

 I am not going to the party. [First person, singular, subjective]

 The fight ends with me. [First person, singular, objective]
 We couldn’t discover the root of the issue. [First person, plural,
subjective]
 Could you provide us with some privacy? [First person, plural, objective]
 You make me smile. [Second person, singular, subjective]
 Is Jimmy taking you? [Second person, singular, objective]

We use there + be to mention something for the first time or to say that
something or someone exists.

We use  it + be to give more details about something or someone that has
already been  mentioned. 

e.g There is a letter for you. It is from Alex.

We can use IT as the subject to talk about weather, distance, temperature and
time.
e.g It's windy today. It's hot in Greece. It's Saturday.

We can use IT to talk about something that has already been made clear. But
we use one when it is not clear which thing in particular we are talking about.

 I can't find the remote. Where did you put IT? (we use it because it is
clear which remote we are talking about)
 Can I have a dictionary? I'm sorry but I haven't got one. (we use one
because it is not clear which dictionary in particular we are talking
about.)

Possessive pronouns are used to talk about things that belong to people. The
words mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are possessive pronouns. 

Possessive pronouns function as adjectives that indicate ownership or

relationship – Jones is my favorite person. They can be identified as first,
second, or third person and singular or plural as well:

                                 Singular                  Plural

First Person           my, mine                       our, ours
Second Person       your your,                     yours
Third Person           his, hers, its,                their, theirs

Note: Do not use apostrophes with possessive pronouns.

Examples:

 This book is mine.

 Have you lost yours, Tom?
 This pen is mine and that one is his.

 
 

Note: The forms that end in –s typically come after a verb.

Examples:

 We are leaving our lives in the hands of the rescue team. [First person,

plural]
 The others’ opinions are irrelevant; the only one that matters is yours.
[Second person, singular]
 Their conclusions overstepped the bounds of their research. [Third
person, plural]
 I cannot find its case. [Third person, singular]

Reguli

Un pronume   (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who,
whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.) este un cuvânt care ia locul unui
substantiv.

Exemplu: 

Joe saw Jill, and he waved at her; pronumele he și her iau locul lui Joe și,
respectiv, Jill.  

Există trei tipuri de pronume:

 subject (for example, he); 

 object (him);
 possessive (his).

1) „Subject pronouns” sunt folosite atunci când pronumele este subiectul

propoziției.

Exemple:

 ..... did the job.

  I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever, etc., toate pot fi utilizate, prin urmare
sunt „subject pronouns”

2) „Subject pronouns” pot fi utilizate și dacă redenumesc subiectul. Vor urma

după verbele „to be”, precum: as is, are, was, were, am, will be, had been, etc.

Exemple:

 It is he.
 This is she speaking.
 It is we who are responsible for the decision to downsize.

3) Când who se referă la un pronume personal (I, you, he, she, we, they), ia
verbul care se acordă cu pronumele.

 Corect: It is I who am sorry. (I am)

 Incorect: It is I who is sorry.

 Corect: It is you who are mistaken. (you are)

 Incorect: It is you who's mistaken.

4) Pe lângă „subject pronouns”, există și „object pronouns” cunoscute ca direct

object, indirect object, și object of a preposition.

Object pronouns sunt:

  me, him, herself, us, them, themselves.

Exemple:
  Alex saw him.
 Him este „direct object” al verbului saw.

 Give her the book.
 „The direct object” pentru verbul give este substantivul book iar her este
„indirect object”. „Indirect objects”  Indirect objects always have an
implied to or for in front of them: Give [to] her the book. Do [for] me a
favor.

5) Pronumele who, that, și which sunt fie la singular fie la plural în funcție de

subiect. Dacă subiectul este singular atunci folosim un verb la singular, dacă
este la plural atunci folosim un verb la plural.

Exemple:

 He is the only one of those men who is always on time. (Aici who se

referă la cuvântul  „one” prin urmare folosim verbul la singular.) 

 He is one of those men who are always on time.(Aici who se referă la

cuvântul „men” prin urmare folosim verbul la plural.) 

6) Pronumele care au forma de singular (I, he, she, everyone, everybody,

anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody, each, either, neither,
etc.) sunt utilizare cu verb la singular.

Atenție! când folosiți pronumele each, either, and neither, urmate de of. Aceste

pronume sunt urmate întotdeauna de un verb la singular. 

Exemple:
  Each of the girls sings well.
 Either of us is capable of doing the job.
 Neither of them is available to speak right now.

 Incorect: The women each gave her approval.

 Corect: The women each gave their approval.

 Incorect: The words are and there each ends with a silent vowel.

 Corect: The words are and there each end with a silent vowel.

* each nu este subiect

7) Pentru a decide care dintre pronumele (subject or object) trebuie utilizat în

cadrul unei fraze după cuvinte precum than sau as, completează propozițiile
mental:

Exemple:

 Alex is as smart as she/her.

o Atunci când completăm propoziția, spunem:
o Alex is as smart as she is, prin urmare she este corect.

 Andreea is taller than I/me.

o Atunci când completăm propoziția, spunem:
o Andreea is taller than I am.

 Alex would rather talk to her than I/me.

 
 

În funcție de pronume avem două propoziții cu înțelesuri diferite:

 Alex would rather talk to her than to me.

 OR
 Alex would rather talk to her than I would.

8)  Pronumele posesive yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, and whose  nu au

nevoie de apostrof, fiind utilizate greșit: her's, your's.

 DAR -->

9) It's are apostrof când este o prescurtare pentru it is sau  it has. Who's are
apostrof când înseamnă who is sau who has. Oneself nu are apostrof, evitați
greșeala: one's self nu este pronume și poate fi utilizat în varianta aceasta
când „self” este utilizat în sens spiritul, psihologic.

Exemple:

 It's been a cold morning.

 The thermometer reached its highest reading.
 He's the one who's always on time.
 He's the one whose wife is always on time.
 Keeping oneself ready is important.

10) Pronumele care se termină in -self or - selves  se numesc „reflexive

pronouns” (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves,
yourselves, and themselves). Pronumele reflexive sunt folosite atunci când
atât subiectul, cât și „obiectul-object” unui verb reprezintă aceeași
persoană/obiect.
Reflexive pronouns are used when both the subject and the object of a verb
are the same person or thing.

Exemple:

Dacă obiectul unei prepoziții se referă la un substantiv sau pronume anterior,

folosiți un pronume reflexiv:

Example:

 Alex bought it for himself.

Corect:

 I worked myself to the bone. („The object myself” este același cu

subiectul I, performing the act of working.)

Incorect:

 My brother and myself did it. (nu folosiți „myself ” decât

dacă pronumele I  sau me îl preced în propoziție)

Corect:

 My brother and I did it.

Correct: You saw me being myself.

--> Help yourself looks (pare o excepție deoarece nu apare you, dar este

prescurtare de la You may help yourself.)

--> În anumite cazuri, un pronume reflexiv poate avea topică liberă:

 Doubting himself, the man proceeded cautiously.

 
--> Reflexive pronouns sunt folosite cu scopul de a sublinia, a accentua.

 He himself finished the whole cake.

11) Dacă două persoane posedă același articol iar unul dintre ei este scris ca
pronume, se folosește forma posesivă pentru ambele persoane.

Incorect: Alex and my home

Incorect: Mine and Alex's home
Corect: Alex's and my home

Incorect: he and Alex's home

Incorect: him and Alex's home
Corect: his and Alex's home

Incorect: you and Alex's home

Incorect: yours and Alex's home
Corect: Alex's and your home 

Obs!

--> Când unul dintre coproprietari este scris ca pronume, folosiți adjective
posesive (my, your, her, our, their). Evitați pronumele posesive (my, your, her,
our, their) în astfel de construcții.

--> Nu combinați un „subject pronoun” și ”object pronoun”  în fraze ca „her

and her” sau „he and me”. Ori de câte ori „and” sau „or” leagă un ”object
pronoun”  (her, me) și un „subject pronoun” (he, I), unul dintre aceste pronume
va fi întotdeauna greșit.

Incorect: Her and I went home.
Correct: She and I went home. (She went and I went.) 
Relative pronouns

We use:

-> who(m) that to refer to people

-> which/that to refer to things

-> whose with people, animals and objects to show possession.

! Who, which and that can be omitted when they are the object of the relative
clause:

 He's the man (who) I am working for.

!! Whom can be used instead of who when it is the object of the relative

clause. Whom is always used instead of who or that after preposition.

 That's the girl to whom Billy got engaged.

!!! Who, which  and  that are not omitted when they are the subject of a relative
clause.

 The man who owns that shop is my cousin.

!!!! Whose is never omitted.

 That's the man whose daughter got married to my neighbour.

 
Relative pronouns  use the correct case for relative pronouns 'who', 'whom',
'whose'

 Students will train with the computer programmers who work in IT.

(SUBJECT)

 Students who work with their computer skills find online learning easy.

(SUBJECT)

 The students whom the programmer instructed excelled in their tasks.

(OBJECT OF A VERB)

 Students for whom online learning is difficult should seek training.

(OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION)

 Students whose passwords were updated need to reset their browser.

(POSSESSION)

Who or Whom

Rule. Pentru a alege mai ușor când se folosește who sau whom, reține: 

he = who
him = whom

Examples:

 Who/Whom wrote the book?

 He wrote the book. who este corect.

 Who/Whom  should I vote for?

  Should I vote for him? whom este corect.

 We all know  who/whom pulled that prank.

Fraza conține două propoziții: we all knowși who/whom pulled that prank. Ne

interesează cea de-a doua propoziție deoarece conține pronumele who/whom.
---> înlocuim he = who --->  He pulled that prank. who este corect.

 We wondered who/whom  the movie was about.

Fraza conține două propoziții:  we wondered și who/whom the movie was about.

Ne interesează cea de-a doua propoziție deoarece conține
pronumele who/whom.  ------> him = whom ---> The movie was
about him. whom este corect.

Whoever or Whomever

Rules

-> Pentru a alege mai ușor când se folosește whoever sau whomever, reține:

he = whoever
him = whomever

-> Prezența pronumelor whoever sau whomever indică o „clauza dependentă -

dependent clause”. Când înlocuim whoever = he sau whomever = him, folosim
whoever sau whomever care se acordă cu verbul din clauza dependentă,
făcând abstracție de restul frazei.

Examples:

 Give it to    whoever/whomever asks for it first.

 He asks for it first.  -->  whoever este corect.

 We will hire whoever/  whomever  you recommend.

  You recommend him.  --> whomever is correct.

 We will hire  whoever/whomever is most qualified.

 He is most qualified. ->  whoever este corect

Who, That, Which

Rules:

1) Who and sometimes that refer to people. That and which refer to groups or

things.

Examples:
Anya is the one  who  rescued the bird.
"The Man  That  Got Away" is a great song with a grammatical title.

Lokua is on the team  that  won first place.

She belongs to a great organization,  which  specializes in saving endangered
species.

2a) That introduces what is called an essential clause (also known as

a restrictive or defining clause). Essential clauses add information that is vital
to the point of the sentence.

Example: I do not trust products  that  claim "all natural ingredients" because
this phrase can mean almost anything.
! We would not know the type of products being discussed without
the that clause.

2b) Which introduces a nonessential clause (also known as

a nonrestrictive or nondefining clause), which adds supplementary
information.
Example: The product claiming "all natural ingredients,"  which  appeared in the
Sunday newspaper, is on sale.
The product is already identified. Therefore, which appeared in the Sunday
newspaper is a nonessential clause containing additional, but not essential,
information.

NOTE: Essential clauses do not have commas introducing or surrounding

them, whereas nonessential clauses are introduced or surrounded by
commas.

3) If that has already appeared in a sentence, writers sometimes use which to

introduce the next clause, whether it is essential or nonessential. This is done
to avoid awkward formations.

Example: That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

! This sentence is far preferable to the ungainly but technically correct That
that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

NOTE: The distinction between that and which, though a useful guideline, is

not universally accepted as a hard-and-fast rule. For many centuries and up to
the present, which has been routinely used by great writers and journalists to
introduce essential clauses.

Reflexive and emphatic pronouns 

Reflexive pronouns are words that refer to the noun or pronoun that is the
subject of the verb. Reflexive pronouns are used in two main situations: when
the subject and
direct object are the same thing and when the subject and object of a
preposition are the same.

The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and
themselves are reflexive pronouns.

 My brother built this computer himself.

  Be careful not to cut yourself with that knife.
 John was looking at himself in the mirror.
 Kate fell and hurt herself.

Note: The forms Hisself, theirselves, and themself are not words in the English

language.

When -self is added to my, your, him, her, it, and -selves to our, your, them, we
get what are called Compound Personal Pronouns.

They are called Reflexive Pronouns when the action done by the subject turns
back (reflects) upon the subject; as,

 I hurt myself.
 We hurt ourselves.
 You will hurt yourself.
 He hurt himself.
 She hurt herself.
 They hurt themselves.

! It will be noticed that each of these Reflexive Pronouns is used as the Object
of a verb, and refers to the same person or thing as that denoted by the
Subject of the verb.

Sometimes, in older English, especially in poetry, a simple pronoun was used

reflexively; as;

 Now I lay me down to sleep.

 
 

We use reflexive pronouns: 

- with verbs such as behave, burn, enjoy, hurt, cut, introduce, look at, kill,
teach etc., or with prepositions when the subject and the object of the verb are
the same person.

  Ana (subject) has burnt herself. (object)

 You (subject) should take more care of yourself. (object)

- with the preposition BY when we mean alone/ without company or without

help (on one's own).

 She likes being by herself/ on her own sometimes. (= She likes being

alone, without company)
 Alex repaired the computer by himself/ on his own. (= Nobody helped
Alex repair the computer)

- in the following expressions:

 enjoy yourself
 behave yourself
 help yourself

- to emphasise the subject or the object of a sentence:

 I myself wrote the letter.

 Ana met the President himself.

Note: we do not normally use reflexive pronouns with the verbs concentrate,
feel, meet and relax. e.g

 You need to concentrate not You need to concentrate yourself. 

 

Emphatic pronouns or Intensive Pronouns 

When reflexive pronouns are used to put emphasis on a particular noun they

are called emphatic pronouns.

These have the same form as reflexive pronouns but are used to emphasize the
subject – They themselves were unsure.

Note: A way to distinguish between reflexive and intensive pronouns is to

remove the pronoun from the sentence – if the sentence still makes sense, the
pronoun is intensive.

 I myself wrote the letter.

 Ana met the President himself.
 We ourselves witnessed the accident.

DEMONSTRATIVE, INDEFINITE AND DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns are used for pointing out things. The words this, that,
these and those are demonstrative pronouns.

Demonstrative pronouns can be either near or far in distance or time:

Near in time or distance: this, these

Far in time or distance: that, those

! Do not get confused: This, that, etc. are (Demonstrative) Adjectives when

they are used with nouns; as,

 This book is mine.

 That pen is yours.
  These books are mine.
 Those pens are yours.
 What was that noise?
 This horse is better than that horse.,

This refers to what is close at hand, and nearest to the thought or person of

the speaker; that refers to what is 'over there', farther away, and more remote.

 This is better than that.

That, with its plural those, is used to avoid the repetition of a preceding Noun;
as,

 The streets of this city are worse than those of L.A .

 The rivers of America are larger than those of Europe.

When two things which have been already mentioned are referred
to, this refers to the thing last mentioned, that to the thing first mentioned; as,

 Virtue and vice offer themselves for your choice; this (i.e., vice) leads to
misery, that (i.e., virtue) to happiness.
 Alcohol and tobacco are both injurious; this perhaps, less than that.

We use this/ these:

- for people or things which are near us:

 
- for present or future situations:

 I'll talk to your teacher this week.

- to refer to an idea we are about to mention:

 I'm sorry to say this, but you have to leave now if you want to catch that
train.

- to introduce people or oneself:

- when the speaker is in or near the place he/she is referring to:

  This room is very dark.

We use that/ those:

- for people or things:

 Look at that! It's a deer.

- for past situations:

   We had a bad experience that day.

- to refer back to something mentioned before:

 She got the job. That's great.

 

- when speaking on the phone to ask who the other person is:

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer directly to any other word. Most indefinite
pronouns express the idea of quantity. They often suggest a number or
amount (some, all, everyone, few).

 Everybody is welcome at the meeting.

 Many prefer their coffee with sugar.
 Does anybody care for a cheese sandwich?
 Few choose to live in the arid desert.

The indefinite pronouns are:

 anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody

 anyone, everyone, no one, someone
 anything, everything, nothing, something
 all, each, most, other
 another, either, neither, several
 some, few, both, many, one, such

NOTE: Some of them can be both singular and plural.

Always Singular:

 another/other
 no one/nobody,
 anyone/anybody nothing,
 anything,
  one, 
 each,
 somebody/someone ,
 either/neither something ,
 everyone/everybody,
 everything,
 little/much.

Sometimes Singular‐ Sometimes Plural

 all, both
 any, few
 more, many
 most, others
 none, several
 some

Examples:

 Someone has to take out the trash. (singular)

 Neither of the participants was comfortable. (singular)
 Most of the audience responds to this type of persuasion. (plural)
 Each of the students identifies a few of his/her favorite hobbies.
(singular; plural)

Note:  For the pronouns that can be both singular and plural, their number
depends on the noun they refer to:

 More of the students leave early this semester. (plural)

 None of his cereal was finished. (singular) 

- Every is used with singular countable nouns. It refers to a group of people or

thing amd means all, everyone, everything etc.

 Every citizen has to pay taxes.  (All citizens as a group)

 
- We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:

 Everybody loves Andreea.
 Everything was ready for her birthday.

- Every one and each (one) can be followed by of. We normally use each when
we talk about two people or things. We use every when we talk about three or
more people or things.

 She bought two new dresses and she paid 200 lei
for each (one) of them.
 Tom has been to a lot of parties this month. He enjoyed every one
of them.

- Do not use another negative in a clause with  nobody, no one or nothing:

 Correct -> Nobody arrived.

 INCORRECT -> Nobody didn't arrive.

Reciprocal Pronouns

These pronouns are actually phrases made up of pairs of pronouns—one

another and each other. These pronouns indicate a relationship between the
individuals of the plural subject such that the individual members of the
subject “take each other as their objects” (Perelman, Barrett, & Paradis, 2001,
para.1).

Examples:

 The athletes defended one another both on and off the field.

 Jane and Bill are fond of each other.

 
 

Distributive Pronouns

Consider the following sentences:

 Each of the boys gets a prize.

 Each took it in turn.
 Either of these roads leads to the railway station.
 Either of you can go.
 Neither of the accusations is true.

Each, either, neither are called Distributive Pronouns because they refer to

persons or things one at a time. For this reason they are always singular and
as such followed by the verb in the singular.

- Each is used with singular countable nouns. It refers to the members of a

group separately. 

 Each member of the football team must sign a contract. (Each person

separately)

Note:- Each is used to denote every one of a number of persons or things

taken singly.

 Either means the one or the other of two.

 Neither means not the one nor the other of two. It is the negative of
either.

Hence either and neither should be used only in speaking of two persons or
things. When more than two are spoken of, any, no one, none should be used.

The position of the pronoun each should be noticed. It may have three
positions.

1.

 Each of the men received a reward.

  Each of these horses cost five thousand euros.
 I bought each of these mangoes for three euros.

2.

 These men received each a reward.

 These horses cost each five thousand euros.

3.

 These horses cost five thousand euros each.

 I bought these mangoes for three euros each.

The third order is usual after a numeral. We do not say,

 'The men received a reward each'; but we say, 'The men received five
hundred euros each'.

Both refers to two people, things or groups. It has a positive meaning.

 e.g. Both cats and dogs are affectionate pets.
 Both of these books belong to my father.

Neither refers to two people, things or groups and has a negative meaning.

Neither of -phrase can be followed by either a singular or plural verb in the
affirmative.

e.g.

 Neither of the teams is/are playing well this year.

 Neither of them is/are married.
 BUT: Neither candidate is suitable for the job.

 
 

Either refers to two people, things or groups and is followed by a singular

countable noun.

e.g.

 We could stay at the Plaza Hotel or the Star Hotel. Either place is fine

with me.

Either of + plural noun phrase can be followed by either a singular or plural

verb, e.g.

 Either of these two cars is/are suitable for you. BUT: Either car is

suitable for you.

We can use not... either (of) instead of neither (of). Either can also be used at
the end of a negative sentence.

e.g.

 I looked at two watches, but I did not buy either of them.

 John doesn't like coffee, and I don't either.

Neither... nor/Either... or take either a singular or plural verb, depending on

the subject whic or or.

e.g.

 Neither Daniel nor Mark drinks coffee.
 Either my parents or John's parents are going to take us to the airport.

 
In the following sentences, each, either and neither are used as Adjectives;
they are followed by nouns of the singular number:

 Each boy took his turn.

 Neither accusation is true.
 At either end was a marble statue. (Here either = each or both.)