A

non-defining relative clause is not needed to identify the person or thing that or
you are talking about, but it gives further information about that person or thing. This is what has happened to the society in which we live.
The words underlined in each of the following sentences form a non-defining
relative clause: They walked down the town’s main street which was called Unbelievably, he has given up the job which he trained so hard for.
George Street.
He fell in love with the girl next door who became his wife.
He got his promotion which was long overdue.

Punctuation in relative clauses

Where a non-defining relative clause divides the parts of a main clause it is
placed within commas.

His two sisters, who were very close to him, never got over his death.
The old man, who is nearly 90, has become the oldest person to complete a
marathon.

Commas are not used in this way in the case of defining relative clauses.

The book that he took was very valuable.

The car that we bought proved to be unreliable.

Prepositions in relative clauses

When there is a preposition in a relative clause this is often placed at the end of
the clause, which is often also the end of the sentence. Previously it was
considered a grammatical error to end a sentence with a preposition, but this
attitude has changed. However, the preposition can be put in front of the relative
pronoun as long as the sentence so formed sounds natural. This is most often
done in formal English, particularly written English.

This is what has happened to the society which we live in.

or A comment clause is a short clause inserted into a sentence, sometimes used to
Unbelievably, he has given up the job for which he trained so hard. show the speaker’s attitude to what he or she is saying and sometimes used as a
filler without much meaning. Comment clauses are particularly common in
This is the kind of behaviour that I refuse to put up with. informal speech.
The words underlined in each of the following sentences form a comment
You would NEVER say: clause.
This is the kind of behaviour up with which I refuse to put.
To put it bluntly, he is a liar.
Noun clause or nominal clause He wasn’t sent to prison for the crime, more’s the pity.
The patient will most likely survive, I’m glad to say.
A noun or nominal clause performs a similar function to a noun or noun phrase She’s only a few years older than me, you know.
in a sentence. Like a noun it can act as the subject (see 4), object or He’s been married twice before, it seems.
complement of the main clause.

The words underlined in each of the following sentences are noun clauses that NB: Use of a comma
act as the subject of the sentence: Where you go is of very little interest to me. A comment clause is often separated from the main clause by a comma.
What you know should be told to the police.
What he does now is up to him.

The words underlined in each of the following sentences are noun clauses that
act as the object of the sentence: I’m not asking why you’re going.
We didn’t know who had done it.
He refused to say where he was going.

The words underlined in each of the following sentences are noun clauses that
act as the complement of the sentence: The theory is that there will definitely be
enough money for everyone.
My point is that we simply can’t afford to move house.

NB: Nouns and prepositions

Sometimes noun clauses come after a preposition. The words underlined in
each of the following sentences are noun clauses: It depends on how much
money is available.
They all commented on what a lot of weight he had lost.

Comment clause
 Adjective phrase
Phrases An adjective phrase, also called an adjectival phrase, is a group of related
words in which the main word is an adjective and which functions like an
A phrase usually refers to a group of words that work together to form a adjective in a sentence or clause. Thus, rather too old is an adjectival phrases in
grammatical unit, although, in fact, a phrase may consist of just one word. which the main word is the adjective old. The words underlined in each of the
following sentences are adjective phrases: She was tired, miserable and hungry.
A clause or sentence can usually be broken down into phrases. There are five The task was extremely challenging.
kinds of phrase and each phrase takes its name from the word class (see Main The patient was getting paler and weaker.
parts of speech) which plays the main part in its structure. The flowers were fresh from the garden.
On the day of the picnic the weather was the worst possible.
Thus, in a noun phrase a noun is the main part of the structure of the phrase and
in an adjective phrase an adjective is the main part of the structure of the Adverb phrase
phrase.
An adverb phrase, also called an adverbial phrase or an adverbial, is a group
of related words in which the main word is an adverb and which functions like
Noun phrase an adverb in a sentence or clause.
A noun phrase, also called a nominal phrase, is a group of related words in
which the main word is a noun and which functions like a noun in a sentence or Thus,
clause. Thus, a very long black car is a noun phrase in which the main word is
the noun car. extremely frequently

A noun phrase can either act as the subject, object or complement of the is an adverb phrase in which the main word is the adverb frequently.
sentence or clause. The words underlined in each of the following sentences are
all noun phrases. The words underlined in each of the following sentences are adverb phrases: I
used to play tennis fairly regularly.
In the first two sentences the noun phrases act as the subject: The most dreadful I saw both of them very recently.
road accident has happened. I can’t stand this noise for much longer.
A terrible storm is forecast. She greeted her guests extremely warmly.
The students are working really hard.
In the next two sentences the noun phrases act as the object: We have some They live very close.
interesting new neighbours.
I met a very charming woman at the party. Preposition phrase
And in the last two sentences the noun phrases act as the complement: His A preposition phrase, also called a prepositional phrase, is a group of related
father is a fairly talented artist. words in which the main word is a preposition and which functions like a
My great-aunt later became a famous opera singer. preposition in a sentence or clause.
Thus Phrasal verbs
on the table
A phrasal verb (see 1, 2) is a verb that consists of two or three words. They can
is a preposition phrase in which the main word is the preposition on. consist of a verb followed by an adverb or they can consist of a verb followed by
a preposition or they can consist of a verb followed by an adverb and a
The words underlined in each of the following sentences are preposition preposition.
phrases: We waited at the bus stop.
He placed the book on the table. Examples of phrasal verbs are shown in the sentences below with the phrasal
They walked into the room. verb underlined.
You must stay in the garden.
In this first group of sentences the phrasal verbs all consist of a verb followed
by an adverb:
Participial phrase
A participial phrase (see 1) is a group of related words in which the main word We sat down and waited.
is a participle of a verb, either a present participle, as in the following sentence: She slipped on the ice and fell over.
Walking along the beach, he thought deeply about his problems. They set off just before dawn.
When does the plane take off?
Or a past participle, as in the sentence: It’s time to go in.
The price of property here will go up.
Disgusted by her treatment, she resigned from her job. Come up now, please.
How long did it take for the patient to come round?
The words underlined in the following sentences are participial phrases (see 2): Winter will set in soon.
Bored by the party, she went home early. The effects of the painkiller began to wear off.
Living by himself, he was frequently lonely. Our holiday plans have fallen through.
Relieved by the news, he smiled broadly. Lie down and try to sleep.
Laughing happily, she went off to celebrate. The car had moved off.
Built by his father, the house had been designed by him. He hopes to find a permanent job and settle down.
Weeping bitterly, the child held the broken toy. The child curled up and went to sleep.
Destroyed by war-time bombing, the city is now being rebuilt. The caller rang off before I got to the phone.
Badly injured, the miners somehow managed to make their way to the surface.
In the next group of sentences the phrasal verbs all consist of a verb followed
Deeply touched by the gesture, the young woman wrote a thank you-note.
by a preposition:

They walked through the forest.

We drove through the city at midnight.
You should call on your new neighbour.
The child fell into the water.
My father finally got over his illness. or
The workers asked for more money. We filled the water jug up with cold water from the kitchen tap.
He originally came from London.
She was living with her parents at the time. He’ll never live down this terrible scandal.
We had pored over all the holiday brochures.
He is embarking on a new career.
We banked on your support.
She brought up her children alone.
He turned down the job offer.

In this last group of sentences the phrasal verbs all consist of a verb followed
by an adverb and a preposition.

Tiredness crept up on her as she drove and she decided to stop for some coffee.
We’ll have to come up with another source of funding.
It is time they did away with these out-dated laws.
He must face up to the possible consequences of his action.
I refuse to put up with our noisy neighbours any longer.
You are bound to come up against a few problems in the course of this task.
She looked up to her father until she discovered that he was a crook.
The children get up to a lot of mischievous tricks when the teacher leaves the
room.
He ran off with his best friend’s wife.
It all comes down to money in the end.

Position of object in phrasal verbs

Many phrasal verbs act like intransitive verbs (see intransitive). Some, however,
act like transitive verbs and, as such, take a direct object.
When a phrasal verb is used in a transitive situation you sometimes have a
choice as to where to place the object. If it consists of a short noun phrase, the
object can be placed either after the second word of the phrasal verb, or after the
first word and before the second word. In the following sentences the underlined
words, in different positions, represent the object:

We filled up the water jug with cold water from the kitchen tap.
or or
He’ll never live this terrible scandal down. The quarrel tore the entire family apart.

The quarrel tore apart the entire family. When the object is a pronoun, such as him, her, it, it usually comes before the
second word of the phrasal verb.

In the following sentences the underlined words form phrasal verbs and their
pronoun objects:

I gave my letter of complaint to the manager, but she immediately handed it over
to her assistant.
When she broke off the engagement he wanted her to keep the ring, but she gave
it back.
It was Jim who thought of the idea, but it was Jack who put it forward to the
committee.
The little girl was badly injured and police are trying to find the driver who
knocked her over.
The young boxer was knocked out and doctors took several minutes to bring him
round.

NB: Dangling participle

A dangling participle is a participle that has been misplaced in a sentence.
A participle is often used to introduce a phrase that is attached to a subject
mentioned later in a sentence as in:
Worn out by the long walk, she fell to the ground in a faint.
Worn out is the participle and she the subject.

It is a common error for such a participle not to be related to any subject, as

in:
Working mainly at night, it seemed along time since she had seen daylight.
This participle is said to be ‘dangling’.

Another example of a dangling participle is contained in Living alone, the

days seemed long.
where Living alone is not related to a particular subject.

It is also a common error for a participle to be related to the wrong subject in

a sentence, as in:
Painting the ceiling, some of the plaster fell on his head.
Painting is the participle and should go with a subject such as he. Instead it EXERCISES 2
goes with some of the plaster.
Participles in this situation are more correctly known as misrelated
participles, although they are also called dangling participles. 1 Underline the subordinate clauses in the following sentences.

No one knew who she was.

They left before the rush hour got under way in earnest.
There is the youth who stole my purse.
Doctors won’t know his chances of recovery until they get the test results.
As the sun continued to shine we decided to stay at the beach a little longer.
That is the book that I have been looking for.
If you leave now you will be there by nightfall.
The drains get blocked whenever it rains heavily.
She acts as if she were superior to the rest of us.
She didn’t tell him when she would be back.

2 Write down which type of adverbial clause (i.e. time, place, reason, etc) is
underlined in the following sentences.

Because the tickets were so expensive I didn’t go to the concert.

He is moving to this area in order to be nearer his work.
The ring will be where you left it.
He walked so quickly that I had difficulty in keeping up with him.
As long as we get him to a hospital right away he should be all right.
She’s going to buy the dress although she can’t afford it.
The rent of the flat was much more expensive than I had anticipated.

3 Underline the relative clauses in the following sentences.

She is one of those mothers who overprotect their children.

That is the name of the man whose car I bought.
He bought the cottage which my aunt used to own.
This is the dress that she likes best.
The village is the place where we first met.
Jack was the friend whom my father trusted most.
She was not the honest woman that we all considered her to be.
That was the moment when she fell in love.
It is one of those areas in which the population has declined rapidly.
 The weather was wet, windy and bitterly cold.
4 Which of the following relative clauses are defining and which are non- They worked rapidly and competently.
defining? We saw some wonderful scenery.
I once knew them very well indeed.
She bought the flowers which were her mother’s favourites. She drove quickly and carelessly.
We went to the exhibition at the city portrait gallery which is in Queen Street. The young woman was beautiful, slender and well-dressed.
That is the teacher who teaches my son maths. She married a handsome but untrustworthy man.
His birth mother, whom he finally tracked down, did not want to know him.
They had dinner at the town’s best fish restaurant which is quite near where they 8 Underline the participial phrases in the following sentences.
live.
We eventually bought the house which we had seen first. Smiling happily, she congratulated the young couple on their engagement.
The students who passed the exam were all in the top section of the class. She ran along the road, shouting loudly.
This is the area where most people want to live. Completely exhausted by the day’s work, she had a bath and went to bed early.
My former neighbour, who moved away a few years ago, died last week. Savagely bombed by enemy aircraft, the area was a wilderness for many years.
Greatly amused by the speech, the crowd applauded enthusiastically.
5 Write out the sentences which contain a noun clause and underline that clause. Designed and made by her mother, the dress attracted a great deal of
admiration.
The police suspected that she was the thief. Walking slowly and painfully, I eventually reached the doctor’s surgery.
We knew who committed the crime.
They are the people who really care. 9 Underline the phrasal verbs in the following sentences.
We realize that it is not your fault.
Where he goes every night no one knows. They stood up and applauded warmly.
This is the place where they meet. I fell over the cat.
I’m not telling you when I plan to leave. The dog lay down by the fire.
That was the day when his exam results were due. Our neighbours are moving away.
His theory is that the murderer is one of the victim’s relatives. He comes from London originally.
She asked for more time to pay.
6 Underline the comment clauses in the following sentences. Our guests set off after dinner.
I can’t put up with this noise any longer.
To be frank about it, I wouldn’t believe a word he says. They brought up their children in extreme poverty.
We have to move to the city, I’m sorry to say. The plane will take off shortly.
The police arrested the wrong man, it appears. The effects of the sleeping pills wore off slowly.
To be realistic, I think the job will take at least six weeks.

7 Write down which of the following underlined phrases are noun phrases,
which are adjectival phrases and which are adverbial phrases.
ANSWERS 2
A terrible accident occurred last night.
1 No one knew who she was. 5 The police suspected that she was the thief.
They left before the rush hour got under way in earnest. We knew who committed the crime.
There is the youth who stole my purse. We realize that it is not your fault.
Doctors won’t know his chances of recovery until they get the test results. Where he goes every night no one knows.
As the sun continued to shine we decided to stay at the beach a little longer. I’m not telling you when I plan to leave.
That is the book that I have been looking for. His theory is that they’ll come round eventually.
If you leave now you will be there by nightfall.
The drains get blocked whenever it rains heavily. 6 To be frank about it, I wouldn’t believe a word he says.
She acts as if she were superior to the rest of us. We have to move to the city, I’m sorry to say.
She didn’t tell him when she would be back, The police arrested the wrong man, it appears.
To be realistic, I think the job will take at least six weeks.
2 Because the tickets were so expensive (reason)
in order to be nearer his work (purpose) 7 A terrible accident occurred last night. (noun phrase)
where you left it (place) The weather was wet, windy and bitterly cold.
that I had difficulty in keeping up with him (result) (adjectival phrase)
As long as we get him to a hospital right away They worked rapidly and competently. (adverbial phrase)
(condition) We saw some wonderful scenery. (noun phrase)
although she can’t afford it (concession) I once knew them very well indeed. (adverbial phrase)
than I had anticipated (comparative) She drove quickly and carelessly. (adverbial phrase)
The young woman was beautiful, slender and well-dressed. (adjectival phrase)
3 She is one of those mothers who overprotect their children. She married a handsome but untrustworthy man. (noun phrase)
That is the name of the man whose car I bought.
He bought the cottage which my aunt used to own. 8 Smiling happily, she congratulated the young couple on their engagement.
This is the dress that she likes best. She ran along the road, shouting loudly.
The village is the place where we first met. Completely exhausted, she had a bath and went to bed early.
Jack was the friend whom my father trusted most. Savagely bombed by enemy aircraft, the area was a wilderness for many years.
She was not the honest woman that we all considered her to be. Greatly amused by the speech, the crowd applauded enthusiastically.
That was the moment when she fell in love. Designed and made by her mother, the dress attracted a great deal of
It is one of those areas in which the population has declined rapidly. admiration.
Walking slowly and painfully, I eventually reached the doctor’s surgery.
4 which were her mother’s favourites (defining)
which is in Queen Street (non-defining) 9 They stood up and applauded warmly.
who teaches my son maths (defining) I fell over the cat.
whom he finally tracked down (non-defining) The dog lay down by the fire.
which is quite near where they live (non-defining) Our neighbours are moving away.
which we had seen first (defining) He comes from London originally.
who passed the exam (defining) She asked for more time to pay.
where most people want to live (defining) Our guests set off after dinner.
who moved away a few years ago (non-defining) I can’t put up with this noise any longer.
They brought up their children in extreme poverty.
The plane will take off shortly.
The effects of the sleeping pills wore off slowly.

PARTS OF SPEECH I

Main parts of speech

The smallest unit of language is the word. In grammar each word is assigned a
grammatical category known as a part of speech.

The following main parts of speech are discussed in this section: noun,
pronoun, adjective, determiner, verb, adverb, preposition and conjunction.
 Countable and uncountable nouns
Nouns A countable noun, also known as a count noun, is a noun that can be preceded
by the word ‘a’ and can exist in a plural form. When the plural form is used it is
Often called a ‘naming word’ in primary schools, a noun is used to refer to a not usually preceded by a determiner, but is used alone. Most concrete nouns
person, thing or quality. Nouns are a very common feature of language and they are countable. The following are examples of countable nouns:
are categorized into various classifications as follows.
city (plural cities), gate (plural gates), foot (plural feet), hat (plural hats), lady
(plural ladies), monkey (plural monkeys), mouse (plural mice), taxi (plural
Common and proper nouns taxis), window (plural windows).
A common noun refers to something of which there are many examples and so
is very common. The following words are examples of common nouns: In the following sentences the underlined words, either in the singular or plural
form, are countable nouns:
apple, band, car, city, country, day, dog, man, month, planet, religion, street.
I’ve just bought a flat there.
A proper noun, on the other hand, refers to something in particular of which I prefer cities to the countryside.
there is only one example. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns begin with a Open the door please.
capital letter. Thus, the following words are examples of proper nouns: The child believes in fairies.
The church is over there.
Granny Smith (type of apple), Beatles (name of pop group), Buddhism, There are mice in the house.
Volkswagen (trade name of type of car), London, Sweden, Wednesday,
Doberman (type of dog), Jack (name of man), March, Mars (name of planet), An uncountable noun, also known as an uncount noun, is a noun that cannot
Scotland Street. usually be preceded by the word ‘a’ or ‘an’ and does not usually exist in a plural
form. Abstract nouns tend to be uncountable. The following are examples of
uncountable nouns:
Concrete and abstract nouns
A concrete noun refers to something that you can touch. The following are They lived in poverty.
Our luggage went missing.
examples of concrete nouns:
We are waiting for vital information.
You should put sugar in this pudding.
bag, carpet, door, flower, grape, hand, lake, monkey, orange, pan, road, shoe,
Education is an obsession with her.
window.
I put some petrol in the car yesterday.
I’ll have a kilo of flour, please.
An abstract noun refers to something that you cannot touch. In other words, it
Could I have a slice of bread?
refers to a quality, concept or idea. The following are examples of abstract
nouns.
Verbal noun
anger, beauty, Christianity, courage, danger, fear, greed, happiness, loyalty,
When the present participle functions as a noun it is known as a verbal noun
Marxism, wisdom, youth.
(see 1) or gerund. The verbal noun is so called because, although formed from
a verb, it functions as a noun, acting as the subject of a sentence. In the
following sentences the underlined words are verbal nouns or gerunds:
and
She invited me to tea.
Smoking is bad for your health.
Tea can be used colloquially as a countable noun in the example
Stealing is a crime.
I’ll have two teas without sugar, please.
Jogging is good exercise.
Swimming is his favourite sport.
Sometimes the verbal noun can act as the object of a sentence. In the following
sentences the underlined words are verbal nouns or gerunds acting as the object
NB: Countable and uncountable nouns
of a sentence.
Some nouns exist in both countable and uncountable forms. One example is
the word cake which is countable in the example
I don’t enjoy swimming.
The child ate three cakes.
She hates dancing.
and uncountable in the example
She gave up smoking.
Do have some cake.
He took up jogging in the park.
Another example is the word light which is countable in the example They loathe eating in restaurants.
The lights in the house suddenly went out. The young men love drinking in pubs.
and uncountable in the example She took to giving noisy parties late at night.
She was depressed by the lack of light in the winter.
In some situations it is possible to have a countable version of what is Nouns or pronouns that qualify verbal nouns or gerunds should be in the
usually an uncountable noun. Thus, although the word sugar is usually possessive case (see personal pronouns, possessive determiners, possessive
considered uncountable, as in the example determiners (see 1), possession), as in:
Add a little sugar to the mixture.
it can be used colloquially as a countable noun in the example My mother hates my smoking in her house.
I take two sugars (= teaspoonfuls of sugar).
Similarly, although the word tea is usually considered uncountable, as in the
examples
I would love a cup of tea.
and and
The head teacher objected to our wearing casual clothes on the school trip. The head teacher objected to us wearing casual clothes on the school trip.

In these sentences the words my and our are both in the possessive case. Although ungrammatical, such usage is becoming more and more common.

However, there is a general tendency to think of gerunds as being a very difficult

area of the English language. The result is that most people do not understand Collective nouns
that the gerund should be preceded by a noun or pronoun in the possessive case A collective noun is a singular noun that refers to a group of things or people
and they, instead, use an object, as in: when the whole group is being considered. In the following phrases the
underlined word is a collective noun:
My mother hates me smoking in her house.
a pack of wolves
a flock of sheep
a herd of cattle
a school of whales
a shoal of herring
a fleet of ships
a pride of lions
a swarm of flies
a gaggle of geese
a constellation of stars.

Singular and plural forms of nouns

Regular singular forms of nouns

Most English nouns have a different ending for ‘one’ of something (called the
singular form) than they do for ‘more than one’ (called the plural form). In the
case of the majority of nouns the plural is formed regularly simply by adding s
or es to the singular, as in bat/bats, monkey/monkeys, church/churches. In cases
where the singular noun ends in a consonant followed by y then the plural form
regularly becomes ies, as in fairy/fairies.

Regular plural forms of nouns

The following is a list of common nouns with their regular plural forms:

banana bananas
berry berries half halves
bush bushes leaf leaves
dog dogs scarf scarves
elephant elephants wife wives
friend friends wolf wolves.
house houses
kiss kisses NB: Irregular and regular forms
lady ladies The word hoof can either have the irregular plural form hooves or the
march marches regular plural form hoofs. The word roof usually has the regular plural form
porch porches roofs.
road roads
story stories Foreign plural forms of nouns
table tables
taxi taxis Some nouns in English have a plural form that follows the spelling rules of the
umbrella umbrellas foreign language from which they are derived, as in stimulus (stimuli). The
following are examples of such words with the plural form in their original
variety varieties.
foreign language:
Irregular plural forms of nouns bacterium bacteria
Some nouns do not form their plural in the above regular ways. Instead their bacillus bacilli
plural forms are said to be irregular. criterion criteria
Some irregular plurals are formed, not by adding an ending to the singular larva larvae
form, but by changing the vowel in the singular forms, as in man/men, or by phenomenon phenomena.
having a completely different form from the singular, as in mouse/mice.
The following are examples of nouns with their irregular plural forms: Unchanging plural form
foot feet Some irregular plural forms are the same as the singular form of the noun.
goose geese These include sheep, salmon and grouse (the game bird).
tooth teeth
woman women. Nouns used only in the plural form

A few irregular plural forms are formed by adding ‘en’ to the singular form, as There are some words, such as jeans, scissors and trousers, which are only used
in ox/oxen. In the case of the word child the letter r is added before the en. in the plural form and have no singular equivalent form. To refer to any of these
Some nouns ending in f form irregular plurals ending in ves, as in in the singular the construction a pair of jeans, scissors or trousers is used.
loaf/loaves. The following is a list of such nouns with their plural forms:
 The words in the following list are neuter:
NB: Foreign plurals
In modern English there is a tendency to anglicize the plural forms of foreign apple, bottle, car, desk, egg, house, letter, newspaper, road, shoe, town, window.
words. Many of these co-exist with the original foreign plural form, as
thesaurus (thesauri/thesauruses). Other examples include formula
(formulae/formulas), appendix (appendices/appendixes), index
Dual gender
(indices/indexes) and gateau (gateaux/gateaus). Some nouns in English, such as child, can either refer to a male or a female,
In the case of the words appendix and index the two plural forms are used unless the sex is indicated in the context. The words in the following list fall into
in different contexts. The plural appendices is used in a literary context, as in
this category:
the appendices added as additional information to a book, whereas the plural
appendixes is used in a medical context, as in the surgical removal of
adult, architect, artist, athlete, baby, author, cousin, doctor, parent, secretary,
appendixes. The plural indices is usually used in a mathematical context,
singer, student, teacher.
whereas the plural indexes is usually used in a literary context to refer to a
guide to a book.
Feminine forms
Some words in the dual gender category, such as author, poet, sculptor and
Gender of nouns proprietor, were formerly automatically assumed to be masculine and they had
Many languages, such as French and German, are affected by the concept of feminine forms, as in authoress, poetess, sculptress and proprietrix. The rise of
grammatical gender. Thus, in French the word hill is feminine (la colline) the Women’s Movement in the 1960s with its concern for the equality of women
according to grammatical gender, although in gender in the real world it would in society gave rise to a corresponding concern for sexism in language. Words
be neuter. Similarly, the German word for a mountain (der Berg) is masculine in such as authoress and poetess were thought to be sexist and are now generally
terms of grammatical gender, although in the real world it is neuter. thought to be unacceptable. However, some feminine forms, such as waitress,
This is not true of English because English nouns tend to be grouped are still in common use and both actor and actress are used for a female actor.
according to the natural distinctions of sex, or, where appropriate, absence of
sex. Thus, we have the gender categories of masculine, feminine and neuter Person in compound nouns
and a man or boy is classified as masculine, a girl or woman is classified as
feminine and a table or chair as neuter. The need to remove sexism from language also resulted in the increase in use of
the word person to form compounds that could refer to either a man or a woman
The words in the following list are masculine: and were, therefore, of dual gender. Such words include chairperson and
spokesperson. These replaced chairman and spokesman which were hitherto
bridegroom, brother, duke, drake, emperor, father, husband, king, nephew, thought to be able to apply to a man or a woman, although they sounded
prince, son, widower. masculine.

The words in the following list are the feminine equivalents of the words in the (See he under Pronoun.)
masculine list:
Compound nouns
bride, sister, duchess, duck, empress, mother, wife, queen, niece, princess,
daughter, widow. Many nouns, known as compound nouns, consist of two or more words. A
compound noun is a fixed expression that is made up of more than one word and person or thing. In the following sentences the underlined words are in
functions as a noun in a sentence or clause. Most compound nouns consist of apposition:
two nouns or an adjective and a noun, but some, such as cover-up and make-up,
are derived from phrasal verbs and some, such as passer-by and looker-on, are My eldest brother, the acting head of the firm, has called a shareholder meeting.
derived from a noun plus adverb. A few compound nouns consist of a letter of My nearest neighbour, the owner of Grange Farm, has kindly offered to check in
the alphabet and a noun, as in X-ray and U-turn. on my house while I am away.
Some compound nouns are written as two words, as in estate agent, some George Jones, a well-known local lawyer, is standing in the local council
are separated by a hyphen, as in pen-friend, and some are written as one word, elections.
as in housewife. Sometimes which style of writing you use for compound nouns The man who caused all this trouble, the children’s father, has walked away
is a matter of choice. For example, babysitter can also be written as babysitter without punishment.
and spinoff can be written as spinoff. If you want to be consistent in your writing,
it is best to select a reliable dictionary and follow its recommendations.
The words in the following list are all examples of compound nouns: For punctuation see The comma with nouns or phrases in apposition.

air conditioning, bank account, blood pressure, coffee jug, doorstep, fairy tale,
frying pan, health centre, housewife, income tax, letter-box, make-up, musical
instrument, nail varnish, passer-by, police station, seaweed, swimming pool,
teapot, washing machine.

Plural forms of compound nouns

The plural forms of compound nouns vary according to the type of words they
are made up of. If the final word of a compound noun is a countable noun, the
plural form of the countable noun is used when the compound noun is made
plural, as in swimming pools, police stations, letter-boxes and coffee jugs.
Compound nouns that are directly derived from phrasal verbs (see 1)
usually have a plural form ending in s, as in cover-up/cover-ups and show-off/
show-offs.
In the case of compound nouns which consist of a count noun and an
adverb the plural form of the noun is used before the adverb when the
compound noun is in the plural form, as in passers-by and lookers-on.

Nouns and noun phrases in apposition

A noun or noun phrase is said to be in apposition when it is placed next to
another noun or noun phrase and provides further information about it,
especially by saying something that identifies or describes it. In such a situation,
the main noun or phrase and the amplifying noun or phrase refer to the same
 The first person personal pronoun refers to the person who is speaking or
Pronouns writing when referring to himself or herself. The first person personal
pronoun, in the singular form, is I and, in the plural form, we, when it acts as the
subject of a sentence. When it is the object of a sentence the singular form is me
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. and the plural form is us. The possessive form of the first person personal
In the following sentences the underlined word is a pronoun: pronoun in the singular form is mine and in the plural form is ours.
In the following sentences the underlined words are first person personal
I bought an apple and ate it. pronouns acting as the subject of the sentences:
I phoned Jane and invited her to dinner.
You should have asked permission. She said, ‘I am going home.’
Jack told Sally all about himself. ‘I am going shopping,’ he said.
Is anyone there? ‘We have very little money left,’ she said to her husband.
Who said that? He said, ‘We shall have to leave now if we are to get there on time.’
Those are gloves.
Each of us had to sing a song. In the following sentences the underlined words are first person personal
He thanked the man who had saved his life. pronouns acting as the object of the sentences:

There are several types of pronoun and they are categorized as follows. ‘I think he hates me,’ Jane said.
‘It’s obvious that she deceived us,’ said Jim.
‘You have been very kind to me,’ said Sue.
Personal pronouns
A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is used to refer back to someone or In the following examples the underlined words are first person personal
something that has already been mentioned. Of the different kinds of pronoun pronouns, in the possessive form also known as possessive pronouns:
the personal pronouns are the most common.
There are three types of personal pronoun, according to their function in the ‘That book is mine,’ said Anne.
sentence. The subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence; the object ‘We won,’ said Bill, ‘and so the prize is clearly ours.’
pronoun is used as the object of a sentence; the possessive pronoun is used to
indicate that a person or thing belongs to, or is associated with, another person or
thing. In sentence 1 below, the underlined word is a personal subject pronoun,
You: the second person personal pronoun
in sentence 2 the underlined word is a personal object pronoun and in sentence The second person personal pronoun refers to the person or thing that is being
3 the underlined word is a possessive pronoun. addressed in the sentence. The second person personal pronoun is you,
whether it is the pronoun or object of the sentence and whether it is singular or
1 I looked after the children. plural. Unlike in some languages, the second person personal pronoun does
2 The grandparents looked after her. not alter its form in English. The possessive form of the second person personal
3 That car is mine. pronoun is yours in both singular and plural forms.
In the following sentences the underlined words are second person personal
I and we: the first person personal pronoun pronouns acting as the subject of the sentences:
Personal pronouns are also categorized according to person.
You should have told me earlier, Jane.
You, Mum and Dad, have been very generous to me.
or
You all are equally to blame.
May Jane and I come to the party?

NB: Me and I The pronoun me should be used as the object of a sentence, as in:
Many people are confused about when to use I and when to use me. It is They invited my brother and me to tea.
often wrongly assumed that the use of the word me is less polite than that
that of the word I.

In fact, the pronoun I should be used as the subject of a sentence, as in:

Jim and I are going on holiday together.
 or or
They played tennis against my father and me. There is a great deal of ill feeling between my cousin and me.
It is wrongly assumed that the use of me is less polite than that of I.
Exception Except in very formal contexts, it is now considered quite
acceptable to say.
It is me. Someone has called you.
although, strictly speaking, this use is ungrammatical and it should be I blame you for what happened, Jim.
It is I. Your mother loves you both equally.
However, this sounds very stilted and it is rarely used.
In the following sentences the underlined words are second person personal
pronouns in the possessive form. These are also known as possessive
In the following sentences the underlined words are second person personal pronouns.
pronouns acting as the object of the sentences:
This pen is yours, Jim, is it?
NB: Between, I and Me Sue and Sally, the prize is yours.
There is some confusion as to whether the preposition between should be Is this dog yours, Mr and Mrs Jones?
followed by I or me. Because between is followed by an object, the correct
answer is me, as He, she, it and they: the third person personal pronoun
The dog stood between me and the gate.
The third person personal pronoun refers to a third party, not to the speaker or
writer of the sentence or to the person being addressed. The third person
personal pronouns are, in the singular form, he, she and it and, in the plural
form, they, when the personal pronoun is the subject of the sentence. When the
third person personal pronoun is the object of the sentence it takes the form of
him, her or it in the singular form and, in the plural form, them. The possessive
forms of the third person personal pronoun in the singular are respectively his,
hers or its. In the plural the possessive from is theirs.
In the following sentences the underlined words are third person personal
pronouns acting as the subject of the sentence:

He left school last year.

She is the youngest of the three sisters.
It was the only hotel with vacancies in the area.

In the following sentences the underlined words are third person personal
pronouns acting as the object of the sentence:
Jane met him at a party.
I drove her to the station.
The house was charming and we loved it at first sight.
or
In the following sentences the underlined words are third person personal
pronouns in the possessive form. They are also known as possessive pronouns. If the applicant is successful he will be expected to start the job next week.

The stolen car is theirs. When the movement towards the removal of sexist language from the
English language began, this use of he was considered to be sexist and such
The fault is theirs, apparently.
That part of the garden is theirs. sentences required to be rephrased.

The problem is that this is not easy to do. Where possible, the easiest way of
NB: Personal pronouns and sexist language doing this may be to turn the whole sentence into the plural, as in:
Until fairly recently, it was very common to use a masculine personal
pronoun to refer to a noun where the gender was not known, as in: If students do not attend classes regularly they will be asked to leave college.

If a student does not attend classes regularly he will be asked to leave Alternatively, the easiest course of action may be to use ‘he or she’ or
college. ‘he/she’ instead of he, as

If the applicant is successful he or she (he/she) will be expected to start work

next week.

This last way round the problem is felt by many people to be clumsy,
particularly in spoken or informal English. The solution often used now is
ungrammatical in nature. Thus, instead of using ‘he/she’ many people use
‘they’ instead, although the rest of the sentence is left in the singular form.
Instead of saying

Every student has been instructed that he/she must register for the exams by
the end of December.