PRONOUNS

Personal Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive

pronouns pronouns adjectives pronouns pronouns
I me my mine myself
you you your yours Yourself (singular)
he him his his himself
she her her hers herself
it it its -- itself
we us our ours ourselves
you you your yours Yourselves (plural)
they them their theirs themselves

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

EXAMPLES:

I have to study a Little more.

You need to be always at time.

He is looking for a job.

She is walking with her dog.

It is a beautiful collar.

We need to talk.

You are amazing guys.

They are playing around.

OBJECT PRONOUNS

EXAMPLES:

She tells me the truth.

He gave you everything he had.

They help her.

I do not want to be with him.

I have a house. It is big.

He introduce us to the president.

We hide them in the house.

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: We use possessive adjectives:

• To show something belongs to somebody:

That’s our house.

My car is very old.

• For relations and friends:

My mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?

• For parts of the body:

He’s broken his arm.

She’s washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.

EXAMPLES:

On Sundays I play tennis with my friends.

Can you give me your opinion about this?

He is painting his house.

She is sad because her teachers are very strict.

The government announced its goals for this year.

We don't want to spend all our money.

I want to thank you all for your help.

Grandparents usually love their grandchildren.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS:

We can use possessive pronouns after of.

We can say:
 Susan is one of my friends.
or
Susan is a friend of mine.
but not
Susan is a friend of me

or

I am one of Susan's friends.

or

I am a friend of Susan's.
but not
I am a friend of Susan

EXAMPLES:

This belongs to me. It's mine.

I met a friend of yours yesterday.

Jack wears a nice hat. Is it his?

That is not my sister's car. Hers is red.

It's their problem, not ours.

Our language is nice. Yours is practical.

My apartment is here. Theirs is there.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS: We use a reflexive pronoun:

• As a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

I am teaching myself to play the piano.

Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself.

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

• Would you like to help yourself to another drink?

= Would you like to take another drink.

• I wish the children would behave themselves.

= I wish the children would behave well.

• He found himself lying by the side of the road.

= He was surprised when he realized that he was at the side of the road.
• I saw myself as a famous actor.
= I imagined that I was a famous actor.

• She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.

= She worked very hard to mend the lights.

• He busied himself in the kitchen.

= He worked busily in the kitchen.

• I had to content myself with a few Euros.

= I had to be satisfied with a few Euros.

We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for
themselves, such as wash, shave, dress:

He washed [himself] in cold water.

He always shaved [himself] before going out in the evening.
Michael dressed [himself] and got ready for the party.

We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis:

He dressed himself in spite of his injuries.

She’s old enough to wash herself.

• as indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb:

Would you like to pour yourself a drink.

We’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

• as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause:

They had to cook for themselves.

He was feeling very sorry for himself.

THERE IS- THERE ARE- SOME- ANY

Use:

• We use There is/are to say that someone or something exists.

There is a television in the room.

There are four oranges on the table.

• There are doesn’t have a contracted form.

• We use there is when we are listing individual things.

SINGULAR PLURAL
 AFFIRMATIVE There’s a book store in my There are some stores in my
neighbourhood. neighbourhood.
NEGATIVE There isn’t a bakery. There aren’t any
supermarkets.
QUESTIONS Is there a toy store? Are there any theatres?

• We use a/an in the singular in all three forms (affirmative, negative and questions).
• We use some in the plural in the affirmative. There are some grapes in the bowl.
• We use any in the plural in the negative and questions. There aren’t any berries. Are there any
berries?

PLURAL RULES (NOUNS)

• Most nouns take -s to form their plural: Book-books.

• Nouns ending in s, ss, ch, x or sh take es: Bus- buses, dress- dresses, church- churches,
fox- foxes, brush- brushes.
• some nouns ending in f of fe drop it and take ves to form their plural: wolf- wolves,
wife- wives, BUT roof- roofs.
• Nouns ending in a vowel + y take -s: Toy- toys, boy- boys.
• Nouns ending in a consonant + y drop the y and take ies: Raspberry- raspberries, baby-
babies.
• Some nouns ending in o take es: Potato- potatoes BUT radio- radios, piano- pianos,
photo- photos, video- videos, rhino- rihnos, hippo- hippos.

IRREGULAR PLURALS

Man Men
Woman Women
Child Children
Person People
Foot Feet
Tooth Teeth
Mouse Mice

HAVE/TAKE/GIVE/MAKE/DO/GO

USE OF “HAVE”

We use have with:

Food and drink: a meal, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, a cup of tea
Talking: a chat, a conversation, a discussion, a talk
Washing: a bath, a shower, a wash, a scrub
Resting: a break, a holiday, a rest
Disagreeing: an argument, a dispute, a fight, a quarrel
 I had a good breakfast before I left home.
We had a long talk about the problem.
The kids should have a bath before they go to bed.
She generally had a short holiday in July or August.
They had a serious quarrel about their father’s will.

We also use have with nouns formed from verbs:

I think you should have a look at this.

She had a bite of the cake.
I’m thirsty. I’m going to have a drink of water.
I had a listen to that new CD in the car.
They are going to have a swim.

USE OF “TAKE”

We use take with:

Washing: a bath, a shower, a wash

Resting: a break, a holiday, a rest

I always take a cold shower in the morning.

You look tired. You need to take a break.

And with these words:

care a turn trouble a chance a decision

care of turns the trouble a risk a photograph

We took hundreds of photographs on holiday.

Jane always takes a lot of trouble with her homework.

We also use take with some nouns formed from verbs:

I think you should take a look at this.

Let’s take a walk.
They are going to take a swim.

USE OF “GIVE”

We use give with:

 Noises: a cry, a laugh, a scream, a shout, a whistle
Facial expressions: a smile, a grin, a look, a glance
Hitting: a kick, a punch, a slap, a push, a knock, a blow
Affectionate actions: a hug, a kiss, a stroke
Talking: some advice, an answer, some information, an interview,
a lecture, some news, a report, a speech, a talk, a warning

She gave a loud laugh.

John gave a happy smile.
He gave me a nasty kick on the leg.
She gave the children a goodnight kiss and put them to bed.
I have to give a speech at the meeting tomorrow.

USE OF “MAKE”

We use make with:

Talking and sounds: a comment, an enquiry, a noise, a point,

a promise, a sound, a speech, a suggestion
Plans: arrangements, a choice, a decision, a plan, plans, an appointment, a date

Try not to make a noise.

They made arrangements to meet the next day.

USE OF “DO”

We use do the with –ing nouns to do with work, especially work in the house:

It’s your turn to do the cooking.

You do the washing up and I’ll do the drying.
I’ll have to do my hair before the party.

And with other nouns to do with work:

I need to do a few jobs around the house.

I can’t come out this evening. I have a lot of work to do.

We use do with nouns when it is obvious what the action is:

I’ll have to do my hair before we go out. = I’ll have to brush my hair.

Have you done your teeth? = Have you cleaned your teeth?

A question like

Have you done the car?

could mean

Have you washed the car?

Have you mended the car?
Have you put petrol in the car?

depending on the context.

USE OF “GO”

We also use go and do as delexical verbs:

Shall we go swimming this afternoon? Or shall we go for a walk?

We use go with –ing verbs for common activities:

We usually go walking at the weekend.

He goes running every evening after supper.
Mum’s out. She’s gone shopping.

We use go for a with verbs to do with moving:

a jog a ride a swim a run a stroll a walk

I want to get out of here. Let’s go for a walk.

He’s gone for a ride on his bike.

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE

Use of “At”

• We use this preposition when we are talking about common places as:

At home - At school - At work - At university - At the dentist's - At the movies - At the theater- At the
airport - At the library - At the doctor's - At the bank - At a concert - At a meeting - At a party –

At John's - En lo de John

At Laura's - En lo de Laura

Example: Ring ring

John: Hello?

Julia: Hi, John, it is me, Julia, Where are you?

John: Hey Julia! I’m at the dentist, I had a terrible tooth pain.

Julia: Oh, poor John, what a shame!

• Also when we are talking about specific places and directions such as:

At Madison Square Garden

At Kennedy Airport

At Buckingham Palace

At the University of Florida

At 2354 Rivadavia Avenue

At 3456 Belgrano Street

Example: … I think that I’m lost… I need to go at Madison Square Garden, but where is it?

Excuse me Sr. I need to go at Madison square Garden but I think that I am lost, could you help me
to find it?

Sr: Of course! You need to walk two blocks from here in this direction (pointing the right) and you
will find it.

Thank you for your help!

• Finally we use at when we are talking about some positions like:

At the top - At the bottom - At the side - At the front -At the back - At the end - At the door - At the
window - At the reception

Example: If you are a new student, You need to be at the end of the line.

Use of “On”

• We use on when we need to talk about surfaces:

On the floor - On the ceiling - On the table - On the chair -On the list - On the map - On the beach –
On the shelf

Example: ¡Oh my God Daniel! There is a cat on the ceiling, and I cannot see if he is ok

• It is also used when we talk about transportation:

On a ship - On a train - On a plane - On a bus - On a bicycle - On a motorcycle - On a horse - On a

ferry
Example: Unknown person: Hey! You look nervous, is this your first time on a plane?

Alex: Yes it is, and I am really nervous.

Unknown person: Do not be, easy man, nothing is going to happen, we almost arrive.

• It is used on body parts:

On my leg - On your arm - On his shoulder

Example: Patient: Doctor, I have a terrible pain on my head, what can I do?

Doctor: You should have a headache.

• We also use it on directions and some places such as:

On the left - On the right - On the way – On a farm – On the radio – On television

Example: I heard my favorite song on the radio.

Use of “in”

• We use in when we need to talk about countries and cities:

In Colombia – In Morocco – In Italy – In Russia – In Germany – In New York – In Medellín – In Madrid

– In Liverpool – In Toronto

Example: In Morocco lives my favorite actor in the whole world.

• It is also used in bedrooms (house parts):

In the kitchen – in the bedroom – in the bathroom – in the balcony

Example: Ana: Hey bro, where is mom?

Brother: She is in the bathroom, she is taking a shower.

• Finally we use in when we need to talk about the weather and things related with sea such
as:

In the sea - In the water - In a river - In the ocean - In the rain - In the sun - In the wind - In the fog

Example: There are a lot of fishes in the ocean.

I like to walk in the rain, but I am afraid when I walk in the fog.
 PREPOSITIONS

Some verbs are usually followed by prepositions before the object of the verb. These are called
dependent prepositions and they are followed by a noun or a gerund (‘ing’ form).

• He’s waiting for a bus.

For is the dependent preposition for ‘wait’

We can use other prepositions with ‘wait’ – e.g. He waited at the bus stop – but ‘for’ is the
dependent preposition.

Here are some other verbs with their dependent prepositions.

Verbs with ‘for’

• He apologized for being late. You can also ‘apologize to someone’

• I applied for the job but I didn’t get it.
• How do you ask for a coffee in Polish?
• She spent many years caring for her aged parents.
• I can’t go out tonight because I have to prepare for my interview tomorrow.

With ‘from’

• This spray should protect you from mosquitoes.

• Has he recovered from his illness yet?
• He won an award because he saved someone from drowning.
• I suffer from hay fever.

With ‘in’

• She believes in ghosts.

• Our company specializes in computer software.
• You have to work hard if you want to succeed in life.

With ‘of’
• I don’t approve of your language, young man.
• Our dog died of old age.
• This shampoo smells of bananas.

With ‘on’

• The film is based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.

• If you make so much noise I can’t concentrate on my work.
• Come on! We’re relying on you!
• We don’t agree on anything but we’re good friends.

With ‘to’

• Can I introduce you to my wife?

• Please refer to the notes at the end for more information.
• Nobody responded to my complaint.

With ‘with’

• I agree with everything you’ve said.

• My secretary will provide you with more information if you need it.