Pronouns

• 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: subject (for example, he); object (him); or possessive (his).

Rule 1. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. You can remember subject pronouns easily by filling in the blank subject space for a simple sentence.

Example: ___ did the job.

I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever, etc., all qualify and are, therefore, subject pronouns.

Rule 2. Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They will follow to be verbs, such as is, are, was, were, am, will be, had been, etc.

Examples:

It is he.

This is she speaking.

It is we who are responsible for the decision to downsize.

NOTE

In informal English, most people tend to follow to be verbs with object pronouns like me, her, them. Many English scholars tolerate this distinction between formal and casual English.

Example: It could have been them.

Technically correct: It could have been they.

Example: It is just me at the door.

Technically correct: It is just I at the door.

Rule 3. This rule surprises even language watchers: when who refers to a personal pronoun (I, you, he, she, we, they), it takes the verb that agrees with that pronoun.

Correct: It is I who am sorry. (I am)

Incorrect: It is I who is sorry.

Correct: It is you who are mistaken. (you are)

Incorrect: It is you who's mistaken.

Rule 4. In addition to subject pronouns, there are also object pronouns, known more specifically as direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition (for more detail, see the definition of a verb in the Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects section). Object pronouns include me, him, herself, us, them, themselves.

Examples:

Jean saw him.

Him is the direct object of the verb saw.

Give her the book.

The direct object of give is book, and her is the indirect object. Indirect objects always have an implied to or for in front of them: Give [to] her the book. Do [for] me a favor.

Are you talking to me?

Me is the object of the preposition to.

Rule 5. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural depending on the subject. If the subject is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.

Example: He is the only one of those men who is always on time.

The word who refers to one. Therefore, use the singular verb is.

Sometimes we must look more closely to find a verb's true subject:

Example: He is one of those men who are always on time.

The word who refers to men. Therefore, use the plural verb are.

In sentences like this last example, many would mistakenly insist that one is the subject, requiring is always on time. But look at it this way: Of those men who are always on time, he is one.

Rule 6. Pronouns that are singular (I, he, she, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody, each, either, neither, etc.) require singular verbs. This rule is frequently overlooked when using the pronouns each, either, and neither, followed by of. Those three pronouns always take singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of.

Examples:

Each of the girls sings well.

Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Neither of them is available to speak right now.

Exception: When each follows a noun or pronoun in certain sentences, even experienced writers sometimes get tripped up:

Incorrect: The women each gave her approval.

Correct: The women each gave their approval.

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

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

These examples do not contradict Rule 6, because each is not the subject, but rather an adjunct describing the true subject.

Grammar Rules

Here are 20 simple rules and tips to help you avoid mistakes in English grammar. For more comprehensive rules please look under the appropriate topic (part of speech etc) on our grammar and other pages.

1. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period/full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. see Punctuation

• The fat cat sat on the mat.
• Where do you live?
• My dog is very clever!

2. The order of a basic positive sentence is Subject-Verb-Object. (Negative and question sentences may have a different order.)

• John loves Mary.
• They were driving their car to Bangkok.

3. Every sentence must have a subject and a verb. An object is optional. Note that an imperative sentence may have a verb only, but the subject is understood.

• John teaches.
• John teaches English.
• Stop! (ie You stop!)

4. The subject and verb must agree in number, that is a singular subject needs a singular verb and a plural subject needs a plural verb.

• John works in London.
• That monk eats once a day.
• John and Mary work in London.
• Most people eat three meals a day.

5. When two singular subjects are connected by or, use a singular verb. The same is true for either/or and neither/nor.

• John or Mary is coming tonight.
• Either coffee or tea is fine.
• Neither John nor Mary was late.

6. Adjectives usually come before a noun (except when a verb separates the adjective from the noun).

• I have a big dog.
• She married a handsome Italian man.
• (Her husband is rich.)

7. When using two or more adjectives together, the usual order is opinion-adjective + fact-adjective + noun. (There are some additional rules for the order of fact adjectives.)

• I saw a nice French table.
• That was an interesting Shakespearian play.

8. Treat collective nouns (eg committee, company, board of directors) as singular OR plural. In BrE a collective noun is usually treated as plural, needing a plural verb and pronoun. In AmE a collective noun is often treated as singular, needing a singular verb and pronoun.

• The committee are having sandwiches for lunch. Then they will go to London. (typically BrE)
• The BBC have changed their logo. (typically BrE)
• My family likes going to the zoo. (typically AmE)
• CNN has changed its logo. (typically AmE)

9. The words its and it's are two different words with different meanings.

• The dog has hurt its leg.
• He says it's two o'clock.

10. The words your and you're are two different words with different meanings.

• Here is your coffee.
• You're looking good.

11. The words there, their and they're are three different words with different meanings.

• There was nobody at the party.
• I saw their new car.
• Do you think they're happy?

12. The contraction he's can mean he is OR he has. Similarly, she's can mean she is OR she has, and it's can mean it is OR it has, and John's can mean John is OR John has.

• He is working
• He has finished.
• She is here.
• She has left.
• John is married.
• John has divorced his wife.

13. The contraction he'd can mean he had OR he would. Similarly, they'd can mean they had OR they would.

• He had eaten when I arrived.
• He would eat more if possible.
• They had already finished.
• They would come if they could.

14. Spell a proper noun with an initial capital letter. A proper noun is a "name" of something, for example Josef, Mary, Russia, China, British Broadcasting Corporation, English.

• We have written to Mary.
• Is China in Asia?
• Do you speak English?

Contrasting and Classifying

Contrasting

On the other hand,
However,
Yes, but . . .
You may be right, but . . .
I may be wrong, but . . .
Correct me if I'm wrong, but . . .

On the contrary,

Classifying

There are five kinds of . . .
There are two types of . . .
There are three categories of . . .

We can divide (this) into three parts:

1)
2)
3)
This can be broken down into four sections.
They are:
A)
B)
C)
D)

Talking about ability

How to express ability

To express that someone has the power or skill to do something, can and be able are used.

Examples:

• I can't help you.I am busy.
• I'm unable to help you.
• When I was young I was able to earn my living pretty well; I could work hard. Now I can't. I'm too old.
• I can stand on my head for five minutes.
• Can you speak Arabic?
• Yes, I can.

Expressing ability

In the present:

Express ability in the present as follows:

• I can speak good English.
• I can't stand on my head.

In the past

Express ability in the past as follows

• I was unable to visit him.
• I couldn't eat at all when I was ill.

In the future

Express ability in the future as follows

• I will be able to buy a house when I get a good job.
• The teacher can assist you after class if you have any questions.

Things to remember:

• Can is always followed by an infinitive without "to."
  Examples: 
  I can ride my bike and I can drive a car, but I can't drive a lorry. 

Introducing yourself and other people

There is a range of ways to introduce yourself and people.

Introducing yourself:

Here are expressions to introduce yourself:

• My name is ...
• I'm ....
• Nice to meet you; I'm ...
• Pleased to meet you; I'm ...
• Let me introduce myself; I'm ...
• I'd like to introduce myself; I'm ...

Introducing others:

Here are expressions to introduce others:

• Jack, please meet Nicolas.
• Jack, have you met Nicolas?
• I'd like you to meet Liza.
• I'd like to introduce you to Betty.
• Leila, this is Barbara. Barbara this is Leila.

Useful responses when introducing yourself or other people:

• Nice to meet you.
• Pleased to meet you.
• Happy to meet you.
• How do you do?

Dialogue:

Alex is talking to the new manager and his assistant. Notice how they introduce themselves:

Alex:	Hi! My name is Alex Litterman, the new manager.
William:	Hi! I'm William O'Brian. Nice to meet you, Mr Alex Litterman.
John:	William, please meet Mr Steve Lynch, my assistant
Jack:	How do you do?
Nicolas:	How do you do?

Greeting

There are different ways to greet people:

Greeting means welcoming someone with particular words or a particular action.

When meeting people formally for the first time, we greet by shaking hands and saying "How do you do?" or "Pleased to meet you."

"How do you do?" isn't really a question, it just means "Hello".

When young people meet informally they sometimes greet and say "Give me five!" and slap their hands together (high five).

Generally we do not greet by shaking hands with people we know well. We greet by just saying 'hi' or 'hello'

Here are some expressions you can use to greet people.

Greeting

• Hi, hello.
• Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
• How are you?
• How are you doing?
• How do you do?

Responding to greeting

• Hi, hello.
• Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening.
• I'm fine thank you (thanks)/Okey! Thank you (thanks)/Can't complain/Not bad.
• How about you?/And you?
• How do you do?

Things to remember about greeting:

When you greet someone and say:

"How do you do?"

this isn't really a question, it just means "Hello".

Examples of English Tenses

Explanations	Present Simple
Action that is repeated every Friday. Habitual action.	I visit my uncle every Friday
Facts that are believed to be true. Generalizations	Cats hate mice. The sun rises in the morning.
Scheduled events in the near future	The plane takes off at 10 o'clock tonight

Explanations	Present Progressive
Action that takes place now / at the moment	I am working on my computer
Near future	I am leaving tomorrow

Explanations	Present Perfect
To talk about experiences	I have been to Italy.
Past action that has the result in the present.	She has read that book.
Action which started in the past and continued up to now.	I have lived in this town for 12 years.

Explanations	Present Perfect Progressive
To show that something started in the past and has continued up until now.	He has been sleeping for the last 3 hours
To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.	The grass is wet because it has been raining all day long.
To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now.	I have been watching TV for 2 hours / since you left.

Explanations	Past Simple
Completed action in the past.	She left yesterday.
To talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.	She woke up, had a shower and left.
To talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now.	If I had a million dollar, I would help the poor.
An action taking place in the middle of another action.	She was playing when the accident occurred.

Explanations	Past Progressive
Actions happening at the same time in the past.	He was reading a newspaper while his wife was preparing dinner.
Interrupted action in the past.	Sh was reading a book when the light went off, had a shower and left.

Explanations	Past Perfect Simple
Completed action before another action in the past.	She had left when I arrived.

Explanations	Past Perfect Progressive
To show that something started in the past and continued up until another action stopped it.	They had been playing soccer when the accident occurred
To show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past.	I had been living in that town for ten years before I moved to New York.
We use the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past to show cause and effect.	I was so tired. I had been working for 6 hours.

Explanations	Future  Simple
Instant decisions	I've left the door open; I'll close it.
We use the simple future , when we predict a future situation	She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking.
We use the simple future with: "I (don't) think...", "I expect...", "I am sure...", "I wonder...", "probably".	It will probably rain tonight
Conditional sentence type one	If I have enough time, I'll watch the film.

Explanations	Future Progressive
Action that will be taking place at some time in the future.	When you arrive, I'll be sleeping .

Explanations	Future Perfect
Completed action before another action in the past	By tomorrow, I will have finished the work.

Explanations	Future Perfect Progressive
It is used to show that an action will continue up until a particular event or time in the future.	She will have been working for over 8 hours by the time her children arrive.

Conditional Simple

Conditional Simple
Affirmative	We would relax.
Negative	We would not relax.
Interrogative	Would we relax ?
Form	would + verb
Uses	action that might take place

Conditional Progressive
Affirmative	He would be writing.
Negative	He would not be writing.
Interrogative	Would he be writing?
Form	would + be + verb + ing
Uses	action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional Perfect
Affirmative	He would have written.
Negative	He would not have written.
Interrogative	Would he have written?
Form	would + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	action that might have taken place in the past

Conditional Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	She would have been sleeping.
Negative	She would not have sleeping speaking.
Interrogative	Would she have been sleeping?
Form	would + have + been + verb + ing
Uses	action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Simple
Affirmative	She had won.
Negative	She had not won.
Interrogative	Had she won?
Form	had + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

Past Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	He had been waiting.
Negative	He had not been waiting.
Interrogative	Had he been waiting?
Form	had + been + verb + ing
Uses	action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

Future Simple
Affirmative	I will open the door.
Negative	I will not open the door.
Interrogative	Will you open the door?
Form	will + verb
Uses	We use the simple future for instant decisions. We use the simple future when we predict a future situation We use the simple future in conditional sentences type one. (More on conditional sentences here)

Future Plan (going to)
Affirmative	He is going to clean the car.
Negative	He is not going to clean the car.
Interrogative	Is he going to clean the car?
Form	to be (in the simple present) + going + to + verb
Uses	to express the future when we intend to do something or have decided to do something but did not arrange it. It is just an intention. predictions in the future

Future Plan (Present Progressive)
Affirmative	He is traveling to Egypt next week.
Negative	He is not traveling to Egypt next week.
Interrogative	Is he traveling to Egypt next week?
Form	to be (in the simple present) + verb + ing
Uses	when we say what we have planned and arranged to do at a specific time in the future. These are fixed plans with definite time and/or place.

Future  Progressive
Affirmative	She will be listening to music.
Negative	She will not be listening to music.
Interrogative	Will she be listening to music?
Form	will + be + verb + ing
Uses	action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future

Future Perfect
Affirmative	He will have spoken.
Negative	He will not have spoken.
Interrogative	Will he have spoken?
Form	will + have + past participle (past participle of regular verbs: verb + ed | Past participle of irregular verbs: forms differ and should be learned by heart. This is a list of irregular verbs)
Uses	action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

Future Perfect Progressive
Affirmative	You will have been studying.
Negative	You will not have been studying.
Interrogative	Will you have been studying?
Form	will + have + been + verb + ing
Uses	action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action