Substantivization in Adjectives
§ 6. Sometimes adjectives become substantivized. In this case
they function as nouns in the sentence and are always preceded by
the definite article.
Substantivized adjectives may be of two kinds:
1) They may refer to a class of persons considered in a general
sense. Such adjectives are plural in meaning and take a plural
verb.
e.g. The old (= old people) receive pensions.
To this group belong the following adjectives;
a) some adjectives describing human condition or character,
e.g. the blind, the brave, the dead, the deaf, the disabled, the eld-
erly, the homeless, the injured, the living, the old, the poor, the
rich, the sick, the unemployed, the wealthy, the wounded, the
young, etc.
e.g. The young are always romantic, aren't they?
The blind are taught trades in special schools,
b) some adjectives denoting nationalities and ending in -{i)sh
(e.g. British, Danish, English, Irish, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh), in
-ch (e.g. Dutch, French) and in -ese (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Por-
tuguese) and the adjective Swiss.
e.g. The English (== English people) are great lovers of tea.
The Japanese (=Japanese people) have achieved wonderful re-
sults in electronics.
If we wish to indicate a single person or a number of persons,
we must add a noun.
e.g. The old man receives a pension.
The young men are fishing.
The Englishman could not understand a word of French.
There were a few English people among the passengers.
2) They may refer to abstract notions. Then they are singular
and take a singular verb.
e.g. The good in him overweighs the bad.
He ventured into the unknown.
Do you believe in the supernatural?
Syntactic Functions of Adjectives
§ 7. Adjectives may serve in the sentence as:
1) an attribute,
e.g. She had pleasant blue eyes and very long fair hair which she
wore in neat plaits round her head.
Adjectives used attributively usually precede the noun imme-
diately. Generally there is no pause between the adjective and the
noun. Such attributes are called close attributes (see the examples
above).
However, if an adjective does not so much give a permanent
characteristic to its noun but rather refers to the temporary
state, circumstance or condition under which what is said takes
place, it becomes a loose attribute and may be placed in different
positions in the sentence.
e.g. Nervous, the man opened the letter.
The man, nervous, opened the letter.
The man opened the letter, nervous.
The meaning of the above sentence can be interpreted as 'The
man who was nervous, opened the letter*. Loose attributes tend to
approach to the predicative function.
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Here are more examples illustrating loose attributes:
e.g. Clever and tactful, George listened to my story with deep
concern.
My father, happy and tired, kissed me good-night.
2) a predicative,
e.g. Her smile was almost professional.
The sky was becoming violet.
He was aware of what was going on in the office.
Adjectives used predicatively tend to refer to a temporary
condition rather than to a permanent characteristic.
e.g. She is ill.
The child is asleep.
Note. Note the following sentence pattern which is commonly used to express
all sorts of measurements.
e.g. The water was five feet deep.
The train was twenty minutes late.
My watch is three minutes slow.
He is thirty years old.
3) part of a compound verbal predicate,
e.g. He stood silent, with his back turned to the window.
She lay motionless, as if she were asleep.
He rolled onto his back and stared up into the tree where lit-
tle black cherries hung thick.
4) an objective predicative,
e.g. I thought him very intelligent.
She wore her hair short.
In this function adjectives sometimes express the result of the
process denoted by the verb,
e.g. The cat licked the saucer dry.
The powder washes the linen white.
He pushed the window open.
She made him happy.
The news turned his hair white.
5) a subjective predicative,
e.g. Her hair was dyed blonde.
The door was closed tight.
The vegetables were served raw, the way he liked.
6) an adverbial modifier,
e.g. When ripe, the apples are sweet.
Whether right or wrong, the man ought to be treated fairly-
If possible, the child should be given the medicine three
times a day.
As is seen from the above examples, adjectives used ad-
verbially are all introduced by conjunctions. The phrases which
the adjectives are parts of can be treated as elliptical adverbial
clauses.
e.g. When (it is) necessary, he can be taken to the doctor.
§ 8. Adjectives in the predicative function often require an ob-
ject to complete their meaning. Objects to predicative adjectives
can be expressed by nouns with prepositions (a), by infinitives (b),
by ing-forms with or without a preposition (c) or by object clauses
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e.g. a) I was not aware of his presence.
We were all very interested in the result of the experiment.
b) He was quick to understand what I meant.
They were happy to hear the news.
c) She is busy packing-
Basil was little used to being heard with respect and was
resentful at being reproached with his own words.
d) I was anxious that they should not miss the train.
He was glad that I was going on a holiday.
2) Adjectives are often used to build up exclamatory sentences
in which an adjective preceded by how is placed at the head of the
sentence.
e.g. How charming your daughter is!
How warm it is today!
Place of Adjectives in Attributive Phrases
§ 9. Adjectives used as close attributes precede the noun they
e.g. Nick could beat his father so badly at tennis that only paren-
tal affection reconciled the older player to the poor show
he put up.
Sometimes adjectives are found in post-position to the word
they modify. It occurs in the following cases:
1) if an adjective modifies an indefinite pronoun,
e.g. Anyone intelligent can do it.
I'll tell you something wonderful.
2) in some set phrases, e.g. the president elect (=soon to take
office), the examination board proper (=as strictly defined), court
martial, attorney general, heir apparent, and the like.
3) if an attribute is expressed by the adjectives absent, present,
concerned and involved,
e.g. The men present were all his friends.
The people involved were asked to come at ten o'clock.
Post-position is possible if an attribute has a modifier following it.
e.g. Peter and Tom were the boys easiest to teach.
Or: Peter and Tom were the easiest boys to teach.
They have a garden larger than yours.
Or: They have a larger garden than yours.
If there are several attributes modifying a noun their order
within the attributive group is best shown in the following table:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| epithet | size | shape | age | colour | origin | substance | attribute forming a close sense-unit with a noun | noun |
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Nick, surprised, went over to the window to re-read the letter.
Mother stood up from the table, curious and anxious.
§ 10. Note the place of the indefinite article when an adjective
happens to be modified by too, so, as and however.
e.g. She is too timid a girl to meet him.
Dr Grogan was, in fact, as wise an old man as my grandfather.
For this see also "Articles", § 65.
e.g. a brilliant (1) young (4) man
a small (2) round (3) table
a dirty (1) old (4) brown (5) coat
a charming (1) French (6) writing (8) desk
a large (2) green (5) Chinese (6) carpet
a famous (1) German (6) medical (8) school
a large (2) iron (7) box
a big (2) square (3) old (4) chest
a tall (2) young (4) London (6) policeman
An attributive group in which all the spaces were filled would
be rare and cumbersome. Adjectives used as loose attributes are
mobile in the sentence (for this see also § 7).
e.g. Unhappy, the girl returned to work.
PRONOUNS
§ 1. Pronouns include a miscellaneous group of words which
function in the sentence as noun pronouns or as adjective pronouns.
It is difficult to define the meaning of pronouns. Unlike nouns
and adjectives, they do not name objects or qualities, but only
point to them. In other words, they are devoid of concrete lexical
meaning. They have a generalized meaning instead, which be-
comes clear only in the context or situation.
Various individual pronouns may have different grammatical
categories. Some of them have the category of number (e.g, this —
these, that — those), others have the category of case (e.g. I — me,
somebody — somebody's), still others are invariable (e.g. each, such,
all, what and some others).
It should be pointed out that although pronouns function as
nouns or adjectives in the sentence, they do not cover all the
functions of the two parts of speech, but can only have some of
them. Pronouns can be divided into the following classes:
1) personal pronouns, 6) indefinite pronouns,
2) possessive pronouns, 7) reciprocal pronouns,
3) reflexive pronouns, 8) interrogative pronouns,
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4) emphatic pronouns, 9) conjunctive pronouns.
5) demonstrative pronouns,
Personal Pronouns
§ 2. We find the following personal pronouns in English:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1 st person | I | we |
| 2nd person | you | |
| 3d person | he she it | they |
I and we are said to be the pronouns of the 1st person, i.e. a
person (or persons) who speaks (speak). You is said to be the pro-
noun of the 2nd person, i.e. a person (persons) spoken to. He,
she, it and they are said to be the pronouns of the 3d person, i.e.
a person (persons) or a thing (things) spoken about.
We distinguish singular and plural personal pronouns. Singu-
lar personal pronouns refer to one person or thing and plural per-
sonal pronouns refer to more than one person or thing. The pro-
nouns I, we, you, he and she are mainly used for persons. I, we
and you are indifferent to gender, while he is masculine and she is
feminine. The pronoun it is used for animals, concrete things and
abstract notions, i.e. it refers to neuter nouns. The pronoun they is
used for persons, animals and things and is indifferent to gender.
§ 3. In addition to the above structural meanings of the per-
sonal pronouns, they have a few other special applications.
It is a tradition to use we instead of I in newspaper articles,
scientific prose, etc. This so-called editorial we is believed to
sound less assertive and, hence, more modest than I.
, e.g. We are convinced that the Government has made a grave
mistake in imposing tills tax.
She is sometimes used for inanimate objects, especially ships,
; motor cars, aircraft, etc.
e.g. Come along and have a look at my new car. She is a beauty.
She is also used for countries, and even cities, especially in
rather formal and rhetoric speech.
e.g. France has made it plain that she will regret the proposal.
You may be used with reference to nobody in particular, to
any person who might find himself in a similar position.
e.g. You don't know him. He is dishonest. You feel that he is ly-
ing to you every moment of the day.
"Have you been aboard Mrs Wilcox's yacht? What do people
do aboard yachts?" "I don't know. You drink, I suppose,"
Gregory said, shrugging his shoulders.
In my youth during Christmas holidays I loved to visit my
classmates who all lived in small provincial towns. Once
you got into them, each anonymous house held a promise
of fun. You didn't know who lived in them, but maybe in
one of them, as you went from the station to the house of
the people you were visiting, there would be a pretty girl
getting ready for a dance.
They may be used to mean 'people in general', especially in
the phrase they say.
e,g. They say he's going to resign.
No wonder they say the present generation hasn't got a scrap
of enterprise.
The personal pronouns are used as nouns in the sentence.
§ 4. The personal pronouns change for case. There are two cases
for personal pronouns — the nominative case and the objective case.
| The Nominative Case | The Objective Case |
| I you he she it we you they | me you him her it us you them |
The forms of the nominative case function in the sentence as
subjects.
e.g. I expect they will laugh at me.
Why, don't you know what he's up to?
The forms of the objective case function in the sentence as objects.
e.g. I met him in the street, (direct object)
He gave me some advice, (indirect object)
Please, don't tell anyone about us. (prepositional object)
When personal pronouns are used as predicatives or after than-'
as and but, the nominative case is considered to be very formal; the
use of the objective case is preferred in spoken English.
e.g. "Who is it?" "It's me (I)."
"Do you need anything?" "A secretary that I'll dictate my
piece to." "I'll be her."
You're better off than them (they).
She is as tall as him (he).
No one can do it but him (he).
But only a nominative case personal pronoun can be used in
the following sentence pattern where the pronoun is followed by a
clause.
e.g. It was I who did it.
The Use of it
§ 5. As has been said, the pronoun it is generally used for con-
crete things, abstract notions and animals.
e.g. I tried the door. It was locked.
He promised his help if ever I needed it.
He got down the horse and tied it to the rail.
Yet the pronoun it may be used to identify an unknown person.
Then, once it has been done, he or she must be used.
e.g. There was a knock at the door. I thought it was the postman.
He usually came at that time.
When the waiter came up to his table he did not at once real-
ize it was Paul. He was as handsome as ever.
It may also refer to an idea expressed in a preceding word-
group (a), clause (b), sentence (c) or even context (d).
e.g. a) He tried to break the lock. It was not easy either.
There was some mutual hesitation about shaking hands,
with both deciding against it.
b) He knew that his father was dying but he did not want to
speak with anyone about it.
c) The music had stopped. He didn't notice it.
d) He studied her, then shook his head. He waited a moment
and then decided not to say what he might have been go-
ing to say. He swallowed half his whiskey before going
on, and when he did, he returned to the conventional
questions. She had watched him do it all without any in-
terest.
It is very often used as a formal subject in impersonal state-
ments about weather conditions, time, distance and all kinds of
measurements.
e.g. It is raining heavily.
It was very cold in the room.
It is half past three now.
It is six miles to the nearest hospital from here.
It is three feet deep here.
It as the formal subject is also found in sentences in which the
predicate is modified by an infinitive phrase (a), or an ing-iorm
phrase (b), or a clause (c). We usually find nominal predicates in
this kind of sentences:
e.g. a) It is stupid to fall asleep like that.
It is a pleasure to see you again.
b) It won't be easy finding our way home.
It's no use hoping he'll ever change his mind.
c) It was clear that he was going to give in.
It was a surprise that he had come back so soon.
The formal it may be used not only as the subject of the sen-
tence but also as an object followed by an adjective or a noun
which is modified by an infinitive phrase, an ing-iorm phrase or a
clause.
e.g. I found it difficult to explain to him what had happened.
He thought it no use going over the subject again.
He thought it odd that they had left him no message.
The pronoun it is also used in the so-called emphatic con-
struction, i.e. a special sentence pattern that serves to emphasize
some word or phrase in the sentence,
e.g. It was my question that made him angry.
It was on the terrace that he wanted them to lay the table.
Finally, the pronoun it is rather often used in various idi-
omatic expressions where it seems to have very little lexical
meaning of its own, if any at all. Most of these expressions are
colloquial or even slangy.
e.g. Hang it all, we can't wait all day for him.
Hop it, old thing, you are in the way here.
When I see him, I'll have it out with him.
If you are found out, you'll catch it.
Possessive Pronouns
§ 6. There are the following possessive pronouns in English:
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1 st person | my | our |
| 2nd person | your | your |
| 3d person | his ha- lts | their |
Possessive pronouns serve to modify nouns in the sentence,
i.e. they function as attributes,
e.g. The doctor usually came to his office at three o'clock.
Do you think you are losing your popularity?
Prom my place I could watch the people eating their lunch.
It should be noted that in English the possessive pronouns are
often used instead of articles with nouns denoting relations, parts
of the body, articles of clothing and various other personal be-
longings.
e.g. Bob nodded at his wife as if he wanted to say "You see?"
He bit his lips, but said nothing.
He took off his jacket and loosened his tie.
Amy put her cigarette back into her bag.
But there are certain idiomatic phrases where the definite ar-
ticle is used instead of a possessive pronoun,
e.g. I have a cold in the head.
He was shot through the heart.
He got red in the face.
He took me by the hand.
The ball struck him in the back.
He patted his wife on the shoulder.
§ 7. The possessive pronouns may also perform noun func-
tions. Then they are used in their so-called absolute forms: mine,
yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs.
e.g. She put her arm through mine.
They are not my gloves; I thought they were yours.
Theirs is a very large family.
Incidentally, its is hardly ever used as an absolute form.
Note. The form yours is commonly used as a conventional ending to letters,
e.g. Yours sincerely (truly, faithfully). J. Smith
Sometimes we find absolute forms of possessive pronouns pre-
ceded by the preposition of. This combination is called a double
genitive.
e.g. He is a friend of mine.
It happened through no fault of his.
We had a slight accident and, luckily, that neighbour of
yours came along or we would still be there.
Reflexive Pronouns
§ 8. The reflexive pronouns are formed by adding -self (in the
plural selves) to the possessive pronouns in the 1st and 2nd persons
and to the objective case of the personal pronouns in the 3d person.
| Singular | Plural | |
| 1st person | myself | ourselves |
| 2nd person | yourself | yourselves |
| 3d person | himself herself itself | themselves |
There is one more reflexive pronoun which is formed from the
indefinite pronoun one — oneself.
These pronouns are used as noun pronouns in the sentence.
They are called reflexive pronouns because they show that the ac-
tion performed by the person which is indicated by the subject of
the sentence passes back again to the same person. In other
words, the subject of the sentence and its object indicate the same
person. In this case the reflexive pronouns are weakly stressed.
e.g. He wrapped himself in his blanket and fell off to sleep.
She cooked herself a big meal.
I'm sure you both remember the day when you talked about
yourselves and the past.
As is seen from the above examples, the reflexive pronouns
may serve in the sentence as different kinds of objects — direct,
indirect and prepositional.
Note 1. Note the following sentences where personal pronouns are preferred to
reflexive pronouns.
e.g. He went in, closing the door behind him.
She put the thought from her.
He looked about him.
Note 2. Note that both personal and reflexive pronouns are found in sentences
expressing comparison.
e.g. My brother is as tall as myself (me).
No one realizes it better than yourself (you).
§ 9. Reflexive pronouns may also be used in a different way:
together with the verb they may form set phrases characterized
by idiomatic meaning. The reflexive meaning of the self-pronoun
weakened in this case. The meaning of the verb differs from the
meaning of the same verb when it is followed by an object ex-
essed by a noun or an indefinite pronoun.
eg. He forgot Jane's address, ('забыл')
I'm afraid he's forgetting himself, ('забывается')
Finally I found the answer to the riddle, ('нашел')
Finally I found myself near a railway station, ('оказался')
She came to the theater ten minutes late, ('пришла')
At last she came to herself, ('пришла в себя')
A few other verbs are always followed by reflexive pronouns
with which they form a close sense-unit, e.g. to pride oneself on
something, to avail oneself of something.
We also find idiomatic uses of reflexive pronouns in such set
phrases as to be myself (himself, etc.) meaning to be or behave as
before',
e.g. I'm glad to see that he is himself again.
Besides, there are a few prepositional phrases with reflexive
pronouns which are to be treated as set phrases because they have
idiomatic meaning,
e.g. Are we actually by ourselves again? ('одни')
He was almost beside himself with excitement, ('вне себя')
In spite of himself he was interested, ('наперекор себе', 'вопре-
ки своему желанию')
Go and find for yourself how it is done, ('сам')
It is a word complete in itself, ('само по себе')
As for myself, I have no complaint to make, ('что касается
меня')
I came away and left him to himself, ('оставил его одного')
We can drive the car among ourselves, ('вдвоем по очереди')
Emphatic Pronouns
§ 10. Emphatic pronouns have the same forms as reflexive
pronouns — they are homonyms. Emphatic pronouns are used for
emphasis. They serve as noun pronouns and always perform the
function of apposition in the sentence. They can be placed either
immediately after their head-word or at the end of the sentence.
They are rendered in Russian as сам , сама , само , сами .
e.g. You yourself told them the story. (Or: You told them the sto-
ry yourself.)
My mother herself opened the door. (Or: My mother opened
the door herself.)
We are all queer fish, queerer than we know ourselves.
The parting itself was short but it made her ill with grief.
The emphatic pronouns are strongly stressed, but nevertheless
they can be omitted without destroying the sense of the sentence.
Demonstrative Pronouns
§ ll. There are four demonstrative pronouns in English: this,
that, such and same. They all may be used as noun pronouns and
as adjective pronouns.
The pronouns this and that change for number. Their corre-
sponding plural forms are: these and those.
§ 12. The pronoun this (these) refers to what is near in space,
time or conception (a), that (those) to what is farther off (b).
e.g. a) Do you know these people? This is Harry Field, my coach,
and this is Jake Spring, the producer.
Take this pear. It looks very ripe.
"Look at this," he said and showed me his tie.
When he stopped talking, she wondered, "Why is he tell-
ing me all this?"
"Maybe you don't want to go to this party," he asked hop-
ing she would say "no".
b) Do you see those houses in the distance? That's where we
are going.
Is that your son?
They ate the pie and drank the coffee in silence. When
they had finished, Delany said, "Now I'll have that ci-
gar you offered me."
He was deaf but she didn't think that many people noticed
that.
The pronouns this (these) and that (those) may also have other
applications.
1) In some cases this (these) may refer to what is to follow,
that (those) to what precedes.
e.g. After I've listened to you very attentively I'll tell you this —
I don't think you should trust the man.
But I'm glad to see you have an interest in sports. That
means we have two things in common.
2) This (these) and that (those) are often used with nouns indi-
cating time. This (these) is used for time which is future or just
past. That (those) is used for time which is clearly past.
e.g. "Why don't you come and see me some time?" "How about
this Sunday, if it's convenient?"
Father had to go to Chicago this morning.
I remember that he woke up early that morning.
She looked flushed and well, although she had a heart attack
that summer.
3) Sometimes the use of this (these) and that (those) is emo-
tionally coloured. The kind of feeling implied (affection, vexation,
disgust, contempt, etc.) depends on the situation.
e.g. Will this dog ever stop barking?
Do you really believe in those ideas?
When will you stop trumping that piano?
He is one of those so-called modern poets.
4) The pronoun that (those) may be used instead of a noun al-
ready mentioned. It is called a prop-word in this case,
e.g. He found it easier to believe that her actions were those of a
spoilt girl.
He hung his daughter's portrait beside that of his wife's.
These poems are not so good as those written by you last
year.
I entered by the door opposite to that opening into the gar-
den.
She was a good teacher. She knew how to teach bright chil-
dren and those who were slow.
I was interested to learn that the cafe was the same that we
had visited five years before.
As is seen from the above examples, that (those) in this case is
followed by a prepositional phrase, a participle, an ing form or a
clause.
5) That is often used instead of it. In this case that appears to
be more emphatic than it.
e.g. I'm going to practise law. I have that all planned.
"Let's send him a wire." "That's an excellent idea."
"His gun went off and he nearly killed himself." "I didn't
know that."
"Tell her I'm sorry I missed her." "I'll do that."
"I'm going to stay here a while." "That's fine."
6) Those followed by a who-clause, a participle or an ing-iorm
refers to persons.
e.g. Serious newspapers are read by those (=people) who want to
know about important happenings everywhere.
Even those (=people) who do not like his pictures are not in-
different to him.
Those (=people) injured in the accident were taken to hospital.
Note. Those present 'присутствующие' and those concerned 'заинтересован-
ные лица' are set phrases.
7) In spoken English that may be used as an adverbial modifi-
er of degree.
e.g. I did not think he was that stupid.
I will go that far, but no further.
He should know that much about his trade.
§ 13. That, this are often found as part of set phrases. Here
are some of them:
e.g. "Mike will tell you that I seldom pass through this place
without dropping in." "That's right." ('Это верно.')
"I have a car outside. I'll give you a ride home." "Oh, that's
all right. It isn't much of a walk." ('He надо'. 'Ничего'.)
My husband said you were properly brought up. He always
notices things like that. (=such things)
Would you like a bag like this? (=such a bag)
I hate it when they dance like this. (=in this way)
I had never heard him speak like that before. (=in that way)
It was May, but for all that the rain was falling as in the
heaviest autumn downpours, (=despite that)
My mother intended to have a glorious supper — not that
she could eat much nowadays, but for the sake of style
and my sake, ('не то чтобы...')
She was young and beautiful. More than that, she was happy.
('более того...')
You ought to know better than that, ('быть умнее')
"Do you want to speak to me about your work?" "Oh, hardly
that." ('да нет, не совсем'; 'совсем не о том')
Не talked about his responsibilities and all that, ('и тому по-
добное')
I'm thinking of your future, you know. That's why I'm giv-
ing you a piece of advice, ('поэтому')
After that I did not see him for several days, ('после этого')
Marion's concern was directly for me. "Yes, it was a pity you
ran across her," she said. "Mind you, I expect you puzzled
her as much as she did you — that is, if I know anything
about you." ('то есть')
"You know what people think when a man like him dies."
"That is?" "People imagine it's a revenge." ('то есть?'
'а именно?')
Let's leave it at that, ('оставим все так'; 'остановимся на
этом')
So that's that, ('вот так-то'; 'такие-то дела')
I told you before, I won't do it, and that's that, ('и все')
That settles it. ('На том и порешим.')
What were you doing down there, or what was I doing there
for that matter? ('впрочем, даже')
Note. Note that English people speaking of their country say this country
whereas in Russian it would be наша страна .
§ 14. The demonstrative pronoun such may mean of this or
that kind (a) or indicate degree (b). Such is followed by the indefi-
nite article before singular countable nouns.
e.g. a) If I were you I would not have said such a thing about him.
He was a silent, ambitious man. Such men usually succeed.
Such is the present state of things.
The position of Dan Crusher was such that he was wel-
come in any club,
b) He is such a bore.
He wrote such desperate letters to me that year.
The meaning of such is often completed by a clause of con-
sequence introduced by that or a phrase introduced by as.
e.g. I had such a busy morning that I had no time to call you up-
He cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.
I never saw such a handsome man as Jim's father.
Mr Clark was afraid that his promotion would never come
because there was such a thing, he said, as junior clerks
trying to draw attention to themselves.
Such may be followed by an infinitive with as.
e.g. His carelessness is such as to make it unlikely that he will
pass his examination.
Note that such may be combined with some indefinite pro-
nouns.
e.g. I'll do no such thing.
He didn't say any such thing.
Any such request is sure to be turned down.
On every such occasion dozens of people get injured.
Some such story was told to me years ago.
§ 15- Such is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here are
some of them:
e.g. They export a lot of fruit, such as oranges, lemons, etc.
(= for example 'такие, как')
His education, such as it was, was finished by the time he
was fifteen, ('каково бы оно ни было')
My services, such as they are, are at your disposal, ('каковы
бы они ни были')
John is the captain of the team, and, as such, he is to decide
what is to be done, ('как таковой')
§ 16. The demonstrative pronoun same means 'identical'. It is
always preceded by the definite article.
e.g. We don't have to go all in the same car.
I was astonished and at the same time very much excited.
In autumn the school re-opened. The same students came to
George's classes.
His stories set one's imagination to work. The same is true
of his articles.
The meaning of same is often completed by a clause intro-
duced by that or as.
e.g. He wore the same suit that I had seen him in five years before.
He ate his sandwiches at midday in the same places as I did.
"You haven't changed," I said smiling. He had the same ab-
surd appearance that I remembered.
Same may also be followed by a phrase introduced by as.
e.g. Saying good-bye, my aunt gave me the same warning as on
the day of my father's departure.
His head was disproportionally large, built on the same lines
as his sister's but with finer features.
§ 17. Same is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here
are some of them:
e.g. It's all the same to me. (=It makes no difference to me.)
I asked him what he wanted to start with. It was all the
same to him. (=it made no difference to him.)
I don't think he'll wish to see me. But I'll come all the same.
(=in spite of that)
"How is he today?" "Much the same." (=not apparently differ-
ent)
Indefinite Pronouns
§ 18. The indefinite pronouns express various degrees and var-
ious kinds of indefiniteness. We find the following subgroups
among them:
1) indefinite pronouns proper:
a) some, any, no;
b) somebody, anybody, nobody;
someone, anyone, no one;
something, anything, nothing;
c) one, none
2) distributive pronouns:
a) all, every, each, other, either, neither, both;
b) everybody, everyone, everything
3) quantitative pronouns:
much, many, little, few, a little, a few, a lot of, lots of,
a great deal, a great many, etc.
§ 19. The pronoun some may be used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun. It has several meanings. Some usually ex-
presses an indefinite number or amount or indefinite quality.
e.g. On such days my mother would give me some pennies to buy
sweets or a magazine.
They did give us some nice things to eat, didn't they?
I was terrified that some disaster was waiting for me.
I had been playing cricket with some of the neighbouring
children.
The visitor asked me to describe some of the work we do in
our laboratory.
Some, used with a singular countable noun, may mean 'a par-
ticular but unidentified person or thing'.
e.g. Some boy had written a Latin word on the blackboard.
We must first think of some plan.
Some is very often used for contrast. Then it is strongly stressed.
e.g. I enjoy some music, but not much of it.
Some of us agree with the statement, some disagree.
Some may also mean 'approximately',
e.g. It happened some twenty years ago.
When used as a noun pronoun, some may be singular or plu-
ral. It depends on whether some refers to countable or uncount-
able nouns.
e.g. Some of his opinions were hard to accept.
Some of the food was packed in waterproof bags.
As a rule, some is used in affirmative sentences (see the exam-
ples above). In interrogative and negative sentences it is changed
into any or no (see §§ 20-21 below). However, there are instances
when some remains unchanged in interrogative and negative sen-
tences. It happens when the question or negation does not concern
the part of the sentence containing some, i.e. when the part of the
sentence containing some remains affirmative in meaning.
e.g. May I give you some more tea?
I could not answer some of his questions.
Did you see some of his poems published in the magazine?
I'm going away for a week. So I shan't be able to see some
interesting games.
Not all your answers are correct. Some are, some aren't.
You know some women can't see the telephone without taking
the receiver off.
§ 20. The pronoun any is also used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun. In affirmative sentences any means 'it
does not matter who, what or which'.
e.g. Come any day you like.
I was interested in any new prospect of change.
Any who have questions to ask are requested to do so in writ-
ing.
"Which newspaper do you want me to buy?" "Any will do."
Her voice carried well in any hall.
Note. Any number of is a set phrase, meaning 'a great many',
e.g. I have any number of plants in my garden.
In interrogative and negative sentences any is used instead of some.
e.g. Is there any chance of seeing any of his pictures?
I did not see any change in his life.
They asked him for some money. He said he didn't have any.
It should be noted that a negative meaning may be conveyed
in the sentence not only by not, but also by never, without, sel-
dom, hardly, etc. It may also be expressed in another clause.
e.g. He never had any luck.
He went away without saying good-bye to any of us.
Now that he lived in the country he seldom had any visitors.
The Dutchman spoke French with hardly any accent.
No one is under any obligation to you.
I don't think any of us ought to wish the result to be different.
Any is used when some doubt or condition is implied. This of-
ten occurs in object clauses introduced by if or whether or in con-
ditional clauses.
e.g. Let me know if you hear any news.
I wonder if you have met any of these people before.
If you have any news, call me up right away.
If you still have any of my father's letters, send them to me,
please.
Any may be used as an adverbial modifier of degree in the sen-
tence.
e.g. He isn't any better.
In spite of your advice she isn't any the wiser.
§ 21. The pronoun no is negative in meaning and used only as
an adjective pronoun. It may mean 'not any' or 'not a'.
e.g. He had no tie on.
They have no friends in London.
He had no desire to take decisions.
There are no letters for you today.
I have no money left.
There were no people in the hall.
No boy at the school had ever seen the sea.
He is no hero.
The girl was no beauty.
The old man was no fool.
Note the set phrase to be no good.
e.g. He is no good as a pianist, ('никуда не годится')
§ 22. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
some-, any- and no-:
someone — anyone — no one
somebody — anybody — nobody
something — anything — nothing
They are all used as noun pronouns and the rules for the use
of some, any and no in different kinds of sentences hold good for
them (see §§ 19-21 above).
The compounds in -one and in -body are singular in meaning
and can be used only of persons,
e.g. There is someone in his office. Do you hear them talking?
He'd told my landlady he was looking out for someone to
paint him.
My mother wanted me to give more money to the fund than
anyone in the form.
Is there anyone at home?
No one was in a hurry. No one seemed to think that to-
morrow existed.
I found my mother in the kitchen. There was no one else at
home.
Somebody must have been using my books. They've got all
misplaced on the shelf.
Anybody can see that the whole thing has been a failure.
Did you meet anybody on your way home?
Nobody can help him under the circumstances.
The compounds in -one and in -body can have the form of the
genitive case.
e.g. He isn't going to be in anybody's way at this hour of the night.
Did you take anybody's photograph at the party?
Note. When the compounds in -one and in -body are followed by else, the geni-
tive case suffix -'s is added after else.
e.g. That's not my hat. It's somebody else's.
The difference between the compounds in -body and those in —
one is that the latter are, as a rule, more individualizing, i.e. the
compounds in -body refer to persons collectively, whereas those in
one refer to individuals.
Cf. Somebody is sure to get interested in the job. (=some people,
one or more persons)
This is a letter from someone interested in the job. (=some
person, one person)
Nobody knew about her arrival. (= no people)
No one had come to meet her. (= not a person)
As a result, the compounds in -body are never followed by an
of-phrase, while the compounds in -one sometimes are.
e.g. Does anyone of you correspond with her family?
The compounds in -thing can be used only of things. They are
also singular in meaning but they cannot have the form of the
genitive case.
e.g. There is something wrong with him.
We were almost outside our house before I took in that some-
thing was not right.
"Why don't you say something?" he demanded.
I'll do anything for you.
"Is there anything in the paper?" he said, as we approached
the end of our silent meal.
Nothing could remove his disappointment.
The doctor could suggest nothing to me. (= The doctor could
not suggest anything to me.)
He looked at me and didn't say anything.
Dirk never concealed anything.
Let me see your pictures. If there's anything I like, I'll buy it.
Note the idiomatic use of something in the following sen-
tences:
e.g. He is something of a hermit. ('В нем есть что-то от отшель-
ника'.)
I hope to see something of you during the holidays. ('Я наде-
юсь видеть вас хоть иногда...')
Не is something in the Foreign Office. ('Он какое-то ответст-
венное лицо в Министерстве иностранных дел.')
Something or other prevented him from coming. ('По той
или иной причине он не смог прийти. Что-то помешало
ему прийти.')
It's something like two miles to the lake. (=approximately)
I'll whistle the tune for you. It goes something like this.
('приблизительно вот так')
All the compound indefinite pronouns may be modified by ad-
jectives which are generally placed in post-position to their head-
words.
e.g. You should do something sensible about it at last.
Somebody important has arrived, I'm sure.
I want someone reliable to do this work.
I thought he was going to tell me something painful.
I thought I'd come and see if they had anything new.
§ 23. The pronoun one in all of its uses refers exclusively to
persons or things that are countable.
The pronoun one is used as a noun pronoun and as an adjec-
tive pronoun.
As a noun pronoun, it can have the plural form ones and the
form of the genitive case one's. Besides, as has been said above
(see § 8 above), the reflexive pronoun oneself is formed from it.
As an adjective pronoun one is invariable.
One has many various uses in English.
1) It is used to stand for 'people' or 'I or any person in my po-
sition'. In other words, it refers to nobody in particular.
e.g. One can*t be too careful in matters like this.
He was very young, not more than twenty-three or four, as
indeed one could see at a glance.
The sea was so smooth, so luminous that when one stared at
it for long one could no longer distinguish, for a moment
or two, the shape of things.
His sincerity excited one's sympathy.
It's not what I should have chosen for my last years, but one
no longer makes one's life when one is old. Life is made
for one.
Note. Care should be taken not to use one too often in the sentence because it
would make the sentence stylistically clumsy (see the last example above).
For example, the sentence When one is given one's choice of courses of action,
any of which would be to one's disadvantage, one often has difficulty in deciding
what one ought to do should be better expressed in either of the following ways:
a) When someone is given his choice of courses of action, any of which would be
to his disadvantage, he often has difficulty in deciding what he ought to do.
b) When you are given your choice of courses of action, any of which would be to
your disadvantage, you often have difficulty in deciding what you ought to do.
Note that you in the last sentence above applies to no particular person and is
used with indefinite meaning in which it is more common than the pronoun one.
(See also "Pronouns", § 3.)
2) One may have the meaning of 'a person'.
e.g. He is not one to be easily frightened.
He is not one to fall for her charms.
One who paints ought to know a lot about perspective.
There was a look in his eyes of one used to risking his life.
Do you want to be the one to spoil all that?
3) One is often used for contrast with other, in which case it
preserves some of its numerical meaning.
e.g. The brothers are so alike that I sometimes cannot tell one
from the other.
By the way, here are the two duplicate keys to the gate —
I'll take one, the other key you'd better keep yourself.
She smiled as one intellectual to another.
According to Jim, life was one damn thing after another.
4) One, in combination with nouns denoting time, is used to
express some vague time.
e.g. One day he'll understand his mistake.
I'll speak to him one of these days.
One Friday night my mother and father talked for a long
time alone.
One summer evening I went for a stroll in the park.
5) One is used with the meaning of 'only' or 'single'.
e.g. Your father is the one man who can help you now.
This is the one thing we can feel certain about.
This is the one way to do it.
No one man can do it.
6) Last but not least, one is used as a prop-word, i.e. as a sub-
stitute for a previously mentioned noun. It helps to avoid the rep-
etition of the same noun.
e.g. Trams were passing us, but my father was not inclined to
take one.
Will you show me your pictures? I might feel like buying one.
If the prop-word one is preceded by an adjective, an article
must be used with it.
e.g. No, that's not their car. Theirs is a blue one.
The new vicar was less cultivated than the old one.
The prop-word one can be used in the plural.
e.g. I prefer red roses to white ones.
"Which biscuits would you like?" "The ones with chocolate
on them."
The prop-word one (ones) may also be used in combination with
other pronouns, such as this (these), that (those), which, each, ev-
ery and other as well as ordinal numerals (e.g. first, second, etc.).
e.g. If you will take this chair, I'll take that one.
I've never seen such big tulips as these ones.
Here are some books for you to read. Which one would you
choose?
There were several houses in the street, each one more ex-
pensive than the other.
If you don't like this magazine, take another one.
My house is the first one on the left.
There are certain restrictions on the use of the prop-word one:
a) one is not used after own,
e.g. I won't go by your car. I'll use my own.
b) one is normally not used after a superlative or comparative
adjective preceded by the definite article,
e.g. The English climate is often said to be the most unpre-
dictable in the world.
Of all the runners my brother was the swiftest.
Of the two armchairs I chose the harder.
Note. Note that the prop-word one is possible when most is used in the mean-
ing of 'very', 'extremely'.
e.g. His collection of stamps is a most valuable one.
c) one is not used after cardinal numerals,
e.g. I have only one friend but you have two.
d) one is to be avoided in formal or scientific English.
Note the idiomatic uses of one in the following sentences:
e.g. He was a man that was liked by one and all. (= by everybody)
The sky was gently turning dark and the men began to de-
part one after the other. (= in succession, not together)
Would you like me to bring them one by one, sir? (= singly,
one at a time, not together)
No, I won't go with you. For one thing, I am very busy at
the moment. (= for one reason)
The little ones always know a good man from a bad one.
(= children)
It isn't the pretty ones that make good wives and mothers.
(= pretty girls)
§ 24. The pronoun none is a noun pronoun. It is negative in
meaning indicating not one or not any and can be used of persons
(cf. no one) as well as of things, countable and uncountable (cf.
nothing). The verb following it may be singular or plural, accord-
ing to the sense required.
e.g. None of us knows where he is going to work.
None of them are any use to me.
None of them really know how ill she is.
We discovered that none of his promises was kept.
He asked them for advice. None was given.
I wanted some more coffee but none was left.
Note. The difference between none and the negatives no one (nobody) and noth-
ing is easily brought out with the help of questions. No one (nobody) is used in an-
swer to a who-question.
e.g. "Who are you speaking to?" "No one (nobody)"
Nothing is used in answer to a what-question,
e.g. "What are you doing there?" "Nothing"
But none is used in answer to a how many- or how much-question.
e.g. "How many fish did you catch?" "None"
"How much petrol is there in the car?" "None"
"How much progress did he make?" "None"
§ 25. The pronoun all can be used as a noun pronoun and as
an adjective pronoun.
All used as a noun pronoun is singular when it means 'every-
thing', 'the whole of a thing'.
e.g. All's well that ends well, (proverb)
I don't find any change here, all looks as it always did.
He has lost all.
Some day his pictures will be worth more than all you have
in your shop.
All used as a noun pronoun is plural when it means 'eve-
rybody', 'the total number of persons, animals or things.'
e.g. All are welcome.
All agree that he has behaved splendidly.
All of us think so.
He made a few suggestions. All of them were acceptable.
When all is used as an adjective pronoun, the verb may be sin-
gular or plural depending on the noun modified by all.
e.g. All the money was spent.
All that business fills me with disgust.
All the trunks are packed ready to go.
All students should register before October 1st.
There are a few peculiarities in the use of all:
1) When all is followed by a noun, there is no preposition be-
tween them.1
e.g. He worked hard all time he was here.
I don't like to speak before all these people.
All my friends were happy to hear the news.
All boys prefer playing games to going to school.
However, when all is followed by a personal pronoun, the
preposition of must be used.
e.g. He has written three novels and all of them were best sellers.
All of us were disappointed by him.
Note. In American English nouns following all are often joined to it, like per-
sonal pronouns, with the help of the preposition of.
e.g. All of our students have registered.
All of these books are mine.
2) Note the possible place of all with nouns (a) and personal
pronouns (b) used as the subject of the sentence.
e.g. a) All the students found the lectures helpful.
The students all found the lectures helpful,
b) All of them found the lectures helpful.
They all found the lectures helpful.
3) All may be followed by an appositive clause which is usually
introduced by the conjunction that or asyndetically.
e.g. Meeting George was the first piece of pure chance that affect-
ed all (that) I did later.
1 For the use or absence of the definite article after all see "Articles", §10, Note.
She listened to all (that) he said with a quiet smile on her lips.
Note the following idiomatic uses of all:
e.g. He is all in. (= He is completely exhausted.)
It was all my fault. (= entirely)
The money is all gone. (= completely)
He was all covered with mud. (= wholly)
I did not understand it at all. (= in the least degree)
After all, people laughed at Manet, though everyone now
knows he was a great painter.
I warn you, once and for all, that this foolishness must stop.
(= for the last and only time)
§ 26. The pronoun every is used only as an adjective pronoun.
It modifies singular countable nouns when there are more than
two objects of the same description.
e.g. After the gale every flower in the garden was broken.
Every head turned to look at them as they progressed slowly
up the aisle.
He knew by heart every word in her letter.
Every morning the landlady greeted him with the same ques-
tion, "Had a good sleep, dear?"
Every time I ring you up, I find you engaged.
He had every reason to believe that he was right.
Note the idiomatic uses of every in the following sentences:
e.g. Every other house in the street was damaged in an air-raid.
(= every second, fourth, sixth, etc. house; about half the
houses)
He comes here every three days. (= every third day)
They had a rest every few miles. (= They had a rest every
time they had walked a few miles.)
Every is a synonym of all when the latter is used attributive-
ly. The use of every is, however, more restricted than that of all
because it cannot be used with uncountable nouns.
With countable nouns, their use appears to be parallel.
e.g. The explosion broke all the windows in the street.
The explosion broke every window in the street.
Yet, in addition to the fact that every precedes singular nouns
and all is associated with plural nouns, there is a difference in
meaning. The distinction between all and every is that in a sen-
tence like All the boys were present we consider the boys in a
mass; in the sentence Every boy was present we are thinking of
the many individual boys that make up the mass. Nevertheless it
is more usual to use every instead of all where possible.
§ 27. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
every; everyone — everybody — everything.
All of them are used as noun pronouns and take a singular
verb. Everyone and everybody can be used only of persons.
e.g. Everyone's got a right to their own opinion.
She took the initiative and herself spoke to everyone she knew.
"Everybody's afraid, aren't they?" he said looking at the peo-
ple around.
Both everyone and everybody can have the form of the gen-
itive case,
e.g. He's sure of everyone's consent.
The difference in meaning between everyone and everybody is
the same as between someone and somebody (see § 22 above). Only
everyone can be followed by an of-phrase.
e.g. He is at once physician, surgeon and healer of the serious
illnesses which threaten everyone of us in England today.
Note. The compounds with one are distinct from such groups as every one, any
one and some one where one is numerical and refers back to a countable noun that oc
curs in the sentence or the context. These groups are often followed by of-phrases.
e.g. I have three sisters. Every one of them is beautiful.
The book opened to them new worlds, and every one of them was glorious.
But he knew that it would not take much for every one of them to start
talking freely.
Give me one of those books — any one will do.
Everything can be used only of things and also takes a sin-
gular verb but it cannot have the genitive case form,
e.g. No wonder everything goes wrong in this house.
I'll tell you everything tonight.
One can't have everything.
§ 28. The pronoun each is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. In the former case it is singular in meaning
and takes a singular verb (a). In the latter case it is associated
with a singular countable noun and can be used when there are at
least two objects of the same description (b).
e.g. a) I told them what each was to do in case of an emergency,
b) For years I thought I remembered each detail of that day.
I have met him each time he has come to London.
We examined each specimen minutely.
He gave each boy a present.
Each as an adjective pronoun is a synonym of every but there
is some difference in meaning between them. Every tends to gath-
| er the separate items into a whole; each focuses attention on them
individually and so tends to disperse the unity, it takes the mem-
bers of a definite group one by one, without adding them up. In
other words, every refers to a number of individuals or things,
considered as a group; each refers to a number of individuals or
things, considered separately.
e.g. Every orange in the crate was wrapped in tissue paper. He care-
fully unwrapped each orange before putting it on the scales.
As a result of its specific meaning, each may be followed by
an of-phrase, which is not possible in the case of every.
e.g. Each of the men signed his name as he came in.
1'11 send each of you some seeds in the autumn.
Each of the ten houses in the row had a garden.
§ 29. The pronoun other can be used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun.
As an adjective pronoun, it is invariable. When it is preceded by
the indefinite article (an), they are written as one word another.
"The other + a singular noun" means 'the second of the two.'
e.g. The insurance offices were on the other side of the street.
He pulled on the other glove and said that, though it was
late, he would run along to his office.
I spent half my time teaching law and the other half in Lon-
don as a consultant to a big firm.
"Another + a singular noun" means 'an additional one', 'a dif-
ferent one'.
e.g. Young Martin had been sent on another errand to the grocer.
Richard stayed for another moment, shifting from one foot
to the other.
We went into another room.
I must find myself another job.
"The other +a plural noun" means 'the rest', 'the remaining',
e.g. My mother said: "I don't want my boy to suffer in any way
at the side of the other boys in the form."
When I returned home I found my wife talking to our neigh-
bour. The other guests had gone.
"Other + a plural noun" means 'additional', 'different', 're-
maining' .
e.g. I have no other friends but you.
"We can do as well as other people," my aunt said.
He said that he would ring Charles up as soon as he got
home. Then he talked of other things all the way.
Some children like milk chocolate, other children prefer plain
chocolate.
As a noun pronoun, other has the plural form others and the
genitive case forms other's and others'.
Other used as a noun pronoun has the same meanings as when
it is used as an adjective pronoun (see above),
e.g. Simon set one foot slightly in front of the other, ready to
fight.
It was only another of her many disappointments.
If that cigar is too strong, try another.
That may be your opinion, but the others think differently. I
have talked to them.
All superiors were important to Mr Vesey, though some were
more important than others.
One of his daughters is married to a man who lives by his
pen. The other's husband is a doctor.
Note the idiomatic uses of other in the following sentences:
e.g. I don't want him to be other than he is.(= I don't want him
to be different.)
She could invent no way of squeezing another nine guineas
out of her budget. (= nine guineas more)
Another fifty yards farther on you can see Marcello's boat.
(= fifty yards more)
"I saw your wife the other day," I said. (= a few days ago)
And somehow or other he had acquired a wide acquaintance
with the less known parts of the city. (= in some way that
cannot be accounted for)
Some idiot or other has been throwing stones at the dog.
§ 30. The pronoun either and its negative counterpart neither
are used as noun pronouns and as adjective pronouns. When used
as nouns, they take a singular verb. Either usually means 'one or
the other of two'.
e.g. Either of these machines is suitable for the work you want
done.
"Which of the two rooms would you like, sir?" "Oh, either. I
don't care."
The news did not shock either of them.
My wife and I watched him make the parcel but he took no
notice of either of us.
Have you seen either of your parents today?
There is a train at 11.30 and one at 12.05. Either train will
get you to Oxford in time for the meeting.
In the above meaning either is mostly used as a noun pronoun,
though occasionally it occurs in the function of an attribute (see
the last example above).
Either may also mean 'each of two'. In this meaning it is used
as an adjective pronoun and mostly found in literary English.
e.g. He came down the road with a girl on either arm.
There was a lamp at either end of the street.
The houses on either side were tall and big.
Neither means 'not the one nor the other'.
e.g. That evening my mother spoke with such quiet anger that
Aunt Milly was intimidated. After that neither of them
was ever willing to take up the subject.
The first time we met after the ball, neither of us said a
word that was not trivial.
My friend and I came to the end of our last walk. "We shall
meet again," she said. "If not next year, then some other
time." Neither of us believed it.
You can keep your astonishment and your mortification for
yourself. I feel neither.
I have travelled by both trains and neither train had a res-
taurant car.
Neither brother has been abroad.
§ 31. The pronoun both is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. It is plural in meaning and applied only to two
persons or things.
e.g. Two men were injured in the accident. Both are now recover-
ing in hospital.
I ordered only one of the two books, but now I think I'll take
both.
Dirk went up to her, and took both her hands.
I made plans for the future that ignored both my parents
and my studies.
I invited one of the brothers but both of them came.
Note the possible place of both in the sentence.
e.g. Both (the) men were interested in the job.
Both these children are mine.
These children are both mine.
Both my children are boys.
Both of them agreed that the matter had better be dropped.
They both accepted the invitation.
They have both been invited.
§ 32. The pronouns much and many are used as noun pro-
nouns and as adjective pronouns.
Much means 'a large amount'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
singular verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only uncount-
able nouns,
e.g. Much of his life was lived inside himself.
"I don't suppose you had much to eat all day," said my mother.
You haven't much time if you want to catch the train.
I hope you haven't brought much luggage.
Many means 'a large number'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
plural verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only countable
nouns in the plural.
e.g. There were lots of people on the beach. Many of them were
holiday- makers.
"I'm marking the children's compositions." "Have you many
left?"
I haven't many friends now.
You haven't made many mistakes this time.
There is a strong tendency in present-day English to use much
and many, particularly when they function as adjective pronouns,
only in interrogative and negative sentences and in object clauses
introduced by if or whether.
e.g. I had not very much advice to give him.
I did not meet many English people who could speak foreign
languages.
Did you have much rain on your holidays?
Do you know many people in London?
I doubt whether there'll be much time for seeing the sights.
The train leaves at six o'clock.
I wonder if many people will come to the party.
Thus He has much time, although apparently correct gram-
matically, is hardly ever seen or heard in present-day English. A
lot of, lots of, plenty of, a great deal of, a large number of, a
good many, a great many and the like replace much and many in
affirmative sentences.
e.g. There is a lot of work to do.
I know plenty of boys in other schools had achieved the same
results as I had.
She knows lots of girls who go out dancing every Saturday.
He has done a great deal of research on the subject.
A large number of people were gathered at the cafe.
My mother's family had been different in a good many ways
from my father's.
A great many mistakes have been made by nearly everybody.
Much and many can be used in affirmative sentences in the
following cases:
a) when they are used as the subject of the sentence, or modify it,
e.g. Much depends on what answer he will give.
Much of what he says is true.
Many think that the situation will improve.
Much time would be saved if you planned your work properly.
Many people like to spend their spare time working in their
gardens.
b) when much and many are modified by adverbs of degree,
e.g. so, too, as and how,
e.g. No, I won't do it. It's too much trouble.
There are too many mistakes in your exercises.
You can have as much fruit as you want.
c) when much is used alone as a noun pronoun in the function
of an object,
e.g. My mother meant much to me.
I would give much to know what he is thinking now.
Note. Occasionally we find such synonymous expressions of much and many as
a world of, heaps of, oceans of and the like. They are used in colloquial English for
emphasis,
e.g. I have heaps of news. When can we talk?
Much and many change for degrees of comparison. They are
more and most.
e.g. He made more progress than I had expected.
I found more letters lying on his table that morning.
He knew more about me than I thought.
Most work was done in my father's office.
Most people hold the same opinion as you do.
The most I can do for you is to give you a letter of recommendation.
Most of his money came from selling his landscapes.
Most of the delegates voted against the proposal.
Most of his relatives lived in the country.
§ 33, The pronouns little and few are used as noun pronouns
and as adjective pronouns.
Little means 'a small amount'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
singular verb. As an adjective pronoun, it is used with uncount-
able nouns.
e.g. Little was known of his life when he was alive.
My story was a record of hard work and little adventure.
Few means 'a small number'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
plural verb. As an adjective pronoun, it is used with countable
nouns in the plural.
e.g. Yet few have been found to deny the man's greatness.
Very few decisions were ever taken in that department.
Both little and few have a negative implication — they mean
'not enough'.
e.g. The shipwrecked sailors had no food and little water.
Few people would agree with you.
A little and a few, which are to be treated as set phrases, have
a positive meaning. They mean 'some though not much (many)'.
e.g. He earns a little money and can live quite comfortably on it.
I suggested that he should get a few grapes and some bread.
Compare:
e.g. I know little about painting. (= almost nothing)
I know a little about painting. (= something)
There is little change in his appearance. (= almost no change)
There is a little change in his appearance. (== some change)
Few birds can be seen in that place. (= almost none)
A few birds can be seen in that place. (= some birds)
He has few friends and lives a lonely life. (= almost none)
He has a few friends who call to see him quite frequently.
(= some friends)
Little and few change for degrees of comparison. Their forms are:
little — less — least
few — fewer — fewest
e.g. Please make less noise.
George gives me the least trouble.
There were fewer people in the bus today.
Who has made the fewest mistakes?
Reciprocal Pronouns
§ 34. There are two reciprocal pronouns in English: each other
and one another. They show that something is done mutually.
Both pronouns are mainly used in the function of an object (di-
rect, indirect or prepositional) in the sentence,
e.g. I knew that my two aunts bitterly disliked each other.
They had come to understand one another, Руке and he,
without anything being said.
But he was a little puzzled by the behaviour of Blanche and
Strickland towards one another.
As is seen from the above examples, both each other and one
another can be used when speaking of two persons. However,
when more than two persons are meant, only one another is usu-
ally used.
e.g. When he entered the cafe he saw the people wink at one an-
other.
Each other and one another can be used in the genitive case,
e.g. They had not met so long that they had forgotten each oth-
er's names.
In their letters they made it a rule to inquire after one an-
other's relatives.
Interrogative Pronouns
§ 35. The interrogative pronouns are: who (whom), whose,
what, which, how much and how many. They are all used in form-
ing questions.
§ 36. The pronoun who asks about persons. It does not dis-
tinguish gender or number. It may be masculine or feminine, sin-
gular or plural in meaning. Who is the nominative case and it is
mainly used as the subject of the sentence.
e.g. Who is coming with me?
Who are the people over there?
The objective case of who is whom which is used as an object
in the sentence. It may be a direct (a) or prepositional object (b).
e.g. a) Whom did you see there?
Whom does he suspect?
b) To whom did you give the message?
Of whom are you thinking?
By whom was it done?
But whom is the literary form and is preferred in writing. In
conversation it is replaced by who. When who happens to be used
as a prepositional object, the preposition is placed at the end of
the sentence.
e.g. Who did you see there?
Who does he suspect?
Who did you give the message to?
Who are you thinking of?
Who was it done by?
Note the idiomatic uses of who in the following sentences:
e.g. It was so dark that I couldn't tell who's who. (= could not
tell one person from the other)
You'll find his name in Who's Who. (= a reference book on
contemporary outstanding people)
§ 37. The pronoun whose is a possessive interrogative pro-
noun. It is used as an adjective pronoun, mostly in the function
of an attribute, though occasionally it occurs as a predicative too.
e.g. Whose room is it going to be?
Whose is the room going to be?
In whose car do you prefer to go? (Whose car do you prefer
to go in?)
§ 38. The pronoun what may be used as a noun pronoun and
as an adjective pronoun.
When it serves as a noun, it asks after things. It may be sin-
gular or plural in meaning. It may be used as the subject, a pred-
icative or an object in the sentence. It has no case forms.
e.g. What's this?
What are those strange objects in the distance?
What is his telephone number?
What is your name?
What do you mean?
About what are you going to ask him?
It should be noted that in the case of a prepositional object it
is more usual to place the preposition at the end of the sentence
in present-day English.
e.g. What are you going to ask him about?
What are you laughing at?
Special attention should be paid to the use of what asking
about a person's profession,
e.g. "What is the man your father is talking to?" "He is a lawyer."
Compare it with a whо-question asking about the identity of a
person.
e.g. "Who is the man your father is talking to?" "He is Mr Clap-
perton, our new neighbour."
What can also be used in asking about actions,
e.g. "What are you doing?" "I'm cleaning the car."
Note the idiomatic uses of what in the following sentences:
e.g. "What is he like?" "He is tall, dark and handsome." ('Как он
ВЫГЛЯДИТ?')
"What is he like as a pianist?" "Oh, he is not very good.
('Что он собой представляет как...?')
Ben suddenly looked at his watch. "What about your den-
tist?" he asked, ('А как же твой врач?')
What about a cigarette? ('Хочешь сигарету?')
What about something to eat? ('Может поедим чего-ни-
будь?')
What of it? ('Ну и что из этого?')
So what? ('Ну и что?')
He's a clever fellow, he knows what's what, ('что хорошо,
что плохо'; 'что к чему')
When what is used as an adjective pronoun it is also in-
variable and serves as an attribute to nouns denoting both persons
and things.
e.g. What languages do you know?
What play did you see last?
What man would have done more?
What feelings do such stories excite?
What artists are going to be exhibited this autumn?
To ask after the kind or sort to which a person or thing be-
longs, synonymous set phrases what kind of and what sort of are
used instead of what.
e.g. What kind of man is he? ('Что он за человек?' 'Какой он
человек?')
What sort of chocolate do you like best? ('какой, какого
сорта')
What kind of house have they bought? ('какой')
What sort of proposition do you want to discuss with me?
('какое предложение'; 'что за предложение')
What preceding a noun may also be used at the head of an ex-
clamatory sentence. (This what is sometimes called the exclama-
tory what.)
e.g. What a stupid thing he has said!
What splendid pictures they have in their collection!
What marvellous news he brought!
What fun we had yesterday!
§ 39. The pronoun which is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. It is used of persons and things and is invari-
able in form. It can have the function of the subject, an object
and an attribute in the sentence.
The use of which is more restricted than that of what because
which is selective — it selects one or more out of a definite num-
ber of persons or things.
e.g. Which will you have, tea or coffee?
Which way shall we go?
Which pen does the cap belong to?
Which author are you more interested in?
Which students have answered all the questions correctly?
As a result of its selective meaning, which is often followed bу
an of-phrase.
e.g. Which of your friends will you invite to the party?
Which of them said that?
Which of his books are you reading now?
Compare the use of what and which in the following sentences:
e.g. What TV programmes do you usually watch? Which of them
is your favorite one?
What examinations are you going to take this term? Which
of them do you find most difficult?
What car have you? Which car is yours?
§ 40. The pronouns how much and how many are used as noun
pronouns and as adjective pronouns.
How much asks about the amount of something and is used of
or with only uncountable nouns.
e.g. How much did you find out?
How much money do you need?
How many asks about the number of persons and things and is
used of or with only countable nouns,
e.g. "There are several people sitting at the fireplace." "How many
can you count?"
How many people took part in the experiment?
How many invitations have been sent out?
§ 41. The interrogative pronouns who, what and which may be
made emphatic by adding ever. Ever here means something like
'on earth', 'in the world'. Depending on the situation, questions
introduced by the emphatic forms in -ever express different emo-
tions, such as surprise, anger, despair, indignation, etc. The use
of the form in -ever is distinctly colloquial,
e.g. Whoever (who ever) can be calling at this time of the night?
Whoever (who ever) heard of such a silly idea?
Whatever (what ever) were you thinking of to suggest such a
plan?
He gets up at five o'clock every morning. What ever for?
Conjunctive Pronouns
§42. The pronouns who {whom), whose, what, which, how
much, how many and that are used to connect subordinate clauses
with the principal clause. Owing to their auxiliary function they
are called conjunctive pronouns. At the same time they all have
an independent syntactic function in the subordinate clause.
e.g. Do you know who has bought the house? (subject)
He always said exactly what he thought, (object)
I'm surprised to see how much he had done in so short a
time, (object)
I walked past a row of houses whose front doors opened onto
the pavement, (attribute)
You'll never guess what present I want him to give me. (at
tribute)
I had to find out what he was. (predicative)
When conjunctive pronouns are used in the function of a
prepositional object, the preposition is generally placed at the end
of the clause.
e.g. The man who(m) I spoke to is my neighbour.
You are the very person that I have been looking for.
Who it was done by is for us to find out.
Conjunctive pronouns may be used to introduce different
kinds of clauses, except adverbial clauses and appositive clauses,
which are introduced only by conjunctions.
e.g. What was done cannot be undone, (subject clause)
The question is which of them is going to be appointed presi-
dent of the firm, (predicative clause)
Life in the country isn't what it used to be, you know, (pred-
icative clause)
I don't know whose handwriting it is. (object clause)
I'll surprise you by what I'll do. (prepositional object clause)
He is one of the men whom I can trust, (attributive clause)
§ 43. It is noteworthy that not all the conjunctive pronouns can
be used with all kinds of clauses mentioned above. Thus, subject,
predicative and object clauses can be introduced by the conjunctive
pronouns who (whom), whose, which and how much, how many.
The use of these conjunctive pronouns does not differ from that
of the corresponding interrogative pronouns (see §§ 36-40 above).
That is no longer a conjunctive pronoun when it introduces one of
these clauses, but a mere conjunction because it has no syntactic
function in the subordinate clause.
e.g. That he is going to resign is no secret.
My guess is that he is in love.
I know that he is no fool.
§ 44. Attributive clauses can be introduced by who (whom),
whose, which and that. The conjunctive pronouns in this case al-
ways refer to some noun (or noun equivalent) in the principal
clause. That is why they are also called relative pronouns. The
noun they refer to is called their antecedent
The relative pronoun who (whom) is used only of persons.
e.g. They were worried about their nephews who were taking part
in the war.
He interviewed several men and engaged one who had been
discharged from the army.
He was a man who meant what he said.
I wish I knew the man who owns that farm.
The hostess continued the introduction, "Here is Mr Swift, a
tutor, and my nephew Maurice, whom he's tutoring."
Meg loved her little brother to whom she had been a second
mother.
The relative pronoun whose may be used of both persons and
things.
e.g. We went one day to the picture-dealer in whose shop my
brother thought he could buy a picture or two.
When it came to literature, young Maurice was the one
whose reading in any way compared with Swift's.
There are newspapers in Great Britain whose pages are large-
ly filled with news of sport and with stories of film-stars,
or accounts of crime and of law-court trials.
The relative pronoun which is used of things.
e.g. She sat down behind the tea tray which the servant had just
brought in.
As I walked up the endless stairs of the house in which
Strickland lived, I confess I was a little excited.
She obtained some opinions which later I realized were en-
tirely sensible.
She had never owned a dress which her girlfriends would con-
sider expensive.
Note. With a collective noun used as the antecedent the relative who is used
when the individuals forming the group are meant, and the relative which when the
group as whole is meant.
e.g. He wanted to interview someone from the team who were now resting.
He wanted to interview someone from the team which was winning.
Which is also used if the antecedent of the attributive clause
is the whole of the principal clause.
e.g. That day she took her share of the meal, which nowadays she
rarely did.
He invited us to dinner, which was very kind of him.
The decision was postponed, which was exactly what he wanted.
The attributive clauses of the above type are always separated
from their principal clause by a comma (see the examples above).
The relative pronoun which in this type of attributive clauses is
rendered in Russian as что .
Which preceded by the preposition of is parallel in meaning to
whose when the latter is used of things.
Cf. We crossed the river the current of which was very rapid.
We crossed the river whose current was very rapid.
That is used of both persons and things, singular and plural.
e.g. You are the very people that I've been meaning to speak to.
He is not a man that can understand such things.
That was all the education that she had had during her girl-
hood.
She had a wit that was irresistible.
The actress told him of the plays that she had been in and
what parts she had had.
That (not who or which or what) is used:
a) after most indefinite pronouns,
e.g. Have you got all that you need?
Sylvia had always had everything that she wanted.
There is not much that can be done.
Fred looked about the room, trying to discover something
that might remind him of Sally.
He never says anything that is worth listening to.
b) after nouns modified by an adjective in the superlative de-
gree as well as by first or last.
e.g. Yesterday was one of the coldest days that I've ever known.
He has written the best book that I've ever read on the sub-
ject.
It was the first time that he heard of the episode.
c) after a noun modified by same,
e.g. She wore the same dress that I had seen her in at her sister's
wedding.
d) when the antecedent is both a person and a thing,
e.g. He talked of the people and the places that he had visited.
Unlike who and which, that cannot be preceded by a pre-
position.
Cf. This is the letter about which I told you.
This is the letter that I told you about.
Note. When a relative pronoun serves as a prepositional object, the following
sentence patterns are possible.
e.g. This is the story of which I spoke.
This is the story which I spoke of.
This is the story that I spoke of.
This is the story I spoke of.
Attributive clauses fall into two groups — non-defining and
defining clauses (see "Articles", § 15). That as a relative pronoun
is possible only with defining clauses, i.e. attributive clauses that
cannot be removed from the sentence without destroying its
meaning. Note, however, that who and which can be used with
both kinds of attributive clauses — defining and non-defining.
e.g. At the time I was reading a book that (which) I had heard so
much about.
At the time I was reading an interesting book which later on
I gave as a present to my niece.
I'd like you to meet the girl that (whom) I'm going to marry.
She is both charming and clever. I'd like you to meet the
girl, who(m) you are sure to fall for.
Relative pronouns are often dropped in spoken English unless
they perform the function of the subject of the sentence or intro-
duce non-defining attributive clauses.
e.g. At the party I saw some people____ I knew personally.
The man___ I gave up my seat to was very grateful.
Is it the paper__ you wanted to see?
He went back the way he had come.
NUMERALS
§ 1. Numerals include two classes of words — cardinal and or-
dinal numerals.
Cardinal numerals indicate number: one, two, three, four, ten,
twelve, eighteen, twenty, thirty-three, seventy-five, ninety-one, a
hundred, one hundred and forty-six, two hundred and twenty-
eight, a thousand, three thousand and fifty-two, seven thousand
three hundred and seventeen, etc.
Note 1. The numerals hundred, thousand and million are always preceded by
the indefinite article a or the numeral one. The latter is generally used when these
numerals are followed by some other numerals, e.g. a hundred but one hundred and
twenty three; a thousand but one thousand seven hundred and thirty.
Note 2, Care should be taken to remember the following patterns:
a) five hundred books (= 500 books), b) hundreds of books,
three thousand cars (= 3,000 cars), thousands of cars,
two million workers (= 2,000,000 workers), millions of workers.
In the examples under (a) the exact number of persons or things is given; in
the examples under (b) hundred, thousand and million do not indicate any exact
number but only a great multitude of persons or things.
Ordinal numerals indicate order: first, second, third, fourth,
tenth, twelfth, eighteenth, twenty-fifth, forty-seventh, a hun
dredth, two hundred and thirty-ninth, etc.
(For the use of articles with ordinal numerals see "Articles", § ll.)
Note 1. Dates are read in the following way:
1st September, 1944 — the first of September (September the first),
nineteen {hundred and) forty four, 5th January, 1807 — the fifth of January
{January the fifth), eighteen hundred and seven.
Note 2. Common fractions are read in the following way: — 2/3= two thirds;
3/8 = three eights; 5/12 = five twelfths.
Decimal fractions are read as 3.5 = three point five 4.76 = four point seventy six, 8.03 — eight point naught three,
§ 2. Both cardinal and ordinal numerals can have certain func-
tions of nouns (a) and of adjectives (b) in the sentence.
e.g. a) Three of the schoolboys fell ill with scarlet fever.
There were four of us there.
"Will you have another cup of tea?" "No, thank you. I've
had two."
There were three questions in the test. The second was
particularly difficult.
Jane was the first to wake up.
"Which exercise would you like to do first?" "I think I'd
begin with the third."
b) We had three visitors that day. The first visitor to arrive
was my aunt Milly.
ADVERBS
§ 1. Adverbs are a miscellaneous class of words which is not
easy to define. Some adverbs resemble pronouns, e.g. here, there,
then, where. Others have a lot in common with prepositions, e.g.
about, since, in, before, over. Still others are derived, from adjec-
tives, e.g. seriously, slowly, remarkably.
Adverbs have diverse lexical meanings and differ from each
other in their structure and role in the sentence.
Structurally, some adverbs are single words (e.g. fast, well,
clearly, somehow, nowhere, sideways, southward(s), etc.), others
are phrases (e.g. at last, all along, at first, in front, from above,
since then, till later, for once, the day after tomorrow, all of a
sudden, as a result, etc.).
Most adverbs serve to modify verbs, adjectives and other ad-
verbs in the sentence.
e.g. He spoke resolutely.
They are coming here tomorrow.
He has known it all along.
My mother looked somewhat pale.
She knew him very well.
Some adverbs modify whole sentences expressing an evaluation
of what is said in the sentence with respect to either the form of
communication or to its content.
e.g. Briefly, there is nothing more I can do about it.
Frankly, I am tired.
Still other adverbs have a connective function between what is
being said and what was said before.
e.g. I've talked to him several times about the matter, and yet he
does nothing about it.
He, however, hasn't arrived yet.
The girl seems very intelligent, though.
She wouldn't come anyway.
Classification of Adverbs
§ 2. According to their meaning, adverbs fall into the follow-
ing groups:
1) adverbs of time: afterwards, already, at once, eventually,
immediately, lately, now, presently, soon, suddenly, then, when,
yesterday, yet, etc.
e.g. He is coming tomorrow.
He is now in his office.
2) adverbs of frequency: always, constantly, hardly ever, never,
occasionally, often, seldom, sometimes, three times, twice, etc.
e.g. He is always in time for meals.
They sometimes stay up all night.
3) adverbs of place or direction: abroad, ashore, backwards, be-
low, downstairs, everywhere, here, inside, outside, seaward(s),
there, to and fro, where, etc.
e.g. I looked for him everywhere.
It was all rather dark within.
A dog began to bark somewhere inside.
The use of somewhere, anywhere and nowhere in different
kinds of sentences is similar to the use of the corresponding in-
definite pronouns some, any and no (see "Pronouns", §§ 19-22).
4) adverbs of manner: badly, clearly, deeply, fast, how, quickly,
sideways, sincerely, somehow, well, willingly, etc.
e.g. He speaks English well.
George played very badly in the match yesterday.
Adverbs of manner saying how an action is performed can
freely occur with dynamic verbs, but not with stative verbs.
e.g. He looked into the problem carefully.
He walked upstairs quietly.
The boy blushed violently.
5) adverbs of degree or intensifiers: completely, enough, ex-
tremely, highly, muck, nearly, perfectly, pretty, quite, rather, re-
ally, so, somewhat, terribly, too, unusually, very, etc.
e.g. I quite agree with you.
He is very clever.
He did it quickly enough.
Adverbs of degree or intensifiers may be subdivided into three
semantic groups:
a) emphasizers (emphasizing the truth of the communication):
actually, at all, clearly, definitely, indeed, just, literally, plainly,
really, simply, etc.
e.g. I really don't know what he wants.
They literally tore his arguments to pieces.
I simply don't believe you.
I just can't understand it.
You haven't done it well at all.
b) amplifiers (expressing a high degree): absolutely, altogether,
badly, bitterly, completely, deeply, entirely, extremely, (by) far,
fully, greatly, heartily, much, perfectly, quite, terribly, thoroughly,
utterly, very, etc.
e.g. I thoroughly disapprove of his methods.
He completely ignored my request.
He needs a warm coat badly.
They are very close friends.
Your work is not altogether satisfactory.
c) downtoners (lowering the effect): a bit, almost, barely,
enough, hardly, kind of, (a) little, moderately, more or less, near-
ly, partly, quite, rather, scarcely, slightly, somewhat, sort of, suffi-
ciently, etc.
e.g. I know him slightly.
I partly agree with you.
I kind of like him.
I don't like his attitude a bit.
I almost believed him.
6) focusing adverbs, which can be of two kinds:
a) restrictive: alone, exactly, just, merely, only, precisely,
purely, simply, especially, etc.
e.g. I am simply asking the time.
My father alone could help me at the time.
b) additive: again, also, either, equally, even, too, etc.
e.g. He didn't answer my letter again.
I, too, am very busy at the moment.
7) viewpoint adverbs: economically, morally, politically, scien-
tifically, weatkerwise, etc. Such adverbs are understood to mean
'from a moral (political, scientific) point of view*.
e.g. Geographically and linguistically, these islands are closer to
the mainland than to the neighbouring islands.
Economically, the project is bound to fail.
8) attitudinal adverbs which express the speaker's comment
on the content of what he is saying. Such adverbs can be of two
kinds:
a) adverbs expressing a comment on the truth-value of what is
being said, indicating the extent to which the speaker believes
what he is saying is true: admittedly, allegedly, apparently, cer-
tainly, decidedly, definitely, doubtless, maybe, obviously, perhaps,
possibly, presumably, probably, quite likely, supposedly, surely, un-
doubtedly, etc.
e.g. Perhaps the public does not have much choice in the matter.
Certainly, he had very little reason to fear anyone.
b) adverbs expressing some attitude towards what is being
said: amazingly, cleverly, (in)correctly, curiously, foolishly,
(un)fortunately, funnily enough, (un)happily, incredibly, ironical-
ly, (un)justly, (un)luckily, oddly, preferably, reasonably, remark-
ably, sensibly, significantly, strangely, tragically, typically, unex-
pectedly, etc.
e.g. He is wisely staying at home tonight.
Naturally we were extremely annoyed when we received the
letter.
9) conjunctive adverbs: above all, accordingly, alternatively,
anyhow, anyway, as a result, at any rate, besides, by the way,
consequently, finally, first(ly), for all that, for example, further,
furthermore, hence, however, incidentally, in other words, in spite
of that, instead, in that case, lastly, likewise, meantime, mean
while, namely, nevertheless, next, on the contrary, on the one (oth-
er) hand, otherwise, rather, secondly, similarly, so, still, that is,
then, therefore, though, thus, too, yet, etc.
e.g. I'd like you to do two things for me. First, phone the office
and tell them I'll be late. Secondly, order a taxi to be here
in about half an hour.
Incidentally, he left you a message. It is on your desk.
I didn't like the food there. However, I didn't complain
about it.
He has been working very hard. He looks fit, though.
10) formulaic adverbs (markers of courtesy): cordially, kindly,
please, etc.
e.g. Will you kindly help me with the parcel?
We cordially invite you to our party.
Let me have a look at the picture, please.
§ 3. The adverbs when, where, how and why belonging to dif-
ferent semantic groups mentioned above have one point in com-
mon — they serve to form questions and introduce some kinds of
subordinate clauses. In the former case, owing to their auxiliary
function, they are called interrogative adverbs (a). In the latter
case, also owing to their auxiliary function, they are called con-
junctive adverbs (b). In both cases they perform different adver-
bial functions in the sentence.
e.g. a) When did you see him last? (adverbial modifier of time)
Where are you going? (adverbial modifier of place)
How did you manage it? (adverbial modifier of manner)
Why didn't you tell me about it? (adverbial modifier of
cause)
b) Sunday was the day when he was least busy, (adverbial
modifier of time)
The thing to find out was where he was then, (adverbial
modifier of place)
How it was done remains a mystery to me. (adverbial modi-
fier of manner)
I wanted to know why he had left us so abruptly, (adverbi-
al modifier of cause)
As is seen from the above examples, the conjunctive adverbs
can introduce attributive, predicative, subject and object clauses.
The adverb how, in addition to the above functions, can also
be placed at the head of an exclamatory sentence. In this case it is
often followed by an adjective or an adverb but it may also be
used alone. This how is sometimes called the exclamatory how.
e.g. How unfair grown-ups are!
Oh, how the baby cries!
Forms of Adverbs
§ 4. A considerable number of adverbs are formed from adjec-
tives by adding -ly, e.g. calm, — calmly, slow — slowly, kind —
kindly, etc.
Spelling notes:
a)adjectives ending in -y change it to -i, e.g. gay — gaily,
busy — busily, happy — happily, but: dry — dryly/drily;
b) adjectives ending in -able/ible drop the final e and add -y, e.g.
capable — capably, suitable — suitably, sensible — sensibly etc;
c) adjectives ending in -l double it, e.g. skilful — skilfully, final —
finally, beautiful — beautifully.
But adverbs cannot be formed from adjectives already ending
in -ly, such as manly, friendly, silly, lively, fatherly, etc. An ad-
verbial phrase is used in this case instead of an adverb, e.g. in a
silly way, in a friendly manner, etc.
Some adverbs, however, have the same form as the corre-
sponding adjective.
e.g. He walked very fast.
The road runs straight for miles.
He got up very early.
He didn't try hard enough.
I didn't wait for him long.
He spelled my name wrong.
Some other adverbs have two forms: the adjective form and
the form in -ly. In most cases the two forms differ in meaning.
e.g. He came late.
I haven't seen him lately.
The time is drawing near for our departure.
I nearly missed my train.
He works hard.
He hardly ever works.
It is pretty early.
She was prettily dressed.
There is also a group of adverbs with which the form without
-ly is mainly found in set phrases where it often undergoes some
change of meaning.
e.g. They travelled cheaply.
He bought (sold, got) the car cheap.
She brushed the floor cleanly.
The bullet went clean (= right) through his shoulder.
He spoke loudly and clearly.
Stand clear of the door.
Keep clear of the painted wall.
He shut the door closely.
He followed close behind.
Keep close to me.
He loved his daughter dearly.
He sold (bought) it dear.
It cost him dear.
He paid dear(ly) for it.
He found his way easily.
Take it easy.
Go easy about it.
They never treated him fairly at school.
You must play (fight) fair.
They criticized my work freely.
People are admitted to the museum free.
I firmly believe that he can be made to see our point.
I shall stand firm.
They thought (spoke) highly of him.
The plane flew high.
He paid high for his mistake.
He spoke sharply to me.
But: Turn sharp to the right.
He will arrive shortly.
It happened shortly before the war.
He cut me short.
I saw him stop short and then walk back.
The car passed slowly.
Go slow about it.
The books were tightly packed in the crate.
Hold tight.
They differ widely in opinions.
He was wide awake.
His eyes were wide open.
In a few cases both forms can be used with little, if any, dif-
ference in meaning.
e.g. He talked loud/loudly.
He turned the idea down flat/flatly.
He drove the car slow/slowly.
He came back quick/quickly.
Note 1. Care should be taken to remember that after the link-verbs to feel, to
smell, to taste, etc. only adjectives are used as predicatives.
e.g. He felt happy.
She is feeling bad (well).
The flowers smelled sweet.
The medicine tastes bitter.
Note 2. After certain intransitive verbs we find both adjectives and adverbs,
e.g. The wind blew strong(ly).
The sun shone bright(ly).
They stood motionless(ly).
They sat weary /wearily on the porch.
They lay silent(ly) on the grass.
Note 3. There are a few adjectives and adverbs in English which have the same form
in -ly. They have been derived from nouns, e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, hourly, etc.
e.g. It was his daily duty to water the flowers.
Most newspapers appear daily.
Degrees of Comparison
§ 5. Most adverbs are invariable. But certain adverbs of man-
ner change for degrees of comparison. The degrees of comparison
of adverbs are formed in the same way as those of adjectives.
Monosyllabic adverbs and the adverb early form the com-
parative and the superlative degrees by adding the suffixes -er
and -est.
e.g. hard — harder — hardest
soon — sooner — soonest
early — earlier — earliest
The degrees of comparison of all other adverbs are formed by
placing more and most before them.
e.g. beautifully —- more beautifully — most beautifully
cleverly — more cleverly — most cleverly
A few adverbs have irregular degrees of comparison.
e.g. well — better — best
badly — worse — worst
much — more — most
little — less — least
Note that it is only the comparative degree of adverbs that is
actually found in English.
e.g. He ran faster than the wind.
Little Martha danced even more beautifully than her sister.
In the combinations most successfully, most wisely and the
like, most is an adverb of degree denoting 'very'. It is only the
superlatives best, most, worst and least that are actually used.
e.g, John's sister Marian was very nice to me, and I liked her
best of them all.
None of us played well, but Tom played worst that day.
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