NOUNS The plural form of most nouns is created simply by adding the letter "s". more than one snake = snakes more than one girl = girls more than one window = windows Nouns that end in -ch, x, s, z or s-like sounds, however, will require an es for the plural: more than one witch = witches more than one box = boxes more than one kiss = kisses Nouns that end in a vowel + y take the letter s: more than one boy = boys more than one way = ways Nouns that end in a consonant + y drop the y and take ies: more than one baby = babies more than one lorry = lorries A lot of nouns that end in o take es in the plural: more than one potato = potatoes more than one hero = heroe

Pronouns Definition A pronoun (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.) is a word that takes the place of a noun. In the sentence Joe saw Jill, and he waved at her, the pronouns he and her take the place of Joe and Jill, respectively. There are three types of pronouns: subject (for example, he); object (him); or possessive (his). Rule 1. Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. You can remember subject pronouns easily by filling in the blank subject space for a simple sentence. Example: ___ did the job. I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever, etc., all qualify and are, therefore, subject pronouns. Rule 2. Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They will follow to be verbs, such as is, are, was, were, am, will be, had been, etc. Examples: It is he. This is she speaking. It is we who are responsible for the decision to downsize

NOTE In informal English, most people tend to follow to be verbs with object pronouns like me, her, them. Many English scholars tolerate this distinction between formal and casual English. Example: It could have been them. Technically correct: It could have been they. Example: It is just me at the door. Technically correct: It is just I at the door. Rule 4. Object pronouns are used everywhere else beyond Rules 1 and 2 (direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition). Object pronouns include me, him, herself, us, them, themselves, etc Examples: Jean saw him. Him is the direct object. Give her the book. Her is the indirect object. The direct object is book. Are you talking to me? Me is the object of the preposition to. Rule 5. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural depending on the subject. If the subject is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb. Example: He is the only one of those men who is always on time. The word who refers to one. Therefore, use the singular verb is. Sometimes we must look more closely to find a verb's true subject: Example: He is one of those men who are always on time. The word who refers to men. Therefore, use the plural verb are

In sentences like this last example, many would mistakenly insist that one is the subject, requiring is always on time. But look at it this way: Of those men who are always on time, he is one. Rule 6. Pronouns that are singular (I, he, she, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody, each, either, neither, etc.) require singular verbs. This rule is frequently overlooked when using the pronouns each, either, and neither, followed by of. Those three pronouns always take singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of. Examples: Each of the girls sings well. Either of us is capable of doing the job. Neither of them is available to speak right now. Exception: When each follows a noun or pronoun in certain sentences, even experienced writers sometimes get tripped up: Incorrect: The women each gave her approval. Correct: The women each gave their approval. Incorrect: The words are and there each ends with a silent vowel. Correct: The words are and there each end with a silent vowel. These examples do not contradict Rule 6, because each is not the subject, but rather an adjunct describing the true subject. Rule 7. To decide whether to use the subject or object pronoun after the words than or as, mentally complete the sentence. Examples: Tranh is as smart as she/her. If we mentally complete the sentence, we would say Tranh is as smart as she is. Therefore, she is the correct answer.

Zoe is taller than I/me. Mentally completing the sentence, we have Zoe is taller than I am. Daniel would rather talk to her than I/me. We can interpret this sentence in two ways: Daniel would rather talk to her than to me. OR Daniel would rather talk to her than I would. A sentence's meaning can change considerably, depending on the pronoun you choose. Rule 8. The possessive pronouns yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, and whose never need apostrophes. Avoid mistakes like her's and your's. Rule 9. The only time it's has an apostrophe is when it is a contraction for it is or it has. The only time who's has an apostrophe is when it means who is or who has. There is no apostrophe in oneself. Avoid "one's self," a common error. Examples: It's been a cold morning. The thermometer reached its highest reading. He's the one who's always on time. He's the one whose wife is always on time. Keeping oneself ready is important.

ADJECTIVES A compound adjective is sometimes called a hyphenated adjective. What are they? Let's look at the following sentences: I saw a man-eating alligator. I saw a man eating alligator. The first sentence contains a compound adjective. The second sentence doesn't. However the meaning of the two sentences are very different as can be seen in the picture below:

I saw a man-eating alligator. We are describing the alligator I saw a man-eating alligator. We are describing the alligator. What type of alligator is it? It is one that eats men (or people). I saw a man eating alligator. This sentence without the hyphen sounds like a man is eating an alligator. (man is the subject, eating is the verb, alligator is the object or thing that is being eaten). As you can see, the hyphen (or lack of it) makes a big difference in the meaning of the sentence. Before we explain in more detail why we put that hyphen between those two words in the first sentence, we need to do a quick review of Adjectives. What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that describes something. A red car (red is an adjective because it describes the car. How is the car? Red) A big book (big is an adjective because it describes the book. How is the book? Big) But sometimes we use more than one adjective to describe something. Compound adjectives A compound adjective is an adjective that contains two or more words. In general we put a hyphen between two or more words (before a noun) when we want them to act as a single idea (adjective) that describes something. I live in an English-speaking country.

English-speaking is an adjective (used to describe the country) English-speaking is an adjective (used to describe the country). We use a hyphen to connect the word English with speaking to show that it is one adjective (or one idea). This adjective with two words joined by the hyphen is called a compound adjective. Some more examples of compound adjectives are: Our office is in a twenty-storey building. *I have just finished reading a 300-page book. He is a well-known writer. There are many types of Compound Adjectives. Here is a list of the most common types: Compound Adjectives + Periods of Time When he have compound adjectives using numbers + a time period, that word referring to a time period is in singular form and is joined to the number with a hyphen. I work eight hours every day --> I work an eight-hour day I'm going on vacation for three weeks --> I have a three-week vacation There was a delay of 5 seconds --> There was a five-second delay Notice how we normally write the number as a word, not in numerical form. Adverbs and Compound Adjectives Adverbs modify a verb. She walks slowly. How does she walk? Slowly. Slowly is an adverb that modifies (or describes) the verb. Adverbs can also be used to modify an adjective. It is very hot today. (Very is an adverb) She is extremely intelligent. (Extremely is an adverb) Notice how we do not put a hyphen between an adverb and an adjective (not even before a noun). It is a very hot day. She is an extremely intelligent girl.

Adverb + Past Participle However when we have an Adverb + past participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective. This is a brightly-lit room. She is a well-known actress. We live in a densely-populated city. Noun + Past Participle When we have a noun + past participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective. We should start using wind-powered generators to cut costs. I love eating sun-dried raisins. Noun + Present Participle When we have a noun + present participle, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective. I bought some mouth-watering strawberries. That was a record-breaking jump. Noun + Adjective When we have a noun + adjective, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective. She is a world-famous singer. This is a smoke-free restaurant. Adjective + Noun When we have an adjective + noun, we put a hyphen between the two words to make it a compound adjective. It was a last-minute decision. We watched the full-length version of the movie.