Gender

Gender tells us about the sex of the noun. In Grammar-Nouns, there are FOUR GENDERS. 1. Masculine gender: A noun is said to be in the Masculine gender if it refers to a male character or member of a species. Man, lion, hero, boy, king, horse and actor are nouns of masculine gender. Example: A boy is playing in the play-ground. Hero of the movie is not a native of this country. In these sentences the words boy and hero are masculine-gender nouns. The next in the Noun-Gender is feminine gender. 2. Feminine gender: A noun is said to be in the feminine gender if it refers to a female member of a species. Woman, lioness, heroine, girl, mare, niece, empress, cow and actress are few of the feminine-gender nouns that we use. Example: A girl is playing in the play-ground. Heroine of the movie is not a native of this country. In these sentences the words girl and heroine are feminine-gender nouns. The next in the Noun-Gender is common gender. 3. Common gender: A noun is said to be in Common gender if it refers to a member of species which can be a male or a female. Child, student, friend, applicant, candidate, servant, member, parliamentarian and leader are few of the common-gender nouns. Example: A child is playing in the play-ground. A Parliamentarian should have command over his language. In these sentences the words, child and parliamentarian are nouns of common gender. The next in the Noun-Gender is neuter gender. 4. Neuter gender: A noun is said to be in the neuter gender if it refers to a member of a species which is neither a male nor a female. Normally nouns referring to lifeless objects are in neuter nouns.

Chair, table, tree, star, mountain, street, book, car, school, paper, pencil and computer are few of the neuter nouns which we use regularly. Example: Computer has brought about drastic changes in our lives. Tree is cleansing the air. Stars are not visible in the day-time. Books are our best friends. In these sentences the words, computer, tree, stars and books are the neutergender nouns. NOTE: a. Collective nouns, even if they refer to living-beings, are used as neuter-nouns. Example: i. The army is doing its task. ii. The police are called to manage the situation. In these sentences the nouns (army and police) refer to only living-beings. But they are used only as neuter-nouns. b.Objects noted for their power, strength, and violence are used as Masculine gender nouns. The sun, summer, time, death etc are masculine-gender nouns. Example: i. The sun is so scorching now that we can not go out now to face him without an umbrella. ii. The death is cruel. He is as certain as tomorrow. In these sentences the words sun and death have been used as Masculine-gender nouns. c. Objects noted for their beauty, gentleness and grace are used as feminine-gender nouns. The moon, the earth, spring, charity etc are feminine-gender nouns. Example: i. The moon is so bright at this time that she induces romantic mood in us. ii. The earth is patient. Her beauty is spoiled day-by-day. The masculine-genders and their respective feminine-genders have been given below for your reference.

Masculine genders-----Feminine gen ders 1. Bachelor----- Spinster

15. Hunter----- Huntress 16. Negro----- Negress 17. Emperor----- Empress

2. Bachelor----- Maid 18. Traitor----- Traitress 3. Bullock----- Heifer 19. Prince----- Princess 4. Dog----- Bitch 20. Lion----- Lioness 5. Drone------ Bee 21. Bull----- Cow 6. Horse----- Mare 22. Ox----- Cow 7. Nephew----- Niece 23. Mayor----- Mayoress 8. Jew----- Jewess 24. Tiger----- Tigress 9. Wizard----- Witch 25. Actor----- Actress 10. Heir----- Heiress 26. Host----- Hostess 11. Manager----- Manageress 27. Uncle----- Aunt 12. Poet----- Poetess 28. Monk----- Nun 13. Shepherd----- Shepherdess 29. Gentleman----- Lady 14. Benefactor----- Benefactress 30. Duke----- Duchess

NOUN-CASES
The CASE of a noun tells us about the position of that noun in a sentence. In English there are FIVE CASES. They are: Nominative case Objective case (or Accusative case) Dative case Possessive case (or Genitive case) Vocative case All these five Cases have been explained in detail below. Are you going as you wish in the process of learning Grammar?

Take a breath. This section of Noun-Cases will simplify your process. 1. Nominative case: A noun is said to be in the Nominative case if it is the subject of a verb. (SUBJECT is the person or the thing who or which carries out the action of the verb in the sentence) Examples: Mr. Ram is an intelligent boy. Mr. Ram is a proper noun in Nominative case. The painter paints the portraits. The painter is a common noun in Nominative case. I am buying vegetables for my family. I is a pronoun in Nominative case. These examples carry another term "pronoun" which is a word used to represent a noun. For example: I, We, You, He, She, it and they are the seven pronouns. There are only seven pronouns. Only other variations of these seven pronouns are there. Those variations can be used in place of the nouns. The next one in the Noun-cases is: 2. Objective case (or Accusative case): Nouns or pronouns are said to be in Objective cases if they are the direct objects of verbs or if they are the objects of preposition. (Direct object is the person or the thing upon whom or upon which the action of the verb is carried out). Examples: I met your sister. Your sister is in objective case. The vendors sell mangoes. Mangoes is in objective case. The book is on the table. Table is in objective case. It is object of the preposition on. This is one of my policies. Policies is in objective case. It is object of the preposition of. The next one in the Noun-cases is:

3. Dative case: A noun is said to be in dative case if it is the Indirect object of the verb. (Indirect object of the verb is the noun for whom or for which the action of the verb is carried out). There should not be a preposition before the indirect object because in that case it will be the object of that preposition. Examples: The teacher gave the students few exercises. Students is in dative case. It is the indirect object of the verb give. The Postman brought me a letter. Me is in dative case. Get him a pen. Him is in dative case. The next one in the Noun-cases is: 4. Possessive case (Genitive case): A noun is said to be in possessive case, if it denotes possession or ownership. A noun or pronoun in the possessive case is governed by the noun that follows it. Examples: This is your pencil. (Your is in possessive case. It is our idea. Our is in possessive case. Johns sister has been hospitalized. Johns is in possessive case. The last one in the Noun-cases is: 5. Vocative case: A noun or a pronoun is said to be in Vocative case if it is used to call (or to get the attention of) a person or persons. Examples: Mr. Bill, students are waiting for you in the main hall. Mr. Bill is in vocative case. You there, stand up.

You is in vocative case. Brother, a letter for you. Brother is in vocative case. Chairman, all the letters are posted two days ago. Chairman is in vocative case. The nouns do not change their forms in the Nominative and Objective cases. But few pronouns change their forms between Nominative and Objective cases. Nominative case ________Objective case_________ Possessive case 1. I __________________ me__________________ my 2. We_________________us____________________our 3. You________________ You___________________your 4. He_________________ him____________________his 5. She_________________her_____________________her 6. It___________________it_______________________its 7. They_________________them______________________their

Forma posesiva
Pentru a exprima posesiunea unui substantiv, se foloseste Forma posesiva a substantivului, care se formeaza in diferite moduri. - La forma de singular a substantivelor care nu se termina n s se adauga 's : Ex.: a child's voice (vocea unui copil), the people's choice (alegerea oamenilor), a dog's mouth (gura unui caine), women's clothes (haine de /pt. femei) - Cu formele de plural ale substantivelor care se termina n s se foloseste doar apostroful (') : Ex.: a boys' school (o scoala de baieti), the sisters' house (casa surorilor) - Numele proprii terminate n s vor primi fie doar apostrof ('), fie 's : Ex.: Mr Jones's / Mr Jones' car (masina domnului John), Yeats's / Yeats' poems (poeziile lui Yeats) - n cazul substantivelor compuse si a titlurilor, ultimul cuvnt va primi 's : Ex.: My father-in-law's guitar (chithara socrului meu), Henry the Eighth's wife (a opta sotie a lui Henry) - 's se foloseste si dupa initiale sau abrevieri:

Ex.: The CEO's assistant (asistentii CEO), the PM's speech (discursul de /a lui PM) Forma posesiva se foloseste n general cnd vorbim de oameni, animale, tari. Se foloseste si n urmatoarele cazuri: a) n expresii temporale: Ex.: yesterday's newspaper (ziarul de ieri), in five years' time (in timp de 5 ani), ten minutes' break (pauza de zece minute) b) n expresii construite dupa modelul bani + worth of (bani + in valoare de): Ex.: ten dollars' worth of bananas (banane de zece dolari), a shilling's worth of stamps (timbre in valoare de un siling) c) n alte expresii uzuale, cum ar fi: Ex.: for heaven's sake (pentru Dumnezeu), a winter's day (o zi de iarna), the water's edge (marginea apei), the plane's wings (aripi de avion), the train's departure (statia de tren) n cazul anumitor substantive folosite la posesiv, este uzuala omisiunea substantivului urmator atunci cnd sensul comunicarii este clar (magazine, birouri, oficii, casa, locuinta). You can buy this at the baker's (shop). - Poti cumpara asta la brutarie. Mary bought her tickets at the travel agent's (office). - Maria a cumprat bilete ei la ageniei de turism. The kids went to Bobby's (house). - Copii au plecat la Bobby (acasa). - Ideea de posesie se poate exprima si cu ajutorul constructiei of + substantiv. Aceasta constructie se foloseste mai ales pentru lucruri sau fiinte umane sau animale atunci cand acestea sunt urmate de o propozitie subordonata. Ex.: the walls of the town (zidurile orasului), the roof of the church (acoperisul bisericii), the keys of the house (cheia casei) I took the advice of the girl and I went to buy the book. - Am urmat sfatul fetei si am mers sa cumpar cartea. Ca si in limba romana, acelasi substantiv poate avea intelesuri diferite, in functie de contextul propozitiei. De exemplu: Her hair is black. - Parul ei este negru. She found a hair in the brush. - A gasit un fir de par n perie. Their house was made of wood. - Casa lor este din lemn. We picnicked in the woods. - Am mers la picnic n padure.

Determiners and quantifiers

General and specific determiners Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase. They tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.

Determiners are either specific or general Specific determiners: The specific determiners are:

the definite article: the possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose demonstratives: this, that, these, those interrogatives: which We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to: Can you pass me the salt please? Look at those lovely flowers. Thank you very much for your letter. Whose coat is this? General determiners: The general determiners are:

a; an; any; another; other; what When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural noun with no determiner: Milk is very good for you. (= uncount noun) Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns) Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner) or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an: A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter. A man climbing nearby saw the accident. We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking about all of those people or things: Its very easy. Any child can do it. (= All children can do it) With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car. I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat. We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing: Would you like another glass of wine?

The plural form of another is other: I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.

Indefinite article: a and an

1. We use the indefinite article, a/an, with count nouns when the hearer/reader does not know exactly which one we are referring to: Police are searching for a 14 year-old girl. 2. We also use it to show the person or thing is one of a group: She is a pupil at London Road School. Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday. Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue shoes. Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.

3. We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns and uncount nouns: She was wearing blue shoes. (= plural noun) She has short blonde hair. (= uncount noun) Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday. Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue shoes. Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.

4. We use a/an to say what someone is or what job they do: My brother is a doctor. George is a student. 5. We use a/an with a singular noun to say something about all things of that kind: A man needs friends. (= All men need friends) A dog likes to eat meat. (= All dogs like to eat meat)

Definite article: the

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English. We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to. because there is only one: The Pope is visiting Russia. The moon is very bright tonight. The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979. This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective: He is the tallest boy in the class. It is the oldest building in the town. because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings: We live in a small village next to the church.

(the church in our village)

Dad, can I borrow the car?

(the car that belongs to our family)

When we stayed at my grandmothers house we went to the beach every day.

(the beach near my grandmothers house)

Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there.

(the boy I am pointing at)

 because we have already mentioned it: A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The woman fell while climbing. The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two men walking on the peakwere killed in a fall. We also use the definite article: to say something about all the things referred to by a noun: The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals) The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia) The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies) We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments: Joe plays the piano really well.(= George can play any piano) She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar) to refer to a system or service: How long does it take on the train. I heard it on the radio. You should tell the police. With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people: Life can be very hard for the poor. I think the rich should pay more taxes. She works for a group to help the disabled. The definite article with names: We do not normally use the definite article with names: William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Paris is the capital of France. Iran is in Asia. But we do use the definite article with: countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic: the United Kingdom; the kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the Peoples Republic of China.

 countries which have plural nouns as their names: the Netherlands; the Philippines geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals: the Himalayas; the Canaries; the Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama Canal. newspapers: The Times; The Washington Post well known buildings or works of art: the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers organisations: the United Nations; the Seamens Union hotels, pubs and restaurants*: the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the Kings Head; the Dj Vu *Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner, e.g.,Browns; Browns Hotel; Morels; Morels Restaurant, etc. families: the Obamas; the Jacksons

Interrogative determiners: which and what

We use "which" as a determiner to ask a question about a specific group of people or things: Which restaurant did you go to? Which countries in South America have you visited? When we are asking a general question we use "what" as a determiner: What films do you like? What university did you go to?

Quantifiers
We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many. Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner: Most children start school at the age of five. We ate some bread and butter. We saw lots of birds. We use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all

any

enough

less

a lot of

lots of

more

most

no

none of

some

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of

heaps of

a load of

loads of

tons of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

both

each

either

(a) few

fewer

neither

several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of

hundreds of

thousands of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

a little

(not) much

a bit of

And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:

a great deal of

a good deal of

Members of groups You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general Few snakes are dangerous. Both brothers work with their father. I never have enough money. but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the as well Few of the snakes are dangerous. All of the children live at home. He has spent all of his money. Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket

Two supermarkets*

More than two supermarkets

The supermarket was closed The supermarket wasn't open I dont think the supermarket was open.

Both the supermarkets were closed.

All the supermarkets were closed

None of the Neither of the supermarkets were supermarkets was open. open I dont think either of the supermarkets was open. I don't think any of the supermarkets were open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb. Singular quantifiers: We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:

There was a party in every street.

There were parties in all the streets.

Every shop was decorated with flowers.

All the shops were decorated with flowers.

Each child was given a prize.

All the children were given a prize.

There was a prize in each competition.

There were prizes in all the competitions.

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years: When we were children we had holidays at our grandmothers every year. When we stayed at my grandmothers house we went to the beach every day. We visit our daughter every Christmas. BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say: The every shop was decorated with flowers. The each child was given a prize.