Dave
15 lug 20215 min
Aggiornato il: 9 feb 2022
Possessives; reflexive pronouns and own; each other and one another; there and it; someone, etc.; all, most, some, no and none; each and every; both, neither and either
You are going to hear a man talking to a woman on a holiday website helpline.
Before you listen, look at the picture of the two people and the photos of places below.
Where do you think the woman went last year?
Which place do you think the man would prefer?
Listen and check if you were right.
Listen again and fill in the gaps. Stop the recording when you need to.
Have you looked at any of our special deals? Are you interested in anywhere in particular?
I went to a fantastic place ________ last year with some friends ________.
________ of those would suit me.
Are you going on your own? Yes, I’ll be ________ .
That’s better, because you get to know ________ really well.
All I want is ________ quiet.
________ of these holidays appeals to me at all.
We use ’s with people, countries and animals:
The girl’s clothes were very dirty. (not the clothes of the girl)
Britain’s roads get more crowded every year.
I nearly trod on the cat’s tail.
and with time expressions:
I want to go on a week’s holiday.
They’re last year’s tours.
but we usually use of instead of ’s with things:
What’s the price of that holiday? (not the holiday’s price)
The position of the apostrophe is important:
my brother’s friends (= one brother)
my brothers’ friends (= more than one brother)
When we speak we often omit the second noun if we are referring to someone’s home or business:
I stayed at Simon’s. (house is omitted)
I stopped at the newsagent’s. (shop is omitted)
Possessive adjectives are used before a noun:
Those are your keys.
Where’s my phone?
Possessive pronouns take the place of a possessive adjective + noun, usually to avoid repeating the noun:
There’s a coat on the chair. Is it yours? (= your coat)
That’s not your umbrella, it’s mine. (= my umbrella)
We use a possessive adjective rather than the with parts of the body and clothes:
My father broke his leg. (not My father broke the leg.)
She tore her favourite jeans. (not She tore the favourite jeans.)
We sometimes use of + possessive pronoun or possessive form of a noun instead of a possessive adjective:
I went with some friends of mine/yours/Tim’s. (not friends of me/you/Tim) (= some of my/your/Tim’s friends)
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
themselves
to make it clear that we are talking about the subject of the verb:
Amy blamed herself for what had happened.
but Amy blamed her for what had happened. (= Amy blamed another person, not herself)
for emphasis:
I went to this place myself to see what it was really like.
with a number of common expressions like: by (your)self, enjoy (your)self, behave (your)self, help (your)self, make (your)self at home:
You can help yourself to as much food as you want.
The resort’s got everything you need to enjoy yourself.
We only use a reflexive pronoun after wash, shave and dress for emphasis:
She dressed quickly.
but The little girl managed to dress herself. (= it was difficult for her)
I’d rather have my own apartment.
or I’d rather have an apartment of my own. (= belonging just to me)
On (your) own means ‘alone’ and can be used instead of by (your)self:
I went diving on my own.
or I went diving by myself.
There is a difference between the reflexive pronouns and each other / one another:
The two boys hurt themselves. (= e.g. when they fell off their bicycles)
The two boys hurt each other / one another. (= e.g. when they had a fight)
The two boys hurt someone else. (= e.g. when their football hit a man on the head)
There is also a possessive form of each other / one another:
They borrow each other’s / one another’s shoes because they take the same size.
We use there + the verb to be:
to say that somebody/something exists, especially when we refer to somebody/something for the first time:
There are some lovely apartments.
There’s a tour guide.
Note that the verb after there agrees with the noun which follows.
to refer to a particular thing, action, situation or place already mentioned:
There’s a page called Walking Tours. It is full of useful tips.
to introduce information about time, weather and distance:
It’s twenty past five and it’s sunny here in New York.
It’s only a few metres from here to the beach
to avoid using a phrase with -ing or to infinitive as the subject:
It’s surprising to see you here. (= to see you here is surprising)
It’s a waste of time looking at your website. (= looking at your website is a waste of time)
Words like someone, anywhere, etc. follow the same rules as some and any.
Some is used in positive sentences:
I want to go somewhere sunny.
Some is sometimes used in questions, especially requests and offers, when we expect the answer yes:
Can I have something cold to drink?
Would you like something to eat?
Any is used in questions and negative sentences:
Are you interested in anywhere in particular?
We haven’t got anything like that this year.
Any is also used in positive statements to show ‘it doesn’t matter which thing/person/place’:
Anywhere that I can relax will be fine.
Words like someone, everybody, etc. are followed by a singular verb:
Everyone’s going for them this year.
Nobody wants to go on those tours.
These words are all used with plural and uncountable nouns. No can also be used with a singular noun.
We can use all/most/some/none + of+ pronoun:
Some of them have a private beach. (not Some them)
All can sometimes stand alone:
All I want is somewhere quiet. (= the only thing)
Most, some and none can also stand alone, but only if the noun they refer to has just been mentioned:
The rooms are well furnished, but some are rather dark. (= some of the rooms)
Each and every can be used with the same meaning:
Every/Each apartment has a balcony.
but sometimes they have different meanings:
Each is used for individual things or people in a group:
Each child drew a picture of her own parents.
The customs officer checked each passport in turn.
Every emphasises that all the people or things in a group are included:
Every holiday you’ve mentioned is the kind of holiday I’d hate.
Each (but not every) can be followed by of + a plural noun or pronoun:
Each of the apartments / Each of them has a balcony.
(not Every of the apartments / Every of them)
Notice the difference between every and all:
He sat by the river every morning. (= regularly) He sat by the river all morning. (= one complete morning)
We use both, neither and either when we refer to two items.
We use a plural verb after both:
Both places are too noisy.
or Both (of) the places are …
or Both of them are …
We use a singular verb after either and neither:
Either/Neither place suits me.
or Either/Neither of the places / them suits me.
We use both … and, neither … nor and either … or to connect two things or actions:
Both the Hotel Flora and the Grand Hotel have good restaurants. (= the Flora and the Grand)
Neither the Hotel Flora nor the Grand Hotel has a good restaurant. (= not the Flora or the Grand)
We could stay at either the Hotel Flora or the Grand Hotel. (= the Flora or the Grand)