| ENGLISH GRAMMAR for Spanish Speakers |
1. Possessive pronouns
* Possessive pronouns agree with the
possessor and not with the thing possessed
* No article can be placed in front of
them
2. Demonstrative Pronouns
* On occasions, demonstrative pronouns
are reinforced by the pronoun one in the singular and ones in the plural.
ê
Such
* The word such (tall, tales) is also, to a certain extent, a demonstrative and able to function both as an adjective and a pronoun à
Why have you done such a thing?
* Such as means “tales como” à
I bring you losts of presents, such as chocolates, sweets...
3. Personal Pronouns
1. Uses of the nominative case
1. For the subject of the verb à I see
2.
In comparatives, after than and as à
She’s shorter than than I
In colloquial usage, the objective case is more usual à
She’s shorter than me
3. After the verb to be when the apparent subject is it à
It was I who sent it
Colloquial usage prefers the objective case à
It was me who sent it
2.
The use of the objective case
1. As a direct or indirect object à I gave him a key
2. After a preposition à
With him; without her; for them
3. In colloquial language after than and as and after the verb to be à
She’s richer than me; He’s as old as her
The objective case is preferred when a question is answered à
Who’s there? Me
3.
The position of Direct and Indirect Object
1. The indirect object followed by the direct object à
I lent him my car
2. The direct object + the preposition to + the indirect object à
I lent my car to him
In colloquial language, especially in AmE to is omitted à
Give it me –instead of- Give it to me
4.
Uses of the 1st person
1. The authorial or editorial we à We believe that's not the right policy
2. The 'royal' we (by people of standing in public proclamations) à We, Elizabeth II, Queen of GB
3. A patronising usage (affectionate or protective) à How are we this morning (a doctor says)
5.
Uses of the 2nd person
1. You is used for the person spoken to /ju:/
2. The archaic pronoun thou is only used in the Bible, in poetry, and in a few regional dialects
3. You /ju/ can be used impersonally à
You play tennis with a racquet
6.
Uses of the 3rd person
1. He indicates a person of the male sex
She indicates a person of the female sex
It indicates thins or animals
Exceptions
ê to personify animals in a story: he or she according to their gender
ê
certain domestic pets or even familiar objects as cars, ships, ...
ê
countries and cities sometimes become feminine
2. The generic use of he
ê
In proverbs ... to refer to men and women à
He laughs best who laughs last
ê
With anybody, anyone ... it can become a little tiresome à
If anybody calls, tell him that I'm out
ê
In modern English the tendency is to use they in this case à
If anybody calls, tell them ...
3. Other uses of it
ê
As the subject in impersonal expressions about the weather, the time, distance, etc ... à
It is fine; It is five o'clock
ê
In other impersonal expressions à
It seems that ...
ê
As the apparent subject in cleft sentences à
It is his courage that I admire
ê
In anticipation of an entire phrase to follow (anticipatory it) à
I find it hard to believe that he's dead
ê
To refer to little children and babies when their sex is not significant
ê
To refer to someone whose identity is not known to the speaker à Who is it?
ê
In a few idioms à
Run for it; Hang it all!
4. The impersonal use of they
ê
They can also be used impersonally à
They say it is rather good
7.
The uses of “so”
* In some sentences it functions to all intents and purposes as pronoun, when it replaces a noun or an adjective which has already been mentioned.
1. So replaces the adverb yes with certain verbs: 'think, believe, suppose, expect, hope, hear, say, fear, imagine, to be afraid ... à
I think so; I'm afraid so
2. It replaces a verb which has already been mentioned à
If she wants me to do it, I'll do so
3. It replaces a noun or an adjective which has been mentioned à The baby has been very quiet up to now / I hope it will remain so for the rest
4. It replaces the adverb also / too (también) à
She likes the cinema and so do I.
5. To confirm something previously said à
She says I like the cinema and so I do
8.
Uses of “one”
1. As a numeral, functioning as an adjective or pronoun à
I have two apples. Give me one.
2. As an impersonal pronoun equivalent to the Spanish uno à
One likes a glass of bear
3. As a quantifier or indefinite pronoun à One day
4. As a prop-word replacing a previously mentioned noun in order to avoid repetition à
The black one
5. An emphatic use with the meaning of only
(único) à Our
one wish is to sell more
|
Persons |
Personal Nominative |
Pronoun Objective |
Possessive Adjectives |
Possessive Pronouns |
Reflexive Pronouns |
|
1st |
I |
me |
my |
mine |
myself |
|
2nd |
you |
you |
your |
yours |
yourself |
|
3rd Masculine Feminine Neutral Impersonal |
he she it one |
him her it one |
his her its one’s |
his hers its (rare) |
himself herself itself oneself |
|
1st |
we |
us |
our |
ours |
ourselves |
|
2nd |
you |
you |
your |
yours |
yourselves |
|
3rd |
they |
them |
their |
theirs |
theirselves |
4. Reflexive Pronouns
* They have a dual function:
1. As reflexive proper à
I wash myself (yo me lavo)
2. An emphatic use, translating uno mismo or en persona à
I myself will do it (lo haré yo mismo)
5. Interrogative Pronouns
|
who? |
¿quién? |
For people. Nominative. |
|
whom? |
¿a quién? |
For people. Objective (dative and accusative) |
|
whose? |
¿de quién? |
For people. Possessive |
|
what? |
¿qué? |
For things |
|
which? |
¿cuál? |
For people and things |
a) To distinguish:
1. As the interrogative pronoun is the subject, no auxiliary is used à
Who saw him yesterday
2. Since the interrogative is not the subject, an auxiliary must be used à
Who did you give it to?
b) Whom is replaced by who
1. When it is in the accusative case à Who did you see?
2. In the dative case, which always takes the preposition to, it is normal to use who and place the preposition after the verb à Who did you give it to?
3. When preceded by any other preposition, the who contraction is preferred, with the preposition coming after the verb à
Who was Peter playing with?
c) The differences between what
and which:
1. What is used to ask a general question, whereas which selects from among a specific number à
What do you want? / Which do you want?
d) The difference between who
and which
1. In the same way, it can be said that who is more general and which à
Who is coming to the cinema with me? / Which of you would like to come to the cinema with me?
e) Emphatic forms:
1. There is an emphatic use of the interrogative pronouns who, what, which, formed by adding the word ever and which is used to express pronounced surprise or indignation à
Whoever can have done such a silly thing?
6. Relative Pronouns
1.
Who
1. It is
invariable in number and gender
2. It has
three cases:
ê
Who [nominative]
ê
Whom [objective case]
ê
Whose [possessive case]
3. The
antecedent of who and whom must be a person or personified animal
4. With whose the antecedent is nearly always a person, but it is possible for it to be a thing
2.
Which
1. It is
invariable in number and gender.
2. It has
the same form for every case
3. Its
antecedent is always a thing or an animal
3.
That
1. It is
invariable in number, gender and case
2. Its
antecedent can be a person or a thing
3. That is preferred to who/which in the following cases:
ê
After a superlative adjective, including first and last à It’s the best play that I’ve ever seen
ê
After most indefinite pronouns à
It’s something that makes him happy
ê
When the antecedent is a mixture of people and things à
The authors and the books that you like
4.
What
1. What means lo que and its antecedent is understood à I know what I must do
5.
Other words used as relatives
|
1. Where |
That’s the town where he lives |
|
2. When |
That was the day when they first met |
|
3. Why |
That’s why she killed him |
|
4. As |
She’ll do the same as you do |
|
5. But |
There was no one but thought he was guilty |
6.
Compound relative pronouns
|
1 Whoever |
|
|
2. Whomever |
|
|
3. Whichever |
|
|
4. Whatever |
|
|
5. Wherever |
|
|
6. Whenever |
|
7.
Relative demonstratives
|
1. He who |
|
|
2. Those who |
|
|
3. That of |
|
|
4. Those of |
|
8.
The omission of the relative pronouns (Contact Clauses)
1. When it is in the objective case (accusative or dative) à
The man you saw yesterday
2. When it is governed by a preposition. The preposition is placed after the verb in the relative clause à
The man you’re talking about
3. When the relative pronoun is the subject of a clause where the verb is in the continuous form, or is simply the verb to be and a preposition phrase. In a case like this, not only the
relative but also the verb to be is omitted à
The men working in the mines.
4. The
relative pronoun cannot be omitted in nonrestrictive relative clauses