Oxford_Guide_to_English_Grammar

22 PRONOUNS PAGE

5 Everyone, something etc take a singular verb. • 153(3)

Everything was in a mess.

After everyone we normally use they/them/their, even though the verb is singular.

Everyone was asked what they thought. Everybody was doing their best to help.

This can also happen with other words in one/body. • 184(5)

Someone has left their coat here. ~ I think it's Paul's.

NOTE

Someone and something usually have a singular meaning.

Someone was injured in the accident. (= one person)

Some people were injured in the accident. (= more than one person)

Something was stolen. (= one thing)

Some things were stolen. (= more than one thing)

23

Numbers and measurements

NOTE

aBe careful with these spellings: fifteen, eighteen, forty, fifty, eighty.

bWe can use a or one before hundred, thousand, million etc. There's a hundred/one hundred metres to go!

I've told you a thousand times not to do that.

Unemployment stands at one million four hundred thousand.

A is informal. One is usual in longer numbers. We cannot leave out a or one. NOT I've told you thousand times.

c Hundred, thousand, million etc are singular except in the of-pattern. • (3)

dWe use and between hundred and the rest of the number (but not usually in the USA, • 304(7)).

eWe put a hyphen in twenty-one, sixty-five etc, but not before hundred, thousand or million.

fWe can write a thousand as 1,000 or 1 000 or 1000 but not 1.000.

gFor the numbers 1100, 1200 etc up to 1900, we sometimes say eleven hundred, twelve hundred etc.

The hostage spent over fourteen hundred days in captivity.

hIn British English one billion can sometimes mean 1,000,000,000,000.

iWe sometimes use alone dozen for 12.

half a dozen eggs (= 6 eggs)

And in informal English we can use a couple for two.

We'll have to wait a couple of minutes.

2 Here are some examples of numbers in written English. freefor 10 days 450 million trees the last 2 years

in 24 other towns and cities 35,000 free air miles to be won aged 2 to 11 inclusive an apartment for 6 see page 10

Sometimes numbers are written in words, especially small numbers. one offour super prizes two bedrooms (one double and one single)

3To express a large but indefinite number we can use dozens of, hundreds of, thousands of and millions of.

There were hundreds of people in the square, NOT eight hundreds of...

A drop of water consists ofmillions ofatoms.

NOTE

We can use a definite number with the of-pattern for part of a quantity.

One of these letters is for you. Four of the passengers were injured.

4 We can use words and phrases like these to give an approximate number.

5We also use numbers to identify someone or something, for example on a credit card, passport or ticket. We read each figure separately.

Express Card 4929 806317445

'four nine two nine, eight oh six, three one seven, double four five'

Call us on 0568 92786

'oh five six eight, nine two seven eight six'

NOTE

We say 'oh' for the figure 0 in these numbers. When we talk about this figure, we use nought. You've missed out a nought here.

But in the USA (and sometimes in Britain) we say 'zero' for 0.

192 Ordinal numbers

1 We form most ordinals by adding th to the cardinal number, e.g. ten tenth.

Twenty, thirty etc have ordinals twentieth, thirtieth etc. First, second and third are irregular.

NOTE Be careful with these spellings: fifth, eighth, ninth, twelfth and twentieth etc.

2 Here are some examples.

her 65th birthday on the 83rd floor

The third andfourth adult passengers in your car can travelfree.

NOTE

aWe also use ordinal numbers in fractions, • 193(1), and dates, • 195(2).

bGeorge V is spoken 'George the fifth'.

cAn ordinal number usually comes before a cardinal. • 143(3h)

The first four runners were well ahead of the others.

193 Fractions, decimals and percentages

1 Fractions

a In fractions we use half, quarter or an ordinal number.

b With numbers less than one, we use of before a noun phrase.

Two thirds of the field was under water.

We get a quarter ofthe profits. Forhalf,•178(2b).

c With numbers above one, we can use a plural noun.

We waited one and a half hours.

I'd like six and three quarter metres, please.

NOTE

aWith one and a half/quarter etc + noun, there is an alternative pattern. one and a half hours/an hour and a half

one and a quarter pages/a page and a quarter

bThe word directly before the noun is singular. Compare these phrases. three quarters of a metre

six and three quarter metres

2 Decimals

We use a decimal point (not a comma). After the point we say each figure separately.

NOTE Americans say 'zero' instead ofnought' or 'oh'.

3 Percentages

Save 10%! ('ten per cent'

an annual return of14.85% ('fourteen point eight five per cent')

18 per cent ofthe total

194 Number of times

1We can say once, twice, three times, four times etc to say how many times something happens.

I've done the exercise once. Isn't that enough? We usually go out about twice a week.

You've told me that same story three times now.

NOTE

Once can mean 'at a time in the past'.

We lived in a bungalow once.

2We can use twice, three times etc to express degree, to say how many times greater something is.

I earn double/twice what I used to/twice as much as I used to. You're looking ten times better than you did yesterday.

PAGE 251

24

Adjectives

197 Summary

Introduction to adjectives • 198

Adjectives are words like short, old, cheap, happy, nice, electric. Most adjectives express quality; they tell us what something is like.

An adjective always has the same form, except for comparison (shorter, shortest).

The position of adjectives • 199

An adjective can come before a noun. a cheap shirt

It can also be a complement after be. This shirt is cheap.

Adjectives used in one position only • 200

A few adjectives can go in one position but not in the other. Some adjectives have different meanings in different positions.

at a certain time (= specific) Are you certain? (= sure)

Adjectives after nouns and pronouns • 201

Sometimes an adjective can go after a noun or pronoun. shoppers eagerfor bargains

The order of adjectives •202

There is usually a fixed order of adjectives before a noun. a nice old house

Amusing and amused, interesting and interested • 203

Adjectives in ing express the effect something has on us.

The delay was annoying.

Adjectives in ed express how we feel.

Thepassengers wereannoyed.

The + adjective • 204

We can use the + adjective for a social group.

There's no work for the unemployed.

NOTE

There can be a phrase or clause after some adjectives. Adjective + prepositional phrase: I'm afraid of heights. • 236 Adjective + to-infinitive: It's nice to have a bit of a rest. • 123

Adjective + clause: The passengers were annoyed that no information was given. • 262(6)

198 Introduction to adjectives

1 Use

PARADISE APARTMENTS

An excellent choicefor an independent summer holiday, these large apartments are along an inland waterway in a quiet residential area. The friendly resort of Gulftown with its beautiful white sandy beach is only a short walk away.

Restaurant and gift shop nearby.

An adjective modifies a noun. The adjectives here express physical and other qualities (large, quiet, friendly) and the writer's opinion or attitude (excellent, beautiful). The adjective residential classifies the area, tells us what type of area it is.

Adjectives can also express other meanings such as origin (an American writer), place (an inland waterway), frequency (a weekly newspaper), degree (a complete failure), necessity (an essential safeguard) and degrees of certainty (the probable result).

NOTE

a We use adjectives of quality to answer the question What... like?

What's the area like? ~ Oh, it's very quiet.

Adjectives of t y p e a n s w e r t h e q u e s t i o n What kind of...?

What kind ofarea is it? ~ Mainly residential.

b A modifier can also be a noun, e.g. a summer holiday, a gift shop. • 147

2 Form

aAn adjective always has the same form. There are no endings for number or gender.

an old man an old woman old people

But some adjectives take comparative and superlative endings. • 218

My wife is older than I am. This is the oldest building in the town.

bMost adjectives have no special form to show that they are adjectives. But there are some endings used to form adjectives from other words. • 285(5)

199 The position of adjectives

1 An adjective phrase can have one or more adjectives. a large stadium a large, empty stadium

For details about the order of adjectives, • 202.

An adverb of degree can come before an adjective. • 212 a very large stadium an almost empty stadium

a very large, almost empty stadium

NOTE

aThe adverb enough follows the adjective.

Will the stadium be large enough?

bWe can put a phrase of measurement before some adjectives.

The man is about forty years old and six feet tall.

2An adjective can go before a noun or as complement after a linking verb such as be, seem, get. These positions are called 'attributive' and 'predicative'.

Attributive: It is a large stadium. (before a noun) Predicative: The stadium is large. (as complement)

3These adjectives are in attributive position.

This pattern with a conjunction is found mainly in written English and especially in instructions how to do something.

6In rather formal or literary English an adjective can go before or after a noun phrase, separated from it by a comma.

Uncertain, the woman hesitated and looked round. The weather, bright and sunny, drove us out ofdoors.