Practice and Improve Your Grammar part 1

Exercise 16. Choose an ending (a–d) for each beginning (1–4) and add appropriate pronouns.

Reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another

We can use the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another with no difference in meaning.

8The cat and the dog hate each other/one another. • They always avoid one another/each other.

We use reciprocal pronouns (9) instead of reflexives (10) when the same action or feeling goes both ways between two or more people or things.

9The candidates described each other. (= Each one described the other one.)

10The candidates described themselves. (= Each one described himself or herself.)

We can use reciprocal pronouns after prepositions (11) and as possessives

(12).

11The two girls never argued with one other. They were always chatting to each other.

12They even wore each other's/one another's clothes sometimes.

We can use each as subject and the other(s) as object when the action of the verb goes both ways (13). When the action goes one way, we use one as subject and the other(s) as object (14).

13 I asked the boys if they had broken the window and each blamed the other.

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14 There are two buses at 5.30 and one always follows the other in case the first one gets full.

Exercise 17. Add the pronouns it, they, we and you plus appropriate reflexives to this text.

They say that if you want something done right, (l) ….. have to do it (2)

…... And we all know that if something is broken, (3) ….. certainly won't fix (4)

…... As a result, there are many more DIY ('Do It Yourself') shops in Britain these days. It seems that (5) ….. have all suddenly decided to do our home repairs

(6) ….. . So, are all the real builders and plumbers out of work now? Apparently not. They're even busier now, trying to fix the mess left by those who discovered that (7) ….. really couldn't do it (8) ….. and had to call for professional help.

Exercise 18. Complete these sentences with the prepositions about, by, for, near, with, plus appropriate pronouns.

1 Erica York was a self-taught mathematician who liked to spend hours ….. in the library.

2The man seemed very self-centred and only wanted to talk ….. .

3People who are self-employed work ….., not a company.

4I took a small knife ….., hoping I would only have to use it in self-

defence.

5Test your self-restraint by placing something you really like to eat ….., but don't eat it.

Exercise 19. Using a dictionary if necessary, complete these descriptions with one set of words (not necessarily in this order).

another / each / one / the other another's / each / one / other's each / other / you / yourself

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Mutual respect is a feeling of admiration that people have for (1) …..

(2) ….. equally, and self-respect is a feeling of pride in (3) ….. and the belief that what (4) ….. do or say is right and good.

An exchange is an arrangement through which two people or groups from different countries visit (5) ….. (6) ….. homes or do (7) ….. (8) ….. jobs for a short time.

Wrestling is a sport in which two people fight by holding onto (9) ….. (10) ….. while (11) ….. tries to throw or force (12) ….. to the ground.

Exercise 20. Complete these sentences with appropriate forms of the verbs plus a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun.

agree with blame express hurt meet

1All students are required to give a presentation on their projects and to ….. as clearly as possible.

2The boy said that his sister had slipped on the wet floor and ….. .

3Both drivers said it wasn't their fault. They ….. for the accident.

4My aunt and uncle always seem to have different opinions about things and they almost never ….. .

5Before they got married, Gavin and Gwen visited his parents in England and then her parents in California, so they could ….. families.

Exercise 21. Complete the sentences with appropriate pronouns and these prepositions where necessary.

about by for near to with

A When I was a teenager, my mother never let me go out anywhere (1) ….. . She always made me take my two younger sisters (2) ….. .

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В One of my teachers, Mr Adamson, was in the bus that crashed yesterday. He wasn't injured (3) ….., but several people sitting (4) ….. were.

С People nowadays have become much more selfish an d only think (5) …... . They're only interested in what's happening (6) ….. and nobody else.

D I always prefer going to the self-service section of the cafeteria where you can just get what you want (7) ….. without waiting for someone to bring

(8) ….. your meal.

Exercise 22. Using a dictionary if necessary, complete these definitions with the nouns and appropriate pronouns.

composure compromise confederation confidence

1A ….. is an organization that consists of a group of countries or businesses that have joined together to support ….. .

2….. is a state in which you feel calm and in control of ….. .

3….. is a belief in ….. and your ability to be successful.

4A ….. is an agreement between two competing groups in which ….. gives ….. some of the things they want so that both groups are partially successful.

Exercise 23. Complete these paragraphs with appropriate pronouns.

A In a boxing match, there are two people who fight(1) ….. wild their hands, wearing large thick gloves, and (2) ….. оf (3) ….. tries to knock (4) ….. down.

В Some groups of students seem tо enjoy competing against (5) ….. and often have competitions among (6) ….. to see who is best. Students in other groups seem tо be more cooperative and often help (7) ….. to complete

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assignments. There are always some students who don't want to be part of any group and prefer just to study by (8) ….. .

С Do you ever just stand in front of the mirror and stare at (9) ….. ? I wonder how many people do that and how many also talk to (10) ….. .I've never actually talked to (11) ….. in a mirror, but have a friend who says she looks in the minor each morning and tells (12) ….. that she's going to have a really good day.

Empty subject it

We use it as an empty subject with the verb be in expressions of time, distance and weather.

1It's eleven o'clock. • It's two miles to town. • Is it raining? (NOT Is

raining?)

We use it as a personal pronoun subject when we are referring to a thing or animal (2). We use it + be before an adjective or noun plus a noun clause (3).

2Where's the breadknife? ~ It's in the drawer. • We saw their new puppy. It was really cute.

3It's sad that she's leaving so soon. • It was just a coincidence that we were both in London.

We can also use it+ be before an adjective or noun plus a gerund (4) or infinitive (5).

4It was nice talking to you. • It's an advantage having a rich father.

5It's not wise to hike in the mountains by yourself. • It might be an exaggeration to say he's rich.

We can use a noun clause (6), gerund (7) or infinitive (8) as subject instead of it in formal situations. We don't use a noun clause, infinitive or gerund

instead of there (9).

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6It was obvious that Brazil was going to win. -> That Brazil was going to win was obvious.

7It's often a problem for Henry being so tall. -> Being so tall is often a problem for Henry.

8It's a real pleasure to meet you at last. -> To meet you at last is a real pleasure.

9There will be someone to meet you at the airport. (NOT To meet you at the airport will be someone.)

After it, we usually use a form of the verb be, but we can use verbs such as surprise and frighten plus an object to describe a reaction (10) and verbs such as seem and appear to express a conclusion (11).

10It surprised everyone that Marion won. • It really frightened me to see the horse and rider fall.

11It seems that he was unhappy in London. • It appears that he has been neglecting his studies.

We can also use it as an empty object after 'liking' (or 'not liking') verbs before a noun clause (12) and after verbs such as find, make and think before an adjective plus a clause or infinitive (13). After some verbs such as regard, see and view used to express an opinion, we put as after it (14).

12I hate it when the alarm suddenly goes off. • My parents love it that we live closer now.

13I find it surprising that you waited so long. • The loud music made it difficult to talk. • We thought it strange that he was still in his pyjamas. (NOT We thought strange that he was ...)

14They regard it as encouraging that both sides are willing to continue negotiations.

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Exercise 24. Rewrite these sentences in a less formal style beginning with it.

1That Tony never helps with the cleaning really annoys everyone.

2Not having a car can be a big disadvantage.

3To see potential problems in advance is very important in my job.

4Why she left so suddenly was a complete mystery.

5To discover that your passport was missing must have been a shock.

6That people can eat such unhealthy food and live so long always amazes me.

Empty subject there

We use there as an empty subject with the verb be before a noun phrase. The noun phrase determines whether the verb is singular or plural. We often include an adverbial, such as a preposition phrase of place (in Travel magazine) or time (on Friday) after the noun phrase.

1There was an article in Travel magazine about Munich. • There are two meetings on Friday.

In informal situations, there's is often used with plural nouns: Don t forget there's two meetings.

We use there + be to say (2) or ask if (3) people and things are present or exist (or not).

2There was an old man in the waiting room. • There are no snakes in

Ireland.

3Are there any questions? • Is there a bathroom upstairs? (NOT Is a bathroom upstairs?)

We don't use it to say or ask if things are present or exist. (NOT Is it a bathroom upstairs?)

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We can use there (not it) + be with quantifiers to present information about amounts and quantities.

4There's a lot of crime now in the city centre. • There wasn't much room inside his car. (NOT A lot of crime is now in the city centre. • It wasn't much room inside his car.)

When we express an opinion about things being present or existing, we can put modals and/or adverbs such as certainly or probably between there and be (5). We can also put seem or appear between there and to be (6).

5There should be a guard rail here. • There certainly are problems. • There will probably be a fight.

6There seem to be a lot of unanswered questions. • There didn't appear to be anyone in charge.

We can also use there + be with adjectives such as likely and sure plus to be and a noun phrase to show how certain we are about the information being reported.

7There isn't likely to be peace for many years. • There are sure to be protests about the decision.

We can use the passive forms of verbs such as report, say and think between there and to be to report information, but we don't usually use a passive after there.

8There were thought to be some problems in the original design and indeed a number of flaws were found, (NOT... and indeed there were found a number of flaws.)

After there + be, we usually introduce new information with a/an or indefinite pronouns (9), but we can use the or demonstratives when we treat information as familiar or given (10).

9Is there a problem? ~ Yes, I think there's something wrong because there's a long queue.

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10 I think we should go early. There's the problem of parking and when we go later there's always that long queue to get into the car park.

Exercise 25. Correct the mistakes in the use of there and it in these sentences.

Example: I'm sure it will be someone to help you with your luggage.

I'm sure there will be someone to help you with your luggage.

1It was such a nice day in the valley that it was a surprise to hear there was snowing in the mountains.

2It isn't much time left to prepare for the meeting if it's first thing tomorrow morning.

3There certain to be questions about Ireland in the history test.

4It was said to be hundreds of people stranded by the floods.

5A lot of fat and sugar is in pies and cakes.

6Everyone found very amusing that I'd started taking karate lessons.

7They viewed it offensive that he just slumped in the chair and put his feet up on the coffee table.

8It really wasn't surprising that there were found no survivors in the wreckage of the plane.

Exercise 26. Complete these sentences with it, it's, there or there's.

1….. no surprise that Daniel's parents aren't pleased with his decision.

2I thought ….. unusual that nobody answered the phone.

3I'm afraid ….. not a lot we can do about that.

4I think ….. something wrong with my watch. ….. keeps going slow.

5….. should be a security light in this area, because ….. dangerous.

6….. not normally a problem having only a little money to live on,

especially when ….. a free clinic and special accounts for students.

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Exercise 27. Rewrite these sentences in a less formal style beginning with it or there.

1To complete a marathon was a big accomplishment for her. …..

2Not being able to speak fluently can sometimes be frustrating. …..

3Some fans of the group are sure to be waiting outside. …..

4That she left without saying goodbye surprised all of us. …..

Exercise 28. Correct any mistakes in the use of it and there in these sentences. Put a tick beside sentences that have no mistakes.

Examples: Is raining outside? - Is it raining outside? No, but I think it's going to rain soon. \/

1According to the news, it was a lot of damage from the storm.

2The door was locked and it didn't seem to be anyone at home.

3That prices have gone up again it is disgraceful.

4It isn't likely to be anything left to eat in the fridge.

5There was somebody looking for you yesterday.

6I forgot to ask if it would be a television in mу room.

7It's not easy being a single parent.

8There were too many people there, which made difficult to have a conversation.

9The traffic isn't moving so I think it's been a car crash.

10Six reports were due on Friday and there were handed in only two оf them.

11There might be a mistake to take all the money with you in cash.

12I know it's more furniture to go into this room, but it isn't very much space left.

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