МЁРФИ. murphy_raymond_english_grammar_in_use

UNIT

80 -’s (the girl’s name) and o f ... (the name of the book)

A We normally use -’s for people or animals (the girl’s... / the horse’s... etc.):

•Where is the manager’s office? (not ‘the office of the manager’)

•What colour are Sarah’s eyes? (not ‘the eyes of Sarah’)

Note that you can use -’s without a following noun:

• This isn’t my book. It’s my brother’s. (= my brother’s book)

We do not always use -’s for people. For example, we would use of... in this sentence:

•What is the name of the man who lent us the money? (‘the man who lent us the money’ is too long to be followed by -’s)

Note that we say a woman’s hat (= a hat for a woman), a boy’s name (= a name for a boy), a bird’s e^g (= an egg laid by a bird) etc.

EYou can also use -’s with time expressions (yesterday / next week etc.)

•Have you still got yesterday’s newspaper?

•Next week’s meeting has been cancelled.

In the same way, you can say today’s... / tomorrow’s... / this evening’s... / Monday’s... etc.

We also use -’s (or -s ’ with plural words) with periods of time:

•I’ve got a week’s holiday starting on Monday.

•Jill has got three weeks’ holiday.

•I live near the station - it’s only about ten minutes’ walk.

Compare this structure with ‘a three-hour journey’, ‘a ten-minute walk’ etc. (see Unit 79D).

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You cannot say ‘an own...’ (‘an own house’, ‘an own car’ etc.).

My own... / your own... (etc.) = something that is only mine/yours (etc.), not shared or borrowed:

•I don’t want to share a room with anybody. I want my own room.

Vera and George would like to have their own house, (not ‘an own house’) It’s a pity that the flat hasn’t got its own entrance.

It’s my own fault that I’ve got no money. I buy too many things I don’t need.

Why do you want to borrow my car? Why can’t you use your own?(= your own car)

You can also use ...own... to say that you do something yourself instead of somebody else doing it for you. For example:

•Brian usually cuts his own hair.

(= he cuts it himself; he doesn’t go to the hairdresser)

•I’d like to have a garden so that I could grow my own vegetables.

(= grow them myself instead of buying them from shops)

On my own / by myself

On my own and by myself both mean ‘alone’. We say:

•I like living on my own / by myself.

•Did you go on holiday on your own / by yourself?

•Jack was sitting on his own / by himself in a corner of the cafe.

•Learner drivers are not allowed to drive on their own / by themselves.

162 Myself/yourself etc. > UNIT 8 2

163

UNIT

8 2 Myself/yourself/themselves etc.

A Study this example:

George cut himself when he was shaving this morning.

We use myself/yourself/himself etc. (reflexive pronouns) when the subject and object are the same:

• I don’t want you to pay for me. I’ll pay for myself, (not ‘I’ll pay for me’)

•Julia had a great holiday. She enjoyed herself very much.

•Do you sometimes talk to yourself? (said to one person)

•If you want more to eat, help yourselves, (said to more than one person) Compare:

•It’s not our fault. You can’t blame us.

•It’s our own fault. We blame ourselves.

Note that we do not use myself/yourself etc. after ‘bring/take something with...’:

• It might rain. I’ll take an umbrella with me. (not ‘with myself’)

BWe do not use myself etc. after concentrate/feel/relax/meet:

•You must try and concentrate, (not ‘concentrate yourself’)

• ‘Do you feel nervous?’ ‘Yes, I can’t relax.’

•What time shall we meet? (not ‘meet ourselves’, not ‘meet us’)

We normally use wash/shave/dress without myself etc.:

•He got up, washed, shaved and dressed, (not ‘washed himself’ etc.)

But we say ‘I dried myself’.

CStudy the difference between -selves and each other:

•Tom and Ann stood in front of the mirror and looked at themselves. (= Tom and Ann looked at Tom and Ann)

‘I repaired it myself = I repaired it, not anybody else. Here, myself is used to emphasise I (= it makes it stronger). Some more examples:

•I’m not going to do it for you. You can do it yourself. (= you, not me)

•Let’s paint the house ourselves. It will be much cheaper.

•The film itself wasn’t very good but I liked the music.

•I don’t think Sue will get the job. Sue herself doesn’t think she’ll get it. (or Sue doesn’t think she’ll get it herself.)

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U N IT

8 3 T h e r e ... and it

We use there... when we talk about something for the first time, to say that it exists:

•Things are much more expensive now. There has been a big rise in the costof living.

It = a particular thing, place, fact, situation etc. (but see also Section C):

•We went to the new restaurant. It’s very good, (it = the restaurant)

• ‘Was the traffic bad?’ ‘Yes, it was terrible.’ (it = the traffic)

•1 wasn’t expecting them to come. It (= that they came ) was a complete surprise. Compare:

•1 don’t like this town. There’s nothing to do here. It’s a boring place.

Note that there also means ‘to/at/in that place’:

•The new restaurant is very good. I went there (= to the restaurant) last night.

•When we arrived at the party, there were already a lot of people there (= at the party).

Compare there and it:

•They live on a busy road. There must be a lot of noise from the traffic.

They live on a busy main road. It must be very noisy.

•There used to be a cinema in King Street but it closed a few years ago. That building is now a supermarket. It used to be a cinema.

You can also say there is sure/certain/likely to be something (see also Unit 64E):

• There is sure to be a flight to Paris this evening.

C We use it in sentences like this:

• It’s dangerous to walk in the road. (It = to walk in the road)

It is unusual to say ‘To walk in the road is dangerous.’ Normally we begin with It...:

•It didn’t take us long to get here. (It = to get here)

•It’s a pity (that) Sandra can’t come to the party. (It = that Sandra can’t come)

•Let’s go. It’s not worth waiting any longer. (It = waiting any longer)

83.2 Read the first sentence and then write a sentence beginning There... .

4The film was very violent...................................................................................................................

5The shops were very crowded..........................................................................................................

6I like this town - it’s lively.................................................................................................................

83.3Complete the sentences. Use there will be, there would be etc. Choose from:

7 If people weren’t aggressive,.................................................................... any wars.

83.4Are these sentences right or wrong? Change it to there where necessary.

1 They live on a busy road. It must be a lot of noise....WRONG: There rtiust be......

2Last winter it was very cold and it was a lot of snow..........................................................

3I wish it was warmer. 1 hate cold weather.............................................................................

4It used to be a church here, but it was knocked down.........................................................

5It’s a long way from my house to the nearest shop..............................................................

6Why was she so unfriendly? It must have been a reason.....................................................

7I don’t know who will win but it’s sure to be a good match...............................................

101 like the place where I live but it would be nicer to live by the sea.................. ................

11I was told that it would be somebody to meet me at the station but it wasn’t anybody.

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Some and any

In general we use some (also somebody/someone/something) in positive sentences and any (also anybody etc.) in negative sentences (but see also Sections C and D):

We use any in the following sentences because the meaning is negative:

•She went out without any money. (She didn’t take any money with her.)

•He refused to eat anything. (He didn’t eat anything.)

•Hardly anybody passed the examination. (= almost nobody passed)

But we use some in questions when we expect the answer ‘yes’:

•What’s wrong? Have you got something in your eye? (It seems that you have got something in your eye and I expect you to answer ‘yes’.)

We use some in questions when we offer or ask for things:

• Would you like something to eat? • Can I have some sugar, please?

We often use any after if:

•If there are any letters for me, can you send them on to this address?

•If anyone has any questions, I’ll be pleased to answer them.

•Let me know if you need anything. The following sentences have the idea of if:

•I’m sorry for any trouble I’ve caused. (= if I have caused any trouble)

•Anyone who wants to do the exam must give me their names today. (= if there is anyone)

We also use any with the meaning ‘it doesn’t matter which’:

• You can catch any bus. They all go to the centre. (= it doesn’t matter which bus you catch)

Compare something and anything:

•A: I’m hungry. I want something to eat.

B:What would you like?

A: I don’t mind. Anything. (= something, but it doesn’t matter what)

Somebody/someone/anybody/anyone are singular words:

• Someone is here to see you.

But we often use they/them/their after these words:

•Someone has forgotten their umbrella. (= his or her umbrella)

•If anybody wants to leave early, they can. (= he or she can)