Advanced English Grammar

1. Possessive Determiners and Pronouns

Possessive determiners (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) modify a noun to indicate ownership or association, always preceding the noun (e.g., my book). They are attributive and cannot stand alone.

Possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) replace a noun phrase to avoid repetition and stand alone (e.g., This book is mine).

2. Double Genitive (Partitive Genitive)

• Expresses a partitive meaning: selecting one or more items from a set.
• Structure: a/an + noun + of + possessive/genitive (e.g., a friend of mine).

Constraints for double genitives:

• Double genitive is possible in definite NPs if:
  • The determiner is a demonstrative (e.g., those friends of yours)
  • The head noun is modified by a relative clause (e.g., the only books of hers I’ve not read)

Using a demonstrative determiner often adds an emotive nuance to the double genitive.

3. Modifiers within Noun Phrases (NPs)

NPs can include premodifying and postmodifying elements that add descriptive or identifying information but are not syntactically obligatory.

a) Types of Modifiers:

4. Adjectives in NPs

• Attributive adjectives appear before the noun and modify it directly (e.g., beautiful mountains).
• Adjectives can be simple or complex, often preceded by adverbs (e.g., an incredibly shocking revelation).
• Predicative adjectives occur outside the NP, linked by verbs like be, seem, or look (e.g., The mountains are beautiful).

a) Special adjective positions:

• In complex NPs, adjectives can be preceded by words like how, as, so, too, that and appear before the determiner and noun (e.g., how serious a threat).
• Some adjectives only appear attributively (e.g., former, sole), others only predicatively (e.g., asleep, alive).

b) Adjective order in multiple attributive adjectives:

The order is fixed and reflects the objectivity of the property:

opinion > size > age > shape > colour > origin > material + noun

Example:
a big blue car (size before colour)

Attributive adjectives modify the noun directly within the NP, while predicative adjectives relate to the noun via a linking verb outside the NP.

5. Summary Table: Possessive Forms and Modifiers

Key point: Double genitives require a definite, animate genitive noun and an indefinite NP; demonstratives and relative clauses allow exceptions.

1. The Genitive

The genitive expresses relationships of possession, origin, or association between nouns, often translated as "of" in English. It typically marks a noun phrase (NP) that modifies another noun.

2. Forms of the Genitive

3. Key Functions of the Genitive

• Possession: Indicates ownership or association
  e.g., John's car, the company's policy

• Part-whole relationships:
  e.g., the roof's tiles, the book's cover

• Origin or source:
  e.g., a day's work, a week's holiday

• Subjective and objective genitives:

  • Subjective: The genitive noun acts as the subject of the implied action
    e.g., the teacher's arrival (the teacher arrives)
  • Objective: The genitive noun acts as the object of the implied action
    e.g., the teacher's arrival (someone arrives for the teacher)

4. Restrictions and Preferences

• 's-genitive is preferred with animate and personal nouns (people, animals).
• of-genitive is preferred with inanimate nouns, longer noun phrases, or abstract nouns.
• When the possessor is a pronoun, only the 's-genitive is used (e.g., someone's).
• The double genitive is used to clarify possession when the possessor is indefinite or to emphasize exclusivity.

5. Genitive in Complex Noun Phrases

• The genitive can modify noun phrases as a whole, not just simple nouns.
• It can be combined with relative clauses or adjectival modifiers to specify the possessor or the possessed.

> The genitive expresses a relationship of possession or association, marked primarily by the 's-genitive for animate possessors and the of-genitive for inanimate or abstract ones.

1. Adjectives as Modifiers

Adjectives modify nouns by providing additional information, often restricting or specifying the noun's reference.

2. Relative Clauses (RCs) as Adjective Modifiers

• Restrictive Relative Clauses (RRCs): Narrow down the reference of the noun (essential information).
• Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses (NRRCs): Add extra, non-essential information (set off by commas).

3. Relative Pronouns in Restrictive Relative Clauses

• Preposition stranding (preposition at the end) is common in informal English.
• When the relative pronoun is the subject of the RC, it cannot be omitted.
• When the relative pronoun is an object (direct or object of preposition), it can often be omitted.
• Who is used for animate antecedents; which for inanimate.
• That can replace both who and which in restrictive clauses.
• Whom is formally preferred as an object after a preposition but often replaced by who in informal speech.

Key point: The function of the relative pronoun in the RC (subject, direct object, object of preposition) and the animacy of the antecedent determine the choice and omission of the relative pronoun.

4. Examples of Relative Pronoun Usage in RRCs

5. Relative Pronouns in Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses (NRRCs)

• NRRCs are always set off by commas.
• The relative pronoun is never omitted in NRRCs.
• Formality affects the choice between whom and who after prepositions.

6. Summary of Relative Pronoun Choice

To remember:

• Use who for people (animate), which for things (inanimate).
• That can replace both in restrictive clauses.
• Omit relative pronouns only when they are objects, never when subjects.
• Use whom after prepositions in formal contexts; otherwise, who is common.

1. Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses (NRRCs)

• NRRCs add extra information about a noun phrase (NP) and are set off by commas.
• The relative pronoun that is not used in NRRCs.
• NRRCs can have a sentential antecedent (a whole clause or predicate), introduced by which:
  • Example: My grandmother gave her credit card number to a stranger on the phone, which has happened before.

2. The Relative Determiner whose

• Whose is a possessive relative determiner, used to indicate possession related to the antecedent.
• Antecedents are usually animate (people), but whose can also refer to inanimate antecedents when they represent entities made up of animate beings (e.g., firms, cities).
• Even with straightforward inanimate antecedents, whose is often used:

• Alternative to whose with inanimate antecedents: use a separate possessive phrase (e.g., the legs of this table).

3. Relative Clauses with Partitive Meaning

• RCs can express partitive relations, referring to subsets or parts of a set/amount.
• Often used with quantifiers and superlatives:

4. Free Relative Clauses (FRCs)

• FRCs have no explicit antecedent; the relative pronoun itself acts as the NP.
• Also called nominal or fused relative clauses.
• Example: I appreciate what you have done for me = the things that you have done for me.
• What can also be an interrogative pronoun; context distinguishes FRCs from embedded questions.
• Other pronouns introducing FRCs often combine with -ever to express "no matter who/what/when/where":

> Free relative clauses function as noun phrases without explicit antecedents, often introduced by what, who, or where (sometimes with -ever).

This summary captures the essential properties, uses, and restrictions of relative clauses, focusing on non-restrictive clauses, the possessive determiner whose, partitive relative clauses, and free relative clauses.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement Essentials

Subject-verb agreement requires the verb to match the subject in number (singular/plural) and person (first, second, third). This fundamental rule ensures grammatical coherence.

2. Key Rules for Agreement

3. Special Cases

• Indefinite pronouns: Most are singular (e.g., everyone is), but some are plural (e.g., few are).
• Amounts and quantities: Usually singular when considered as a whole (e.g., Ten dollars is enough).
• Titles, names, organizations: Treated as singular (e.g., The United Nations is...).

4. Agreement with Complex Subjects

• When the subject includes modifiers or phrases, the verb agrees with the head noun.
• In expressions with collective nouns, context determines singular or plural verb.
• When subjects are joined by or/nor, verb agrees with the noun closest to it.

5. Troublesome Constructions

• None can be singular or plural depending on meaning.
• Each, every always singular.
• Plural form but singular meaning: e.g., news, mathematics → singular verb.

> To ensure subject-verb agreement, always identify the true subject and match the verb accordingly in number and person.