Demonstrative Pronouns
§ ll.There are four demonstrative pronouns in English: this,
that, such and same. They all may be used as noun pronouns and
as adjective pronouns.
The pronouns this and that change for number. Their corre-
sponding plural forms are: these and those.
§ 12. The pronoun this (these) refers to what is near in space,
time or conception (a), that (those) to what is farther off (b).
e.g. a) Do you know these people? Thisis Harry Field, my coach,
and thisis Jake Spring, the producer.
Take thispear. It looks very ripe.
"Look at this,"he said and showed me his tie.
When he stopped talking, she wondered, "Why is he tell-
ing me all this?"
"Maybe you don't want to go to thisparty," he asked hop-
ing she would say "no".
b) Do you see thosehouses in the distance? That'swhere we
are going.
Is thatyour son?
They ate the pie and drank the coffee in silence. When
they had finished, Delany said, "Now I'll have thatci-
gar you offered me."
He was deaf but she didn't think that many people noticed
that.
The pronouns this (these) and that (those) may also have other
applications.
1) In some cases this (these) may refer to what is to follow,
that (those) to what precedes.
e.g. After I've listened to you very attentively I'll tell you this —
Idon't think you should trust the man.
But I'm glad to see you have an interest in sports. That
means we have two things in common.
2) This (these) and that (those) are often used with nouns indi-
cating time. This (these) is used for time which is future or just
past. That (those) is used for time which is clearly past.
e.g. "Why don't you come and see me some time?" "How about
this Sunday, if it's convenient?"
Father had to go to Chicago this morning.
I remember that he woke up early that morning.
She looked flushed and well, although she had a heart attack
that summer.
3) Sometimes the use of this (these) and that (those) is emo-
tionally coloured. The kind of feeling implied (affection, vexation,
disgust, contempt, etc.) depends on the situation.
e.g. Will this dog ever stop barking?
Do you really believe in those ideas?
When will you stop trumping that piano?
He is one of those so-called modern poets.
4) The pronoun that (those) may be used instead of a noun al-
ready mentioned. It is called a prop-word in this case,
e.g. He found it easier to believe that her actions were those of a
spoilt girl.
He hung his daughter's portrait beside that of his wife's.
These poems are not so good as those written by you last
year.
I entered by the door opposite to that opening into the gar-
den.
She was a good teacher. She knew how to teach bright chil-
dren and those who were slow.
I was interested to learn that the cafe was the same that we
had visited five years before.
As is seen from the above examples, that (those) in this case is
followed by a prepositional phrase, a participle, an ing form or a
clause.
5) That is often used instead of it. In this case that appears to
be more emphatic than it.
e.g. I'm going to practise law. I have that all planned.
"Let's send him a wire." "That's an excellent idea."
"His gun went off and he nearly killed himself." "I didn't
know that."
"Tell her I'm sorry I missed her." "I'll do that."
"I'm going to stay here a while." "That's fine."
6) Those followed by a who-clause, a participle or an ing-iorm
refers to persons.
e.g. Serious newspapers are read by those (=people) who want to
know about important happenings everywhere.
Even those (=people) who do not like his pictures are not in-
different to him.
Those (=people) injured in the accident were taken to hospital.
Note. Those present 'присутствующие' and those concerned 'заинтересован-
ные лица' are set phrases.
7) In spoken English that may be used as an adverbial modifi-
er of degree.
e.g. I did not think he was that stupid.
I will go that far, but no further.
He should know that much about his trade.
§ 13. That, this are often found as part of set phrases. Here
are some of them:
e.g. "Mike will tell you that I seldom pass through this place
without dropping in." "That's right." ('Это верно.')
"I have a car outside. I'll give you a ride home." "Oh, that's
all right. It isn't much of a walk." ('He надо'. 'Ничего'.)
My husband said you were properly brought up. He always
notices things like that. (=such things)
Would you like a bag like this? (=such a bag)
I hate it when they dance like this. (=in this way)
I had never heard him speak like that before. (=in that way)
It was May, but for all that the rain was falling as in the
heaviest autumn downpours, (=despite that)
My mother intended to have a glorious supper — not that
she could eat much nowadays, but for the sake of style
and my sake, ('не то чтобы...')
She was young and beautiful. More than that, she was happy.
('более того...')
You ought to know better than that, ('быть умнее')
"Do you want to speak to me about your work?" "Oh, hardly
that." ('да нет, не совсем'; 'совсем не о том')
Не talked about his responsibilities and all that, ('и тому по-
добное')
I'm thinking of your future, you know. That's why I'm giv-
ing you a piece of advice, ('поэтому')
After that I did not see him for several days, ('после этого')
Marion's concern was directly for me. "Yes, it was a pity you
ran across her," she said. "Mind you, I expect you puzzled
her as much as she did you — that is, if I know anything
about you." ('то есть')
"You know what people think when a man like him dies."
"That is?" "People imagine it's a revenge." ('то есть?'
'а именно?')
Let's leave it at that, ('оставим все так'; 'остановимся на
этом')
So that's that, ('вот так-то'; 'такие-то дела')
I told you before, I won't do it, and that's that, ('и все')
That settles it. ('На том и порешим.')
What were you doing down there, or what was I doing there
for that matter? ('впрочем, даже')
Note. Note that English people speaking of their country say this country
whereas in Russian it would be наша страна.
§ 14. The demonstrative pronoun such may mean of this or
that kind (a) or indicate degree (b). Such is followed by the indefi-
nite article before singular countable nouns.
e.g. a) If I were you I would not have said such a thing about him.
He was a silent, ambitious man. Such men usually succeed.
Such is the present state of things.
The position of Dan Crusher was such that he was wel-
come in any club,
b) He is such a bore.
He wrote such desperate letters to me that year.
The meaning of such is often completed by a clause of con-
sequence introduced by that or a phrase introduced by as.
e.g. I had such a busy morning that I had no time to call you up-
He cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.
I never saw such a handsome man as Jim's father.
Mr Clark was afraid that his promotion would never come
because there was such a thing, he said, as junior clerks
trying to draw attention to themselves.
Such may be followed by an infinitive with as.
e.g. His carelessness is such as to make it unlikely that he will
pass his examination.
Note that such may be combined with some indefinite pro-
nouns.
e.g. I'll do no such thing.
He didn't say any such thing.
Any such request is sure to be turned down.
On every such occasion dozens of people get injured.
Some such story was told to me years ago.
§ 15- Such is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here are
some of them:
e.g. They export a lot of fruit, such as oranges, lemons, etc.
(= for example 'такие, как')
His education, such as it was, was finished by the time he
was fifteen, ('каково бы оно ни было')
My services, such as they are, are at your disposal, ('каковы
бы они ни были')
John is the captain of the team, and, as such, he is to decide
what is to be done, ('как таковой')
§16. The demonstrative pronoun same means 'identical'. It is
always preceded by the definite article.
e.g. We don't have to go all in the same car.
I was astonished and at the same time very much excited.
In autumn the school re-opened. The same students came to
George's classes.
His stories set one's imagination to work. The same is true
of his articles.
The meaning of same is often completed by a clause intro-
duced by that or as.
e.g. He wore the same suit that I had seen him in five years before.
He ate his sandwiches at midday in the same places as I did.
"You haven't changed," I said smiling. He had the same ab-
surd appearance that I remembered.
Same may also be followed by a phrase introduced by as.
e.g. Saying good-bye, my aunt gave me the same warning as on
the day of my father's departure.
His head was disproportionally large, built on the same lines
as his sister's but with finer features.
§ 17. Same is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here
are some of them:
e.g. It's all the same to me. (=It makes no difference to me.)
I asked him what he wanted to start with. It was all the
same to him. (=it made no difference to him.)
I don't think he'll wish to see me. But I'll come all the same.
(=in spite of that)
"How is he today?" "Much the same." (=not apparently differ-
ent)
Indefinite Pronouns
§ 18. The indefinite pronouns express various degrees and var-
ious kinds of indefiniteness. We find the following subgroups
among them:
1) indefinite pronouns proper:
a) some, any, no;
b) somebody, anybody, nobody;
someone, anyone, no one;
something, anything, nothing;
c) one, none
2) distributive pronouns:
a) all, every, each, other, either, neither, both;
b) everybody, everyone, everything
3) quantitative pronouns:
much, many, little, few, a little, a few, a lot of, lots of,
a great deal, a great many, etc.
§ 19. The pronoun some may be used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun. It has several meanings. Some usually ex-
presses an indefinite number or amount or indefinite quality.
e.g. On such days my mother would give me some pennies to buy
sweets or a magazine.
They did give us some nice things to eat, didn't they?
I was terrified that some disaster was waiting for me.
I had been playing cricket with some of the neighbouring
children.
The visitor asked me to describe some of the work we do in
our laboratory.
Some, used with a singular countable noun, may mean 'a par-
ticular but unidentified person or thing'.
e.g. Some boy had written a Latin word on the blackboard.
We must first think of some plan.
Some is very often used for contrast. Then it is strongly stressed.
e.g. I enjoy some music, but not much of it.
Some of us agree with the statement, some disagree.
Some may also mean 'approximately',
e.g. It happened some twenty years ago.
When used as a noun pronoun, some may be singular or plu-
ral. It depends on whether some refers to countable or uncount-
able nouns.
e.g. Some of his opinions were hard to accept.
Some of the food was packed in waterproof bags.
As a rule, some is used in affirmative sentences (see the exam-
ples above). In interrogative and negative sentences it is changed
into any or no (see §§ 20-21 below). However, there are instances
when some remains unchanged in interrogative and negative sen-
tences. It happens when the question or negation does not concern
the part of the sentence containing some, i.e. when the part of the
sentence containing some remains affirmative in meaning.
e.g. May I give you some more tea?
I could not answer some of his questions.
Did you see some of his poems published in the magazine?
I'm going away for a week. So I shan't be able to see some
interesting games.
Not all your answers are correct. Some are, some aren't.
You know some women can't see the telephone without taking
the receiver off.
§ 20. The pronoun any is also used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun. In affirmative sentences any means 'it
does not matter who, what or which'.
e.g. Come any day you like.
I was interested in any new prospect of change.
Any who have questions to ask are requested to do so in writ-
ing.
"Which newspaper do you want me to buy?" "Any will do."
Her voice carried well in any hall.
Note. Any number of is a set phrase, meaning 'a great many',
e.g. I have any number ofplants in my garden.
In interrogative and negative sentences any is used instead of some.
e.g. Is there any chance of seeing any of his pictures?
I did not see any change in his life.
They asked him for some money. He said he didn't have any.
It should be noted that a negative meaning may be conveyed
in the sentence not only by not, but also by never, without, sel-
dom, hardly, etc. It may also be expressed in another clause.
e.g. He never had any luck.
He went away without saying good-bye to any of us.
Now that he lived in the country he seldom had any visitors.
The Dutchman spoke French with hardly any accent.
No one is under any obligation to you.
I don't think any of us ought to wish the result to be different.
Any is used when some doubt or condition is implied. This of-
ten occurs in object clauses introduced by if or whether or in con-
ditional clauses.
e.g. Let me know if you hear any news.
I wonder if you have met any of these people before.
If you have any news, call me up right away.
If you still have any of my father's letters, send them to me,
please.
Any may be used as an adverbial modifier of degree in the sen-
tence.
e.g. He isn't any better.
In spite of your advice she isn't any the wiser.
§ 21. The pronoun no is negative in meaning and used only as
an adjective pronoun. It may mean 'not any' or 'not a'.
e.g. He had no tie on.
They have no friends in London.
He had no desire to take decisions.
There are no letters for you today.
I have no money left.
There were no people in the hall.
No boy at the school had ever seen the sea.
He is no hero.
The girl was no beauty.
The old man was no fool.
Note the set phrase to be no good.
e.g. He is no good as a pianist, ('никуда не годится')
§ 22. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
some-, any- and no-:
someone — anyone — no one
somebody — anybody — nobody
something — anything — nothing
They are all used as noun pronouns and the rules for the use
of some, any and no in different kinds of sentences hold good for
them (see §§ 19-21 above).
The compounds in -one and in -body are singular in meaning
and can be used only of persons,
e.g. There is someone in his office. Do you hear them talking?
He'd told my landlady he was looking out for someone to
paint him.
My mother wanted me to give more money to the fund than
anyone in the form.
Is there anyone at home?
No one was in a hurry. No one seemed to think that to-
morrow existed.
I found my mother in the kitchen. There was no one else at
home.
Somebody must have been using my books. They've got all
misplaced on the shelf.
Anybody can see that the whole thing has been a failure.
Did you meet anybody on your way home?
Nobody can help him under the circumstances.
The compounds in -one and in -body can have the form of the
genitive case.
e.g. He isn't going to be in anybody's way at this hour of the night.
Did you take anybody's photograph at the party?
Note. When the compounds in -one and in -body are followed by else, the geni-
tive case suffix -'s is added after else.
e.g. That's not my hat. It's somebody else's.
The difference between the compounds in -body and those in —
one is that the latter are, as a rule, more individualizing, i.e. the
compounds in -body refer to persons collectively, whereas those in
one refer to individuals.
Cf. Somebody is sure to get interested in the job. (=some people,
one or more persons)
This is a letter from someone interested in the job. (=some
person, one person)
Nobody knew about her arrival. (= no people)
No one had come to meet her. (= not a person)
As a result, the compounds in -body are never followed by an
of-phrase, while the compounds in -one sometimes are.
e.g. Does anyone of you correspond with her family?
The compounds in -thing can be used only of things. They are
also singular in meaning but they cannot have the form of the
genitive case.
e.g. There is something wrong with him.
We were almost outside our house before I took in that some-
thing was not right.
"Why don't you say something?" he demanded.
I'll do anything for you.
"Is there anything in the paper?" he said, as we approached
the end of our silent meal.
Nothing could remove his disappointment.
The doctor could suggest nothing to me. (= The doctor could
not suggest anything to me.)
He looked at me and didn't say anything.
Dirk never concealed anything.
Let me see your pictures. If there's anything I like, I'll buy it.
Note the idiomatic use of something in the following sen-
tences:
e.g. He is something of a hermit. ('В нем есть что-то от отшель-
ника'.)
I hope to see something of you during the holidays. ('Я наде-
юсь видеть вас хоть иногда...')
Не is something in the Foreign Office. ('Он какое-то ответст-
венное лицо в Министерстве иностранных дел.')
Something or other prevented him from coming. ('По той
или иной причине он не смог прийти. Что-то помешало
ему прийти.')
It's something like two miles to the lake. (=approximately)
I'll whistle the tune for you. It goes something like this.
('приблизительно вот так')
All the compound indefinite pronouns may be modified by ad-
jectives which are generally placed in post-position to their head-
words.
e.g. You should do something sensible about it at last.
Somebody important has arrived, I'm sure.
I want someone reliable to do this work.
I thought he was going to tell me something painful.
I thought I'd come and see if they had anything new.
§ 23. The pronoun one in all of its uses refers exclusively to
persons or things that are countable.
The pronoun one is used as a noun pronoun and as an adjec-
tive pronoun.
As a noun pronoun, it can have the plural form ones and the
form of the genitive case one's. Besides, as has been said above
(see § 8 above), the reflexive pronoun oneself is formed from it.
As an adjective pronoun one is invariable.
One has many various uses in English.
1) It is used to stand for 'people' or 'I or any person in my po-
sition'. In other words, it refers to nobody in particular.
e.g. One can*t be too careful in matters like this.
He was very young, not more than twenty-three or four, as
indeed one could see at a glance.
The sea was so smooth, so luminous that when one stared at
it for long one could no longer distinguish, for a moment
or two, the shape of things.
His sincerity excited one's sympathy.
It's not what I should have chosen for my last years, but one
no longer makes one's life when one is old. Life is made
for one.
Note. Care should be taken not to use one too often in the sentence because it
would make the sentence stylistically clumsy (see the last example above).
For example, the sentence When one is given one's choice of courses of action,
any of which would be to one's disadvantage, one often has difficulty in deciding
what one ought to do should be better expressed in either of the following ways:
a) When someone is given his choice of courses of action, any of which would be
to his disadvantage, he often has difficulty in deciding what he ought to do.
b) When you are given your choice of courses of action, any of which would be to
your disadvantage, you often have difficulty in deciding what you ought to do.
Note that you in the last sentence above applies to no particular person and is
used with indefinite meaning in which it is more common than the pronoun one.
(See also "Pronouns", § 3.)
2) One may have the meaning of 'a person'.
e.g. He is not one to be easily frightened.
He is not one to fall for her charms.
One who paints ought to know a lot about perspective.
There was a look in his eyes of one used to risking his life.
Do you want to be the one to spoil all that?
3) One is often used for contrast with other, in which case it
preserves some of its numerical meaning.
e.g. The brothers are so alike that I sometimes cannot tell one
from the other.
By the way, here are the two duplicate keys to the gate —
I'll take one, the other key you'd better keep yourself.
She smiled as one intellectual to another.
According to Jim, life was one damn thing after another.
4) One, in combination with nouns denoting time, is used to
express some vague time.
e.g. One day he'll understand his mistake.
I'll speak to him one of these days.
One Friday night my mother and father talked for a long
time alone.
One summer evening I went for a stroll in the park.
5) One is used with the meaning of 'only' or 'single'.
e.g. Your father is the one man who can help you now.
This is the one thing we can feel certain about.
This is the one way to do it.
No one man can do it.
6) Last but not least, one is used as a prop-word, i.e. as a sub-
stitute for a previously mentioned noun. It helps to avoid the rep-
etition of the same noun.
e.g. Trams were passing us, but my father was not inclined to
take one.
Will you show me your pictures? I might feel like buying one.
If the prop-word one is preceded by an adjective, an article
must be used with it.
e.g. No, that's not their car. Theirs is a blue one.
The new vicar was less cultivated than the old one.
The prop-word one can be used in the plural.
e.g. I prefer red roses to white ones.
"Which biscuits would you like?" "The ones with chocolate
on them."
The prop-word one (ones) may also be used in combination with
other pronouns, such as this (these), that (those), which, each, ev-
ery and other as well as ordinal numerals (e.g. first, second, etc.).
e.g. If you will take this chair, I'll take that one.
I've never seen such big tulips as these ones.
Here are some books for you to read. Which one would you
choose?
There were several houses in the street, each one more ex-
pensive than the other.
If you don't like this magazine, take another one.
My house is the first one on the left.
There are certain restrictions on the use of the prop-word one:
a) one is not used after own,
e.g. I won't go by your car. I'll use my own.
b) one is normally not used after a superlative or comparative
adjective preceded by the definite article,
e.g. The English climate is often said to be the most unpre-
dictable in the world.
Of all the runners my brother was the swiftest.
Of the two armchairs I chose the harder.
Note. Note that the prop-word one is possible when most is used in the mean-
ing of 'very', 'extremely'.
e.g. His collection of stamps is a most valuable one.
c) one is not used after cardinal numerals,
e.g. I have only one friend but you have two.
d) one is to be avoided in formal or scientific English.
Note the idiomatic uses of one in the following sentences:
e.g. He was a man that was liked by one and all. (= by everybody)
The sky was gently turning dark and the men began to de-
part one after the other. (= in succession, not together)
Would you like me to bring them one by one, sir? (= singly,
one at a time, not together)
No, I won't go with you. For one thing, I am very busy at
the moment. (= for one reason)
The little ones always know a good man from a bad one.
(= children)
It isn't the pretty ones that make good wives and mothers.
(= pretty girls)
§ 24. The pronoun none is a noun pronoun. It is negative in
meaning indicating not one or not any and can be used of persons
(cf. no one) as well as of things, countable and uncountable (cf.
nothing). The verb following it may be singular or plural, accord-
ing to the sense required.
e.g. None of us knows where he is going to work.
None of them are any use to me.
None of them really know how ill she is.
We discovered that none of his promises was kept.
He asked them for advice. None was given.
I wanted some more coffee but none was left.
Note. The difference between none and the negatives no one (nobody) and noth-
ing is easily brought out with the help of questions. No one (nobody) is used in an-
swer to a who-question.
e.g. "Whoare you speaking to?" "No one (nobody)"
Nothing is used in answer to a what-question,
e.g. "Whatare you doing there?" "Nothing"
But none is used in answer to a how many- or how much-question.
e.g. "How many fish did you catch?" "None"
"How muchpetrol is there in the car?" "None"
"How muchprogress did he make?" "None"
§ 25. The pronoun all can be used as a noun pronoun and as
an adjective pronoun.
All used as a noun pronoun is singular when it means 'every-
thing', 'the whole of a thing'.
e.g. All's well that ends well, (proverb)
I don't find any change here, all looks as it always did.
He has lost all.
Some day his pictures will be worth more than all you have
in your shop.
All used as a noun pronoun is plural when it means 'eve-
rybody', 'the total number of persons, animals or things.'
e.g. All are welcome.
All agree that he has behaved splendidly.
All of us think so.
He made a few suggestions. All of them were acceptable.
When all is used as an adjective pronoun, the verb may be sin-
gular or plural depending on the noun modified by all.
e.g. All the money was spent.
All that business fills me with disgust.
All the trunks are packed ready to go.
All students should register before October 1st.
There are a few peculiarities in the use of all:
1) When all is followed by a noun, there is no preposition be-
tween them.1
e.g. He worked hard all time he was here.
I don't like to speak before all these people.
All my friends were happy to hear the news.
All boys prefer playing games to going to school.
However, when all is followed by a personal pronoun, the
preposition of must be used.
e.g. He has written three novels and all of them were best sellers.
All of us were disappointed by him.
Note. In American English nouns following all are often joined to it, like per-
sonal pronouns, with the help of the preposition of.
e.g. Allof ourstudents have registered.
Allof these books are mine.
2) Note the possible place of all with nouns (a) and personal
pronouns (b) used as the subject of the sentence.
e.g. a) All the students found the lectures helpful.
The students all found the lectures helpful,
b) All of them found the lectures helpful.
They all found the lectures helpful.
3) All may be followed by an appositive clause which is usually
introduced by the conjunction that or asyndetically.
e.g. Meeting George was the first piece of pure chance that affect-
ed all (that) I did later.
1 For the use or absence of the definite article after all see "Articles", §10, Note.
She listened to all (that) he said with a quiet smile on her lips.
Note the following idiomatic uses of all:
e.g. He is all in. (= He is completely exhausted.)
It was all my fault. (= entirely)
The money is all gone. (= completely)
He was all covered with mud. (= wholly)
I did not understand it at all. (= in the least degree)
After all, people laughed at Manet, though everyone now
knows he was a great painter.
I warn you, once and for all, that this foolishness must stop.
(= for the last and only time)
§ 26. The pronoun every is used only as an adjective pronoun.
It modifies singular countable nouns when there are more than
two objects of the same description.
e.g. After the gale every flower in the garden was broken.
Every head turned to look at them as they progressed slowly
up the aisle.
He knew by heart every word in her letter.
Every morning the landlady greeted him with the same ques-
tion, "Had a good sleep, dear?"
Every time I ring you up, I find you engaged.
He had every reason to believe that he was right.
Note the idiomatic uses of every in the following sentences:
e.g. Every other house in the street was damaged in an air-raid.
(= every second, fourth, sixth, etc. house; about half the
houses)
He comes here every three days. (= every third day)
They had a rest every few miles. (= They had a rest every
time they had walked a few miles.)
Every is a synonym of all when the latter is used attributive-
ly. The use of every is, however, more restricted than that of all
because it cannot be used with uncountable nouns.
With countable nouns, their use appears to be parallel.
e.g. The explosion broke all the windows in the street.
The explosion broke every window in the street.
Yet, in addition to the fact that every precedes singular nouns
and all is associated with plural nouns, there is a difference in
meaning. The distinction between all and every is that in a sen-
tence like All the boys were present we consider the boys in a
mass; in the sentence Every boy was present we are thinking of
the many individual boys that make up the mass. Nevertheless it
is more usual to use every instead of all where possible.
§ 27. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
every; everyone — everybody — everything.
All of them are used as noun pronouns and take a singular
verb. Everyone and everybody can be used only of persons.
e.g. Everyone's got a right to their own opinion.
She took the initiative and herself spoke to everyone she knew.
"Everybody's afraid, aren't they?" he said looking at the peo-
ple around.
Both everyone and everybody can have the form of the gen-
itive case,
e.g. He's sure of everyone's consent.
The difference in meaning between everyone and everybody is
the same as between someone and somebody (see § 22 above). Only
everyone can be followed by an of-phrase.
e.g. He is at once physician, surgeon and healer of the serious
illnesses which threaten everyone of us in England today.
Note. The compounds with one are distinct from such groups as every one, any
one and some one where one is numerical and refers back to a countable noun that oc
curs in the sentence or the context. These groups are often followed by of-phrases.
e.g. I have three sisters. Every oneof themis beautiful.
The book opened to them new worlds, and every one of them was glorious.
But he knew that it would not take much for every one of themto start
talking freely.
Give me one of those books — any onewill do.
Everything can be used only of things and also takes a sin-
gular verb but it cannot have the genitive case form,
e.g. No wonder everything goes wrong in this house.
I'll tell you everything tonight.
One can't have everything.
§ 28. The pronoun each is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. In the former case it is singular in meaning
and takes a singular verb (a). In the latter case it is associated
with a singular countable noun and can be used when there are at
least two objects of the same description (b).
e.g. a) I told them what each was to do in case of an emergency,
b) For years I thought I remembered each detail of that day.
I have met him each time he has come to London.
We examined each specimen minutely.
He gave each boy a present.
Each as an adjective pronoun is a synonym of every but there
is some difference in meaning between them. Every tends to gath-
| er the separate items into a whole; each focuses attention on them
individually and so tends to disperse the unity, it takes the mem-
bers of a definite group one by one, without adding them up. In
other words, every refers to a number of individuals or things,
considered as a group; each refers to a number of individuals or
things, considered separately.
e.g. Every orange in the crate was wrapped in tissue paper. He care-
fully unwrapped each orange before putting it on the scales.
As a result of its specific meaning, each may be followed by
an of-phrase, which is not possible in the case of every.
e.g. Eachof the men signed his name as he came in.
1'11send each of you some seeds in the autumn.
Each of theten houses in the row had a garden.
§ 29. The pronoun other can be used as an adjective pronoun
and as a noun pronoun.
As an adjective pronoun, it is invariable. When it is preceded by
the indefinite article (an), they are written as one word another.
"The other + a singular noun" means 'the second of the two.'
e.g. The insurance offices were on the other side of the street.
He pulled on the other glove and said that, though it was
late, he would run along to his office.
I spent half my time teaching law and the other halfin Lon-
don as a consultant to a big firm.
"Another + a singular noun" means 'an additional one', 'a dif-
ferent one'.
e.g. Young Martin had been sent on another errand to the grocer.
Richard stayed for another moment, shifting from one foot
to the other.
We went into another room.
I must find myself another job.
"The other +a plural noun" means 'the rest', 'the remaining',
e.g. My mother said: "I don't want my boy to suffer in any way
at the side of the other boys in the form."
When I returned home I found my wife talking to our neigh-
bour. The other guests had gone.
"Other + a plural noun" means 'additional', 'different', 're-
maining' .
e.g. I have no other friends but you.
"We can do as well as other people," my aunt said.
He said that he would ring Charles up as soon as he got
home. Then he talked of other things all the way.
Some children like milk chocolate, other children prefer plain
chocolate.
As a noun pronoun, other has the plural form others and the
genitive case forms other's and others'.
Other used as a noun pronoun has the same meanings as when
it is used as an adjective pronoun (see above),
e.g. Simon set one foot slightly in front of the other, ready to
fight.
It was only another of her many disappointments.
If that cigar is too strong, try another.
That may be your opinion, but the others think differently. I
have talked to them.
All superiors were important to Mr Vesey, though some were
more important than others.
One of his daughters is married to a man who lives by his
pen. The other's husband is a doctor.
Note the idiomatic uses of other in the following sentences:
e.g. I don't want him to be other than he is.(= I don't want him
to be different.)
She could invent no way of squeezing another nine guineas
out of her budget. (= nine guineas more)
Another fifty yards farther on you can see Marcello's boat.
(= fifty yards more)
"I saw your wife the other day," I said. (= a few days ago)
And somehow or other he had acquired a wide acquaintance
with the less known parts of the city. (= in some way that
cannot be accounted for)
Some idiot or other has been throwing stones at the dog.
§ 30. The pronoun either and its negative counterpart neither
are used as noun pronouns and as adjective pronouns. When used
as nouns, they take a singular verb. Either usually means 'one or
the other of two'.
e.g. Either of these machines is suitable for the work you want
done.
"Which of the two rooms would you like, sir?" "Oh, either. I
don't care."
The news did not shock either of them.
My wife and I watched him make the parcel but he took no
notice of either of us.
Have you seen either of your parents today?
There is a train at 11.30 and one at 12.05. Either train will
get you to Oxford in time for the meeting.
In the above meaning either is mostly used as a noun pronoun,
though occasionally it occurs in the function of an attribute (see
the last example above).
Either may also mean 'each of two'. In this meaning it is used
as an adjective pronoun and mostly found in literary English.
e.g. He came down the road with a girl on either arm.
There was a lamp at either end of the street.
The houses on either side were tall and big.
Neither means 'not the one nor the other'.
e.g. That evening my mother spoke with such quiet anger that
Aunt Milly was intimidated. After that neither of them
was ever willing to take up the subject.
The first time we met after the ball, neither of us said a
word that was not trivial.
My friend and I came to the end of our last walk. "We shall
meet again," she said. "If not next year, then some other
time." Neither of us believed it.
You can keep your astonishment and your mortification for
yourself. I feel neither.
I have travelled by both trains and neither train had a res-
taurant car.
Neither brother has been abroad.
§ 31. The pronoun both is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. It is plural in meaning and applied only to two
persons or things.
e.g. Two men were injured in the accident. Both are now recover-
ing in hospital.
I ordered only one of the two books, but now I think I'll take
both.
Dirk went up to her, and took both her hands.
I made plans for the future that ignored both my parents
and my studies.
I invited one of the brothers but both of them came.
Note the possible place of both in the sentence.
e.g. Both (the) men were interested in the job.
Both these children are mine.
These children are both mine.
Both my children are boys.
Both of them agreed that the matter had better be dropped.
They both accepted the invitation.
They have both been invited.
§ 32. The pronouns much and many are used as noun pro-
nouns and as adjective pronouns.
Much means 'a large amount'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
singular verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only uncount-
able nouns,
e.g. Much of his life was lived inside himself.
"I don't suppose you had much to eat all day," said my mother.
You haven't much time if you want to catch the train.
I hope you haven't brought much luggage.
Many means 'a large number'. As a noun pronoun, it takes a
plural verb. As an adjective pronoun, it modifies only countable
nouns in the plural.
e.g. There were lots of people on the beach. Many of them were
holiday- makers.
"I'm marking the children's compositions." "Have you many
left?"
I haven't many friends now.
You haven't made many mistakes this time.
There is a strong tendency in present-day English to use much
and many, particularly when they function as adjective pronouns,
only in interrogative and negative sentences and in object clauses
introduced by if or whether.
e.g. I had not very much advice to give him.
I did not meet many English people who could speak foreign
languages.
Did you have much rain on your holidays?
Do you know many people in London?
I doubt whether there'll be much time for seeing the sights.
The train leaves at six o'clock.
I wonder if many people will come to the party.
Thus He has much time, although apparently correct gram-
matically, is hardly ever seen or heard in present-day English. A
lot of, lots of, plenty of, a great deal of, a large number of, a
good many, a great many and the like replace much and many in
affirmative sentences.
e.g. There is a lot of work to do.
I know plenty of boys in other schools had achieved the same
results as I had.
She knows lots of girls who go out dancing every Saturday.
He has done a great deal of research on the subject.
A large number of people were gathered at the cafe.
My mother's family had been different in a good many ways
from my father's.
A great many mistakes have been made by nearly everybody.
Much and many can be used in affirmative sentences in the
following cases:
a) when they are used as the subject of the sentence, or modify it,
e.g. Muchdepends on what answer he will give.
Muchof what he says is true.
Manythink that the situation will improve.
Muchtime would be saved if you planned your work properly.
Manypeople like to spend their spare time working in their
gardens.
b) when much and many are modified by adverbs of degree,
e.g. so, too, as and how,
e.g. No, I won't do it. It's too muchtrouble.
There are too manymistakes in your exercises.
You can have as muchfruit as you want.
c) when much is used alone as a noun pronoun in the function
of an object,
e.g. My mother meant muchto me.
I would give muchto know what he is thinking now.
Note. Occasionally we find such synonymous expressions of much and many as
a world of, heaps of, oceans of and the like. They are used in colloquial English for
emphasis,
e.g. I have heaps of news. When can we talk?
Much and many change for degrees of comparison. They are
more and most.
e.g. He made moreprogress than I had expected.
I found moreletters lying on his table that morning.
He knew moreabout me than I thought.
Mostwork was done in my father's office.