Ejercicios

Escoge la forma correcta del genitivo.

1. This is Toms car.
2. The lights of the car are broken.
3. This shouldnt happen because it is the newest model of this make.
4. While his car is in the garage, Tom is using his mothers car.
5. On Friday, his car will be fixed so he can drive to his friends birthday party.
Escribe la forma correcta del genitivo en plural.
1. Steve has two brothers. Mother said Steve is not allowed to take
his brothers toys without asking.
2. The womens national football team won a great victory on saturday.
3. The zoo keeper did his round and put food in all the animals cages.
4. The first day of the summer holidays is the school childrens favourite day of
the year.
5. Hannah has lots of friends. Two of them have their birthday on the same day.
Hannah is buying a dress for her friends joint birthday party.
Completa las frases con la forma de genitivo correcta.
1. My brother has a computer. Its my brothers computer.
2. Peter has a dog called Scruffy. The dogs name is Scruffy.
3. The schoolbus is yellow. The colour of the schoolbus is yellow.
4. Richard has two sisters. Each sister has a rabbit. Sometimes Richard has to
feed the rabbits.
Sometimes, Richard has to feed his sisters' rabbits.
5. Some say the Mona Lisa is the most beautiful painting.
The Mona Lisa is the the most beautiful painting of the world

In front of

A band plays their music in front of an audience.

The teacher stands in front of the students.

The man standing in the line in front of me smells bad.

Teenagers normally squeeze their zits in front of a mirror.

Behind
Behind is the opposite of In front of. It means at the back (part) of something.

When the teacher writes on the whiteboard, the students are behind him (or her).

Who is that person behind the mask?

I slowly down because there was a police car behind me.

Between
Between normally refers to something in the middle of two objects or things (or places).

There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.

The number 5 is between the number 4 and 6.

There is a sea (The English Channel) between England and France.

Across From / Opposite

Across from and Opposite mean the same thing. It usually refers to something being in front of
something else BUT there is normally something between them like a street or table. It is
similar to saying that someone (or a place) is on the other side of something.

I live across from a supermarket (= it is on the other side of the road)

The chess players sat opposite each other before they began their game.
(= They are in front of each other and there is a table between them)

Next to / Beside
Next to and Beside mean the same thing. It usually refers to a thing (or person) that is at the
side of another thing.

At a wedding, the bride stands next to the groom.

Guards stand next to the entrance of the bank.

He walked beside me as we went down the street.

In this part of town there isn't a footpath beside the road so you have to be careful.

Near / Close to
Near and Close to mean the same thing. It is similar to next to / beside but there is more of a
distance between the two things.

The receptionist is near the front door.

This building is near a subway station.

We couldn't park the car close to the store.

Our house is close to a supermarket.

On
On means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to
something.

The clock on the wall is slow.

He put the food on the table.

I can see a spider on the ceiling.

We were told not to walk on the grass.

Above / Over
Above and Over have a similar meaning. The both mean "at a higher position than X"
but above normally refers to being directly (vertically) above you.

Planes normally fly above the clouds.

There is a ceiling above you.

There is a halo over my head. ;)

We put a sun umbrella over the table so we wouldn't get so hot.

Our neighbors in the apartment above us are rally noisy.

Over can also mean: physically covering the surface of something and is often used with the
word All as in All over.

There water all over the floor.

I accidentally spilled red wine all over the new carpet.

Over is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.

Under / Below
Under and Below have a similar meaning. They mean at a lower level. (Something is above it).

Your legs are under the table.

Monsters live under your bed.

A river flows under a bridge.

How long can you stay under the water?

Miners work below the surface of the Earth.

Sometimes we use the word underneath instead of under and beneath instead of below. There
is no difference in meaning those they are less common nowadays.
Under is often used as a Preposition of Movement too.

S APOSTROFO S EN INGLES (GENITIVO

SAJN)
P o s t e d o n 0 8 / 0 2 / 2 0 1 4 b y G a re t h H J o n e s 1 8 C o m m e n t s
Un lector de Ingls Naturalmente me ha enviado la siguiente peticin:
Johan:
Hi Gareth!. I like the way youre teaching English on the page. But Id like to know if you

could resolve a doubt about something. I usually have problems to use an apostrophe.
When should I use an apostrophe?. e.g. when you use The Chemists .. Thank u.
As que en este post explicar el uso del apostrofo s en ingles cuando se trata de lo
que se llama gramaticalmente el Genitivo Sajn Possessive Genitive en ingls
Para qu se utiliza el apostrofo s en ingles?
Se utiliza s para representar:
1. Pertenencia o propiedad de
2. Calidad o caracterstica
3. Relacin
Se utiliza s en ingls para indicar que algo pertenece a alguien o es propio de alguien o
algo. Pero se puede ampliar la idea de pertenencia para tambin incluir las cualidades o
caractersticas de alguien (o algo) adems de indicar la relacin entre personas.
Se agrega s al sustantivo que es poseedor del objeto, cualidad o caracterstica, por
ejemplo:
El telfono pertenece a Gareth

Gareths phone
El telfono de Gareth

La decisin es propia de Susan

Susans decision
La decisin de Susan

El encanto es una cualidad de o es propio del hombre

The mans charm

El encanto del hombre
Yesterdays meeting

Cuando sucede a algo, es una caracterstica de ese algo.

La reunin de ayer
Marks brother
El hermano de Mark

Indica que existe una relacin entre los dos

Hay dos cosas importantes en las que deberas fijarte a la hora de formar esta
contruccin en ingls, dos errores comunes que cometen los hablantes de espaol:
1. El orden de las palabras es al revs que en espaol.
Hay que empezar la construccin en ingls con lo que es el segundo sustantivo en
espaol, por ejemplo:
El amigo de mi marido
=
My husbands friend
NO
My friends husband (que sera el marido de mi amigo)

2. Si te refieres al nombre de una persona, no empieces la construccin con the.

Piensa antes de hablar cuando se trata de este tipo de construccin. Si se trata de un
objeto, cualidad, caracterstica, etc. de una persona al que nos referimos por su nombre,
empezamos con el nombre de esta persona y no por the, por ejemplo:
La casa de Brian
=
Brians house
NOT
The Brians house
El artculo delante del primer sustantivo en espaol no se traduce al ingls.

Otras reglas repecto al s

Sustantivo singular

Se agrega s a cualquier sustantivo singular con esa propiedad, calidad, caracterstica,

etc.
My friends house
La casa de mi amigo
The boys enthusiasm
El entusiasmo del nio.
Tambin se aade s a los sustantivos singulares que terminan en s, sh, ch o x, aunque se
pronuncia como si fuera es /iss/ (s vibrante).
Rosss wedding.
La boda de mi amigo.
The witchs broom.
La escoba de la bruja.
A menudo se omite el sustantivo despus de s cuando se trata de un tipo de edificio o
vivienda, por ejemplo:
Were at Daves. (Were at Daves house)
Estamos en la casa de Dave.
I need to go to the doctors and then to the chemists.
Necesito ir a (la consulta del) mdico y luego a la (tienda de la) farmcia.

Sustantivo plural que no termina en s

Tambin se agrega s a los sustantivos plurales que no terminan en s:
The childrens toys.
Los juguetes de los nios.

Sustantivo plural que termina en s

Si el sustantivo del que es propio el objeto, calidad, caracterstica, etc. es plural y termina
con s, slo se agrega un apstrofo:
My friends house.
La casa de mis amigos.
The boys enthusiasm.
El entusiasmo de los nios.
Tanto la forma singular como plural se pronuncian igual, as
que friends y friends suenan lo mismo. Si no est claro por el contexto, puede
resultar un poco confuso para quien escucha, aunque al leerlo quede claro.

Ms de una persona
Si algo es propio de ms de una persona, se aade s slo al final de la ltima persona
mencionada, por ejemplo:
Dave and Sarahs house.
La casa de Dave y Sarah.
Ross and Emmas wedding.
La boda de Ross y Emma.
Ben and Simons toys.
Los juguetes de Ben y Simon.
Sin embargo, si nos referimos a algo que se posee por separado, se agrega s al final de
cada persona, por ejemplo:
Daves and Sarahs houses.
Las casas de Dave y de Sarah.

Rosss and Emmas weddings.

Las bodas de Ross y de Emma.
Bens and Simons toys.
Los juguetes de Ben y de Simon.

Ahora te toca a ti practicar un poco. Cmo se traducira lo siguiente? Respuestas abajo.

1. La camisa de Steve.
2. La paciencia de mi suegra.
3. El partido de la semana pasada.
4. La oficina / El despacho de mi jefe.
5. Las historias de los supervivientes.
6. El profesor de mi hermana.
7. El profesor de mis hermanas.
8. Los libros de Paul y Paula.
9. Los libros de Paul y de Paula.
10. Voy al dentista maana.

1. Steves shirt.
2. My mother-in-laws patience.
3. Last weeks match.
4. My bosss office.
5. The survivors stories.
6. My sisters teacher.
7. My sisters teacher
8. Paul and Paulas books.
9. Pauls and Paulas books.
10. Im going to the dentists tomorrow.

Espero que te haya gustado el post y que te haya sido til.

BEHIND
The car park is behind the building. He never won a race, he was always behind the
others.

BETWEEN
The prisoner sat between the two policemen. I held the pen between my thumb and
fingers.

IN
The pen was in the drawer. He lives in South Africa.

IN FRONT OF
The teacher stands in front of the class. The car was parked in front of the garage.

NEXT TO / BESIDE / BY
In my English lesson I always sit next to/
beside/by my friend. The bank is next to/
beside/by the hotel.

ON
The painting was hanging on the wall. The boy was sitting on the chair.

OVER/ABOVE
The sign hanging over/above the door read 'No smoking'. I put the tablecoth over the
table. I enjoy watching the planes fly above me.

UNDER / BELOW
The temperature outside was under/below 0. The woman was sheltering under a tree.
When flying I enjoy watching the clouds below me. - See more at:
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/prepositionplace.html#sthash.KoOokwdR.dpuf

above

higher than sth.

The picture hangs above my bed.

You mustn't go across this road here.

across

from one side to the

other side
There isn't a bridge across the river.

The cat ran after the dog.

after

one follows the other

After you.

against

directed towards sth.

The bird flew against the window.

along

in a line; from one point

to another

They're walking along the beach.

among

in a group

I like being among people.

around

in a circular way

We're sitting around the campfire.

at*

position at a point

I arrived at the meeting.

behind

at the back of

Our house is behind the

supermarket.

below

lower than sth.

Death Valley is 86 metres below sea

level.

beside

next to

Our house is beside the supermarket.

between

sth./sb. is on each side

Our house is between the

supermarket and the school.

by

near

He lives in the house by the river.

close to

near

Our house is close to the

supermarket.

down

from high to low

He came down the hill.

from

the place where it starts

Do you come from Tokyo?

in front
of

the part that is in the

direction it faces

Our house is in front of the

supermarket.

inside

opposite of outside

You shouldn't stay inside the castle.

in*

place seen in three

dimensions

We slept in the car.

larger areas

I was born in England.

into

entering sth.

You shouldn't go into the castle.

near

close to

Our house is near the supermarket.

next to

beside

Our house is next to the

supermarket.

off

away from sth.

The cat jumped off the roof.

touches a surface

There is a fly on the table.

is seen as a point on a
line

We were on the way from Paris to

Rome.

by a lake or sea

London lies on the Thames.

onto

moving to a place

The cat jumped onto the roof.

opposite

on the other side

Our house is opposite the

supermarket.

out of

leaving sth.

The cat jumped out of the window.

on*

outside

opposite of inside

Can you wait outside?

over

above sth./sb.

The cat jumped over the wall.

past

going near sth./sb.

Go past the post office.

round

in a circle

We're sitting round the campfire.

through

going from one point to

the other point

You shouldn't walk through the

forest.

I like going to Australia.

to

towards sth./sb.

Can you come to me?

I've never been to Africa.

towards

in the direction of sth.

We ran towards the castle.

under

below sth.

The cat is under the table.

up

from low to high

He went up the hill.

NEXT TO (BESIDE)
Significado: al lado de, junto a
Uso: Tanto next to como beside se pueden utilizar indistintamente. Utilizar
una forma u otra depender del hablante y del contexto.
Ejemplos:
The supermarket is next to (beside) the bank. (El supermercado est junto al
banco.)

Sit next to (beside) me. (Sintate a mi lado.)

BY
Significado: cerca, al lado de, junto a
Uso: Se puede utilizar en los mismos contextos que next to pero el significado
de by es ms como cerca en castellano.
Ejemplos:
I sit by the window. (Me siento a lado de la ventana.)
Our house is by the river. (Nuestra casa est cerca del ro.)

BETWEEN
Significado: entre
Ejemplos:
The shop is between the bank and the train station. (La tienda est entre el banco
y la estacin de tren.)

She is standing between Peter and John. (Permanece de pie entre Pedro y Juan.)

BEHIND
Significado: detrs de
Ejemplos:
The church is behind the school. (La iglesia est detrs de la escuela.)
He is standing behind you. (Est de pie detrs de ti.)

IN FRONT OF vs. OPPOSITE

Significado: contrario, en frente de, opuesto, delante de
Usos: La diferencia entre estas preposiciones la notamos cuando estamos
hablando de personas, in front of no implica estar delante y cara a cara, en
cambio opposite significa delante y cara a cara.
Ejemplos:
The hotel is in front of the station. (El hotel est en frente de la estacin.)
The bank is opposite the market. (El banco est delante del mercado.)
Laura is standing in front of you. (Laura est de pie delante de ti.)
She is sitting opposite me. (Se est sentando en frente de m.)

UNDER
Significado: debajo de
Ejemplos:
The ball is under the chair. (La pelota est debajo de la silla.)
The dog is under the tree. (El perro est debajo del rbol.)

ABOVE
Significado: por encima sin tocar
Ejemplo:
The clock is above the table. (El reloj est por encima de la mesa.)

Nota: La traduccin literal puede llevar a confusin cuando la traducimos al

castellano, ya que en castellano diramos: el reloj est colgado en la pared. Si
quisiramos especificar diramos: y por debajo en la misma pared est apoyada la
mesa.

BELOW
Significado: por debajo sin tocar
Ejemplo:
The table is below the clock. (La mesa est por debajo del reloj.)

Nota: Como en el caso anterior, la traduccin literal de below puede llevar a

confusin. En este caso diramos que la mesa est apoyada en la misma pared en
la que se encuentra el reloj colgado un poco ms arriba.