Lesson 4
4. GRAMMAR

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns - Adjetivos y Pronombres

Demostrativos

Los adjetivos y pronombres demostrativos en inglés son muy fáciles de aprender.

Demonstrative Adjectives
and Pronouns
this este / esta
these estos / estas
that ese / esa
those esos / esas

Cuando se utilizan como adjetivos, deben estar seguidos de un sustantivo.

This calculator is very good.

Esta calculadora es muy buena.

These cars are very fast.

Estos vehículos son muy veloces.

Cuando se utilizan como pronombres, no están seguidos de sustantivos (dado que justamente los
pronombres sirven para reemplazarlos).

This is a calculator.
Esta es una calculadora.

These are calculators.

Estas son calculadoras.

That is a desk.
Ese es un escritorio.

Those are desks.

Esos son escritorios.

Lesson 4
4. GRAMMAR

Possessive Adjectives Adjetivos Posesivos

Se utilizan para indicar a quién pertenece el sujeto u objeto de la oración. Van seguidos de un
sustantivo (o una cláusula nominal).

Possessive Adjectives
my mi / mis
your tu / tus
his su / sus
her su / sus
its su / sus
our nuestro/a/os/as
your vuestro/a/os/as
their su / sus

Como se puede observar, son muchos menos que en español, ya que no se diferencian en singular
o plural. Por ejemplo:

my car mi auto

my cars mis autos

Sin embargo, debe prestar atención cuando se refiere a la tercera persona, ya que en castellano se
usa "su" en todos los casos, mientras que en inglés varían según la persona.

Note además que "your" puede referirse al singular (tu) o al plural (vuestro).

my house
your house
his house
her house
its house
our house
your house
their house

Si se está hablando de una persona y se describe su casa, se usaría his o her, según el sexo de
dicha persona.

John lives in New York. His house is very big.

Susan lives in New York. Her house is very big.

Pero si se habla de un animal se debe utilizar its.

The cat lives in New York. Its name is Bob

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

 Figura # 2
We can use the possessive adjectives BEFORE the nouns to show possession.
—> This is my BOOK. That’s her pencil. (Possessive adjectives need to be followed by a
noun)

* En conclusión podemos utilizar los possessive nouns o los possesseive pronouns pero estos tienen que
ser seguidos por un sustantivo. Los possessive pronouns son usados para especificar. En cambio, los
possessive adjectives son usados cuando ya se sabe de quien estamos hablando.

 Figura # 3

*gracias a Basic grammar in use por las figuras.

Now that you know the personal pronouns you can make your first sentences in English. All you need is the BE-Verb
in the correct form:

I am

you are

she is
he is
it is

we are
you are
they are

English is a compact language. Many words have short forms. Below you'll see the short forms of the be-verb.

I'm

you're

she's
he's
it's

we're
you're
they're

Are you ready for more? Here comes the negative:

I am not

you are not

she is not
he is not
it is not

we are not
you are not
they are not

That was easy, wasn't it? Now, the short forms of the be-verb negative:

I'm not
 you're not

she's not
he's not
it's not

we're not
you're not
they're not

We'll we aren't through yet. There are two short forms of the be-verb negative. Here's the second one:

I'm not (same as the first one)

you aren't

she isn't
he isn't
it isn't

we aren't
you aren't
they aren't
Personal Profile
OK, now you can already say a few sentences about yourself, here is an example:

I'm Jake Bezos.

I'm 25 years old. (or: I'm 25.)
I'm from The Netherlands.
I'm the founder of Amazing, an Internet book store.
I'm very tall.
I'm married.
I'm interested in trading books online.
Now that you know the Personal Pronouns, the Be-Verb and the Possessive Adjectives you can create a more
interesting Personal Profile:

Hi, I'm Mike. My surname is McKillian. I'm from Island. Its capital is Reykjavik. My mother tongue is Icelandic and
my second language is English. I'm a computer programmer and my hobbies are talking to people on the Internet
and inline skating. I'm married. My wife's name is Asdis. She is a psychologist.

Put in the following forms of be (am, are, is) into the gaps in the text. Do not use
short/contracted forms.

Example: He __ a boy.

Answer: He is a boy.

Peter Baker from Manchester, but Paul and John from London. Manchester and
London cities in England. Hamburg a city in Germany. Sandra at school today.

Jack and Peter her friends. They in the same class. Mr and Mrs Baker on a trip

to the USA to visit their cousin Anne. She a nice girl. Peter says: "My grandfather in

hospital. I at home with my grandmother." What time it? It 8 o'clock. you

tired? No, I not.

Question words with Examples

Question word Example

where Where do you live?

who Who are you?
when When do you get up?
what What are you doing?
why Why do you smoke?
whose Whose book is this?
which Which bus do you take to school?
how How old are you?

The indefinite article - a

The indefinte article is the a is the same for all genders.

a boy, a girl, a cat

The indefinte article has no plural form.

a boy - boys

We use an if the following word starts with a vowel.

the following word starts with a

the following word starts with a vowel
consonant
a boy an aunt
a school an old school
a girl an American girl

Mind the pronunciation of the following word.

a unit an uncle
This u sounds like a consonant, so we This u sounds like a vowel, so we use
use a. an.
with the definite article
general words (indefinite)
Life is too short.
I like flowers.
names of persons on the singular,
relatives
Peter and John live in London.
Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.
public buildings, institutions, means of
transport (indefinite)
Mandy doesn't like school.
We go to school by bus.
Some people go to church on Sundays.
names of countries in the singular;
summits of mountains; continents; towns
Germany, France;
Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley;
Africa, Europe;
Cairo, New York
single islands
Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily
parks; lakes; streets
Central Park, Hyde Park;
Lake Michigan, Loch Ness;
42nd Street, Oxford Street
months, days of the week (indefinite)
The weekend is over on Monday morning.
July and August are the most popular months
for holidays.
We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite
article.
in summer or in the summer
The American English word for autum >fall< is always used with the definte article.
general words (definite)
I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.
I like the flowers in your garden.
family names in the plural
The Smiths live in Chicago.
public buildings, institutions, means of
transport (definite)
The school that Mandy goes to is old.
The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
The round church in Klingenthal is famous.
names of countries in the plural;
mountain ranges; regions
the United States of America, the Netherlands;
the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps;
the Middle East, the west of Australia
groups of islands
the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries
name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers
the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London),
the Isle of Wight;
the Atlantic (Ocean);
the Mediterranean (Sea);
the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal
months, days of the week (definite)
I always remember the Monday when I had an
accident.
The August of 2001 was hot and dry.