Pronouns

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Sorry, sir So what is the difference of the usage of these phrases: "great numbers of", "a great number of" and "the great number of" Thank you, sir

Hi Risa warysha,

In many cases, several of these phrases can be used, with similar meanings. For example, we could say:

A great number of people pass through the station every day.
Great numbers of people pass through the station every day.

There's only a slight difference: the second sentence implies that the number of people may change (e.g. on different days, or at different times), because the plural (Great numbers) means that there is more than one measurement of the number of people. It seems to describe the situation more generally. In many cases, though, this difference may not matter, and you could use either phrase.

These sentences also mean pretty much the same thing:

The great number of people consuming alcohol has declined.
The great numbers of people consuming alcohol has declined.

But the first one seems like it's describing a specific survey result, because it mentions The great number (i.e. a single, particular number). The second sentence seems like it's describing the situation more in general.

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi team Kindly help about collective noun in the following sentences Japan is consists of many islands Here, consists of many islands - collective? He visited many countries of the world Is "countries of the the world" collective..or common- countries, world (both) World- common or proper?

Hello Samin,

A collective noun is one which takes a number of items as a single unit. For example:

a crowd of people ['crowd' is the collective noun]

a group of children

a herd of cows

In your examples I do no see any collective nouns. The word 'consist' is a verb, not a noun. The word 'countries' is a normal plural noun, not a collective term.

The word 'world' is not a proper noun. 'Earth' would be a proper noun to describe our planet.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

First time here I'm still figuring out how it works.

Hello Yolanda,

I'm not sure, either, to be honest. Would 'optician's' make sense in the context you saw this phrase?

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, please explain me the difference between " deed and indeed " . thank you

Hello Imran 26

'deed' is a noun with a variety of meanings, whereas 'indeed' is an adverb that is used for emphasis or to express a reaction on the part of the speaker. Please have a look at the dictionary entries, and be sure to read through the examples.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, This is the life of which I can't make a living out. This is the life which I can't make a living out of. This is the life of that I can't make a living out This is the life that I can't make a living out of. I think only the first is correct and more usual. what do you think ? I hope you and entire team is safe and sound in this time of crisis and stay that way!

Hello SonuKumar,

The second and fourth sentences are grammatically possible; the first and third are not. However, none of them scan particularly well and they would be better phrased in a different way.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, I think this one is better. This is the life I can't make a living out of. Is there another way by which I can say the same thing in a more appropriate, better and usual way ?

Hello SonuKumar,

I think something like 'This is the life I can't make a living from' might be better, but it's hard to say if it would be appropriate or even make sense without knowing the context and the style which you are aiming for.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, Thank you very much for your reply. I think the prepostion 'In' will also work here and another way to say the same thing is I can't make a living out of, from or in this life. But I got the point you made in the last comment about context. Thank you once again. Best wishes

I can´t make a living from this life. However, to a native english speaker it is still strange. What exactly are you trying to express?

Hello, dear teacher!!! Please, could you explain this simole sentence for me: I'm sorry but she's just kind of lost interest in buying the car. In this sentence where "she's" is "s" of has or is? and is "lost" participle or past simple(verb or adjective)? What elemet do normally follows after "kind of", i mean verb, adjective, noun?

Hello Yerlan,

In your sentence she's is a contracted form of she has. The verb lost is a past participle. Together this forms the present perfect (she's lost = she has lost), which is used because the action took place in the recent past and has a result which is relevant now (she owns a new car).

Kind of is a very flexible phrase and can be used before many different types of word:

He's kind of nice. [before an adjective]

He kind of ran away. [before a verb]

It's kind of a family tradition. [before a noun]

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Kirk, thank you a lot.

Hello dear team, Please see these sentences. Are they true grammatically? A court is a place where people play tennis. That is the race which millions of people watch. 1992 is the year when the Olympics were held in Barcelona. You will never forget the day when you were born. Thank you

Hello Hosseinpour

Those are all fine -- good work!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, I'd very much like me a shoutout on the Radio. I'd very much like a shoutout for me on the Radio. Or I'd very much like myself a shoutout on the Radio. I'd very much like a shoutout for myself on the Radio. Which ones are correct the two with 'Me' or the two with 'Myself' or are four of them correct ?

Hello SonuKumar

All of them could be acceptable in informal, non-standard English. I'd say the most correct one in standard English would be the second one.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sir, Pronoun and possessive pronounce are same things or it may different?

Hello Imran 26,

Pronoun is the name of one part of speech (type of word) in English. Possessive pronouns are one kind of pronoun, but there are many other kinds.

You can read about the various types of pronoun and how they are categorised linguistically, on the relevant wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoun

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Good Afternoon, Adjectives with '-ing' and '-ed' in this topic, I could not understand what is the difference between -ing and ed with the adjective. Can you provide some explanation and example for me to understand better? Thank You,

Good afternoon, I am prefering to learn about grammar part and need to think myself which one is wrong and write the answer for the grammar question. In this case, you can provide some suggestion for me to improve my grammar skill and similiar to what i looking for? thank you

Hello Backlight

There might be some exercises here in our Grammar reference that would be similar to what you are looking for, but there are so many, I'm afraid I can't recommend specific ones to you. If I understand what you are looking for, the best thing would be to find a teacher who can help you, as correcting sentences that usually requires some explanation. But if you search the internet for grammar exercises, you might find some sites that would have what you are looking for.

Good luck!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. When people eat, however, they often confuse or combine information from the tongue and mouth with what is happening in the nose. Can I replace "what is happening" with "the thing that happens"?

Hello amirfd

Yes, that is grammatically correct. The way it is written sounds more natural, however.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, I feel like a room without a roof. Dose it mean that I feel like I'm a room without a roof or I like a room without a roof ? He recognises the body as that of his friend. Can I also write like this: He recognises the body as of his friend or his friend's ?

Hello SonuKumar, In your first example, 'I feel like...' describes a person's emotional or mental state, not what they like or don't like. ~ In your second example, you can say either of these: > ...the body as that of his friend > ...the body as his friend's ~ Peter The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, take the level test, say that I am in the intermediate but I feel that in grammar I am not very good. Is it recommendable to start from the basics?

Hi Carolina19 It's difficult to give you specific advice without knowing you better, but in general I'd encourage you to start with reading or listening resources. We have a lot of new pages at the B2 level in our Skills section (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills), for example, or there are lots of videos at the intermediate level in the Video zone (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/video-zone) and Word on the Street (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/word-street) and audio in LearnEnglish podcasts (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts). Whenever you find some grammar that you don't understand or that you want to review, you can probably find it here in the English Grammar section. If you can't find more information about it, please feel free to ask us for help in the Comments section on the page you are working on and we'll help you. But if you want to focus on grammar from the beginning, this section is a good place to start. Please note that the pages here are not organised in a sequence, but rather by topic. If you have trouble finding something, please let us know. I hope this helps orient you. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask us. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Sir , Please let me know about Infinitives ?

Hello Imran 26, You can read about infinitives on this page: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/infinitive ~ You can also search for pages related to the topic by typing 'infinitive' into the search window on this page. Look for the magnifying glass at the top right. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/search/apachesolr_search/infinitive ~ Peter The LearnEnglish Team

hello how can i find my all comments and replies from you.

Hello INS-PRAKASH, New comments appear on the last page of the comments section once they have been approved, so if you go there you will see your comment. All comments are read before they are published, so there is usually a short delay between posting your comment and it appearing on the site. You can also go to your account page and click on 'Track'. This should show recent activity. ~ Peter The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sir please help to clarify, Which one is correct? The team are divided in its opinion. The team are divided in their opinions.

Hello Akash Rathore The first one is not consistent and is not grammatical. 'are' as a plural verb and 'its' as a singular determiner are in conflict. The second one is OK. 'The team is divided in its opinions.' is also correct. All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, how are you doing? sir i would like always to learn English so that i can join global citizens in expressing myself, i always end up being embarrass by my friends just because i lack grammatical construction and my pronunciation is very very terrible. i am not able to sometimes to differentiate pronunciation of letter (F) and letter (p) among other many words. all in all my English is completely terrible. can you please advice on how quick i can able to learn very fast?

Hello Aturjong Jr.

We're very glad to have you hear. I would recommend you read our Getting started and Frequently asked questions pages first. There you can find lots of advice on how to get the most out of our site.

Then if you have any specific questions about something on a page, you are welcome to ask them in a comment there.

Welcome and good luck!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Does the use of 'the way' in the following sentence have any error? Please note that there is a clause "is it right to do so?" at the end. [My question to you is that the way I slaughtered the hen while holding her tongue out, is it right to do so?] Secondly, 'her' has been used for "a hen" , is this ok in this sentence?

Hello Zeeshan Siddiqii,

I think there is a problem with using 'the way' (a noun) and 'do so' (a question about an action) together. We would usually use its for a hen rather than she, though she is not incorrect.

I would suggest any one of several alternatives:

My question to you is this: Is the way I slaughtered the hen while holding its tongue out right?

My question to you is this: I slaughtered the hen while holding her tongue out; was it right to do so?

My question to you is this: Was I right to slaughter the hen while holding its tongue out?

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Great guidance. Thank you very much. If I say, "Some people think this act i.e. slaughtering the hen while holding her tongue out, necessary." and then we add what we believe: This is torturing the animal unnecessarily. Does this sentence [This is torturing the animal unnecessarily] sound natural? Or should there be some change in this?

Hello Zeeshan Siddiqii,

My only suggestion would be to use a linking device to show the contrast:

However, in my view / in our view this is...

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir! Thanks for the response to my question. I can now use the both.

Thanks million sir. Your answer lives up to my satisfaction. I'm learning a lot from you. I am confused between this these two words: Alone, lone , and how to properly use them in the sentence. Which one is correct and why: He has done it alone He has done it lone. Thanks for the help.

Hello hawa100,

'Lone' is an adjective which is used only before a noun: a lone wolf, a lone hunter, a lone protester.

'Alone' as an adjective is used only in two ways. First, after the verb 'be': I was alone in the house. Second, after a noun to mean 'only': She alone knows the truth.

'Alone can also be an adverb: I worked alone all night.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, Could I say that "My Aim in life" might be a multiple purpose in my life but "The Aim of my life" specified or just one purpose in life?

Hello Imran 26,

No, both phrases refer to a single (or most important) aim. You would use plural forms to talk about more than one aim:

My aims in life are...

The aims of my life are...

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Pronouns

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