Download figures of speech

FIGURES OF SPEECH
Nouns
Common nouns: these classify things into types or general categories like car, dog, flower and chair.
Proper nouns: they refer to specific people and places and are usually written with an initial capital
letter. They do not often appear after the determiners a, and the. E.g. India, Gandhi, Delhi.
Concrete nouns: these refer to physical things like people, objects and places, things that can be
observed and measured, e.g. guitar, table, clothes.
Abstract nouns: refer to ideas, processes, occasions, times, and qualities. They cannot be touched or
seen, e.g. ‘happiness’, ‘weak’, and ‘birth’.
Countable nouns: can be counted and therefore have a plural form, they cannot be used after the
determiner ‘much’.
Non-Countable nouns: refer to substances and qualities that cannot be counted; they have no plural
form and cannot follow the determiner ‘a’. Many of them, however, can follow the determiner ‘much’.
Collective nouns: although singular in form, refer to groups of people, animals and things, e.g. ‘crowd’,
‘family’, ‘committee’.
Plural of Nouns
In written language, regular nouns add ‘s’ to make the plural. Many nouns however, are irregular and
therefore follow alternative patterns. The following can be cited:
•
Nouns ending in ‘y’ form their plurals by replacing the ‘y’ with ‘ies’ e.g. ‘story’ and ‘Penny’.
•
Nouns ending in ‘o’, ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘tch’, ‘sh’, and ‘x’, form their plural by adding ‘es’. E.g. mistress, box,
flash and match.
•
Nouns ending in ‘f’, except those ending with ‘ff’, or ‘fe’ change to ‘ves’ in their plural. E.g. hoof,
life.
•
Some nouns change to plural by either changing a vowel or by using a suffix other than ‘s’. E.g.
mouse, tooth, ox, child would convert their vowels respectively: mice, teeth, oxen, children.
•
Some nouns are the same in their singular form as in their plural form. Examples are fish, hair
etc.
•
Possessive nouns
•
In written language,‘s or s’ is added to the noun to mark possession. The following rules govern
use of possessive ending written in English.
•
Add an apostrophe and an s to singular noun to form the possessive. E.g. ‘a baby’s bottle’, ‘an
engine’s design’.
•
Add an apostrophe to regular plurals. E.g. the cars’ colours’, the pictures’ frames’;
•
Add an apostrophe and an s to irregular plurals e.g. the children’s game, the oxen’s strength.
•
Singular Proper nouns ending in ‘s’ usually add an ‘s’ e.g. Dylan Thomas’s poetry, King Louis’s
throne.
•
Pronouns
•
Pronouns are used in place of nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. There are seven main types
of pronouns:
•
1.
•
Personal pronouns: ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘me’, ‘he’, she’, ‘it’, ‘we’, ‘you’, ‘they’, ‘him’,
‘her’, ‘it’, ‘us’, ‘you’, ‘them’.
•
2.
•
3.
Demonstrative pronouns: ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’, ‘the former’, ‘the later’,and
‘such’.
•
4.
•
5.
Reflexive pronouns: ‘myself’, ‘thyself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’, ‘herself’, ‘oneself’,
‘ourselves’, ‘yourselves’, ‘themselves’.
•
6.
Interrogative pronouns: ‘who’, ‘whose’, ‘which’, and ‘what’. They are used to ask
questions.
•
7.
•
Determiners
•
Determiners precede nouns. There are five main types of determiners
•
1.
Articles: the, a, an.
•
2.
Possessive determiners: my, our, their.
•
3.
Demonstrative determiners: the, this, that.
•
4.
Indefinite determiners: all, some, any, very, each, either, neither, one, another, both,
several, many, more, little, few, least.
Possessive pronouns: ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘ours’, ‘yours’, etc.
Relative pronouns: ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘whose’, ‘which’, ‘that’.
Indefinite pronouns: ‘all’, ‘some’, ‘any’, ‘one’, ‘something’, ‘nobody’, etc.
•
5.
Numbers: These are divided into ordinates, first, second, third, and cardinals, one, two,
three.
•
Prepositions
•
Prepositions describe relationships that exist between elements in sentences. They convey the
following relationships:
•
1.
Place: at, on, by and opposite.
•
2.
Direction: towards, past, out of, to through.
•
3.
Time: at, before, in, and on.
•
4.
Comparison: as … as, and like.
•
5.
Source: from, and out of.
•
6.
Purpose: for.
•
The following are all prepositions:
above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath,
beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of,
off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.
1.
Prepositions are important when constructing sentences. A preposition sits before a
noun to show the noun's relationship to another word in the sentence.
Examples:
•
*
It is a container for butter.
(The preposition "for" shows the relationship between "butter" and "container".)
*
The eagle soared above the clouds.
(The preposition "above" shows the relationship between "clouds" and "soared".)
2.
For native English speakers, grammatical errors involving prepositions are rare.
However, there are several points of which to be aware:
Can you end a sentence in a preposition?
Is the preposition absolutely necessary?
What follows a preposition?
EXCEPT AND ACCEPT
Some writers confuse the words except and accept. The word except is a preposition. It has a meaning
similar to "not including".
•
I know everybody except Tony. 
(The preposition "except" shows the relationship between "Tony" and "everybody".)
The word accept, on the other hand, is a verb. For example:
•
I accept. 
•
She will accept the decision. 
PAST AND PASSED
The word past can be used as a preposition; whereas, passed cannot. The word passed is a verb that
relates to the action of passing. For example:
•
Jennifer passed the exam. 
•
She passed the salt. 
The word past on the other hand can be used as:
a preposition. e.g.
•
It went past the post. 
an adjective. e.g.
•
He believes he was a prince in a past life. 
Whether preposition, adjective or noun, the word past usually relates to either time or distance.
INTO, ONTO AND UP TO
The word "into" is a preposition. It is written as one word.
•
She turned everything she touched into gold. 
However, on occasion, the words in and to appear next to each other in a sentence, and writers are
unsure whether to use into or in to. This happens when the verb in the sentence includes the word "in"
(e.g. hand in, step in, turn in).
•
Paul wanted to hand the purse in to see if there was a reward. 
(In this example, the word "to" is from "to see". When a verb is preceded by "to", it is said to be in its
infinitive form.)
•
Paul wanted to hand the purse in to the Police. 
(In this example, the word "to" is a preposition in its own right.)
More confusion arises with verbs like "drive in", "put in" and "fall in". This is because "drive into", "put
into" and "fall into" are equally valid alternatives.
•
Put the fruit in the basket. 
("put in" - okay)
•
Put the fruit into the basket. 
("put into" - okay)
•
Put the fruit in to the basket. 
•
Dive in the water. 
•
Dive into the water. 
(alternative to above)
•
Dive in to the water. 
•
Dive in to test the water. 
Writers should be wary of "turn into" because it has two meanings.
•
The car turned into a garage. 
(Was this a magic trick, or did the car drive into a garage?)
Therefore, to avoid ambiguity, it is normal to use "turn in" and "to" as a preposition in its own right.
•
The car turned in to a garage. 
3. The words after a preposition are said to be the "object of the preposition".
Examples:
•
The cat ran under the car.
(The words "the car" are the object of the preposition "under".)
•
Can you give this parcel to him tomorrow?
(The word "him" is the object of the preposition "to".)
4. A preposition usually sits before a noun (a word like "dog", "man", "house", "Alan"). However, a
preposition can also sit before a pronoun (a word like "him", "her", "which", "it", "them").
Examples:
•
Can you give the parcel to him?
("He" changes to "him" in the objective case.)
•
I went to the cinema with them.
("They" changes to "them" in the objective case.)
WHOM AFTER A PREPOSITION
Many are unsure when to use who and whom. One thing is for certain: Always use "whom" after a
preposition.
WHETHER AFTER A PREPOSITION
Some writers are unsure when to use "whether" and when to use "if". After a preposition, only
"whether" can be used:
•
A decision about whether the elections were legal is pending. 
•
Will you raise the question of whether we are investing in the system or withdrawing? MORE
ABOUT WHETHER AND IF
(Whilst the remainder of this hot tip is not about prepositions, it fits in well with the hot tip above.)
In an indirect question writers have a choice; both "whether" or "if" can be used. For example:
•
Ask him whether it was built before the war. 
•
Ask him if it was built before the war. 
YOU AND I / MY WIFE AND I
Many people always use "I" in expressions like "you and I" or "my wife and I" when, in some instances,
they should be using "me".
•
It is a present from my wife and me. 
("me" - objective case of "I" after the preposition "from")
•
It is a present from my wife and I. 
(This is as wrong as saying "from I".)
•
Keep this between you and I. 
(This is as wrong as saying "between I and the post".)
As covered above, prepositions govern the objective case. Therefore, the word "I" must change to "me"
when it is the object of a preposition (i.e. follows it). The fact that it is preceded by "you and" or "my
wife and" is irrelevant.
In fact, you should only use "I" in an expression like "you and I" when it is the subject of the verb. For
example:
You and I argue on this subject on a daily basis. 
•
("You and I" - subject of the verb "to argue")
My husband and I accept your apology. 
•
("My husband and I" - subject of the verb "to accept")
If the terms "objective case" and "subject of a verb" are confusing, then there is a neat trick to
determine whether to use the "you and I" form or the "you and me" form. Simply remove everything
apart from the "I" and try your sentence again.
You will naturally use the correct version. 
•
It was proposed by my husband and I / me.
Question: I or me?
Step 1: Remove "my husband and".
Step 2: Try the sentence again.
Step 3: It was proposed by I.
It was proposed by me.
Therefore:
•
It was proposed by my husband and me. 
•
Conjunctions
•
Conjunctions are joining words, and there are two types-
•
Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, neither … nor, either … or) link lexical units of equal
values. E.g. ‘the girl and the boy’, ‘they saw and understand’.
•
Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause to a main clause. They often give
information on when, where, why, how, or if an action takes place. A clause introduced by a
subordinating conjunction cannot stand-alone. Below is a list of the main subordinating
conjunctions:
•
Time: when (ever), while, as, before, until, after, since, once, and when.
•
Place: where and wherever.
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Purpose: so that and in order that.
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Reason: because, as, and since.
•
Condition: if and unless
•
Contrast: although, while, whereas.
•
Comparison
1. Conjunctions are used to join words or groups of words together. The most common ones are "and",
"or" and "but". (There are others - see "Glossary of Terms".) Often, a conjunction sits before the last
item in a list.
Examples:
•
Jamie, Adam and Lee arranged to meet by The Bull at 7 o'clock. 
(conjunction "and" groups "Jamie", "Adam" + "Lee")
•
It is a small but practical kitchen. 
(conjunction "but" groups "small" + "practical")
•
The manager or his secretary will notify you when the report is ready. 
(conjunction "or" groups "manager" + "secretary")
2. Conjunctions do not normally cause serious errors, but writers are sometimes confused about when
to place a comma before a conjunction. Unfortunately, there is no simple rule, such as: Never put a
comma before "and". (The guidelines are explained here.)
3. As a rule, do not place a comma before a conjunction when it sits before the last item in a simple list.
Examples:
•
She went to the shop for eggs, milk and butter. 
(no need for a comma before "and")
•
It is a large but friendly dog. 
(This is a list of adjectives about the dog. There is no need for a
comma before "but".)
•
Jamie, Adam and Lee arranged to meet at The Bull. 
(list of people; no need for a comma before "and")
•
Carl, David, and Sarah were all witnesses. 
(list of people; no need for a comma before "and")
4. However, on occasion, it may be appropriate to use a comma with the conjunction in a simple list.
This could be for the sake of tidiness or to eliminate ambiguity. (This topic is also covered in the lesson
"Commas".)
Examples:
•
The news will be shown after Dangermouse, and Rug Rats. 
(People could think that "Dangermouse and Rug Rats" is one programme.)
•
The train will stop at Watford, Harrow, Pinner, Watford, and Bushey. 
("Watford and Bushey" could be one place, like "Bath and Wells".)
•
The emblem is an amalgamation of the British and Irish flags, the Stars and Stripes, and the
Hammer and Sickle. 
(The word "and" appears lots of times in this example. The comma before the "and“ makes it easier for
the reader.)
MORE ON CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions can be categorised into three grouping:
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions appear in pairs. For example, "either...or", "neither...nor", "whether...or" and
"not only...but also".
Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions include "and", "but", "or", "nor", "for", "so" and "yet". They are used to join
individual words, phrases and independent clauses.
Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions include "after", "although", "as", "because", "before", "if", "once", "since",
"than", "that", "though", "till", "until", "when", "where", "whether" and "while". They are used to show
the relationship between the independent clause and the dependent clause.
ADJECTIVES
These are traditionally known as describing words. They provide extra information about nouns by
giving details of physical qualities like colour and shape, and of psychological qualities like emotions, and
by providing evaluate judgments. E.g. ‘some green leaves’, ‘a heavy sack’, ‘a funny film’, ‘a good story’.
Adjectives specify a noun’s field of reference, i.e. the narrow the range of meaning by providing you
with details. Adjectives can be used in two positions. Before a noun-Attributive adjective, and after a
noun- Copula or linking verbs like ‘to become’ and ‘to seem’ – predicative adjectives. E.g. ‘the large
balloon’, (attributive), and ‘the balloon is large’ (predicative).
Adjectives can be graded so that nouns can be compared e.g. ‘a big car’. Monosyllabic and disyllabic
adjectives form the comparative by adding ‘er’ and the superlative by adding ‘est’. E.g. long, longer,
longest, sad sadder, saddest. Polysyllabic and some disyllabic adjectives form the comparative by using
‘more’ and the superlative by using ‘most’ before the adjective. E.g. ‘more fortunate’, ‘most fortunate’,
‘more grateful’, and ‘most grateful.’
Some adjectives are irregular, as the following patterns show: bad, worse, worst. Good, better, best.
Sometimes words from other classes do the job of an adjective e.g. ‘the running boy’ (verb), ‘the garden
wall’ (noun).
USE OF ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun to tell you more about it.
Adjectives never change. They are never plural.
For example:This is a nice cake.
Adjectives go before their nouns.
They're good people
TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
1. Adjectives to describe someone's appearance
Beautiful (women only)
Handsome (men only)
Pretty (girls only)
Good looking (men/women/boys)
Ugly (men and women)
Attractive (men, women, boys or girls)
2. Adjectives for personality (people) or characteristics (places and things)
Lovely Nice
OK
All right
Horrible
TerribleAwful
VERBS
1.Verbs are traditionally known as doing words, but this does not cover all the possible meanings. A
more accurate definition would be that verbs can express actions and states.
Examples:
The doctor wrote the prescription.
(In this example, the word "wrote" is a verb. It expresses the action "to write".)
Alison bought a ticket.
(The word "bought" is a verb. It expresses the action "to buy".)
2. Verbs do not necessarily express physical actions like the ones above. They can express mental
actions too:
Example:
Peter guessed the right number.
(The word "guessed" is a verb. It expresses the action "to guess".)
3. A small, but extremely important group of verbs do not express any action at all. The most important
verb in this group - arguably of all - is the verb "to be". This is seen in forms like: is, are, were, was, will
be, etc.
Examples:
Edwina is the largest elephant in this area.
(The word "is" is a verb from the verb "to be".)
It was me.
(The word "was" is a verb from the verb "to be".)
I am.
(The word "am" is a verb from the verb "to be".)
Types of Verbs
Stative Verb: expresses a state of being or process in which there is no obvious action; they do not
usually occur after the verb ‘to be’ with an ‘ing’ ending. E.g. ‘to know’; ‘to believe’; ‘to remember’; ‘to
realize’; ‘to suppose’, ‘to appear’.
Dynamic verbs: express a wide range of actions that may be physical, like ‘jump’ or mental, like ‘think’;
or perpetual like ‘see’. They can be used as commands and occur after the verb ‘to be’ with an ‘ing’
ending. E.g. to buy - buying.
Transitive Verbs: These have to be followed by an object (the person or thing to which the action is
being done) to complete their meaning. E.g. ‘I carried the baby’, ‘they found the lost ring’, and ‘we can
make a Christmas cake’.
Intransitive Verb: These do not need to be followed by an object to make sense. Many verbs describing
position, like ‘to sit’, and ‘to lie’, or motion like ‘to run’ and ‘to go’ are all intransitive. The verb will
usually be followed by a description of a place or destination
Lexical Verbs: express the meaning of a verb in a phrase. E.g. ‘the boy ran to school’, ‘the dog jumped
and frisked’.
Auxiliary Verbs: These can be used to construct different timescales, questions and negatives, to add
emphasis or to give information about the mood or attitude of a speaker or writer. The primary verb ‘to
be’, ‘to have’ and ‘to do’ can act as auxiliaries.
The Modal Verbs: ‘can’ and ‘could’, ‘may’ and ‘might’, ‘shall’ and ‘should’ and ‘will’ and ‘would’ convey a
range of attitudes and moods about the likelihood of an event-taking place.
VERB TERMINOLOGY
In general, verbs are not responsible for many common errors made by native English speakers.
However, there is a lot of grammatical terminology associated with verbs. Below are explanations of
those used most frequently by grammarians. (There is a more comprehensive list in the "Glossary of
Terms".)
INFINITIVE FORM
When a verb is preceded by the word "to", it is said to be in its infinitive (most basic) form.
•
I have to smoke that!
("to smoke" - infinitive form of the verb)
VERB IN THE PAST TENSE
Verbs which express actions in the past are said to be in the "past tense".
•
I ran to the lake.
("ran" - past tense of the verb "to run")
•
They were all there.
("were" - past tense of the verb "to be")
VERB IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Verbs which express present actions are said to be in the "present tense".
John jumps out the window.
("jumps" - present tense of the verb "to jump")
•
Who is ill?
("is" - present tense of the verb "to be")
VERB IN THE FUTURE TENSE
Verbs which express actions in the future are said to be in the "future tense". These are usually formed
by preceding the verb with the word "will".
•
I will take the blame.
("will take" - future tense of the verb "to take")
•
They will surrender.
("will surrender" - future tense of the verb "to surrender")
SUBJECT OF A VERB
The person or thing performing the action of the verb is said to be the "subject of the verb" or the
"subject of the sentence.“
•
Tony stole the boat.
("Tony" - subject of the verb "to steal")
•
Tony is guilty.
("Tony" - subject of the verb "to be")
•
Who was that?
("Who" - subject of the verb "to be" (in the past tense))
DIRECT OBJECT OF A VERB
Many verbs perform an action on something. This is called the direct object of the verb.
•
Terry kissed her hand.
("her hand" - direct object of the verb "to kiss")
•
Beverly will eat a whole chicken.
("a whole chicken" - direct object of the verb "to eat")
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Some verbs cannot have a direct object. These verbs are said to be "intransitive verbs".
•
The rain fell heavily.
(The rain fell, but it did not perform an action on anything.
In this example, the verb "to fall" is an intransitive verb.)
•
Jack protested in the street.
(Jack protested, but he did not perform an action on anything.
In this example, the verb "to protest" is an intransitive verb.)
Verbs that can have a direct object (most of them) are called "transitive verbs".
•
Barnaby copied the answer.
("the answer" - direct object of the transitive verb "to copy")
INDIRECT OBJECT OF A VERB
Some verbs have two objects, a direct object (see above) and an indirect object. The indirect object is
the person or thing for whom the action was performed.
•
Jamie read the children a story.
("a story" - direct object; "the children" - indirect object)
•
I will bake him a cake.
("a cake" - direct object; "him" - indirect object)
•
The postman gives Anne a letter everyday.
("a letter" - direct object; "Anne" - indirect object)
PASSIVE SENTENCE
The subject of a sentence does not always do the action of the verb. Sometimes, the action is done to
the subject. Such sentences are called "passive sentences", because the subjects are being passive, i.e.
not doing anything.
•
Carl was arrested.
("Carl" is not doing anything, but he is the subject of the sentence.)
(Note: "Carl" is the subject of the verb "to be"; i.e. "was".)
Passive verbs always comprise two parts: "was arrested" in this example. The person doing the action of
the verb in a passive sentence is usually shown with the word "by".
•
Carl was arrested by PC Adams.
Passive verbs are said to be in the "passive voice". Passive sentences are quite useful:
•
The carpet was damaged. (< passive sentence - no blame)
•
We damaged the carpet. (< active sentence)
ACTIVE SENTENCE
Active sentences are the opposite to passive sentences (see above). In an active sentence, the subject of
the verb does perform the action.
•
We damaged the carpet.
(This is an active sentence. "We" is the subject.
"We" "damaged" the carpet.)
•
Jamie read a story.
(This is an active sentence. "Jamie" is the subject.
"Jamie" "read" a story.)
CONJUGATION OF VERBS
A verb will change its form a little depending on the subject. For example:
I write / He writes (< write and writes)
The camel laughs / The jackals laugh (< laughs and laugh)
When verbs change in this way, it is known as "conjugation".
A verb conjugates according to the subject. The subject of a verb can be in one of six forms:
1. I
2. You
3. He / She / It
4. We
5. You
6. They
The first three are the singular forms (known as first person singular, second person singular and
third person singular); whereas, the second three are the plural forms (known as first person
plural, second person plural and third person plural).
All subjects fit in one of these categories. "Camel" is like "he" (i.e. third person singular) and
"jackels" is like "they" (i.e. third person plural).
PARTICIPLES
Participles are formed from verbs. There are two types: present participles and past participles.
Present participles end in "ing"; whereas, past participles have various endings. Below is a table
showing some participles:
Verb
Present Participle
Past Participle
to sing
singing
sung
to drive
driving
driven
to go
going
gone
to rise
rising
risen
to watch
watching
watched
to be
being
been
Participles can be used as adjectives. For example:
•
Soaring prices affect the quality of the wool.
("soaring" - present participle - used as an adjective)
•
I am not the first to comment that prices are falling.
("falling" - present participle - used as an adjective to describe "prices")
(Note: When an adjective is placed after the word it is describing, it is called a "predicate adjective".)
•
He is a forgotten hero.
("forgotten" - past participle - used as an adjective)
•
They were neglected.
("neglected" - past participle - used as an adjective)
(Note: This is a passive sentence (see above). In this role,
"neglected" is known as a "past passive participle".)
Other Aspects of The Verb
Subject and Predicate:
The person or thing about which an assertion is made is called the subject of the verb and what we say
about the subject is the predicate. A predicate must contain a verb; in fact the verb is often referred to
as the predicate of the subject. E.g. {(The moon) Subject} {(Walks the night) Predicate}, {(Nelson
Mandela) Subject} {(is a great leader) Predicate.
Concord:
The agreement between the verb and its subject in number and person is referred to as a concord. It
occurs in the following ways:
a. Two or more subjects connected by ‘and’ take a plural verb. E.g. the boy and his dog are here.
b. But if the second noun is merely part of a phrase qualifying the first singular noun, the verb is
singular. E.g. the boy with the dog is here.
c. Singular subjects joined by ‘or’, ‘neither…nor’ take a singular verb. E.g. a cake or a piece of fish is
very delicious. Neither john nor tom has come.
d. A collective noun takes a singular verb when the sense is singular, a plural verb when the sense
is plural. E.g. ‘The jury consists of twelve people’ (singular) and ‘The jury are having dinner
together’ (plural)
1.
The word "who" can only be used when it is the subject of a verb.
Examples:
•
Who paid for the meal? 
("Who" is the subject of the verb "to pay".)
•
I have not seen the man who lives in the hut by the beach for a week. 
("Who" is the subject of the verb "to live".)
•
I wonder who is in charge. 
("Who" is the subject of the verb "to be"; i.e. "who is".)
•
Sarah gave the tickets to who? 
("Sarah" is the subject of "to give", but "who" is not the subject of any verb.
Therefore, you cannot use "who". It should be "whom")
•
Do you know the boy who rang the bell? 
2. There is often confusion about when to use "who" and "whom". If you are unsure which to use, you
should always use "who". Firstly, it is much more common than "whom" and, secondly, the use of
"whom" is considered old fashioned in some circles. However, the ruling is that "whom" is never the
subject of a verb; whereas, "who" is always the subject of a verb.
Examples:
•
You sat by whom all night? 
(In this example, "whom" is not the subject of any verb. "You" is the subject
of "to sit".)
•
She is a wistful recluse whom lives near the river. 
("Whom" cannot be the subject of the verb "to live". It should be "who".)
•
Claire saw whom yesterday? 
(In this example, "whom" is not the subject of any verb. "Claire" is the subject
of "to see".)
•
Kelvin was with whom? 
3. Always use whom after prepositions. Prepositions are words like "to", "with", "by", "on", "in", "near"
etc. (See lesson "Prepositions" for more information.) "Whom" is always used after a preposition. (This
is because it cannot be the subject of a verb.)
•
You have a child by whom? 
•
With whom did you see Janice? 
•
That is the lady to whom I made the promise. 
•
That is the lady whom I made the promise to. 
(This is the same as the one above. Ideally, you should not end a sentence in a preposition (like "to"),
but sometimes it sounds better. The word "to" still governs "whom" even though it is at the end of the
sentence.)
•
With whom did you go the cinema? 
•
Who did you go to the cinema with? 
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Voice
•
Voice is a form of a verb, which shows whether the subject of the sentence is the doer or
receiver of the expressed action expressed by the verb. If the subject is the doer of the action,
the verb is in the active voice and when the subject is the receiver, the verb is in the passive
voice.
•
The auxiliary verb ‘to be’ is used to change the active into passive. E.g.
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He teaches French (Active) | French is taught by him. (Passive)
•
The dog killed the rat (Active) | The rat was killed by the dog (Passive)
•
George will meet us (Active) | We shall be met by George (Passive)