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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster [13]

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none, and some, sometimes present difficulties, since they can be used with a singular or a plural verb. As a general rule, a pronoun that is used with a noun that cannot be counted requires a singular verb, while a pronoun that is used with a noun that can be counted requires a plural verb.

With an uncountable noun: All of the property is affected.

None of the soup was spilled.

Some of the money was spent.

With a countable noun: All of my shoes are black.

None of the clerks were available.

Some of your friends were here.

Interrogative Pronouns


The interrogative pronouns what, which, who, whom, and whose, as well as those bound with the word -ever (whatever, whichever, etc.) are used to introduce a direct or an indirect question:

Who is she?

He asked me who she was.

Whoever can that be?

We wondered whoever that could be.

Personal Pronouns


The personal pronoun reflects the person, number, and gender of the being or the thing it represents. Each category is made up of distinct personal pronouns:

Person Nominative Possessive Objective

First (sing.) I my, mine me

(pl.) we our, ours us

Second (sing.) you your, yours you

(pl.) you your, yours you

Third (sing.) he his him

she her, hers her

it its it

(pl.) they their, theirs them

Reciprocal Pronouns


The reciprocal pronouns each other and one another indicate a mutual action or relationship:

Jim and Andy saw each other at the party.

They do not quarrel with one another.

The reciprocal pronoun is also used as a possessive:

The two companies depend on each other's success.

The members enjoyed one another's company.

Reflexive Pronouns


Reflexive pronouns are formed from the personal pronouns him, her, it, my, our, them, and your, to which the combining form -self or -selves is added. The reflexive pronoun is usually used to express a reflexive action or to emphasize the subject of a sentence, clause, or phrase:

She dressed herself.

He asked himself if it was worth it.

I myself am not involved.

They wanted to do it themselves.

Relative Pronouns


The relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, what, which, and that, as well as the compounds formed by adding the ending -ever. These pronouns are used to introduce subordinate clauses that function as a noun or an adjective.

a man who sought success

a woman whom we can trust

an author whose first novel was a success

a move which was unforeseen

a boy that behaves well

give it to whomever you wish

whoever thought of it

pick whichever you want

In certain cases the relative pronoun may be omitted:

The man [whom] I was talking to is the senator.

THE VERB


Verbs have essentially three classes: ordinary verbs of action, such as go, auxiliary verbs, like can and shall, and fundamental verbs like be, have, and do, which can function as both ordinary verbs and as auxiliaries.

The verb has the following characteristics: inflection (for example, helps, helping, helped), person (first, second, third), number (singular, plural), tense (present, past, future), aspect (categories of time other than the simple tenses of present, past, future), voice (active, passive), and mood (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative).

Inflection


Regular verbs have three inflections that are formed by adding the suffixes -s or -es, -ed, and -ing (for example, asks, asked, asking). Most of the irregular verbs have four inflections (for example, sees, saw, seen, seeing). The verb be has seven inflections: is, am, are, was, were, being, been).

Verbs ending in silent -e in general keep the -e when a consonantal suffix (such as -s) is added to the word, but the -e is dropped when the suffix begins with a vowel (such as -ed, -ing):

arrange; arranges; arranged; arranging

hope; hopes; hoped; hoping

However, certain verbs keep the -e in order to avoid confusion with another verb:

dye (color); dyes; dyed; dyeing

but

die (cease to live); dies; died; dying

singe (burn); singes; singed; singeing

but

sing (produce music); sings; sang; singing

If a single-syllable verb ends in a single

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