Grammar Reference

 

3.1 ■ there is / there are with some, any and a / an

Affirmative

• We use There is + a / an before singular nouns.
  There is a book on the table.
  There is an apple in my bag.
• We use There are + some before plural nouns.
  There are some posters on the wall.
• We can also use There are + a number (e.g. one, two, three) before plural nouns.
  There are five desks in the classroom.

Negative

• We use There isn’t (= is not) + a / an before singular nouns.
  There isn’t a cup on the table.
  There isn’t an orange in my bag.
• We use There aren’t (= are not) + any before plural nouns.
  There aren’t any pens on the desk.

Questions and short answers

• We use Is there + a / an before singular nouns.
  Is there a computer in your classroom?
  Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.
• We use Are there + any before plural nouns.
  Are there any plants in your garden?
  Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.

3.2 ■ Possessive ’s

We use ’s to show possession.

• Add ’s to a singular noun.
  The boy has got a dog. This is the boy’s dog.
  The girl has got two cats. These are the girl’s cats.
• Add ’ to a plural noun which ends in -s.
  The girls have got a computer.
  This is the girls’ computer.
• Add ’s to irregular plural nouns which don’t end in -s.
  The children have got a ball. This is the children’s ball.

REMEMBER: We also use ’s in contracted forms of is and has.
John’s got a sofa in his bedroom. The sofa’s very small. (= John has got a sofa in his bedroom. The sofa is very small.)

3.3 ■ Possessive pronouns and whose

We use possessive pronouns to show possession.

Subject pronoun	Possessive adjective	Possessive pronoun
I	my	mine
you	your	yours
he	his	his
she	her	hers
it	its	-
we	our	ours
they	their	theirs

• We use possessive adjectives before a noun.
  It’s my bag.
  They are our books.
  The TV is in her bedroom.
• We use possessive pronouns to replace nouns.
  It’s mine.They’re ours.It’s hers.
• We use the question word whose to ask about possession.
  A: Whose desk is this?
  B: It’s mine.
  A: Whose pens are these?
  B: They’re yours.

REMEMBER: We always put a question mark (?) at the end of a question.