Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns refer your attention back to the subject. For example: I hurt myself. Who did it? I did. Don't say, "I hurt me." Today's lesson is featured on the home page, so if you want to watch the video, go to the home page or you can go to Red Level Lesson 20.

Here are some more examples:

She always buys herself a present on her birthday.

He can see himself in the window's reflection.

We decided to work for ourselves.

Reflexive pronouns also describe that a person or a group of people are alone:

Why are you sitting all by yourself? Can I sit with you?

It's nice to see children learn how to do things by themselves.

I went to see a movie by myself. �

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns can be used as subjects or as objects in a sentence:

Your class is in the evening. Mine is in the morning.

(Mine = My class; "Mine" is the subject)

She didn't have a pen, so I gave her mine.

("mine" is a direct object)

All the other prossessive pronouns end in an "s:" yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs.

Possessive pronouns are often used alongside possessive adjectives. It's important to know the difference. For example: His car is parked outside. Hers is in the garage. In the first sentence, "His" is a possessive adjective. It comes before a noun. In the second sentence, "Hers" is a possessive pronoun and you don't use if before another noun.

Look at this mistake: Hers car is in the garage. You should say, "Her car is..." This is a very common mistake. The person speaking is confusing the possessive adjective with the possessive pronoun.

Gerunds

Gerunds look a lot like verbs because they have an "ing" ending; however, they function like nouns in a sentence:

1. Swimming is fun.
2. I like swimming.
3. She is swimming.

The first two sentences use gerunds. The third is in the present continuous tense. Remember that continuous tenses are formed with the verb "be." That's how you can tell it apart from a gerund.

Gerunds follow some verbs but not others: I avoid shopping at Walmart. After the verb "avoid," you can use a gerund but not an infinitive. How do you know which verbs take gerunds, which verbs take infinitives, and which can take both? That's one of the things that makes English so difficult. It takes years to learn this through reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

For more practice with gerunds, click here. �

Infinitives

Today's featured lesson is on infinitives. An infinitive looks like a verb, but it often behaves like a noun. Consider the following sentences:

I like ice cream.

I like to eat ice cream.

In the first sentence, the subject is "I," the verb is "like," and the object is "ice cream."

In the second sentence, the subject is "I," the verb is "like," and the infinitive "to eat" indicates what the speaker likes. "Ice cream" becomes the object of the infinitive. You could also say, "I like to eat." That's a good sentence, too.

Infinitives are also useful because they explain why a person does something:

I go to work to make money.

Why do I go to work? To make money.

She went to the store to get some new shoes.

Why did she go to the store? To get some new shoes.

Like

There are a few different ways to use the word "like." The most common expresses a desire for something or someone: She likes ice cream. We like to go to the zoo. I like working on my website. Notice that "like" can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund.

"Like" is also used when making a comparison or a description: A bratwurst is like a sausage. He's like a brother to me. / What does it taste like? It tastes like chicken.

There's one more really important use for "like" in American English. Many people here use it in conversation, but it doesn't really have much of a meaning. It's similar to "uhh" and "you know" which also don't have any real meaning: I was, like, so tired last night I couldn't stay awake. This is, like, really easy. (In this application, "like" is often used after the verb "be.") I don't recommend the use of "like" in this manner, but if you talk to a lot of young Americans, in particular, it's important to know about. �

The Future Tense

Lessons this week will focus on the future tense using "will" and "going to."

What will you do tomorrow? What are you going to do tomorrow? Both of these questions ask about the future. One uses "will" as a modal verb; the other uses an idiomatic modal, "going to." Both are good but "going to" is very popular in American English. However, many Americans speak so quickly, you might not be able to hear someone say it. It usually sounds like "gonna." What are you gonna do tomorrow? You're also supposed to use the verb "be" with "going to," but this also might not be heard by the listener when someone asks, "Whatchya gonna do tomorrow?" �

The Present Tense vs. the Present Continuous Tense

Here's a link to a new video that shows the differences between these two tenses.

"have got" and "have got to"

"Have got" and "have got to" are important verbs phrases that you should know.

"Have got" is almost the same as "have." Some examples: I've got a lot of work to do today. She's got a new boyfriend. Notice in that last sentence that "she's" is "she is." You could just use "have" instead of "have got," but it's very commonly used in American English.

"Have got to" is almost the same as "must." Some examples: We've got to find a new place to live. My company has got to lay off half of its employees because of the bad economy. The U.S. has got to get its house in order (which means to fix the bad situation its in). �

game-changer

Did you see the debate on Thursday night between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin? Joe Biden did very well, and Sarah Palin was able to hold her own--but that's about it. Overall, the debate wasn't a game-changer. "Game-changer." This expression has been around for a while, but lately it's getting used more often by the media and the public. A "game-changer" is an event or a person that suddenly changes everything or moves events in one direction. �

Biden vs. Palin

Tomorrow night is the big debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. A lot of people are going to watch it because they're expecting gaffes to be made by each candidate. A "gaffe" is a mistake a person makes when speaking (for pronunciation: it rhymes with "laugh"). It's an error in describing a fact, or it's saying something kind of stupid. The expectations are for Sarah Palin to make more mistakes than Joe Biden, but they're both capable of misspeaking. I have to teach tomorrow night, so I can't watch the debate live, but I'll video tape it and watch it after it's done. �