4.6 Demonstrative adjectives/pronouns ('this' etc.)
'Some/any/no' compounds ('someone', etc.)4.6C
Study:Write: Change the words in italics into plural references.1 Anyone planning to travel abroad should take his driving licence with him.
2 I suppose everyone believes rte could be Prime Minister
3 We knew that no one had done his homework
4 If anybody wants to know the answer, he can ask me
5 Everybody knows what the answer is, doesn't he?
6 If anyone wants help in an emergency, he can dial 999
7 Everyone wants to have his cake and eat it
8 Nobody wants to be told that he is going to be sacked
9 Ask anyone you know what he thinks of war and he'll say it's evil
10 Everyone gets what he deserves, even if he doesn't like what he gets4.6D Context
Write: Put in they, this, that, nothing, something, anyone or no one.MY BEST PERFORMANCE
Everyone has studied subjects at school which^1 РЬЩ. weren't
very good at.^2 can claim that some subjects aren't harder
for them than others, however clever^3 are. I've never met(^4) who's (^5) clever. My weakest subject at school
was certainly chemistry. I learnt formulas and experiments by heart, but
there was^6 I could do to improve my performance. 'Is
(^7) the best you can do?' my chemistry teacher would say
after every test he set us. 'It's time you did^8 about
(^9) subject!' 'I really do try, sir,' I would answer. Before my last
chemistry exam, I made a big effort. 'I can't do better than^10 '
I said to my teacher as I handed in my paper. 'It was my best
performance.' Two weeks later I got my report and eagerly looked up
my chemistry marks. I had got 8%! I couldn't believe it! 'Is^11
all I got, sir?' I asked. 'I'm afraid so,' my teacher said. 'Of course, 4%
was for neatness!'
4% was for neatness!
Everyone, 'anyone', etc. with singular or plural pronouns [> LEG 4.40]
1 We often use anyone to mean 'it doesn't matter who', especially after if.
The traditional rule is to use masculine pronouns with anyone, everyone, no one, etc., unless
the context is definitely female (e.g. a girls' school).
According to this rule, you would address an audience of both sexes like this:
If anyone wants to leave early, he can ask for permission.
But you would address an audience of females like this:
'If anyone wants to leave early, ' the headmistress said, she can ask for permission. '
2 In practice, we use they, them, etc. without a plural meaning to refer to both sexes, though
some native speakers think this is wrong:
Instead of: Everyone knows what he has to do, doesn't he?
We say: Everyone knows what they have to do, don't they?