Pronouns
Definition: A pronoun usually refers to
something already mentioned in a sentence or piece of text. A pronoun is a
word that substitutes a noun or noun phrase used to prevent repetition of the
noun to which they refer. One of the most common pronouns is it.
Rule for
Pronouns
A pronoun must agree with the noun it refer. Therefore, if the noun is
singular, therefore the pronoun must be singular; if the noun is plural, use
a plural pronoun; if the noun is feminine, use a feminine pronoun, and so on.
For
example:
- The
train was late, it had been delayed.
- The
trains were late, they had been delayed.
Types of
pronouns
English Pronouns are divided into sub-categories. These are Demonstrative,
Personal, Reflexive, Possessive, Interrogative, Negative, Reciprocal,
Relative and Quantifier
Type
|
About
|
Example
|
Personal
Pronoun
|
Takes
the place of a specific or named person or thing.
|
I, you,
he, she, etc..
|
Reflexive
Pronoun
|
Adds
information by pointing back to a noun or another pronoun.
|
myself,
yourself, etc..
|
Demonstrative
Pronoun
|
Points
out a specific person, place, or thing.
|
this,
that, these, those
|
Relative
pronoun
|
Begins a
subordinate clause and relates the clause to a word in the main clause.
|
who,
whose, which, that, etc..
|
Interrogative
Pronoun
|
Is used
to ask a question.
|
who,
what, where, etc..
|
Possessive
Pronoun
|
Used to
substitute a noun and to show possession or ownership.
|
mine,
yours, his, etc..
|
Negative
Pronoun
|
|
nothing,
no, nobody, etc..
|
Reciprocal
pronoun
|
Express
an interchangeable or mutual action or relationship.
|
each
other, one another
|
Quantifier
|
|
some,
any, something, much, etc.
|
|
Personal Pronoun
Definition: Personal pronouns refer to the
person who is doing the action or to whom the action affects. In that way we
distinguish two types of personal pronouns: Personal "Subject
Pronouns" and Personal "Object Pronouns".
Personal Pronouns
|
Subject form
|
Object form
|
I
|
Me
|
You
|
You
|
He
|
him
|
she
|
her
|
it
|
it
|
we
|
us
|
you
|
you
|
they
|
them
|
Personal
Subject Pronouns
We use the Personal Subject Pronouns to refer to the person who is doing the
action of the verb or the verb speaks about. A subjective personal pronoun
indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence.
For
example:
- Jhon
is listening to music.
=> He listens to music every day.
* In this case, "he" substitutes "Jhon" which is the
subject of the sentence.
- Are
you the delegates from Malagawatch?
- After
many years, they returned to their homeland.
Personal
Object Pronouns
We use the Personal Object Pronouns to refer to the person whom the action of
the verbs affects. An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun
is acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition, or
infinitive phrase.
For
example:
- Seamus
stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him.
* The objective personal pronoun "her" is the direct object of
the verb "forced" and the objective personal pronoun
"him" is the object of the preposition "with."
- Deborah
and Roberta will meet us at the newest café in the market.
* Here the objective personal pronoun "us" is the direct
object of the compound verb "will meet."
- Christopher
was surprised to see her at the drag races.
* Here the objective personal pronoun "her" is the object of
the infinitive phrase "to see."
A personal
pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to
indicate person, number, gender, and case.
|
Reflexive Pronoun
Definition: We use the reflexive pronouns to
indicate that the person who realizes the action of the verb is the same
person who receives the action. Reflexive pronouns are identical in form to intensive
pronouns.
|
Subject
|
Reflexive
|
Singular
|
I
You
He
She
It
|
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
|
Plural
|
We
You
They
|
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
|
For
example:
- I cut
my hair myself.
* In this example "I" does the action of cutting the hair and
at the same time "I" gets the action of the hair being cut.
- We
defended ourselves brilliantly.
* In this example the reflexive pronoun "ourselves" refers
back to the subject of the sentence.
- John
talks to himself when he is nervous.
* In this example "Himself" refers to John.
Reflexive
pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they require
an interaction between the subject and an object.
For
example:
- Because
she was not hungry when the cake was served, Ellen saved herself
a piece.
* In the independent clause, "Ellen" is the subject and
"herself" is a reflexive pronoun acting as the indirect
object. This sentence is grammatically correct.
- Jhon
and myself are going to the movie.
* In this sentence, "Jhon" and "myself" are the
subjects. Reflexive pronouns cannot be subjects. This sentence is grammatically
incorrect.
Care must
be taken to identify whether the noun is singular or plural and choose the
pronoun accordingly.
For
example:
- Nor
is she shy about giving herself credit for it.
- We gave
ourselves a second chance to complete the course.
- Did they
lock themselves out of the house again?
- Give yourselves
a pat on the back for a job well done.
Note: The reflexive pronoun can also be
used to give more emphasis to the subject or object (intensive pronoun).
For
example:
- I did
it myself.
* I want to emphasise the fact that I did it.
Examples:
- He
washed himself.
- She
looked at herself in the mirror.
- Diabetics give
themselves insulin shots several times a day.
- After
the party, I asked myself why I had faxed invitations to
everyone in my office building.
- Richard
usually remembered to send a copy of his e-mail to himself.
|
Demonstrative pronoun
Definition: Demonstrative pronouns are
pronouns that point to specific things. "This, that, these, those, none
and neither" are Demonstrative Pronouns that substitute nouns when the
nouns they replace can be understood from the context. At the same time, to
indicate whether they are close or far, in space or time, from the speaker in
the moment of speaking. They also indicate whether they are replacing
singular or plural words. Some grammars describe them as members of the class
of function words called "determiners", since they identify nouns
and other nominals.
- "This"
(singular) and "These" (plural) refer to an object or
person NEAR the speaker.
- "That"
(singular) and "Those" (plural) refer to an object or
person further AWAY.
For
example:
- This
is unbelievable.
* In this example, "this" can refer to an object or situation
close in space or in time to the speaker.
- That
is unbelievable.
* In this example, "that" can refer to an object or situation
farther in space or in time to the speaker.
- These
are unbelievable.
* In this example, "these" can refer to some objects close in
space or in time to the speaker.
- Those
are unbelievable.
* In this example, "those" can refer to some objects farther
in space or in time to the speaker.
Position
- Before
the noun.
- Before
the word 'one'.
- Before
an adjective + noun.
- Alone
when the noun is 'understood'
Examples
- Who
owns that house? (distant - physical )
- Is
this John's house? (near - physical )
- That's
nothing to do with me.. (distant - psychological )
- This
is a nice surprise! (near - psychological )
|
this, that, these and those
Why do we use this and these?
We use
this (singular) and
these (plural) as
pronouns:
- to talk about people or things
near us:
This is a nice cup of tea.
Whose shoes are these?
- to
introduce people:
This is Janet.
These are my friends, John and Michael.
WARNING:
We don’t say These are John and Michael.
We say This is John and this is Michael.
- to introduce ourselves to begin a conversation
on the phone:
Hello, this is David, Can I speak to
Sally?
Why do we use that and those?
We use
that (singular) and
those (plural):
- to talk about things that are
not near us:
What’s that?
This is our house, and that’s Rebecca’s house over there.
Those are very expensive shoes.
- We also use
that to refer back to something
someone said or did:
- - Shall
we go to the cinema?
- Yes, that’s a good idea.
- - I’ve
got a new job.
- That’s great.
- - I’m
very tired.
- Why is that?
this,
these,
that, those
with nouns
We also use
this,
these,
that and
those with
nouns to show proximity
We use
this and
these for people or things near us:
We have lived in this house
for twenty years.
Have you read all of these books?
… and
that and
those for things that are not
near us:
Who lives in that house?
Who are those people?
Relative Pronoun
Definition: We use the relative pronouns to
refer to a noun mentioned before and of which we are adding more information.
They are used to join two or more sentences and forming in that way what we
call "relative sentences".
Relative pronouns
|
Who, Whom, That, Which
|
whoever, whomever, whichever
|
For
example:
- People
who speak two languages are called bilingual.
* In this example, the relative "who" introduces
the relative sentence "speak two languages" that describes or
gives more information about the noun "people".
Relative
pronouns: Subject or Object
As the relative pronouns relate to another noun preceding it in the sentence,
they connect a dependent clause to an antecedent (a noun that precedes the
pronoun.) Therefore, relative pronouns acts as the subject or object of the
dependent clause.
For
example:
- The
chef who won the competition studied in Paris.
* Here, "who" relates back to (or is relative to) the
noun "Chef". "Who" also acts as the subject
of the dependent clause and the verb "won".
=> The dependent clause: who won the competition.
=> The independent clause: The chef studied in Paris.
- The
shirt that Carl bought has a stain on the pocket.
* Here, "that" relates back to (or is relative to) the noun
"shirt". "That" is also the object of the verb
"bought".
=> The dependent clause is: that Carl bought.
=> The independent clause: The shirt has a stain on the pocket.
Referring
to people: Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever
These pronouns take a different case depending on whether the relative
pronoun is a subject or an object in the dependent clause.
- Subjective
case
Use the subjective case when these relative pronouns are the subject
(initiating the action) of the dependent clause: Who, Whoever
For example:
- Negotiations
were not going smoothly between the two leaders, who made no
bones about not liking each other.
* "Who" relates back to the noun
"leaders" and is the subject of the dependent clause and the
verb "made".
- Most
workers, whoever was not employed by the auto manufacturer,
toiled at one of the millions of little minnow companies.
* "Whoever" relates back to the noun
"workers" and is the subject of the dependent clause and the
verb "was employed".
- Objective
case
Use the objective case when these relative pronouns are the object
(receiving the action) of the dependent clause: Whom, Whomever
For example:
- This
is the approach taken by journalists, whom some consider to be
objective.
* "Whom" relates back to the noun
"journalists" and is the object of the verb
"consider". The subject of the dependent clause is
"some".
- The
three representatives, whomever the committee chooses, should be
at the meeting tomorrow.
* "Whomever" relates back to the noun
representatives and is the object of the verb "chooses". The
subject of the dependent clause is "Committee".
Referring
to a place, thing or idea: Which, That
When using relative pronouns for places, things or ideas, rather than
determining case, the writer must decide whether the information in the
dependent clause is essential to the meaning of the independent clause or
simply additional information.
When
information is critical to the understanding of the main clause, use That
as the appropriate relative pronoun and do not set the information
off by commas.
For
example:
- Russian
generals have delivered a message that is difficult to ignore.
* "That" relates back to the noun
"message" and is necessary for the reader to know what
"message" the sentence is about.
- There
is another factor that obviously boosts the reputation of both of
these men.
* "That" relates back to the noun
"factor" and is necessary for the reader to know what
"factor" the sentence is about.
When
information is not critical to the understanding of the main clause,
use "Which" as the appropriate relative pronoun and
set the information off by commas.
For
example:
- The
toughest intramural fight of all for Clinton was the North American Free
Trade Agreement, which he undertook a full year before the 1994
election.
* "Which" relates back to the noun
"agreement" and the information following it is not necessary
for the reader to know what "agreement" the sentence is about.
- Clinton
refused to head toward the center on affirmative action and abortion, which
are the two most sacred issues to the traditional liberal wing of
the party.
* "Wich" relates back to the noun
"affirmative action and abortion" and the information
following it is not necessary for the reader to know what
"affirmative action and abortion" the sentence is about.
When
referring to more than one place, thing or idea use these relative pronouns: Whatever,
Whichever
For
example:
- The
three approaches, whichever works is fine, produce a more
ambiguous picture of a man.
* "Whichever" relates to the noun
"approaches" and the information contained within the commas
is additional, not critical information.
- Any
excessive profits, whatever exceeded accepted limits, would
attract the notice of representatives.
* "Whatever" relates to the noun
"profits" and the information contained within the commas is
additional, not critical information.
|
Interrogative Pronoun
Definition: An interrogative pronoun is a
pronoun used in order to ask a question. Some of them refer only to people,
like "who" and others refer to people and objects, etc like
"what". They do not distinguish between singular and plural, so
they only have one form. Interrogative pronouns produce information questions
that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer.
For
example:
· What is her phone number?
· What do you want?
Interrogative
pronouns are: What, Which, Who, Whose, Whom. In addition, these
pronouns may take the suffixes -ever and -soever.
Forms:
As we can see in the next table, these pronouns could act as a subject,
object or possessive in a sentence.
Subject
|
Object
|
Possessive
|
who
|
whom
|
whose
|
which
|
|
|
that
|
|
|
WHAT can be used to ask about objects
or people.
For example:
- What
time is it?
- What
is your name?
- What
do you want?
WHICH can be used to ask about objects
or people.
For example:
- Which
chair are you talking about?
- Which
jumper do you like?
- Which
is your mother?
WHO can be used to ask about people
For example:
- Who
are you?
- Which
is your mother?
- Who
has been sitting in my chair?
WHOSE can be used to ask about a
possession relation.
For example:
- Whose
is this book?
- Whose
car did you drive here?
WHOM can be used to ask about
people.It is less usual and more formal than "who"
For example:
- Whom
did you phone?
- For
whom will you vote?
NOTE: Either "which" or
"what" can also be used as an interrogative adjective, and that
"who," "whom," or "which" can also be used as a
relative pronoun.
For
example:
- The
man whom she chose will do a wonderful job.
Examples
- Who
is in charge?
- Which
wants to see the dentist first?
- Who
wrote the novel Rockbound?
- Whom
do you think we should invite?
- What
did she say?
|
Possessive Pronoun
Definition: We use the Possessive Pronouns
when we want to substitute a group of words that are indicating a possession
relation.
Subject
|
Possessive
|
I
|
Mine
|
You
|
Yours
|
He
|
His
|
She
|
Hers
|
It
|
Its
|
We
|
Ours
|
You
|
Yours
|
They
|
Theirs
|
For
example:
- This
is my book.
* In this example, we can substitute "my book" for the
possessive pronoun "mine". => This is mine.
- This
is your disk and that's mine.
* Mine substitutes the word disk and shows that it belongs to me.
A
possessive pronoun indicates it is acting as a subject complement
or a subject of the sentence.
For
example:
- The
smallest gift is mine.
This is yours.
* Here the possessive pronouns acts as a subject complement.
- His is
on the kitchen counter.
Theirs will be delivered tomorrow.
Ours is the green one on the corner.
* Here the possessive pronoun acts as the subject of the sentence.
Note : Possessive pronouns are very
similar to possessive adjectives.
For
example:
- You
can borrow my book as long as you remember that it's not yours.
=> The possessive "my" depends on the noun
"book."
=> The possessive "yours" is a pronoun which stands in the
place of "your book".
- When
you drive to Manitoba, will you take your car or theirs?
=> The possessive "your" depends on the noun
"car."
=> The possessive pronoun, "theirs," stands in the place of
the noun phrase, "their car."
Reciprocal pronoun
Definition: We use the reciprocal pronouns to
indicate that two people can carry out an action and get the consequences of
that action at the same time. There are two reciprocal pronouns:
Reciprocal pronouns
|
each other
|
one another
|
They
enable you to simplify sentences where the same general idea is expressed two
or more times.
For
example:
- On
their wedding day Jhon gave Mary a gold ring and Mary gave Jhon a gold
ring.
* Using the reciprocal pronoun, "each other", this could be
rewritten:
=> On their wedding day Mary and Jhon gave each other gold
rings.
- Peter
and Mary kissed each other.
* In this example "each other" indicates that both people
involved in the action of "kissing" got the result, kisses, at
the same time.
If you
need to refer to more than two people, say the students in a classroom, then
we could use the reciprocal pronoun, "one another".
For
example:
- The
students in this classroom cooperate with one another.
- The
teachers gathered to congratulate one another on the year's
conclusion.
|
|
|
|
indefinite pronouns
The
indefinite pronouns are:
somebody
|
someone
|
something
|
anybody
|
anyone
|
anything
|
nobody
|
no one
|
nothing
|
everybody
|
everyone
|
everything
|
We use indefinite
pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they
are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people,
and pronouns ending in -thing for things:
Everybody enjoyed the concert.
I opened the door but there was no one at home.
It was a very clear day. We could see everything.
We use a singular
verb after an indefinite pronoun:
Everybody loves
Sally.
Everything was ready for the party.
When we refer
back to an indefinite pronoun we normally use a plural pronoun:
Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood
up and clapped.
I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting
a long time.
We can add -'s
to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive.
They were
staying in somebody’s house.
Is this anybody’s coat?
We use
indefinite pronouns with no- as the subject in negative
clauses (not pronouns with any.)
Anybody
didn’t come >> Nobody
came.
We do not
use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or
nothing:
Nobody came.
Nothing happened.
We use else
after indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in
addition to the ones we already mentioned.
All the
family came, but no one else.
If Michael can’t come we’ll ask somebody else.
So that's eggs, peas and chips. Do you want anything else?
one and ones
We use one
(singular) and ones (plural) to avoid unnecessary
repetition.
See those
two girls? Helen is the tall one and Jane is the short one.
Which is your car, the red one or the blue one?
My trousers are torn. I need some new ones.
See those two girls. Helen is the one on the left.
Let’s look at the photographs. The ones you took in Paris.
We often use
them after Which ... in questions:
You can
borrow a book. Which one do you want?
There are lots of books here. Which ones are yours?
questions
Which question word to use?
We use
who to ask questions about
people:
Who is that?
Who lives here?
Who did you see?
We use
whose to ask about
possession:
Whose coat is this? [or] Whose is
this coat?
Whose book is that? [or] Whose is that book?
Whose bags are those? [or] Whose are
those bags?
We use
what to ask questions about
things:
What is that?
What do you want?
We use
which to ask someone to choose something:
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
I’ve got two books. Which do you want?
We can also use
what and
which with
nouns:
What subjects did you study at school?
What newspaper do you read?
Which newspaper do you read – the Times or the Guardian?
Which book do you want?
Which one is yours?
Questions with prepositions:
Questions ending in prepositions are very common in English. After
Who,
Which or
What we often have a preposition at
the end of the sentence:
Who does this book belong to?
What are you looking for?
Which university did you go to?
What country do you come from?