I
He
WeWe
She
Us
PRONOUNS
Definition
"Pronoun" is the sentence
element used to replace a
noun, or a noun equivalent
construction. The replaced
noun is named the
"antecedent".
CATEGORIES
OF
PRONOUNS
Syntactically, pronouns have the
same functions as nouns do;
morphologically, pronouns are used
to avoid repetition, and to set/clarify
nouns' categories of number,
person, and gender.
CLASSES OF PRONOUNS:
1. Personal Pronoun
2. Demonstrative Pronouns.
3. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
4. Interrogative Pronouns.
5. Relative Pronouns
6. Indefinite Pronouns.
PERSONAL
PRONOUN
Personal pronouns represent specific people or
things. We use them depending on:
number: singular (I) or plural ( we).
person: 1st person (I), 2nd person (you) or 3rd
person(he).
gender: male (he), female (she) or neuter (it).
case: subject (we) or object (us).
We use personal pronouns in place of the
person or people that we are talking about.
Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:
number person gender
personal pronouns
subject object
singular
1st male/female I me
2nd male/female you you
3rd
male he him
female she her
neuter it it
plural
1st male/female we us
2nd male/female you you
3rd
male/female/
neuter
they them
Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second
an object pronoun):
- I like coffee.
- John helped me.
- Do you like coffee?
- John loves you.
- He runs fast.
- Did Ram beat him?
-She is clever.
- Does Mary know her?
-They played doubles.
-John and Mary beat them
-Do you need a table for three?
-Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?
- We went home.
-Anthony drove us.
-It doesn't work.
-Can the engineer repair it?
-It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
-It is important to dress well.
.
We often use it to introduce a remark:
We also often use it to talk about the
weather, temperature, time and distance:
-It's raining.
-It will probably be hot tomorrow.
-Is it nine o'clock yet?
-It's 50 kilometers from here to
Cambridge.
REFLEXIVE
PRONOUN
Reflexive pronoun is used with
an active voice verb in order to
reflect the action of the verb
back on the subject--the
antecedent.
Definition
** We use a reflexive pronoun when we
want to refer back to the subject of the
sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end
in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).
There are eight reflexive pronouns:
reflexive pronoun
singular
myself
yourself
himself, herself, itself
plural
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
the underlined words are the
SAME person/thing
-I saw myself in the mirror.
-Why do you blame yourself?
-John sent himself a copy.
-I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
-Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it
yourself?
-She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke
to me.
DEMONSTRATIVE
PRONOUN
Demonstrative pronouns and
demonstrative adjectives have
exactly the same forms. The way to
differentiate them depends on their
position relative to the
antecedent/determined nouns.
Demonstrative pronouns
THIS, THESE, THAT, THOSE.
THE FORMER, THE LATER
THE FIRST, THE LAST
THE OTHER,THE OTHERS
SAME
SUCH
SO
A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or
things:
*near in distance or time (this, these)
*far in distance or time (that, those)
near far
singular this that
plural these those
*This tastes good.
*These are bad times.
*That is beautiful.
*Those were the days!
ATTENTION
The word "that" has four main functions:
1. demonstrative pronoun or adjective:
That book is good.
2. relative pronoun:
Anything that you remember could help a
lot.
3. conjunction:
He said that he had been there before.
4. adverb:
The snow was that high.
-Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with
demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a
demonstrative pronoun stands alone,
while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.
-That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)
-That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)
Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things
only. But we can use them for people when the
person is identified. Look at these examples:
-This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?
-That sounds like John
INTERROGATIVE
PRONOUN
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The
interrogative pronoun represents the thing that we don't
know (what we are asking the question about).
There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom,
what, which .
subject object
person who whom
thing what
person/thing which
person whose (possessive)
-The possessive pronoun whose can
also be an interrogative pronoun (an
interrogative possessive pronoun).
question answer
Who told you? John told me. subject
Whom did you
tell?
I told Mary. object
What's
happened?
An accident's
happened.
subject
Examples:
Relative
Pronouns
- A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces
a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun
because it "relates" to the word that it modifies.
There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose,
which, that.
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for
people. Whose is for possession. Which is for things. That
can be used for people, and things and as subject and
object in defining relative clauses.
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and
there is no difference between male and female.
- The person who phoned me last night is
my teacher.
- The car which hit me was yellow.
- The person whom I phoned last
night is my teacher.
- The car, whose driver jumped out just
before the accident, was completely
destroyed
Examples:
INDEFINITE
PRONOUN
An indefinite pronoun does
not refer to any specific
person, thing or amount. It
is vague and "not definite".
Some typical indefinite
pronouns are:
Some Indefinite Pronouns
Singular Plural
another everybody no one
anybody everyone nothing
anyone everything one
anything much somebody
each neither someone
either nobody something
both
few
many
others
several
All, any, most, none and some can be singular
or plural, depending on the phrase that
follows them.
Note that many indefinite pronouns also function
as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the
following sentences:
- He has one job in the day and another at night.
(pronoun)
- I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)
- All is forgiven.
- All have arrived.
- John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good.
- We can start the meeting because everybody
has arrived.
Notice that : A singular pronoun takes a singular
verb AND that any personal pronoun should also
agree (in number and gender).
Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural.
However, some of them can be singular in one context and
plural in another.
1- www.englishclub.com .
2- www.corollarytheorems.com.
References:
Taghreed Ahmed Basabrain
3091116

English Grammar: Pronouns

  • 1.
  • 2.
    Definition "Pronoun" is thesentence element used to replace a noun, or a noun equivalent construction. The replaced noun is named the "antecedent".
  • 3.
  • 4.
    Syntactically, pronouns havethe same functions as nouns do; morphologically, pronouns are used to avoid repetition, and to set/clarify nouns' categories of number, person, and gender.
  • 5.
    CLASSES OF PRONOUNS: 1.Personal Pronoun 2. Demonstrative Pronouns. 3. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns 4. Interrogative Pronouns. 5. Relative Pronouns 6. Indefinite Pronouns.
  • 6.
  • 7.
    Personal pronouns representspecific people or things. We use them depending on: number: singular (I) or plural ( we). person: 1st person (I), 2nd person (you) or 3rd person(he). gender: male (he), female (she) or neuter (it). case: subject (we) or object (us). We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about.
  • 8.
    Here are thepersonal pronouns, followed by some example sentences: number person gender personal pronouns subject object singular 1st male/female I me 2nd male/female you you 3rd male he him female she her neuter it it plural 1st male/female we us 2nd male/female you you 3rd male/female/ neuter they them Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):
  • 9.
    - I likecoffee. - John helped me. - Do you like coffee? - John loves you. - He runs fast. - Did Ram beat him? -She is clever. - Does Mary know her? -They played doubles. -John and Mary beat them -Do you need a table for three? -Did John and Mary beat you at doubles? - We went home. -Anthony drove us. -It doesn't work. -Can the engineer repair it?
  • 10.
    -It is niceto have a holiday sometimes. -It is important to dress well. . We often use it to introduce a remark: We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance: -It's raining. -It will probably be hot tomorrow. -Is it nine o'clock yet? -It's 50 kilometers from here to Cambridge.
  • 11.
  • 12.
    Reflexive pronoun isused with an active voice verb in order to reflect the action of the verb back on the subject--the antecedent. Definition
  • 13.
    ** We usea reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural). There are eight reflexive pronouns: reflexive pronoun singular myself yourself himself, herself, itself plural ourselves yourselves themselves
  • 14.
    the underlined wordsare the SAME person/thing -I saw myself in the mirror. -Why do you blame yourself? -John sent himself a copy.
  • 15.
    -I made itmyself. OR I myself made it. -Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself? -She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
  • 16.
  • 17.
    Demonstrative pronouns and demonstrativeadjectives have exactly the same forms. The way to differentiate them depends on their position relative to the antecedent/determined nouns. Demonstrative pronouns THIS, THESE, THAT, THOSE. THE FORMER, THE LATER THE FIRST, THE LAST THE OTHER,THE OTHERS SAME SUCH SO
  • 18.
    A demonstrative pronounrepresents a thing or things: *near in distance or time (this, these) *far in distance or time (that, those) near far singular this that plural these those *This tastes good. *These are bad times. *That is beautiful. *Those were the days!
  • 19.
    ATTENTION The word "that"has four main functions: 1. demonstrative pronoun or adjective: That book is good. 2. relative pronoun: Anything that you remember could help a lot. 3. conjunction: He said that he had been there before. 4. adverb: The snow was that high.
  • 20.
    -Do not confusedemonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun. -That smells. (demonstrative pronoun) -That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun) Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when the person is identified. Look at these examples: -This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary? -That sounds like John
  • 21.
  • 22.
    We use interrogativepronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing that we don't know (what we are asking the question about). There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which . subject object person who whom thing what person/thing which person whose (possessive) -The possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun).
  • 23.
    question answer Who toldyou? John told me. subject Whom did you tell? I told Mary. object What's happened? An accident's happened. subject Examples:
  • 24.
  • 25.
    - A relativepronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that. Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for things. That can be used for people, and things and as subject and object in defining relative clauses. Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female.
  • 26.
    - The personwho phoned me last night is my teacher. - The car which hit me was yellow. - The person whom I phoned last night is my teacher. - The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed Examples:
  • 27.
  • 28.
    An indefinite pronoundoes not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:
  • 29.
    Some Indefinite Pronouns SingularPlural another everybody no one anybody everyone nothing anyone everything one anything much somebody each neither someone either nobody something both few many others several All, any, most, none and some can be singular or plural, depending on the phrase that follows them.
  • 30.
    Note that manyindefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the following sentences: - He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun) - I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)
  • 31.
    - All isforgiven. - All have arrived. - John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good. - We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived. Notice that : A singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender). Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another.
  • 33.
    1- www.englishclub.com . 2-www.corollarytheorems.com. References: Taghreed Ahmed Basabrain 3091116