2. 1. We looked for Britney at her house, but she wasn’t there.
2. I took my car to the mechanic to get it fixed.
3. This is the best birthday ever!
4. Someone donated $500 to our charity.
5. Andy thinks that mayonnaise goes well with anything.
6. All of the houses in our neighborhood look the same,
but ours is the only one with a satellite dish.
7. Wendy and Ronald separated the french fries into two
piles: the left one was hers and the right one was his
8. This is my favorite shirt.
9. I don’t know what that is, but it definitely isn’t friendly.
10.I need you to fix these.
3. PRONOUNS
• Pronouns refer to and replace nouns (the names of
people, places, and things) that have already been
mentioned, or that the speaker/writer assumes are
understood by the listener/reader.
• For example, “I want you to read this again.” The words
I, you, and this are pronouns.
4. EXAMPLE
1. Our cat’s name is Spot. Our cat is black and white. Our
cat’s body is mostly white. Our cat has four black paws. Our
cat has a long black tail. Our cat purrs a lot. Our cat never
scratches. Our cat likes to play. My mother, my father, two
brothers, and three sisters love our cat.
2. Our cat’s name is Spot. It is black and white. Its body is
mostly white, but its four paws are black. It has a long black
tail. We call our cat Spot. It purrs a lot, and it never scratches.
Spot likes to play. Everyone in our family loves the cat.
5. TYPES OF PRONOUNS
Pronouns are divided into eight groups
depending on their meaning and how they are
used in a sentence. While each pronoun has a
common function of substituting for a noun,
each type has characteristics that make it unique.
The types of pronouns include personal,
indefinite, relative, interrogative, demonstrative,
reflexive, intensive, and reciprocal.
6. A. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Personal pronouns are used to substitute for specific
people or things. In the following sentence, the
pronoun she substitutes for the noun physicist, a
person; while the pronoun their substitutes for the
noun lasers, a thing.
A. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
7.
8.
9. Personal pronouns, unlike nouns, usually have different forms for
different cases.
For example, the personal pronoun for the first person
singular could be I, my, or me depending on whether it is in the
subjective, possessive, or objective case. The function of the
pronoun in a sentence (acts as the subject, object, or shows
possession) determines what case (subjective, objective,
possessive) is required. The following example uses the first
person singular pronoun in all three types.
subject
10. The following compound sentence contains three personal
pronouns, each in a different case. Two of the pronouns, his and
he, have scientist as their antecedent, while the pronoun it refers
to the lab. The pronoun his shows possession and is in the
possessive case. The pronoun he serves as the subject of the
second main clause and is in the subjective case. The pronoun it
is the object of the preposition in and is in the objective case.
11.
12. PRONOUN SELECTION
My mother and me rushed into the house.
The pronoun "me" is not correct in the right case. The sentence
should read:
My mother and I rushed into the house.
An easy way to select the right personal pronoun, (I/me, he/him,
she/her, we/us, they/them is to test the pronoun alone. For instance,
you can test the sentence above by reading it, using only the pronoun.
Me rushed into the house.
I rushed into the house.
13. PRONOUN SELECTION
Mr. Smith gave John and I three letters to mail.
This sentence may look and sound correct, but it contains a basic
grammar mistake that lots of people, even well-educated ones,
make. You can find the error by imagining that Mr. Smith gave to
letter to only one person.
Mr. Smith gave I three letters to mail.
Just as in the example above, you can hear and see that this is not
correct. The pronoun me is the correct form, and the sentence
should be corrected like this. Mr. Smith gave John and me three
letters to mail.
14. B. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
English is a language of exceptions to rules, and indefinite
pronouns fit into this category. An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun
that does not require an antecedent. In other words, it can
substitute for a noun in a sentence without specifying a specific
person , animal, place, thing, etc.
15. GENDER SPECIFICITY AND SEXIST USAGE
As noted in the table of personal pronouns, In English, the third
person singular is gender specific. For many years, the masculine
form of the third person singular was used generically to refer to
both male and female antecedents. For example:
- not everyone in the classroom is male, and many see the generic use of
male pronouns to refer to everyone as offensive and demeaning to
women.
16. Fortunately, the English language provides an easier solution for most
situations. Remember, the third person plural is not gender specific.
So, to avoid any of these problems, simply write in the third person
plural. In the sentence below, make the antecedent plural and change
the pronoun to their.
Additionally, if we add her to the equation (his or her part), then in
what order should they appear? Also, do we alternate between his and
her and her and his, and if so, exactly how often? As you can see, this
approach can be problematic.
17. C. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point out
something in the sentence.
Use this and these to point out something close to you; use
that and those to refer to things that are farther away. The
word such can be used as either singular or plural. (e.g.
Such a horse is hard to find.(singular) Such horses are hard
to find. (plural)
18. C. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Remember to look for the antecedent before you decide that this, that,
these, and those are demonstrative pronouns. If you cannot find the
antecedent, the words are not demonstrative pronouns.
I know that you are honest. (Not a demonstrative pronoun) Buy those
pork chops. (a demonstrative pronoun) I sold some cakes, but I gave
those to Mary. (A demonstrative pronoun)
19. D. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
When you ask a question about someone or something,
you often start with an interrogative pronoun.
Interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, what
Example: Who is going to the dance next week?
Whom will you ask about the schedule?
Which do you like best, CDs or tapes?
What are you going to wear tomorrow?
You will see the words who, whom, which, that in many sentences. If
they are not used to ask a question, they are not interrogative
pronouns.
The man who lives there recently walked to Miramichi.
20. E. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Relative pronouns are noun substitutes that are used to
introduce subordinate clauses. For that reason, relative
pronouns are often known as subordinating pronouns or
subordinate-clause markers. The term “clause” really
means extra bits of information in a sentence, expressed
in a special way.
21. E. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
That, Which, and Who
That and which are relative pronouns used to introduce
subordinate clauses when the antecedent is not a person. That
is used to introduce restrictive clauses, while which is used for
nonrestrictive clauses. Who can be used to introduce either a
restrictive or nonrestrictive clause when the antecedent is
human.
That – restrictive clause – not a person
Which - nonrestrictive clause – not a person
Who – both - person
22. E. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Punctuation for relative pronouns depends on whether they introduce a
restrictive or nonrestrictive clause.
A restrictive clause is a clause that is essential to the meaning of the
main clause, while a nonrestrictive clause is not. In the following
example, the pronoun that introduces a subordinate clause that
specifies the requirement for the computer.
23. The requirement for the computer to handle full-motion, video editing is
essential for the meaning of this sentence, and the subordinate clause is
therefore restrictive. Notice that the relative pronoun that is used
without a comma because the subordinate clause is restrictive.
In the next example, the subordinate clause tells us nothing essential
about the main clause, and is therefore nonrestrictive. The
nonrestrictive clause is introduced with a comma and the relative
pronoun which.*
24. In the sentence below, the relative pronoun who is used to introduce a
restrictive clause because its antecedent is a person. The clause who just
walked through the door provides essential information and is restrictive
and not set off with commas.
nonrestrictive clause
25. F. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Reflexive pronouns are used when the “receiver” of the action is the
same person as the “doer”. In other words, if someone does something
to himself or herself, the action is expressed using a reflexive pronoun.
Tammy cut herself on the broken glass.
The children frightened themselves with ghost stories.
Singular reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural reflexive pronouns: ourselves, yourselves, themselves .
Notice the two different second person forms of the reflexive
pronoun. If the sentence is directed to one person, use the singular
form yourself, but if it refers to a group, use the plural form yourselves
Andy, you must be careful not to push yourself too far.
Players, watch yourselves out there on the field today
26. G. EMPHATIC PRONOUNS
Emphatic pronouns look exactly like reflexive pronouns, but they
are used to emphasize a noun or another pronoun. For example,
when you want to point out that you did something all by yourself,
you might say,
I fixed the car myself. or I, myself, wouldn’t pass judgment on
him.
Singular emphatic pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural emphatic pronouns: ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Examples: You, yourself, are better able to answer that question.
They arranged their trip to Toronto themselves.
I inspected the tree itself before deciding it was dead.
27. H. RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
There are only two reciprocal pronouns: each other, one another.
Example: The friends started listening to each other and their
relationship improved.
She taught her children to help one another.
