PRONOUNS

PRONOUNS Pronoun A pronoun is used to refer to a noun/noun phrase, or nouns/noun phrases; instead of the repeated use of the same noun(s)/noun phrase(s). Example: Michael is a good boy. He gets up early in the morning. A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. It refers to a person or thing without giving the name. EXAMPLE: Jim has a bicycle. He rides it every day. The words He and it referred to in the second sentence are used for Jim and bicycle. The words He used for Jim and it used for bicycle are called Pronouns. We use pronouns to avoid repetition of the same words, which in this case are Jim and bicycle. Most of the pronouns must be used independently, that is, without a noun following them. EXAMPLE: This is a big house. (This is a pronoun as it occurs independently.) But when a noun follows them, they are no longer pronouns. EXAMPLE: This house is big. (This is followed by the noun, house. Here, this, as a determiner, describes the noun, and so is not a pronoun.) Different Types of Pronoun: Personal Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns Relative Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns

These pronouns refer to people and so are called Personal Pronouns. However, the pronoun it is included in personal pronouns although it does not usually refer to a person. What then are personal pronouns? Personal pronouns are best explained by the table below:                                                   Singular Plural Subject Object Subject Object First Person I Me We Us Second Person You You You You Third Person He She It Him Her It They They They Them Them Them In the above table, Personal Pronouns stand for three persons: First Person; Second Person; Third Person. There are two types of Personal Pronouns: (1) those used as subjects; (2) those used as objects. The Personal Pronoun must be of the same Number, Gender and Person as the Noun for which it represents. If the Noun is in the Singular Number, the Pronoun also must be in the Singular Number. EXAMPLE: The boy is playing with his kite. He has a red kite. EXAMPLE: The boys are playing with their kites. They have kites of various colours. If the Noun is in the Feminine Gender, the Pronoun too must be in the Feminine Gender. EXAMPLE: The girl is playing with her dog. She has a small dog. EXAMPLE: John's sister likes to eat pizza. She eats it almost every day. EXAMPLE: Jill has a boyfriend. He loves her very much.

2. Reflexive Pronouns

We use the Reflexive Pronoun when the action of the doer goes back to himself so that the Subject of the sentence is the same person as the object. EXAMPLE: He has hurt himself. Pronouns like 'himself' are called Reflexive Pronouns. They always end in '-self or -selves'. Reflexive Pronouns Singular Plural First Person I : Myself We : Ourselves Second Person You : Yourself You : Yourself Third Person He : Himself She : Herself It : Itself They : Themselves They : Themselves They : Themselves The words in bold type can be used to make the action of a verb refer back to the subject. They are called reflexive pronouns.

3. Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronouns take the place of Nouns or Pronouns; they are used to join two sentences about the same person or thing. EXAMPLE: I know the man who lives next door. Who refers to the noun 'man' which is just before it. Who is called a Relative Pronoun. It is placed at the beginning of the clause 'who lives next door'. This clause tells us more about the man. It is an adjective clause. A Relative Pronoun is therefore used to begin an adjective clause, which modifies Ihe noun that precedes it. Examples of relative pronouns: who, which, that, whom and whose. 'Who', 'whom' and 'whose' are used for people; 'which' and 'that' for animals or things; 'whom' is only used as the object of a sentence; and 'whose' is used as a possessive. We use who to join two sentences. EXAMPLE: "The man is an artist. He drew that picture." "The man who drew that picture is an artist." We use whose to show possession or relationship. EXAMPLE: "That is my uncle whose son is my cousin." We use which or that in almost the same way as we use who but it refers to things, not human beings. There is one other difference in the way we use who and which. After who we put a verb. After which we can put a verb, a pronoun or a noun. EXAMPLE: That is the camera which costs fifty dollars. (verb comes after 'which') EXAMPLE: That is the camera which he bought. (pronoun comes after 'which') EXAMPLE: That is the camera which John likes. (noun comes after 'which') We use whom to make a statement about human beings. It is used in place of who (a) when it is the object of a verb or (b) when it comes after a preposition. EXAMPLE: (a) The man whom they caught was sent to prison. EXAMPLE: (b) The man to whom you should speak is my uncle.

4. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns are used to indicate ownership. They can be used without a Noun. EXAMPLE: Take all those that are yours and don't touch anything that are mine. (Pronouns 'yours' and 'mine' are used without Nouns.) EXAMPLE: Don't borrow the books that are hers; read those that are ours. (Pronouns 'hers' and 'ours' are used without Nouns.) The Possessive Case Singular Plural First Person Mine Ours Second Person Yours Yours Third Person His Hers Its Theirs Theirs Theirs

5. Demonstrative Pronouns

The Demonstrative Pronoun is used to point out a thing or a person. Demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those. However, one has to exercise care when using demonstrative pronouns. The words this and that when used alone, are pronouns; when used with Nouns they are Adjectives. EXAMPLE: This is what I heard from him. (Pronoun) EXAMPLE: This car is still new. (Adjective, used before the Noun, car) EXAMPLE: That is not something I like. (Pronoun) EXAMPLE: That girl does look familiar. (Adjective, used before the Noun, girl) We can replace that with the one. EXAMPLE: Where is the bill that I handed to you this morning? EXAMPLE: Where is the bill, the one I handed to you this morning?