Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like: Do you like the manager? I don't like the manager. The manager's not friendly. With pronouns, we can say: Do you like the manager? I don't like him. He's not friendly. In this way, pronouns help us use fewer words and avoid repetition.

There are different types of pronoun, but they all have the same job - to represent a noun (phrase). Personal Possessive Reflexive Intensive Indefinite Relative Interrogative Reciprocal Demonstrative

Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on: Number: Singular (e.g.: I) or Plural (e.g.: we) Person: 1st person (e.g.: I), 2nd person (e.g.: you) or 3rd person (e.g.: he) Gender: Male (e.g.: he), Female (e.g.: she) or Neuter (e.g.: it) Case: Subject (e.g.: we) or Object (e.g.: us) Examples: I like coffee. Do you like coffee? He runs fast. It doesn’t work. We went home. Tina helped me.

Personal Pronouns Number Person Gender Personal Pronouns Subject Object Singular 1st Male/ Female I me 2nd you 3rd Male he him Female she her Neuter it Plural we us / Neuter they them

Possessive Pronouns We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging to a person/people. We use possessive pronouns depending on: Number: Singular (e.g.:  mine) or Plural (e.g.:  ours) E.g. This new car is mine. Person: 1st person (e.g.:  mine), 2nd person (e.g.:  yours) or 3rd person (e.g.: his) E.g. Mine is newer than yours. Gender: Male (e.g.: his), Female (e.g.: hers) E.g. All the essays were good but his was the best. Note: Each possessive pronoun can: be subject or object refer to a singular or plural antecedent The interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). E.g. This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Possessive Pronouns Number Person Gender (“of owner”) Singular 1st Male/ Female My / Mine 2nd Your / Yours 3rd Male His Female Her / Hers Neuter Its Plural Our / Ours Male/ Female/ Neuter Their / Theirs

Reflexive Pronouns 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). Reflexive / intensive pronouns CANNOT REPLACE personal pronouns. There are eight reflexive pronouns: Singular : Myself, Yourself, Himself, Herself, Itself Plural : Ourselves, Yourselves, Themselves Examples: I saw myself in the mirror. My dog hurt itself. We blame ourselves. They cannot look after themselves.

Intensive Pronouns Intensive pronouns,  also known as emphatic pronouns,  re-emphasize a noun or pronoun that has already been mentioned.. The form is same as the reflexive pronouns, but the function and usage are different. Reflexive / intensive pronouns CANNOT REPLACE personal pronouns. Examples: I myself made it. Have you seen it yourself? We'll do it ourselves. The President himself promised to stop the war.

Indefinite Pronouns An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are: all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another. Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples: Each of the players has a doctor. I met two girls. One has given me her phone number. Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement: Many have expressed their views. These pronouns often refer to both sexes, masculine and feminine. When such pronoun is the antecedent of another pronoun, then the accepted practice is to use the masculine gender for the pronoun that is used in place of the indefinite pronoun. e.g. Everyone received his income tax form. But if the sentence shows clearly that the indefinite pronoun refers to members of only one sex, the pronoun that refers to that sex should be used. e.g. Everyone attending the meeting of the Women’s Athletic Club presented her membership card. Following pronouns that are always singular , so a pronoun that is used in place of one of these must also be singular – Anybody, anyone, everybody, everyone, someone, somebody, one, no one, nobody, other, another, neither, either, each, many a one e.g. Neither of the men had his tools. (not their) If anyone wants a pen, he can obtain one here. (not they) Following pronouns that are always plural , so a pronoun that is used in place of one of these must also be plural – Many, both, few, several, others e.g. Several found their cars unlocked. Only a few would sacrifice their savings. The pronouns all, any, some and none are singular or plural according to the meaning of the sentence. When the pronouns refer to number, they are generally regarded as plural. When they refer to quantity or to a mass, they are regarded as singular. e.g. Some found their children in the park. Some of the candy has lost its flavour.

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 its relative clause modifies. For Example : The person who phoned me last night is my teacher. Here, "who": relates to "The person", which "who phoned me last night" modifies introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night" 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 things and people only in defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information). Note: Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female.

Relative Pronouns Examples : Mrs. Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher. Mrs. Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher. The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked. The car, which I was driving at the time, suddenly caught fire. (“I was driving at the time is just an additional information & not essential to the sentence, so we have used “which” instead of “that”) The car that I drive is old. (In this case “I drive” is essential because it tells us exactly which car we are talking about; so we have used “that”.) The expanded form of the relative pronouns — whoever, whomever, whatever — are known as indefinite relative pronouns. What is often an indefinite relative pronoun: The coach will select whomever he pleases. He seemed to say whatever came to mind. Whoever crosses this line first will win the race. She will tell you what you need to know.

Interrogative Pronouns 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 IMP:  possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). Subject Object Person Who Whom Thing What Person / Thing Which Whose

Interrogative Pronouns - Examples Question Answer   Who told you? John told me. subject Whom did you tell? I told Mary. object What's happened? An accident's happened. What do you want? I want coffee. Which came first? The Porsche 911 came first. Which will the doctor see first? The doctor will see the patient in blue first. There's one car missing.Whose hasn't arrived? John's (car) hasn't arrived. We've found everyone's keys.Whose did you find? I found John's (keys).

Reciprocal Pronouns We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the other. The action is "reciprocated". For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say: A and B are talking to each other. There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words: each other one another When we use these reciprocal pronouns: there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use reciprocal pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it) they must be doing the same thing Examples: John and Mary love each other. Why don't you believe each other?

Demonstrative Pronouns A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things: near in distance or time (this, these) far in distance or time (that, those) Examples: This tastes good. These are bad times. That is beautiful. Can you see those? 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. Near Far Singular This That Plural These Those

Exercise Use the correct pronoun. We helped __________ to some cola at the party. She has broken ________  leg. _________ computer is a Mac, but __________ is a PC. You can't have any chocolate! It's all  ________ ! Don't help me with this exercise! I can do  ________ by myself. I don't know __________ did it. I know the candidate _________ I am going to support in the next elections. Sandra and Angela haven't met ___________ for a long time. Ann only thinks of _________. She's an egoist. Be sure that everyone brings ____________ own book.   If anyone calls, tell ____________ that I'll be back in half an hour.  Between you and ____________ , this politician cannot be trusted.  The local government plans to cut ____________ budget for recreation.  Ourselves Her My , yours Mine It Who Whom Each other Herself His Him or her Me Its

Reviewed By Reviewed On Comments / Changes Made Vidyesh 21.09.2015 N.A.