A pronoun is a word that
takes the place of a noun or noun phrase in a sentence.
In the following sentences the underlined word
is a pronoun:
I bought an apple and ate it.
I phoned Jane and invited her
to dinner.
You should have asked permission.
Jack told Sally all about himself.
Is anyone there?
Who said that?
Those are gloves.
Each of us had to sing a song.
He thanked the man who
had saved his life.
There are several types of pronoun
and they are categorized as follows.
A personal pronoun is
a pronoun that is used to refer back to someone or something that has already
been mentioned. Of the different kinds of pronoun the personal pronouns are the most common.
There are three
types of personal pronoun, according
to their function in the sentence. The subject
pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence; the object pronoun is used
as the object of a sentence; the
possessive pronoun is used to indicate
that a person or thing belongs to, or is associated with, another person or
thing. In sentence 1 below, the
underlined word is a personal subject
pronoun, in sentence 2 the
underlined word is a personal object
pronoun and in sentence 3 the
underlined word is a possessive pronoun.
1 I looked after the
children.
2 The grandparents looked
after her.
3 That car is mine.
Personal pronouns are also categorized according to person.
The
first person
personal pronoun refers to the person who is
speaking or writing when referring to himself or herself. The first person personal pronoun, in the singular form, is I and, in the plural form, we,
when it acts as the subject of a
sentence. When it is the object of a sentence the singular form is me and the plural form is us. The possessive form of the first person personal pronoun in the
singular form is mine and in the
plural form is ours.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are first
person personal pronouns acting
as the subject of the sentences:
She said, ‘I am going
home.’
‘I am going shopping,’
he said.
‘We have very little
money left,’ she said to her husband.
He said, ‘We shall
have to leave now if we are to get there on time.’
In the following sentences
the underlined words are first person
personal pronouns acting as the
object of the sentences:
‘I think he hates me,’
Jane said.
‘It’s obvious that she
deceived us,’ said Jim.
‘You have been very kind to me,’
said Sue.
In the following examples the
underlined words are first person
personal pronouns, in the
possessive form also known as possessive
pronouns:
‘That book is mine,’
said Anne.
‘We won,’ said Bill, ‘and so
the prize is clearly ours.’
You: the second person personal
pronoun
The second person personal pronoun refers to the person or thing that is being addressed in the sentence.
The second person personal pronoun
is you, whether it is the pronoun or
object of the sentence and whether it is singular or plural. Unlike in some
languages, the second person personal
pronoun does not alter its form in English. The possessive form of the second person personal pronoun is yours in both singular and plural forms.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are second
person personal pronouns acting
as the subject of the sentences:
You should
have told me earlier, Jane.
You, Mum and
Dad, have been very generous to me.
You all are equally to blame.
NB: Me and
I
Many people are
confused about when to use I and when
to use me. It is often wrongly
assumed that the use of the word me
is less polite than that that of the word I.
In fact, the pronoun I should be used as the subject of a sentence, as in:
Jim and I
are going on holiday together.
or
May Jane
and I come to the party?
The pronoun me
should be used as the object of a sentence, as in:
They
invited my brother and me to tea.
or
They
played tennis against my father and me.
Exception Except in very formal contexts, it is now
considered quite acceptable to say.
It is me.
although, strictly speaking,
this use is ungrammatical and it should be It
is I.
However, this sounds very
stilted and it is rarely used.
In the following sentences the underlined words
are second person personal pronouns acting as the object of the
sentences:
NB:
Between, I and Me
There is some
confusion as to whether the preposition between
should be followed by I or me. Because between is followed by an object, the correct answer is me, as
The dog
stood between me and the gate.
or
There is a
great deal of ill feeling between my cousin and me.
It is wrongly assumed that
the use of me is less polite than
that of I.
Someone has called you.
I blame you for what
happened, Jim.
Your mother loves you
both equally.
In the following sentences
the underlined words are second person
personal pronouns in the
possessive form. These are also known as
possessive pronouns.
This pen is yours,
Jim, is it?
Sue and Sally, the prize is yours.
Is this dog yours, Mr
and Mrs Jones?
He, she, it and they: the third
person personal pronoun
The third person personal pronoun refers to a third party, not to the speaker or writer of the sentence or
to the person being addressed. The third
person personal pronouns are, in
the singular form, he, she and it and, in the plural form,
they, when the personal pronoun is
the subject of the sentence. When the third
person personal pronoun is the object of the sentence it takes the form of him,
her or it in the singular form
and, in the plural form, them. The
possessive forms of the third person personal pronoun in the
singular are respectively his, hers or its. In the plural the possessive from is theirs.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are third
person personal pronouns acting
as the subject of the sentence:
He left
school last year.
She is the
youngest of the three sisters.
It was the only hotel with vacancies in the area.
In the following sentences
the underlined words are third person
personal pronouns acting as the
object of the sentence:
I drove her to the
station.
The house was charming and we
loved it at first sight.
In the following sentences
the underlined words are third person
personal pronouns in the
possessive form. They are also known as
possessive pronouns.
The stolen car is theirs.
The fault is theirs,
apparently.
That part of the garden is theirs.
NB:
Personal pronouns and sexist language
Until fairly recently, it was
very common to use a masculine personal pronoun to refer to a noun where the
gender was not known, as in:
If a student does not attend classes regularly he will be asked to leave
college.
or
If the
applicant is successful he will be expected to start the job next week.
When the movement
towards the removal of sexist language from the English language began, this
use of he was considered to be sexist
and such sentences required to be rephrased.
The problem is
that this is not easy to do. Where possible, the easiest way of doing this may
be to turn the whole sentence into the plural, as in:
If
students do not attend classes regularly they will be asked to leave college.
Alternatively,
the easiest course of action may be to use ‘he or she’ or ‘he/she’ instead of he, as
If the applicant is successful he or she
(he/she) will be expected to start work next week.
This last way
round the problem is felt by many people to be clumsy, particularly in spoken
or informal English. The solution often used now is ungrammatical in nature.
Thus, instead of using ‘he/she’ many people use ‘they’ instead, although the
rest of the sentence is left in the singular form. Instead of saying
Every student has been instructed that he/she
must register for the exams by the end of December.
they say
Every student has been instructed that they must
register for the exams by the end of December.
The use of the
third person personal pronoun in plural form in such contexts is becoming more
and more common, frequently being used in textbooks and dictionaries and even
more so in newspapers, magazines and works of fiction.
Possessive pronouns see first person personal pronouns, second personal pronouns and third personal pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves and refer back to a noun or pronoun that has been mentioned earlier in the
sentence. The following is a list of reflexive
pronouns:
myself, ourselves, yourself,
yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves.
In the following sentences the underlined words are reflexive pronouns:
I cut myself with the
breadknife.
You will have to wash yourself
in cold water.
He sees himself
becoming a lawyer.
The cat was licking itself.
The town’s inhabitants braced themselves for the storm.
Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis, as in the following sentences:
The town itself is not
very attractive, but the surrounding countryside is
The headmaster himself
decided on the boys’ punishment.
We ourselves must
provide the funding for the project.
NB:
Emphatic pronouns
Reflexive pronouns which are used, as above, for emphasis are sometimes known as emphatic pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns can also be used to indicate that someone has done something alone without the help of anyone else, as in:
The bride
made that beautiful dress herself.
The young
couple are planning to build the house themselves.
I’m sure that he did not write that book himself.
Reciprocal pronouns are pronouns which are used to indicate a two-way relationship or to convey the idea of reciprocity. The reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another. In the following sentences the underlined words form reciprocal pronouns:
The two sisters have hated each
other from childhood.
It is important to help each
other as much as possible.
The children are always
calling one another unpleasant names.
The friends helped one
another with their geography homework.
Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate or point to things or
people. The demonstrative pronouns are this,
that, these and those.
The demonstrative pronouns this
and these are used to refer to
something or someone close to the writer or speaker, while that and those are used
to refer to something further away. In the following sentences the underlined
words are demonstrative pronouns:
This is my
father.
That is definitely Dad’s car.
That is my cousin.
These are my favourite flowers.
These are my nephews, Jim and John.
These are some of the issues which we will be discussing this term.
Those are very expensive houses.
Those were interesting points which you raised at the meeting.
Those are our nearest neighbours.
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer to people or things without specifying exactly who or what
they are. The following is a list of the indefinite
pronouns:
anyone, anybody, anything, everyone, everybody, everything, someone,
somebody, something, no one, nobody, nothing.
NB: No one
Unlike the other indefinite pronouns no one
is written as two words.
In the following sentences the underlined words form an indefinite pronoun:
Is anyone there?
I don’t know anybody
here.
I didn’t buy anything.
Does everyone have a
drink?
Nothing matters now.
Everybody knows at least one other person here.
She has everything she
could ever want.
Someone must know what happened.
No one can help me now.
I know somebody who
can help.
I have something to
tell you.
Nobody understands.
Some other pronouns are
sometimes classified as indefinite pronouns. See distributive pronouns below.
Some pronouns were
traditionally known as distributive
pronouns but are now also variously known as indefinite pronouns (see above) or universal pronouns.
Often such pronouns are followed by an ‘of’ construction. The following is a list of such pronouns:
all, both, each, either,
neither, more, most, some.
In the following sentences
the underlined words are distributive/indefinite/universal
pronouns:
We thought a few workers would be declared redundant, but, in the end, all
kept their jobs.
All of the
victims of the crash survived.
The three boys were involved
in the crime and each deserves to be punished.
Each of the
girls stands a chance of winning the competition.
I am very impressed by these two projects and think that either
of them would suit our purpose well.
Neither of the candidates seemed suitable for the job.
There are too many student applicants for the college positions
available and some will be disappointed.
Interrogative pronouns are pronouns which are used to ask questions.
They are among words sometimes
called wh-words because they all
begin with the letters ‘wh-’. The following is a list of interrogative pronouns:
who, whom, to whom, whose,
which, what.
Who is
used as the subject of an interrogative sentence, while the object in
formal or written English is whom.
In informal or spoken English the object
of an interrogative sentence is
often who. The interrogative pronoun to whom
is confined to formal or written English.
In the following sentences the underlined words
are interrogative pronouns:
Who has got
the job?
Whom did she
blame?
Whom did he appoint as his heir?
To whom was he referring?
Whose is the blue car?
Which of these do you prefer?
What happened then?
Relative pronouns (see 1) are pronouns that introduce a relative clause (see 1). The relative pronoun refers back to a noun
or noun phrase in the main clause, called the antecedent. In each case the antecedent
is the word immediately before the relative pronoun. The following is a list of
relative pronouns:
who, whom, whose, which, that.
In the following sentences the underlined words are relative pronouns:
There’s the man who
stole the car.
She was the only person whom
I could trust.
That’s the man whose
permission we need for the project to go ahead.
This is the last house which
he built.
The dress that I would
like is too expensive.
1 Which
of the following nouns are proper nouns and
so should be spelt with a capital
letter?
lion, child, tuesday, book, october, castle, venus, america, region,
mount everest, day, sunshine, uncle william, ocean, new york, city, chapel,
flower, oak, atlantic, queen elizabeth.
2 Which of the following are concrete nouns and which are
abstract nouns?
hat, sorrow, basket, folly, tyre, sadness, floor, mountain, grief,
bliss, hut, ceiling, silence, lamp, faith, computer, gluttony, dish, rug,
depression, contentment, dustbin, hatred, plum, sofa, clarity, portrait,
finger, hospitality, tool, enmity.
3 Which
of the following are countable nouns and
which are uncountable nouns?
happiness, saucer, source, discretion, fence, lawn, misery, cooker,
information, beach, location, luggage, bottle, forest, poem, inspiration,
jewel, milk, suitcase, music, poetry, essay, literature, choir, legislation,
beauty, cookery, knowledge.
4 Underline the words in the following sentences
which are verbal nouns:
Walking is excellent
exercise.
Smoking can kill you.
She hates dancing.
He has taken up running.
She enjoys swimming.
5 What is the
collective noun for a group of the following?
wolves, cattle, flies, lions,
stars, herring, geese, sheep, ships, whales.
6 Give the
plural forms of the following words.
house, table, friend, dog,
road, elephant, umbrella, banana, taxi, berry, bush,
march,
variety, kiss, lady, story, porch, child, loaf, wolf, tooth, woman.
7 Give the
singular forms of the following words.
feet, geese, scarves, wives,
halves, sheep, criteria, larvae, phenomena, bacteria, formulae, appendices.
8 Write down the words in the following list which
are of feminine gender.
nephew, town, widow, empress,
car, bridegroom, duchess, road, drake, sister, desk, niece, duke, waitress.
9 Write down the words in the following list that
can be of dual gender.
artist, egg, writer, shoe,
widower, king, poet, author, doctor, letter, princess, teacher, newspaper,
bride, drake, parent, student, waitress, singer, athlete.
10 Give the
plural forms of the following
compound nouns.
passer-by, swimming pool,
looker-on, coffee pot, show-off, police station, letter-box, cover-up.
11 Underline the phrase in each
of the following sentences which is in
apposition to a noun phrase.
The most important people
involved, the pupils in the school, have not been consulted at all.
My favourite house, the one
we saw last, is far too expensive for our budget. Her cousin Mark, a senior
partner in the firm, has just been arrested for fraud. The local beach, a
favourite meeting-place for teenagers, has been closed temporarily.
12 Write out those of the
following sentences that contain a
personal pronoun used as the subject
of a sentence, underlining the relevant personal
pronoun.
You must leave right away.
People simply don’t trust
you.
She didn’t tell us what to do.
They
nearly killed their victim.
You should have told the
truth.
The police don’t believe you.
He was driving dangerously.
Her colleagues admire her.
A bunch of flowers will make
her feel better.
We gave them invitations to
the wedding.
13 Write out the following sentences filling in the
blanks with either me or I.
Jack asked ... to
give you this.
Jane and … are
going on holiday together.
He is going to play chess
against ….
Can Sue and … come to the party?
Just ask for … at the front desk.
There’s been trouble between
my neighbours and …
The students and … welcome this opportunity to put our point of view.
Just between you and … I think he’s a bit crazy.
14 Write out any of the
sentences below that contain a reflexive
pronoun used as an emphatic pronoun, underlining the
relevant emphatic pronouns.
The children themselves
should choose a book to be read aloud.
We hurt ourselves badly when
falling off our skis.
We ourselves helped him as
much as we could, but others did nothing.
Doctors think that he harmed
himself deliberately.
You yourselves will have to
do the bulk of the work.
The child cut herself with
her mother’s scissors.
The prime minister himself
must take full responsibility for the error of judgement.
The house itself is not very
attractive, but it has a beautiful garden.
15 Underline the words in the
following sentences which are
demonstrative pronouns.
This is not the ring which I
lost.
Let me have a look at those.
That is an attractive plant.
These are
the most expensive cars in the saleroom.
Those are the members of the
jury.
This is the bus you must
take.
16 Underline the words in the
following sentences which are indefinite
pronouns.
Nothing has been done to
remedy the situation.
I didn’t see anything which I
wanted to buy.
Something must be seriously
wrong.
I didn’t recognize anyone in
the crowd.
Nobody seems to know what
happened.
Everyone was affected by the bad
weather.
17 Underline the words in the
following sentences which are
interrogative pronouns.
Who made this mess?
Why change jobs now?
Whose is the briefcase on the
chair?
Which do you like best?
How does he do it?
Where has he gone to?
Whose bike did you borrow?
To whom did he apply for the
job?
18 Underline the words in the following sentences
which are relative pronouns.
I think I know the man who
did this.
There is the woman whose car
was in the accident.
He doesn’t know who she is.
Here is the book which won
first prize.
He walked so slowly that he
was late.
The flat that we liked best
had already been sold.
Who got the job is not yet
known.
This is the employee to whom
the threatening letter was addressed.
It was her husband whom she
blamed for the disaster.
19 Underline the antecedent in each of the following sentences.
Here are the keys which he
lost.
That is the student who was
accused of cheating.
The boy whose bike this is
was injured in the accident.
The newspaper that first
published the story got the facts wrong.
This is the address of the
official to whom you should apply.
1 proper nouns
Tuesday,
October, Venus, America, Mount Everest, Uncle William, New York, Atlantic,
Queen Elizabeth.
2 concrete nouns
hat, basket, tyre, floor, mountain, hut, ceiling, lamp, computer, dish,
rug, dustbin, plum, sofa, portrait, finger, tool.
abstract nouns
sorrow, folly, sadness, grief, bliss, silence, faith, gluttony, depression,
contentment, hatred, clarity, hospitality, enmity.
3 countable nouns
saucer,
source, fence, lawn, cooker, beach, location, bottle, forest, poem, jewel,
suitcase, essay, literature, choir.
uncountable nouns
happiness, discretion, misery, information, luggage, inspiration, milk,
music, poetry, legislation, beauty, cookery, knowledge.
4 Walking is
excellent exercise.
Smoking can kill
you.
He has
taken up running.
She enjoys
swimming.
5 a pack of wolves, a herd of
cattle, a swarm of flies, a pride of lions, a constellation of stars, a shoal of herring, a flock of geese, a flock of
sheep, a fleet of ships, a school of whales.
6 houses, tables, friends,
dogs, roads, elephants, umbrellas, bananas, taxis, berries, bushes, marches,
varieties, kisses, ladies, stories, porches, children, loaves, wolves, teeth,
women.
7 foot, goose, scarf, wife,
half, sheep, criterion, larva, phenomenon, bacterium, formula, appendix.
8 widow,
empress, duchess, sister, niece, waitress.
9 artist,
writer, poet, author, doctor, teacher, parent, student, singer, athlete.
10 passers-by,
swimming pools, lookers-on, coffee pots, show-offs, police stations, letter-boxes,
cover-ups.
11 The most
important people involved, the pupils in the school, have not
been consulted at all.
My favourite
house, the one we saw last, is far too expensive for our budget. Her
cousin Mark, a senior partner in the firm, has just been arrested for
fraud. The local beach, a favourite meeting-place for teenagers, has
been closed temporarily.
12 You must leave
right away.
She didn’t
tell us what to do.
They nearly
killed their victim.
You should
have told the truth.
He was
driving dangerously.
We gave them invitations to the wedding.
13 Jack asked me to give you this.
Jane and I are going on holiday together.
He is going to play chess against me.
Can Sue
and I come to the party?
Just ask
for me at the front desk.
There’s
been trouble between my neighbours and me.
The students and I welcome this opportunity to put our point of view.
Just
between you and me I think he’s a
bit crazy.
14 The
children themselves should
choose a book to be read aloud.
We ourselves
helped him as much as we could, but others did nothing.
You yourselves
will have to do the bulk of the work The prime minister himself must
take full responsibility for the error of judgement.
The house itself
is not very attractive, but it has a beautiful garden.
15 This is not the
ring which I lost.
Let me
have a look at those.
That is an
attractive plant.
These are the
most expensive cars in the saleroom.
Those are the
members of the jury.
This is the
bus you must take.
16 Nothing has been
done to remedy the situation.
I didn’t
see anything which I wanted to buy.
Something must be
seriously wrong.
I didn’t
recognize anyone in the crowd.
Nobody seems to
know what happened.
Everyone was
affected by the bad weather.
17 Who made this
mess?
Whose is the
briefcase on the chair?
Which do you
like best?
Whose did you
borrow?
To whom did he
apply for the job?
18 I think I
know the man who did this.
There is
the woman whose car was in the accident.
Here is
the book which won first prize.
He walked
so slowly that he was late.
The flat that
we liked best had already been sold.
Who got
the job is not yet known.
This is
the employee to whom the threatening letter was addressed.
It was her
husband whom she blamed for the disaster.
19 Here are
the keys which he
lost.
That is
the student who was accused of cheating.
The boy
whose bike this is was injured in the accident.
The newspaper
that first published the story got the facts wrong.
This is
the address of the official to whom you should apply.
