The usage of pronouns is not limited to the clarity of speaking and writing. It is more than that. When we don't use someone's name, we use a pronoun to refer to him or her. Incorrect or careless use of pronouns may lead to feelings of disrespect, exclusion, and alienation. Know about pronouns in details from this chapter in simple words.
A pronoun sits in the place of a noun. It means a pronoun replaces a noun, not any other part of speech. However, whenever we use a pronoun, we may make errors or mistakes because of three issues. What are those three issues? Firstly, when a pronoun has more than one antecedent, we can make mistakes. Secondly, sometimes, in a sentence or paragraph, a noun remains hidden. At that time, we make mistakes. Finally, there may be an absence of antecedent. In that situation, you have to mention the missing noun instead of writing a pronoun. Otherwise, you will end up with the wrong pronoun reference. There will be a complete chapter where you will know about how we make wrong pronoun references and how we can avoid such wrong pronoun references. By the way, this chapter will define the pronoun and discuss how the pronoun has been divided and subdivided into many types.
A pronoun sits in the place of a noun. Look at the examples below:
- Karim is a good boy. However, he is not a good footballer.
- Nasima is a good student. Moreover, she is a beautiful girl.
- Rohan and Rohit were going through a jungle. Suddenly, they took a rest.
- I have a cat. It is very cute.
Here, the words
“he”, “she”, “they”, and “it” are pronouns because they have sat in the place
of nouns “Karim”, “Nasima”, “Rohan and Rohit” and “A cat” respectively.
There are
eight types of pronouns shown below:
The personal
pronoun has various forms according to person, number, gender, and case. Based
on the person, the personal pronoun is of three types: first person, second
person, and third person. Each person again has two forms based on number:
first person singular (I), first-person plural (we), second-person singular
(you), second person plural (you), third-person singular (he, she, it),
third-person plural (they).
Based on gender personal pronoun is of four types. They are masculine gender (he), feminine gender (she), neuter gender (it), and common gender (they, he/she). To avoid gender biases, we should use both he and she to replace a common noun because a common noun indicates both male and female. Understanding gender is important to avoid gender biases from our writing and speech. Look at the examples below to notice how to avoid gender biases.
- A student should work hard. He or she should not spend time unwisely.
As “student”
may point to both male and female, you should use both “he” and “she” to avoid
gender biases.
A pronoun is of three types from the perspective of the case. The case is of three types—nominative case, possessive case, and objective case. A pronoun of the nominative case is used as a subject. Nominative case includes “I”, “we”, “you”, “he”, “she”, “it”, and “they”. The words in bold below are the nominative case because they are subjects.
- I selected her.
- She told me the story.
- You know it.
- He also knows it.
- It has been brought yesterday.
- They are playing football.
A pronoun of the possessive case shows ownership. “My”, “our”, “your”, “his”, “her”, “its”, “their”, “yours”, “mine” “ours”, “theirs”, “hers” are the possessive case. The possessive case is again sub-divided into two groups: possessive adjective (“My”, “our”, “your”, “his”, “her”, “its”, “their”) and absolute possessive pronoun (“yours”, “mine” “ours”, “theirs”, “hers”). Possessive adjectives behave like an adjective but absolute possessive pronouns (ours, yours, theirs, etc.) cannot behave like an adjective.
- This is my building. (Possessive Pronoun)
- It is her book. (Possessive Pronoun)
- It is their house. (Possessive Pronoun)
- This building is hers. (Absolute Possessive Pronoun)
- This car is ours. (Absolute Possessive Pronoun)
Possessive
adjectives can modify a noun. So, “my”, “her” and “their” are possessive
adjectives. On the other hand, absolute possessive pronouns cannot modify a noun.
They behave just like a pronoun. So, “hers” and “theirs” are absolute
possessive pronouns. But, both possessive adjectives and absolute possessive
pronouns show ownership.
Objective case includes “her”, “him”, “it” “me”, “you”, and “them”. They are used as objects.
- I saw her.
- We love him.
- She gave me a letter.
- We bought it from Jamuna Future Park.
- We have selected them.
Demonstrative
Pronoun:
Demonstrative pronoun includes “this”, “these”, “that”, and “those”. We use demonstrative pronouns when we want to refer to someone or something who/which/that is near or far from us. Some examples can make you understand better:
- This is my car.
- That is yours.
- These are my cars.
- Those are made in Japan.
Keep in mind that demonstrative pronouns can behave like an adjective if they sit before a noun. Yes, a demonstrative pronoun can modify a noun sitting before that noun. Look at the examples below:
- This car is mine.
- That building is theirs.
- These cars are made in Japan.
- Those cars are very expensive.
"This"
is used to point to a specific person or thing near us. "These" is
the plural form of "this". So, we can use "these" if we
want to point to more than one person or thing near us.
"That"
and "those" carry the opposite meaning of "this" and
"these" respectively. "That" is used to point to a specific
person or thing far from us. "Those" is the plural form of
"that". So, we can use "those" if we want to point to more
than one person or a thing far from us.
Here, you can see those demonstrative pronouns; “this”, “these”, “that”, and “those” are modifying the nouns “car”, “building”, “car”, and “cars” respectively. Look at some more examples:
- This tastes good.
- Have you seen this?
- These are bad times.
- Do you like these?
- That is beautiful
- Look at that!
- Those were the days!
- Can you see those?
- This is heavier than that.
- These are bigger than 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.
Distributive
Pronoun:
A distributive pronoun considers members of a group separately, rather than collectively. They include each, any, neither, none, and others. Note that a distributive pronoun is always singular and it should be followed by a plural noun and singular verb. Some examples can heighten our understanding.
- Each of the players plays well.
- Either of the students is meritorious.
- Either of the newspapers is in English.
- Neither of these cars is mine.
- Any of you has the right to join our national team.
- None of you is responsible.
- We cannot blame others.
There is a
sharp difference between “each” and “every”. “Each” is used when the number of
people is small and definite. On the other hand, we can use ‘Every’ when the
number is indefinite.
“Either” means
any one of the two people or things. “Neither” means none of the two people of
things.
You can use
“any” if you want to mean one or some of a thing or one or some of a number,
irrespective of how
many or how
much.
“None” means not a single person. You cannot use “none” to point to any inanimate object. ‘None’ can be used to refer to any living creature.
Relative
Pronoun:
The role of a relative pronoun is to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. You see them used very often. The relative pronouns are “who”, “whom”, “whose”, “which”, “that”, “what”, and “where”.
Who, whom,
and whose
Both “who” and “whom” refer to people. However, while “who” is used to refer to a subject, “whom” is used to refer to an object. In other words, while who refers to the subjective case (I, he, she, we, they, etc.), “whom” points to the objective case (us, him, her, them, etc.) “Whom” is the objective form of “who”; the possessive form of “who” is ‘whose.’ So, ‘who’ has two forms: objective and possessive.
- He who studies regularly can obtain a good grade.
- I know them whom you met yesterday.
The sense of possession is shown by the usage of “whose.”
- The person whose son stood first in our class is a teacher.
- The tree whose branches give us shadow is fifty years old.
“Which” can refer to both animal and object.
- English is a language that is spoken all over the world.
- The car which you bought last month was made in Japan.
“That” can indicate people, animals, and things
- I came across a snake that looked so frightening to me.
- The car that looks red is my favorite one.
- The classes that are held every Wednesday are taken by an English teacher.
- I care about my university and the students that I teach.
- The owner should take care of the factory and the workers that work there.
Note: We use ‘who’ when we want to point to people and ‘that’ when we want to refer to any object. However, we can also use “that” if we talk about a team or type or class of people.
“What” indicates nonliving things.
- Can you raise your voice? I cannot hear what you are saying.
- Do what you like to do.
“Where” refers to places.
- I know the place where he was born.
- This is the place where I love to come again and again.
From the above discussion, you have come to know that a relative pronoun ensures conjoining modifying information about its antecedent, be it a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
Reflexive
Pronoun:
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).
English reflective pronouns are “myself”, “yourself”, “oneself”, “himself”,
“herself”, “itself”
Plural forms
are: “ourselves”, “yourselves”, “themselves”. A reflexive pronoun can have
several usages.
Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. Some examples can clarify your understanding:
- She hurts herself.
- I, very often, reward myself.
A reflexive pronoun can sit as an indirect object.
- He is going to buy books for himself.
- They will build a house for themselves.
Reflexive pronouns can be used after prepositions if you want to mean that you are doing something alone, or you may avoid prepositions.
- I have finished my homework by myself.
- I myself have finished my homework.
- You have to make breakfast by yourself.
- You yourself have to make breakfast.
Reflexive pronouns are not used after the preposition “with”.
Wrong: I brought some books with myself.
Correct: I brought some books with me.
Reflexive
pronouns are not used after the preposition of place.
Wrong: Do not sit beside herself.
Right: Do not sit beside her.
Wrong: Do not stand behind himself.
Right: Do not stand behind him.
Reciprocal
Pronoun:
We use the reciprocal pronoun “each other” and “one another” when two or more people do the same thing. Traditionally, “each other” refers to two people, and “one another” refers to more than two people, but this distinction is disappearing in modern English.
- Rahim and Ruma love each other. = Rahim loves Ruma and Ruma loves Rahim.
- We sent each other Christmas card. = We sent them a Christmas card and they sent us a Christmas card.
- They didn’t look at one another. = he didn’t look at her and she didn’t look at him
We also use the possessive forms: each other’s and one another’s:
- They helped to look after each other’s children.
- We often stayed in one another’s houses.
Note: We do not use reciprocal pronouns as the subject of a clause.
Indefinite
Pronoun:
An indefinite
pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing, or amount. It is vague
and “not definite”.
Let's be
familiar with indefinite pronouns:
everybody, everyone, everything, anyone, anybody, anything, nobody, no one, nothing, somebody, someone, something, each, many, much, little, all, any, none, some
Note: Based on
context, an indefinite pronoun can be singular, plural or both
Nobody, everybody, everyone, something, anything, nothing, each, either, neither, no one, someone—they all always take a singular verb.
Examples:
- Everybody in this school is meritorious.
- Somebody is following us.
- Anyone is expected to perform on the stage.
- Each has equal rights.
- Something is interesting.
- Everyone is happy.
Few, many, several,
both, and others take plural verbs.
Examples:
- Few are requested to enter the room.
- Others are requested to wait.
- Many employers are torturers. (Many points to employers)
However, some
indefinite pronouns (all, any, some, many, more, most, and none) may take
either a singular or a plural verb. The singularity and plurality of the
indefinite verb depend on the noun the indefinite pronouns refer to.
Examples:
- All the players are happy.
- All the milk has been poured into a glass.
- Most of the water has been drunk.
- Most of the students are happy.
- Some of the students are meritorious.
- Some of the cake is stolen by a rat.
- None of them are ill-mannered.
- None of the juice is tasty.
- More of your performance is required for the team.
- More of the meritorious students were awarded.
Interrogative
Pronoun:
There are some interrogative pronouns used for making questions. They are “who”, “whom”, “which”, “what”, and “whose”, “whoever”, “whatever”, “whomever”, “whichever”. We know that a pronoun sits in the place of a noun. An interrogative pronoun also sits in the place of a noun. However, this noun remains hidden in the form of unknown information that the sentence asks about.
Who and Whom
Though both “who” and “whom” refer to a person or people, there is a difference between them: “who” can be used both as a subject and as an object, but “whom” is used only for an object.
- Whom do you talk to? (“You” is the subject; “do” is the auxiliary verb; “talk” is the main verb, and “whom” is the object.)
- Who do you talk to? (“You” is the object; “do” is the auxiliary verb; “talk” is the main verb, and “who” is the object.)
- Who invited you? (subject) (“You” is the subject; “invited” is the verb, and “who” is the object.)
- Whom invited you? (This sentence is wrong because “whom” cannot act as a subject.
Another thing you should remember is that “whom” is very formal. Native speakers hardly use ‘whom’ in their daily speech.
What, which,
and whose
“What” is used to refer to a thing or things. “What” can be used as an adjective. It means “what” can be used with a noun head.
- What is it? (Interrogative Pronoun)
- What are you thinking? (Interrogative Pronoun)
The answer of the interrogative pronoun “what” becomes either an object or an abstract concept. Now see how “what” can be used as an adjective. It means that we can use “what” with a noun head. Here, “what” modifies the noun head.
- What personality do you like most?
- What number is the road?
You can use “which” to refer not only to things but also to people. ‘Which’ can be either singular or plural; “Which” can be used as an adjective. It means that we can use “which” with a noun head.
- Which is yours? (Interrogative Pronoun)
- Which did you want? (Interrogative Pronoun)
- Which car is yours (As an adjective)
- Which pen do you want? (As an adjective)
“Whose” refers to a person, implying a sense of possession. “Whose” can also be an adjective. It is thought that “whose” is the possessive form of “who”. As “who” is a relative pronoun for human beings and “which” and “that” are for animals and objects, sometimes, we become confused to use “whose” as a possessive form of “which” and “that”. However, writers and poets have been using “whose” as a possessive form of all these three relative pronouns because “which” and “that” do not have any equivalent. So, using “whose” is the only option.
- I know the person whose pen you borrowed yesterday.
- This is the story whose characters are brilliantly engineered.
- This is my cat whose tail is quite long.
- Whose is this car? (Interrogative Pronoun)
- Whose car is this? (As an adjective)
By adding the suffix ‘ever’ to the interrogative pronoun, we can generate emphasis. We can also use “whoever”, “whomever”, “whatever”, to make a statement.
- Whoever invited you? (It means that “I” simply cannot guess who has invited “you”.)
- Whomever did you invite? (It says that I do not have any idea about the person you invited.)
While “whoever” is a subject pronoun, “whomever” is an object pronoun. It means that when “whoever” can replace I, we, you, he, she, it, and they, “whomever” can replace me, us, her, him, and them.
- Whatever have you done? (I indicate that I simply do not have any idea about what you have done)
- Whichever will I choose? (It means that I have no idea which one I should choose)
Chapter five will be on “Pronoun Reference” where you will come to know the mistakes you make while dealing with the pronoun in your writing and speech.
Exercise
a. each b. your c. this d. he
2. Which one is a personal pronoun?
a. each other b. which c. myself d. they
3. Chose the reflexive pronoun.
a. every b. himself c. that d. yours
4. Can you identify the indefinite pronoun?
a. everybody b. one c. some d. all
5. Which of the following is a reciprocal pronoun?
a. each other b. one another c. either d. a and b
6. Choose the distributive pronoun.
a. something b. those c. each d. myself
a. myself b. ours c. one another d. our
a. who b. what c. whose d. all
9. Identify the personal pronouns.
a. I, you, my something, somebody c. I, my, your, he, it, yours
b. he, they I, you, myself, something d. this, this, that, those
10. Which ones are indefinite pronouns?
a. myself, himself, themselves c. each other one another
b. mine, yours, theirs, hers d. someone, everything, somebody
11. Identify the pronouns which belong to the nominative case.
b. mine, ours, theirs d. my, mine, your, yours
12. Identify the pronouns which belong to the possessive case.
a. he, she, I, they c. my, your, our, their
b. mine, ours, theirs d. my, mine, your, yours
13. Identify the pronouns which belong to the objective case.
a. he, she, I, they c. my, your, our, their
b. mine, ours, theirs d. my, mine, your, yours
a. Everybody, everything c. Few, others, many, both
b. More, most, some, none d. Somebody, anybody, something
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