Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. In a sentence it helps to avoid repetition of a noun.
Example
Jane (noun) went to the shop by car. Jane (noun) parked her car inside a shopping mall.
Use of Pronoun:
Jane (noun) went to the shop by car. She (pronoun) parked her car inside a shopping mall.
Different Types of Pronouns
It is important to understand the different types of pronouns.
- Personal Pronouns
- Possesive Pronouns
- Reflexive Pronouns
- Interrogative Pronouns
- Demonstrative Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
| Person | Singular |
|---|---|
| First | I/me |
| Second | you |
| Third | he/him |
| she/her | |
| it |
| Person | Plural |
|---|---|
| First | we/us |
| Second | you |
| Third | they/them |
Subject and Object Personal Pronouns
Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Object: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
SUBJECT
In a sentence the subject performs the action of the verb. A subject can be a person, a place or a thing.
Remember! A sentence must have a subject and a verb (action word).
| Subject | Example |
|---|---|
| I | I run every day. |
| You | You eat the cake. |
| He | He swims in the pool. |
| She | She smiles in the mirror. |
| It | It flew high. |
| We | We love dancing. |
| They | They walked home. |
OBJECT
We know a sentence must have a subject and a verb but some sentences may also have an object. An object can be a person, place or thing which receives the action shown by the verb. The object can come after a verb and a preposition.
Remember! A verb is a doing word and preposition are words related to nouns or pronouns.
| Object | Example |
|---|---|
| Me | He loves me. |
| You | I believe you. |
| Him | She talks to him. |
| Her | He smiled at her. |
| It | I found it. |
| Us | They followed us. |
| Them | We sang with them. |
Possessive Pronouns
A possesive pronoun is used to show possession of ownership.
| Person | Singular |
|---|---|
| First | mine |
| Second | yours |
| Third | his |
| hers | |
| its |
| Person | Plural |
|---|---|
| First | ours |
| Second | yours |
| Third | theirs |
Look at the table below to understand possesion of ownership.
| Subject | Example |
|---|---|
| Mine | She is a friend of mine. |
| Yours | The ball is yours. |
| His | His shoes are green. |
| Hers | The bag is not hers. |
| Its | Its engine is not working! |
| Ours | Ours is the chocolate and lime cake. |
| Theirs | The children went to the theatre with an old aunt of theirs. |
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question. The interrogative pronouns are in red.
- Who is that person?
- Whom are you travelling with?
- What is your name?
- Which year did you go to Brazil?
- When did you book the trip?
- Whose are these shoes?
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronoun are used when we talk about things that are near or far away.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Near By | This | These |
| Far Away | That | Those |
- This is my dog. (The dog is near by)
- That is a bungalow. (The bungalow is far away)
- These are my cooking books. (The books are near by)
- Those animals belong to the farm. (The animals are far away)
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are used to refer to the subject of the sentence and to emphasise.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Myself | Ourselves |
| Yourself | Yourselves |
| Himself/Herself/Itself | Themselves |
The subject is in blue and the reflexive pronoun is in red.
- She made herself a very hot cup of soup.
- You have to look after yourself!
- Tom is looking at himself in the mirror.
- Our cat cut itself jumping on a broken glass.
- I can look after myself.
- Kittens cannot look after themsleves.
- You all have to find yourselves a good career.
- We made the wedding cake all by ourselves.