Pronoun

     
 

PRONOUN

 
     
  Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.  
     
     
     
 
1.1    PERSONAL PRONOUNS
 
     
  The words I, You, He, She,  It, We and They are personal pronouns.  
     
 

a. She

Definition: Refers to a girl, a woman or a female animal.

For example:

- This is Salmah. She is a girl.

 
     
 

b. He

Definition: Refers to a boy, a man or male animal.

For example:

- This is Syafiq. He is a boy.

 
     
 

c. You

Definition: Refers to one person or many people you are speaking to.

For example:

You are tall.

 
     
 

d. It

Definition: Refers to an object, a plant, a place or an animal.

For example:

- This is a ball. It is round.

 
     
 

e. I

Definition: Refers to the person speaking or writing.

For example:

I am jumping.

 
     
 

f. We

Definition: Refers to a group including the speaker and at least one other person.

For example:

We are going on a trip.

 
     
 

g. They

Definition: Refers to people, animals, or things already mentioned or, more generally, to a group of people not clearly described.

For example:

They are a group of singers.

 
     
     
     
 
1.2    POSSESSIVE CASE
 
     
  Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns are also known as possessive case.  
     
  The word my, your, our, their, her, his and its are possessive adjectives.  
     
  The words mine, his, hers, yours, ours and theirs are possessive pronouns.  
     
 

a. Personal Pronouns

i.

For example:

I have a book.

 

ii. He

For example:

- He has a pen.

 

iii. She

For example:

She has a car.

 

iv. You

For example:

You have a kite.

 

v. We

For example:

We have a laptop.

 

vi. They

For example:

They have robots.

 
     
 

b. Possessive Adjectives

i. My

For example:

- That is my book.

 

ii. His

For example:

- That is his pen.

 

iii. Her

For example:

- That is her car.

 

iv. Your

For example:

- That is your kite.

 

v. Our

For example:

- That is our laptop.

 

vi: Their

For example:

- That is their robots.

 
     
 

c. Possessive Pronouns

i. Mine

For example:

- The book is mine.

 

ii. His

For example:

- The pen is his.

 

iii. Hers

For example:

- The car is hers.

 

iv. Yours

For example:

- The kite is yours.

 

v. Ours

For example:

- The laptop is ours.

 

vi. Theirs

For example:

- The robots are theirs.

 
     
 

Apostrophe ( ’s ) shows possession.

For example:

- Joshua’s computer is new.

- Angelina’s shoes are beautiful.

 
     
     
     
 
1.3    DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN
 
     
  Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point to specific objects. They take the place of a noun, noun phrase, activity, or situation. They always consist of this, these, that, those, and sometimes include none, neither, and such.  
     
 

SINGULAR

 
     
 

a. This: A person, place, thing that is close by or near. (Singular)

Other example:

This is where he works.

 
     
 

b. That: A person, place, thing that is at a distance or far. (Singular)

Other example:

That is an aeroplane.

 
     
     
 

PLURAL

 
     
 

a. These: People, places, things that are close by or near. (Plural)

Other example:

These are rolling pins.

 
     
 

b. Those: People, places, things that are at a distance or far. (Plural)

Other example:

Those are hot air balloons. 

 
     
     
     
 
1.4    INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS (WH-QUESTIONS)
 
     
  We use question words to ask certain types of questions.  
     
 

a. What

i. Asking for information about something.    

- What is your name?

ii. Asking for repetition or confirmation.    

- What? I cannot hear you.

- You did what?

 
     
 

b. Who

Asking what or which person or people (subject).

- Who opened the door?

 
     
 

c. When

Asking about time.    

- When did he leave?

 
     
 

d. Where

Asking in or at what place or position.    

- Where do they live?

 
     
 

e. Which

Asking about choice.   

- Which colour do you want?

 
     
 

f. Why

Asking for reason, asking what...for.    

- Why do you say that?

 
     
 

g. Whom

Used as the object of a verb or after a preposition when referring to a particular person or when adding information about a person just mentioned.

- He took out a photo of his son, whom he adores.

 

 
     
 

h. Whose 

Asking about ownership.    

- Whose are these keys?

- Whose turn is it?

 
     
 

i. How 

i. Asking about manner.    

- How does this work?

ii. Asking about condition or quality.   

- How was your exam?

 
     
  EXTRA NOTES  
     
 

How + adjective / adverb: Asking about extent or degree.

i. How far: Distance.  

- How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?

ii. How long: Length (time or space).    

- How long will it take?

iii. How many: Quantity (countable).    

- How many cars are there?

iv. How much: Quantity (uncountable).   

- How much money do you have?

v. How old: Age.    

- How old are you?

vi. How come: (Informal) asking for reason, asking why.    

- How come I can't see her?

 
     
     
     
 
1.5   REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
 
     
  A reflexive pronoun is used when we refer back to the subject of the sentence.  
     
 

Reflexive pronouns end in '-self' (singular) or '-selves' (plural).

For example:

- Yoona volunteers herself to help the children with disabilities.

- They were sitting around the fire and trying to keep themselves warm.

 
     
 
   Subject Pronoun       Reflexive Pronoun   
I Myself
You Yourself / Yourselves
They Themselves
We Ourselves
He Himself
She Herself
It Itself
 
     
 

We use 'by' before a reflexive pronoun to show that action is done without help.

For example:

a. Janet did all the work by herself.

 
     
     
     
 
1.6   RELATIVE PRONOUNS
 
     
  We use relative pronoun to join  sentences. Most commonly used relative pronouns include who, whom, which, that and whose.  
     
 

'Who' is used as the subject of the verb. We use 'who' for people. It is usually followed by a verb.

For example:

a. He is the man.

b. He helped me yesterday.

a + b = He is the man who helped me yesterday.

 
     
 

'Whom' is used as an object of the verb. We use 'whom' for people. It is usually followed by a noun or a pronoun.

For example:

a. The boy is my cousin.

b. I gave him some books.

a + b = The boy, whom I gave some books to, is my cousin.

 
     
 

'Which' is used to refer to animals or things. It can be used as the subject or an object of the verb. 

For example:

a. That is the hotel.

b. It burnt down last night.

a + b = That is the hotel which burnt down last night.

 
     
 

'That' is used for people, things and animal.

For example:

- Is this the train that goes to Braintree?

 
     
 

'Whose' is used to show the possessions of the people or animals.

For example:

- Do you know whose car that is?