Pronoun

 

Introduction

Definition Pro means 'for' or 'acting as’.

Pronoun is used as a substitute for a noun or a noun phrase. In other words, it has all the characteristics of a noun: it can function as a subject/object/complement in a sentence. A pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of nouns or noun phrases:

1. Suresh went to the market because Suresh wanted to buy a pen. i.e. Suresh went to the market because he wanted to buy a pen.

2. Walking is a form of exercise. Walking is easier than swimming. i.e. Walking is a form of exercise. It is easier than swimming. But a pronoun is different from a noun in that it cannot take a premodifying adjective nor can it take a determiner or a prefix/suffix. The form of a pronoun is fixed.

 

Kinds of Pronouns

There are nine kinds of pronouns:

i) Personal Pronouns

ii) Possessive Pronouns

iv) Demonstrative Pronouns

v) Reflective Pronouns

vii) Relative Pronouns

viii) Interrogative Pronouns

ix) Indefinite Pronouns

 

Personal pronouns

I, we, you, he, she, it, they  

These seven pronouns are called personal pronouns. On the basis of their role in a speech act, these can be divided into three:

First Person, Second Person, Third Person

Possessive pronouns

my, our, your, his, her, their, its (determiners)

mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, its (predicative use)

They are used to express ownership/possession/relationship.

Determiners are followed by a noun.

This is my room.

The possessive pronoun in its predicative use cannot be followed by a noun.

We don't say:

This is mine room.

We say:

The room is mine.

Note: It is always used as a determiner, never as a predicative.

           This is a lock and that is its key. (not, ... that key is its.)

 

Reciprocal pronouns

each other, one another

These are used to express mutual/reciprocal relationship:

They love each other/one another.

Like any other pronoun, each other and one another have no intrinsic reference; therefore, they have to have an antecedent. But unlike other pronouns, these cannot normally appear as the subject of a main clause because the antecedent should be in the sentence itself. Typically, these occur as object of a verb or a preposition in a sentence that has a plural subject.

1. No two artists approve of each other's works.

   But we cannot say:  

2. If there are two children of the same age it is always good to put them in the same class. Each other can help in doing the homework.

But we can say:

The children can help each other in doing the homework.

Even though there are enough contextual clues in (2) as to the antecedent of each other the sentence is not possible.

Note: Traditional grammar makes a distinction between each other and one another. It requires that each other be used of only two people/things and one another of more than two. In current English both are used interchangeably, with a slight preference for each other.

 

Demonstrative pronouns

this, that, these, those

They are used to point to (demonstrate) people or things they stand for:

1. This is our new house.

2. That is the bridge built by the British.

Demonstrative pronouns have number contrast: this these that those The basic function of demonstratives is to indicate the nearness or distance of the person or object referred to, from the speaker. Some of the uses of demonstrative pronouns are shown below:

a) When pointing:

     This is my brother, Ravi. That is his new car.

b) When a specific category is implied:

     Those who apply late will not be considered.

c) When there is a reference to a previous statement or a statement that follows:

   This is what I told them.

   That is my opinion on the matter.

Note: Difference between it and this

It is a personal pronoun, whereas this is a demonstrative pronoun. As a demonstrative pronoun this indicates nearness and also identifies a person or thing. The use of it does not convey these shades of meaning, so this is preferred to it for making a formal announcement or introduction:

This is All India Radio giving you the news. (not, it)

Mum, this is Iaya, my friend. (not, it)

In an answer, however, it is preferred to this when a contracted form is used.

What's this?

It's a new electronic device. (not, this)

But when a contracted form is not used, this is okay.

What is this?

This is a new electronic device.

 

Reflexive pronouns

Form: A reflexive pronoun is formed by attaching self/selves to the objective form of the pronoun:  

myself, ourselves, yourself/selves, himself, herself, themselves, itself

a) A reflexive pronoun is used as a substitute for a noun in the objective case i.e., as a direct object:

Govind saw Govind in the mirror.

Govind saw himselfin the mirror.

This is used to avoid an awkward construction 'Govind ... Govind' . Gayatri laughed at Gayatri.    Gayatri laughed at herself.

Note: Reflexive means 'bent back', i.e. 'bending the subject back to the subject.'

A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and the object refer to the same person or thing.

This can be seen from the agreement between the subject and the reflexive object:

I saw myself in the mirror.

We dressed ourselves in the kitchen.

You sent yourself a birthday card.

They wrote themselves a 'Thank you' note.

He hurt himself while playing.

She taught herself the piano.

One should avail oneself of this chance.

 

b) It can be used as an indirect object as well:

Sujatha made herself a new dress.

Raghu gives himself airs.

 

Relative pronouns

who, whom, which, what, that

A relative pronoun relates or refers back to a noun or pronoun called its antecedent. It also joins clauses. So it is a pronoun as well as a conjunction.

Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses and noun clauses:

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

I don't know who is standing at the gate.

Which is used also as a sentence relative pronoun to introduce the relative c in a sentence:

They eat snakes, which is unusual.  

 

 

Interrogative pronouns

Who, whom, whose, which, what

The forms of relative pronouns and interrogative pronouns are identical, but their functions are different:

the former join clauses, the latter ask questions.

a) Who can come as the subject or as the object in a clause. Here who refers only to persons, not to things:

Who discovered America? (as subject)

Who did you invite for lunch? (as object)

Who are you talking about? (as object of the preposition)

In current English, whom is rarely used as the object; who is the preferred form.

 

b) Whose is the possessive form of who;

it can stand for both animate and inanimate nouns in interrogative expressions.

Do you know whose book won the award this year? (refers to author)

I borrowed a book from the library whose pages are all torn. (refers to book)

 

c) Which is used for both people and things when there is an implied choice or selection:

Which card game do you like to play?

Which teacher do you like best?

 

d) What as subject or object is used to refer to things only:

What is in your pocket?

What's wrong with you?

Note: a) Who is used for asking questions about a person's name, what for seeking information about a person's profession.

Who is that gentleman talking to your father?

He is Mr Reddy. What is he?

He is an artist.

 

b) Which presupposes a set and the person is being asked about his choice. What, on the other hand, does not presuppose any set and there is no choice implied.  

Which do you want?

The red one.

What do you want?

Some coffee.  

 

 

Indefinite pronouns

constitute a heterogeneous set. One can go about classifying them differently using different criteria.

A) Universal pronouns:

      each, every, all

Each refers to two or more people or things, whereas every refers to three or more. Further, each presupposes a set (supplied by the context), every does not.

Rajeev walked into the room and gave a sweet to everyone (not, each) Both each and every take of-constructions following them. So does all. All can occur immediately before a noun.

Therefore, it is more like a determiner. At times a definite article can intervene between all and the noun.

All the girls want to imitate Karen.

Each of you should attend the function.

Every one of them came to see me in hospital.

 

Assertive pronouns:

There are five sub-classes in this:

a) much,                                              many

    more               Milk                     More                 hats

    most                                            Mosy

 

b) little, less, least, few, fewer, fewest

Less goes with uncountable nouns and fewer with countable nouns.

Occasionally, less can be found with count nouns, too. Expressions denoting periods of time, sums, of money etc. take less.

There is less orange juice in my glass.

There are fewer public holidays this year.  

 

c) several, enough

Several occurs with plural countable nouns only. Enough can occur with both countable and uncountable nouns. Enough, unlike several, can precede or follow the head noun.

Hanif and I met and spoke to several craftsperson at the fair.

Have you packed enough food for a day?

Have you packed food enough for a day?

 

d) one

    The use of one as a pronoun is typical of British English. In American English his is used in place of     one's.

One should love one's neighbour.

One should not think too much of oneself.

In question tags we/you is preferred to repeating one.

One cannot live all alone, can we/you? (not, one)

One/ones can substitute for a countable noun.

This mirror has cracked.

I need to buy a new one.

These grapes are sour.

I like sweet ones.

One can be premodified by the, that, this and which.

I have read a number of stories, but this is the one I like best.

I don't fancy this model, can I have that one?

Which one? The one in the corner?

One/ones is usually left out after these/those/either/neither/firstllastlnext.

These cars are smaller than those. (not, those ones)

The last to arrive was the blind man. (not, last one)

Here are two shirts. You can take either. (not. either one)

 

e) someone, somebody, something

Some usually goes with positive statements/questions.

Something must be done before it is too late.

Can someone help me with accounts?

I hope somebody picks up the phone.

 

C) Non-assertive pronouns:

a) anyone, anybody, anything

Any, unlike some, has some special occurrence properties. It does not occur with positive statements unless there is a modal element like can/will. A negative also can licence any.

The citizens will not believe anything. (not, The citizens believe anything).

I can challenge anybody.

b) either

Either as a pronoun refers to one out of a set of two. Note that either is always singular.

Either you make up your mind quickly, or we leave you and go.

Either of the two proposals is acceptable to me.

 

Negative pronouns:

 

a) no, no one, nobody, none, nothing

No can precede a 'noun, therefore it is like a determiner.

Madhuri showed no interest in the new film.

The rest of the n- series have only nominal function.

These generally take an affirmative verb; they do not allow a not in the sentence.

The police did nothing to control the mob. (not, The police could not do nothing.)

There are certain varieties of non-standard English where a double negative is common.

 

b) neither  

Neither is the negative counterpart of either. It is always used in the singular. It can come before a noun. Neither of the allegations is true. Neither allegation is true.

 

Pronouns: Number

Like nouns, pronouns too, have number. But the number system of pronouns is different from that of nouns because an s is not added to pronouns to turn them into plural.

The singular and plural forms of pronouns are fixed.

singular                                                                                                                plural

I, me, my, mine, myself                                                                  we, us, our, ours, ourselves

you, your, yours, yourself                                                                 you, your, yours, yourselves

he, his, him, himself                                                        she, her, hers, herself they, them, their, theirs, themselves

it, its, itself, one, oneself                                               this, that, much, little these, those, ones, both, many, some

each, either, neither, few, each other, one another

none, no one, someone, anyone, everyone

somebody, nobody, anybody, everybody

something, nothing, anything, everything

 

Note: you, all, any, some, none, who, which and that can be used in both numbers.

You are a clever fellow.

All is not lost.

You are brave men.

All are well here. (Thou, the singular second person pronoun is archaic.)

 

Pronouns: Gender

Gender is of four kinds:

i) Masculine

ii) Feminine

iii) Common

iv) Neuter

The gender system of pronouns is different from that of nouns because a suffix like ess is not used to mark gender distinctions.

The gender of pronouns is fixed.

i)                    Masculine pronouns he, him, his, himself

ii)                   ii) Feminine pronouns she, her, hers, herself

iii)                 iii) Common gender pronouns

 I, we, you, they                                                                                Personal Pronouns

mine, ours, yours, theirs                                                                Possessive Pronouns

myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves                                  Reflexive Pronouns

each other, one another                                                               Distributive Pronouns

each, either, neither everybody, nobody, anybody            Indefinite Pronouns somebody, everyone, no one anyone, someone, one none ho, which, what, that, Relative Pronouns who? which? what? Interrogative Pronouns iv) Neuter gender pronouns it, its, itself anything, nothing, something, everything  

 

 

Pronouns : Persons

Person is a grammatical category which has three divisions:  

The first person refers to the person speaking or writing (I, we), the second person to the person addressed (you) and the third person to the person spoken or written about (he, she, they).

In a speech situation the first and second person are necessarily present, the third person may or may not be present.

i)                    First person I, me, my, mine, myself, we, us, our, ours, ourselves

ii)                   Second person you, your, yours, yourself, yourselves

iii)                 Third Person he, his, him, himself, she, her, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, themselves 2.7

 

Summary

You have been given a detailed understanding of the pronouns in English in this unit.

Unit End Question

Fill in the blanks with the right alternative:

i)                    She doesn't obey parents. (his, her)

ii)                   It is who has broken this chair. (he, him)  

iii)                 He is not such a man can help us. (who, as)

iv)                 I don't know the man is standing there. (who, which)

v)                   One shouldn't betray friends. (one's, his) vi) ______ of the two sisters is married. (none, neither)

vi)                 ______ of the two boys will get a prize. (anyone, either)

vii)                ______ of the two girls has short hair. (each, everyone)

viii)              Every one of the guests has taken seat. (his, their)

ix)                 He and I believe in doing work sincerely. (my, our)

x)                   My watch broke yesterday is now useless. (that, which)

Choose the right alternative and fill in the blanks:

i)                    Who your food and money? (gives/does give)

ii)                   What the accident? (did caused/caused)

iii)                 What is she? She is. (Mary/a nurse)

iv)                 He acquitted as a statesman. (well/himself well)

v)                    ______ is the tallest girl in the class? (Which/What)

vi)                  ______ is he speaking to? (Who/Whom)

vii)               ______ he gone yet? (has/hasn't)  

viii)              Do you know who? (she is/is she)

ix)                 They are looking at. (he/him)

x)                   Who is he? He is. (a teacher/Rakesh)