ENG 1205: FEM

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence. Some examples of pronouns include I, me, mine,
myself, she, her, hers, herself, we, us, ours, and ourselves. The truth is that there are many different types
of pronouns, each serving a different purpose in a sentence.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronoun describes a particular person or thing or group.

Use of Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun

Number Person
Possessive Possessive
Subject Object
pronoun determiner
1st mine my
I Me Myself
Person

2nd yours your

Singular You You Yourself
Person

3rd Him, Her, His, hers, its His, her, its

He, She, It Himself, Herself, Itself
Person It

1st ours our

We Us Ourselves
Person

2nd yours your

Plural You You Yourselves
Person

3rd theirs their

They Them Themselves
Person

Examples

She is intelligent
He sent me a letter.
It is raining.
We love our country.
I met him yesterday.
He gave her a gift.

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Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Pronoun indicates close possession or ownership or relationship of a thing/person to another

thing/person. These are also called absolute possessive pronouns.

e.g. yours, mine, his, hers, ours, theirs, hers,

Examples
That car is hers.
Your book is old. Mine is new.
The pen on the table is mine.
The smallest cup is yours.
The voice is hers.
The car is ours not theirs.
I have lost my camera. May I use yours?
They received your letter. Did you received theirs.

Note: Possessive adjectives/ Possessive determiners (my, her, your) may be confused with possessive
pronouns. Possessive adjective modifies noun in terms of possession. Both possessive adjective and
possessive show possession or ownership, but possessive adjective is used (with noun) to modify the
noun while Possessive pronoun is used instead (in place of) a noun.

Examples

This is my book. (Possessive adjective: “my” modifies the noun “book”)

This book is mine. (Possessive pronoun: “mine” is used instead of noun “to whom the book belongs”)

Reflexive Pronoun

Reflexive pronoun describes noun when subject’s action affects the subject itself.
e.g myself, himself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves, itself are reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they require an interaction between the subject
and an object.

Examples
I looked at myself in the mirror.
You should think about yourself.
They prepared themselves for completion.
She pleases herself by think that she will win the prize.
He bought a car for himself.
He locked himself in the room.
He who loves only himself is a selfish.

Intensive (or Emphatic) Pronouns

Reflexive noun can also be used to give more emphasis on subject or object. If a reflexive pronoun is used
to give more emphasis on a subject or an object, it is called “Intensive Pronoun”. An intensive pronoun
(sometimes called an emphatic pronoun) refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence to
emphasize it (e.g., to emphasize that it is the thing carrying out the action).

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For example, she herself started to think about herself.

In the above sentence the first “herself” is used as intensive pronoun while the second “herself” is used as
reflexive pronoun.

Examples

I did it myself. OR. I myself did it.

She herself washed the clothes.
He himself decided to go to New York.
She herself told me.

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal Pronouns are used when each of two or more subjects reciprocate to the other. or
Reciprocal pronouns are used when two subjects act in same way towards each other, or, more subjects
act in same way to one another.

There are two reciprocal pronouns

 Each other
 One another.
Examples.
John and Marry are talking to each other.
The students gave cards to one another.
The people helped one another in hospital.
Two boys were pushing each other.
The car and the bus collided with each other.
The students in the class greeted one another.

Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronoun describes a noun which is mentioned before and more information is to be given about
it. Or Relative pronoun is a pronoun which joins relative clauses and relative sentences.

Examples.
It is the girl who got first position in class.
Adjective is a word that modifies noun.
The man whom I met yesterday is a nice person.
It is the planning that makes succeed.
The boy who is laughing is my friend.
It is the boy whose father is doctor.
The car which I like is red.

There is another group of words called Compound Relative Pronouns which are used in the same way:

 whoever  whosoever  whichsoever

 whomever  whatsoever  whomsoever

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 whatever  whosesoever  whichever

Examples:

Whoever left his umbrella here last night, please

Whatever was your reason for sending that letter?
take it home.
We will give it to whomever we please. You may wear whichever you like.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that points to a thing or things. These pronouns are used to
demonstrate (or indicate).
e.g. this, that, these, those, none, neither

Short distance or time: This, these.

Long distance or time: That, those.

Examples
This is black.
That is heavy.
Can you see these?
Do you like this?
John brought these.
Those look attractive.
Have you tried this.

Demonstrative Pronouns are used in place of nouns. Demonstrative Adjectives are used with nouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative Adjectives

This is my coat. ( This is the subject of the This coat belongs to me. (This modifies the subject
sentence.) COAT)
These used to fit me. (These is the subject of the These shirts must have shrunk in the laundry.
sentence.) (These modifies the subject SHIRT.)
Did you see that? (that is the object of the verb Did you see that crazy driver? (that modifies the
SEE.) object DRIVER.)
Two more of those greasy hot dogs would make me
Two more of those would make me sick. (those is
sick. (those modifies the object of the preposition,
the object of the preposition OF.)
HOT DOGS.)

Indefinite Pronouns
Unlike demonstrative pronouns, which point out specific items, indefinite pronouns are used for non-
specific things. This is the largest group of pronouns.

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 all  each one  few  nothing  several

 any  each other  many  one  some
 anybody  either  neither  one  somebody
 anything  everybody  nobody another  someone
 both  everyone  none  ones  something
 each  everything  no one  other  anyone
 others

Here are several examples so you can get a sense of how they are used.

All were ready to leave the party It is impossible to satisfy If I can't have what I want, I would
by midnight. everybody. rather have nothing.
Sheila's purse could have been Everything will be all right in Others may be allowed to stay out
taken by anybody. time. late, but you are not one of them.
Both tried to go through the Few were in the audience to see I was waiting for somebody, but
doorway at the same time. the horrible play. nobody came.
Something just flew over the
Each one gave their condolences Many left during the first
house. Did anybody see
to the grieving couple. intermission.
anything?
Most people waited in line
The flood victims tried to help Neither of the skaters was able to
patiently, but several tried to push
each other get to high ground. do the triple flip.
through the door.

Interrogative Pronouns
These pronouns are used in questions. Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not easy to see how
they replace nouns. Who, which, what, where and how are all interrogative pronouns.

Example:

 Who told you to do that?

 Which dog won the race?
 To whom does the car belong?
 There are some keys on the kitchen table. Whose are they?
 What is the problem with my car?

Exercises on Pronouns:

Exercise 1: Circle all of the pronouns in the following passage. Write above each pronoun what type it
is or how it is being used in the sentence.

Example: John took (his) brother and (mine) to the store so they could buy candy for (themselves).

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I felt terrible when I went to work last Friday. My back ached and my head ached so much that I told
myself I was crazy for going to work. Several guys were waiting near the time clock for the bell to
ring. They had already punched their time cards. For them, this was just another normal day. When I
made it to my department, my supervisor asked me which project I would prefer to start with. She was so
pleasant that I couldn't tell her that I didn't want to work on any of them. One of my fellow workers
offered to get the job set up for me. I said to her, "Thanks, but I would rather do it myself." At the end of
the morning, Sherry said to us all, "Who is going out for lunch?" Somebody else asked, "Which place are
you going to?" Sherry ignored the question and said, "Whoever is going with me better be ready when
the bell rings."

Exercises 2. Identify Pronouns/ Determiners

Exercise C. Recognize your antecedents. Look at the underlined pronouns and identify its antecedent. If
the pronoun has no antecedent, then simply specify “none” after the pronoun.

1. John himself arranged the books and listed the titles in his ledger.
2. The children lined up in the hall. Their shoes made a lot of noise and they even left a trail of dust
on the shiny floor.
3. The teacher said that nothing is sadder than a smart child who does not try.
4. All of the new teachers had to be closely supervised by the school administrator. Those who will
not be able to comply with the requirements will not be able to continue teaching.
5. The non-stop rains caused heavy flooding in the city. Its damage made the schools cancel their
classes.
6. Elizabeth Browning is a wonderful poet. Everybody ought to study at least one of her works.
7. It is very important to me not to keep other people from waiting especially those with urgent
concerns.
8. Reading is a very practical hobby. Schoolchildren should train themselves to do it constantly.
9. My mother asked Maya what she was arguing about with Eric earlier.
10. Both the athletes were skilful. They trained hard and it showed in their performances.

Exercise 3. Identifying the Different Kinds of Pronouns. Say whether the underlined word is a personal
(P), reflexive (RX) , intensive (IN), demonstrative (D), relative (RT), interrogative (IR), or indefinite
(ID) pronoun.

When the internet became accessible to the public, people all over the world turned to (1) their computers
to surf the virtual world. In the beginning, only a (2) few realized the significance of the internet and (3)
that (4) this will revolutionize the way we share information. Today, millions of people in the world use

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(5) their laptops and other gadgets to access information featured in various websites (6) each covering a
particular niche. It is a fact that the internet can be used as a learning aide, but educators are asking (7)
themselves regarding the dangers of too much information. Some consider that the dangers of the internet
far outweigh the benefits, which is why there are (8) those (9) who are calling for stricter regulations on
(10) it. Educators are afraid that adult content information may be easily accessed without prompting (11)
those young surfers (12) who access (13) them for learning purposes. The educators are asking: (14) Who
will make sure that young kids will not be exposed to pornography or excessive violence? Are web
administrators and hosts competent enough to consider (15) themselves as their own regulators or
censors? From this premise, parental tools were established to protect children from inappropriate
information. However, (16) others still believe that legislation is the key in order to penalize malicious
intent. Some consider this an intrusion to their free will. They contend that the internet is the place for
those (17) who wish to express their thoughts and opinions without any kinds of censorship. This is not
permissible especially if it is detrimental to our health and security. (18) We should know that
information can be very powerful. We are deceiving (19) ourselves if we believe that information is
merely a tool for self-expression. Our history will show that wars and even terrorism have emerged from
information falling into the wrong hands. (20) Whose dark history shall we repeat before we learn from
our mistakes?

Exercise 4. Replace the noun phrase with pronouns:

1. Give me the ball. It's (my ball) .
2. Look at the monkey ! (The monkey) is big.
3. Listen to Daisy ! (Daisy) is English.
4. The red pen is (your pen) .
5. The green socks are (my socks) .
6. Listen to M. Lamotte. (M. Lamotte) is the French teacher.
7. We have got a house. It is .
8. They have got a dog. It is .
9. Mr and Mrs Wilson are English. (Mr and Mrs Wilson) speak English.
10. Kate and I don't know. (Kate and I) don't understand.

Exercise 5: Circle the correct pronouns in the parentheses in the following sentences.

1. Mrs. Johnson took (his, her, hers) children with (her, herself, them) when (her, she, they) went to the
mall.

2. (Their, Them, They) behaved well for the first hour, but then the boredom began to affect (them,
themselves, they).

3. Rodney took off (his, her, their) own hat and left it with (those, these, them) he saw on a store rack.

4. (His, Him, Her) sister, Julia, decided to go shopping (himself, herself, herselves) and wandered away.

5. (Nobody, Some, Someone) called to (her, herself, hers), "Are (we, you, your) lost, little girl?"

6. Julia pretended that (her, she, he) heard (anybody, nobody, none) and kept walking away.

7. Soon, Mrs. Johnson realized that Rodney had no hat and (they, she, we) had no daughter.

8. Without worrying what (nobody, everybody, several) would think, (she, herself, they) called out
loudly, "Julia! (Your, You, Yours) get (yourself, yourselves, you self) back here right now!."

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Exercise 6: Fill in the gaps with pronouns.

Hi Daniel,
______ name is John. This is ____ friend Jason. ______sister is nine. Jason and I go to the same school.
There are 450 boys and girls in _______ school. Jason's form teacher is Mrs. Peterson. She has got a pet,
too. _______ pet is a tortoise. Now I have a question for you. What's _________pet?

Exercise 7: Write the correct pronouns in the blank spaces in the following sentences.

1. __________ wish ____________ could go to the movies together without _________ little brother.
2. The taxi driver told _________ passenger that _____________ might be late getting to the airport
because ________ was the middle of rush hour.
3. Jerry said that __________ hit ______________ with a hammer the last time ____________ tried to
hang a picture.
4. Would ____________ believe that ______________ in the office likes the boss?
5. "___________ is the color _____________ want for the walls," Ms. Murphy told _________
decorator.
6. ________________ leaves the garage door open should be more careful.
7. " Are ____________ sure that ____________ told ________________ about the surprise party?" Betty
asked.
8. "__________ am sure that the job was done right," Herman stated, "because the owner did it
_________________."
9. Mary said _____________ was not going to take the blame for __________________ else's mistakes.
10. "______________ of these sofas do ___________ prefer?" the salesman asked ____________
customer.

Exercise 8: Rewrite the following paragraphs using appropriate pronouns.

James and Mary were siblings. One day James and Mary returned from school. James and Mary were
very hungry and went straight into the kitchen. James and Mary wanted to eat something. In the kitchen
James and Mary saw a cat. The cat was drinking the milk mother had kept for James and Mary. James ran
out screaming. James was scared. James was always afraid of cats. Mary was a brave girl. Mary was not
afraid of anything. Mary shooed the cat away. The cat ran out. James saw the cat running away. James
came back into the kitchen. James praised Mary for Mary’s courage. Mary thanked James.

Exercise 9: Match pronouns with nouns

1. When (John, John and Joe) slipped on the step, he fell.

2. The (doctor, doctors) believed their diagnosis of a fracture was correct.
3. The (cat, cats) are eating their dinner now.
4. The cups are sitting in (its, their) saucers.
5. After they saw the show, (he, they) went out to dinner.

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6. Joe didn't think (he, they) should have to retake the test.
7. Sara and Jane rode (her, their) bicycles at 2:00 today.
8. The peony bushes have lost (its, their) petals.
9. (A person, People) should always try to be helpful to his or her classmates.
10. (Jack, Jack and Mary) make regular contributions to their church.

Read the passages below. Identify and correct errors in the use of nouns and pronouns.

Exercise 10
Each of the student must submit their assignment by Friday. Everyone should write their name on top of
the paper. John and myself went to the library to borrow some books, but the librarian said he cannot
issue books without a valid card. Between you and I, the rules seem very strict. The dog wagged it's tail
when it saw the children's toys.

Exercise 11

The committee has finished their discussion, and they will announce their decision soon. Every member
should bring their own copy of the agenda. Me and Sarah worked on the report together. The manager
told the staffs that they need to improve its performance. Each of the children have their own set of toys.

Exercise 12

Correct the errors in nouns and pronouns in the following passage.

Somebody forgot to leave their keys on the table. The flock of birds were flying in all directions. If
anyone calls, tell them I am not at home. Neither of the players have brought their bat. You should inform
the girls that she needs to prepare for the match.

More Exercises

Reflexive Pronoun:
1) Robert made this T-shirt________.
2) Lisa did the homework _______.
3) We helped ___________to some cola at the party.
4) Emma, did you take the photo all by__________?
5) I wrote this poem _________.
6) He cut ____________ with the knife while he was doing the dishes.
7) The lion can defend ____________.
8) My mother often talks to ___________.
9) Tim and Gerry, if you want more milk, help ___________.
10) Alice and Doris collected the stickers _____________.

More:
1) I can carry this heavy box ______________.
2) Marcus cut ___________while he was preparing supper.
3) I have been teaching __________ Russian for five years.
4) Has Yvonne hurt __________?
5) Patrick and Stephen, help __________ to some tea, please.

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6) The Pope _____________ visited our church.

7) Don't burn ____________! The oven is terribly hot.
8) "Claire, who wrote the theatre programme for your school?" - Claire:"I wrote it ________."
9) We're sorry, we don't know the way to the castle _____________.
10) Are Doreen and George married to ____________.

Relative pronoun:

1) This is the boy _________ had an accident.

2) Yesterday I saw a car _________ was really old.
3) Mandy is the girl _________ I met on Friday.
4) I haven't seen Frank, __________ brother is five, for a long time now.
5) The robber stole the car ___________ the lady parked in front of the supermarket.
6) This is the man _________ house is on fire.
7) Can I talk to the girl _________ is sitting on the bench?
8) The book x you gave me is great.
9) She likes hamburgers __________ are hot.
10) Bill Clinton, ____________ was President of the USA, has only one daughter.

More:
1) I talked to the girl _________ car had broken down in front of the shop.
2) Mr Richards, ________ is a taxi driver, lives on the corner.
3) We often visit our aunt in Norwich _________ is in East Anglia.
4) This is the girl _________ comes from Spain.
5) That's Peter, the boy ________ has just arrived at the airport.
6) Thank you very much for your e-mail __________ was very interesting.
7) The man, _________ father is a professor, forgot his umbrella.
8) The children, _________ shouted in the street, are not from our school.
9) The car, ________ driver is a young man, is from Ireland.
10) What did you do with the money _______ your mother lent you?

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