PRONOUNS
READ THE FOLLOWING BOTH STORIES AND SEE THE DIFFERENCES.
Adam was an ancient Greek storyteller. Adam
lived 2500 years ago, around 550 BC. Some say Adam was a slave. The
person who owned Adam was so delighted with the stories which Adam
said that Adam was freed. The Greeks were like that. The Greeks rewarded
talent. That old legend could be true. Many years after Adam died,
people started to write down the fables Adam collected, so the fables
could be more easily shared.
Adam was an ancient Greek storyteller. He
lived 2500 years ago, around 550 BC. Some say he was a slave. The person
who owned he was so delighted with the stories which he said that
he was freed. The Greeks were like that. The Greeks rewarded talent.
That old legend could be true. Many years after he died, people started
to write down the fables he collected, so the fables could be more
easily shared.
Pronouns are the words which are used in
place of nouns. Pronouns avoid unnecessary and frequent repetition of nouns in
a sentence or a paragraph.
KINDS OF PRONOUNS
-
Personal
-
Interrogative
-
Relative pronouns
-
Possessive pronouns
-
Reflexive pronouns
-
Demonstrative pronouns
-
Distributive pronouns
-
Reciprocal pronouns
-
Indefinite pronouns
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
The words replacing names of persons things are called
Personal Pronouns.
PRONOUNS: I, WE, YOU, HE, SHE, IT, THEY
PERSONAL PRONOUNS HAVE THREE CATEGORIES CALLED PERSONS.
|
PERSON |
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS |
|
|
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
|
I |
I |
WE |
|
II |
YOU |
YOU |
|
III |
HE |
THEY |
|
SHE |
||
|
IT |
||
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AS SUBJECTS
EXAMPLES:
We played
carrom.
She has
a book.
They
were going to market.
I have
bought an umbrella.
You should
obey your parents.
It is
drinking milk.
He is a
genius person.
Personal Pronouns replaces the object of the sentence: me,
you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS AS OBJECTS
EXAMPLES:
We will be late if you don’t hurry up.
Priya sang a song to me.
Missing the bus will cause us to be late.
He packed them tightly in the briefcase.
I have more money than him.
They gave the books to them.
It will bite her again.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Persons of personal pronouns are decided on the basis of
the speaker, the listener and the person or thing spoken of.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
These pronouns are used to ask questions. These Pronouns
are (Wh-family) words: Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What.
Pronouns For People: Who, Whom, Whose, Which
Pronouns For Things: What, Which
Each of these Interrogative Pronouns indicates a
different function or application in the sentence.
Who –
Subject
What – Direct Object
Whom –
Indirect Object
Which –
Indication/ Selection
Whose –
Possession
EXAMPLES:
Who did
bring brownies?
What
does a cat do with its sharp teeth?
Whom did
they appoint the teacher of the school?
Which is
the government department that deals with children welfare schemes?
Whose was
the article published in the magazine?
Which is your bag?
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Demonstrative Pronouns represent a thing or things.
Demonstrative Pronouns are: This, that, these, those
“This & These” represent close by. “This” is used
with singular noun & “These” is used with plural noun.
“That & Those” represent far away. “That” is used
with singular noun & “Those” is used with plural noun.
EXAMPLES: THIS / THESE
This is
my bag.
This is
a study table.
Take this pen to write.
This is
a sour mango.
These are
the children who disturb always.
These
hills have trees on them.
These houses have red roofs.
EXAMPLES: THAT / THOSE
Is that your house?
I like that cap better.
That is
my shirt.
That
bird is yellow in colour.
Those are
some fresh fruits.
Those are
taller buildings.
Those are sweet mangoes.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Remember that this, that, these and those are
demonstrative adjectives when they are followed by nouns.
EXAMPLES: This book, That tree, These keys, those hills, etc.
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
If any of the Wh-family words (Who, whom, which, whose) or “that” is used in the middle of a sentence to refer to some already mentioned noun, it is called a relative pronoun.
USAGE OF RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Who, whom, whose – for persons
What – for things
That, which, whichever, whomever, whatever – for things and animals
EXAMPLES:
We went to the house of Peter, who is my best friend.
This is the boy whose parents are missing.
The Old Lady and Sea which is a famous novel.
Mr. Rao, whom I invited for dinner, is my neighbour.
This is the horse which won derby.
This is the lady, who helps me with my homework.
The crowd that had gathered to see the celebrity.
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive Pronouns are also types of personal pronouns.
They are used to show possession or ownership.
|
PERSON |
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS |
|
|
SINGULAR |
PLURAL |
|
|
I |
Mine |
Ours |
|
II |
Yours |
Yours |
|
III |
His |
Theirs |
|
Her |
||
|
Its |
||
EXAMPLES:
We have had her food.
Your bag is heavy but mine is light.
Is the book hers?
The house is theirs.
Are these crayons yours?
These socks are his?
These seats are theirs.
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS
The words, which treat a noun word in a one-at-a-time
manner, are called Distributive Pronouns.
Distributive Pronouns are: Each, Either, Neither, Everyone & None
EXAMPLES:
Each of
the winners received an award.
Either of
the cows can give five litres of milk.
Neither of
the shops was open at that time.
Everyone got
a chance to sing a song.
None of them agreed to the proposal.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Distributive pronouns are followed by verbs in the singular form.
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
The words, which convey the sense of reciprocation, are
called Reciprocal Pronouns. Paring of
the words one another and each other creates the sense of reciprocation.
Therefore, they are called Reciprocal Pronouns.
EXAMPLES:
Two bulls wounded each other with their horns in a fight.
We should all help one another in times of need.
Each other creates reciprocation between two nouns. One another creates reciprocation among more than two nouns.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Indefinite pronouns refer to something that is unspecified. Indefinite Pronouns are the words which fail to specify nouns or which indicate nouns in general.
USAGE OF INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something.
Plural: both, few, many, several
Singular/ Plural: all, any, most, none, some
EXAMPLES:
Someone has
stolen my purse.
Somebody
came and broke our flower vase.
Nobody
took notice of the wounded man.
No one attended
the annual general meeting.
Does anyone know the name of the smallest creature?
Would anybody provide me with food and shelter?
