Pronouns - Part 1

 PRONOUNS  are an important topic of English.  

Definition of Pronouns is given below - 

Pronouns are words which replace nouns or are used in place of nouns. 

The pronouns are frequently used in language.  

Example - 1. Mohan is a leader. He has good communication skills.  

2. The Red Fort is a famous monument.  It is in New Delhi . 

3. These boys are playing.  They are very happy. 

4. Suresh is a painter. His picture is so nice.  

In above sentences,  he - refers to Mohan,   It - to Red Fort, 'they' - to boys  & his - to Suresh are PRONOUNS.  

Types of Pronouns  - PRONOUNS are of different types - 

1.  Personal Pronoun - This Pronoun refers to a person.  The word 'personal' is derived from person. 

It has 3 sub types - 

A. 1st person  - It refers to the speaker. 

 Example -  I & We. 

I is singular while  We is Plural.  

More forms of 1st person  - 

I.        My.      Me.     Mine.      Myself 

We.    Our.    Us       Ours.       Ourselves 

Note - I & We are used as subjects. 

          - My & Our are used as possessive  adjectives. 

          - Me & Us are used as objects.

         - Mine & Ours are used as possessive pronouns.

        - Myself & Ourselves  are used as reflexive Pronouns.  

Example - 

1. I am going to Delhi tomorrow.  

2. Our school is very big. 

3. This book is mine. 

4. I did it myself.

B. 2nd Person  -  It refers to the listener . 

Example  - You

Note  - You is both singular & plural.  

More Forms of 2nd Person  - 

You.     Your.   You.    Yours.  Yourself/yourselves 

You                                  - as Subject 

Your.                               - as possessive Adjective 

You                                 - object 

Yours.                            - as possessive Pronoun 

Yourself/yourselves    - as reflexive Pronoun 

Look at following phrases - 

My school,  your book, her brother,  their bicycles,  its price etc.

Example  - 

1. Anil, you are the best student of the class. 

2. You and your brother are selected in school team. 

3. This bicycle is not yours. This is mine. 

4. That is your house. 

5. Rita, you have to do this task by yourself. 

Note - 'yourself ' is used for singular & 'yourselves ' is used for plural.  

C. Third Person  -  It refers to the person who is not present on the scene. This person  is being discussed by Speaker & Listener.  

Example  - He, She, They, It 

More Forms of 3rd Person  - 

He.        His.         Him.         His.        Himself 

She.      Her.        Her.          Here.     Herself 

They.   Their.     Them.     Theirs.    Themselves 

It.          Its.           It.            Its.            Itself 

- He, She, They & It - are used as Subjects.

- His, her, their & its are used as possessive adjectives. 

- Him, her, them & it are used as objects. 

- His, Her S, theirs & its are used as possessive pronouns. 

- Himself,  Herself,  Themselves & itself are used as possessive pronouns.  

Note - He is singular in Masculine Gender. 

         - She is singular in Feminine Gender.  

         - They is used for plural in all cases (living  & non living beings) . 

          - It is used for singular non living things & birds & Animals.  

Examples - 

1. Amit is an engineer.  He is very knowledgeable.  

2. Rahul is a player.  This is his bat. 

3. The students can do it themselves.

4. A book is our best friend.  It gives us knowledge.  

5. The students have done their work.  

6. A dog is a faithful animal.  It watches our houses. 

Note - He & She are also used for living beings  (birds & Animals) in case we know if it is male or female.

1.  I have a dog. He is very smart. I like him so much.  (He & him are used for  dog).

2. There was a monkey in a forest.  He was very mischievous.  

Exercise - 1

Fill in the blanks with Personal Pronouns - 

1.  Sangeet is a sincere boy. ..... is very helpful. (He, my, him).

2. The books are lying at sixes and sevens. Let's arrange ....... . (they, them, theirs)

3. These are. .... bicycles.  (you,  your, yours)

4. Those fields are .......... . (you, your, yours)

5. You can praise ......... easily.  (You, yours, yourself) 

6. A tiger is a noble animal.  ..... is a beast of prey. (he, his, him).

7. Ravinder gave .... a new pen. (My, I, me) 

8. Arjun has already finished all ..... work.  (He, him, his). 

9. The birds are flying in the sky. ...... look very happy. ( theirs, them, they)

10. I have a cat. ..... is very cute. (He, she, it).

Editing  - Correct the Pronouns used in following lines- 

1. The children are doing there work. 

2. The captain ordered him boys to play well. 

3. The Child blamed his for the mistake.  

4. The elephant loves it baby.

5. This is my book but that is your.  

6. You have to do it by yours. 

7. Arun is writing me letter. 

8. Sonu and Monu will go to Delhi with his

parents.  

9. Little girl has lost hers matchbox. 

10. The Principal has taken my oath. 

2. Reflexive Pronoun  - 

These Pronouns reflect the subject itself.  The word 'reflexive ' is derived from 'reflect'. 

Example - myself,  himself,  Herself,  yourself,  'yourselves,  itself  etc. 

Note - self or selves are added to the possessive Adjective or objective Pronouns.  

      - My into myself 

      - Your into yourself or yourselves .

       - His into himself. 

       - her into herself 

       - Him into himself 

       - them into themselves  

       - it into itself. 

Exercise  - 

1. He praised himself for the victory.  

2. The students injured themselves.  

3. The leader presented himself to lead the people.  

4. The buffalo hit itself as it ran fast. 

3. Interrogative Pronoun - 

These pronouns refers to Questions. 

 Example  - who, whose, whom, what, Which,  where etc. 

These words are used as interrogative Pronouns when they show person,  place,  thing in question.  

Exercise - 

1. Who is at the door? 

2. There are two books. Which is yours? 

3. What is your father?  

4. Where were you born? 

5. What are you reading?  

4. Demonstrative Pronouns - 

These pronouns indicate nouns in singular form and Plural form. 

Example  - This, that, these , those.  

This & that are singular.

These & Those are plural.  

This & these are used for nearness. 

That & those are used for distance. 

Example  - 

1. This is a book and That is a newspaper.  

2. These bicycles are very beautiful.  

3. Who broke this window pane?  

4. Those flowers are so beautiful and nice.  

5. That man is my father.  Is this man your uncle? 

Exercise  - Fill in the blanks with 'personal',  Interrogative,  reflexive and Demonstrative Pronouns - 

1. ..... have done. .   ..... work.  (1st Person) 

2. ...... is ........ father?  (Interrogative & 2nd Person) 

3. Sunil did this job by ............... .(Reflexive Pronoun) .

4. Amit brought. .......  a big name when he won the trophy. (Reflexive or interrogative) 

5. They did the job ....... ........ . (himself / themselves) 

6. ......... city do you live in?  (What,  which, why)

7. There are some good books in the library.  ....... have some good stories.  (It, their, they)

8. Mrs Tondon is a nice lady. .......... husband is an official.  (She, her, hers)

9. The cattle are grazing in the field.  ....... look so good.  (Theirs, they, their)

10. There is a crow in the tree. .......... is creating a noise. (He, she, I) 

11. I went to watch the match. ........ was very interesting.  (He, she, it, you) 

12. I live in this city but he lives in. ....... town. (This, those, that)

13. This is my house but that is .......... . (your, you, yours)

14. ............... apples are very sweet.  (This, that, Those, mine)

15. ........ sent you this letter? (Which, who, whose).

Note - We discussed 4 Types of PRONOUNS here.

We shall discuss other parts of Pronouns in part -2.