Download painless english – lesson 002 – pronouns

LESSON 2
PRONOUNS
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SHE ~ IT ~ THEM ~ THOSE ~
WHO ~ THIS ~ HE …
PROUNOUNS ARE USED IN
PLACE OF NAMES OF
PEOPLE, PLACE OR THINGS.
WITHOUT PRONOUNS:
TRICIA THINKS THAT JOHNNY SHOULD LEND JOHNNY’S
TELEPHONE TO JOHNNY’S COUSINS.
WITH PRONOUNS:
TRICIA THINKS THAT HE SHOULD LEND HIS TELEPHONE
TO HIS COUSIN.
THERE ARE ONLY 50 PRONOUNS IN THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE. IN THE 25 MOST COMMONLY USED WORDS IN
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 10 OF THEM ARE PRONOUNS.
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IN THIS LESSON WE WILL LEARN ABOUT PRONOUNS AND
HOW TO USE THEM CORRECTLY.
WHAT IS A PRONOUN?
A PRONOUN IS A WORD THAT TAKES THE PLACE
OF A NOUN. AS WITH NOUNS, PRONOUNS
PERFORM A VARIETY OF JOBS IN THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE. JUST LIKE NOUNS THEY CAN BE
GROUPED BASED ON THE JOBS THEY PERFORM.
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LETS BEGIN BY LOOKING AT THE MOST
USED GROUP OF PRONOUNS, THE
PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
PERSONAL PRONOUNS CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF PROPER
AND COMMON NOUNS. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:
I – SHE – IT – HIM – HER – YOU – ME – HE –
WE US – THEY – THEM
PERSONAL PRONOUNS MAKE ENGLISH MUCH EASIER
FOR EXAMPLE IF YOUR NAME IS MARIA TYOU COULD
WRITE:
MARIA WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.
BUT YOU DO NOT REFER TO YOURSELF BY NAME SO IT IS
BEST TO WRITE:
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I WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
IF YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON (NAMED TOM) YOU
COULD WRITE….
TOM WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.
OR
HE WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.
IN THIS CASE THE PERSONAL PRONOUN – HE – TAKES THE PLACE OF TOM.
SUPPOSING MARIA WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT TOM AND SHE WANTED TO GO TO
THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY SHE COULD WRITE:
MARIA AND TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY.
BUT BY USING PERSONAL PRONOUNS MARIA COULD WRITE:
HE AND I WANTED TO GO TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY.
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IN THIS SENTENCE THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS HE AND I TAKE THE
PLACE OF THE PROPER NOUNS TOM AND MARIA.
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
YOU CAN ALSO USE PERSONAL PRONOUNS TO TALK ABOUT
THINGS:
TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE ZOO, BUT THE ZOO WAS CLOSED.
THIS SENTENCE CAN ALSO BE WRITTEN:
TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE ZOO, BUT IT WAS CLOSED.
IN THIS REWRITTEN SENTENCE, THE PERSONAL PRONOUN – IT –
TOOK THE PLACE OF THE ZOO.
PRONOUNS CAN ALSO REPLACE A NOUN AND A PRONOUN THAT
ARE CONNECTED IN A SENTENCE:
TOM AND I ARE WORKING ON ENGLISH STUDIES HOMEWORK.
OR
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WE ARE WORKING ON ENGLISH STUDIES HOMEWORK.
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
LETS LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE:
MR. HANNAN GAVE TOM AND HIM SOME CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIES.
USING A PRONOUN – WHAT WOULD YOU WRITE?
MR. HANNAN GAVE THEM SOME CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIES.
HERE THE PERSONAL PRONOUN – THEM – REPLACES THE
PROPER NOUN – TOM – AND THE PRONOUN – HIM.
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LETS PUT ALL THIS TO THE TEST.
QUICK TEST 9:
LEARNING ABOUT
GEOGRAPHY
REPLACE THE UNDERLINED NOUN OR CONNECTED
NOUNS AND PRONOUNS IN EACH OF THESE SENTENCES
WITH A PERSONAL PRONOUN.
1. I ENJOY MR. HANNAN’S CLASS.
2. SOMETIMES MR. HANNAN ALLOWS EACH OF US TO
PICK SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT.
3. TOM AND MARY WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE UNITED
STATES.
4. TOM AND I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT IRELAND.
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5. MICHAEL AND SARAH ARE NOT SURE WHICH COUNTRY
THEY WANT TO LEARN ABOUT.
QUICK TEST 9:
LEARNING ABOUT
GEOGRAPHY (PART 2)
1. MR. HANNAN TOLD TOM AND MARY THAT THE CAPITAL
OF IRELAND IS DUBLIN.
2. MR. HANNAN TOLD MICHAEL, SARAH AND ME THAT
THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES IS WASHINGTON.
3. “I KNOW WHERE FLORIDA IS,” TOM SAID.
4. SARAH SAID, “I WANT TO VISIT FLORIDA.”
5. FLORIDA IS KNOWN AS THE SUNSHINE STATE.
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ANSWERS: 1. HER 2. SHE 3. HE 4. WE 5.
THEY 6. THEM 7. US 8. HE 9. SHE 10. IT
PERSONAL
PRONOUNS
NOW YOU UNDERTAND THE BASICS OF
PERSONAL PRONOUNS, YOU NEED TO LEARN
HOW TO USE THEM PROPERLY. NAMELY, YOU
NEED TO KNOW WHICH PRONOUNS TO USE AS
SUBJECTS OF SENTENCES AND WHICH
PRONOUNS TO USE AS OBJECTS OF
SENTENCES.
THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO LEARN AND KNOW
ABOUT…
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PRONOUN CASES.
PRONOUN CASES
To speak and write English correctly, you select different pronouns
depending on their case, that is, how they are to be used in a phrase. In
the English language there are three main cases:
1.
The subjective case
2.
The objective case
3.
The possessive case
When pronouns are acting as subjects of sentences, you must use
subjective case pronouns.
When pronouns are acting as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects
of prepositions, use pronouns in the objective case.
Whenever you want to show ownership of something, you must use
pronouns in the possessive case.
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Many people misuse pronouns because they get confused as to which
case the sentence is written. It’s really quite simple to figure out,
however. Lets begin by looking at the subjective and objective cases.
SUBJECTIVE AND
OBJECTIVE CASES
With nouns, the subjective and objective cases aren’t a
problem because nouns have the same form whether they
are subjects or objects. Lets look at the following example
and see how the noun girl does not change regardless of
whether it’s a subject or direct object:
The girl hit the ball.
The noun girl is the subject of the sentence.
The ball hit the girl.
In this sentence, the noun girl is a direct object.
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Almost all pronouns take different forms depending on
whether they are subjects or objects. Lets look at the
following chart which will help us to see the difference:
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PRONOUN CASES CHART
PRONOUNS IN THE
SUBJECTIVE CASE.
WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF AS A SUBJECT,
YOU MUST USE THE PRONOUN ‘I’. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE
ACTING AS AN OBJECT IN THE SENTENCE, YOU MUST USE THE
PRONOUN ‘ME’. ….. FOR EXAMPLE:
INCORRECT: ME WENT TO THE STORE WITH MY MOTHER.
BECAUSE THE PRONOUN IN THIS SENTENCE IS THE SUBJECT
OF THE SENTENCE, YOU NEED TO USE A PRONOUN IN THE
SUBJECTIVE CASE, NOT ONE IN THE OBJECTIVE CASE.
CORRECT: I WENT TO THE STORE WITH MY MOTHER.
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THIS SENTENCE IS WRITTEN CORRECTLY BECAUSE THE
PRONOUN I IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, AND I IS A
SUBJECTIVE CASE PRONOUN.
PRONOUNS IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE.
WHEN YOU WRITE A SENTENCE THAT HAS COMPOUND
SUBJECTS, THAT IS, MORE THAN ONE SUBJECT, DON’T
BE CONFUSED. PRONOUNS SHOULD STILL BE IN THE
SUBJECTIVE CASE.
MY BROTHER AND I WENT TO THE STORE.
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THE SENTENCE HAS TWO SUBJECTS THE NOUN
BROTHER AND THE PRONOUN - I - THE PRONOUN MUST
BE WRITTEN IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE.
IMPORTANT TIP…
Here is a trick to help you choose the correct pronoun case:
Drop the subject that is a noun and read the sentence with the
pronoun alone. For instance, take the sentence:
My mother and me went to the store.
Is this sentence written correctly? To find out, read the sentence
with the pronoun me alone
Me went to the store.
That doesn’t sound right, and it’s not correct English. It should
be written:
I went to the store.
Therefore, our original sentence should be written:
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My mother and I went to the store.
PRONOUNS FOLLOWING
A “TO BE” VERB
Examples of “to be” verbs are: Am, are, is, was,
were and will be.
The pronoun after a form of the verb to be is called a
complement. You must write complements in the subjective
case.
It is I who lost the book.
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The verb is is a form of the to be verb. Consequently, the
complement (pronoun) must be in the subjective case, which
means that you need to use the pronoun I, rather than the
objective case pronoun me.
PRONOUNS FOLLOWING
A “TO BE” VERB
Look at the following sentence:
The girl who correctly answered all of the questions was she.
The verb was is a “to be” verb. To correctly write this sentence, use the subjective case
pronoun she, rather than the objective case pronoun her.
Unlike words following action verbs, a complement of a to be verb is not an object, a receiver
of action. Instead, the complement identifies or refers to the subject. Compare the following
two sentences:
The teacher called Mr. Smith
Mr. Smith is an object that receives the teacher’s action of calling. If a pronoun were to be
substituted for Mr. Smith, the pronoun would have to be written in the objective case: him.
The teacher called him.
Now look at this:
The teacher is Ms. Sanchez.
Ms. Sanchez isint receiving any action. Rather, the to be verb is identifies Ms. Sanchez as the
teacher. Consequently, the correct pronoun for Ms. Sanchez in this sentence is she.
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The teacher is she.
PRONOUNS IN THE
OBJECTIVE CASE
Incorrect:
Sara made cookies for Jane and she.
In this sentence, Sara is the subject. Jane and she are objects of
the preposition for. As a result, the sentence is incorrectly
written because the pronoun she is a pronoun in the subjective
case. You need to use an objective case pronoun.
Correct:
Sara made cookies for Jane and her.
This sentence is correctly written because the pronoun her is in
the objective case.
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Selecting the correct pronoun case can sometimes be a bit
tricky. Let’s try a little exercise:
QUICK TEST 10:
LEARNING ABOUT
BUTTERFLIES
On a piece a paper write whether the underlined pronoun or
pronouns are written in the correct case, write a C after the
number of the sentence if it is correct and an I after the
number of the sentence if it is Incorrect.
1. John and me are learning about butterflies in science
class.
2. Ms. Garcia told we that butterflies have three body parts,
a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.
3. I asked her what a thorax was.
4. Her said it was the butterfly’s chest.
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5. “Whom knows where the abdomen is?” Asked Ms.
Garcia.
QUICK TEST 10
PART (2)
6. “It is the tail part,” I said.
7. Van and me counted the number of legs on the butterfly.
8. Us counted six legs.
9. “Butterflies have two sets of wings,” Van said to I.
10. We noticed the wings and legs were connected to the
thorax.
Now that we have worked through this exercise we are
familiar with subjective and objective case pronouns, lets
learn about the remaining case of pronouns –
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Possessive Pronouns.
POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS
You can use possessive pronouns to shore ownership of
something. In lesson one we learned that adding an
apostrophe (‘) forms the possessive of nouns.
Bob’s desk is messy.
The Cat’s claws are sharp.
Our dogs’ bowls are filled with water and food.
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By contrast, possessive pronouns completely change their
spelling to show possession or ownership
THIS TABLE SHOWS THE PERSONAL
PRONOUNS IN THEIR CASES.
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Notice there are two sets of possessive pronoun: one for writing
before the noun in the sentence and the other for writing after the
noun in the sentence:
POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS
I saw her mother in the store.
You need to use the possessive pronoun her because it appears
before the noun it is possessing mother.
The mother in the store is hers.
By contrast, here you should use the possessive pronoun hers
because it appears after the noun it is possessing mother.
Is this your backpack?
In this sentence, use the possessive pronoun your because it
appears before the noun it is possessing, backpack. Notice the
following sentence:
Is this backpack yours?
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Here, yours is the correct possessive pronoun to use in this
sentence because it appears after the noun backpack.
ITS AND IT’S…..
The following example will help you with a possessive pronoun
that sometimes confuses people.
What is its name?
Here, use the possessive pronoun its to show possession of the
noun name. Do not confuse the possessive pronoun its with it’s,
which is the contraction of it is.
For example, here you would write:
It’s time to eat lunch. (It is time to eat lunch.)
By contrast, you would write the following sentence:
The old coin had lost its shine.
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Using possessive pronouns can be a bit tricky. Let’s work
through the following exercise to make sure we can use them
correctly.
QUICK TEST 11: PETS
Can you complete the following sentences using just one of the words
appearing in brackets at the end of the sentence:
1.
A dog is…… family’s pet. (our, ours)
2.
….. name is Heidi. (her, hers)
3.
….. Father told me that Heidi belongs to a breed or type of dog known
as a German Shepherd. (my, mine)
4.
….. Fur is black and brown in colour. (her, hers)
5.
My friend, Elsa, has a cat as ….. Pet. (her, hers)
6.
….. Hearts beat twice as fast as humans. (their, theirs)
7.
….. Eyes see better in the dark than humans’ eyes. (It’s, Its)
8.
However, our eyes see better than ….. In daylight. (their, theirs)
9.
….. Cat’s sense of smell is 14 times stronger than your own. (Your,
Yours)
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10. ….. Whispers spread out roughly as wide as its body making it able to
judge if it can fit through an opening. (it’s, Its)
REFLEXIVE
PRONOUNS
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Reflexive pronouns are used to reflect or refer
back to nouns and pronouns in the sentence.
Reflexive pronoun is usually used when the object
of a sentence is the same as the subject of the
sentence. You write reflexive pronouns by
combining some of the personal pronouns with the
endings –self (singular pronouns) or –selves
(plural pronouns).
REFLEXIVE
PRONOUNS
Reflexive Pronoun
Objective
Me
You
Him
Her
It
We
Them
Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Themselves
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Pronoun
Subjective
I
You
He
She
It
Us
They
REFLEXIVE
PRONOUNS
He surprised himself.
In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun himself refers to the subject pronoun he.
When Carla was playing with the scissors, she accidentally cut herself.
Here, the reflexive pronoun herself refers to the subject pronoun she.
Reflexive pronouns are quite useful, but you need to be careful. This should never be used as subjects or objects:
Incorrect:
Juan and myself like to listen to music.
This sentence is incorrectly written because the reflexive pronoun myself is used as one of the subjects of the sentence. To
write the sentence correctly, you use a subjective case pronoun.
Correct:
Juan and I like to listen to music.
This sentence is now correctly written because the subjective case pronoun I is used as a subject along with a proper noun
Juan.
Incorrect:
The cat hissed at my sister and myself.
This sentence is incorrectly written because the reflexive pronoun myself is being used as a direct object. The writer
should use an objective case pronoun.
Correct:
The cat hissed at my sister and me.
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Although they can be tricky, reflexive pronouns, come in handy when writing and speaking. Let’s test whether we now
understand reflexive pronouns.
QUICK TEST 12:
A TRIP TO THE ZOO
For each sentence, choose to correct pronoun in the brackets following each sentence
and write it in the blank space:
1.
The female tiger was in the cage by….. (her, herself).
2.
We….. Were not afraid of the Tiger because she was in the cage. (us, ourselves).
3.
The big cat growled at my friends and…..(me, myself).
4.
The elephants helped….. To some food. (them, themselves).
5.
The zoo worker….. Give the elephants hay and vegetables to eat. (he, himself).
6.
Because they are in a zoo, the elephants can’t get food ….. (them, themselves)
7.
I ….. Would like to take care of the elephants. (me, myself).
8.
“So would…..,” said Rosa. (I, myself).
9.
“….., I would rather feed the Tigers,” said Norman. (Me, Myself)
10.
We agreed among….. To come back to the zoo. (us, ourselves)
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Now that you are familiar with reflexive pronouns, let’s learn about another
group of pronouns and these are called demonstrative pronouns.
DEMONSTRATIVE
PRONOUNS
The demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) standin for the name of a person, place, or thing that must be
pointed to.
In fact you can call these pointer pronouns and you can use
them to point to the person, place, or thing that you are
talking or writing about.
The demonstrative pronouns this and these refer to nouns
that are nearby either in time or space. By comparison, the
demonstrative pronouns that and those refer to nouns that
are distant in time or space.
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Lets see some examples:
DEMONSTRAVIVE
PRONOUNS (EXAMPLES)
1. This restaurant we are entering serves good food.
Pointing to a nearby restaurant.
2. That was my brother you met last week.
Pointing to a person distant in time.
3. These shoes are nicer than the ones I saw in the store
yesterday.
Pointing to a nearby pair of shoes.
4. Show me those on the top shelf.
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Pointing to something at a distance.
DEMONSTRATIVE
PRONOUNS.
Incorrect:
That plate I’m holding is hot.
This sentence is incorrectly written because the
demonstrative pronoun that should be used when referring
to a distant noun, not one that is nearby.
Correct:
This place I’m holding is hot.
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Here, the sentence is correctly written because the place is
nearby, and so you must use the demonstrative pronoun this.
QUICK TEST 13:
SPIDERS
1.
The big spiders in that terrarium in the corner are just one of 40,000
kinds of spiders in the world. (That, Those)
2.
As we looked at a poster on the wall displaying the spiders
segmented legs, Pedro said, “all spiders have segmented legs.”
(These, This)
3.
“Thick brushes of hair cover the end of each leg,” Pedro explained,
showing us a spider he had just taken from a terrarium. (These,
This)
4.
“A tiny foot at the end of each leg lets them walk up vertical
surfaces, like walls,” he continued as we looked at the spiders leg
under the microscope. (This, That)
5.
You can see only their feet when you look under a microscope.
(This, These)
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In these sentences choose the correct demonstrative pronoun (this,
that, these, those) to replace the underlined words in each sentence:
QUICK TEST 13 (2)
6. “Spiders feed mainly on insects,” Pedro said as he held a
jar of flies. (That, These)
7. “Its web enables it to catch insects,” Pedro said, pointing
to the spider on the far table spinning its web. (This, That)
8. Because they eat live teams such as insects in this jar,
spiders are carnivores. (That, These)
9. “What are carnivores?” I asked, pointing at the spider.
(This, These)
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10. “Carnivores are animals that eat other animals,”
answered Pedro. (This, These)
IMPORTANT
Remember.
The words this, that, these, and those can
be confusing. When they replace nouns,
these words are demonstrative pronouns.
However, when they are written before
nouns ( this coat; that man; these people),
this, that, these, and those are adjectives.
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(Noun: Person, Place or Thing)
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
The relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that) introduce
clauses that describe nouns or pronouns.
The student who wrote the story is reading it to the class.
The relative pronoun who introduces the clause who wrote
the story, which describes the subject student.
Here’s another example:
The building that stood on the corner has been torn down.
The clause that stood on the corner begins with the relative
pronoun that.
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The following chart shows you the types of nouns for which
each of the relative pronouns can substitute:
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Who, Whom
That
Which
NOUNS
Persons
Things, Places (Sometimes, people)
Things, Places.
The teacher who was nice to me yesterday waved to
me today.
The airplane that flew in from Mexico is sitting on the
runway.
The math problems, which I just finished, are
completely right.
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RELATIVE PRONOUN SUBSTITUTES FOR
WE NEED TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME ON….
THAT AND WHICH
Notice that both that and which can substitute for nouns that
are things or places.
The problem is that you can’t just pick one or the other.
You must use that when the clause that follows it is
restrictive, that is, when the clause is necessary to tell
something important about the subject.
Conversely, you need to use the relative pronoun which
when the clause that follows it is nonrestrictive, that is when
it provides information that isn’t important in telling us
something about the subject. In other words, a nonrestrictive
clause can be removed without changing the meaning of the
sentence.
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Lets look at some examples:
THAT AND WHICH
Incorrect:
The computer, which is on the desk, belongs to Miss Smith.
This sentence is incorrect because is on the desk is
important information describing this particular computer.
Because this clause provides essential information, it is a
restrictive clause. Restrictive clauses describing nouns that
are things must be introduced by the relative pronoun that.
Correct:
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The computer that is on the desk belongs to Miss Smith.
THAT AND WHICH
Incorrect:
Rosa’s computer that her mother gave her is on the desk.
The important fact about Rosa’s computer’s is that it is on the
desk. Consequently, the fact that her mother gave it to her is not
essential information. The writer could have eliminated this
information and the sentence would still tell us what we need to
know; therefore, this particular clause referring to Rosa’s
computer is a nonrestrictive clause. Consequently, the clause
should begin with the relative pronoun which.
Correct:
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Rosa’s computer, which her mother gave her, is on the desk.
THAT AND WHICH
Now that you understand when to use that and when to use which, it’s
time to look at another set of tricky relative pronouns, who and whom.
We talked about pronouns used in the subjective or objective case.
Remember: a pronoun is in the subjective case when ever it is
substituting for a noun that is the subject of the sentence.
For example, in the following sentence, the pronoun I is in the
subjective case because it is substituting for the person who is the
subject of the sentence:
I am going to the school across from the Post Office.
A Pronoun is in the objective case when it is substituting for a noun that
is a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition.
For example, in the sentence below, me is a direct object because me is
receiving the direct action of the ball hitting.
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The ball hit me on the nose.
WHO AND WHOM
When deciding whether to use who or whom, determine whether
the noun to which the relative pronoun will be referring is in the
subjective case or in the objective case. If the noun is in the
subjective case, use the relative pronoun who.
The man who lives next door to me is my uncle.
Here, the relative pronoun who is referring to the subject of the
sentence, man. By contrast, if the noun to which the relative
pronoun will be referring is in the objective case, use the
relative pronoun whom.
Tom whom Mr Hannan called on answered correctly.
The relative pronoun refers to the direct object of the sentence,
Tom.
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Let’s try an exercise which will give us an opportunity to use
what we have learned about relative pronouns.
QUICK TEST 14:
USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS
in these sentences choose the correct relative pronoun from the pronouns in the
parenthesis at the end of each of the sentences. Insert the correct relative pronoun in
the blank.
1.
The man….. Pick me up from school is my uncle Tom. (Who, whom)
2.
The car….. Is green, is out of gas. (Which, that)
3.
The cat….. Bit me was a brown tabby. (which, that)
4.
The girl….. Waved to me is my friend. (Who, whom)
5.
The girl, to ….. I waved, is my friend. (Who, whom)
6.
The man….. Is wearing the funny hash is my father. (Who, whom)
7.
The window,….. Is in the back of the house, is broken. (Which, whom)
8.
Miss Jenkins, ….. I known well, is moving away from the neighborhood. (Who,
whom)
9.
The lady….. Fell down is fine now. (Who, whom)
10.
My cousins, ….. I don’t see very often, are coming to see me. (Who, whom)
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Relative pronouns are pronouns to serve an important function in the
English language. Now, let’s look at pronouns being used in another
important way – as INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.
INTERROGATIVE
PRONOUNS
THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS (WHO, WHOM, WHO’S,
WHICH, WHAT) ARE USUALLY USED AS THE BEGINNINGS
OF QUESTIONS.
1. WHICH BASEBALL TEAM DO YOU LIKE BETTER?
2. WHO WANTS MORE ICE CREAM?
3. TO WHOM DOES THIS COAT BELONG?
4. WHAT TIME DOES THE MOVIE BEGIN?
5. WHOSE LOGO IS ON THE BACKPACK?
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ALTHOUGH THEY USUALLY BEGIN QUESTIONS,
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS CAN ALSO BE USED WITHIN A
SENTENCE TO ASK A QUESTION.
INTERROGATIVE
PRONOUNS
1. Miss Jones, our social studies teacher, wondered who
would score the highest grade on her test.
2. As John got out of the car, his mother asked him what
time he wanted her to pick him up.
3. The teacher didn’t know whose lunch she was holding.
4. We couldn’t catch the rabbit because we couldn’t figure
out which way it would run.
5. Nobody knew to whom the question was asked.
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Let’s try an exercise which will give us some
practice using interrogative pronouns.
QUICK TEST 15:
USING INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
In each of these sentences right and interrogative pronoun (who, whom, who’s, which, what)
in the blank that helps complete the sentence.
1.
Sarah wanted to ask….. Students drawing the judges liked the best. (Whom, which)
2.
….. Did you invoice to the dance? (who, whom)
3.
….. Car is parked in front of the school? (Whose, who)
4.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, the waiter asked them ….. They want to eat.
(Which, what)
5.
….. Are you, and why are you here? (Who, whom)
6.
….. Do you think we should do? (Whose, what)
7.
….. Music store do you like better? (Who, which)
8.
We couldn’t figure out….. Was going to happen next. (What, which)
9.
With ….. Is Janet supposed to work? (Who, whom)
10.
….. Was his excuse for being late to school? (Which, what)
We have seen the important function in the English language death interrogative pronouns
perform. Now let’s look at another group of important pronouns
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– INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
INDEFINITE
PRONOUNS
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that replaces a noun without specifying
which noun it replaces. Here are some examples of indefinite pronouns:
Everyone
Anyone
Something
Somebody
All
More
Many
Little
Less
Nothing
Anything
Either
None
Both
Most
Few
Plenty
Much
Each
Some
Nobody
Noone
Either
Neither
Several
Least
Lots
Does anyone know the answer to the first problem?
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The indefinite pronoun anyone does not refer to a particular
person; rather it refers to an unspecified person in the group.
INDEFINITE
PRONOUNS
That is more than I wanted.
The indefinite pronoun more does not describe a particular
quantity; rather, it makes a comparison.
Each has her toys in the bedroom.
The indefinite pronoun each does not name a particular
child; however, you do know that the children have their toys
in the bedroom.
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Let’s try an exercise which will give us an opportunity to use
what we have learned about indefinite pronouns.
QUICK TEST 16:
USING A MAP
In each of these sentences which is the indefinite pronoun or pronouns:
1.
From reading a map, much can be learned.
2.
All have a scale to show the distances between places.
3.
Many are found in the legend or map key.
4.
By using the scale, anyone can determine the distance between two points.
5.
Map distance is something a scale tells us.
6.
Anyone can determine the relationship between the map distance and the real
distance.
7.
Both can be related by using a ratio, which is a relationship between two
quantities.
8.
For instance, a map might write its ratio as “one inch equals 100 miles” or 1: 100 –
both mean the same thing.
9.
“Does anyone not understand the difference between real distance and map
distance?” our teacher asked.
10.
Using a ruler and knowing the scale, someone can accurately measure the
distance between places.
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(Answers in Red – But can you say why?)
AND NOW…..
Now that you are familiar with INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, you
need to learn how to use them.
MAKING PRONOUNS AGREE.
An important rule for writing and speaking English is that the
pronoun must agree with its antecedent, (the word to which it
refers.) In other words, the antecedent is the word you would
have to repeat in a sentence if you couldn’t use a pronoun.
Agreement requires using a plural pronoun with a plural
antecedent and using a singular pronoun with a singular
antecedent.
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To make this easier remember the following rules:
MAKING PRONOUNS
AGREE…..
Plural
Few
Many
Several
Lots
Both
Singular or Plural
All
Any
Either
More
Most
Neither
None
Some
Plenty
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Singular
Anybody
Anyone
Each
Everybody
Everyone
Nobody
Somebody
Someone
Less
Much
No One
MAKING PRONOUNS
AGREE
Incorrect:
Several lost his or her papers when the wind blew.
This sentence is incorrectly written because the pronoun his is singular; however, the
antecedent several is plural.
Correct:
Several lost their papers when the wind blew.
This sentence is correctly written because the plural pronoun their agrees with its plural
antecedent several.
Incorrect:
Each knows what they need to do.
This sentence is incorrect because the antecedent indefinite pronoun each is singular,
but the pronoun they is plural.
Correct:
Each knows what he or she needs to do.
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This sentence is correct because the singular pronoun he or she agrees with its
singular indefinite pronoun each.
QUICK TEST 17
Determine whether each of the sentences containing indefinite
pronouns is correctly written. Can you say if they are right or
wrong?
Anybody can write well if they work hard.
INCORRECT: ANYBODY CAN WRITE WELL IF HE OR SHE WORKS HARD.
Few are in his or her room.
INCORRECT: FEW ARE IN THEIR ROOMS.
Nobody is done with their project.
INCORRRECT: NOBODY IS DONE WITH HIS OR HER PROJECT.
Most of the students were finished with their assignments.
CORRECT.
CORRECT.
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A few of the teachers drove their cars.
QUICK TEST 17 (2)
None of the women brought their lunches.
CORRECT.
Someone left their cake out in the rain.
INCORRECT: SOMEONE LEFT HIS OR HER CAKE OUT IN THE
RAIN.
No one should have to read the story given embarrassing as
him or her.
CORRECT.
Each should write in his or her journal.
CORRECT.
More should write in their journal.
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CORRECT.
END OF LESSON.
WE ARE FINISHED WITH PRONOUNS FOR NOW.
IN OUR NEXT LESSON WE WILL STUDY WORDS THAT
DESCRIBE ACTION.
THESE WORDS ARE KNOWN AS VERBS.
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.