Download Pronouns

Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of
a noun or which takes the place of more
than one noun.
The word to which the pronoun refers
(whose place it takes) is called the
antecedent.

Ex:
Loyola freshmen always remember their
grammar lessons with fondness.
Pronouns

Pronouns are classified as:







Personal
Reflexive
Intensive
Relative
Interrogative
Demonstrative
Indefinite
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns have different uses
represented by three cases:
Nominative case
Objective case
Possessive case
Personal Pronouns

A pronoun that acts as a subject or a
predicate nominative is in the nominative
case.


Ex: We called the doctor. [subject, nom.]
Ex: It is she who won the award. [PN, nom.]
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns in the nominative case (see
W532):
Singular
Plural
 1st – I
1st - we
 2nd – you
2nd - you
 3rd – he, she, it
3rd - they

Personal Pronouns

A pronoun that acts as the object of a
verb or preposition is in the objective
case.



Ex: I helped him with his homework. [DO]
Ex: Jack gave me a bottle of water. [IO]
Ex: I heard the news from them. [OP]
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns in the objective case:
Singular
Plural
1st – me
1st – us
2nd – you
2nd – you
3rd – him, her, it
3rd - them

Reflexive/Intensive Pronouns
Personal pronouns combined with -self,
-selves may be used in two ways:
 They may be used reflexively:



Ex: Mr. Day explained himself.
They may be used intensively:

Ex: Mr. Day himself made the explanation.
Reflexive/Intensive Pronouns


A reflexive pronoun is used when the
complement of the verb is the same as
the subject.
An intensive pronoun is used simply to
add extra emphasis and is not necessary
for the sentence to make complete sense.
Reflexive/Intensive Pronouns


The pronouns ending in –self, -selves are
usually used only to refer to another word in
the sentence or to emphasize another word.
Avoid using these pronouns in place of other
personal pronouns.


Ex: Joe and I [not myself] are club members.
Ex: The tickets belong to them and us [not
ourselves]
Relative Pronouns


Relative pronouns are used to introduce
subordinate clauses.
Who, whom, whose, which, that
Interrogative Pronouns


Interrogative pronouns are used to
introduce questions.
Who, whom, which, whose, what


Ex: Who passed the test?
Ex: What is the difference?
Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are also used as
adjectives (interrogative adjectives).


Ex: Which book is yours?
Ex: Whose shoes are these?
Demonstrative Pronouns


Demonstrative pronouns are used to point
out particular persons or things.
This, that, these, those


Ex: That is a great question.
Ex: This is the game that I wanted to watch.
Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are also often
used as adjectives (demonstrative
adjectives).



Ex: Those cookies are my favorite.
Ex: Most people in this area root for the
Ravens to beat the Colts.
Note: Be careful not to confuse a
demonstrative adjective with an expletive.
Indefinite Pronouns


Pronouns that do not refer to a specific
antecedent are called indefinite pronouns.
Most indefinite pronouns express the idea
of quantity such as all, few, or none (see
W415 for a complete list).


Ex: Most of the members have voted.
Ex: Everyone loves a snow day.
Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are also often used as
adjectives (indefinite adjectives).


Ex: Some players work hard all the time.
Ex: Most people in this area root for the
Ravens to beat the Steelers.
Indefinite Pronouns



Some indefinite pronouns may be both
singular and plural.
SANAM (some, any, none, all, most)
The object of the preposition determines
the number (singular/plural) of the
pronoun.


Ex: All of the cookies are delicious.
Ex: All of the cake is delicious.
Possessive Pronoun


Each of the personal pronouns has a
possessive form.
Pronouns that express ownership are
called possessive pronouns.
Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used before
nouns in the same way that adjectives are
used to limit the meaning of a noun.
my, mine
her, hers
your, yours
our, ours
his, hers, its
their, theirs
Personal Pronouns

Some personal pronouns act like
adjectives by modifying a noun.


Ex: Jack found my umbrella [Poss. Adj.].
Other personal pronouns are used alone
but still indicate ownership.

Ex: The umbrella Jack found was mine [PN].
Who or whom?
Like the personal pronouns, the pronouns
who and whoever have three different
case forms:
Nominative
Objective
Possessive
who
whom
whose
whoever
whomever
whosever

Who or whom?

Who and whom are interrogative
pronouns when they are used to ask a
question.



Ex: Who broke his leg? (Nom., Subj.)
Ex: Whom did Jack choose? (Obj., DO)
Ex: For whom did you vote? (Obj., OP)
Who or whom?


The case of a pronoun beginning a
subordinate clause is determined by its
use in the clause.
The case is not affected by any other
word outside the clause.


Ex: The two people, whom I like most, are my
parents. (DO) I like whom most
Ex: Do you remember who the winner was?
(PN) The winner was who
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent
in number and gender.


As a rule, the pronoun is singular if the
antecedent is singular, and plural when the
antecedent is plural.
As a rule, the pronoun should also match its
antecedent in gender.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement


Antecedent pronouns like each, either,
one, anybody, etc. are referred to by a
singular pronoun (ex: he, she, it, etc.)
The use of a phrase after an antecedent
does not change the antecedent’s number.


Ex: Each of the women designed her own
dress.
Ex: One of the men took his seat.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Sometimes the antecedent’s gender is
unknown. In that case, one can use
either the masculine form (alone) or both
the masculine and feminine forms.




Ex: Everyone has handed in his paper.
Ex: Everyone has handed in his or her paper.
Ex: The students have handed in their papers.
Ex: (Wrong!) Everyone has handed in their
papers.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Two or more singular antecedents joined
by or or nor should be referred to by a
singular pronoun.


Ex: Neither Jack nor Bill left his book at home.
Two or more antecedents joined by and
should be referred to by a plural pronoun.

Ex: Sue and Maria presented their reports.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Note: An appositive is in the same case as
the word with which it is in apposition.


Ex: Two freshmen (subj/nom), Sam and he
(app/nom), gave the best speeches.
Ex: For captains, the coach chose two people
(DO/obj), Matt and him (app/obj).
Incomplete Constructions

An “incomplete construction” occurs when
something is omitted after the word than
and as in a comparison.



Ex: I trust Bob more than he (...than he trusts Bob).
Ex: I trust Bob more than him (…than I trust him).
After than and as introducing an incomplete
construction, use the form of the pronoun
you would use if the construction were
complete.