LEARN PRONOUN TYPES Pronouns refer to and take the place of nouns . The students are from Korea. They came here in 1992. Africa is a large continent; it contains many countries. There are five types of pronouns: personal, relative, indefinite, demonstrative,
and reflexive. PERSONAL PRONOUNS can act as subjects and direct objects. Personal Pronouns | Subjects | | | | Objects | I | enrolled in Spanish II. | | Jacky praised | me. | You | missed dinner. | | My mother likes | you. | He | came late. | | Ms. Aroyo met | him. | She | had an appointment. | | Mr. Chen called | her. | It | was cold. | | Vanessa ended | it. | We | got lost. | | The family trusts | us. | You | are a large family. | | The party includes | you. | They | took the train. | | The music pleased | them. |
Personal pronouns also act as possessives. Personal Pronouns as Possessives | My | check came. | | The check is | mine. | Your | new car is here. | | The new car is | yours. | His | dog is barking. | | The dog is | his. | Her | class ended. | | The class is | hers. | Its | roof is damaged. | | The damaged roof is | its. | Our | cameras are missing. | | The cameras are | ours. | Your | rights are precious. | | The rights are | yours. | Their | home is a ranch. | | The home is | theirs. |
RELATIVE PRONOUNS connect groups of words to nouns or other pronouns. That and which refer to animals, objects, or ideas. Who, whoever, whom, and whomever refer to people. Whose can be used in all cases. The family enjoyed the pizza that Rinaldo cooked. She studied Buddhism, which is a major world religion. Andy spoke with students who had majored in history. The company whose employees were honored is Apex Lamp. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS refer to people and things that are not named or not specific. Indefinite Pronouns any | everybody | nobody | some | anybody | everyone | no one | somebody | anyone | everything | one | someone | each | few | | |
Anybody can join the club.
Angela told no one about the problem. Somebody turned off the light. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS refer to nouns or pronouns that come after them: that, this, those, these. That is a terrible reason to quit school. These are very trying times. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS end in -self. Use them when the subject of a sentence does something to itself. I want to enjoy myself. The cat scared itself when it looked in the mirror. Pronouns ending in -self can also create emphasis. I saw him take the money myself! CAUTION: | Don't write ourselfs for ourselves.
Don't write theirselfs or themselfs for themselves.
Don't write hisself for himself. |
Back to Top USE THE CORRECT PRONOUN CASES A pronoun can act as a subject, complement, object, or possessive. These four uses are called pronoun cases. - A subject does action or is described.
- A complement is a word that defines or explains a subject and is connected to it with verbs such as is, are, was, were, has been, have been, and will be.
- An object receives action.
- A possessive shows ownership.
PRONOUNS AS SUBJECTS If you want to make a pronoun the subject of a sentence, you can use a personal, indefinite, or demonstrative pronoun. Personal: | She wanted to join the club. | Indefinite: | Anyone can join our team. | Demonstrative: | That is my coat. |
Subject Pronouns Before Nouns Be careful when a pronoun comes immediately before a noun it refers to. If the noun is a subject, the pronoun is also a subject. Not:Us students gave blood at Community Hospital. But:We students gave blood at Community Hospital. Pronouns in Compound Subjects Writers are sometimes confused about which pronoun to use when the subject contains a noun and a pronoun or more than one pronoun. The next two examples use the wrong pronouns: Angelo and me play basketball on Tuesdays. Marjorie and her went swimming. The pronouns me and her are objects. But in the sentences above, they are used as subjects. The correct versions are Angelo and I play basketball on Tuesdays. Marjorie and she went swimming. Pronouns as Complements A complement is a word that defines or explains a subject and is connected to it by a verb such as is, are, was, were, has been, have been, and will be. Pronouns used as complements are the same as those used as subjects. "It is I [not me]," Fino said as he rang the bell. The winners were Dana and he [not him]. PRONOUNS AS OBJECTS If you want to make a pronoun the object of a sentence, you can use a personal, indefinite, or demonstrative pronoun. Remember that an object is a receiver of action. Personal: | Mayor Rodriguez called me last night. | Indefinite: | Fran knows somebody who can speak Creole. | Demonstrative: | Pointing to the roses, he said: "I want these." |
Pronouns in Compound Objects Writers are sometimes confused about which pronoun to use when the object contains a noun and a pronoun or more than one pronoun. The next two examples use the wrong pronouns. Freddie challenged Angelo and I to a game. Evelyn called Sonia and she. The pronouns I, she, and we are subjects, doers of action. But in the sentences above, they are used as objects, receivers of action. The correct versions are Freddie challenged Angelo and me to a game. Evelyn called Sonia and her. Objects of Prepositions A preposition comes before a noun or pronoun and shows how that word relates to the rest of the sentence. Pronouns that come after prepositions act as objects. My sister called to me [not I] across the field. Senator Mendoza spoke with them [not they] yesterday. Object Pronouns Before Nouns CAUTION: | Be careful when a pronoun comes immediately before a noun to which it refers. If the noun is an object, the pronoun is an object too. |
Not:Community Hospital asked we students to give blood.
But: Community Hospital asked us students to give blood. PERSONAL PRONOUNS AS POSSESSIVES A possessive pronoun shows ownership or a relationship between the pronoun and the noun that follows it. Certain possessive pronouns are used before the noun; others are used after the noun. iMy dog is a German shepherd. Elaine and Bob loved their mother. The bill is hers. The challenge is ours! Indefinite Pronouns as Possessives You can make an indefinite pronoun possessive by adding -'s. Everyone's right to vote is sacred.
No one's children should go hungry. Possessives with -ing Nouns Nouns ending in -ing name activities. They are called gerunds. Here are some examples: swimming, crying, running, speaking, breathing, thinking. Whenever gerunds come immediately after pronouns, those pronouns are possessive. His [not him] snoring disturbed us.
Their [not them] coming home late angered her mother. THREE RULES FOR USING POSSESSIVES - Leave out the apostrophe when you use the possessive pronoun its.
It's is not possessive; it means itis.
Not:The dog lost it's leash. But:The dog lost its leash. - Don't confuse their with they're or there. They're
means they are; there refers to a place.
Not: There house was small. Not:They're house was small. But: Their house was small. - Don't confuse whose and who's. Whose is possessive.
Who's is a contraction meaning whois.
I am the person whose car you hit! Who's that knocking at my door? |
Back to Top LEARN TO USE RELATIVE PRONOUNS The relative pronouns are that, who, whom, whose, whoever, and whomever. They refer to nouns that come before them. She is a woman who has won many academic honors. The boy, whose bicycle had been stolen, ran home. China is a country that I have read much about. SPECIAL PROBLEMS WITH WHO,WHOM, AND WHOSE Some writers confuse these relative pronouns and use one when they mean to use another. Just remember these five rules: 1. Who is a subject. | Who are you? | 2. Whom is an object. | Whom do you trust? | 3. Whose is possessive. | Whose socks are these? | 4. Whoever is a subject. | Whoever comes late doesn't eat. | 5. Whomever is an object. | Please invite whomever you want. |
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHOSE AND WHO'S Don't confuse whose with who's. Whose is possessive; who's means whois. Not:I met a man who's hair was blue. But:I met a man whose hair was blue. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHO AND WHOM As you just learned, who is used as a subject and whom is used as an object. Special problems can occur when who and whom come in the middle of sentence. Imet the woman who spoke to the class. | | BUT | | I met the woman whom Professor Jenkins invited to class. |
In the first example, who is the subject of the verbspoke. In the second, whom is the object of the verb invited. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHO, WHOM, AND THAT That is not a personal pronoun. Use that to refer to places and
things. Don't use that to refer to people or types of people. Not:I enjoy meeting students that were born in other countries. But:I enjoy meeting students who were born in other countries. Back to Top CHOOSE THE RIGHT PRONOUN AFTER THAN OR AS Writers sometimes use the wrong pronoun after than or as. Not:Joan is taller than me. But:Joan is taller than I. Not:The professors are as concerned as them. But:The professors are as concerned as they. AN EASY WAY TO FIND THE RIGHT PRONOUN To decide whether you have used the correct pronoun, complete the thought by adding a verb after the pronoun. Not:He is taller than me [am]. But:He is taller than I [am]. Not: My family is as concerned as them [are]. But:My family is as concerned as they [are]. Adding a verb shows the object pronouns me and them are incorrect in these sentences. Subject pronouns are needed. In some cases, however, object pronouns should be used. Not:The dogs barked louder at her than I [did]. But:The dogs barked louder at her than [they barked at] me. Back to Top MAKE PRONOUN REFERENCE CLEAR Because pronouns take the place of nouns, they must refer or point to those nouns clearly and directly. Otherwise, the reader might not understand exactly what you are saying. INCLUDE THE NOUN TO WHICH THE PRONOUN POINTS Sometimes writers forget to include the noun that a pronoun refers to. Doing so can make their writing vague or unclear. Vague: | Americans are the most productive workers in the world, which is often |
The meaning of which is unclear; there is no noun earlier in the sentence to which the pronoun points. Clear: | Americans are the most productive workers in the world, a fact that is |
MAKE SURE THE PRONOUN POINTS ONLY TO ONE NOUN Sometimes writers create sentences in which a pronoun points to two nouns. Such sentences can be unclear. Unclear: | Jane was speaking with Flora when she learned she had been promoted. |
The reader must guess which woman was promoted, so the sentence should be rewritten. Clear: | Jane learned she had been promoted when she was speaking to Flora. |
MAKE THE NOUN CLEAR Sometimes writers hide the noun to which the pronoun should refer, as in the following: Hidden: | Mexico's economy is expanding; their standard of living is rising. |
The reader can safely assume that the pronoun their refers to Mexicans, but the sentence should read Clear: | Mexico's economy is expanding; the Mexicans' standard of living is rising. |
AVOID USING IT,THEY, AND THIS WITHOUT INDICATING WHAT THEY STAND FOR Writers sometimes use it, they, and this without telling readers what these words stand for. Vague: | As Jerry approached the car, it could be seen that his luggage had been stolen. | Clear: | As Jerry approached the car, he could see that his luggage had been stolen. |
In the first version, it has no reference. To correct the error, it has been removed, and the sentence rewritten to include the pronoun he, which has a clear antecedent, Jerry. Vague: | They predict Stetson will win the election, but they are not always reliable. | Clear: | The polls predict Stetson will win the election, but they are not always reliable. |
In the first version, the reader will not know what they refers to, and so the sentence must be rewritten. Back to Top |