1. PERSONAL  PRONOUN:  stands for three persons:

1. First Person :-

• Singular –     I,    My,   Me,  Mine.

• Plural  –     We, Our, Us,  Ours.

2. Second Person :-

• Singular & Plural  – You, Your, You, Yours.

3. Third Person :-

• Singular – He His Him , She Her Her.

• Plural –    They, Their, Them,  Theirs.

Personal Pronouns of:

•      First Person refer to the speaker of the sentence. e.g. I know him

•      Second Person to the person spoken to. e.g. You are my friend.

•     Third Person to the person or thing spoken of. e.g. He is my cousin.

The Use of ‘We’ :-

1. When a speaker while speaking of himself, is also pointing to some other person. ‘We’ is used & not ‘I’ is used.

2. In speaking of mankind, a single person uses ‘We’ instead of ‘I’.
Example : We are the children of God.

A Pronoun agrees with its antecedent in person number and gender; as

• Every man must suffer for his sins.

• All the candidates must hand over their answer sheets.

 

Personal Pronouns have the same difference of gender, number and case that nouns have.

1. A personal pronoun standing for a Collective Noun must be in singular numberExample:

• The fleet is reaching its destination.

• The class is busy with its work.

2. But Collective noun referring to individuals…..must be in plural form; 

Example:

• The jury were divided  in their opinion.

3. When two or more singular nouns are joined by   or, either..…or, neither……..nor Pronoun is generally Singular.

Example:

• John or Smith must do his duty.

• Either John or Smith forgot to take his share.

• Neither Bob nor Peter learnt his lesson.

4. When a Plural noun and a Singular  noun are joined by Or, or Nor, the pronoun must be in plural 

Example:

• Either the manager or his assistants failed in their duty.

5.When two Singular nouns joined by ‘and’ are preceded by ‘each’ and ‘every’, the pronoun must be singular.

Example:

• Each girl and each woman was busy with her work.

• Every teacher and every student was in his place.

COMMON MISTAKE TO USE  ‘I’  FOR  ‘ME’

I and Me are used according their  Nominative  and objective positions.

• These gifts are for you and me (Not I).

• My uncle invited my friends and me (Not I)  to dinner.

• My brother and I (not myself or me) are going to Shimla.

2. REFLEXIVE PERSONAL PRONOUN:

1. First Person :-   Myself, Ourselves, My own, Mine own. Our own.

2. Second Person :- Yourself, Yourselves, Your own.

3. Third Person :- Himself, Herself, Itself,Themselves,
His own, Her own, Its own.Their own.

Reflexive Pronoun indicates that the subject and the object is the same person or thing ;

Example:

• I myself am at fault.

• He should thank himself for this.

• A cheater cheats himself.

Sometimes Reflexive pronouns are used in emphatic sense.

Example:

• You yourself gave this book to him.

• It is my own, my native land.

 

3. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN: 

Points out to some noun already used. e.g. : This, These, That, Those, One, Ones, None, Such, Some.

• When two things  are  referred to ‘this’ is used for the nearer one and ‘that’ for farther one.

• This & That for singular & These and Those for plural.

• ‘One’ is used for singular and ‘Ones’ for plural.

• ‘Such’ can be used  for a noun in either number.

Example: 

• He won a prize last year but he did not win one this year.

• There are five old houses and three new ones in this colony.

• He is the head of the family as such is responsible  for all  the acts.

• Many persons were there but there was none to help him.

Rules :

1. One should  be followed by one. It is wrong to use he or she after it.

Example:

• One should do one’s  duty.

• One must mind one’s own business.

2. Each, Either and neither when used as noun are followed by  Singular verb.

Example:

• Each of these boys is a brilliant student.

• Each of the worker was paid a rupee.

• Either of the roads leads to Bombay.

• Neither of us is attending the meeting.

3. Anyone refers to more than two persons or things; 

Example:

• She is more beautiful than any one of her four sisters.

• Did you buy any mangoes?  There were none in the market.

• None but the honest deserve the fair.

• None but fools have faith in such a rogue.

None is also used as singular ;

Example:

• Have you brought me a letter? There was none for you.

4. Each Other is used for two persons & One another is for more than two;as

Example:

• John and Smith are talking with each other.

• Boys are playing with one another.

4. RELATIVE  PRONOUN :

Does double function, stands  for a noun and also joins a sentence like a conjunction.

e.g. who,whom,which,whose,what, whichever, that, but,as etc.

The noun for which a relative pronoun stands for is called its antecedent.

1. Who : is used in the nominative case and indicates person or persons ; as

The man who came to see me is my brother.

The men who came to see me were my friends.

A. When the subject of a verb is a Relative Pronoun, the verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative; as

1. I who am your friend will stand by you through thick and thin.

2. The student who stands first gets a prize.

3.The time which is lost is lost for ever.

4. This is one of the most interesting books that have (not has) ever appeared.

USE OF WHO IN NOMINATIVE CASE & WHOM IN OBJECTIVE CASE.

Nominative Case :

1. It is John who won the race.

2. There are some people who do not think before they speak.

Objective Case:

1. Whom do you want to see?

2. To whom did you give my book?

2. Whom:  is used in the objective case and indicates a person or persons; as

Example:

• The boy whom you met in the market is my friend.

• The children whom  you see in the garden are very naughty.

3. Which: is used in both the nominative and the objective case and refers a person or persons; as

Example:

• He gave me a book which is of much help to me.

• He gave me books which he bought from the market.

4. Whose:  is used in the possessive case and refers to persons.

5. Of which : is used in the possessive case and refers to things ;

Example:

• This is the boy whose watch was stolen.

• The car  the colour of which is white is mine.

6. That:

As relative pronoun is used both in nominative and the objective case for persons or things & is often used for who, whom or which but it is never used for whose  ; 

Example:

• This is the boy that (who) came to see me.

• This is the house that (which) I purchased last year.

• The book that (which) you  are looking for is here.

7. But:

As a relative pronoun is used meaning thereby ‘who not’  and ‘which not’;

Example:

• There was none but praised him.

• There is no problem but he can solve.

5. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN:

Interrogative Pronoun is used in asking questions. ‘who’ refers to persons only, ‘which’ to both persons and things and ‘what’ is neuter and applies to things only.

Example:

• Who is he?  (person).

• Which is your table? (thing).

• Which is John? (person).(out of many persons)

• What does he want? (thing).

Who and what are used in indefinite sense i.e. without any reference to any class.

Which is used with a particular reference to a particular class and implies selection out of the class;

Example:

• Which  of  you is leaving for Delhi?

• Which book do you like?

Distinction between : Who is he? Which is he? What is he?

1.Who is he?  :

Who inquires for the  name and parentage of  a person.

• He is Smith, a renowned doctor of the town.

2.Which is he?

Which inquires about a particular person out of a definite group.

• He is standing second  in the fourth row.

3. What is he? 

What  inquires about profession and position of a person in a society.

• He is a merchant.

USE OF PRONOUN ‘IT’ :

The Pronoun ‘It’ is used:

1. For things without life;

Example: There is a book on the table. Give it to me.

2. For animals;

Example:   He has a pet cow. He loves it very much.

3. For a young child;

Example:    I saw the child in the market. It was weeping bitterly.

4. To refer to a statement going before;

Example:    He told a lie and he knows it. He will not win the match and he knows it.

5. As a subject before the verb to be;

Example:    

• It is sure that he will win the match.( He will win the match is sure).

• It  is easy to find fault with others.

6. To emphasize the noun or pronoun that follows;

Example:

• It was he who brought this to my notice.

• It is he who is at fault.

• It was he who helped me.

• It is a fool who does not learn from past follies.

7. As an impersonal pronoun;

Example:    It is raining. It snows.  It thunders.

8. In Indefinite sense; 

Example:   It is very hot. It is clear today. It is close today.

Use of My, Mine, Your, Yours, Her, Hers, their, Theirs;

..are called possessive pronouns.

Mine, yours, hers, theirs are not followed by any noun whereas My, your, his, her there are followed by a noun ;

Example:

• This is my book and that is yours. (your book)

• This is his box. Where is hers?

• It is my fault and not theirs. He lost his purse and stole mine.(my purse)

Numerical adjectives are often used as a pronoun; as:

The underlined words  are pronouns.

• Either of the teams can win the match.

• Neither of the two brothers is at fault.

• Some of the boys are brilliant, others are dull.

• Both of the girls are beautiful.

• John has done much but more is expected from him.

• Be fair in your dealings that is all I need from you.

• They came by threes and fours.

• There are two dogs in the  house one is white, the other black.

• Each has natural talents, only if each will develop it.

• There are nine plants in the garden, two are small, three are of medium size and four are tall.

USE OF THAN, BUT & WHAT :

There is often a great confusion about use of ‘than’ & ‘but’  But if we use the complete clause in the sentence it  can be avoided; as:

‘THAN’

• Her sister is more beautiful than she (is).

• I love her more than he (loves her).

• She loves you more than (she loves) me.

‘BUT’    

But  is used as a preposition in a sentences.

• Nobody  will help you but me.(not I)

• None but him was present. (not he)

WHAT

• What is used for things only.

• What is lying there? …… a thing.

• What  does he want?

• What did you get?

• What is this table made of?

But what also refers to profession when used with a noun or pronoun.

Example:

• What is your father? He is a doctor.

• What is your mother? She is a teacher.

USE OF ‘HE’ ‘YOU’ & ‘I’

For good acts the order of use is :

Second person, third person and first person.

You, he and I ,         You and I,      He and I,

For bad acts it is:

First person, third person and second personI, he and you,      I and you,       I and he.

Example:

• You, he and I are good friends.

• I, he and you are at fault.