PRONOUN |
Types of Pronouns
Personal | Reflexive Personal | Demonstrative | Relative | Interrogative | |
Definite | Indefinite |
A Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Or a noun-equivalent.
(Pronoun means – for a noun.) e.g. I, He, She, They & we etc.
Pronouns are of five kinds.
- Personal Pronouns
- Reflexive Personal Pronouns
- Demonstrative Pronouns
- Relative Pronouns
- Interrogative Pronouns
Personal Pronoun
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.
Reflexive Personal Pronoun
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.
Demonstrative Pronoun
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.
Relative Pronoun
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.
Interrogative Pronoun
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.
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