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Pronoun English Grammar Lesson
Pronoun English Grammar Lesson
Pronoun English Grammar Lesson
use pronouns
Learning how to use pronouns
During this grammar lesson you will learn what pronouns are and how to use them in your
own sentences.
When I arrived at their house, the big dog, which was called Rover, was barking loudly
because it was lonely.
A pronoun can be used wherever a noun or a noun phrase can be used in a sentence:
As the subject of a verb:
As the object of a verb:
As the object of a preposition:
I was thinking about a quick snack. I was thinking about that, too.
1. Personal pronouns
2. Relative pronouns
3. Interrogative pronouns
4. Possessive and demonstrative pronouns
5. Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns
6. Personal pronouns
I, me, you, he, her, them are called personal pronouns, because they cover the full range of
grammatical persons:
the first person (I, we)
the second person (you)
the third person (he her them).
Personal pronouns are almost the only place in English grammar where 'case' is relevant.
In English, only the personal pronouns have different forms or cases which show whether
they are subjects or objects:
How to use personal pronoun cases as a test for subjects and
objects.
Relative pronouns
"When I arrived at their house the big dog, which was called Rover, was barking loudly
because it was lonely."
In our example sentence the pronoun which refers back to the noun phrase the big dog.
The main relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which and that.
The boy who I saw earlier whose key has been lost ...
Interrogative pronouns
who, whom, whose, which, what, whoever, whichever, whatever
Personal pronouns:
Possessive pronouns:
Demonstrative pronouns, like possessive pronouns, are very similar to determiners, and like
demonstrative determiners, they have distinct singular and plural forms:
Their special function is to refer back to a noun phrase earlier in the same clause. For
example:
The children dressed themselves.
In this case the personal pronoun them would not do, as it would refer to people other than
the children:
Reciprocal pronouns are the word groups each other and one another.
They also refer back to a noun phrase earlier in the same clause, but in a more complex way.
Who is that boy?
Word order doesn't help, because of the special rules for questions, so replace that boy by a
pronoun ...
In this case it is clear that he is the subject, so that boy is the subject of the first sentence.
Self-assessment on pronouns
Find the pronouns in the sentence below and classify them as:
personal
possessive
demonstrative
relative
interrogative
reflexive
reciprocal
An actor's a guy who, if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening.