Understanding Pronouns
Hello dear learners! Welcome back. Today, we’ll tackle an important topic that can really elevate your English language skills – Pronouns.
Pronouns play a crucial role in English and many other languages. They are used to replace nouns, whether they refer to people, objects, or ideas. This post will specifically explore personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, possessive adjectives, and reflexive pronouns. To assist you further, we have also included a helpful chart.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are used to replace specific people or things that have been previously mentioned or are obvious from the context.
Personal pronouns can be divided into two groups:
- Subject Pronouns: These are used as the subject of a sentence.
- Object Pronouns: These are used as the object of a sentence.
Subject Pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.
Object Pronouns are: me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.
For example:
| Subject Pronouns | Example | Object Pronouns | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I love to read. | me | He gave me the book. |
| you | You are a good friend. | you | She told you the secret. |
| he | He runs fast. | him | I saw him at the park. |
| she | She sings beautifully. | her | Give it to her. |
| it | It is a sunny day. | it | I can’t see it. |
| we | We are going to the movies. | us | They invited us to dinner. |
| they | They work hard. | them | She gave them the assignment. |
“He tells her about the movie he watched”
Possessive Pronouns & Possessive Adjectives
Possessive forms show ownership in the English language. There are two types we’ll discuss here: possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives.
- Possessive Adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. These are used before a noun.
- Possessive Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. These stand alone.
For example:
| Possessive Adjectives | Example | Possessive Pronouns | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | This is my book. | mine | The book is mine. |
| your | Is this your car? | yours | The car is yours. |
| his | His shoes are new. | his | The new shoes are his. |
| her | I like her dress. | hers | The dress is hers. |
| its | The cat licked its paw. | its | The paw it’s licking is its. |
| our | Our house is big. | ours | The big house is ours. |
| their | Their dog is friendly. | theirs | The friendly dog is theirs. |
Remember, possessive adjectives are used before the noun to show ownership, while possessive pronouns replace the noun.
“My old mustang is yours now”
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the clause. They’re used when the subject and the object of the sentence are the same person or thing.
Reflexive pronouns include: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
For example:
- I did it myself.
- You should treat yourself to a spa day.
- He talks to himself when he’s nervous.
- She baked the cake herself.
- The cat cleaned itself.
- We organized the event ourselves.
- You have outdone yourselves.
- They built the house themselves.
“Victor always bikes by himself”
Pronoun Reference Chart
This chart can be your key to understanding these different types of pronouns. Remember, practice is essential in language learning, so try using these pronouns in your daily English conversations or writings. Happy learning!
| Subject | Object | Possessive Adjective | Possessive Pronoun | Reflexive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | I | me | my | mine | myself |
| 2nd person singular | you | you | your | yours | yourself |
| 3rd person singular (male) | he | him | his | his | himself |
| 3rd person singular (female) | she | her | her | hers | herself |
| 3rd person singular (neutral) | it | it | its | its | itself |
| 1st person plural | we | us | our | ours | ourselves |
| 2nd person plural | you | you | your | yours | yourselves |
| 3rd person plural | they | them | their | theirs | themselves |
Practice
Write the correct full sentences in a notebook and compare them with the correct answers in the bottom.
- ____ is a beautiful day today.
- a) It
- b) Them
- c) Yours
- d) Himself
- Can you help ____ with this math problem?
- a) I
- b) Me
- c) My
- d) Myself
- This is ____ pencil.
- a) I
- b) Me
- c) My
- d) Myself
- The pencil is ____.
- a) I
- b) Me
- c) My
- d) Mine
- Sarah is going to the store. ____ needs to buy some groceries.
- a) Her
- b) Hers
- c) She
- d) Herself
- I saw ____ at the concert last night.
- a) He
- b) Him
- c) His
- d) Himself
- This is ____ favorite book.
- a) His
- b) Him
- c) He
- d) Himself
- The book is ____.
- a) His
- b) Him
- c) He
- d) Himself
- We should do it ____.
- a) Ours
- b) Our
- c) Us
- d) Ourselves
- Is this ____ umbrella?
- a) You
- b) Your
- c) Yours
- d) Yourself
- The umbrella is ____.
- a) You
- b) Your
- c) Yours
- d) Yourself
- ____ are going to the park to play soccer.
- a) They
- b) Them
- c) Their
- d) Themselves
- The dogs are chasing ____.
- a) They
- b) Them
- c) Their
- d) Themselves
- This is ____ ball.
- a) They
- b) Them
- c) Their
- d) Themselves
- The ball is ____.
- a) They
- b) Them
- c) Their
- d) Theirs
- She cut ____ while cooking.
- a) She
- b) Her
- c) Hers
- d) Herself
- This problem is ours. We need to solve it ____.
- a) Us
- b) Our
- c) Ours
- d) Ourselves
- The cat is cleaning ____.
- a) It
- b) Its
- c) It’s
- d) Itself
- Can ____ go to the park today?
- a) I
- b) Me
- c) My
- d) Mine
- ____ left your phone on the table.
- a) You
- b) Your
- c) Yours
- d) Yourself
Correct answers:
- a) It
- b) Me
- c) My
- d) Mine
- c) She
- b) Him
- a) His
- a) His
- d) Ourselves
- b) Your
- c) Yours
- a) They
- b) Them
- c) Their
- d) Theirs
- d) Herself
- d) Ourselves
- d) Itself
- a) I
- b) Your
Remember, it’s perfectly fine if you didn’t get all the answers correct. Learning a new language takes practice and time. Keep reviewing the rules and practicing these exercises. You’ll see improvement in no time!