We know that ‘demonstrate’ means to show. Therefore, demonstrative pronouns are those that show us the nouns or point towards them. The four demonstrative pronouns in English are this, that, these and those. • Like other pronouns, they too are used to replace nouns. • Demonstrative pronouns represent nouns which are already mentioned before or are to be understood from context. Let us look at an example.
This is my favourite.
The noun which stands for the pronoun ‘This’ in the above sentence is unclear to us. It can only be clarified if • There is an antecedent in the preceding sentence.
Can you see this book? This is my favourite.
Here it becomes clear that the pronoun ‘This’ stands for ‘book’. Or • The speaker points towards the noun.
This is my favourite.
01 Grammer | Pronouns
• Demonstrative pronouns such as ‘that’ and ‘those’ refer to nouns which are far from the speaker either in time or in distance. • ‘This’ and ‘these’ refer to nouns which are close to the speaker either in time or in distance. • ‘This’ and ‘that’ stand for singular nouns. • ‘These’ and ‘those’ stand for plural nouns.
Demonstrative Near Far Pronouns
Singular This That
Plural These Those
• A demonstrative pronoun can represent an entire noun phrase.
The stew that she made looks delicious. That looks delicious.
Let us look at a few more examples:
• Your negligence is a cause of great concern to us. This is not acceptable.
• Are these your new pet puppies?
• Those are the tombs of ancient kings.
• You need not worry about the safety of your employees Mr Sharma. That is our responsibility.
02 Grammer | Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
• Possessive pronouns are used to show ownership or possession of nouns to pronouns.
• Pronouns like mine, yours, his, hers and its are known as singular possessive pronouns. • Pronouns like theirs and ours are known as plural possessive pronouns.
The black sneakers are his.
In the above example, the possessive pronoun ‘his’ states to whom ‘the sneakers’ belong.
• Possessive pronouns are different from possessive adjectives because they do not qualify the noun.
Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronoun
This is her house. This house is hers.
• One should never use apostrophes with possessive pronouns to show possession.
The house is their’s. The house is theirs.
03 Grammer | Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
What is a Personal Pronoun?
Previously, we have learnt that a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun which has already been used in a sentence. A personal pronoun is used primarily to refer to a specific person, thing or idea. It is used to refer to the first, second or third person in a sentence.
First, Second and Third Person Pronouns
Personal pronouns can be categorised as first, second or third person pronouns.
• A first person pronoun is used by the speaker to refer to himself or herself. • It can also be used to refer to the group the speaker is a part of. • I, me, us, our, myself, ourselves are first person pronouns.
• David interjected, “I have an idea! Why don’t we all go to the movies?”
• Tina asked, “Can I have another one?” • The team exclaimed,” Victory is ours!”
• A second person pronoun is used by the speaker to refer to the person he or she is directly talking to. • It can be used to address a particular person or an entire group. • You, yourself are examples of second person pronouns.
• Can I serve you some tea?
• You are all equally important to me.
• A third person pronoun is used by the speaker to refer to the person he or she is not directly addressing. • He, she, it, they, him, her are examples of third person pronouns.
• Greta invited her friends today. She is looking forward to meeting them. • Subramaniam has a beautiful voice. He practises singing every day. • The dog held the bone securely in its mouth. It was afraid of the bigger dogs. • The team members exhibited great team spirit. They brought home laurels.
04 Grammer | Pronouns
Singular and Plural Personal Pronouns
First Person Singular Plural
I We Second Person Singular Plural You You Third Person Singular Plural He, she, it They
Nominative and Objective Pronouns
According to the role they play in the sentence, pronouns can be categorised as nominative pronouns or objective pronouns. • A nominative pronoun is the subject of the verb. • An objective pronoun is the object of the verb.
• He was arrested for his involvement in the abduction. (Nominative)
• The office called me. (Objective) • She was the wife of the celebrated novelist. (Nominative) • He ate it. (Objective)
Nominative Objective I Me You You He Him She Her It It They Them We Us
Gender of Pronouns
Pronouns can be divided into three categories according to the genders of the nouns they represent. • Masculine gender pronoun: He, his, him, himself • Feminine gender pronoun: She, her, hers, herself • Neutral gender pronoun: It, itself
He is my best friend. Radha invited her home. The assassin kept it on the table.
05 Grammer | Pronouns
Reflexive, Emphatic, Interrogative and Relative Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
The term reflexive can be split into two parts—‘re-’ (the prefix which means ‘back’) and ‘flex’ (the root which means ‘bend’). • A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that ‘bends back’ to its antecedent*. In other words, it is used to refer to the object when it is the same as the subject. • Pronouns like ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘herself’, ‘himself’, ‘ourselves’ and ‘themselves’ are known as reflexive pronouns.
SUBJECT/ANTECEDENT VERB REFLEXIVE PRONOUN
Mrs De Winter hurt herself.
In the above example, we see that the noun ‘Mrs De Winter’ and the pronoun ‘herself’ refer to the same person. Both are the subject and the object of the verb ‘ hurt’. The pronoun ‘ herself’ bends back to the antecedent ‘Mrs De Winter’. Hence, ‘herself’ is a reflexive pronoun.
Let us look at a few more examples.
• The vain prince admired himself in the mirror.
• “Do I need one more pair of shoes?” Kavita asked herself.
• Good students have the power to motivate themselves.
• A narcissist is a person who loves himself.
• I cannot lie to myself.
An antecedent* is the noun which the pronoun replaces.
06 Grammer | Pronouns
Emphatic Pronouns
• Pronouns like ‘myself’, ‘himself’, ‘herself’, ‘itself’, ‘themselves’ and ‘ourselves’ can also be emphatic pronouns. Functionally, however, emphatic pronouns are different from reflexive pronouns. • While reflexive pronouns are used to refer to the antecedent, emphatic pronouns are used to lay emphasis on the antecedent.
SUBJECT/ANTECEDENT EMPHATIC PRONOUN
Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
In the above example, ‘Mrs Dalloway’ is the antecedent of the pronoun herself. In this sentence, ‘herself’ functions as a word which lays emphasis on its antecedent. Let us look at a few more examples.
• Margaret herself was the forger of the documents.
• The weapon itself was missing.
• The judge herself was found embroiled in the controversy.
• The detective himself was confounded by the crime.
Singular and Plural Reflexive/Emphatic Pronouns
Singular Plural
Myself Ourselves
Yourself Yourselves
Himself, herself, itself Themselves
07 Grammer | Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
We know that the term ‘interrogate’ means to ask questions. Interrogative pronouns are those which are used for forming questions.
Who Whom Whose
Which What Whichever
Whoever Whomever Whatever
Let us look at a few examples.
• Who ran the fastest?
• Which door should be opened?
• What is the time?
• Whose cat is this?
• Whom shall we go to?
• Whoever told her she could sing?
• Whatever is she reading?
• Whomever is he marrying?
• Whichever is the correct answer to that question?
08 Grammer | Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
• Relative pronouns help us refer back to the antecedent.
• Although they may look like interrogative pronouns, their functions are completely different.
The warrior who was wounded fought bravely.
In this sentence, the pronoun ‘who’ refers to the antecedent ‘The warrior’.
• Relative pronouns are also used to join parts of sentences.
The man + whom you met + is my father.
Usage of Relative Pronouns
Both pronouns are used to refer to people. They can also be used to refer to animals.
Who – used for referring to the subject
• This is the writer who wrote ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.
Who and Whom (‘the writer’ is the one who ‘wrote’; ‘the writer’ is the subject)
Whom – used for referring to the object
• The man whom I thought highly of turned out to be a fraud.
(‘I’ thought of the ‘man’; ‘the man’ is the object)
The relative pronoun ‘whose’ is used to refer to people who possess something. Whose • This is the uncle whose house I live in. (The pronoun ‘whose’ refers to the uncle who owns the house)
The relative pronoun ‘which’ is used to refer to objects or animals.
Which • The dog which the Fitzgeralds abandoned used to be their pet. (The pronoun ‘which’ refers to the dog)
That is used to refer to people, objects and animals.
That • The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. (The pronoun ‘that’ refers to ‘the hand’)
