PRONOUNS
Definition
‘A pronoun is a word used in place of a
noun.
Replacing nouns with pronouns makes
sentences sound less monotonous.
Observe this.
‘Mrs. RodrigoS husband gave Mrs.
Rodrigo some money.
irs. Rodrigo’s husband gave her some
money.
* antecedent: An antecedent is the word to
which a pronoun refers.
Example:
Mount Katmai is 6,715 foot volcano
located in southern Alaska.
It erupted in 1912.
= Mount Katmai isthe
antecedent of the pronoun it.
Classification of pronouns
A. Personal pronouns
‘A personal pronoun is a pronoun that
shows by its form the speaker, the
person spoken to, or the person or
thing spoken of.
Pronouns under the nominative case function
as:
1. Subject of the sentence
Iwas treated like a VIP.
2. Subject complement or predicate
nominative
It was they who gave the party.
3. Nominative of address
I, the president, will do everything in my
Capacity to uplift the economic situation
of the country.
Pronouns under the objective case function as:
1, Direct object
God love us.
2. Indirect object
We gave them the award.
3. Object of the preposition
La Nina affected all of us.
4, Object of participle
Knowing him, I expected the worst.
5. Object of gerund
Knowing him is a comfort.
6. Object of infinitive
It is difficut to understand him.
*The case used after As and Than
The pronoun used after the
comparatives as and than should be in
the same case as the word to which
it is compared.
Example:
Paul swims better than I (do).
Roger is as clever as she (is).
The pronouns I and she are both in
the nominative case because the
words to which they are compared
(Paul, Roger) are also both in the
nominative case.
The employers gave me as much as (she,
her).The correct answers are’
The employer gave me as much as
she (did).
The employers gave me as much (the
employer gave) her.
B. Compound personal pronouns
A compound personal pronoun Is a
pronoun formed by adding the suffix-
self or selves to some personal
Pronouns.
*Chart of the Compound Personal
Pronouns
| | Singular Plural
1* Person. nyself_| ourselves
2™ Person _| yourself | yourselves
| 3" Person | himself, | ‘themselves
| | herself, | |
| tse |
‘A compound personal pronoun is
either reflexive or intensive.
A reflective pronoun is used as an
object referring to the same person
of thing as the subject.
The boy hurt himself.
An Intensive pronoun is used to
emphasize a noun or a pronoun
preceding it.
1, myseff finished the project.
C. Interrogative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun
used in asking a question.
‘The interrogative pronouns are which,
who and what.
Who is used for persons,
which is used for persons and things,
what is used for things.
Chart of Who
Singular Plural
Nominative who who.
Possessive whose whose
Objective | whorn whom
D. Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun
that refers to an antecedent at the
same time introducing a dependent
or subordinate clause.
The relative pronouns are who,
which, what, and that.
Examples:
Christian who die for their faith are
called martyrs.
‘The work which was given to me
was difficult.
This is the house that Architect
dela Cruz built.
‘She asked me to give you what
you asked for.
E. Adjective Pronouns
An adjective pronoun is a
pronoun that may be used as
an adjective in the sentence.
Pronouns: These are mine.
Few arrived.
Adjectives: These paintings are mine.
Few visitors arrived.
Type of adjectives pronouns:
1. Demonstrative Pronouns
‘A demonstrative pronoun is a
Pronoun that points out a
definite person, place or
thing.
‘The demonstrative pronouns are:
this, these, that, those.
This and that are singular;
‘these and those are plural.
‘This and these are for persons,
places or things near the
speaker.That and those are for the
Persons, places, or things far
from the speaker.
This book was written by Ayn Rnd.
“These books were published in Canada,
‘That house is my grandparents’
Those houses were designed by the city
engineer.
2. Indefinite Pronouns
‘An indefinite Pronoun is a pronoun that
does not point out to a particular
things.
Singular/ Plural |
‘Al, any, more, |
most, none, |
|
|
‘somebody,
someone,
3. Distributive pronouns
‘A distributive pronoun is a pronoun that
refers to each person, place, or thing
separately. :
‘The distributive pronouns are: each,
neither, either.
Each contestant was given a consolation
prize.
Neither of the boys got the correct
answer.
Either of those cars was sold.
4. Possessive Pronoun
‘A possessive pronoun is a pronoun used
to show ownership or possession.
‘The possessive pronouns are: mine,
‘ours, yours, his, hers, and theirs.
Examples:
People who have given us their complete
Confidence believe that they have a right
to ours. The inference is false, a gift
confers no rights,
(Here, ours replaces the noun phrase our
complete confidence.)
T always check if the art across the street
{s better than mine.
(Here, mine replaces the noun phrase my
art)