Midterms: Week 1

1. TOPIC: PRONOUNS [OVERVIEW]

Description:

 Pronouns are used to take the place of nouns in a sentence.

Uses of Pronouns:
1. They are used to refer to a person or thing.
Ex.: The man went to the appliance store. à He went to the appliance store.
The pencil broke à It broke.

2. They are used to identify and “point to” a noun. A demonstrative pronoun tells us if it’s
“pointing to” the nearest or the one furthest away. [more detail later!]
Ex.: “This is a good boy” [standing closest to me]
- “but that is a bad boy” [standing further away]
Plural forms are “these” [closest] and “those” [further away]

3. They are used to ask questions.

Ex.: Which company has the cheapest product?

4. They are used to link a phrases or clauses to one another in a longer sentence.
Ex.: When looking for repairmen, find those who have a good reputation.

5. They are used to refer to something that has not been specified before. 
Ex.: Many have complained about their service.  [“many” what ??]

6. They are used to refer back to the subject of a sentence.

Ex.: You should keep a copy of the receipts for yourself so you can check your
expenses.

7. They are used to emphasize a noun.

Ex.: I myself used their products, and I highly recommend them.

Remember: Use singular pronouns when referring to one person/thing and plural pronouns
when referring to plural people/things.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

1. The rent for the house is negotiable. It may still go lower.
a. It b. These c. Those d. Them
2. The lady broke her washing machine so she called a repairman.
a. her b. him c. them d. theirs
3. The postman delivered the letter very late so nobody was at home to receive it.
a. it b. this c. those d. them

 
 2. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUNS---DEMONSTRATIVE

General Description:

 Demonstrative Pronouns are pronouns that identify or specify something - they “point to”
it.
 There are four of them - this, these, that, and those.

Remember:

 “This” is used for an object which is close to the speaker and is in singular form.
 “These” is used for objects which are close to the speaker and are in plural form.
 “That” is used for an object which is far from the speaker and is in singular form.
 “Those” is used for objects which are far from the speaker and are in plural form.

Examples:

Objects that are close to the speaker

 Singular: This pen is working properly.

“this pen here in my hand - not that broken one over there on the floor!”
 Plural: All of these pens are working properly.
“these new ones here - not the dried-up ones over there in the rubbish bin”

Objects that are far from the speaker

 Singular: That old dried up pen will be thrown away.

[but I’ll keep this one in my hand, as it’s still working]
 Plural: Those dried up old pens will be thrown away.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

1. That item is included in my monthly bill.

a. These b. That c. There d. Those

2. This payment is for the electrician’s services.

a. This b. These c. Those d. That’s

3. You should always turn off these switches when you are not using them.

a. this b. that c. these d. there

 3. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUNS – INDEFINITE

General Description:

 Indefinite pronouns are words that replace nouns but do not ‘point them out’. They can be
plural, singular - or both!  [Go back over the rules for count and non-count]

A. Pronouns that are always singular – anybody, anyone, another, each, either, everybody,
everyone, nobody, no one, neither, one, someone, somebody
Ex. Everyone is requested to do his share of the hard work.
Someone is in charge of SPCBA.

B. Pronouns that are always plural – many, both, few, several, others
Ex.: Many students participated in the celebrations.
Both the teacher and the students agreed that the course was boring.

C. Pronouns that may be either singular or plural – all, any, some, none
Ex.: All have received higher wages for working harder. (Plural)
None of the workers is to blame for the delay. (Singular)

 When it is not clear whether the indefinite pronoun refers to a man or a woman, you can use
the pronoun his –
Ex.: Someone supervises the output of his workers.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

Choose the word or phrase that would best complete the following sentences.

1. Everybody agrees with his good ideas.

a. agree b. agrees c. was agreed d. were agreed

2. Many teachers complained about their low wages.

a. his b. her c. there d. their

3. Most of the machines have problems causing them to break down.

a. has b. was c. were d. have

 
 4. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUN – INTERROGATIVE

General Description:

 Interrogative pronouns are used for asking a question.

Examples - what, whose, who, [refers to subject], whom [refers to object], which

This table shows how each interrogative pronoun is used:

Subject Object Possessive

Person Who Whom Whose
Thing What What
Person/Thing Which Which

Examples:

Question Answer
Who made the mistake? John made the mistake. Subject
Whom did you meet? I met John. Object
What is the name of the College? SPCBA is its name. Subject
Which shift do you prefer? I prefer the day shift. Object
Whose work was not done? John’s work was not done. Object

Comprehension Check:

Using an interrogative pronoun, make this sentence into a question. Underline the interrogative
pronoun you used and explain why you chose it [e.g. “it refers to the subject, which is a thing”] -

I called Mr. Jones to ask about the new machines.

Who called Mr. Jones to ask about the new machines?

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

1. Who will carry out the maintenance work today?

a. Who b. Whom c. Whose d. Which
2. Which equipment do we need to replace?
a. Who b. Whom c. Whose d. Which
3. Whom did you ask about the new operating system?
a. Who b. Whom c. Whose d. Which

 
 5. TOPIC: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

General Description:

 Possessive pronouns are used [of course!] to talk about something that belongs to
someone. 
 They can:
o refer to the subject or object in the sentence
o refer to a singular or plural noun

When using them you have to be careful to know

 Number – singular (mine) plural (ours)

 Person – 1st person(mine/ours) 2nd (yours) 3rd (his/hers/its/theirs)
 Gender – male (his) female (hers) neuter – a thing (its) 

Examples:

1. I like your hat. Do you like mine? (object = hat)

2. All the hats looked good but his was the best. (subject = hats)
3. The students liked your hat. Do you like theirs? (object = hat)

A note on spelling!

 its = possessive pronoun, “belonging to it” BUT   it’s - short for “it is”
 their = “belonging to them” BUT there = where it is - “over there”
 student’s = belongs to the student [singular] BUT students’ = belongs to the students
[plural - belongs to all of them]]

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

Choose the word or phrase that would best complete the following sentences.

1. John passed his prelim exam but Jane did not pass hers.

a. his b. hers c. their d. theirs

2. Professor Frisnedi monitored her students’ results but Sir Barrie did not monitor his.

a. his b. hers c. their d. theirs

 
 6. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUNS---ABSOLUTE POSSESSIVE

General Description:

 As we’ve seen, possessive pronouns show ownership - belonging to someone. There are
two types of possessive pronouns.

1. Weak possessive pronouns [also called Possessive Determiners]

Like my, your, his, her, their, and our.
They function as adjectives and they go in front of a noun.
Ex.: Do you want to use my credit card?

2. Strong possessive pronouns also called Absolute Possessive

Like mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, ours.
They are much more than just adjectives! They represent a whole phrase; can stand on
their own!
Ex.: Your credit card is rejected. Do you want to use mine?
(‘mine’ stands for ‘my credit card’)

VERY IMPORTANT!

Remember: An absolute possessive pronoun does NOT take an apostrophe (’)

Examples:

o WRONG – Have you seen their new house? I have seen their’s.
 CORRECT – Have you seen their new house? I have seen theirs
o WRONG – Is this hat your’s?
 CORRECT – Is this hat yours? Whose hat is this? It is yours.

Comprehension Check:
So - what is the Horrible mistake in this sentence?
This parking space is not hers but ours, so please get your’s. Should be “yours”.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

1. That antique shop used to be ours.
a. our b. ours c. our’s d. your
2. My dad took my car to go to work. Can I take yours to the shops?
a. you b. yours c. mine d. your’s
3. She will tell her mother the price of the wedding dress.
a. her b. hers c. theirs d. their

 
 7. TOPIC: RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

General Description:

 Reciprocal pronouns are pronouns which show the relationship between two or more
things - how they “get along together”.

The two main ones we use are:

Each other – when there are two subjects in the sentence.

One another – when there are more than two subjects in the sentence.

Remember: Reciprocal pronouns come at the very end of the sentence, right after
the preposition + the verb.

Examples:

Each Other (For two subjects)

Subject (2x) Verb Preposition Reciprocal Pronoun

The two companies work cooperatively with each other.

One Another (For three or more subjects):

Subject Verb Preposition Reciprocal Pronoun

The soldiers fought with one another.
The students copied from one another.

Comprehension Check: Fill in the blank with the correct reciprocal pronoun:
Two customers are arguing with each other.
a. each other b. one another

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences 

Choose the word or phrase that would best complete the following sentences.
1. Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown helped each other to finish the project.
a. each other b. each one c. one other d.  the other
2. The twelve new sales people are going to meet one another tomorrow.
a. each other b. each one c. one other d. one another
3. Mr. Smith and his staff members are talking with one another about the new project.
a. each one b. each other c. one another d. one other
 

8. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUNS - REFLEXIVE

General Description:

 A reflexive pronoun is used when the object of the sentence the same as the subject.
Reflexive pronoun made like this - pronoun + “-self” - like this:

Forms of reflexive pronoun:

Personal Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun

I Myself
You Yourself, Yourselves
We Ourselves
He/ She/ It Himself/ Herself/ Itself
They Themselves

Remember: Reflexive pronouns are used as objects to EMPHASIZE the subject.

However, these pronouns are NOT used as subjects.

Example:  CORRECT - I myself checked the orders yesterday.

WRONG!! -   Myself checked the orders yesterday.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

Choose the word or phrase that would best complete the following sentences.
1. I promised myself to check my work for mistakes before submitting it.
a. myself b. himself c. yourself d. ourselves
2. She told herself to be careful to avoid making any mistakes.
a. himself b. myself c. herself d. himself
3. He scolded himself for being careless and breaking the glass.
a. myself b. his self c. himself d. themselves

9. TOPIC: TYPES OF PRONOUNS - RELATIVE

General Description:

 Relative Pronouns are used to connect one group of words to another group of words in a
sentence.

Common relative pronouns

That: Those are the checks that were given to me.

Which: It is the invoice which was proved to be fake.

Who: Mr. Sanders is the accountant who sent me the receipts.

Whom: Mr. Lee is the man whom I talked to about the fake invoice.

More examples:

o These are the invoices that the company received.

o Mr. Reston is the employee who accepted the delivery.

 To make it easier to work out, can divide the long sentence into two short sentences.
Ex.: Mr. Collins is the cashier who gave me the invoice.
Mr. Collins is the cashier.  +   He gave me the invoice.
(Who replaces the pronoun He)

Comprehension Check:

Connect the two sentences by using a relative pronoun:

1. This is the billing statement

2. Mr. Smith prepared the billing statement.

This is the billing statement that Mr. Smith prepared.

Exercise 1: Incomplete Sentences

Choose the word or phrase that would best complete the following sentences.

1. Mr. Nixon is the salesman from whom I bought the car.

a. who b. that c. which d. whom

2. This is the paperwork that I need for filing.

a. who b. that c. where d. whom

3. Mr. Anderson is the person who paid the bill.

a. who b. what c. which d. Whom