V)

SECTION 13 personal pronouns; possessives Q)

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grammar summary Q)
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I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them o
my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs Q..
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
-----
each other
~
.
V)
"-

C
We use pronouns when it is not necessary, or not possible, to use a more exact noun phrase. ::J
Mrs Parker phoned. She said ... (The speaker uses the personal pronoun she because it is not necessary to
repeat Mrs Parker.)
o
C
Ann talks to herself 0/1 the time. (It is unnecessary to repeat Ann.) o
L-
In this section we explain personal pronouns (I, me, you etc); possessives (my, your etc and mine, yours etc); Q..
reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself etc); and each other.
Indefinite pronouns (somebody, anything etc) are explained in Section 12, together with some and any. ro
Relative pronouns (who, which etc) are explained in Section 19. C
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V)
L-
Q)

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Q..

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-
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PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES 185

personal pronouns: I and me etc

SUBJECTS you he she it we you they I

OTHER USES me you him her it us you them I
SUBJECTS: I, HE HC I like Mary. He needs help. They want your address.
OBJECTS: ME, HIM ETC Mary doesn't like me. Help him. Don't tell them anything.
AFTER PREPOSITIONS: ME, HIM ETC Look at me. Why is Jane with him ? Is that for us?
AFTER BE: ME, HIM ETC 'Who's there?' 'It's me.' (NOT !J-e.Fr+.! OR!J-t-is-+.-,) 'Is that Joe ?' 'Yes, that's him.'
INFORMAL ANSWERS : ME, HIM ETC 'Who said that?' 'Me.' 'I'm tired.' 'Me too.'

Circle the correct answer.

'"
~ li Me don't understand. 5 'Where's your brother?' 'That's he I him over
1 'Who said that?' 'It wa s she I her: there:
2 Tell we I us your address. 6 Where are the children? Can you
3 This isn't for you, it's for he I him . see they I them?
4 I don't think they I them are here today. 7 Ask she I her why she I her is crying .

Put in he, him, she, her, they or them.

1 'Does your father speak English?' ' ............ .. . understands a little:
2 'I'm seeing Lucy and Pete on Tuesday: 'Oh, give ............ ... my love:
3 'Mr Carter's here: 'Ask .......... ..... to wait downstairs:
4 Where are yourfriends? .. ...... .. .... .'re very late.
5 'Have you spoken to Mrs Lewis?' 'Not yet. I'm going to speak to ...... .. .. ..... this evening:
6 'Where's Ann?' ' ....... ........ 's in Germany all this week:

We use it, they and them for things, including (usually) countries and animals.
I like Scotland, but it's cold in winter. She sold her horse because it cost too much.

Put in it, they or them.

1 'Where are my keys?' ' ... .. .. .... .... 're on that chair:
2 'Where did that cat come from? ' ' ...... ...... .. . came in through the window:
3 'What did you think of the film?' ' .... .. .... .. .. .'s not very good:
4 'What shall I do with these letters?' 'Just put .... .... .... .. . on the tabl e:
5 'Can I have John's address?' 'I'll give ............... to you this afternoon:
6 'Did you enjoy your holiday in Ireland?' 'Yes, .............. .'s a wonderful place:
7 'Where are your glasses?' 'I've lost .. ...... .... .. .'
8 'Would you like tickets forthe concert?' 'How much do .............. . co st ?'

We use it to talk about times, dates, distances and the weather.

It's five o'clock. It's Tuesday. It's December 17th today. It's my birthday.
It's 20 miles from my house to the centre of Oxford. It's cold today. It's raining.

Write true answers to these questions beginning It's ...

1 What time is it? It's ............ .... .... ...... .... ....... 3 What's the date? ........................ .... .. .. ...... .
2 What day is it? ...... .... .. .. .. .. ........ .. ........ .... .. 4 How far is itto London? ....... .... ............ .. .. .. .

186 PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES

 We don't usually leave out personal pronouns. (For exceptions in spoken English, see page 293.)
Jan arrived in America in 7976. He found a job in a clothes shop. (NOT FOfJfld ejob . .. )
'What languages do you know?' 'I can speak some German.' (NOT 'Gm sfJcek . .. ')
'Is your room OK?' 'Yes, I like it.' (NOT ' Yes, I iikc.0

Write answers, using /, you etc.

~ 'What time is the next train?' (8.30 / leaves / at)
It LeClves Clt i?.30.

'Where's John?' (has / London / to / moved)

2 'Have you seen my glasses?' (on / chair / are / that)

3 'What do you think of my new shoes?' (like)

4 'What's Elisabeth going to do?' (medicine / study / going to / is)

5 'I'm learning Greek.' 'Is it easy?' (No / difficult / is)

6 'Where's my bicycle?' (put / in / the garage)

7 'What do you do at weekends?' (play / tennis)

8 'Do you like my picture?' (is / beautifun

• GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: weather

Make sure you know the adjectives and verbs in the box. Use a dictionary if necessary.
Then label the pictures.

ADJECTIVES : cloudy cold foggy .l hot sunny warm windy

VERBS: hail .l rain snow

0
0 0 o
0 0
00 0 o
00
0 o

~ .. !~:~..~~~~~r.v0: . . ~ .. !~:~.f£?gglj: ... . 1 ... ... . . ........ . .. .. 2 .......... . ..... . ... . 3 .. . . . ...... ...... .. . .

4 . ....... .. . . .. .. . . ... 5 ... . ... ... .. .. ... . .. . 6 . ..... ... ......... .. . 7 ... . . . . . ....... . .... . 8 . ......... ........ .. .

In some answers, both contracted forms (for example I'm, don't) and full PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES 187
forms (for example I am, do not) are possible. Normally both are correct.
possessives: mYt your etc rhis is my coat.

~ my This is my coat.
you ~ your That's your problem.
he
she
it
we
they
--
~

~
his
her
its
our
their
John's visiting his mother.
Ann looks like her brothers.
The club has its meetings on Tuesdays.
Our friends Joe and Pat are staying with us.
The children have spent all their money.
who? ~ whose? Whose coat is this?

Possessives don't change for singular and plural.

our friend our friends (NOT ours frieAds)
Note how we use his and her: if a boy or man has something, we use his; if a girl or woman has
something, we use her.
I saw John and his sister yesterday. (NOT . . . John end her sister .. . )
Mary and her brother are students. (NOT Mery end his brother ... )
We often use possessives with parts of the body and clothes.
Phil has broken his arm. (NOT Phil hes broken the erm.)
She stood there with her eyes closed and her hands in her pockets.

Put in the correct possessives.

~ Would you like to wash .. lj~.~~ .. .. . hands?
~ We're taking .. ~.~.~ .. ..... holiday in June.
Tina's lost ............... keys.
2 Peter says ... ... ....... .. wife is ill.
3 ..... .... ...... car is that outside?
4 My bank has changed ..... ..... .. .. . name.
S I'm going to sell ......... ...... motorbike.
6 My students have got ...... ......... exam next week.
7 Stephen writes to ............... girlfriend every day.
8 Maria lives with ...... ........ . father in Portuga l.
9 Come in and take .... ........... coats off.
10 Robert broke .. .. .. ..... .... leg skiing last winter.
11 'What film did you see?' 'Sorry, I've forgotten ... ... ......... name:
12 Elizabeth did well in ... ..... ... .. .. exam s.

'Your loving son;

188 PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES

 I
Who sold what to who? Make sentences.

AMY: car JAMES: bike CARLOS: dog SARA: house PAT AND SAM: motorbike
HARRY: piano _ ALlCE: coat MICHAEL: camera HELEN : guitar _ MARILYN: hair dryer
TOM : dictionary _ AMY

~ .. :.\~ .~.~~0. . ~~r. .~0.~. ~~U.0.~.~~: .................... . 6 .............................................................. .

1 James sold ........ .. .. .... .... .... ... ... .. ... to Carlos.
2 Carlos ..................................................... .
3 .............................................................. .
4 .... ...... ........ .............. ..... ......................... .
5 ..... ......... ........ .......... ....... ..... . ................. .
7 ................................................... ... .... . ... .
8
9 .............................................................. .
10 .. . . .. .............. ... ..... .......... ... ................ ..... .

Look at the picture and complete the text.

~ .. :.\~~ .......... .. .... . and .. ~~r. .~.L:<:~~0.~0. .0.0.~~. went on holiday with 1 ••....••••............•..... and
2 ............... . .. ... ....... in 3 .......••........•....... .. • There's room for six in the van, so Anna invited
4 .... .... . ... ................ to go with them, but she didn't ask 5 ............................ , because Mark doesn't
get on with Lucy. Mark asked 6 .. ....... ................. .. , but she said no, because she doesn't like Frank. Then
Mark asked 7 ..... .. ... .... .............. , but he wasn't free. However, 8 .. .. ........... . .... ........ was happy to go
with them, so everything was OK.
2 Mark and Anna's
~ Anna ~ Anna's husband Mark 1 Mark and Anna's son Joe daughter Emma

camper van

5 Anna 's sister

Lucy

8 Mark and Anna 's

4 Anna's brother 6 Mark's sister
friend Pete
Frank Louise

We don't use a/ an, the, this or that before possessives.

my car (NOT the my car) this idea OR my idea (NOT this my idea)
Don't confuse its (possessive) and it's (= 'it is' or 'it has' - see page 301). Compare:
The company had its annual meeting yesterday. It's losing a lot of money.

In some answers, both contracted forms (for example I'm, don't) and full PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES 189
forms (for example I am, do not) are possible. Normally both are correct.
possessives: mine, yours etc This is mine.

DETERMINER PRONOUN DETERMINER PRONOUN

my coat mine its price ---

your car yours our house ours
his chair his their problem theirs
her book hers

We use mine, yours etc without nouns. Compare:

That's not my coat. This is mine. (NOT This is the mine.) Is that your car? I th ought yours was a Ford.
Their garden is much bigger than ours. (NOT ... ours gerden )
We can use the question word whose with or without nouns.
Whose coat is that? Whose is that coat?

Rewrite the sentences with possessive pronouns.

~ Th at's my newspaper. .. !!:t.0~::;..~.~':":'~: .. .......... .. .................... .
1 I prefer our house to their hou se. I prefer our house to ........................................ .... ...... .. .. ..
2 Her hair looks better than your hair. Her hair .............................................. .. ...... ..
3 Your hair looks terrible. .. .................... .. .... .... .. .... .. ...... .. .... .. ..
4 That dog looks like our dog. .. .. .... .. ...................... .. .............. .. .... ..
5 That car's not her car. .. .... .... .... ........ .... .. .......................... ..
6 This coat isn't my coat. .. .... ...... .... ..... .... .............................. .
7 My cooking is better than hi s cooking. .. .................................................... ..
8 Is this bike your bike? .... .. ...... .. ...................................... .. ..

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: the bathroom

Look at the pictures of David and Natasha's bathroom, and use the words in the box
to make sentences with his, hers or theirs. Use a dictionary if necessary.

dressing gown hair dryer make -up razor shampoo soap toothbrush
toothbrush toothpaste towel washcloth ./ washcloth

~ .. !!:t~..~~0 .:-Y~:;.~.C:~~.~~ .~~. '~~~ " """""""""""'"
1 The .. .. .. ................ .... .. ...... .. .... is not th eirs.
2 .......................... .. ...................... . .... . .. .. . . .
3 .. ...... .................. ... .................. .. .......... ... .
4 .. .. . . . . . .. . .... . ...... .. .. ........... . ........ ............ ... .
5 ... . .. ....... ...... .... ........ .. .... . ........ .... .. ... . .. ... ..
6 ... ..... .. .. ....... .. ................. .. ....... ......... ...... .
7 .................................. . ...... . ............. . . . . ... .
8 .......... . ....................... . ............ ... . .. .. .. ..... .
9 ....................................... . ....... .. . ... ....... . ..
10 .. ........ . ........ . ................... . . .. .................. ..
11 ... ............ .. .. ...... .. .............. ... ................. ..

3 John's

4 Joh n and Ma ry's

6 Mary's 8 Mary's

/ /
7 Mary's

-
9 Mary's

10 John and Mary's 11 John and Mary 's

190 PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES
reflexive pronouns: mysel" yourself etc

1_ myself you _ yourself he _ himself she _ herself it _ itself

we _ ourselves you _ yourselves they _ th emselves

We use myself, yourself etc when an object is the same person / thing as the subject.
I cut myself shaving this morning. (N OT I-EtH-me ... ) We must ask ourselves some questions.
He tried to kill himself. (Different from He tried to kill him .)
~
Circle the correct answer.
1 She doesn't love him / himself. 4 I'm going out tonight, so you will all have to
2 She likes looking at her / herselfin the mirror. cook for yourself/ yourselves.
3 Old people often talk to them / themselves. 5 I like Bill, but I don't understand him / himself.

Put in myself, yourself etc.

1 I'm teaching .. .......... ....... to play the guitar. 5 Mary talks about ................... all the time.
2 'Who's John talking to?' .................. . 6 Find chairs for ................... and sit down.
3 Get a drink for .................. . 7 They just wantto make money for .................. .
4 We really enjoyed .. ...... .. .. ....... last night.

We can also use myself etc to emphasise - to say 'that person/ thing and nobody/ nothing else:
It's best if you do it yourself. I want to speak to the manager himself, not his secretary.

Put in myself, yourself etc.

1 Did you cut your hair ...................... .......... . ? 4 Can you repair this, or must we do it
2 Peter and Ann builttheir house .................... .. . ................................ ........ .... ........ .... .... ?
3 I answer all my letters .............. .... .... .......... .. 5 We got a letter from the Queen .... ........ ... ...... .

Note the difference between ourselves etc Each other or -selves?

and each other. 1 Henry and Barbara write to .......................... .
every week.
2 Joe and Pat have bought a flat
for .. ...................... .. .
3 Do you and Julia tell ...... .................. .. .
everything?
They 're looking at themselves.
4 You'll need photos of .. .. .... .................. . for
your passports.
5 Ruth and I have known .......................... .
for years.

They 're looking at each other.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY: some common expressions with reflexive pronouns

by myself/yourself etc ( = 'alone') enjoy myself/yo urself etc Take care of yourself.
Help yourself. (= 'Take what you want:) Make yourself comfortable.

.. r (: r p' K ( P
'1 I, 191
personal pronouns and possessives: more practice
Forms. There is one mistake in each column. Find the mistakes in columns 2-5 and correct them .

1 2 3 4 5
I me my mines myself
you you your yours yourself
he him his his himself
she her hers hers herself
it it its - itself
we our our ours ourselves
you you your yours yourselves
+g tVJeyj them their theirs theirselves

Mixed structures. Correct the mistakes.

~ Mer didn't say 'He llo'. .. ~~.~ .... 11 'Where are your gloves?' 'I've lost its: .......... ..
1 John and her wife have gone to Greece. 12 'Who did that?' 'It was I: .......... ..
2 This coat is my. .. .......... 13 'Which girl is your sister?' 'That's she in the
3 Their house is much bigger than our. red dress: ........... .
4 That dog has hurt it's ear. .. ........ .. 14 Is cold again today. ., .... .. ....
5 'What aboutthis music?' 'I like: ........... . 15 'What's her name?' 'Have forgotten:
6 There are five miles to the nearest station. 16 Lucy broke the leg skiing. .. ...... .. ..
17 'What's the date?' 'Is December 17th:
7 We are Tuesday. .. ......... .
8 Where's the station?' 'He's over there: 18 Is thatthe my coat? .......... ..
9 Their were all late. .. .......... 19 Who's car is this? .... ...... ..
10 'Did you like France?' 'I thought was wonderful: 20 'Who's that?' 'I am: ........... .

Reflexives and each other. Complete the captions.

1 He's talking to ...................... 2

o
She's talking to .................... 3 They're talking to ............... ..

Mixed pronouns. Put in a personal pronoun (me, you etc), a reflexive pronoun
(myself, yourself etc), each other or nothing (-).
~ She looked at .. ~~............. and I looked at .. h~r. ............ but we didn't say anything.
1 When I'm alone I don't always cook for ........ .. ....... ..
2 We love ................... very much, but we fight all the time.
3 When he looks at .............. .... . in the mirror, he gets very depressed.
4 Don't help .................... I wantto do it by ................. ..
5 Anna and I write to ................... every week.
6 The children really enjoyed ................... at your party.
7 I'm sorry. I haven't got time to teach ................... to cook. You'll have to teach .................. .
8 'Can we have some coffee?' 'Sure. Help .................. .'
9 My girlfriend doesn't speak much Italian, and I don't speak much Chinese, so we sometimes have
trouble understanding ................. ..
10 Come in and make ... ... ............. comfortable.

192 PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESSIVES

 r--
Reflexives. Circl~the right pronouns.
1 Of all my wife's relations Ilike myself / herself the best.
(Joseph Cook)
2 Novels are about other people and poems are about themselves / yourself.
(Philip Larkin)
3 An egotist: a person more interested in himself / yourself than in me.
(Ambrose Bieree)
4 'How do you know you're God?' 'Simple. When I pray to Him I find I'm talking to myself / himself:
(Peter Barnes)
5 We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves / themselves.
(May Lamberton Beeker)
6 You can always get someone to love you - even if you have to do it ourself / yourself.
(Tom Masson)

Grammar in a text. Choose words from the boxes to complete the text.

each other her his its themselves they your

My brother and 1 ........ .. . ... . • • . . girlfriend have known 2 .. . • • • . •...... . ••. . for about five years,
but 3 . ... .............. . 've only been going out together for six months.

he her him she their they we I

Before that, he didn't like 4 .... ..... ... . .. . . .. and s .... .. ... ... .... ... didn't like him, but later 6 . .. . ....... . . . .... .

became good friends, and started going out together.

her hers his its it 's our their they they're

7 .. •• . ... ..... . . .. .. both have small flats. His flat is in the town centre, and 8 • ....... ... .••....• very comfortable.
9 .. . ...... . . ..... . .. is a long way out, and it's not so nice. So they spend most of 10 .. ...... . .......... free
time at 11 . . . ... ..... ...... .. place.

he her hers herself him himself its it's she's

He works in a garage, and 12 ..... ..• .... . .• .. .. a teacher, but she doesn't let 13 • . • •...•...........

touch 14 . ........... .... ... car - she looks after it 15 ...... ...... ... .... .

each other my they them their themselves they're

Ilike 16 . • . . ..... .... ...... both very much, and I think 17 ... ..• . ...•...•••.. good for 18 .. . ...... . ... . •. .• . ,

so 19 . . ......... . .... ... hope 20 .. .. .. . . . .......... will stay together.

Internet exercise. Use a search engine (e.g. Google). Which ofthese three expressions
gets most hits? Can you see why?
"She broke her arm:'
"She broke the arm :'
"She broke his arm :'

pron unciation for grammar PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESS IVES 193

personal pronouns and possessives: revision test
Complete the table.
I me my mine myself
you
he his
hers
it -
our
yourselves
they

Correct the mistakes.

~ I him haven't seen today. .. ~~.':"~.~:~. ~.~~.":: .~.~.~ ...... .. ..... .
'Is the soup OK?' 'Yes, I like: ................. ................ ....... . .
2 There are 20 miles to the shopping centre. . ..... ...... ....... ....... ............... .
3 We are Friday. . ........ ... ... ..................... .. .. . .
4 Peter and her sister are in Brazil. ...... .............. .... ............. .... .
5 Ilike our garden better than their. ... ... ........................ ..... .... .. .
6 Olivia and Karl are nice. But theirs children! ........... . ......... ......... ........... .
7 Who's is this bag? ..... .... ............ .. ........... ....... .
8 Ann and I write to ourselves every week. . ...... ......... ..... .................... .
9 I really enjoyed at your party. . .... ... ....... ................. .. ... .... .
10 I'm teaching me to play the guitar. ... ... ...... ....... .. .... ... ... . ... ...... .
11 Where's the my bike? ........ .. ..... .............. ..... ... .... .
12 Is April 1st today. . ... .... ...... ........... .......... ...... .
13 James fell off his horse and broke the arm. . .............. .. .................... .. .. .
14 'What's Joe's phone number?' 'Have forgotten : ..... ............ .... ... .. ............... .
15 I sat down, made me comfortable, and waited for her to say something. . ...... .. ...... ............ ....... ..... .. .

Put in a personal pronoun (me, you etc), a possessive (my, your etc), a reflexive
(myself, yourself etc), or each other.
~ .. ~~ ..... ... ............... . is five o'clock.
1 I don't like ...... ..... ... .. .......... .. and he doesn't like ... ................... ..... .
2 Don't help .... ... ...... ........ .... . .. . She must do it by ...... ............ ...... .. . .
3 Oliver and his girlfriend phone ..... ........ .. ...... ... .. .. every day.
4 Thanks for yesterday evening. We really enjoyed .. ... .. .................... .
5 I like cooking for other people, but I don't much like cooking for .......... . .. .. ........ .. .. .
6 Let's work together: the work will go much faster if we help ... .. ........ . ........ ... .. .
7 Hi, Paul. Help ... .... .......... .. ... ...... to coffee. I'll be with . .......... ................. in a minute.
8 'Will you teach .. ....... ......... .. .. ...... the piano?' 'No, sorry, you'll have to teach .......... .. .. .. ..... .. .... .'
9 'Who broke the cup?' 'It wasn't ........... ..... ..... ...... .'
10 'Which is your mother?' 'That's .. ... .. .... .... ..... .... .... over there by the w indow:
11 My parents don't understand .. ...... .. ... ............... , and my boyfriend doesn't understand
.. ......... .......... ... .... , and sometimes I don't understand ....... ... ..... ..... .... ... .
12 That girl keeps losing .......... .. ... ... ... ....... shoes.
13 Bill 's coming this evening with .. ....................... ... three sisters.
14 I don't like looking at photos of ........ .. ... .... .... ....... , because ....... .. .......... .. ....... always look so old .
15 Mary's mother's really nice, but I don't like .................. ...... .... father much.

194 PERSONAL PRONOUNS; POSSESS IVES In some answers, both contracted forms (for example I'm, don't) and full
forms (for example lam, do not) are possible. Normally both are correct.