1 PERSONAL PRONOUS SUBJECT PRONOUS AND OBJET PRONOUS
Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use
them depending on: number: singular (eg:I) or plural (eg:we)
person: 1st person (eg:I), 2nd person (eg:you) or 3rd person
(eg:he) gender: male (eg:he), female (eg:she) or neuter (eg:it)
case: subject (eg:we) or object (eg:us)We use personal pronouns in
place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is
Josef but when I am talking about myself I almost always use I or
me, not Josef. When I am talking direct to you, I almost always use
you, not your name. When I am talking about another person, say
John, I may start with John but then use he or him. And so on.Here
are the personal pronouns, followed by some example
sentences:numberpersongenderpersonal pronouns
subjectobject
singular1stmale/ femaleIme
2ndmale/ femaleyouyou
3rdmalehehim
femalesheher
neuteritit
plural1stmale/ femaleweus
2ndmale/ femaleyouyou
3rdmale/ female/ neutertheythem
Examples (in each pair, the first sentence shows asubject
pronoun, the second anobject pronoun): Ilike coffee. / John
helpedme. Doyoulike coffee? / John lovesyou. Heruns fast. / Did Ram
beathim? Sheis clever. / Does Mary knowher? Itdoesnt work. / Can
the man fixit? Wewent home. / Anthony droveus. Doyouneed a table
for three? / Did John and Mary beatyouat doubles? Theyplayed
doubles. / John and Mary beatthem.When we are talking about a
single thing, we almost always useit. However, there are a few
exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal ashe/himorshe/her,
especially if the animal is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some
other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often
treated as female and referred to asshe/her. Here are some
examples: This is our dog Rusty.Hes an Alsatian. TheTitanicwas a
great ship butshesank on her first voyage. My first car was a Mini
and I treatedherlike my wife. Thailand has now openedherborder with
Cambodia.For a single person, sometimes we dont know whether to
useheorshe. There are several solutions to this: If a teacher needs
help,he or sheshould see the principal. If a teacher needs
help,heshould see the principal. If a teacher needs help,theyshould
see the principal.We often useitto introduce a remark: Itis nice to
have a holiday sometimes. Itis important to dress well. Its
difficult to find a job. Isitnormal to see them together? Itdidnt
take long to walk here.We also often useitto talk about the
weather, temperature, time and distance: Its raining. Itwill
probably be hot tomorrow. Isit nine oclock yet? Its 50 kilometres
from here to Cambridge. 2 POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND POSSESSIVE
PRONOUNS
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNSWe use possessive pronouns to refer to a
specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging
to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or
thing/things).We use possessive pronouns depending on: number:
singular (eg:mine) or plural (eg:ours) person: 1st person
(eg:mine), 2nd person (eg:yours) or 3rd person (eg:his) gender:
male (his), female (hers)Below are the possessive pronouns,
followed by some example sentences. Notice that each possessive
pronoun can: be subjectorobject refer to a singularorplural
antecedentnumberpersongender (of "owner")possessive pronouns
singular1stmale/ femalemine
2ndmale/ femaleyours
3rdmalehis
femalehers
plural1stmale/ femaleours
2ndmale/ femaleyours
3rdmale/ female/ neutertheirs
Look at these pictures.Mineis the big one. (subject = My
picture) I like your flowers. Do you likemine? (object = my
flowers)
I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I
couldn't findyours. (object = your key) My flowers are
dying.Yoursare lovely. (subject = Your flowers)
All the essays were good buthiswas the best. (subject = his
essay) John found his passport but Mary couldn't findhers. (object
= her passport) John found his clothes but Mary couldn't findhers.
(object = her clothes)
Here is your car.Oursis over there, where we left it. (subject =
Our car) Your photos are good.Oursare terrible. (subject = Our
photos)
Each couple's books are colour-coded.Yoursare red. (subject =
Your books) I don't like this family's garden but I likeyours.
(object = your garden)
These aren't John and Mary's children.Theirshave black hair.
(subject = Their children) John and Mary don't like your car. Do
you liketheirs? (object = their car)Notice that the following (with
apostrophe [']) do NOT exist:her's, your's, their's
POSSESSIVE ADJETIVESWe use possessive adjectives to show who
owns or "possesses" something. The possessive adjectives are: my,
your, his, her, its, our, their whose (interrogative)Warning!These
are adjectives. Don't confuse them
withpronouns.numberpersongenderpossessive adjectiveexample
sentence
singular1stmale/ femalemyThis ismybook.
2ndmale/ femaleyourI likeyourhair.
3rdmalehisHisname is "John".
femaleherHername is "Mary".
neuteritsThe dog is lickingitspaw.
plural1stmale/ femaleourWe have soldourhouse.
2ndmale/ femaleyourYourchildren are lovely.
3rdmale/ female/ neutertheirThe students
thankedtheirteacher.
singular/plural1st/ 2nd/ 3rdmale/ female (not
neuter)whoseWhosephone did you use?
Compare:your= possessive adjectiveyou're = you areits=
possessive adjectiveit's = it isORit hastheir= possessive
adjectivethey're = they arethere = adverb (I'm not going there /
look over there / there is a car outside)whose= possessive
adjectivewho's = who isORwho hasBe careful! There is no apostrophe
(') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to
write the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example:it's
raining = it is rainingit's finished = it has finished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's brokenitsleg.
3 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
reflexive(adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like
a mirrorWe use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to
the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in
"-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).There are eight reflexive
pronouns:reflexive pronoun
singularmyselfyourselfhimself,herself,itself
pluralourselvesyourselvesthemselves
Look at these examples:non-reflexivetheunderlinedwords are NOT
the same person/thingREFLEXIVE pronounstheunderlinedwords are the
SAME person/thing
Johnsawme.Isawmyselfin the mirror.
Why doesheblameyou?Why doyoublameyourself?
Davidsenthima copy.Johnsenthimselfa copy.
Davidsenthera copy.Marysentherselfa copy.
My doghurtthe cat.My doghurtitself.
Weblameyou.Weblameourselves.
Canyouhelpmy children?Canyouhelpyourselves?
Theycannot look afterthe babies.Theycannot look
afterthemselves.
Intensive pronounsNotice that all the above reflexive pronouns
can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and usage are
different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at
these examples: I made itmyself.ORImyselfmade it. Have
youyourselfseen it?ORHave you seen ityourself? The
Presidenthimselfpromised to stop the war. She spoke to
meherself.ORSheherselfspoke to me. The examitselfwasn't difficult,
but the exam room was horrible. Never mind. We'll do itourselves.
Youyourselvesasked us to do it. They recommend this book even
though theythemselveshad never read it.ORThey recommend this book
even though they had never read itthemselves.
EJEMPLOS
1 SUBJECT PRONOUS Ilike coffee
Doyouneed a table for three?
2 OBJET PRONOUSItwill probably be hot tomorrow.
Thailand has now openedherborder with Cambodia.
3 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Your photos are good.Oursare terrible. (subject = Our
photos)
Each couple's books are colour-coded.Yoursare white. (subject =
Your books)
4 POSSESSIVE ADJETIVES
Where is mybook? Your laptop is very expensive.
5 REFLAEXIVE PRONOUNSThe Presidenthimselfpromised to stop the
war.
The examitselfwasn't difficult, but the exam room was
horrible.
