Jul 6, English Pronouns – Types of Pronouns and Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun.

For example, you could say "Lisa is a nice girl."
Then you could replace the noun "Lisa" with the word "She" and get the following sentence:
"She is a nice girl."

"She" is a pronoun.

Examples:
I, he, it, we, them, us, mine, itself.

Example sentences:
He doesn't want go with them.Would they help us?His house is bigger than ours.Who is she?
The word "pronoun" comes from "pro" (in the meaning of "substitute") + "noun."

Personal Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

Relative Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

Intensive Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Personal pronouns represent people or things. The personal pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them. Me is a personal pronoun.

"Demonstrative" means "showing, making something clear."

Demonstrative pronouns point to things. The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those.

Use "this" and "these" to talk about things that are near in space or in time. Use "that" and "those" to talk about things that are farther away in space or time.Example sentence:
This cannot go on.That was beautiful!He wanted those, but decided to compromise on these."Interrogative" means "used in questions."

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are: who, whom, which, what, whoever, whatever, etc.

Use "who" and "whom" to talk about people. Use "which" and "what" to talk about animals and things.Who?

What?

Example sentences:
Who is your father?Whom did you speak to?Which bag did you buy?What are my choices?"Possessive" means "showing ownership."

Possessive pronouns indicate that something belongs to somebody/something. The possessive pronouns are: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Example sentences:
I've lost my wallet.He married his girlfriend.This place is theirs.Is that cat yours?My car is slow. Hers is much faster."Relative" means "connected with something."

Relative pronouns are pronouns that link different parts of a sentence.
The relative pronouns are: who, whom, which, that, whoever, etc.

The cake that I got

Examples sentences:
The girl who called yesterday came to see you. The teacher whom you wrote has answered your questions.She lives in Kiev, which is the capital city of Ukraine.I really liked the book that you gave me."Reflexive" means "going back to itself."

Reflexive pronouns show that the action affects the person who performs the action. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.

She hugs herself

  
Example sentences:
He cut himself while shaving.I sent myself to bed.He could hurt himself!We must help ourselves.She trusts herself."Intensive" means "giving force or emphasis."

An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used for emphasis. In other words, Intensive pronouns emphasis the subject of the sentence. They are written exactly the same way as the reflexive nouns, but their function is different.

I made it myself

Example sentences:
I myself baked the cake.The queen herself recommended this restaurant.Have you yourself been there?The project itself wasn't difficult.We will do it ourselves."Indefinite" means "not exact, not limited."

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any specific person or thing.

Examples:
Anything, everybody, another, each, few, many, none, some.

Every girl is dancing

Example sentences:
Many have died during the war.Can anyone call her?Everybody wants to see you.Something can be done to help.An antecedent is a word (or a group of words) which a pronoun refers back to.

Examples:
(the antecedent is red and the pronoun is green)
She will buy some water and drink it.
Water is the antecedent of "it."
"It" is a pronoun and it refers back to "water." Diana left her book at school.
Diana is the antecedent of "her."
"Her" is a pronoun and it refers back to "Diana." Kevin and Laura are meeting their friends.
The phrase Kevin and Laura is the antecedent of "their."
"Their" is a pronoun and it refers back to "Kevin and Laura."
The word "antecedent" comes from Latin: ante (before) + cedere (to go).
Here we can see the great importance of pronouns. If we didn't have pronouns then these sentence would have to be written like this:
She will buy some water and drink the water. Diana left Diana's book at school. Kevin and Laura are meeting Kevin and Laura's friends.Read the following sentences and see if you can fully understand them:
They took it.
(Who took it? What did he or she take?) Ours is with them.
(What is with them? Who is they?) She bought hers.
(Who is she? What did she buy?)Do you see what happens?

If there are no antecedents it can be unclear what the speaker or writer is referring to.

Important note:
In many cases the antecedent can be fully clear even without directly mentioning it. In other words, the antecedent can be understood from context.

For example, let's say Jessica and Molly have an annoying neighbor. They always complain about him.

Then when Jessica says to Molly, "Do you know what he did this time?"

It will be fully clear to Molly who Jessica refers to.

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:
Person (First person: I/we, second person: you, third person: he/she/it/they)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did your homework.

Number (singular/plural)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did their homework.

Gender (masculine/feminine)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did her homework.

Important note:
In some cases such sentences can be correct. You simply have to use your common sense.

For example, let's say that Bob did Susan's homework, and I am now talking to Susan.

In this case, I can definitely say, "Bob did your homework."
(And I refer to Susan's homework, not to Bob's homework. So in this case the antecedent is Susan, not Bob!)

Determining the correct pronoun to use is usually pretty straightforward.

Some cases, however, can seem more challenging.

Correct: Every boy will start his test.
Incorrect: Every boy will start their test.

Correct: The box of toys is in its place.
Incorrect: The box of toys is in their place.

Correct: Both lost their jobs.
Incorrect: Both lost his jobs.

Correct: Alice and Kate talked with their father.
Incorrect: Alice and Kate talked with her father.

Correct: The United States opened its borders.
Incorrect: The United States opened their borders.

Object Pronouns

Remember, a pronoun is used in place of a noun. Subject pronouns come in front of verbs, and object pronouns follow them:


me                        us
you                       you
him, her, it            them


EXAMPLES


–We see our friends.
–>We see them. (them takes the place of our friends)


–Call the waiter.
–>Call him. (i.e., the waiter)


–They like coffee.
–>They like it. (i.e., coffee)


Placement of Object Pronouns



When there is a sentence with more than one object pronoun, the rule is as follows:


1. PLACE THE DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN DIRECTLY AFTER THE VERB


2. ANY INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN WILL COME LAST.


EXAMPLES


–The lawyer gives you the envelope.
–>He gives it to you.


–They will send me some letters.
–>They'll send them to me.


–He's explaining the will to us.
–>He's explaining it to us.


Note that when you use a direct object pronoun, it comes earlier in the sentence than its noun equivalent:


–I give you a visa.
–>I give it to you.


The example below points to a problem with object word order in English. When a noun is the direct object, it normally comes last in the sentence (I wrote them a check.). When a pronoun is the direct object, the indirect object moves to the end of the sentence, and is preceded by to:


–She's leaving you her estate.
–>She's leaving it to you.

Reflexive Pronouns

The following are reflexive pronouns:


myself                                  ourselves
yourself                                yourselves
himself, herself, itself           themselves


A reflexive pronoun usually refers to the subject of a sentence:


–We looked at ourselves in the mirror.
(We and ourselves are the same persons.)

Sometimes reflexive pronouns are used for emphasis:


–I washed my clothes myself.

this, that & Pronouns

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns



To differentiate between things in English, use either:


this
that
these
those

Any of these demonstratives can be used with a noun or by itself. This (singular) and these (plural) refer to something or someone close at hand. That (singular) and those (plural) refer to something or someone a bit farther away.


EXAMPLES:


–Do you want this box or that box?
–I'd like some of that popcorn.
–Do you want these or those?
–This apartment is nicer than that one.

Using Whose

Whose is used to show possession. It has the same meaning as other possessive adjectives such as his, hers, its, their, etc.
–There's the man whose house we bought.
–I have a book whose story is fascinating.


Whose modifies people but can also be used with things.

You should learn how to combine short sentences using whose:


–The woman is a talented artist. I saw her paintings.
–The woman whose paintings I saw is a talented artist.

Who, Which & That

The Relative Pronouns Who/Which/That



Who, which and that are relative pronouns. They are usually used in dependent clauses introduced by a main clause:


–I tipped the waiter who (that) served us.
–We thanked the people who (that) helped us.


Note that in the above two examples who and that are substituted for one another. Even though who is more grammatically correct than that in reference to a person or persons, that is heard often in speech.


Who is used only for people. That can be used to refer to a person or thing. Which is used only for things:


–The car, which we rented, doesn't work.

Whom, Which & That

The Relative Pronouns Whom/Which/That



Follow the same rules for using who(m), which, and that, as you do with other relative pronouns. The only difference is that now these pronouns are functioning as objects:


–The movie that we saw last night was terrible.
–The movie, which we saw last night, was terrible.


For people, you will use either who or whom. Who is usually used instead of whom in colloquial speech, even though it is technically incorrect:


–The person who they saw was sick. (informal)
–The person whom they saw was sick. (formal)
–There's the driver who the police arrested. (informal)
–There's the driver whom the police arrested. (formal)