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The Right Way to Learn English Pronouns Easily.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is used to replace a specific noun mentioned earlier in a sentence in order to avoid saying/writing that same particular noun. They are words used to replace a noun and we use them when we want to refer to the noun that has been mentioned in a sentence in order to avoid repeating the same noun. They are widely used in English.

Example:

• Ali is a good boy. He gets up early every day. (Here, you don’t have to mention ‘Ali’again), you have to use pronouns instead.

Types of Pronouns:

Here are the all types of pronouns in English:

1. Subject Pronouns
2. Object Pronouns
3. Possessive Pronouns
4. Reflexive Pronouns
5. Intensive Pronouns
6. Relative Pronouns
7. Demonstrative Pronouns
8. Interrogative Pronouns

Subject Pronouns:

Subject pronouns act as the subject of the verb in a sentence. It is normally used to replace the subject/object (a noun) of the previous sentence.

Example:

•  Jack cannot attend the lecture. He is sick.
• Kitty made some cakes. They look tasty.

Looking at the first example above, you will see that the subject pronoun ‘He ‘replaced the subject of the previous sentence ‘Jack’.

In the second example, you will see that the subject pronoun ‘they’ replaced the object ‘cakes’ of the previous sentence)

Object Pronouns:

Object Pronouns are the pronouns on which the action of the verb falls in a sentence. They are used as direct or indirect objects in the sentence.

Example:

• I will give you a book on English Grammar.
•  I have great news for you. (after preposition)
• Tell him that you will take annual leave.

I have a letter for your brother. Give it to your brother. (Here, ‘it ‘works as an object).

Possessive Pronouns:

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate possession and ownership. They are always placed at the end of a sentence. They are mine, yours, ours, his, hers, its, theirs. The pronoun ‘who’ also has a possessive form, whose.

Example:

• I thought my wallet was lost, but the one Ahmed found was mine. (Here, ‘mine’ refers to ‘my wallet).
• Their vacation will start next month. Ours is tomorrow. (Here, ‘ours’ refers to ‘our vacation’).
• Those four bags are ours.
• Is this yours?

Reflexive Pronouns:

A reflexive pronoun is used to refer back to the subject of the sentence or the clause. Reflexive pronouns are (myself, himself, herself, yourself, yourselves, itself, ourselves, and themselves).

Example:

• He fell over and hurt himself.
• My computer restarts itself many times.
• They told themselves that they were so lucky to be alive.

Intensive Pronouns:

Intensive pronouns are used to add emphasis/importance but they do not act as the object in the sentence. They appear right after the subject.

Example:

• I did it myself.
• I myself prefer hamburgers.
• You yourself are the only one responsible for the action.

Relative Pronouns:

Relative pronouns are used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun in a sentence to introduce the relative clause. They work as a connector between clauses in a sentence and they are also used to describe or say something more about the subject or the object.

The relative pronouns are:

Subject	Object	Possession	Uncertainty
Which	Which	Whose	Whichever  (for things)
That	That		(for both things and people)
Who	Whom	Whose	Whoever/whomever/whosever  (for person)

Example:

• The dog that eats the pie is back.
• The man who you met yesterday is my brother.
• Our university, which was founded in 2000, is being renovated.
• This is Ahmed, whose brother went to college with me.

Demonstrative Pronouns:

Demonstrative pronouns are normally used to point to the closeness of or distance of specific objects from the speaker.  The demonstrative pronouns are words like this, that, these, and those. They also work as demonstrative adjectives when they describe a noun. However, demonstrative pronouns do not describe anything but rather replace the nouns or noun phrases.

Note: neither, none and such are sometimes used as demonstrative pronouns.

Example:

• This is my book. (demonstrative pronoun). 
  
• That is your dog. (demonstrative pronoun).
  
• Hand me that pen, please. (demonstrative adjective).
  
• Neither is permitted to enter the office.
• Such are ways of life.

Interrogative Pronouns:

Interrogative pronouns are used to produce questions. They are what, who, whom, which, and whose.

The interrogative pronouns Who, whom, and whose refer to questions related to a person or animal; what refers to an idea, object, or event; and which can indicate either a person/s or a thing/s.

Example:

• What is the name of your pet?
• Which is your favorite movie?
• Who will win the match?
• Whom did you give the car to?
• I found these keys. Whose are they?

Grammatical Functions of Pronouns

Pronouns can perform any of the following seven functions:

• Subject
• Subject Complement
• Direct Object
• Object Complement
• Indirect Object
• An object of the preposition
• Appositive to a Noun

As as Subject

A pronoun is like a noun that has a function as a subject in a sentence.

Examples:

• He witnessed the accident.
• We met the manager.
• He is so tired.

 

As  a Subject Complement

A pronoun functions as a subject complement when it comes after a linking verb or copular verb and describes the subject.

Examples:

• The winner was you. 
• This is he.

As a Direct Object

The pronoun acts as a direct object of a verb when it comes after the transitive verb.

Examples:

• We caught him.
• The man killed it.

As an Object Complement

Object complements are nouns, pronouns, noun phrases, adjectives, and adjective phrases that directly follow and describe the direct object.

Examples:

• You should appoint him something.

As an Indirect Object

An indirect object can be a word, phrase, or clause that refers to or for whom or what the action of an intransitive verb is performed.

Examples:

• My father bought me a car.
• I gave him the book.

 

As an Object of a Preposition

A pronoun has a function as an object of a preposition when it follows a preposition. Therefore, any pronoun that comes after a preposition is the object of the preposition.

Examples:

• The book is for you.
• The child wants to go with you.
• Please give it to him.

As an Appositive to a Noun

When a pronoun comes after a noun in a sentence and renames or tells readers something more about the noun, it has the function of an appositive to the noun.

Examples:

• A winner is a man, him.
• The boys, those who killed the cat, have gone.

Conclusion

To sum up, now you have a complete comprehension and understanding of English pronouns, definition, types, functions, and their usages, it is time to practice! Try to write some information about you and your colleagues, and what you all have, using all kinds of pronouns that we have already learned.