Pronouns

Pronouns

A.     The meaning of Pronouns; is the word which is used to replace noun in order to avoid continuing word   

         repetition.

          Example;         - Jeremy is a student, he plays soccer very well.

                                 - I visit my grandparents. They are at home

B.     The Kinds of Pronouns; In English, pronouns can be classified into 8 types, they are:

         1.      Personal pronoun; is pronoun which is used for:

                   a.      The First Person; is pronoun which is used for the speaker.

                   b.     The Second Person; is pronoun which is used for the person spoken to.

                         c.        The Third Person; is pronoun which is used for the person or thing spoken of.

According to the case on the sentence, personal pronoun can be functioned as follows:

         @     Nominative (subjunctive) Case

                   In this case, personal pronoun is functioned as a subject in the sentences which placed before verb or auxiliary verb. Personal pronoun which is included in this group are; I, You, We, They, He, She and It.

                   Example:          - I study foreign languages at University

                                                - We did a drama performance at the town hall

                                                - They are from Indonesia

         @     Objective case

                   In this case, personal pronoun which is functioned as complement object on the sentences. Personal pronoun which is included in this group are; me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

                   This pronoun is placed on;

                   * After To Be (It is her that you love)

                   * After verb (I showed him a photo of my family)

                   * After preposition (You talk to her about fashion and lifestyle)

                   * After let (Let us go to the beach today)

                   * After of, if it is not noun before it (I bet he's daydreaming of me)

                   * If there isn’t any exclamation (Fancy him dying so young; and him only fifteen)

                   * If there isn't any verbs (Who is there? Me!

  

         2.      Possessive Pronoun; is personal pronoun which shows possession of or proprietary on the sentences. This Personal pronoun can be formed as follows:

                   a.      Adjective which is followed by noun. Personal pronoun which stand as an adjective which is followed by noun as follows; my, your, his, her, its, our and their.

                            Example; this is my drawing book

                   b.     Personal pronoun which is not followed by noun, they are; mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs.

                            These personal pronouns are placed as follows;

                            * If the personal pronoun is separated with its noun by to be (this drawing book is mine)

                            * If the noun is understood (your hat and mine are red)

                            * If the noun stood after of (the flowers of yours should be watered)

  

         3.      Reflexive Pronoun; is personal pronoun which shows the reflection of the personal pronoun itself. Personal pronoun which is included in this grup are; myself, yourself/yourselves, himself, herself, itself, ourselves and themselves.

                   There are a few functions of reflexive pronoun, they are;

                   * To show that the people or animals do something to themselves. (She looks at herself in the mirror)

                   * To make the personal pronoun more explicit. (you yourself made this birthday cake)

                   * To show its own understanding. (I went to the market by myself)

         4.      Demonstrative Pronoun; is personal pronoun which show noun, animal or person is spoken or meant. Personal pronoun which is included in this group are;

                   * Singular (This, that, one)

                   * Plural (these, those, ones)

                   There are a few functions of Demonstrative Pronoun, they are;

                   * Subject of the verb on the sentences. (Those who are diligent must be smart)

                   * To avoid the similar word on the sentences. (I like to play this game than that)

         5.      Relative/Conjunctive Pronoun; is pronoun which is used to connect two sentences become a sentence by deleting the same words. (James is my best friend. I give him a present. - James whom I give a present is my best friend) Relative/Conjunction Pronoun in using are;

                   # Who; is used as subject replacement, if the subject is people.

                      example; My father is an English Lecturer. He teaches every day.(My father who teaches every day is an English Lecturer)

                   # That; is used as a subject or object to replace noun (people, animal, thing)

                      example; There is a television in the room. I want to watch. (There is a TV in the room that I want to watch)

                     That is usually used as conjunction of who and which, if those two pronouns are begun by;

                     * Only (that is the only student who comes to school late)

                     * you (It was you who fix my car the other day)

                     * all (all that has been done is useless)

                     * something (you give me something that I have always wanted)

                     * everything (everything that you did for me yesterday was wonderful)

                     * superlative degree form (He is the best dressed man that I ever met)

                   # Whom; is used to describe people as an object. In informal condition can be eliminated.

                       example; I see a woman. Mother is talking to her. (I see a woman whom mother is      

                     talking to)

                    # whose; is used to clarify of owned for people or animal.

                     example; You have a dog. its fur is black. (You have a dog whose fur is black)

                    # which; is used to replace things, animals or plants.

                       example; That is mother's scarf. The scarf was lost at the airport. (That is mother's scarf

                     which was lost at the airport)

                   # where; is special used as additional word.

                       example; This is the place. Father fell down yesterday. (This is the place where father fell

                       down yesterday)

                   # of which; is used to show ownership of thing.

                      example; You have a cellphone. Its camera doesn't function well. (You have a cellphone

                     of which camera doesn't function well.

                   # Interrogative Pronoun; is pronoun which is used to make or ask a question, they are;

                      * who; is used to show subject or main sentence. (who drove you home yesterday?)

                      * whom; is used to ask object or direct object. (For whom do you bake the cake?)

                      * whose; is used to ask ownership. (whose shirt is that?)

                      * what; is used to ask name, thing, Occupation or someone's position. (What is Mr.

                       Johnson?)

                   # where; is used to ask place. (where is Fenita going now?)

                   # which; is used to ask a choice between a few choices. (which one are your shoes?)

                   # when; is used to ask the time. (when did you visit your grandparents?)

                   # why; is used to ask a reason or cause. (why is Dania going home?)

                    # how; is used to ask a condition or way. (how are you today?)

  

         6.      Indefinite Pronoun; is pronoun which has no antecedent. Indefinite pronoun can be divided

                   into two part, they are:

                   a. Indefinite person or thing, they are;

                    * Everything, everybody, everything; are used for singular nouns. (Everything is going  

                       well)

                    * Someone, somebody, something, anyone, anybody, anything; are used together with

                       singular nouns. Some is used for positive sentence, whereas any is used for negative

                       and interrogative sentence. (Did we saw anyone entering Mr. Johnson's last night?)

                    * No one, nothing, nobody; are used in singular, except none can be used in singular or

                       plural. (No one can lie to me)

                   b. Indefinite Quantity, are;

                     * None; is used in uncountable noun for plural in sentence and comparative form.(none

                          of this dresses fit me)

                       * All and most; are used in singular or plural in sentence. (all is gone)

                       * One/Ones; is used to replace noun that had mentioned. One is used for singular noun,

                        Ones is used for plural noun. (this swimming pool is deep, but that one is shallow)

                       * Either and neither; are used in singular. (My mother has two gas stoves, either can be

                        used)

                       * Each; is used to replace singular noun or people.(I saw ballet performance last night.

                         Each ballerina wore beautiful dress)

                       * Another is used to replace indefinite singular noun, others is used to replace indefinite

                        plural noun, the other is used to replace definite singular noun and the others is used

                          to replace definite plural noun. (Mary doesn't like this necklace, but she likes another)

                      * Some and any; if some and any are followed by countable noun, the meaning is several.      

                       Whereas followed by uncountable noun, the meaning is little. (Some people think that

                       dragon fruit is a delicious fruit)

                      * Both and Few; are used in plural. (Kevin and Dissa are absent. Both are ill)

                      * Less is used in uncountable noun, whereas Least is used in superlative. (I have less

                         problem than him)

                      * Many and several; are used in plural. (How many do you want?)

                      * Plenty and much; are used in uncountable noun. (there are plenty of things to do today)

                      * More; is used in uncountable noun. (what more can I say?)

                      * A lot (of) and lots (of); are used in countable or uncountable noun. (How many pencils

                       do you want? A lot/lots)

  

         7.      Reciprocal Pronoun; is pronoun which clarify mutual connection between two or more individuals, they are;

                   @  Each other and One another; are used to clarify two or more people do something each other. Generally each other is used by two people, whereas another is used by more than two people. (David and Rosa love each other)

     

C.     The Function of Pronoun

         As the previous explanation that pronouns are word which is used to replace noun to avoid words repetition. The function of pronouns based on structure on the sentence as follows;

         1.      subject of the sentence. (He is a bus driver)

         2.      subjective complement of the sentence. (My God is He who gives the life and death)

         3.      Objective complement, can be divided into 3(three) types;

                   a.      direct object; is used to show direct object which is placed after verb. (We enjoy it at the Halloween party)

                   b.     Indirect object; is used to show followed object which is placed after verb and before direct object. (They will send an e-mail)

                   c.      Object of preposition; can also be made as an object of preposition which is placed after preposition word, such as; on, in, for, at, under, after, etc. (Agnes gives a piece pizza for him)

         4.      Appositive; can be called as additional explanation. It can be divided into 2(two), they are;

                   1.      Non-restrictive Appositive; can be placed after subject. (Dora, one of my neighbors, has received a scholarship to Cambridge University)

                   2.      Restrictive Appositive; can be placed after subject. (The customers all lined up in front of the store)

Exercise

Choose the correct answer

1.  Will (your/yours/you're) family attend the graduation ceremony?

2.  Janie and (I/me/mine) will have dinner at a famous Italian restaurant.

3.  We will not take what does not belong to (our/ours/us)

4.  My parents are worried about (there/their/they're) holiday plan.

5.  Don't judge a book by (its/it's/it) cover.

6.  Please don't hurt (yourself/myself/herself) with that knife.

7.  (Neither/either) of this pen function well.

8.  This cake is delicious, may I have (another/the other/other) one please?

9.  (whom/who/which) did you talk to on the phone?

10  (whose/whom/which) jacket is this lying on the sofa?

11. The woman (who/whose/whom) mother was talking about turns out to be our new neighbor.

12. The man (whose/who/whom) car is parked near my house us Uncle Fred.

13. The newly wedded couple looks at (themselves/each other/each) with love and compassion.

14. (everything/everyone/everybody) is going well.

15. Tryas doesn't like this dress, but she likes (other/the other/another)