Pronouns

 

 There are eight or nine (or more) parts of speech, depending on what you read.

Some authorities list nine parts of speech. Those authorities which list eight consider
determiners (articles, quantifiers, etc) as adjectives. This site lists nine parts of speech.  

To determine what part of speech a particular word is it must be looked at in the context
of the sentence. Many words may be a different part of speech in different sentences. 

Look at these examples.

Mr. Elliot feels well. (Adverb).

She is not a well woman. (Adjective)

Well! What happened. (Interjection)

He dropped his hat into a well. (Noun) 

 

Pronouns 

Pronouns are words that are used in place of, and refers to a previously mentioned or implied
noun or noun phrase. The noun it refers to is called the antecedent. Pronouns representing
noun phrases can make speech or writing easier by representing much longer passages and
ideas with a single pronoun.

There are several types of pronouns: personal (subjective, objective, and possessive),
demonstrative, reflexive, intensive, interrogative, relative, and indefinite. 

** Note that some authorities may classify possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives,
       and some indefinite pronouns (quantifiers) as determiners and not pronouns.

Personal Pronouns 

There are three classes of personal pronouns- subjective, objective, and possessive. 

A. Subjective pronouns are those that are the subjects of a sentence. The subjective

      pronouns are: 

Singular      I       you      he      she      it

Plural          we     they    you

I like pizza.                                                    You are not correct.
He is very musical.                                       She can not eat cheese.
It is an tangerine, not an orange.                  We are lawyers at a downtown firm.
They came to the party late.                         You two should have called first. 

B. Objective pronouns are those that are objects in a sentence. The objective

      pronouns are: 

Singular      me       you         him       her       it

Plural            us       them       you 

He gave me the money.
My mother gave you a watch?
My father lent him a hammer.
The professor presented her a diploma?
I just don’t get it.
The chef cooked us a chocolate cake for the party.
Billy got them the tickets at a discount.
I can’t give either one of you a passing grade. 

C. Possessive pronouns are words that indicate ownership. The possessive
      nouns are:

Singular       mine         yours         his         hers         its

Plural           ours           theirs         yours 

This wallet is mine.
Is that car yours?
You should not take that, it’s his.
This skirt is hers.
A computer can store vast amounts of information in its memory.
The extra tickets are ours.
Excuse me; those seats are yours, not these.
Theirs are bottles on the shelf. 

Possessive Adjectives also indicate ownership. When the pronoun immediately precedes the
noun they refer to they are called possessive adjectives. The possessive adjectives are: 

Singular        my       his           her       your        its

Plural            our        their       your 

Possessive Pronoun: That book is mine.

Possessive Adjective: That is my book. 

Will he give me my credit cards?
Those are his notebooks.
You should not wear her clothes.
Is that your hat on the couch?
Its tail is long and furry.
Do we need to take our passports?
The couple scolded their children for being too loud in the restaurant.
I don’t remember your names. 

Demonstrative Pronoun

    Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns such as this, that, these, and those, which by their
    very use  indicate or demonstrate what is being talking about. If a demonstrative pronoun
     is used in front of a noun, they are called demonstrative adjectives. 

That is a pencil. This is a pen.
These are tangerines. Those are oranges. 

Reflexive Pronoun 

    Reflexive pronouns indicate that the subject receives the action of the verb. If the reflexive
    pronoun is omitted, the sentence will not make sense. Note that the following list is the same
     as the list of intensive pronouns below. The reflexive pronouns are: 

Singular       myself                himself          herself          yourself        itself

Plural             themselves      ourselves      yourselves 

I treated myself to a big piece of chocolate cake.
The child was singing softly to himself.
Jack poured herself a glass of beer.
A new born primate can not survive by itself.
Did you hit yourself in the head?
My children shouldn’t have eaten all the candy, but they couldn’t restrain themselves.
The librarian said we could help ourselves to any of the books on the table.
Help yourselves to anything on the table. 

A reflexive pronoun which can be removed from the sentence and still make sense
grammatically is called an intensive or emphatic pronoun. 

Can’t you do it yourself?
The bank president himself called to apologize for the error. 

Indefinite Pronoun

    Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that refer to non-specific people or things. Some indefinite
    pronouns refer to nouns not previously mentioned in the sentence. These pronouns include:

anybody           anyone              anything            everybody
everyone          everything         nobody              none
no one              nothing               somebody      someone        something 

Has anybody taken my keys?
Can anyone come to the party?
Can I help you with anything?
Everybody should wear a costume to the party.
She can’t do everything.
Somebody should do something.
Nobody admitted to breaking the window.
None of the students had studied for the test.
No one helped the old woman with her packages.
Nothing can be done about it.
Someone please turn on the fan.
Every one of the students flunked because they didn’t study. 

Some indefinite pronouns refer to nouns that are previously mention in the sentence. These
pronouns include:

all               another          any         both
each           either            few          many
neither       one                some       several 

There are three fish in the tank and all are dead.
He had drank three, yet he still drank another.
Of all the boys who asked her out, she didn’t like any of them.
There are two apples on the table and both are rotten.
Each of the students have a very high IQ.
He indicated he didn’t like either of the jobs he was offered.
Only a few of the employees drank during the office party.
Many of the voters had questions about the new law.
Of money and fame, he desired neither.
The classrooms all had blackboards, but only one had a computer.
Only some of the vehicles in the junkyard actually ran.
Several people in the theater were noisy and rude. 

Interrogative Pronoun

Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. The interrogative pronouns include:

  which           what             who         whom         whose
  whoever      whatever     whichever 

Which stereo did you decide to buy?
What day is Independence Day on this year?
Who stole my bike?
Whom did you phone?
Whose car did he run into?
Whoever would telephone my father at two AM?
Whatever will they do?
Whichever college I decide to go to, will your parent still pay for it? 

Relative Pronoun

Relative pronouns are used to connect or relate a dependent clause to an independent clause.

Relative pronouns are found in adjective clauses or noun clauses. The relative pronouns include: 

that          which         what
who         whose         whom 

The used car that I bought yesterday broke down before I got home.
      (dependent clause underlined)
The manuscript which I edited was riddled with spelling errors.
The criminal got what he deserved a twenty year sentence.
I don’t know anyone who lives in a mansion.
The doctor, whose specialty is neurology, suggested a series of tests.
Ms. Lindy is the woman whom I sent my portfolio to.