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23
Oct
2009
Demonstrative English Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns
When learning English, it is important to understand how to use pronouns. Demonstrative pronouns show far away or near an object is. The variables of demonstrative pronouns are distance/time and number (whether singular or plural). By comparison, many languages have other variables as well, such as whether it is the subject or object and the gender (male/female/neuter).
In English there are four demonstrative pronouns:
- Singular: this (near) and that (far).
- Plural: these (near) and those (far).
Demonstrative pronouns should not be confused with demonstrative adjectives which also use this/that and these/those. The difference is that the demonstrative adjective modifies a noun, whereas the demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun. For instance:
- That desk looks heavy. (desk = noun)
- That looks very heavy. (no noun)
Demonstrative pronouns are usually used in English to refer to things not people. However, there are occasions when they can be used if the person is identified. For example:
- This is Sarah speaking.
- Is that Stephen?
Examples
Here are some examples of how demonstrative pronouns are used in English. As you can see, demonstrative pronouns can be used in exclamations, questions or statements. They can be used to start a sentence, in the middle of a sentence, or at the end. Demonstrative pronouns are often used to compare one thing to another, such as size or weight.
- Look at that!
- Which car should I get? This one or that one?
- These look delicious, I don’t know which to eat first.
- This has been great.
- Are those Spanish or Italian?
- These are bigger than those.
Of course in the preceding examples, because the sentences have been taken out of context, it is difficult to know what they are referring to. So it is important to make it clear what you are talking or writing about before using a demonstrative pronoun.
9
Oct
2009
Personal Pronouns in English
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in English represent specific people or things. They are used in sentences to replace a person or thing that has already been named in order to prevent repetition. They are commonly used in both written and spoken English. For instance, when speaking of myself I do not use my name (e.g. Sophie thinks it will rain today), instead I use the personal pronoun “I” or “me”, or if I am including more than just myself “we” or “us”. The form that is used in this case will depend on whether it is singular or plural, as well as the subject or the object of the sentence. Another variation will be according to gender (male, female or neuter). Here is a summary of the personal pronouns:
|
Number |
Person |
Subject |
Object |
|
Singular |
1st |
I |
me |
|
|
2nd |
you |
you |
|
|
3rd (male) |
he |
him |
|
|
3rd (female) |
she |
her |
|
|
3rd (neuter) |
it |
it |
|
Plural |
1st |
we |
us |
|
|
2nd |
you |
you |
|
|
3rd |
they |
them |
There are many tricky rules about how these are to be used, which can be looked up in English grammar textbooks. For example, the pronoun ‘it’ is used commonly in three ways:
-
as an idiom: e.g. when referring to the weather, temperature, time, distance- “It is raining.”, ” Is it afternoon yet?”
-
to postone the subject: i.e. starting the sentence with ‘it’ - “It was a beautiful gift.”
-
as a personal pronoun, e.g. “I got a necklace for Christmas, but it broke soon after.”
Examples
First person:
-
I am a football player, but the coach didn’t pick me.
-
We are all excellent students.
-
Will they let us play?
Second person:
-
You are a great friend.
-
You have all been overseas.
Third person:
-
She loved him, but he did not love her.
-
If they need help, the teacher will give it to them.
5
Oct
2009
Learning English Pronouns
Overview of English Pronouns
English pronouns are used to replace nouns that have already been used in a sentence. This prevents repeating the same noun over and over. However it is very easy to muddle what the pronoun is actually replacing, that is to say which antecedent it is standing in for. Here is an example of the pronoun ‘it’ replacing the word ‘book’:
- The book is titled Sense and Sensibility. It is written by Jane Austen.
It is important to be very clear about what noun the pronoun is replacing. Here are some examples of what not to do:
- Mary rang Patricia over a dozen times while she was in Sydney. (’She’ could refer to either Mary or Patricia.)
- The mouse ran away as the cat approached because it was hungry. (’It’ could replace either the mouse or the cat.)
Types of Pronouns
Pronouns vary according to gender (male/female/neuter), number (singular or plural), person (first, second or third person), and case (subjective, objective or possessive). Unlike English nouns and adjectives, its system of pronouns has preserved most of the inflectional complexity of Old and Middle English.
The different categories of pronouns are:
- Personal pronouns: represent specific people or things
- Demonstrative pronouns: represent people or things near or far in distance or time
- Possessive pronouns: represent ownership of a thing or person
- Interrogative pronouns: represent things/people that are unknown, used when asking questions.
- eg. Who ate the cake?
- Reflexive pronouns: refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause
- Reciprocal pronouns: used to demonstrate when two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the other
- Relative pronouns: introduce a related clause by substituting the subject of the sentence
- eg. The man wore a coat. The man also smoked a pipe. → The man who wore a coat also smoked a pipe.