A Comprehensive Guide to Pronouns in English Grammar

Posted on Aug 15, 2024 in Spanish

Unit 4: Pronouns

What are Pronouns?

Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns.

Form

  • Pronouns are a limited group of words.
  • They have a formal relationship with determiners. For example:
    • Look at that day! (determiner)
    • Look at that! (pronoun)

Position

Pronouns occupy the same position as noun phrases because they replace them. For example:

  • Mary plays basketball. ——> She plays basketball.

Function

Pronouns have the same function as nouns because they share the same position. They can act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, etc.

Types of Pronouns

Central Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

  • Subject Pronouns: Used when the pronoun functions as the subject of a verb. These include: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. For example: What is she going to do?
  • Object Pronouns: Used in all other cases where the pronoun is the complement of a verb or a preposition. These include: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them. For example: We want them to come. / It’s me!! / Look at me!

Reflexive Pronouns

  • Reflexive pronouns are always co-referential with a noun or another pronoun, agreeing in gender, number, and person. These include: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
  • They refer back to the subject. For example: I dress myself. / They were talking to themselves.
  • When using the pronoun”one” the reflexive form is”oneself” This substitutes for countable nouns. For example: The teapot is broken, and we do need one.
  • One is broken, and the other is lost.
  • Reflexive pronouns can be used for emphasis. For example: I myself saw it. / I went by myself (meaning”I went alon”).
  • They can follow prepositions, as they can alternate between objects and reflexive pronouns. For example: Who is involved besides myself/me?
  • They act as a prepositional complement when the preposition + reflexive pronoun has a close relationship with the verb. For example: Jane took a photo of herself.

Possessive Pronouns

  • These pronouns indicate ownership and include: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.
  • It has really made the chair its own.
  • My own car.

Relative Pronouns

  • Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses and include: who, whom, whose, which, that (zero relative pronoun), and what.

Wh-Items (Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What)

  • Who/Whom: Used for personal reference. For example: Are you the doctor who looked after my daughter? / The man to whom I spoke is my boyfriend.
  • Which: Used for non-personal reference. For example: That is the house which is to be expanded.
  • Whose: Used for both personal and non-personal reference. For example: That is the doctor whose phone number I gave you (personal). / This is the hospital whose number I gave you (non-personal).

That (Zero Relative Pronoun)

  • Used neutrally with both personal and non-personal reference. For example: The actor that pleased me is new to London. / The actor that I admire is new to London.
  • Not used if the verb takes a preposition. For example: The actor (that no) who I was attracted to…

Interrogative Pronouns

  • Used to ask questions and include: who, whom, whose, what, when, why, where, how.

Demonstrative Pronouns

  • Demonstrative pronouns have the same formal range and semantic contrast as demonstrative determiners. These include: this, these (proximity), that, those (remoteness).
  • Examples:
    • We shall compare this picture here with that picture there. (demonstrative determiners)
    • We shall compare this here with that over there. (demonstrative pronouns)

Indefinite Pronouns

  • Positive:
    • Universal: both, each (both = ambos, each = cada uno)
    • Assertive: some, several (some = algunos/algo de, several = varios)
    • Non-assertive: any, either (any = alguno/ninguno, either = uno de dos)
  • Negative: nobody, neither (nobody = nadie, neither = ninguno de los dos)
  • The forms ending in”-on” have corresponding forms ending in”-body” They also have possessive forms using the Saxon genitive (e.g., nobody’s, everyone’s).

Another/Other/Others

Another (otro)

  • Another + (singular noun) is used to indicate having one more thing, object, or person than previously mentioned. For example: I have a good English course, but I want to buy another course.

The Other (el otro)

  • The other + (singular noun) is used when you don’t possess something but want to indicate a thing, object, or person different from another group, the last thing in a group, or the last person in a group. For example: There are two toys, but I want the other toy.

The Others (los otros/las otras)

  • Used to refer to the remaining members of a group. For example: These shoes are mine; the others are yours.