THE PRONOUN

(1. Personal Pronoun, 2. Reflexive Pronoun, 3. Emphatic Pronoun, 4. Demonstrative Pronoun, 5. Relative Pronoun, 6.
Interrogative Pronoun, 7. Indefinite Pronoun, 8. Distributive Pronoun)
Definition :
A pronoun is a word used instead of a comm on nou n or a proper noun. The word pronoun means for a noun
and it called a noun’s deputy.

"Pro" + "noun" typicall y means "in place, of, i nstead of" a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns, then, replace
nouns (David met Joe; he [Joe] talked for an hour) and can also refer back to nouns (David is absent, because
he is ill).
CASE

Nominative Case

I We You

He She It

They

Accusative Case

Me Us You

Him Her Them

It

Instrumental Case

With me By me

With you By you

With him By him

With her By her

With it By it

With us By us

With you By you

With them By them

Dative Case

To me To us To you

To him To her To them

To it

Ablative Case

From me From us From you

From himFrom From her From them

From it

Genitive Case

My Our Your

His Her Their

It

Locative Case

in me with me

in you with you

in him with him

in her with her

in it with it

in us with us

in you with you

in them with them

What is a noun phrase?

A noun phrase includes a noun and all of its modifiers. These modifiers include determiners and adjectives
Noun Phrase + Verb Pronoun + Verb

Tom eats

The little boy eats He reads

The Noun ‘Tom ’ and ‘boy ’ is replaced by the Pronoun ‘he ’

PRONOUN TAKES the place of a noun in a sentence when the noun repeated more than once.
e.g.

Incorrect Call David. I must speak to David.

Correct Call David. I must speak to him.

More Definition :
The noun represented by a pronoun is called its antecedent. The word ante means "before," and cede means
"come." So the literal meaning of antecedent is "comes before." Usually, the antecedent comes before the
pronoun in a sentence.
Pronouns ahve masculine and feminine gender, singular and plural forms and have nominative, possessive and
objectives cases

Pronouns are used as performers/subjects or as words which receive action.

e.g.

PERFORMER / SUBJECT PRONOUNS PRONOUNS WHICH RECEIVE ACTION

I me

we you

you them

he his

she her

it it

they him

who whom

Types of Pronouns by Function

More Definition :
There are several different t ypes of pronouns, each type servin g a different function in the sentence.
1. Subject Pronouns
Definition :
Pronouns that are found to the left of the main verb are cal led subject pronouns because the y tell us who or
what the doer of the verb is, or who or what is described by the verb.
Subject Pronouns

Singular Plural

I we

you you

he

she

it they

2. Object Pronouns
Definition :
Object pronouns are anot her type of pron oun. These are pronouns that replace nouns or noun phrases in object
positi on in the sentence. Object position means that the noun or noun phrasereceives the action of the verb.
Phrase Function

The boy reads noun phrase in subject position

Boy reads subject pronoun

The boy reads books noun phrase in object position

1. The boy is the subject of the verb reads. The noun phrase The boy answers the question Who reads?, a question
that helps tell us who (or what) the subject of the verb is.
2. Since The boy is in subject position and refers to a single male person, the subject pronoun she can replace The
boy
3. Books is the object of the verb reads. The words books answers the question What does the boy (or he) read?, a
question that helps tell us what (or who) the object of the verb is.
Following is a list of the most common pronouns:
Singular Plural Both Singular and Plural

I, me we, us any

she, her they none

he, him them all

it these most

anyone those more

either some who

each that which

many a both what

nothing ourselves you

one any

another many

everything few

mine several

his, hers others

this

that

PERSONAL PRONOUN
Definition :
Personal Pronouns which stand for the names of persons. The y take the place of nouns and are used as the
subject of the verb in a sentence.
Personal pronouns have three persons such as : First person; Second Person; Third Person.

First Person (Masculine or Feminine)

Singular Plural

I We

My Our

Mine Ours

Me Us
e.g.

I got a free pass. My aim is high.

Rosy is the daughter of mine. He called me yesterday.

He is my father. We are busy now.

We love our country. These books are ours.

Teachers like us Our religion is English

Second Person (Masculine or Feminine)
e.g.

Singular Plural

You You

Your Yours

thou, thy, thine, thee, ye are also Second Person. These are archaic and used in poetry or when referring to God,
the angels, etc.

e.g.

You are a good boy You are a student

You are my boss You did not offend

You are always lazy I called you many times

You could have informed me Where are you now?

Where is your house? This watch is yours

This is your garden Your team is very brilliant

Third Person (Masculine or Feminine)
e.g.
Singular Examples

He He is my brother

His His name is Robert

Him I gave him a pen

She She is very beautiful

her Her name is Rosy

hers This house is hers

it It is my pet dog

its Its name is Simba

Plural Examples

they They are playing football

their Their house is neat at Car street

theirs This field is theirs

them We can no call them loudly

Possessive Pronoun
Definition :
Possessive Pronou n stands for the possessive noun of the personal pronoun. These pronouns are used to talk
about things t hat belong to people. The words mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are possessi ve pronouns.
Singular Personal Pronoun Possessive Pronoun

I, me mine

you yours

he, him his

she her hers

Plural Personal Pronoun Possessive Pronoun

we, us ours

you yours

they, them theirs

Different Between Possessive Adjective and Possessive Pronoun

Read the following sentences:
Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronoun

This is my cellphone This cellphone is mine.

This is your cellphone That cellphone is yours.

This is her cellphone This cellphone is hers.

This is his cellphone That cellphone is his

This is our car This car is ours

That is their car That car is theirs

The dog lost its tail (‘Its’, as a possessive pronoun hardly ever occurs.)

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Definition :
Reflexive Pronouns, which are objects and which refer to the same persons as the subjects of the verbs.
Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that end in self and selves. That means A class of pronouns beginning with the
form of personal pronouns and ending with -self / -selves.
e.g
Singular Personal Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun

I (subject pronoun) myself

me (object pronoun) myself

you (subject/object pronoun) yourself

he (subject pronoun) himself

him (object pronoun) himself

she (subject pronoun) herself

her (object pronoun) herself

it itself

Plural Personal Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun

we (subject pronoun) ourselves

us(object pronoun) ourselves

you (subject/object pronoun) yourselves

they (subject pronoun) themselves

them (object pronoun) themselves

Reflexive pronouns typically occur later than the s ubject and verb in a clause or sentence and are identical in
reference to the subject
e.g

I washed myself

We organized the party all by ourselves

Be careful not to cut yourself with that knife

You have all enjoyed yourselves

The poor man lives all by himself in an old house

She herself cooked the dinner

They have proved themselves to be right

Note : Never say or write hisself, themself, or theirselves. These words are not part of standard English usage and
are therefore unacceptable.
EMPHATIC PRONOUN
Definition :
Emphatic pronoun emphasizes the noun.

e.g

I myself completed the homework.

It means that the subject itself completed the homework without anyone’s help
Now look at the following sentences:-
I will do it myself

I myself saw him do it

We will see to it ourselves

You yourself can best explain

They themselves admitted their guilt

It will be seen that here Compound Personal Pronouns are used for the sake of emphasis, and are therefore called
Emphatic Pronouns
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN
Definition :
Demonstrative Pronouns, which point out things, as this, these, that and those. Because they conve y a high
degree of specificity and distinctiveness in pointing out ("demonstrating") a referent ; They are showing
words.

They can be either a subject or an object in a sentence. We know which one to use by looking at the number of and
distance of the thing(s) we are referring to. Use this and thes e when you are talking about things near you.
Use that and those when you are talking about things farther away.

Distance Singular Plural

Nearby this these

Far away that those

In writing, the demonstrative pronouns may take antecedents, but there is no fixed rule. The pronoun may point
forward.
e.g

This is my answer

That was too much for me

These are good mangoes

Hand me those candles, please

We should not be confused with Demonstrative pronouns and Demonstrative adjectives.

PRONOUN This is my house Are those the flowers you picked ?

ADJECTIVE This house is mine Did you pick those flowers?

RELATIVE PRONOUN
Definition :
Reltive Pronouns, whi ch relate to some noun going before in the sentence as who, whose, whom, which, what,
that.
A relative pronoun does the work of a conjunction as well as a pronoun.
e.g

Who / whome / whose normally referring to people

Which / what / that referring to things

e.g

Sentences Relative Pronoun

I know the man. The man lives here. I know the man who lives here.

Relative Pronoun

The man who stole the car has been caught

The man whom you accused is not guilt

The woman whose house I rented is my cous

The house which you see was built long ago

I mean what I say

Take anything that you like

Here the girl whom you wanted to meet

The happy laughter that made me smile came from the three-year-old who lives next door

The Relative Pronoun who has different forms for Accusative and Genitive
e.g

who works hard.

whom / who all praise

This is the boy / girl whose exercise is done well

who works hard.

whom / who all praise

These are the boys / girls whose exercises are done well
It will be noticed that the forms are the same for singular and plural, masculine and feminine.

Rules 1 : In informal usage, a relative pronoun is optional when it is followed by a subject; it’s required in formal
usage.
e.g

Formal This is the gift that I got last New Year

Informal This is the gift I got last New Year

Rules 2 : When the relative pronoun is not followed by a subject, it must be included.
e.g
Hussy is a boy who loves to play video games

Rules 3 : When the relative pronoun is preceded by a comma, it must be included.

e.g
Brian, who likes to raise chickens, is an FFA member.

Rules 4 : Whose is the possessive relative pronoun; it cannot be omitted.

e.g

John is a teenager whose goal is to get into a good college.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN
Definition :
Interrogative Pronouns, which ask questions, as, who, which, what, whom, whose.
They are here used for asking questions, and are, therefore, called Interrogative Pronouns.
e.g
Who built that house?

Which is your house?

Whose is this book?

Which do you prefer, tea or coffee?

Which of the boys saw him?

What is the matter?

Who is he talking to?

Who are those people?

Whom do you want?

Whose is this umbrella?

Whom are you playing with?

Note :
Who can be used as the object of a verb as well as the subject.
Whom is used only as the object.
If we put the preposition before the interrogative pronoun, you must use whom.
The Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking indirect questions.
e.g

I asked who was speaking.

Ask what he wants.

Say which you would like best.

I want to know who told you that story.

INDEFINITE PRONOUN
Definition :
Indefinite Pronouns, which refer to persons or thi ngs in a general or indefinite way.
Pronoun that typically indicates an unspecified, even generic, person or thing. A pronoun or determiner with
indefinite meaning; a quantifier. The indefinite pronouns and determiners are :
e.g

Pronouns

anybody everybody nobody somebody

anyone everyone no one someone

anything everything nothing something

Determiners

alan every no

Both Pronouns and Determiners

any either fewest least

much some all enough

half many neither both

(a) few (a) little more one

each fewer less most

several
Indefinite pronouns are divided into two categories :

(i) The Antecedent-Bearing Indefinite Pronoun . (ii) The Antecedentless Indefinite Pronouns.

Antecedent-Bearing Indefinite Pronoun

one
e.g: I like this house better than the other one .

Antecedent-Bearing Indefinite Pronoun

body

how

one

thing

some where

body

how

one

thing

any where

Indefinite P ronouns are listed here in three groups .

SINGULAR INDECATORS

anybody anyone anything

everybody everyone everything

somebody someone something

another each either

neither nobody nothing

none one
The Plural Indicators are used with things that can be counted.
e.g.: All of the chairs are broken.

PLURAL INDECATORS

all any both

enough few more

none plenty several

some
The Portion Indicators are singular, and are used with things that cannot be counted.
e.g.: All of the water is pure.

PORTION INDECATORS

all any enough

less little more

much plenty none

some
Common e.g.

All are quite safe

Many were rescused from the flood

Some are born great

Few escaped unhurt

None of them was clever

I did not see any of them

Do good to others

One should love one’s neighbour

Much can be said on both sides

Little was known to him about the accident

Several of them stood up

Anybody can do this work

Everyone of you must attend the meeting

Everybody knows him very well

Nothing more was known about him

No one came to receive him

Someone should do this work

Somebody has stolen my watch

Something is better than nothing

DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUN
Definition :
Distributive Pronouns, which refer to persons or thi ngs taken one at a time, as each, either, neither. For this
reason the y are always singular and as such followed by the verb in the singular.
An equal relationship with one another.

e.g

Each Each of these girls deserved a reward

Either We may take either of these two books

Neither Neither of them writes well

PRONOUN - EXERCISES
Exercise -1
Fill each blank with I , me , we or us

1. Did you ask David or (I, me) Answer

2. Sachin and (I, me) went to the railway station. Answer

3. Will you let John and (I, me) go to the cinema? Answer

4. Mother gave (we, us) more mangoes than she gave to Antony and Rosy. Answer

5. are going to the park. Answer

6. Sit her between Rosy and (I, me) . Answer

7. My sister and (I, me) had a nice dinner. Answer

8. Between you and (I, me) it is not true. Answer

Exercise -2
Fill each blank with he, him, she, her, they or them :

1. Where is Diana? I want to see . (she, her) Answer

2. I am younger than . (he, him) Answer

3. They sent for you and (she, her) Answer

4. Tell (they, them) to go away. Answer

5. I can play much better than (she, her) Answer

6. How do you know (they, them) are Italians? Answer

Exercise -3
Supply personal pronouns in agreement with their nouns in the following sentences :

1. The dog was hungry so I fed . Answer

2. The bird can fly because has wings. Answer

3. I have five flowers; are all pink Answer

4. I looked for the book, but could not find Answer

5. Akbar met Abdul; talked for an hour. Answer

6. The dog barked at Rosy and ran after Answer

Exercise -4
Fill up the blanks with the proper form :

1. Mine are yellow. What are ? (your, yours). Answer

2. That book is hers; this is (my, mine). Answer

3. Are these books ? (your, yours) Answer

4. This is my class; that is .(her, hers) Answer

5. These are their pencils; they are not . (our, ours) Answer

6. Where is (their, theirs) cusin? Answer

Exercise -5
Fill up the blanks in the following sentences by using w ho , whom or w hose :

1. called to see you? Answer

2. do you mean? Answer

3. did you call? Answer

4. was that speaking to you? Answer

5. With are you living. Answer

6. To were you speaking. Answer

Exercise -6
Fill up the blanks in the following sentences with suitable relative pronouns (which or w ho ):

1. I like girls speak the truth. Answer

2. Where is the book I gave you? Answer

3. God helps those help themselves. Answer

4. I know the man lives here. Answer

5. I do not know the person called me this morning. Answer

6. The house in we live is very old. Answer

Exercise -7
Fill up the blanks in the following sentences with suitable Demonstrative pronouns ( this, these, that, or
those ):

1. Can any of you do sums?. Answer

2. What is ? Answer
3. Give me one of . Answer

4. mangoes are not ripe. Answer

5. I taught David sum. Answer

6. What is chair made of?. Answer

Exercise - 8
Fill up each blanks with an appropriate Interrogative pronoun:

1. is my cricket-bat?. Answer

2. did you not come sooner? Answer

3. will the train start?. Answer

4. much money have you?. Answer

5. did you lose your purse. Answer

6. will Rahman return?. Answer

Exercise - 9
Fill each blank with the proper form of a Reflexive Pronoun:

1. I blame for it. Answer

2. We often deceive . Answer

3. The old man often talks to . Answer

4. The children hid . Answer

5. Boys, you will hurt . Answer

6. She poisoned . Answer

Exercise - 10
Fill in the blanks using relative pronoun:

1. I can solve problems you find difficult to solve. Answer

2. Where is the book I gave you yesterday. Answer

3. I am the client spoke to you over phone yesterday. Answer

4. Sachin came to school first is my brother. Answer

5. I found the pen you lost. Answer

6. He is the criminal is sentenced to death. Answer

7. She is the woman impressed me with her talk. Answer

8. I am the candidate name you called out just now. Answer

9. Rosy is my neighbour left to Paris yesterday. Answer

10. I admire those are duty conscious. Answer

11. I love those are kind to others. Answer

12. The house in I live is good. Answer

13. The snake bit the little boy has been killed. Answer

14. A glass is empty cannot be full. Answer

15. A boy is timid cannot be brave. Answer

16. Those are the boys are not industrious. Answer

17. This is the child is my pet. Answer

18. Return the book I lent you a week back. Answer

19. I do not like people are insincere. Answer

20. I like people are duty conscious. Answer