Pronouns Category : 4th Class Pronouns Introduction
Pronoun is a word which is used in the place of a noun. Pronouns are used to avoid the repetition of nouns in a sentence.
Illustrative Example:
• Robert shows his happiness in terms of tears. He has got a reward. • My brother is really a smart worker.' He is doing work smartly. • The poster is hanging on the wall. It is beautiful. • Look at the colourful parrots. They are flying in the sky.
Analysis In the above given sentences the words he, it and they have been used in place of Robert, my brother, poster and parrot. So, these are Pronouns. Activity Make a flow chart of the various varieties of pronouns giving an example of each of the variety.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE This lesson will help you to:-
• Know about pronouns and differentiate between various types of pronoun.
QUICK CONCEPT REVIEW Pronouns are words like I it which, who, that, his, herself. They are used in place of (pro) a noun. To avoid repetition, we use a pronoun for the second mentions of the same person or thing: I saw the dog, I think it was chewing your shoe.
Now, let's study the different kinds of pronouns..
1. Personal Pronouns: Personal pronouns represent people or things. The personal pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
Personal pronouns are further divided into 3 persons-
1. First person- the person speaking-1, we. 2. Second person- person spoken to- you, yours. 3. Third person- person spoken of- him, her, it.
2. Possessive Pronouns: Possessive pronouns indicate that something belongs to somebody/something. The possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.
Example sentences: This place is theirs. Is that cat yours? The prize will be his. 3. Reflexive Pronouns: "Reflexive" means "going back to itself." Reflexive pronouns show that the action affects the person who performs the action. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural). The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, and themselves.
Example sentences: He cut himself while shaving. I sent myself to bed. He could hurt himself!
4. Demonstrative Pronouns: "Demonstrative" means "showing, making something clear." Demonstrative pronouns point to things. The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those. Use "this" and "these" to talk about things that are near in space or in time. Use "that" and "those" to talk about things that are farther away in space or time.
Example: This is the report I want. That is a big ship. 5. Interrogative Pronouns: "Interrogative" means "used in questions." Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are: who, whom, which, what, whose, whoever, whatever, whichever, whom ever. Use "who" and "whom" to talk about people. Use "which" and "what" to talk about animals and things. Example sentences: Who is your father? Whom did you speak to?
PLAY TIME Material required: lots of picture cards (a boy, a girl, a thing etc, basically nouns) with matching pronoun flash cards. (his, her ,him, them, it etc.) Place all the cards on the table face-down (or posted on the board in a similar way.) The picture cards and pronoun cards are to be placed separately. The class can be divided into two groups. The groups take turns turning over the cards. Each player in the group gets a chance to turn over two cards-one from the picture card section and the other from the pronoun card's section. If they do not match, they have to be turned back again so everybody else cannot see. If they match, they stay as they are, with the pictures facing front and the child explains as to which kind of pronoun that is.
Types of Pronoun:
There are eight types of pronoun. They are:
• Personal Pronoun • Demonstrative Pronoun • Interrogative Pronoun • Reflexive Pronoun • Possessive Pronoun • Distributive Pronoun • Indefinite Pronoun • Emphatic or Emphasizing Pronoun
Personal Pronoun: The pronouns that are used in place of a person, place or a thing is called personal pronoun.
Illustrative Example:
• He wants to teach the children. • She smiles in every situation.
• They are outstanding in their role. • You are indulged into malpractices. • I am surprised to see you here right now.
Analysis In the above given sentences, the words he, she, they, you and I are used for person. So these are personal pronoun.
Note: I, me, he, she, him, her, you = a person you, we, us = people it = thing they, them = things or people When you are writing in English "I" (first person singular) is always capitalized.
Below given is the list of personal pronoun I My Me We Us Our You Your He She It They
Demonstrative Pronouns: The Pronouns that are used to point out the object we talk about are called Demonstrative Pronouns. There are four demonstrative pronoun. They are this, that, these, those.
Illustrative Example:
• This is a tedious task. • That shirt is of RS. 400.
• These all things that are scattered over here are mine. • Those all things are yours.
Analysis In the above given sentences this, that, these and those indicate something. So, these are demonstrative pronouns.
NOTE:
• This and these refer to nouns that are nearby in time or space. • That and those refer to nouns that are further away in time or space. • This and that refer to singular nouns. • These and those refer to plural nouns.
Interrogative Pronoun: The pronoun which is used to ask a question is called Interrogative Pronoun.
Illustrative Example:
• Who has tried to disclose the secret? • What are your expectations? • Which one of the following is correct? • Whom do you praise?
Analysis In the above given sentences who, what and whom are used for asking questions.So, these are Interrogative pronoun.
Reflexive Pronouns: A reflexive pronoun is used to show the effect of the action done by the subject on itself. We use a this pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence.
There are eight kinds of reflexive pronoun. These are given in the following table: Subject Reflexive Singular I, You, She, It myself, yourself, himself, herself, Itself Plural We, You, They Ourselves, Yourselves, themselves
Illustrative Example:
• I hurt myself. • We defended ourselves brilliantly. • John talks to himself when he is nervous.
Analysis In first example, the reflexive pronoun is 'myself' that refers to the subject 'l'. In second example, the reflexive pronoun 'ourselves' refers back to the subject of the sentence. In third example, 'himself' refers to John.
NOTE:
• Reflexive pronoun reflects back on the subject, like a mirror. • Reflexive pronoun end in 'self' of 'selves'.
Possessive Pronoun: The pronoun which shows possession is called possessive pronoun. Possessive Pronouns are used when we want to substitute a group of words that are indicating a possession relation.
Illustrative Example:
• This car is ours. • This is your disk and that's mine. • This book is yours.
Analysis In the given examples the words 'ours', 'mine', and 'yours' is showing possession relation. So, these are possessive pronouns.
NOTE:
• A possessive pronoun indicates it is acting as a subject complement or a subject of the sentence. • Possessive pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives.
Below given is a list of possessive pronouns Subject Possessive I Mine You Yours He His
Emphatic or Emphasizing Pronoun The pronoun, which is used to emphasize the subject (noun) who has done the action, is called emphatic or emphasizing pronoun.
Illustrative Example:
• I myself have finished the work. • Sita herself has designed the dress. • They themselves have to be blamed for the loss.
Analysis In first example the word 'myself is emphasizing the action of the noun 'l'. In second sentence, the word 'herself' is emphasizing the action of noun 'Sita'. In third sentence, the word 'themselves' is emphasizing the action of the noun 'they'. So, these are emphasizing pronouns.
Distributive Pronoun: The pronoun which is used as distribute of persons or a thing is called distributive pronoun.
Illustrative Example:
• Either of the highways goes to the town. • Each of the girls got a prize. • Neither of the players are playing.
Analysis
In the above given sentences each refers to everyone of a group of persons or things taken separately, either means one or the other of the two, neither means not one n or the other of the two. So these are distributive pronouns.
NOTE: Either and neither can be used only when speaking about two persons or things, When speaking about more than two persons any, no one, none should be used,
Indefinite Pronoun: A pronoun that does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount is called Indefinite pronoun. Indefinite pronouns are: All, anyone, anybody, anything, everybody, everyone, everything, nobody, none, somebody, someone, some, any, several, few, many
Illustrative Example:
• Anyone can do this work. • Everybody will come here. • All roads lead to market.
Analysis In the given sentences the words 'anyone', 'everybody' and 'all' is not refer ring to any definite person or thing. Therefore these are Indefinite pronoun. Indefinite means 'not definite'.
NOTE: Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another.