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Pronouns
Recognize function and form
A pronoun
- expresses a person or thing without specifying the name of the noun or thing. A pronoun is commonly used on second mention of a noun.
- functions as a shortened reference to a noun;
- the pronoun may be definite: He called. or it may be indefinite: Somebody walks the dog everyday.
- the pronoun may be personal he/him, she/her, we/us, etc. or impersonal it/them or there (existence).
- takes form as a subject pronoun: I, we, you, he, she, they, it or as an object (accusative) pronoun me, us, him, her, them, or it.
Possessive pronouns mine, ours, yours, hers, his, theirs, its are determiners.
It / There
It / There (weather/time)
Pronoun Summary
Pronoun Diagnostic: pronoun diagnostic quiz
Identify specific English grammar points that need review.
Pronouns—personal
Personal Pronouns: refer to personal nouns
Beg. ESL
Practice 1 – multiple choice
Practice 2 – fill in the blank
Lea is dancing. She enjoys dancing.
Sammy is dancing with Lea. He likes her.
She gave a demonstration to my friend and me.
She gave a demonstration to my friend and I .
She's a beautiful car. Look at her lines.
Indefinite Pronouns: refer to unspecified person(s) or thing(s)
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Everyone had his fishing pole.
Some had their fishing poles.
Everyone had their fishing pole. (informal usage)
Double Pronouns: refer to two personal nouns
Native Speakers
Double Personal Subject Pronouns
Double Personal Object Pronouns
Double Personal Pronoun Genitive
Grammar Notes *between you and I
Practice 1 – complete sentence (MC)
Practice 2 – complete paragraph (MC)
Me and Diana got to know each other.
Diana and I got to know each other.
I had a good feeling about her and I.
I had a good feeling about her and me.
Reflexive Pronouns: refer to all or part of oneself
Beginning–Intermediate ESL
Reflexive Pronoun vs. Accusative Pronoun
Common Mistakes (Standard vs. Nonstandard)
Practice 1 – multiple choice
Practice 2 – multiple choice
He fed himself.
He washed his hands. (part of him)
He washed himself. (all of him)
Each other / One another: express a reciprocal relationship
Beginning–Intermediate ESL
Genitive Reciprocal Form (possessive)
Practice 1 – multiple choice
Sophie and Jim get angry at each other.
Sophie and Jim get angry at one another.
They think each other is selfish. (sub-clausal)
*Each other is selfish.
We pass gossip to one another.
They don't care about each others' feelings.
Interrogative Pronouns: ask questions with who, whose, what, which, where, why, when or how
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Yes / No Questions vs. Wh- Questions
Fronting the Pronoun (word order)
Comparison of Wh- Pronoun Uses
Practice 1 – complete the sentence (MC)
Practice 2– correct / incorrect
Practice 3 – edit the sentence
What is the squirrel doing?
Where does it live?
Why is it burying acorns?
How does it find them again?
How many babies are in the nest?
What color squirrel is it?
Whose tree does it live in?
Who lives there?
How old is that tree?
COMPARE:
Where is she living? interrogative pronoun
The place where she lives is our tree. relative pronoun
Can you tell me where she is running? connective pronoun
I'll tell you when she gets there. temporal preposition
Genitive Pronouns: mark nouns for possession
Beginning–Intermediate ESL
Genitive Determiners vs. Pronouns
Impersonal Pronouns (one / you / they)
Practice 1 – multiple choice
Practice 2 – multiple choice
Practice 3 – edit paragraph
Our dog is over here. / Ours is over here.
All of the owners bring water for their (own) dogs.
One should exercise one's dog. (impersonal)
You should exercise your dog. (impersonal)
They don't like dogs there. Their dislike is unusual. (impersonal)
Collective Pronouns: refer to the group or its individuals
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Practice – multiple choice
The paparazzi made its purpose clear. It had a right to be outside her house.
The paparazzi placed their cameras right in her face. They were rude, even mean.
Gender & Pronouns: use gender neutral wording
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Singular They and Their ("Everyone…their")
Practice 1 – complete the paragraph
Practice 2 – complete the paragraph
Everyone in my class had their homework.
Grammar Dispute: citations from Fowler, Huddleston and Pullum, Merriam-Webster, Robin Lakoff, Bill Walsh, McIntyre and others.
There as Subj Placeholder: refer to the existence of something
Beginning–Intermediate ESL
Subject Placeholder "Dummy There"
Practice – fill in the blank
Related pages: There/ Their | Here/ There | It/ There Pronouns
There is milk, yogurt and eggs on the table. (En-US)
There are milk, yogurt and eggs on the table. (En-Br)
There is milk there. (locational preposition)
Milk, yogurt and eggs are on the table.
There/Their/They're: indicating location, existence or possession
Beginning–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Each week there is an event. (location)
Chefs prepare gourmet food-to-go. Their menus change.
There's a mobile truck that delivers lunch. (existence)
It / There Subjects: refer to weather, time, or existence
Intermediate–Advanced ESL
It vs. There weather, time / existence
Practice – multiple choice
Related pages:, "It is" Adj + Infinitive, "It takes" + Infinitive, It Clefts
Is it still raining? It's cloudy. (the weather)
Is there a rain on the street still? (exists)
To do the work this way is easy.
It is easy to do the work this way.
Who, Whom & That add a modifying clause to a personal (animate) noun
Intermediate ESL, Native Speakers
The woman who called you is here.
The woman that called you is here.
The woman (whom) you called is here.
It as Subject Placeholder: use it to refer to a moved content clause "It exposition"
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
It is obvious to all that Fred is a funny comedian.
It is easy to see his talent.
It seems to come naturally to him.
It takes a lot of talent to succeed.
It makes sense to take advantage of it.
It was late. There were a lot of people.
It seems /occurs / is likely: express opinion about a situation
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
It seems, It occurs, It is likely
Practice 1 – complete sentence
It seems that she is doing well.
It appears to me that she likes her classes.
It occurred to me that she would probably like that.
It happens that she knows an old friend of mine.
It strikes me as odd that she would quit ballet.
It seems odd to me that she would quit anything.
It/This Reference: refer back to something
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Apple is going to release a new operating system. It will merge the laptop OS with the iPad and iPhone OS.
Apple is going to release a new operating system. This will be a huge step in merging the laptop OS with the iPad and iPhone OS.
Pronouns — antecedents / reference
Pronoun Antecedent: be clear about which word the pronoun refers to
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Practice 1 – complete the sentence
Practice 2 – complete the paragraph
By the time they arrived, my family was very hungry.
By the time my family arrived, they were very hungry.
Tracy gave Robin a recipe. She is a talented cook. Tracy or Robin?
Cleft Clauses: shift emphasis to other sentence parts by moving content with it or what
Advanced ESL, Native Speaker
His energy amazed me.
What amazed me was his energy.
His energy was what amazed me.
It amazed me that he had so much energy.
What– Phrase: shift emphasis to another sentence part ("fused-relative")
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
That which / What "fused-relatives"
Practice 1 – complete sentence
Practice 2 – correct/incorrect
Practice 3 – edit sentence
What he said was funny. (that + which)
What was funny was his expression.
Wh-ever Phrases: refer to an unknown one (pronouns)
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Whatever you say is confidential.
You can take whomever you want.
Whatever way will be fine.
Whatever!
Genitive Nouns: indicate possession for people or things
Intermediate–Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Genitives — Dependent vs. Independent
Determiners with Genitive Proper Nouns
Practice – fill in the blank
Related page: Apostrophes
The state's soccer team won several games.
The state's won several games.
The states' soccer teams won several games.
The goal post's leg was broken.
The leg of the goal post was broken.
Ditransitive Verbs–Indirect Objects: indicate the "recipient" or "beneficiary" of the action
Beginning–Intermediate ESL
Practice 1 – complete the sentence
Practice 2 – complete the sentence
Practice 3 – complete the sentence
My friend is bringing me a letter.
My friend is bringing a letter to me.
My friend is bringing me it.
Common Mistakes: avoid the "top 20" agreement errors
Advanced ESL, Native Speakers
Practice – multiple choice
Fashions come and go. * Everyone have problems balancing comfort with fashion.
Also see Nouns and Quantifiers