Pronouns: Types and rule

Pronouns

Without pronouns, we’d have to keep on repeating nouns, and that would make our speech and writing repetitive, not to mention cumbersome. Most pronouns are very short words.

Examples include:

*.He   

*.She

*.They.                       

*.It

*.We

*.Who

As mentioned, pronouns are usually used to replace nouns, however they can also stand in for certain adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. Anytime you want to talk about a person, animal, place or thing, you can use pronouns to make your speech or writing flow better.

Types of Pronouns

Pronouns can be divided into numerous categories including:

1. Indefinite pronouns– those referring to one or more unspecified objects, beings, or places

2. Personal pronouns– those associated with a certain person, thing, or group; all except you have distinct forms that indicate singular or plural number i.e I, we, us

3. Reflexive pronouns– those preceded by the adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they refer, and ending in–self or–selves i.e yourself, myself, ourselves.

4. Demonstrative pronouns– those used to point to something specific within a sentence

5. Possessive pronouns– those designating possession or ownership

6. Relative pronouns– those which refer to nouns mentioned previously, actingto introduce an adjective (relative) clause I.e whose, whom, which, who.

7.Interrogative pronouns– those which introduce a question I.e what,

*.Reciprocal pronouns– those expressing mutual actions or relationship; i.e. one another, each other

Pronoun Rules

There are a few important rules for using pronouns. As you read through these rulesand the examples in the next section, notice how the pronoun rules are followed.Soon you’ll see that pronouns are easy to work with.

*. Subject pronouns may be used to begin sentences. For example: We did a great job.

*. Subject pronouns may also be used torename the subject. For example: It was she who decided we should go to Hawaii.

*. Indefinite pronouns don’t have antecedents. They are capable of standing on their own. For example: No one likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.

*. Object pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. These include: you, me, him, her, us, them, and it. For example: David talked to her about themistake.

*. Possessive pronouns show ownership. They do not need apostrophes. For example: The cat washed its whiskers.

Evaluation: The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how pronouns work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1.This is __________ speaking .A.John B.He C.He John D.Am

2.Greg is as smart as __________ is.A.I B.me C.she D.we

3.The dog chewed on __________ favorite toy.A.it’s B.it is C.its’ D.its

4.It could have been __________ .A.JerryB.anyone C.better D.more difficult

5.Terry is taller than __________ am. A.I B.me C.she D.we