Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. There are different kinds of Pronouns

There are: Personal pronouns, Reflexive pronouns, Possessive pronouns, Demonstrative pronouns, Interrogative pronouns, Indefinite pronouns.

Pronouns are words used in places of noun to avoid repetition and make sentences clearer. They refer to people, places or ideas without naming them directly. 

Personal pronouns 

Personal pronouns may be as:

1. The subject of a verb, or
2. The object of verb. 

Subject pronouns 

The subject of a verb does the action of the verb. The personal pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, and they can all be used as the subject of a verb. Study the following two sentences:

Lisa likes cats. She has four cats. 

In the first sentence, the propor noun Lisa is the subject the verb likes. In the second sentence she is the subject of the verb has. 

Here are some more pairs of sentences that show personal pronouns used as subjects of verbs. 

• My name is Michael. I am fourteen. 
• My father works hard. He works in a factory. 
• My Sister is older than me. She is twelve. 
• Our dog is very naughty. It likes to chase cats. 
• Bob, you are bad dog! 
• David and I are playing football. We like sports. 
• Jim and Jeff are my brothers. They are older than I am. 

Object pronouns 

The object of a verb receives the action of verb. The personal pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them can all be used as the object of a verb. Look at the following two sentences:

Lisa likes cats. She likes to strock them. 

In the first sentence, the noun cats is the object of the verb likes. In the second sentence, the pronoun them is the object of the verb strock. 

Here are some more pairs of sentences that show personal pronouns used object of verbs. 

• I'm doing my homework. Dad is helping me. 
• Goodbye, children! I will call you later. 
• Where is John? I need to speak to him. 
• Miss Garcia is very nice. All children like her. 
• The car is very dirty. Mom is cleaning it

Reflexive pronouns 

Reflexive pronouns are words that refer that noun or pronoun that is the subject of the verb. The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. 

• My brother built computer himself. 
• Be careful not to cut yourself with that knife. 
• John was looking at himself in the mirror. 
• Kate fell and hurt herself. 
• Our cat washes itself after every meal. 
• We baked the cake by ourselves. 
• Come in, everybody, and find yourselves a seat. 
• The children cleaned their room all by themselves. 
• Bears like to rub themselves against a tree. 
• The bird washed itself by splashing in a puddle. 
• The players train every day to keep themselves fit. 
• Have themselves a good time. 

Possessive pronouns 

Possessive pronouns are used to talk about things that belong to people. The words mine, yours, his, hers, ours and their are possessive pronouns. 

• This book is mine
• Have you lost yours, Tom? 
• This pen is mine and that one is his. 
• Sarah has lost her cat. Is this car hers? 
• I can see our, but where is yours? 
• We've had our lunch, they haven't had theirs. 

Demonstrative pronouns 

Demonstrative pronouns are used for pointing out of things. The words this, that, these and those are demonstrative pronouns. 

• This is my desk. 
• This is the Mings' house. 
• That is my friend's house. 
• That's my mother's car. 
• You will have to work harder than this. 
• We can do better than that. 
• It's raing again. This is awful! 
• Who is that knocking at the door? 
• Hi, Kathleen. This is Michael. 
• These are my pets. 
• These are sheep but those are goats. 
• Those are horses. 

Notes: use this and these when you are talking about things near you. 

Use that and those when you are talking about things father away. 

Interrogative pronouns 

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The words who, whose, what, which and Whom are Interrogative pronouns. 

• Who used all my paper?
• Who is mom talking to? 
• Who are those people? 
• Whose Pen is this?
• Whose are these shoes? 
• What is your brother? 
• What does Tom want? 
• What is the date today?
• What do you want to be when you grow up? 
• Which of these desk is yours? 
• Which do you prefer? 
• Which of you Sister is tallest? 
• Whom did the president criticiize?

Notes: in writing and formal speaking, you can also use Whom as the object of verbs and prepositions. For example:

Whom did the president criticize? 

Whom is the principal talking to? Or

To Whom is the principal talking? 

But you cannot use whom as the subject of a verb. So you cannot say:

--whom did came to party last night? 

You have to say:

_who came to the party last night? 

Who can be used as the subject or the object of a verb. For example:

--who broke the window? (as the subject) 

--who are you inviting to your party? (as the object) 

Who can be used as the object of a preposition. For example:

--who is mom talking to? 

You can also use Whom as the object of a preposition. For example:

--Whom is mom talking to? 

If you put the preposition before the interrogative pronoun, you must use whom:

To whom is mom talking? 

Indefinite pronouns 

An Indefinite pronouns does not refer directly to any other word. Most Indefinite pronouns express he idea of quantity. 

• Everybody is welcome at the meeting. 
• Many prefer their Coffee with sugar. 
• Does anybody care for a cheese sandwich? 
• Few choose to live in the arid deserta.

Note: pronouns help make sentences less repetitive and more fluid by replacing nouns.