Kinds of Pronouns

Kinds Of Pronouns 

A Pronoun is a word used instead of a Noun ; as,


Somu is the son of a doctor. He is a good student . He goes to school daily . All the teachers like him. 

1. Personal Pronouns 

1. The Pronouns which stand for the person or persons speaking are called Pronouns of the First Person ; as,

I, we, me, us , mine , ours .

2. The Pronouns which stand for the person or persons spoken to  are called Pronouns of the Second Person ;as,

thou, thee, you , yours .

3. The Pronouns which  stand for the person or thing spoken of are called Pronouns of the Third Person ;as,

he , she ,it, they , him , her, them ,his ,its , theirs .

2. Reflexive and  Emphasizing Pronouns 

Read the following sentences:

1. I hurt myself .
2. We enjoyed ourselves.
3. You blame yourselves for it.

The Pronouns 'myself', 'ourselves', 'yourselves' refer to the subjects of the verbs . Such Pronouns are called Reflexive Pronouns .

Now study the following sentences:

1. I myself did it.
2. He himself went there.
3. The horses itself fell.

The Pronouns 'myself', 'himself', 'itself' are used with a Noun or Pronoun for the sake of emphasis . Such Pronouns are called Emphasizing Pronouns .

Note: Reflexive Pronouns are formed by adding is 'self' or 'selves'.

Exercise 1 :

Fill in the blanks with suitable Reflexive or Emphasizing Pronouns :

1. I ..... did this.
2. He ..... is to blame .
3. You ..... ruined your family.
4. I .....shall speak to him.
5. The child hurt....
6. The theif .....confessed his guilt.
7. Neelam hid ...behind a curtain.
8. Teja ruined ...by gambling.
9. We enjoyed .....there.
10. They .....heard him saying so.

3. Demonstrative Pronoun

Read the following sentences:

This is a chair.
That is a table .
These are chairs .
Those are tables.

The Pronouns 'this , that,  these, those ' point out certain objects .Such Pronouns are called Demonstrative Pronouns .
Now study these sentences :

Demonstrative Pronouns              Demonstrative Adjective 

1. This is my book .         This book is mine .
2. That is our house. That house is ours.
3. These are brave men.         These men are brave .
4. Those are lovely flowers. Those flowers are lovely.

It is clear from the above sentences that Demonstrative Pronouns are not followed by a noun whereas Demonstrative Adjective are placed before Nouns.

Exercise 2 :

Fill in the blanks with Demonstrative Pronouns :

1. .....is a wrong sentence.
2. .....are sweet mangoes .
3. ......is a costly.
4. ......are your ribbons .
5. .....are green trees.

4. Indefinite Pronouns 

Study the following sentences:
1. All men are moral.
2. Some are born great.
3. Many were killed in accident .
4. Few escaped unhurt.
5. Somebody has stolen my watch.

The Pronouns 'all, some , many , few, one ' refer to persons or things in a general way . Such Pronouns are called Indefinite Pronouns.

Learn (Indefinite Pronouns ) any, anyone, everybody , something , none , nobody.

5. Distributive Pronouns 

Study the following sentences:

1. Each of the girls received a watch.
2. Either of you can leave .
3. Neither of these pens is mine .

The Pronouns 'each, either , neither' refer to persons or things ,one at a time. Such Pronouns are called Distributive Pronouns .

Note : Distributive Pronouns are always singular and are followed by a verb in the singular.

6. Interrogative Pronoun 

Read the following sentences:

1. Who goes there?
2. Whose pen is this ?
3. Whom do you want to see?
4. What do you ask?
5. Which is your house?

In the above sentences 'who, whose, whom , what , which ' are used for asking questions . They are called Interrogative Pronouns .

Remember:
1) 'Who' , 'Whose' , 'Whom' are used for asking questions about persons .
2) 'What' is used for asking questions about things.
3) 'Which' is used for asking questions about particular person or thing.

Examine the following sentences:

Interrogative Pronouns           Interrogative Adjectives
1. Whose is this book? Whose book is this?
2. Which is your watch ?   Which watch is yours?
3. What is the question that What question do you ask ?
   you ask?

It is clear from the above sentences that Pronouns can also be used as Adjectives when they are placed before nouns .

Exercise 3:

Fill in the blanks with Interrogative Pronouns :

1. ......are you doing here?
2. .....do you want?
3. Of these pens .....do you like?
4. .....came here to see you ?
5. .....brings you here today?
6. .....do you wish to see?
7. ......wrote this book?
8. .....is better, health or wealth?
9. ..... do two and two make?
10. ....did you invite to dinner?
11. ....of these boys stood first?
12. .....were you speaking to?
13. .....did you give my message?
14. ....do you consider in the wrong?
15. ....of these scooters is yours?

7. Relative Pronoun 

Read the following sentences :

1. I have lost the watch. I brought the watch yesterday.
2. I met Raju. Raju had won a scholarship  .
3. I have a cow. The cow is white.

Each of the above pairs of sentences can be combined 'watch' therefore, it is a Pronoun . Moreover 'which' joins two sentences .
Thus it does the function of a conjunction .

In sentences 3, 'that' does the work of a Pronoun and a Conjunction 'which' , 'who' , 'that' are called Relative Pronouns .

Learns : A Relative Pronoun does the work of a Pronoun and a Conjunction .

The nouns to which a Relative Pronoun refers or relates is called its Antecedent . In sentence 1, the antecedent of which is 'watch' .In sentence 3 , the antecedent of that is 'cow'.
Remember : A Relative Pronoun always agrees with its antecedent in Number, Gender and Person .

Exercise 4 :

Pick out the Relative Pronouns in the following sentences and tell their antecedents:

1. I have seen the boy who was hurt.
2. Our team will play the match which is to begin tomorrow.
3. He has sold the house which he brought .
4. Here is the pen that my uncle gave me .
5. It is an ill-wind that blows no body any good.
6. This is the house that my father built .
7. This is the girl whose mother died.
8. Ashoka was the wisest king that ever lived .
9. This is the man whom we saw this morning.
10. All that glitters is not gold.

Exercise 5 :

Fill in the blanks with suitable Relative Pronouns:

1. I know ......you mean.
2. This is the boy .....stole my book.
3. She has said ......she wanted to say.
4. He has a friend ......helps him.
5. I do not like the boys .....have dirty habits .
6. There was none .....I could trust .
7. This is the pen .....I like .
8. He .....speaks in my favor is my friend.
9. There are the books ......I brought yesterday .
10. It is only camels ......can cross the deserts.

Exercise 6 :

Join together each of the following pairs of sentences by means of a Relative Pronoun :

1. This is the girl. Her mother is a doctor.
2. Here is the watch . I told you  about it.
3. I met a boy. He was running fast.
4. This is the pen . I lost it yesterday.
5. I have a pet dog. He is faithful to me.
6. I saw a juggler. He was showing tricks.
7. It was Nutan . She helped me .
8. This is the house . Jack build it.
9. This is the road . It leads to the railway station .
10. Bring me the books, The books are on the table.