Pronouns

A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence is called a pronoun.

Pronouns are also called noun helpers. They are the words that are used instead of nouns. We use pronouns so that we don’t have to use noun again and again. This helps us to make better sentences.

For example, observe these sentences:

                Alice is my cousin. Alice is a doctor. Everyone admires Alice.

Notice that the proper noun Alice is being used repetitively. Now, let us rewrite the sentences using pronouns.

                Alice is my cousin. She is a doctor. Everyone admires her.

Types of pronouns:

1.       Personal pronouns: Pronouns that refers to people are called personal pronouns.

·         The words I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us and them are the personal pronouns.

·         I, me, we and us are the first person pronouns. They refer to the ones that are speaking.

·         You is in the second person. It refers to both singular and plural nouns. It refers to the person or people we are speaking to.

·         He, him, she, her and it are the third person singular pronouns. They refer to the person about whom we are speaking.

·         They and them are also in third person but plural. They refer to the people about whom we are speaking.

e.g., They went to Kashmir.

This book is interesting. Have you read it?

The ring has been found. It was stolen yesterday.

2.       Possessive pronouns: These pronouns represent the person to whom the thing belongs to. They indicate possession. The words  mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs are possessive pronouns.

e.g., This pencil is mine. That is yours.

3.       Demonstrative pronouns: These are the pronouns which point at particular things. The words this, that, these, those are demonstrative pronouns.

For example,

This is a cat.

Is that your book?

These are poisonous plants.

4.       Reflexive pronouns: A pronoun that refers to the subject of the sentence is called reflexive pronoun. It has the suffix self (singular) or selves (plural) added to the personal pronoun.

For example,

                He hid himself behind the tree.

                The dog hurt itself.

                I blamed myself for the mistake.

                The children went themselves to the park.

List of pronouns used in various contexts:

WORKSHEET:

I.      Read the sentences below and identify the prepositions:

I have a pet rabbit. Her name is lily. She hops around our house and garden. She likes me very much. We play together every evening.

Answer: I have a pet rabbit. Her name is lily. She hops around the house and the garden. She likes me very much. We play together every evening.

II.    Fill in the blanks by using suitable pronouns:

1.       I like bananas. ___ are sweet.

2.       John is a good boy. ___ is very kind.

3.       Jack and Jill are in fifth grade. ___ are brothers.

4.       He considers ___ very important.

5.       I read a story yesterday. ___ was really interesting.

Answers:

1.       I like bananas. They are sweet.

2.       John is a good boy. He is very kind.

3.       Jack and Jill are in fifth grade. They are brothers.

4.       He considers himself very important.

5.       I read a story yesterday. It was really interesting.