Hey
himanshu0123Happy to help!
The foremost thing to understand is that pronouns are essentially nouns. A pronoun is used to replace a noun in a sentence. This logically implies that pronouns (obviously) have to do the work of the nouns they replace. For instance, when a pronoun replaces the subject of a sentence, that pronoun, from thereon, behaves as the subject of that sentence it is a part of. Let's look at an example:
a. Tom is angry.
b. He is angry.
The pronoun 'he' replaces 'Tom'. This means that 'he' is now the subject of 'b'. In other words, the pronoun 'he' does the work of the noun 'Tom'.
So, if a verb-ing word can modify an immediately preceding noun, it should also automatically be able to modify an immediately preceding pronoun. Let's look at some examples:
c. I saw Tom standing on the roof of his house.
d. I saw
him standing on the roof of his house.
Let's look at another variation:
e. The man
who, knowing the traffic rules very well, continued to drive over the speed limit was punished for willful negligence.
Here, the verb-ing modifier '
knowing' modifies the relative pronoun '
who', and also provides concession to the action '
continued to drive'. In other words, despite
knowing the traffic rules very well,
he continued to drive over the speed limit. So, that man was punished for willful negligence.
So, as you can see from the above, verb-ing modifiers can certainly modify preceding pronouns. What you need to be careful of are logical consistency and rhetorical construction.
I hope this improves your understanding.
Happy Learning!
Abhishek