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PRONOUNS |
This post is a part of [GMAT GRAMMAR BOOK]
created by: bb
edited by: dzyubam
Five forms of pronouns exist in English. These are subject pronouns, complement (object) pronouns, possessive pronouns, possessive adjectives and reflexive pronouns.
Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns are used in place of subject nouns. A singular pronoun is used to refer to a singular noun and a plural pronoun is used to refer to a plural noun.
| SUBJECT PRONOUNS | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| I you he, she, it | we you they |
Examples of subject pronoun use:
I (subject) am late for work.
He (subject) owns six dogs and three cats.
You and I (subject) are traveling to Las Vegas this weekend.
They (subject) were worried about making the trip in bad weather.
A subject pronoun can also be used after the verb be in certain circumstances, such as:
It was I who threw the ball at you. (Notice that I is the subject of “threw the ball”)
The pronoun we, you and us can be directly followed by a noun in order to make it clearer to whom is being referred.
We parents are very concerned about our children.
Comparative (Object) Pronouns
Comparative, or object, pronouns are used in place of the object of the verb. Again, a singular comparative pronoun is used for a singular comparative noun and a plural comparative pronoun is used for a plural comparative noun.
| COMPARATIVE PRONOUNS | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| me you him, her, it | us you them |
Examples of comparative (object) pronouns:
Sally emailed me (complement).
The merchant offered him (complement) a good deal.
I wanted to find you (complement) so we could go to the movies.
Jerry told them (complement) that he wasn’t playing in the game tomorrow.
A sentence can also contain variations in structure, such as containing prepositions and conjunctions followed by clauses. Identifying these various parts of speech will help in determining the correct usage of pronouns.
Alex arrived at the house before (preposition) her (complement pronoun).
Alex arrived at the house before (conjunction) she (subject) left (verb) work.
she left work = clause
NOTE: A clause is a full sentence that has been connected to the first sentence by a conjunction (connector) and, therefore, also has a subject and verb.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns show possession of something by someone. They are not followed by nouns, but stand alone. Possessive pronouns replace a noun that is understood by context.
NOTE: You do NOT use apostrophes with possessive pronouns. The pronoun its is different from the word it’s, which is a contraction of it is. (For information on the correct use of apostrophes, see this post -- to be added later)
| POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| mine your his, hers, its | ours yours theirs |
Examples of possessive pronouns:
That is my money. BUT That is mine. OR That money is mine.
John’s car is slow and my car is fast. BUT His is slow and mine is fast.
Our class is boring. BUT Ours is boring.
Their dresses are too short. BUT Theirs are too short.
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are pronouns which are used as adjectives and are located directly before another noun. They do not replace a noun, but modify it.
| POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| my your his, hers, its | our your their |
Examples of possessive adjectives:
Carol is reading her book.
The bird is grooming its wings.
He received his award this morning.
My homework is due next Monday.
Their names were not called in class.
Reflective Pronouns
Reflective pronouns indicate that the subject of a sentence is both giving and receiving the action of the verb. They are normally located after the verb.
| REFLECTIVE PRONOUNS | |
| SINGULAR | PLURAL |
| myself yourself himself, herself, itself | ourselves yourselves themselves |
NOTE: English never uses the forms hisself or thierselves. These forms are always incorrect.
Notice the difference between the comparative (object) pronoun and the reflective pronoun in the following sentences.
Mary bought her a birthday gift. (her = another person)
Mary bought herself a birthday gift. (herself = Mary)
Examples of reflective pronouns:
The bird bathed itself in the water hole.
I hurt myself playing soccer.
The boys treated themselves to ice cream after school.
We convinced ourselves not to be scared at the haunted house.
Protect yourself from the rain by taking an umbrella.
Reflective pronouns can also be used to give emphasis, showing that the subject did the action alone (you can actually substitute the word alone for the pronoun in this case). When used this way, it usually follows the subject, but not always. It can also be placed at the end of the sentence, often used with the word by (by himself).
I myself believe in ghosts.
You yourself must choose what you will believe.
Robert completed the complex puzzle by himself.
The girls themselves made all the plans for the party.
We ourselves think the new voting law is unfair.
You will have to do the work on your car yourself.
Exercise 15: Using Pronouns
Underline the correct form of the pronoun or possessive adjective in the following sentences.
1. I think (he, his, him) is a great teacher.
2. Jason had to get (he, him, himself) ready for school today.
3. That yellow cat over there is (me, mine, my).
4. The snake bit (we, us, our) horse on (it, it’s, its) leg.
5. Joanne and (I, me) don’t want to go to (him, his, he) party.
6. I can’t believe that (you, your) mother doesn’t like (our, ours).
7. John thought that (he, his, him) could do the job by (hisself, himself).
8. The cute boy speaks to (she, her) every morning as (they, them, themselves) walk to school.
9. All of (we, us) boy scouts are going camping this weekend.
10. (She, Her) scolded (she, her) dog for ruining (it, its, it’s) new toy.
Pronouns in Apposition
An appositive is a word, phrase, or clause in apposition – that is, it is a word placed next to another word so that the second explains the first.
Martha, my sister, and her boyfriend, Doug, are in town for the weekend.
In this sentence, my sister is in apposition to Martha and Doug is in apposition to her boyfriend. In each case, the second word or phrase gives more information about the first word or phrase. Martha = my sister and her boyfriend = Doug
A pronoun of apposition must take the form of the noun it is in apposition with, whether a subject noun, or a comparative (object) noun.
The weightlifters (subject), John, George and I (pronoun in apposition), are ready for the competition.
In the above sentence, the pronoun I is in apposition with the subject noun weightlifters, therefore a subject pronoun is used. (I (subject) am one of the weightlifters.)
The labor party chose three officers (object), Sandra, Paul and me (pronoun in apposition).
In the above sentence, the pronoun me is in apposition with the object of the verb officers, therefore a complement, or object pronoun, is used. (The labor party chose me (object) as one of their officers.)
Words That Always Take Singular Verbs and Pronouns
Students of English often confuse some words as being plural. The words listed in the following chart must be followed by singular verbs and pronouns.
| any + singular noun anybody anyone anything | no + singular noun nobody no one nothing | some + singular noun somebody someone something |
| every + singular noun everybody everyone everything | each + singular noun either* neither* |
Anybody who has flu-like symptoms should go to see the nurse.
Something was bound to happen at the soccer playoffs.
Nobody likes a wise guy!
Everybody has heard about John winning the lottery.
If either bank card works, please let me know.
Think something is missing? Let us know - Help Improve GMAT Club's Grammar Book Project!
01 Sep 2010, 19:44
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Answers IMO:
Underline the correct form of the pronoun or possessive adjective in the following sentences.
1. I think (he, his, him) is a great teacher.
2. Jason had to get (he, him, himself) ready for school today.
3. That yellow cat over there is (me, mine, my).
4. The snake bit (we, us, our) horse on (it, it’s, its) leg.
5. Joanne and (I, me) don’t want to go to (him, his, he) party.
6. I can’t believe that (you, your) mother doesn’t like (our, ours).
7. John thought that (he, his, him) could do the job by (hisself, himself).
8. The cute boy speaks to (she, her) every morning as (they, them, themselves) walk to school.
9. All of (we, us) boy scouts are going camping this weekend.
10. (She, Her) scolded (she, her) dog for ruining (it, its, it’s) new toy. I'm confused whether all these last options, it, its and it's can be correct? I think correct option should be HER.
Exercise 15: Using Pronouns
Underline the correct form of the pronoun or possessive adjective in the following sentences.
1. I think (he, his, him) is a great teacher.
2. Jason had to get (he, him, himself) ready for school today.
3. That yellow cat over there is (me, mine, my).
4. The snake bit (we, us, our) horse on (it, it’s, its) leg.
5. Joanne and (I, me) don’t want to go to (him, his, he) party.
6. I can’t believe that (you, your) mother doesn’t like (our, ours).
7. John thought that (he, his, him) could do the job by (hisself, himself).
8. The cute boy speaks to (she, her) every morning as (they, them, themselves) walk to school.
9. All of (we, us) boy scouts are going camping this weekend.
10. (She, Her) scolded (she, her) dog for ruining (it, its, it’s) new toy. I'm confused whether all these last options, it, its and it's can be correct? I think correct option should be HER.
01 Sep 2010, 19:58
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Is it reflective or reflexive pronoun?
