ESL Intermediate Grammar: Pronouns

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the various types and functions of pronouns as described in the Chapter 1 ESL grammar lecture notes.

Pronouns

Words that take the place of nouns and all their modifiers.

Subject Pronoun

A pronoun that performs the action of the verb (except for linking verbs), such as I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, which, and what.

Direct Object

The first receiver of the action; can be a person, animal, or thing.

Indirect Object

The second receiver of an action; usually a person or animal.

Object of Preposition

A pronoun that follows a preposition and refers to people, animals, or objects.

Reflexive Pronoun

A pronoun used when the subject performs and receives the same action; examples include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

Demonstrative Pronoun

A pronoun that refers to location, such as this, these, that, and those.

Relative Pronoun

A pronoun that refers back to the noun that comes before it, such as who, whom, whoever, whomever, and that.

Possessive Pronoun

A pronoun that shows ownership, including mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

Interrogative Pronoun

A pronoun used to refer to questions, such as who, whom, what, and which.

Impersonal Pronoun

A pronoun that doesn't refer to a specific person or object, such as it, there, others, another, anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, something, no one, nobody, and nothing.

Comparison Usage

Subject pronouns are used after than or as in comparisons, such as He paints better than she or I am as tall as he.

Usage after verb be

Use a subject pronoun after a form of the verb be, such as It is I or The winner was she.

Compound Prepositional Phrase Rule

To decide whether to use a subject or object pronoun in a compound form, cover up the other noun and the word and to check the pronoun's function.