Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that can be used in place of a noun or a noun phrase. We use pronouns like she, he, it and they when we already know who or what is referred to. To avoid repeating the name or the noun.

➜ John arrived late last night. He had had a terrible journey.

➜ I wrote to Kay and told her what had happened.

Determiners compared with pronouns

Determiners are always followed by a noun. Pronouns such as some or this followed by a noun function as determiners When they stand on their own, they function as pronouns:

➜ I want some milk.        (some + noun: determiner function).

 PERSONAL PRONOUNS

They do not refer only to people. E.g.:

➜ Your breakfast is ready. It is on the table.

Personal pronouns display a person contrast; Person distinguishes the speaker or writer (1^st person: I, we) from the addressee (2^nd person: you) and from those persons or things which are neither (3^rd person: he, she, it, they). E.g.:

➜ I hope that you will express an opinion on them.

If multiple pronouns are mentioned, the 2^nd person comes first and the 1^st person comes last. This ordering is important from the viewpoint of style and courtesy. E.g.:

➜ You, Jack and I will go to the rugby match.

3^rd person coordinates usually have the masculine before the feminine, the pronoun before the noun phrase. E.g.:

➜ He and she were both elected.

➜ She and another student were both elected.

In the 3^rd person (he, she, it), there is a three-way gender contrast: masculine, feminine and nonpersonal. The choice of pronoun depends on the noun that is being replaced.

➜ John is here. He (replacing John) can’t stay long.

➜ The windows are dirty. I must wash them (replacing windows).

Personal pronouns agree with the nouns they replace in number, showing us whether they are referring to singular or plural. E.g.:

➜ If you see Mary please give her this message. (singular)

➜ If you see Mary and Tom please give them this message. (plural)

Case in personal pronouns involves a distinction of the grammatical roles of subject and object. Compare:

➜ The policeman detained this young woman.

                        He           detained         her.

➜ The woman resisted the policeman.

                  She          resisted       him.

Their usage shows that we are concerned more with subject “territory” (the pre-verbal part of a clause) in contrast to object “territory” (the post-verbal part of a clause).

Exceptions

■ Object pronouns are used after be in everyday speech. E.g.:

      ➜ Who is it?   It’s me/her/us.

■ Object pronouns are used by themselves or in short answers with not. E.g.:

      ➜ Who wants a ride on my bike?    Me! / Not me!

■ Object pronouns are used after as and than:

➜ She’s as old as me/as him.

➜ You are taller than me /than her.

subject pronouns are used if as or than are followed by subject + verb.

➜ She’s as old as I am/as he is.

➜ You are taller than I am/than she is.

■ Object pronouns occur in exclamations.

➜ He’s got to study all summer. Poor him! (Isn’t he unlucky!) ➜ She’s been promoted. Lucky her! (Isn’t she lucky!)

The pronoun “it”

a)   “It” is used to refer to collectives and noncount concretes. E.g.:

➜ The committee met soon after it had been appointed. (Collective)

➜ He bought some salmon because it was his favourite food. (Noncount)

b)   “It” can also refer to the content of clauses or whole sentences. E.g.:

➜ Last night I ran out of petrol. It taught me a lesson.

➜ I don’t like to say it but I must. You have lost your job because you didn’t work hard enough.

c)    We use it in sentences referring to:

When used in this way, it is sometimes called an empty subject because it carries no real information. It is present because every English sentence has to contain a subject and a verb.

The pronoun “One”

One used as an indefinite pronoun meaning “everyone/anyone” is used formally in general statements:

➜ World trade is improving, but one cannot expect miracles.

In everyday speech, the informal “you” is preferred:

➜ Can you buy refrigerators in Lapland?

In AmE one’s / oneself can be replaced by his / her, himself / herself:

➜ One should give himself / herself a holiday from time to time.

 REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

The reflexive pronouns are always coreferential with a noun or another pronoun, agreeing with it in number, gender and person:

➜ Veronica herself saw the accident.

➜ The dog was scratching itself.

➜ He and his wife poured themselves a drink.

The indirect object them refers to other people (not the subject). The co reference must be within the clause; thus we have a contrast between:

➜ Penelope begged Jane to look after her. (= Penelope)

➜ Penelope begged Jane to look after herself. (= Jane)

Verbs always be followed by a reflexive pronoun: absent, avail, pride, ingratiate.

➜ They pride themselves on their well-kept garden.

Verbs commonly followed by reflexives: amuse, blame, cut, enjoy, hurt, introduce.

➜ We really enjoyed ourselves at the party.

Of course these verbs can be followed by ordinary objects:

➜ We enjoyed the party.

Verbs of this kind are never followed by object pronouns (me, her, us, etc) when the subject and object refer to the same person. Compare:

➜ I’ve cut myself.

➜ Accidentally, I’ve cut Peter’s finger.

There is a difference in meaning between themselves and each other after verbs such as accuse, blame, help, look at. E.g.:

➜ The two bank clerks blamed themselves for the mistake. (= they both took the blame)

➜ The two bank clerks blamed each other for the mistake.

(= the one blamed the other)

Reflexive pronouns can occur after prepositions which often follow verbs (look after, listen to) or adjectives (pleased with). E.g.:

➜ Look after yourself!

➜ Lucy’s looking very pleased with herself.

By + a reflexive means “without help” or “alone”. E.g.:

➜ Susie made this doll’s dress all by herself. (= without help)

➜ He lives by himself. (= alone)

Reflexives can be used after nouns and pronouns for emphasis to mean “that person/thing and only that person/thing”. E.g.:

➜ You yourself heard the explosion quite clearly.

➜ Peter himself bought the present.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

The reciprocal pronouns each other and one another are used to indicate that two people do the same thing, feel the same way or have the same relationship.

Reciprocal pronouns are not used as the subject of a clause but as the object or indirect object of a verb.

➜ We help each other a lot.

➜ You and I understand each other.

➜ We support one another through good and bad times.

➜ They sent one another gifts from time to time.

They are also used as the object of a preposition.

➜ Terry and Mark were jealous of each other. ➜ They didn’t dare to look at one another.

Both can be used to refer to two or more people or things. But you can too, use Each other to refer only to two items and one another to refer to more than two.

In formal written English, it is possible to use each as the subject of a clause and the other as the object of a clause or of a preposition.

➜ Each accuses the other of dirty tricks.

➜ Each appears to be unwilling to learn from the experience of the others.

‘s can be added to the reciprocal pronouns to form genitive phrases.

➜ I hope you all enjoy each other’s company.

➜ Apes spend a great deal of time grooming one another’s hair.

 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Compare:

➜ That is my bike. _______________ That bike is mine.

➜ Which are their clothes? ________ Which clothes are theirs?

➜ Is this her car? _______________ Is this car hers?

Possessives show possession, that someone or something belongs to somebody. They answer the question: whose?

➜ These are his children.           These children are his.

Emphasis can be given to the idea of possession by the addition of own to all possessives with a determiner function. E.g.:

➜ I’d love to have my own room/ a room of my own.

➜ Don’t use my comb. Use your own.

 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

The demonstratives can function as determiners and as pronouns. This/These suggest relative proximity to the speaker, that/those relative remoteness. E.g.:

➜ We shall compare this (picture) here with that (picture) over there.

➜ We shall compare these (pictures) here with those (pictures) over there.

All can be used as determiners irrespective of the gender of the noun head, as pronouns the reference must be to nouns of non personal (and usually inanimate) gender.

➜ In the garden I noticed this plastic bag / this.

this kitten / ?this. this woman / -

Occasionally, the demonstratives may be used as pronouns with animate reference where there is ellipsis:

➜ I attended to that patient but not this (one).

The demonstratives can be modified by predeterminers:

➜ She painted all (of) those (pictures) last year.

This morning usually refers to “today”, that refers to a more distant, past or future. More generally, this/these have more immediate relevance than that/those. E.g.:

➜ These figures have just been compiled; those of yours are out of date.

this/these are used for the speaker’s approval and that/those for disapproval:

➜ How can this intelligent girl think of marrying that awful bore?

 RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Relative pronouns comprise two series:

Relative pronouns relate to a preceding noun or pronoun and introduce relative clauses. These clauses describe the noun or pronoun so postmodified (called the antecedent - the word to which the relative clause relates). E.g.:

➜ The man is coming to tea. (Well, what man?)

➜ The man who called you yesterday is coming to tea.

Compare:

➜ I’d like to come and see the house which you have for sale. that

(Ø )

In neither series are there distinctions of person or number, but in (1) we have some distinctions of gender and case. With who and whom the antecedent must have personal gender; with which it must have nonpersonal gender; with whose the antecedent is usually personal but can also be nonpersonal. Then:

➜ Are you the doctor who looked after my daughter?

➜ That is the hospital which is going to be demolished.

➜ That is the doctor/ hospital whose phone number I gave you.

While who and whom have personal gender, their difference in form reflects the case distinction, subjective and objective respectively, within the relative clause:

➜ The manwho        greeted me is my boss. whom           I greeted to whom I spoke

In series (2), that can be used without reference to the gender of the antecedent or the function within the relative clause, except that it cannot be preceded by a preposition:

➜ The actorthat       pleases me is Leo Dicaprio. that        I admire that I am attracted to

Zero has a similar range, lacking only the subject function:

➜ The actor(Ø)       I admire is Leo Dicaprio. (Ø)    I am attracted to

 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

they do not relate to a preceding noun or pronoun, and their antecedent is not within the sentence. E.g.:

➜ He proposed a motion, which was accepted. (the relative pronoun relates to “motion”)

➜ I don’t know which they accepted. (the interrogative pronoun relates to something not present in the sentence)

Whose, who and whom can be used only with reference to items of personal gender. While whom can function only in the objective case, who can be both subjective and objective except after a preposition. E.g.

➜ Who owns this house?

➜ Who(m) does this house belong to? ➜ To whom does this house belong? (formal) ➜ Whose is this house?

With which, reference can be personal and nonpersonal. E.g.:

➜ Of these cars,whichis the best?

students,do you like most?

When what is used as a pronoun, the questioner assumes that the reference is nonpersonal:

➜ What is in that box?

➜ What were you wearing that day?

But what and which can also be determiners, and in this function the noun phrase can be personal or nonpersonal, with which assumes a limited choice of known answers:

➜ What doctor(s) would refuse to see a patient?

➜ Which doctor(s) (of those we are discussing) gave an opinion on this problem?

As determiner, whose retains its personal reference:

➜ Whose house is this?

The distinction between who, what and which is brought out in a set like the following:

➜ Who is his wife?       The novelist Felicity Smith.

➜ What is his wife?      She’s a novelist.

➜ Which is his wife? The woman nearest the door.

 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Have a general and nonspecific reference. They are called indefinite because we do not always know who or what we are referring to. Their functions are directly involved in expressing quantity, from totality (all) to its converse (nothing). Reference in some cases involves gender, such that items in -body are personal, items in –thing nonpersonal. Several of the indefinites can function both as determiners and as pronouns, as we shall see in what follows.

Indefinite pronouns can be divided into Universal Indefinites and Partitive Indefinites. a.          Universal indefinites

everyone, everybody, everything; no one, nobody, nothing function only as pronouns and they take singular verbs.

➜ The pub was full of teenagers and everyone/everybody was having a good time. ➜ It was six in the morning but no one/nobody was willing to go home.

each and none are able to operate irrespective of gender.

Each has singular reference. none can have both singular and plural reference:

➜ Many members hesitated but each was pressed to act.

➜ Is there any sugar? – No, there’s none.

➜ Are there any bread rolls? – No, there are none.

None with plural count nouns is in divided usage:

➜ None of the books has been placed on the shelves.

➜ None of the books have been placed on the shelves.

Each can also function as a determiner, in which role it is closely paralleled by every:

➜ Each/Every candidate will be individually interviewed.

each is more targeted on the individual. every on the totality.

With the determiner no which corresponds to none, plural and singular reference is used:

➜ No photography is permitted during the ceremony. ➜ There were no passengers on the train.

With all and both, we make plural and dual universal reference:

➜ The factory produces luxury cars and all are for export.

➜ Police interviewed the (two) suspects and both were arrested.

These two items also have a predeterminer function:

➜ All these cars are for export.

➜ Both (the) suspects were arrested.

The converse of all is no(ne); that of both is neither, usually with singular verb concord:

➜ Police interviewed the (two) suspects but neither was arrested.

Neither also has a determiner function:

➜ Neither suspect was arrested.

b.      Partitive indefinites

those in assertive use occur in positive declarative sentences, and those in nonassertive use occur in negative and interrogative sentences.

(a)   I can see someone/somebody climbing that tree. There’s something I want to tell you.

There are nuts here; please have some.

There is wine here; please have some.

All the students speak French and some speak Italian as well.

(b)   Did you see anyone/anybody in the garden?

I couldn’t find anything to read.

I’d like nuts, if you have any.

All the students work hard and I don’t think any will fail.

When some and any are used as pronouns, they usually have clear contextual reference to a noun phrase:

➜ There are nuts here; please have some. ➜ I’d like wine, if you have any.

Both some and any occur more freely as determiners. The following examples illustrate the use of these items with personal, nonpersonal, count and noncount reference:

➜ I would love some nuts and some wine, please.

➜ If you haven’t any nuts, I’ll not have any wine, thank you.

➜ I invited some teachers but I didn’t invite any students to the party.

Corresponding to the negative neither, there is the nonassertive either:

➜ The police arrested both suspects.         (positive).

➜ The police arrested neither (suspect). (negative).

Compare:

➜ The police did not arrest either (suspect). (nonassertive)

Assertive forms can be used in nonassertive “territory” when the presupposition is positive:

➜ Can you see someone in the garden? (= there is someone in the garden; can you see him/her?)