Pronouns
Introduction
1. Definition of Pronouns
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· Pro means “for” · Noun means “the name of a person place or thing. A thing includes a quality (fear) a material (gold), a collection (herd, army), a state (adherence) and an action (cheat, mock, movement)” · and pronoun means “for a noun” · Pronouns = Pro + name “Two at a Time” = Noun Equivalent |
Pronouns are small words operate just like a noun in a sentence. So pronouns are words that substitute for nouns or another pronoun that have already been mentioned in a sentence. In short, pronouns refer to and replace nouns (the names of people, places, and things) that have already been mentioned, or that the speaker/writer assumes are understood by the listener/reader. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. The pronoun is a substitute word, and the antecedent is the noun that it is substituting. It is important to remember, however, to use pronouns carefully. Often times, speakers and writers make the mistake of referring to a noun with a pronoun is replacing. This creates confusion for readers since it’s then not clear who or what a pronoun word is referring to. So pronouns are words used in place of nouns or phrases treated like nouns. As noun substitutes, pronouns provide variety and efficiency. Compare and examine the sentences and paragraphs in the table below. For each pronoun printed in bold type, think of a noun it could replace.
· 1. He saw it when they purchased it.
· 1. Ann saw the book when the students purchased the book.
· 2. They were happy when it was over.
· 2. Students were happy when the exam was over.
· 3. The gift that we gave them was made last week.
· 3. The gift that I my classmates gave to our teachers was made last week.
· 4. What did you buy from them?
· 4. What did John buy from businessmen?
· 5. He explained the lecture.
· 5. The teacher explained the lectures.
1. Functions of Pronouns
Pronouns are used in sentences in order to refer to a noun (called its antecedent) that usually comes before the pronoun. In addition, they are used to make your writing clearer, smoother, concise, precise, and less awkward. Compare the following two paragraphs with and without pronouns in the table below.
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Without Pronouns |
With Pronouns |
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Our cat’s name is Spot. Our cat is black and white. Our cat’s body is mostly white. Our cat has four black paws. Our cat has a long black tail. Our cat purrs a lot. Our cat never scratches. Our cat likes to play. My mother, my father, two brothers, and three sisters love our cat. |
Our cat’s name is Spot. It is black and white. Its body is mostly white but its four paws are black. It has a long black tail. We call our cat Spot. It purrs a lot, and it never scratches. Spot likes to play. Everyone in our family loves the cat. |
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Now see how the use of pronouns makes this paragraph sounds more natural, interesting, precise, concise, less repetitive and more communicative. |
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2. Pronoun and its Antecedent
The noun or noun phrase that the pronoun refers in the sentence is called antecedent "ante + cede". It is worth to note here that "ante" means "before", "cede" means "to go", altogether "ante + cede" means "to go before of the pronoun"
So an antecedent or "goes before" or existed before the pronoun, can occur either before the noun it describes in a sentence. The antecedent must always be a single word, either stated or implied. The pronoun must agree with the antecedent it replaces. This means that the pronoun and its antecedent must match. In other words, if the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular; if the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural. Sometimes, the antecedent can follow the pronoun. See the two examples below:
· John said that he would be late. Here the pronoun “he” substitutes for the noun mentioned before “John”.
· After he built the house, Stephan died. Here the pronoun “he” comes before its antecedent, “Stephan”.
· Students must be always ready for their best preparation for their exams. Here the pronoun “their” and its noun “students” must agree and match in number, gender ………..
2. Pronouns and Nouns
Pro as a prefix of the word pronoun means 'for' or 'acting as' for something “noun” else in the sentence A pronoun is used as a substitute for a noun or a noun phrase. In other words, it has all the characteristics of a noun: it can function as a subject/object/complement in a sentence. So a pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of nouns or noun phrases as it is indicated by the examples below:
· 1. Karim went to the shop because Karim wanted to buy a bicycle.
· 2. Karim went to the shop because he wanted to buy a bicycle.
· 1. Walking is a form of sport. Walking is easier than swimming.
· 2. Walking is a form of sport. It is easier than swimming.
But a pronoun is different from a noun in that it neither cannot take a pre-modifying adjective nor can it take a determiner or a prefix/suffix. The form of a pronoun is fixed. It is worth to be noted that pronouns are like nouns, pronouns too, have number. But the number system of pronouns is different from that of nouns because an s is not added to pronouns to turn them into plural. The singular and plural forms of pronouns are fixed. See the examples in the table below:
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Singular Pronouns |
Plural Pronouns |
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I, me, my, mine, myself you, your, yourself he, his, him, himself, it, its, itself, one, oneself |
we, us, our, ours, ourselves you, your, yours, yourselves hers, them, their, theirs, themselves little these, those, ones, both, many, some |
It is worth to mention again that the gender system of pronouns is different from that of nouns because a suffix like "ess" is not used to mark gender distinctions. The gender of pronouns is fixed. See the examples in the table below:
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Masculine pronouns |
Feminine pronouns |
Common gender pronouns |
Neuter gender pronouns |
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he, him, his, himself |
she, her, hers, herself |
I, we, you, they mine, ours, yours, theirs myself, yourself, ourselves, themselves each other, one another everybody, nobody, anybody who? which? what? |
it, its, itself anything, nothing, something, everything |
3. 1. Kinds of Pronouns
Pronouns are divided into eight groups depending on their meaning and how they are used in a sentence.
3. 1. 1. Personal Pronouns
The first person refers to the person speaking or writing (I, we), the second person to the person addressed (you) and the third person to the person spoken or written about (he, she, and they). In a speech situation the first and second person are necessarily present, the third person may or may not be present.
These seven personal pronouns are called personal pronouns on the basis of their role in a speech act. Personal pronouns can be divided according to number into singular and plural and according to person into First person, Second person, and Third person. For example, I and me are first person singular, and we and us are first person plural. The second person pronoun you is used both as singular and as plural. Third person singular pronouns he/him, she/her, and it are further divided according to gender; the third person plural pronouns are they and them.
They tend to come in mind first when we think about pronouns. It's because most people use them a lot in the speaking and writing. The main thing to remember about personal pronouns usage is that;