Grammar – Topic 7
Subject and Object Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns
Check out this extract I came across in a book I was reading the other day.
"Hey you! Stop there! You just bumped into me and I have dropped all my groceries!"
"Well, it's not my fault if you're clumsy but I'll help you to pick up your groceries. I won't let you do it yourself."
I thought this extract would be suitable for this post as it contains a couple of pronouns, a term that this post is about.
'I', 'you', 'me' and 'yourself' are the pronouns mentioned in the extract.
You might not be familiar with the term 'pronouns' but I'm sure you have used them when you converse and write in English.
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. We use them instead of saying the noun.
For example, 'You are learning and getting better at English by reading this blog.' If I don't use the pronoun 'you', I would probably put your name in the sentence.
'(insert your name here) is learning and getting better at English by reading this blog.'
It doesn't even sound like I'm addressing you directly does it? It might even sound like I'm telling someone about my observation of you.
Now, read these sentences below.
Gerrard is a world-class football player. Gerrard can score many goals. It is Gerrard who scored the winning goal in the World Cup.
The repeated use of the word 'Gerrard' can make the sentences quite tiresome to read. Let's write the sentences another way using pronouns.
Gerrard is a world-class football player. He can score many goals. It is he who scored the winning goal in the World Cup.
The meaning of the sentences are the same but now we do not need to repeat the noun 'Gerrard' as it is already clear whom we are talking about.
Pronouns can save the day.
They help you to write better in just the right way.
No matter what you say
Pronouns are definitely here to stay.
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
Check out this extract I came across in a book I was reading the other day.
"Hey you! Stop there! You just bumped into me and I have dropped all my groceries!"
"Well, it's not my fault if you're clumsy but I'll help you to pick up your groceries. I won't let you do it yourself."
I thought this extract would be suitable for this post as it contains a couple of pronouns, a term that this post is about.
'I', 'you', 'me' and 'yourself' are the pronouns mentioned in the extract.
You might not be familiar with the term 'pronouns' but I'm sure you have used them when you converse and write in English.
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. We use them instead of saying the noun.
For example, 'You are learning and getting better at English by reading this blog.' If I don't use the pronoun 'you', I would probably put your name in the sentence.
'(insert your name here) is learning and getting better at English by reading this blog.'
It doesn't even sound like I'm addressing you directly does it? It might even sound like I'm telling someone about my observation of you.
Now, read these sentences below.
Gerrard is a world-class football player. Gerrard can score many goals. It is Gerrard who scored the winning goal in the World Cup.
The repeated use of the word 'Gerrard' can make the sentences quite tiresome to read. Let's write the sentences another way using pronouns.
Gerrard is a world-class football player. He can score many goals. It is he who scored the winning goal in the World Cup.
The meaning of the sentences are the same but now we do not need to repeat the noun 'Gerrard' as it is already clear whom we are talking about.
Pronouns can save the day.
They help you to write better in just the right way.
No matter what you say
Pronouns are definitely here to stay.
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.
Questions on pronouns can be found in the Grammar MCQ,
Grammar Cloze and Editing sections of Paper 2 of the PSLE English paper.
Subject pronouns are who or what the sentence is about. (I,
you, he, she, it, we, they)
Object pronouns are who or what receives the action in the
sentence. (me, you, him, her, us, them)
Examples:
She and I are in the class committee.
Clue: Ask yourself if the phrase can be replaced with ‘we’
or ‘us’. If it can be replaced with ‘we’, the answer is a subject (she and I).
Jack asked Ben and me
to join him for lunch.
Clue: Ask yourself if the phrase can be replaced with ‘we’
or ‘us’. If it can be replaced with ‘us’, the answer is an object (me).
It was she who
witnessed the accident. (Take note of this sentence structure. We use the
subject pronoun.)
Let’s keep this between you
and me.
Clue: Ask yourself if the phrase can be replaced with ‘we’
or ‘us’. If it can be replaced with ‘us’, the answer is an object (me).
Julie is a better swimmer than I am.
Ben is taller than she
is.
Clue: There is a verb at the end of the sentence that might
not always be stated. (e.g. am, is)
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves, ourselves, yourselves are also pronouns. They are
reflexive pronouns.
Examples:
“Please return the trays to the tray return station yourselves,” Mrs Lee told her children.
Clue: We use ‘yourselves’ instead of ‘yourself’ because Mrs
Lee is talking to more than one child.
We did the household chores ourselves when our parents were at work.
Mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs are also pronouns. They are possessive pronouns. They tell
us what belongs to a person or people. We do not have to put the thing that
belongs to the person or people after the possessive pronoun.
Examples:
My sister invited her friends to the barbecue and I invited mine.
(We do not need to put ‘friends’ after ‘mine’. If ‘friends’
or the noun is placed after the pronoun, the sentence would be, ‘My sister
invited her friends to the barbecue and I invited my friends’.)
“The courier delivered a parcel this morning. I think it is yours,” Peter told Ann.
Everyone handed in their homework but Joel did not hand in his.
Please lend her your paintbrush. She left hers at home.
Questions related
to pronouns can also be found in the Comprehension Open-Ended section of
Paper 2.
For example,
“Come on!” Joe could not help exclaiming as he neared the
mall. The atrium was already abuzz with activity and he did not want to miss anything. There was a persistent screech
before the voice of the announcer echoed everywhere inviting everyone in the
mall to watch the dog show. Joe ran forward. He was certain it would be starting soon. Ann ran to
catch up. Her face was flushed with a mixture of excitement and annoyance.
There were several heavy bags in her hands and they were weighing her down.
Who or what do the words in bold refer to?
To find the answer, read the whole sentence where the
pronoun is and the sentence before the pronoun.
|
Let’s Practise
Circle the number of the correct answer.
1.
When the tremors started, everyone panicked and
grabbed whatever they could before leaving the building, even taking things
that were not ______.
(1) ours
(2) theirs
(3) his
(4) hers
2.
My sister often prepares breakfast for ______
when our mother is busy.
(1) myself
(2) himself
(3) herself
(4) ourselves
3.
It was ______ who stole the wallet but she
continued to deny it.
(1) her
(2) him
(3) she
(4) them
4.
My sister is a more graceful dancer than ______
is.
(1) she
(2) you
(3) they
(4) I
5.
Besides Tim and ______, the rest of the class
enjoys playing table tennis.
(1) she
(2) he
(3) I
(4) me
6.
The suspects in the murder case defended ______
without the help of a lawyer.
(1) itself
(2) ourselves
(3) yourselves
(4) themselves
7.
“It was ______ who came up with the idea of
holding a charity concert,” Brenda announced proudly.
(1) I
(2) me
(3) her
(4) them
8.
None of the books is useful so I returned ______
to the library.
(1) it
(2) them
(3) theirs
(4) mine
9.
Would you give ______ your vote for the post of
Club President?
(1) she
(2) he
(3) her
(4) hers
10.
Once the rain stops, ______ and I will head for
the beach.
(1) him
(2) them
(3) she
(4) her
Answers:
1.
2
2.
3
3.
3
4.
1
5.
4
6.
4
7.
1
8.
2
9.
3
10.
3
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