TSL 1024

LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION
Sem. 2/ 2016
Week 2

Prepared by :
Mdm. Joanne Goh
 PRONOUNS
... substitute in some way for an NP
or for an entire clause.
Personal | Possessive | Reflexive
Intensive / Emphatic |
Demonstrative | Reciprocal |
Relative | Interrogative | Indefinite |
Quantitative / Distributive
 Personal Pronouns
• English has two sets of personal pronouns –
one is used in subject position in sentences,
the other as objects of verbs or prepositions.
• The pronoun one is used as an alternative to
you, conveys a more formal, less personal
tone, and appears more than often in written
than in spoken English, e.g.
– You can’t be too careful with money. Informal
– One can’t be too careful with money. Formal
 Personal Pronouns (cont.)
SUBJECT OBJECT
PRONOUNS PRONOUNS
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st I we me us
person
2nd you you you you
person
3rd he, she, they him, her, them
person it it
 Possessive Pronouns
• English possessive pronouns replace NPs that
indicate possession, e.g.
– You take the big car, and I’ll drive Alice’s car.
– You take the big car, and I’ll drive hers.
• A determiner + noun + of + possessive
pronoun
– A teacher of yours mentioned that you weren’t in
school today.
 Possessive Pronouns (cont.)
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Singular Plural
1st mine ours
person
2nd yours yours
person
3rd his, hers, its theirs
person
 Reflexive Pronouns
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Singular Plural
1st myself ourselves
person
2nd yourself yourselves
person
3rd himself, herself, itself, themselves
person oneself
 Reflexive Pronouns (cont.)
• Reflexive pronouns are said to have a
nonemphatic function and an emphatic
function.
• Nonemphatic function of pronouns, comprises
two basic functions:
– lexical, occur as part of a reflexive verb
– and anaphoric, they refer to a preceding NP.
 After reflexive verbs
• Some verbs can only take a reflexive pronoun
as an object, e.g. pride oneself, commit
oneself, apply oneself, and acquit oneself.
• They often combine with a particular
preposition, which follows the reflexive
pronoun, e.g.
– Fred prides himself on his knowledge of
basketball.
 After reflexive pronouns (cont.)
• Some reflexive verbs, such as adjust oneself,
behave oneself, shave oneself, and wash
oneself may optionally appear without the
reflexive pronoun with no change in meaning,
e.g.
– He shaved himself with a rusty razor.
– He shaved with a rusty razor.
 Intensive / Emphatic Pronouns
• Reflexive pronouns supplement a noun (or
pronoun).
• Particularly in conversation, a reflexive
pronoun is often used to emphasize and
distinguish a noun or pronoun with which it
occurs.
• It can appear in any of several positions, to
distinguish himself or herself from someone
else.
 Emphatic Pronouns
• E.g.
– Of course, I would never do anything like that.
– Of course, I myself would never do anything like
that.
– Of course, myself, I would never do anything like
that.
– Of course, I would never do anything like that
myself.
 Demonstrative Pronouns
• The demonstrative pronouns are this and that,
and their plural counterparts, these and those.
• These pronouns have an anaphoric function,
e.g.
– Here are some application forms. You will need to
fill these out and return them before the deadline.
– This book isn’t bad. But I read her first book, and
that was more interesting.
 Reciprocal Pronouns
• The reciprocal pronouns are each other and
one another. E.g.
– Alice and Joan admired each other.
– It is only in teaching respect for one another that
the different races can live peacefully together.
• Each other – two individuals.
• One another – more than two individuals or
among many people.
 Relative Pronouns and how they can be
used...
The table:
used for used as
pronouns subject object defining non-
defining
1 who people, animals / / / /
whom people x / / /
2 which objects, animals / / / /
which ideas / / x /
3 that people, objects, / / / x
animals / / / /
4 whose relationships, / / / /
possessions
5 no people, things, x / / x
pronoun animals
 Notes on the table... 1
1. We sometimes use who to refer to animals,
particularly domestic pets.
E.g. Is Sheba the dog who was run over and
nearly killed last year?
whom is formal and we rarely use it in speech.
We now mainly use it after prepositions.
E.g. I am referring to the person with whom
you were seen on that evening.
 Notes on the table... 2
2. Note that we always use which (not who) to
refer to inanimate objects. We can also use
which to refer to the ‘idea’ of a whole clause.
E.g. When he came home, he was unusually
attentive, which made her very suspicious.
Here, which refers to the fact that ‘he was
unusually attentive’.
 Notes on the table... 3
3. We can use that to refer to people or objects,
but we usually prefer to use who for a person
when the pronoun is the subject of the
relative clause.
E.g. Ms Harrison is the lawyer who/that has
been chosen to represent you.
 Notes on the table... 4
4. It is possible, though not very common, to
use whose to refer to objects.
E.g. It would only be possible to colonise
planets whose atmosphere contained
enough oxygen to sustain human life. (= the
atmosphere of which).
 Notes on the table... 5
5. We often omit a relative pronoun when it
refers to the object of a defining relative clause.
E.g. The girl (who) I met in the florist’s was at
the party. (= I met the girl.)
We cannot omit the pronoun if it is the subject
of the clause.
E.g. The girl who works for the florist in the
High Street was at the party.
 Interrogative Pronouns
• What, which, whose, who and whom can
stand alone as interrogative pronouns.
– Who wants to come with me?
– Who (or whom) were you talking to?
– Whose is this umbrella?
– What is the time?
– Which would you prefer – an ice cream or a drink?
 Interrogative Pronouns (cont.)
• The interrogative pronouns who and whom
refer only to a person or people.
• The interrogative pronoun which can refer to
one or more people or animals or things from
a group.
E.g. Who wants an ice cream?
Whom (or who) are you taking to the ball?
There are three candidates – which is the
most suitable for the job?
 Interrogative Pronouns (cont.)
• Who can be used as the subject or object of a
verb or the object of a preposition.
• Whom is used only as the object.
E.g. Who (or whom) are you talking about?
• But you must use whom if the preposition
comes before the interrogative pronoun.
E.g. For whom are you knitting that sweater?
 Interrogative Pronouns (cont.)
• Who, whom, whose, which and what may
refer to plural nouns:
– Who are those people wearing red caps?
– For whom was this textbook written?
– Whose is this classroom?
– Which of these trees are the fastest-growing?
– What are those creatures?
 Interrogative Pronouns (cont.)
• Because which asks for a choice from a group,
it is often followed by of + a pronoun or a
noun phrase beginning with an identifying
determiner.
– Which of the textbooks has the Ministry
recommended?
– Which of you already have driving licences?
– We can’t decide which of the contestants most
deserves first prize.
Interrogative Pronouns (cont.)
Pronouns (Singular or Plural)
Subject Object
what what
which which
whose whose
who whom / who
 Indefinite Pronouns
• These pronouns refer to indefinite or unspecified
entities, and are formed by combining some, any,
every, and no with the endings –one, -body, and –
thing.
• With the exception of no one, these indefinite
pronouns are written as one word.
• The positive indefinite pronouns that end in –body
are largely interchangeable with those that end in –
one.
• When an indefinite pronoun is the subject of a
sentence, the verb should be in the singular form.
 Indefinite Pronouns (cont.)
POSITIVE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
some + any + every +
-one someone anyone everyone
-body somebody anybody everybody
-thing something anything everything
NEGATIVE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
no +
-one no one
-body nobody
-thing nothing
Quantitative/Distributive Pronouns
• These pronouns refer to persons or things
taken one at a time, e.g. each, either, and
neither.
• For this reason, they are always singular and
as such followed by the verb in the singular.
• An equal relationship with one and another,
e.g.
– Each of these pupils deserved a reward.
– We may take either of these two thesaurus.
– Neither of them sings well.