CHAPTER-13
110. Compare the following:----
1). Ashok saw a bird lying on the ground.Ashok picked the bird up and
brought the bird home.
2). Ashok saw a bird lying on the ground.He picked it up and brought it home.
The words he and it in the second sentence are used instead of Nouns
Ashok and bird.Such words are called Pronouns.
>) A Pronoun is a word used instead of a Noun.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
111. Look at the following Pronouns:---
>) I have a cat. >) W e have a cat.
>) The cat is mine. >) The cat is ours.
>) The cat loves me. >) The cat loves us.
The pronouns I,mine ,me, we, ours,us,which stand for the person or persons
speaking,are said to be Personal Pronouns of the First Person.
112. Look at the following Pronouns:---
>) You are a good boy. >) You are a clever boys.
>) This book is yours. >) Are these books yours,boys?
>) I respect you. >) I want you all to follow me.
The Pronouns you,yours,which stand for the person or persons spoken to,
are called Personal Pronouns of the Second Person.
113. Look at the following Pronouns:---
>) He has a black dog. >) She has a black dog.
>) That dog is his. >) That dog is hers.
>) The dog likes him. >) The dog likes her.
>) They have a white dog >) That dog is theirs.
*) The dog likes them
*) It looks like Mohan's umbrella
*) Somebody must have lost it.
The Pronouns he,his,him,she,hers,they,theirs,them,it, which stand for
the person or thing spoken of, are called Personal Pronouns of the Third Person.
FORMS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
114. Personal Pronouns have the following forms:---
PERSON SINGULAR NUMBER PLURAL NUMBER
( Nominative) (Possessive) (Objective) ( Nominative) ( Possessive) (Objective)
Case Case Case Case Case Case
*) First I my, me we our, us
person mine ours
*) Second [thou] [thy,thine] [thee] you your you
Person you you,yours you yours
*) Third { Mas he his him they their,theirs them
Person { Fem she her,hers her they their,theirs them
{ Neu it its it they their,theirs them
NOTE:--Thou is not used now,expect in poetry and prayers;you is used both in
the singular and the plural.
115. Two Forms of the Possessive.Compare the following:---
1). That is my house. 1). That house is mine.
That is our house. That house is ours.
2). This is your dog. 2). This dog is yours.
These are your dogs. These dogs is yours.
3). That is his pen. 3). That pen is his.
That is her pen. That pen is hers.
Those are their pens. Those pens are theirs.
Well,what is the difference between these forms?The Possessives my,our,
yours,his,her their are called Possessive Adjectives because they are placed
before Nouns and qualify them like Adjectives Possessive Adjectives are
sometimes called Pronominal Adjectives because they are formed from Pronouns.
*) The Possessives mine,our,yours,his,hers,theirs are called Possessive Pronouns
or Pronouns in the Possessive Case.
NOTE:--The word his is used both as an Adjective and as Pronoun;as,
>) This is his pencil.( Possessive Adjective)
>) This pencil is his.( Possessive Pronoun)
*) CORRECT USAGE:-
116. Pronouns agree with the Nouns for which they stand in Gender,Number
and Person;as,
>) Bali is a clever boy. He gets the first prize
>) Sita is a good girl. She is loved by her parents.
>) These boys are idle. They will fail in the examination.
>) The knife is blunt. It is of no use.
>) These mangoes are sour. They are not good to eat.
117. When a Pronoun stands for a Collective Noun,it must be in the Singular Number,
if the Collective Noun is viewed as a whole.If ,however ,the Collective Noun
conveys the idea or separate individuals,composing the whole,then the
Plural Number must be used.
>) The jury has given its verdict.
>) The London University has altered its regulations.
>) The jury were divided in their opinions.
>) The Committee[=the members of the Committee] gave their votes in
favour of co-education.
118. When two Singular Nouns join by and refer to the same person or thing,
the Pronoun used should be Singular;as,
>) The Secretary and Treasurer did not do his duty.
*) But when two or more Singular Nouns joined by and refer to different
persons,the Pronoun used-should be Plural;as,
>) Bali and Ashok work hard.They are sure to pass.
>) Sita,Lila and bimla are here.They want to see you.
119. When two or more Singular Nouns joined by and are preceded by each
or every,the Pronoun must be Singular;as,
>) Every policeman and every homeguard did his duty.
120. When two or more Singular Nouns are joined by or,either...or,neither...nor,
the Pronoun is Singular;as,
>) Rama or Anand has lost his book.
>) Either Sita or Kamla forgot to take her pen.
>) Neither Rama nor Mohan has done his work.
*) But when a Singular Noun and a plural Noun are joined by or or nor,
the Pronoun is Plural as,
>) Either the teacher or his pupils did not do their duty.
>) Neither Rama nor his friends admitted their fault.
121. Polite manners require that we must always say 'You and I', 'He and I',
'She and I','You and he and I',or'You and she and I'. If names are mentioned ,
the same rule is followed:
*) person spoken to first,person spoken about second,and the speaker
himself last.So we say: "You and Hari"." 'Sita and I'," You and Hari and I'.
>) You and I must go together.
>) You and he must work together.
>) He and I must live together.
>) Bali and I are old school friends.
122. When a Pronoun refers to more thanone Noun or Pronoun of different
persons,the Pronoun agrees with the First Person rather than with the
Second or Third Person,and it agrees with the Second Person rather
than the Third;as,
>) Hari and you have lost your chance.
>) You and he have wasted your time.
>) He and I did our best.
>) You and I did our duty.
123. The Pronoun following than must be in the same case as that preceding it;as,
>) Hari is stronger than I [am].
>) Sita sings better than she [does].
>) She worked harder than I [did].
>) He loves her more than me [than he loves me].
>) He loves her more than I [than I love her].
NOTE:-- Mark the difference between the last two sentences.
BUT is a preposition is such sentences as-----
>) Nobody will help you but me. (not I)
124. The Pronoun following as must be in the same case as preceding it;as,
>) He is as industrious as I [am].
>) He knows his duty as well as I [do].
>) She gave as much money as he [gave].
>) I love you as much as she [loves you].
>) I love you as much as her [as I love her].
NOTE:-- Mark the following between the last two sentences.
125. Note the following:-----
>) It was I (not me).It is she ( not her).It was he (not him).
>) These presents are for you and me (not I).
>) Between you and me (not I) he is a thief.
>) He told John and me (not I) to go there.
>) These presents are for her and me (not I).
>) These mangoes are for you and me (not myself).
>) My brother and myself are going to Bombay.
(Wrong.say,'My brother and I.')
>) 'Who stands at the door?' 'I' (not me).
NOTE:--- In formal coversation,however ,the use of me,him,her after the verb
to be is now quite common;as,
>) It is me. It is her.It was he.
*) But the nominative must be used if the Pronoun is followed by a clause;as,
>) It was I(not me) who did it.
Exercise 34. Change some of the Nouns into Pronouns, in the following:---
>) The thief ran away,but the police caught the thief.
>) When the tiger saw the woman,the tiger sprang upon the woman.
>) The girl sang sweetly.The people listened to the girl.The people liked
the girl's song.
>)The people gave the girl money.
>) I met a beggar yesterday.The beggar had a wooden leg.The beggar
was asking for alms.
>) When I gave the beggar a rupee the beggar thanked me for the rupee.
>) Harish and Raman always go together.harish and raman are great friends.
>) All the teachers like Harish and raman very much because Harish and
raman are very obedient.
Exercise 35. Fill in th blanks with the Personal Pronouns:---
1) Did -------not tell------------to be punctual ,Ashok?
2) Where are----------going ,Raman?
3) Rani is a good girl;everybody likes-------.
4) Some men are not honest.----------steal things.
5) My brother and sister came to see-------,but I did not see-----.
6) These beggars are idle;------refude to work.I don't like------
7) This knife is blunt;---------is of no use.
8) These mangoes are rotten;throw------away.
9) "Do------think------can beat-----in the race?" said the hare to the tortoise.
10) The girl lost a bangle,but-----found --------near---------.
11) Buy------;-------are the best mangoes in the shop.
12) The tree sheds--------leaves in autumn.
13) As soon as Alice opened the door,-----found that------led into a hall.There were doors
all round the hail,but--------were all locked.
14) I gave-------a rupee and she thanked------for-------.
15) When the boys went into the garden,-----saw a snake creeping towards------,--------
ran away as hard as-------could.
126. It.---The Pronoun it is used----
1) For things without life;as,
>) I have a look.It has pictures in it.
2) For animals;as,
>) The horse fell and broke its leg.
3) For young children;as,
>) when I saw the child it was weeping.
4) As a provisional Subject before the Verb to be when the real Subject follows;as,
>) It is our duty to serve our country.
>) It is better to die than to beg.
5) To give emphasis to the Noun or Pronoun following;as,
>) It was I who first volunteered.
>) It was you who first began the quarrel.
>) It was at shimla that the Indo-Pakistan Agreement was signed.
>) It is a wise father that knows his own child.
6) In speaking of the time,distance or weather;as,
>) It is raining,snowing,freezing.It is a fine day.
>) It is very hot today.
>) It is twelve o'clock by my watch.
>) It was spring.
>) What is the date?It is the fifteenth of August.
>) What day is it?It is Wednesday.
>) How far is it to Kurukshetra?It is one hundred kilometres.
Exercise 36. write the correct form of Pronoun in the following:---
1). Who is there?It is--------.(She,her)
2). You are as good a bowler as------.(He,him)
3). I believe that it was--------.(He ,him)
4). Who broke the mirror?It wasn't------.(I,me)
5) Is that Alice?Yes ,it is-----------.(She,her)
6) We shall see who is the better dancer----you or------.(She,her)
7). They are not so intelligent as-------.(We ,us)
8). We scored as many goals as------------.(they,them)
9). can you sing as well as-------?(they,them)
10). My brother and-----------went to the station.(I,me)
11). I know it was------.(She,her)
12). My friend is as old as-------.(I,me)
13). Wait for Harish and-----.(I,me)
14). He invited my sistr and-------to the party.(I,me)
15). Nobody but--------deserved the prize.(She,her)
16). Between you and------------he is a thief.(I,me)
17). Let you and-----try to solve this problem.(I,me)
18). We won as many prizes as------.(They,them)
19). Nobody but---------helped me. (She,her)
20). It was-----------who saved us.( He ,his)
21). We work harder than--------.(they,them)
22). They are not so rich as----------.(We,us)
23). He and------ are old school friends.( I,me)
24). She is taller than--------.(I,me)
25). She is known to my brother and---------.(I,me)
26). If I were--------,I wouldn't help her.(He,him)
27). They are far better singers than--------.(We,us)
28). There is not much difference between you and-------.(She,her)
29). Let------who can save him from droning.(He,him)
30). None so blind as-------that will not see.( They,them)
2.REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
127. Read the following sentences:--
>) I burnt myself. >) We burnt ourselves.
You burnt yourslef. You burnt yourselves.
>) He burnt himself.
She burnt herself. >) They burnt themselves.
The dog burnt itself.
*) In all these cases,the action of teh Subject reflects or turns back on the
Subject itself.They are therefore ,called reflexive Pronouns.
*) It will be noticed that Reflexive Pronouns are formed by adding -self to
my,your,him,he it, and -selves to our,your,them.
NOTE:-- The Reflexive Pronouns are used as the Object of a Verb and refer to
the same Person as the Subject.
128. Avoid using the Reflexive Pronoun in the way;as,
>) Mr .Watson and I(not myself) were present there.
>) she brought mangoes for Jack and me(not myself).
3. EMPHATIC PRONOUNS
129. Now read the following sentences:---
>) I myself saw her singing at her work.
>) We ourselves are to blame.
>) You yourself can answer best.
>) 'He himself hath said it.'
>) She herself has done this.
>) They themselves took part in the show.
>) The city itself fell.
>) In all these cases, the Reflexive Pronouns are used for the sake of emphasis,
and are therefore,called Emphatic Pronouns.
Emphatic Pronouns are also called Emphasizing Pronouns.
130. Sometimes the word own is added to Personal Pronouns to show that the
person(or thing) does something to himself ( or itself);as,
>) He hurt his own hand.
>) you praise your own work.
>) I live on my own income.
>) She lifted her own box.
>) Virtue has its own reward.
>) They love their own work.
131. A reflexive or Emphatic Pronoun can never be the Subject of a Such sentences as
the following are wrong:-
>) My brother and myself went to Wardha [should be'I'].
>) No one can be more honest than himself [should be 'he'].
Exercise 37. Pick out the Pronouns in the following sentences,and sy which are Emphasizing
and which Reflexive :----
1). The boys hit themselves.
2). We ourselves are to blame for this.
3). the judge himself was puzzled.
4). They themselves knew it all the time.
5). He set himslef a hard task.
6). The poor widow poisoned herself.
7). The girls have hurt themselves.
8). The cat cleans itself.
9). You should control yourselves.
10). You are starving yourself.
11). We saw it ourselves.
12). She herself was present there.
13). They themselves admitted their guilt.
14). I myself will lead you.
15). you said so yourself.
16). We blame ourselves.
17). The town itself is not very large.
18). She loves only herself.
19). We saw the Queen herself.
20). I posted the letter myself.
Exercise 38. Fill in the blanks with suitable Reflexive or Emphasizing Pronouns:----
1). We enjoyed-------on the river.
2). I spoke to the Prsident---------.
3). We often deceive-----------.
4). The prisoner hanged----------.
5). The poor widow burnt--------.
6). Quit-------like men.
7). She liked the diamond--------but not the setting.
8). We ar sometimes angry with--------.
9). They exerted------- alot.
10). The boys hid---------.
11). The Queen--------gave the prize.
12). Pray do not inconvenience---------.
13). We seldom see--------as others see us.
14). I blame------------for it.
15). A house divided against--------cannot stand.
16). Thou shalt love they neighbour as---------.
17). Some people are always talking about-----.
18). You----------can best explain.
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