Pronouns (pro)

Pronouns refer to a noun previously mentioned or clear from context:
Mary loves Bill, so she agreed to marry him.  There are many types of pronouns: personal, interrogative, adjective, indefinite.  This page considers personal pronouns such as those in the example above.

The first problem with personal pronouns is choosing the correct form, which depends on its grammatical role, its number and its
gender (feminine, masculine, neuter).  Here are some examples:

    1.  Mary likes sushi.  She eats it often.
         (she = subject, singular, feminine)
    2.  She orders it in restaurants.
         (it = object, singular, neuter)
    3.  Ginza is her favorite restaurant, but it is not mine.
         (her = possessive adjective, singular; feminine
          mine = possessive pronoun, singular)
    4.  Mary also makes sushi herself.
         (herself = reflexive, singular, feminine)

Summary of forms:

Obviously, it is easy to make a mistake of form:

    5.  *This isn't mine; it's our.  (Should be "ours.")
    6.  *They did it theirself.  (Should be "themselves.")

Be careful that the pronoun agrees with the noun it is referring to:

    7.  *I talked to Miryam about her registration problem because
          she is very complicated.  (Should be "it"-- the problem is
          complicated, not Miryam.)

This last kind of problem is called pronoun-antecedent agreement.

Links: 

    The basics:  pronouns 
     Another exercise:  pronouns
     Possessive pronouns and adjectives:  poss.htm
     Reflexive pronouns:  reflex.htm

08/03/2004