Pronouns

The pronoun is a part of speech which points out objects and their qualities without naming them.

Semantic classification

• personal: I, he, she, it, they; him, her, them

• possessive: my, his, her, its

• reflexive: myself, itself, ourselves

• emphatic: himself, herself, themselves

• reciprocal: each other, one another

• demonstrative: this, these, that, those, such, (the) same

• interrogative: who, what, which

• relative: who, whose, which, that, as

• defining: each, every, everybody, everyone, everything, all, either, both, other, another

• indefinite: some, any, somebody, anybody, something/anything, someone/anyone

• negative: no, none, neither, nobody, no one, nothing

• quantitative: many, much, few, little

Personal

We use object forms in such sentences: Who’s that? ~It’s me/us/them.

‘IT’: * in ‘cleft sentences’: It was Peter who drove us home.(not Paul) It was they/them who asked.

* when an infinitive is a subject of a sentence: It is easy to criticize. It is better to be easy.

* as a subject for impersonal verbs: it seems, it appears, it looks, it happens

Note! The coffee is too hot to drink it.

Possessive

• possessive pronouns can replace possessive adjectives →

• of mine = one of my: a friend of mine = one of my friends

• possessive adj. are used with clothes & parts of the body: He injured his back. BUT! If there is a preposition before a part of the body we put the article: I patted him on the back.

• possessive to ‘each other’: We wrote down each other’s telephone numbers.

• To add emphasis, own can be placed after my, your, his and one’s: her own idea, a room of one’s own. Note: I’m on my own = I’m alone

Reflexive

• some verbs (to bathe, to dress, to wash, to change clothes) are normally used without reflexive pronouns:

I got up, washed, dressed and went to school. BUT! When the action is difficult (for children or disabled) reflexive pronouns are used: Oh, look! Nicky has just dressed himself!

- after a preposition of place we use me, you, him, her: In the mirror I saw a lorry behind me. (NOT behind myself)

• fixed phrases: to feel good/bad (about mood); to feel well/unwell (about health) we use without myself!

to enjoy oneself; to teach oneself ;to find oneself;

Help yourself to something! Make yourself at home! to turn itself on /off

Note: He behaved badly. BUT Behave yourself!

Emphatic

Patterns: I grew these vegetables myself. The house itself is small, but the garden is enormous.

I’m not myself today. You told me about it yourself!

Reciprocal

A pattern: When we went on holiday, we sent a lot of postcards to each other / one another.

Demonstrative

this/these

that/those

• people or things near us: This is my pen.

• present/future situation: I’m going away this weekend.

• to introduce people or on the phone: This is Ann.

these days → nowadays, now; this evening → tonight

• people or things not near us: I want those jeans from H&M.

• past situations: That was a holiday of a lifetime!

• to refer back to smth mentioned before:That’s what I meant!

on the phone: Who’s that?

Interrogative

In formal English we use preposition + whom:

With whom did you go?

In spoken English we usually move the preposition to the end of the sentence, with whom changing to who:

Who did you go with?

In formal English we use preposition + which/what:

To which address did you send it?

In spoken English we move the preposition to the end of the sentence:

Which address did you send it to?

which

what

• when there’s a limited choice we ask which:

Which size do you want – small, medium or large?

• when there is an unlimited choice we ask what:

What is your shoe size?

• before of & one we can use which, but not what: Which of the countries in Europe have you visited?

Which of you knows the answer? (NOT Who of you…)

what & how in questions about measurements

what

how

• what + age / depth / height / length / width

• what is a general interrogative used for things:

What makes that noise?

• What… for = ‘why’: What did you do that for?

• What+be…like?

What was the exam like? ~It was very difficult.

• What does he/she/it look like?

What does she look like? ~She’s tall and glamorous.

• What is he? = ‘What is his profession?’

What is his father? ~He is a tailor.

NOTE! What is called? (NOT How is it called?)

What was the trip like? →

• How + old / deep / high / tall / long / wide

• to ask about manner

How did you get on in the exam? ~Quite well, I hope!

We ask questions with ‘how’ for:

• introductions:

How do you do? answered by How do you do?

• health: How are you? How have you been?

• personal reactions: How was the film?

• offers and suggestions: How about a drink? (= What about a drink?) How would you like to have lunch with us?

How was the trip?

Relative

Examples

1. The man who robbed you has been arrested.

2. Everyone who/that knew him liked him.

3. The man whom I saw told me to come back OR

The man who/that I saw… OR The man I saw…

4. The man to whom I spoke was 30. (formal)

The man (that/who/whom) I spoke to was 30. (inf.)

5. The film is about a spy whose wife betrays him.

Defining

All or every?

All = a number of people or things considered as a group

Every = a number of people or things considered individually

Both = one and the other

Both+plural verbs: Both doors were open.

Both of + us/you/them: Both of us knew him.

Both … and … – как … так и …; и… и

He both acts and directs.

Each or every?

- each = a number of persons or things considered individually

Each man had a weapon = the speaker went to each man and checked that he had a weapon.

- every has the same meaning but there is less emphasis on individual.

Every man had a weapon = the speaker counted the men & the weapons & he had the same number of each.

- every is used with nouns in the meaning of total, complete (chance, hope, reason, sympathy, right, confidence)

You have every right to be here. – Ты имеешь полное право здесь находиться.

- each is used when we have the choice from two things only! There were tears streaming down each side of her face.

Each + of these/those, the of can’t be omitted; each of you = you each

- everyone/everybody + singular verb: Everyone is ready (NOT All the people are ready)

- everything + singular verb: Everything has been wasted (NOT All the things have been wasted)

Note! The expressions all (the people), all (the) things are possible when followed by a noun, pronoun or a clause:

• all + noun: All the people in the room clapped. I got all the things you asked for.

• all + pronoun: All (both) of us went there. (= We all (both) went there.)

• all + (that): All that I want is to have a rest now.

We use whole most often with singular countable nouns; we use all most often with uncountable & plural nouns:

a whole concert – all the music; a whole plate – all the food

We use the whole of before the names of places: the whole of Europe.

Note! The whole night BUT all the night/day/time/life. Patterns: Tell me all about it. They left me all alone. That’s all.

Other(s) & Another

When other is used before a plural noun, it doesn’t have –s.

When other is used without a noun, it has –s in the plural.

Tell the other people. Tell the others.

- we can use another to mean ‘one more’. But with uncountables & plurals, we generally use other to mean ‘more’: Have another potato. Have some more meat.

- another + few, another + a number with a plural noun.

Let’s wait another few minutes = еще несколько минут

Negative

Neither/Either

- neither = not one and not the other; + an affirmative singular verb: I’ve read neither of these books.

- either = any of two; + an affirmative singular verb: Would you like either of these?

- either + negative verb can replace neither + affirmative: I haven’t read either of these books.

- neither… nor + affirmative verb is an emphatic way of combining two negatives: He neither wrote nor phoned.

- either… or is used to express alternatives emphatically: You can have either tea or fruit juice. (not both)

Note! Either/neither = the choice from two things/people: Neither of his parents knew what he had done.

• None = for all things: They asked for a reason, but none have been given.

None of you – никто из вас (NOT nobody of you)

Indefinite

SOME is used:

ANY is used:

- with affirmative verbs: They bought some honey.

- in questions where the answer ‘yes’ is expected:

Did some of you sleep on the floor? (I expect so).

- in offers & requests: Would you like some wine?

- some = unknown: Some idiot broke my window!

- with negative verbs: I haven’t got any matches.

- with hardly, barely, scarcely (which are almost negatives):

I hardly have any spare time.

• with without when without any = without no:

He crossed the frontier without any difficulty.

• with questions except offers & requests:

Have you got any money?

- after if/whether & in expressions of doubt:

If you need any more money, please let me know.

- in imperative sentences: Take any book you like.

whoever, whichever, whatever,

whenever, wherever, however

Patterns: I will win whatever happens. However rich you are you can’t buy happiness.

Whichever of you broke the window will have to pay for it.

I’ll find him, wherever he has gone. (= no matter where hу has gone)