- •§ 11. There are four demonstrative pronouns in English: this,
- •§ 12. The pronoun this (these) refers to what is near in space,
- •§ 13. That, this are often found as part of set phrases. Here
- •§ 14. The demonstrative pronoun such may mean of this or
- •§ 15. Such is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here are
- •§ 16. The demonstrative pronoun same means 'identical'. It is
- •§ 17. Same is sometimes found as part of set phrases. Here
- •§ 22. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
- •§ 20. The pronoun any is also used as an adjective pronoun
- •§ 21. The pronoun no is negative in meaning and used only as
- •§ 23. The pronoun one in all of its uses refers exclusively to
- •§ 24. The pronoun none is a noun pronoun.,It is negative in
- •§ 25. The pronoun all can be used as a noun pronoun and as
- •§ 26. The pronoun every is used only as an adjective pronoun.
- •§ 27. There are the following compound pronouns formed with
- •§ 28. The pronoun each is used as a noun pronoun and as an
- •§ 29. The pronoun other can be used as an adjective pronoun
- •§ 30. The pronoun either and its negative counterpart neither
- •§ 31. The pronoun both is used as a noun pronoun and as an
- •§ 32. The pronouns much and many are used as noun pronouns
- •§ 33. The pronouns little and few are used as noun pronouns
- •§ 34. There are two reciprocal pronouns in English: each other
- •§ 35. The interrogative pronouns are: who (whom), whose,
- •§ 36. The pronoun who asks about persons. It does not distinguish
- •§ 37. The pronoun whose is a possessive interrogative pronoun.
- •§ 38. The pronoun what may be used as a noun pronoun and as
- •§ 39. The pronoun which is used as a noun pronoun and as an
- •§ 40. The pronouns how much and how many are used as noun
- •§ 41. The interrogative pronouns who, what and which may be
- •§42. The pronouns who (whom), whose, what, which, how
- •§ 43. It is noteworthy that not all the conjunctive pronouns can
- •§ 44. Attributive clauses can be introduced by who (whom),
§ 37. The pronoun whose is a possessive interrogative pronoun.
It is used as an adjective pronoun, mostly in the function of an
attribute, though occasionally it occurs as a predicative too.
e.g. Whose room is it going to be?
Whose is the room going to be?
In whose car do you prefer to go? (Whose car do you prefer to
go in?)
§ 38. The pronoun what may be used as a noun pronoun and as
an adjective pronoun.
When it serves as a noun, it asks after things. It may be singular
or plural in meaning. It may be used as the subject, a predicative or an
object in the sentence. It has no case forms.
e.g. What's this?
What are those strange objects in the distance?
What is his telephone number?What is your name? What do you
mean? About what are you going to
ask him?
It should be noted that in the case of a prepositional object it
is more usual to place the preposition at the end of the sentence
in present-day English.
e.g. What are you going to ask him about?
What are you laughing at?
Special attention should be paid to the use of what asking
about a person's profession.
e.g. "What is the man your father is talking to?" "He is a lawyer."
Compare it with a юЛо-question asking about the identity of a
person.
e.g. "Who is the man your father is talking to?" "He is Mr Clapperton,
our new neighbour."
What can also be used in asking about actions,
e.g. "What are you doing?" "I'm cleaning the car."
Note the idiomatic uses of what in the following sentences:
e.g. "What is he like?" "He is tall, dark and handsome." ('Как он
выглядит?')
"What is he like as a pianist?" "Oh, he is not very good.
('Что он собой представляет как...?')
Ben suddenly looked at his watch. "What about your dentist?"
he asked. ('А как же твой врач?')
What about a cigarette? ('Хочешь сигарету?')
What about something to eat? ('Может поедим чего-ни-
будь?')
What of it? ('Ну и что из этого?')
So what? ('Ну и что?')
He's a clever fellow, he knows what's what, ('что хорошо,
что плохо'; 'что к чему')
When what is used as an adjective pronoun it is also invariable
and serves as an attribute to nouns denoting both persons
and things.e.g. What languages do you know? What play did you
see last? What man would have done more? What
feelings do such stories excite? What artists are
going to be exhibited this autumn?
To ask after the kind or sort to which a person or thing belongs,
synonymous set phrases what kind of and what sort of are
used instead of what.
e.g. What kind of man is he? ('Что он за человек?' 'Какой он
человек?') What sort of chocolate do you like best?
('какой, какого
сорта')
What kind of house have they bought? ('какой') What sort
of proposition do you want to discuss with me?
('какое предложение'; 'что за предложение')
What preceding a noun may also be used at the head of an exclamatory
sentence. (This what is sometimes called the exclamatory
what.)
e.g. What a stupid thing he has said!
What splendid pictures they have in their collection!
What marvellous news he brought! What fun we had
yesterday!
§ 39. The pronoun which is used as a noun pronoun and as an
adjective pronoun. It is used of persons and things and is invariable
in form. It can have the function of the subject, an object
and an attribute in the sentence.
The use of which is more restricted than that of what because
which is selective — it selects one or more out of a definite number
of persons or things.
e.g. Which will you have, tea or coffee? Which way shall we go?
Which pen does the cap belong to? Which author are you
more interested in? Which students have answered all the
questions correctly?As a result of its selective meaning, which is often followed by
an o/-phrase.
e.g. Which of your friends will you invite to the party?
Which of them said that? Which of his books are
you reading now?
Compare the use of what and which in the following sentences:
e.g. What TV programmes do you usually watch? Which of them
is your favorite one? What examinations are you going to
take this term? Which
of them do you find most difficult? What
car have you? Which car is yours?