Place pronouns in English. Possessive pronouns in English

A pronoun, instead of a name, helps replace a noun in speech to avoid annoying repetitions. IN English, as in Russian, there are several types of pronouns. Today we will talk about what these pronouns are, how they are expressed and how to easily and quickly learn them. How to easily learn English pronouns?

Getting to know the types of pronouns in English

The first type and the most important - Personal Pronouns. This type of pronoun is the most common in speech. Everyone, both beginners and people who have been practicing English for a long time, knows simple and short words:

I - I You - you / you
He - he She - she
It - it, this
We - we They - they

Pay attention to the offers:

• I am busy now. - I'm busy now.
• They are going to take their sister with them. — They are going to take their sister with them.
• We must learn English pronouns. — We must learn English pronouns.

The same Personal Pronouns, but in the genitive and dative cases:

Me - me, me
You - you, you/you, you
Him - him, to him
Her - her, her Its - his, him
Us - us, to us
Them - them, to them For example:

• Tell us that you are not guilty! - Tell us it's not your fault!
• Allow them to pass, please. - Let them pass, please.
• Take me with you. - Take me with you.

Next view English pronouns- This Possessive Pronouns (possessives):

My - mine (my, mine)
Your - yours/yours
His
Her - her Its - his
Our - ours
Their - theirs

• Give me my copy-book, please. - Give me my notebook, please.
• Where is your coat? -Where is your coat?
• She is walking with her dog. — She is walking with her (her) dog.

Reflexive Pronouns or reflexive pronouns look like this:

Myself - I myself (myself, myself, etc.)
Yourself - you yourself
Himself - himself
Herself - she herself
Itself - it itself
Ourselves - ourselves
Yourselves - yourself
Themselves - themselves

• It switches itself off. — It turns off by itself.
• She does everything herself. - She does everything herself.
• You should think about yourselves. -You should think about yourself.

And finally, the absolute form or Absolute Pronouns, which is used without nouns:

Mine - mine, mine, mine
Yours - yours
His
Hers - her Its - his
Ours - ours
Theirs - theirs For example:

• Don't touch this bag; it's mine! - Don't touch this bag, it's mine!
• This is our classroom; where is yours? - This is our class, where is yours?
• My flat is on the first floor, theirs is on the last floor. — My apartment is on the first floor, and theirs is on the last.

We will not dwell in detail on each type of English pronouns, because we examined them in detail in our previous articles. We'll just focus on how to learn them quickly and effectively.
Demonstrative pronouns in English

Learn English pronouns quickly and effectively!

So, you have decided to master pronouns in English, remember them once and for all! A very correct decision, because not a single dialogue, not a single conversation is complete without these words. We want to offer you several ways to quickly and firmly learn all these types of English pronouns. Moreover, this can be done without interrupting work, household chores or relaxation.

First, make yourself a table that contains all of the above types of “substitutes” for English nouns. For example, like this:

Make several copies of this sign, each type of pronoun separately and all together. Fortunately, English pronouns are short words, and each type is consonant with the previous one, that is, they are similar in sound and even in spelling.

So you've made a table; Now place the leaves or funny colored stickers with a sign wherever possible: on your desktop, on a bookshelf, in your work bag, in a case along with your mobile phone, in the kitchen near your favorite cup, near the cupboard with dishes. Let these pronouns be before your eyes until you “click them like seeds.”

Seeing English pronouns before your eyes at every step, simply repeat them out loud several times. Also, substitute auxiliary words with the help of which the pronouns will be more firmly etched in memory: my book, his cup etc. Complicate the task, add more auxiliary words: this is our house, that is their car etc.

Call things around you with pronouns

“Scan” English pronouns with your eyes at every opportunity and free minute: on the way to work, from work or from school, at night before going to bed, etc. You yourself will not notice how your visual memory will serve you well, and you learn pronouns in just a few days.

A word that denotes an object or a sign of an object, but does not name it, is called a pronoun. Pronouns are divided into several groups, each of which has its own grammatical characteristics.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns change by case: if they are used in a sentence as a subject, then they stand in nominative case ; if they are used as a complement, then they stand in objective case.

The pronoun "I" is always capitalized. The pronouns "he / she" are used to refer to animate persons; "it" - in relation to inanimate objects, abstract concepts and animals. The pronoun "they" is used to refer to both animate and inanimate objects.

Possessive pronouns. (Possessive Pronouns)

Possessive pronouns serve as definitions of nouns and always take place before the defined nouns. Unlike the Russian language, where there is a pronoun “svoy”, used with all persons, English possessive pronouns are used strictly in accordance with the pronouns. If there is a need to use a possessive pronoun without a noun, then there is a special form called the absolute form.

In English, possessive pronouns are used much more often and are simply obligatory with nouns denoting parts of the body, items of clothing and relatives, and possessive pronouns are used instead of a noun to avoid repetition

Julie's car is red. Mine is blue.

Possessive pronouns are used without an apostrophe.

The dog wagged its tail.

“It"s” is not a possessive pronoun or adjective — it means “it is”:

It's not my dog.

Reflexive pronouns. (Reflexive Pronouns)

Pronouns ending in "-self (-selves in plural)", are called reflexive. Reflexive pronouns show that the action named in the sentence is directed at the person who performs it, therefore the reflexive pronoun must be correlated in form with the subject.

Forms of reflexive pronouns

Use

1. When the subject and object are the same:

I hurt myself. (I got hurt.)

The band call themselves “Dire Straits”.

He shot himself.

2. When a preposition is used

I bought a present for myself.

She did it by herself. (She did it alone.)

That man is talking to himself.

3. When we want to emphasize the subject

I"ll do it myself. (No one else will help me.) - I will do it myself.

They eat all the food themselves. (No one else had any.)

Demonstrative pronouns. (Demonstrative pronouns)

Demonstrative pronouns change according to numbers. Moreover, the pronoun “this” denotes an object located next to the speaker, and “that” - at a considerable distance; “that” can also be translated into Russian by the words “this, this”. In a sentence demonstrative pronouns can be used as the subject, modifier of a noun, or object.

This is my father. And that is my uncle.

This is my father. And there is my uncle.

I don't like these apples. I don't like these apples.

They are too sour. They are too sour.

This is not salt. It's sugar. This is not salt. This is sugar.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns include all, each, either, neither, both, some, any, no, none, much, many, little, few, other, one.

Some, any, no

To indicate that they mean a certain number of (several) countable objects or a certain amount of substance, in English in affirmative sentences The pronoun "some" is used, and in interrogatives and negatives - "any". These pronouns are usually pronounced without stress and do not allow any articles to be used before the noun.

Some - several, a little

Any- any amount

No - no, not at all

Take some glasses from that shelf. Take some glasses from that shelf.

Pour some water in them. Pour water into them.

Don't take any books from the case. Don't take books from the closet.

Have you got any money? Do you have any money?

The pronoun "any", in turn, can be used in affirmative sentences to mean "any", for example:

Take any cup you like. Take any mug you like.

The pronoun "no" has negative value“no” and explains the noun, for example:

There is no milk in the jug. There is no milk in the jug.

He has no friends. He doesn't have (any) friends.

From the pronouns "some, any, no" complex pronouns can be formed: "somebody - anybody - nobody; something - anything - nothing; somewhere - anywhere - nowhere", and the same rules of use in different types of sentences apply to them as for "some, any, no". Pronouns formed with "-body" are used only in relation to people and are combined with a verb only in the singular. Pronouns formed with "-thing" are used to refer to inanimate objects and concepts.

There is somebody in the office. There is someone in the office.

Is there anybody at home? Is anyone at home?

I saw nobody in the garden. I didn't see anyone in the garden.

There is something wrong with him. Something happened to him.

He can do anything for you. He will do anything for you.

If you use negative pronouns "nobody, nothing" in a sentence, then the negative particle "not" is not required, since in English there can only be one negation.

Nobody knows anything about it. Nobody knows anything about this.

There is / There are

If they want to emphasize the presence or absence of an object or person in a certain place, the sentence begins with the construction “there is / there are (plural)”, followed by a noun denoting this person or object and the circumstance of the place. Translation of such a construction begins with the adverbial location:

There are many English books in his library. There are many English books in his library.

There is a chair at the table. There is a chair at the table.

The form of the verb "to be" in such constructions agrees with the first noun that follows it.

There is a dictionary and some books on the shelf. There is a dictionary and several books on the table.

There are flowers and a box of chocolates on the table. There are flowers and a box of chocolates on the table.

Are there any letters for me? Are there any letters for me?

Is there milk or juice in the jug? Is there milk or juice in the jug?

How many books are there in your library? How many books are in your library?

Negation can be formed in two ways: using the negative pronoun “no” or the negative particle “not” and the pronoun “any”.

There is no note for you. There is no note for you.

There isn't any news in her letter. There is no news in her letter.

Many, few, a few, much, little, a little.

Pronouns "many, few, few, several". The pronouns "many" - a lot and "few" - are rarely used only as definitions for countable nouns in the plural.

They have many friends in London. They have many friends in London.

He has few friends. He is very lonely. He has few friends. He is very lonely.

There are many ways to solve this problem. There are many ways to solve this problem.

The pronouns "much" - a lot and "little" - are used little with uncountable nouns(abstract concepts, substances...).

There is little milk in the cup. There is not enough milk in the cup.

We spend a lot of time on this experiment. We spend a lot of time on this experiment.

Do you have much money on you? Do you have a lot of money with you?

I have very little time. I have very little time.

The combination “a few” means “several” and is used only with countable nouns; with uncountable nouns the combination “a little” is used, which means “little”.

Will you give me a little water? Can you give me some water?

I bought a few apples. I bought some (several) apples.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns include the pronouns who who, what that, who (by profession), which, whose whose, which which. Interrogative pronouns are used to form special questions.

Who headed our delegation to the Trade Unions Conference? Who headed our delegation at the Trade Union Conference?

Doesn't always know what is what. He always knows what's what.

What do you know about the World Peace Council? What do you know about the World Peace Council?

If an interrogative pronoun is combined with a preposition, the preposition is usually placed at the end of the sentence:

What are you reading about? What are you reading about?

Whom are you speaking to? Who are you talking to?

The pronoun who refers to persons, the pronoun what refers to objects. But the pronoun what can also refer to persons if they are asked about their profession or occupation:

Who is that? - That is Mister N. Who is this? - This is Mr. N.

What is Mister N.? - He is an officer. Who (by occupation, by profession) is Mr. N.? - He is an officer.

- such a topic, without which it is impossible to express oneself and even difficult to put together the simplest English sentence. Therefore, it’s worth studying this whole thing a little and strengthening yourself with a couple of new words, or if you already have a basic level of English, you can read something new for yourself.

The author of this article did not want to write a lot about the entire grammar of pronouns in the English language, in order to free your mind from unnecessary classifications and other heresies, so the “meat” that is most often used in the English language is laid out here.

Starting with the basics of the English language, let's remember what pronouns we knew or didn't know that answer the question “Who?” There are not so many of them, only 7 pieces.

In graphic format:

Let's look at a couple of nuances:

• The pronoun "It" replaces all inanimate objects, as well as animals:

Where is the book? It is on the table. -Where is the book? It's on the table.

My cat is very funny. It runs and jumps all day long. – My cat is very funny. He runs and jumps all day.

Important: Do not replace people with the pronoun “It”. For third parties, only the pronouns “He”, “She” and “They”!

• To verbs that come after the pronouns “He”, “She” and “It”, in the present tense we add the ending “-s” or “-es” after the endings -ch, -x, -sh, -ss, -s, -o:

He love s me. - He loves me.

She open s the windows every morning. – She opens the windows every morning.

The dog like s to bark. This dog likes to bark.

• In English, the pronoun “I - I” is always written with a capital letter.
• The pronoun “You” can be used both to address one person and to address a group of people.
• The pronoun "You", when addressed in writing, is not capitalized (unless it is at the beginning of a sentence). To express respect for another person, other words are used.

All these pronouns in English know how to bow. Namely, they can all answer the question “Whom?” To whom?":

To reinforce this, let’s take more detailed examples:

• I gave you the key. - I gave you the key.
• They don't give me to train. “They don’t let me train.”
• Do do you understand me? - Do you understand me?
• They will not understand us. - They won't understand us.
• I helped them. - I helped them.
• I heard that you have a new notebook. Show it me please. – I heard that you have a new laptop. Show it to me please.

Also, all these 7 basic pronouns can decline and answer the question “Whose?” or “Whose?”:

For example:

• Will I take your car? - Shall I take your car?
• I bought their house yesterday. – I bought their house yesterday.
• She will finish her project tonight. She will finish her project at night.
• The monkey did it its hands. “The monkey did it with his own hands.”
• This is my friends. - These are my friends.

Note; do not confuse “It’s - it is” and its !

And let’s summarize everything in a general table:

Analyze this block again. We know that there are 7 basic pronouns in total that can answer the question “Who?” or the question “Whom?” To whom?”, or to the question “Whose?” Whose?". And if you have secured this material well, then we move on.

The pronoun "it" has several important functions in English:

First, we learned that the pronoun “it” is used to replace the names of all objects, animals and any other animate or inanimate phenomena. In short, everything except people!

Secondly, the pronoun “it” means or is translated as “this”. Example:

• It is very interesting - This is very interesting.
• It's Mike. Open the door! - This is Mike. Open the door!
• It's her new style. - This is her new style.
• Who is it? - Who is this?

Well, and thirdly, the pronoun “it” is not translated at all, but is used simply to talk about the weather, time, condition, etc. Example:

• It is frost - frost (outside).
• It is bright day - a wonderful day.
• It will be windy - It will be windy.
• It’s 5 o’clock – five o’clock
• It’s was cool - It was cool.
• It will be very funny - It will be very fun.

In English, our basic pronouns answer the question “Whose?” or “Whose?”, can be transformed into an absolute form in order to avoid repetition of the defined subject, namely:

Let's present these pronouns graphically:

Example:

• Did you see my keys? – No, I didn’t. But mine is here. (mine instead of my keys)

Have you seen my keys? - No, but mine are here.

• Your tables are smaller than theirs. (theirs instead of their tables)

Your tables are smaller than theirs.

• Whose car is this? - It's hers. (hers instead of her car)

Whose car is this? - This is hers.

Thus, this absolute form frees us from repetitions of objects and indicates the owner of these very objects.

The last important transformation of our base pronouns is independent pronouns. How can you correctly say “yourself, yourself, yourself, yourself” in English and show independence of actions? Let's take a look:

Example:

• I will do it myself - I'll do it myself.
• It subsidized itself – It settled down by itself.
• She will not do it herself - She will not do it herself.
• Will you call her yourself? – Will you call her yourself?
• You can do it yourselves - You can do it yourself.
• They cope themselves - They can handle it themselves

There are pronouns in English that, when combined with the words “thing, one, body, where,” form another series of frequently used pronouns. Let's look at these very pronouns:

• some – some;
• any - any;
• every – everyone;
• no – negative prefix;

All these pronouns, in combination with the above words, generate new words:

In this table, if you notice, there are some pitfalls:

1. Combinations with the pronouns some and any are translated the same way, but in the context they are used differently, since “any” means “any”, and “some” means “some”. Affirmative sentences almost always use the pronoun “some”and in interrogative or negative sentences - any. For example:

• Is anybody here? - Is anyone here?
• I feel someone was here. – I feel someone was here.
• I didn't see anybody there. – I didn’t see anyone there.

2. Conversions with “-body” and “-one” are synonymous. It makes no difference whether you say “everybody” or you say “everyone”. Combinations with “-one” are more modern in American English and therefore you will hear them more often.

3. Here you could add the word “-time” and also get a series of combinations (sometimes, anytime, everytime, no time). But in American English they use only one - sometimes (sometimes). For others there are analogues:

• instead of “no time” - never - never;
• instead of “everytime” – always – always;

It is important that it will not be a mistake to use any combination with “-time”. They're just rarely used anymore. Moreover, “everytime” is translated rather as “every time”, and it is perfect for strengthening the expression:

• You always clean your shoes – You clean your always shoes.
• Every time you clean your shoes.

There are also frequently used combinations with the pronoun “any”:

• anyhow - however you like;
• anyway - in any case, be that as it may;
• anytime - at any time;

And simple examples with these pronouns:

• Sometimes I feel myself very good – Sometimes I feel very good;
• I know someone of you was in a club yesterday - I know that one of you was in the club yesterday;
• Nobody know about it - Nobody knows about it (in English there can be only one negation in a sentence);
• Call her and tell that I will be somewhere in the center about 8 o’clock - call her and tell her that I will be somewhere in the center at about 8 o’clock;
• Everybody rest now. Come later - Now everyone is resting. Check back later

And now let's quickly go over the small pronouns.

Meet the pronoun " each other", translated as "each other". Can be combined with prepositions:

• for each other - for each other;
• with each other - with each other;
• without each other - without each other;
• about each other - about each other;

Example:

• They do it for each other - They do this for each other.
• Will you exchange with each other? – Will you exchange with each other?
• We can’t live without each other - We cannot live without each other.
• Sometimes they tell funny stories about each other - Sometimes they tell funny stories about each other.

In graphic format:

Example:

• I ran this morning – I ran this morning.
• We were there that evening – We were there that evening.
• These books are ours – These books are ours.
• She went there to ask those guys - She went there to ask those guys.

That's all the foundation that should be laid in each of us over time. The daily ten-minute habit of composing new English sentences using pronouns will dispel fear and make you rise to a higher level in English. Study a little, practice a lot and smile more.

If you have something to add or want to ask something on this topic, then don’t be shy - write to us in the comments.

The table of pronouns in English is a tricky business, if only because there are not two of them, but at least eleven. Surprised? But don't worry, they're not that easy to confuse if you even know something about them.

Let's look at the classification of English pronouns and discuss in detail several of their problem groups.

Let's combine personal and possessive pronouns into one table for clarity. Moreover, this will make it much easier for you to draw parallels and remember them:

Please carefully read the following important points on the table of pronouns in English:

• I is always written with a capital letter. When listing people, put it last:

Jill, Mark and I went to the Zoo. – Jill, Mark and I went to the zoo.

• Pronouns he And she can serve to highlight gender, however, when talking about animals, you can only use them in this way in fairy tales or when talking about your favorite pets:

Ginger is our cat. She is very naughty. - Ginger is our cat. She is very capricious.

• It can be used in relation to inanimate nouns, any animals, as well as children. Yes, yes, this is completely normal:

The baby run away patterning with its feet. “The child ran away, stamping his feet.

• Reflexive pronouns combine with verbs. You can translate them by adding the suffix -xia. You will also need to learn several common expressions with them.

Don't forget that in English, unlike your native language, this is a whole word, and not just a suffix:

She hurt herself when she was cleaning the roof. — She injured herself while cleaning the roof.
Help yourselves.- Help yourself!

• Indefinite pronouns are formed using words some, any, no:
  

  	Some	Any	No
  -body	Somebody - someone	Anybody+Any- Nobody? Anyone	Nobody
  -thing	Something – Something	Anything+ Anything- Nothing? Anything	Nothing - nothing
  -where	Somewhere - somewhere, somewhere	Anywhere+ Anywhere- Nowhere?Anywhere	Nowhere - nowhere

  Indefinite pronouns in English will make you sweat. Pay special attention to how their translation changes depending on the type of sentence:

Do you have anything interesting to read? — Do you have anything interesting to read?
We didn't have anything in the house - it was empty. “We had nothing in the house - it was empty.
I won't take my old clothes to Paris, choose anything you want. “I won’t take old clothes with me to Paris, choose whatever you like.”

• Interrogative pronouns Fully justify their name: they will be useful to you for special questions:

Who- Who? Used with animate nouns and sometimes with animals;
Whom- Whom? To whom?
What- What? Which?
Whose- Whose?
Which- Which?

And although there are very few of them, you still have to spend time on them. So, for example, in a question to the subject with these comrades, auxiliary verbs are not used in Present And Past Simple:

Who came there with you? -Who came there with you?
Which of you goes to the swimming pool on Tuesdays? — How many of you go to the pool on Tuesdays?

• Relative pronouns completely coincide with their interrogative neighbors, but serve to connect main clauses with subordinate clauses:

The girl who is sitting next to the window is my cousin. — The girl who sits next to the window is my cousin.
We thought which of the boys could speak French. — We were wondering which of the boys could speak French.
Tell me whom you gave the book last week. — Tell me who you gave the book to last week.
This is the man whose house was robbed. — This is a man whose house was robbed.
This lipstick is just what I want.- This lipstick is exactly what I want. But don’t be fooled, it’s not that simple.

Sometimes that can replace relative pronouns, and also always comes after nouns with superlative adjectives, ordinal numbers and words all, any, only:

These are the people that I saw in the street. - These are the people I saw on the street.
This is the most beautiful flower that I have ever seen. - This is the most beautiful flower that I've ever seen.
He has seen all the movies that I gave him. — He watched all the films I gave him.

It's time to sum it up. The topic of pronouns is one of the most extensive in the English language. Here you will first have to learn all their sections, then practice them in speech and exercises, and finally memorize all the nuances of use. The pronoun table will be your best assistant in this matter. Rely on it, and difficulties will gradually disappear.

A pronoun is a word used instead of the name of an object (or its characteristics) and indicating it.

For example:

Instead of "girl", we can say "she".

Instead of “the dress that I am holding in my hands,” we can say: “this is the dress.”

There are 5 main groups of pronouns in English:

1. Personal pronouns

2. Possessive pronouns

3. Reflexive pronouns

4. Demonstrative pronouns

5. Interrogative pronouns

Let's take a closer look at the use of these pronouns.

Personal pronouns in English

Personal pronouns are the words with which we replace the character.

The actor may be:

1. Main (answers the question “who?”)

For example:

My friend is at work. She (we replace “my friend”) will come in the evening.

2. Not main/secondary (answers the question “who?”)

For example:

My friend and I are going to the cinema. Friends invited us (me and my friend instead).

He invited me to the cinema.
He invited me to the cinema.

They sent her a letter.
They sent her a letter.

Possessive pronouns in English

Possessive pronouns reflect the ownership of objects and the connection between them.

For example:

There are two types of possessive pronouns:

1. Those that are used together with the subject (answer the question “whose?”)

2. Those that are used independently (without a subject)

Such pronouns are used to avoid repetition in a sentence. There is no need to place an object after them, since they already imply it.

Their price is below ours.
Their price is lower than ours.

My box is smaller than yours.
My box is smaller than yours.

Reflexive pronouns in English

Reflexive pronouns show us that a person performs an action in relation to himself. Why are they returnable? Because the action is directed towards the one who performs it, that is, it returns to him.

Such pronouns are used to show that:

• The action is aimed at the person himself
• The action was performed by the person independently

In Russian, we most often show this with -sya and -sya, which we add to actions.

For example:

She cut herself (cut herself)

In English there are special words for this, which are formed by adding a tail to the pronouns my, your, our, them, her, him, it:

• -self(if we are talking about one person/object);
• -selves(if we are talking about several people/objects).

Let's look at the table of these pronouns.

For example:

She introduced herself when entered in the room.
She introduced herself (introducing herself) when she entered the room.

We ourselves cooked the dinner.
We prepared this dinner ourselves.

Demonstrative pronouns in English

We use demonstrative pronouns to point to an object/person or objects/people. Hence the name - index.

There are 4 most used demonstrative pronouns in English:

• this - this
• these - these
• that
• those - those

Let's look at the table of usage of these pronouns.

This book is interesting.
This book is interesting.

I know those girls.
I know those girls.

Interrogative pronouns in English

Interrogative pronouns are words that indicate a person, object or characteristics unknown to the speaker.

For example: Who baked this cake? (point to the person)

In English, the most common interrogative pronouns are:

• who - who, whom
• whose - whose
• what - what, which
• which - which
• whom - whom

Let's look at the table of usage of these words.

So, we've looked at the 5 main types of pronouns, now let's practice using them.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. This car is red.
2. They invited me to the park.
3. She baked this pie herself.
4. Whose scarf is on the chair?
5. Your gift is better than hers.