04 Pronouns and possessive determiners Flashcards
I am 16.
You seem lost.
Jim is angry, and he wants Sally to apologize.
This table is old. It needs to be repainted.
We aren’t coming.
They don’t like pancakes.
Subject pronouns replace nouns that are the subject of their clause. In the 3rd person, subject pronouns are often used to avoid repetition of the subject’s name.
Give the book to me. The teacher wants to talk to you. Jake is hurt because Bill hit him. Rachid received a letter from her last week. Mark can't find it. Don't be angry with us. Tell them to hurry up!
Object pronouns are used to replace nouns that are the direct or indirect object of a clause.
Did mother find my shoes? Mrs. Baker wants to see your homework. Can Jake bring over his baseball cards? Samantha will fix her bike tomorrow. The cat broke its leg. This is our house. Where is their school?
Possessive adjectives are not pronouns, but rather determiners. It is useful to learn them at the same time as pronouns, however, because they are similar in form to the possessive pronouns. Possessive adjectives function as adjectives, so they appear before the noun they modify. They do not replace a noun as pronouns do.
This bag is mine. Yours is not blue. That bag looks like his. These shoes are not hers. That car is ours. Theirs is parked in the garage.
Possessive pronouns replace possessive nouns as either the subject or the object of a clause. Because the noun being replaced doesn’t appear in the sentence, it must be clear from the context.
I told myself to calm down.
Did you cut yourself on this nail?
He hurt himself on the stairs.
She found herself in a dangerous part of town.
The cat threw itself under my car!
We blame ourselves for the fire.
The children can take care of themselves.
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the clause because the subject of the action is also the direct or indirect object. Only certain types of verbs can be reflexive. You cannot remove a reflexive pronoun from a sentence because the remaining sentence would be grammatically incorrect.
I made these cookies myself.
You yourself asked Jake to come.
The Pope himself pardoned Mr. Brown.
My teacher didn’t know the answer herself.
The test itself wasn’t scary, but my teacher certainly is.
We would like to finish the renovation before Christmas ourselves.
They themselves told me the lost shoe wasn’t a problem.
Intensive pronouns emphasize the subject of a clause. They are not the object of the action. The intensive pronoun can always be removed from a sentence without changing the meaning significantly, although the emphasis on the subject will be removed. Intensive pronouns can be placed immediately after the subject of the clause, or at the end of the clause.
my friend/ one of my friends/ a friend of mine
Singular
my friends/ some of my friends/ some friends of mine
Plural
The twins are visiting an uncle of theirs.
NOT an uncle of them
Don’t listen to what Graham is saying. It’s just a silly idea of his.
examples of the indefinite pattern.
Didn’t you borrow some cassettes of mine?
examples of the indefinite pattern.
I’m reading a novel of Steinbeck’s.
NOT a novel of Steinbeck, and NOT a Steinbeck’s novel.
We met a cousin of Nicola’s.
It’s just a silly idea of my brother’s.
We can also use the possessive form of names and other nouns
I’d love to have my own flat.
Students are expected to contribute their own ideas.
The ideas should be your own.
My own means ‘belonging to me and not to anyone else.
I don’t want to walk home on my own/by myself.
On your own and by yourself mean ‘alone’.
