ARTICLES & PRONOUNS

1] Indefinite Articles: A & An

• “a” is used before all words that begin with consonants: a cat, a desk, a beautiful girl. But we use “an” when “h” is silent: an honest young man.
• “an” is used before all words that begin with vowels: an orange, an egg, an orbit but we use “a” when “u” has the sound ［j］, “o” has the sound［w］ : a unicorn, a one-legged man.

ARTICLES

2] Definite Article: the

2.1 “the” is used when we know that the listener knows what particular person or thing we are talking about.

　　Mom is cooking in the kitchen.

　 　I don’t like the book.

　　Switch off the light near the door.

2.2 “the” is used when the same thing or person has been mentioned again.

　　Mr. Wu has a boy and a girl.

　　The boy’s name is John.

　　The girl’s name is Mary.

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2.3 “the” is used to talk about rivers, oceans, seas, channels, and mountain.

• The Nile is the longest river in the world.
• I wish I could swim across the TaiwanStrait one day.
• The Alps is located in Europe.
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest Ocean in the world.

2.4 “the” is used before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing: the sun, the moon, the sky, the White House.

• The sun rises in the east.
• The White House is going to announce an important policy.

2.5 “the” is used before the names of large public buildings such as hotels, movie theaters, museums, and bridges. It is also used in the large region of the world.

• We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel when we went to New York.
• The Statue of Liberty is a gift from France.

2.6 “the” is used with certain adjective to mean plurals: the rich, the poor, the young, the old, the blind.

• Our government should help the homeless to find work.
• The rich ought to help the poor.

2.7 “the” is used with newspapers

• Have you read the China Post today?

2.8 “the” is often used with a music instrument:

• Tylor can play the piano and the drums,
• Sue is playing the flute while her husband is playing the guitar.

2.9 the” is used with non-countable nouns that are made more specific by a limiting modifying phrase or clause:

• The coffee in the cup is too hot to drink.
• The bread on the table is made by my grandmother.

Exercise 1 : Fill in the blanks with a, an the or nothing

• Look at ________ picture. There are _______ boy, _____ dog, ______ cat and _________ mouse in it. ________ cat is chasing _________ mouse. _________dog is running after __________ cat and ________ boy is running after _________ dog.

3] Zero article

3.1 We do not use an article before nouns when talking in general terms.

• Apples are good for your health.
• Tigers are animals.

3.2 We do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

• Sugar is sweet and coffee is bitter.
• Pepper is hot and honey is sweet.

3.3 We do not use an article before months, days, seasons.

• Jeremy has PE classes on Tuesday and Friday.
• We will go to Europe in September.
• Winter comes after fall.

3.4 We do not use an article before sports, meals, and subjects.

• My father enjoys playing golf.
• Baseball is my favorite sport.
• Have you had your breakfast?
• Math is easier than English.

3.5 We do not use an article before by with vehicles; however, we use on + a + vehicle.

• My father goes to work by car; my mother goes by bus.
• I go to school on a scooter; my brother goes on a bicycle.

Exercise 2 : use “a”, “an”, the or zero article (put X for zero article)

1. ______ salt is the most popular spice.
2. Could you pass me ___________ salt?
3. Animals need ________ food to live.
4. I’m not going to ________ work tomorrow.

5. Did you finish _____ work your father asked you to do?
6. _____________ coffee is the most popular drink in the world.
7. Joan made coffee and tea for the guests. ______ tea is good but _____________ coffee is too weak.
8. We are going to _________ Miami and we are going to stay in __________ Hyatt Hotel.

9. _______ Taiwan is in ________ Asia.
10. My friend invited me to _________ party at his house.
11. A ship sank in ______________ Atlantic Ocean.
12. We had ________ dinner at seven last night.
13. ___________ sun is shining.

PROUNOUNS ARE USED IN PLACE OF NAMES OF PEOPLE, PLACE OR THINGS.

• WITHOUT PRONOUNS:
• TRICIA THINKS THAT JOHNNY SHOULD LEND JOHNNY’S TELEPHONE TO JOHNNY’S COUSINS.
• WITH PRONOUNS:
• TRICIA THINKS THAT HE SHOULD LEND HIS TELEPHONE TO HIS COUSIN.
• IN THE 25 MOST COMMONLY USED WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 10 OF THEM ARE PRONOUNS.

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PRONOUNS

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• PERSONAL PRONOUNS CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF PROPER AND COMMON NOUNS. HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

I – SHE – IT – HIM – HER – YOU – ME – HE – WE US – THEY – THEM

• PERSONAL PRONOUNS MAKE ENGLISH MUCH EASIER
• FOR EXAMPLE IF YOUR NAME IS MARIA, YOU COULD WRITE:
• MARIA WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.
• BUT YOU DO NOT REFER TO YOURSELF BY NAME SO IT IS BEST TO WRITE:
• I WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.

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PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• IF YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON (NAMED TOM) YOU COULD WRITE….

TOM WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY OR

HE WENT TO AN ENGLISH CLASS TODAY.

• IN THIS CASE THE PERSONAL PRONOUN, HE, TAKES THE PLACE OF TOM.
• SUPPOSING MARIA WANTED TO TELL YOU THAT TOM AND SHE WANTED TO GO TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY SHE COULD WRITE:

MARIA AND TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY.

• BUT BY USING PERSONAL PRONOUNS MARIA COULD WRITE:

HE AND I WANTED TO GO TO THE MOVIES ON SATURDAY.

• IN THIS SENTENCE THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS HE AND I TAKE THE PLACE OF THE PROPER NOUNS TOM AND MARIA.

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PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• YOU CAN ALSO USE PERSONAL PRONOUNS TO TALK ABOUT THINGS:

TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE ZOO, BUT THE ZOO WAS CLOSED.

• THIS SENTENCE CAN ALSO BE WRITTEN:

TOM WANTED TO GO TO THE ZOO, BUT IT WAS CLOSED.

• IN THIS REWRITTEN SENTENCE, THE PERSONAL PRONOUN – IT – TOOK THE PLACE OF THE ZOO.
• PRONOUNS CAN ALSO REPLACE A NOUN AND A PRONOUN THAT ARE CONNECTED IN A SENTENCE:

TOM AND I ARE WORKING ON ENGLISH STUDIES HOMEWORK OR

WE ARE WORKING ON ENGLISH STUDIES HOMEWORK.

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PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• LETS LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE:

MR. HANNAN GAVE TOM AND HIM SOME CHOCOLATE

CHIP COOKIES.

• USING A PRONOUN – WHAT WOULD YOU WRITE?

MR. HANNAN GAVE THEM SOME CHOCOLATE CHIP

COOKIES.

• HERE THE PERSONAL PRONOUN – THEM – REPLACES THE PROPER NOUN – TOM – AND THE PRONOUN – HIM.
• LETS PUT ALL THIS TO THE TEST.

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QUICK TEST 1: �LEARNING ABOUT GEOGRAPHY

• REPLACE THE UNDERLINED NOUN OR CONNECTED NOUNS AND PRONOUNS IN EACH OF THESE SENTENCES WITH A PERSONAL PRONOUN.
• I ENJOY MR. HANNAN’S CLASS.
• SOMETIMES MR. HANNAN ALLOWS EACH OF US TO PICK SOMETHING WE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT.
• TOM AND MARY WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE UNITED STATES.
• TOM AND I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT IRELAND.
• MICHAEL AND SARAH ARE NOT SURE WHICH COUNTRY THEY WANT TO LEARN ABOUT.

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QUICK TEST 1: �LEARNING ABOUT GEOGRAPHY (PART 2)

1. MR. HANNAN TOLD TOM AND MARY THAT THE CAPITAL OF IRELAND IS DUBLIN.
2. MR. HANNAN TOLD MICHAEL, SARAH AND ME THAT THE CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES IS WASHINGTON.
3. “I KNOW WHERE FLORIDA IS,” TOM SAID.
4. SARAH SAID, “I WANT TO VISIT FLORIDA.”
5. FLORIDA IS KNOWN AS THE SUNSHINE STATE.

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[ANSWERS: 1. HER 2. SHE 3. HE 4. WE 5. THEY 6. THEM 7. US 8. HE 9. SHE 10. IT]

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PERSONAL PRONOUNS

• NOW YOU UNDERTAND THE BASICS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS, YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO USE THEM PROPERLY. NAMELY, YOU NEED TO KNOW WHICH PRONOUNS TO USE AS SUBJECTS OF SENTENCES AND WHICH PRONOUNS TO USE AS OBJECTS OF SENTENCES.
• THAT MEANS YOU NEED TO LEARN AND KNOW ABOUT…

PRONOUN CASES

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PRONOUN CASES

• To speak and write English correctly, you select different pronouns depending on their case, that is, how they are to be used in a phrase. In the English language there are three main cases:
• The subjective case
• The objective case
• The possessive case
• When pronouns are acting as subjects of sentences, you must use subjective case pronouns.
• When pronouns are acting as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions, use pronouns in the objective case.
• Whenever you want to show ownership of something, you must use pronouns in the possessive case.
• Many people misuse pronouns because they get confused as to which case the sentence is written. It’s really quite simple to figure out, however. Lets begin by looking at the subjective and objective cases.

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Subjective and Objective Cases

• With nouns, the subjective and objective cases aren’t a problem because nouns have the same form whether they are subjects or objects. Lets look at the following example and see how the noun girl does not change regardless of whether it’s a subject or direct object:
• The girl hit the ball.
• The noun girl is the subject of the sentence.
• The ball hit the girl.
• In this sentence, the noun girl is a direct object.
• Almost all pronouns take different forms depending on whether they are subjects or objects. Lets look at the following chart which will help us to see the difference:

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PRONOUN CASES CHART

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WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF AS A SUBJECT, YOU MUST USE THE PRONOUN ‘I’. HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE ACTING AS AN OBJECT IN THE SENTENCE, YOU MUST USE THE PRONOUN ‘ME’. ….. FOR EXAMPLE:��INCORRECT: ME WENT TO THE STORE WITH MY MOTHER.��BECAUSE THE PRONOUN IN THIS SENTENCE IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, YOU NEED TO USE A PRONOUN IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE, NOT ONE IN THE OBJECTIVE CASE.��CORRECT: I WENT TO THE STORE WITH MY MOTHER.��THIS SENTENCE IS WRITTEN CORRECTLY BECAUSE THE PRONOUN I IS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE, AND I IS A SUBJECTIVE CASE PRONOUN.

PRONOUNS IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE

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WHEN YOU WRITE A SENTENCE THAT HAS COMPOUND SUBJECTS, THAT IS, MORE THAN ONE SUBJECT, DON’T BE CONFUSED. PRONOUNS SHOULD STILL BE IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE.��MY BROTHER AND I WENT TO THE STORE.��THE SENTENCE HAS TWO SUBJECTS THE NOUN BROTHER AND THE PRONOUN - I - THE PRONOUN MUST BE WRITTEN IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE.

PRONOUNS IN THE SUBJECTIVE CASE

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Important tip…

• Here is a trick to help you choose the correct pronoun case:
• Drop the subject that is a noun and read the sentence with the pronoun alone. For instance, take the sentence:

My mother and me went to the store.

• Is this sentence written correctly? To find out, read the sentence with the pronoun me alone

Me went to the store.

• That doesn’t sound right, and it’s not correct English. It should be written:

I went to the store.

• Therefore, our original sentence should be written:

My mother and I went to the store.

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Pronouns following a “to be” verb

[Examples of “to be” verbs are: Am, are, is, was, were and will be.]

• The pronoun after a form of the verb to be is called a complement. You must write complements in the subjective case.

It is I who lost the book.

• The verb is is a form of the to be verb. Consequently, the complement (pronoun) must be in the subjective case, which means that you need to use the pronoun I, rather than the objective case pronoun me.

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Pronouns following a “to be” verb

• Look at the following sentence:

The girl who correctly answered all of the questions was she.

• The verb was is a “to be” verb. To correctly write this sentence, use the subjective case pronoun she, rather than the objective case pronoun her.
• Unlike words following action verbs, a complement of a to be verb is not an object, a receiver of action. Instead, the complement identifies or refers to the subject. Compare the following two sentences:

The teacher called Mr. Smith

• Mr. Smith is an object that receives the teacher’s action of calling. If a pronoun were to be substituted for Mr. Smith, the pronoun would have to be written in the objective case: him.

The teacher called him.

• Now look at this:

The teacher is Ms. Lisa.

• Ms. Lisa isint receiving any action. Rather, the to be verb is identifies Ms. Lisa as the teacher. Consequently, the correct pronoun for Ms. Lisa in this sentence is she.

The teacher is she.

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Pronouns in the objective case

Incorrect:

• Sara made cookies for Jane and she.
• In this sentence, Sara is the subject. Jane and she are objects of the preposition for. As a result, the sentence is incorrectly written because the pronoun she is a pronoun in the subjective case. You need to use an objective case pronoun.

Correct:

• Sara made cookies for Jane and her.
• This sentence is correctly written because the pronoun her is in the objective case.
• Selecting the correct pronoun case can sometimes be a bit tricky. Let’s try a little exercise:

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Quick Test 2:�Learning About Butterflies

Identify whether the underlined pronoun or pronouns are written in the correct case, write a C after the number of the sentence if it is correct and an I after the number of the sentence if it is Incorrect.

1. John and me are learning about butterflies in science class.
2. Ms. Garcia told we that butterflies have three body parts, a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.
3. I asked her what a thorax was.
4. Her said it was the butterfly’s chest.
5. “Whom knows where the abdomen is?” Asked Ms. Garcia.

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Quick Test 2 (Part 2)

6. “It is the tail part,” I said.
7. Van and me counted the number of legs on the butterfly.
8. Us counted six legs.
9. “Butterflies have two sets of wings,” Van said to I.
10. We noticed the wings and legs were connected to the thorax.

Now that we have worked through this exercise we are familiar with subjective and objective case pronouns, lets learn about the remaining case of pronouns –

Possessive Pronouns

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Possessive Pronouns

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• You can use possessive pronouns to shore ownership of something. In lesson one we learned that adding an apostrophe (‘) forms the possessive of nouns.

Bob’s desk is messy.

The Cat’s claws are sharp.

Our dogs’ bowls are filled with water and food.

• By contrast, possessive pronouns completely change their spelling to show possession or ownership

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Table Showing Personal Pronouns In Their Cases

Notice there are two sets of possessive pronoun: one for writing before the noun in the sentence and the other for writing after the noun in the sentence:

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Possessive Pronouns

• I saw her mother in the store.
• You need to use the possessive pronoun her because it appears before the noun it is possessing mother.
• The mother in the store is hers.
• By contrast, here you should use the possessive pronoun hers because it appears after the noun it is possessing mother.
• Is this your backpack?
• In this sentence, use the possessive pronoun your because it appears before the noun it is possessing, backpack. Notice the following sentence:
• Is this backpack yours?
• Here, yours is the correct possessive pronoun to use in this sentence because it appears after the noun backpack.

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Its and It’s…..

• The following example will help you with a possessive pronoun that sometimes confuses people.
• What is its name?
• Here, use the possessive pronoun its to show possession of the noun name. Do not confuse the possessive pronoun its with it’s, which is the contraction of it is.
• For example, here you would write:
• It’s time to eat lunch. (It is time to eat lunch.)
• By contrast, you would write the following sentence:
• The old coin had lost its shine.
• Using possessive pronouns can be a bit tricky. Let’s work through the following exercise to make sure we can use them correctly.

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Quick Test 3: Pets

Can you complete the following sentences using just one of the words appearing in brackets at the end of the sentence:

1. A dog is…… family’s pet. (our, ours)
2. ….. name is Heidi. (her, hers)
3. ….. Father told me that Heidi belongs to a breed or type of dog known as a German Shepherd. (my, mine)
4. ….. Fur is black and brown in colour. (her, hers)
5. My friend, Elsa, has a cat as ….. Pet. (her, hers)
6. ….. Hearts beat twice as fast as humans. (their, theirs)
7. ….. Eyes see better in the dark than humans’ eyes. (It’s, Its)
8. However, our eyes see better than ….. In daylight. (their, theirs)
9. ….. Cat’s sense of smell is 14 times stronger than your own. (Your, Yours)
10. ….. Whispers spread out roughly as wide as its body making it able to judge if it can fit through an opening. (it’s, Its)

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Reflexive Pronouns

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• Reflexive pronouns are used to reflect or refer back to nouns and pronouns in the sentence. Reflexive pronoun is usually used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject of the sentence. You write reflexive pronouns by combining some of the personal pronouns with the endings –self (singular pronouns) or –selves (plural pronouns).

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Reflexive pronouns

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Reflexive Pronouns

• He surprised himself.
• In this sentence, the reflexive pronoun himself refers to the subject pronoun he.
• When Carla was playing with the scissors, she accidentally cut herself.
• Here, the reflexive pronoun herself refers to the subject pronoun she.
• Reflexive pronouns are quite useful, but you need to be careful. This should never be used as subjects or objects:
• Incorrect: Juan and myself like to listen to music.
• This sentence is incorrectly written because the reflexive pronoun myself is used as one of the subjects of the sentence. To write the sentence correctly, you use a subjective case pronoun.
• Correct: Juan and I like to listen to music.
• This sentence is now correctly written because the subjective case pronoun I is used as a subject along with a proper noun Juan.
• Incorrect: The cat hissed at my sister and myself.
• This sentence is incorrectly written because the reflexive pronoun myself is being used as a direct object. The writer should use an objective case pronoun.
• Correct: The cat hissed at my sister and me.
• Although they can be tricky, reflexive pronouns, come in handy when writing and speaking. Let’s test whether we now understand reflexive pronouns.

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Quick Test 4: A Trip To The Zoo

For each sentence, choose to correct pronoun in the brackets following each sentence and write it in the blank space:

1. The female tiger was in the cage by….. (her, herself).
2. We….. Were not afraid of the Tiger because she was in the cage. (us, ourselves).
3. The big cat growled at my friends and…..(me, myself).
4. The elephants helped….. To some food. (them, themselves).
5. The zoo worker….. Give the elephants hay and vegetables to eat. (he, himself).
6. Because they are in a zoo, the elephants can’t get food ….. (them, themselves)
7. I ….. Would like to take care of the elephants. (me, myself).
8. “So would…..,” said Rosa. (I, myself).
9. “….., I would rather feed the Tigers,” said Norman. (Me, Myself)
10. We agreed among….. To come back to the zoo. (us, ourselves)

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• Now that you are familiar with reflexive pronouns, let’s learn about another group of pronouns and these are called demonstrative pronouns.

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Demonstrative Pronouns

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• The demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) stand-in for the name of a person, place, or thing that must be pointed to.
• In fact you can call these pointer pronouns and you can use them to point to the person, place, or thing that you are talking or writing about.
• The demonstrative pronouns this and these refer to nouns that are nearby either in time or space. By comparison, the demonstrative pronouns that and those refer to nouns that are distant in time or space.
• Lets see some examples:

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DEMONSTRAVIVE PRONOUNS (EXAMPLES)

1. This restaurant we are entering serves good food.
1. Pointing to a nearby restaurant.

2. That was my brother you met last week.

• Pointing to a person distant in time.

3. These shoes are nicer than the ones I saw in the store yesterday.

• Pointing to a nearby pair of shoes.

4. Show me those on the top shelf.

• Pointing to something at a distance.

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Demonstrative Pronouns

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Incorrect:

• That plate I’m holding is hot.
• This sentence is incorrectly written because the demonstrative pronoun that should be used when referring to a distant noun, not one that is nearby.

Correct:

• This place I’m holding is hot.
• Here, the sentence is correctly written because the place is nearby, and so you must use the demonstrative pronoun this.

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Quick Test 5: Spiders

In these sentences choose the correct demonstrative pronoun (this, that, these, those) to replace the underlined words in each sentence:

1. The big spiders in that terrarium in the corner are just one of 40,000 kinds of spiders in the world. (That, Those)
2. As we looked at a poster on the wall displaying the spiders segmented legs, Pedro said, “all spiders have segmented legs.” (These, This)
3. “Thick brushes of hair cover the end of each leg,” Pedro explained, showing us a spider he had just taken from a terrarium. (These, This)
4. “A tiny foot at the end of each leg lets them walk up vertical surfaces, like walls,” he continued as we looked at the spiders leg under the microscope. (This, That)

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Quick Test 5: Spiders

5. You can see only their feet when you look under a microscope. (This, These)

6. “Spiders feed mainly on insects,” Pedro said as he held a jar of flies. (That, These)

7. “Its web enables it to catch insects,” Pedro said, pointing to the spider on the far table spinning its web. (This, That)

8. Because they eat live teams such as insects in this jar, spiders are carnivores. (That, These)

9. “What are carnivores?” I asked, pointing at the spider. (This, These)

10. “Carnivores are animals that eat other animals,” answered Pedro. (This, These)

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Important Tip

The words this, that, these, and those can be confusing. When they replace nouns, these words are demonstrative pronouns. However, when they are written before nouns ( this coat; that man; these people), this, that, these, and those are adjectives.

(Noun: Person, Place or Thing)

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Relative Pronouns

• The relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that) introduce clauses that describe nouns or pronouns, for example:

The student who wrote the story is reading it to the class.

• The relative pronoun who introduces the clause who wrote the story, which describes the subject student.
• Here’s another example:

The building that stood on the corner has been torn down.

• The clause that stood on the corner begins with the relative pronoun that.
• The following chart shows you the types of nouns for which each of the relative pronouns can substitute:

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Relative Pronouns

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The teacher who was nice to me yesterday waved to me today.

The airplane that flew in from Penang is sitting on the runway.

The math problems, which I just finished, are completely right.

We need to spend a little more time on….�‘That’ and ‘which’

• Notice that both that and which can substitute for nouns that are things or places.
• The problem is that you can’t just pick one or the other.
• You must use that when the clause that follows it is restrictive, that is, when the clause is necessary to tell something important about the subject.
• Conversely, you need to use the relative pronoun which when the clause that follows it is nonrestrictive, that is when it provides information that isn’t important in telling us something about the subject.
• In other words, a nonrestrictive clause can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence.
• Lets look at some examples:

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‘That’ and ‘Which’

• Incorrect: The computer, which is on the desk, belongs to Miss Smith.
• This sentence is incorrect because is on the desk is important information describing this particular computer. Because this clause provides essential information, it is a restrictive clause. Restrictive clauses describing nouns that are things must be introduced by the relative pronoun that.
• Correct: The computer that is on the desk belongs to Miss Smith.

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‘That’ and ‘Which’

• Incorrect: Rosa’s computer that her mother gave her is on the desk.
• The important fact about Rosa’s computer’s is that it is on the desk. Consequently, the fact that her mother gave it to her is not essential information. The writer could have eliminated this information and the sentence would still tell us what we need to know; therefore, this particular clause referring to Rosa’s computer is a nonrestrictive clause. Consequently, the clause should begin with the relative pronoun which.
• Correct: Rosa’s computer, which her mother gave her, is on the desk.

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That and which

• Now that you understand when to use that and when to use which, it’s time to look at another set of tricky relative pronouns, who and whom.
• We talked about pronouns used in the subjective or objective case.
• Remember: a pronoun is in the subjective case when ever it is substituting for a noun that is the subject of the sentence.
• For example, in the following sentence, the pronoun I is in the subjective case because it is substituting for the person who is the subject of the sentence:
• I am going to the school across from the Post Office.
• A Pronoun is in the objective case when it is substituting for a noun that is a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition.
• For example, in the sentence below, me is a direct object because me is receiving the direct action of the ball hitting.
• The ball hit me on the nose.

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Who and Whom

• When deciding whether to use who or whom, determine whether the noun to which the relative pronoun will be referring is in the subjective case or in the objective case. If the noun is in the subjective case, use the relative pronoun who.

The man who lives next door to me is my uncle.

• Here, the relative pronoun who is referring to the subject of the sentence, man. By contrast, if the noun to which the relative pronoun will be referring is in the objective case, use the relative pronoun whom.

Tom whom Mr Hannan called on answered correctly.

• The relative pronoun refers to the direct object of the sentence, Tom.
• Let’s try an exercise which will give us an opportunity to use what we have learned about relative pronouns.

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Quick Test 6: Using Relative Pronouns

In these sentences choose the correct relative pronoun from the pronouns in the parenthesis at the end of each of the sentences. Insert the correct relative pronoun in the blank.

1. The man….. Pick me up from school is my uncle Tom. (Who, whom)
2. The car….. Is green, is out of gas. (Which, that)
3. The cat….. Bit me was a brown tabby. (which, that)
4. The girl….. Waved to me is my friend. (Who, whom)
5. The girl, to ….. I waved, is my friend. (Who, whom)
6. The man….. Is wearing the funny hash is my father. (Who, whom)
7. The window,….. Is in the back of the house, is broken. (Which, whom)
8. Miss Jenkins, ….. I known well, is moving away from the neighborhood. (Who, whom)
9. The lady….. Fell down is fine now. (Who, whom)
10. My cousins, ….. I don’t see very often, are coming to see me. (Who, whom)

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• Relative pronouns are pronouns to serve an important function in the English language. Now, let’s look at pronouns being used in another important way as INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS.

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INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

• INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS (WHO, WHOM, WHO’S, WHICH, WHAT) ARE USUALLY USED AS THE BEGINNINGS OF QUESTIONS
• WHICH BASEBALL TEAM DO YOU LIKE BETTER?
• WHO WANTS MORE ICE CREAM?
• TO WHOM DOES THIS COAT BELONG?
• WHAT TIME DOES THE MOVIE BEGIN?
• WHOSE LOGO IS ON THE BACKPACK?
• ALTHOUGH THEY USUALLY BEGIN QUESTIONS, INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS CAN ALSO BE USED WITHIN A SENTENCE TO ASK A QUESTION.

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Interrogative Pronouns

1. Miss Jones, our social studies teacher, wondered who would score the highest grade on her test.
2. As John got out of the car, his mother asked him what time he wanted her to pick him up.
3. The teacher didn’t know whose lunch she was holding.
4. We couldn’t catch the rabbit because we couldn’t figure out which way it would run.
5. Nobody knew to whom the question was asked.

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• Let’s try an exercise which will give us some practice using interrogative pronouns.

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Quick Test 7: Using Interrogative Pronouns

In each of these sentences select an interrogative pronoun (who, whom, who’s, which, what) in the blank that helps complete the sentence.

1. Sarah wanted to ask….. student’s drawing the judges liked the best. (whom, which)
2. ….. did you invite to the dance? (who, whom)
3. ….. car is parked in front of the school? (whose, who)
4. As soon as they entered the restaurant, the waiter asked them ….. they wanted to eat. (which, what)
5. ….. are you, and why are you here? (who, whom)
6. ….. do you think we should do? (whose, what)
7. ….. music store do you like better? (who, which)
8. We couldn’t figure out….. was going to happen next. (what, which)
9. With ….. is Janet supposed to work? (who, whom)
10. ….. was his excuse for being late to school? (which, what)
1. We have seen the important function in the English language on how interrogative pronouns perform. Now let’s look at another group of important pronouns:

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

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Indefinite Pronouns

• An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that replaces a noun without specifying which noun it replaces. Here are some examples of indefinite pronouns:

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​

Does anyone know the answer to the first problem?

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The indefinite pronoun anyone does not refer to a particular person; rather it refers to an unspecified person in the group.

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Indefinite Pronouns

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• That is more than I wanted.
• The indefinite pronoun more does not describe a particular quantity; rather, it makes a comparison.
• Each has her own toys in the bedroom.
• The indefinite pronoun each does not name a particular child; however, you do know that the children have their toys in the bedroom.
• Let’s try an exercise which will give us an opportunity to use what we have learned about indefinite pronouns.

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Quick Test 8: Using A Map

In each of these sentences which is the indefinite pronoun or pronouns: (Answers are in Red – But can you say why?)

1. From reading a map, much can be learned.
2. All have a scale to show the distances between places.
3. Using a ruler and knowing the scale, someone can accurately measure the distance between places.
4. By using the scale, anyone can determine the distance between two points.
5. Map distance is something a scale tells us.
6. Anyone can determine the relationship between the map distance and the real distance.
7. Both can be related by using a ratio, which is a relationship between two quantities.
8. For instance, a map might write its ratio as “one inch equals 100 miles” or 1: 100 – both mean the same thing.
9. “Does anyone not understand the difference between real distance and map distance?” our teacher asked.
10. Many are found in the legend or map key.

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And now…..

• Now that you are familiar with INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, you need to learn how to use them.
• MAKING PRONOUNS AGREE
• An important rule for writing and speaking English is that the pronoun must agree with its antecedent, (the word to which it refers.) In other words, the antecedent is the word you would have to repeat in a sentence if you couldn’t use a pronoun.
• Agreement requires using a plural pronoun with a plural antecedent and using a singular pronoun with a singular antecedent.
• To make this easier remember the following rules:

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Making pronouns agree…..

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Making pronouns agree

• Incorrect: Several lost his or her papers when the wind blew.

This sentence is incorrectly written because the pronoun his is singular; however, the antecedent several is plural.

• Correct: Several lost their papers when the wind blew.

This sentence is correctly written because the plural pronoun their agrees with its plural antecedent several.

• Incorrect: Each knows what they need to do.

This sentence is incorrect because the antecedent indefinite pronoun each is singular, but the pronoun they is plural.

• Correct: Each knows what he or she needs to do.

This sentence is correct because the singular pronoun he or she agrees with its singular indefinite pronoun each.

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Quick Test 9

Determine whether each of the sentences containing indefinite pronouns is correctly written. Can you say if they are right or wrong?

• Anybody can write well if they work hard.
• INCORRECT: ANYBODY CAN WRITE WELL IF HE OR SHE WORKS HARD.
• Few are in his or her room.
• INCORRECT: FEW ARE IN THEIR ROOMS.
• Nobody is done with their project.
• INCORRRECT: NOBODY IS DONE WITH HIS OR HER PROJECT.
• Most of the students were finished with their assignments.
• CORRECT.
• A few of the teachers drove their cars.
• CORRECT.

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Quick Test 9 (Part 2)

• None of the women brought their lunches.
• CORRECT.
• Someone left their cake out in the rain.
• INCORRECT: SOMEONE LEFT HIS OR HER CAKE OUT IN THE RAIN.
• No one should have to read the story given embarrassing as him or her.
• CORRECT.
• Each should write in his or her journal.
• CORRECT.
• More should write in their journal.
• CORRECT.

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End of Session