Pronouns in Action


Pronouns are an important part of speech. In fact, without pronouns the English language would not work so well.

Perhaps, an easy way to understand a pronoun's job is to remember that pronouns work for nouns. Pronouns are used in the place of nouns.

For example, in the sentence "Len gave Luiza a banana." we can change "Luiza" to her. So, we will write "Len gave her a banana."


Pronouns not only take the place of nouns, but also take gender and function (how they are used) from the nouns.

For example, because Luiza is female we use a female pronoun, her, and not him. We also use her and not she because Luiza is an object in the sentence. Len, of course, is the subject in the sentence.

So, we could also write "He gave her a banana."


Below is a guide to the use of pronouns. Please note the gender and function.


SUBJECTVERBOBJECTOBJECT
Lenbroughtorangesfor the students.
Lenbroughtthemfor the students.
Hebroughtthemfor the students.
LuizaateMaria's oranges.
Luizaateher oranges.
Sheateher oranges.
Luiza's boyfriendkissedher.
Hekissedher.
Luizakissedher boyfriend.
Shekissedhim.

IMPORTANT: You should always use the OBJECT form of a pronoun after a preposition.

For example, write "Len brought oranges for them." Do not write "Len brought oranges for they."

Here are some more examples.

[] Haruhisa loves Latina girls because they make churrasco for him. Do not write "for he".
[] Gabriela gave the money to Vitor so he could buy a present for her. Do not write "for she".


She
stole
stole
it.
Len's book.




He
is dancing
is dancing
with her.
with Luiza.




He
is kissing
is kissing
them.
Luiza and Gabriela.




She
ran away
ran away
from him.
from




He
hugged
hugged
him.




She
is singing
is singing
with her.
with




Let's Talk

Substitute a pronoun for the underlined nouns. Answer each question by clicking on the appropriate words.



What is Charles doing with the chicken? heat
He is heating it in the oven.

What is the soldier giving the children? heat
He is giving them candy.

What is Rocky doing with Molly? heat
He is chasing her.

What's Sisyphus trying to do with the boulder? heat
He is trying to push it up the hill.

What are the children doing with the butterflies? chase
They are chasing them.

What is the boy doing with the hamburger? burger
He is giving it to the girl.

What is Fred doing to the chicken? burger
He is hitting it.

What is the woman doing with the bowl? set
She is putting it on the table.

What is the boy doing with the milk? pour
He is pouring it into the bowl.

What is the dog doing? dog
It is resting on the grass.

What are Betty and her dogs doing? knit
They are sitting in the living room.


Demonstrative Pronouns

The pronouns This, That, These and Those are called demonstrative pronouns. They demonstrate the distance between two things or people.

Look at the following examples to learn how these pronouns are used.

  1. No, this is not a rectangle. This is a square. You see the picture over there on the wall? That is a square.
  2. Put that back in the refrigerator. This is enough wine for us.
  3. Oh, these are not the cookies you like. See those over on the kitchen counter? My mom made those for you.
  4. Why are you still wearing those? I bought these for you. Try them on.

Notice how the demonstrative pronouns work. This is used for things which are singular in number and close. These is used for things plural in number and close. On the other hand, that is used for things which are singular, but not close. Similarly, those is used for things which are plural and not close.



The following video will give you some practice with demonstrative pronouns. Observe and listen well.




Want Homework? Click to download.



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