Personal pronouns. Personal Pronouns. Use of object pronouns in English Table of personal possessive and object pronouns

Even someone who has never seriously studied English knows that I is me, you is you, and so on. This article is intended for both beginners who are at the very beginning of learning, and for students with an intermediate level and above, since it never hurts to remember the basics and learn something new.

All of the above pronouns answer the questions Who? What? Please note that they can denote not only animate, but also inanimate objects. For example, it, as a rule, denotes an inanimate object, and they are not only people, but also objects.

One of the reasons why I love English is the pronoun you. After all, it is translated both as “you” and as “you”, that is, in English communication always takes place on equal terms. The universal pronoun you saves us from having to choose between “you” and “you” when addressing a person and from many other contradictory situations.

There are two types of personal pronouns in English: subjective(subject pronouns) and object(object pronouns). Subjects perform subject to(subject) in a sentence and answer questions Who? What? Object ones act addition(object) and answer the case questions: Whom? What?, To whom? To what?, By whom? How? and so on.

At first glance, this may seem difficult, but let's think about our native language. Those who study Russian have to memorize many more forms: I - me - me - me. And so on for every pronoun! In English, we have to remember only one form at a time. Let's look at them:

As you can see, it is much more difficult for those who study Russian
The pronouns you and it do not change at all, but the rest are not difficult to remember.

Object personal pronouns are used after prepositions, after many verbs. Remember that in the case when in Russian we use a pronoun in any of the cases (except for the nominative), in English it is worth using an objective pronoun:

I can see him. - I see him.
He loves her. - He loves her.
We will invite them. - We will invite them.
Tell them about us. - Tell them about us.

If you mistakenly use a subjective rather than an objective pronoun, you will end up with something like: I see you, He loves her and so on. In other words, the pronouns will not "agree" with the previous verb.

The pronoun it and its use.

The pronoun it has a number of special functions. In addition to the fact that it denotes inanimate objects and animals, it is also the equivalent of the word "This". It can refer to a fact or an entire situation:

We played hide-and-seek with the children. It was very amusing! — We played hide and seek with the children. It was very funny!
Robert told me that he had fallen. I didn't believe it. — Robert told me that he quit. I didn't believe it.

It also replaces words something, anything, nothing, everything:

It often acts as impersonal subject. Remember the rule that in English there must be a subject? Even if this subject is not translated into Russian, it must still be present in the English sentence. So when they talk about time, distance, weather and temperature, the subject of the sentence is it:

It is raining. - (It) will rain / It is raining.
It was hot yesterday. — Yesterday it was hot.
It is five miles to the south. — It's five miles south.
It is half past six already! - It's already half past six!

As you can see from the examples, in Russian a sentence can exist without an impersonal subject “it”, but in English it cannot.

Another important function of it is the function designations of people. it is translated in this case also as “this”:

Who is that girl with dark hair? — It is my cousin, Laura. -Who is that girl with dark hair? - This is my cousin, Laura.
Is this man your boss? - Yes, it is! — Is that man your boss? - Yes, it’s him!
It is Max standing over there, isn't it? - This is Max standing over there, isn't it?

In a telephone conversation, when calling yourself, you should also use it , but not I :

Good morning! It "s Peter Jackson. I would like to speak to Mr. Parker, please. - Good morning! This is Peter Jackson. I would like to talk to Mr. Parker.
Hello Anna! It is Maria! - Hello, Anna! This is Maria!

The pronouns he and she usually refer to people, but can also be used to refer to animals, cars, ships, countries. Read more in the dedicated category of gender in English.

A few words about the pronoun I.

I is the only pronoun in English that is always capitalized.

If the subject or object of a sentence is two persons or pronouns, one of which is I or me, then you should put yourself last. This sounds more polite:

My sister and I like music. — My sister and I love music.
You and I can meet next week. “You and I can meet next week.”
The teacher asked Tom and me. — The teacher asked Tom and me.

You and me or you and I?

We often find ourselves faced with a difficult choice: You and me or you and I?
Both options sound familiar and seem correct. Indeed, both options can be found in speech, but one of them will be grammatically correct (and therefore considered standard), and the second will be grammatically incorrect, but still used in informal speech.

How to determine the correct option? First of all, look at which part of the sentence this combination is: subject or object.
Let's look at an example:

You and I will work tomorrow.
You and me will work tomorrow

To determine which pronoun to use, you need to remove you . What we get:

I will work tomorrow.
Me will work tomorrow.

It is immediately clear that the second sentence contains an error, since the object pronoun me cannot appear at the beginning of the sentence as a subject. However, as mentioned above, a combination with an objective pronoun can also be used as a subject, but only in informal colloquial speech, that is, the sentence You and me will work tomorrow, although it is grammatically incorrect, can be found in communication.

Let's take another example:

They invited you and I.
They invited you and me.
To determine the correct option, let’s remove the pronoun you:
They invited I.
They invited me.

In this case, the second sentence is correct because the subject pronoun I cannot be an object.

Personal pronouns in comparisons.

Often mistakes are made in sentences that contain comparisons. Which pronoun should be placed after the comparative words than and as: subjective or objective? The answer, as always, is ambiguous: you can use both pronouns. In Russian there are also two options. We can say: " You are below me" And " You're shorter than me"Do you feel the difference?

Object pronouns are typical for informal, conversational style and there should not be a verb after them:

You are shorter than me. - You are shorter than me.
She can sing better than him. “She can sing better than him.”
We have done as much as them. “We did as much as they did.”

Subjective pronouns in comparisons are used only with auxiliary verb. The auxiliary verb is determined by the first part of the sentence and is never translated into Russian. The semantic verb is not repeated after the pronoun. If the verb in the first part is modal or to be, then it does not change:

You are shorter than I am. -You are shorter than me.
She can sing better than he can. — She can sing better than him.
We have done as much as they have. “We did as much as they did.”

Pronouns after the words except and but.

After the words except (except) and but (meaning “except”), only object pronouns should be used:

Nobody but us arrived in time. “No one but us arrived on time.”
Everyone except her stood up. - Everyone stood up except her.
All the students except them were ready. “All the students except them were ready.”
I will invite all my friends but him. - I will invite all my friends except him.

These examples are given without context, and in a real conversation it should be clear to your interlocutor who exactly you are talking about.

Using personal pronouns in informal conversation.

Personal subject and object pronouns can be used differently depending on the style of speech: formal and informal. There are several nuances about this.

An object pronoun cannot be the subject of a sentence, but there are also cases when the object pronouns me, him, her, us, them are used as the subject. This use can be found after the verb to be, usually in short answers:

Such answers sound quite informal, so in formal and formal communication, try to use subject pronouns in short answers, if possible: Who told you about it? — He didn’t.

Usually pronouns cannot be left out of a sentence, but sometimes in informal conversation are missing out personal pronouns together with auxiliary verbs when they appear at the beginning of a sentence:

Don"t know. (= I don"t know).
Just wondering. (= I am just wondering).

In questions, pronouns with auxiliary verbs may also be omitted:

Understand? (Do you understand?)
Clear? (Is it clear?)
Met Liz today? (Have you met Liz today?)

In informal communication, set expressions with adjectives and the pronoun you are used:

Poor you! - Poor thing!
Clever you! - Good girl!
Lucky you! - Lucky!

When are personal pronouns not used?

It is also useful to mention that personal pronouns are not used after infinitive constructions, if the subject and object are the same person:

You are so difficult to understand (you). - You are so difficult to understand.
It was a nice thing to think about (it). - It was nice to think about it.
This car is easy to drive (it). — This car is easy to drive.

But if the infinitive construction is introduced by the impersonal subject it, then the pronoun should be used:

It is so difficult to understand you. - You are so difficult to understand.

After the verb know, the pronoun it is rarely used when talking about any information:

I was waiting for you. - I know it. - I was waiting for you. - I know.
Jack won the competition. - I know it. — Jack won the competition. - I know.

After some verbs believe, hope, expect, imagine, guess, suppose, think, be afraid it is not used, but the word so is used instead:

Is she his girlfriend? - I guess so. - Is she his girlfriend? - I think yes.
Will the party be fun? - I hope so. — Will the party be fun? - Hope so.
Was the article useful? - I believe so. — Was the article useful? - I think yes.

The topic of "Personal Pronouns" is not limited to seven pronouns. After reading this article, you were able to see that this topic is not so simple. I hope this knowledge will be useful to you and you will use it successfully. Continue to improve your English with Enginform!

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Object pronouns in English are a type of personal pronouns, but they are in the indirect case. This category answers the questions: “Who? What?" and many others depending on the prepositions.

Table of object pronouns

This group of pronouns can be presented in a more visual form by comparing them with personal pronouns, which are always in the nominative case.

Personal places. Object places. Example sentences
I (I) me (me) Can you give that book to me? -Can you give me that book?
you (you) you (you) I saw you in the supermarket yesterday. – I saw you in the supermarket yesterday.
he (he) him (him) I haven’t met him fo ages. “I haven’t met him for a hundred years.”
she (she) her (her) I gave her my old dress. – I gave her my old dress.
it (it) it (his) I don't like that table. I won't buy it. – I don’t like that table. I won't buy it.
we (we) us (us) The Ivanovs invited us to their place. – The Ivanovs invited us to visit them.
you (you, you) you (you, you) I want you to help me with the luggage. – I want you to help me with my luggage.
they (they) them (them) Ann asked them about her lost bike. – Anna asked them about her lost bicycle.

The pronoun it in the objective case, as well as in the nominative case, refers to inanimate objects and animals whose gender is unknown or does not matter: I have just seen a gray cat in the street. It looked like yours. – I just saw a gray cat on the street. He looked like yours.

Object pronouns with prepositions

This group of private places. Acts as an indirect object and is often used in combination with various prepositions.

Prepositions Examples
to The postman gave a big box to her. – The postman gave her a big box.
with Our parents weren’t always happy with us. – Our parents were not always happy with us.
by Do you see that football? The window at school was broken by it. – Do you see that soccer ball? The window at the school was broken by him.
for I will do anything for you, because we are good friends. “I will do anything for you because we are good friends.”
about “Titanic” was an enormous ship. I've read about her. - The Titanic was a huge ship. I've read about him. (In English, the word “ship” is feminine.)
from Did you get any letters from them? – Have you received any letters from them?
around There were always a lot of beautiful young girls around him. “There were always a lot of beautiful young girls next to him.
because of My elder sister fell ill. Because of her we couldn’t go to the cinema. – My older sister got sick. Because of her, we couldn't go to the cinema.

The objective case of pronouns in English corresponds to the accusative, dative, instrumental, genitive and prepositional cases in Russian, depending on the pronouns and the situation in which these parts of speech are used.

What have we learned?

Object pronouns in English are a type of personal pronouns. They can be used independently or after various prepositions. These pronouns answer the questions: “Whom?”, “What”, “By whom?”, “With what?”, “To whom?”, “To what?” and many others.

Very important too. We call it "Object". Why, you will now understand.

Object

About whom? About what?

About him / About her

About you / about you

For whom? For what?

For him / for him

For you / for you

To whom? Why?

To you / to you

About whom? About what?

About him / About him

About you / About you

Look at what questions fall under this layer: About whom? About what? For whom? For what? To whom? Why? About whom? About what? That is, the object is described from one of these positions. There are only two questions in the first layer (Who? What?). In the second there are already four. And in the third there are not enough of them at all. Here you see what is written (etc.), that is, you can also pick up Russian images here. I’ll even tell you this easier. Everything that was not covered by the first two layers of personal pronouns will be covered by the last layer, the last seven pronouns.

So look was I [ˈaɪ], became my , and now in this layer me . And look how many translations there are. About me, about me, to me, about me, because of me, from me - it will all be me. There will just be other excuses.

Now take the colored pen that the Bolsheviks told you you needed. And do the following at that specific location. I – me. I'm just restoring. So we take a colored pencil and make a double arrow like this. Why? For what? I'll explain. These two pronouns are very tightly tied to each other. In what sense? Very often, where Russian logic would put I, they put me. And, conversely, where Russian logic would put me, the English put I.

Examples. Russian phrase "I love you". In pure English it will also be “I love you [ˈaɪ lʌv ju]" We put “ya” in Russian, they put “I”. Coincidence.

And now attention attention [əˈtenʃn̩]. The second phrase is “I like it.” If we translate it directly, then we should write “Me like it.” And we did it according to Russian logic. But if, God forbid, you say such a thing, they will ask you point blank: “Have you jumped out of a tree long ago?” Because the Papuans won’t even say that. And why? But because they look more deeply at logic. In this case, who decides whether I like or not? I decide, so I give it an I. And in the phrase “I like it,” who decides whether I like it or not? Again, I decide and therefore the British will never put this in this phrase, as Russian logic demanded. And they will put " I like it [ˈaɪ ˈlaɪk ɪt]" That is, this is exactly what the bottom arrow shows: I approached this me and said: “You leave now, this is not your job. I’ll do the work for you.” Do you understand why this happened? "I like it." If you put “Me like it”, then, most likely, they will, of course, be in great convulsions, but will understand it as “This one likes me.” And they will begin to correct you. They will say that this is impossible. Did you understand?

But this arrow, we said, also has a second end. When me comes up and kicks I back. Example. An Englishman comes into your class and says: “Which one of you is Bill Clinton?” If Bill Clinton studied in Novosibirsk, he would say “I am Bill Clinton.” And then Russian logic worked. Here both the Russians have “I” and the English have “I”. If Bill Clinton studied where he studied, and he studied, by the way, at two universities, by the way. He will say "That's me [ðæts mi:]", and it will be Russian "it's me." So why didn't they play "That's I" like the Russians would? Nobody knows this, but this is the only way to say it. That is, here me has already approached I, it was thrown away and stood in its place.

(Art.) Without logic?

(P.) They have their own logic, but it cannot be explained. Yes, in fact. And there are many examples of this. Mom comes home from work and the apartment is a complete mess. The unfed cat is screaming, there is a mountain of dirty dishes in the kitchen. Asking whether you did your homework or not is completely useless. And the son sits and plays music on the balalaika. Well, it got to him. Mom gives him one last chance to improve and says: “Son, go get some bread.” Well, if only he would go for vodka, but for bread! And he says in a vile voice: “Why me? " (Why me?). Again, English logic worked. They will never say "Why I ? ».

You say: “Where else?” I will reassure you, nowhere else. This situation only works on such images. But this is very important to remember, because these images occur every step [ˈevri step] – at every step. Understand [ˌʌndəˈstænd] me? Go on [ɡəʊ ɒn] – go ahead).

It was he , then became his . We pronounce everything with an exhalation. And here him . Look: about him? for him, to him, about him, and, oddly enough, him again. We circle this “him”, because we already had it his. Why did they suddenly use two completely different pronouns his and him for the same “him”? Yes, for one simple reason. We also have two completely different “his”. They are just written the same way, but they cover completely different images. Well, maybe there are two Vasyas in the family? Maybe. Dad Vasya and son Vasya. But these are different Vasyas. It's different here too.

“His” thing – whose thing? – this is his .

And who should be kicked out? Whom to kill? Who should I send somewhere? Already him .

So when “Whose? “His” is his.

And when “Who? “His” is him.

They see that these are different “his”. They closed it with two different words. And, of course, it is forbidden to confuse them. You can’t put him where you should put his. And vice versa is not possible.

It was she [ʃi]. But here they did it purely in Russian. There was she, then her (her thing, her children, her car). And in the objective case they took her again. But these are also different hers. Let's say "her middle" and "her bottom". You can remember it differently. For the feminine gender there are no longer three pronouns, but only two. She closes the nominative case (Who?), and her closes everything else. Of course, this makes it easier for us. It’s easier, you just need to actively understand it and use it correctly.

It was [ɪt]. Because it was [ɪts], we already said (whose chair leg?). And below it again. They work in the same logic as we do.

It was we . Then there were three vowel sounds our [ˈaʊə]. And now us [ʌs]. Remember it. In the second and third levels they constantly make mistakes on it. What is us? About Us; for us; us; about us; because of us; from us - it's all us.

With you the same chaos. There was you. Then it became your . And below you again. Remember that. That there are two of these pronouns. You are the top – who? And you are the bottom. Look - about you, about you, for you, for you, to you, to you, etc. – and so on [ənd ˈsəʊ ɒn]. There are two of them.

It was they [ˈðeɪ]. Then it was their [ðeə]. Now them [ðəm], a good pronoun. About them; for them; about them; them; and, oddly enough, theirs again, but we already understand that this is another of theirs. There is “theirs – whose?”, then it is theirs. And there is “call them”, then it’s them.

There is a phrase in the Paul McCartney song: “Do me favor, open the door, let 'em in [ du: mi: ˈ feɪ və ˈəʊ pə n ðə dɔ: let ə m ɪ n] " Literally this is “do me a favor (literally a favor, favor is a French word, this is where the favorites came from. Who are the favorites - kind to the king) open the door “let them in” - this is where all the chaos is. Who is let, who is them and who is in? This is a very great English phrase because it shows very important grammar. The so-called imperative mood. Literally let [ let] allow me. Then what is 'em [ ə m] ? This is them. They 100% reduce it to two letters in everyday life. And this must be seen and remembered. “Let them in” and the correct literal translation: “let them come in,” but in Russian: “let them come in.” Remember it to them, and remember it in this version ('em), because they will very often say that.

Reading the second and third layers. Second: my , his , her ,its [ɪts], our [ˈaʊə],your , their [ðeə]. Third: me ,him , her , it [ɪt], us [ʌs], you , them [ðəm].

In total there are three times seven, 21 pronouns. And there are five more of them. 26. And they themselves, with the help of prepositions, cover the Russians under 150 images. There are 26 cases in the British and over a hundred in our country. How much more economical is it? Much. Your questions, ladies and gentlemen ?

(Art.) Can you tell me more about his? His and him , differences in their application.

(P.) Smart girl. I want to tell you one thing. It’s absolutely not a problem, and certainly not a sin, that you don’t know the language today. Your trouble and sin will begin if you did not understand something here and did not ask. I'll explain again. And I’ll explain it a thousand times, and I won’t twitch even once. Necessary? I will repeat it a hundred times. Just understand and remember.

By the way, before I forget. They say English - it’s such a nightmare, it’s such a jungle [ˈdʒʌŋɡl̩z] – jungle. I'll explain it popularly. What they say is complete crap. To speak English fluently you only need to take three steps. Just three steps [ θ ri:steps].

Below to understand understand. This is where I won’t leave you alive until you understand.

Second remember remember). This is of course more your task. Although I will constantly tug at you here too.

And the top one to use use).

It's all here. Keep this in mind.

Now I answer the question. His is used for the Russian “him” when it answers the question “whose?” Whose? Whose? Whose car? His. Whose house? His. Then it's his.

And when you need to say “Who should I call?” “Call him.” Call him. It's already him . That is, who are we talking about? About him. About him, that is. This is him. And just like that she [ʃi] And all the rest.

Good advice to you. Exactly the same as what was just said about family [ˈfæməli]. At home, take a piece of paper and redraw this table and hang it in front of your eyes. And if you want to do yourself good, make it very small and put it in some of your notes that you go to work with. And there was a second free, they opened it and looked. On the bus, in the car, in the office, in the cafeteria, anywhere.

Write down one phrase that the bourgeoisie use, and which we were very badly spoiled at one time. They cut it off and started playing on it, and we ate it up because we didn’t know where the wind was blowing. The phrase is: “Time is money [ˈtaɪm ɪz ˈmʌni] – time is money". And our people put an end to it and say: “Bastards, they measure everything with money. And love, and friendship, and even time.” And they did it very correctly, only here, where ours put a period, they put a comma and put a dash. And they gave us very kind advice to everyone: “Time is money, - don’t waste the time [ˈtaɪm ɪz ˈmʌni dəʊnt weɪst ðə ˈtaɪm]" To translate this second part….

I'll kill her. Do you know how to say “fly” in English? Fly . Where? From the verb "to fly". They have very figurative language. What is a “fly”? Where did this “mu-ha” come from? Where is its semantics? And they have fly, and everything is closed, it really flies. By the way, from here they then go further. Who is dragonfly [ˈdræɡənflaɪ] – dragon fly"? Dragonfly. Because it’s really long, and has long wings, and also looks like a dragon. Logic, logic and more logic.

So here it is. To translate this here – don’t waste the time need to pay attention [əˈtenʃn̩] here's the word. It's the key here. The word waste works both as a noun and as a verb. And in our first lesson last time, we said that there is a great phenomenon on which the entire English language is based. What is this phenomenon? What did we call it in Russian? Conversion. So this is a conversion word. When it works as a noun, it is "garbage". Waste-bin [ˈweɪstbɪn] bin. But here it works as a verb, and it will be translated into Russian... Well, formally, “to litter.” And you can leave it that way. That is, “don’t waste time.” In other words, “don’t waste time because it’s money.” This means that “wasting time” is the same as “throwing money away.” But they also translate this verb word differently. Waste - to waste something. I see, right? Moreover, the Russians had to add two words at once. They have only one waste, and we are forced to spin.

(Art.) So what will be the translation?

(P.) And it will turn out like this. "Time is money. Don't waste your time." And from here we will now write down a law for ourselves, which will be law number one for us: “Use your every free minute to improve your English [ˈju:z jɔ: ˈevri fri:ˈmɪnɪttu ɪmˈpru:v jɔ: ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ]“Use every free minute you have to improve your English.” Please note free - free. I said this in the last lesson. No need to get divorced, no need to quit your job. Everything can be combined within one day. Can. If you wish.

Yesterday a girl and her mother came to be tested. The girl is probably 18 years old. Mom says: “I want to give you the girl. Please teach." I started asking the girl, a complete lack of presence. Complete. Mom says: “Well, how could you? So many years! In general, a standard conversation. I say: “Mom, don’t scold the girl. It's not her fault. It’s her misfortune that she ended up in the wrong place and in the wrong place. But you want to teach her, you want her to do well? Walk with her alone." She says: “What, will you teach me too?” I tell her: “But my oldest age was 72 years old. You’re not 72, are you?”

So every free [ˈevri fri:]- every free one. By the way, the word free makes Americans shudder every time. I'll explain why. This word is inscribed on Martin Luther King's gravestone. Moreover, it was repeated there four times. There is such a stone and on it is written, in my opinion even in a column, I don’t remember exactly: “Free, free, free - free, free, free." And further: “Thank my Lord, I am free at last [θæŋk maɪ lɔ:d ˈaɪ əm fri: ət lɑ:st]“Thank my Lord, I am finally free.” Can you imagine what words were found? Their words often make them flinch. They reveal the essence of the words so much that sometimes you feel uneasy.

Look, the Russians often say “make a deal with your own conscience.” But tell me honestly, between us girls, does this scare us? By and large, no. Conscience is ours. It's like our conscience. Do you know how an American or an Englishman would say the same thing? "To make a deal with the devil [ tu ˈ meɪ k ə di: l wɪð ˈ devl̩] “make a deal with the devil.” And this is already dangerous. And that keeps people going.

(Art.) How possible are monosyllabic answers to questions in English? Let’s say the question “Is this his?” Just answer him that's all? Is this enough to answer the question or not?

(P.) Just not him, but his . That is, did I understand you correctly, girl, that you want to know whether it is possible to speak English as briefly as Russian?

(P.) It’s possible. The English language is much shorter, even sometimes shorter, than Russian. Remember the famous film "The Magnificent Seven". These two shaven-headed freedom fighters are galloping and one asks the other: “Where are you from?” Where are you from?". He is silent, silent, then says “From there “From there.” Then they jump and jump again and this one asks: “You? - And you?". Like this.

But I want to tell you right away. We will talk about this too. We will talk about these tricks. However, our main goal is to take very high quality English in the form of classics. Because if you know the classics, you can always go into slang and return to the classics. Do you understand? She is like an unsinkable raft. What if we now start focusing only on slang? Well, under the fence, under the bridge, they will understand you. And if you come to a company with slang, they will look at you in such a way that it would be better for you not to go there. Also checked. Not to mention all kinds of tests. Each of you will someday, one way or another, pass this test.

Today a guy was supposed to come, I don’t know why he didn’t come. He studied with me and quit. Didn't finish my studies. And yesterday or the day before yesterday he calls and says: “Alexander, I need to take a test in three weeks.” I say: “Well, I congratulate you.” Him: “Pull me up.” I say: "Goodbye." To tighten it up in three weeks is such hemorrhoids.

Don't need these tricks. Do everything in advance. After all, what is the only fundamental difference between English and, roughly speaking, a piece of bread? How? Only one. Both are needed. But if you need bread tomorrow, you won’t go buy it today. Right? He will be callous. For what? In the morning the store opened at eight, I went and bought it. And if you need English tomorrow, you need to prepare it not tomorrow, and not even today, but five months ago. In advance. And then everything falls into place. This is a very serious moment.

Attention. We'll go eat and drink now. And as you and I agreed, today we are walking. Today we have congratulations to English. This means there is wine there, and our standard food is there. Request. You need to drink wine. Because under no circumstances should he be left here. Clear? Let's drink it. Let's drink it so that we can learn English. Let's go.

Pronouns (Pronoun)

A pronoun is a part of speech that replaces or describes other parts of speech. There are a huge number of pronouns in the English language. They can be divided into the following groups:

Now let's look at each group of pronouns:

  1. Personal pronouns. This is the most common group of pronouns and appears in almost every sentence of the English language, so try to learn them so that they come to mind. Personal pronouns are divided into two cases: nominative and objective.
  2. A pronoun in the nominative case replaces the subject in a sentence, and in the objective case it replaces the object. Let's look at the personal pronouns in the table:

them [ðem] - to them, theirs

Where is l. - face; units h. - singular; pl. h. - plural.

I must go to you.- I have to go to you.
We should sleep every night.- We must sleep every night.
Did you see them?-Have you seen them?
You were there.- You were there.
He can work with her.- He can work with her.
She is having breakfast.- She is having a breakfast.
It is the gold coin.- This is a gold coin.
They left us.- They left us.

Personal pronouns in English have a number of features:

  • Personal pronoun I always begins with a capital letter, regardless of place in the sentence:
  • May I come in?- May I come in?

    Personal pronoun you used in singular and plural. In this case, the verb to be is always used in the plural, even if you stands in the singular in a sentence:

    You are beautiful.- You are beautiful.

    If there are several personal pronouns in a sentence, then their order is as follows - 2 l. and 3 l. placed before 1 l., 2 l. placed before 3 l. in any cases (remember that pronouns always replace other parts of speech, so if instead of a pronoun there is a noun, then the word order is determined by the same rule):

    You and your brother should do the homework.- You and your brother must do your homework.
    He asked father and me.- He asked his father and me.

    The objective case of personal pronouns can be in the genitive (whom?, what?), dative (to whom?, what?), instrumental (by whom?, what?) and prepositional (about whom, about what) cases, examples:

    I did it for her.- I did it for her. (for whom?)
    She gave me an apple.- She gave me an apple. (to whom?)
    It was bought by us.- It was bought by us. (by whom?)
    The bird cared about them.- The bird took care of them. (about whom?)

    A peculiarity of the English language is that the division by gender in speech is expressed only with people. In other cases the personal pronoun is used It. It is placed in place of inanimate objects, animals or children. This greatly simplifies the process of learning a language, since we do not need to learn what kind of this or that noun in order to replace it with the corresponding pronoun, as we do in Russian. However, if we want to emphasize the gender of some phenomenon, animal, it is allowed to use pronouns he And she. Also pronoun It can be used as a formal subject (when there is no subject in the Russian translation - see general information about the sentence), examples:

    I took a pen. It is black- I took the pen. She's black.
    It is hot now.- It is hot now.

Possessive pronouns. They indicate that a noun belongs to an object or subject. Typically corresponds to the personal pronoun in a sentence. There are basic and absolute forms.

Basic form A possessive pronoun stands in a sentence together with a noun and characterizes its belonging.

Absolute form replaces a noun in a sentence, but it is implied that the noun has been previously spoken about. This allows you to get rid of unnecessary repetition of the same word in the text.

Please note that the possessive pronoun is used much more often in English than in Russian. In English, if we talk about parts of the body, items of clothing, personal belongings, then a possessive pronoun is required, although in Russian it is usually omitted:

He waves his hand.- He waves his hand.

Let's look at possessive pronouns:

mine
my you
your
yours
is yours he
his
his
his she
her
hers
her it
its
its
his her you plural h.
your
yours
your we
our
ours
our they
their [ðeə(r)]
theirs [ðeəz]
their

Basic form examples:

I gave you my pen.- I gave you my pen.
You can go with your friend.- You can go with your friend.
It was his phone.- It was his phone.
We came to her mother.- We came to her mother.
The dog gives me its paw.- The dog gives me his paw.
They can't do our work.- They can't do our job.
They left me their child.- They left me their child.

Examples of absolute form:

This is her car. Mine is broken.- This is her car. Mine is broken.
Your table is dirty. Ours is cleaner.- Your table is dirty. Our table is cleaner.
I forgot my pencil. Can you give me yours?- I forgot my pencil. Can you give me yours?

Sentences with other possessive pronouns are constructed similarly. And also, if there is an adjective before the noun, then the possessive pronoun is placed before the adjective:

I like your red coat.- I like your red coat

Possessive pronoun its often confused with the combination it "s - the short form it is (I am). Its surface was damaged.- Its surface was damaged.
It is its hair.- this is her hair.

You need to look at the place in the sentence and the words nearby.

Also, reflexive pronouns act as determiners of nouns, so the use of articles with them is not allowed.

Reflexive pronouns. They show that the subject directs the action towards itself and is translated into Russian as an addition to the ending of the verb -sya (-s) or the pronoun itself, sebe, sam... . Each reflexive pronoun has a corresponding personal pronoun. All of them are shown in the table:

You hit yourself.
- You hit yourself.
he It happened by itself.
- It happened on its own.
you (plural) They will introduce themselves tomorrow.
- They will introduce themselves tomorrow.

However, when using reflexive pronouns you need to remember a number of rules:

    Instead of a personal pronoun, there can be a corresponding noun:

    My dog ​​opened a door itself.- My dog ​​opened the door itself.

    Reflexive pronouns are not used with verbs, which themselves imply that the action is directed towards oneself, or towards each other. These include wash, bath, feel, shave, dress, undress, change, relax, hide:

    She felt bad (you can’t say felt herself).- She felt bad.
    They kissed at street.- They kissed on the street.

    Reflexive pronouns cannot be used with prepositions of place. Since the personal pronoun in the objective case can also be translated itself, to itself, confusion may arise. In order not to be confused about which pronoun to put (reflexive or personal pronoun in the objective case), use the rule: if in the Russian translation of a sentence you can put “sam”, then the reflexive pronoun is used, otherwise the personal pronoun in the objective case is used:

    She spent all the money herself.- She spent all the money herself.
    She put an ambrella in front of her.- She put the umbrella in front of her (you can’t tell in front).

Interrogative pronouns (words). Also a very common type of pronouns that is used in interrogative sentences. Let's look at the main ones:

What do you do? What are you doing? When could this happen? When could this happen? Why do we work here? Why do we work here?
how - how
How is it possible? How is this possible?

In general, English question words correspond to Russian ones, but there are a number of features:

    Interrogative pronoun who acts as a subject, and is used when asking questions about people.

    Who runs with him? -Who is running with him?

    Although the interrogative pronoun who has an objective case whom - whom, but increasingly fulfills this role itself in a sentence:

    Who (whom) did they invite to us? - Who did they invite to us?

    Pronoun which used in interrogative sentences when a choice from a limited number of items is offered:

    Which lock of these three do you prefer? - Which castle of these three do you prefer?

    But if we were talking about an unlimited number of locks of all types, the pronoun would be used what:

    What lock do you prefer? - Which castle of these three do you prefer?

Relative pronouns. These pronouns are used in complex sentences and belong to subordinate clauses. Most of them also apply to interrogative pronouns. Unlike conjunctions, they act in a subordinate clause as a member of the sentence (usually the subject). Let's look at the basic relative pronouns:

    Who- who, which. Used in sentences with animate objects - people: I saw the gardener who planted this tree. - I saw the gardener who planted this tree.

    Whose- which (whose)

    Indicates that an item belongs to some object:

    We know a man whose spoon you took.- We know the person whose spoon you took.

    Which- which. Applies to inanimate objects or animals:

    Parents knocked the door which was closed.- The parents knocked on the door, which was closed.

    That[ðæt] - which

    Replaces previous pronouns who And which, and can refer to both animate and inanimate objects:

    This was the writer that can"t finish his last book.- This was a writer who could not finish his last book.
    Mother bought the new knives that were very sharp.- Mom bought new knives, which were very sharp.

Demonstrative pronouns. Point to an object or person. Basic demonstrative pronouns:

those [ðəʊz] - those

Demonstrative pronouns denote remoteness not only in distance, but also in time. In a sentence they can be as the following members of the sentence:

    Subject:

    This is my ball.- This is my ball.
    Those were their friends.- These were their friends (Although this is translated, it means that the friends are in a different place).

    Noun determiner:

    These cars are very beautiful.- These cars are very beautiful.
    I like that place.- I like that place.

    Addition:

    Remember this!- Remember this!
    A doctor chose these. - The doctor chose these.

Please note that if the noun is preceded by a demonstrative pronoun in the form of a determiner, then there is no need to use the article, since the pronoun itself acts as an article.

Two more pronouns can be classified as demonstrative pronouns:

such - such
the same - the same

For example:

Such a big room looks nice.- Such a big room looks good.
It happened at the same time.- It happened at the same time.

Quantitative pronouns.

The most famous of this group are two quantitative pronouns, which can come before any noun in almost any situation: some

AND any["eni]. Therefore, if it is difficult to choose a determiner for a noun, you can always use one of these pronouns. They denote the quality or quantity of an object. Moreover, the pronoun some usually used in affirmative sentences, and the pronoun any in negative or interrogative sentences:
I have some question.- I have a question (some question).
I don't have any questions.- I don't have any questions.
Do you have any questions?- Do you have any questions?
Some boy calls you.- Some guy is calling you (quality).

Often when translated into Russian they are omitted as articles:

Some stranger asked you.- The stranger asked you.

There are a number of features with these pronouns:

    In questions of requests, the pronoun is used some:

    Will you give us some water?-Will you give us some water?

    If the pronoun some stands before the numeral, then it is translated about, approximately:

    Some twenty time he went past her.- He walked past her about twenty times.

    Pronouns some And any before the preposition of is translated as some, any:

    Some of them can go away.- Some of them may leave.
    Did you see any of us there?- Did you see any of us there?

    Pronoun any translated in affirmative sentences - any:

    You can arrive there by any car.- You can come there in any car.

The remaining quantitative pronouns have similar qualities, so let’s summarize them in one table:

PronounCondition of useExamples
a lot of [ə lɒt ɒv] - a lotIn affirmative sentences before countable and uncountable nouns She has a lot of problems.- She has a lot of problems.
Workers brought a lot of coal.- The workers brought a lot of coal.
many ["meni] - a lotIn interrogative and negative sentences before countable nouns Do you have many pairs of shoes?- Do you have a lot of shoes?
There weren't many trees in the park.- There weren't many trees in the park.
much - a lotIn interrogative and negative sentences before uncountable nouns Does he have much water?- Does he have a lot of water?
They don't have much time.- They don't have much time.
few - fewIn sentences before countable nouns He gives few coins.- He gives few coins.
little ["litl] - littleIn sentences before uncountable nouns A plane has little fuel.- The plane has little fuel.
a little [ə "litl] - a little There is a little tea in the cup.- There is some tea in the mug.
a few [ə fju:] - a little I want a few new t-shirt.- I want some new T-shirts.

Often these pronouns are classified as adverbs, since they are translated into Russian by adverbs, and one cannot say that this would be a mistake (look at the formation of degrees of comparison of adverbs).

And there is another quantitative pronoun that determines nouns: several["sevrəl] - several

: Several new students took wrong books.- Several new students took the wrong books.

Indefinite and negative pronouns. This is the largest group of pronouns in the English language.

Look at the negative pronoun first no

Which is involved in the formation of other negative pronouns. It comes before a noun and denotes the absence of something categorically (that is, this issue is not discussed further):

I saw no children.- I haven’t seen any children.
A cat has no toys.- The cat has no toys.

    To form indefinite and negative pronouns, they are used some, any And no. We must remember that in English there cannot be a double negative, that is, if in Russian we can say: Nobody can help me in English this sentence will contain only one negation: Nobody can help me or Anybody can"t help me. Also derivatives formed from particles -one And -body, mean the same thing. For clarity, consider these pronouns in one table:


    I cooked something for you. -
    I have prepared something for you.
    Did the professor ask you anything? -
    Did the professor ask you anything?
    Somebody will come here. -
    Someone will come here.
    I don't see anyone. -
    I don't see anyone.
    He is somewhere over there. -
    He's out there somewhere.
    Did we meet anywhere else? -
    Have we met somewhere else?

    Pronouns each- every

    AND every["evri] - although each has a similar meaning, they still differ in meaning:

    Pronoun each selects an object from a group (therefore only used with countable nouns):

    Each forester could do it differently.- Each forester could do this differently (each of the foresters separately).

    Pronoun every in general whole value (all):

    Every forester likes a forest.- Every forester loves the forest (all foresters).

    Derivatives from every- (every):

      everything["evriθiŋ] - everything

      For better remembering, let's break the pronoun into two words: every - every and thing - thing. And if you add up both parts of the Russian translation: each + thing = everything, example:

      I know everything about him.- I know everything about him. Everything will start here.- It all starts here.

      everybody["evribɒdi] - everything

      To remember, we will resort to the same method: every - each and body - body. And if you add up both parts of the Russian translation: each + body = everything, example:

      Our teacher said to do this exercise to everyone.- Our teacher told everyone to do this exercise. Everybody likes ice-cream.- Everyone loves ice cream.

      everywhere["evriweə(r)] - everywhere

      : There were pencils everywhere.- There were pencils everywhere. It was dangerous everywhere.- It was dangerous everywhere.

      Please note that all these pronouns correspond to 3l. units h. (from the word each), so the verb after them takes the appropriate form.

    Pronoun one applies:

      In the form of an indefinite personal pronoun and usually not translated into Russian:

      One must not smoke here.- You can't smoke here.
      One never can go faster this area.- No one can go faster in this area.

      As a substitute word, to avoid unnecessary repetition of a word in a sentence:

      I buy new book. This is one more interesting.- I'm buying a new book. This book is more interesting.

    Pronouns other["ʌðə(r)] - another, one more

    , another[ə"nʌðə(r)] - different.

    Other comes before a noun and indicates that the noun is definite, but not the one mentioned earlier in the sentence:

    I took this glass and you take the other glass on the table.- I took this glass, and you take another glass on the table. (There were 2 glasses on the table, I took one, and you take the second glass)

    That is, the pronoun other used if selected from a certain number of specific items. If the other item is unknown, then before other the indefinite article an is placed and the pronoun takes the form another:

    I took this glass and you take another glass.- I took this glass, and you take another glass.

    This means any other glass. But if the noun is plural, then the pronoun is always used other:

    Give me other glasses.- Give me other glasses.

    In the case when the pronoun stands without a noun, the noun itself is put in the plural:

    These are my glasses. You can take others.- These are my glasses. You can take others.
  • Pronoun both- both, both

    : I like both colors.- I like both colors.
    They are both twenty years old.- They are both 20 years old.
  • Reciprocal pronouns. This group includes two pronouns:

    each other each other, one to another
    one another each other, one to another

    These pronouns mean the same thing, and in principle they can be interchangeable in a sentence:

    We love each other.- We love each other. Parents didn't see one another for a long time.- The parents did not see each other for a long time.

The use of pronouns in speech allows you to avoid tautologies and replace proper nouns. It is pronouns that are an integral part of any statement, since they replace names and (nominative case). As for object pronouns in English, they have a number of functions that need to be considered.

Case of personal pronouns in English

In English there are only two subtypes of personal pronouns - subject (nominative case) and objective (objective case). They have a number of differences and functions in the language. The first answer the questions: who?, what? And the objective case of personal pronouns in English will answer the questions of indirect cases of the Russian language, namely: whom? to whom? by whom? about whom? This makes learning English grammar a little easier compared to Russian.

It is necessary to clearly distinguish between both forms of pronouns in order to be able to use them correctly in sentences. Therefore, we need to consider them in comparison.

Objective case

As can be seen from the table, each objective pronoun in English refers to the corresponding form of the subject. The pronoun me refers to the first person singular and is translated: me, me, me, about me. For example, tell me - tell me. In the plural, the pronoun we changes to us [ʌs] - us, us, us. For example, in the sentence: Let us come in - let us enter.

The second person pronoun you cannot be changed - you, you, and takes on other meanings: you, you, you, you, you, you. For example, I will call you later - I will call you later.

When talking about third parties, you need to use: him - to him, his, by him; her - to her, by her, her; it - his, her, him, her, them, her. For example, I am with him - I am with him; he loves her - he loves her; you have a paint, use it - you have paint, use it. It should be noted that the possessive pronoun her - her, absolutely coincides with the objective pronoun, so you need to be careful about its use in speech. The pronoun them [ðəm] does not change either in pronunciation or in spelling: Let’s go with them - let’s go with them.

Place of object pronouns in a sentence

Only having thoroughly mastered personal pronouns in the nominative case can you move on to becoming familiar with the objective case. In English, their use in sentences has a slightly different connotation, and it is not always clear how to correctly translate a phrase with such pronouns. That is why you need to clearly know their place in the sentence.

Unlike the first group, the second pronouns do not act as subjects, but are the complement of the predicate. Therefore, they usually come after the verb: they don’t want to know us - they don’t want to know us. But there are cases when object pronouns act as a predicate, for example: It's me.

They often appear in questions: Can you help me? - Can you help me? Comparisons also use object pronouns, for example: My brother is older than me.

Several object pronouns in one sentence are not uncommon in English. This is typical for more complex constructions of expressions: he asked me to take her with us - he asked me to take her with us.

There are verbs after which you must use a preposition with an object. Such verbs include: to agree, to look, to listen, to wait, etc. For example, will you listen to me? - Will you listen to me? In such cases, prepositions are used before pronouns: at, with, to, for, of, etc.

The following video will help you better understand the use of certain prepositions before object pronouns. Those who are just starting to learn English should focus their attention on their pronunciation.

Exercises

The use of pronouns must be learned at the level of automaticity. To do this, you need to practice your skills using different exercises. You should start with simple exercises to practice object pronouns in English.

Exercise 1. Replace these nouns with pronouns in the objective case.

Mother, table, Sam, book, cat, boy, children, flower, snow, friend, I and my father.

Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks with pronouns in the objective case.

  1. Why are you looking at that poster? Do you like ___?
  2. The girl is singing. Please listen to ___!
  3. Dan asked you on date? Will you go with ___?
  4. Neighbors are having a party. Go and tell ___ to the music down.
  5. We are going to the picnic on Saturday. Will you go with ___?
  6. I'm very angry! Listen to ___!
  7. You are mad. I’m not going anywhere with ___!

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with object pronouns.

In order to clearly understand the rules for using personal pronouns in English, you should practice them in parallel in exercises. For example:

The correct and appropriate use of personal pronouns in speech indicates its rather high level, since they are part of such complex grammatical constructions as: complex object and complex subject.

When starting to study pronouns, you should immediately sort out everything about object pronouns in English “on the shelves”. In this case, further language acquisition will proceed without significant difficulties.