TYPICAL ERROR
CORRECTION
EXPLANATION
Find the pronoun in each of the following sentences and (using the table as a guide) identify what sort of pronoun it is, e.g. reflexive, demonstrative etc. Type your answer in the box. (The objective here is not that you should necessarily remember all the names of the different types but that you should get a good sense of the range of pronouns.)
| Personal pronouns | I, you, he, she, it, we, they, ze, you, her, him, it, them, us | Subject pronouns (She has arrived.) Object pronouns (We heard from her) |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite pronouns | all, any, anyone, anything, another, one, no one (= none), nobody, each, either, neither, both, some, several, much, many, few, everyone, everybody, everything | These can act as subject pronouns (Anyone could do it) or as object pronouns (Have you told anyone?) |
| Possessive pronouns | my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, our, ours, its, their, theirs (The book is mine) |
It may be easier to see the possessive relationship if, for example, you think of 'The book is mine as 'The book is my book |
| Demonstrative pronouns | this, that, these, those | These can act as subject pronouns (This is our stop) or as object pronouns (I would like that) |
| Interrogative pronouns | who, whom, what, which, whose | Interrogating is questioning (Who could have done this?) |
| Reflexive pronouns | myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves | Yourself 'reflects' back to you (You should go yourself.) |
| Reciprocal pronouns | each other, one another | re = back; pro = forward (back and forth) (We gave each other a hug.) |
| Relative pronouns | which, that, who, whom, whose, where | These attach clauses. (That is the house where I grew up.) |
| Compound pronouns | whoever, whatever, whichever, whosoever, whatsoever, whichsoever | These act as indefinite, relative or interrogative pronouns (and adverbs). (Choose whichever you like best.) |
| Archaic personal pronouns | thou, ye, thee, thy, thine, thyself | Old fashioned, poetic, Shakespearean, biblical (To thine own self be true.) (If ye love me, keep my commandments.) |