The pronoun

The pronoun is a part of speech, which points out objects & their qualities without naming them.

POSSESSIVE and PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns

1. Before verbs as subject: I You He She It We You They

2. After verbs as object: me you him her it us you them

Possessive pronouns

1. Followed by nouns: My Your His Her Its Our Your Their

2. Not followed by nouns: mine yours his hers its ours yours theirs

EXERCISES

Ex. 1. Fill in the blanks with personal pronouns.

1. I see a teacher, I see … . 2. Please, read this letter, read … . 3. I know the boy, I know … . 4. I’m glad to meet both Tom and Ann, I’m glad to meet … . 5. Give me the book, give … to me. 6. I don’t like Ann’s brother, I don’t like … . 7. This task was given to you and to me, it was given to … . 8. This is my watch. … bought … yesterday. 9. She didn’t come. What happened to …? 10. Do you have a new dress? Show … to …! 11. I’d like to have some biscuits. Can you pass … to …? 12. She needs the money. Give … to … . 13. We are worried about you. Tell … what is happening. 14. Sue seldom visits her parents. … often phones … . 15. Kevin and Bess have bought a washing machine. … are proud of … .

Ex. 2. Answer the questions, using “my–mine”, etc.

Model: This book belongs to me. – This is my book. The book is mine.

1. Do these shoes belong to your husband? 2. Will this new flat belong to them? 3. This umbrella doesn’t belong to you, does it? 4. These books belong to us, don’t they? 5. Do these things belong to him or to her?

Ex. 3. Use the absolute form of the possessive pronoun in brackets.

1. The pleasure was all (my). 2. Our house is in that street. (His) is round the corner. 3. It was thought no fault of (her). 4. You can very well do without my help but not without (their). 5. Her handbag is on the chair. (My) is on the sofa. 6. (Our) was the last turn.

Ex. 4. Fill in the blanks with missing possessive pronouns.

1. This doesn’t look like … book, it must be … . 2. Tell him not to forget … tickets, she mustn’t forget … either. 3. Tell me, isn’t that … girl-friend over there? 4. I see that he has lost … pencil, perhaps you can lend him … . 5. He has come to see me, … father and … are school friends. 6. This is … work, I did it without any help at all.

Ex. 5. Use personal or possessive pronouns.

1. These girls are here, … came early. 2. When Roger saw Ann … spoke to …. 3. The boss left an hour ago. I didn’t see …. 4. Sam met Ann at the entrance, … showed … the pictures. 5. The Browns have moved into a new flat. … gave … … new address, so I can visit …. 6. Jane is … sister. … is older than …. 7. Thank … for the book … gave …, … is very interesting. 8. … flat is on the third floor, … windows face the sea. 9. I invite … to the party at … place. … hope … will bring … husband with …. 10. … like to visit … friends who live not far from … house. 11. Mary & … cousin are spending … holidays in Brighton … have both visited before. 12. Bill takes … guitar lesson on Monday. … is the only day … is free after college. 13. I am happy that … cat found … kitten.

Ex. 6. Write sentences with the correct pronouns.

1. I like … flat but … is nicer. (we, you) 2. … friends came to the party & … two sisters were there too. (they, she) 3. I enjoy … job but he doesn’t. He wants to change …. (I, he) 4. … new TV-set is better than …. (you, I) 5. … parents live in Brighton but … lives in London. (he, she) 6. I want to change … computer. I’d like to buy one like …. (I, you) 7. Is it … book? – No, it is …. (he, I) 8. They know … address, but I don’t know …. (I, they) 9. … flat is larger than …. (we, they) 10. It’s … dictionary, but not …. (I, he) 11. … test is much more difficult than …. (we, they) 12. These books are …, but this dictionary is …. (she, we) 13. It’s … problem, not …. (they, we) 14. Is that … bag? – No, it’s …. (she, I) 15. I gave her … address & she gave me …. (I, she)

Ex. 7. Put in a suitable pronoun.

1. The final decision is (me, my, mine). 2. It seems to (me, my, mine) he is right. 3. She told me of a friend of (she, her, hers) who was not reliable. 4. We were rather disappointed in (him, he, his). 5. Speak for yourself! It’s not business of (you, your, yours). 6. They are highly qualified. It’s difficult to choose between (them, they, their). 7. I don’t know about you, but (my, mine) opinion is that he is a reliable man. 8. I’m sure if I asked (he, him, his), he wouldn’t object to help. 9. We went on holiday with some friends of (our, ours). 10. That’s a good idea, but (he, his, him) is better. 11. (my, mine) room is larger, but (her, hers) is nicer. 12. Do you think that most people are happy in (they, their, theirs) jobs? 13. That’s not (my, mine) umbrella. (my, mine) is yellow. 14. The company has offices in many places but (it, its) head office is in Paris. 15. (mine, my) favourite sport is tennis. I play a lot in summer.

Ex. 8. Choose the correct form of the pronouns in brackets.

1. It may be (our, ours) dictionaries. 2. He has not read a line of (your, yours). How can he criticize (your, yours) poems? 3. His composition is much more interesting than (your, yours) or (my, mine). 4. (Their, theirs) knowledge of the subject is not much superior to (our, ours). 5. I’m afraid they will take (her, hers) advice not (your, yours). 6. All (our, ours) clothes were extremely dirty, and (my, mine) especially so. 7. Will you help me to sort out the things? I cannot tell which are (your, yours) and which are (my, mine). 8. This is (your, yours) notebook, but where is (my, mine)? 9. She got to (her, hers) feet and took (his, him) hand. 10. (Your, yours) nerves are as bad as (my, mine).

Ex. 9. Use the appropriate form of pronouns in the following sentences.

1. He patted Jack heartily on (he) shoulder. 2. He put (he) hand in (she). 3. “This foolish wife of (I) thinks I’m a great artist,” said he. 4. (They) say there’s been a great earthquake in the Pacific. 5. Then he stopped and pointed and said: “Those are peas.” I said, “We’ve got some peas, too.” “I expect (you) are bigger than (our),” he said politely. 6. Don’t show this letter to (you) brother. 7. There’s a ghastly article of (he) in the evening’s paper. 8. She folded the letter and replaced it in (it) envelope. 9. The children had had (they) tea. Kate was late for (she) as usual, Mary and Paul were having (they). 10. This demand of (they) is quite ridiculous.

Ex. 10. Translate into English, paying attention to the italicized words.

1. Машина мистера Брауна в гараже, а наша напротив дома. 2. Вчера они взяли наши журналы и оставили нам свои. 3. Этот чемодан не мой, это их. 4. Ее родители живут в центре города, а его – на окраине. 5. Я знаю ваш адрес, но я не знаю их адрес. 6. Это мое мнение, я вижу, оно отличается от твоего. 7. Это ваша записная книжка, а это его, но где же моя? 8. Она протянула руку (put out) и взяла мою. 9. Результаты показали, что наш план был более правильным, чем их. 10. Построена новая дорога; ее длина более тысячи километров. 11. Я предпочитаю Крым Кавказу из-за его более сухого климата. 12. Где твоя фотография? – Она в альбоме.