Pronoun | English Grammar for Class 6 PDF Download

What are Pronouns?

When we speak or write, we often use different words instead of repeating the same noun. These words are called pronouns. 

Pronouns are used to replace nouns and help avoid repetition.

1. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are words used to replace specific people or things in a sentence. 

• They help us avoid repeating nouns. 
• Personal pronouns are categorized into three types based on who they refer to:

(a) The First Person: These pronouns refer to the person or people speaking.

• Singular: I, me, mine
  Example: I am going to the store. This book is mine.
• Plural: We, us, ours
  Example: We are planning a trip. The decision is ours.

(b) The Second Person: These pronouns refer to the person or people being spoken to.

• Example: You, yours
• You are invited to the party. Is this book yours?

(c) The Third Person: These pronouns refer to the person or thing being spoken about.

Singular:

• He: Refers to a male person.
  Example: He is reading a book.
• She: Refers to a female person.
  Example: She likes to swim.
• It: Refers to an object, animal, or idea.
  Example: It is raining outside.
• Him: Object form of "he."
  Example: I saw him at the park.
• Her: Object form of "she."
  Example: I gave her a gift.
• His: Possessive form of "he."
  Example: This is his car.
• Her: Possessive form of "she."
  Example: Her house is beautiful.

Plural:

• They: Refers to multiple people or things.
  Example: They are going to the concert.
• Them: Object form of "they."
  Example: I met them yesterday.
• Their: Possessive form of "they."
  Example: Their house is on the corner.
• Theirs: Possessive pronoun indicating something belongs to them.
  Example: The books are theirs.

These personal pronouns help us clearly indicate who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and who or what is being discussed.

2. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are words that show ownership or possession. They replace nouns to avoid repeating the same noun in a sentence. 

Here are the common possessive pronouns:

• My (shows that something belongs to the speaker)
  Example: This book is mine.
• Your (shows that something belongs to the person you are talking to)
  Example: That bag is yours.
• His (shows that something belongs to a male person)
  Example: That bag is his.
• Her (shows that something belongs to a female person)
  Example: That pencil is hers.
• Its (shows that something belongs to an animal or an object)
  Example: The cat is playing with its toy.
• Our (shows that something belongs to the speaker and others)
  Example: This house is ours.
• Their (shows that something belongs to a group of people or things)
  Example: The toys are theirs.

3. Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of the verb are the same person or persons. They indicate that the action of the verb is performed by the subject upon itself. 

• Myself (I)
  Example: I made the cake myself.
• Yourself (you, singular)
  Example: Did you hurt yourself?
• Himself (he)
  Example: He dressed himself.
• Herself (she)
  Example: She taught herself to play the piano.
• Itself (it)
  Example: The cat washed itself.
• Ourselves (we)
  Example: We enjoyed ourselves at the party.
• Yourselves (you, plural)
  Example: Enjoy yourselves, boys.
• Themselves (they)
  Example: They laughed at themselves.

4. Emphatic Pronouns

Emphatic pronouns are used to emphasize the subject of a sentence by highlighting who is performing the action. They are used alongside nouns or pronouns for added emphasis. 

• The mother herself visited the school.
• We ourselves served the guests.
• The town itself is not very large.
• They themselves went there.

5. Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point out specific objects or people and indicate their position relative to the speaker.

• This (singular, near)
  Example: This is a present from my brother.
• These (plural, near)
  Example: These are her books.
• That (singular, distant)
  Example: That is my bike.
• Those (plural, distant)
  Example: Those are your books.

Using these pronouns helps clarify which specific objects or people are being referred to in a sentence.

6. Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. They help gather information about people or things.

The main interrogative pronouns are:

• Who (asks about people)
  Example: Who is coming to the party?
• Which (asks about a specific choice from a group)
  Example: Which book do you want to borrow?
• What (asks about things or information)
  Example: What are you doing?

Objective Case of 'Who': Whom?

When "who" is used as the object of a verb or preposition, it changes to "whom":

• Whom (object of a verb or preposition)
  Example: Whom did you see at the store?

Possessive Case of 'Who': Whose?

When asking about possession, "who" changes to "whose":

• Whose (shows ownership)
  Example: Whose bag is this?

7. Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns link clauses or sentences and refer to nouns coming before them.

The common relative pronouns are:

• Who (refers to people)
  Example: The teacher who helped me is very kind.
• Whom (refers to people, used in formal contexts)
  Example: The person whom you met is my friend.
• Whose (shows possession)
  Example: The student whose book was lost found it.
• Which (refers to animals or things)
  Example: The book which you lent me was interesting.
• That (refers to people, animals, or things)
  Example: The house that we visited was beautiful.

8. Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things in a general way, without specifying exact identities.

• Some (refers to an unspecified amount or number)
  Example: Some of the cookies are missing.
• Few (refers to a small number, but not none)
  Example: Few escaped unhurt.
• Many (refers to a large number)
  Example: Many of these eggs are rotten.
• All (refers to the entire amount or number)
  Example: All are not sick.
• One (refers to a single item or person)
  Example: One of the books is missing.
• None (refers to not any)
  Example: None of these apples is ripe.