Relative pronouns in English. Relative Pronouns in English

Hey! Today's article is about English pronouns. Oh, the confusion: “my” and “mine”, “something” and “anything”, “few” and “little”. Today we will finally understand all the groups of pronouns in the English language, their differences and subtleties of use. Let's go!

Pronoun in English(pronoun) - part of speech that denotes, but does not directly name objects, people, their properties and relationships. Thus, pronouns only address us to a previously mentioned object or person.

Mary asked John a question. He answered her. - Mary asked John a question. He(John) replied to her(Mary).

Use of pronouns in English

In a sentence, a pronoun can be a subject (I, you, he, she, it, we, they), an object (me, you, whom, her, him, it, us, them) or a determiner (my, his, her, your, our, their, its).

We met John at the station. - We met John at the station.
John asked me to cook dinner. - John asked me cook dinner.
Her brother came yesterday. - Her brother arrived yesterday.

Pronoun structure

According to their structure, English pronouns are:

• Simple(consist of one syllable: I, all, some, that, this, we, she, they)
• Composite(from several morphemes: myself, nothing, myself)
• Complex(a combination of two or more words: one another, each other).

Types of pronouns in English

Pronouns perform many functions in a sentence and have their own classification. Let's look at them in groups.

• Personal pronouns

Designate faces or items in terms of their relationship to the speaker.

For example, “I” is the speaker, “we” is the speaker and another person, “they” is someone other than the speaker.

Personal pronouns change according to faces, number, family And case(nominative and objective).

Table: Declension of pronouns in English table

Number	Face	Case
		Nominative	Object
The only thing			me - me
		you - you	you - you
		she [ʃi:] - she it - it	him - him her - her it - his
Plural			us [ʌs] - us
		you - you	you - you
		they [ðei] - they	them [ðem] - them

Personal pronouns in the nominative case usually play a role in a sentence subject, A V objective— additions.

He is John. - He John (“He” is nominative).
Mary bought a present for him. - Mary bought a gift for him(him - object).

Object case also used when there is nothing else in the sentence except the personal pronoun:

- Who was that? Who called? - Who was that? Who called?
- Me. - I.

• Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns ( my, is yours) in English are of two types, based on their functions: adjectives And nouns .

Table: Possessive pronouns

Adjectives	Nouns
my - mine	mine - mine
your - yours	yours - yours
his - him	his - him
her - her	hers - her
its - his	its - his
your - yours	yours - yours
our [ɑ:r] - our	ours [ɑ:rz] - ours
their [ðer] - theirs	theirs [ðerz] - theirs

Both of these forms answer the question “whose?”, but the first ( my) requires a noun after itself, and the second ( mine) does not require, since it already implies it.

This is my computer. - This my computer.
This is yours.- This is yours(yours = your computer).

• Reflexive pronouns

English reflexive pronouns in Russian correspond to the words “ myself(A)», « myself».

Table: Reflexive pronouns

Pronoun	Transcription	Example
		I saw myself in the mirror. (I saw myself in the mirror)
		Why do you blame yourself? (Why do you blame yourself?)
		Anna sent herself a copy. (Anna sent herself a copy)
		Ivan sent himself a copy. (Ivan sent himself a copy)
		My cat hurt itself. (My cat got hurt)
		We blame ourselves. (We blame ourselves)
		Could you help yourselves? (Could you help yourself (yourself)?)
		They cannot look after themselves. (They can't take care of themselves (by themselves))

The second part of these words may remind you of the word selfie, which is derived from “self.” And the first part repeats the pronouns of the already mentioned groups.

• Reciprocal pronouns

There are only two reciprocal pronouns in English:

• each other- each other;
• one another- one another.

According to all the rules, " each other" we use only when there are 2 persons, and "one another" - more than two persons.

We think of each other as of an interesting opponent. - We relate to each other as an interesting opponent.
There were many people and they looked at one another. - There were a lot of people there and they were watching Each other.

The corresponding preposition, unlike the Russian language, is placed before words « each" And " one»:

We live too far from each other. - We live too far away apart from each other.
They are such good friends they will do anything for each other.- They are such good friends that they will do for each other anything.

• Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns indicate a person, object, phenomenon, their signs, time, without naming them.

Table: Demonstrative pronouns

	Pronoun	Translation	Transcription	Example
units h.		this/this		This car is red. - This car is red.
plural				These shoes are cheap. - These shoes are cheap.
units h.				That man in my brother. - That man is my brother.
plural				Those people are my friends. - Those people are my friends.
only units h.				I bought such a nice gift. - I bought such a nice gift.
only units h.				His T-shirt was the same I wore. - His T-shirt was

• Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to form questions .

Table: Interrogative pronouns

Pronoun	Translation	Transcription	Example
	what/what		What is it? - What is this?
	who will win		Who called? - Who called?
	which/which		Which dress did you buy? - What dress did you buy?
	whom/to whom		Whom is this story about? -Who is this story about?
			Whose car is it? - Whose car is it?
			How are you? - How are you?
			Why are you so sad? - Why are you so sad?
			When will you arrive? - When will you arrive?
	where/where		Where did you go? - Where did you go?

• Indefinite pronouns

The largest group of pronouns is considered indefinite. Mostly they formed by a combination of pronouns, which independently also perform the functions of this group.

Indefinite pronouns in English include: " some" (somebody, someone, something), " any" (anybody, anyone, anything), " no"(nobody, no one, none, nothing), " many», « much», « few" And " little».

« Some" And " any» denote a specific quantity and are used before nouns (plural or uncountable). " Some"and its derivatives are used V affirmative proposals, A " any"and its derivatives - V interrogative And negative.

Do we have any bread? - Do we have bread?
Yes, I have some. - Yes, I have some.

« No"is also an indefinite pronoun. To avoid double negation, the verb is used together with it in the affirmative form.

I have no brothers. - I have No(no) brothers.

Let's look at the table of derived pronouns.

Table: Derived pronouns

			Used
	somebody - someone, somebody	someone - someone, anyone	something - something, anything	In interrogative sentences expressing a request or suggestion.
	anybody - anyone, everyone, anyone, no one (in the negative)	anyone - anyone, everyone, anyone, no one (in the negative)	anything - anything, everything, nothing (in the negative)	In interrogative sentences. In affirmative sentences. In negative sentences (with a negative form of the verb).
	nobody - no one	no one - no one	nothing - nothing, nothing	In negative sentences (with an affirmative form of the verb).

It should be noted that if the pronouns “somebody”, “anyone”, “anything”, “nobody”, “no one”, “someone”, “something”, “anybody”, “nothing”, “everybody”, “everything” are used in function subject, then the verb will be used in the form singular(is, was, ending “-s”).

Everybody was there in time. - All were there on time.

Indefinite pronouns somebody, somebody, anybody, nobody may have possessive case endings for nouns.

I found somebody's wallet. - I found someone's wallet.

Many(a lot of), few(few), a few(several) are used before countable nouns and answer the question “how many?”

He has many friends. - He has a lot of friends.
She has few friends. - She has few friends.
We rested a few minutes. - We had a rest some minutes.

Much(a lot of), little(few), a little(a little) are used before uncountable nouns or with verbs and answer the question “how much?”

You work too much. - You work too much a lot of.
Yes, I know, but I have very little time. - Yes, I know, but I have a very few time.
I have a little time for this. - I have it for this A little time.

How to choose between I and me

« I» used when is subject And leads action.

I will make a cake today. - I I'll bake a cake today.

We also use "I" when we perform an action with someone else.

Mary and I went to the shop. - Mary and I let's go shopping.

« Me» used in indirect cases: to me, me, me(when something is done for us, or given to us):

Would you do this for me? - Could you do this for me?
Will she reply to me? - She will answer to me?

Conclusion

You should now feel more confident with English pronouns. To test your knowledge, you can try our Online Trainer. Good luck!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Quickly go:

A pronoun is a part of speech that is used instead of a noun.

Pushkin is the greatest Russian poet. He was born in 1799
Pushkin is the greatest Russian poet. He was born in 1799.

Pronouns in English can be used in a sentence as a function:

Not a doctor.
He is a doctor.

The red pencil is mine.
My red pencil.

I have not seen him.
I didn't see him.

I cannot find my pencil.
I can't find my pencil.

Simple form Possessive pronouns are always required after a noun and, being its definition, exclude the use of an article before this noun:

My pencil is on the table.
My pencil is on the table.

Absolute form Possessive pronouns are used independently - nouns are never placed after them.

This pencil is mine.
This pencil is mine.

Refundable pronouns come after many verbs and correspond in Russian to the particle - "Xia" ("s"), which is attached to verbs, showing that the action passes to the actor himself:

Not defended himself.
He defended himself.

Don't cut yourself.
Don't cut yourself.

Pronouns in English: table with translation and examples

Table. Pronouns.

1. Personal (Personal Pronouns)	Nominative case (Nominative Case)	objective case (Objective Case)
	I- I you- you you he- He she- she it- he she it we- We you- You they- They	me- me, me you- you, you, you, you him- him, him her- her, her it- his, her, him, her us- us, us you- you, you them- them, them
2. Possessives (Possessive Pronouns)	I form	II form
	mу- my (I, -e, -i) your- yours (-i, -e, -i), yours (a, -e, -i) his- his her- her its- his her our- our (a, -e, -i) your- your (-a, -e, -i) their- their all these pronouns can also be translated by the word your	mine- my (I, -e, -i) yours- yours (i, -e, -i), yours (a, -e, -i) his- his hers- her its- his her ours- our (-a, -e, -i) yours- your (-a, -e, -i) theirs- their
3. Return and amplifier (Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns)	myself- (I) myself, myself (-a) yourself- (you, you) yourself, yourself (s) himself- (he) himself, himself herself- (she) herself, herself itself- (it) itself, itself ourselves- (we) ourselves, ourselves yourselves- (you) yourself, yourself themselves- (they) themselves, themselves
4. Mutual (Reciprocal Pronouns)	each other- each other one another- one another
5. Index fingers (Demonstrative Pronouns)	this (these) - this, this, this, (these) that (those) - that, that, that, (those) such- such the same- the same, the same
6. Interrogative (Interrogative Pronouns)	who (whom) - who will win) whose- whose what- what, what, which, who which- which, which, who, what
7. Relative and connecting (Relative and Conjunctive Pronouns)	who (whom) - who (whom), which (whom) whose- whose, whom what- what, which which- which, which, who, what that- which
8. Undefined (Indefinite Pronouns)	some- some, some, a little (approved sentence) any- some, some (in questions and negative sentences), any one- someone, some all- everything, everything, everything, everything each- every every- everyone, everyone other- other(s) another- another both- both many- many, many much- a lot of few- few, few little- few either- any (of two) no- none, none, no none- no one, nothing neither- neither one nor the other, no one, nothing
Use
1. Personal	subject I shall speak to him. - I'll talk to him. addition I shall speak to him. - I'll talk to him. part of the predicate That was he. - That was him.
2. Possessives	definition Her paper was interesting. - Her article was interesting. subject My room is large, yours is larger. - My room is big, yours is bigger. part of the predicate This paper is his. - This article is his. addition We haven’t seen your paper, we have seen only theirs. We didn't see your article, we only saw theirs.
3. Return and amplifier	addition I wash myself. - I wash my face. Not himself saw it. - He saw it himself. Didn't saw it himself. - He saw it himself.
4. Mutual	addition They greeted each other.- They greeted each other.
5. Index fingers	subject This was pleasant. - It was nice. addition He likes this. - He likes it. part of the predicate It was that. - That was (just) that. definition I know these songs. - I know these songs.
6. Interrogative	subject Who knows this story? - Who knows this story? addition What did you see there? - What did you see there? part of the predicate What has she become? - Who has she become? definition Which month is the warmest? - Which month is the warmest?
7. Relative and connecting	subject The man who is sitting there is my friend. - The man who sits there is my friend. addition I don't know whom he sent there. - I don't know who he sent there. part of the predicate The question is who will go there. - The question is who will go there. definition I don't know whose paper this is. - I don’t know whose article this is.
8. Undefined	subject One must do it. - We need to do this. addition He told us something. - He told us something. definition Any student can do it. - Any student can do this. part of the predicate It is too much for me. - This is too much for me.
Translation: pronouns

Do you want your speech to sound not only competent, but also concise and beautiful? This means you shouldn’t duplicate the same noun in every sentence. Try to replace it, especially since English grammar has such a part of speech as a pronoun.

The Pronoun replaces a noun or adjective. Sometimes it is quite clear from the context who or what is being said, or maybe we need to point to a certain object or show that it belongs to someone. In these cases we use a pronoun.

Classification

The number of pronouns in the English language is quite large, which allows you to choose the right one based on the situation. But there is a small problem. How to understand everything? Remember? After all, some of them absolutely do not correspond to the Russian translation, and their use has so many peculiarities. But there is nothing complicated here. First, let's get acquainted with the classifications that you need to understand.

1. Personal or Personal. In another way, they can be called noun pronouns, which have two cases: nominative and objective: I - me, she - her, he - him, we - us, they - them. The first of them are used as the subject, the second as complements (corresponding to the Russian accusative case: me, him, them, us).

2. Possessive pronouns in English or Possessive Pronouns answer whose question? (whose?) and show who and what belongs. They also have two forms, which depend on the place in the sentence and the accompanying words: I - my, mine; he - his, his; she - her - hers; we - our, ours; you - your, yours; they - theirs, theirs.

3. Another group is distinguished reflexive , which are formed by adding the endings self (singular) or selves (plural) to personal pronouns. They can be translated as sam, sama, sami, or they can be expressed in Russian by the endings of the verb: defended Xia, hurt s.

4. K reciprocal pronouns include each other, one another.

5. Demonstrative or demonstrative pronouns in English they are called those that indicate a particular object, person, phenomenon, and correspond to Russian: those, these, that, this. This group has a number (singular and plural): this - these, that - those.

6. Interrogative Pronouns : who, whom, which, what, whose. They are used as nouns or adjectives. Depending on the context, they can stand together with prepositions.

7. To the category indefinite pronouns (Indefinite Pronoun) include: some, any, something, anything, somebody, something; one, no, none, nothing, nobody, no one, much, many, few, little, all, both, either, neither, each, every, other. How much! All of them belong to this group, since they do not indicate or designate something or someone specific, but convey the meaning of something unknown, vague, generalized.

Main characteristics and categories of English pronouns

The whole difficulty of studying this part of speech is that they cannot be lumped together with the same brush. After all, some of them have certain properties, and some do not.

• Number. Some pronouns have a number category: this - these (these), that - those (that - those). The rest can be characterized either only in the singular or in the plural.
• Case. Like nouns, some indefinite pronouns (somebody, anybody, nobody) can have a possessive case (a 's is added) and a general case. Personal ones can be in the nominative or objective cases (I - me). But the majority still do not accept this category.

English pronouns in a sentence

I would like to immediately note that they are very significant in any phrase. So, these parts of speech perform the functions:

1. Subject- come first (noun pronouns).

He is a shy boy with a lot of hang-ups. - He is a timid guy with many complexes.

2. Nominal part of the predicate- form one whole with the verb.

This car is mine. - This is my car.

3. Can act as a direct additions, indirect with and without preposition.

I haven't visited him today. But I am going to. - I didn't visit him today. But I'm going to. (Direct)

I didn't speak to him. — I didn’t talk to him (indirect with preposition).

Give me your skirt, please. - Give me your skirt, please (indirect without preposition).

4. Well, one more function is definition.

I can paint your house. — I can paint your house (whose?).

This is the basic information. All pronouns in English are used VERY often in speech, sometimes two or three at once, but of course of different types. Therefore, carefully consider and analyze each case.

Pronouns in English are rather unusual and very difficult independent parts of speech. In themselves, such words do not carry much complexity, and many of them are used in almost every phrase. However, learning English pronouns can be challenging due to the rather broad classification, as there are a total of 11 types of pronouns in the English language. That is why it is important to know at least the basic features of each of the categories so that it is easy to use these forms in speech.

General characteristics of pronouns

All pronouns in English (pronouns in English) refer to independent parts of speech; they point to an object and its properties, but do not directly name it.

As for grammatical categories, there is no single rule in the language as to which pronouns each and every pronoun possesses and how many such morphological categories are inherent in them. The fact is that different types of pronouns have different properties: for example, in addition to case and number, only personal and possessive pronouns have the categories of person and gender.

Structure of pronouns

According to the method of formation, English pronouns are usually divided into three main groups:

1. Simple
They do not have any additional morphemes and are usually short: he, she, some, any, etc.

2. Derivative
They contain morphemes that are designed to form a new word: nothing, ourselves, himself, etc.

3. Compound (complex)
These structures usually consist of two words, which nevertheless convey the meaning of a single word: each other, one another.

It is not very difficult to remember all these features of education, but it is equally important to consider the types of pronouns in more detail, give examples and indicate which of their uses will be the only correct one.

Personal pronouns (personal)

Pronouns in English are perhaps the most popular category of the language. Such words have a person and gender, unlike most other pronouns. Their essence is to show the object in its original form, without naming it - he (he), you (you), we (we), she (she), etc.

However, quite often there are also personal pronouns in the indirect case, which is equivalent to the Russian-language declension in cases - he, she, us, etc. Such forms do not differ in any complexity, and their number completely coincides with the number of original words in the nominative case. A fairly simple table will show the difference between the two personal pronouns:

It is worth noting that the form “me” has acquired the status of a full-fledged and separate unit and can be used independently, that is, not in an inflected form.

Possessive pronouns (possessive)

(possessive) are necessary in order to emphasize whether a particular object or phenomenon belongs to someone. In general, in English, possessive pronouns are in many ways similar to nouns that appear in the Possessive case.

These pronouns, just like personal, have a person and gender, can be used in plural forms, however, case declension is not inherent in them. In addition, such words have a typical dependent form, which is used more often, and an absolute form, which is necessary for cases when there is no need to use a dependent word, and it would be more correct to avoid repetition.

You can compare two sentences:

· It is my friend’s car, and it is my car - This is my friend’s car, and this is my car
· It is my friend’s car, and it is mine – This is my friend’s car, and this is mine

The word "car" in the second example is omitted to avoid repetition and maintain the rhythm of the sentence.

Here's what the two types of such pronouns look like:

Demonstrative pronouns (indicative)

Demonstrative pronouns (demonstrative) directly indicate the subject. Some demonstrative pronouns are typically used in the plural, and there are also unique constructions.

These words include this – that (this – that), these – those (these – those) , as well as same (same) and one, which is intended to replace a noun to avoid repetition and indicate an object in the meaning of “the same”.

Reflexive pronouns (reflexive)

Reflexive (reflexive) pronouns have the translation “himself, herself, ourselves,” etc. and are used in situations where it is necessary to emphasize that the action is performed directly by the performer himself.

These structures are divided depending on the number and have the following options:

It is important to be careful with translation and pronunciation because, as you can see, in plural forms the consonants in suffixes change from f to v. Sometimes such structures are also called emphatic pronouns, that is, expressive, since with their help the speaker often emphasizes the meaning of what was said emotionally.

A special point is that from the pronoun you you can form both a singular and a plural form (depending on the situation).

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns, which are translated as relative, are used to show the relationship of additional information in a sentence to a specific object/objects. Here it is important to observe a certain rule of animation.

So, typical words that belong to this category are who (whom, whose), which, that . As a rule, each of these words is translated as “which, which, which...”. Thus, for animate nouns it is customary to use the word who, for inanimate objects - which, and that is universal and is suitable for both cases.

Conjunctive pronouns

Conjunctive pronouns are called divisive or allied pronouns. They are a lot like relative, and they also use the words which, that, what , but the difference is that the main use of such words is to connect parts of a sentence, where both parts of the phrase are full. For example:

She congratulated me, which was very nice of her - He congratulated me, which was very nice of her

Interrogative pronouns (interrogatives)

Interrogative pronouns, or interrogative pronouns in English, are very simple in their use: if the word what, which, who, etc. asks a question, it is probably interrogative:

· Which of you is Mr. Jackson? “Which one of you is Mr. Jackson?”
· What are you? - What is your occupation?
· Who are you? - Who you are? What is your name?

Defining pronouns

The category of these pronouns, which are called attributives, has quite a few variants of the pronoun. Thus, popular forms are considered to be other, another, the other/the others . The pronouns other and others, which have a similar structure, are associated with the translation “other, others” and also differ in number: other is characteristic of the plural, another – of the singular.

Also known structures are both (both) and all (all), each (each separately) and every (each in the meaning of “all”), either (each of two) , as well as all derivatives of every – e veryone, everybody, everything . All of these structures are unique and require careful attention, since any errors in use can change the meaning of the entire phrase.

Reciprocal pronouns (mutual)

Reciprocal (mutual) pronouns in the language are represented in only two constructions: each other and one another. Both of them are translated as “each other”, that is, they show a mutual connection.

The difference is that each other is used to show a situation with only two people. One another is a construction that is relevant either for situations where there are three or more people, or for cases where the number of participants is unknown.

Indefinite pronouns (indefinite)

Indefinite pronouns are called that for a reason. There is no certainty in their meaning - “someone, something...”. The main structures here are words some and any, as well as all their derivatives – somebody or someone, anybody or anyone , as well as forms for inanimate objects – something and anything.

The difference is that some is usually used in affirmative sentences (she has some tea and coffee), and any is usually used in interrogative and negative sentences (she doesn't gave any tea). .

Negative pronouns (negative)

The last important category is negative pronouns, i.e. negative pronouns in English. As you know, grammar implies the absence of two negatives in one sentence, therefore, if any of such words is present, the other not particles are not required.

Frequently used constructions include none (not one of several), neither (not one of two), as well as all derivatives of no – nothing, nobody, no one .

It is worth noting that the structures neither and either are often pronounced differently in the two languages ​​- American and British. So, if we take the negative form as a basis, it is best to do this using an example with transcription: in the first case, the more common pronunciation is [ˈniːðə(r)], and in the second – [ˈnaɪðə(r)].

Quantitative pronouns (quantitative)

Quantitative pronouns in English are a separate category that contains structures that exclusively show number and quantity. Their study is closely related to the concepts of countability, since certain constructions are suitable either only for countable ( many, few, a few ), or for uncountable ( much, little, a little ) words.

Role in sentence

In a sentence, pronouns can perform different functions. So, for example, subject pronouns are quite popular, playing the role of the subject (I am a doctor, She is a teacher), but there are also other options - the predicate (she is you - she is you), as well as secondary members of the sentence, as a rule - addition (I don't like him - I don't like him).

The topic of the pronoun is quite complex, which is due not only to some grammatical features, but also to the numerous categories of this part of speech. One way or another, the English language requires compliance with all these nuances, and only in this case will the speech be correct and understandable to the interlocutor.