Theorie:
Pronouns
SUBJECT | Singular | Plural |
1st person | I | we |
2nd person | you | you |
3rd person | he she it | they |
OBJECT | Singular | Plural |
1st person | me | us |
2nd person | you | you |
3rd person | him her it | them |
Beispiel:
Cindy owns a red bike. It is her favourite possession.
Hey, Joe, Alison and I are going to the cinema. Would you like to join us?
The possessive pronoun does not only replace the noun, but also indicates to whom it belongs. The following table provides an overview:
POSS. PRONOUN | Singular | Plural |
1st person | mine | ours |
2nd person | yours | yours |
3rd person | his hers its | theirs |
In case you don't want to replace the noun but indicate its possession, you would use a possessive adjective. (see table)
POSS. ADJ. | Singular | Plural |
1st person | my | our |
2nd person | your | your |
3rd person | his her its | their |
Beispiel:
I finally saved enough money to buy this new collectible. I still cannot believe it is mine.
She likes her boyfriend's parents a lot. She would trade them for hers in a heartbeat.
We would love to come to your party, but we have already been invited to another party by our neighbors - we will probably attend theirs.
The reflexive pronoun is used to express that somebody is doing something on his/her own. The following table provides an overview:
REFLEXIVE P. | Singular | Plural |
1st person | myself | ourselves |
2nd person | yourself | yourselves |
3rd person | himself herself itself | themselves |
Pay attention that the ending -f turns into -ves in the plural forms!
Beispiel:
When I look at myself in the mirror, I see different people, depending on my mood. What do you see, when you look at yourself?
Brace yourselves - the earthquake is not over yet!
I do not understand how these people can live with themselves. If I was in their place, I would have a guilty conscience.
The relative pronoun is used to introduce a subordinate clause which refers to the previous noun phrase (or to the whole sentence). While who and whom are used for people, which is used for things or situations. The following table provides an overview:
Subject | Object | Possessive |
who | who(m) | whose |
which | which | whose |
that | that |
Relative pronouns are used after a noun phrase:
1) to clarify which person or thing is meant.
e.g. I know the girl who lives next door.
2) to give additional information. >> Attention! In this case you need to add a comma.
e.g. I know Sarah, who lives next door.
Apart from that, relative pronouns can also be used at the end of a sentence and, consequently, refer to the whole sentence. (Don't forget the comma!)
e.g. I travelled to Italy last summer, which was a great experience.