PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words that are used in place of naming words or nouns.We cannot keep repeating the name in a sentence. It does not sound good. To make the sentence sound better, we use pronouns.

e.g. 

King Ashoka was great king. King Ashoka loved to travel. King Ashoka was kind hearted.

King Ashoka was great king. He loved to travel. He was kind hearted.

The second sentence is better. The first sentence tells us that we are talking about King Ashoka, so we may use the pronoun he in the place of the name King Ashoka.

e.g.

• Sita is a girl. She is a singer.
• Ram is a good boy. He works hard.

Commonly used pronouns:

Personal Pronouns takes the place of a noun, a group of nouns, or a group of words that includes a noun.

• Ram hit the ball. He hit it
• Sarah and Sam watched the show. They watched the show.
• Where is the red round bowl? Where is it?

Antecedent: The word or group of words that a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent.

• Sarah is fond of puzzles. She bought a new puzzle today. antecedent: Sarah;  pronoun: she
• Cindy the cat likes people to pet her. antecedent: Cindy;  pronoun: her

Reflexive pronoun refers back to a noun or a pronoun already named. It adds new information and gives extra importance to the word it refers to. 

Some reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

• Sam washed the dishes himself.
• Sam himself washed the dishes.
• Sarah knitted the sweater herself.

Possessive pronoun shows ownership or relationship. Possessiveness: Her, His, My are the words that tell us to whom does a particular thing belong to. Some possessive pronouns: my, your, his her, its, our, your, their.

e.g. The Smith's dog is very playful.  Their dog is very playful.

• Sarah plays with her toys.
• Arun has packed his bag.
• I have done my homework.