Questions and Answers
What are personal pronouns?
Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person, second person, or third person.
What factors can personal pronouns take different forms depending on?
Personal pronouns can take different forms depending on number, grammatical or natural gender, case, and formality.
Can personal pronouns be limited to people only?
No, personal pronouns are not limited to people and can also refer to animals and objects.
What is a pro-form?
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Give an example of a T–V distinction in language.
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Personal pronouns may also take different forms depending on ______
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The term 'personal' is used here purely to signify the grammatical sense; personal pronouns are not limited to ______
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The re-use in some languages of one personal pronoun to indicate a second personal pronoun with formality or social distance – commonly a second person plural to signify second person singular formal – is known as the T–V ______
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A pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in for (expresses the same content as) another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the ______
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Pronouns mostly function as ______, but there are pronouns that are not pro-forms and pro-forms that are not pronouns
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Study Notes
Personal Pronouns
- Personal pronouns are a type of pronoun that takes different forms depending on factors such as grammatical person, number, gender, and case.
- These pronouns can take different forms based on the speaker's intention, such as formal or informal tone, social distance, and regional differences.
Forms of Personal Pronouns
- Personal pronouns can have different forms depending on the language, context, and intended meaning.
- They are not limited to people only, as they can also refer to animals, objects, or abstract concepts.
Pro-Forms
- A pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in for another word, phrase, clause, or sentence, where the meaning is recoverable from the context.
- Pro-forms can function as pronouns, but not all pronouns are pro-forms, and not all pro-forms are pronouns.
T-V Distinction
- The T-V distinction is a linguistic phenomenon where a single personal pronoun is used to indicate a second personal pronoun with formality or social distance.
- For example, in some languages, the second-person plural pronoun is used to signify a second-person singular formal tone.
Key Points
- The term 'personal' in personal pronouns refers to the grammatical sense, not limited to people.
- Personal pronouns are not limited to people only, but can refer to other entities.
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