Relative Pronouns: Grammar

• A pronoun replaces a noun or noun phrase.
• Pronouns prevent repetition and improve sentence conciseness.
• Pronouns must agree in number and gender with their antecedent (the noun they replace).

Relative Pronouns

• Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, providing additional noun information.
• Common relative pronouns include who, whom, which, that, and whose.
• "Who" and "whom" refer to people, "which" refers to things, "that" can refer to people or things, and "whose" indicates possession.
• That introduces the relative clause "that I borrowed from the library" in the example, "The book that I borrowed from the library is due next week," referring back to "the book".
• Relative clauses can be restrictive (essential) or non-restrictive (non-essential).
• Restrictive clauses are essential for identifying the modified noun and are not set off by commas.
• Non-restrictive clauses offer extra information and are set off by commas.
• who called yesterday is a restrictive clause as seen in the following sentence: "The man who called yesterday wants to buy the house".
• who is a doctor is a non-restrictive clause as seen in the following sentence: "My brother, who is a doctor, lives in New York".

Interrogative Pronouns

• Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
• The main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which, and whose.
• The pronouns "who" and "whom" refer to people; "what" refers to things; "which" implies a choice; "whose" indicates possession.
• Use of who in an example interrogative sentence: "Who is coming to the party?"
• Use of what in an example interrogative sentence: "What did you say?"
• Use of which in an example interrogative sentence: "Which is your car?"
• Use of whose in an example interrogative sentence: "Whose book is this?"
• The choice between "who" and "whom" depends on the pronoun's function in the question.
• "Who" is used when the pronoun is the subject of the verb.
• "Whom" is used when the pronoun is the object of the verb or a preposition.
• Example of "who" as subject: "Who ate my sandwich?"
• Example of "whom" as object: "Whom did you invite?"

Demonstrative Pronouns

• Demonstrative pronouns identify specific nouns.
• The main demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, and those.
• "This" and "these" refer to things that are near in space or time.
• "That" and "those" refer to things that are farther away.
• "This" (singular, near) in use: This is my car
• "That" (singular, far) in use: That is her house
• "These" (plural, near) in use: These are my books
• "Those" (plural, far) in use: Those are their clothes
• Demonstrative pronouns can also function as demonstrative adjectives when they modify a noun.
• Example pronoun: This is my favorite movie
• Example adjective: This movie is my favorite

Indefinite Pronouns

• Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific persons or things.
• Common indefinite pronouns include all, any, anyone, anything, each, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, and somebody
• These pronouns do not refer to a particular noun
• Some indefinite pronouns are singular (e.g., each, everyone, nobody), while others are plural (e.g., several, few, many).
• Some can be either singular or plural depending on the context (e.g., all, any, none, some).
• Example (singular): Everyone is ready
• Example (plural): Several are going to the party
• Example (singular/plural): Some of the pie is gone (singular); Some of the cookies are missing (plural)
• Pronoun-antecedent agreement with indefinite pronouns can be tricky.
• Use a singular pronoun when the indefinite pronoun is singular.
• Use a plural pronoun when the indefinite pronoun is plural.
• With pronouns like "some," "all," "any," "none," and "most," the noun they refer to determines whether they are singular or plural.

Compound Personal Pronouns

• Compound personal pronouns are pronouns combined with "self" or "selves."
• Types include reflexive and intensive pronouns.
• Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence.
• Intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or pronoun and are not essential to the sentence's meaning.
• Common reflexive pronouns include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
• Common intensive pronouns include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
• Reflexive pronouns are essential to the meaning of the sentence.
• They indicate that the subject is both performing and receiving the action.
• Example: I hurt myself
• Intensive pronouns add emphasis but are not essential.
• The sentence still makes sense if the intensive pronoun is removed.
• Example: I myself made the cake
• "Myself" emphasizes that "I" made the cake, but the sentence "I made the cake" is complete without it.
• Compound personal pronouns can also be used to show possession.
• Examples: "herself", "himself", "itself"