A pronoun is a word used as a substitute for a noun. These are the pronouns:
Personal pronouns: I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they.
Object pronouns: it, me, you, her, him, them.
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, theirs, his,hers, its.
Demonstrative pronouns: that, those, this, these.
Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, him/her/itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.
Interrogative pronouns: Who, what, which, why, where, when.
The most common pronoun is the personal pronoun:
* In Spanish the personal pronouns are: yo, tu, el/ella/lo, nosotros, ustedes, y ellos.
I |
we |
you |
you |
he/she/it |
they |
Example:
I paid Paola.
Practice:
1) ___ am hungry.
2) ___ are a person.
3) ___ are my children.
4) ___ is a good man.
5) ___ are studying together in this room right now.
The second most common pronoun is the object pronoun:
*In Spanish object pronouns are: me, te, ti, le/la/lo, nos, les, les.
me |
us |
you |
you |
him/her/it |
them |
Example:
I paid her.
Practice:
1) Yesterday I gave money to Paola. I gave ____ money yesterday.
2) I teach my students on Tuesdays. I teach ______ on Tuesdays.
3) I received a call from my mother yesterday. My mother called _____ yesterday.
4) You receive English classes from me. I teach _____ English.
5) Hopefully Argentina won't attach Chile. Hopefully Argentina won't attack ____.
6) I fixed my car yesterday. Yesterday I fixed ____.
Reflexive pronouns don't exist in Spanish. Spanish speakers use se to make a sentence reflexive. They are used when someone is auto haciendo algo.
Example:
I am my own English teacher, so I am teaching English to myself.
myself |
ourselves |
yourself |
yourselves |
himself, herself, itself |
themselves |
Practice:
1) If you don't want to pay someone to paint the house, you can do it __________.
2) Nobody wanted to help Paola, so she had to do it all by ___________.
3) We can't trust anyone to do our work for us, we have to do it ___________.
4) I don't need your help, I can do it ________.
5) Sometimes we help children too much when they can do things ________.
6) I can't help you all today. You will have to do it ___________.
7) I didn't touch your computer. It turned ________ off.
Demonstrative pronouns are used to replace a specific item or group of items. They are used to show what you are talking about.
They are: This, these, those, that.
*In Spanish, they are: esto, este, esta, eso, esa, esas, esos.
| Singular | Plural | |
| Near | This | These |
| Far | That | Those |
Example:
The apple on the table is blue. This apple is blue.
Practice:
1) The pen in my hand is red. ______ pen is red.
2) The dogs in the house across the street are barking. _______ dogs are barking.
3) The dog in our house is barking. _______ dog is barking.
4) The batteries in my hand are dead. _______ batteries are dead.
5) The worksheet we are working on now is good. ______ is good.
6) The person you were just talking to is my brother. _________ was my brother.
7) The books we read here are good. __________ books are good.
8) The books our children read are good. __________ books are good.
Possessive pronouns describe the ownership of items.
mine |
ours |
yours |
yours |
his, hers, its |
theirs |
*In Spanish they are: mio, mios, tuyo, tuyos, suyo, suyos.
Example:
This pencil is mine.
Practice:
1) This dog belongs to me. This dog is _______.
2) That dog belongs to you. That dog is ________.
3) Kyle has a mini. The mini is _______.
4) Kyle and Paola have a house. The house is _______.
5) Paola has a son. Paola's son is _______.
6) You have shoes. Your shoes are _______.
7) You people have money. Your money is _______.
8) The bike doesn't have a seat. _________ seat is missing.
Interrogative pronouns - Are used in asking questions: who are you?, which one?, why am I here?, what is a proton?
Practice:
1) _____ are you so happy?
2) _____ is that strange person in our house?
3) _____ are you going to do this afternoon?
4) _____ are you going to Africa, June or July?
5) _____ don't you like cheese?
Relative pronouns - Have the same form as Interrogative pronouns but are not used in questions. They are used to connect two clauses.
Example:
The girl who looks like her.
I did not understand what was said.
1) I will go _______ I am ready.
2) She has red hair. That is _____ I think she is pretty.
3) The disco is _____ you go to dance.