DETERMINATIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS

DETERMINATIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS

For practical reasons adjectives and pronouns of the same kind will be considered together; the main difference between an adjective and a pronoun of the same kind lies in the fact that the adjective goes with the noun/noun equivalent while the corresponding pronoun expresses the same thing and also replaces the noun/noun equivalent, e.g. a demonstrative adjective is a word that determines a noun/noun equivalent while a demonstrative pronoun expresses the same meaning as the demonstrative adjective, but unlike the latter it also replaces the noun/noun equivalent: this book is mine (adjective), this is mine (pronoun).

Adjectives Pronouns

1. Demonstrative Demonstrative

2. Indefinite + negative Indefinite + negative

3. Possessive Possessive

4. Interrogative Interrogative

5. Relative whose Relative

6. Adverbial ------------

7. ------------ Personal

8. ------------ Reflexive/emphatic

9. ------------ Reciprocal

4/5.1. Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

Demonstrative adjectives Pronouns

this/these this/these

that/those that/those

the same the same

another another

the other the other(s)

other others

such such

This/these, that/those used as adjectives, agree in number with the nouns/noun equivalents they determine and are the only adjectives to do so, e.g.

This beach was quite empty last year;

This novel was written two centuries ago;

These children only came yesterday;

That exhibition closed a month ago;

Those pencils are not mine;

Do you see those birds at the top of the tree? etc.

When used as pronouns the idea of number is still there, referring either to one object or to more than one (= plural), e.g.

This is my book and that is Ann's;

Those were not here yesterday;

These are longer than those (ones).

Those can be followed by a defining/restrictive relative clause (atributiva propriu-zisa), e.g.

Those who could not walk were carried on stretchers;

Those who are interested can apply now;

This/That can represent a previously mentioned noun/phrase or clause, e.g.

They are digging up my road; they do this every summer;

He said I wasn't a good wife. Wasn't that a horrible thing to say?

When there is some idea of comparison or selection, the pronoun one/ones is often placed after this/these, that/those, but it is not essential except when these demonstratives are followed by an adjective, e.g.

This chair is too low; I'll sit on that (one);

I like this (one) best;

but I like this blue one/these blue ones, in the last example one/ones cannot be left out.

The same (acelasi, aceeasi, aceiasi, aceleasi); as an adjective the same can be used with all kinds of nouns, countable or mass, singular or plural, e.g.

The same person(s) I saw yesterday told me to buy that book;

Nothing has changed, the same old books on the same old shelves

As a pronoun the same can represent a previously mentioned noun, phrase or any longer unit e.g.

The same was said about his parents, the same here can stand for a word, a sentence or a whole story.

Another (un alt, o alta) is singular in meaning and as an adjective takes a singular noun while as a pronoun it replaces a singular countable noun, e.g.

Give me another book, I don't like this (one);

Then another young man showed up and told me to go back at once;

I saw a man shooting, then another and another etc.

There are exceptional cases when another can be associated with a plural noun because this plural noun can be taken as a unit, e.g.

I had a five-day vacation and the whole family went for a trip into the mountains; a winter storm came and we couldn't leave, so I called my boss and asked for another three days off.

Another is sometimes opposed to one, e.g. One says "yes", another says "no".

Other (an adjective) (alti, alte) can take plural countable nouns, e.g.

She does not know what to say, other things are more important now;

Don't show yourself, other people may come soon etc.

The other (celalalt, cealalta, ceilalti, celelalte) as an adjective takes singular or plural countable nouns, e.g.

One man came yesterday, while the other person has just arrived; because other women never came etc.

The other(s) (celalalt, cealalta, ceilalti, celelalte) as a pronoun can replace any countable noun in the singular or in the plural, e.g.

One said "yes, the other said "no";

Most of the people came this way, the others took another road etc.

Such (an adjective and a pronoun) "can be a determiner referring back to something that has already been mentioned"; it can take a plural or replace a plural noun, e.g.

Such good students are rarely met, or

Such were the participants that everybody felt happy etc.

In the singular, an indefinite article follows such, e.g.

She is such a nice girl!

It was such an interesting book that I could not put it down.

2. Indefinite and negative adjectives and pronouns

Most of them are both adjectives and pronouns and the meaning is the same in either form, therefore the explanation will be one.

Adjectives Pronouns

a) numerical

several several

many/more/most many/more/most

(a) few (a) few

each each

every/all - /all

both both

either either

neither neither

b) numerical and quantitative

some some

any any

no none

lots of a lot

enough enough

c) quantitative

(a) little (a) little

much/more/most much/more/most

d) only pronouns

some/any/no + body/thing/one;

the same as above + else

Several, which is both an adjective and a pronoun, is not followed by ones, unless there is a qualitative adjective after it, e.g.

Several persons told me the same thing;

I know several people who do not like fish;

Did you buy any books? Yes, I bought several; and also

There are several new ones on the table.

Many/more/most - more and most can be used quite freely, and so can many with negative verbs, e.g.

They didn't buy many books;

He gets a lot of books, but she doesn't get many;

They make more mistakes than admitted;

Most people are not familiar with these notions. But many with affirmative and interrogative verbs has a restricted use, i.e. many is possible with affirmative verbs when preceded by a good/a great, or when modified by so/as/too and very, e.g.

I made a good many friends there;

He has had so many jobs that he doesn't even remember their number.

When not modified, many is usually replaced by a lot/lots of (+noun) or by a lot/lots (pronouns), e.g.

I saw a lot/lots of seabirds;

I expect you saw a lot, too.

Compare the following: He hasn't won many races; but you've won a lot/lots of races or You've won a lot/a great many races. The same restrictions of use are applied to much/more/most, i.e. the quantitative indefinite adjective and pronoun that is mentioned under c) above. Examples:

We don't have much coffee;

They drink too much;

but He spends a lot/lots of/a great deal of money on his house;

compare with

He didn't eat much fruit;

She ate a lot/lots of/a great deal of fruit;

or She ate a lot/a great deal.

Little and few (adjectives and pronouns) denote scarcity or lack and have almost the force of a negative, e.g.

There was little time for consultation;

Little is known about the side-effects of this drug;

Few towns have such splendid trees etc.

This use of little and few is mainly confined to written English, probably because in conversation little and few might easily be confused with a little and a few. In conversation, therefore, little and few are normally replaced by hardly any or a negative verb + much/many, e.g.

We saw little = We saw hardly anything/We didn't see much;

Tourists come here but few stay overnight = Tourists come here but hardly any stay overnight etc.

But little and few can be used more freely when they are qualified by so/very/too/extremely/comparatively/relatively etc., e.g.

I'm unwilling to try a drug I know so little about;

They have too many technicians, we have too few;

There are fewer butterflies every year.

Only placed before a few means a small number in the speaker's opinion, e.g.

Only a few of our customers have accounts.

But quite placed before a few increases the number considerably, e.g.

I have quite a few books on English morphology (=quite a lot of books).

A little/little can be adverbs mainly used with verbs e.g. They grumbled a little about having to wait, and with 'unfavourable adjectives/adverbs', e.g. a little anxious, a little annoyed, a little impatient etc., and with comparative adjectives and adverbs, e.g.

The paper should be a little thicker;

Can't you walk a little faster?

All /each/every - all means a number of people or things considered as a group, while each/every means a number of people or things considered individually.

"Each is an adjective and a pronoun while every is an adjective only; each can be used of two or more persons or things, and is normally used of small numbers; every is not normally used of small numbers, e.g. Every man had a weapon = All the men had weapons; Each man had a weapon = the speaker went to each man in turn and checked that he had a weapon" (Thomson and Martinet 1997: 64). Each can be followed by of + these/those/nouns/pronouns in the accusative, e.g. each of these/the boys/them/us. Each can be associated with the personal pronoun, e.g.

We each sent in a report;

They each have been questioned etc.

All as a pronoun can be followed by of + the . /this/these/that/those/ possessives/proper nouns in the possessive case; e.g. all of the students were there; all of his life he has only . ; all of these were bought . ; all of Tom's boys were . ; the preposition of can be omitted in the examples above, but it cannot be left out in the construction all+ of + personal pronoun, e.g.

all of it; all of us etc.

All of it was rotten;

All of us went by train;

All of them were invited to the party

If, for some reason, the preposition of must be left out, all follows the noun, e.g.

I want it all;

They wanted us all etc;

The teacher wanted to see us all.

Both (an adjective and a pronoun) means 'one and the other' and takes a plural verb, e.g.

Both (doors) were open;

Both (students) handed in the applications in time;

Both (kids) were fond of playing football

A personal pronoun in the nominative/accusative + both is also possible, e.g.

We both knew him or Both of us knew him;

They called us both or They called both of us.

When one of these pronoun + all/both combinations is the subject of a compound tense the auxiliary verb usually precedes all/both, e.g.

We are all waiting and not *We all are waiting

You must both help me;

We are all ready;

We are both ready etc.

Either/neither are both adjectives and pronouns. Either means 'any one of the two' and takes a singular verb, e.g.

I have two English books; you can take either (of them);

Either of you come here and help me.

Either + a negative verb can be replaced by neither + a positive verb, e.g.

I haven't read either of these (books) = I have read neither of these (books).

When neither is the subject of a verb it cannot be replaced by either + a negative verb, e.g. only Neither of them knew the way is possible. Neither means 'not one and not the other of the two'. It takes a singular verb and can sometimes replace either + a negative verb, except when it is the subject of a construction (see above). Either/neither can take a prepositional phrase: of + the/these/personal pronoun/possessives, e.g.

I tried both keys but neither of them worked;

Neither of them knew the way;

Neither boy knew the way;

I've read neither of these books.

Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives associated with either/neither (singular adjectives or pronouns) used of people should technically be he/him, she/her, and his/her, but in colloquial English the plural forms of the personal adjectives or pronouns are generally used, e.g.

Neither of them knows the way, do they?

Neither of them had brought their passports, hadn't they?

Either . ..or/ neither . . . nor are double conjunctions, e.g.

Neither threats nor arguments had any effect on him;

You must either go at once or wait till tomorrow.

The double conjunctions must connect identical parts of speech or identical constructions (two nouns, two pronouns, two verbal forms etc)

b) Numerical and quantitative adjectives and pronouns.

Some and any are used mainly with plural countable nouns and mass nouns (niste), e.g.

SOME, eg.

There are some students waiting for you;

Some people are used to staying up late;

She bought some pencils;

I needed some English books;

He's left some time now;

We need some wood etc.

Some is used in affirmative structures (=an affirmative verb) while any is mainly used in interrogative and negative structures, e.g.

Are there any students there?

There aren't any books on that table.

Some is also used

with singular countable nouns to mean vreun/vreo/o/un/oarecare, e.g.

He's living at some place in Africa;

I've read that story in some book or other etc.

with singular countable nouns, with a deprecating meaning or implying the fact that the person or object is unknown to the speaker, e.g.

The man was writing some novel:

There's some man in the hall;

There's some suitcase in the other room etc.

In spoken English the intonation is enough to make the difference; in written English, however, the larger context does the same.

with singular countable nouns, stressed, in familiar English denoting appreciation, e.g.

Now, that is some joke!

Wow, this is some car! (asta zic si eu masina!)

with plural countable nouns to contrast with other + noun/others, e.g.

Some people learn languages quickly (while others don't);

Some people like their coffee hot (other people like their coffee cold) etc.

with countable or mass nouns to mean 'a considerable quantity/number' (it is always stressed), e.g.

I willl be away for some time (fairly long time);

Mr, Green spoke at some length (considerable length);

The railway station is at some distance (quite a long way);

in interrogative constructions in form but which are actually invitations or requests, e.g.

Will you have some coffee?

Would you buy me some bread?

Would you like some cake?

in interrogative constructions when they refer to a part of the whole or of a quantity, e.g.

Could I take some apples, please?

Do you have some change about you?

in interrogative sentences if the question does not refer to some (Levitchi), e.g.

Why are there so many mistakes in some exercises?

Do you want to suggest that some people don't like fish? etc.

As pronouns some and any follow the same rules as those mentioned above, e.g.

Did you buy any stamps? Yes, I bought some/No I did not buy any etc.

ANY, e.g.

As already mentioned, any is used with countable or mass nouns mainly in negative and interrogative constructions, as an equivalent of some, e.g.,

I haven't seen any books on the table;

Did you buy any apples yesterday?

There isn't any coffee left.

Any is also used:

with hardly/barely/scarcely (which are almost negative), e.g.

I have hardly any spare time;

She has hardly any money to live on;

with without when without any means with no, e.g.

She crossed the frontier without any difficulty/with no difficulty;

He is able to swim across the lake without any visible effort/with no effort etc.

after if and whether and in expressions of doubt, e.g.

If you need any money, let me know;

I don't think there is any petrol in the tank;

in affirmative sentences with the meaning of orice, oricare, indiferent, e.g.

Any book on horse riding will tell you how to mount a horse;

Any grown-up knows that hard work is the only way out of poverty;

Can I take a book? Of course, you can take any etc.

No (an adjective) and none (a pronoun) can be used with an affirmative verb to express a negative (as an alternative to any + a negative verb); it can be used with countable or mass nouns, e.g.

I have no apples = I don't have any apples;

I had some last year, but I have none this year/ . but I don't have any this year;

No work was done;

None of the tourists wanted to climb the mountain etc.

A lot of/a lot(see under many/more/most, section 4/5.2)

Enough - is both an adjective and a pronoun on the one hand, and an adverb on the other. As an adjective enough precedes the noun/noun equivalent it determines, e.g.

She has enough money to buy whatever she wants to;

You have enough time to get there on foot;

I could not tell whether it was enough or not etc.

As an adverb enough follows the adjective/adverb/verb it modifies, e.g.

She is tall enough to be a basketball player;

We worked enough for today;

She speaks English well enough etc.(for more details see under adverb)

c) Quantitative adjectives and pronouns - for practical reasons quantitative adjectives and pronouns have been dealt with in parallel with other adjectives and adverbs, so, for

little (see under little and few, section 4/5.2)

Much/more/most (see under many/more/most and few above)

d) pronouns - some, any and no combine with body, thing and one, the resulting compounds being pronouns. These compounds are: somebody, something, someone, anybody, anything, anyone; nobody, nothing, no one; as compounds of some, any and no they follow the rules for some, any and no (see under some, any and no), e.g.

Someone wants to speak to you on the phone;

Somebody gave me a ticket for the concert;

No one/Nobody has ever given me a free ticket for anything;

Anyone will tell you where the house is;

These pronouns can be used in the possessive case, e.g.

It is nobody's business.

Someone's passport has been stolen;

Is this anyone's seat?

I don't want to waste anyone's time.

These pronouns have a singular meaning and take a singular verb, so personal pronouns and possessive adjectives should logically be he/him, she/her etc. However, plural forms are more common:

Has anyone left their luggage on the train?

No one saw Tom go out, didn't they?

Else can be placed after the pronouns mentioned above as well as after everyone, everybody, everything (pronouns also) and after the adverbs somewhere, anywhere, nowhere, everywhere, e.g. somebody else, anybody else, somewhere else etc. (compounds with alt- in Romanian, e.g. altcineva, altundeva etc.), e.g.

I'm afraid I can't help you; you'll have to ask someone else;

There isn't anyone else to ask

somewhere else etc. - forms can be used in the possessive case, e.g.

By mistake, I took someone else's coat;

Was anyone else's luggage opened? etc.

4/5.3. Possessive adjectives and pronouns

Form:    Person Adjectives Pronouns

I my mine

II your yours

III his his

her hers

its ----

IV our ours

V your yours

VI their theirs

Possessive adjectives and pronouns in English have only one form which refers to the possessor and not to the thing(s) possessed, and do not agree in number, gender or case with the object(s) possessed, e.g.

This is our room and that is yours;

This is their car; that is theirs too;

I've got your pen. You are using mine etc.

In Romanian, however, things are a little more complicated and for the benefit of the Romanian learners all the pronominal or adjectival forms will be given in order to make it clear that there is only one form in English for the four Romanian ones (which must agree in number, gender and case with the object/s possessed), i.e.

PERS. Possessive Adjective Possessive pronoun

1 (eu) meu, mea, mei, mele al meu, a mea, ai mei, ale mele

2 (tu) tau, ta, tai, tale al tau, a ta, ai tai, ale tale

3 (ea)    ei al, a, ai, ale ei

(el) lui al, a, ai, ale lui

(el, ea)sau, sa, sai, sale al sau, a sa, ai sai, ale sale

4 (noi)

There are also other means of expressing possession, i.e. object(s) possessed + of + possessive pronoun, e.g. friends of mine/yours/his (prieteni de-ai mei/tai/lui).

Own (propriu/proprie/proprii) can be used after possessive adjectives to emphasize the idea of possession, e.g.

He couldn't trust his own friends;

She didn't want to see me, her own mother! etc.

Parts of one's body, pieces of clothing or personal belongings are most frequently preceded by a possessive adjective, e.g.

Put on your coat !

Where are my glasses?

Wash your hands!

My head aches;

She is in her room;

He won't lend me his car!

4/5.4. Interrogative adjectives and pronouns

For persons: Nominative case: who (pronoun), dative/accusative cases: whom/who (pronoun), of which whom is the technically correct one, but who is used, especially in spoken English; possessive case: whose (adjective and pronoun); what can also be used for persons and its form is invariable.

For things: what (adjective and pronoun) has an invariable form.

For persons and things when the choice is restricted: which has an invariable form.

Who, whose, which, what, when used as subjects are usually followed by an affirmative verb, e.g.

Who told you this?

Who comes tomorrow?

Whose book is this?

Whose words are these?

What went wrong?

But with who, whose etc. + be + noun or personal/distributive pronoun, an interrogative verb is used, e.g.

Who is he? Whose is that?

What is that noise?

Other examples, e.g.

Who took my gun?

Who are these boys?

Who can tell me the truth?

Whom did you see?(formal English)

Who did you see? (normal English)

Whom/Who did the committee appoint?

Who did you go with?

Who are you talking to?

Whose (car) broke down?

What do you base your theory on?

Which pigeon arrived first?

Which of them is the eldest?

What can also be used in other constructions, e.g.

what + action + for? meaning why?, e.g.

What did you do that for? = Why did you do that? or

What did you go there for?= Why did you go there?

what + be . ..+ like? is a request for description or comment (animate/inanimate),e.g.

What was your trip like? (possible answer: It was too long and difficult to enjoy)

What was the weather like? (possible answer: It was cold and windy);

What is your friend like? (possible answer: He is nice and friendly).

what + do/does/did + they/he/she/it + look like? is a request for description only, e.g.

What does she look like? (possible answer: She is tall and slender);

What does it/the car look like? (possible answer: It is brand new and as quick as one could imagine).

what + be + you/he/she/they? is a question eliciting an answer about one's profession, e.g. What are you? (possible answer: I am a teacher).

what (and how) are used in questions about age and measurements, i.e. depth/height/length/width, although in conversation it would be more usual to say how old/deep/high/ tall/long/wide?

Formal English    Conversation

What age are you? What is your age? How old are you?

What height is she? What is his height? How tall is he?

What is the weight of the parcel? How heavy is it?

Ever can be placed after who/what (as well as after the adverbs where, why, when, how) although it is not necessary; when added, it emphasizes the speaker's surprise/astonishment/anger/irritation/dismay. It has the same meaning as on earth/in the world and it is not polite, e.g.

Who ever are you? (it expresses the speaker's irritation, the other person is probably an intruder);

Who ever told you about it? =Who on earth told you about it?

What ever are you doing in my room? =What on earth are you doing in my room?

Who ever and what ever (two words) are different from whoever (pronoun only) or whatever (pronoun and adjective); whoever means "the one who", "he/she who" (whoever, whichever and whatever are relative adjectives/pronouns, but it seems logical to mention them here as well), e.g.

Whoever gains the most points wins the competition;

Whoever gets home first stars cooking the dinner;

Whoever cleans the windows doesn't make a good job of it;

In order to emphasize the importance of a request or command whatever you do is often placed before or after it, e.g.

Whatever you do, don't mention my name;

Whatever you do, don't spend that money.

4/5.5. Adverbial adjectives

They are hundreds of words that begin in a- that is usually attached to nouns, adjectives or verbs, e.g. aback, abask, abeam, ablaze, abloom, ablush, aboard, abreast, acock, adrift, afar, afield, afloat, afoot, afore, afresh, agape, agaze, aghast, aglow, agog, aground, ahead, ajar etc.

These words are neither pure adjectives nor pure adverbs since they partly show the state of an object and partly its characteristic at a given moment; they are classed as adjectives, however, because of the following reasons:

'state' being a transient quality of something, the general meaning of these words falls under the heading of qualitative adjectives;

they are morphologically non-flexional; some may combine with more and the most, e.g. more afraid, more alive etc.;

syntactically they combine with other parts of speech, like any other qualitative adjectives: with adverbs, e.g. he was painfully alive to the great universal things (Jack London); with prepositional combinations, e.g. He walked away under a sky of clear steel-blue, alive with stars (Galsworthy);

They combine with infinitives, e.g. He is afraid to come back;

they are usually predicatives, e.g.

They are asleep;

The door was ajar;

The crew were ashore.

4/5.6. Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses which can be a) defining/ restrictive relative clauses or b) non-defining/non-restrictive relative clauses;

a) Defining relative clauses describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from the other nouns of the same class. A clause of this kind is essential to the clear understanding of the noun, e.g. The man who came yesterday refused to give me his name - who came yesterday is the relative clause; if we omit it, it is not clear what man we are talking about.

Relative pronouns used in defining/restrictive relative clauses:

for things: N. who/that, D. and Acc. Who(m)/that, G. whose;

for things: N., D., Acc. which/that, G. whose/of which

Examples:

for persons, nominative: The man who robbed you has been arrested: that is a possible alternative after all, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody and those; if in doubt, use who, e.g. Everyone who/that knew him liked him;

for persons, accusative: the pronoun changes from the formally correct, whom, to the more usual one, who, then to that or it is left out altogether, e.g. The man whom/who/that/-----I saw told me to come back yesterday;

for persons, genitive: People whose rents have been raised can appeal;

for things, nominative: This is the picture which/that caused such a sensation; that is a possible alternative to which, but when in doubt, use which;

for things, accusative: the pronoun changes from which to that or is left out completely, e.g. The car which/that/----- I hired broke down;

for things, genitive: A house whose walls were made of glass cost a fortune;

A defining/restrictive relative clause can be replaced by an infinitive or a participle (see section 1.6.1.2.)

b) Non-defining/non-restrictive relative clauses are placed after nouns that are definite already, so they do not define the noun, but merely add something to it by giving some more information about it; unlike defining relative clauses, they are not essential in the sentence and can be omitted without causing confusion; the pronouns, however, can never be omitted as they play an important role in the subordinate clause. This construction is fairly formal and more common in written than in spoken English.

Relative pronouns in non-defining relative clauses:

for persons: N. who, D., Acc. who(m), G. whose

for things: N.,D., Acc. which, G. whose, of which

Examples:

for persons, nominative: My friend, who doesn't like fishing at all, went fishing yesterday;

for persons, accusative: Peter, who(m) everyone suspected, turned out to be innocent; --for persons, genitive: Ann, whose children are at school today, is trying to get a job;

for objects, nominative: That block, which cost $2 million to build, has been empty for years;

for objects, accusative: These books, which you can get at any bookshop, will give you all the information you need;

for objects, genitive: This house, whose windows were all broken, was a depressive sight.

Which (ceea ce) can also modify a whole main clause, or a longer unit that was reported before, e.g.

Apart from his talent, he was tall and handsome, which made the jury select him for the main part in the movie;

or . . (a longer unit), which left him poor and broke.

Both in defining and non-defining relative clauses the preposition, if there is one, should be kept after the verb it belongs to. The preposition may precede the relative pronoun sometimes, but this construction is rather formal and is never used in spoken English, although it may appear in written form: so, it is more usual to say The man I was travelling with was from San Francisco than The man with whom I was travelling was from S.F, in which the preposition precedes the relative pronoun; the same is true for all instances of relative pronouns associated with prepositions.

The importance of commas in relative clauses

A defining relative clause is written without commas, while a non-defining relative one is always put between commas, or comes after a comma, at the end of the sentence. The presence of commas is very important as the meaning changes when commas are inserted, e.g.

The students who wanted to go on a trip were disappointed when it started to rain (=not all were disappointed, only those who wanted to go on a trip) and

The students, who wanted to go on a trip, were disappointed (all wanted to go on a trip and all were disappointed).

4/5.7. Personal pronouns

Pronouns are words which replace nouns; the personal pronoun has an anaphoric function, i.e. they replace nouns previously mentioned or notions the interlocutor(s) is/are already informed about.

The personal pronoun has number (singular and plural), gender (masculine and feminine, and the inanimate it), and case (nominative, and dative/accusative):

Person/number Nominative Dative/ Accusative

I singular I (for/to) me

II singular you (for/to) you

Thou* (for/to) thee*

III singular he (for/to) him

she (for/to) her

it (for/to) it

I plural we (for/to) us

II plural you (for/to) you

III plural they (for/to) them

*Thou and *thee are old forms that can be found in literature or in extremely formal speech; very infrequently encountered in contemporary English.

For the position of the pronoun objects see under noun, the category of the case (section 2.7)

Synonyms of personal pronouns:

myself can stand for I, e.g.

John and myself went on foot;

or after as/than/but, e.g.

No person has ever been more intolerably tortured than myself

we can stand for I as the so-called "modest we" or "royal we", e.g. an author writing an article may choose to write: We experimented all the . , instead of : I experimented all the . ;

we is sometimes used instead of you especially

when talking down (doctor to patient)

How are we feeling today? or

when talking to children, e.g.

Are we hungry?

We haven't eaten anything today.

the undersigned can be used instead of the first person singular in applications;

The pronoun IT has been explained under noun, the category of gender; it has other functions as well, e.g.

Demonstrative IT- very much like the demonstrative adjective, when the pronoun could be replaced by a demonstrative, e.g.

Who is it?

Have you ever drunk wine? It is very tasty.

It's all right.

Impersonal IT- used with time, weather, distance etc., e.g.

It is late;

It is early;

What time is it?

It is cold;

It is warm;

It is far;

It is 10 miles' distance away etc.

Introductory-anticipatory IT - it introduces the sentence and anticipates the logical subject/object, being itself a formal grammatical subject or object; it also introduces passive constructions (for other introductory functions see under adjective of quality), e.g.

It is easy to learn English;

It is clear that he won't do it;

It is said/it is believed/it is suspected that . etc.

Introductory-emphatic IT- sometimes the speaker feels that it is not strong enough to use only the subject and the predicate, he feels the need to emphasize the subject, e.g. The doctor prescribed the medicine (=Doctorul mi-a prescris medicamentul) is not convincing enough, so the speaker says: It is/was the doctor who prescribes/prescribed the medicine (=Doctorul e cel care mi-a prescris medicamentul); or It was only yesterday that I found out the truth; It was the teacher who told me what to do etc.

An emphatic-predicate IT- when it refers to person/thing/situation which is final or ultimate, e.g. This is it! That's it!

An empty-meaningless IT- because of the compulsory presence of a subject, e.g. It is Monday; It is raining etc, very much like b), the impersonal IT.

4/5.8. Reflexive and emphatic pronouns

The form of the reflexive pronoun is the same as the emphatic pronoun, the two can be distinguished in use.

Person/Number Reflexive/Emphatic/Emphasizing pronoun

I singular myself

II singular yourself

III singular    himself

herself

itself

I plural ourselves

II plural yourselves

III plural themselves

The indefinite reflexive/emphasizing pronoun is oneself.

1) as reflexive pronouns they are used as objects of a verb when the action of the verb returns to the doer, i.e. when the subject and the object are the same person; the word order is: subject + verb + reflexive pronoun, e.g.

I cut myself;

He can't shave himself

Reflexive pronouns can be used after verb + preposition, e.g.

He spoke to himself;

Look after yourself!.

The preposition by preceding any of these pronouns changes their meaning to alone, not accompanied or without help, e.g.

He was sitting there by himself =he was sitting there alone;

I did it by myself =I did it without any help etc.

2) as emphatic pronouns, they have a different place, i.e. subject + emphatic pronoun + verb + object OR subject +verb + object + emphatic pronoun, e.g.

Ann herself opened the door =Ann opened the door herself;

The king himself gave her the medal;

She made the cake herself =She herself made the cake etc.

4/5.9. Reciprocal pronouns

They are one another and each other; both can be used for two or more, but each other is preferred when there are no more than two, e.g.

Tom and Ann looked at each other

The reciprocal pronoun can be used in the genitive, e.g.

The boys whispered in each other's ears

It was a general fight, people tearing each other's clothes etc.

In contemporary usage each other is frequently preferred over one another, even when there are more than two people present.