CHAPTER 19. OTHER PRONOUNS 1. Indefinite pronouns Indefinite pronouns may be used without antecedents. The indefinite pronouns in the following sentences are underlined. e.g. One cannot believe everything one hears. I will try to think of something. Nobody will believe it! Is there anyone here by the name of Smith? The following are examples of indefinite pronouns: one anyone anybody anything everyone everybody everything [no one] nobody nothing someone somebody something All of the pronouns listed above take verbs in the third person singular. The phrase no one is used like the other indefinite pronouns, but is spelled a s two separate words. The pronoun one can refer to persons or things. e.g. One of the boys will help you. Please hand me one of the boxes. However, when used in a general sense, the pronoun one is usually understood as referring to persons. e.g. One should always look both ways before crossing the street. In addition, the other indefinite pronouns ending in one, and the indefinite pronouns ending in body, generally refer to persons. The indefinite pronou ns ending in thing generally refer to things. Unlike most of the personal pronouns, the indefinite pronouns have the same form in the objective case as in the subjective case. As shown in the following
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All of the pronouns listed above take verbs in the third person singular. Thephrase no one is used like the other indefinite pronouns, but is spelled as two
separate words.
The pronoun one can refer to persons or things.
e.g. One of the boys will help you.
Please hand me one of the boxes.
However, when used in a general sense, the pronoun one is usually
understood as referring to persons.
e.g. One should always look both ways before crossing the street.
In addition, the other indefinite pronouns ending in one, and the indefinite
pronouns ending in body, generally refer to persons. The indefinite pronouns
ending in thing generally refer to things.
Unlike most of the personal pronouns, the indefinite pronouns have the same
form in the objective case as in the subjective case. As shown in the following
It is considered grammatically incorrect to use more than one type of pronoun
in a general statement such as those given above. For instance, if a general
statement is begun using the pronoun one, the pronoun one must be usedthroughout the statement. As shown above, the possessive adjectives and
reflexive pronouns in a general statement must agree with their antecedents.
The following table summarizes the forms of the personal pronouns and the
indefinite pronoun one.
Summary of the Forms of the Personal Pronouns and One
SubjectiveCase
ObjectiveCase
PossessiveAdjective
PossessivePronoun
ReflexivePronoun
I me my mine myself you you your yours yourself he him his his himself she her her hers herself it it its [its] itself we us our ours ourselvesyou you your yours yourselves
they them their theirs themselves one one one's oneself
See Exercise 1.
In formal English, it is considered grammatically correct to use the adjective
his to agree with indefinite pronouns such as anyone and everyone.
e.g. Everyone took his seat.
However, it is considered less discriminatory to use a phrase such as his or
her to agree with such pronouns.
e.g. Everyone took his or her seat.
In informal English, the problem of gender is often avoided by the use of the
The pronoun who usually refers only to persons. Unlike the other interrogative
pronouns, who changes its form depending on the case, as shown in the
following table.
Subjective Case Objective Case Possessive Casewho whom whose
i. Who
When who is the subject of a verb, the subjective case must be used.
e.g. Who opened the door?
Who will help me?
It should be noted that when who is used with the verb to be, or with verbs inthe Passive Voice, the subjective case must usually be used, since such verbs
cannot take an object.
e.g. Who is it?
Who was the fastest runner?
Who will be there?
Who has been elected?
The first three examples above illustrate the use of who with the verb to be.
The fourth example illustrates the use of who with a verb in the Passive Voice.
ii. Whom
In formal English, when the pronoun who is the object of a verb or the object
of a preposition, the objective form whom must be used.
e.g. Whom did you see downtown?
To whom did you send the invitations?
In the first example, whom is the object of the verb see. In the second
example, whom is the object of the preposition to.
In informal English, the form who is often used for the objective as well as for
the subjective case. For instance, in informal English, the preceding examples
might be expressed Who did you see downtown? and Who did you send
the invitations to? However, this use of who is considered to be
or more things from a limited number of alternatives.
e.g. Which apple would you like?
Which children were ready on time?
The first example implies a choice of one apple from two or more apples. Thesecond example implies that an answer is expected which will indicate certain
children from a limited group of children.
In contrast, what as an adjective or interrogative pronoun is usually used in
order to ask for general information.
e.g. What time is it?
What does he want?
What can also be used in exclamations. For instance, the exclamation What!
can be used to express surprise or disbelief. The following are other examples
of the use of what in exclamations.
e.g. What nonsense!
What a shame!
What a beautiful day!
In written English, an exclamation must be followed by an exclamation mark: !
It should be noted that exclamations often do not contain verbs.
As illustrated above, when an exclamatory what precedes a singular,
countable noun, the word what must be followed by a or an.
e.g. What a coincidence!
What an elegant dress!
See Exercise 9.
d. Indirect questionsAs well as being used at the beginning of direct questions, interrogative
pronouns and adjectives can also be used at the beginning of indirect
questions.
Whereas a direct question forms a complete sentence in itself, an indirect
question is part of a longer sentence. The following examples show the
difference between a direct question and an indirect question.
In the first example, Who is there? is a direct question. In the second
example, who is there is an indirect question which is part of a longerstatement. In the third example, who is there is an indirect question which is
part of a longer question.
i. Interrogative word as the subject
When the interrogative word is the subject of a verb, or modifies the subject of
a verb, the word order of an indirect question is usually the same as that of a
direct question. In the following examples, the verbs of the direct and indirect
questions are underlined, and their subjects are printed in bold type.
e.g. Direct Question: What has happened?
Indirect Question: We shall ask what has happened.
Direct Question: Which child won the race?
Indirect Question: They will ask which child won the race.
In the first pair of examples, the interrogative pronoun what is the subject of
the verb has happened. In the second pair of examples, the interrogative
adjective which modifies child, the subject of the verb won. In both pairs of
examples, the word order of the indirect questions is the same as that of the
direct questions.
ii. Interrogative word as the object of a verb or preposition
When the interrogative word is the object of a verb or preposition, or modifies
the object of a verb or preposition, the word order of an indirect question
differs from that of a direct question. In a direct question, the first auxiliary
precedes the subject, and the auxiliary to do must be used for verbs in theSimple Present and Simple Past. In an indirect question, the subject precedes
the verb, and the auxiliary to do is not used. Thus, in an indirect question, the
word order used is the same as that used for an affirmative statement.
This difference in word order is illustrated in the following examples.
Indirect Question: Please tell us which answer is correct.
See Exercise 11.
The following table summarizes the variations in word order which occur in
direct and indirect questions. The examples of direct questions should be
compared with the corresponding examples of indirect questions.
Word order of Direct and Indirect Questions beginning with What,
Which and Who
Direct Questions
Type of Question Word OrderThe interrogative word is the Subject precedes verb. Examples:
subject of the verb, or modifies Who told her?the subject of the verb Which boy did it?
The interrogative word is Subject follows the first auxiliary:the object of a verb or What has he done?preposition, or modifies the To whom shall we send it?object of a verb or preposition Which questions did she answer?
For which child did you buy it? The verb to be is accompanied The verb to be precedes its
complement:by a noun or pronoun
complementWho are their friends?
What was that?What time is it?Which book was it?Which is the right answer?
Type of Question Word OrderIn all cases Subject precedes verb. Examples:
I wonder who told her.You asked which boy did it.She wants to know what he has done.He wonders to whom we shall send it.I wonder which questions she answered.Please tell me for which child you bought
it.
The verb to be is accompanied The verb to be usually followsby a noun or pronoun
complementits complement. Examples:
He will ask who their friends are.I wonder what that was.Do you know what time it is?Please tell me which book it was.
However, in the case of which,the verb to be often precedes anoun complement. For example:I wonder which is the right answer.
See Exercise 12.
5. Relative pronouns
A pronoun which is used to begin a subordinate clause can be referred to as a
relative pronoun, since it indicates the relationship of the subordinate clause
to the rest of the sentence.
For instance, the underlined words in the following sentences are relative
pronouns.
e.g. The woman who is standing near the window is a doctor.
The door, which was bright red, was very conspicuous.
In these examples, whom has the antecedents girl and uncle, and is the
object of the preposition to.
In the following examples, whose introduces the defining relative clausewhose house was sold and the non-defining relative clause whose family
lives in Europe.
e.g. The woman whose house was sold will retire to the country.
My cousin, whose family lives in Europe, will visit us for a few weeks.
In these examples, whose has the antecedents woman and cousin, and
modifies the nouns house and family. In the case of whose, it should be
noted that it is the antecedent which must be a person; the noun being
modified may be a person or a thing.
See Exercises 14 and 15.
In informal English, whose at the beginning of a clause is occasionally used to
refer not only to persons, but also to things, in order to make a simpler
sentence. For example, the following sentence is considered grammatically
correct in formal English.
e.g. The tree, the branches of which overhung the street, was covered with
blossoms.
In informal English, the phrase the branches of which might be replaced by
whose branches, as illustrated in the following example.
e.g. The tree, whose branches overhung the street, was covered with
blossoms.
However, this use of whose is considered to be grammatically incorrect in
formal English.
e. Comparison of the use of That, Which and Who The use of the relative pronouns that, which and who is summarized in the
following table.
Relative Pronoun Type of Clause Type of Antecedentthat defining clause only persons or thingswhich defining or non-defining things onlywho/whom/whose defining or non-defining persons only