Possessive pronouns in English as read. Possessive pronouns and possessive case in English

“I love him” and “I love his cat” - in Russian, the form of the personal pronoun answering the question “who?” is completely identical to the possessive pronoun answering the question “whose?”. It's not like that in English. Let's look at two types of pronouns that indicate a person, be it the object itself or the person who performs the action or on whom the action is performed, or who belongs to someone or something:

• Personal pronouns (who? what? whom? to whom? etc.)
• Possessive pronouns (whose?)

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns are pronouns that indicate the subject, but do not name it, that is: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they. We are lucky to have you. In English, personal pronouns have only two cases:

• Nominative – as in Russian, the nominative case is always only the subject;
• Objective - combines everything that in the Russian language would be expressed by all other cases except the nominative.

It is important to remember that in English there is no pronoun “you”. There was once a pronoun in English, “thou,” which can sometimes be intimidating to those who open a volume of Shakespeare for the first time in their lives. But this is just a harmless “you.” It is not currently used. Instead, we have long used “you,” which comes from ye – you (plural). That is, before it was both you - thou, and you - ye. In the end, only “you” remained. Therefore, every time you use the pronoun “you,” you are addressing the person with you. It’s not for nothing that they say that the British are the most polite nation in the world.

It is important to note that some languages ​​also have an indefinite personal pronoun that replaces an arbitrary subject regardless of gender - for example, French. on and it. man. In English, this pronoun is “one.” For example, one doesn’t have to know everything in order to succeed.

Possessive pronouns

These pronouns qualify the noun and answer the questions “whose, whose, whose.”
Possessive pronouns have two forms

The possessive pronoun cannot be used alone in its defining function. It always accompanies a noun. And, conversely, the possessive pronoun in the function of a noun is always used separately and is most often used in order to avoid tautology:
I know her address, tell me his.(His = his + address)
This is his cars and that’s ours.(Ours = our + car)

Pay attention to the strict correspondence between the use of possessive and personal pronouns.
She took her bag and left.(She took her bag and left.)
The students wanted to see their papers.(The students wanted to see their work.)

With nouns denoting parts of the body, items of clothing, relatives, as a rule, possessive pronouns are used rather than the definite article.
Close your eyes. Put on your hat. This is my sister.

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ex. 1 Replace the highlighted words with personal pronouns.
Example: Pete lives here. I saw Pete yesterday. -> He lives here. I saw him yesterday.

1. Alice is my girlfriend. I love Alice.
2. Jane and I saw Mark but Mark didn't see Jane and me.
3. I told Steve and Carol to come.
4. My parents liked the cat and bought the cat.
5. Why are the books on the table? Put the books on the shelf.
6. It's a nice bird. Listen how lovely the bird is singing.
7. Your friend and you are late again.
8. My sister and I are great friends.
9. I haven't seen Pete and Alex today.
10. Steve and Mark have invited my friend and me to the cinema.

ex. 2 Change the highlighted sentences or parts of sentences according to the example.

Example: This is not my pen. I want my pen. -> I want mine.

1. This is my girlfriend and that's his girlfriend.
2. Their street is not as busy as our street.
3. These are my children and those are her children.
4. My flat is smaller than their flat.
5. It's not your umbrella. It's my umbrella.
6. My telephone doesn't work. Can I use your telephone?

ex. 3Fill in the blanks with pronouns.

1. How many times a day do you brush....teeth?

2. We want him to stay with....... in summer.

3.Mr. Smart is rich........ car is very expensive.

: my, his, her, our, its, their, mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs.

1. Possessive pronouns in English also have categories of gender, number and person, as well as personal pronouns.
2. Possessive pronouns have two forms: independent (or absolute) and dependent (or combined).

Dependent form of possessive pronouns

The dependent form of possessive pronouns is used in cases where the pronoun stands before defined by a noun. In a sentence, it usually acts as a definition.

If you don't stop taking my toys, I will take your ones.

If you don't stop taking my toys, I'll take yours.

Their friend is the strongest in our class.

Their friend is the strongest in our class.

Independent form of possessive pronouns

The independent form of possessive pronouns is used in cases where there is no qualifying noun. In a sentence it can serve as a subject, predicate or object.

My pencil is broken, give me yours.

My pencil is broken, give me yours.

Whose computer is this? - It's mine.

WhoseThiscomputer? - My.

He is a friend of hers.

He's her friend.

1. Possessive pronouns in English are often used with body parts, items of clothing, and things belonging to a particular person. As a rule, in such cases they are not translated into Russian.

You should clean your teeth every day.

You should brush your teeth every day.

She always helps her mother with household duties.

She always helps her mother around the house.

The girl dropped her handkerchief and the boy picked it up.

The girl dropped her handkerchief and the boy picked it up.

English Joke

After just a few years of marriage, filled with constant arguments, a young man and his wife decided the only way to save their marriage was to try counseling. They had been at each other’s throat for some time and felt that this was their last straw. When they arrived at the counselor’s office, the counselor jumped right in and opened the floor for discussion.
"What seems to be the problem?"
Immediately, the husband held his long face down without anything to say. On the other hand, the wife began talking 90 miles an hour describing all the wrongs within their marriage. After 5 - 10 - 15 minutes of listening to the wife, the counselor went over to her, picked her up by her shoulders, kissed her passionately for several minutes, and sat her back down. Afterwards, the wife sat there speechless.
He looked over at the husband who was staring in disbelief at what had happened. The counselor spoke to the husband, “Your wife NEEDS that at least twice a week!”
The husband scratched his head and replied, “I can have her here on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Possessive pronouns (possessive pronouns) in English express belonging and answer the question whose? whose? For example: my - mine, your - yours etc.
They have two forms - dependent And independent. Possessive pronouns in the dependent form are sometimes called possessive pronouns-adjectives. Possessives in the independent form are sometimes called possessive pronouns-nouns.

*Note! Possessive pronoun its written without an apostrophe. With apostrophe ( it's) is written as an abbreviation for the phrase it is.

1. Possessive pronouns in dependent form are always used only in conjunction with corresponding nouns. not used in this case.

Examples:My dress is red. - My dress is red.
Our interview was interesting. – Our interview was interesting.

2. Possessive pronouns in independent form replace nouns with themselves, i.e. Nouns are never placed after this form. The article in this case, similarly as in the dependent form, is not used.

Examples: This is my cap. This cap is mine. - This is my cap. This cap is mine.
This is not her bag, hers is brown. - This is not her bag, it’s hers - brown.

3. When translating from Russian into English pronouns mine, there may be confusion because this pronoun can refer to all three persons, singular and plural. In order to correctly translate a pronoun, you need to pay attention to the person of the subject in the sentence.

Examples:I washed their hands. – I have washed my hands.
She washed their hands. – She has washed her hands.
I don't have a pen. You can you give me my(handle)? I have no pen. Can you give me yours?

4. In English possessive pronouns in dependent form are used more often than in Russian. They are used when the pronoun precedes the corresponding Russian nouns your(s) absent.

Examples: I told sister about it. –I told my sister about it.
He bought wife present. – He bought his wife a present.

We use possessive pronouns in our speech every day. This is my cat, their dog, her portion of ice cream, his briefcase, their daughter... We will see pronouns in almost every sentence. Since the theory on this topic has already been studied, today we will proceed directly to practice in order to consolidate the acquired knowledge. Remember: when studying possessive pronouns in English, exercises will help you remember the theory much more effectively than even a hundred repetitions. So let's get straight to the point! Interesting tasks await us that will be easy enough even for children.

Exercises on possessive pronouns are relatively easy. And if you first repeat the basic subtleties of translation, then working on the tasks will be very easy. So, for your attention, tables with possessive pronouns that will put all the features of translation on the shelves.

First form of possessive pronouns

Second form of possessive pronouns

As you already know, despite the fact that possessive pronouns (Possessive Pronouns) have two forms, they all answer the same question => whose? That is Whose? Whose? Whose? Whose? At the same time, we would like to remind you that the absolute form of possessive pronouns differs from the first (attributive) both in spelling and in role in the sentence: nouns do not follow the absolute form, they are missing.

Examples:

That is his cup => This is his cup (possessive pronoun in attributive form his+ noun cup)

But! That cup is mine=> This cup is mine (possessive pronoun in absolute form mine, after which there is no need to put a noun).

So, when we have repeated the theory, we can safely begin the exercises. Now you can test your knowledge in practice. Forward!

Exercise 1. (possessive pronouns)

Correctly place the possessive pronouns, choosing from those proposed in the attributive form (my, his, her, its, our, your, their):

my his her our them

Book but she denied to return it to him.

I saw that picture in

his our its her their

House but don’t remember whether it was her property or just a gift.

I forgot my glasses in

your my their her our

Car. Probably they will return it to me tomorrow.

The teacher was listening to

my their your our its

Answer quite patiently but it was really silly one.

His It's Your Her

Jacket I found in

her his my their our

My Your His Our Their

Parents were absent while

his my their your our

Were at school.

Note! In these sentences, the possessive pronouns can be swapped. For example, in the last sentence, the Possessive Pronouns can be swapped without affecting the context. But, for example, in the third sentence there will be only one choice, since there is an identifier word they.

We continue to use possessive pronouns

Exercise 2. (possessive pronouns)

Write the correct option from those given in brackets:

My grandfather has a cat. color is warm red.

She saw dress washing in washing machine. The dress in washing machine was (her, hers, its).

I saw him wearing best shirt It suits him so much!

cat sleeps when it has done all insidious things.

They live in a big city. city ​​is so nice I would like to visit it this summer!

I like dress more than .

I have a rabbit. The rabbit is .

plane is a luxury one as well as pleasure boat

My sister has a doll. doll is very expensive.

Her brother is very naughty. Only trousers costs 5 times more than my the most expensive dress!

Exercise 3. (possessive pronouns)

Place the pronouns correctly in attributive and absolute form:

I have a dress. The dress is.

Dress is very nice.

Her friend has a new lipstick. The new lipstick is.

Lipstick is of dark wine color.

This shirt is.

Shirt is from the newest collection.

The business is

To make your speech in a foreign language expressive, correct and varied, and also to learn to understand what other people say (write), you need to know English pronouns. The table (and more than one) will be presented in this article with the necessary explanations to facilitate the assimilation of grammatical material.

What is a pronoun and what is it for?

This part of speech is used in any language to avoid tautology, enliven dry statements, and also make them more logical. Pronouns in English are called Pronouns, which translates as “instead of nouns.”

This service component functions as a substitute for those parts of speech that have already been mentioned in spoken or written text. Nouns and adjectives can be replaced, and a little less often - adverbs and numerals. Pronouns help us maintain consistency and clarity in the presentation of thoughts, but at the same time not repeat ourselves, naming the same people, objects, phenomena, signs, etc. again.

What are the pronouns in English?

English pronouns, like Russian ones, change according to person, gender and number. In addition, they must be consistent with the part of speech that they replace. For example, agreement based on gender: girl (girl) - she (she). In the same way, agreement is carried out in numbers: boys (boys) - they (they).

Now let's take a closer look at what each variety is and how this functional part of speech manages to simplify English.

Personal Pronouns

They get their name because they replace nouns - animate and inanimate. There are seven of them in total.

• I - I;
• you - you (you);
• he - he;
• she - she;
• it - it;
• we - we;
• they - they.

Please note the following features:

1. You is used in both singular and plural. It is translated accordingly: “you”, “You” (addressing one person) or “you” (addressing a group of people).

2. It denotes not only inanimate objects, but also animals.

The above personal pronouns are given in the nominative case. But what if you need to say: “to you”, “me”, “about us”, etc.? What is conveyed in Russian by other cases (dative, genitive, prepositional, etc.), in English is called in one word - the subject case. Such pronouns replace words that are not the subject of a sentence. The correspondence table is presented below.

Start practicing using the subject case once you thoroughly understand and learn the nominative forms. Otherwise, you simply risk getting confused. In general, remembering pronouns is quite simple, and the more often you practice a foreign language, the more confident you will become in speaking.

Possessive Pronouns

This group is the second most frequently used. But don't be afraid when you see new English pronouns. The table below shows the correspondence between personal and possessive types.

As you can see, almost all pronouns have the same base, and the differences are most often only in one letter.

It is recommended to learn and practice in exercises first personal pronouns, then possessive ones, and then practice in mixed tests, where you need to choose the option that is appropriate in meaning and grammar: you or your, etc. This way you will firmly understand everything and will never confuse these two superficially similar groups.

Demonstrative Pronouns

We continue to study pronouns in English and now move on to the variety that helps to navigate in space, to show a certain object, direction and place. They do not change according to persons and genders, but they have singular and forms. Further in the table you will see English demonstrative pronouns with translation.

For example, if there is a picture hanging on the wall in the distance, then they say about it: That is a picture. And if there are pencils on the table nearby, it can be indicated as follows: These are pencils.

This group of auxiliary parts of speech has another function. They can replace individual words or even entire expressions. This is done to avoid repetitions. For example: Air quality in the village is better than that in the city - Air quality in the village is better than (air quality) in the city.

Relative Pronouns

This variety can often be found in complex sentences to connect the main and subordinate parts. Such an English pronoun with translation and understanding of foreign speech can create difficulties. Therefore, you need to understand this issue well. The following relative pronouns exist:

• that - that, which (used to denote both animate and inanimate objects);
• which - which (only to designate objects or phenomena);
• who - who, which (indicates only people);
• whom - to whom, who, whom (not found in colloquial language, used only in official speech as a speech cliche).

Interrogative Pronouns

As you might guess, this type is used in interrogative sentences. If you are already familiar with the topic “Special Questions,” then you know these English pronouns well. All of them are notable for the fact that they begin with the letter wh:

• what? - What? Which? which?
• which? - Which? which (of the two)?
• who? - Who?
• whom? - to whom? whom?
• whose? - whose?

Sometimes the suffix -ever can be added to them, and then the combinations whatever (any, whatever), whoever (any, anyone), etc. are obtained.

Pay special attention to the following features.

Who is singular and assumes the verb form is as well as the ending -s in the present simple tense.

Who is there? Who likes this film?

The exception is when a plural personal pronoun is used (you, we, they), if the answer involves naming several people, objects, phenomena, etc.

Who of you live in this house? - We do. (Which of you lives in this house? - We.)

(Indefinite Pronouns)

Situations often arise when information is not entirely clear, or the speaker is not sure of its veracity. For such cases, there is a special group of function words. Next you can see all the indefinite English pronouns with translation.

Please note that all pronouns listed in the table refer to the singular (even if translated into Russian they mean many objects or people).

The plural of indefinite pronouns is represented by the following words:

• any - any;
• both - both;
• several - several;
• others - others, the rest;
• many - few;
• few - few.

Reflexive Pronouns

Used to denote actions that are performed on oneself. These English pronouns are related to the varieties you already know - personal and possessive. Only in this case the particle -self (singular) or -selves (plural) is added.

• (I) I - myself;
• (you) you - yourself;
• (he) he - himself;
• (she) she - herself;
• (it) it - itself (about animals and inanimate objects);
• (we) we - ourselves;
• (you) you - yourselves;
• (they) they - themselves.

How to translate This is most clear with examples.

Sometimes it can be translated as “yourself”, “yourself”, etc.

“Why?”, she asked herself - “Why?” - she asked herself.

We arranged a great holiday for ourselves - We arranged a great vacation for ourselves.

In some cases, it is possible to translate such pronouns with reflexive particles -sya and -sya.

A cat washed itself - The cat washed itself.

Where are you hiding yourself? -Where are you hiding?

In cases where the fact that the action was performed by someone independently is emphasized, reflexive pronouns can be translated with the words “himself”, “herself”, etc.

He has built this house himself - He built this house himself.

Reciprocal Pronouns

This variety includes only two representatives: each other and one another. They are synonyms.

Such pronouns are used in cases where two objects perform the same action directed at each other.

We love each other - We love each other.

They hugged and kissed one another - They hugged and kissed.

On Christmas day the friends gave each other presents - On Christmas, friends gave each other gifts.

In cases where it is necessary to designate a group of people performing the same action in relation to each other, it is necessary to use the form one another. For example:

We are a united family and always help one another. - We are a friendly family and always help each other.

People of different generations have difficulties in understanding one another - People of different generations have difficulty understanding each other.

This is what the pronoun system looks like in English. There is nothing complicated in it, since some groups of function words are formed from others: reflexive and possessive - from personal, reciprocal - from indefinite, etc.

Once you have studied and understood the theory, start practicing different types of exercises. The more often you do this, the sooner you will achieve a noticeable result: you will begin to use English pronouns in your speech without hesitation.