Brighter Grammar 1 - Margaret Macaulay 1987

Lesson Fifteen. Pronouns: singular and plural, persons

You have just seen how useful the pronouns are. The pronouns you have looked at in Lessons 13 and 14 are used instead of nouns that mean persons or animals or things. We call them personal pronouns.

Singular and plural

The pronouns I, me, he, she, him, her are used for only one person. So they are singular.

The pronouns we, us, they, them are used for more than one person. They are plural.

You is both singular and plural.

You are a good boy (one boy, singular).

You are good boys (more than one boy, plural).

We call it a personal pronoun too, but we use it to mean an animal or a thing. The plural of it is they or them.

Persons

You have met the word persons, of course, meaning people. But in grammar, person (first person, second person, third person) has another meaning.

Impersonal subject

There is also another use for it, as the impersonal subject in such sentences as,

It is raining.

It was a fine day yesterday.

It’s a long way from here to London.

Exercises

A Pick out the pronouns in these sentences. Write singular or plural after each of them.

Example: They are big horses.

Answer: They - plural.

1 He is playing football.

2 She is watching him.

3 They don’t see the teacher.

4 He sees them.

5 You are all working hard.

6 You are the boy I saw playing football.

7 We have a lesson every day.

8 Tell us what you told her.

9 It is hot today.

10 If you don’t understand this lesson, ask me about it.

В What do we mean by (a) the 1st person, (b) the 2nd person, (c) the 3rd person?

C Pick out the pronouns in these sentences. Say what person each one is.

Example: I love her.

Answer: I - 1st person; her - 3rd person.

1 You must do the work.

2 He is not working very hard.

3 We come to the class every day, and the teacher teaches us.

4 They can do it, if they try.

5 I asked him to come and see me.

6 She asked me to bring the book to her.

7 You can sit next to them.

8 She doesn’t like me and I don’t like her.

9 We don’t like them and they don’t like us.

10 You don’t like him and he doesn’t like you.