Questions tagged [pronouns]
A pronoun is a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase.
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2answers
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Beat bad vs beat badly
Is it correct to say that the use badly is only used when there is a negative conjugation?
For example. When you beat someone at a game. Would you say you beat a person bad or badly? Because isn't ...
1
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1answer
31 views
How do you combine these sentences using proper relative pronouns?
I have this sentence:
"She asked six of her employees to come to the meeting. Four of them turned up."
I tried combining the sentences this way:
"Six of her employees were asked to come to the ...
0
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0answers
22 views
Use of same pronoun in two consecutive sentences
Which one is correct from below two sentences
I have planned my leave and I have booked the flight tickets as well.
or
I have planned my leave and have booked the flight tickets as well.
i want to ...
0
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1answer
13 views
Correct construction for “easily protected against”
What I am trying to express is that I have a problem P and a good G and it is easy to protect G from P.
However, G is not the focus of the sentence and P was described in the previous sentence.
So I ...
0
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0answers
18 views
“And the young Spanish writers, do you see them as committed to our times as you were to yours?”
And the young Spanish writers, do you see them as committed to our times as you were to yours?
The word yours is a pronoun, isn't it? Is it used correctly in the above sentence? If not, can you say ...
0
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1answer
24 views
Ambiguity with two possessive pronouns in a sentence
Is it clear who the first and second "their" refer to in the following sentence, or is the sentence likely to confuse the reader --
"It has been decided between the parties that party number 1 will ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
He/Him/His VS She/Her/Her
How did her become the female equivalent of both him and his instead of only being a possessive pronoun like his? Is there a reason?
For example:
She likes him and his dog.
He likes her and her dog.
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2answers
89 views
Which pronoun should be used after the word ‘like’? [closed]
For example, which of the following is considered correct?:
Don't be like him
Don't be like he is
There are other examples I can't think of right now where people use him instead of ...
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0answers
30 views
That and Comma Usage
Childish Gambino brings up just this, that humanity’s importance lies behind the screen.
Now, I understand the use of restrictive clauses and non-restrictive clauses, but is this at all okay?
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2answers
25 views
Use of “the same”
Thank you for sparing your time to watch this one.
I'm having a problem with this sentence - "I see the same through your glasses as I do through mine" here "the same" seems to have been used as an ...
13
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3answers
2k views
Is “Who art” correct?
I came across these lines in a hymn:
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,Which wert and art, and ever more shalt be.
I noticed that "wert", "art", and "shalt" were used with the subject ...
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vote
2answers
72 views
“What author” wrote this novel?
I have read a line in a book
"What friend did you hang out with ?"
and thought it was an error. However , I came across an English textbook that also used the same construction.
What American ...
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2answers
51 views
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3answers
103 views
Alternatives to y'all?
I am trying to write one of my first stories right now and I keep getting stuck on one thing. I have lived in Texas my whole life and so I am used to saying "Y'all" to refer to a group small or large. ...
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2answers
44 views
What's the difference between “ones”, “the ones”, “those”, “one”, “the one”, “that”?
I am wondering what the difference is between "ones", "the ones", "one", the one", "those", and "that"?
Take a noun for example. Some people say a dog=one, dogs=ones, the dog=the one=that, and the ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
What does “it” in “If it wasn't for Amber…” refer to?
If it wasn't for Amber he wouldn't be able to marry Claire.
Please, what does "it" in this sentence refer to?
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1answer
33 views
Subject & Object Pronoun Question [duplicate]
What is the rule in use here that allows me to use I do in place of me in the second sentence?
An Olympic sprinter on a bad day runs faster than me on a good day.
An Olympic sprinter on a bad day ...
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vote
2answers
29 views
How could I reword this sentence to exclude I? [closed]
I am writing a report for choir, and I will get docked points if I use the word "I" or "you." So, I need assistance in figuring out how to reword this sentence to get rid of the I, but in a way that ...
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1answer
30 views
Several questions regarding a passage by Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle once wrote in one of his papers:
That, then, which I chiefly aim at is to make it probable to you by experiments (which I think hath not yet been done) that almost all sorts of ...
2
votes
3answers
59 views
He looked the same “as she” or “as her”? [duplicate]
"He looked the same as her" or is it "He looked the same as she"
I thought the rule was to complete the clause to figure this out such as "He looked the same as she looked" in which case the answer ...
15
votes
1answer
491 views
-sen for -self in English: history and usage
In my class there is a gentleman from the north of England who uses "-sen" instead of "-self" in such words as "himself" ("himsen") and "myself" ("mysen").
As far as I can tell, he always uses "-sen" ...
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vote
2answers
65 views
the meaning of “Better off for it” and pronoun “they” from Stephen Hawking's article
The quote is:
But we should have been wary of answering back (to the questions of aliens), until we have develop a bit further. Meeting a more advanced civilisation (aliens from other planets), at ...
0
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1answer
33 views
Should a comma come before 'you' in this sentence?
I'm wondering whether a comma should precede the pronoun 'you' in the sentence examples below:
That's not how the computer works, you fool.
Thanks for the assignment tips, you saviour.
Whenever I ...
5
votes
2answers
115 views
Combining demonstrative and possessive pronoun
I know of at least one language (German, although it’s considered old-fashioned nowadays) where it’s possible to combine demonstrative and possessive pronoun:
Diese deine Worte sind wahr.
...
0
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2answers
23 views
What does the word “these” refer to in the given paragraph?
We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities,
particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably the
fruits of development. These must have the first claim on
...
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0answers
56 views
Using of the pronoun 'She' with Objects
While I was watching 'dinnerladies' yesterday, I noticed that they referred to 'ladder' as (she) in lieu of (it), so I wonder if it was an idiom or accent.
Thanks
One of the contexts was like this.
...
0
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1answer
26 views
Interrogate pronoun “which” question
I have a question about the verb in the sentence:
Which animal do you think _____ most?
1)weighs
2)weighing
I chose 2)weighing because I think it could be re-write as
"Which animal do you think ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
When using the word “you” to mean a group of people (like in a blogpost) what sense of the word is it?
I cannot remember the proper word to use, and it’s driving me batty. I can imagine the sentence in my head “I’m not saying you, as in you, Katherine, I mean “you” in the _____ sense of the word. I ...
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vote
2answers
79 views
Is it okay to use “he” when the subject of the sentence is “his wife”? [closed]
This is the sentence in question:
While Dev’s wife is in India for a few weeks, he and Miranda spend almost every day together.
The subject of the sentence is "Dev's wife", and I'm pretty sure that "...
0
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1answer
66 views
“to whom it may offend” vs. “to whom I may offend” [closed]
In my opening speech, is it right if I say
I apologize to whom it may offend"
or
"I apologize to whom I may offend"
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Me too or mine too
My favorite movie is Star Wars.
If my favorite movie is also Star Wars what should be the response to this, me too or mine too, or something else?
I found this but the answer didn't have any ...
0
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1answer
143 views
“It was he/him who/whom I voted for.”
I'm not particularly a grammar pedant, but I thought of this sentence this morning and it has defied my searching skills.
It was he/him who/whom I voted for.
The question here covers something ...
0
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1answer
55 views
Is it a noun or pronoun or something else?
Circle the nouns in the following paragraph.
For the first time in her life, Mary was seeing two boys at once. It involved extra laundry, an answering machine, and dark solo trips in ...
3
votes
1answer
78 views
The grammar of “one another”
In sentences such as:
They talked to one another
Is the string one another a constituent, or are the two words part of a mandatorily gapped coordination of preposition phrases (or even verb phrases)?...
4
votes
2answers
218 views
How is “plenty” a pronoun in “plenty of time”?
The Oxford Dictionaries list "plenty" as a pronoun. Example sentences include:
I would have plenty of time to get home before my parents arrived
There are shops in plenty
But pronoun by ...
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vote
2answers
45 views
Usage of 'I' and 'Me' [duplicate]
Is there any rule as to what is used in the beginning of a sentence, 'I' or 'Me'?
Example: 1) I and x are good friends.
2) Me and x are good friends.
Which is correct? Or are both of these ...
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1answer
36 views
The only player who can use [my / his / their] hands
If a person is talking about his experience being a goalie in soccer, should which pronoun should he use? "His" seems grammatically correct but sounds really weird.
3
votes
2answers
56 views
Please put it on the rack above yourself
Why do we say
Could you please put it on the rack above you?
In other words, why is there no reflexive needed here?
Can we also say "above yourself”, that is, use a reflexive pronoun?
3
votes
1answer
79 views
My wife, I just have the one, is
A: Those are my wives
B: Well, my wife, I just have the one, ...
This conversation is taken from the series shameless, s07e03, min. 22:47.
What is the meaning of the definite article in B's ...
4
votes
3answers
476 views
Are articles pronouns?
I'd like to know whether articles are a kind of pronoun. I believe that "a/an" should be an indefinite pronoun because "a" is similar to "any", and "the" should be a definite pronoun. For example:
...
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vote
2answers
63 views
Is “that” a relative pronoun here?
Is the use of "that" in the sentence below a relative pronoun? It does stand in place of the noun ('view'), but I'm not sure if this is a relative pronoun. Can someone please explain? Thank you.
It ...
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vote
2answers
56 views
“If this isn't flying, I don't know what is.” Is this sentence correct?
If this isn't flying, I don't know what is.
The meaning I'm trying to achieve is that
If this isn't flying, I don't know what else would be
Instead of
If this isn't flying, I don't know what ...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
Which pronoum do I use to refer a gender-neutral subject? [duplicate]
I want to say that "Feeding from a human doesn't mean killing them" (yes, vampire stuff), but i feel like the them i'm using isn't correct. But I don't want to use he/she because human can be either, ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Use of “its” in place of his or her
I've come across the following sentence where "its" is used, instead of using his/her:
Unless a parent can keep up with its children, its fate is sealed." [example from Longman Dictionary of
...
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1answer
40 views
Should “that of” pronoun be used after “as well as” in this sentence?
Nearby is the jousting armor of Emperor Ferdinand as well as England’s Earl of Pembroke.
Or is this correct:
Nearby is the jousting armor of Emperor Ferdinand as well as that of England’s Earl of ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
How do I identify subjects when quantities are involved?
I'm working my way through The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, and I came across a difficulty.
In one of the quizzes, the book asks you to identify the subjects and verbs in sentences, and ...
16
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2answers
850 views
Is the signature of a letter a subject or an object?
I want to sign a letter jokingly not by name, but by a personal pronoun. Is the signature a subject or an object? I feel like using object pronoun (me) sounds better, but why? The signature looks more ...
0
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2answers
62 views
Parts of speech in sentence “Amber is a real person” [closed]
Specifically I am wondering about the word "person" in the sentence, because at first thought I believed it was a common noun but it is qualifying a proper noun, so I am confused if it is a noun or a ...
0
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1answer
31 views
What is the difference in meaning between the sentences“You can be a singer or a dancer” and “You can either be a singer or a dancer”?
Do the sentences have the same meaning ?If they have same meaning,the use of the word"either" seems somewhat redundant in this particular type of sentences as the meaning still remains intact after ...
0
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3answers
227 views
Why is there no formal version of “you”? How does one get around it? [duplicate]
Many languages, such as German (and Spanish), have "Sie" (you-formal) as a formal version of you. One can say use "Mr." and "Mrs.", but in a thank-you note / email, there is no formal word for English ...
