Questions tagged [pronouns]
A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun or noun phrase.
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Is there a mainstream unified theory of reverse pronouns? [closed]
Is there a mainstream unified theory of reverse pronouns? How they are used (i.e. in what syntactic constructions), how they can be modified, et cetera? (Before the customary "off topic" ...
user473438
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How to write s/he at the beginning of a sentence? [closed]
In a document I want to use the gender form of personal pronouns. But if I use "s/he" at the beginning of a sentence, are both "s" and "h" to be written in capitals? It ...
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What is the corrrect form of pronoun to use for note taking? [duplicate]
I am trying to take notes on a lecture that others can access online.
Should I write:
To understand depression, one must understand both biology and
psychology.
or
You must understand both ...
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As (It) Was Explained to You
Is that it wrong, or is it just unnecessary but still correct? I have found some questions about that, by which I've been able to understand that it's unnecessary, but I still wonder if it must be ...
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Pronoun usage in "Did you enjoy his playing the violin?" [migrated]
Why is the pronoun "his" used in this sentence?
"Did you enjoy his playing the violin?"
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Subjective or Objective pronouns in dialogues?
Let's say I'm quoting a dialogue between me and my friend, should I use subjective pronouns (I / He) or objective pronouns (Me / Him)?
For example:
Me: What's up?
Him: The sky.
Or:
I: What's up?
He:...
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Yourself vs. yourselves when speaking to individuals in a group
What you should expect from yourselves and each other
This phrase is spoken to a group of people, but to each person individually. Particularly because it includes "and each other," it ...
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Whomever from the show "The Office"
So there is an infamous comedy sketch with "whomever" vs "whoever" in the show "the Office". The correct answer there is that you cannot tell which is the correct answer ...
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Usage of they/them as a pronoun in confusing sentences [duplicate]
Pronouns are an integral part of the english language. However, they can also cause confusion and problems within communication, especially in the modern era, as some people choose to use ...
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What does "some" refer to in the context? [closed]
In this article from The Economist it says:
As Britons took to holidaying in the actual Mediterranean, some began to decline; austerity and covid-19 finished them off.
The short line " some ...
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When referring to oneself using pronouns only, would it be appropriate to use "me" instead of "myself"?
When you refer to yourself without saying your name, (without gendered pronouns) would it be of appropriate use to say "me" instead of "myself"?
for example:
I would give me a big ...
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How should I refer to a person without identifying them? Can I use 'one'? [closed]
If I wish to refer to an individual person but without describing that person or drawing attention to the characteristics of that person or without identifying that person - how should I do it ?
The ...
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*That is/those are* my rifle and the bullets
Which is correct?
My research: I found a lot of questions related to using that and those, but none of those were about what I'm trying to find out. Then I found information about those in Cambridge ...
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Using plural or singular noun when talking in first person using pronoun 'we' [duplicate]
Is it head or heads in the second sentence?
On the one hand, 'we' don't all share the same head; on the other, each one of us doesn't have multiple heads.
When it's warm, you may notice that your ...
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Which demonstrative pronoun should be used in the following example?
I've made a story on Instagram, on which I've put a link to an image with music.
There you see a T-shirt with the titles of songs from the Untitled blink-182 album. On my story I wrote: "I love ...
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Is the pronoun "it" gender-neutral pronoun? [closed]
Is the pronoun "it" a gender-neutral one? If so, then is it okay to use it to refer to supernatural entities?
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Did King Charles III use the pronoun "myself" correctly?
In his first televised Christmas message, the King said:
I am reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which
so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you
...
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What is it called when the pronoun "you" actually refers to me (reflexively)?
What is it called when the pronoun "you" actually refers to me (reflexively) or simply others in general?
Example:
You know what makes them look foolish? When they accuse you of being
...
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Does the pronoun 'we' contain the listener? [closed]
I know that the pronoun WE is first person plural.
Does it contain the listener?
When I am referring to a group of people, sometimes it seems to have the listener in the group. Sometimes doesn't.
Can ...
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Pronoun Reference usage [duplicate]
Is it correct to use the pronoun reference her before introducing/specifying the name?
Is it called a vague pronoun reference?
Example:
In her article, Jane provides a really good example of...
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Should the "F" in "Farmer John" be capitalized mid-sentence?
I'm writing story-generating software. One specific story involves a farmer with a variable name. I'll use "John" as an example. For a "folksy" or "old-timey" or "...
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Is it "She is whom he fights for", "She is who he fights for" or neither?
Another way to say nearly the same thing would be "He fights for her" which makes me think of two things in particular:
Because "her" is used, the correct choice should be "...
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'It's for your good' versus 'It's for your own good'
I'm wondering whether for your good is commonly used in English-speaking countries. For example,
Take the medicine. That's for your good.
If that is not grammatical or idiomatic for some reason, why ...
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What are other forms of using the "people in general" pronoun, the equivalent of the French On?
Which phrases (which are parallel to phrases in other languages, for example) would be correct and which not?
For example is it Ok to use "you can get x for free" when you refer to other ...
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If the customer often updates * their * file? gender-neutral pronoun for client/customer [duplicate]
This is a bit like Could I use the gender-neutral “their” for the antecedent “account”?
In business language, should you use singular or plural pronouns for a client or customer that stands for a ...
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Objective vs Subjective Pronouns [duplicate]
While reading The Rose of Battle (W.B Yeats) I came across this line
For him who hears love sing and never cease
My question is whether the pronoun here should be subjective or objective (as in for ...
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Can we use the indefinite pronoun “someone” as a possessive pronoun “someone’s”? (not only as a possessive determiner)
We can use personal pronouns in the possessive case:
The book is mine. / Mine is missing.
The shirt is yours. / Yours is missing.
Can we use the indefinite pronoun someone like this?
The book is ...
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Possessive pronoun + gerund confusion
I am confused over whether the following sentence contains a gerund and, therefore, whether I can precede that gerund with a possessive pronoun:
"I can't prevent your being offended."
Is &...
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Scientists developed the first computer program. It took 25 minutes to complete one calculation. It refers to...?
What does the pronoun it refer to in this paragraph?
During that decade, scientists in England developed the first computer program. It took 25 minutes to complete one calculation.
Does it refer to &...
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Choice of “it” versus “he/she”
I am not sure what is the underlying rule for when the use of “it” is appropriate and when “he / she”. Consider the following two examples:
There is a lady at the door. It is my aunt.
Do you know ...
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Talking about a third person, formally [closed]
I am talking about my professor to his secretary. Is it polite and formal to refer to him as "he"? or should I use "they"?
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Using a noun as a transitive verb in the sense of "to turn into"
This bit of made up slang from a tweet made me wonder what the proper grammarist's name is for the type of off-the-cuff concoction. What is meant here is "to turn into a Gollum type person" ...
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Are possessive determiners like *my* adjectives or pronouns?
I'm reading the textbook "Complete English Grammar rules" by Peter Herring
There are two forms of personal pronouns in the possessive case: possessive determiners, and possessive pronouns. ...
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"these which" vs "the ones that" [duplicate]
I'm writing a research grant proposal and it was suggested to me that I replace words "these which" by "the ones that" in reference to scientific journals.
Here is the full ...
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Does the parallel structure break when we use pronouns?
First of all, I know that this sentence obviously preserves the parallel structure:
The experiment on wild animals yields results not only to understand their eating habits better but also to ...
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Meaning of "it will take for granted that you always took it for granted"
I am reading William Empson's "Seven Types of Ambiguity", and I have difficulty with the following passage, especially with the part in bold and the preceding sentences.
A single word,
...
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Relative pronoun qualifies one or more pronouns?
In the sentence "I have a cat and dogs who are dumb", does "who are dumb" qualify only the dogs or does it qualify of the dogs and the cat? Or is it ambiguous?
Depending on the ...
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"Not just [he/him], but [she/her] is leaving this year"?
How do I correctly write sentences like these:
"Not just [he/him], but [she/her] is leaving this year"? I'm unsure whether to use an object or subject pronoun.
I've come to learn that in ...
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What does “it” refer to in this song by Kengiston? [closed]
To what does ‘it’ refer in Part of Me by Kensington? What is "a part of me"?
It is a part of me
And it breaks my heart to see
I was a part of you
When no one else could be
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Why does second person only have 'you' whereas first person has "I" and "me"?
I am learning another language and that made me think of English pronouns. In the first person there is both "I" and "me", so that I can say "I like snakes" and "...
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Why no apostrophe in the possessive "it"? [duplicate]
Why, when you are talking about something belonging to "it" does "it" not get an apostrophe before the "s"? For example, "The dog ate its food" - the food ...
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Usage of the phrase "to which" in this mathematical explanation
I'm sure I am overthinking this, but I wanted to understand this explanation better (and in turn, be able to explain it to students better). Observe the following explanation of a function in ...
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Which is correct? Everyone do or does [duplicate]
I'm a Mathematics lecturer. Sometimes, I'm supposed to say,
All of you do this problem.
to all my students in the class. Can I rephrase it, like
Everybody do this problem.
But Everybody is ...
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Use of "ye" in present-day Ireland and specifically Dublin
I wanted to know if "ye" is widely used in Ireland including Dublin area. And more specifically, if it is commonly used by Millennials and younger generations, or rather is becoming less ...
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Why do Indian people usually ask questions in English using the first person plural form?
I don't know much about the languages spoken in India, so I'm going to assume the speaker is speaking Hindi natively.
I've noticed that whenever a question is asked in an English forum, and it ...
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What pronouns should I use to refer to humanity?
I am writing an essay on existential risks and I want to refer to humanity but also need to say "we" and "our" in order to make the delivery of the message practical to each of us ...
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What pronouns to use in technical documentation
I am writing some documentation for a piece of software and I am struggling on what pronouns to use.
I didn't want to use gender related pronouns as my subject is the user so I used they/their, but it ...
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Use of "authorities" without the definite article or a possessive pronoun
I have a question about the usage of "authorities" in the following sentence.
The Kremlin threatened up to 15-year jail sentences for those who report what authorities determine to be false ...
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Omitting a pronoun from a cleft sentence
I believe this is
a cleft sentence:
It was 10:18 ᴀᴍ when it happened.
However, I cannot explain why the pronoun when can’t
be removed when you rewrite that sentence into this one:
When it (=the ...
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Should it be "we animals" or "us animals"? [duplicate]
In the serialization of my book, I have this passage:
Brief introductions were made, although when Albert tried to tell them the names of we animals, they waved him off.
But now I'm wondering ...
