Pronoun :The Type of Pronoun and An Example

One of the eight parts of speech in the English language is the pronoun. In order to be able to write great compositions and communicate well, you must learn how to use this type of word properly.

: to make the sound of (a word or letter) with your voice

: to say or speak (a word) correctly

: to say or announce (something) in an official or formal way

The simple definition pronoun is For you to understand the concept easily, you can look at nouns as actors and pronouns as stuntmen in movies. When a stuntman takes the place of an actor for a particular scene, he represents the same character. Just the same, a pronoun replaces a noun in a particular sentence, but it still refers to the same noun.

pronouns are very important in written and verbal communication because they avoid repetitiveness and ensure a good flow of words. They serve as stuntmen that are always ready to replace the real actors when the actors start to wear out.

Below is a list of the most common pronouns that you can use to replace different kinds of nouns.

1.      Personal Pronoun

Personal pronouns take the place of specific nouns (the names of people, places or things). Basically, they are used instead of a specific name to avoid repetition and to help ease the flow of sentences.

Personal pronouns help us to avoid constantly repeating the same noun over and over. The noun that is replaced is called theantecedent. Paying close attention to the antecedent will help you choose the correct personal pronoun.

Subjek	Objek
I You She He It We They	Me You Her Him It Us Them

Example :

Three days ago I met Ariel. Yesterday I met him again.

My sister bought a new handphone. She loves it very much.

Sule borrowed three books from the library. He must return them in two days.

2. Possessive Pronoun

Possessive pronouns are those designating possession. They may also be used as substitutes for noun phrases, and they are typically found at the end of a sentence or clause. There are only a few possessive pronouns in the English language, and there are only two specific rules for using them correctly. Keep these rules in mind when using possessive pronouns, and you’ll discover that writing properly is easier

Dependent	Independent
My Your His Her Its Our Their	Mine Your His Hers Its Ours Theirs

Example :

This is my book. The book is mine.

This house is theirs.

This is your pencil and those are hers.

3. Reflexive Pronoun

Reflexive pronouns can also function as intensive pronouns but they act a little differently and they aren’t used in quite the same way. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent, or the subject of the sentence. These pronouns are positioned right next to the subject.

Reflexive Pronoun

Myself Yourself/yourselves Themselves Ourselves Himself Herself Itself

Example :

She laughed at herself.

He himself drives to school

I myself open the door.

My father cooked this meal himself.

4. Demonstrative Pronoun

A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific within a sentence. These pronouns can indicate items in space or time, and they can be either singular or plural.

When used to represent a thing or things, demonstrative pronouns can be either near or far in distance or time:

  Near in time or distance: this, these

  Far in time or distance: that, those

Example :

This is my mother, these are my sisters.

That book is yours, those are mine.

5. Interrogative Pronoun

Just as there are different types of nouns and verbs, pronouns come in a variety of forms as well.  Pronouns are classified as demonstrative, personal, relative, reflexive, intensive and interrogative.

Interrogative pronouns are used – you guessed it – when you want to ask a question.  In many cases it doesn’t have an antecedent (the word the pronoun references) – thus the need to ask the question in the first place!

The most typical interrogative pronouns are…

What

Which

Who

Whom

Whose

And if you add the suffix “ever”…

Whatever

Whichever

Whoever

Whomever

Whosever

Though the above pronouns are certainly common enough, sometimes using them correctly can be a little tricky.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using interrogative pronouns.

The pronouns “who”, “whom” and sometimes “which” reference people.

The pronouns “what” and “which” reference inanimate objects and animals.

“Who” functions as a subject.

“Whom” functions as an object of a preposition or object of a verb.

For example…

Who are the signers of the Declaration of Independence?

“Who” is the subject in the above sentence.

To whom did you give the note?

“Whom” is the object of the preposition “to.”

Whom do you suggest we nominate for class president?

Here, “whom” is the object of the verb “nominate.”

Who will design the new logo?

“Who” is the object of the verb “will design.”

6. Indefinite Pronoun

As the name suggests indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are not definite in meaning. In other words they are not specific in which noun they replace. They may be singular or plural, and must match the verb in number.

There are two categories of indefinite pronouns. The first category includes pronouns that refer to a nonspecific noun. These pronouns are:

anybody	anyone
anything	everybody
everyone	everything
Nobody	none
no one	nothing
somebody	someone
something

Example:

Anything is possible if you believe.

The second category of indefinite pronouns are those that point to a specific noun whose meaning is easily understood only because it was previously mentioned or because the words that follow the indefinite pronoun make it clear. These pronouns are:

All	another
Any	both
Each	either
Few	many
Neither	one
Some	several

Examples:

Ø  Many are planning to attend the party. (In this case the identity of the group that is going to the party would have already been mentioned.)

Ø  Would you like to try some of these cookies? (The word cookies makes it clear what some is referring to.)

Not to confuse you but keep in mind the pronouns in this group can function as adjectives if nouns directly follow them.

More Examples:

Ø  Many classmates are planning to attend the party.

Ø  I checked out some books from the library.

Singular and Plural Indefinite Pronouns

As mentioned previously indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural and the verb has to match in number. Below is the list of singular indefinite pronouns.

Another	Anybody
Anyone	Anything
Each	Either
Everybody	Everyone
Everything	Neither
Nobody	No one
Nothing	One
Somebody	Something
Someone

Examples:

Ø  There are three groups of participants, and each has its own requirements.

Ø  Someone special is about to arrive.

The following are plural indefinite pronouns:

Both	Few
Many	Several

Examples:

Ø  Few of the projects were good enough to go to the science fair.

Ø  Several of the documents were filled with errors.

Some indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural. It all depends on the noun it stands for. These pronouns include all, any, either, none, some, more, most. The rule states that when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase, the pronoun must agree in number with the object of the preposition. The verb in the sentence must agree in number with the antecedent. Sound confusing? Here are two examples:

Most of the work is finished.

Most of the books are out of date.

In this case work requires a singular verb and books requires a plural verb.

Examples of Indefinite Pronouns

Does anybody have the time?

All are welcome to our house for Thanksgiving.

Tim doesn’t have any.

Michael passed his card to another.

Each brought a dessert to share.

Anyone can see what’s going on here.

Alice couldn’t hear anything at the concert.

Everything is going as planned

Everyone clapped when the movie ended.

Many missed the bus.

No one admitted to knocking over the base.

One could see the tornado forming from miles away.

Several turned out for the concert.

Somebody rang the doorbell.

Holly gave her ticket to someone.

To sum it all up, use indefinite pronouns when the noun substitute doesn’t have to be definite in meaning. Remember that they can be singular or plural in the corresponding verbs must match the number.

7. Relative Pronoun

A relative pronoun is one which is used to refer to nouns mentioned previously, whether they are people, places, things, animals, or ideas. Relative pronouns can be used to join two sentences.

There are only a few relative pronouns in the English language. The most common are which, that, whose, whoever, whomever, who, and whom. In some situations, the words what, when, and wherecan also function as relative pronouns. Because there are only a few of them, there are also just a few rules for using relative pronouns. Keep them in mind as you write.

Ø  I don’t like people who lose temper easily.

Ø  Meong that I always feed everyday is my cat.

Ø  This is Tukul whose brother you met last week

Referensi :

http://www.tipsbelajarbahasainggris.com/7-jenis-pronoun-yang-harus-anda-ketahui/

http://www.k12reader.com/term/reflexive-pronouns/

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/demonstrative-pronouns/

http://www.k12reader.com/term/indefinite-pronouns/

http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/relative-pronouns/

http://partofspeech.org/pronoun/

The Definition and sample of Subject, Verb, Complement, and Modifier

Sentences (all clauses, for that matter) are made up of at least two of these four basic parts: subjects, verbs, complements, and modifiers. The sentence (and the independent and dependent clause as well) must have an explicit or implicit subject and verb. In most standard written English sentences, the subject and verb are explicitly stated, and you are certainly encouraged to favor that practice in your writing for academic or career situations.

A normal sentence consists of at least one subject and one predicate. The predicate is the part of the sentence that has the main verb, and tells what the subject did, has done, is doing, or describes the subject. Predicate may also contain a complement and a modifier. Modifier itself may contain a direct object in form of noun phrase, noun clause, or prepositional phrase.

In conversational English, however, you will frequently encounter the verbless sentence, that is a complete thought without an explicitly stated verb: [Bring me] "Three cokes, please." [I was] "Glad to help!" "What a test!" [that was.] In imperative sentences, on the other hand, it is the subject that is implied rather than the verb. The subject is usually the unstated second person personal pronoun you. Many of the directions in this book, for example, use an implicit subject: [You] "Work exercises I through 10; then [you] check your answers on page 57."

The typical sentence that you will write for college or career writing situations will have explicitly stated subjects and verbs and will most often also have complements and modifiers. We will be examining the distinguishing characteristics of each of the parts as well as their relationship to each other in this chapter. However, since all subjects and most complements are nouns or noun equivalents, a few words about case forms are appropriate at this point.

A Normal Sentence
A Simple Sentence
Subject	Verb	Complement
Subject	Verb	Object	Modifier
		Noun, Noun Phrase, Noun Clause, Adjective or Prepositional Phrase	Modifier of time or modifier of place

A. Subject

The subject is the cause, agent, person or thing doing the action. It usually takes form as a noun phrase with a head noun, a determiner and possibly some modifiers. It may also take form as a phrase or a clause. The characteristics of a subject in a sentence :

1.  A subject can be a word or a phrase

2.  A subject is a noun (a person or a thing) or its pronoun

3.  A subject can be singular (a person or a thing)

4.  A subject can be plural (persons or things)

5.  Normally a subject preceedes a verb

Plural and Singular Subject

It is a must to identify whether a subject of a sentence plural or singular. In an English sentence, a sigular subject uses a singular verb and a plural subject uses a plural verb, which is called subject and verb agreement.

Example :

The rain was very heavy last night. -> singular subject

(Hujan sangat lebat tadi malam. -> Hujan sebagai subjek tunggal)

Students are not going to the dance party tomorrow. -> plural subject

(Para siswa tidak akan pergi ke pesta dansa itu besok. -> Para siswa sebagai subjek jamak)

  

B. Verb

In a simple sentence, a verb usually comes after the subject. It can be a word or a phrase which contains a simple form of verb, an adverb, a modal or an auxiliary. The form of a verb must agree with the form of the subject. A singular subject uses a singular verb and a plural subject uses a plural verb. The agreement applies particularly for Simple Present Tense and the sentences which use be (am, are, is) or (have, has) as a main or as a helping verb.

Example :

Nadia is a very smart girl. (Nadia adalah seorang gadis yang cerdas)

They will be here this evening. (Mereka akan berada di sini nanti sore)

He has been a teacher since last year. (Dia sudah menjadi guru sejak tahun lalu)

Table – Singular and Plural Verbs

  

Characteristic	Treatment	Plural	Singular	Indonesia
The last letter is “h” or vowel except “e” huruf terakhir “h” atau huruf hidup kecuali “e” (kalau “e” hanya tambah “s”)	Add “es” Tambahkan “es”	do go forego catch touch punch slash screech stretch pitch	does goes foregoes catches touches punches slashes screeches stretches pitches	melakukan pergi mendahului pergi menangkap menyentuh meninju meringis melengking(suara) membentangkan menembak/melempar sasaran
The last letter is “e” Huruf terakhir “e”	Add “s” Tambahkan “s”	drive hate make nurse raise rise take	drives hates makes nurses raises rises takes	mengendarai benci/enggan membuat merawat/memelihara membesarkan bangkit/terbit mengambil
The last letter is “y” preceeded by a consonant Huruf terakhir “y” didahului huruf mati	Change “y” to “ies” Ganti “y” menjadi“ies”	try cry fry dry carry accompany bury comply deny aplly	tries cries fries dries carries accompanies buries complies denies applies	mencoba menangis menggoreng mengeringkan membawa menemani mengubur mematuhi(aturan) menyangkal menerapkan
The last letter “y” preceeded by vowel Huruf terakhir”y” didahului huruf hidup	Add “s” Tambahkan “s”	stay lay pay pray delay convey convoy	stays lays pays prays delays conveys convoys	tinggal meletakkan membayar berdoa menunda menyerahkan mengiringi/beriringan
The last letter is a consonant Huruf terakhir huruf mati	Add “s” Tambahkan “s”	pack read put screw tear break jump	packs reads puts screws tears breaks jumps	kemas baca meletakkan mengobeng merobek memecah melompat

C. Complement

A complement is one or more elements required by the subject or verb to complete the meaning of the sentence. It may be a direct object (He gave a gift.), an indirect object (He gave me a gift.), a predicative complement (He is good.) or some other element.

D. Modifier

Modifiers are words or phrases that give additional detail about the subject discussed in a sentence. Since these words enhance the reception of a sentence, they tend to be describing words such as adjectives and adverbs. In addition, phrases that modify tend to describe adjectives and adverbs, such as adjective clauses and adverbial phrases.

Example to all :

Subject	Verb	Complement	Modifier
We	have	a meeting	this afternoon
Kami ada rapat siang ini
She	has	a cat	at home
Dia punya seekor kucing di rumah
Nobody	want	you to leave	today
Tidak seorang pun meninginkan kamu pergi hari ini
The lawyer	asked him	to sign a statement	this morning
Pengacara itu meminta dia menandatangani satu pernyataan tadi pagi
He	likes	to drive	in a desert
Dia senang mengemudi di gurun

Exercise
Identify the subject, verb, complement, and modifier in each of the following sentence.

1.  You shall be at home before dinner

2.  He goes to campus by motorcycle

3.  The car has two seat belts on the front seats

4.  Talking to a stranger may not comfortable

5.  Susi’s hobby is swimming in a beach

Answer

1.  You / shall be / at home / before dinner.

(subject) / (verb) / (modifier of place) / (modifier of time)

2.  He / goes / to campus by motorcycle.

(subject) / (verb) / (complement)

3.  The car / has / two seat belts / on the front seats.

(subject) / (verb) / (complement) / (modifier)

4.  Talking to a stranger / may / not comfortable.

subject (gerund) / (verb) / (complement)

5.  Susi’s hobby / is / swimming / in a beach.

(subject) / (verb) / (complement) / (modifier of place)

Source :

Sihombing, Binsar. English Grammar Comprehension. Jakarta : Grasindo (link)
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/sent-subjpred.html
http://www.grammarly.com/handbook/sentences/modifiers/2/what-are-modifiers/