1. PES/ENG/VIII/033
• This is Alpha Version file.
• Pl check it thoroughly and correct wherever necessary.
A Punjab Edusat Society Production
SUBJECT – English
CLASS – VIII
CHAPTER – PRONOUNS
Opening sequence
Anchor1
“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if
what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains
undone. So it is very important that our thoughts are clear and we
empower ourselves with a strong hold over the language. Because
when we fail to express ourselves in words then what is the use of
conversing? If I seem to confuse you then I better make myself more
clear to you. I am here to make things easy and not more difficult for
you. Now just listen to this conversation and find out who is talking
about whom and to whom.
For MM (The sentence should first appear without highlight and then
all text in red should be highlighted)
Ravi said that Ravi is going for a meeting and no one should call Ravi
because Ravi will not be available. So, please call Ravi when Ravi is
free so that Ravi can take your calls.
This type of repetitive language can be quite confusing. Don’t you
think so?
Let us try to make what we heard just now, simpler.
For MM The above sentence should be replaced with all highlighted
pronouns
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Ravi said that he is going for a meeting and no one should call him
because he will not be available. So, please call Ravi when he is free
so that he can take your calls.
What did we do to make the sentence clearer? We stopped repeating
the name Ravi and in the place of Ravi, we used words like – he, him.
Today we are going to find out many more such options which make
a sentence simple to understand. And these words which we are
going to use in place of the noun – Ravi are called Pronouns.
VO with text on board 1
Learning Objectives
At the end of this lesson, children will be able to:
• Explain the meaning of Pronouns.
• List the different kinds of pronouns.
• Describe the usage of Pronouns.
Anchor 2
Today we are going to learn about pronouns and its different kinds.
And how to use these different kinds of pronouns. So, to begin with,
what are Pronouns? Pronouns are words used in place of nouns to
make a sentence less complicated.
Instead of saying, Gurjot likes to play hockey. Gurjot has joined
coaching classes so that Gurjot can play better hockey.
We can say, Gurjot likes to play hockey. She has joined coaching
classes so that she can play better hockey.
We find that we have used the word She in the place of Gurjot. This
word is called a pronoun, because it is used in the place of a noun.
We use pronouns to avoid repetition of nouns. A pronoun is,
therefore, equivalent to a noun.
VO with text on board 2
Kinds of Pronouns
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There are eight kinds of Pronouns. They are as follows:
1. Personal pronoun
2. Reflexive pronoun
3. Emphatic pronoun
4. Interrogative pronoun
5. Demonstrative pronoun
6. Distributive pronoun
7. Reciprocal pronoun
8. Indefinite pronoun
1. Personal pronoun
When a pronoun refers to a person it is called a personal pronoun.
But there are three kinds of personal pronouns. For example – first
person pronouns. That is I, me, mine, we, our, us. Here we talk about
our self or ourselves.
Example - Today we will borrow books from our class library. After I
have read mine, I shall request our library Sir to give me another one.
Anchor
Here, all the time I am talking about I, me and ourselves. It is we who
are speaking. But when we talk to a person, we use pronouns like
you, your, yours. And these are called second person pronouns.
Example – Please make sure that you have completed your work
before you go home.
But when we speak of a person or persons we use he, she, it, they,
him, his, her, them, their, etc. These are all third person pronouns.
Example –
1. They had to run home because it started raining.
2. He likes to play tennis while she likes to play badminton.
3. Please give them their notebooks so that they can study for the
exams.
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In all these sentences people were being spoken of – they, he,
she, them, their.
But an important thing to remember is that a personal pronoun
may be in Singular or Plural. And personal pronouns have three
cases. That is Personal pronouns have different forms in different
number and case. Now we can understand what numbers are,
isn’t it? Like singular or plural.
But what is a case? They are the different forms of the personal
pronoun. They come in three different cases: Subject Pronouns,
Object Pronouns, and Possessive Pronouns.
Examples:
Subject Pronouns: I you, she, he, they, we, it, who
Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, them, us, it, whom
Possessive Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, ours, its,
whose
Subjective Objective Possessive
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
First Person I we me us my, mine our, ours
your,
Second Person you you you you your, yours
yours
Third Person he, she, it it, they him, her, it it, them his, her its, their
Anchor 3
Let’s now study about the use of ‘It’.
It is a pronoun which is used for
1. ‘For things without life: Here is your book; take it away.
2. For animals unless we want to refer to them as male or female:
He loves his dog and takes it for a walk every evening.
3. For a young child unless we want to refer to its sex: When I saw
the child it was crying.
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4. To refer to some statement going before: She is not telling the
truth; as she knows it.
5. To ask a question. Who is it?
6. To give emphasis to the noun or pronoun following: It was you
who began the argument.
7. In speaking of the weather or the time: It is summer.
8. As an indefinite nominative of an impersonal verb: It rains.
Here, It does not stand for any noun though this can be readily
supplied from the verb. Thus, 'It rains' means 'The rain rains'. It so
used is called an impersonal pronoun. Similarly the verb rains is
called an impersonal verb.
VO with text on board 3
Just have a look at the Possessive case of the Personal pronoun
Possessive
Singular Plural
my, mine our, ours
your, yours your, yours
his, her its, their
From the above table it is seen that the possessive cases of most of
the personal pronouns have two forms. Of these the forms my, our,
your, her and their are called Possessive Adjectives because they
are used with nouns and do the work of adjectives.
Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns
Let us consider the following sentences.
1. That is my house.
2. This is her watch.
3. That house is mine.
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4. This watch is hers.
In the expression my house, the word my is an adjective because it
qualifies the noun house; similarly in the expression her watch, the
word her is an adjective as it qualifies the noun watch. So my and her
are called possessive adjectives while mine and hers do not qualify
any noun; so they are possessive pronouns. Possessive adjectives
are sometimes called pronominal adjectives as they are formed
from Pronouns.
Both possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns denote
possession.
Note:
1. The word his is used both as a possessive adjective and a
possessive pronoun as shown in the following sentences.
a. This is his book. (Possessive Adjective)
b. This book is his. (Possessive Pronoun)
Anchor 4
Before we proceed any further let us do some exercises to find how
much we have understood and how much we remember.
Let us use pronouns instead of nouns wherever we can.
For MM (The sentence should first appear without highlight and then
all text in red should be highlighted)
1. Kulwant wanted to buy a cycle. So, Kulwant went to the shop with
Kulwant’s brother.
Ans – Kulwant wanted to buy a cycle. So, he went to the shop with
his brother.
Let me explain what we did here. We are talking about Kulwant. So it
is the third person and we used – he for Kulwant. Then we were
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talking about Kulwant’s brother. Whose brother? Kulwant’s brother.
So, we used a possessive pronoun – his. Possessive means
something that belongs to you. That you possess. And this case it
was Kulwant’s brother. I am sure we have understood what we did.
So, let us move on to the next sentence.
2. Mohan please do not disturb me. I am getting angry with Mohan.
Ans. Mohan please do not disturb me. I am getting angry with you.
Here I have been talking to Mohan. So, it is in the second person and
thus next time I wanted to use the noun Mohan, I used you. We will
do some exercise where we are going to fill up the blanks with
Personal Pronouns.
VO with text on board 4
First the question with blank will appear and then after 3
seconds, the answers given in bracket will be filled in the blank
provided
Let us read the sentences and try to complete them. (Answers in the
bracket)
1. Ravi could not do his homework. So, _____(he) went to
_______(his) friend’s place. ______(they) sat down together and
completed the work.
2. The children lost the ball while playing cricket. ______(they) were
very sad because ___(it) got lost .
3. My friends are coming to my house today. ____(we) will watch a
movie.
4. New Delhi is the capital of _______(our) country.
5. _______(those/these) birds are migratory birds. When the winter is
over, _____( they) will fly away.
6. He goes home at 6 o’clock. _____(it) is _______(his) study time.
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7. Please can ______ (you)lend me _____(your) pen . I forgot to
bring _______(mine).
8. ______ (she/he) went with _______(her/his) mother to see
_______(their) grandfather.
This exercise must have refreshed your mind and made things more
clear. Let us now move on to the other different kinds of Pronouns.
2. Reflexive Pronouns
When the action done by the subject reflects (turns back) upon the
subject itself, the pronoun is called a reflexive pronoun.
Examples
1. The dog bit itself.
2. The child hurt himself.
3. They themselves are responsible for it.
In the above sentences are words itself, himself and themselves.
Adding self or selves to the personal pronouns form these words. In
the first sentence the word itself denotes that the dog does the action
to the dog. In other words, the action is reflected on the subject itself.
So it is called a reflexive pronoun. Similarly the pronoun himself in the
second sentence and themselves in the third sentence is also a
reflexive pronoun.
3. Emphatic Pronoun
When a pronoun is used for emphasis, it is known as an emphatic
pronoun. Emphatic pronouns are also sometimes called emphasizing
pronouns.
Examples
1. I myself saw him doing it.
2. He himself saw him doing it.
3. They themselves are responsible for it.
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In the above sentences words myself, himself and themselves are
used for the sake emphasis or force. So they are called emphatic
pronouns.
4. Interrogative Pronouns
Pronouns that are used for asking questions are called interrogative
pronouns.
Examples
1. What is your name?
2. Who gave you the purse?
3. Which is your coat?
4. To whom does it belong?
The words what, who, which and whom are pronouns. They are used
to ask questions. So they are called interrogative pronouns.
(Interrogate - ask).
Note:
Which, what, whose can also be used as adjectives as shown in the
sentences below.
1. Which pencil did you buy?
2. What article is that?
3. Whose letter is that?
These words qualify nouns and they are used to ask questions. They
are interrogative adjectives.
5. Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun is one that points to some noun going
before. (In Latin demonstrate means, to show clearly).
Examples
1. This is my book.
2. These are our books.
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3. That is my umbrella.
4. Those are our umbrellas.
5. One of those are as lazy will not be rewarded.
6. One of those pencils is mine
This, These, That, Those, and One in the above sentences are
pronouns. They point out or demonstrate some noun. They are
therefore, called demonstrative pronouns.
Note:
The same words can be used either pronouns or as adjectives. This,
that, these and those can also be used as adjectives as shown in the
sentences below.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE
This is my book. This book is mine.
That is the pencil I bought That pencil was bought yesterday
yesterday.
Those are beautiful colours. Those colours are beautiful.
These are our new friends. These friends are our new
friends.
In the above sentences This, That, these and Those qualify some
nouns. They are adjectives. They also point out nouns and so they
are demonstrative adjectives.
6. Distributive Pronouns
When a pronoun refers to persons or things one at a time, it is called
a distributive pronoun.
Examples
1. Each of the boys was given an orange.
2. Either of the boxes is sold out.
3. Neither of the candidates is suitable.
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Each, Either, Neither refers to one person or thing at a time. They are
distributive pronouns.
A distributive pronoun is always singular in number and so takes a
singular number as they always refer to persons or things one at a
time.
7. Reciprocal Pronouns
We use the reciprocal pronouns to indicate that two people can carry
out an action and get the consequences of that action at the same
time. There are two reciprocal pronouns:
Each other, one another are Reciprocal Pronouns. They enable you
to simplify sentences where the same general idea is expressed two
or more times.
Example
1. On their wedding day Sam gave Mary a gold ring and Mary gave
Sam a gold ring.
We can say – On their wedding day, Sam and Mary gave each other
a gold ring.
If you need to refer to more than two people, say the students in a
classroom, then we could use the reciprocal pronoun, "one another".
Example
1. The students in this classroom cooperate with one another.
2. The students gathered to congratulate one another after the
results were declared conclusion.
8. Indefinite Pronouns
Pronouns that refer to persons or things in a general way without
referring to any person or thing in particular are called indefinite
pronouns.
Examples
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1. Some are born great.
2. A few do not like tomatoes.
3. One does not know the future.
4. They say that the king was murdered.
5. None of the articles is cheap.
6. We do not need any of them.
The words some, a few, one, they, none and any are pronouns. They
do not refer to any particular individual or thing. They refer to persons
or things in a general way. They are indefinite pronouns.
Anchor 4
Let us have a recap of what we just learnt.
Summary
Pronouns are words used in place of nouns. There are eight different
kinds of Pronouns. They are –
1. Personal Pronoun
2. Reflexive Pronoun
3. Emphatic Pronoun
4. Interrogative Pronoun
5. Demonstrative Pronoun
6. Distributive Pronoun
7. Reciprocal Pronoun
8. Indefinite Pronoun
Children, this completes our learning session. Let us check our
understanding with a short Q&A session.
We will now read these sentences and fill in the blanks with the
correct form of Pronoun.
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First the question with blank will appear and then after 3
seconds, the answers given in bracket will be filled in the blank
provided
1. Will ________ come to my house today? ( I, our, you )
2. _____ ( I, our) take a bath everyday.
3. Please lend ________ (they, me) your bicycle for a moment.
4. Did _________ (him, he) complete his work?
5. ______ (our, I ) hope _________ (you, your ) will help ____ ( me,
he) to learn how to cycle.
6. __________ ( every, either) you give it to me or you take it home)
7. It rained so heavily that __________( none, some) of the rooftops
flew away in the villages.
8. We should always help _____________( one another, each other)
9. Please pick up ____________( that, these) books and keep them
on _____________( that, these) shelf.
10. To ____________( who, whom) did you give the house keys?
II. Select the Reflexive pronouns and complete the sentences.
(Itself, himself, myself, themselves, yourself, herself, ourselves.)
1. He ____________ said that he lost your new storybook. ( himself)
2. I will bake a cake by ______________.(myself)
3. She will knit a sweater for _____________.(herself)
4. You should not blame _____________ for not doing well in the
exams. The questions were very difficult.( yourself)
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5. When they saw that their team won the soccer match, they could
not stop ___________ from running into the field to cheer them.(
themselves)
III. Select the interrogative pronouns and complete the sentences.
( who, whom, whose, which, what, whose, why)
1. _______________ book is lying on my table? (whose)
2. Do you know ____________ lesson to study? ( which)
3. _________ are you doing and _________ are you doing it ? (
what, why )
4. ________ will be the chief guest on our sports day? ( who)
5. With _________ will you go to watch the movie? ( whom)
With these exercises we come to the end of today’s lesson and that is
PRONOUNS. I am sure we have understood what we just learnt. It is
through regular usage of these words that we will become more
thorough with this part of speech. I am sure you will make good use
of what you just learnt.
Name of the teacher
Signature
Date
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