Pronouns

personal pronouns
Pronouns are words we use in the place of a full noun. We have both subject and object pronouns: Subject Object I me you you he him she her it it we us you you they them We use he/him to refer to men, and she/her to refer to women. When we are not sure if we are talking about a man or a woman we use they/them. This is Jack. Hes my brother. I dont think you have met him. This is Angela. Shes my sister. Have you met her before? Talk to a friend. Ask them to help you. You could go to a doctor. They might help you. Subject pronouns We use subject pronouns as subject of the verb: I like your dress. You are late. He is my friend It is raining She is on holiday We live in England. They come from London. Warning Remember: English clauses always have a subject: His father has just retired. Was a teacher. > He was a teacher. Im waiting for my wife. Is late. > She is late. If there is no other subject we use it or there. We call this a dummy subject.

Object pronouns We use object pronouns: as the object of the verb: Can you help me please? I can see you. She doesnt like him. I saw her in town today. We saw them in town yesterday, but they didnt see us. after prepositions: She is waiting for me. Ill get it for you. Give it to him. Why are you looking at her? Dont take it from us. Ill speak to them.

it and there
English clauses always have a subject: His father has just retired. Was a teacher. > He was a teacher. Im waiting for my wife. Is late. > She is late. Look at the time! Is half past two.> Its half past two. except for the imperative (see more) Go away. Play it again please. If we have no other subject we use there or it. there We use there as a dummy subject with part of the verb be followed by a noun phrase. (see Clauses, sentences and phrases): to introduce a new topic: There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven. There has been an accident. I hope no one is hurt. with numbers or quantities:

There was a lot of rain last night. There must have been more than five hundred in the audience. to say where something is: There used to be a playground at the end of the street. There are fairies at the bottom of the garden. I wonder if there will be anyone at home. with an indefinite pronoun or expressions of quantity and the to-infinitive: There is nothing to do in the village.. There was plenty to read in the apartment There was nothing to watch on television. There is a lot of work to do If we want to show the subject of the to-infinitive we use for: There is nothing for the children to do in the village.. There was plenty for us to read in the apartment There was nothing for them to watch on television. There is a lot of work for you to do. with an indefinite pronoun or expressions of quantity and an -ing verb: There is someone waiting to see you. There were a lot of people shouting and waving. We use a singular verb if the noun phrase is singular: There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven. There was a lot of rain last night. There is someone waiting to see you. We use a plural verb if the noun phrase is plural: There are more than twenty people waiting to see you. There were some biscuits in the cupboard. There were a lot of people shouting and waving. It We use it to talk about: times and dates: Its nearly one oclock. Its my birthday.

 weather: Its raining. Its a lovely day. It was getting cold. to give an opinion about a place: Its very cold in here. It will be nice when we get home. Its very comfortable in my new apartment. to give an opinion followed by to-infinitive: Its nice to meet you. It will be great to go on holiday. It was interesting to meet your brother at last. to give an opinion followed by an -ing verb: Its great living in Spain. Its awful driving in this heavy traffic. It can be hard work looking after young children.

Using "it" to talk about people We use it to talk about ourselves: on the telephone: Hello. Its George. when people cannot see us: [Mary knocks on door] Its me. Its Mary. We use it to talk about other people: when we point them out for the first time: Look. Its Sir Paul McCartney. Whos that? I think its Johns brother. when we cannot see them and we ask them for their name: [telephone rings, we pick it up] Hello. Who is it? [someone knocks on door. We say:] Who is it?

you and they

We use you to talk about people in general including the speaker and the hearer: You can buy this book anywhere > This book is on sale everywhere. You cant park here > Parking is not allowed here. They dont let you smoke in here > No smoking here We use they or them to talk about people in general: They serve good food here. Ask them for a cheaper ticket. especially about the government and the authorities: They dont let you smoke in here. They are going to increase taxes. They are building a new motorway. They say its going to rain tomorrow.