LEITURA: PRONOUNS

Teacher's Corner - Pronouns

Para quem quer falar inglês com fluência, empregar os pronomes corretamente fundamental. Na tabela abaixo, confira as informações essenciais sobre eles.

P

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns or noun phrases. Since pronouns have little or no meaning of their own⁽¹⁾, we can communicate without them. Read the following story about a writer named Andy. It was written without pronouns. Andy was a writer from the city. Andy bought a farm and moved to the country. Mrs. Straw sold Andy the farm. Now Mrs. Straw wishes the farm were still Mrs. Straw's. Mrs. Straw is angry at Mrs. Straw for selling Mrs. Straw's farm to Andy.

The problem, as you can see, is that language without pronouns gets repetitive. Read the story again, this time with pronouns. Refer to the numbered definitions and the illustrated chart⁽²⁾ as you read.

Andy was a writer from the city. He1a bought a farm and moved to the country. Mrs. Straw sold him1b the farm. Now Mrs. Straw wishes the farm were still hers1c. Mrs. Straw is angry at herself2 for selling her* farm to Andy.

Pronouns come in many forms and play different grammatical roles⁽³⁾. So far, we've seen examples of personal pronouns and reflexive pronouns. Let's continue the story of Andy and Mrs. Straw to learn about other pronoun groups.

Who3 will end up with⁽⁴⁾ the farm, Andy or Mrs. Straw herself4? This5 is the question that6 people have been asking one another7. Everyone8 thinks that Andy will move back to the city because of Mrs. Straw.

How does the story end? Add the correct pronouns and find out for yourself:

_____________ are wrong! ______________ will stay in the country and write a book about _____________**.

Jason Bermingham

Pronouns Groups

1) Personal pronouns take the place of people and things. There are three kinds of personal pronouns: 1a) Subjective personal pronouns take the place of subjects. 1b) Objective personal pronouns take the place of objects. 1c) Possessive personal pronouns mark ownership(5). *Note: A word that marks ownership by modifying a noun instead of replacing it (i.e.(6) her farm) is a possessive adjective. 2) Reflexive pronouns end with -self (singular) or -selves (plural). They are used when the object of the verb is the same as the subject. 3) Interrogative pronouns introduce questions.

4) Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns. In this case, they are used to emphasize nouns. 5) Demonstrative pronouns point out specific nouns or noun phrases. 6) Relative pronouns introduce dependent clauses. 7) Reciprocal pronouns express a relationship between individual parts of a plural noun phrase. Each other is used when the noun phrase has two parts; one another is used when the noun phrase has more than two parts. 8) Indefinite pronouns take the place of nonspecific nouns or noun phrases. **answers: They/He/her

 Matéria publicada na revista Speak Up edio 214 - março/2005

GLOSSARY

1 of their own - sozinhos, por si s.

2 chart - tabela.

3 roles - papis.

4 to end up with - acabar ficando com.

5 ownership - posse.

6 i.e. - por exemplo (latim id est).