Unit 2

1. Pronoun

A. Subject Pronoun, also called subjective or subject personal pronoun, is used as substitute for proper and common nouns.

Examples

John is a doctor - He is a doctor
The laptop is on the desk - It is on the desk

A subject pronoun is used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.

Example

______ did the job.
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they all fit into the blank and are, therefore, subject pronouns.

A subject pronoun indicates:

• number: singular or plural,
• gender: male or female,
• person: first, second or third person.

Examples

• I (first person singular)
• you (second person singular)
• She (third person singular female) 
• He (third person singular male)
• It (third person singular inanimate )
• We (first person plural)
• You (second person plural)
• They (third person plural)

The words "I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they" are subject pronouns. They refer to a person or thing in speech or in writing.

Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun is a part of speech that attributes ownership to someone or something. Like any other pronoun, it substitutes a noun phrase and can prevent its repetition. For example, in the phrase, "These glasses are mine, not yours", the words "mine" and "yours" are possessive pronouns and stand for "my glasses" and "your glasses," respectively.

Examples

• This is our house. It's ours.
• This is my bedroom. It's mine.
• This is my brother's bike. It's his.

                                     

The words "mine, yours, his, hers, its , ours, theirs" are possessive pronouns. They show who or what something belongs to.

Note

1. A possessive pronoun differs from a possessive adjective.

Examples:

• What color is your brother's jacket?
  His jacket is black.
  (your and his are possessive adjectives; your and his modify the noun jacket in both examples)
• What color is yours?
  Mine is blue.
  (yours and mine are possessive pronouns - yours functions as a subject complement in the first example; mine functions as a subject in the second example)

2. "It's" is not a possessive pronoun or adjective; it is a contraction of it is or it has.

Example:

• It's not my book = it is not my book
• It's got five bedrooms = it has got five bedrooms

You may also be interested in:

• object pronouns,
• possessive adjectives,
• subject pronouns,
• and reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive Pronoun

Reflexive pronouns are used when the complement of the verb is the same as the subject.

Example:

He hurt himself.

Reflexive pronouns can also be used to give more emphasis to the subject or object.

Example:

I wrote it myself. (I want to emphasize the fact that I wrote it.)

I spoke to the president himself. (I spoke to the president personally NOT somebody else.)

Subject Pronouns	I	you	he	she	it	we	you	they
Reflexive Pronouns	myself	yourself	himself	herself	itself	ourselves	yourselves	themselves

The words " myself, yourself, himself..." are reflexive pronouns. Reflexive pronouns are words that show that the person who does the action is also the person who is affected by it:

Examples:

• "I always do my homework myself. Nobody helps me."
• "He never does his homework himself. The teacher always helps him."

2. Direct Speech Vs Reported Speech

A. Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Reported speech is when you tell somebody else what you or a person said before.

Distinction must be made between direct speech and reported speech.

Direct speech vs Reported speech:

Direct speech	Reported speech
She says: "I like tuna fish."	She says that she likes tuna fish.
She said: "I'm visiting Paris next weekend"	She said that she was visiting Paris the following weekend.

Different types of sentences

When you use reported speech, you either report:

• Statements
• questions
• requests / commands
• other types

I. Reporting Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• tense
• place and time expression

1-Pronouns

In reported speech, you often have to change the pronoun depending on who says what.

Example:

She says, “My dad likes roast chicken.” – She says that her dad likes roast chicken.

2-Tenses

• If the sentence starts in the present, there is no backshift of tenses in Reported speech.
• If the sentence starts in the past, there is often backshift of tenses in Reported speech.

	Direct speech	Reported speech
(no backshift)	“I write poems.”	He says that he writes poems.
(backshift)	“I write poems.”	He said that he wrote poems.

No backshift

Do not change the tense if the introductory clause is in a present tense (e. g. He says). Note, however, that you might have to change the form of the present tense verb (3rd person singular).

Example:
He says, “I write poems.” – He says that he writes English.

Backshift

You must change the tense if the introductory clause is in a past tense (e. g. He said).

Example:
He said, “I am happy.” – He said that he was happy.

Examples of the main changes in tense:

The verbs could, should, would, might, must, needn't, ought to, used to do not normally change.
Example:
He said, “She might be right.” – He said that she might be right.

3-Place and time expressions

Place and time expressions change if the context of the reported statement (i.e. the location and/or the period of time) is different from that of the direct speech.

In the following table, you will find ways of transforming place and time expressions into reported speech.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
today	that day
now	then
yesterday	the day before
… days ago	… days before
last week	the week before
next year	the following year
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
here	there
this	that
these	those

B. Reporting Questions

When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

Also note that you have to:

• transform the question into an indirect question
• use the question word (where, when, what, how) or if / whether

Types of questions	Direct speech	Reported speech
With question word (what, why, where, how...)	"Why" don’t you speak English?”	He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
Without question word (yes or no questions)	“Do you speak English?”	He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

C. Reporting requests / commands

When transforming requests and commands, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• place and time expressions

Direct speech	Reported speech
“Nancy,do the exercise.“	He told Nancy to do the exercise.
"Nancy, give me your pen, please."	He asked Nancy to give him her pen.

Tenses are not relevant for requests – simply use to  / not to + verb (infinitive without "to")

Example:

She said, “Sit down." - She asked me to sit down.

She said, "don't be lazy" - She asked me not to be lazy

For affirmative use to + infinitive (without to) For negative requests, use not to + infinitive (without to).

D. Other transformations

• Expressions of advice with must, should and ought are usually reported using advise / urge.
  Example:
  “You must read this book.“
  He advised / urged me to read that book.
• The expression let’s is usually reported using suggest. In this case, there are two possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement withshould.
  Example:
  “Let’s go to the cinema.“=
  1. He suggested going to the cinema.
  2. He suggested that we should go to the cinema.

Main clauses connected with and/but

If two complete main clauses are connected with ‚and or ‚but, put ‚that after the conjunction.

Example:
He said,“I saw her but she didn't see me.“ – He said that he had seen her but that she hadn't seen him.“

If the subject is dropped in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do not use ‚that‘.

Example:
She said,“I am a nurse and work in a hospital.“ – He said that she was a nurse and worked in a hospital.“

B. Free Indirect Speech

Free indirect speech is also called as free indirect discourse, free indirect style, or discours indirect libre in French.)

While indirect speech conveys the report in the words of the reporter, with verbs generally 'backshifted' in tense and changes in pronouns and adverbials of time and place are made to align with the time of reporting;

free direct speech lacks a reporting clause to show the shift from narration to reporting, it is often used in fiction to represent the mental reactions of characters to what they see or experience.

Similarities:

Free indirect speech resembles indirect speech in shifting tenses and other references

Differences:

There is generally no reporting clause in free indirect speech and it retains some features of direct speech (such as direct questions and vocatives).

Examples:

Direct speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly. "Why are they asking me to contribute to the project?" he asked.

Indirect speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly and asked himself why they were asking him to contribute to the project.

Free indirect speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly. Why are they asking him to contribute to the project?

Famous writers who use free indirect speech

• Goethe
• Jane Austen
• Gustave Flaubert
• James Joyce
• Virginia Woolf

3. Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause within a complex sentence.

In the example:

• Mike found the keys that he had lost.

that is a relative pronoun which introduces the relative clause that he had lost.

In English the relative pronouns are who, whom, which, whose, and that.

who - subject or object pronoun for people

They caught the lady who killed her baby.
I know the man who you met.

which - subject or object pronoun

I read the book which is on the table.
I visited the town which you told me about.

which - referring to a whole sentence

They were unsuccessful which is disappointing.

whom - used for object pronoun for people, especially in non-restrictive relative clauses (in restrictive relative clauses use who)

The boy whom you told me about got the best grades in mathematics.

that - subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in restrictive relative clauses (who or which are also possible)

I like the vase that is over there.