English Pronouns

The best way to practice is by creating flashcards, take online grammar quizzes, or write sentences using “this”, “that”, “these”, and “those”. Apart from this, they can also consciously use these terms in daily conversations, such as while pointing at objects.

One tip is to read newspapers, novels, and watch English TV shows. By practicing these tips over time, students will master this topic.

Although this is not a difficult topic, but by following basic tips students can crack it easily.

No, they are not same, although they use the same words (this, that, these, those). A demonstrative pronoun stands alone and replaces a noun, as in “This is shocking.”

On the other hand, a demonstrative adjective, modifies a noun, as in “This movie is horrific.” Confusing the two is a common mistake, but the key is to check whether the word comes with a noun or not.

Yes, they are not just restricted to present objects; but can also refer to past events.

For example, “That was a tough week, ” points back to a specific week already experienced. Similarly, “This was one of the saddes moments of my his life” refers to a past event with emotional emphasis. Such usage allows speakers to highlight or emphasize particular memories or incidents.

“This” is a demonstrative pronoun which acts as a singular used to refer to a single object or person that is near in time or space. While “this” is plural, used when talking about more than one thing that is also nearby. The difference lies in the number and distance. For example: “This pen is mine” (one item) vs “These pens are yours” (multiple items). Recognizing this difference is crucial for grammatical accuracy.

Demonstrative pronouns are words used to point toward specific people, objects, or ideas without directly naming them.

Most common ones are this, that, these, and those. They help the speaker or writer indicate whether something is near or far, and whether it is singular or plural. For example, “This is my bag” or “Those are your shoes.” They are widely used in daily communication to bring clarity and emphasis.

When you are not sure of a person's gender, then the most appropriate pronoun to be used is 'they/them'. Although 'they/them' is generally used as a plural pronoun, in case of gender ambiguity, 'they/them' is widely accepted, and can be considered gramaatically correct. 

Some of the gender neutral pronouns include the following:

• It
• They
• Them
• Ze/zir
• Xe/xem

Using Pronouns in correct manner has the following benefits:

• Avoids repetition: Using pronouns appropriately can avoid repeating the nouns.
• Improves flow of sentence: Using pronouns help maintain the flow of the sentence and improves clarity.
• Supports sentence structure: Pronouns play important role in subject-verb agreement and sentence construction.

Pronouns are generally used after the first sentence, or after the first instance of Noun. Once the Noun is stated or the subject is introduced, Pronouns can be used as a substitute of the Noun. For example, Riya studies in Class 6. Her favourite subject is History. Here, the Pronoun 'Her' is used in the second sentence as a substitute to the Proper Noun, which is Riya.