Learn first: Nouns and articles
Pronouns replace nouns so that we do not repeat them: Aziz is my friend. He lives in Bukhara. In English the form of a pronoun depends on its role in the sentence: one form for the subject (I, he), another for the object (me, him). Also, the single Uzbek pronoun u can be he, she or it in English, so gender must be shown. Pronouns matter in grammar questions, in Reading questions such as “what does this pronoun refer to?” and in Writing, where they link sentences together.
Subject forms: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Object forms: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Subject forms come before the verb; object forms come after verbs and prepositions: She called me. This gift is for them. Listen to him.
he is for males, she for females, it for things, animals and abstract ideas. it is also used as an empty subject for weather, time and distance: It’s raining. It’s five o’clock. It’s 10 km to the city. An English sentence must have a subject, so Is raining is impossible.
they is also used for one person whose gender is unknown or unimportant: If a student is late, they must explain why.
After to be, informal English uses the object form: Who’s there? — It’s me.
My sister and ___ (I/me) went to the cinema. and The teacher asked my sister and ___ (I/me).
Before a noun (determiners): my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Without a noun (pronouns): mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
This is my book. — This book is mine. Is this pen yours? Their house is bigger than ours.
No noun follows the pronoun form: ✗ mine book. A noun must follow the determiner form: ✗ This is my.
its (possessive, no apostrophe) and it’s (= it is / it has) cause the most common written mistake: The cat licked its paw. It’s late. It’s been raining. Likewise: your — you’re (you are), their — they’re (they are) — there (a place).
a friend of mine means “one of my friends” (✗ a friend of me).
Test: replace it’s with it is — if the meaning survives, you need the apostrophe.
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Some verbs that are reflexive in other languages are used without a reflexive pronoun in English: wash, dress, shave, feel, relax, meet, concentrate — ✗ I feel myself good → ✓ I feel good; ✗ We met ourselves at six → ✓ We met at six.
each other / one another express a mutual action: They love each other. themselves means each one acts on himself or herself: They blamed themselves.
The children enjoyed ___ at the party.
Demonstratives: this/these for things near us, that/those for things further away or in the past: this book — these books, that house — those houses. They must agree in number: ✗ this books.
some and any:
Compounds: somebody/someone, something, somewhere; anybody, anything, anywhere; nobody, nothing, nowhere; everybody, everything, everywhere.
everybody, nobody, someone, everything + singular verb: Everybody is here. Nothing has changed.
An English clause has only one negative: ✗ I don’t know nothing → ✓ I don’t know anything or I know nothing.
one/ones replace a noun to avoid repetition: I don’t like the red shirt; I prefer the blue one. These shoes are old — I need new ones.
There isn’t ___ milk in the fridge.
Question pronouns: who (subject), whom (object, formal), whose (possession), what (open choice), which (limited choice). Whose bag is this? — do not confuse it with who’s (= who is). What colour do you like? (in general) versus Which colour do you like, red or blue? (from the options given).
In Reading you may be asked what a pronoun refers to (What does "they" refer to?). Look in the preceding sentences for a noun that matches in number and gender, then put it in place of the pronoun and check that the sentence makes sense.
In Writing pronouns help avoid repetition: Tashkent is a modern city. It has…. But several its or theys in one sentence make the meaning unclear; in that case repeat the noun.
Students who live far away often find it difficult to arrive on time. They should leave home earlier. — What does They refer to?